A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN GRISHAM’S“A PAINTED HOUSE”
BUDI PRAYOGI103026027617
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENTLETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
JAKARTA SYARIF HIDAYATULLAHSTATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
2008
A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN GRISHAM’S“A PAINTED HOUSE”
A Thesis
Submitted to Letters and Humanities Facultyin Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Strata Degree (S1)
BUDI PRAYOGI103026027617
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENTLETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
JAKARTA SYARIF HIDAYATULLAHSTATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
2008
For the women, Marlis Nawawi, Farida Arbani, and Yosi Maria
with respect and full perpetuation
i
APPROVEMENT
A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN GRISHAM’S “A PAINTED HOUSE”
A Thesis
Submitted to Letters and Humanities Facultyin Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Strata 1 Degree (S1)
By
Budi Prayogi103026027617
Approved by:
Muhammad SupardiSupervisor
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENTLETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
JAKARTA SYARIF HIDAYATULLAHSTATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
ii
2008
iii
LEGALIZATION
The thesis entitled “A Sociological Analysis in Grisham’s A Painted House” hasbeen defended by the Letters and Humanities Faculty’s Examination Committeeon January 21, 2008. It has already been accepted as a partial fulfillment of therequirements for the Strata 1 Degree (S1) in English Letters Department.
Jakarta, January 2008
Budi Prayogi
Examination Committee
Chief Secretary
Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M. Pd Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M. PdNIP. 150 299 480 NIP. 150 261 902
Members,
Examiner I Examiner II
Elve Oktaviani, M. Hum Inayatul Chusna, M. HumNIP. 150 137 725 NIP. 150 331 233
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of myknowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written byanother person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for theaward of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higherlearning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.
Jakarta, January 2008
Budi Prayogi
v
ABSTRACT
Budi Prayogi, A Sociological Analysis in Grisham’s “A Painted House”. Thesis.Jakarta: Strata 1 Degree (S1), Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State IslamicUniversity, January 2008.
This research discusses John Grisham’s novel entitled “A Painted House”,focusing on analyzing the sociological aspects such as: social, culture andeconomy of rural Arkansas in the Grisham’s novel.
The objective of this research is to know the social life in rural Arkansas and itsreflection in the USA of the twentieth century. This research uses qualitativemethod and followed by sociological analysis and mimetic theory by Hungarianphilosopher, Georg Lukacs. The researcher uses himself to analyze the social lifeof rural Arkansas in the novel and find other resources to complete the researchreferences. And the unit analysis of this research is the novel entitled “A PaintedHouse” by John Grisham.
In this novel, Grisham attempts to present the sociological aspects that can be seenfrom the story. The life phenomena in Grisham’s “A Painted House” brings thereaders along to know the rural American life in 1950. The cultural life of thatsociety is seemed from their occupation as the farmers, who work in the fieldalmost every day. And for the economy, the people apply the crop-lien andsharecropping systems for the farmers.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the name of God, the Infinitely Good, the All-Merciful
First of all the writer would like to thank to Allah SWT, the Lord of the
universe, and who has created heavens and earth, and who has created mankind
and all that we perceive. Peace and blessing be upon to the prophet Muhammad
SAW, his fellows and followers.
Second, the writer would like to express his gratitude to Hj. Farida and H.
Arbani, thanks for the useful advice and the financial support, he also thanks to
his grandmother Marlis Nawawi for the prayer and hope. And the unforgettable
thanks to his beloved mom and dad; Yosi Maria and Dedy Suryono for all the
contribution that he needs until the end of his study in this university. The writer
thanks to his young sister and brother, Citra and Gilang who have supported him
in finishing this thesis.
Next, the writer would like to thank to his supervisor Mr. Supardi, S.S for
the great patient and contribution to finish this thesis, and for all his advices that
has been given to him. May Allah responses his deeds with thousands kindnesses.
Consequently, the writer also thanks to these following people:
1. Dr. H. Abdul Chair, MA, the Dean of Letters and Humanities Faculty
Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University.
2. Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M. Pd and Drs. Asep Saepudin, M. Pd, the
Chief and Secretary of English Letters Department.
3. Elve Oktaviani, M. Hum and Inayatul Chusna, M. Hum, the examiners of
his final examination.
4. All the lecturers of English Letters Department, who has taught and
educated him during he studies at the campus.
5. All the employers of UIN Jakarta Center Library, UIN Jakarta American
Corner Library, FAH UIN Library, FIB UI Library, Freedom Institute
Library, Senayan Depdiknas Library, who help him to get many
extraordinary references to finish this thesis.
vii
6. All his friends at the campus; Agung, Fachri, Faisal, Imam and Dede
(Geng Kost-an). Rafi, Mate, Burhan, Roni, Husni, Acu, Azra (HMI Insan
Cita Assembly Hall), Endra (MIOS), Alloyz BP, Achep, Ulfa, Yuyun, and
Yuni. The “girls” who ever supported him; Diah, Widi, Abel, Siti, Fitria,
Hannum, and Salamah. And for all the families, at Munjul; H. Kiswo and
Hj. Surtinah, at Tangerang; H. Ridun and Hj. Anwani, and Teh Lala. May
Allah blesses and gives the greatest award for them.
Jakarta, January 2008
The Writer
47
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVEMENT ...................................................................................... i
LEGALIZATION ...................................................................................... ii
DECLARATION ....................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ v
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................ vii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1
A. Background of the Research ............................................................. 1
B. Focus of the Research ....................................................................... 5
C. Questions of the Research ................................................................ 5
D. Objective of the Research ................................................................. 5
E. Significance of the Research ............................................................. 6
F. Method of the Research .................................................................... 6
1. Research Methodology ................................................................. 6
2. Research Instrument ..................................................................... 6
3. Data Analysis ............................................................................... 6
4. Unit Analysis ................................................................................ 7
5. Research Time and Place .............................................................. 7
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................. 8
A. Literature and Reflection of Life ........................................................ 8
B. Sociological Analysis ........................................................................ 10
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1. Social ........................................................................................... 14
2. Culture ......................................................................................... 16
3. Economy ...................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................. 20
A. Data Description ............................................................................... 20
B. Data Analysis ................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ............................ 44
A. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 44
B. Suggestion ........................................................................................ 46
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 47
APPENDIXES ............................................................................................ 50
49
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
G. Background of the Research
Since the beginning of time, men and women have been social creatures;
therefore, human beings are social animals who live together in groups. This
behavior is not usual from other animals, but what does distinguish man is the
physical endowment of a complex brain. This has allowed him to create a system
of symbols that is used by him to construct various social structures for the
purpose of survival.1 And human has a social heritage that becomes part of
culture, which emerges from soul to embody in the way of life, such as art,
religion, literature and so forth.
The role of social heritage in human life seems to be important to the
progress of culture. Such as literature, that portrays human acts through a literary
work. In a society, literature is seemed be to a social symptom that demands the
author to record the society’s event on that time.2 Through that event, it will be
seen the correlation “take and give” between the society and author. So, the
influence of literature in social world depends on the author, as long as the work
portrays the social condition and it is received well by the society.
1 Clowers and Mori, Understanding Sociology Through Fiction, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977), p.1
2 Jan van Luxemburg, et. al, Pengantar Ilmu Sastra, Diindonesiakan oleh Dick Hartoko(Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1992), p.23
50
Dealing with the research, in 2001 an American author; John Grisham
released a novel entitled “A Painted House”. The story is inspired by his
childhood in Arkansas; thus, it is Grisham's first major work outside the legal
thriller genre in which he established himself. Set in the late summer and early
autumn of 1952, its story is told through the eyes of seven-year-old Luke
Chandler, the youngest in a family of cotton farmers struggling to harvest their
crop and earn enough to settle their debts. An only child, Luke is introduced to
two migrant groups; the hill people and the Mexicans. His childhood is turned
upside down when they interact with the Chandler family.
The novel portrays the experiences that bring him from a world of
innocence into one of harsh reality.3 The story begins to unfold as Luke and his
grandfather Eli Chandler (Pappy) search for migrant workers to help them with
the cotton picking. They initially consider themselves lucky to hire the Spruill, a
family of "hill people," and a few of the Mexicans who annually come to the area
looking for work.
Aside from working long hours under the hot sun in the fields, Luke's life
is fairly idyllic until he sees overly aggressive Hank Spruill; one of hill people
attacks three boys from the notorious Sisco family, who is beaten so severely and
dies from Hank’s wounds. Hank arrogantly identifies Luke as a friendly witness
who can expose his version of the event, and the fearful boy backs up his story,
although the adults in his life, including local sheriff Stick Powers, suspect he's
too frightened to admit the truth.
3 Anonymous, A Painted House, Wiki. Accessed on April 24, 2007.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A Painted House, p.2
51
When Cowboy, one of the Mexicans murders Hank and tosses his body
into the river, he threatens to kill Luke's mother if he tells anyone what he saw. In
the novel, Luke also learns that his admired Uncle Ricky, fighting in the Korean
War, who will come home at Christmas. His absence into the war and it is effect
on a rural Arkansas society, and may have fathered a child with a daughter of their
poverty-stricken sharecropping neighbors.
Grisham surrounds these dramatic moments with descriptive passages of
life in the rural South and the ordinary events that fill Luke's weekly routine. His
hard work in the fields is preceded by a hearty breakfast and at day's end he's
rewarded with an evening on the front porch, where the family gathers around the
radio to listen to Harry Caray announce the St. Louis Cardinals games. Luke is
saving his hard-earned money to buy a team baseball warm-up jacket he saw
advertised in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. Saturday afternoons are spent in town,
where the adults share idle gossip and serious concerns and the youngsters visit
the movie house, while Sunday morning is reserved for church. A visiting
carnival, the annual town picnic, and Luke's introduction to television- to see a
live broadcast of a World Series game - are additional bits of local color scattered
throughout the tale.
The novel's title refers to the Chandler house, which never has been
painted, a sign of their lower social status in the community. One day Luke
discovers someone furtively has been painting the weather-beaten clapboards
white, and eventually he continues the job with the approval of his parents and the
assistance of the Mexicans, even contributing some of his own savings for the
52
purchase of paint. The house's gradual transformation symbolizes the changes in
the boy and his family as they prepare to enter a new phase in their lives. And as
young Luke watches the world around him, he unravels secrets that could shatter
lives and change his family and his town.
Grisham’s work is really sophisticated, because the setting is reasonably
accurate, though historical accuracy should not be taken too seriously. One or two
of the characters may actually have lived and breathed on this earth, they are
known only through family lore, which in Grisham family is a most unreliable
source. Some of the events may indeed have taken place, though so many
different versions that known by himself.4
In this research, the writer intends to analyze social, culture and economy
of rural Arkansas society life that exists in Grisham’s “A Painted House” through
sociological analysis and mimetic theory by a Hungarian theorist, Georg Lukacs.
Certainly, his opinion about “mirror” has been admitted in the literature world,
and he is the one who longs for extending of the literature tradition from 19th
century.5
Sociology analyzes human in society, through the process of
comprehension from society to individual. This analysis is to know the progress
of society, in which can be seen from particular aspects, such as social, culture
economy and so forth. Sociological analysis explores the relationships between
the writer and society. Sometimes it looks at the sociological status of the author
4 John Grisham, Excerpt: ‘A Painted House’, Grisham Excerpt. Accessed on May 25,2007. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/books/beginnings/01/25/grisham.excerpt/index.html., p.7
5 Jan van Luxemburg, et. al (1992), Op. Cit., p.27
53
to evaluate how the profession of writer in the particular milieu affected in what
was written. Through this analysis, the writer expects that the research will be
successful and it is necessary for all the people who interested in sociological
analysis.
H. Focus of the Research
As explained above, the research focuses to analyze the extrinsic of the
novel such as social, culture and economy of rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A
Painted House” and its reflection in rural America of the twentieth century.
I. Questions of the Research
Based on background of the research, there are some questions to be
discussed:
1. How is the social life of rural Arkansas in the novel “A Painted
House”?
2. How does the novel reflect the social condition of American life in the
twentieth century?
J. Objective of the Research
1. To know the social life of rural Arkansas in the novel “A Painted
House”.
2. To know the reflection of the social condition of America in the
twentieth century.
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K. Significance of the Research
Through this research, the writer wants to share the widest perception of
human relation, and correlate the literary work to the progress of social, cultural,
and economic life. Moreover, it can give enlightenment to the other researchers in
exploring the social condition by using sociological analysis and mimetic theory.
L.Method of the Research
The method of this research involves some important aspects that
complete the research:
1. Research Methodology
The research uses qualitative method, which the writer disentangles the
novel facts, and then followed by sociological analysis and mimetic theory.
2. Research Instrument
In this research, the writer uses himself to study the text of the novel and
finds other resources to complete the research references.
3. Data Analysis
The collected data of the research is analyzed based on sociological
analysis and mimetic theory by a Hungarian philosopher, Georg Lukacs.
