David Lurie : representation of Western hegemony in J.M. Coetzee`s disgrace - USD Repository
DAVID LURIE: REPRESENTATION OF WESTERN
HEGEMONY IN J.M. COETZEE’S DISGRACE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
EKA DINA DIANTY SUWANDI
Student Number: 014214044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge; Fool despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1 : 7)
The struggle for survival dictated that the strong, or those best at imposing their power, were deserving of hegemony. (Elleke Boehmer) This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to My Elohim My late father My beloved mother
My sister, Nova
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank My God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ for His love, His mercy and His grace. I know that He will never leave me.
I would like to express my best gratitude to my advisor, Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M. Hum. During my thesis writing process, he was wonderfully encouraging and always open to questions and requests for help. I am also indebted to my co- advisor, Adventina Putranti, S. S., M. Hum., who has become inspiring reader, all the English Letters Department lecturers, all the secretariat staff, and the library staff for their guidance and help during my study.
I would also like to thank my family, my beloved mother and my sister. I thank my mother for her endless pray, patience and support, and my sister for her deep understanding and humour. I am grateful to Uncle Yuram and his family, Uncle Wagino and his family, Mr. Petrus Ponidjo and his family, Mr. Wisnu Wardhana and his family, and Mr. Sardjono and his family for their excellent helps when I am down. I should also like to remember the advice and support I have been privileged to receive from Mba Thira, Vera, Rita, Debby, Kak Daisy, Mba Parmi, Erick Singam, Kak Lelo, and Kak Bobo.
I am deeply indebted to Sistha, Dian, Nana, Santi, Hayu, Galih, Dita, Mila, Budi, Maggie, Ririn, Yeni and others for a wonderful friendship in English Letters Department. And finally, my gratitude is to all of my best friends in Central Borneo Dormitory, and all of my friends in Impact Ministry. I hope our friendship will last forever.
Eka Dina D.S.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………….. i APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ………………………………...………………... iii MOTTO PAGE ...……………………………………………………….... iv DEDICATION PAGE ...…………………………………………………. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………….... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………… vii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………… ix ABSTRAK ……………………………………………………………….. x
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ………………………………………. 1
A. Background of the Study …………………………………….. 1 B. Problem Formulation …………….…………………………... 4 C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………. 4 D. Definition of Terms ………………………………………….. 4CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW …………………………… 7
A. Review of Related Studies …………………………………… 7 B. Review of Related Theories ………………………………….. 101. Theory of Character and Characterization ..………….. 10
2. Theory of Postcolonialism …………………………… 12
3. Theory on Representation ……………………………. 15
4. Theory on Western Hegemony ………………………. 16
C. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………. 16
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ……………………………………. 18
A. Object of the Study …………………………………………... 18 B. Approach ……………………………...……………………… 19 C. Method of the Study … ……………………………………..... 20CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS …………………………………………….. 22
A. The General Qualities of David Lurie ………………………. 221. Intellectual …………………………………………… 22
2. Attractive …………………………………………….. 25
3. Confident …………………………………………….. 26
4. Authoritative …………………………………………. 28
5. White ………………………………………………..... 29
6. Superior ………...…………………………………….. 30
7. Arrogant …………………………………………….... 33
8. Old ...………………………………………………..... 34
9. Male ………………………………………………….. 35
10. Stubborn …...………………………………………..... 35
B. David Lurie’s qualities as the representation of the coloniser’s qualities………………………………………………………. 37
1. Superior ………………………………………………. 38
2. Educated ……………………………………………... 42
3. Oppressive …………………………………… ……… 44
4. Disdainful …………………………………………….. 47
C. The Depiction of Western Hegemony through David Lurie …. 50
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION …………………………………………. 60
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………. 63 APPENDICES …………………………………………………………..65 Appendix 1 ………………………………………………………..
65 Appendix 2 ………………………………………………………..
67
ABSTRACT
EKA DINA DIANTY SUWANDI (2008). David Lurie: Representation of
Western Hegemony in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.The Eurocentric view is constructed to glorify the superiority of the European people over the others. Certainly, it needs power and excellent position in the society to promote and maintain this view. The effort to promote and maintain the Eurocentric view is clearly depicted through David Lurie in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace, as the object of the study discussed here. The notion that European is superior to the local people gives contribution in creating the main character named David Lurie, a fifty-two-year-old European man. This thesis tries to analyse how David’s character can be an effective vehicle to revealing western hegemony.
