Crisis of identity and mimicry in Orwell`s Burmese days as seen through the characterization of a native character U Po Kyin: a postcolonial reading.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRACT
BONIFASISUS ENDO GAUH PERDANA. CRISIS OF IDENTITY AND
MIMICRY IN ORWELL’S BURMESE DAYS AS SEEN THROUGH THE
CHARACTERIZATION OF A LOCAL NATIVE CHARACTER U PO
KYIN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING. Yogyakarta: Departement of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016
This study analyzes how crisis of identity and mimicry occurs in the
postcolonial discourse. A local native character whose name is U Po Kyin is the
focus of the study. As a native character, he holds a high ranking position for local
in the British Raj in Burma. However, he is portrayed as a corrupt official as he
accepts bribes and denounces his rival. His ambition to get the membership, an
elite European Club, drives him infuriated to destroy his rival’s reputation because
naturally it is him who would be elected as the first local member of the Club. At
the end of the novel, Kyin finally secures his membership but he fails to atone his
evil-doings by building pagodas as a Buddhist. Kyin’s attitude is seen as how he
manages to deal with his inferiority towards the British. He is also observed to
mimic the British as his strategy to erase the idea of being colonized.
There are two problem formulations in this study. The first is to find out
how U Po Kyin suffers from crisis of identity through his characterization in the

novel. Then, the second objective is to understand how his crisis of identity leads
him to mimic the British.
This study is a library research. The primary source of this study is a novel
by George Orwell entitled Burmese Days. Some books, journals and articles
related to this study are also used. Postcolonial approach is used in this thesis.
There are two steps of doing this study. First is arranging some theories and
studies related to this study. The theories used in this study are theory of
characterization and postcolonial theories. Theory of crisis of identity by
Rutherford and also Ashcroft and mimicry by Bhabha are the main theories used
in this study. Then, the second step is to answer the problem formulations by
analyzing the novel using selected theories above.
This study finds that U Po Kyin suffers from crisis of identity. He is
oppressed conscious and unconsciously by the British. This causes his self-image
to be eroded. Even though he is relatively wealthier than his fellow natives, he
still craves for more as he realizes that there is something more than money. He
wants to be detached from his inferiority. The elite European Club represents his
ambition because it offers him status to be like the British. That is why he
schemes to crush his rival. In his schemes, denigrating his rival means to mimic
the British because he needs to differ himself from the natives. However, he is
still powerless because the British still consider him as the subject of

colonialization.

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ABSTRAK
BONIFASISUS ENDO GAUH PERDANA. CRISIS OF IDENTITY AND
MIMICRY IN ORWELL’S BURMESE DAYS AS SEEN THROUGH THE
CHARACTERIZATION OF A LOCAL NATIVE CHARACTER U PO
KYIN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Studi ini menganalisis terjadinya krisis identitas and mimikri dalam
wacana poskonialisme. Fokus studi ini adalah seorang karakter lokal bernama U
Po Kyin. Meskipun Kyin merupakan seorang karakter lokal, tetapi dia mempunyai
jabatan yang tinggi dalam pemerintahan kolonial di Burma sebagai seorang hakim
pengadilan rendah. Kyin digambarkan sebagai pejabat yang korup. Dia sangat
berambisi untuk mendapatkan keanggotan the Club. The Club merupakan sebuah
klub elit milik pemerintahan kolonial Inggris. Oleh karena itu, dia ingin
menghancurkan reputasi seorang dokter untuk mendapatkan keanggotaan the

Club. Pada akhir cerita dalam novel, Kyin akhirnya berhasil mendapatkan
keanggotannya. Akan tetapi, dia gagal menebus dosa-dosanya dengan
membangun pagoda sesuai dengan ajaran Buddha. Sikap Kyin tersebut
menunjukan caranya untuk menghilangkan inferioritasnya terhadap Inggris. Kyin
juga melakukan mimikri terhadap Inggris sebagai strateginya untuk
menghilangkan status keterjajahannya.
Ada dua rumusan masalah dalam studi ini. Yang pertama adalah untuk
mengetahui bagaimana Kyin menderita krisis identitas melalui karakterisasinya di
dalam novel. Kemudian, yang kedua adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana krisis
identitas memperngaruhinya untuk melakukan mimikri terhadap orang Inggris.
Studi ini adalah studi pustaka. Sumber utama studi ini adalah novel
George Orwell yang berjudul Burmese Days. Sumber terkait lainnya berupa buku,
jurnal dan artikel juga digunakan. Ada dua langkah yang dilakukan untuk
menyelesaikan studi ini. Yang pertama adalah mengumpulkan studi-studi dan
teori terkait. Teori yang digunakan adalah teori karakterisasi dan teori
poskolonialisme. Teori poskolonialisme yang digunakan adalah krisis identitas
oleh Rutherford dan juga Ashcroft dan wacana mimikri oleh Bhabha. Langkah
yang kedua adalah menjelaskan semua rumusan masalah dengan menganalisa
novel dengan teori-teori di atas.
Hasil dari studi ini adalah penjelasan bagaimana U Po Kyin menderita