55
4. Unit Analysis
The unit analysis of this research is a novel entitled “A Painted House” by
American author; John Grisham, published in 2001.
5. Research Time and Place
The research is started on the 9th semester of 2007-2008 academic year at
English Letters Department of Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic
University and it will be finished in equal time.
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CHAPTER TWO
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Literature and Reflection of Life
Literature6 presents a life portrait and the essential part of social reality,
which includes human interaction, society and events that happen in one
individual. Sometimes, it can be reflected in a community, in which describes a
particular culture. The role of literature in social world is to recreate some
relations, such as social, culture, economy and so forth; thus it reveals the conflict
and the strained situation among the communities.
A literary work is “a mirror” of human life; however, it portrays bad and
good things of human. As quoted from the dictionary of literature terminology, “a
literary work is a portrait of society life; moreover, it portrays the author’s
personal life”.7 A literary work is a possibility world that produced by an author.
In producing the work he or she has to provide a worth and saleable work for the
society tastes, and the work will be success if it can reflect the time, so the society
will appreciate the work as long as it represents their social, cultural and economic
life.
6 The term literally is “acquaintance with letters” as in the first sense given in the OxfordEnglish Dictionary, from the Latin “littera” meaning “an individual written character (letter)”.The has generally come to identify a collection of texts of work of art, which in Western cultureare mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry. Anonymous, Literature,Literature. Accessed on April 11, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature, p.1
7 Laelasari and Nurlailah, Kamus Istilah Sastra, (Bandung: Nuansa Aulia, 2006), p.136
57
In any case, an author is also the member of society, which has to establish
a communication between the author and the reader. Through the communication,
the literary work can be distributed to the reader as the devotee of literature. In the
communication process, the author has been sending a message to the reader.8 In
this case, the literary work is described as the message and its content must be
recognized between them in order to be comprehended accurately.
Literary work is the representation of a world; consequently, the reader has
to embody it actively. As a result, the reader will find the author’s ideology within
the work. Actually, the author has a particular language to inform the ideology to
the reader. So, the reader has to be smart in interpreting the author’s ideology. The
literature is able to be informative and creative, it does not only offer the
information; yet, it is related to the esthetics experience, which includes into the
art and transformed through the language.
According to Swingewood, literature is not only created to overcome the
scientific object analysis; however, it also gets into the ground of social life to
reveal the way of human to recognize their society. Meanwhile, the other
sociologist; Hogart, said that “without the full literary witness, the student of
society will be blind to the fullness of a society life”.9
In this case, literature does not full express the life, because the author
occasionally does not make it on purpose; nevertheless, literature still describes
8 Sapardi Joko Damono, Kita dan Sastra Dunia, Baca Artikel. Accessed on September20, 2007. http://www.mizan.com/portal/template/Baca Atikel/kodeart/222, p.4
9 Ibid.
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the invisible aspects of society life. However, literary work has an important duty
to be a pioneer that gives admission to occurred social symptoms in society life.
Literature is the social institution that uses language medium. Moreover, it
“provides life” and almost of the life consists of social reality; occasionally, it
“imitates” the nature and world of human.10 One of literary work genre that
portrays a society life is fiction. This genre dominates to perform the complete
narrative aspects and involves the society culture. The language that used in
fiction is easy and understandable; generally, it is also used by the society.11
Accordingly, it can be interpreted that fiction is fairly sociologic and represents
the society social, cultural and economic life.
B. Sociological Analysis
Sociology is an academic and applied discipline that studies society and
human social interaction. As an academic discipline, sociology is typically
considered a social science. The word of sociology was coined by French thinker
Auguste Comte in 1838 from Latin socius (companion, associate) and Greek
λóγος, lógos (word). Comte hoped to unify all studies of humankind - including
history, psychology and economics.12
10 Wellek and Warren, Teori Kesusastraan, diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Indonesiaoleh Melani Budianta, Ph. D, (Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1995), p.109
11 Nyoman Kutha Ratna. S. U, Teori, Metode, dan Penelitian Sastra, (Yogyakarta:Pustaka Pelajar, 2004), p.336
12 Anonymous, Sociology, Wiki. Accessed on April 11, 2007.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology, p.2
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Sociologists hope it is not only to understand what held social groups
together, but also to develop responses to social disintegration and exploitation.
Meanwhile, Indonesian sociologists; Soemardjan and Soemardi (Yanto:1980)
define sociology:
“Sosiologi adalah ilmu yang mempelajari struktur, proses dan perubahan-perubahan sosial. Yang dimaksud struktur sosial, yaitu keseluruhanjalinan antara unsur-unsur sosial yang pokok, diantaranya kaidah-kaidah,lembaga-lembaga, kelompok-kelompok dan lapisan-lapisan sosial. Prosessosial adalah pengaruh timbal balik antar berbagai segi kehidupan, dansalah satu proses sosial yang bersifat tersendiri adalah perubahan-perubahan didalam struktur sosial.”13
Furthermore, sociology attempts to answer the questions about how
society exists, acts and survive.14 Accordingly, this science presents the
description about the way of human to socialize and settled by particular society,
socialization mechanism and cultural learned process, in which allocated the
individuals at particular roles in social structure. Since its developing, this science
expands literary world that has brought by a Hungarian philosopher (1885-1971);
Georg Lukacs (Ritzer:2003), in his book “The Theory of the Novel” (1916), he
gave new direction to the sociology of literature.15
He is one of the theorists of Sociology of Literature that uses “mirror”
concept as the feature for a whole of the work. A literary work does not only
portray the phenomena of life, and closely it can be a photograph of “life process”
in the world.
13 Yanto Subianto S., Soal-Jawab Sosiologi, (Bandung: Armico, 1980), p.1
14 Faruk, Pengantar Sosiologi Sastra, (Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 1994), p.1
15 Ritzer, Encyclopedia of Social Theory, Volume I, (Thousands Oak: Sage, 2003) p.458
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Sociology of literature is the interdisciplinary of sociology and literary
studies. The object of this study rests on extrinsic elements that includes social
and cultural aspects, and completed by intrinsic elements such as plot, character
and characterization, setting, point of view and so on.16 In this case, sociology of
literature is an approach that emerges from the author, the reader and the universal
orientation.
The field of sociology of literature is verily extent. This study is divided
this approach into three classifications. First, sociology of author, that discusses
about his social status, ideology, economy and so forth. Second, sociology of
literary work, that discusses about the implicit and explicit meaning of literary
work. And the third, sociology of literature that discusses about the reader and its
social influence to the society.17 And this explanation refers to the wide
perspective of sociology of literature.
Sociology of literature is the informal and indefinite study that consists of
few empirical studies, which has only the equal and deals with the correlation
between literature and society. The study is a reflective research and dominated by
most researchers, who intend to observe the literature as a reflection of the
community.
Consequently, the perspective of sociology of literature must be concerned
as quoted; “literature is not only the effect of social causes but also the cause of
16 Soehenda Iskar, Sosiologi Sastra, Khazanah. Accessed on May 25, 2007.http://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/cetak/2005/0305/05/khazanah/lainnya02.htm, p.6
17 Gunoto Saparie, Luasnya Wilayah Sosiologi Sastra, News. Accessed on May 07, 2007.http://www.suarakarya-online.com/news.html?id=168818, p.4
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social effect”. 18 This suggestion gives the detail that the sociology of literature
research directs to aim of relationship between sociology and literature. And those
things will influence each other in every particular case that will be interested for
the researchers.
A real world is like a couple of the imaginative world. In the real world the
life is limited by some rules, which cannot be passed by human act and thought,
and the events that happen within are unrepeatable. Nevertheless, in fictional
world human can reach the wide space to imagine without a limitation and the
events can be occurred as long as the work read repeatedly, generally this concept
is called ‘mimetic theory’.19 A theorist of Sociology of Literature; Georg Lukacs
(Endraswara:2003) disentangles this concept to characterize a whole literary
work:
“Mencerminkan berarti menyusun sebuah struktur mental. Sebuah karyasastra (novel) tidak hanya mencerminkan “realitas” melainkan lebih dariitu, juga memberikan “sebuah refleksi kepada kita yang lebih besar,lengkap, hidup dan lebih dinamik” yang mungkin melampaui pemahamanumum.”20
In Lukacs’s opinion (Selden:1991), “mirror” or “reflection” in a novel
bring the reader along to a view, in which real and concrete. Therefore, the reader
has to realize that a literary work is not reality itself, but it is “the particular
18 Suwardi Endraswara, Metodologi Penelitian Sastra, (Yogyakarta: Pustaka Widyatama,2004), p.79
19 Sapardi Joko Damono (2007), Op. Cit., p.2
20 Suwardi Endraswara (2003), Op. Cit., p.89
62
shape that portrays the reality”, and this concept deconstructs naturalism or
modernism in the same time.21
In this case, the theory is not only limited to the time and space, but it is
also related to the conduct of author to portray human life. Literature is a
necessary “mirror”, which does not only perform human life in real world, but
also it performs the invisible thing within. Therefore, it is a “mirror” that emerges
from world reality and enables to complete the lack of literary comprehension.
The “mirror” concept refers to various social changes in society. In the
book “The Mirror and the Lamp” (1976); he stated that a literary work is the
mirror of society life.22 Through this concept most of the researchers intend to
find a real description while the work has been created by an author.
The effort to develop a scientific sociology has been primarily an effort to
make sociological work consistent with the canons of scientific method.
Sociological research ranges from the analysis of short contacts between
anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social processes. The
field focuses on how and why people are organized in society, either as
individuals or as members of associations, groups, and institutions.
1. Social
Social refers to human society or its organization. Although the term is a
crucial category in social science and often used in public discourse, its meaning
21 Raman Selden, Panduan Pembaca Teori Sastra Masa Kini, (Yogyakarta: UniversitasGadjah Mada, 1991), p.27
22 Suwardi Endraswara (2003), Loc. Cit., p.89
63
is at times vague, suggesting that it is a fuzzy concept. An added difficulty is that
social attributes or relationships may not be directly observable and visible, and
must be inferred by abstract thought. Thus the sociologist C. Wright Mills used
the expression "the sociological imagination", which referred to the need to think
imaginatively beyond what an individual can empirically observe in order to grasp
the social domain in all its dimensions connecting, for example, "private troubles"
and "public issues". In one broad meaning, "social" refers only to society as "a
system of common life", but in another sense it contrasts specifically with
"individual" and individualist theories of society. This is reflected for instance in
the different perspectives of liberalism and socialism on society and public
affairs.23
Society is a united people that have a goal to live together, which needs
safety and justice guarantee in order to encourage each others. A society is a
grouping of individuals which is characterized by common interests and may have
distinctive culture and institutions. Members of a society may be from different
ethnic groups. Society emerges through social interaction held by individuals that
comes form different social background. Those individuals shape society that
taken from each families group. The relationship among them emerges attitudes
and norms that identify them as social and productive creatures.
The English word "society" emerged in the 15th century and is derived
from the French société. The French word, in turn, had its origin in the Latin
societas, a "friendly association with others," from socius meaning "companion,
23 Anonymous, Social, Wiki. Accessed on November 10, 2007.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social. p.1
64
associate, and comrade or business partner." The Latin word was derived from the
Greek socus locus, meaning locally social, and implied a social contract between
members of the community.24
According to Linton (1984:118), society is any groups of people who
lived and work together longs enough to get them and to think of themselves as
social unit with well defined limits.25 And human society shares many
characteristics with societies of those other species which are social, such as
permanent organization within a common territory, collective self-sufficiency, and
common as well as specialized interests.26
2. Culture
The classic definition of culture was given by Tylor: “Culture is that
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and
any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society”, and Kluckhohn
has defined culture very simply as “the total life way of a people”.27 Culture is the
intellect activity to create an easy way in undergoing the life. However, culture is
not limited to refine behavior but includes the total way of life of a group of
people. Thus, culture is the symptoms of human being that is created by them to
24Anonymous, Society, Wiki. Accessed on November 10, 2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society. p.1
25 Bainar, et al., Ilmu Sosial, Budaya dan Kealaman Dasar, (Jakarta: Jenki Satria, 2006),p.67
26 Arnold W. Green, Sociology, An Analysis of Life in Modern Society, 5th Edition, (NewYork: McGraw Hill, 1968), p.55
27 Jerry D. Rose, Introduction to Sociology, 4th Edition, (Chicago: Rand McNally College,1980), p.60
65
settle their sphere. In other opinion, culture is the expression of soul that is
embodied in the way of life, such as thinking, relationship, married, family,
religion, entertainment, art, philosophy, literature and so forth.28 Accordingly,
Indonesian sociologist; Soemardjan attempts to define the meaning of culture:
“Kebudayaan adalah hasil karya, rasa dan cipta manusia dalammasyarakat. Karya adalah hasil usaha manusia dalam bentuk yangterwujud dan kongkrit dengan cara penggunaanya, seperti halnyateknologi yang termasuk kebudayaan kebendaan “material culture”. Rasameliputi jiwa manusia, mewujudkan segala kaidah-kaidah dan nilai-nilaikemasyarakatan dalam arti yang luas, di dalamnya terdapat agama,ideologi, kesenian dan lain-lain. Adapun unsur-unsur tersebut merupakanekspresi dari jiwa manusia yang hidup sebagai anggota masyarakat, danpembagian unsur rasa ini termasuk ke dalam kebudayaan “immaterialculture”. Terakhir adalah unsur cipta merupakan berfikir orang-orangyang hidup bermasyarakat dan salah satunya menghasilkan filsafat sertailmu pengetahuan baik yang bersifat murni maupun terapan yangnantinya diterapkan dalam kehidupan bermasyrakat.”29
Consequently, Roucek and Warren define this term in their book
“Sociology An Introduction”, culture is the way of living to meet its fundamental
need for survival, perpetuation of the species, and the ordering of social
experience.30 Culture is transmitted by means of language, arbitrary symbols
spoken or written, and an ability which sharply distinguishes man from all
species. Because of language man for the most part reacts not to objects and
organisms but to symbolized nations about them.
