ADULT CONTENT IN LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK ‘S AMBA

Ray Ardi Putra1, Syihabuddin2

Rayardip1000@upi.edu | Syihabudin@upi.edu
Sekolah Pascasarjana Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

ABSTRACT
This study is a literary criticism of the adult content in Laksmi Pamuntjak’s Amba:
Sebuah Novel. This study investigates the impact of adult content in literary work for
children and adolescents. This study is using Plato’s theory, especially about mimesis
and good and bad literature. This study also utilizes the descriptive qualitative method
and library research as the research method of this study. Finally, the data found are
several narrations which are consisted of sexual activity that is not suitable to be read
by children and adolescents because it can illustrate children and adolescents’ minds
become bad based on Plato’s theory. Censorship is therefore necessary in literary
works in order to preserve literature's role as learning material.
Keywords: Adolescent, Children, Literature, Plato

Introduction
Literature is a way to recreate something old into something new. Eagleton
(1996, p. 9) states, this reservation, the suggestion that 'literature' is a highly valued
kind of writing is an illuminating one. Something old means something that already
exists a long time ago in the mind which is called an idea, while something new
means a new media to devote the idea. It is confirmed by Plato in Mamrol (2017) that
literature is a copy of things, and things are copies of ideas. Therefore, literary works
represent a real thing in life that is taken from ideas.
Literature is a kind of writing which always consists of a value and moral
aspect both for a reader generally and for the author specifically. Literature should
represent a real-life situation that should have a good impact on humans. Lewis in
Oak (2018), suggest that literature enriches the necessary competencies that daily life
requires and provides. Based on this definition, that literature must be a medium for
enlightening people. Therefore, literature must have a benefit for many people, either
the benefits as a science, amusement, or motivation of life.
The most essential function of literature is to educate a general reader and an
author. As something that is expected to give a good impact, literature should contain
good things only. If something bad has to be told in literature, it should not be told
explicitly. It should be censored at least. As stated by Plato in Nurrachman (2017, p.
15), the first thing will be to establish a censorship of the writers of fiction, and let the
censors receive any tale of fiction which is good, and reject the bad. Unfortunately,
not all literature contents consist of good content, there is so much bad content
provided in certain literary works.
The one impact of bad content in a literary work can be resulting bad moral
values, especially for children and adolescents who read it. Children and adolescents
are the primary source of judging and constructing values and their frequency of
moral thinking will increase as they read literature (Farahani et al., 2021, p. 106).
Therefore, moral value stands with human behaviour about the good and bad insight
of the view of life. Moral value is defined as the character's traits and actions that
contribute to happiness. Therefore, literature and literary work should contain good
things only so that the human mind will also be filled with only good things and will
not be contained with bad things such as nasty things that will give negative impacts
on humans.
The one of literary works that contain bad content is a novel titled “Amba:
Sebuah Novel.” Amba is one of Laksmi Pamuntjak’s literary works, and it has been
approved as a great literary work which is written by an Indonesian poet. Amba
Novel was published in 2012 for the first time, later the novel was revised in 2013,
2014, and 2015, and the last revised edition was published in 2017. Amba has been
translated into many languages such as English and Germany languages. For this
reason, Laksmi Pamuntjak became an internationally famous poet from Indonesia.
Amba’s story consists of many aspects of human life such as love, Javanese
culture, education, and also the history of the Indonesian Communist Party called G
30 S ‘, and the new order period of Indonesia. The background of the novel is 1965.
In that year, many major events took place in Indonesia. The problems that occurred
began when the transition of power from the old order to the new order occurred in
the lower ranks or party sympathizers.