This thesis presents three problems to be discussed and analysed. The first problem is how David Lurie’s general qualities are described in the novel. The second is how David Lurie’s qualities represents the qualities of the coloniser. The last is how western hegemony is depicted through the representation of David Lurie’s qualities.
This thesis is conducted by using the library research method. The writer collects all the related data and other supporting references from the library and the internet. Since the writer concerns with the study of western hegemony that influences the creation of David Lurie as the main character, the postcolonial approach will be suitable to analyse the problems.
From the analysis, the writer concludes that the character of David Lurie can be seen as the representation of western hegemony through his qualities and his profession. In other words, he is created as the European lecturer and a white man to highlight the fact that he is the superior and powerful one in the society. The way David Lurie promotes and maintains his power and superiority is considered as the depiction of western hegemony itself. Therefore, the character of David Lurie is a kind of discourse that needs to be discussed and analysed, in order to know and understand the way western hegemony works.
ABSTRAK
EKA DINA DIANTY SUWANDI (2008). David Lurie: Representation of
Western Hegemony in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.Pandangan Eurocentric dibentuk untuk mempromosikan superioritas orang-orang Eropa pada masyarakat luas. Tentu kekuasaan dan posisi yang terbaik dalam masyarakat diperlukan untuk mempromosikan dan mempertahankan pandangan ini. Usaha untuk mempromosikan dan mempertahankan pandangan ini jelas digambarkan melalui David Lurie dalam novel karya J. M. Coetzee yang berjudul Disgrace, sebagai objek penelitian yang didiskusikan di sini. Ide bahwa orang Eropa superior terhadap orang-orang lokal memberi kontribusi dalam penciptaan karakter utama yang bernama David Lurie, seorang pria tua berbangsa Eropa yang berusia lima puluh dua tahun. Skripsi ini berusaha untuk menganalisis bagaimana karakter David dapat digunakan sebagai alat yang efektif untuk menunjukkan hegemoni barat.
Skripsi ini menampilkan tiga permasalahan untuk didiskusikan dan dianalisis. Masalah pertama adalah bagaimana karakter David Lurie dideskripsikan dalam novel. Kedua, bagaimana karakteristik David Lurie merepresentasikan karakteristik penjajah. Masalah yang terakhir adalah bagaimana hegemoni barat digambarkan melalui representasi karakteristik David Lurie.
Skripsi ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode penelitian pustaka. Penulis mengumpulkan data-data relevan serta referensi-referensi lain yang mendukung dari perpustakaan dan internet. Karena penulis tertarik dengan konsep hegemoni barat yang mempengaruhi penciptaan David Lurie sebagai karakter utama, pendekatan postcolonial akan sangat mendukung untuk menganalisis masalah.
Dari analisis yang telah dilakukan, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa karakter David Lurie dapat dilihat sebagai representasi hegemoni barat melalui karakteristik yang dimilikinya dan profesi yang digelutinya. Dengan kata lain, karakter David diciptakan sebagai seorang dosen dari Eropa dan sebagai seorang pria berkulit putih untuk menegaskan fakta bahwa dia adalah seorang yang superior dan berkuasa dalam masyarakat. Cara David Lurie mempromosikan dan mempertahankan kekuasaan dan superioritasnya dilihat sebagai gambaran hegemoni barat itu sendiri. Oleh karena itu, karakter David Lurie adalah wacana yang perlu didiskusikan dan ditelaah, dalam upaya untuk mengetahui dan memahami cara kerja hegemoni barat.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature has different meaning to different persons. Some people think
that it is the arrangement of the author’s imaginative worlds, but, to others it is just reading tradition over time. For the rest, literature is part of subjects in schools. The way readers think about literature varies from time to time. Meanwhile, there is also no absolute definition of literature. Most readers agree that literature is different from other writings due to its focus on the attention to language (Abcarian and Klotz, 1998: 1). When language shifts from “everyday” kinds of writing to other context and builds other purposes, it can be said as literature (Culler, 1997: 23). Here, literature uses stylised words arrangement to tell a story. The chosen diction must be appropriate to create a certain world in literary works. Besides telling story and creating certain world, however, the most important thing in literature is the relation between the text and reality. It is also noted, “authors frequently write about what happens around them and thereby express historically situated ideas, feelings, and values” (Abcarian and Klotz, 1998: 3). It means that the literary work embodies a set of dominant ideas. What the ideology, the norms, the customs, the belief that the societies embrace can be represented in literary works.
