Midah, lovely lady with golden teeth.

Midah, lovely lady with golden teeth. Author : Pramoedya Ananta Toer In this book Pramoedya described woman' sorrow because of bad treatment of man. The main character is Midah, daughter of Haji Abdul, a wealthy entrepreneur from Cibatok village, who lived in Jakarta, Indonesia. Haji Abdul treated Midah improperly. One day he was angry when he heard Midah listened to kroncong music (Indonesian music) because he thought that kroncong was unlawful for moslem. So he beat Midah. Midah was forced to marry Haji Terbus. He was wealthy and good - looking man. When she was pregnant she realized that Haji Terbus had many wives. Midah was very disappointed then she left her husband. She did not dare to see her parents. She met and then joined a group of street musician. Midah was called si manis (the lovely one). Midah gave birth to a baby boy without husband so she was treated badly. When she wanted to leave the hospital they did not give the baby any proper clothing. When she got back to the street musicians they reluctantly received her. One day when she fed her son Riah, her former maid, saw her. Riah asked her to come home but Midah refused. Riah saw her singing in the streets and in restaurants. To win rivalry with other singer Midah had her teeth covered with gold. Consequently conflict escalated so she had to leave the group. The news about Midah finally reached Haji Abdul whose business declined. He was shocked. He searched for her eveywhere but his efforts was in vain. He was so depressed that he was sick. Midah was singing in Jatinegara when she met Ahmad, a young policeman. He could sing so he trained her to sing. Soon Midah fell in love with him and they went too far. One day Midah told Ahmad that she was pregnant but Ahmad refused to take responsibility because he thought that Midah had many boy friends. She had to come home to her parent and admit the situation. After several days in her parent's home she dicided to leave again. She left Rodjali. Her beauty and her voice were her commodity. She broke all the rules her parent had told her. She became a singer, a movie star and more. Midah was a victim of men. His father's attitude was too hard to her. Her husband never really took care of her. Ahmad just wanted comfort from her. The others just wanted her beauty.

Endless road, a novel by an Indonesian author.

Book title : Jalan Tak Ada Ujung (Endless road). Author : Mohtar Lubis

Now I want to present you a review of an Indonesian novel written by another Indonesian writer - Mohtar Lubis. The setting is Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, in mid 1940's. It was in August 1945 when Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesia's independence from the Dutch colonialism. But the Dutch government would not give up their colony and soon sent troops to Indonesia. The young republic fought back. The novel tells about the stormy days in the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. The main character is Isa, a modest school teacher. Life is hard for Isa since he got very little salary and he lives in a conflict area. One morning when he went to his school he saw a skirmish between guerilla fighters versus the famous Gurkha soldiers who were under British command. Isa has a tender heart. He did not like fighting. His heart deeply hurts and he was upset when he saw someboby hurt. But he had to join the guerilla fighters otherwise he would be their enemy. He had no choice. Then he knew Hazil, a young guerilla commander who appointed Isa as a treasurer for guerilla unit. His job is to manage the unit's fund and ammunition. Their duty make them get closer. Hazil came to see Isa a frequently. Meanwhile Isa had a beautiful wife who was unhappy with her marriage with Isa. Fatimah was disappointed because Isa was not a real man. He could not accomplish his duty on bed. They adopted a boy since they did not have any childen. When Hazil met Fatimah a forbidden love grew. Then they went too far. For several months they could hide their sins. But one day Isa found Hazil's pipe in his bedroom. He was upset, suspicious, jealous, angry and disappointed. In 1947 Hazil planned an attack on Ducth army. He told the plan in detail to Isa. He told that Isa's duty is just as a watchman. He was assigned to watch and report the attack. One night Isa watched carefully outside a cinema in Senen area. Among spectators who came out of the cinema there were several Dutch soldier. As they approached the street a loud explosion was heard. He saw a Dutch soldier was wounded. Then he ran as fast as he could and hid. But Isa could not hide long. One day Dutch soldiers arrested him. Then he was jailed at the same cell with Hazil. They both were tortured everyday. They suffered a lot from the wounds. Hazil was so severely injured that he could not stand it. His wounds was so serious that he finally died. Having undergone the peak of pain and fear, Isa could overcome the horror of torture. Finally he was ready to face the fiercest torture from the Dutch soldiers. When he heard their shoe step coming he was very calm. He was free from fear. He reached freedom. In my opinion Mohtar Lubis tried to describe the horror of the revolution among many young fighters. Some of them are real fighters but some of them are not. It was really a difficult time for most Indonesians. Their economy, family, were destroyed by colonialist. Many people died and wounded but after internal mental struggle people could overcome their fear and sorrow. My father who was a freedom fighter often told me the bittter years he had gone through under the Dutch and Japanese occupation. Once he was arrested by the Dutch army and jailed for about three months. Now he's gone in glory. Mohtar Lubis is a journalist and novelist. He was born in Padang, west Sumatra in March 7, 1922. He was active in journalism since colonial era. He established Antara News Agency and then Indonesia Raya daily and Horizon magazine. In the Sukarno era he was jailed for nine months. He wrote several novels and short story. His short story antology are Si Jamal, (Someone's name) and Perempuan (Woman). His novels : Tidak Ada Esok (There is no tomorrow), Senja di Jakarta (Twilight in Jakarta), Harimau! Harimau ! (Tiger! Tiger!) Maut dan Cinta (Death and love).

