Shofa Lanima Halim

1145030171

Moral and Aesthetic Values in the Novel Bumi Manusia

by Pramoedya Ananta Toer Using a Pragmatic Approach

(Horace: The Concept of Utile Et Dulce)

Literary work is as a media for author to convey his

message. By literary works, authors can tell what is seen, felt,

and experienced. Indirectly, the literary work is place to

accommodate and convey everything from the author's

perspective. It reveal untold because it is using connotations that

are rarely used by humans in everyday life. The purpose of texts

in the literature is to communicate between author and reader.

Literary work is imaginative, aesthetic and delight the

reader. This is in line with the opinion of Damono (1984: 1) that

the literary work was created by author to be enjoyed,

understood and used by people in life. Horace's dulce and utile:

poetry is sweet and useful. Either adjective separately represents

a polar heresy with regard to the function of poetry probably it is

easier to correlate Dulce et Utile on the basis of function than on

that of nature. The view that poetry is pleasure (analogous to any

other pleasure) answers to the view that poetry is instruction

(analogous to any textbook) (in Wellek & Warren, 1949: 20).

 Horace uses the word utile and dulce together for the purposes of the poet

or the possible effects that must be produced: combine instruction and pleasure. In

Western theory approach is often a pretty fierce discussion whether utile or dulce

comes first: if poetry and literature generally should first provide instruction or

pleasure; so it is a conflict between moral and aesthetic approach, or perhaps

better called a pressure difference.

Because there is no aesthetic theory in literature Indonesia

explicitly, so we do not know for sure what is Indonesian

traditional view on the function of literature, but implicitly from

various works of literature itself it can be said that both aspects

utile and dulce for Indonesian literature is quite essential, and

perhaps all aspects of moralists which usually takes precedence:

as one example is the novel Bumi Manusia by Pramoedya Ananta

Toer which was first published in 1980. This novel is the Buru

tetralogy, which took the background and the forerunner of

Indonesia in the early 20th century. It is as a manifestation of

Minkes anxiety to his own people who were colonized by

Europeans. He is native but bloody aristocracy who dared to

stand against injustice to his people.

This novel is interesting to examine the moral and

aesthetic theory through a pragmatic approach because this

novel presents many stories related with the class conflict

between European nobility (Totok and Indo) and native nobility,

between the intellectuals and the ordinary people. Moreover, this

novel took the background and the forerunner of Indonesia in the

early 20th century where in this century has entered the

transition of a more modern life that marked the emergence of

educated people, intellectuals, and capitalist economy system.

Those led to the existence of social classes in civilization. Besides

that, the viscosity of the culture presented with a slick neatly

arranged. Not only the national culture, but also raised the

European colonialism culture. Thought each character makes this

story even more impressed also be unique, it is the advantages

of this novel, especially dialogues with a variety of languages.

A pragmatic approach is based on the reader. The success

of a literary work is measured from the readers. The great literary

work is considered to be able to provide "pleasure" and "value".

Although the pragmatic dimension includes the author and the

reader but the reader was dominant. Therefore, the process of

communication and understanding of literary works influence

and participate in determining the attitude of readers to

literature faces (Teeuw, 1984: 151). This approach is closely

related to Horaces concept of Utile et Dulce.

Horace said that the aim of the poet is to inform or delight,

or to combine together, in what he says, both pleasure and

applicability in life (Nurrachman, 2014:84). In Bumi Manusia, the

author combine utile and dulce, both instruction and pleasure.

 The educationist may falsely locate the seriousness of a

great poem or novel, as in the historical information it purveys or

the helpful moral lesson. In instructing, the authors give the

moral values through Minke.

Aku tersinggung. Aku tahu otak H.B.S. dalam kepala

Robert Suurhof hanya pandai menghina, mengecilkan,

melecehkan, dan menjahati orang. Dia anggap tahu

kelemahanku: tak ada darah Eropa dalam tubuhku.

Sungguh-sungguh dia sedang bikin rencana jahat terhadap

diriku (Toer, 2011: 17-18)

Minke describes briefly that Robert Suurhof is as lower than

him. Horace (in Nurrachman, 2014: 84) said that in instructing,

be brief in what you say in order that you readers may grasp it

quickly and retain. As we know that Robert Suurhof is an Indo

Dalam tubuhnya mengalir darah Pribumi. Entah berapa tetes

atau gumpal (Toer, 2011: 17). Suurhofs social class is higher

than Minke who is a native without a family name but Minke

declares briefly that Suurhof is no more insulting than him that is

only a native.

