WOMAN'S STRUGGLES AGAINST RACISM AS REFLECTED IN ANGELOU’S I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS A THESIS BY: ZIQRY CHARLA OKTAVIANY REG. NO. 130705113 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA MEDAN 2018 Universitas Sumatera Utara ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alhamdulillahi rabbil ‘alamin, I would like to express my highest gratitude to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala for blessing, love, opportunity, health, and mercy so that I can complete this thesis. Salawat and Salam to the noble prophet, Muhammad SAW. This thesis entitled “woman's struggles against racism as reflected in angelou’s i know why the caged bird sings” is submitted as the final requirement in accomplishing bachelor degree at Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies in University of Sumatera Utara. In arranging this thesis, a lot of people have provided motivation, advice, and support for me. In this valuable chance, I intended to express my gratitude and appreciation to all of them. First, I would like to give a deepest appreciation to my beloved parents, my mother Ir. Yusmanila for the endless love, pray, and support, and my father Drs. Khairil Anwar,M Si for the phone call everyday in order to remind me to keep going and never giving up. And of course my annoying sister, Zahra Ramadhani who always steals my clothes. And I present my sincere appreciation to the Dean of Cultural Studies, Dr. Budi Agustono, M.S., the Head of English Department, Dr. Deliana, M.Hum., and the Secretary of English Department, Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, MA. Ph.D for their encouragement during my study in this faculty. And also this thesis would not have been possible without the help, support, and patience of my first advisor, Dr. Siti Norma Nasution, M.Hum., for her supervision, advice, and guidance from the very early stage of this research. Then to my second advisor Dian Marisha Putri, S.S, M.Si who has helped me patiently finishing this bachelor thesis by giving suggestion and correction until the completion of this thesis. I also like to thank Dra. Diah Rahayu Pratama, M.Pd as my examiner for the kindness that I received during my trial exam. Universitas Sumatera Utara My gratitude also goes to my beloved Opa Alm. H. Tom Usman, who always caring, loving, and supports me since I was a little baby until this time. Thank you so much for taking care of me and be there for me through my best and worst times. I’ll always remember the things you have taught me and may Allah SWT granted you Jannah amiin.. And also to all of my dearest family, Oma, Mami, Tante tika, Dedeh, Om Polo, Ogek, and to all of my family member. Thank you for the love and support. For that I am very grateful to have them in my life. To T. Ali Akbar, thank you for the most love, care, support, humour, and for being special part in my life through ups and downs. I could never have finished this thesis without your guidance. To my human diary, Vinyuk, thank you for always being my gossip girl. And thank you my friends, Azalia, Santri, Ory, Tassa, for the helps during this thesis progress. Thank you as well to my senior sisters, Kak Refi, Kak Zara, Kak Ossy, and Kak Dini. And also I would like to thank every single person of my classmates who cannot be mentioned here one by one. Finally, I would like to thank everybody who was so important to the successful realization of this thesis. This thesis is far from perfect, but it is expected that it will be useful for the readers. For this reason, constructive thoughtful suggestion and critics are welcomed. Medan, January 26th 2018 Ziqry Charla Oktaviany Reg. No. 130705113 Universitas Sumatera Utara ABSTRAK Woman's Problems and the Struggle Against Racism as Reflected in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings adalah sebuah skripsi yang membahas tentang kehidupan seorang wanita yang bernama Maya yang mana juga merupakan tokoh utama dalam novel tersebut. Dalam skripsi ini dibahas mengenai apa saja yang menjadi masalah Maya selama hidupnya, menjadi seorang anak yang sejak kecil orangtuanya telah bercerai dan bagaimana perjuangan Maya menghadapi masalahnya dan bagaimana pula peran orang-orang disekitarnya dalam membantu dan mendukungnya untuk berjuang melawan rasis sampai akhirnya Maya berhasil menjadi seorang wanita yang memiliki emansipasi dan mendapatkan kebebasannya. Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam menganalisis skripsi ini adalah metode kualitatif yang mana metode ini menggambarkan dan menganalisis data dari novel dan kemudian memberikan beberapa interpretasi dan penjelasan. Dari hasil analisis, penulis memperoleh kesimpulan bahwa pria dan wanita; maupun orang kulit putih dan orang kulit hitam seharusnya memiliki kedudukan yang sama agar tidak ada lagi satu kaum yang tertindas di bawah tekanan kaum lainnya. Kata kunci: Woman's Problems, Racism, Woman's Struggle i Universitas Sumatera Utara ABSTRACT Woman's Problems and the Struggle against Racism as Reflected in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a thesis that discusses the life of a woman named Maya which is also the main character in the novel. What Maya problem during her lifetime, being