Colonization practices seen through the main character and his society in pascal Khoo Thwee\'s from the land of green ghosts - USD Repository
COLONIZATION PRACTICES SEEN THROUGH THE MAIN
CHARACTER AND HIS SOCIETY IN PASCAL KHOO THWE’S
FROM THE LAND OF GREEN GHOSTS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
BY
REENA RAI (NAING NAING LATT)
Student Number: 044214147
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true
education- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A bright person is not necessarily wise; a dull person not
necessarily foolish. Wisdom is not the same as knowledge; it lies in how you treat others and handle yourself.
- Master Sheng Yen
My beloved Moms and Dad
My lovely Family
All My dearest Friends
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to give my greatest honor to Holy God who reminds me that I can be a better person and there is always a reason to be a better person throughout my life’s journey. My deepest gratitude goes to my beloved Moms and Dad who are truly my guardian angels and give the greatest eternal love of parents to me in my life. I am really grateful for your support and kindness as parents who gave me special permission to take this opportunity for further education. My special thanks also go to my family for their support.
I would like to thank Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A. as my academic advisor and my former thesis advisor who assisted and advised me during my academic years in English Letters. My deepest gratitude goes to my present thesis advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. who has given me valuable guidance, suggestions and time for me in completing my undergraduate thesis. I would like to express my great thanks to my co-advisor, Dra. Enny Anggraini, M.A who gave a special time and patient to correct my thesis and excellent advice to get a better result. I owe my big gratitude to Sr. Clare FCJ and Sr. Margaret FCJ because they gave their precious time to check my grammar and usage of words in great detail in order to make it a better one. I also would like to express my greatest thanks to all my lecturers for their affection and compassion in giving privileged guidance, knowledge and help to me. I really thank all the administration staff of English Letters for your help while I was working and completing my thesis.
I would like to present my greatest thanks to Sr. Benedict CB, Sr. Mary Rose FCJ and Sr. Terry CB for their kindness and encouragement. I owe also my gratitude to Fr. Opzeeland SJ, Fr. Clay SJ, Fr. Harjanto SJ, Fr. Baskara SJ, Fr.
Benny SJ, Fr. Ari SJ, Fr. Setiawan SJ, Fr. Heru OMI, the community of Jesuits and the community of Sr. FCJ for their generosity and support.
I want to convey my deepest gratitude to all my dearest friends for helping me in my study and giving me a wonderful time throughout my academic years.
My thanks go to my batch-mates, my classmates Aili, Hilda, Ayu, Nita, Vina, Lucia, Wisni, Oos, Krisma, A Doll House my play performance group, my KKN friends, my Myanmarese friends Daisy, Goretti, Joseph, Mary and also other Myanmarese friends, my dormitory friends Sasma, Tures, Anggita, Richa, Ning Ning, Tere, Sisca, Hana, Vina, Weny, Putri, and Mbak Lina and her whole family.
My special thanks go to all who have given me a hand in completing my thesis even though I could not mention every single name here.
Reena Rai (Naing Naing Latt)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………… i APPROVAL PAGE……………………………………………….......... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE…………………………………………………. iii MOTTO PAGE………….……………………………………………… iv DEDICATION PAGE .................……………………………………… v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………. viii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………….. x ABSTRAK………………………………………………………………. xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………… 1 A. Background of the Study……………………………………..
1 B. Problem Formulation…………………………………………
6 C. Objectives of the Study………………………………………
6 D. Definition of Terms…………………………………………..
7 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW………………………….. 10 A. Review of Related Studies…………………………………...
10 B. Review of Related Theories………………………………….
15 1. Character and Characterization Theory................................
15 2. Theory on Setting………………………………………….
18 3. Postcolonial Literary Theory: Nationalism……………….
20 C. Theoretical Framework………………………………………
25 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY…………………………………... 27 A. Object of the Study…………………………………………..
