Summary Of Bumi Manusia

The Analysis of “Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind)” by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

The writer will analyse the novel of “Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind)” by using three appropriate approaches which are Structuralism, Postcolonialism, and Psychoanalysis. Firstly, the writer will analyse the novel with Structuralism theory by Saussure. The writer analyses the structural elements of the novel. The major theme of the novel is about colonialism era. It tells about how the native Indonesian people was oppressed and underestimate by the Dutch colony. The theme is also about the struggle against injustice. Minke always struggles against injustic for example when he tried to defend his wife and Nyai Ontosoroh to win the claim over their property.

Minke is the protagonist in this novel. He is an educated Javanese young man from rich Indonesian family. He is also the narrator of the novel. Nyai Ontosoroh is an Indonesian woman. She is a concubine of Herman Mellema and the mother of Annelies and Herman Mellema. While Annelies, Herman Mellema, Robert Mellema, Bunda, and Darsam are the minor characters in this novel. They support the illustration of the main characters in their thought. The setting takes place in Wonokromo, Surabaya during colonial era at the end of 19th century. Most of the events sets in Nyai Ontosoroh’s house in Wonokromo. And the other events sets in Minke’s boarding house in Kranggan, H.B.S.

“We Natives have read what you have not read: our chronicle Babad Tanah Jawi. Reading and writing Javanese has long been some...” (Toer: 1996:142)

The writer also found that there is figurative language used such as personification and simile. For example in page 26-27, we can see that there are sentences using personification and simile are used:

Personification : “His eyes were knifing at my neck.” (Toer:1996:26-27)

Simile : “Must I be thrown out like a dog from this beautiful house, accompanied by the cascading laughter of Robert Suurhof? His eyes...” (Toer:1996:26)

Secondly, the writer uses the Postcolonialism theory to analyse the novel. It is appropriate to analyse “This Earth of Mankind” by Pramoedya Ananta Toer because it represents the struggle of a Native Indonesian against colonialism. The writer uses postcolonial analysis by Edward W. Said and Homi Bhabha theory.

Edward (1978) stated that in the post-colonialist theory, there is racial understones which is an inferior view to orientals. In the literary works, texts were in the perspectives of the colonized (oppressed). This Earth of Mankind novel is narrated from the perspectives of the colonized (oppressed) side, in which in this novel is narrated by Pramoedya Ananta Toer 's, a native Indonesian young