Analysis of The Protagonist's Conflicts in Nadine Gordimer's 'Burger's Daughter'.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................
iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study...................................................................
Statement of the Problem ..................................................................
Purpose of the Study .........................................................................
Method of Research ..........................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ................................................................
1
2
2
3
3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS
IN NADINE GORDIMER’S BURGER’S DAUGHTER ...........
4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION .......................................................... 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 18
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of Burger’s Daughter ......................................................... 19
Biography of Nadine Gordimer ........................................................ 21
iii
Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Dalam penulisan Tugas Akhir ini, saya memutuskan untuk
menganalisis novel yang berjudul Burger’s Daughter karya Nadine Gordimer
yang menceritakan berbagai konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh utama secara
menarik.
Dalam novel yang berjudul Burger’s Daughter ini, saya menemukan
bahwa tokoh utama bernama Rosa Burger adalah seorang wanita yang berasal dari
keluarga ras berkulit putih di Afrika Selatan. Pada saat itu di sana diberlakukan
sebuah sistem, yaitu Apartheid, dimana terdapat perbedaan perlakuan ras, yaitu
antara ras berkulit putih dan hitam. Rosa menghadapi berbagai konflik pribadi dan
juga konflik-konflik sosial. Rosa diperhadapkan dengan kenyataan hidup yang
berat terutama setelah kematian kedua orang tuanya yang disebabkan oleh
perjuangan mereka untuk memperjuangkan persamaan hak bagi ras berkulit
hitam. Selain itu, Rosa juga mengalami konflik dengan orang-orang sesama
rasnya karena mereka memiliki perbedaan pola pikir mengenai ras berkulit hitam.
Setelah saya menganalisis novel ini, saya menarik kesimpulan bahwa
berbagai konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh utama didasari oleh adanya perbedaan
pola pikir baik dalam dirinya sendiri maupun dengan tokoh-tokoh lainnya
mengenai topik-topik yang dibahas.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Burger’s Daughter
Burger's Daughter is a novel written by Nadine Gordimer. This novel tells
of a young white woman, Rosa Burger, who comes from a family in South Africa.
Rosa is the only remaining child in the family. Her father, Lionel Burger, is an
anti-Apartheid activist and her mother, Cathy Burger, also supports the struggle
against Apartheid. Her parents are imprisoned for their anti-Apartheid beliefs and
they finally die in prison.
When Rosa’s father is still alive and imprisoned, she indirectly supports
him by being engaged to Noel de Witt, one of her father’s colleagues, who fight
together with Rosa’s father in the struggle against Apartheid. Rosa’s aim of this
engagement is to help her father to communicate with Noel de Witt, who is also a
prisoner.
After both of Rosa’ parents are gone, not only white people but also black
people around her expect her to continue her parents' struggle against Apartheid.
The society wants her to do it because they think that Rosa has the legacy from
her parents, especially from her father who is one of the leaders in anti-Apartheid
movement. But Rosa avoids this responsibility and she goes to Paris and also
London.
19
Maranatha Christian University
When Rosa is still in her country, South Africa, one of her friends, Clare
Terblanche, asks Rosa to help her to lend her the key to the room where some
important documents are kept. Rosa refuses. She thinks it is hard to do and that it
will create some trouble for both of them.
Later, Rosa has a quarrel with her father’s friend, Conrad, who is also her
boyfriend. Conrad insists she take her responsibility by continuing her parents’
struggle against Apartheid but Rosa does not want to do that.
Rosa also has a black foster brother named Baasie, whom she meets when
she is in London. When they meet, Baasie tells Rosa that she has done something
wrong by agreeing to have a TV interview about her father. He thinks that Rosa’s
father is not the only one who must receive appreciation but there are a lot of
black people in the same struggle who must also get appreciation. Baasie also
reminds her about the black people’s suffering which is caused by the white
people. It makes Rosa remember the bad situation in her country and finally she
returns to South Africa to continue her parents’ struggle against Apartheid.
20
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer was born in Springs, Witwatersrand, South Africa, on
20th November 1923. Her father, who worked in the gold mines, was a Russian
and her mother was a Jew of British descent. Gordimer was married to Reinhold
Cassirer in 1954. Her husband was known as a highly respected art dealer who
established the South African Sotheby's. They had a son in 1955. Their marriage
lasted until Reinhold’s death in 2001. Most of Gordimer’s life apart from a brief
period in Zambia in the middle of 1960’s was spent in Witwatersrand, South
Africa.
