Confessing Love to the Nation: Audrey Yu Jia Hui’s Works and Identity Reconstruction

Alberta Natasia Adji; Diah Ariani Arimbi; Adi Setijowati; Nur Wulan; Kukuh Yudha Karnanta

doi:10.21512/jas.v6i1.4819

Authors

Alberta Natasia Adji Universitas Airlangga
Diah Ariani Arimbi Universitas Airlangga
Adi Setijowati Universitas Airlangga
Nur Wulan Universitas Airlangga
Kukuh Yudha Karnanta Universitas Airlangga

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21512/jas.v6i1.4819

Keywords:

contemporary Chinese Indonesian literature, Audrey Yu Jia Hui, identity reconstruction, deconstruction, postmodern narrative

Abstract

This article addressed identity reconstruction through an analysis of two of the most prominent fictional works by one of the Chinese Indonesian young writers, Audrey Yu Jia Hui. In encompassing the idea of identity rewriting, I addressed Hui’s second and third novels respectively, Mellow Yellow Drama (2014) and Mencari Sila Kelima (Searching for the Fifth Principle, 2015), through the post-structural concepts of Derrida’s deconstruction, and also in relation to cultural studies views on identity. The works were analyzed through close-reading technique. The novels were published during the Reformation (Reformasi) era, where politics had served to be a profound aspect that directed the cultural identity and social attitude of the society. In a range of aspects, from narrative structure to their deeper themes, Hui’s literary works were found to draw on a distinguishable set of strategies which enabled Hui to establish her own identity as someone who was liberated, culturally accepted and free to embrace local colors. This article also showed that Audrey Yu Jia Hui’s narratives have served as an acceptance of an individual’s multiple identities, which often depends on the problem at hand as well as the context of choices.

Dimensions

Plum Analytics

Author Biographies

Alberta Natasia Adji, Universitas Airlangga

Alberta Natasia Adji is a graduate of English Language and Literature and Master of Literary and Cultural Studies from Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga. She can be contacted at alberta.adji@gmail.com

Diah Ariani Arimbi, Universitas Airlangga

Diah Ariani Arimbi is a lecturer at the English Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga. She can be contacted at diaharimbi@yahoo.com

Adi Setijowati, Universitas Airlangga

Adi Setijowati is a lecturer at the Indonesian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga. She can be contacted at ad_setio60@yahoo.com

Nur Wulan, Universitas Airlangga

Nur Wulan is a lecturer at the English Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga. She can be contacted at nurwulaneka@yahoo.com

Kukuh Yudha Karnanta, Universitas Airlangga

Kukuh Yudha Karnanta is a lecturer at the English Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga. He can be contacted at ky_karnanta@yahoo.co.id

References

Alisjahbana, S. T. (1957). Kedudukan Bahasa Melajoe Tionghoa. In Dari Perdjuangan dan pertumbuhan bahasa Indonesia (pp. 55–61). Djakarta: PT Pustaka Rakjat.

Aminuddin. (2002). Pendekatan Pasca-Struktural: Jaques Derrida. In Analisis Wacana: Dari Linguistik sampai Dekonstruksi (pp. 155–197). Yogyakarta: Kanal.

Anderson, B. (2001). Imagined Communities (Komunitas-Komunitas Terbayang) (Second Edi). Yogyakarta: Insist.

Anggraeni, D. (2010). Mereka Bilang Aku China: Jalan Mendaki Menjadi Bagian Bangsa. Yogyakarta: Penerbit B First.

Artharini, I. (2016, October 7). Syarat Orang Indonesia Asli “Tak Sesuai Zaman.” BBC Indonesia. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/berita_indonesia/2016/10/161006_indonesia_ppp_capres_indonesia_asli

Bandel, K. (2007). Kesastraan Melayu Tionghoa dan Kebangsaan Indonesia. Jurnal Cerpen Indonesia (Vol. 07). Yogyakarta: Akar Indonesia.

Barker, Chris and Galasinski, D. (2001). Cultural Studies and Discourse Analysis. London, California and New Delhi: Sage Publications Ltd.

Barker, C. (2003). Cultural Studies Theory and Practice (Second Edi). London, California and New Delhi: Sage Publications Ltd.

Budiman, M. (2011). Re-Imagining the Archipelago: The Nation in Post-Suharto Indonesian Women’s Fiction.

Dasgupta, R. K. (2016). Remembering Benedict Anderson and his Influence on South Asian Studies. Theory, Culture & Society, 1–5.

Derrida, J. (1974). Of Grammatology. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University.

Derrida, J. (1992). Acts of Literature. New York: Routledge.

Fernando, Victhor, Mulawarman, WIdyatmike Gede, and Rokhmansyah, A. (2018). Pandangan Dunia Pengarang dalam Novel Mellow Yellow Drama karya Audrey Yu Jia Hui: Kajian Strukturalisme Genetik. Jurnal Ilmu Budaya, 2(1), 71–80.

Haryatmoko. (2016a). Critical Discourse Analysis: Landasan Teori, Metodologi dan Penerapan. Depok: PT Rajagrafindo Persada.

Haryatmoko. (2016b). Membongkar Rezim Kepastian: Pemikiran Kritis Post-Strukturalis. Yogyakarta: PT Kanisius.

Jia Hui, A. Y. (2014). Mellow Yellow Drama. Yogyakarta: PT Bentang Pustaka.

Jia Hui, A. Y. (2015). Mencari Sila Kelima. Yogyakarta: PT Bentang Pustaka.

KBBI. (n.d.). Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Online - Asli. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://kbbi.web.id/asli

Magniz-Suseno, F. (2015). Seabad Kebangkitan Nasional. In Kebangsaan, Demokrasi, Pluralisme: Bunga Rampai Etika Politik Aktual (pp. 11–19). Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas.

Parekh, B. (2000). Rethinking Multiculturalism. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.

Santoso, L. (2016, October 15). Menyelamatkan Negara Bangsa. Jawa Pos, p. 4. Surabaya.

Suryakusuma, J. (2013). Milk Cows and Punching Bags: Chinese Indonesians in the Golden Age? In Julia’s Jihad (pp. 91–94). Depok: Komunitas Bambu.

Tanu, D. (2014). Becoming “International”: The Cultural Reproduction of the Local Elite at an International School in Surabaya. South East Asia Research, 22(4), 579–596.

Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York and London: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

Willet, C. (1998). Theorizing Multiculturalism. Massachusetts and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.