CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study Novel is one of people’s creativity that is
expressed by written sentences.
Then, it is also known that
beside as human creativity, novel has social function.
Watt (Endaswara:81) said that the
social functions of novel are related to the questions how far literary works’ value
related to social value and how far the social
value are related to literary works’ value. In the development of literary research, most of sociology approach applied
in some novels which bring the idea of
racism or racial discrimination. This idea is shown in many novels especially American novels that captured the social
condition in which the novel made. The Known
Worldby Edward P. Jones is one of novels that bring this idea.
The Known Worldtook the setting
in Virginia, the small city in USA in the
end of th century before the civil war.
The novel tells about a black land lord family
with Henry Townsend as the patriarch. Henry Townsend is black slave who gets his freedom from his father. After
becoming a free person, he becomes the
land lord who has many black slaves. After his death, his beloved wife has made forbidding love with the chief of the
slaves and their love ended with tragic.
This great novel is written with
unique model of narrating plot story. The Known Worldpictures the life of slivery with
all of its problems and sufferings. It also
describes the phenomena of sex divergences, social class conflict and race discrimination in the society. These social
conflicts are the main theme of this novel.
Edward P. Jones, the writer of
this novel, was bornin Washington D.C.
and had graduated from University
of Virginia. He is the winner of PEN/Hemingway
Award and one of National Book Award finalist for writing his first short stories anthology, Lost in the
City(1992). He also won from Lannan Foundation
Grant and now lives in Arlington, Virginia, United State of America.
The Known World (2003) is his
first novel that became the winner ofNational Critic Circle Award 2003 and Pulitzer Prize
2004 for fiction.
Racial discrimination as one of
social conflict in this novel is one famous topic in the society which is talked many
times by the people. Beside becomes the topic
of discussion, the people can easily watch and feel it in their environment, books and even in some works of literature.
There are many people which are treated
differently by the other people because of their skin color or race.
Literature as the reflection of
reality also shows this phenomena and it becomes the exiting topic to be research.
Sociological approach used in
studying of literature has used this racial discrimination as the object of study. This
approach is used in this research because
the researcher sees that it is the only onethat can help the researcher to know the social condition in the place taken
as thesetting of the novel, Virginia.
After knowing it, it is hoped
this research can provide new experience for the readers and guide them to understand the
social condition that happens or maybe happens
in their environment which than make them easy to have good interaction or brings some idea or action to make the
social condition better.
This literary study which is
using sociological approach on novel is not the first study. Before this research, there
are some researchers that used this approach,
they are first, Muawwinatul Laili, she has done the research in 2007 under the title White’s Racism Faced by
Afro-Americans Depicted in Sue Monk Kidd’s
The Secret Life of Bees. She focused on the forms of White’s racism faced by Afro-Americans and the struggles of
Afro-Americans in Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees. Second, Miftahul Huda, who has done
the research in 2006 under the title Racism
against American Blacks as Portrayed in Ernest J. Gaines’ A Gathering of Old Men. He focused on the racial relation
between blacks, as the minorities and
the white as the dominant group. And third, Achmad Ghozi, he has done the research in 2008 under the title Racism in
James Mc Bride’s Miracle at St. Anna.
He focused on the racism problems
which then come with some social conflicts.
Forth, Annie Murtafi’ Amna, she
has done the research in 2007 under the title Native American Racism in James Fenimore
Cooper’s The Last of The Mohicans.
She focused on elaborating of the
way how the Whites treat the Native American and also the way how the Native responds the
Whites’ treatments. Fifth, Mohammad
Yusuf, he has done the research in 2007 under the title Social Interaction Reflected in John Steinbeck’ The
Pearl. He focused on the form of social
interaction and its influence the life of the society in the novel.
1.2 Problems of the Study There are three problems that will be
discussed in this research, they are: 1. What form
of racial discrimination happened
in Edward P.
Jones’ The Known World? 2. What
are
the causes of
racial discrimination happened
in Edward P.
Jones’ The Known World? 3. Does the racial discrimination reflect the
condition in Virginia in the last th century?
1.3 Objectives of the Study The purpose of this research is to answer the
question stated in the problem of the
study, they are: 1. to know the form of racial discrimination
happened in Edward P. Jones’ The Known World.
2. to find out the cause of the racial
discrimination happened in Edward P.
Jones’ The Known World 3. to
know whether the
racial discrimination reflect
the condition in Virginia
in the last th century.
1.4 The Significance of the Study
Theoretically, this research will give
the contribution in broadening the social
insight that can be obtained from literary work. It means that the research will valuate the literary not only as the art
work,but also as source of knowledge, especially
social knowledge.