27 B. Approach of the Study……………………………………….
29 C. Method of the Study…………………………………………
31 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS…………………………………………… 34
A. Pascal Khoo Thwe : A Poor Unhappy Man Who is Full of Misery in the Entire Life…………………………………….
34 B. The Portrait of Burmese Postcolonial Society Seen in the Story... 42 1. Military Regime………………………………………….
43 2. The Public………………………………………………..
46
a. Pascal Khoo Thwe……………………………………
47
b. Grandfather (La Pen)…………………………………
48
c. Father…………………………………………………
50 d. Moe…………………………………………………...
51
e. Friends………………………………………………... 53 f. The Rebels (Anti-military Regime Groups)…………..
54 C. Colonization Practices Seen through the Main Character and
1. Oppression in Politics…………………………………….
56 2. Oppression in Economy…………………………………..
62 3. Oppression in Education………………………………….
65
4. Discrimination on the Ground of Ethnicity and Social Class… 69 5. The Misuse of Power……………………………………..
72 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION……………………………………….. 77
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………… 81 APPENDIX: A Brief Note about Pascal Khoo Thwe and the Summary of From the Land of Green Ghosts...................................... 84
ABSTRACT
REENA RAI (NAING NAING LATT). Colonization Practices Seen through
the Main Character and His Society in Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of
Green Ghosts. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,
Sanata Dharma University, 2009.The main object of this study is a postcolonial literary work, Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghosts. The novel describes Burma, a third world nation, which was once colonized by the British. The national culture of Burmese postcolonial society is transmitted from its colonizer since the military regime employs colonization practices in running the nation by means of oppressing the public with imperial power.
There are three objectives of the study. The first one is to study the description of the main character, Pascal Khoo Thwe; the second is to examine the portrait of the society seen in the story; the last objective tries to explore the colonization practices revealed by the main character and his society.
Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghosts is the primary source for this thesis. A postcolonial approach is applied to conduct this study. The theories used in this study are the theory of character and characterization, theory on setting, and the postcolonial literary theory named the nationalism theory. The findings gained through the analysis are, first, the image of Burmese postcolonial society as seen through Pascal Khoo Thwe’s miserable experiences. This finding leads to the second one about Burmese society. It is revealed that the formation of Burmese postcolonial society is based on two contradictory sides. They are the ruler, the oppressive military regime, and the ruled people, the powerless public. The last finding is based on the second finding. The quality of colonizer and colonized are reflected in the characteristics of the military regime and the public throughout the story. The practices applied by the military regime in governing the nation and the sufferings of the public resulting from those practices also reveal the colonization practices used by colonizers during the colonization period. Therefore, it can be assumed that the national culture of Burmese postcolonial society is the replication of the Burmese era of colonization.
ABSTRAK
REENA RAI (NAING NAING LATT). Colonization Practices Seen through
the Main Character and His Society in Pascal Khoo Thwe's From the Land of
Green Ghosts. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas
Sanata Dharma, 2009.Objek utama dalam studi ini adalah karya sastra postcolonial, From the
Land of Green Ghosts karya Pascal Khoo Thwe. Novel ini mengambarkan Burma,
negara dunia ketiga, yang pernah dijajah oleh Inggris. Kebudayaan nasional masyarakat postcolonial Burma berasal dari penjajahnya karena rezim militer menerapkan praktek-praktek penjajahan dalam menjalankan pemerintahan dengan cara menindas masyarakat dengan kekuasaan imperial. Ada tiga tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Yang pertama adalah untuk mempelajari gambaran tokoh utama, Pascal Khoo Thwe; yang kedua adalah untuk mengamati potret masyarakat yang terlihat dalam cerita; yang terakhir mencoba melihat dari dekat praktek-praktek penjajahan yang diungkapkan oleh tokoh utama dan masyarakatnya. From the Land of Green Ghosts karya Pascal Khoo Thwe merupakan sumber utama skripsi ini. Pendekatan postcolonial diterapkan dalam data penelitian ini. Teori-teori yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah teori tentang tokoh dan penokohan, teori setting, dan teori sastra postcolonial yang disebut teori nasionalisme.