The usefulness of art need not be thought to lie in the

enforcement of such a moral lesson as Le Bossu held to be

Homer's reason for writing the Iliad, or even such as Hegel found

in his favorite tragedy, Antigone. "Useful" is equivalent to "not a

waste of time," not a form of "passing the time," something

deserving of serious attention (in Wellek & Warren, 1949: 20).

Pram gives a brief description of the character of Robert Suurhof

at the beginning of the story, he describes the character of

Suurof that is not waste of the time, he tells the main point

directly, it makes the readers to retain in their mind that the

morals of Indo is lower than natives.

Dia hanya seorang nyai-nyai, tidak mengenal perkawinan

syah, melahirkan anak-anak tidak syah, sejenis manusia

dengan kadar kesusilaan rendah, .. Dan tak dapat aku

katakan dia bodoh. Basa Belandanya cukup fasih, baik dan

beradab; sikapnya pada anaknya halus, dan bijaksana, dan

terbuka, tidak seperti ibu-ibu Pribumi; tingkah lakunya tak

beda dengan wanita Eropa terpelajar (Toer, 2011: 38)

This quote is an allusion to the previous quote. Minke

declares briefly that Nyai Ontosoroh is a mistress but has a better

moral than Suurof. Even her social-class in lower than Minke. She

is better than Europeans woman. According to Piaget and

Kohlberg (in Teeuw, 1984), moral development is correlated with

the development of individual intelligence, so it should when the

intellectual development has reached maturity, the moral

development must reach a level of maturity.

 Here the reader gets an instructing that a morals person is

not determined by social status but is determined by the

education he/she gets.

. Kau terpelajar, Minke, Seorang terpelajar harus juga

belajar berlaku adil sudah sejak dalam pikiran, apalagi

dalam perbuatan. Itulah memang arti terpelajar itu. (Toer,

2011: 77)

In this case, Kenny (in Nurgiyantoro, 2009: 321) stated that

the moral of the story is usually meant as a suggestion relating

to certain moral teachings are practical, which can be taken or

interpreted through stories concerned with the reader. He is a

"hint" that had been given by the author of various matters

relating to the behavior and manners association. He is practical

because the "clues" that can be displayed, or found his model, in

real life, as the model shown in the story through the attitudes

and behavior of the characters.

The quotation above has a hint or clue that was given by

the author. The hint is that a student must have good moral

character because they are the future generation. Minke is a

revolutionist in this novel, then inevitably he must have a high

level of education to improve the nation. Indirectly, the authors

stated that to change a person's social class is by education.

 We do not forget in a literary work must have an element

of aesthetic as well. Horace held pleasure to be the chief purpose

of poetry, for he recommends the profitable merely as a means

to give pleasure to the elders (Abrams, 1954).

Barok (in Teeuw, 1984: 151) said that there are two

theories about aesthetics, subjective and objective. Aesthetics

are subjective of beauty that there is in the eye that sees. While

the objective is to put the beauty of the objects seen.

Mataku mulai menggerayangi ruang tamu yang luas itu:

perabot, langit-langit, kandil-kandil kristal yang

bergelantungan, lampu-lampu gas gantung dengan kawat

penyalur dari tembagaentah di mana sentralnyapotret

Ratu Sri Emma yang telah turun tahta terpasang pada

pigura kayu berat. Dan untuk kesekian kali pandang ini

berhenti pada wajah Annelies juga. Sebagai penjual

perabot rumah tangga, sekali caup sudah dapat aku

menentukan barang-barang itu mahal belaka, dikerjakan

oleh para tukang yang mahir. Permadani di bawah sitje

bergambarkan motif yang tak pernah kutemui. Mungkin

pesanan khusus. Lantainya terbuat dari parket, tegel kayu,

yang mengkilat oleh semir kayu. (Toer, 2011: 27)

Horace (in Nurrachman, 2014: 84) said that fiction invented

in order to please should remain close to reality. The quotation

above shows the beauty of house where Nyi Ontosoroh live that

is different from other indigenous homes. In real life we know the

architecture of the houses of Europe are very luxurious and

magnificent. As well as the description of her house is not much

different from the reality.

This is the aesthetic objective because house is the object

seen. Someone will say that the house is beautiful because he

see how the house, he do not see who the owner is. The

aesthetic objective is shown to object.

