Passage
Vol 7, No 2 (2019): Agustus 2019

The Representation of Whiteness in Ralph Ellison

Alya Zulfikar (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
18 Nov 2019

Abstract

Racism has always been a never-ending issue in society; one specific racist act is whiteness. The issue of whiteness is still considered an inevitable issue that is still happening until today, and it gives negative impact on the non-white. The issue of racism is often analyzed as a form of prejudice, stereotype, and discrimination. However, the issue of racism is a general issue. Thus, the present research attempts to portray the specific act of racism, which is whiteness. The novel Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison brings the issue of racism. By using Garner (2007) theory of whiteness, the issue of racism that is present in the novel is analyzed under the four themes of whiteness to provide an alternative understanding of the issue of racism through the lens of whiteness. This research entitled “The Representation of Whiteness in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man” attempts to reveal how whiteness is constructed as a racist act in the society which becomes the central issue of the novel. This research employs Young’s (1999) theory of representation and Garner’s (2007) theory of whiteness to provides another perspective of whiteness by portraying the themes of whiteness, and how it is constructed in society. The findings show that the issue of whiteness is dominantly exercised through terror and supremacy, and it makes the non-white feel inferior to the White. Keywords: whiteness, white privilege, white supremacy

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Journal Info

Abbrev

psg

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Passage is a journal published by English Language and Literature Study Program, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. Initially published for students’ articles based on their final research paper, Passage now is also accepting articles from researchers outside the study program. The journal focuses ...