Endang Firdaus
180410110011
Critical Theory

In between of Social role, Women, and Desire

Literature has become part of human life in ancient time. May we know that many people expect that literature just serves an entertainment through novel, poetry, and drama.  According to the essay The Resistance to Theory by Paul De Man try to elaborate that the resistance to theory is a resistance to the use of language about language. It is therefore a resistance to language itself or to the possibility that language contains factors or functions that cannot be reduced to intuition. It means that the theory is the application of the language itself. Besides,  it also explains how the historical of Literature and Literary theory as the discipline. Literature as the discipline has been influenced any disciplines, because the study of literature not only includes the art and fiction but also many element of human life such as social, logic, mathematic, and so on. Furthermore, The study of literature is always developing on the  following of the times.

Now, literature has great meaning for the social and cultural life. Many issue has shown as the fact that literature exists in human life. This paper includes many aspects as a material for my research. My focus is on the character a young women.  The novel Sing to the dawn by Minfong Ho tells about young girl whose name is Dawan as main character in the novel. Being born women or men bring significant effect on the social role. Even, the social role can make one of them is feeling uncomfortable. That is what happens with Dawan the fourteen years-old women. The highlight of the novel is about the patriarchal culture exists in the small town of Thailand. The novel narrates how Dawan, who was born into a society which believes that girls have no need to be educated, struggle for her right to get the education. Then, there was an opportunity for Dawan to continue her education by taking a test in her school. Dawan and her brother Kwai try to follow the test, and finally Dawan get the scholarship to continue her education and her brother failed.  However, her dream and her opportunity to continue her study is prohibited by her father. After she heard that her father prohibits herself to continue her study, Dawan still struggle to find the solution, she meets a monk and tells her problem and ask for the solution, this is the conversation between Dawan and a monk that shows how Dawan youthfully want to show that she is really want to make her dream comes true.
“But I still want to try!” Dawan interrupted earnestly, her eyes gleaming.
“Even if you’ve tried, and failed, even if thousands of thousands before you have tried and failed, I want my chance to try too!”
“You will just be wasting your time and spirit,” the old monk maintained, a deep frown hovering above his eyebrows.
Dawan took a deep breath. “Does, does that mean you won’t help me, sir ?”
“Help you ? you mean talk your father into letting you go to the City school ?”
The school girl could only nod stiffly .
Like a tired breeze through dry weeds, the old monk sighed softly. “How can I help you do something that I don’t believe in ? You’re still young, child, but I don’t think you should waste any more time dreaming such futile dreams. What can a mere schoolgirl hope to achieve anyway ? Be satisfied with what…”  (Ho)
In the conversation above, I found the significant problem that happens in the novel, From the conversation above, I decide to notice my focus on the patriarchy issue in the novel.  

So, the theory that I want to use for my research is Gerda Lerner about Patriarchy. The word ‘patriarchy’ literally means the rule of the father or the ‘patriarch’, and originally it was used to describe a specific type of ‘male-dominated family’ – the large household of the patriarch which included women, junior men, children, slaves and domestic servants all under the rule of this dominant male. Now it is used more generally “to refer to male domination, to the power relationships by which men dominate women, and to characterize a system whereby women are kept subordinate in a number of ways” (Bhasin). Then, Gerda Lerner in her book The creation of Patriarchy said that the use of the phrase subordination of women instead of the word “oppression” has distinct advantages. Subordination does not have the connotation of evil intent on the part of the dominant. it allows for the possibility of collusion between him and the subordinate. It includes the possibility of voluntary acceptance of subordinate status in exchange of protection and privilege, a condition which characterizes so much of the historical experience of women. I will use the term “paternalistic dominance” for this relation. “Subordination” encompasses other relations in addition to “paternalistic dominance” and has the additional advantage over “oppression” of being neutral as to the causes of subordination (Learner).  Subordination means that the situation in which one is forced to stay under controlling of other. So women’s subordination means the social situation that shown women are forced to stay under control of men.  It is relevant with my topic when a young girl want to continue her education, but her father is prohibited her desire, dreams.

Works Cited

Haraway, Donna. "Feminism And Gender Studies." Edition, Literary Theory : An Anthology Second. London: Blackwell Publisher, 1944. 567-582.

Ho, Minfong. Sing To The Dawn. Singapore : Times Book International, 1985.

Man, Paul De. "The Ressistance theory." Edition, Literary Theory : An Anthology Second. London : Blackwell publisher, 1986. 94-108.

Lerner, G. “The Creation of Patriarchy”. New York : Oxford University

Press. 1989.

Tugas Critical Theory

Endang Firdaus
180410110011
Critical Theory

The Elements of Literature

In essay The Resistance to Theory by Paul De Man, explain how the historical of Literature and Literary theory as the discipline. Literature as the discipline has been influenced any disciplines, because the study of literature not only includes the art and fiction but also many element of human life such as social, logic, mathematic, and so on. Furthermore, The study of literature is always developing following the times.

According to Paul De Man (pg 95)  in his essay said that difficulties have not prevented many writers on literature from proceeding along theoretical rather than pragmatic lines, often with considerable success. It can be shown however that, in all cases, this success depends on the power of a system philosophical, religious, or ideological that may well remain implicit but that determines an a priory conception of what is literary by starting out from the premises of the system rather than from the literary thing itself. I assume that Paul De man explain how literature was formed and the elements of literature can support each other to built an ideological concept of literature that can be applied in many sciences philosophical, religious, and ideology are the elements that can form the Theory of Literature, they always become as the foundation of thinking of the writers. However, According to Freeman’s speech in the book Beginning Theory by Peter Barry (pg.14) he said that : we are told that the study of literature 'cultivates the taste, educates the sympathies and enlarges the mind'. these are all excellent things, only we cannot examine tastes and sympathies. examiners must have technical and positive information to examine. I think that what Freeman said is relevant with what Paul De Man wrote in his essay, both Freeman and De Man said the elements of literature. In what they said I find that Literature is not only about art, but also there’re many things that built literature itself, between of what De Man said as The Power of System that include Philosophical, religious, or ideological, and what Freeman said as cultivates the taste, educates the sympathies and enlarges the mind.  While based on F . D Maurice in the book of Beginning Theory by Peter Barry (pg.13) he said that English literature would serve 'to emancipate us...from the notions and habits which are peculiar to our own age',  connecting us instead with 'what is fixed and enduring'. Maurice regarded literature as the peculiar property of the middle class and the expression of their values. I assume that what Maurice said that Literature as the resistance to the concept of life at that time.

After reading essay The Resistance to Theory by Paul De Man and supported by Freeman, and F D Maurice in the book Beginning Theory by Peter Barry, I have known the historical of literature and the elements of literature itself. So, literature is not only say about art, fiction, but also there’re many interesting things of the literature concepts that built of the concept of theory literary.