Hasil penelitian ini adalah, pertama, citra masyarakat postcolonial Burma yang dilihat melalui pengalaman Pascal Khoo Thwe yang penuh dengan penderitaan. Temuan ini mengarah pada temuan kedua tentang masyarakat Burma, yang mengungkapkan bahwa pembentukkan masyarakat postcolonial Burma berdasarkan pada dua sisi yang berlawanan. Mereka adalah penguasa, rezim militer yang menindas, dan orang-orang yang dikuasai, masyarakat yang lemah. Temuan terakhir didasarkan pada temuan kedua. Kualitas penjajah dan yang dijajah tercermin dalam karakteristik rezim militer dan masyarakat dalam cerita. Praktek-praktek yang diterapkan oleh rezim militer dalam memerintah bangsa dan penderitaan masyarakat akibat praktek-praktek tersebut juga mengungkapkan praktek penjajahan yang digunakan oleh penjajah dalam periode penjajahan. Oleh karena itu, bisa diasumsikan bahwa kebudayaan nasional masyarakat postcolonial Burma merupakan tiruan zaman penjajahan Burma.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study The term “colonialism” is not new at all for almost all the nations in
today’s world. Since the early centuries, the existence of colonialism can be seen through the whole time of human history. The basic idea of colonialism is the invasion of another’s territories in order to take control of another’s land and properties. This process of expansion existed not only throughout the era of Monarchy but also in the time of modern European colonialism. The process of European colonialism causes changes in the colonized nations and also in the whole of humanity (Loomba, 1998:2-3).
Almost all parts of the world once experienced European colonialism. European colonization is just a matter of exploitation of the colonized explicitly or implicitly through out the time of colonialism. It is the period of territorial expansion for the intention of self-profit to the cost of the undeveloped countries left far behind in every aspect, especially politically, economically, socially and intellectually. It can be also stated that the powerful colonizer attempts to control the powerless colonized as a whole. Besides, having their monarchical system abolished, being capitalized in trading and having their culture integrated the colonized nations are influenced by the philosophy of the colonizer from the aspect of their education system and have engulfed their beliefs by the colonizer’s missionaries as well (Neill, 1966:11-12).
Even though the period of colonialism is over, its mode of essence or its spirit is still streaming in once-colonized people known in the present day as postcolonial societies and this is the aftermath of colonialism. Hence, colonialism is the original point generating the philosophy of postcolonialism and also the pre- history of postcolonial society. Postcolonialism is the idea that tries to view the ongoing colonial aspects or practices in postcolonial society critically and intensely. In this case, its concern is to unfold the curtain of truth beyond the vision of the ongoing colonial practices such as hegemony, subordination, discrimination, oppression, class, race, hybridity and dehumanization that have been experienced by the colonized named third world nations up to the present and also to sweep out the colonial syndrome from colonized or third world nations by revealing the detailed fact of colonial practices that have been tactfully disguising colonized people throughout the history (Loomba, 1998:15-19).
…the ‘Third World’ is seen as a world defined entirely by its relation to colonialism. Its histories are then flattened, and colonialism becomes their defining feature, whereas in several parts of the once-colonized world, historians are inclined to regard colonialism ‘as a minor interruption’ in along, complex history (Loomba, 1998:18). Moreover, postcolonial discourse can be said to be the new literary canon related to colonialism that brings the world into two divisions, known as the first and the third world. It discusses the third world nations that share the same colonial exploitation in their past history. The third world is considered to be the nations once conquered by the Western countries, called the first world in order to be clearer in the process of postcolonial study.
