Language as structure

Structure means to strew up concept which have elements that belong to the same set. To strew up it means that the elements must be picking one by one to construct the structure itself. As Rowe said that to structure elements by heaping or piling they together suggest that the elements, in relation to each other, constitute their own self-subsisting space, therefore the elements must belong to the same set. The act of strewing or scattering is not self-evident and self-sufficiently which encourages Rowe hypothetically suggest that structure is an abstract conception of temporality. Strew also depends upon a specific temporal act that cannot be repeated but can be imitated.

Based on Horace in Art of Poetry, Horace said to Pisos that the book will be perfectly like such a picture, the ideas of which, like a sick man’s dreams, are all vain and fictitious: so that neither head nor foot can correspond to any one form [...]. I thought if the neither head nor foot can correspond to any one form, I can say that the elements of structure is head nor foot and the structure itself is one form that constructed by correspondences of the head nor foot.

Saussure states that there are four characteristic of language which are, language is a well-defined object in the heterogeneous mass of speech fact, language is something that we can study separately, language as defined is homogeneous, language is concrete and this is a help in our study of it. Saussure also said that although dead languages are no longer spoken, we can easily assimilate their linguistic organism […]. In my opinion, the linguistic organism is also the element of structure. Ideas is the element of languages hence ideas construct the languages so that languages is the structure. The language itself can be the element to construct the narrative text.

Representation

In my opinion representation means that we presenting something that cannot be presented or I can say that represent means to present again something. For example, if someone giving a cheque to other person, it means that the cheque is representing someone who gives those cheques. Then, this cheque has an authority to spend some value of money from someone who writes down on it.

As founding father of literary theory, Plato and Aristotle regarded Literature as simply one form of presentation but Aristotle defined all the arts—verbal, visual and musical as modes of representation. Mitchell states that representation is an extremely elastic notion which extends all the way from a stone representing a man to a novel representing a day in the life but sometimes one thing can stand for a whole group of things. There are two types of representation based on Mitchell, aesthetic or semiotic representation which means things that stands for other things and political representation which means persons who act for other person. Aristotle also states that there are three ways to differ the representation from one to another, in object, manner, and means. Object is which something represented; manner is the way which something represented and means is the material that we used to represented.

Gilbert and Gubar in The Madwoman in the Attic were the first to review the place of women both in literary figures and as a writer. They also argued on the work of Harold Bloom that women could not become writers because it not appropriate in the tradition (1979: 1). Gilbert and Gubar said in that time, the men writers place the women in his literary works to representing a man, therefore Virginia Woolf declared that if the women want to write, she must to kill the angel in the house. For Woolf, women must kill the aesthetic ideal that has been killed themselves into art.

Literature and Criticism

Northrop Frye states that the function of criticism is to mediate between the artist and his public. He also said that criticism can talk and all the arts are dumb. In my opinion, to mediate it means that criticism is how the public communicate with the artist but only in one way. If the public criticize the literary works, the artist cannot criticize them back because the artist didn’t tell the public but the text tells it. Frye also said that if we confronting some of literary works, one obvious containing form is the genre to which it belongs.

                In the art of poetry, Horace described that poet only say what ought to be said, he also must to put off his thought. What can I learn from those sentences, the poet is trying to make his poem are easier to understand by the readers or the hearers. Horace also said that the poet must cautious and delicate about his poem because he will express himself eminently as well. There is the same reason why the writers must cautious and delicate about his poem, to easier to understand by the readers or the hearers.

In the other hands, Scholes in English Apparatus said that the writer is always reading and the reader always writing. In my opinion it means that the writers must read before they write something because the writing will not be scientific or entertaining if the writers have not read and understand other works.  While reader always writing means that the readers always criticize about what he has read. However, Frye states that the reader cannot criticize the general form of the literary works because it must be containing genre to which it belongs. 