krisis identitas. Dia tertekan secara sadar dan tidak sadar oleh pemerintah kolonial
Inggris. Hal ini menyebabkan citra dirinya tergerus. Walaupun dia cukup kaya di
antara warga lokal lainnya, dia masih menginginkan hal yang lebih besar dari
uang semata. Ambisinya tersebut direpresentasikan oleh the Club karena the Club
dapat memberikannya status seperti orang Inggris. Jadi, sangat penting bagi Kyin
untuk menghancurkan reputasi rivalnya. Upaya untuk menghancurkan reputasi
rivalnya merupakan strategi mimikri Kyin untuk membedakan dirinya dari warga
lokal lainnya. Akan tetapi, Inggris tetap menganggapnya sebagai subjek yang
terjajah.

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CRISIS OF IDENTITY AND MIMICRY IN ORWELL’S
BURMESE DAYS AS SEEN THROUGH
THE CHARACTERIZATION OF A NATIVE CHARACTER
U PO KYIN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By

BONIFASIUS ENDO GAUH PERDANA
Student Number: 124214123

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2016

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CRISIS OF IDENTITY AND MIMICRY IN ORWELL’S
BURMESE DAYS AS SEEN THROUGH

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF A NATIVE CHARACTER
U PO KYIN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
BONIFASIUS ENDO GAUH PERDANA
Student Number: 124214123

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2016

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All you need
in this life is
ignorance
and confidence,
and then success is sure.
Mark Twain
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For those who question their identities
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have been talking too much about my thesis since last year. Yet, I finally
finish my thesis after a bundle of supports from relatives and friends. I was being
showered by endless blessings during the tiring, stressing, and doubtful process.
Therefore, I would like to express my very first gratitude to the God Almighty
whom I owe prayers every night.
I would also like to deliver my gratitude to my thesis advisor, Elisa Dwi
Wardani, S.S., M.Hum whom I regularly met when I lost my way during the
process. I could not imagine how I finish this thesis without her. I would also
thank A. B. Sri Mulyani, Ph.D. As my thesis co-advisor, she gave some
suggestions and helped me with the formatting of my thesis.
I consider my four years in English Letters Department of Sanata
University as a formation phase of my life. I learn many life lessons here in
Sanata Dharma University. Many ups and downs decorate my college life in the

campus. Those moments bring me more joys but sometimes sorrows. Hence, I
would like to thank the lectures and friends of my beloved department.
I dedicate my thesis to my parents who always lovingly care for me. Their
encouragements, love and prayers keep me going until I finally reach the finish
line. The smile on their faces are the happiness of my life.
Finally, I would like to thank my partner when working with this thesis, a
lover, Amanda Alexandra Tanne. She always wants to hear the updates of my
thesis and listens to my boastful complains. Those who are not mentioned, I
would like to thank you all.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................................ ii
APPROVAL PAGE ............................................................................................. iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE.........................................................................................iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIK................................................................v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ....................................................................vi

MOTTO PAGE .................................................................................................. viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................x
ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................xi
ABSTRAK............................................................................................................. xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .........................................................................1
A. Background of the Study......................................................................1
B. Problem Formulation............................................................................3
C. Objectives of the Study ........................................................................4
D. Definition of Terms..............................................................................5
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .....................................................7
A. Review of Related Studies ...................................................................7
B. Review of Related Theories ...............................................................11
C. Review of Related Backgrounds ........................................................18
D. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................22
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................24
A. Object of the Study ............................................................................24
B. Approach of the Study........................................................................25
C. Method of the Study...........................................................................27
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ................................................................................29

A. Crisis of Identity Suffered by U Po Kyin...........................................29
B. Crisis of Identity leads to Mimicry of U Po Kyin ..............................45
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...........................................................................54
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................56