…the term ‘post-colonial’, however to cover all the cultures affected by
This is because there is continuity of preoccupations throughout the historical process initiated by European imperial aggression. …this literature has in common beyond their special and distinctive regional characteristics is they emerged in their present form out of the experience of colonization and asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with the imperial power, and by emphasizing their difference from the assumptions of the imperial center (Ashcroft. et.al, 1989:2). The most significant feature of postcolonial studies is the literature that relates to colonialism and at the same time, opposes the enduring experience of imperial power in the third world nations through out the centuries. The period of colonization has been over since all the colonized nations gained their official independence from the European colonizers. However, the constant stream of colonization processes in the third-world nations seen in every part of the world is the effect of colonialism. This fact is confirmed and critiqued by literature from out side or within third world nations which has proved how third world nations have been culturally shaped by the imperial power. This literature is described as the postcolonial literatures.
Despite its interdisciplinary concerns, the field of postcolonial studies is marked by a preponderant focus upon ‘postcolonial literature’ – a contentious category which refers, somewhat arbitrarily, to ‘literatures in English’, namely, to those literatures which have accompanied the projection and decline of British imperialism. This academic privileging of postcolonial literature is informed by recent critical attempts to postulate the colonial encounter primarily as a textual contest, or a bibliographic battle, between oppressive and subversive books (Gandhi, 1998:141). Postcolonial literature is a key subject used to identify the ongoing colonial matter in the field of postcolonial studies. To some extent, postcolonial literature is a genre, especially written in English. The postcolonial literary context reveals the domination of imperial power or colonial practices still seen in literature is that any writing or books can be seen as postcolonial literature if the context itself carries out the fundamental idea of colonialism by providing evidence of the oppressor and subordinator. It can be assumed to be a critical way of viewing the literary text by interrelating it with colonial ideas that are widely spread in the third world nations to the present day.
Therefore, based on the writer’s interest toward the postcolonialism, postcolonial literature will be discussed in this study. Even though the postcolonial literature does not directly reflect its identity in this field. However, it can be regarded as having a postcolonial literary context because third world literature is chosen in order to make it easy to approach the topic of postcolonialism. Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin stated in The Empire Writes Back that the literature from once colonized nations is all regarded as postcolonial literature. The chosen work; From the Land of Green Ghosts written by Pascal Khoo Thwe is one of the literary works from Burma, a once colonized nation of British Empire.
From the Land of Green Ghosts is the first and only autobiography of
Pascal Khoo Thwe in which he gives a vivid explanation of his own life experience. Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghosts is also a literary canon that supports the idea of postcoloniality in the society of Burma throughout the story. The story is divided into three main parts which shows the development of the main character and his motivation from the beginning till the end of the story and makes the analysis easy to develop. In the first part, it states how Paskal Khoo Thwe is a culturally transmitted young man who is one of the ethnic people of Burma who are named Padaung. Next is how his life has been miserably passed, suffered and trapped by the political condition and how he struggles for his survival during the Burma revolution. The last part is his escape to England from the oppressive military government and also his success in gaining education as a weapon to use against the military government. Therefore, the novel itself wholly supports the atmosphere of postcoloniality. To this point, the writer is going to relate this work with postcolonialism by criticizing the condition of the society in the story that is just mimicry of the colonization process. Besides, the writer also aims to uncover the national culture of Burma today that is only the heritage of colonialism. The society mentioned in this story supports the postcolonial society. So, there might be two divisions within the society in the story which reveal the deeper idea of colonialism in which always has two contradictory sides as colonial and colony, oppressive and subordinate, powerful and powerless and superior and inferior and so on. In this case, there are two contradictory sides represented as the main character, Khoo Thwe and the people (the part of non-military government) which are depicted as a powerless society and the military government depicted as a powerful society.
The explanations above are given in order to get the main reason for analyzing the work later on. To analyze the work, a postcolonial approach is applied with the intention of critically examining the bottom line of this study. The colonization process is obviously reflected in the society mentioned whose national cultural practice is transmitted from its colonial past. Thus, there is a huge impact on the society (Pascal Khoo Thwe and the people who part of non- military government) who are totally dominated in every aspect by the imperial power of military government unconsciously practicing the colonization process in society throughout the decades. Furthermore, it will also figure out how the national culture of a third world nation, Burma is totally shaped by the past colonial idea that is a consequence of colonialism.
