Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
COVER PAGE
Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert
Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum)
in English Language Studies
by
Pratama Ahdi
146332036
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2019
i
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A THESIS
Dealing with the Atrsurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camus'
Plugue and Iwan Simatupang's Kering
Paulus Sarwoto. S.S.. M.A.. Ph.D.
Thesis Advisor
4 Januaiy 2019
IIle
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A THESIS
Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camus' The
Pl*gue and lwan
Chairperscn
:Dra.
Secretary
: Paulus
N,{ernber
Member
Dra. Th. Enny Anggsaini" Ph.D.
og-vakafta, 17 January 2019
Progran Director
Universir-v-
/
Budi
111
S
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that all the ideas, phrases, and sentences unless otherwise stated, are
the ideas, phrases and sentences of the thesis wdter. The writer understands the full
consequences including degree cancellation
if he took
somebody else's ideas, phrases or
sentences',vithout a proper reference.
Yogpakarta,
3l
Ahdi
iv
January 2019
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK
KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
.
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma,
Nama
Nomor
: Pratama
Ahdi
Mahasiswa : 146332036
Demi perkembangan pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas
Sanata Dharma kuryu
ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camts' The
Plague and Iwan Simatupang's Kering
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian saya memberikan hak kepada
Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam media
lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikannya secara terbatas dan
mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu
meminta izin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama
mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Yolyakarta,
31
Pratam Ahdi
Ianraw 2019
tetap
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Allah The Most
Gracious and The Most Merciful.
I want to express deep gratitude, respect and appreciation to my thesis advisor, Paulus
Sarwoto, Ph.D., for his dedication, professional guidance and insightful advice throughout
the writing process of this thesis. My sincerest acknowledgements go to the board of
examiners: Novita Dewi, Ph.D., Sri Mulyani, Ph.D, and Th. Enny Anggraini, Ph.D. who
devoted their precious time to the reading and evaluation of this thesis. My heartfelt
acknowledgements also go to all lectures in the Graduate Program of English Language
Studies for their inspiring and passionate teaching throughout my master study.
I would like to thank my wife, Fahma, who always ask me to stop reading and start
writing. I would like to express thanks to my daughters, Nina and Jihan, for being my
greatest supporters. I also want to express gratitude to my mother for supporting me
through her prayers.
I am equally thankful to my faithful and reliable friends, especially in Literature class
batch 2014 (Mbak Teti, Mbak Rini, Dian, Anies, Adit, Indra, Ruly, Melan, and Anggie)
for providing valuable suggestions and moral supports.
To everyone in the office, Bu Sitta, Pak Toriq, Pak Wendy, Bu Daisy, Bu Dilla, Bu
Siti, Bu Nurul, and the staffs, thank you for making the place like a second home to me. I
would also like to send my gratitude to all my friends who always support me with great
books which I used during the writing process.
Last but not least, I would like to give my gratitude for those whom I cannot mention
individually, but surely this thesis could not be completed without their helps.
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PAGE OF DEDICATIONS
This thesis is dedicated to Fahma, whose arms are like home to me.
And also to Nina and Jihan, whose hugs are warmer than a thousand of suns.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE ..................................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGE ............................................................................................................ ii
DEFENCE APPROVAL PAGE ........................................................................................ iii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................................... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK
KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ............................................................................................. v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi
PAGE OF DEDICATIONS .............................................................................................. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ x
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.1.
Background of the Study ...................................................................................... 1
1.2.
Research Questions ............................................................................................ 11
1.3.
Objectives of the Study ...................................................................................... 11
1.4.
The Significance of the Study ............................................................................ 12
1.5.
Thesis Outline..................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER II ..................................................................................................................... 14
2.1.
Review of Related Studies ................................................................................. 14
2.1.1.
The Studies on Camus’ The Plague ............................................................ 15
2.1.2.
The Studies on Simatupang’s Kering .......................................................... 20
2.2.
Review of Related Theories ............................................................................... 23
2.2.1.
Absurdity or the Philosophy of the Absurd ................................................ 24
2.2.2.
The Problem with Death ............................................................................. 27
2.2.3.
Alienation .................................................................................................... 29
2.2.4.
Solidarity ..................................................................................................... 31
2.2.5.
Rebellion ..................................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER III.................................................................................................................... 35
3.1.
Extreme Contrast as the Ingredients of the Absurd ............................................ 35
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3.2. Alienation: The Separation from the Loved Ones, from Oneself and the Outside
World ............................................................................................................................ 42
3.2.1.
Individual Alienation ............................................................................... 43
3.2.2.
Collective Alienation ............................................................................... 48
3.3.
Disease, Disaster and Foot-Dragging Government ............................................ 52
3.4.
From Individual Death to Collective Death ....................................................... 58
CHAPTER IV ................................................................................................................... 64
4.1.
Embracing the Absurd ........................................................................................ 64
4.2.
Being Persistence in Living Life ........................................................................ 67
4.3.
Cultivating New Habits ...................................................................................... 70
4.4.
Building Solidarity to Form Collective Rebellion ............................................. 73
4.5.
Fighting with or without God ............................................................................. 78
CHAPTER V..................................................................................................................... 83
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 86
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ABSTRACT
Ahdi, Pratama. 2019. Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of
Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering. Yogyakarta: Program Pasca
Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
This study analyzes the forms of absurdity that appear in Camus’ work entitled The
Plague (1948) and the work of Simatupang entitled Kering (1985). In addition, this study
also investigates how the implementation of the concept of rebellion prescribed by Camus
used to deal with the absurd. Both of these novels illustrate how humans must face the
absurdity of life manifested in the form of disease and disaster. The novels do not only talk
about how difficult it is to live a life described by their characters who have to deal with
various forms of absurdity in a city that is alienated by diseases and transmigration areas
that have long suffered from drought. Both novels also illustrate how humans should act in
times of crisis caused by the disease and disaster.
This research rests on Camus’ concept of absurdity and rebellion. Both of these
concepts are found in the book by Camus The Myth of Sisyphus (1955) and The Rebel
(1956). The first book examines the definition of absurdity in Camus’s view. Whereas the
second is about the forms of rebellion that require the solidarity of the humans in conflict
in life.
To face absurdity in human life, they should not easily submit to despair or death.
According to Camus, humans should organize a rebellion against absurdity. This rebellion
might not work if humans only fought alone. Therefore, as a form of social coverage of the
principles and philosophy of Camus, solidarity is needed to be able to achieve a common
goal. This can be achieved when people realize that they have the same fate and cooperate
in their struggle to find the meaning of life, which is fighting against diseases and disasters.
This social scope of Camus’ philosophy is reflected in the struggles of the inhabitants of
Oran in fighting the disease in The Plague and the struggle of the citizens in Simatupang’s
Kering in fighting the drought.
Keywords:
absurdity, rebellion, solidarity, Albert Camus’ The Plague, Iwan
Simatupang’s Kering
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ABSTRAK
Ahdi, Pratama. 2019. Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of
Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering. Yogyakarta: Program Pasca
Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini menganalisis bentuk-bentuk absurditas yang muncul dalam karya
Camus yang berjudul The Plague (1948) dan karya Simatupang yang berjudul Kering
(1985). Selain itu, penelitian ini juga menginvestigasi bagaimana implementasi dari konsep
pemberontakan yang diusulkan oleh Camus digunakan untuk bergelut dengan absurditas.
Kedua novel ini menggambarkan bagaimana manusia harus dihadapkan kepada absurditas
hidup yang dimanifestasikan dalam bentuk penyakit dan bencana. Novel-novel tersebut
tidak hanya berbicara tentang bagaimana susahnya menjalani kehidupan yang
digambarkan oleh karakter-karaternya yang harus berhadapan dengan berbagai bentuk
absurditas dalam keadaan kota yang teralienasi oleh penyakit dan area transmigrasi yang
terserang kekeringan panjang, namun novel ini juga memberikan gambaran bagaimana
manusia seharusnya bersikap dalam masa genting yang diakibatkan oleh penyakit dan
bencana tersebut.
Penelitian ini berpijak pada konsep Camus tentang absurditas dan pemberontakan.
Kedua konsep ini terdapat dalam buku karya Camus The Myth of Sisyphus (1991) dan The
Rebel (1956). Buku yang pertama mengupas definisi absurditas menurut pandangan
Camus. Sedangkan yang kedua tentang bagaimana bentuk-bentuk pemberontakan yang
membutuhkan solidaritas dari manusia-manusia yang berkonflik dalam hidup.
Untuk menghadapi absurditas dalam kehidupan manusia, mereka hendaknya tak
dengan mudah berserah diri kepada keputusasaan atau kematian. Menurut Camus, manusia
hendaknya menggelorakan pemberontakan terhadap absurditas. Pemberontakan ini
mungkin tak akan berhasil jika manusia hanya berjuang seorang diri. Maka dari itu, sebagai
bentuk cakupan sosial dari prinsip dan filosofi Camus, maka solidaritas dibutuhkan untuk
bisa mencapai tujuan bersama. Hal ini bisa tercapai saat manusia menyadari bahwa mereka
memiliki nasib yang sama dan bekerjasama dalam perjuangan mereka menemukan arti
hidup, yaitu berjuang melawan penyakit dan bencana. Cakupan sosial dari filosofi Camus
ini tergambar dalam perjuangan para penduduk di Kota Oran dalam memerangi penyakit
dalam The Plague dan perjuangan para penduduk kota di novel Kering karya Simatupang
dalam memerangi kekeringan.