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ABSTRACT
BONIFASISUS ENDO GAUH PERDANA. CRISIS OF IDENTITY AND
MIMICRY IN ORWELL’S BURMESE DAYS AS SEEN THROUGH THE
CHARACTERIZATION OF A LOCAL NATIVE CHARACTER U PO
KYIN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING. Yogyakarta: Departement of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016
This study analyzes how crisis of identity and mimicry occurs in the
postcolonial discourse. A local native character whose name is U Po Kyin is the
focus of the study. As a native character, he holds a high ranking position for local
in the British Raj in Burma. However, he is portrayed as a corrupt official as he
accepts bribes and denounces his rival. His ambition to get the membership, an
elite European Club, drives him infuriated to destroy his rival’s reputation because
naturally it is him who would be elected as the first local member of the Club. At
the end of the novel, Kyin finally secures his membership but he fails to atone his
evil-doings by building pagodas as a Buddhist. Kyin’s attitude is seen as how he
manages to deal with his inferiority towards the British. He is also observed to
mimic the British as his strategy to erase the idea of being colonized.
There are two problem formulations in this study. The first is to find out
how U Po Kyin suffers from crisis of identity through his characterization in the
novel. Then, the second objective is to understand how his crisis of identity leads
him to mimic the British.
This study is a library research. The primary source of this study is a novel
by George Orwell entitled Burmese Days. Some books, journals and articles
related to this study are also used. Postcolonial approach is used in this thesis.
There are two steps of doing this study. First is arranging some theories and
studies related to this study. The theories used in this study are theory of
characterization and postcolonial theories. Theory of crisis of identity by
Rutherford and also Ashcroft and mimicry by Bhabha are the main theories used
in this study. Then, the second step is to answer the problem formulations by
analyzing the novel using selected theories above.
This study finds that U Po Kyin suffers from crisis of identity. He is
oppressed conscious and unconsciously by the British. This causes his self-image
to be eroded. Even though he is relatively wealthier than his fellow natives, he
still craves for more as he realizes that there is something more than money. He
wants to be detached from his inferiority. The elite European Club represents his
ambition because it offers him status to be like the British. That is why he
schemes to crush his rival. In his schemes, denigrating his rival means to mimic
the British because he needs to differ himself from the natives. However, he is
still powerless because the British still consider him as the subject of
colonialization.

xi

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRAK
BONIFASISUS ENDO GAUH PERDANA. CRISIS OF IDENTITY AND
MIMICRY IN ORWELL’S BURMESE DAYS AS SEEN THROUGH THE
CHARACTERIZATION OF A LOCAL NATIVE CHARACTER U PO
KYIN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Studi ini menganalisis terjadinya krisis identitas and mimikri dalam
wacana poskonialisme. Fokus studi ini adalah seorang karakter lokal bernama U
Po Kyin. Meskipun Kyin merupakan seorang karakter lokal, tetapi dia mempunyai
jabatan yang tinggi dalam pemerintahan kolonial di Burma sebagai seorang hakim
pengadilan rendah. Kyin digambarkan sebagai pejabat yang korup. Dia sangat
berambisi untuk mendapatkan keanggotan the Club. The Club merupakan sebuah
klub elit milik pemerintahan kolonial Inggris. Oleh karena itu, dia ingin
menghancurkan reputasi seorang dokter untuk mendapatkan keanggotaan the
Club. Pada akhir cerita dalam novel, Kyin akhirnya berhasil mendapatkan
keanggotannya. Akan tetapi, dia gagal menebus dosa-dosanya dengan
membangun pagoda sesuai dengan ajaran Buddha. Sikap Kyin tersebut
menunjukan caranya untuk menghilangkan inferioritasnya terhadap Inggris. Kyin
juga melakukan mimikri terhadap Inggris sebagai strateginya untuk
menghilangkan status keterjajahannya.
Ada dua rumusan masalah dalam studi ini. Yang pertama adalah untuk
mengetahui bagaimana Kyin menderita krisis identitas melalui karakterisasinya di
dalam novel. Kemudian, yang kedua adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana krisis
identitas memperngaruhinya untuk melakukan mimikri terhadap orang Inggris.
Studi ini adalah studi pustaka. Sumber utama studi ini adalah novel
George Orwell yang berjudul Burmese Days. Sumber terkait lainnya berupa buku,
jurnal dan artikel juga digunakan. Ada dua langkah yang dilakukan untuk
menyelesaikan studi ini. Yang pertama adalah mengumpulkan studi-studi dan
teori terkait. Teori yang digunakan adalah teori karakterisasi dan teori
poskolonialisme. Teori poskolonialisme yang digunakan adalah krisis identitas
oleh Rutherford dan juga Ashcroft dan wacana mimikri oleh Bhabha. Langkah
yang kedua adalah menjelaskan semua rumusan masalah dengan menganalisa
novel dengan teori-teori di atas.
Hasil dari studi ini adalah penjelasan bagaimana U Po Kyin menderita
krisis identitas. Dia tertekan secara sadar dan tidak sadar oleh pemerintah kolonial
Inggris. Hal ini menyebabkan citra dirinya tergerus. Walaupun dia cukup kaya di
antara warga lokal lainnya, dia masih menginginkan hal yang lebih besar dari
uang semata. Ambisinya tersebut direpresentasikan oleh the Club karena the Club
dapat memberikannya status seperti orang Inggris. Jadi, sangat penting bagi Kyin
untuk menghancurkan reputasi rivalnya. Upaya untuk menghancurkan reputasi
rivalnya merupakan strategi mimikri Kyin untuk membedakan dirinya dari warga
lokal lainnya. Akan tetapi, Inggris tetap menganggapnya sebagai subjek yang
terjajah.