Jonathan Culler in the book of Literary Theory A very Short Introduction says, “literature is the vehicle of ideology” (1997:36). It can be said that literature is a tool to impose the need and desire of a person or powerful groups to others. Literature can be a device to question the arrangement of domination in a particular society.
Postcolonial literature can be observed as literature that carries the ideology of a person or certain groups. It questions the Eurocentric views, which takes for granted the superiority of European or Western, and the inferiority of others (Barry, 2002: 193). It focuses on the unequal relation of power between the coloniser and the colonised, the reactions of the colonised people that will always be resistant, and the effects of colonisation on culture and societies (Ashcroft et all, 1998: 186-189). It means that postcolonial literature is a way to attack the colonialism and its practice. It fights against the oppression, discrimination, and subordination that the coloniser has done. It also questions the domination of the coloniser towards the colonised people in economic, social, political and other aspects of life.
Disgrace that is written by J. M. Coetzee is a postcolonial literary work. It
embodies a protest against colonialism and its practice. It reflects the new models of colonialism, which is not concerned on colonising the physical things but more on colonising the stage of mind and culture of the colonised. In this case, the efforts of the coloniser to convince the colonised about their Eurocentric views are not in the form of military force, but through economy, technology, education and the media so that Eurocentric views can be accepted as common views. By defining what is meant by coloniser and colonised, colonialism itself wants to strengthen the power and the domination of the ruling group. Moreover, the act of accepting and imitating Eurocentric views, attitudes, and opinions shows the way in which colonialism works in a certain society. The influence of Eurocentric views can be found in this literary work.
Set in South Africa, Disgrace is the story about a white man, namely David Lurie, who works in Cape Town University as a lecturer. This man teaches communication and the Romantic poets to his students. He tries to make his students like the subjects that he taught. His great interest in literary canon enables him to produce three books, namely Baito and the Faust Legend: The Genesis of
Mefistofele, The Vision of Richard of St Victor, and Wordsworth and the Burden
of The Past . The values of life that David Lurie believes in are mostly influenced
by Eurocentric views. The situation and the condition of the society do not discourage his spirit to spread his ways of thinking about life by creating literary works. He does not really care about where he lives and what kind of society he deals with. Although the era of physical colonialism is over, he wants everyone to have the same opinion as his says that the inferiority belongs to the local people and the superiority belongs to the European people. From the situation he deals with throughout the story, it is indicated that David Lurie really wants to highlight his position in the society. However, the way David Lurie sees life is the result of the ideology that binds him.
By knowing these facts, it is interesting to explore the general qualities of David Lurie as the main character. The way David Lurie’s qualities represents the qualities of the coloniser and the way western hegemony is depicted through the representation of David Lurie’s qualities, as the main character here are the challenged topics that are articulated in the story.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to have a further analysis, the thesis will focus on the problems stated as follows:
1. How are the general qualities of David Lurie described in the novel?
2. How does David Lurie’s qualities represent the qualities of the coloniser?
3. How is western hegemony depicted through the representation of David Lurie’s qualities?
C. Objective of the Study
This thesis is an effort to find out the general qualities of the main character, to identify how David Lurie’s qualities represents the qualities of the coloniser, and to investigate how western hegemony is depicted through the representation of David Lurie’s qualities. By acknowledging those problems, the western hegemony that can be learned from the creation of David’s character can be understood.
D. Definition of Terms
The writer will point up some terms to clarify and to avoid misunderstanding of meanings. The terms are defined as follows:
1. The coloniser It is noted on the book of The Wretched of the Earth that the colonial world is inhabited by two different species; the foreigner who comes from another country and the local. The foreigner here is known as the coloniser. It emphasises that the foreigner or the coloniser imposes his rule by humiliation, manipulation, and exploitation in military, economic, and political aspects on the local (Fanon, 1963: 38-40).
2. Postcolonialism It is stated on the book of Key Concepts in Post-Colonial Studies that postcolonialism talks about the effects of colonialisation on cultures and societies.