Kata Kunci: absurditas, pemberontakan, solidaritas, Albert Camus’ The Plague, Iwan
Simatupang’s Kering
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
… [W]hat is absurd is the confrontation of the irrational and the longing for clarity whose call
echoes in the human heart.
-- Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
Anyone in the world can experience the absurd condition. A worker in an
office may have struggled the entire month. He pushes himself, gives his best effort
and works extending the working hours with an expectation of having extra income.
However, at the end of the month, no one appreciates his works. There is no
compliment from the boss, and the overtime salary transferred to his bank account
is beyond his expectation or, even worse, there is no extra salary at all. On the other
part of the world, one journalist may put his biggest effort to write a news about an
ongoing war. He may risk his life for an accountable report. He does it in the red
zone to try to keep it as accurate as possible. He does it all with the expectation that
his report becomes the headline in the newspaper company where he works and it
can be considered as one of his biggest achievements of working in a war zone. In
short, in the due time, there is no space for his news in the front page, or even in
one of the headlines in the newspaper. Other journalist might be given space in the
headline with more selling infotainment. At worst, he even gets shot to death in his
journey back home. Another example is that, in one hand, not a few teachers whose
job is considered noble in the development of education in Indonesia, living in a
sad condition, underpaid and forced to live in insufficiency despite their
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contribution to the country. On the other hand, people who have a lesser
contribution (or even none) live in prosperity and prosperous condition. Celebrities
and corrupt politicians unreasonably got a very high payment. This is considered
irrational. Things happened beyond human’s expectation. The world gives no
response to human’s expectation. All of these are usually called as an absurd
condition.
Up to this point, individuals may think that life is meaningless. There is no
advantage of doing one’s best effort in life. They might think that what is the point
of doing their best if, in the end, the result is beyond their expectation. What if then
life has no meaning at all? What if that the meaning of life cannot be understood by
a human? They may start to think of coming into despair or even to commit suicide.
They may start to question the meaning of their life in the world.
To study this kind of phenomenon, philosophy can be used as one of the
approaches. One of the branches of philosophy closely related to this phenomena is
existentialism since one of its themes is finding the meaning of life under the
umbrella of the relation between human being and the world. Existentialism is
believed to rise based on the works of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche.
The invention of the term “existentialism” itself is later closely related to Gabriel
Marcel.1 At first, this school of philosophy was initiated as a response to the
Hegelian philosophy. As Hegelian philosophy strongly believes in reason, the
existentialism is against it. Existentialism claims that such belief in reason is itself
1
Nicholas Bunnin and Jiyuan Yu, The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy (Victoria: Blackwell
Publishing Ltd, 2004), p. 238.
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irrational and rejects all purely abstract thinking. As a replacement for abstraction,
it embraces that philosophy should “deal with the lives and experiences of
individuals and their historical situations”.2 The theme of existentialism study
varied in many ways which include freedom, authenticity, death, meaning of life,
alienation and others. However, as the study keeps on developing, the point of
emphasizing becomes varied.
As the existentialism movement developed, there are several branches of the
movement which are well known: theistic existentialism, atheistic existentialism,
and so on. This diverse development of existentialism shaped renowned theorists,
such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and others. Some writers or
philosophers reject the label of being an existentialist, one of which is Albert
Camus. Although Camus’ writings deal with the struggle of human being in
questioning the meaning of life, he rejects the label of being an existentialist.
However, he describes himself more like an absurdist since he believes that the
focus of his writings, fiction or non-fiction, discusses the form of absurdities in
human life. Therefore, this Camus’ concept is usually called The Philosophy of the
Absurd.
There are some general misconceptions on the concept offered by Camus.
Some believe that dealing with Camus means that it will lead to pessimism,
nihilism, despair, committing suicide, or others. On the other hand, discussing
Camus and his works does not mean a thing in vain. Camus’ concept becomes very
contextual in the discussion today. Camus, indeed, discusses absurdity but he does
2
N. Bunnin & Yu, p. 238.
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not end the discussion at only that point. He proposes more on the optimism of
accepting the absurd, how to live life than to end it, rejecting despair, and
encouraging human’s independence. These are probably caused by his longing for
his background, of living in occupied Algiers, of his love to beach and summer, of
love and life and his admiration on Greek mythology, especially Sisyphus and
Prometheus.
If we refer back to the definition of ‘absurd’ that was initiated by Camus, as
a state in which human being did not meet their expectations in reality/life, then this
kind of phenomenon is similar to the condition which happens in Indonesia. It is
because the search for the meaning of life is very often discussed by Camus. As a
follow up of the opposition (resistance) or the struggles in facing life which is full
of absurdity, human should not give up. To Camus, the meeting with the absurd
situation, the struggle of a human being to live just begins. It is in line with the
Camus’ idea that the realization that life is absurd cannot be an end itself but only
a beginning.3
Camus was born in a poor family on 7 November 1913 in Mondovi, a small
town in eastern Algeria. He was inherited with the label of pied-noir, a Frenchman
born in the colony and whose family had lived there for several generations. The
descendants of Lucien Camus (1885-1914), which is Camus’ father, were early
immigrants from the region around Bordeaux. The family of Catherine Helene
Sintes (1882-1960), Camus’ mother, came from Minorca and settled in Algeria in
3
Albert Camus, Lyrical and Critical Essay. Ed. Philip Thody. Trans. Ellen Conroy Kennedy (New York:
Vintage Books, 1970), p. 201.
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about 1840.4 Although hardly knowledgeable, Camus’ father had an accountable
position with a wine company, supervising a number of Arab workers who
harvested the grapes. He served in the First Zouaves (soldiers in the French
services) in 1906 in Morocco, and in 1914 was called back into service. 5 Sent to
France, he was one of the first men to be wounded in the Battle of the Marne and
died 11 October 1914.
The death of his father forced Camus’ family to live within the financial
limitations. In May 1920, Camus and his brother Lucien acquire the official status
of pupilles de la nation or war orphans. It is something that forces his mother
working and causes Camus to have difficulty in accessing books and knowledge.
However, it is the bitterness of life that inspired Camus in his philosophical works.
Camus was accepted into Lycée Bugeaud in 1923 and eventually admitted to study
in University of Algiers. Camus had fallen in love with football until at one point
the other bitter reality struck. It is when he was convicted of tuberculosis and had
to retire early from the sport he loved.
After the disaster, he wrote more often. He is deeply inspired by great writers
such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Franz Kafka. Luckily his teachers, including two
of Camus’ early teachers Louis Germain and Jean Grenier, always lead him to keep
learning to write. Writing is something that leads him to various jobs until he is
entrusted to hold an editorial in one of influential left-wing papers, Alger
Republicain in cooperation with Pascal Pia. His involvement in journalism then
4
5
Adele King, Camus (London: Haus Publishing Ltd, 2010), p. 5.
A. King, p. 5.
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develops from here. Later, Camus also involves in other journalism, including
influential underground newspaper Combat which opposes German occupation in
France. From here he can further explore his interest in everything, especially on
the dark side of human life along with his rebellious ways, as well as his form of
political attitude whether it is about his perspective on the struggle of the oppressed
people in Algiers or the German occupation in France.
One of Camus’ most famous writings which makes him identical with the
concept of Absurdism and closer to the discussion of existentialism is The Myth of
Sisyphus. Sisyphus, whom he took from Greek legend, became his agent, as well as
his hero, in conveying the philosophical concept of Absurdism. Sisyphus, the King
of Corinth, is known as someone who really loves life and the warm sunshine, and
he hates death. One day he planned to distract the plan of the gods by holding Hades
as a hostage, the god of the death and the underworld, automatically it makes no
one die. Ares, the god of war, is obviously outraged by what Sisyphus has done.
Ares threatens to repress him for all eternity unless he releases Hades. Sisyphus
finally succumbs and releases Hades from the underworld. The wrathful gods then
punished Sisyphus for rolling rocks from the hilltop and then carrying them back to
the top. Then roll it again. It goes on endlessly. In one point of view, it is clear that
what the gods call is a futile act. However, it is not so with Camus. What he saw
from Sisyphus was an act of rebellion that, in a time in which he managed to carry
the stone up to the peak and at a time before the boulder rolled away, Sisyphus felt
successful since he was, which is so important, fully conscious of what he was
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doing. In this way, he is considered to successfully rebel against the will of the gods.
Therefore, according to Camus people should imagine Sisyphus happy.
From the concept of Sisyphus and this absurdity, the works of Camus stand.
Starting from The Stranger, The Plague, The Fall, and other works. The works tell
the story of human life and the absurd world. Not only does it stop at the
conversation of an encounter with an absurd world, but Camus also suggests, even
semi-coerced, that humans fight this state. It is the situation where life appears as
something without meaning. According to Camus, understand that life is without
meaning is just the beginning. Camus believes that the artists/writers should be
agents because by using to the medium of literature, writers have the ability and
also the obligation to ‘encourage’ readers in living life, even without meaning.
The question that always comes up when discussing Albert Camus is how
contextual the discussion of Camus and his works, in this modern time. Discussing
Camus would be very still contextual when we talk about his way of thinking, which
is not only philosophical but also political. Orme & Margerisson argue that:
Yet, whatever their changing nature, the challenges facing the modern
world point up the relevance of those moral, social and political
questions with which Camus grappled during his lifetime: the extent to
which, in revolutionary justice, the end justifies the means; the
challenges facing the new international order; how best to establish a
moral response to nihilism; reconciling the requirements of morality
with those of politics; and the relationship between individual freedom,
State interest and the exercise of power. All these issues shaped
Camus’s thinking over half a century ago and continue to inform the
collective psyche at the beginning of the twenty-first century.6
6
Christine Margerrison, Mark Orme and Lissa Lincoln, Albert Camus in the 21st Century: A Reassessment
of his Thinking at the Dawn of the New Millennium (New York: Rodopi, 2008), p. 13.