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The writer chooses George Orwell’s Burmese Days to study because it
represents the situations of South East Asian nations as most of them were
colonized. Colonized nations share certain characteristics in common as
proposed by Loomba “Colonialism … reshapes, often violently, physical
territories, social terrains as well as human identities” (Loomba, 2005:155). In
Southeast Asia, there were at least three colonial nations that gained control
over nations in the region and made them into their colonies (Wiharyanto,
2005:113). They were British that ruled in Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar,
French that ruled in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, Spanish ruled in the
Philippines and Dutch ruled in Indonesia. Upon a series of agreement between
the colonials, Thailand was left free politically but controlled economically.
Thus, almost all countries in Southeast Asia were colonized. It is presupposed
that they share the same spirit to be free from imperialism. The novel is also
believed to depict a complete situation where the colonial regime oppressed
the native.
However, the colonial government, especially British colonial government
in Burma, somewhat tries to provide the native more space in their elite
community as they let natives hold lower rankings officials. In another view,
sometimes natives admire the British colonial government as they take into
account that imperialism brought enlightenment to the people. In the novel, an
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

example can be seen from one of native characters, an Indian-born, Dr.
Veraswami who praises the English imperialism because he believes it is the
Englishmen who bring his people to be civilized and educated though they
have always been treated as ‘the other’ (Orwell, 1934:40).
Another reason why the writer chooses Orwell’s piece to study is because
he is known as a writer, essayist as well as journalist who explicitly addresses
and expresses his political issues in his work s. In his opus magnum, 1984 and
Animal Farm, Orwell criticizes satirically a totalitarian government and its
instruments. Homage to Catalonia was written after he had taken part in
Spanish Civil War (Lee, 1969:819). These show that his life experiences
apparently influenced his works in many ways. Hence, he even utilized those
experiences as backgrounds and argumentations for him to write a literary
work including Burmese Days.
Orwell was a police officer in Burma who later resigned from Indian
Police (British Police force stationed in British Raj in India and Burma) in
1928(Rai, 1983:49). This can be seen as a sign of his rejection of imperialism.
He wrote Burmese Days afterwards but worried upon the publication, as it
would disrupt British Office in India (Rai, 1983:49). He proclaimed himself as
the one who concerned about Burmese people as he stated in one of his
essays, Shooting an Elephant “Theoretically – and secretly, of course - I was
all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (Orwell,
1936). Years after that, he finally published the novel in 1942. Orwell’s
attitude implies on one of his characters in the novel, John Flory who spends

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most of his time in the colonized country, Burma. Flory is pictured as the
friendliest and loved by the native as he respects their culture and traditions.
This can be taken as representation of Orwell’s personal statement towards
British imperialism in Burma which was unlike most of his colleagues.
The focus of this study is the identity issue. The image of self that is
destroyed because of colonialization is a sign of cultural denigration.
Therefore, the colonized people see themselves as inferior than the colonizer.
This can be seen from the native characters who pursue their dreams to be
‘united’ or as if having close relationship with one of the Europeans (Orwell,
1950:15). The locals are longing for identity that would establish their status
in the community as portrayed by U Po Kyin, a local magistrate who devises a
plan to be the first local member in an expatriate community by all means.
The pursuit of being West, the British imperialism which most the Orient,
those who were colonized, aim to have, according Bhabha, is “a dream of the
deprived, the illusion of the powerless” (Bhabha, 2004: xi).
B. Problem Formulation
This study answers the following questions:
1.

How does U Po Kyin suffer from identity crisis as seen through the
characterization in Orwell’s Burmese Days?

2.

How does his crisis of identity lead to the process of mimicry in
Orwell’s Burmese Days?

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C. Objectives of the Study
This study discusses identity issue in Orwell’s Burmese Days that occurs
in the native character U Po Kyin. U Po Kyin is portrayed as a corrupt official
in this novel. As he pursues his ambition to be elected in the British Club in
Kyauktada, he continues to make plans to compete deceitfully with his fellow,
an Indian-born native, Dr. Veraswami. Dr. Veraswami who is known to have a
close relationship with the main character, a British, John Flory. Having the
fact that Dr. Veraswami is more likely to be elected, U Po Kyin begins to
destroy the doctor’s reputation by producing lies and evil plans. When he
finally achieves his dream, he is not treated the same like the member of the
club because other members, the British, do not want to be equal with local in
any possible ways. He suffers from crisis of identity as he complains about his
conditions. Even though, he is a local magistrate who has a better situation in
terms of wealth and social status. Thus, this study has two objectives. The first
objective is to identify his crisis of identity in the novel by examining
characterization of Kyin. The second objective is to find how the identity crisis
leads him to mimic the colonizer, the British. He seems to have the intention to
be like the British in terms of wealth and respect but he himself fails to realize
his inferiority in the British colonialism. He is still trapped in the wheel of
colonialism because his status remains as the colonial subject. This is the result
of his mimicry because mimicry is only a form of repetition not representation.