It concerns on the study of European territorial conquests, the institutions of European colonialisms, the discursive operation of empire, the subtleties of the subject construction in colonial discourse and the resistance of those subjects, and the differing responses to such incursions and their contemporary colonial legacies in pre-and post-independence nations and societies (Ashcroft et al, 1998: 186-187).
3. Representation Based on the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, representation is defined as “the act of representing or state of being represented, or something that represents something else” (2005: 1169). In Edgar and Sedgwick’s Cultural Theory The Key Concepts, representation has a political meaning or a more nuanced meaning, which may be used in the mass media, in order to present images of certain social groups (2002: 339).
4. Western Hegemony Deborah Moore Haddad on the article Hegemony written in International
Encyclopedia of Government and Politics points out that hegemony is the
influence of a powerful state in economic, political, cultural, and military to others (1996: 563). The book of Literary Theory mentions, “hegemony is an arrangement of domination accepted by those who are dominated. Ruling groups dominate not by pure force but through a structure of consent, and culture is part of this structure that legitimises current social arrangements” (Culler, 1997: 48). Here, the term “western hegemony” is used to imply that it is about western culture, western point of view, western traditions and so on.
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW This chapter consists of three parts, namely Review of Related Studies, Review of Related Theories, and Theoretical Framework. Review of Related Studies gives the information about the position of this study. Review of Related Theories contains theories, which are applied in the study. Theoretical Framework
tells about the contribution of the theories and reviews to solve the problems of the study.
A. Review of Related Studies
This part focuses on the reviews of J. M. Coetzee and his works, which are written in Postcolonial Discourses An Anthology, Encyclopedia, The Post-
Colonial Studies Reader, Key Concepts in Post-Colonial Studies, The Empire
Writes Back, Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, and online
references.
Being internationally discussed, many writers both the whites and the locals are carrying the racial issues and the situation in South Africa as the themes of their works. John M. Coetzee is one of those writers, who are bringing the literary life of South Africa to the world (The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 1983: 73). However, Coetzee is also known as a Professor of English literature who won the Booker Prize in 1983 and 1999 for his novels The Life and Times of
Michael K and Disgrace. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003
(Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, 2005: 261).The book of Key Concepts in Post-Colonial Studies mentions that “J. M. Coetzee on his novel Waiting for the Barbarians demonstrates the ways in which imperial discourse constructs its otherness in order to confirm its own reality” (Aschroft et all, 1998: 173). Hellen Tiffin on her article Post-colonial Literatures
and Counter-discourse written on The Post-Colonial Studies Reader says that J.
M. Coetzee in his novel Foe and his other works is not simply ‘writing back’ to the English canonical text, but to the complex discursive field in which the text operated and continues to operate in post-colonial world (1995: 98). It is noted on the book of The Empire Writes Back that J. M. Coetzee is one of the writers who recreates certain works from English ‘canon’ in postcolonial terms, not simply by changing to the opposite of the hierarchical order but by interrogating the philosophical assumptions on which that order was based (Ashcroft et al, 1989: 33). Thus, from his typical works, J. M. Coetzee can be considered as one of the postcolonial writers.
Alan Riding in Coetzee, Writer of Apartheid as Bleak Mirror, Wins Nobel states that Coetzee is South Afican novelist who uses the apartheid system and its post-apartheid transition to mirror the bleakness of the human condition. According to the Swedish Academy quoted by Riding, Coetzee in his novels turns an existentialist spotlight on individual behaviour. It is clear in the quotation as follows.
“At the decisive moment Coetzee’s characters stand behind themselves, motionless, incapable of taking part in their own actions. But passivity is not merely the dark haze that devours personality; it is also the last resort open to human beings as they defy an oppressive order by rendering themselves inaccessible to its intentions” (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/ 10/03/arts).
Thus, Coetzee is described as depicting the condition and the situation of South Africa in his novels, in which he creates his characters as passive creatures at the resolution.
Michiko Kukutani in Chronicling Life Perched on a Volcano’s Edge as
Change Erupts notes that ”all his characters are forced to come to terms with the
precariousness of their existence, their susceptibility to the cruelties of history, to authoritarian, barbarian or merely random violence” (http://www.nytimes.com/ 2003/10/03/books). She states that Coetzee has remained with the same set of themes, for examples: the dynamic between reality and imagination, the relationship between the powerful and the powerless, the Darwinian nature of contemporary life, the inability of parents and children to save one another from harm and the costs of emotional survival (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/03/ books). This means that Kukutani discusses Coetzee’s style of writing.