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Further, the contextualization of Camus’ concept to the condition of modern
human being is without a doubt. Justin O’Brien says that reading and understanding
Camus is urgent. He mentions that Camus’ writings illuminates “the problems of
the human conscience in our time” other than providing moral guidance to the
postwar generation.7 Herbert Read also mentions that Camus brings “hope” to the
human being as he brings the “confidence again in man and in the future” as they
have been through the age of anxiety, despair, and nihilism.8
Although Camus never discusses or talks about Indonesia, to some extents it
is still considered contextual. As stated by Goenawan Mohamad, he is not a thinker
and writer who deals with the passion and the cornered condition of humans in the
Third World, except his encounter with the unfortunate situation of colonial
Algeria.9 There is possibility for some people not to have interest in discussing this
because to discuss Camus means to merely discuss philosophy, morals, and
exhausting search of the meaning of life. However, to discuss Camus means to
discuss absurdity which means it is considered to be still relevant until today. It
crosses the boundary of time and space. Anyone and anytime people can have the
‘opportunity’ to meet the absurd. Therefore, to make it close to the context of
Indonesia, this study will compare Camus’ The Plague (1948) with one of
Indonesian literary works, Iwan Simatupang’s Kering (1972). This work is chosen
because of its similarities as well as differences in the discussion of absurdity and
Justin O’Brien in the Introduction of Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death. Trans. Justin
O’Brien (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), p. v.
8
Herbert Read in the Foreword for Albert Camus, The Rebel. Trans. Anthony Bower (New York: Vintage,
1956), p. 7.
9
Goenawan Mohamad in the Introduction for Albert Camus, Krisis Kebebasan. Trans. Edhi Martono
(Jakarta: Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia, 2013), p. vi.
7
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the way to confront it. In addition, the Simatupang’s encounter with the West,
specifically France (with Sartre, Camus, and Alain Robbe-Grillet), strengthens the
possibility for both works to have something in common to discuss.
Camus’ The Plague is chosen since it is considered as one of his masterpieces
enhanced by the manifestation of Camus’ concept of the Absurd and rebellion. The
Plague is written in 1947. It is believed that the work is the allegory of the Nazi
occupation in France as well as a reflection of his separation from his wife due to
his illness.10 11 12 It is interesting to consider that the details of the novel contain the
excerpt of Camus’ other works such as The Stranger and Neither Victims nor
Executioners. The Plague tells about the struggle of Bernard Rieux, a doctor, along
with other friends in a time of pestilence which takes place in the city of Oran,
Algiers. In the novel, Camus tries to carry the message of humanity, love, and
solidarity through the confrontation with the Absurd. It also introduces several
Camus’ concepts in the Philosophy of the Absurd including the absurd itself, exile
and also rebellion. The characters in the novel not only have to struggle to save
themselves from the deadly impacts of the plague, but they also have to battle with
their inner self in regard to some individual issues of hope, love, religion, and social
goals.
In tandem with Camus’ The Plague, Simatupang’s Kering is chosen because
it is considered to have the elements of the Absurd as mentioned by Camus. Not
only that, but Kering also contains the mechanism of confronting the Absurd as
Conor Cruise O’Brien, Camus. Ed. Frank Kermode (London: Fontana/Collins, 1974), p. 33-34.
John Foley, Albert Camus: From the Absurd to Revolt (Stocksfield: Acumen, 2008), p. 50.
12
Mme Jacqueline Bernard. “The Background of The Plague: Albert Camus’ Experience in the French
Resistance.” Kentucky Romance Quarterly 14.2 (1967): p.165.
10
11
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reflected throughout the story. The educational background of Simatupang, who
has studied in Europe, especially Netherland, France, and Belgium, has the
tendency to support the possibility that the literary movement during that time
influence the works of the author, even though the production/publication of the
works took place in his native country, Indonesia during 1960-70s. Dami N. Toda
associates Simatupang’s works with The New Novel for they tend to have the
characteristics which are different from the novels in the era (the 1960s).13 Toda
sees that the influence of the French literary movement really shows its impact on
Simatupang’s works.
Simatupang’s Kering tells about the story of a transmigrant who struggles
with the extreme condition of drought in which he inhabited. This novel is
categorized in the Nouveau Roman (new novel/novel baru), a term coined by Emile
Henriot.14 Alain Robbe-Grillet, a French writer and filmmaker, becomes one of the
most influential writer of this type of novel. He was one of the most frequently
discussed related to the Nouveau Roman, a trend which takes place in the 1960s.
The Nouveau Roman is described as vigorously attacked the assumption that in the
novel someone narrates someone’s story and provides a narrative interpretation of
the world15. The Nouveau Roman replaces individual characters with ‘a banal he,
anonymous and transparent, the simple subject of the action expressed by the verb’.
In addition, Simatupang’s Kering also empowers Nouveau Roman’s method of
13
Dami N Toda, Novel Baru Iwan Simatupang (Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya, 1984), p. 12.
Émile Henriot. “LA JALOUSIE, d’Alain Robbe-Grillet TROPISMES, de Nathalie Sarraute.” Le Monde.
22 May 1957.
15
Hanna Meretoja, The Narrative Turn in Fiction and Theory: The Crisis and Return of Storytelling from
Robbe-Grillet to Tournier (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 31.
14
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narration which is called the antinarrative aesthetics–a poetics that emphasizes
textual construction, the exploration of new literary forms and the reader’s critical
engagement with the assumptions underlying the view of the novel as a mode of
storytelling.16
1.2. Research Questions
Based on the background of the problem discussed on the previous point, the
research questions which can be formulated are:
1. What kinds of absurdity are found in Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan
Simatupang’s Kering?
2. How is rebellion prescribed by Camus used to confront absurdity as reflected
in both novels?
1.3. Objectives of the Study
This research is conducted with the aim to read Camus’ The Plague and
Simatupang’s Kering under the light of Camus’ Philosophy of the Absurd and other
supported theory. The objective of this research is to identify the forms of absurdity
and how to confront with it as reflected in Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s
Kering. As the title suggests, this study does not only talk about the disease, but
also the cure. It does not only stop at describing the forms of absurdity but also
elaborate the ways to confront absurdity. It is done that way to encourage a kind of
optimism in the context of today’s condition. In addition, the research tries to prove
16
H. Meretoja, p. 31.
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that the concept formulated and condition described by Camus is not only applied
in the context of France or Algiers but also applicable in other parts of the world,
in this case Indonesia.
1.4. The Significance of the Study
The significance of this research is that by analyzing various forms of
absurdity as well as the way to confront it through rebellion, in The Plague and
Kering, it contributes to individual self-awareness in smaller scope and also makes
people to recognize the importance of building solidarity in the time of the absurd.
It is believed that the first thing to be aware of is the need for being selfconscious that the absurd exists so that people start to think how to confront that
situation. It does not only stop at that point, but people also have to realize, in line
with Camus’ way of thinking, that they do not only experience the condition by
themselves but there are other people experiencing the similar condition. In this
way, people are expected to raise their collective consciousness and start to build
their solidarity in confronting the absurd which can befall at any time and anywhere.
1.5. Thesis Outline
This study divides the discussion into five chapters. The first chapter is the
introduction, which discusses the background of the study, research questions,
objectives of the study, significance of the study, and the thesis outline. The second
chapter consists of a review of related studies conducted on the two novels under
discussion and related theories which can contribute to this study, especially on the
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discussion of the absurd. The third chapter reveals the forms of absurdities found in
Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s Kering. The fourth chapter discusses the
ways to deal with the absurdity. The last chapter is the conclusion of the study.
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CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
The previous chapter discusses the background of the study that includes the
research questions, objectives of the study, significant of the study and thesis outline. In
this section, the focus of the chapter is to discuss the summary of several previous
studies related to Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s Kering. In addition, this chapter
will also provide the description of related theories used in analyzing both of the literary
works.
2.1. Review of Related Studies
Camus and Simatupang can be considered as two prominent writers from their
respective countries. Camus possesses several factors which cause him to be categorized
as one of the most influential writers in literature. His works are rich in intrinsic elements
to observe, in terms of the theme of love, death, morality, and solidarity; the character
with round characteristics with diverse conflicts; the philosophical concept which put
him into controversy among existentialist writers/philosophers; the types of symbolism
used to deliver different type of message to his readers; the social critics which lead
people not to recognize but to act accordingly, and so on. It is no wonder that Camus
was granted Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. Because of this richness of elements,
Camus’ works have sparked many scholars to conduct researches.
In Indonesia, Simatupang’s works bring new colors in Indonesian literature. It is
also important to note that he does not only write novels or short stories, but also play,
essay, and poems. His works were published in either publishers or also magazines
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locally or in other countries, such as Siasat, Konfrontasi, Zenith, Sastra, De Groene
Amsterdammer, De Nieuwsgier, Gadjah Mada and others.17
To make it in line with the background of this study, this section elaborates several
related studies related to the works of Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s Kering.
The discussion of these related studies is expected to give a contribution to this study.