B. Problem Formulation
The writer generates three problem formulations and based on the idea of research the problems can be formulated as following,
1. How is Pascal Khoo Thwe’s miserable life experience described in the story?
2. How is the society portrayed in the story?
3. What colonization practices are revealed by Pascal Khoo Thwe and his society?
C. Objectives of the Study
The objective is divided into three parts for this study to solve the problem formulations as mentioned above. The first objective is to describe the miserable life experience of the major character, Pascal Khoo Thwe in detail based on the story with the intention to get the image of the society which will support to answer the rest of the problem formulations and analyze the work. The second objective is to figure out the portrait of the society in the story through the main character, and his society, and how society plays an important role leading to the deeper part of the analysis which will lead to the third problem formulation. The third objective is to observe the colonization practices revealed by the main character and the society to get to the bottom line of the analysis of this work. This stage is to explore deeply in order to discover how colonization process has remarkably remained in the Burmese society of the story and what colonization practices are actually reflected by the main character and his society throughout the story.
D. Definition of Terms
In this section, the writer tries to define a particular definition to avoid misunderstanding this research which is developed through the writer’s point of view. The following are definitions of words stated in the title and in the problem formulation of this research.
1. Colonialism
According to Ania Loomba’s Colonialism/Postcolonialism, colonialism is defined as the conquest and control of the other people’s island and goods. It is and has been a current and widespread feature of human history (1998:2).
2. Practice
In The History of American Christian Practice Project , it is stated as the action of doing something; performance, operation; method of action (2009).
3. Colonization Practices
Based on the above definitions, it can be defined that it is the way colonizers control the colonized or the methods or techniques used by the colonizers in governing the colonized. In other words, it is a kind of system formed by the colonizers which is employed to rule the colonized during colonization period.
4. Experience
The writer takes the meaning of experience as a theory in this study to be helpful in the study of Pascal Khoo Thwe’s experiences. Some explanations of experience are taken from reliable source in order to get more comprehension of experience. Experience is easily thought of as a stream of private events, known only to their possessor, and bearing at best problematic relationships to any other events, such as happenings in an external world or similar streams in other possessors. The stream makes up the conscious life of the possessor. One’s own relationship with one’s experience itself involves memory, recognition, and description (Answers Corporation, 2009). Experience is the effect upon the judgment or feelings produced by any event, whether witnessed or participated in; personal and direct impressions as contrasted with description or fancies; personal acquaintance; actual enjoyment or suffering (Accurate & Reliable Dictionary, 2004-2009).
The experience is the totality of such events in the past of an individual/ group or an event/a series of events in which a person participated in or lived through (A Free Dictionary, 2009). It is also defined as the act of living through an event or events; personal involvement in events as they occur (Your
Dictionary , 1996-2009). In Encarta® World English Dictionary, the experience is
explained as something that happens to somebody or an event that somebody is involved in ( 2009).
5. Life
In A Free Dictionary , it stated as the physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: e.g. the artistic life of a writer (2009).
6. Life Experience
According to above definitions, it can be defined as a personal involvement based on the physical, mental, and spiritual in an incident or a series of incidents.
