Capangpangan, Capangpangan, Ilac Raphaell A. 2014-05753 English 11 An Analysis on “This Earth Earth of Mankind” Mankind” by Pramoedya Pramoedya Ananta Toer Toer Translated by Max Lane
The themes colonialism and colonial mentality is vividly present all throughout the novel “This Earth of Mankind” by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. This time, the story’s setting is in a Dutch-colonialized Indonesia, where natives look up towards the Europeans and Western civilization much like how Filipinos worship anything coming from foreign countries other than their own. Reading the novel was an enjoyable experience because coming from a country that was under foreign rulers for a long time made it easier to r elate elate to the universe where Minke thrives. It is also noticeable how ‘blind faith’ is shown in the story from how Minke didn’t feel the right to distrust his Dutch teachers and how he never thought that somebody cannot believe a newspaper report which, by that time, was managed by the Dutch. This trust of his served as a dangerous part of his education because it closed his mind, either intentionally or not, and eventually stopped him from questioning whatever the Dutch does in their country. But more than the colonial mentality of the characters in the novel, another pressing issue that
still persists today that will be seen in this book by Toer is the misogynistic treatment towards women in a patriarchal society. Even from the start of the book, misogyny is evidently present in numerous situations. In addition to this is the racial discrimination of being a native as compared to being an Indo or a pure-blood. One can only imagine how hard and stifling living as a native woman back then can be in a society where women were prejudiced against and natives were perceived to be the lowest of the low. Women’s position and role in society in this novel were unjustly predetermined from birth, and no matter how educated and refined one may seem to be, a woman will still not be seen to be on the same level as men. It was also obvious how Robert Suurhof objectifies women as something to be conquered to prove a man’s masculinity right at the start of the novel when he invites Minke to go with him and meet the goddess of Surabaya by saying “If you are a real man, a true philogynist, come with me there. I want to see what you do, whether you’re indeed as manly as you say you are” (Toer, p. 20). On the way there, he also prompts Minke to join him in singing “veni, vidi, vici – I came, I saw, I conquered” (Toer, p. 21). Evidences of the role of gender in determining one’s role in society was apparent when Minke meets Nyai Ontosoroh, a native woman who is a concubine of a wealthy Dutch businessman and mother of Annelies. In his
mind, he makes a clear distinction between the treatment of a Dutch woman and a native and considers whether he will offer his hand or just ignore her. This scene shows the readers the difference in status between a man and a woman, and the treatment of European women and of native women. Minke was also amazed at how Nyai Ontosoroh was behaving like a Eurpoean woman and how fluent she was in speaking in Dutch despite being a native woman. The fact that something that can be learned by “supposedly” anyone amazed Minke further shows the patriarchal nature of society back then. At one point during their encounter with one another, Minke compared Nyai Ontosoroh to his mother in that they had some similarities. However, he quickly takes it back by saying to himself: “Beware, don’t equate her with Mother. She is just a nyai, living in sin, giving birth to illegitimate children, low in moral character, selling honor to live easily and in luxury” (Toer, p. 32). Again, this shows a preconceived standpoint against women, particularly the nyais, that people like them are disgusting sinners who are ready to sell anything to live a life of luxury. Another situation was that after lunch, Suurhof and Robert Mellema stood up and left the dining area without as much as saying a word to Nyai Ontosoroh. To think that Robert was her own son and he disrespected her like that just adds to show how natives are different in status even when
compared to their Indo children. When Annelies brought Minke to see a work area containing steel-hooped wooden barrels, he was shocked to see women working outside the kitchen, wearing the same work clothes as men, and making a living as with men. From how Minke reacted when he saw all this just shows how strictly obedient his beliefs and culture were to a male-dominated society at the time. The women characters in the novel represent different parts of Javanese society during that time. Nyai Ontosoroh symbolizes the part of Javanese society that is not blind to the wrongdoings of the Dutch, or in general, the issues that persist in Java during the time the book was written. She represents the Javanese people who refuse to submit to inequalities and what was supposed to be just because they were born as women in a period of gender discrimination (Matos, 2014). Her daughter Annelies is a representation of a part of society oblivious to the terror and damages brought by these colonizers, starting from the rules they implement, the belief that men are above women, and their justice system that favors people based on the blood that runs through their veins (Matos, 2014). An interesting character in the novel is a Japanese prostitute by the name of Maiko whose story is told shortly in chapter ten of the book. Maiko, who is uneducated and powerless, symbolizes the powerlessness of many
Javanese people whose freedom and voices were stripped from them by the Dutch through force or through fear of retaliation from the colonizers. Their continued silence of the atrocities during the Dutch rule prevented them from standing up against the injustices during that period. Maiko is a representation of the weaknesses of Javanese society that mainly serve as the reason for their continuous oppression (Matos, 2014). Summing it all up, aside from the unjust treatment towards natives in Java, the novel also portrayed the difficulties of women living in a Dutchcolonized Indonesia where they are not treated with respect and not given the chance to prove themselves because there is a stigma put on them by men that women should be servants instead of enjoying equal rights as them. Even in the chance that a woman shows her capabilities, much like how Nyai Ontosoroh was an intelligent woman, loving mother, and competent person who runs a business, she is attacked with criticism and disbelief. The use of women characters to represent what is supposed to be a male-dominated society seeks to empower women through this book by Toer. Since this novel was set in a period when Indonesia was under Dutch rule, using women characters shows the readers that women could also take part in important matters concerning their country as opposed to how people viewed them during that time.
The use of language also helped to further evoke a strong feeling of desire to make a stand against discrimination and prejudice. The use of language that seems to limit human potential in someone when talking about native women was seen even at the beginning of the novel. Lines like “She was only a concubine” (Toer, p. 33) and “What sort of office work can she do?” (Toer, p. 36) instead of using does sounds like belittling Nyai
Ontosoroh’s capabilities. The way I see it, Toer directs the harsh words to his own race to open the eyes of his countrymen and let them know how these injustices feel like to make them relate to it that can possibly be a spark for change. Aside from the issue of gender equality present in the story, this novel also aims to share a story of successful awakening and enlightenment in the character of Minke. He, who at the start of the novel, was a young man who adored everything that came from Western civilization to the point of worship, slowly develops skepticism towards his Dutch education and everything that he used to believe in as the story progresses. With the help of Nyai Ontosoroh, his eyes are fully opened to see what is really happening in their country without bias. His awakening is an allegory to the awakening of Indonesia as a nation that sees the flaws in the system and strives to fight against it (Matos, 2014).
Although in the end, Annelies is sent to the Netherlands, we are reminded of a famous saying that says it is better to try than not to try at all. Although Minke and Nyai lose in court, this might have served to ignite a fire in the hearts of the people to go against injustices and cruelty and that everyone, no matter the blood that flows in their veins, should be equal in the eyes of men.
REFERENCE/S: Matos, C. (2014). The Road to Awakening . Retrieved May 16, 2017, from https://stonybrook.digication.com/cynara_matos/Literary_Analysis