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D. Definitions of Terms
1. Crisis of Identity
Rutherford uses ‘desert’ as a metaphor for crisis of identity. Desert
symbolizes otherness and sense of strangeness. It also symbolizes as a margin
between habitable and inhabitable areas. He comments on Lawrence of Arabia
who is a white man but has lived in Arab for years. Lawrence begins
questioning himself that he has quitted his English self but yet to acquire a
new identity as an Arab because in the West concept being an Arab is a
complete uncanny (Rutherford, 1990:9).
Identities are formed between the relations of power. The distribution of
power is seen from bipolarity of relation, black/white, masculine/feminine,
colonializer/colonized and others (Rutherford, 1990:9). One is dominant and
the other is subordinate. However, as illustrated earlier, desert symbolizes the
margin, it also represents sex, race and culture. Therefore, when confronted in
the margin, it is where someone starts to question his identity.
Ashcroft offers the term of place and displacement to picture crisis of
identity. “The conscious or unconscious oppression of the indigenous
personality and culture by a supposedly superior racial or cultural model”
(Ashcroft, 2002:9) causes the image of self to be eroded. This triggers them to
experience alienation and crisis where he called it as a result of displacement.
Another sign to obverse crisis of identity is a tendency to seek and practice
‘Englishness’.

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2. Mimicry
Mimicry is a complex strategy of the Other who seek to reform. As a
process, mimicry is a sign of disavowal because it does not represent power
but only repetition (Bhabha, 2004:123). However, mimicry threats both of
colonizer and colonized. For the colonizer, mimicry will disrupt its exercise of
power because the ambivalence effect of mimicry. The result of mimicry is
‘almost the same, but not quite’ (Bhabha, 2004:123). Therefore, the
ambivalence of mimicry is a sign of turbulence of colonial practice as many
start to imitate their way of thinking. Thus, it would disrupt the colonial
government because there are some local natives who are educated and ready
to criticize them. For the colonized, mimicry is an attempt to denigrate the
indigenous culture.

3. Native
According to Ashcroft, the term native is “the indigenous inhabitants of
colonies has a long and chequered history.” (Ashcroft, 2007:142). The root of
this term is associated with those who were born in the land. However, in the
colonialization context, this term carries a meaning to indicate that native is
“regarded as inferior to the colonial settlers or the colonial administrators who
ruled the colonies.” (Ashcroft, 2007:142).

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
Burmese Days is believed to be written based on life experience of George
Orwell stationed in Burma (Myanmar) as a British officer. Orwell is
considered as a social critic rather than novelist as his works, including the
most praised 1984 and Animal Farm, are presented in clarity of details. Thus,
many said that his works are on the border of fiction and non-fiction (Lee,
1969:819). Orwell himself proclaims that he was more intended to write a
novel that has unhappy endings but speaking details description and similes
for the sake of their sounds (Orwell, 1946). He then categorized Burmese
Days as one of his works where he applied the technique. Orwell creates a
space for simile or satire to exist to criticize British imperialism especially in
India Raj where spent 10 years as a police officer. Thus, it is assumed that his
characters resembled the true characteristics of colonizer and colonized.
His major character in the novel is John Flory, European timber manager,
who has spent fifteen years living in Kyauktada. He possesses intelligence and
kinship to native. He tends to like the natives by supporting one of them to be
first local natives’ member admitted to the European Club. As a result, “He is
alienated from his countrymen not only by his superior intellect but his
willingness to accept, enjoy and even, heretically, like the local natives” (Lee,
1969:820). These arguments build a solid background of identity shown by
Flory’s attitudes, contradicted from his fellow colonizer. Whereas, the local
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natives that is dominantly presented by U Po Kin, the highest native official in
British colonial government, is living the feeling of hegemony by eagerly
desired to join the European Club. Since he was a child when he was looking
at the British soldiers marched to Mandalay, he had been dreaming to be one
of them, fighting for them instead of his nation (Orwell, 1934:6).
Postcolonial issues are addressed in a way that the novel takes British
imperialism in Burma as a background. This creates an atmosphere where
Flory also speculates upon his condition:
What was at the center of all his thoughts now and what poisoned
everything, was the ever bitterer hatred of the atmosphere of the
imperialism in which he lived for as his brain developed – you cannot stop
your brain developing, and it is one of the tragedies of half educated that
they develop late, when they are already committed to some wrong way of
life – he had grasped the truth about the English and their Empire (as
quoted by Rai, 1983: 50)
This illustrates that Flory himself is aware that he is somewhat trapped in the
wheel of colonialism. He then wishes to get away from such situation but it is
too late. What Flory has in mind conforms the idea that all the characters in
the novel are conjectured to colonialism. Thus, U Po Kyin is apparently
included. However, he might response to imperialism differently compared to
Flory.
Another study from Poznar in Orwell and Little Brother, indicates that
how U Po Kyin reacts to the state of colonialism. As pictured in the novel
where Kyin really wants to get the membership of the Club, Poznar comments
that Kyin’s ambition is a sign of inferiority while “all of the English in the
novel share this exhilarating sense of superiority, the illusion of power”