2.1.1. The Studies on Camus’ The Plague
One of the most commonly discussed issues dealing with Camus’ The Plague is
its analogy between the plague (in the novel) as the real disease or the occupation of
Nazi German on France.
One of the discussions is offered by Madame Jacqueline Bernard, who provides a
very vivid description or evidence related to the symbolization of the plague as “the kind
of imprisonment” representing German occupation on France.18 She further provides a
lot of justifications in relation to Camus from a personal point of view during the French
Resistance.
By using the experience of personal relation to Camus, Bernard argues and gives
a convincing justification. She also relates the condition which is really happened during
the German occupation with the comparison to what happened in the novel. She gives
an example, that prior to the writing of The Plague, Camus gathers many materials
related to medical and historical sources to support his writing as well as from Defoe’s
Journal of the Plague Year.19
17
D. N. Toda, p. 98.
M.J. Bernard, p. 165.
19
M.J. Bernard, p. 165.
18
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O’Brien is in line with Bernard on the belief that The Plague is the allegory of
those historical events involving France and German by referring to Camus’ real
experience that the writing of the work is based on his separation with his wife and the
result of Allied landings. The Plague is the way Camus represents the experience of
occupation and resistance.20
Foley also believes that Camus’ The Plague is an allegory of the Nazis deadly
occupation in France. He further connects that the name La Peste (Original French title
of The Plague) is closely related with the term la peste brune (French phrase referring
to the Nazis).21 However, further, he also relates this allegory with the reference to the
criticisms from Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir on The Plague. He notes that
the two philosophers criticize Camus’ failure to situate the “plague” in a historical or
political context, thereby implicitly positing the plague as “natural”.22 It is true that
Camus regards the plague as a natural disaster rather than “historical or political” plague
as suggested by Sartre and de Beauvoir.
Amy L. Hubbell argues that, in the case of The Plague, Camus writes a tragic
nostalgia of the country where he was born rather than historical allegory of the Nazi
occupation in France. She believes that the French writer tries to capture the image of
Oran, Algeria through the perspective of a pied-noir. Hubbell illustrates that The Plague
is the fictional illustration of Oran during the devastating cholera in September 1849 in
which the disease killed more than 1,100 people.23 She illustrates that, after the number
J. O’Brien, p. 34.
J. Foley, p. 50.
22
J. Foley, p. 50.
23
Amy L. Hubbell, “Accumulating Algeria: Recurrent images in Pied-Noir visual works,” Framing French
Culture. Ed. Ben McCann, Peter Poiana Natalie Edwards. University of Adelaide Press, 2015, p. 209227.
20
21
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
of victims increased, the community began making processions up the mountain,
praying in front of the statue of Virgin Mary, and asking her to take pity on them. Rain
fell that night, as a miracle, breaking the heatwave that had spurred the epidemic.
Bizarrely, this is the opposite of what happens in the novel. There is a possibility that
Camus wants to take this issue as a criticism toward religion. In line with Hubbell,
Robert Zaretsky also believes that The Plague is the portrayal of post war French
Algeria, in which the country was devastated by the war and violence and threated by
the possibility of civil war between the pied-noir and Arab and Berber populations.24
These studies on the allegory and nostalgia can contribute in providing the
historical background or the creation process of Camus in writing the novel although
this study does not measure or provide further justification of which event is actually
symbolized by the novel because it is under the light of different approach.
Other studies have another different point to emphasize. Although Elwyn F.
Sterling’s study in the beginning also notes the allegory of the plague, he further
discusses that his study is distinctive in the way that his study focuses not in the main
characters but on the “secondary characters” as they have lesser attention in other
Camus’ studies.25 For Sterling, it is interesting to note that Cottard, one of the secondary
characters, represents the antithesis of the revolt, the idea that Camus urges in the novel.
He believes that this kind of character serves a particular role in the chronicle.
Robert Zaretsky, “The Tragic Nostalgia of Albert Camus,” Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques,
Nostalgia in Modern France: Bright New Ideas about a Melancholy Subject, 39.3 (WINTER 2013): 5569.
25
Elwyn F. Sterling, “Albert Camus’ “La Peste”: Cottard’s Act of Madness.” College Literature 13.2
(1986): p. 177.
24
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In term of exile or alienation, Palumbo’s study discusses the comparison between
Camus’ and Sartre’s works, including Nausea, The Flies, The Devil and the Good Lord,
The Condemned of Altona, The Stranger, The Plague, and The Possessed. He highlights
the root of the existence of alienation on several characters of two writers. He believes
that there is a strong correlation between alienation and the abandonment of God as the
source of it.26 He affirms that Camus and Sartre are in agreement that the idea of God’s
absence condemns a man to his feeling of alienation, and the alienation suffered by their
characters is presented as both a sign and an impact of that absence.27
He further mentions that the characters’ failure in their relation to the figure of a
father causes the uneasy feeling of alienation. The characters analyzed in the study, he
adds, who most completely reject God are not only those who are most aware of their
alienation but are also those who most exhibit symptoms of alienation, since the
alienation between man, his fellows, and the world is the sign as well as the consequence
of man’s isolation from God.28
In the latter explanation, Palumbo’s study discusses one of the characters in The
Plague, Tarrou, who is an atheist and has a troubled relationship with his father.
Palumbo argues that the stories described by Tarrou represent the problematic relations
among individuals. This problematic situation drives the character to experience
complicated feeling by which it pushes the character to look into himself and further
positions himself in his role to the society. Palumbo’s study provides an illustration of
Camus’ perspective on the relation between God and human being. This is valuable in
Donald Palumbo, “The Crisis of Faith, Father-Son Ruptures, and Alienation-from-the-Self: Their
Interconnection in the Works of Sartre and Camus.” The South Central Bulletin 41.4 (1981): p. 104-107.
27
D. Palumbo, p. 104.
28
D. Palumbo, p. 104.
26
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analyzing the subjects of this study in terms of the position of God and religion in
affecting the motives of the characters in the novels.
David Stromberg problematizes Camus’ narrating style in The Plague. In the
beginning of the novel, the narrator mentions that he will keep the chronicle as objective
as possible by providing his personal account and data that come to him, the accounts
of other witnesses and any other documents.29 He argues that the narrator of the novel
betrays his principle of revealing his identity in the end of the story. However,
Stromberg believes that the narrator gives clues to the readers of who he is.30 This way,
Dr. Rieux’s narrative infringes on his own self-principles of chronicle composition:
objectivity, anonymity, and artlessness. Stromberg concludes that this ‘act of betrayal’
is not Camus’ fault, but indeed it is his success of his narrating style. This proves that
Camus’ works are fruitful for discussion, not only from the philosophical perspective
but also from the intrinsic elements of the works.
All of the studies mentioned above prove how deep Camus’ works are. They not
only serve as the description on the individual problems but also in a wider scope, the
social context of the works, how individual should look into oneself as well as to the
others. They also show how diverse the responses on Camus’ works that it is not only
appraisal but also critics.
This study presents the phenomenon that the social implementation of Camus’s
philosophy is not only limited to the European context or its colony like Algeria, but
29
Albert Camus, The Plague. Trans. Stuart Gilbert (New York: The Modern Library, 1948), p. 6: All
subsequent references to this work, abbreviated P, will be used in this thesis with pagination only.
30
David Stromberg, “Moral Reserve: Narrative Ethics and Aesthetic Principles in Camus’s “La Peste”.”
French Forum 39.1 (Winter 2014): 81-94.
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also opens up the possibility that its philosophy can be implemented in other parts of the
world, in this context, Indonesia.
2.1.2. The Studies on Simatupang’s Kering
The study on Indonesian literature is not widely distributed and well-documented.
It is rather difficult to find the records, although some researchers succeed in
documenting it or releasing it into a collection of articles or books. Some other studies
focus only the big names in Indonesian literature, such as Pramoedya Ananta Toer or
Chairil Anwar. However, there are some studies on Simatupang’s works which are still
possible to be accessed while the others are scattered in old magazines or newspapers
which already become rare nowadays. These studies more likely to expose the element
of newness which is considered as the main feature of Simatupang’s Kering.
Toda sees Simatupang as one of the pioneers of the New Novel movement in
Indonesia. He argues that Simatupang got the influence from Europe since he studies
there during his academic life. He believes that, on the era of the 1960s, the Nouveau
Roman gave big influence on Simatupang’s writing style.31 Although Toda realizes that
Simatupang tends to be included under the influence of existentialist and other wellknown authors (Sartre, Camus, Beckett, Dostoyevsky, and others)32, he analyzes
Simatupang’s works more on the intrinsic factors of the novel, such as the plot, the
character and theme rather than the philosophical elements of the novel.
31
32
D. N. Toda, p. 15.
See also Abdul Hadi W. M., “Iwan Simatupang dan Surat-suratnya: Kelahiran Novel Baru.” Korrie Layun
Rampan, Iwan Simatupang: Pembaharu Sastra Indonesia (Jakarta: Yayasan Arus, 1985), p. 46.
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One of the concerns of Toda’s analysis is on the struggle of the main character
(“Tokoh Kita”/Our Hero) on various things, against himself, against the natural disaster
and against the society. It is important to note that Toda highlights that the attitude of
the protagonist as the representation of protest and rebellion on the situation surrounding
him. The situations include the feeling that he feels on himself: pity, anxiety, fear,
ignorant, mortification, and indifferent.33 This is one of the characteristics of
Simatupang’s novels, as well as other two n
COVER PAGE
Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert
Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum)
in English Language Studies
by
Pratama Ahdi
146332036
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2019
i
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
A THESIS
Dealing with the Atrsurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camus'
Plugue and Iwan Simatupang's Kering
Paulus Sarwoto. S.S.. M.A.. Ph.D.