28 Ria Hikmiati Drajat, Tanya-Jawab Psikologi Sosial, (Bandung: Armico, 1980), p.83
29 Yanto Subianto S. (1980), Op. Cit., p.41
30 Roucek and Warren, Sociology An Introduction, (New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams &Co., 1963), p.8
66
Culture and language are inseparable, because how men view their world
and adapt to it is largely the result of the structure of a particular language. That
structure even limits and directs the ways culture can develop, as well as erects
barriers between peoples.31 As a result, human has a social heritage that becomes
part of culture, whereas human’s learned attitude to realize on their united values
and gives a way to live.
3. Economy
An economy is the system of human activities related to the production,
distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services of a country or
other area; thus, economy refers also to the measure of how a country or region is
progressing in terms of product. The word "economy" can be traced back to the
Greek word oikonomos, "one who manages a household", derived from oikos,
"house", and nemein, "to manage." From oikonomos was derived oikonom, which
had not only the sense "management of a household or family" but also senses
such as "thrift", "direction", "administration", "arrangement", and "public revenue
of a state".32
The first recorded sense of the word "economy", found in a work possibly
composed in 1440, is "the management of economic affairs", in this case, of a
monastery. Economy is later recorded in other senses shared by oikonomi in
Greek, including "thrift" and "administration". What is probably the most
31 Arnold W. Green (1968), Op. Cit., p.99
32 Anonymous, Economy, Wiki. Accessed on November 10, 2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy, p.1
67
frequently used current sense, "the economic system of a country or an area",
seems not to have developed until the 19th or 20th century.
Regardless of the structure the main function of the economic system that
of distributing wealth within a society is accomplished. An attribute of economics
is that there are various forms, and perhaps the most widely praised and criticized
from capitalism. According to Adam Smith, and early of capitalism33, it is the best
of all possible economic systems because it allows the society and the individual
to achieve the maximum or the minimum amount wealth, the only limitations
being the society or individual’s talents and abilities. Smith also argues that
capitalism is good for the individual because it permits the greatest amount of
freedom for the individual.34
33 Capitalism is a concept of motion that expresses the dynamic of the modern economy:its tendency of unlimited growth, rapid, increase, and incessant mobility and its society-shapingdrive of melting all that is solid into the air. George Ritzer (2003), Op. Cit., , p.76
34 Clowers and Mori (1977), Op. Cit., p.187
68
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH FINDINGS
A. Data Description
In this chapter the writer attempts to describe the facts in the novel, which
are formed into some lists that consist of the extrinsic aspects, such as social
problems, cultural life, and economic systems of rural Arkansas society that
contained in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
1. The List of Rural Arkansas Social Problems in Grisham’s “A Painted
House”.
No. SocialProblems
Corpus Chapter/Page
1. Poverty “The only farmers who made money werethose who owned their land. The renters, likeus, tired to break even. The sharecroppershad it the worst and were doomed to eternalpoverty.”
“The Latchers were sharecroppers who livedno more than a mile from our house, but theymight as well have been in another county.They run-down shack was in a bend of theriver, with elms and willows touching the roofand cotton growing almost to the front porch.There was no grass around the house, just aring of dirt where a horde of little Latchersplayed.”
“They farmed thirty acres and split the cropwith the owner of the land. Half of a little leftnothing, and the Latchers were dirty-poor.They had no electricity, no car and truck.”
C.3/ P.25
C.10/P.121
Idem
69
2.
3.
Labor
Social Status
“Even the poorest of the sharecroppersmanaged to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.Every farm family had a few chickens layingeggs.”
“The hill people and the Mexican arrived onthe same day. It was a Wednesday, early inSeptember 1952.”
“Pappy, my grandfather, was worried aboutthe price for labor when we went searchingfor the hill people. They were paid for everyhundreds pounds of cotton they picked.
“The hill people had been migrating from theOzarks for decades to pick cotton. Many ofthem owned their own homes and land, andquite often they had nicer vehicles than thefarmers who hired them for the harvest. Theyworked very hard, saved their money, andappeared to be as poor as we were.”
“By 1950 the migration had slowed. Thepostwar boom had finally trickled down toArkansas, at least to some portions of state,and the younger hill people didn’t need theextra money as badly as their parents. Theysimply stayed at home. Picking cotton was notsomething anyone would volunteer to do. Thefarmers faced a labor shortage that graduallygrew worse; then somebody discovered theMexicans.”
“The subject of day laborers came up. Thesewere locals who went from farm to farmlooking for the best deal. Most were townpeople we knew.”
“And their house was painted, the first one onthe highway into town. White was the color,with gray trim around the edges and corners.The porch and front steps were dark green.”
C.15/P.180
C.1/ P.1
Idem
C.2/P.15
C.2/P.16
C.4/P.41
C.6/P.76
70
“With time and weather the boards had fadedinto a pale brown, pretty much the same coloras other farmhouses around Black Oak. Paintwas unnecessary. The boards were kept cleanand in good repair, and besides, paint costmoney.”
“Paint” was a sensitive word around theChandler farm.”
“There was a clear social order with thesharecroppers at the bottom and themerchants at the top, and every one wasexpected to know his place. But folks gotalong.”
Idem
C.6/P.77
C.23/P.296
2. The List of Rural Arkansas Cultural Life in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
No. Cultures Corpus Chapter/ Page
1.
2.
Farming
Sport
“They were farmers, hardworking men whoembraced pessimism only when discussing theweather and the crops.”
“For a second, I stood there the semidarknessof an already hot September morning, staringdown a very long, straight row of cotton, arow that had somehow been assigned to me.I’ll never get to the end of it, and I wassuddenly tired.”
“The week began in the semidarkness ofMonday morning. We met at the trailer for theride into the fields, a ride that grew shortereach day as picking slowly moved away fromthe river back toward the house.”
“Though he was a quite man who neverbragged, Eli Chandler had been a legendarybaseball. At the age of seventeen, he hadsigned a contract with the Cardinals to playprofessional baseball.”
C.1/ P.1
C.4/P.44
C.11/P.131
C.1/ P.8
71
3. Worship
“Wary of the front yard, I headed for theback. Near the silo, where the Spruills weresupposed to be camping, there was no grassyarea where baseball could be played. Itwasn’t as long and wide as my field in thefront, but it was open enough and ran to theedge of the cotton. I tossed pop flies as highas I could, and I stopped only after I’d caughtten in row.”
“Most things were sinful in rural Arkansas,especially if you were a Baptist. And a greatpart of our Sunday worship ritual was to bepreached at the Reverend Akers, a loud andangry man who spent too much of his timeconjuring up news sins.”
“As general rule, the merchants andschoolteachers worshiped there. TheMethodist thought they were slightly superior,but as Baptist, we knew we had the insidetrack to God.”
“The line between Baptist and Methodist wasnever straight and true. Their worship wasslightly different, with the ritual of sprinklinglittle babies being their most flagrantdeviation from the Scriptures, as we sawthings. And they didn’t meet often, which, ofcourse, meant that they were not as seriousabout their faith. Nobody met as much as usBaptist. We took great pried in constantworship.”
“We rarely missed a Sunday worship, but thethreat of rain occasionally kept us at home.We hadn’t missed a service in months, and sowhen Gran suggested we eat late breakfastand listen to the radio we quickly agreed.”
C.11/P.135
C.8/P.98
C.8/P.99
C.23/P.296
C.28/P.359
72
3. The List of Rural Arkansas Economic Systems in Grisham’s “A Painted
House”.
No. Systems ofEconomy
Corpus Chapter/ Page
1.
2.
Crop-lien
Share-cropping
“Pappy and my father had borrowed fourteenthousand dollars in March from the owner ofgin. That was their crop loan, and the moneywas spent on seed, fertilizer, labor, and otherexpenses.”
“But, like most farmers, Pappy and my fathercarried debt from the previous year. Theyowed the owner of the gin two thousanddollars fro 1951, which had seen an averagecrop. They also owed money to the JohnDeere dealer in Jonesboro for parts, to LanceBrothers for fuel, to the Co-op for seed andsupplies, and to Pop and Pearl Watson forgroceries.”
“Pappy and Gran had been renting the landsince before the Great Depression, whicharrived early and stayed late in Arkansas.After thirty years of backbreaking labor, theymanaged to purchase from Mr. Vogel thehouse and three acres around it.”
“The only farmers who made money werethose who owned their land. The renters, likeus, tired to break even. The sharecroppershad it the worst and were doomed to eternalpoverty.”
“The Latchers were sharecroppers who livedno more than a mile from our house, but theymight as well have been in another county.
“Even the poorest of the sharecroppersmanaged to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.Every farm family had a few chickens layingeggs.”
C.2/P.14
C.2/P.15
C.3/P.25
Idem
C.10/P.121
C.15/P.180
73
B. Data Analysis
The data that has been described above will be analyzed by using
sociological analysis and mimetic theory by a Hungarian philosopher, Georg
Lukacs (1885-1971). In Lucaks’s theory (Endraswara:2003), a literary work does
not only portray the phenomena of life, and closely it can be a photograph of “life
process” in the world. And here these the explanations about social life in
Grisham’s “A Painted House” and its reflection in rural America of the twentieth
century:
1. The Social Problems of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
In Grisham’s “A Painted House” there are social problems such as
poverty, labor and social status, which are phenomenal in rural Arkansas. The
term of social problem has been defined by Soekanto (1993): “suatu keadaan di
mana cita-cita warga masyarakat, tidak terpenuhi karena keadaan sosial dalam
masyarakat.”35 Therefore, the society has to find the right solution to overcome
the social problems and create the life harmony as good as possible.
In the novel, Luke’s family rent a field from the owner of the land. They
had been trying to own the land, though they had to work hard and helped by the
labors. Mostly the farmers became sharecropper, who had not own the land and
split their cash crops to the owner of land as an agreement. And it needed many
years to own the land.
35 Soerjono Soekanto, Kamus Sosiologi, Edisi Baru, (Jakarta: PT RajaGrafindo Persada,1993), p.345
74
Renting a field was the effort of the farmers to survive in rural area. As the
renter of land, Luke’s family worked in the field almost every day and they were
helped by the hill people and the Mexicans, who worked as the labors. Thus,
Luke’s family got the income form the crop which was harvested in every year.
So, they could hire the labors and pay the bills.
“The only farmers who made money were those who owned their land.The renters, like us, tired to break even. The sharecroppers had it theworst and were doomed to eternal poverty.” (Grisham, 2001:25)
“The Latchers were sharecroppers who lived no more than a mile fromour house, but they might as well have been in another county. They run-down shack was in a bend of the river, with elms and willows touching theroof and cotton growing almost to the front porch. There was no grassaround the house, just a ring of dirt where a horde of little Latchersplayed.” (Grisham, 2001:121)
Luke’s family life in rural Arkansas was fairly normal; however, he had a
sharecropper neighbor that lived a mile from his house; they were the Latchers.
Their life was so apprehensive, there was no grass in front of the house, no garden
to be growth and their house was not painted. Sometimes they separated form the
other farmers and wasted time with their family.
The condition of Latcher’s family describes the American life in rural area
of the twentieth century. The people worked hard for many days to get enough
income and survive in rural area. The agriculture systems are the choice for them
to fulfill their need, and of course for paying their bills to the owner of gin.
Actually, these systems were applied as a post Civil War development, and it
happened in the northeastern part of the state.
75
However, it was different from Luke’s family; Pappy was able to hire the
migrants to pick the cotton in the field. The hill people and the Mexicans annually
migrated to Black Oak to search for jobs. They would be hired by the farmers to
help them for picking the cotton in the field. Definitely, they worked so hard to
earn the money and pretended to be poor people.