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(Poznar, 1985:259). Poznar emphasizes his study on the English characters
while this study will discuss the sense of inferiority through the native
character.
The Club here also represents a symbol of the core of the colonial power.
Its centrality attracts those who are in the periphery to come nearer. Sinha as
quoted in Gopinath’s research entitled An Oprhaned Manliness: The Pukka
Sahib and The End of Empire in “A Passage to India” and “Burmese Days”
remarked about how essential the Club to the British Empire. She said that:
The narrative emphasizes the centrality of the Club, not just in Kyauktada
but the British empire, when it points out that it is “the spiritual citadel, the
real seat of British power, the Nirvana for which native officials and
millionaires pine in vain (Gopinath, 2009:212)
Thus, it approves the idea why Kyin wants to get the membership of the club.
Given the fact that he is a native official who is a sub-divisional magistrate
eases him to get into the club using his power. Gopinath’s study agrees with
the idea that this study also remarks the importance of the Club in the stage of
Kyin’s crisis of identity and mimicry.
Another study then suggests that every character in the novel are
imprisoned. Lee in Symbol and Structure in Burmese Days: A Revaluation
explain how every character imprisons themselves with the things they
encounter. He said that:
… the entire novel displays the captivity of all the characters: in their
striving for English values, Burmese such as U Po Kyin and Veraswami
incarcerate themselves; in the closed world of the Club, the English
enslave their servants and each other in bigotry and solipsism; perhaps
most significant of all, the jungles make captives of all inhabitants. (Lee,
1969:833)

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These sums up the idea that Burmese character in the novel are longing for
Englishness. As a result, their ambitions somehow ‘incarcerate themselves’ so
that they are no longer aware of the subtle imprisonment they create
themselves. This study signifies what the writer observes in this study that
Kyin suffered from crisis of identity as he wanted to get the membership of
the Club. Imprisonment of Kyin is also observed in a form of his mimicry
towards the British.
The studies the writer has reviewed in this part provide the writer with an
idea how Burmese Days presents its characters’ responses towards the British
imperialism. Every character in the novel possess their uniqueness in dealing
with colonialism as seen through their characterization. Therefore, the writer
draws this study closely on a Burmese character, U Po Kyin. This study
explains how he suffers from crisis of identity as he admits of being inferior to
the British. Then, the writer observes how he manages to response his crisis
by employing mimicry to the British as he believes that entering the Club is
the key.

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B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Characters and Characterization
Characters play a vital role in literary works as it is explained by
Abrams and Harpham:
Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative
work, who are interpreted by the reader as possessing particular
moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from
what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it—the
dialogue—and from what they do—the action. (Abrams and
Harpham, 2009:42)
The importance of character appears as a basic element of narrative work
because all the events that happen in the story consist of characters to be a
‘device’ to deliver the message to readers. Moreover, characters are
representation of human being in verbal terms narrative work having
thought, speech and behavior as it is shown in daily life (Roberts and
Jacobs, 1987:119). Some characteristics devices included speech and
actions are reflection of their temperament, desires and moral natures.
They are called ‘motivation’ by Abrams and Harpham (Abrams and
Harpham, 2009:42).
There are mainly two ways of characterization. The first is
showing. Showing tends to be more dramatic as the author introduces the
character explicitly and let the readers conclude the final assumption
towards the characters themselves. Then, the second is telling. Telling
means that the author decides to describe the qualities of a character as an
observer or a storyteller. Generally, most authors convey the information
about the characters by providing readers with certain habits, other
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characters’ comments, characters way of thinking, and description from
authors (Abrams and Harpham, 2009:43).
2. Theory of Identity Crisis
Rutherford provides an example where he uses the story of
Lawrence of Arabia as the background. He proposes the idea that when
Lawrence was stranded in the dessert, he faced the confusion of himself.
Dessert was metaphorically used as the border between the known and
unknown territories as Rutherford puts it “margin between the habitable
and the inhabitable” (Rutherford, 1990:9). Then, Lawrence suffers from
crisis of identity as stated by Rutherford:
For Lawrence the dessert left him neither Arab nor English: ‘I had
dropped one form and not taken on another’. In a more
contemporary setting Baudrillard has commented, ‘in the dessert
one loses one’s identity’. (Rutherford, 1990:10)
Then, the dessert is assumed to the sign of difference as a line to separate
one to the other. The idea of the dichotomy of “white/black,
masculine/feminine, hetero/homosexual, where one term is always
dominant and the other is subordinate, that our identities are formed”
applies in the representation of the desert as a border (Rutherford,
1990:10).
In the context of Postcolonial, the concept of dichotomy offered by
Rutherford applies in colonializer/colonized. Colonializer is taken as
dominant whereas colonized is subordinate. This signifies the effect of
difference as perceived by the effect the existence of the other group.
When one’s identity experience changes, transformation and hybridity as
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all of those are the correlative effect of fears, anxieties, confusion and
arguments, one would undergo the process of achieving identity
(Rutherford, 1990:10). By examining these changes, one’s movement
from one society to the other can be observed as the critique of
essentialism because it believes that identity is not fixed. Therefore, an
indigenous identity is shifted through a process of arguments that one day
he/she would achieve the sense of Englishness because English identity is
believed to be more superior to theirs.
According to Rutherford, there must be an interrelationship
between one identity (society) with another where power embodied as an
important aspect. This means that the relationship between identity to
another identity is based on assumption of power and authority.
Rutherford discusses the failure of categorization of the Communist Party
to promote the erasure of the oppression of sexuality, race and gender. The
system successfully recognizes the power every dichotomy of sexuality,
race and gender but it fails to eliminate “the element of practical politics:
choice, doubt, strategy, planning, error and transformation.” (Rutherford,
1990:17). As a result, the form of oppression exists because everyone falls
into polarities like white-black, working class-ruling class and no
exception of colonial and colonized. Then, the colonial government
happens to claim to be superior as they believe they possess more power
than the ‘Other’. They commence to initiate the oppression against the
inferior, the local natives.