Thesis Advisor
4 Januaiy 2019
IIle
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
A THESIS
Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camus' The
Pl*gue and lwan
Chairperscn
:Dra.
Secretary
: Paulus
N,{ernber
Member
Dra. Th. Enny Anggsaini" Ph.D.
og-vakafta, 17 January 2019
Progran Director
Universir-v-
/
Budi
111
S
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that all the ideas, phrases, and sentences unless otherwise stated, are
the ideas, phrases and sentences of the thesis wdter. The writer understands the full
consequences including degree cancellation
if he took
somebody else's ideas, phrases or
sentences',vithout a proper reference.
Yogpakarta,
3l
Ahdi
iv
January 2019
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK
KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
.
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma,
Nama
Nomor
: Pratama
Ahdi
Mahasiswa : 146332036
Demi perkembangan pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas
Sanata Dharma kuryu
ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of Albert Camts' The
Plague and Iwan Simatupang's Kering
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian saya memberikan hak kepada
Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam media
lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikannya secara terbatas dan
mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu
meminta izin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama
mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Yolyakarta,
31
Pratam Ahdi
Ianraw 2019
tetap
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Allah The Most
Gracious and The Most Merciful.
I want to express deep gratitude, respect and appreciation to my thesis advisor, Paulus
Sarwoto, Ph.D., for his dedication, professional guidance and insightful advice throughout
the writing process of this thesis. My sincerest acknowledgements go to the board of
examiners: Novita Dewi, Ph.D., Sri Mulyani, Ph.D, and Th. Enny Anggraini, Ph.D. who
devoted their precious time to the reading and evaluation of this thesis. My heartfelt
acknowledgements also go to all lectures in the Graduate Program of English Language
Studies for their inspiring and passionate teaching throughout my master study.
I would like to thank my wife, Fahma, who always ask me to stop reading and start
writing. I would like to express thanks to my daughters, Nina and Jihan, for being my
greatest supporters. I also want to express gratitude to my mother for supporting me
through her prayers.
I am equally thankful to my faithful and reliable friends, especially in Literature class
batch 2014 (Mbak Teti, Mbak Rini, Dian, Anies, Adit, Indra, Ruly, Melan, and Anggie)
for providing valuable suggestions and moral supports.
To everyone in the office, Bu Sitta, Pak Toriq, Pak Wendy, Bu Daisy, Bu Dilla, Bu
Siti, Bu Nurul, and the staffs, thank you for making the place like a second home to me. I
would also like to send my gratitude to all my friends who always support me with great
books which I used during the writing process.
Last but not least, I would like to give my gratitude for those whom I cannot mention
individually, but surely this thesis could not be completed without their helps.
vi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PAGE OF DEDICATIONS
This thesis is dedicated to Fahma, whose arms are like home to me.
And also to Nina and Jihan, whose hugs are warmer than a thousand of suns.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE ..................................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGE ............................................................................................................ ii
DEFENCE APPROVAL PAGE ........................................................................................ iii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................................... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK
KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ............................................................................................. v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi
PAGE OF DEDICATIONS .............................................................................................. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ x
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.1.
Background of the Study ...................................................................................... 1
1.2.
Research Questions ............................................................................................ 11
1.3.
Objectives of the Study ...................................................................................... 11
1.4.
The Significance of the Study ............................................................................ 12
1.5.
Thesis Outline..................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER II ..................................................................................................................... 14
2.1.
Review of Related Studies ................................................................................. 14
2.1.1.
The Studies on Camus’ The Plague ............................................................ 15
2.1.2.
The Studies on Simatupang’s Kering .......................................................... 20
2.2.
Review of Related Theories ............................................................................... 23
2.2.1.
Absurdity or the Philosophy of the Absurd ................................................ 24
2.2.2.
The Problem with Death ............................................................................. 27
2.2.3.
Alienation .................................................................................................... 29
2.2.4.
Solidarity ..................................................................................................... 31
2.2.5.
Rebellion ..................................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER III.................................................................................................................... 35
3.1.
Extreme Contrast as the Ingredients of the Absurd ............................................ 35
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3.2. Alienation: The Separation from the Loved Ones, from Oneself and the Outside
World ............................................................................................................................ 42
3.2.1.
Individual Alienation ............................................................................... 43
3.2.2.
Collective Alienation ............................................................................... 48
3.3.
Disease, Disaster and Foot-Dragging Government ............................................ 52
3.4.
From Individual Death to Collective Death ....................................................... 58
CHAPTER IV ................................................................................................................... 64
4.1.
Embracing the Absurd ........................................................................................ 64
4.2.
Being Persistence in Living Life ........................................................................ 67
4.3.
Cultivating New Habits ...................................................................................... 70
4.4.
Building Solidarity to Form Collective Rebellion ............................................. 73
4.5.
Fighting with or without God ............................................................................. 78
CHAPTER V..................................................................................................................... 83
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 86
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ABSTRACT
Ahdi, Pratama. 2019. Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of
Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering. Yogyakarta: Program Pasca
Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
This study analyzes the forms of absurdity that appear in Camus’ work entitled The
Plague (1948) and the work of Simatupang entitled Kering (1985). In addition, this study
also investigates how the implementation of the concept of rebellion prescribed by Camus
used to deal with the absurd. Both of these novels illustrate how humans must face the
absurdity of life manifested in the form of disease and disaster. The novels do not only talk
about how difficult it is to live a life described by their characters who have to deal with
various forms of absurdity in a city that is alienated by diseases and transmigration areas
that have long suffered from drought. Both novels also illustrate how humans should act in
times of crisis caused by the disease and disaster.
This research rests on Camus’ concept of absurdity and rebellion. Both of these
concepts are found in the book by Camus The Myth of Sisyphus (1955) and The Rebel
(1956). The first book examines the definition of absurdity in Camus’s view. Whereas the
second is about the forms of rebellion that require the solidarity of the humans in conflict
in life.
To face absurdity in human life, they should not easily submit to despair or death.
According to Camus, humans should organize a rebellion against absurdity. This rebellion
might not work if humans only fought alone. Therefore, as a form of social coverage of the
principles and philosophy of Camus, solidarity is needed to be able to achieve a common
goal. This can be achieved when people realize that they have the same fate and cooperate
in their struggle to find the meaning of life, which is fighting against diseases and disasters.
This social scope of Camus’ philosophy is reflected in the struggles of the inhabitants of
Oran in fighting the disease in The Plague and the struggle of the citizens in Simatupang’s
Kering in fighting the drought.
Keywords:
absurdity, rebellion, solidarity, Albert Camus’ The Plague, Iwan
Simatupang’s Kering
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ABSTRAK
Ahdi, Pratama. 2019. Dealing with the Absurd through Rebellion: An Analysis of
Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan Simatupang’s Kering. Yogyakarta: Program Pasca
Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini menganalisis bentuk-bentuk absurditas yang muncul dalam karya
Camus yang berjudul The Plague (1948) dan karya Simatupang yang berjudul Kering
(1985). Selain itu, penelitian ini juga menginvestigasi bagaimana implementasi dari konsep
pemberontakan yang diusulkan oleh Camus digunakan untuk bergelut dengan absurditas.
Kedua novel ini menggambarkan bagaimana manusia harus dihadapkan kepada absurditas
hidup yang dimanifestasikan dalam bentuk penyakit dan bencana. Novel-novel tersebut
tidak hanya berbicara tentang bagaimana susahnya menjalani kehidupan yang
digambarkan oleh karakter-karaternya yang harus berhadapan dengan berbagai bentuk
absurditas dalam keadaan kota yang teralienasi oleh penyakit dan area transmigrasi yang
terserang kekeringan panjang, namun novel ini juga memberikan gambaran bagaimana
manusia seharusnya bersikap dalam masa genting yang diakibatkan oleh penyakit dan
bencana tersebut.
Penelitian ini berpijak pada konsep Camus tentang absurditas dan pemberontakan.
Kedua konsep ini terdapat dalam buku karya Camus The Myth of Sisyphus (1991) dan The
Rebel (1956). Buku yang pertama mengupas definisi absurditas menurut pandangan
Camus. Sedangkan yang kedua tentang bagaimana bentuk-bentuk pemberontakan yang
membutuhkan solidaritas dari manusia-manusia yang berkonflik dalam hidup.
Untuk menghadapi absurditas dalam kehidupan manusia, mereka hendaknya tak
dengan mudah berserah diri kepada keputusasaan atau kematian. Menurut Camus, manusia
hendaknya menggelorakan pemberontakan terhadap absurditas. Pemberontakan ini
mungkin tak akan berhasil jika manusia hanya berjuang seorang diri. Maka dari itu, sebagai
bentuk cakupan sosial dari prinsip dan filosofi Camus, maka solidaritas dibutuhkan untuk
bisa mencapai tujuan bersama. Hal ini bisa tercapai saat manusia menyadari bahwa mereka
memiliki nasib yang sama dan bekerjasama dalam perjuangan mereka menemukan arti
hidup, yaitu berjuang melawan penyakit dan bencana. Cakupan sosial dari filosofi Camus
ini tergambar dalam perjuangan para penduduk di Kota Oran dalam memerangi penyakit
dalam The Plague dan perjuangan para penduduk kota di novel Kering karya Simatupang
dalam memerangi kekeringan.