However, besides many interesting contents, it also provides bad content such
as nasty things in another term it refers to adult content that is not suitable for
children and adolescent education. Therefore, some literary works including Amba
need to be criticized in order to give an evaluation and a solution.
This study is inseparable from previous similar studies. Several studies form
the basis for writing this study. The first study was a study written by Manneke
Budiman (Budiman, 2012) entitled "Meninjau Kembali Hubungan Antara Sastra dan
Budi Pekerti." The study focuses on the function of literary works as teaching
materials in education where bad content must be considered for writing in literary
works. Furthermore, the second study that is inspired in the writing of this study was
a study written by Adenarsy Averus Rahman (2017) entitled "Pembelajaran Sastra di
Perguruan Tinggi yang Berkarakter". The focus of this study is to discuss character
value. Responsibility as one of the character values exists in Amba’s novel, and it
becomes a medium for students’ education.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature
Literature based on Eagleton’s theory (1996, p. 9) is “A highly valued kind of
writing is an illuminating one.” There are so many elements in a literary work that
can make the reader become interested to read a literary work. This definition is
supported by Bennet & Royle and Sumardjo & Saini (2004, p. 35; 1997) that
literature is a human personal expression in the form of experiences, thoughts,
feelings, ideas, enthusiasm, and belief in a form of concrete images that evoke
enchantment with language tools. Sometimes an author writes a literary work to
express his or her thought in order to make people understand and give a message to a
reader.
Literature is a medium to teach moral values. As stated by Khan (2014, p. 6)
that literature and literary works play a critical role in shaping and cultivating our
beliefs, and cultural, aesthetic, and moral sensibilities. Literature is often used to
educate children and adolescents about good and bad things based on the plot of a
literary work and a character in a literary work. This is can assist students in
developing their ability to think more logically and socially about moral issues.
Children and adolescents need educational media based on morals and norms. Moral
and norm are belonging to the truth value. This statement is supported by Plato’s
theory in Pabst (1977, p. 165) that Plato clearly saw poetry as a collection of
statements, each having a truth value. A truth value must be defended for education,
in order to keep children and adolescents saved from bad moral values.
Literary Criticism
According to Warren and Wellek (1977, p. 30), Literary criticism is
frequently used in such a way as to include all literary theory; but such usage ignores
a useful distinction. In other terms in literary criticism, someone can understand
literature through culture and even ideology based on critical theory. Another
definition of literary criticism is defined by Bressler (2011, p. 6) “Implicit in this
definition is that literary criticism is a disciplined activity that attempts to describe,
study, analyse, justify, interpret, and evaluate a work of art.” Literary criticism aims
to answer the question of readers about what was written by the author. Literary
criticism not only criticises a work but also explores the contents of the work.
Criticizing a literary work requires the ability to analyse, examine, and master the
theory of literature.
The main activity of criticism is to evaluate some literary works. Evaluation is
important for readers to give attention to the author of his or her works. The function
of literary criticism is explained by Nurrachman (2017, p. 4) that criticism, for certain
purposes, should be functioned as the ideological encounter between the author
(represented by his/her literary work) and the reader (represented by criticism itself).
Literary criticism is the way a reader understands and interprets the intentions of the
author. Literary criticism aims to answer the question of readers about what was
written by the author. Therefore, criticism is not only judging literary works, but the
function of criticism is to make a relationship between an author and a reader, and it
can makes strengthen bonds one each other.
Literature as Mimetic
The concept of mimetic was theorised by Plato and it has a correlation with
literature. Plato assumed that literature is merely a copy of things that were entirely
original (Guntara, 2020, p. 15). Therefore, an artist or author is not a creator, but an
artist and author are merely developers. It is very reasonable given that Plato argues
that artists are very incompetent at reproducing ideas on produced things. As a result,
according to Plato the literary value is decreasing and moving away from the mental
realm (Wahyuni, 2020, p. 3).
Good and Bad Literature
Plato‘s concept of good and bad literature is written in his book titled
“Republic”. Plato categorized literature as a part of music for educating a soul. Plato‘s
assumption in (Nurrachman, 2017, p. 14) “And when you speak of music, do include
literature or not? I do.” Depends on this theory that literature is called music which is
a part of soul education. Plato believes that writers’ aim is to replace philosophers in
enlightening the public, for this reason, Plato harbours hate towards authors
(Budiman, 2012, pp. 136–137).
Based on Republic, literature has two categories there are true and false,
which is important for education. Following Lear (1997, p. 80) “First, the music and
rhythms with which poetry is expressed pour directly into our psyches.” However,
there are two kinds of literature, there are true literature and false literature that
influenced children and adolescent education. Based on Greene (1918, p. 1) “In his
ideal state a large part of the education of the young is based on the study of certain
kinds of poetry.” Therefore, the content of some literary works can influence
children’s and adolescents
education. Similar to the previous theories, Barrow (2012, p. 21) explained that
anything erroneous and anything that can promote immorality or moral slackness
must be eliminated.
RESEARCH METHOD
This study is library research. The source of data was taken from many kinds
of literature owned by the author. The main source of data in this study is from the
novel titled ”Amba: Sebuah Novel” written by Laksmi Pamuntjak. The data are
several narrations which describe free sex activity that is unsuitable for children and
adolescents.
The research method used in this study is descriptive qualitative. The
descriptive qualitative method defined by Milles, Huberman, & Saldana dan
Cresswell (2009, p. 4; 2014, p. 10) that qualitative research is basically very suitable
for examining the context in individuals or groups associated with social issues.
Based on this explanation, the research in this paper’s qualitative research methods is
presented descriptively. The descriptive qualitative research method is a type of
research method that utilizes qualitative data and is described descriptively (Sendani,
2019). The characteristic of the descriptive qualitative research method is explained
by Lambert (2013, p. 255) qualitative descriptive studies are influenced by
naturalistic research, which is intended to study something else in its natural state as
far as possible in the context of the study.
The author uses the method of document analysis in this paper. Analysis
documents according to Bowen (2009) that an analytical document is a method for
reviewing and evaluating documents both printed and in the digital display. Some
words and phrases found in the novel "Amba: Sebuah Novel" written by Laksmi
Pamuntjak which is categorised as a document.