“The hill people had been migrating from the Ozarks for decades to pickcotton. Many of them owned their own homes and land, and quite oftenthey had nicer vehicles than the farmers who hired them for the harvest.They worked very hard, saved their money, and appeared to be as poor aswe were.” (Grisham, 2001:15)
In America, the hill people has migrated from the Ozarks region of
Arkansas; it is located in the extreme northern and western portions of the state.
This area is marked by flat-topped mountains, or plateaus, which have been
eroded over millions of years. Because of the diversity of the Arkansas landscape,
the state has long been fragmented, or divided. For instance, the hill people of the
Ozarks and Ouachitas are much different than the farmers of the Delta.36
Previously, the producing of cotton in rural Arkansas was not satisfied for
the farmers; because in 1950 the migration of the hill people had slowed.
However, the effect of postwar brought them over to seek for the jobs in rural
Arkansas as the labors. Accordingly, the parts of hill people brought their family
along to be hired by the farmers to pick cotton in the field.
“By 1950 the migration had slowed. The postwar boom had finallytrickled down to Arkansas, at least to some portions of state, and the
36 Anonymous, Delta Arkansas, Geography. Accessed on August 31, 2007.http://www.deltaculturalcenter.com/geography/ p.2
76
younger hill people didn’t need the extra money as badly as their parents.They simply stayed at home. Picking cotton was not something anyonewould volunteer to do. The farmers faced a labor shortage that graduallygrew worse; then somebody discovered the Mexicans.” (Grisham,2001:16)
The migrations of the hill people and the Mexicans gave a change for
social life in rural Arkansas, where the newcomers could spread the culture out or
involved the people’s culture. However, they had to follow the people activities as
immigrants in rural area. And this case would be existed as long as they stayed
with the farmers and worked hard in the field.
Historically, the labors came to America for years ago. The people used
their energy to work at the certain places, such as industry or rural area. In the
rural South of America, the labors were employed to help the farmers work at
agriculture area. They signed the contract of employment and begin to work with
the farmers as good as possible.
Occasionally, the labors were treated unnaturally. When the Mexicans
came to the town, the board carried them away by the worn out truck like
assemble of the cattle, they worked like dog, and owned a little time to rest.
“Those poor Mexicans. Haul ’em like cattle, work ’em like dogs, and theirone day of rest was taken away while the owner hid in church.” (Grisham,2001:161)
However, Luke’s family treated them as human, because as Baptist he
must love each other without seeing the employment. Although he could
experience his church doctrine; but he was not comfort with his unpainted house.
It was revealed when Hank Spruill, one of the hill people underestimated him, in
77
which Luke’s house indicated his social status was lower than other farmers.
Luke’s house was built before World War I, when the indoor plumbing
and electricity was not supplied yet. The front of his house was made from the
clapboards and Luke’s family had been living there for many years. There were
many Luke’s unforgettable memories with his family. Unfortunately, the house
was not painted yet, and it became a problem for his family.
“Our house had been built before the First War, back when indoorplumbing and electricity were unheard of. Its interior was one-by-sixclapboards made from oak, probably cut from the land we now farmed.With time and weather the boards had faded into a pale brown, prettymuch the same color as other farmhouses around Black Oak. Paint wasunnecessary. The boards were kept clean and in good repair, and besides,paint cost money.” (Grisham, 2001:76)
The paint was being a problem for Luke’s house. As a result, his family
argued that paint was unnecessary. However, the “paint” was a sensitive word for
the Chandlers. Until he found someone had been painting his house quietly, that
was Trot Spruill; the cripple son of the hill people that worked at his field. Of
course, it was a Trot’s initiative to paint Luke’s house, after his oldest brother;
Hank Spruill pointed toward Luke’s unpainted house.
The social status in rural America occurred while the people had
something different from the others. This issue was verily sensitive in the
twentieth century, especially for the migrants who came to America. In this
decade, there were two people who stayed in this country; the Black and White
America. Although the Black people came from another country, however they
had freedom and rights to live independently without discrimination.
78
By 1950 the failed crops in Arkansas, on that time; the flood destroyed the
farmer’s crops in the field. Therefore, the hill people and the Mexicans decided to
leave the farm even they got a little money from the farmers. In spite of that, Luke
continued Trot’s work, before he went to Chicago with his parents to work at
Buick factory. He sacrificed his dream, to own a new Cardinals jacket; he loved to
paint his house and made his family’s social status stable like other farmers. Even
he spent his money to buy some paints and he did it by helping the Mexicans
before their leaving.
From the description above, the social problems in rural Arkansas are
really dominant and apprehensive. The poverty has knocked the farmers down;
parts of them have to be the sharecroppers, and they split the cash crop to the
owner of land. This reality must be experienced by the Latcher family, who lives
with the poor condition; and decides to separate from other farmers.
The poverty that occurred in rural America has knocked the farmers down.
They decide to get credit from the owner of gin and become the sharecroppers.
And the farm is the effort of people in rural area. It is the way to get income and
survive with disability. Therefore, they work hard every day and will not stop in
searching for need.
The presence of the hill people and the Mexican, who come to the town to
seek for the job erupts the exploitation of labor’s power in rural Arkansas.
Sometimes, the farmers treat them unnaturally, and the labors must work hard in
the field almost every day like the slave. However, it is a way to survive and
increase their income.
79
The arrival of migrants in the twentieth century to rural America will bring
the changes to that area. They live in rural area for many years and work as the
labors of the farmer. Actually, it is not the right job for them; but they can be
sharecropper, although their life is not lucky like the other farmers who have an
acre of land.
The painted house becomes a measure for their social status. It is revealed
when Hank Spruill, one of the hill people’s son points toward Luke’s house. He
realizes that his family’s social status is lower than the other farmers. So, he
moves to buy a can of paint and begins to continue Trot’s work, who has painted
his house quietly, and make Luke’s social status is stable.
The social status which exists in rural America occurs between the White
and the Black people in the twentieth century. There is a distance between them,
and the right of Black people is little bit disturbed. However, this is a serious
problem which has to be solved at that time. And it can be overcome if the White
people respect them as human beings that live at the same area.
2. The Cultural Life of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
The term of culture has been already explained previously; it is “the total
life way of a people”, in which doing their activities together. As for 1940 there
were nine cities with 10,000 or more residents and nearly 78 in 100 Arkansas
were still classed as rural.37
37 Anonymous, The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition, (Connecticut: GrolierIncorporated, 1829), p.314
80
In rural Arkansas, almost of the people were cotton farmers, who worked
hard though the weather bad for the crops of this year.
“They were farmers, hardworking men who embraced pessimism onlywhen discussing the weather and the crops.” (Grisham, 2001:1)
“My father had been reading the almanac and offered the opinion that theweather would cooperate throughout the month of September. But mid-October looked ominous. Bad weather was on the way.” (Grisham,2001:41)
In Grisham’s novel, Pappy and Dad were the cotton farmers; they lived in
rural Arkansas with the family. However, they worried about the weather of the
month; occasionally, it would be bad and became a problem for the crops.
However, they were always ready to get risk of failed crops of this year. As the
young boy in the family, Luke helped them to pick cotton in the field, and earned
enough money to settle their debts.
In America, the vast majority of rural counties depended on farming as
their primary source of income. The farmers produced the cotton in every year
and it was able to give contribution for the country. And this even occurred in
rural America of the twentieth century. On that time, the farmers made the country
better than last year.
Almost of rural Arkansas society were devotees of the sport, baseball.
Luke’s family really liked baseball team; The St. Louis Cardinals, and it was
Luke’s favorite baseball team. The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the
Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis,
Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of
81
Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won 10 World Series, the most of any
National League team, and second only to the New York Yankees in Major
League Baseball, who have 26.
The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the
St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League
team. They joined the National League in 1892 and have been known as the
Cardinals since 1900. The Cardinals began play in the current Busch Stadium in
2006, becoming the first team since 1923 to win the World Series in their first
season in a new ballpark. The Cardinals have a strong rivalry with the Chicago
Cubs that began in 1885.38
While the America was involved in the Korean War and the Cold War in
1950s, the people were kept entertained through sports. The sports provided a
release from the problems of the world, where the fans could forget about their
life problems and celebrated in the accomplishment of talented athletes. Thus,
they struggle to defend the nation’s honor, especially in the sports.
Baseball39 was a huge sport in the fifties. Many sports had not developed
yet and were not broadcasted yet as much as baseball. At the moment, there were
38 Anonymous, St. Louis Cardinals, Wiki. Accessed on November 22, 2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Louis_Cardinals, p.1
39 Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. Thegoal of baseball is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of fourmarkers called bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on oneteam (the offense) take turns hitting while the other team (the defense) tries to stop them fromscoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on offense can stop at any ofthe bases and hope to score on a teammate's hit. The teams switch between offense and defensewhenever the team on defense gets three outs. One turn on offense for each team constitutes aninning; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of thegame wins. Anonymous, Baseball, Wiki. Accessed on November 10, 2007.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball, p.1
82
three events in baseball, which was captured the attention of spectators nationwide
such as Bobbie Thomson’s home run, Willie May’s “catch”, and Don Larson’s
perfect game.40 Thus in the 50’s, baseball was important enough that it could be
compared to a famous moment in American of the twentieth century.
The society of rural Arkansas dominated to believe in Christians, and there
were Baptist and Methodist Christians. Luke’s family was Baptist; they used to
worship in the church on Sunday or Sabbath, where the people had to leave their
work in the field to worship, included their labors. It was a routine ritual of rural
Arkansas society to clean their sins after a week working in the field.
The Baptist church was located in Black Oak; they usually came to the
town on Sunday morning after having breakfast. Consequently, in the church they
would hear the long preaching of the Brother (Reverend). The worship of Baptist
and Methodist were slightly different. The Baptist did not see the person
backgrounds, as long as he or she could be consistent to worship regularly. The
Methodists thought that they were slightly superior to the Baptists, and it was the
distinction between them.
“Most things were sinful in rural Arkansas, especially if you were aBaptist. And a great part of our Sunday worship ritual was to be preachedat the Reverend Akers, a loud and angry man who spent too much of histime conjuring up news sins.” (Grisham, 2001:98)
“The line between Baptist and Methodist was never straight and true.Their worship was slightly different, with the ritual of sprinkling littlebabies being their most flagrant deviation from the Scriptures, as we sawthings. And they didn’t meet often, which, of course, meant that they were
40 Anonymous, Sports, Dalton. Accessed on January 26, 2008http://intranet.dalton.org/ms/8th/students/decades99/muffins1950/Pages/index.html, p.7
83
not as serious about their faith. Nobody met as much as us Baptist. Wetook great pried in constant worship.” (Grisham, 2001:296)
The doctrine taught them to follow his God’s way to life. As the Baptist
they must have good moral and should not underestimate the others, because all
human beings were God’s creature that must be gloried. There was no perfect
human in the world, but they were recommended to respect each other without
seeing the status.
As elaborated above, there are many activities and habits that have been
done by the society. The rural sphere indicates their culture will be not lost for
many times. Their occupations as the farmers bring them along to experience the
life in simplicity. They also predict the weather for the crop of this year, in order
to avoid the attack of flood.
In the twentieth century, the farmers of rural America worked hard in the
field for increasing their income. Sometimes, the weather did not cooperate with
them and they must get risk in failed crops. The farmers should be ready about
these troubles, because they should predict the weather before starting to plant.
And this way was useful to overcome the farmer’s problems.
Beside their activity as farmers, baseball was a favorite sport for the
people, and this sport was played in their leisure time. Baseball became a famous
sport in America. While the country involved in the wars, the people kept on
fighting to defend the country’s honor through sport. They celebrated this sport
and intended to be the winner of game in World Series.
84
The high fidelity in worship was characterized by the society. Most of
them had been following to the doctrine of Baptist Christian. In the worship, they
never saw the people’s background. As told in the story, they allowed the
Mexicans to follow the church event. Thus, it was a distinction between the
Baptist and the Methodist, which applied the rule of church.
The Baptist Christian entered to the rural America before the twentieth
century. This belief was admitted by the people and became a major religion in
rural area. In the South of America, there were many Baptist churches that built to
fulfill the people’s need in worshiping. They believed that Baptist Christian was
the right belief and it taught the good doctrines.
However, they live in a rural area, in which experience this life together.
So, they are united in one event, which is held by these believers to create a
harmony in the religion. The reverend taught them that life is so short and the
people will always have the problems. So, they must think about the sins that
increase in every day and should decrease the bad deeds without veil.
3. The Economic Systems of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted
House”.
The rural simplicity of Arkansas farms has ended. As elsewhere in the
nation, there was a notable decrease in the farm population and number of farms
after World War II. The farms in the state have become increasingly mechanized
and have developed a diversified output of crops and livestock, rather than relying
85
on a single crop such cotton.41 In Grisham’s “A Painted House”, the rural
Arkansas produced Stoneville cotton. In the same time, the cotton was already to
be harvested; so the farmers intended to find the hill people and the Mexicans for
helping them to pick cotton in the field.
