The Othering of Majority and Minority Groups in Lessing and Ajidarma’s Literary Works: A Postcolonial Analysis

Abstract

A postcolonial reading of literary works remains relevant since the characters, stories and various issues related to the colonial domination discussed in literary texts may serve as a means for its readers to learn more about life under colonialism. This article examines how Doris Lessing, a British-Rhodesian author, and Seno Gumira Ajidarma, an Indonesian author, reveal the issue of discrimination of African native community and Indonesian-Chinese community because of the act of othering, respectively, from a postcolonial lens. This study used the critical content analysis technique on two literary works, namely Lessing's short story entitled "No Witchcraft for Sale" and Ajidarma's short story entitled "Clara", which is based on Spivak's theory of othering. Specific dialogues and utterances related to instances of discrimination were analyzed to uncover the othering of individuals, in this case, the main characters of the stories Lessing's short story captures the struggles encountered by the main character named Gideon, who belongs to the majority group, while Ajidarma's short story provides the portrayal of a young native Indonesian-Chinese descent who is a member of a minority group. The study found that Gideon faced racial discrimination and on the other hand, Clara faces racial and gender discrimination. By comparing two different literary works coming from two different cultures, nationalities, and historical backgrounds focusing on the issues of othering from a postcolonial perspective, this article can serve as a means for its readers to learn more about how the discrimination stemmed from different histories and how cultural background can create similar outcomes.

The Gender Discrimination in Indonesian Literature Works: A Case Study of Translation

“…Subordination is the most dominant gender discrimination. This result is in line with other research results confirming that the position of women was lower than that of men and, therefore, women were inappropriate with becoming leaders for men (El Aissi, 2020;Kurnia, Nurgiyantoro, & Fitri, 2021). Women could merely become the leaders of their fellow women, even during the Dutch colonial period.…”

Power Relations on Female Body in Seno Gumira Ajidarma’s Short Story

“…Senior writer and journalist Seno Gumira Ajidarma began his involvement in news reporting in 1977, and made his way into fiction-writing the following years. Critics think that his significant contribution to Indonesian literature can be seen in how his numerous works, which have for so long been periodically selected and published in mass media or compiled in short story anthologies, have consistently captured contemporary Indonesian culture (Danerek, 2013;Kurnia et al, 2021). His works that explores the themes of women, gender, and sexuality, for example, can be found in his short stories titled "Clara atawa Wanita yang Diperkosa", "Dilarang Menyanyi di Kamar Mandi", "Si Kupu-Kupu", and, of course, "Istana Tembok Bolong".…”