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies There are a few reviews of this novel by some critics providing their
critique and point of view on it from different angles. These reviews are quite reliable and trustworthy. Helencbradshaw gives his comment about the novel through his article, Staying Alive?, as following
The Padaung tribe is an extremely remote tribe and their beliefs are founded completely in ghosts and folklore, never having experienced any kind of modern living. The tribal women are noted for their elongated ‘giraffe’ necks, possibly an optical illusion due to their tradition of wearing many rings around their necks and their arms. Here is a tribe, which few will have heard of, with believe in a spirit world, yet somewhere along the way their beliefs have started to include Catholicism. This book is a fascinating and moving autobiography as well as an excellent insight into the affairs of a remote land and peoples. The deep rooted beliefs of the tribe are interesting and awe inspiring, to say the least, when you consider that the grandparents could literally take years to explain their beliefs to their offspring by way of storytelling (2005). It is obvious that Helencbradshaw gives his opinion on the native ethnography of the Padaung tribe. It presents the life of a remote tribe, Paduang and their fabulous culture that is quite unique and rarely seen in the urban life style. It also states the traditional art of Padaung women’s natural beauty with their long ringed -neck which shows a real aesthetic taste and richness of culture. Although their belief begins to alter into Catholicism, they still believe in the spiritual world and its miracle. This proves the amazing spirit of the Padaung tribe that is so strong and tough in maintaining their forbears’ traditions from generation to generation.
Another review is from Mirante’s article Pascal Khoo Thwe and the Book
of Memory . His comment is quite different from other critics because his point of
view is pretty much, one must say, unique.Green Ghosts is also clearly expressed enough for readers utterly unfamiliar with Southeast Asia. There is never a false step as Khoo Thwe tells his life story, although I would have liked to see more care taken with the illustrations. A few chapters into Green Ghosts, it suddenly struck me that Khoo Thwe is a sort of real-life Harry Potter, raised among spells and enchantments; bundled off to this odd boarding school, threatened by evil and always curious in spirit; a brave boy raised to face overwhelming oppression with an ancient curse hurled back at it. In the end, British academic robes donned, Khoo Thwe faces Burma’s regime with this book of magic, a work of art and truth that he has conjured to defy it (2003).
As mentioned above, Edith Mirante points out that Pascal Khoo Thwe is a culturally transmitted man who is brought up in a strong tribal tradition and believes in ghosts, spirits and ancestor guardians. The incredible experience of Pascal Khoo Thwe and his belief in the spiritual world is similar to the mythical fiction character, Harry Potter who is raised in a magical world. Besides, the way Harry Potter bravely defeats the oppression of the magical evil world is compared to Pascal Khoo Thwe’s life journey and how he struggles to face the dictatorship.
Furthermore, Mirante gives another review from a different point of view that is a very critical one taken from the same article, Pascal Khoo Thwe and the
Book of Memory .
Watched over by Catholic guardian angels and Animist owl omens, Khoo Thwe survives, living on the Thai border with battle-hardened Karenni revolutionary troops and his own sadly naïve ‘student soldier’ comrades.
Then he is ‘rescued’ – whisked away to study at England’s Cambridge University, by a British professor he had met when back in Mandalay. I could cautions against making too much of this rescue scenario. It is a fantasy all too common in Burma’s desperation, even among those who fight – that some Ingelei, some foreigner, will make it all right, will take
World fantasies that in Third World struggles, the story is about the (usually white) person who will perform the rescue act (2003). It is quite noticeable that there are two significant subject matters in Pascal Khoo Thwe’s success. These are how he overcomes the dreadful journey of his life by the guidance of spiritual world and how white people play a heroic role by helping with Pascal Khoo Thwe’s escape from dictatorship and by giving him a privileged education. In this case, Pascal Khoo Thwe’s rescue by a British Professor presents the traditional issue which is the first world’s fantasy that in third world struggles the white people usually act as the savior of the third world people (Burmese) whose fantasy is to free from the regime. In other words, the effort of white people (British Professor) in enlightening the third world people (Pascal Khoo Thwe) is a sort of echo from the colonial past.
There are some other reviews such as the critique taken from Schwalbe’s article Book Review: From the Land of Green Ghosts. His approach is from a humanistic perspective, as mentioned below.
Pascal Khoo Thwe’s memoir From the Land of the Green Ghosts is remarkable for many reasons, but what makes it of particular interest to Human Rights Watch is its description of the human rights catastrophe in Burma and its moving chronicle of the author’s route to becoming a human rights activist. One of the things this book bring home with astonishing power is the way that these interactions can turn out to be a lifeline when situations deteriorate, and how they create bonds and webs of responsibilities and possibilities across borders patrolled by even the most ruthless governments. It puts a human face on the victims of the atrocities perpetrated by the generals who have taken over a remarkable and varied country (2006).