 Further Studies in Drama

Rene Gallimard is the French diplomat that being humiliated and imprisoned because of his embarrassing international scandal. Throughout the plays he addresses the readers and refers to his past while in the prison cell in Paris. He describe his cell and his fame in the past after an apparent hallucination of song liling, a woman that duet dancing with Gallimard in the opera Madame Butterfly. Gallimard often referenced this opera throughout the rest of the play. He also thinks that whatever happened to him in his past was analogue to this opera. In the scene 5 and 6, he describes the plot of Madame Butterfly and knows that he seems to have insecurity to a woman.

                Gallimard who have been married with the girl named Helga clearly that he makes an affair with Song and growing affection toward her. Meanwhile, Gallimard want to make sure that Song is really feminine figure who is falling for him. He does it because he want to validate that he is really a man and tells his superior that he believe Orientals will always submit to greater western force, which matches with his currently believes vindicating his masculinity.

                In this plays, the falling action is Gallimard finally realizes that he is betrayed by his own fantasy of the perfect Oriental woman. Then he puts on make-up, a kimono, and plunges a knife into his body, committing suicide just like the Butterfly in Madame Butterfly.  

Respons 

Brenda Wong Aoki presenting a tragic love story about the girl named Brenda Jean, a mixed girl who fell in love with Kali. Kali lives in Westside with his mother, Aunti Mary. Begin with the narrator as a Brenda tells her story about the west side and her family. Aunti Mary always buys some medicine in her father pharmacy but she buys it with the rose from her garden.

Smoke is a friend of Kali who live in Westside too. He gets jealous because Kali always with Brenda and think that Kali prefer to Brenda than him.

Meanwhile, in a high school, Brenda didn’t love Kali anymore because he’s too lazy to study and fight with Steven. In other ways, Brenda thinks that she must continue her study in the university and forget Kali. The issue that I have found in this drama is about class social which is rich representing by Steven and poor representing by The Westside guys. Brenda requested to be a speaker in the seminar of social class and the student said that she can be a bridge or connection between the rich and the poor people because she can make a friend with both of them.

In the end, Smoke come to Kali’s house and intends to kill him. When Smoke comes, Kali tells the reason why he gets angry at him and he kills Kali but that’s not the climax of the story. Smoke son, dreamer come and kill Aunti Mary because he think that it will help his father to take revenge.

obrolan singkat tentang sepatu

malam tadi, tepatnya pukul 25:00 aku bertemu dengan sesosok alien yang sedang berkunjung ke rumah pamanku. Dia bertanya tentang keanehan dunia yang aku tinggali.

Alien : "mengapa duniamu seperti ini? Ini tak masuk akal."
Aku : "Aku pun tak pernah mau mengerti tentang apa yang ada di dunia ini."
"Meskipun Aku sudah 19 tahun tinggal di dunia ini, Aku tetap tidak mengerti."
Alien : "Lalu apa yang kamu lakukan di dunia ini?"
Aku : "hanya menghirup oksigen dan sisa-sisa asap dari rokok yang mereka buang begitu saja."
Alien : "maksudmu seperempat gram karbon dioksida?"
Aku : "tidak, bukan karbon dioksida, tetapi zat-zat asam yang di lemparkan oleh seseorang yang sangat egois."
Alien : "lalu kemana arahnya pembicaraan kita ini?"
"bukankah kita sedang membicarakan sebuah perjanjian lama yang telah disepakati oleh orang awam?"
Aku : "perjanjian? maksudmu secarik kertas kusam yang kau injak itu?"
" Itu hanya sebuah nota, tanda aku telah membeli sebuah sepatu."
Alien : "sepatu macam apa yang kau beli?"
"kau belum pantas memakai sepatu."
Aku : "sepatu klasik yang telah melewati beberapa ruang, dimensi dan waktu."
"tahu apa kau tentang pantas atau tidak?"
Alien : "lebih dari yang kau kira!"
Aku : "mungkin Aku belum pantas memakai sepatu, tetapi biarkan Aku membaginya dengan hewan, tumbuhan, hingga zat-zat terkecil sekalipun!"
Alien : "baiklah kalau begitu, jika itu memang maumu, lakukanlah."
Lalu Aku pun pergi meninggalkan alien itu dengan segelas kopi dan rokok phillip morris berwarna merah.