Kata Kunci: absurditas, pemberontakan, solidaritas, Albert Camus’ The Plague, Iwan
Simatupang’s Kering
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
… [W]hat is absurd is the confrontation of the irrational and the longing for clarity whose call
echoes in the human heart.
-- Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
Anyone in the world can experience the absurd condition. A worker in an
office may have struggled the entire month. He pushes himself, gives his best effort
and works extending the working hours with an expectation of having extra income.
However, at the end of the month, no one appreciates his works. There is no
compliment from the boss, and the overtime salary transferred to his bank account
is beyond his expectation or, even worse, there is no extra salary at all. On the other
part of the world, one journalist may put his biggest effort to write a news about an
ongoing war. He may risk his life for an accountable report. He does it in the red
zone to try to keep it as accurate as possible. He does it all with the expectation that
his report becomes the headline in the newspaper company where he works and it
can be considered as one of his biggest achievements of working in a war zone. In
short, in the due time, there is no space for his news in the front page, or even in
one of the headlines in the newspaper. Other journalist might be given space in the
headline with more selling infotainment. At worst, he even gets shot to death in his
journey back home. Another example is that, in one hand, not a few teachers whose
job is considered noble in the development of education in Indonesia, living in a
sad condition, underpaid and forced to live in insufficiency despite their
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contribution to the country. On the other hand, people who have a lesser
contribution (or even none) live in prosperity and prosperous condition. Celebrities
and corrupt politicians unreasonably got a very high payment. This is considered
irrational. Things happened beyond human’s expectation. The world gives no
response to human’s expectation. All of these are usually called as an absurd
condition.
Up to this point, individuals may think that life is meaningless. There is no
advantage of doing one’s best effort in life. They might think that what is the point
of doing their best if, in the end, the result is beyond their expectation. What if then
life has no meaning at all? What if that the meaning of life cannot be understood by
a human? They may start to think of coming into despair or even to commit suicide.
They may start to question the meaning of their life in the world.
To study this kind of phenomenon, philosophy can be used as one of the
approaches. One of the branches of philosophy closely related to this phenomena is
existentialism since one of its themes is finding the meaning of life under the
umbrella of the relation between human being and the world. Existentialism is
believed to rise based on the works of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche.
The invention of the term “existentialism” itself is later closely related to Gabriel
Marcel.1 At first, this school of philosophy was initiated as a response to the
Hegelian philosophy. As Hegelian philosophy strongly believes in reason, the
existentialism is against it. Existentialism claims that such belief in reason is itself
1
Nicholas Bunnin and Jiyuan Yu, The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy (Victoria: Blackwell
Publishing Ltd, 2004), p. 238.
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irrational and rejects all purely abstract thinking. As a replacement for abstraction,
it embraces that philosophy should “deal with the lives and experiences of
individuals and their historical situations”.2 The theme of existentialism study
varied in many ways which include freedom, authenticity, death, meaning of life,
alienation and others. However, as the study keeps on developing, the point of
emphasizing becomes varied.
As the existentialism movement developed, there are several branches of the
movement which are well known: theistic existentialism, atheistic existentialism,
and so on. This diverse development of existentialism shaped renowned theorists,
such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and others. Some writers or
philosophers reject the label of being an existentialist, one of which is Albert
Camus. Although Camus’ writings deal with the struggle of human being in
questioning the meaning of life, he rejects the label of being an existentialist.
However, he describes himself more like an absurdist since he believes that the
focus of his writings, fiction or non-fiction, discusses the form of absurdities in
human life. Therefore, this Camus’ concept is usually called The Philosophy of the
Absurd.
There are some general misconceptions on the concept offered by Camus.
Some believe that dealing with Camus means that it will lead to pessimism,
nihilism, despair, committing suicide, or others. On the other hand, discussing
Camus and his works does not mean a thing in vain. Camus’ concept becomes very
contextual in the discussion today. Camus, indeed, discusses absurdity but he does
2
N. Bunnin & Yu, p. 238.
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not end the discussion at only that point. He proposes more on the optimism of
accepting the absurd, how to live life than to end it, rejecting despair, and
encouraging human’s independence. These are probably caused by his longing for
his background, of living in occupied Algiers, of his love to beach and summer, of
love and life and his admiration on Greek mythology, especially Sisyphus and
Prometheus.
If we refer back to the definition of ‘absurd’ that was initiated by Camus, as
a state in which human being did not meet their expectations in reality/life, then this
kind of phenomenon is similar to the condition which happens in Indonesia. It is
because the search for the meaning of life is very often discussed by Camus. As a
follow up of the opposition (resistance) or the struggles in facing life which is full
of absurdity, human should not give up. To Camus, the meeting with the absurd
situation, the struggle of a human being to live just begins. It is in line with the
Camus’ idea that the realization that life is absurd cannot be an end itself but only
a beginning.3
Camus was born in a poor family on 7 November 1913 in Mondovi, a small
town in eastern Algeria. He was inherited with the label of pied-noir, a Frenchman
born in the colony and whose family had lived there for several generations. The
descendants of Lucien Camus (1885-1914), which is Camus’ father, were early
immigrants from the region around Bordeaux. The family of Catherine Helene
Sintes (1882-1960), Camus’ mother, came from Minorca and settled in Algeria in
3
Albert Camus, Lyrical and Critical Essay. Ed. Philip Thody. Trans. Ellen Conroy Kennedy (New York:
Vintage Books, 1970), p. 201.
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about 1840.4 Although hardly knowledgeable, Camus’ father had an accountable
position with a wine company, supervising a number of Arab workers who
harvested the grapes. He served in the First Zouaves (soldiers in the French
services) in 1906 in Morocco, and in 1914 was called back into service. 5 Sent to
France, he was one of the first men to be wounded in the Battle of the Marne and
died 11 October 1914.
The death of his father forced Camus’ family to live within the financial
limitations. In May 1920, Camus and his brother Lucien acquire the official status
of pupilles de la nation or war orphans. It is something that forces his mother
working and causes Camus to have difficulty in accessing books and knowledge.
However, it is the bitterness of life that inspired Camus in his philosophical works.
Camus was accepted into Lycée Bugeaud in 1923 and eventually admitted to study
in University of Algiers. Camus had fallen in love with football until at one point
the other bitter reality struck. It is when he was convicted of tuberculosis and had
to retire early from the sport he loved.
After the disaster, he wrote more often. He is deeply inspired by great writers
such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Franz Kafka. Luckily his teachers, including two
of Camus’ early teachers Louis Germain and Jean Grenier, always lead him to keep
learning to write. Writing is something that leads him to various jobs until he is
entrusted to hold an editorial in one of influential left-wing papers, Alger
Republicain in cooperation with Pascal Pia. His involvement in journalism then
4
5
Adele King, Camus (London: Haus Publishing Ltd, 2010), p. 5.
A. King, p. 5.
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develops from here. Later, Camus also involves in other journalism, including
influential underground newspaper Combat which opposes German occupation in
France. From here he can further explore his interest in everything, especially on
the dark side of human life along with his rebellious ways, as well as his form of
political attitude whether it is about his perspective on the struggle of the oppressed
people in Algiers or the German occupation in France.
One of Camus’ most famous writings which makes him identical with the
concept of Absurdism and closer to the discussion of existentialism is The Myth of
Sisyphus. Sisyphus, whom he took from Greek legend, became his agent, as well as
his hero, in conveying the philosophical concept of Absurdism. Sisyphus, the King
of Corinth, is known as someone who really loves life and the warm sunshine, and
he hates death. One day he planned to distract the plan of the gods by holding Hades
as a hostage, the god of the death and the underworld, automatically it makes no
one die. Ares, the god of war, is obviously outraged by what Sisyphus has done.
Ares threatens to repress him for all eternity unless he releases Hades. Sisyphus
finally succumbs and releases Hades from the underworld. The wrathful gods then
punished Sisyphus for rolling rocks from the hilltop and then carrying them back to
the top. Then roll it again. It goes on endlessly. In one point of view, it is clear that
what the gods call is a futile act. However, it is not so with Camus. What he saw
from Sisyphus was an act of rebellion that, in a time in which he managed to carry
the stone up to the peak and at a time before the boulder rolled away, Sisyphus felt
successful since he was, which is so important, fully conscious of what he was
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doing. In this way, he is considered to successfully rebel against the will of the gods.
Therefore, according to Camus people should imagine Sisyphus happy.
From the concept of Sisyphus and this absurdity, the works of Camus stand.
Starting from The Stranger, The Plague, The Fall, and other works. The works tell
the story of human life and the absurd world. Not only does it stop at the
conversation of an encounter with an absurd world, but Camus also suggests, even
semi-coerced, that humans fight this state. It is the situation where life appears as
something without meaning. According to Camus, understand that life is without
meaning is just the beginning. Camus believes that the artists/writers should be
agents because by using to the medium of literature, writers have the ability and
also the obligation to ‘encourage’ readers in living life, even without meaning.
The question that always comes up when discussing Albert Camus is how
contextual the discussion of Camus and his works, in this modern time. Discussing
Camus would be very still contextual when we talk about his way of thinking, which
is not only philosophical but also political. Orme & Margerisson argue that:
Yet, whatever their changing nature, the challenges facing the modern
world point up the relevance of those moral, social and political
questions with which Camus grappled during his lifetime: the extent to
which, in revolutionary justice, the end justifies the means; the
challenges facing the new international order; how best to establish a
moral response to nihilism; reconciling the requirements of morality
with those of politics; and the relationship between individual freedom,
State interest and the exercise of power. All these issues shaped
Camus’s thinking over half a century ago and continue to inform the
collective psyche at the beginning of the twenty-first century.6
6
Christine Margerrison, Mark Orme and Lissa Lincoln, Albert Camus in the 21st Century: A Reassessment
of his Thinking at the Dawn of the New Millennium (New York: Rodopi, 2008), p. 13.
