Gaya kepenulisan Pramoedya: Stilistika atas roman Bumi Manusia

Abstract

Novel Bumi Manusia which was written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, highly narrates a variety of colonial representations, i.e., language hegemony, and racial discrimination. This study aimed at disclosing how lexical choices/dictions are not merely used to support the background/setting nuance; instead they, in some degree, can unfold such representations. The primary data in this study were stylistic choices used by Pramoedya, i.e., words, phrases, clauses, even sentences, in the novel. The data, further, were analysed based on several aspects, including its terminology, etymology, and its sociohistorical context. Several references, e.g., Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia and relevant articles or books, were used to support the elaboration so as to grasp a deeper understanding. The findings showed that diction is, in fact, not a neutral vehicle without any contextual tendency within; how diction used can represent language hegemony, racial discrimination, and sociocultural settings in the Dutch Colonial era. For ones living in the colonial zeitgeist, the emergence of two cultures or more (primarily represented by Western and Eastern cultures) could reconstruct cultural values and norms, thus creating a novelty of terminologies to represent the reality. Meanwhile, for ones living outside this zeitgeist, the use of such terminologies appeared as a vehicle to grasp the cultural representation embodied within.