Gordimer received her education in Witwatersrand, firstly as a scholar at a
convent called Our Lady of Mercy, and later she went to college at the University
of the Witwatersrand for one year. During that time she began to write essays,
short stories, novels and she also became a screenwriter. Her early works were in
the tradition of liberal South African whites opposed to Apartheid, while her later
works reflected a move toward radical political and literary terms. Her first short
story entitled Come Again Tomorrow was published in Johannesburg Magazine,
while her first novel entitled The Lying Days was published in 1953. Burger’s
Daughter was her seventh novel, which was published in 1979. Her most recent
novel was entitled The House Gun (1998). She has written 12 novels, some
collections of short stories and essays, which included Apartheid topics.
Gordimer rose to world fame for her novels and short stories that stunned
the literary world. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991. She has also
received international prize in the United States, the Modern Literature
Association Award. She is the vice president of PEN International and an
21
Maranatha Christian University
executive member of the Congress of South African Writers (“Biography of
Nadine Gordimer”).
22
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Apartheid is “racial discrimination which caused segregation between
white people and black people in many aspects of life. Black people are regarded
as inferior and it makes black people treated unfairly in society” (“Apartheid”).
Apartheid system happened in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s and is
presented by Nadine Gordimer in her Burger’s Daughter.
Nadine Gordimer is one of South Africa's prominent writers, who was
awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991. She has also produced several
collections of essays and short stories. I am interested in analyzing Nadine
Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter because I find that certain topics like politics,
racism, and families in this novel, are creatively presented by the author. “Nadine
Gordimer's Burger's Daughter is a remarkable book. A strength of the book is that,
in the workings-out of Lionel Burger's career, and his daughter's, we begin to
understand exactly what life for the politically involved white is like in South
Africa” (Grumbach).
1
Maranatha Christian University
In this thesis, I would like to analyze the protagonist's conflicts in
Gordimer’s Burger's Daughter. Conflict is one of the fundamental aspects in this
novel. According to Harry Shaw in his Dictionary of Literary Terms, conflict is
”… the opposition of persons or forces upon which the action depends in drama
and fiction” (Shaw 91-92).
There are three types of conflict, namely social conflict, physical conflict,
and inner conflict. According to Shaw, social conflict is “a struggle between man
and man” (Shaw 91). In other words, social conflict occurs because there are two
or more people who have different ideas and opinions about something. Physical
conflict is “a struggle between man and the physical world” (Shaw 91) while
inner conflict is “a struggle between desires within a person” (Shaw 92).
In Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter, most of the conflicts are inner conflicts
and social conflicts; thus, I would like to focus on the analysis of those conflicts in
my thesis.
Statement of the Problem
I would like to state the problems as follows:
1. What kind of conflicts can be found in the novel?
2. What are the causes of the conflicts?
3. How are the conflicts resolved?
Purpose of the Study
In relevance to the statement of the problem above, the purpose of this
final paper is:
2
Maranatha Christian University
1. To identify the conflicts which are found in Nadine Gordimer’s
Burger’s Daughter.
2. To find out the causes of the conflicts.
3. To show how the conflicts are resolved.
Method of Research
I would like to analyze Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter using
formalism in order to help me more in understanding the novel.
The type of research used is library research. I begin by reading the
primary text, Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter. Later, I read some books and
search the Internet to find some information to help me in analyzing the novel and
writing the thesis, and then finally I come to a conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
I divide the thesis into three chapters that are preceded by
Acknowledgements, Table of Contents and Abstract. Chapter One is the
Introduction, which contains the Background of the Study, Statement of the
Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research and Organization of the
Thesis. Chapter Two contains the analysis of the protagonist’s conflicts in Nadine
Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter. Chapter Three contains the Conclusion of the
analysis. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which
contain the Synopsis of Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter and the Biography
of the Author.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the conflicts in the Burger’s Daughter by Nadine
Gordimer, I would like to draw some conclusions. As the protagonist, Rosa
experiences three inner conflicts and three social conflicts. The conflicts in this
novel deal with the Apartheid system in South Africa.