In America cotton was a necessary product of farming to increase the
country’s income. This product was distributed to other places of whole states to
fulfill the people’s need. In 1950, the result of this product was able to cost the
farmer’s necessity in producing the best cotton and it was used by all people or
industries in the US.
Sometimes the production of cotton could not be predictable in the market.
When the price was high, automatically the farmers would struggle to produce it
better and distributed to other states. Nonetheless, the weather destroyed their
hope for many months and willy-nilly they must pay the labors early. After
picking and gaining the cotton was carried to Co-op in Black Oak to be processed.
“When the rains flooded the land and wiped out the crops, the prices wentup because the traders in Memphis couldn’t get enough cotton. But thefarmers, of course, had nothing to sell. And when the rains cooperated andthe crops were huge, the price went down because the traders in Memphishad too much cotton. The poor people who labored in the fields didn’tmake enough to pay their crop loan.” (Grisham, 2001:78)
Luke’s family cost the farm autonomously. For the first cotton planting,
Pappy and Dad borrowed the money from the owner of gin. They hoped the crops
of this year would be satisfied and they could settle the debts. However, the
farmers must be ready to take any possibilities that occurred in the field, both
41 Anonymous (2005), Op. Cit., p.315
86
tornado and flood. So far, Luke’s family and the labors picked the cotton without
worrying. And they attempted to settle the debts that carried from the previous
year.
“But, like most farmers, Pappy and my father carried debt from theprevious year. They owed the owner of the gin two thousand dollars fro1951, which had seen an average crop. They also owed money to the JohnDeere dealer in Jonesboro for parts, to Lance Brothers for fuel, to the Co-op for seed and supplies, and to Pop and Pearl Watson for groceries.”(Grisham, 2001:15)
“Pappy and my father had borrowed fourteen thousand dollars in Marchfrom the owner of gin. That was their crop loan, and the money was spenton seed, fertilizer, labor, and other expenses.” (Grisham, 2001:14)
Crop-lien was a system that applied in rural America around twentieth
century. This system was widely used in this country after the Civil War in the
South. It was a way of farmers to get credit for costing the farm in rural area, and
the farmers were given the tools of farm by the owner of gin; while the crop was
coming they should pay the bills. It was different with the sharecropping; a farmer
would farm someone else's land and gave a portion of his crops to the land owner.
Sharecropping had a long history, and there were a wide range of different
situations and types of agreements that had encompassed the system.42
After the American Civil War many planters had ample land but little
money for wages. At the same time most of the former slaves were uneducated
and impoverished. The solution was the sharecropping system, which continued
42 Anonymous, Crop-lien System, Wiki. Accessed on February 03, 2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop-lien_system, p.1
87
the workers in the routine of cotton cultivation under rigid supervision. Economic
features of the system were gradually extended to poor white farmers.
Although, Luke’s family lived with crop-lien system in rural Arkansas;
however, Pappy and Gran had owned the land for planting cotton. They had been
renting it from the owner in Jonesboro around thirty years.
“Pappy and Gran had been renting the land since before the GreatDepression, which arrived early and stayed late in Arkansas. After thirtyyears of backbreaking labor, they managed to purchase from Mr. Vogelthe house and three acres around it.” (Grisham, 2001:25)
Finally, Luke’s family had the land, house, truck and so forth. It was the
struggle of life that brought them out from shortage. They could hire the labors to
help them picking cotton in the field. They also managed their money as good as
possible to cost the farm and source in rural Arkansas. However, the capitalism
had knocked the farm down, and the farmers must struggle to earn the money for
paying the debts.
From the explanation above, it is revealed that the economy of rural
depends on the cotton production. The farmers have been distributed the cotton to
another districts outside Arkansas, and receive the income from the traders.
Nonetheless, the farmers have to sacrifice their power to plant this cotton, and
sometimes they take the debts from the owner of gin.
There are two systems that applied by the owner of gin, and make the
farmers are concerned to cost the farm. First, the crop-lien system, this rule is
applied to farmer, who wants to develop the cotton farm accurately. They take the
debts and must be paid in time, and sometimes it is used up to repair the tractor.
88
Second, the sharecropping, this system is applied for the farmers, who have not a
field to be worked. And after the time of crop has come, they have to split the cash
crop to the owner of land.
The economic systems that applied in rural America have been used by the
farmers around the twentieth century. Those Agriculture systems involve the
farmers to produce the cotton as good as well. They get credit from the of gin to
work the field through crop-lien, and parts of the farmers who have not land; they
become sharecroppers, which must split their cash crops the owner of land.
The effect of capitalism has knocked the farmers down in rural Arkansas,
which cannot be avoided. Thus, they do not predict the result what have they
done; but it is the way of life in rural Arkansas. The society has to survive with
this condition and manage their income as good as possible. And it is the reality,
which must be experienced by the farmers. In reality, it becomes the most
important thing for American economy change. And the people must realize that
there are many risks living as the farmers in rural area.
4. The Novel “A Painted House” and American Social Reflection
Living in rural area is verily impressed for the native people. They can
express their soul as the farmer for example. In the statistic, usually they live in
rural area less than 2000 (occasionally 5000) people. According to American
books, the people who live in rural area it is called ‘face-to-face group’, which
recognize each other and bound to customs and traditions, such as economic and
89
cultural factors.43 They also live depend on the climate and the weather that can
change anytime and followed by limited resources.
The events of rural Arkansas was described in Southern America around
19th and 20th century, specifically in few counties of rural America. One of the
social problems that appeared in this area was the immigration, when in the early
19th century the White people were lower than the outsiders. At the time, the
slavery became the case that involved the immigrant of Africa, and then
implicated to create new culture.
“The greatest exploitation of slave in colonial Southern begins from themost necessary thing, which appears from two additional components inSouthern culture. One of the effects is the exodus of African to that areaand the fusion of these aspects with the native cultures.”44
The consequence of culture about slavery was not being a case and did not
need to be debated. However, by the crack of Civil War in 1860s, which
performed the slavery as the basic case in the Southern.
One of the cultural lives in the Southern America was farmer, which was
potential to produce the cash crop. The powerful agrarian and rural aspects in
Southern culture had been formed a pattern, it was verily necessary up to the
middle of 20th century. The biggest crop that produced by the people was
regulated well. The production of cotton dominated to develop the economy in the
Southern of 19th century.
43 Bouman, Ilmu Masyarakat Umum, (Jakarta: PT Pembangunan, 1956), p.127
44 Stephen S Birdsall and John Florin, Garis Besar Geogafi Amerika, Edisi ke-4, (NewYork: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992), p.74
90
“In 1860, the domination of cotton is not limited only in the Southerneconomy, yet it increases to the income aspect of whole states; more than60 percents from the total of product that exported from America of a yearis produced from the cotton.”45
The other cultural aspect was the high fidelity of people to worship. The
influence of Baptist in Southern region was an interesting case. This doctrine had
been brought to America by the European in early of their coming. Previously, it
was not legal doctrine in the Southern, and they were allowed to find their belief.
Around thirty years after 19th century, Baptism was almost being the religious
expression and influenced church regional of Southern culture. Thus, one of the
proof; it was existed in Southern Baptist.46
In Grisham’s “A Painted House”, the hill people and the Mexicans were
employed as the labors in the field. It was described in Southern; the little
employments was persuaded them to find the jobs in the rural area. Most the
Black people had been made an agreement to the owner of gin to work in the
field. They were given the tools of farm and work as the sharecroppers.
“Sharecropping is applied for the Black people, they receive the credit forthe farm tools, seed, home stay, and food as the payment for thesharecropping of crop that they plant on the people’s land, and it is theway of life for them to seek for the necessity, as equal as much poor native,which loose their own land”47
This event refers to the Latcher family, who lived a mile from Luke’s
house in Grisham’s novel. They struggled to survive as the sharecropper that had
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid., p.31
47 Ibid.
91
to split the crops to the owner of land. It was so hard to own the land by them;
because the native had been made a distance between the owner of the land and
the Black people.
The social life is really seen in the Southern and the events almost equal as
provided in Grisham’s “A Painted House”. Through it can perform the condition
of society life in rural America. However, Grisham’s inspiration is able to bring
the reader along to recognize American culture and compare the life condition in
rural America on that time.
The events both the rural Arkansas and the Southern America are almost
equal. During 19th and 20th century, the colonial and slavery are really exposed. In
Grisham’s novel the hill people and the Mexicans attempt to survive with being
the labors. And in the Southern the Black people are willing to be sharecropper, in
which must experience their life with the apprehensive condition.
92
2.
3.
Labor
Social Status
“Even the poorest of the sharecroppersmanaged to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.Every farm family had a few chickens layingeggs.”
“The hill people and the Mexican arrived onthe same day. It was a Wednesday, early inSeptember 1952.”
“Pappy, my grandfather, was worried aboutthe price for labor when we went searchingfor the hill people. They were paid for everyhundreds pounds of cotton they picked.
“The hill people had been migrating from theOzarks for decades to pick cotton. Many ofthem owned their own homes and land, andquite often they had nicer vehicles than thefarmers who hired them for the harvest. Theyworked very hard, saved their money, andappeared to be as poor as we were.”
“By 1950 the migration had slowed. Thepostwar boom had finally trickled down toArkansas, at least to some portions of state,and the younger hill people didn’t need theextra money as badly as their parents. Theysimply stayed at home. Picking cotton was notsomething anyone would volunteer to do. Thefarmers faced a labor shortage that graduallygrew worse; then somebody discovered theMexicans.”
“The subject of day laborers came up. Thesewere locals who went from farm to farmlooking for the best deal. Most were townpeople we knew.”
“And their house was painted, the first one onthe highway into town. White was the color,with gray trim around the edges and corners.The porch and front steps were dark green.”
“With time and weather the boards had faded
C.15/P.180
C.1/ P.1
Idem
C.2/P.15
C.2/P.16
C.4/P.41
C.6/P.76
Idem
93
into a pale brown, pretty much the same coloras other farmhouses around Black Oak. Paintwas unnecessary. The boards were kept cleanand in good repair, and besides, paint costmoney.”
“Paint” was a sensitive word around theChandler farm.”
“There was a clear social order with thesharecroppers at the bottom and themerchants at the top, and every one wasexpected to know his place. But folks gotalong.”
C.6/P.77
C.23/P.296
2. The List of Rural Arkansas Cultural Life in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
No. Cultures Corpus Chapter/ Page
1.
2.
Farming
Sport
“They were farmers, hardworking men whoembraced pessimism only when discussing theweather and the crops.”
“For a second, I stood there the semidarknessof an already hot September morning, staringdown a very long, straight row of cotton, arow that had somehow been assigned to me.I’ll never get to the end of it, and I wassuddenly tired.”
“The week began in the semidarkness ofMonday morning. We met at the trailer for theride into the fields, a ride that grew shortereach day as picking slowly moved away fromthe river back toward the house.”
“Though he was a quite man who neverbragged, Eli Chandler had been a legendarybaseball. At the age of seventeen, he hadsigned a contract with the Cardinals to playprofessional baseball.”
“Wary of the front yard, I headed for the
C.1/ P.1
C.4/P.44
C.11/P.131
C.1/ P.8
C.11/
94
3. Worship
back. Near the silo, where the Spruills weresupposed to be camping, there was no grassyarea where baseball could be played. Itwasn’t as long and wide as my field in thefront, but it was open enough and ran to theedge of the cotton. I tossed pop flies as highas I could, and I stopped only after I’d caughtten in row.”
“Most things were sinful in rural Arkansas,especially if you were a Baptist. And a greatpart of our Sunday worship ritual was to bepreached at the Reverend Akers, a loud andangry man who spent too much of his timeconjuring up news sins.”
“As general rule, the merchants andschoolteachers worshiped there. TheMethodist thought they were slightly superior,but as Baptist, we knew we had the insidetrack to God.”
“The line between Baptist and Methodist wasnever straight and true. Their worship wasslightly different, with the ritual of sprinklinglittle babies being their most flagrantdeviation from the Scriptures, as we sawthings. And they didn’t meet often, which, ofcourse, meant that they were not as seriousabout their faith. Nobody met as much as usBaptist. We took great pried in constantworship.”
“We rarely missed a Sunday worship, but thethreat of rain occasionally kept us at home.We hadn’t missed a service in months, and sowhen Gran suggested we eat late breakfastand listen to the radio we quickly agreed.”
P.135
C.8/P.98
C.8/P.99
C.23/P.296
C.28/P.359
95
3. The List of Rural Arkansas Economic Systems in Grisham’s “A Painted
House”.
No. Systems ofEconomy
Corpus Chapter/ Page
1.