Here, the writer raises a new opinion in analysing the novel. The writer thinks that J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace concerns about the colonialism and its legacies in the society. It is not about physical colonialism but more about colonialism that has been done in the mindset of the people in society. The writer finds in what ways colonialism works in the novel, which is presented through the life of the main character, David Lurie.
B. Review of Related Theories
This part talks about the important and relevant theories, which are used to support the analysis.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
M. H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms states that characters are the persons who are showed in a dramatic or narrative work, and the qualities of the characters reveal in dialogue and action (1985:23).
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say—the dialogue—and by what they do—the action.
According to Stanton, character can be the actor in the story and the characteristics of the characters. The actors also have the relationships with characteristics they have (1965: 17).
There are complex characters in the novel, which can be described through the complexity of their characterization. The attention is pointed to them (by the author or other characters) and the personal intensity that seem to transmit. It is major character that deserves the full concern because it performs the key structural function. Upon the character, the story builds and establishes the values of life (Henkle, 1977:97). Meanwhile, the minor or secondary characters are those who play less dominant role in the story. They perform limited function than that of the major characters. As the background, foils and analogues to the major characters, their responses to the experience are less complex and interesting than the major character (Henkle, 1977:97).
M. J. Murphy gives nine ways of how the authors make their characters understandable or interesting (1972: 161-173): a. Personal description Here, the author can give clear and details description about his or her character’s appearance: the face, body, clothes of the character, etc. It is important because somehow it gives clues to the readers to know the character.
b. Character as seen by another Sometimes the author of the story gives the description of his or her character not in a direct way. The author describes the character from another opinion in addition, point of view towards that character. The author let his or her readers to conclude the image of the character.
c. Speech In describing his or her character, the author can gives clues about the character from what he or she says.
d. Past life Giving information about his or her character’s past life, the author wants the readers to know from what kind of situation and condition the character grows.
This information can be stated by the author, from the dialogue in the story, etc.
e. Conversation of others The author is trying to give the readers the description of his or her character from the dialogues among them. Believe that the readers can imagine the character is. f. Reactions The author describes the character through how the character reacts in many kinds of situations and conditions in the story.
g. Direct comment The author is giving direct comment on the character that he or she creates.
h. Thoughts The author enriches the readers with knowledge of what the character is thinking about, and what is the burden in the character’s mind. i. Mannerisms The author is giving the description of the character’s habits in every single situation and condition.
In this work, the writer wants to analyse the main character namely David Lurie, whether he is a round character or a static character. The qualities of David Lurie, then, can be the way to find the idea in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace.
2. Theory of Postcolonialism
The term postcolonialism is still in ongoing debate. The debate is divided in two parts: it is about the word post and the word colonialism. It is believed that colonialism itself lies within a concept of imperialism and some theorists have their own assumptions about what imperialism is and how the acts of colonialism come out from it. The lack of consensus among postcolonial theorists on how colonialism is structured in imperialism and what post means becomes problematic issue in postcolonial study (Slemon, 2001:101-103). But somehow all concepts presented by postcolonial theorists enrich the postcolonial study itself. Several concepts grow under the name postcolonial and these concepts have their own positions in relation with methodology or social object or political goal.
Thus, this work only contains postcolonial theory that is appropriate to analyse the object of study.
In the book of Postcolonial Theory, according to Ashis Nandy quoted by Leela Gandhi there are two types of colonialism. First, colonialism that focuses on physical conquest of colony, and the second is colonialism that focuses on the purpose to conquer minds and cultures of the colonised. The era of the first kind of colonialism is over but the second kind is still found in colonised societies (1998: 15). It seems that there is no liberty because the colonised societies still live in the shadow of colonialism. The coloniser never gives up to spread the colonial values, the customs, and the life styles to the target societies. It is done through active persuasion, for examples: language, music, sciences, technology, and other possible things. Therefore, postcolonial studies exist. It fights against the hegemony of the coloniser in the attempt to set the basic values of the colonised (1998: 44).