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Further, the contextualization of Camus’ concept to the condition of modern
human being is without a doubt. Justin O’Brien says that reading and understanding
Camus is urgent. He mentions that Camus’ writings illuminates “the problems of
the human conscience in our time” other than providing moral guidance to the
postwar generation.7 Herbert Read also mentions that Camus brings “hope” to the
human being as he brings the “confidence again in man and in the future” as they
have been through the age of anxiety, despair, and nihilism.8
Although Camus never discusses or talks about Indonesia, to some extents it
is still considered contextual. As stated by Goenawan Mohamad, he is not a thinker
and writer who deals with the passion and the cornered condition of humans in the
Third World, except his encounter with the unfortunate situation of colonial
Algeria.9 There is possibility for some people not to have interest in discussing this
because to discuss Camus means to merely discuss philosophy, morals, and
exhausting search of the meaning of life. However, to discuss Camus means to
discuss absurdity which means it is considered to be still relevant until today. It
crosses the boundary of time and space. Anyone and anytime people can have the
‘opportunity’ to meet the absurd. Therefore, to make it close to the context of
Indonesia, this study will compare Camus’ The Plague (1948) with one of
Indonesian literary works, Iwan Simatupang’s Kering (1972). This work is chosen
because of its similarities as well as differences in the discussion of absurdity and
Justin O’Brien in the Introduction of Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death. Trans. Justin
O’Brien (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), p. v.
8
Herbert Read in the Foreword for Albert Camus, The Rebel. Trans. Anthony Bower (New York: Vintage,
1956), p. 7.
9
Goenawan Mohamad in the Introduction for Albert Camus, Krisis Kebebasan. Trans. Edhi Martono
(Jakarta: Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia, 2013), p. vi.
7
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the way to confront it. In addition, the Simatupang’s encounter with the West,
specifically France (with Sartre, Camus, and Alain Robbe-Grillet), strengthens the
possibility for both works to have something in common to discuss.
Camus’ The Plague is chosen since it is considered as one of his masterpieces
enhanced by the manifestation of Camus’ concept of the Absurd and rebellion. The
Plague is written in 1947. It is believed that the work is the allegory of the Nazi
occupation in France as well as a reflection of his separation from his wife due to
his illness.10 11 12 It is interesting to consider that the details of the novel contain the
excerpt of Camus’ other works such as The Stranger and Neither Victims nor
Executioners. The Plague tells about the struggle of Bernard Rieux, a doctor, along
with other friends in a time of pestilence which takes place in the city of Oran,
Algiers. In the novel, Camus tries to carry the message of humanity, love, and
solidarity through the confrontation with the Absurd. It also introduces several
Camus’ concepts in the Philosophy of the Absurd including the absurd itself, exile
and also rebellion. The characters in the novel not only have to struggle to save
themselves from the deadly impacts of the plague, but they also have to battle with
their inner self in regard to some individual issues of hope, love, religion, and social
goals.
In tandem with Camus’ The Plague, Simatupang’s Kering is chosen because
it is considered to have the elements of the Absurd as mentioned by Camus. Not
only that, but Kering also contains the mechanism of confronting the Absurd as
Conor Cruise O’Brien, Camus. Ed. Frank Kermode (London: Fontana/Collins, 1974), p. 33-34.
John Foley, Albert Camus: From the Absurd to Revolt (Stocksfield: Acumen, 2008), p. 50.
12
Mme Jacqueline Bernard. “The Background of The Plague: Albert Camus’ Experience in the French
Resistance.” Kentucky Romance Quarterly 14.2 (1967): p.165.
10
11
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reflected throughout the story. The educational background of Simatupang, who
has studied in Europe, especially Netherland, France, and Belgium, has the
tendency to support the possibility that the literary movement during that time
influence the works of the author, even though the production/publication of the
works took place in his native country, Indonesia during 1960-70s. Dami N. Toda
associates Simatupang’s works with The New Novel for they tend to have the
characteristics which are different from the novels in the era (the 1960s).13 Toda
sees that the influence of the French literary movement really shows its impact on
Simatupang’s works.
Simatupang’s Kering tells about the story of a transmigrant who struggles
with the extreme condition of drought in which he inhabited. This novel is
categorized in the Nouveau Roman (new novel/novel baru), a term coined by Emile
Henriot.14 Alain Robbe-Grillet, a French writer and filmmaker, becomes one of the
most influential writer of this type of novel. He was one of the most frequently
discussed related to the Nouveau Roman, a trend which takes place in the 1960s.
The Nouveau Roman is described as vigorously attacked the assumption that in the
novel someone narrates someone’s story and provides a narrative interpretation of
the world15. The Nouveau Roman replaces individual characters with ‘a banal he,
anonymous and transparent, the simple subject of the action expressed by the verb’.
In addition, Simatupang’s Kering also empowers Nouveau Roman’s method of
13
Dami N Toda, Novel Baru Iwan Simatupang (Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya, 1984), p. 12.
Émile Henriot. “LA JALOUSIE, d’Alain Robbe-Grillet TROPISMES, de Nathalie Sarraute.” Le Monde.
22 May 1957.
15
Hanna Meretoja, The Narrative Turn in Fiction and Theory: The Crisis and Return of Storytelling from
Robbe-Grillet to Tournier (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 31.
14
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narration which is called the antinarrative aesthetics–a poetics that emphasizes
textual construction, the exploration of new literary forms and the reader’s critical
engagement with the assumptions underlying the view of the novel as a mode of
storytelling.16
1.2. Research Questions
Based on the background of the problem discussed on the previous point, the
research questions which can be formulated are:
1. What kinds of absurdity are found in Albert Camus’ The Plague and Iwan
Simatupang’s Kering?
2. How is rebellion prescribed by Camus used to confront absurdity as reflected
in both novels?
1.3. Objectives of the Study
This research is conducted with the aim to read Camus’ The Plague and
Simatupang’s Kering under the light of Camus’ Philosophy of the Absurd and other
supported theory. The objective of this research is to identify the forms of absurdity
and how to confront with it as reflected in Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s
Kering. As the title suggests, this study does not only talk about the disease, but
also the cure. It does not only stop at describing the forms of absurdity but also
elaborate the ways to confront absurdity. It is done that way to encourage a kind of
optimism in the context of today’s condition. In addition, the research tries to prove
16
H. Meretoja, p. 31.
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that the concept formulated and condition described by Camus is not only applied
in the context of France or Algiers but also applicable in other parts of the world,
in this case Indonesia.
1.4. The Significance of the Study
The significance of this research is that by analyzing various forms of
absurdity as well as the way to confront it through rebellion, in The Plague and
Kering, it contributes to individual self-awareness in smaller scope and also makes
people to recognize the importance of building solidarity in the time of the absurd.
It is believed that the first thing to be aware of is the need for being selfconscious that the absurd exists so that people start to think how to confront that
situation. It does not only stop at that point, but people also have to realize, in line
with Camus’ way of thinking, that they do not only experience the condition by
themselves but there are other people experiencing the similar condition. In this
way, people are expected to raise their collective consciousness and start to build
their solidarity in confronting the absurd which can befall at any time and anywhere.
1.5. Thesis Outline
This study divides the discussion into five chapters. The first chapter is the
introduction, which discusses the background of the study, research questions,
objectives of the study, significance of the study, and the thesis outline. The second
chapter consists of a review of related studies conducted on the two novels under
discussion and related theories which can contribute to this study, especially on the
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discussion of the absurd. The third chapter reveals the forms of absurdities found in
Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s Kering. The fourth chapter discusses the
ways to deal with the absurdity. The last chapter is the conclusion of the study.
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CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
The previous chapter discusses the background of the study that includes the
research questions, objectives of the study, significant of the study and thesis outline. In
this section, the focus of the chapter is to discuss the summary of several previous
studies related to Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s Kering. In addition, this chapter
will also provide the description of related theories used in analyzing both of the literary
works.
2.1. Review of Related Studies
Camus and Simatupang can be considered as two prominent writers from their
respective countries. Camus possesses several factors which cause him to be categorized
as one of the most influential writers in literature. His works are rich in intrinsic elements
to observe, in terms of the theme of love, death, morality, and solidarity; the character
with round characteristics with diverse conflicts; the philosophical concept which put
him into controversy among existentialist writers/philosophers; the types of symbolism
used to deliver different type of message to his readers; the social critics which lead
people not to recognize but to act accordingly, and so on. It is no wonder that Camus
was granted Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. Because of this richness of elements,
Camus’ works have sparked many scholars to conduct researches.
In Indonesia, Simatupang’s works bring new colors in Indonesian literature. It is
also important to note that he does not only write novels or short stories, but also play,
essay, and poems. His works were published in either publishers or also magazines
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locally or in other countries, such as Siasat, Konfrontasi, Zenith, Sastra, De Groene
Amsterdammer, De Nieuwsgier, Gadjah Mada and others.17
To make it in line with the background of this study, this section elaborates several
related studies related to the works of Camus’ The Plague and Simatupang’s Kering.
The discussion of these related studies is expected to give a contribution to this study.
