CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
In this chapter the writer will give
detail information about background of the study, statement of the problems,
objectives of the study, scope and limitation, significance of the study, research method
which consists of research d esign, data source, data collection, data analysis, and
definition of key term. By explaining those
points, the writer wishes that it will give clear understanding about what the writer is going to research.
1.1 Background of the Study Haroun and the Sea
of Stories is a marvellous novel written by Salman Rushdie, it is a fictional imaginative novel
published firstly on 1990. Though, it takes
for about 20 years later ago now, discussing Haroun and the Sea of Stories is
still interesting. Since, it talks
about phenomenon that exists today .
This novel could also attract
many readers, especially in literary world. It could be seen from one opinion from a famous
newspaper in India, India Today, which states “Haroun and the Sea of Stories
can be enjoyed by adolescent and adult
alike, read as it can be on several levels: as fable, fantasy, adventure, allegory, and by those obsessed by topicality
as an oblique, lyrical defence of his artist’s
license, so rudely and terminally impounded by the Islamic gendarmes” (Haroun
and the Sea of Stories, 1990: iii ). India Today’s statement above has given us a clear appreciation to Rushdie for
his ability in combining imagination, allegory
and even fable story into such a brilliant reading.
Anthony Burgess, a British
critics and novelist, also states “A great tribute to the resilience of Mr. Rushdie’s beleaguered
spirit that he should write so charmingly
funny a book: it is a book to enjoy and not to explicate but, if we wish, we can take it as a piece of Swiftian
outrage at human folly disguised as a children’s
tale. It is “The Battle of the Books” with a hint of Gulliverian savagery.” (Haroun and the Sea of Stories,
1990: iii ). Burgess has been so appreciative
by giving his full respect to Rushdie’s resilience and spirit for being able finishing this novel into a fabulous
reading for everyone in the world.
Citing those quotes, there is no
doubt that Salman Rushdie is still a writer who has plurality ideas after his hiding for
years. It is related to the publishing of his previous novel entitled Satanic Verses.
Many people have speculated that Satanic
Verses is insulting many of Moslems society in all over the world. Its publishing reaps both humiliation and praise. Even, the
highest power in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini
sent Rushdie a death fatwa at that time. Covering by this fatwa, he chose to hide. Salman Rushdie finally
appears to the surface of literary world
by bringing his new masterpiece entitled Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
In narrating Haroun and the Sea
of Stories, Rushdie with his brilliant thinking
can create all of the allegories into the whole meaningful text. His other special character is able to cover his novel
into fictional imaginative form, but it also
keeps another new construction about reality. For co mmon reader, this novel may only just another children story.
Salman
Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories is full of reversal of the concept of binary opposition that are believed
by many people. So, the question is whether this novel is really a children story
or not. Based on the characteristic of Rushdie
as both thinker and writer, he always makes
metaphors in his novels, it is clear
that both Gup and Chup as two contrast areas in this novel are not just a story but it could be seen as a metaphor as a
real world.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories is
a story about stories, narrated through the adventures of a boy named Haroun who takes a
journey to the Ocean of the Streams of
Stories to restore to his father, Rashid, his lost gift of storytelling. The Ocean of the Streams of Stories owes a moon
named Kahani. This area has a dark and a
bright side. The dark half or Chup is full of silence while the other is Gup is
bubbling with speech. Chup reigns in
perpetual darkness, while Gup is
awash in perpetual light. Haroun goes into Gup city and
meets many magical creatures. The character’s
name in Gup city are associated with unique characteristics, however the land of Chup on the dark side of
Kahani is full of negative names that
are suggesting silence. Most characters
in Haroun and the Sea of Stories outside the dark land of Chup have their own different
ways of speaking while the Chup reign always
shaped with silence and darkness. Even, it is also led by the Arch Enemy named
Khattam Shud, the Prince of Silent. At the end of the story, Haroun must fight Khattam Shud, the war between Gup and
Chup can not be avoided.
The two oppositions between these two areas, Gup which full of
speech and light and Gup which
completely dark and full of silence, is the very strong theme in this novel. Of course, there is something
happened between them, something that
creates one opposition is placed higher than other. As we know, that Gup (full of speech and light) are often considered
better than Chup (full of silence and darkness).
Of course, there is nothing fine between
them. One important thing to be noted is
that there is hegemony of speech over silence.
In our ordinary life, we can
easily find one group’s hegemony towards the other groups. Moreover, sometimes we do not
realize the existence of the existence
of the hegemony itself. One example of hegemony is bourgeois hegemony in France during the middle ages,
Bourgeois class was separated from the
working class. This condition created a new system of economic and social classification. Hegemony is formed by the
social situation in a certain society.
Group of people that has a
superior power dominates the other group that has less power than them. They usually will determine
social policies unfairly. They make their
needs as public’s need. They just think of everything that will only beneficial for their group. They always can do
what they want to do. They never tolerate
with the people who do not agree with them. The other group, that is dominated, will just keep silence without
struggling against this hegemony.
The most interesting phenomenon
related to the discussion of hegemony is hegemony of speech over silence found in the
novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories by
Salman Rushdie. In this novel we will find there are many hegemony of speech over silence. This hegemony happens
between Gup and Chup, Gup is an area in
Kahani which stays in perpetual light
while Gup is another side of Kahani
which lives in perpetual dark. All of
the characters in Gup are always associated
with special characteristics, but the characters in Chup are always suggesting the badness and even darkness. Gup
is always chattering with sounds, while
Chup is always as cold as ice in a frozen pole. The Guppees love speech very much, and think that silence is rude
habit. However, the Chupwalas in many ways
praise silence so much. The climax between Speech and Silence is shed in a battlefield.
In many literary works, we will
find out that the hegemony consists of two elements: dominate and dominated element. The
superior will keep on insulting the
inferior one. Interestingly, in this novel both Guppees and Chupwalas have their
own superpower, they both have their own
Kingdoms and activities which have
their own characteristic. In some cases, speech will be praised as much as possible, on the other hand, it seems that
silence is more important that speech.
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