Frantz Fanon in his book of The Wretched of The Earth notes that the colonialism describes the local society is a society, which lacks of values. It is better for the local society not to have their own values; it is better if their values never exist in this world. The local is the barbaric, the enemy of values.
Colonialism puts the idea into the locals’ minds, which before the colonialism, they were already dominated by barbarism. The local society is nothing without the colonialism. Moreover, the holy duties of colonialism are to civilise, to teach the right values of life and to lead the local to a better stage of mind (1963: 41, 211-213). In addition, Edward Said in his work Orientalism finds out that the Orient at first is the place of romance, and exotic creatures but now its description is disappeared. The Orient here has functions to define the Europe with its contrasting image, idea, personality, and experience (Ashcroft et al, 1995: 87). He says, ”the relationship between the Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of domination, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony”(Ashcroft et al, 1995: 89). He also points out that Orientalism is about the strategy in positioning Western superiority in the relationship with the Orient (Ashcroft et al, 1995: 90).
It means that the relationship between the coloniser and the colonised is not a simple relationship because power, domination and hegemony do play an important role there.
In agreement with the previous theories, Elleke Boehmer in the book of
Colonial and Postcolonial Literature points out that the basis of colonisation is
the processes of othering. In that process, the colonisers create images for their own selfhood and the local people. The images of inferiority, wild, less civilized are labelled to the local, in contrast the images of mastery and control, rationality, superiority, skilfulness are belongs to the western people. Economic and military powers are not the only ways to promote these Eurocentric views. The colonisers also bring these views in dealing with culture, religion, politics, science and technology. Not only to make the local understand their views, but the colonisers also want to make them think about reality in European ways of thinking (2005:
75-78). The condition of this kind of society directly influences the personality of each person as the member of the society. Since identity becomes an important matter in this kind of society, each person searches the identity of himself or herself through social and cultural values that exist. Karen Horney in the book of
Psychology a concise introduction believes that social and cultural aspects play
important roles in establishing the personality of a person (1992: 264). Erich Fromm points out that the system and social arrangement of society shape the personality of the members so that the personality of each person is suitable for the society and it meets the needs of the society itself (Teori-Teori Psikodinamik, 1993:295).
In this thesis, the writer investigates the second type of colonialism that focuses on the purpose to dominate the local’s mind and culture. The dominant qualities of David Lurie can be the way to scrutinise this type of colonialism.
3. Theory of Representation
In the book of Representation cultural representations and signifying
practices , Stuart Hall mentions that representation is an essential process by
which meaning is produced in a culture. It involves the use of language, signs and images, which stand for things (1997: 15).
Chris Barker in Cultural Studies Theory and Practice states that representation pays attention on how the world is constructed socially. It is the exploration of meaning within the text. In addition, the meaning itself can be produced in variety of contexts (2000: 8). Representation can be classified into surface and depth representation. Surface representation is known as optical realism. It means this representation is dealed with the “visible”. Then, depth representation emerges from the “visible”. Meaning to say, this kind of representation leads us to discover the hidden facts from the visible. It can be said that depth representation needs an effort to analyse. It is a representation of essences (Gibson, 1996: 81-87).
4. Theory of Western Hegemony
It is stated on the book of Key Concepts in Post-Colonial Studies that hegemony refers to the exercise of ideology. According to Antonio Gramsci, hegemony is the domination of the dominating group by consent. Essentially, hegemony is the power of the dominating group to make other groups believe that his or her values are the values of all. It is working in many aspects of life in a particular society, like in economic and educational aspects, and in the media. The dominating group is definitely promoting and maintaining the Eurocentric views as the common views to the local in a natural way (Ashcroft et all, 1998: 116- 117). From this point, hegemony is an effective way to influence the mechanism of the local’s brain. It is due to the interest to strengthen the position of the dominating group in a certain society.
C. Theoretical Framework
Here, four main theories will be used to analyse J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace, namely, theory of character and characterization, theory of postcolonialism, theory of representation, and theory of western hegemony. These theories help to get the understanding of the discussed elements.