a child who since childhood with her brother was live with her grandmother because their parents divorced; and how Maya struggles to face her problems and how the role of people around her to help and to support her to struggle racism until she finally successes to become emancipated woman and gets her freedom. The method used in analyzing this thesis is a qualitative method which this method describes and analyzes the data from the novel and then give some interpretations and explanations. From the analysis, the author takes the conclusion that men and women; even white and black people should have the same position so that no more one community is under pressure of another. Keywords: Woman's Problems, Racism, Woman's Struggle. ii Universitas Sumatera Utara TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT …………………………………………………… ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………….… i ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………. ii TABLE OF CONTENT ……………………………………………………. iii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ……………………………………. 6 1.2 PROBLEM OF THE STUDY ……………………………………………. 11 1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY ……………………………………………. 11 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ……………………………………………………. 12 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ……………………………………. 12 CHAPTER II – REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 BACKGROUND OF FEMINISM ……………………………………. 13 2.2 THE HISTORY OF FEMINIST THEORY ……………………………. 16 2.3 THEORY OF FEMINISM ……………………………………………. 17 2.4 TYPES OF FEMINISM ……………………………………………………. 20 2.4.1 LIBERAL FEMINISM ……………………………………. 20 2.4.2 RADICAL FEMINISM ……………………………………. 21 2.4.3 SOCIALIST AND MARXIST FEMINIST ……………………. 21 2.5 RACISM AND SEXISM: BLACK WOMAN IN AMERICA ……………. 22 2.6 WOMAN’S PROBLEMS AS REFLECTED IN MAYA ……………. 24 iii Universitas Sumatera Utara 2.7 HERMENEUTICS THEORY ……………………………………………. 25 CHAPTER III – THE METHOD OF STUDY 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN ……………………………………………………. 27 3.2 DATA COLLECTION ……………………………………………………. 28 3.3 DATA ANALYSIS ……………………………………………………. 28 CHAPTER IV – ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1 MAYA’S PROBLEM ……………………………………………………. 30 4.1.1 MAYA’S SEXUAL ABUSE ……………………………………. 31 4.1.2 MAYA’S PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE ……………………. 33 4.1.3 MAYA’S PHYSICAL ABUSE ……………………………. 36 4.2 MAYA’S STRUGGLE TOWARD RACISM ……………………………. 37 4.2.1 DEBILATING DISPLACEMENT ……………………………. 38 4.2.2 RESISTENCE TO RACISM ……………………………………. 39 CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 5.1 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………. 42 5.2 SUGGESTION ……………………………………………………………. 43 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………. 45 APPENDICES ………………………………………… iv Universitas Sumatera Utara CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Literature refers to compositions that tell stories; dramatize situations, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas (Roberts and Jacobs, 1995:1). Through this statement, it can be stated that literature can make people develop language when they would like to tell stories in order to have aesthetic point. Hence, language and literature have close relationship. Language is a medium which makes literature exist. Literature also can be a medium to express anger, happiness, sadness, ambition, and even insinuate something in a soft trick. Literature has beautiful words, it can make the readers become more interested in discussing the topics which are reflected in literary works. According to Wellek and Warren (1949: 25), among the arts, literature, specifically, seems also to claim "truth" through the view of life (Weltanschauung) which every artistically coherent work possesses. It is clear that there is truth which is going to be showed by a poet, dramatist, or novelist as the writer of literary works. Therefore, kinds of literature need to be analyzed in order to find the truth embedded in the literature itself. According Suroso and Suwardi (1898:2), Indonesian literature looking women into two parts categories. The first category is the role of women in term of biological (wife, mother, and a sex object) or based on the tradition of the environment. Second, that the role that gained from his position as an individual and not as a companion to her husband. Female figures such as the above two 1 Universitas Sumatera Utara categories, usually referred to as a feminist that women who try to be independent in thought, action and aware of their right. The development of feminist have a desire to improve the position of women and the degree of order equal to or parallel to the men. Writing with the purpose of changing people‘s pessimistic views about women of achieving gender equalities and denouncing the injustices inflicted to women became the main goal for feminist writers and activists. They aimed at creating a world, at least in literature, where women would be able to live as individuals. Women often depicted as the inferior gender, a passive object that could not survive on its own and that could do nothing for itself. Women, in literature, could only exist through the eyes, minds and lives of men but never for themselves.