2.
Crop-lien
Share-cropping
“Pappy and my father had borrowed fourteenthousand dollars in March from the owner ofgin. That was their crop loan, and the moneywas spent on seed, fertilizer, labor, and otherexpenses.”
“But, like most farmers, Pappy and my fathercarried debt from the previous year. Theyowed the owner of the gin two thousanddollars fro 1951, which had seen an averagecrop. They also owed money to the JohnDeere dealer in Jonesboro for parts, to LanceBrothers for fuel, to the Co-op for seed andsupplies, and to Pop and Pearl Watson forgroceries.”
“Pappy and Gran had been renting the landsince before the Great Depression, whicharrived early and stayed late in Arkansas.After thirty years of backbreaking labor, theymanaged to purchase from Mr. Vogel thehouse and three acres around it.”
“The only farmers who made money werethose who owned their land. The renters, likeus, tired to break even. The sharecroppershad it the worst and were doomed to eternalpoverty.”
“The Latchers were sharecroppers who livedno more than a mile from our house, but theymight as well have been in another county.
“Even the poorest of the sharecroppersmanaged to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.Every farm family had a few chickens layingeggs.”
C.2/P.14
C.2/P.15
C.3/P.25
Idem
C.10/P.121
C.15/P.180
96
B. Data Analysis
The data that has been described above will be analyzed by using
sociological analysis and mimetic theory by a Hungarian philosopher, Georg
Lukacs (1885-1971). In Lucaks’s theory (Endraswara:2003), a literary work does
not only portray the phenomena of life, and closely it can be a photograph of “life
process” in the world. And here these the explanations about social life in
Grisham’s “A Painted House” and its reflection in rural America of the twentieth
century:
1. The Social Problems of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
In Grisham’s “A Painted House” there are social problems such as
poverty, labor and social status, which are phenomenal in rural Arkansas. The
term of social problem has been defined by Soekanto (1993): “suatu keadaan di
mana cita-cita warga masyarakat, tidak terpenuhi karena keadaan sosial dalam
masyarakat.”48 Therefore, the society has to find the right solution to overcome
the social problems and create the life harmony as good as possible.
In the novel, Luke’s family rent a field from the owner of the land. They
had been trying to own the land, though they had to work hard and helped by the
labors. Mostly the farmers became sharecropper, who had not own the land and
split their cash crops to the owner of land as an agreement. And it needed many
years to own the land.
48 Soerjono Soekanto, Kamus Sosiologi, Edisi Baru, (Jakarta: PT RajaGrafindo Persada,1993), p.345
97
Renting a field was the effort of the farmers to survive in rural area. As the
renter of land, Luke’s family worked in the field almost every day and they were
helped by the hill people and the Mexicans, who worked as the labors. Thus,
Luke’s family got the income form the crop which was harvested in every year.
So, they could hire the labors and pay the bills.
“The only farmers who made money were those who owned their land.The renters, like us, tired to break even. The sharecroppers had it theworst and were doomed to eternal poverty.” (Grisham, 2001:25)
“The Latchers were sharecroppers who lived no more than a mile fromour house, but they might as well have been in another county. They run-down shack was in a bend of the river, with elms and willows touching theroof and cotton growing almost to the front porch. There was no grassaround the house, just a ring of dirt where a horde of little Latchersplayed.” (Grisham, 2001:121)
Luke’s family life in rural Arkansas was fairly normal; however, he had a
sharecropper neighbor that lived a mile from his house; they were the Latchers.
Their life was so apprehensive, there was no grass in front of the house, no garden
to be growth and their house was not painted. Sometimes they separated form the
other farmers and wasted time with their family.
The condition of Latcher’s family describes the American life in rural area
of the twentieth century. The people worked hard for many days to get enough
income and survive in rural area. The agriculture systems are the choice for them
to fulfill their need, and of course for paying their bills to the owner of gin.
Actually, these systems were applied as a post Civil War development, and it
happened in the northeastern part of the state.
98
However, it was different from Luke’s family; Pappy was able to hire the
migrants to pick the cotton in the field. The hill people and the Mexicans annually
migrated to Black Oak to search for jobs. They would be hired by the farmers to
help them for picking the cotton in the field. Definitely, they worked so hard to
earn the money and pretended to be poor people.
“The hill people had been migrating from the Ozarks for decades to pickcotton. Many of them owned their own homes and land, and quite oftenthey had nicer vehicles than the farmers who hired them for the harvest.They worked very hard, saved their money, and appeared to be as poor aswe were.” (Grisham, 2001:15)
In America, the hill people has migrated from the Ozarks region of
Arkansas; it is located in the extreme northern and western portions of the state.
This area is marked by flat-topped mountains, or plateaus, which have been
eroded over millions of years. Because of the diversity of the Arkansas landscape,
the state has long been fragmented, or divided. For instance, the hill people of the
Ozarks and Ouachitas are much different than the farmers of the Delta.49
Previously, the producing of cotton in rural Arkansas was not satisfied for
the farmers; because in 1950 the migration of the hill people had slowed.
However, the effect of postwar brought them over to seek for the jobs in rural
Arkansas as the labors. Accordingly, the parts of hill people brought their family
along to be hired by the farmers to pick cotton in the field.
“By 1950 the migration had slowed. The postwar boom had finallytrickled down to Arkansas, at least to some portions of state, and the
49 Anonymous, Delta Arkansas, Geography. Accessed on August 31, 2007.http://www.deltaculturalcenter.com/geography/ p.2
99
younger hill people didn’t need the extra money as badly as their parents.They simply stayed at home. Picking cotton was not something anyonewould volunteer to do. The farmers faced a labor shortage that graduallygrew worse; then somebody discovered the Mexicans.” (Grisham,2001:16)
The migrations of the hill people and the Mexicans gave a change for
social life in rural Arkansas, where the newcomers could spread the culture out or
involved the people’s culture. However, they had to follow the people activities as
immigrants in rural area. And this case would be existed as long as they stayed
with the farmers and worked hard in the field.
Historically, the labors came to America for years ago. The people used
their energy to work at the certain places, such as industry or rural area. In the
rural South of America, the labors were employed to help the farmers work at
agriculture area. They signed the contract of employment and begin to work with
the farmers as good as possible.
Occasionally, the labors were treated unnaturally. When the Mexicans
came to the town, the board carried them away by the worn out truck like
assemble of the cattle, they worked like dog, and owned a little time to rest.
“Those poor Mexicans. Haul ’em like cattle, work ’em like dogs, and theirone day of rest was taken away while the owner hid in church.” (Grisham,2001:161)
However, Luke’s family treated them as human, because as Baptist he
must love each other without seeing the employment. Although he could
experience his church doctrine; but he was not comfort with his unpainted house.
It was revealed when Hank Spruill, one of the hill people underestimated him, in
100
which Luke’s house indicated his social status was lower than other farmers.
Luke’s house was built before World War I, when the indoor plumbing
and electricity was not supplied yet. The front of his house was made from the
clapboards and Luke’s family had been living there for many years. There were
many Luke’s unforgettable memories with his family. Unfortunately, the house
was not painted yet, and it became a problem for his family.
“Our house had been built before the First War, back when indoorplumbing and electricity were unheard of. Its interior was one-by-sixclapboards made from oak, probably cut from the land we now farmed.With time and weather the boards had faded into a pale brown, prettymuch the same color as other farmhouses around Black Oak. Paint wasunnecessary. The boards were kept clean and in good repair, and besides,paint cost money.” (Grisham, 2001:76)
The paint was being a problem for Luke’s house. As a result, his family
argued that paint was unnecessary. However, the “paint” was a sensitive word for
the Chandlers. Until he found someone had been painting his house quietly, that
was Trot Spruill; the cripple son of the hill people that worked at his field. Of
course, it was a Trot’s initiative to paint Luke’s house, after his oldest brother;
Hank Spruill pointed toward Luke’s unpainted house.
The social status in rural America occurred while the people had
something different from the others. This issue was verily sensitive in the
twentieth century, especially for the migrants who came to America. In this
decade, there were two people who stayed in this country; the Black and White
America. Although the Black people came from another country, however they
had freedom and rights to live independently without discrimination.
101
By 1950 the failed crops in Arkansas, on that time; the flood destroyed the
farmer’s crops in the field. Therefore, the hill people and the Mexicans decided to
leave the farm even they got a little money from the farmers. In spite of that, Luke
continued Trot’s work, before he went to Chicago with his parents to work at
Buick factory. He sacrificed his dream, to own a new Cardinals jacket; he loved to
paint his house and made his family’s social status stable like other farmers. Even
he spent his money to buy some paints and he did it by helping the Mexicans
before their leaving.
From the description above, the social problems in rural Arkansas are
really dominant and apprehensive. The poverty has knocked the farmers down;
parts of them have to be the sharecroppers, and they split the cash crop to the
owner of land. This reality must be experienced by the Latcher family, who lives
with the poor condition; and decides to separate from other farmers.
The poverty that occurred in rural America has knocked the farmers down.
They decide to get credit from the owner of gin and become the sharecroppers.
And the farm is the effort of people in rural area. It is the way to get income and
survive with disability. Therefore, they work hard every day and will not stop in
searching for need.
The presence of the hill people and the Mexican, who come to the town to
seek for the job erupts the exploitation of labor’s power in rural Arkansas.
Sometimes, the farmers treat them unnaturally, and the labors must work hard in
the field almost every day like the slave. However, it is a way to survive and
increase their income.
102
The arrival of migrants in the twentieth century to rural America will bring
the changes to that area. They live in rural area for many years and work as the
labors of the farmer. Actually, it is not the right job for them; but they can be
sharecropper, although their life is not lucky like the other farmers who have an
acre of land.
The painted house becomes a measure for their social status. It is revealed
when Hank Spruill, one of the hill people’s son points toward Luke’s house. He
realizes that his family’s social status is lower than the other farmers. So, he
moves to buy a can of paint and begins to continue Trot’s work, who has painted
his house quietly, and make Luke’s social status is stable.
The social status which exists in rural America occurs between the White
and the Black people in the twentieth century. There is a distance between them,
and the right of Black people is little bit disturbed. However, this is a serious
problem which has to be solved at that time. And it can be overcome if the White
people respect them as human beings that live at the same area.
2. The Cultural Life of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.
The term of culture has been already explained previously; it is “the total
life way of a people”, in which doing their activities together. As for 1940 there
were nine cities with 10,000 or more residents and nearly 78 in 100 Arkansas
were still classed as rural.50
50 Anonymous, The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition, (Connecticut: GrolierIncorporated, 1829), p.314
103
In rural Arkansas, almost of the people were cotton farmers, who worked
hard though the weather bad for the crops of this year.
“They were farmers, hardworking men who embraced pessimism onlywhen discussing the weather and the crops.” (Grisham, 2001:1)
“My father had been reading the almanac and offered the opinion that theweather would cooperate throughout the month of September. But mid-October looked ominous. Bad weather was on the way.” (Grisham,2001:41)
In Grisham’s novel, Pappy and Dad were the cotton farmers; they lived in
rural Arkansas with the family. However, they worried about the weather of the
month; occasionally, it would be bad and became a problem for the crops.
However, they were always ready to get risk of failed crops of this year. As the
young boy in the family, Luke helped them to pick cotton in the field, and earned
enough money to settle their debts.
In America, the vast majority of rural counties depended on farming as
their primary source of income. The farmers produced the cotton in every year
and it was able to give contribution for the country. And this even occurred in
rural America of the twentieth century. On that time, the farmers made the country
better than last year.
Almost of rural Arkansas society were devotees of the sport, baseball.
Luke’s family really liked baseball team; The St. Louis Cardinals, and it was
Luke’s favorite baseball team. The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the
Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis,
Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of
104
Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won 10 World Series, the most of any
National League team, and second only to the New York Yankees in Major
League Baseball, who have 26.
The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the
St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League
team. They joined the National League in 1892 and have been known as the
Cardinals since 1900. The Cardinals began play in the current Busch Stadium in
2006, becoming the first team since 1923 to win the World Series in their first
season in a new ballpark. The Cardinals have a strong rivalry with the Chicago
Cubs that began in 1885.51
While the America was involved in the Korean War and the Cold War in
1950s, the people were kept entertained through sports. The sports provided a
release from the problems of the world, where the fans could forget about their
life problems and celebrated in the accomplishment of talented athletes. Thus,
they struggle to defend the nation’s honor, especially in the sports.