Theory of character and characterization is going to be used to discover the qualities of the main character, David Lurie, and to understand how the character is described in the novel. Theory of postcolonialism will show the position of the character, David Lurie, in this text. By using this theory, the writer will be able to analyse the interrelatedness of the main character and the labelled qualities of the coloniser. The theory of representation will enable the writer to explore a certain meaning of the creation of the main character. Finally, theory of western hegemony will give a deep understanding of how hegemony can be operated in the society.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This chapter is divided into three parts, namely the object of the study, the
approach of the study, and the method of the study. The object of the study talks about the literary works that is analysed. The approach of the study gives information about the approach used in analysing the literary work, the way to apply it, and the reason why the approach is used. The method of the study describes the steps to analyse the literary work.
A. Object of the Study
This study analyses one of J. M. Coetzee works entitled Disgrace, which is written in 1999. The novel is published by Vintage, London, in 2000. The novel has 220 pages and contains 24 chapters.
The novel won the 1999 Booker Prize, Britain’s most important literary award. A member of Parliament and the chairman of the judges’ panel, Gerald Kaufman, said the novel was ”an allegory about what is happening to the human race in the post-colonial era” (http://www.nytimes.com/library/books). He added,
th
“In a sense this is a millennial book because it takes us through the 20 century into a new century in which the source of power is shifting away from Western Europe” (http:// www.nytimes.com/library/books).
The novel is about the main character, named David Lurie, who works as a lecturer in Cape Technical University. He is a professor on Communication and Romantic Poetry. He teaches his classes dutifully. He is a 52 year-old-man without a wife. He feels that he lives in harmony because he has everything that he wants, including a good reputation in the society, and woman. When he goes to his daughter’s farmhouse in the country, he wants to show his power and superiority as the European person. He thinks that the local person like Petrus, his daughter’s neighbour, does not have right to get high social status. According to him, the local people are in the lower position in the society. Throughout the story, it is clearly seen that David Lurie has imposed his belief to the others.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the writer applies the postcolonial approach. The approach is used because this thesis is concerned with the study of the western hegemony as represented in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace through the main character.
Charles E. Bressler in his book entitled Literary Criticism: An Introduction
to Theory and Practice notes that postcolonial approach concerns with the literary
works produced in colonised countries. It appreciates the creative writings from the colonised countries, and excludes the European and American’s ways of thinking. It investigates the clash culture between the Whites and the local people (1999: 265-266).
In addition, Peter Bary in the book of Beginnning Theory An Introduction
to literary and cultural theory says that Postcolonial approach rejects the idea of
Eurocentric universalism, which believes that the European or the Whites is superior, and the local is inferior. It looks on cultural difference, diversity, and hybridity. It also celebrates hybridity that is the condition somehow; groups of peoples belong to more than one culture (2002:199).
C. Method of the Study
In analysing the novel, the library research was conducted. It means that the data were collected from the books, theories of literature, and other information sources that could support the study. There are two kinds of sources that are used in this study. The first is the novel itself as the main source of this study. The second sources are theories on the literary works and some postcolonial theories to examine the topic. Theories that are used in this study for examples, theories of character and characterization by M. H. Abrams, M. J. Murphy, R. Stanton, Henkle, and theories of Postcolonialism by Leela Gandhi, Frantz Fanon, Elleke Boehmer.
The writer took certain steps in exploring the novel. The first step was to scrutinize the novel until the writer got a full comprehension, by focusing on the main character. The place or the nature, including detailed objects where the story takes place, the interrelation between each character in the story, and the social condition of the story lead to the comprehension of the main character as the representation of the western hegemony. The second step was to find theories of character and characterization, theory of postcolonialism, theory of representation, and theory of western hegemony. The theories were used in order to analyse deeper how the main character in the novel is depicted. The third step was to take notes of any relevant and supportive information on postcolonialism, representation, and western hegemony. The fourth step was to apply the theories and information to analyse the topic presented. Finally, the last step was to make the conclusion, which was drawn with the consideration of the analysis done before.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS This chapter covers three subchapters, which are the answers of the
problems formulated in the previous chapter. The first subchapter is the general qualities of the main character, namely Professor David Lurie. The second is how David Lurie’s qualities represent the qualities of the coloniser. The third is how the western hegemony depicted through David Lurie.
A. The General Qualities of David Lurie
In this part, the writer will investigate the general qualities of the main character, David Lurie as human being. How the general qualities of David Lurie are presented in Coetzee’s Disgrace will be analysed through applying the theory of character and characterization. Moreover, this part is useful to find out the dominant qualities of David Lurie that will be the basic concern in the next subchapter.