Practically, this research will
give contribution for everyone who would like to make research on the racial
discrimination,what are its forms and what are the causes of racial discrimination. It is
also hoped to give some contribution for the next researcher who would like to make
further research about The Known World
by Edward P. Jones, or the other research that usesthe sociological approach.
1.5 Scope and Limitation To make clear the research, it must state
clearly the scope and limitation of the
research. This research will discuss Edward P. Jones’ The Known World and
focused on the social condition especially the racism in the the novel that
will be analyzed by sociology approach.
This research also wants to answer does the condition of the racial discrimination
reflected the historical reality at that time.
So, other aspects of the novel
outside it, will notbe discussed in this research.
The limitation of this research
is that the research is only going to explore the condition of racial discrimination
described byEdward P. Jones’ The Known World
and the reality in the history. It means that the researcher makes the research on the reality in the novel and the
reality in the history books.
1.6 Research Method Research methodology is the important element
of a research. It helps the researcher
in investigating the problems and shows how the study will be set up in order that the writer’s question will be
answered and the relationship will be observed.
Research methodology is the way that selected by the researcher by considering form, content, and characteristic
of literature as the subject of study.
1.6.1 Research Design This research is literary criticism which has
purpose to give some values to the work
of literature that is being research. Literary criticism is the literary study that is used by the researcher by
consideringthe form, content, and characteristic
of literature as the research subject. In this research, the researcher will follow the systematical method, theory,
logic,analytic and creative thinking.
Teew in Suwardi (2003: 8) states
that studying literature is supposing enter
a dense forest and we can be lost in it. Fromthis opinion, it expresses that literary works are very complex and involves
the various human phenomena. It is full
of meanings which must be learned in circumstantial research. That is why the attendance of research method of literature is
needed.
The research that will be done by the writer
uses the sociological approach, it
assumed that the existence of literarywork is not in an empty social background. As Elizabeth and Burns said that
literary is not only the effect of social
causes but also the cause of the social effect (Endaswara, 2003:79).
As the research that uses the
sociological approach, this research will analyze the individual and society. This
research purposed to show the correlation between the works of literature and the
society. Itis because the works of literature
is produced by an author, the author is a part of the society and the author uses the society’s properties, and the
result of the literary works will be used
by the society.
1.6.2 Data Source The main source which provides the data for
this research is the novel The Known
World by Edward P. Jones which is published in pdf formatfrom http://rapidshare.com/files/7118957/jones__edward__p_the_known_world__pulit
zer_prize_winner.pdf.
1.6.3 Data Collecting As one procedure to solve the problem well,
the researcher begins the research with
collecting the data. Here, the researcher takes some steps. These steps are done to make a systematical data and
keepits validity.
The steps are begun by reading
and understanding the novel The Known World.
From this step, the researcher finds some generaldata relating with the condition of racial discrimination happened in
Edward P. Jones’ The Known Worldin form
of paragraphs, phrases and sentences. After this step, the researcher chooses the data which only deals with the
problemsof the study; it is about the form
of racial discrimination and the cause of it and weather does or not the novel reflect the condition of racial discrimination
in Virginia in the last of th century.
To make the process of writing
the result of study easy, the writer in this step gives red colors to the sentences or paragraph
which are used as data. The last step of
data collecting is simplifying the data and to find the only appropriate data which can be analyzed to answer the problems
of thestudy.
1.6.4 Data Analysis After collecting and studying the data, the
researcher comes to the data analysis.
The first step is the researcher tries toexplore the data found and analyze it according to sociology concept of racial
discrimination. This step will help the researcher
to find the forms of racial discrimination in Edward P. Jones’ The Known World.
The second step is focusing in
analyzing the data to find the causes of racial discrimination happened in the society
described in Edward P. Jones’ The Known
World. So, the researcher must carefully classify which data are included to the forms of racial discrimination and
which data are included to the causes of racial discrimination.
The third step is comparing the
condition of racialdiscrimination, its forms
and causes in the Edward P. Jones’ The Known World with some information or references to know does the
racial discrimination told in the novel reflected
the real condition in Virginia in th century
as the sociological research usually
have to do.
The last step is making
conclusion based on the whole analysis. The conclusion covers all of the discussions in
the research.
1.7 Definition of Key Terms To help the reader to understand this thesis,
it isneed to give the key terms of the
research. The key terms are: Discrimination:the
treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit. It is usually
associated with prejudice. It can be behavior promoting a certain group (e.g. affirmative
action), or it can be negative behavior directed
against a certain group. In the other word, discrimination is unequal treatment of various categories of people.
Racial discrimination: any
distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic
origin which has the purpose or effect of
nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural or any other field of public life.
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