Pascal Khoo Thwes’s From the Land of Green Ghosts explicitly expresses a lack of human rights in the society and an exploitation of authority. It is apparent how
Pascal Khoo Thwe’s life experience (autobiography), he was tortured by the dictatorship throughout his life journey because of his involvement in the revolution for civil rights and because of his disapproval of the authoritarian government. It gives the portrait of the terrifying violent oppression by a regime abusing public rights and also proves that the author himself is a human rights activist unfolding details about the people’s survival under the dictatorship. These descriptions are found in his autobiography.
In the article, Military action and jungle adventure for someone who just
wanted to read modernist fiction , Murray provides his viewpoint on two overseas
authors living in England by comparing their literary works.The book is a moving tribute to the Padaung and to the martyrs of the misrule of Burma. In contrast to another writer enamored of English literature who got to England, V. S. Naipaul, Khoo Thwe loves the land and people he left behind and celebrates them and their struggle rather than laughing at them from the perspective of the British. Whereas Naipaul is sardonic about everyone and everything in Trinidad (and, indeed, everywhere except rural England), Khoo Thwe is sometimes bemused, but more often elegiac, feeling sympathy even for the young soldiers sent to kill him. Naipaul has produced a large body of work, whereas this memoir is the first book by Khoo Thwe, but for largeness of spirit, Naipaul could not compete with Pascal Khoo Thwe (2003).
In the novel, From the Land of Green Ghosts written in English, Pascal Khoo Thwe offers a sort of worthwhile reading in which he expressively gives a detailed illustration of the touching memory of his life experience, of the impressive traditions of the Padaung tribe and of his terrible experience under the control of a dictatorship. His devotion to his tribe and his concern for his nation’s affairs are proved in this novel. On the contrary, V. S. Naipaul, the famous author of the novel, Miguel Street, has a different stand point in that instead of showing sympathy for his nation, he satirically criticizes his own society’s weakness. Besides, Pascal Khoo Thwe’ memoir is incompatible with Naipaul’s work because it is not only an inspiring and moving memoir but also shows author’s nationalist spirit for the sake of his people.
The above five reviews are quite remarkable because those related reviews provide a variety of viewpoints on From the Land of Green Ghosts. Obviously, it can be said, From the Land of Green Ghosts offers colourful tones that are from various angles such as native ethnography, the spiritual world, the superiority of British, human rights and the author’s perception to work. In this case, the writer’s perception is quite different from those stated reviews because a postcolonial approach is chosen to apply to this research. The author of From the Land of
Green Ghosts comes from a third world nation and the novel itself represents third
world literature. According to those facts, the writer tries to relate this third world literature to its historical context by means of unveiling colonial idea in the postcolonial society in which the western philosophy becomes the third world’s fantasy. Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghosts gives a vivid picture of the ongoing domination of western culture of a third world nation (Burma). Besides, Pascal Khoo Thwe explicitly states how the regime has been practicing the use of absolute imperial power among Burmese society (postcolonial society) and how those practices have been dehumanizing their own people. The writer will explore more deeply what colonization practices carry on in Pascal Khoo Thwe’s society and how those practices impact on Pascal Khoo Thwe and Burmese society throughout the story.
B. Review of Related Theories
In analyzing this study, the writer applies a few effective theories which are supportive in solving the problem formulations. There are some significant intrinsic elements which interrelate with extrinsic elements in a work of literature. In the intrinsic elements, a character and a setting are not only the most significant elements for conveying the message of literary work but also the most helpful element to link with the extrinsic elements in this study. To research this study, the character and the setting (intrinsic elements) are used as a medium to explore a process of colonialism (extrinsic element). So, character and characterization theory, and theory on setting are used to answer the second problem formulation.
