Contemporary Indonesian Literature and the Psychological Reader-Response Perspective

Abstract

This article is part of a three-year (2021–2023) research report on the topic of Indonesian literature and psychology funded by the Indonesian government. This study aimed to explore the psychological reader-response associated with Indonesian literature. The reader-response study was focused on short stories written by Budi Darma. The present study used qualitative-interpretative research methods to assess reader-response implications in the context of Indonesian literature by analyzing a specific collection of literary works in the Indonesian literature, namely, Budi Darma’s short stories. The study data were collected using documentary study and questionnaire, and the data source was short stories written by Budi Darma (twenty-eight titles). As many as ninety-three respondents were chosen for the study—89.9 percent of whom were females and 5.1 percent males. The analysis of participants’ responses revealed the following views and preferences: (a) The most liked short story was “Not My Student” because it presented incidents and narratives about the implications of following ethical values; (b) “The Dark Hallway” was the least favorite due to its dark themes such as crime, sadism, and sarcasm; (c) in general, female readers presented positive views about female characters and negative views about male characters; and (d) vice versa, in general, male readers viewed male characters positively and female characters negatively. The authors conclude the study’s findings may be applied in future studies analyzing from a reader psychology perspective the reader-response characteristics of millennial readers, as literature—and, in this context, Indonesian literature—as a creative work cannot be separated from the interpretations of millennial Indonesian readers who may present wide-ranging “interpretations” about the works of literature they have read.