2.1.1. The Studies on Camus’ The Plague
One of the most commonly discussed issues dealing with Camus’ The Plague is
its analogy between the plague (in the novel) as the real disease or the occupation of
Nazi German on France.
One of the discussions is offered by Madame Jacqueline Bernard, who provides a
very vivid description or evidence related to the symbolization of the plague as “the kind
of imprisonment” representing German occupation on France.18 She further provides a
lot of justifications in relation to Camus from a personal point of view during the French
Resistance.
By using the experience of personal relation to Camus, Bernard argues and gives
a convincing justification. She also relates the condition which is really happened during
the German occupation with the comparison to what happened in the novel. She gives
an example, that prior to the writing of The Plague, Camus gathers many materials
related to medical and historical sources to support his writing as well as from Defoe’s
Journal of the Plague Year.19
17
D. N. Toda, p. 98.
M.J. Bernard, p. 165.
19
M.J. Bernard, p. 165.
18
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O’Brien is in line with Bernard on the belief that The Plague is the allegory of
those historical events involving France and German by referring to Camus’ real
experience that the writing of the work is based on his separation with his wife and the
result of Allied landings. The Plague is the way Camus represents the experience of
occupation and resistance.20
Foley also believes that Camus’ The Plague is an allegory of the Nazis deadly
occupation in France. He further connects that the name La Peste (Original French title
of The Plague) is closely related with the term la peste brune (French phrase referring
to the Nazis).21 However, further, he also relates this allegory with the reference to the
criticisms from Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir on The Plague. He notes that
the two philosophers criticize Camus’ failure to situate the “plague” in a historical or
political context, thereby implicitly positing the plague as “natural”.22 It is true that
Camus regards the plague as a natural disaster rather than “historical or political” plague
as suggested by Sartre and de Beauvoir.
Amy L. Hubbell argues that, in the case of The Plague, Camus writes a tragic
nostalgia of the country where he was born rather than historical allegory of the Nazi
occupation in France. She believes that the French writer tries to capture the image of
Oran, Algeria through the perspective of a pied-noir. Hubbell illustrates that The Plague
is the fictional illustration of Oran during the devastating cholera in September 1849 in
which the disease killed more than 1,100 people.23 She illustrates that, after the number
J. O’Brien, p. 34.
J. Foley, p. 50.
22
J. Foley, p. 50.
23
Amy L. Hubbell, “Accumulating Algeria: Recurrent images in Pied-Noir visual works,” Framing French
Culture. Ed. Ben McCann, Peter Poiana Natalie Edwards. University of Adelaide Press, 2015, p. 209227.
20
21
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of victims increased, the community began making processions up the mountain,
praying in front of the statue of Virgin Mary, and asking her to take pity on them. Rain
fell that night, as a miracle, breaking the heatwave that had spurred the epidemic.
Bizarrely, this is the opposite of what happens in the novel. There is a possibility that
Camus wants to take this issue as a criticism toward religion. In line with Hubbell,
Robert Zaretsky also believes that The Plague is the portrayal of post war French
Algeria, in which the country was devastated by the war and violence and threated by
the possibility of civil war between the pied-noir and Arab and Berber populations.24
These studies on the allegory and nostalgia can contribute in providing the
historical background or the creation process of Camus in writing the novel although
this study does not measure or provide further justification of which event is actually
symbolized by the novel because it is under the light of different approach.
Other studies have another different point to emphasize. Although Elwyn F.
Sterling’s study in the beginning also notes the allegory of the plague, he further
discusses that his study is distinctive in the way that his study focuses not in the main
characters but on the “secondary characters” as they have lesser attention in other
Camus’ studies.25 For Sterling, it is interesting to note that Cottard, one of the secondary
characters, represents the antithesis of the revolt, the idea that Camus urges in the novel.
He believes that this kind of character serves a particular role in the chronicle.
Robert Zaretsky, “The Tragic Nostalgia of Albert Camus,” Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques,
Nostalgia in Modern France: Bright New Ideas about a Melancholy Subject, 39.3 (WINTER 2013): 5569.
25
Elwyn F. Sterling, “Albert Camus’ “La Peste”: Cottard’s Act of Madness.” College Literature 13.2
(1986): p. 177.
24
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In term of exile or alienation, Palumbo’s study discusses the comparison between
Camus’ and Sartre’s works, including Nausea, The Flies, The Devil and the Good Lord,
The Condemned of Altona, The Stranger, The Plague, and The Possessed. He highlights
the root of the existence of alienation on several characters of two writers. He believes
that there is a strong correlation between alienation and the abandonment of God as the
source of it.26 He affirms that Camus and Sartre are in agreement that the idea of God’s
absence condemns a man to his feeling of alienation, and the alienation suffered by their
characters is presented as both a sign and an impact of that absence.27
He further mentions that the characters’ failure in their relation to the figure of a
father causes the uneasy feeling of alienation. The characters analyzed in the study, he
adds, who most completely reject God are not only those who are most aware of their
alienation but are also those who most exhibit symptoms of alienation, since the
alienation between man, his fellows, and the world is the sign as well as the consequence
of man’s isolation from God.28
In the latter explanation, Palumbo’s study discusses one of the characters in The
Plague, Tarrou, who is an atheist and has a troubled relationship with his father.
Palumbo argues that the stories described by Tarrou represent the problematic relations
among individuals. This problematic situation drives the character to experience
complicated feeling by which it pushes the character to look into himself and further
positions himself in his role to the society. Palumbo’s study provides an illustration of
Camus’ perspective on the relation between God and human being. This is valuable in
Donald Palumbo, “The Crisis of Faith, Father-Son Ruptures, and Alienation-from-the-Self: Their
Interconnection in the Works of Sartre and Camus.” The South Central Bulletin 41.4 (1981): p. 104-107.
27
D. Palumbo, p. 104.
28
D. Palumbo, p. 104.
26
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analyzing the subjects of this study in terms of the position of God and religion in
affecting the motives of the characters in the novels.
David Stromberg problematizes Camus’ narrating style in The Plague. In the
beginning of the novel, the narrator mentions that he will keep the chronicle as objective
as possible by providing his personal account and data that come to him, the accounts
of other witnesses and any other documents.29 He argues that the narrator of the novel
betrays his principle of revealing his identity in the end of the story. However,
Stromberg believes that the narrator gives clues to the readers of who he is.30 This way,
Dr. Rieux’s narrative infringes on his own self-principles of chronicle composition:
objectivity, anonymity, and artlessness. Stromberg concludes that this ‘act of betrayal’
is not Camus’ fault, but indeed it is his success of his narrating style. This proves that
Camus’ works are fruitful for discussion, not only from the philosophical perspective
but also from the intrinsic elements of the works.
All of the studies mentioned above prove how deep Camus’ works are. They not
only serve as the description on the individual problems but also in a wider scope, the
social context of the works, how individual should look into oneself as well as to the
others. They also show how diverse the responses on Camus’ works that it is not only
appraisal but also critics.
This study presents the phenomenon that the social implementation of Camus’s
philosophy is not only limited to the European context or its colony like Algeria, but
29
Albert Camus, The Plague. Trans. Stuart Gilbert (New York: The Modern Library, 1948), p. 6: All
subsequent references to this work, abbreviated P, will be used in this thesis with pagination only.
30
David Stromberg, “Moral Reserve: Narrative Ethics and Aesthetic Principles in Camus’s “La Peste”.”
French Forum 39.1 (Winter 2014): 81-94.
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also opens up the possibility that its philosophy can be implemented in other parts of the
world, in this context, Indonesia.
2.1.2. The Studies on Simatupang’s Kering
The study on Indonesian literature is not widely distributed and well-documented.
It is rather difficult to find the records, although some researchers succeed in
documenting it or releasing it into a collection of articles or books. Some other studies
focus only the big names in Indonesian literature, such as Pramoedya Ananta Toer or
Chairil Anwar. However, there are some studies on Simatupang’s works which are still
possible to be accessed while the others are scattered in old magazines or newspapers
which already become rare nowadays. These studies more likely to expose the element
of newness which is considered as the main feature of Simatupang’s Kering.
Toda sees Simatupang as one of the pioneers of the New Novel movement in
Indonesia. He argues that Simatupang got the influence from Europe since he studies
there during his academic life. He believes that, on the era of the 1960s, the Nouveau
Roman gave big influence on Simatupang’s writing style.31 Although Toda realizes that
Simatupang tends to be included under the influence of existentialist and other wellknown authors (Sartre, Camus, Beckett, Dostoyevsky, and others)32, he analyzes
Simatupang’s works more on the intrinsic factors of the novel, such as the plot, the
character and theme rather than the philosophical elements of the novel.
31
32
D. N. Toda, p. 15.
See also Abdul Hadi W. M., “Iwan Simatupang dan Surat-suratnya: Kelahiran Novel Baru.” Korrie Layun
Rampan, Iwan Simatupang: Pembaharu Sastra Indonesia (Jakarta: Yayasan Arus, 1985), p. 46.
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One of the concerns of Toda’s analysis is on the struggle of the main character
(“Tokoh Kita”/Our Hero) on various things, against himself, against the natural disaster
and against the society. It is important to note that Toda highlights that the attitude of
the protagonist as the representation of protest and rebellion on the situation surrounding
him. The situations include the feeling that he feels on himself: pity, anxiety, fear,
ignorant, mortification, and indifferent.33 This is one of the characteristics of
Simatupang’s novels, as well as other two n