ABSTRACT
This thesis analyzes AmiriوBaraka’sوfamousوplayوworkوentitledو Dutchman. The story centers around two interracial characters: a black man and a white woman. The black man, an African American, experiences racial stereotyping from the white woman. In this thesis, the writer focuses on thisوblackوcharacter’sو identity struggle against racial stereotyping.
There are three questions to formulate the main problems. First question is intended to examine the depiction of Clay Williams, the main character in Dutchman. The second one is to find out how Clay experiences racial stereotyping from other characters, especially from Lula, a white American woman. Lastly, the third question helps to analyze his struggle for identity against such racial stereotyping.
In this thesis, the writer applies socio-cultural historical approach. This approach is seen to be the most suitable one because it sees the writing through social, cultural, and historical perspectives. For that matter, the writer uses several theories such as theory of character and characterization, the relation between literature and society, theory of identity, theory of stereotype, and theory of racism and racial stereotyping. Historical review of African American in the 1960s is also included here. In order to help analyzing the problems and gather evidences, the writer uses library research method.
In short, it is not easy as an African American man to dodge issues and ignore events that are related simultaneously with Civil Rights Act during the 1960s. Clay has to surrender his black identity in order to blend with the whites. Through the story, Clay is portrayed as a young, nice, educated, innocent, yet naive black man who faces racial stereotypings delivered by a white American woman named Lula. Their interactions seem to run smoothly at the beginning, but gets heating up because of racist comments as the story goes. Lula includes ‘black’وlabelsوbyوmentioningو Uncle Tom, Blues music, plantation, rub belly, and murderer. Clay is actually covered in manners, speech, and dresses like the whites. He even refers himself to a white French poet, Baudelaire. However, getting tiredو ofو Lula’sو racialو stereotypingsو aboutو hisو lifeو andو black people in general, anger strikes him blindly, as reflected onوClay’sوlongوspeech.وHeوshows his real identity as a black man who struggles from the racial stereotyping. MUnfortunately, his long speech leads to his death. Lula stabs him with a small knife, and his body is thrown outside the train.