Sorrow of Javanese woman under feudalism.

The Girl from the Coast, 2002. Author : Pramoedya Ananta Toer. This story is a portrayal of the poor fate of a village girl under Javanese feudalism for hundreds of years even up to 20th century. The main character is just called Gadis pantai (the girl from the coast), who represents girls from poor and uneducated families in villages. She came from a poor fisherman village in the regency of Rembang in north coast of Java, Indonesia in early 20th century. At the age of fourteen, a local government official that she did not know married her. What she knew was that she had to obey and respect her husband whom she addressed Bendoro (an honorific title for Javanese nobility). She never had any personal relationship with her husband. In her husband's house there were parts that she never set foot. Even there were rooms where she never saw forever. Her husband had married several women before but he had divorced them. She knew it when she saw several babies who had no mother. Their mothers had been divorced so the maid took care of them. Pramoedya described class discrimination. Mardinah, a new maid, came. She was a daughter of a low rank official. She was arrogant. Her attitude to the girl from the coast was very impolite. Eventually when she accompanied the girl from the coast came home to village, people revealed that she had a mission. She was sent by regent's wife of from Demak to persuade bendoro to marry her daughter. If Mardinah succeeded she would be married as the fifth wife. Besides disappointment, the girl from the coast enjoyed financial and social advancement. she became a respected membr of village society. When she came home to see her parents everybody in the village warmly welcomed her. She held a party and gave presents to the elderly people. Until one day she was pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl. The gender made bendoro disappointed. When her parents came to see them, Bendoro called her father to get in his house. When he got out from the house he was downhearted. His daughter was divorced ! Bondoro gave him some money but he had to take her daughter home immediately, while the baby must stay. Maids would take care of her. As she got home she did not want to stay. She immediately left because she could not bear the humiliation.

Pramudya's top novel.

Title : Bumi manusia (This earth of mandkind) Author : Pramudya Ananta Tour. This novel is the first of the famous Buru Quartet. In this novel Pramoedya told nicely the sorrow of native people under Dutch colonialism in late 19th century and early 20th century Java, Indonesia. The setting is Wonokromo, a small town close to Surabaya, East Java. The main character is Minke a student of HBS, a prestigious Dutch highschool at the time. I believe Minke is the metaphor for young educataed Indonesian native people in the early 20th century. They will become the spearhead in the struggle for independence. His life represents the struggle for independence. He fought against discrimination, injustice and exploitation. Hermann Mellema represents the cruel colonialist. Herman Mellema once was the boss of a sugar factory in Tulangan. Later he ran a ranch in Wonokromo. He married Sanikem. Although she was born in a village, Sanikem was so smart that she could manage her husband's ranch, Boerderij Buitenzorg, to become a prosperous company. I am sure Sanikem is also a symbol of Indonesian nationalist movement. Maybe Pramoedya wanted to describe that there were elements from the Netherlands that helped Indonesian movement. This part is the metaphor. After graduating from HBS, Minke married with Annelies Mellema, the daughter of Hermann Mellema and Sanikem. The injustices is described by Pram when Maurits Mellema came to Java. Maurits is the son of Hermann with his first wife in the Netherlands. He was angry and claimed his rights. He sued Nyai Ontosoroh aka Sanikem. The Amsterdam trial did not admit Nyai Ontosoroh as as Herman Mellema's legal wife and decided to take over Herman Mellema's asset. They also did not admit Minke's marriage to Annelies and ordered Annelies in Maurits Mellema's custody. Annelies Mellema must move to the Netherlands. Those cruelty, injustices, exploitation are evil of colonialism. The consequence is riot. In reality there was a revolution in Indonesia following waorld war II. Pramoedya succesfully described in this novel the evil of colonialism like racial discrimination, injustice and ferocious law, which is blind to social reality, selfish and immoral. Monogamy is not always better than polygamy. Monogamy make Nyai Ontosoroh's rights are oppressed. If they were polygamist, their rights would have been protected. At least Nyai Ontosoroh would be admitted as a wife.