There are three inner conflicts experienced by Rosa. First, Rosa faces the
dillemma whether to continue her father’s struggle against Apartheid or not. The
second inner conflict is about Rosa’s engagement in order to help her father. The
third inner conflict is when Rosa has to decide whether to return to South Africa
or not. All of the inner conflicts experienced by Rosa are finally resolved.
Besides inner conflicts, Rosa also experiences social conflicts. There are
three social conflicts in this novel. The first social conflict happens between Rosa
and Baasie about different perceptions concerning Rosa’s father in his struggle
against Apartheid. The second social conflict happens between Rosa and Clare
Terblanches about Rosa's objection to help Clare in fighting against Apartheid.
The third social conflict happens between Rosa and Conrad about her dislike for
14
Maranatha Christian University
Conrad’s opinion which causes a dispute. All of these social conflicts in this story
are finally resolved.
All the conflicts found in this novel share the same issue, that is about the
struggle against Apartheid and Rosa’s legacy as the daughter of an anti-Apartheid
activist. Being Lionel Burger’s daughter means that Rosa has the obligation to
continue her father’s struggle. Moreover, Rosa must get involved in his affairs.
All her life, Rosa has been living in her father’s shadow and after her father’s
death, his legacy becomes the source of all conflicts in her life.
Based on this novel, I think that Rosa actually inherits the knowledge she
needs to continue her father's legacy and the spirit to fight for the rights of the
blacks from her parents, especially from her father. She feels responsible as the
Burger’s daughter to continue the struggle against Apartheid, which is her parents'
legacy. But actually deep in her heart, she has her own point of view that every
person has the freedom to choose what to do.
Moreover, I have my own opinions on the three social conflicts
experienced by Rosa. In the first conflict, Baasie, her black foster brother, thinks
that it is not fair if only Lionel who gets appreciation for his fight against
Apartheid, because he is white. There are also a lot of black people sacrificing
themselves for their own freedom. But Rosa thinks that her father is sincere in
helping the blacks to gain their freedom from discrimination. I think Rosa should
understand Baasie’s objection to the interview concerning appreciation of
Lionel’s life, because as a black, Baasie also wants a lot of black freedom fighters
get appreciation like Lionel. I think Baasie’s objection is the proper thing because
15
Maranatha Christian University
black people also do the same struggle for justice by fighting against Apartheid
like several whites, to get equality in all aspects of life, especially for black people
in South Africa.
The second social conflict is when Rosa refuses to help Clare Terblanche.
Clare asks Rosa to help her by lending her the key to the room where important
documents are kept. Because she is the daughter of Rosa's parents' ally, Rosa must
help her. But Rosa thinks that if she helps Clare, both she and Clare will be in a
lot of trouble. I think that Rosa should be helpful, especially since Clare's parents
have a close relationship with Rosa's parents. Although there will be
consequences to be faced when Rosa helps Clare in the anti-Apartheid struggle,
they can face them together and mutually help each other.
The third conflict is between Rosa and Conrad. Conrad thinks that Rosa
has to continue her father's struggle against Apartheid as the responsibility of
being a daughter of an anti-Apartheid activist. He thinks that Rosa is irresponsible
if she runs away from her responsibility. But Rosa has a different opinion. She
thinks that everyone has their freedom to choose their own way of life. I think
Rosa should not only think about her personal life but she should also think about
the needs of others, especially black people.
In this story, I sympathize with Rosa because she makes the right decision
especially at the end of the story by going back to her country, South Africa, in
order to continue her father struggle against Apartheid for black people. I find that
the novel is actually interesting but it is not easy for me to read, because of its
16
Maranatha Christian University
language and plot. As for the author, I choose Nadine Gordimer because she lifts
the topic of racial discrimination. Especially in this novel, the author shows the
importance of assisting others in life through the protagonist’s conflicts.
17
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Gordimer, Nadine. Burger’s Daughter. London: Penguin Books LTD, 1979.
References
Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. London: McGraw-Hill Inc, 1972.
The World Book Encyclopedia Volume 21. Chicago: World Book. Inc., 1996.
Internet
“Apartheid.” 18 Mar. 2010
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid >
“Biography of Nadine Gordimer”. 5 Mar. 2010
“Burger’s Daughter”. 19 Feb. 2010
Grumbach, “Nadine Gordimer” vol.18. Contemporary Literary Criticism. 25 Feb.