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Ashcroft offers the term ‘Place and Displacement’ to elaborate the
crisis of identity in the postcolonial discourse. He insists that it is when
the special post-colonial crisis of identity comes into being; the
concern with the development or recovery of an effective
identifying relationship between self and place (Ashcroft, 2002:8)
Thus, it is important to notice the relationship between the image of
postcolonial subject, the colonized in certain aspect of location. Location
here means how he is positioned in social structure of colonial life.
One of the main causes this phenomenon to happen is cultural
denigration. Ashcroft indicates that there is always be a form of
oppression. He explains that:
A valid and active sense of self may have been eroded by
dislocation, … it may have been destroyed by cultural denigration,
the conscious and unconscious oppression of the indigenous
personality and culture by a supposedly superior racial or cultural
model. (Ashcroft, 2002:9)
The oppression exists because there is a claim from the ‘supposedly
superior racial’ over the inferior. This practice destroys the self-image of
the indigenous people. Though, sometimes, the devastation is highly
manipulated in form of their slogan of enlightening people and support for
the longevity of colonial prosperity.
The result of displacement is alienation (Ashcroft, 2002:9). As the
image of self is eroded or destroyed, the crisis of self-image starts to
appear. Ashcroft provides some results of displacement. He said:
the possession and practice of ‘Englishness’, also show clear signs
of alienation even within the first generation of settlement, and
manifest a tendency to seek an alternative, differentiated identity?
(Ashcroft, 2002:9)
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It is when the colonized begin to be alienated among their native society. It
is also clear to observe that those who tend to get acquainted of the
Englishness suffer from crisis of identity.

3. Theory of Mimicry
As it has been introduced in the realm of literary devices by the
famous Plato’s term mimesis, mimicry here would occupy the same
qualities. Bhabha explains that mimicry in postcolonial is “the desire for a
reformed, recognizable Other, as a subject of difference that is almost the
same but not quite” (Bhabha, 2004:122). It refers to the determination of
the Other to signify themselves as the colonizer. They may acquire certain
qualities but they will never be ‘them’. Bhabha formulates that:
Mimicry is, thus the sign of a double articulation; a complex
strategy of reform, regulation, and discipline, which ‘appropriates’
the Other as it visualizes power (Bhabha, 2004: 123)
However, mimicry also affects both sides, colonized and colonizer.
The ambivalence of mimicry lies on the ‘partial’ part of the colonial
subject. Colonizer is dependent upon the relation between the authoritative
power of colonialism and the success of implying the power to the Other,
the indigenous people. Partiality is seen from the position of mimicry as a
strategic plan as well as menace (Bhabha, 2004: 123). This means that
when mimicry is employed into practices there would be some menace
effect which would disturb the stability of the colonial government. For
example, when the British introduced proper education to certain class of
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people in India, the British were afraid that the intellectuals they produce
would one day turn against them. Therefore, the colonized people are
affected in a way that there is a group of local people who are enlightened
as they receive the British education as well as they mimic the culture of
the British. On the other hand, the British as the colonizer are not affected
culturally. They would never consider the colonized as equal even though
some of them are educated like them but still the British would be less
concerned with the idea of equality. The British would consider more
about how their empire is endangered as now there were some local
intellectuals who were ready to criticize the British.
Bhabha also comments on the mimicry as a means of repetition
rather than representation because the colonizer is put in the discourse of
the failure of the colonial system itself. He said “… the effect of flawed
colonial mimesis, in which to be Anglicized is emphatically not to be
English” (Bhabha, 2004: 125). Therefore, it is justified that colonized
repeatedly practice the signification of colonial as if they (the Other)
utilize the practice the power of being colonial or imperial. The identity
associated with the English values as they have been dreaming of would
never be achieved because they are only given selected knowledge and
false and also limited authority under strict control of the British.
Rutherford has also remarked that identity is determined based on
the politics of different. He agreed with Gramsci upon the idea of
collective identity. Gramsci believed that politics is the new of the