Baseball52 was a huge sport in the fifties. Many sports had not developed
yet and were not broadcasted yet as much as baseball. At the moment, there were
51 Anonymous, St. Louis Cardinals, Wiki. Accessed on November 22, 2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Louis_Cardinals, p.1
52 Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. Thegoal of baseball is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of fourmarkers called bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on oneteam (the offense) take turns hitting while the other team (the defense) tries to stop them fromscoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on offense can stop at any ofthe bases and hope to score on a teammate's hit. The teams switch between offense and defensewhenever the team on defense gets three outs. One turn on offense for each team constitutes aninning; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of thegame wins. Anonymous, Baseball, Wiki. Accessed on November 10, 2007.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball, p.1
105
three events in baseball, which was captured the attention of spectators nationwide
such as Bobbie Thomson’s home run, Willie May’s “catch”, and Don Larson’s
perfect game.53 Thus in the 50’s, baseball was important enough that it could be
compared to a famous moment in American of the twentieth century.
The society of rural Arkansas dominated to believe in Christians, and there
were Baptist and Methodist Christians. Luke’s family was Baptist; they used to
worship in the church on Sunday or Sabbath, where the people had to leave their
work in the field to worship, included their labors. It was a routine ritual of rural
Arkansas society to clean their sins after a week working in the field.
The Baptist church was located in Black Oak; they usually came to the
town on Sunday morning after having breakfast. Consequently, in the church they
would hear the long preaching of the Brother (Reverend). The worship of Baptist
and Methodist were slightly different. The Baptist did not see the person
backgrounds, as long as he or she could be consistent to worship regularly. The
Methodists thought that they were slightly superior to the Baptists, and it was the
distinction between them.
“Most things were sinful in rural Arkansas, especially if you were aBaptist. And a great part of our Sunday worship ritual was to be preachedat the Reverend Akers, a loud and angry man who spent too much of histime conjuring up news sins.” (Grisham, 2001:98)
“The line between Baptist and Methodist was never straight and true.Their worship was slightly different, with the ritual of sprinkling littlebabies being their most flagrant deviation from the Scriptures, as we sawthings. And they didn’t meet often, which, of course, meant that they were
53 Anonymous, Sports, Dalton. Accessed on January 26, 2008http://intranet.dalton.org/ms/8th/students/decades99/muffins1950/Pages/index.html, p.7
106
not as serious about their faith. Nobody met as much as us Baptist. Wetook great pried in constant worship.” (Grisham, 2001:296)
The doctrine taught them to follow his God’s way to life. As the Baptist
they must have good moral and should not underestimate the others, because all
human beings were God’s creature that must be gloried. There was no perfect
human in the world, but they were recommended to respect each other without
seeing the status.
As elaborated above, there are many activities and habits that have been
done by the society. The rural sphere indicates their culture will be not lost for
many times. Their occupations as the farmers bring them along to experience the
life in simplicity. They also predict the weather for the crop of this year, in order
to avoid the attack of flood.
In the twentieth century, the farmers of rural America worked hard in the
field for increasing their income. Sometimes, the weather did not cooperate with
them and they must get risk in failed crops. The farmers should be ready about
these troubles, because they should predict the weather before starting to plant.
And this way was useful to overcome the farmer’s problems.
Beside their activity as farmers, baseball was a favorite sport for the
people, and this sport was played in their leisure time. Baseball became a famous
sport in America. While the country involved in the wars, the people kept on
fighting to defend the country’s honor through sport. They celebrated this sport
and intended to be the winner of game in World Series.
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The high fidelity in worship was characterized by the society. Most of
them had been following to the doctrine of Baptist Christian. In the worship, they
never saw the people’s background. As told in the story, they allowed the
Mexicans to follow the church event. Thus, it was a distinction between the
Baptist and the Methodist, which applied the rule of church.
The Baptist Christian entered to the rural America before the twentieth
century. This belief was admitted by the people and became a major religion in
rural area. In the South of America, there were many Baptist churches that built to
fulfill the people’s need in worshiping. They believed that Baptist Christian was
the right belief and it taught the good doctrines.
However, they live in a rural area, in which experience this life together.
So, they are united in one event, which is held by these believers to create a
harmony in the religion. The reverend taught them that life is so short and the
people will always have the problems. So, they must think about the sins that
increase in every day and should decrease the bad deeds without veil.
3. The Economic Systems of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted
House”.
The rural simplicity of Arkansas farms has ended. As elsewhere in the
nation, there was a notable decrease in the farm population and number of farms
after World War II. The farms in the state have become increasingly mechanized
and have developed a diversified output of crops and livestock, rather than relying
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on a single crop such cotton.54 In Grisham’s “A Painted House”, the rural
Arkansas produced Stoneville cotton. In the same time, the cotton was already to
be harvested; so the farmers intended to find the hill people and the Mexicans for
helping them to pick cotton in the field.
In America cotton was a necessary product of farming to increase the
country’s income. This product was distributed to other places of whole states to
fulfill the people’s need. In 1950, the result of this product was able to cost the
farmer’s necessity in producing the best cotton and it was used by all people or
industries in the US.
Sometimes the production of cotton could not be predictable in the market.
When the price was high, automatically the farmers would struggle to produce it
better and distributed to other states. Nonetheless, the weather destroyed their
hope for many months and willy-nilly they must pay the labors early. After
picking and gaining the cotton was carried to Co-op in Black Oak to be processed.
“When the rains flooded the land and wiped out the crops, the prices wentup because the traders in Memphis couldn’t get enough cotton. But thefarmers, of course, had nothing to sell. And when the rains cooperated andthe crops were huge, the price went down because the traders in Memphishad too much cotton. The poor people who labored in the fields didn’tmake enough to pay their crop loan.” (Grisham, 2001:78)
Luke’s family cost the farm autonomously. For the first cotton planting,
Pappy and Dad borrowed the money from the owner of gin. They hoped the crops
of this year would be satisfied and they could settle the debts. However, the
farmers must be ready to take any possibilities that occurred in the field, both
54 Anonymous (2005), Op. Cit., p.315
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tornado and flood. So far, Luke’s family and the labors picked the cotton without
worrying. And they attempted to settle the debts that carried from the previous
year.
“But, like most farmers, Pappy and my father carried debt from theprevious year. They owed the owner of the gin two thousand dollars fro1951, which had seen an average crop. They also owed money to the JohnDeere dealer in Jonesboro for parts, to Lance Brothers for fuel, to the Co-op for seed and supplies, and to Pop and Pearl Watson for groceries.”(Grisham, 2001:15)
“Pappy and my father had borrowed fourteen thousand dollars in Marchfrom the owner of gin. That was their crop loan, and the money was spenton seed, fertilizer, labor, and other expenses.” (Grisham, 2001:14)
Crop-lien was a system that applied in rural America around twentieth
century. This system was widely used in this country after the Civil War in the
South. It was a way of farmers to get credit for costing the farm in rural area, and
the farmers were given the tools of farm by the owner of gin; while the crop was
coming they should pay the bills. It was different with the sharecropping; a farmer
would farm someone else's land and gave a portion of his crops to the land owner.
Sharecropping had a long history, and there were a wide range of different
situations and types of agreements that had encompassed the system.55
After the American Civil War many planters had ample land but little
money for wages. At the same time most of the former slaves were uneducated
and impoverished. The solution was the sharecropping system, which continued
55 Anonymous, Crop-lien System, Wiki. Accessed on February 03, 2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop-lien_system, p.1
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the workers in the routine of cotton cultivation under rigid supervision. Economic
features of the system were gradually extended to poor white farmers.
Although, Luke’s family lived with crop-lien system in rural Arkansas;
however, Pappy and Gran had owned the land for planting cotton. They had been
renting it from the owner in Jonesboro around thirty years.
“Pappy and Gran had been renting the land since before the GreatDepression, which arrived early and stayed late in Arkansas. After thirtyyears of backbreaking labor, they managed to purchase from Mr. Vogelthe house and three acres around it.” (Grisham, 2001:25)
Finally, Luke’s family had the land, house, truck and so forth. It was the
struggle of life that brought them out from shortage. They could hire the labors to
help them picking cotton in the field. They also managed their money as good as
possible to cost the farm and source in rural Arkansas. However, the capitalism
had knocked the farm down, and the farmers must struggle to earn the money for
paying the debts.
From the explanation above, it is revealed that the economy of rural
depends on the cotton production. The farmers have been distributed the cotton to
another districts outside Arkansas, and receive the income from the traders.
Nonetheless, the farmers have to sacrifice their power to plant this cotton, and
sometimes they take the debts from the owner of gin.
There are two systems that applied by the owner of gin, and make the
farmers are concerned to cost the farm. First, the crop-lien system, this rule is
applied to farmer, who wants to develop the cotton farm accurately. They take the
debts and must be paid in time, and sometimes it is used up to repair the tractor.
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Second, the sharecropping, this system is applied for the farmers, who have not a
field to be worked. And after the time of crop has come, they have to split the cash
crop to the owner of land.
The economic systems that applied in rural America have been used by the
farmers around the twentieth century. Those Agriculture systems involve the
farmers to produce the cotton as good as well. They get credit from the of gin to
work the field through crop-lien, and parts of the farmers who have not land; they
become sharecroppers, which must split their cash crops the owner of land.
The effect of capitalism has knocked the farmers down in rural Arkansas,
which cannot be avoided. Thus, they do not predict the result what have they
done; but it is the way of life in rural Arkansas. The society has to survive with
this condition and manage their income as good as possible. And it is the reality,
which must be experienced by the farmers. In reality, it becomes the most
important thing for American economy change. And the people must realize that
there are many risks living as the farmers in rural area.
4. The Novel “A Painted House” and American Social Reflection
Living in rural area is verily impressed for the native people. They can
express their soul as the farmer for example. In the statistic, usually they live in
rural area less than 2000 (occasionally 5000) people. According to American
books, the people who live in rural area it is called ‘face-to-face group’, which
recognize each other and bound to customs and traditions, such as economic and
112
cultural factors.56 They also live depend on the climate and the weather that can
change anytime and followed by limited resources.
The events of rural Arkansas was described in Southern America around
19th and 20th century, specifically in few counties of rural America. One of the
social problems that appeared in this area was the immigration, when in the early
19th century the White people were lower than the outsiders. At the time, the
slavery became the case that involved the immigrant of Africa, and then
implicated to create new culture.
“The greatest exploitation of slave in colonial Southern begins from themost necessary thing, which appears from two additional components inSouthern culture. One of the effects is the exodus of African to that areaand the fusion of these aspects with the native cultures.”57
The consequence of culture about slavery was not being a case and did not
need to be debated. However, by the crack of Civil War in 1860s, which
performed the slavery as the basic case in the Southern.
One of the cultural lives in the Southern America was farmer, which was
potential to produce the cash crop. The powerful agrarian and rural aspects in
Southern culture had been formed a pattern, it was verily necessary up to the
middle of 20th century. The biggest crop that produced by the people was
regulated well. The production of cotton dominated to develop the economy in the
Southern of 19th century.
56 Bouman, Ilmu Masyarakat Umum, (Jakarta: PT Pembangunan, 1956), p.127
57 Stephen S Birdsall and John Florin, Garis Besar Geogafi Amerika, Edisi ke-4, (NewYork: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992), p.74
113
“In 1860, the domination of cotton is not limited only in the Southerneconomy, yet it increases to the income aspect of whole states; more than60 percents from the total of product that exported from America of a yearis produced from the cotton.”58
The other cultural aspect was the high fidelity of people to worship. The
influence of Baptist in Southern region was an interesting case. This doctrine had
been brought to America by the European in early of their coming. Previously, it
was not legal doctrine in the Southern, and they were allowed to find their belief.
Around thirty years after 19th century, Baptism was almost being the religious
expression and influenced church regional of Southern culture. Thus, one of the
proof; it was existed in Southern Baptist.59
In Grisham’s “A Painted House”, the hill people and the Mexicans were
employed as the labors in the field. It was described in Southern; the little
employments was persuaded them to find the jobs in the rural area. Most the
Black people had been made an agreement to the owner of gin to work in the
field. They were given the tools of farm and work as the sharecroppers.
“Sharecropping is applied for the Black people, they receive the credit forthe farm tools, seed, home stay, and food as the payment for thesharecropping of crop that they plant on the people’s land, and it is theway of life for them to seek for the necessity, as equal as much poor native,which loose their own land”60
This event refers to the Latcher family, who lived a mile from Luke’s
house in Grisham’s novel. They struggled to survive as the sharecropper that had
58 Ibid.
59 Ibid., p.31
60 Ibid.
114
to split the crops to the owner of land. It was so hard to own the land by them;
because the native had been made a distance between the owner of the land and
the Black people.
The social life is really seen in the Southern and the events almost equal as
provided in Grisham’s “A Painted House”. Through it can perform the condition
of society life in rural America. However, Grisham’s inspiration is able to bring
the reader along to recognize American culture and compare the life condition in
rural America on that time.