2010
Molina, 1995, Online Literary Criticism Collection. 19 Jan. 2010
18
Maranatha Christian University
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................
iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study...................................................................
Statement of the Problem ..................................................................
Purpose of the Study .........................................................................
Method of Research ..........................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ................................................................
1
2
2
3
3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS
IN NADINE GORDIMER’S BURGER’S DAUGHTER ...........
4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION .......................................................... 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 18
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of Burger’s Daughter ......................................................... 19
Biography of Nadine Gordimer ........................................................ 21
iii
Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Dalam penulisan Tugas Akhir ini, saya memutuskan untuk
menganalisis novel yang berjudul Burger’s Daughter karya Nadine Gordimer
yang menceritakan berbagai konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh utama secara
menarik.
Dalam novel yang berjudul Burger’s Daughter ini, saya menemukan
bahwa tokoh utama bernama Rosa Burger adalah seorang wanita yang berasal dari
keluarga ras berkulit putih di Afrika Selatan. Pada saat itu di sana diberlakukan
sebuah sistem, yaitu Apartheid, dimana terdapat perbedaan perlakuan ras, yaitu
antara ras berkulit putih dan hitam. Rosa menghadapi berbagai konflik pribadi dan
juga konflik-konflik sosial. Rosa diperhadapkan dengan kenyataan hidup yang
berat terutama setelah kematian kedua orang tuanya yang disebabkan oleh
perjuangan mereka untuk memperjuangkan persamaan hak bagi ras berkulit
hitam. Selain itu, Rosa juga mengalami konflik dengan orang-orang sesama
rasnya karena mereka memiliki perbedaan pola pikir mengenai ras berkulit hitam.
Setelah saya menganalisis novel ini, saya menarik kesimpulan bahwa
berbagai konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh utama didasari oleh adanya perbedaan
pola pikir baik dalam dirinya sendiri maupun dengan tokoh-tokoh lainnya
mengenai topik-topik yang dibahas.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Burger’s Daughter
Burger's Daughter is a novel written by Nadine Gordimer. This novel tells
of a young white woman, Rosa Burger, who comes from a family in South Africa.
Rosa is the only remaining child in the family. Her father, Lionel Burger, is an
anti-Apartheid activist and her mother, Cathy Burger, also supports the struggle
against Apartheid. Her parents are imprisoned for their anti-Apartheid beliefs and
they finally die in prison.
When Rosa’s father is still alive and imprisoned, she indirectly supports
him by being engaged to Noel de Witt, one of her father’s colleagues, who fight
together with Rosa’s father in the struggle against Apartheid. Rosa’s aim of this
engagement is to help her father to communicate with Noel de Witt, who is also a
prisoner.
After both of Rosa’ parents are gone, not only white people but also black
people around her expect her to continue her parents' struggle against Apartheid.
The society wants her to do it because they think that Rosa has the legacy from
her parents, especially from her father who is one of the leaders in anti-Apartheid
movement. But Rosa avoids this responsibility and she goes to Paris and also
London.
19
Maranatha Christian University
When Rosa is still in her country, South Africa, one of her friends, Clare
Terblanche, asks Rosa to help her to lend her the key to the room where some
important documents are kept. Rosa refuses. She thinks it is hard to do and that it
will create some trouble for both of them.
Later, Rosa has a quarrel with her father’s friend, Conrad, who is also her
boyfriend. Conrad insists she take her responsibility by continuing her parents’
struggle against Apartheid but Rosa does not want to do that.
Rosa also has a black foster brother named Baasie, whom she meets when
she is in London. When they meet, Baasie tells Rosa that she has done something
wrong by agreeing to have a TV interview about her father. He thinks that Rosa’s
father is not the only one who must receive appreciation but there are a lot of
black people in the same struggle who must also get appreciation. Baasie also
reminds her about the black people’s suffering which is caused by the white
people. It makes Rosa remember the bad situation in her country and finally she
returns to South Africa to continue her parents’ struggle against Apartheid.
20
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer was born in Springs, Witwatersrand, South Africa, on
20th November 1923. Her father, who worked in the gold mines, was a Russian
and her mother was a Jew of British descent. Gordimer was married to Reinhold
Cassirer in 1954. Her husband was known as a highly respected art dealer who
established the South African Sotheby's. They had a son in 1955. Their marriage
lasted until Reinhold’s death in 2001. Most of Gordimer’s life apart from a brief
period in Zambia in the middle of 1960’s was spent in Witwatersrand, South
Africa.