DISCUSSION
 The bad content provided in Amba mostly consists of sexual content.
However, it is not worth to be written in literary work. The total data found is 9 data
in form of narrations and dialogues. The data found:
The sex is mostly done by Amba and Bhisma in Kediri. Although there is also
a thing about sex related to Salwa that is told in the following narration.

“Pada Salwa seperti ada yang fundamental tentang ketiadaan nafsunya

terhadap perempuan. Ia nyaman berada di dekat perempuan , sebagai
teman, lawan bicara, kolega, kakak, anak, dan kadang ia bahkan
lebih nyaman berinteraksi dengan perempuan ketimbang dengan sesama
lelaki, hanya tidak secara seksual. Atau barangkali ia memang tak
begitu tertarik pada soal ini, atau tak berpengalaman, atau punya
gairah seks yang rendah” (Pamuntjak, 2013, p. 161).
Salwa that represents a good man in the novel is described as a person who
has no lust for having sex. This kind of condition is hard to be accepted by Amba as
his fiancée. Laksmi Pamuntjak told it so explicitly to the readers. She wrote the word
“seksual” or “sexual” without even censoring it. It may affect the readers that they
would think; to be a man that will please your girl you need to have a lust for sex,
which is untrue.
Another nasty thing that is found in the novel is a sexual activity that is
usually done by those who are in relationships. That kind of activity is called kissing
as mentioned in following dialogue:
“Tapi mengapa ciuman itu harus begitu panjang, dan sekaligus begitu
singkat? Mengapa laki laki itu harus berhenti menciumnya? Kenapa
tak bisa selamanya?” (Pamuntjak, 2013, p. 223).
Although ciuman or kissing does not seem so vulgar to western people, it is
still awkward if it is told in Indonesian culture. It actually depends on the context. If it
is about kissing parents or family, it is still acceptable but if it is about kissing a
partner such as a girlfriend or a boyfriend, it is still taboo to be told explicitly in
Indonesian. Besides, the quotation above is about kissing that is done by Amba and
Bhisma that are not even tied in a relationship. Thus, it is not good that such activity
is told explicitly in the novel.
 Moreover, the most disgusting sexual activity is also told in the novel. The
activity is a sexual intercourse. It is disgusting because it was done by Amba and
Bhisma who have not gotten married to each other as the story represents the life of
Java which forbid such activity before marriage. It is shown in the following
narration:
“Malam itu, Bhisma menarik Amba masuk ke kamarnya. Selagi ketegangan
meruap dari berita TV ke semua ruang di rumah sakit itu, Bhisma merayap
di atas tubuh kekasihnya, membakar tiap ujung pori dan sarafnya. Amba
merasakan bagian-bagian tubuhnya berganti-ganti diombang-ambingkan sakit
dan nikmat, terdera tetapi menanti. Ia rasakan kulitnya yang bilur kena cakar
dan gigit, ungu, kemudianmenghijau, kemudian menguning. Bhisma menyentuh itu
semua, mengisi itu semua, seraya membenamkan seluruh hasratnya ke dalam
dirinya, berkali-kali. Dan Amba menelannya penuh-penuh, seperci matahari
dalam mulutnya.” (Pamuntjak, 2013, p. 240)
The phrase “Bhisma menarik Amba masuk ke kamarnya” implies that he
wants to do something naughty to her. The phrase “merayap di atas tubuh
kekasihnya” emphasizes that he really does something to her. The meanings of both
phrases are not good thus it should not have been shown in the novel.
Amba who represents an educated girl could give her virginity so easily to
someone whom she just knew recently. The author, Laksmi Pamuntjak, again told it
uncensored as earlier. She also described that kind of sexual activity with the phrase
“sakit dan nikmat” which means hurt and pleasant.
The narration may hypnotise the readers that losing virginity before marriage
is a pleasant feeling and it can be done by anybody even by those who are well
educated. This narration is not good to be read by children and adolescents. Even
though sexual activity has not been done by them, it can illustrate to children and
adolescents about sexual activity as the impact of bad narration in a literary work.
There are more explicit things told in the novel that is even more vulgar. For
example, when the author says the sex organs certainly without censoring them at all.
“Laki laki itu meruapkan bau kayu kasa dan farji kekasihnya” (Pamuntjak, 2013, p.
241).
 Bau kayu kasa or the smell of rafters is related to the smell of the vagina.
Vagina itself is written as farji in the sentence. It is quite clear that the meaning of the
sentence is about an activity that is done after sexual intercourse. It can also activate
the dirty side of the human mind which is bad in the eyes of literature. Therefore, it
should also be censored or removed from the novel.