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formation of new collective identity as shown in the strike of minority’s
leftist such as gay and lesbian groups. These groups are obvious fall into,
if categorization is applied, left movements along with communist and
feminist and other leftist. However, the strike triggers the revolutionary
politics of culture resulting that “… the politically negotiable and
incomplete character of identity and social formations” (Rutherford,
1990:19). Thus, identification of political identity as in colonial system
where oppression was severe and attached to the system of colonial itself
is never be nor singular neither predictable.
The ambivalence of mimicry appears because identity cannot be
reduced into single concept because “identity marks the conjuncture of our
past with the social, cultural and economic relations we live within.”
(Rutherford, 1990:19). This means that an identity someone or society
claim to be is consist of many layers which emphasized on the past and its
relation to the present. This concept also argues any forms of fixity and
essentialism because “social, political and class formation do not exist a
priori, they are a product of articulation.” (Rutherford, 1990: 20). As a
result, there is no point when everything (class, gender, and race) just
happen without any correlation with the past events.
What drives someone who is already attached to one identity move
to another identity is human intention itself. Human intention as in form
of wish cannot be separated from the past events. According to Freud as
quoted by Rutherford; “You will see from such an example how the wish

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employs some event in the present to plan a future on the pattern of the
past.” (Rutherford, 1990:21). This recognizes any events that happened in
the past as determining factors to produce wishes. In the postcolonial
discourse, the wish to get out of a society or identity can be seen from the
oppression so that someone would wish to be oppressed no more by trying
to be like the oppressor.

C. Review of Related Background
1. Burma Under British Imperialism
A. The Historical Background
British annexed Burma in 1885 when they captured the royal capital of
last Burma kingdom, Mandalay. Then, British exiled King Thibaw and
Queen Supalayat to India where the couple spent rest of their lives. The
palace which was located in Mandalay, were turned into military based. It
became the center of colonial life equipped with luxury facilities such as a
polo field, a golf course and tennis courts and also a chapel found within
the complex of the palace since the British took it under control (Larkin,
2004:29).
British also had redecorated many rooms in the palace. They placed a
billiard table in one of sacred rooms that was used to pay homage for
Queen Supalayat. This provides a picturesque description about the typical
interior of the Club in Burmese Days. The Club refers to the elite club,
whose members are all European, where they spent most their times

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gathering together to enjoy home-like atmosphere by drinking gin or
playing bridge and else. The Club was a citadel as well as fortress to the
British (Larkin, 2004:29).
In 1923, the British introduced a new rule which allow a small number
of Burmese politicians attend the parliament meeting. This rule also
applied to British clubs across the country. They were forced to accept a
local member. However, the segregation remained strong. Larkin gave an
example where:
… the Burmese official who was appointed acting governor in place of
the British governor who was away on sick leave was denied access to
the Rangoon clubs. (Larkin, 2004:188)
This evidence shows that how strong the segregation was between the
British and Burmese. Thus, the fulfilment of the new regulation was
merely to obey the rule for its sake not to accommodate the Burmese of
their rights.
B. Burmese Officials in the British Raj
When the British annexed Burma, they exiled the king and queen of
last Burmese dynasty and began to employ a new form of government.
Burma became the part of British India or British Raj. In doing so, the
British government “… had removed the respected headmen and replaced
them with its own bureaucratic counterparts.” (Larkin, 2004:67). Thus,
many magistrates and other local officials were corrupt because as long as
they performed the duty as told by the British, they secured their position
the government. They practiced corruption mainly by taking bribery.

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C. Racism of the British towards Burmese
Orwell believed that racism in the key element of British colonial
system. As he became an eyewitness of colonial in Burma where he
worked as police officer, he concluded an example of racism practice done
by British every day.
Burma was known for the extreme weather in the summer when
intolerably hot sun stung one’s head like a bee. The British always wore
Topi whenever they went out to avoid the sun. However, the Burmese
never wore one. Consequently, the British believed that the Burmese were
biologically different as they did not need any protection from the sun.
This illustration sums up his idea that:
You can only rule over a subject race, especially when you are in a
small minority, if you honestly believe yourself to be racially superior,
and it helps towards this if you can believe that the subject race is
biologically different. (Larkin, 2004:160).
The British believed that such practices would differ them from the local
natives. They would feel superior as they thought because human needs
protection from the heat of the sun whereas the Burmese were only
‘savage’ to them.
2. Pagoda as The Center of Religious Identity
Most of Burmese were Buddhist when the British came to the country.
Today, Myanmar is a country that take Buddhist as their national religion.
Pagoda is a quintessential for Burmese as an individual as well as for the

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country. Larkin on her trip to Burma to trace Orwell back years ago comments
that:
Pagoda are the center of Burmese spiritual life, and every town and village
has one. People visit the pagoda daily or weekly to pay respect to the
Buddha relics which are often enshrined there, to meditate, to give alms,
or to attend the festivals held on religious holidays. (Larkin, 2004:77)
Pagoda is the symbol of Buddhism where Buddhist people practice the
religion there. For Burmese people, pagoda has immersed in their hearts as
they always put the pagoda as cente