Gordimer received her education in Witwatersrand, firstly as a scholar at a
convent called Our Lady of Mercy, and later she went to college at the University
of the Witwatersrand for one year. During that time she began to write essays,
short stories, novels and she also became a screenwriter. Her early works were in
the tradition of liberal South African whites opposed to Apartheid, while her later
works reflected a move toward radical political and literary terms. Her first short
story entitled Come Again Tomorrow was published in Johannesburg Magazine,
while her first novel entitled The Lying Days was published in 1953. Burger’s
Daughter was her seventh novel, which was published in 1979. Her most recent
novel was entitled The House Gun (1998). She has written 12 novels, some
collections of short stories and essays, which included Apartheid topics.
Gordimer rose to world fame for her novels and short stories that stunned
the literary world. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991. She has also
received international prize in the United States, the Modern Literature
Association Award. She is the vice president of PEN International and an
21
Maranatha Christian University
executive member of the Congress of South African Writers (“Biography of
Nadine Gordimer”).
22
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Apartheid is “racial discrimination which caused segregation between
white people and black people in many aspects of life. Black people are regarded
as inferior and it makes black people treated unfairly in society” (“Apartheid”).
Apartheid system happened in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s and is
presented by Nadine Gordimer in her Burger’s Daughter.
Nadine Gordimer is one of South Africa's prominent writers, who was
awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991. She has also produced several
collections of essays and short stories. I am interested in analyzing Nadine
Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter because I find that certain topics like politics,
racism, and families in this novel, are creatively presented by the author. “Nadine
Gordimer's Burger's Daughter is a remarkable book. A strength of the book is that,
in the workings-out of Lionel Burger's career, and his daughter's, we begin to
understand exactly what life for the politically involved white is like in South
Africa” (Grumbach).
1
Maranatha Christian University
In this thesis, I would like to analyze the protagonist's conflicts in
Gordimer’s Burger's Daughter. Conflict is one of the fundamental aspects in this
novel. According to Harry Shaw in his Dictionary of Literary Terms, conflict is
”… the opposition of persons or forces upon which the action depends in drama
and fiction” (Shaw 91-92).
There are three types of conflict, namely social conflict, physical conflict,
and inner conflict. According to Shaw, social conflict is “a struggle between man
and man” (Shaw 91). In other words, social conflict occurs because there are two
or more people who have different ideas and opinions about something. Physical
conflict is “a struggle between man and the physical world” (Shaw 91) while
inner conflict is “a struggle between desires within a person” (Shaw 92).
In Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter, most of the conflicts are inner conflicts
and social conflicts; thus, I would like to focus on the analysis of those conflicts in
my thesis.
Statement of the Problem
I would like to state the problems as follows:
1. What kind of conflicts can be found in the novel?
2. What are the causes of the conflicts?
3. How are the conflicts resolved?
Purpose of the Study
In relevance to the statement of the problem above, the purpose of this
final paper is:
2
Maranatha Christian University
1. To identify the conflicts which are found in Nadine Gordimer’s
Burger’s Daughter.
2. To find out the causes of the conflicts.
3. To show how the conflicts are resolved.
Method of Research
I would like to analyze Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter using
formalism in order to help me more in understanding the novel.
The type of research used is library research. I begin by reading the
primary text, Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter. Later, I read some books and
search the Internet to find some information to help me in analyzing the novel and
writing the thesis, and then finally I come to a conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
I divide the thesis into three chapters that are preceded by
Acknowledgements, Table of Contents and Abstract. Chapter One is the
Introduction, which contains the Background of the Study, Statement of the
Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research and Organization of the
Thesis. Chapter Two contains the analysis of the protagonist’s conflicts in Nadine
Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter. Chapter Three contains the Conclusion of the
analysis. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which
contain the Synopsis of Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter and the Biography
of the Author.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the conflicts in the Burger’s Daughter by Nadine
Gordimer, I would like to draw some conclusions. As the protagonist, Rosa
experiences three inner conflicts and three social conflicts. The conflicts in this
novel deal with the Apartheid system in South Africa.