To have a good comprehension about the society, society in novel is also stated in this part to be helpful in analyzing the second problem. In answering the last problem formulation, the postcolonial theory which focuses on nationalism is applied in this study.
1. Character and Characterization Theory
Character is a central element used as a medium in comprehending every event of the story. In other words, it plays a prominent role in conveying the author’s attitude toward the story to the audience. The two basic qualities of character are morality and personality. Morality consists of two parts, goodness or badness and is reflected in motivation which is important in determining character. In the personality section, it describes what sort of person he or she really is by defining his/her specific physical appearance and attitude toward work (Christopher and Casey, 1968:10-13).
Stanton’s An Introduction to Fiction gives further explanation of motivation.
A character’s reason for behaving as he does is his motivation. His specific motivation is his immediate reason, perhaps unconscious, for any particular speech or act. His basic motivation is an aspect of his general character: it is the continuing desire or intention that governs him through out the story, the direction toward which almost all his specific motivations tend (1965:17).
As stated above, the behavior of a character is based on his/her motivation. There are two divisions in motivation known as specific motivation and basic motivation. In the specific motivation, the character’s morality is revealed through his or her speech and actions. The basic motivation is a desire, a kind of intention of the character controlling him or her in the entire story that goes with the specific motivations.
In An Introduction to English poetry and the English Novel for Overseas
Students , Murphy discusses more details about how a character is described by the
author (1972:161-173). As following,
a) Personal Description: This section is a description of the physical appearance of a person by the author, that is what the person looks like in detail.
b) Character as seen by another: The character can be defined through the eyes of another character instead of being directly described by the author. Other characters give the detailed explanation of him or her in their speech. c) Speech: The character passes on to readers clues of his or her personality whenever he or she speaks, whenever he or she is in conversation with another character and whenever he or she states his or her opinion.
d) Past Life: By contributing the past life of the character, the author gives clues to events that assist the reader to figure out the characteristics of a person seen in direct comments by the authors and through his or her thoughts and his or her conversation.
e) Conversation of others: The author also gives clues to the characteristic of a person through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him.
f) Reactions: The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events.
g) Direct Comment: The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h) Mannerisms: The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, and habits which may also tell us something about his character.
The above are the fundamental distinctive features of the character that can be seen through the character in the story, even though not as a whole. Besides, in order to have a good understanding of the story, the audiences need the knowledge gained by classifying the character. Abrams gives further explanation of comprehending the character in A Glossary of Literary Terms, as stated below.
A character may remain essentially “stable,” or unchanged in outlook and disposition, from the beginning to the end of a work, or may undergo radical change, either through a gradual process of motivation and single idea or quality’ and is presented without much individualizing detail, and therefore can be fairly adequately described in a single phrase or sentence. A round character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularity…. (1981:23-24).
There are two kinds of character, the stable or unchanged character that has a constant quality through out the story and the changed character in which these can be seen a quality of character development through his/her motivation and the result of crisis in the story. The character is categorized into flat and round characters. The flat character, literally known as a minor character, doesn’t play a major role in the story because he/she has a few significant characteristics and less qualities to make any development. However, the round character, a major character, is a prominent one having an individualized character that is built up with a particular personality and motivation.
2. Theory on Setting
Setting is one of the intrinsic elements in a literary work. This theory will later be helpful to study the society of the story. A term setting is quite broad consisting of many related elements within it (Gill, 1985:148). The elements making up a setting can be seen through Abrams, Harmon, Roberts, Van de Laar and Schoenderwoerd, and Gill’s theory of setting which gives a clear explanation on it.
Abrams stated in A Glossary of Literary Terms that “the setting of narrative work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which action occurs. It could be a particular physical location in which the story take place” (1981:175). This theory is also supported by Harmon’s theory of setting in A Handbook to Literature that the setting is also defined as: a)
The geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room b)
The occupations and daily manner of living of the characters