“Apa etiket yang tepat? Ketika belum dua menit sebelumnya, jari
jarinya, lidahnya, penisnya, berenang dalam rongga tubuhnya yang
haus?” (Pamuntjak, 2013, p. 249).
The sex organs are told much more explicitly in the way we read the novel
more and more. In the citation above, jari-jarinya means his fingers, lidahnya means
his tongue, and penisnya means his penis. In this context, the word “his” means
“Bhisma‘s”. It is so clear that those sex organs there are told exactly without
censoring it at all. Actually, the word “penis” seems too vulgar to be written in a
novel or any kind of literary work. It can illuminate the reader’s mind, especially
children and adolescents.
Moreover, there are also advices about sex in the novel given to Amba by her
friend. It is also told explicitly in the following narration:
“Ada dua jenis pecinta. Yang satu kikir atau nggak berpengalaman,
yang satunya lagi murah hati dan nggak egois, yang satu cenderung
berputar-putar di atasmu, seperti lalat yang penakut, sambil mencoba
membidikkan senjatanya yang gentar ke arah selangkanganmu.
Apabila dia berhasil memasukkan bagian tubuhnya ini ke rongga di
tengah kedua pahamu, dia akan cepat cepat menjatuhkan badannya di
aras badanmu sampai kau merasa dirimu remuk seperti kerupuk; ia
harus memastikan batang itu terus berada di dalammu dan tidak
menciut, kempes dan menggelepar keluar seperti agar-agar. Tipe kedua,‘kata
temannya itu lagi, ‘adalah mata, tangan, lidah
yang membelai, menghisap, mengulum, menjilat, dan memasukimu
dengan beribu-ribu cara yang menggairahkan. Dia akan mengelak dari
usahamu memberinya kenikmatan karena ia yang ingin memberikan
kenikmatan itu kepadamu, seakan ia hanya butuh membuatmu basah
sampai puncak, berkali-kali.’” (Pamuntjak, 2013, pp. 257–258).
 The advice above is about sex. That kind of advice should not exist in a
literary work that has to contain good things only. This statement is supported by
Barrow (2012, p. 21) that Plato thought that young people were especially sensitive to
imitation and tended to behave in ways that they found admirable or appealing, even
if these heroes were merely made up. It will just teach people to try to have sex. They
will have sex many times to avoid the bad sex that is told in the novel.
This narration is extremely vulgar and this is the most non-educational
narration. According to the novel, Amba is a student which has a high education and
good knowledge. However, Amba and her friend are talking about a man based on his
sexual behaviour. As a student, the topics discussed by them are not suitable to talk
about, but a topic like that is more precisely discussed by prostitutes. Based on the
narration, neither Amba nor her college friend thought does not reflect the thought of
an educated student. For the reason that it is bad teaching for students and
adolescents.
The advice above is bad in the eyes of literature. It will teach people,
especially men to have sex many times until they are good at it, and the most
probable impact on women is; they will be so curious about sex that in the novel is
described as a pleasant feeling. The chance of them having sex increases as they read
such pieces of advice in literary work. It is not the goal of literature that has to teach
good things to humans.
CONCLUSION
Literature is a medium for education by educating children and adolescents
reading literature. The problem of the education process with literature as a medium
for education is they have not to be selective readers, especially when reading bad
content of literature.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that Amba written by Laksmi
Pamuntjak is a novel that represents the life of a Javanese girl who is well-educated.
The novel is actually nice but it cannot be considered good literature that teaches
humans, especially children and adolescents to be good since the novel contains bad
 things, precisely nasty things and sexual content that can be dangerous for them.
Several narrations are representing the situations when Amba and Bhisma have sex
several times. Narrating it too explicitly is bad from the point of view of literature.
It is the same as teaching humans to behave as badly as written in the
literature because it can impact the mind of those who read it. The dirty side or the
bad side of the readers‘ mind may be activated while reading the bad things in
literature, in other terms, it can illustrate the reader. Therefore, the bad things in
literature should be censored to avoid negative impacts that may affect the readers.
The content of literature must consist of a moral value. Educating children and
adolescents through literature must begin by telling the good value because the first
thing that makes children interested is essential for them.
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