There are three inner conflicts experienced by Rosa. First, Rosa faces the
dillemma whether to continue her father’s struggle against Apartheid or not. The
second inner conflict is about Rosa’s engagement in order to help her father. The
third inner conflict is when Rosa has to decide whether to return to South Africa
or not. All of the inner conflicts experienced by Rosa are finally resolved.
Besides inner conflicts, Rosa also experiences social conflicts. There are
three social conflicts in this novel. The first social conflict happens between Rosa
and Baasie about different perceptions concerning Rosa’s father in his struggle
against Apartheid. The second social conflict happens between Rosa and Clare
Terblanches about Rosa's objection to help Clare in fighting against Apartheid.
The third social conflict happens between Rosa and Conrad about her dislike for
14
Maranatha Christian University
Conrad’s opinion which causes a dispute. All of these social conflicts in this story
are finally resolved.
All the conflicts found in this novel share the same issue, that is about the
struggle against Apartheid and Rosa’s legacy as the daughter of an anti-Apartheid
activist. Being Lionel Burger’s daughter means that Rosa has the obligation to
continue her father’s struggle. Moreover, Rosa must get involved in his affairs.
All her life, Rosa has been living in her father’s shadow and after her father’s
death, his legacy becomes the source of all conflicts in her life.
Based on this novel, I think that Rosa actually inherits the knowledge she
needs to continue her father's legacy and the spirit to fight for the rights of the
blacks from her parents, especially from her father. She feels responsible as the
Burger’s daughter to continue the struggle against Apartheid, which is her parents'
legacy. But actually deep in her heart, she has her own point of view that every
person has the freedom to choose what to do.
Moreover, I have my own opinions on the three social conflicts
experienced by Rosa. In the first conflict, Baasie, her black foster brother, thinks
that it is not fair if only Lionel who gets appreciation for his fight against
Apartheid, because he is white. There are also a lot of black people sacrificing
themselves for their own freedom. But Rosa thinks that her father is sincere in
helping the blacks to gain their freedom from discrimination. I think Rosa should
understand Baasie’s objection to the interview concerning appreciation of
Lionel’s life, because as a black, Baasie also wants a lot of black freedom fighters
get appreciation like Lionel. I think Baasie’s objection is the proper thing because
15
Maranatha Christian University
black people also do the same struggle for justice by fighting against Apartheid
like several whites, to get equality in all aspects of life, especially for black people
in South Africa.
The second social conflict is when Rosa refuses to help Clare Terblanche.
Clare asks Rosa to help her by lending her the key to the room where important
documents are kept. Because she is the daughter of Rosa's parents' ally, Rosa must
help her. But Rosa thinks that if she helps Clare, both she and Clare will be in a
lot of trouble. I think that Rosa should be helpful, especially since Clare's parents
have a close relationship with Rosa's parents. Although there will be
consequences to be faced when Rosa helps Clare in the anti-Apartheid struggle,
they can face them together and mutually help each other.
The third conflict is between Rosa and Conrad. Conrad thinks that Rosa
has to continue her father's struggle against Apartheid as the responsibility of
being a daughter of an anti-Apartheid activist. He thinks that Rosa is irresponsible
if she runs away from her responsibility. But Rosa has a different opinion. She
thinks that everyone has their freedom to choose their own way of life. I think
Rosa should not only think about her personal life but she should also think about
the needs of others, especially black people.
In this story, I sympathize with Rosa because she makes the right decision
especially at the end of the story by going back to her country, South Africa, in
order to continue her father struggle against Apartheid for black people. I find that
the novel is actually interesting but it is not easy for me to read, because of its
16
Maranatha Christian University
language and plot. As for the author, I choose Nadine Gordimer because she lifts
the topic of racial discrimination. Especially in this novel, the author shows the
importance of assisting others in life through the protagonist’s conflicts.
17
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Gordimer, Nadine. Burger’s Daughter. London: Penguin Books LTD, 1979.
References
Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. London: McGraw-Hill Inc, 1972.
The World Book Encyclopedia Volume 21. Chicago: World Book. Inc., 1996.
Internet
“Apartheid.” 18 Mar. 2010
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid >
“Biography of Nadine Gordimer”. 5 Mar. 2010
“Burger’s Daughter”. 19 Feb. 2010
Grumbach, “Nadine Gordimer” vol.18. Contemporary Literary Criticism. 25 Feb.
2010
Molina, 1995, Online Literary Criticism Collection. 19 Jan. 2010
18
Maranatha Christian University