Sesungguhnya: kecantikannya memang memukau. Di

tengah-tengah kemewahan ini ia nampak agung,

merupakan bagian yang mengatasi segala yang indah dan

mewah. (Toer, 2011: 28)

Horace (in Wellek & Warren, 1949: 20) said that "Sweet" is

equivalent to "not a bore," "not a duty," "its own reward. In

literary works, aesthetics is needed in order not to make the

reader feels bored. The quotation above shows Anneliess facial

beauty.

This is the aesthetic subjective because there is in the eye

that sees. Not all of the readers can believe how beautiful

Annelies. Your play must not demand that the audience believe

anything you take a whim to portray (Nurrachman, 2014: 84).

 Beberapa orang perempuan menahan Annelies dan

mengajaknya bicara, minta perhatian dan bantuan. Dan

gadis luar biasa ini seperti seorang ibu melayani mereka

dengan ramah tamah.

Hunter Mead (in Gie, 2004:74-76) said that aesthetic

values that give a certain meaning to other things (objects,

ideas, events). For example fun events that will always be

remembered. The beauty is not only seen from the shape of its

form. An aesthetic beauty is not something that is always

beautiful to the eye, but also beautiful to value. Also occurring in

these points. From the novel snippet above, the beauty of the

values that occur inside of Annelies. She is European nobility but

she does not feel disgusted to natives and she is not arrogant,

Annelies it has no such behavior. She is happy to hang out and

help the natives.

To Sidney, poetry, by definition, has a purpose to achieve

certain effects in an audience, it imitates only as a means to the

proximate end of pleasing, and pleases, it turns out, only as a

means to the ultimate end of teaching; tor 'right poets are those

who 'imitate both to delight and teach, and delight to move men

to take that goodness in handed (Abrams, 1954).

As a result, throughout this essay the needs of the

audience become the fertile grounds for critical distinctions and

standards. In order 'to teach and delight/ poets imitate not 'what

is, hath been, or shall be/ but only 'what may be, and should be/

so that the very objects of imitation become such as to

guarantee the moral purpose.

The great classical exemplar of the application of the

rhetorical point of view to poetry was, of course, the Art Poetica

of Horace. Horace's criticism is directed in the main to instruct

the poet how to keep his audience in their seats until the end,

how to induce cheers and applause, how to please a Roman

audience, and by the same token, how to please all audiences

and win immortality. The context shows that Horace held

pleasure to be the chief purpose of poetry, for he recommends

the profitable merely as a means to give pleasure to the elders,

who, in contrast to the young aristocrats, 'rail at what contains

no serviceable lesson.

The pleasure of literature, we need to maintain, is not one

preference among a long list of possible pleasures but is a

"higher pleasure" because pleasure in a higher kind of activity.

And the utility the seriousness, the instructiveness of literature is

a pleasurable seriousness, not the seriousness of a duty which

must be done or of a lesson to be learned but an aesthetic

seriousness, a seriousness of perception.

 When a work of literature functions successfully, the two

"notes" of pleasure and utility should not merely coexist but

coalesce. This is what can be proved in a novel Bumi Manusia

that instructing and pleasure both are related. The literary works

must have both. Instructing is addressed to young readers, while

pleasure showed to elder readers in order that the reader does

not leave the enjoyment in reading literature.

References:

Abrams, M.H. (1954). The Mirror and the Lamp: Orientation of

Critical Theory.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
Damono, S. D. (1984). Sosiologi Sastra Sebuah Pengantar
Ringkas. Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan
Bahasa.

Gie, The Liang. 2004. Filsafat Keindahan. Yogyakarta: Pusat

Belajar Ilmu
Berguna (PUBIB).
Nurgiyanto, B. (2009). Teori Pengkajian Fiksi. Yogyakarta: UGM.

Nurrachman, Dian. (2014). Classical Critical Theory: From

Ancient Greek to
Victorian England. Bandung: Pustaka Aura Semesta
Semi, A. (1989). Kritik Sastra. Bandung: Angkasa Bandung.

Teeuw, A. (1984). Sastera dan Ilmu Sastera. Jakarta: PT Kiblat

Buku Utama.
Toer, P. A. (2011). Bumi Manusia. Jakarta Timur: Lentera
Dipantara
Wellek, Rene & Austin Warren. (1949). Theory of Literature. New
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