The events both the rural Arkansas and the Southern America are almost
equal. During 19th and 20th century, the colonial and slavery are really exposed. In
Grisham’s novel the hill people and the Mexicans attempt to survive with being
the labors. And in the Southern the Black people are willing to be sharecropper, in
which must experience their life with the apprehensive condition.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
In this novel, Grisham attempts to present the sociological aspects that can
be seen from the story. The characters which involved in his story make the
readers comprehend and recognize the social condition of American people in the
20th century. The story takes place in rural Arkansas that describes his childhood
sphere. Thus, his inspiration is conveyed by seven-year-old boy, Luke Chandler,
who lives as the cotton farmer with his family.
The life phenomena in Grisham’s “A Painted House” brings the readers
along to know the American people in rural area. These events occur in 1950s,
where the people live as the poor farmers and split their cash crops to the owner of
land. They also get credit from the owner of gin and pay the bills after the time of
crop. The presence of labors brings some changes in cultural and economical
aspects. And the painted house becomes a sign of social status and makes a
distinction among the farmers.
The cultural life of that society is seemed from their occupation as the
farmers, who work in the field almost every day. In the leisure time, the people
choose baseball as the favorite sport. This activity is also held at the gathering of
church after worshiping on Sunday. Mostly the people believe in Baptist Christian
and they obey all doctrines of the church.
116
The people in rural Arkansas attempt to produce the cotton as good as
well, but sometime they find some difficulties to reach the target of production.
However, they keep struggle to produce it with economic systems that applied in
rural area. Crop-lien is the way to get credit from the owner of gin, and for the
farmers who have not the land; they can work the people’s farm and split the cash
crop to the owner of land.
The events above can be reflected in rural America of the twentieth
century. While the people in the Southern live with apprehensive condition as
sharecropper farmers and must involve the economic systems that applied in rural
area. The using of labor’s energy occurs on that time, in which the employment is
hard to be found. And the social status between Black and White people is the
sensitive issue in rural America.
While the America has been involved by the Korean War, the people keep
entertained by baseball game in the World Series. In 1950’s, the American team
performs the best play for the country. However, the people of rural America can
keep their culture through worshiping in the church, in which the people believe
in Baptist Christian and always obey to the doctrines.
And for the economy, the people apply the crop-lien and sharecropping
systems for the farmers. In the twentieth century, mostly the Black people take
these Agriculture systems to increase their income. They get credit from the
owner of gin for the tools of farm and for sharecropper farmers must split their
cash crop to the owner of land as an agreement of effort in rural America.
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B. Suggestion
Analyzing a novel must be based on the facts within; sometimes the novel
writer does not directly show his ideology. So, we have to observe more seriously,
in order to catch it as good as possible. The role of the approach and theory should
be match with the analysis, and the novel texts must be understood as good as
well to make easy the writer in the research.
Coincidently, this research is dealing with the sociology, which analyzes
the social activities of people. In the novel, there are found some descriptions of
life which perform the people’s activities. Therefore, the writer attempts to reflect
the social life of rural America in 1950’s. Through the mimetic theory, the
characters of the novel represent the way of life in rural area of twentieth century.
118
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Books:
Anonymous, The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition. Connecticut:Grolier Incorporated, 1829.
Bidrsall, Stephen S., and John Florin. Garis Besar Geografi America, Edisi ke-4.New York: John Willey and Sons, Inc., 1992.
Bainar, et al. Ilmu Sosial, Budaya dan Kelaman Dasar. Jakarta: Jenki Satria,2006.
Bouman, P. J. Ilmu Masyarakat Umum. Jakarta: PT Pembangunan, 1956.
Clowers, Myles L, and Steven H. Mori. Understanding Sociology ThroughFiction. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1977.
Drajat, Ria Hilmiati. Tanya-Jawab Psikologi Sosial. Bandung: Armico, 1982.
Endraswara, Suwardi. Metodologi Penelitan Sastra. Yogyakarta: PustakaWidyatama, 2003.
Faruk. Pengantar Sosiologi Sastra. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 1994.
Green, Arnold W. Sociology, An Analysis of Life in Modern Society, 5th Edition.New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1968
Grisham, John. A Painted House. New York: Belfry Holdings, 2001.
Luxemburg, Jan van, et al. Pengantar Ilmu Sastra, diindonesiakan oleh DickHartoko. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1992.
Nurlailah, dan Laelasari. Kamus Istilah Sastra. Bandung: Nuansa Aulia, 2006.
Ratna, S. U, Nyoman Kutha. Teori, Metode, dan Teknik Penelitian Sastra.Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 2004.
Ritzer, George, Encyclopedia of Social Theory, Volume I. Thousands Oak: SAGEPublications, 2003.
Rose, Jerry D. Introduction to Sociology, 4th Edition. Chicago: Rand McNallyCollege Publishing Company, 1980.
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Roucek, Joseph S and Roland L. Warren. Sociology An Introduction. New Jersey:Littlefield, Adams & Co, 1963.
Selden, Raman. Panduan Pembaca Teori Sastra Masa Kini. Yogyakarta: GadjahMada University Press, 1993.
Soekanto, Soerjono. Kamus Sosiologi, Edisi Baru. Jakarta: RajaGrafindo Persada,1993.
Sugiharto, Yanto S. Soal-Jawab Sosiologi. Bandung: Armico, 1980.
Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren. Teori Kesusatraan, diterjemahkan ke dalambahasa Indonesia oleh Melani Budianta, Ph. D., Jakarta: PT Gramedia,Cetakan Pertama, 1989.
Websites:
Anonymous, A Painted House, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A Painted House.Accessed on April 24, 2007
Anonymous, Arkansas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas. Accessed onAugust 06, 2007
Anonymous, Baseball, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball. Accessed onNovember 10, 2007
Anonymous, Crop-lien System, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Crop-lien_system.Accessed on February 03, 2008
Anonymous, Delta Arkansas, http:// www.deltaculturalcenter.com/geography.Accessed on August 31, 2007
Anonymous, Economy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy. Accessed onNovember 10, 2007
Anonymous, Literature, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature. Accessed onApril 11, 2007
Anonymous, Social, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social. Accessed onApril 10, 2007
Anonymous, Society, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society. Accessed onApril 10, 2007.
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Anonymous, Sociology, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology. Accessed onApril 11, 2007
Anonymous, Sports, http://intranet.dalton.org/ms/8th/students/decades99/muffins1950/Pages/index.html, Accessed on January 26, 2008
Anonymous, St. Louis Cardinals , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Loius_Cardinals. Accessed on November 22, 2007
Damono, Sapardi Joko. Kita dan Sastra Dunia. http://www.mizan.com/portal/template/Baca Atikel/kodeart/222, Accessed on September 20, 2007
Grisham, John. Excerpt: ‘A Painted House .http://archieve.cnn.com/2001/books/beginings/01/25/grisham.excerprt/index.html. Accessed on May 25, 2007
Iskar, Soehenda. Sosiologi Sastra.http://www.pikiranrakyat.com/cetak/2005/0305/Khazanah/lainnya02.htm, Accessed on May 25, 2007
Saparie, Gunoto. Luasnya Wilayah Sosiologi Sastra, http://www.suarakarya-online.com/news.html?id=168818. Accessed on May 07, 2007
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APPENDIXES
A. The list of Characters and Characterizations in Grisham’s “A Painted
House”.
No. Characters Characterizations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Luke Chandler
Eli Chandler “Pappy”
Ruth Chandler “Gran”
Jesse Chandler “Dad”
Kathleen Chandler “Mom”
Jimmy Dale
Hank Spruill
The Latcher Family
Dewayne
The youngest boy in the Chandler familyand the protagonist of the story.
Luke’s highly respected and hard-workinggrandfather and patriarch of the family.
Luke’s quiet, conservative, and wisegrandmother who prays for her younger sonRicky’s save returns from the Korean war.
Luke’s father, who served during WorldWar II, and struggles to help his father(Pappy), erases the family’s debt.
Luke’s mother, who tends to the gardenwhile dreaming of a better life in a suburbanhome with indoor plumbing and modernconveniences.
The cousin of Luke’s father, who works at aBuick plant in Michigan and offers to helpJesse find employment if he and his familyrelocate north.
The son of hill people, who has pointedtowards Luke’s house, and reveals theChandler’s social status.
The poor sharecropper, who live a mileform Luke’s house and has a pregnantdaughter, Libby Latcher.
Luke’s best friend, who always be withLuke in every fantastic events for farmchildren.
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B. State of Arkansas
Flag of Arkansas Seal
Nickname(s): The Natural State (current),The Land of Opportunity (former)
Motto(s): Regnat Populus (The People Rule)
Official language(s) English
Capital Little Rock
Largest city Little Rock
Largest metro area Little Rock Metropolitan Area
Area Ranked 29th
- Total53,179 sq mi(137,002 km²)
- Width 239 miles (385 km)
- Length 261 miles (420 km)
- % water 2.09
- Latitude 33° 00′ N to 36° 30′ N
- Longitude 89° 39′ W to 94° 37′ WPopulation Ranked 32nd
- Total (2000) 2,673,400
- Density51.34/sq mi19.82/km² (34th)
Elevation- Highest point Mount Magazine[1]
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2,753 ft (840 m)
- Mean 650 ft (198 m)
- Lowest pointOuachita River[1]55 ft (17 m)
Admission to Union June 15, 1836 (25th)
Governor Mike Beebe (D)
U.S. SenatorsBlanche Lincoln (D)Mark Pryor (D)
Congressional Delegation List
Time zone Central: UTC-6/DST-5
Abbreviations AR Ark. US-AR
Web site www.arkansas.gov
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas (August 06, 2007)
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C. Biography of John Grisham
Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legalthriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven,Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to theoffice and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a constructionworker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being aprofessional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a procareer, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University.After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice lawfor nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personalinjury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives andserved until 1990.
One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard theharrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start anovel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered herassailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing timebefore heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill andfinished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually boughtby Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it inJune 1988.
That might have put an end to Grisham's hobby. However, he had alreadybegun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-timecareer—and spark one of publishing's greatest success stories. The day afterGrisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story ofa hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not whatit appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for$600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and bookrights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Timesbestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.
The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the NewYork Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one,confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham'ssuccess even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished inhardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was abestseller.
Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written onenovel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, TheChamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer,The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The
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Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, and The Broker) and allof them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, ThePelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, APainted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an originalscreenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marks hisfirst foray into non-fiction.
Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children Ty and Shea.The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippiand a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.
Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return,after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment madebefore he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing thefamily of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars.Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books'protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a juryaward of $683,500—the biggest verdict of his career.
When he's not writing, Grisham devotes time to charitable causes,including most recently his Rebuild The Coast Fund, which raised 8.8 milliondollars for Gulf Coast relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He also keeps upwith his greatest passion: baseball. The man who dreamed of being a professionalbaseball player now serves as the local Little League commissioner. The sixballfields he built on his property have played host to over 350 kids on 26 LittleLeague teams.
Photo © Lynne Brubaker Photography
Source: http: //www.randomhouse.com/features/grisham/main.php (August 31, 2007)
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CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL DATA
Name : Budi PrayogiPlace/ Date of Birth : Jakarta, January 12, 1984Address : Jl. Al-Iman Kp. Baru I Rt. 016/ 09
(Komp. H. Anda) Kelapa II WetanCiracas Jakarta Timur 13730
Phone : 021-92463672E-mail : [email protected] : Indonesian CitizenReligion : IslamStatus : Single
FORMAL EDUCATION
2003 – 2008 Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta2000 – 2003 YAPIDA Senior High School Bogor1997 – 2000 YAPIDA Junior High School Bogor1991 – 1997 Cibubur 11 Pagi State Elementary School Jakarta
INFORMAL EDUCATION
2004 Computer Short Course of Politeknik Bina Indonesia (PBI) Ciputat2003 English Short Course of English Language Teaching Course
(ELTC) Bogor
EXPERIENCES
2008 Teaching at PRIMAGAMA Cilangkap Jakarta2007 Documentation Section of BRR Logistics Even Organizer Jakarta2006 Teaching at SDN Ciburuy 2 Bogor of Kuliah Kerja Sosial (KKS)
2006 of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta2005 – 2006 Chief of English Letters Student Union (BEMJ) of UIN Syarif
Hidayatullah Jakarta2005 – 2006 Surveyor of Lembaga Survey Indonesia (LSI) Banten2004 – 2005 Member of English Letters Student Legislative (DPMJ) of UIN
Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta2004 Volunteer of Presidential Election of Komisi Pemilihan Umum
(KPU) Tangerang2004 Solid Group of Country Program “The Ship for the Southeast
ASEAN Youth Participants (SSEAYP)” Jakarta
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2004 – 2005 Manager of Kafe Bahasa of FAH UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta2004 Member of Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam (HMI) Branch of Ciputat
AWARDS
2003 The Best Actor of English Drama Contest at PonpesDaaruhrahmah Bogor
2003 The Best Speaker of English Speech Contest at PonpesDaaruhrahmah Bogor
SKILLS
Active and Passive in ArabicActive and Passive in English
HOBBIES
Reading, Writing, and Listening to the Music