Analysis Folktale

ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL STATUS PHENOMENA IN FOLKTALE

(BAWANG MERAH BAWANG PUTIH , CINDERELLA)

Tri Haksagian P.

trihaksa@gmail.com

SOCIAL STATUS 

Social status is the position or rank of a person or group, within the society. Each place has their social status. Social status will divide society into some “group”. People will be more appreciate to family or people who have higher social status than they do. This mindset formed by time to time in traditional society. Society should hard effort to make their social status better, at least thy can “see” in society.

In this analysis, writer will analyze two folktales that Bawang Merah Bawang Putih and Cinderella. That folktale called primary data. Writer will analyze in family, happiness, and wishing context. In the end of this analysis, writer will showed the similarities both of them, with secondary data that Ye Xian story from China. This analysis refers to the theory of Guillen (1993) that Comparative Literature especially internationality.

DATA

• Family

Writer found second married between high class social status and low social status. This marriage happened because same idea, materialism.

”Sejak ibunya Bawang Putih meninggal mereka selalu datang mengunjungi rumah Bawang Putih baik itu hanya sekedar ngobrol maupun memberikan makanan.” (http://www.lokerseni.web.id/2012/01/cerita-rakyat-bawang-merah-dan-bawang.html)

The quote above tells that there are catch by “stepmother”. Stepmother always visits Bawang Putih every day. Stepmother visit to Bawang Putih’s house to give food or just share and comfort Bawang Putih. Find those Phenomena in the Cinderella story.

“Unhappy she was, for her mother was dead, her father who a success seller had married another woman, a widow with two daughters, the ex-countess, and her stepmother didn’t like her one little bit.”(http://childhoodreading.com/?p=21)

The quote explains that Cinderella’s stepmother is ex-countess would marry with Cinderella’s father but she did not like Cinderella. This phenomenon can found in Ye Xian from China too.

“Jauh sebelum dinasti Qin & Han berdiri, tersebutlah seorang kepala suku, bermarga Wu yang menguasai daerah Wudong. Wu tak berputra. Dari kedua istrinya ia hanya dikaruniai dua orang putri. Putri sulung bernama Ye Xian, sementara yang satu lagi tak diketahui namanya.”( http://web.budaya-tionghoa.net/index.php/item/3776-cinderella-jiplakan-cerita-klasik-tiongkok-yang-mendunia)

The quote above mention that Wu (father of Ye Xian) as headman. He has two wives. He has two daughter. Ye Xian and unknown.

• Happiness

The writer found the happiness inside the story. Happiness in here not only about married, but also about changing in social status.“Sesampainya di rumah, Bawang putih menyerahkan baju merah milik ibu tirinya sementara dia pergi ke dapur untuk membelah labu kuningnya. Alangkah terkejutnya bawang putih ketika labu itu terbelah, didalamnya ternyata berisi emas permata yang sangat banyak”. (http://www.lokerseni.web.id/2012/01/cerita-rakyat-bawang-merah-dan-bawang.html)

The quote above tells about Bawang Putih get gold pumpkin from old woman. She cut it, and found so many gold and diamonds inside.

This happened in Cinderella story too, but in different version.“The Prince awaits to present you with his engagement ring!” So Cinderella joyfully went with them, and lived happily ever after with her Prince”. (http://childhoodreading.com/?p=21 . It means after prince know the slipper fit with Cinderella feet, the prince married with Cinderella and Cinderella become a princess. The same phenomena found in Ye Xian’s story. ”Gadis gembel itupun seperti raib ditelan bumi, berubah wujud menjadi seorang dara jelita nan anggun menawan. Maharaja Tuohan amat girang. Tanpa malu-malu ia langsung mengutarakan niatnya mempersunting Ye Xian, yang tentu saja diterima dengan sukacita oleh sang gadis.” ( http://web.budaya-tionghoa.net/index.php/item/3776-cinderella-jiplakan-cerita-klasik-tiongkok-yang-mendunia) It means that Ye Xian change from poor girl into a queen because married with king.

• Wishing

Writer found “wishing” in every story. The wishing related with hoping something that can change life better.In Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih story, the quotation is, “Mendengar cerita bawang putih, bawang merah dan ibunya berencana untuk melakukan hal yang sama tapi kali ini bawang merah yang akan melakukannya. Ia berharap akan mendapatkan emas permata seperti Bawang Putih. (http://www.lokerseni.web.id/2012/01/cerita-rakyat-bawang-merah-dan-bawang.html)

The quotation above tells about Bawang Merah’s hope. She will get same thing with Bawang Putih that get pumpkin from old woman there are so many gold and diamonds inside.

Wishing found in Cinderella’s story too. In Cinderella story tells that Cinderella want to go to ball and she hope she can meet with prince charming. Ball hold by kingdom to choose who will be the prince’s wife, and writer indicate she want to be prince’s wife. So, Cinderella should go to the ball, and lied to her stepmother. (http://childhoodreading.com/?p=21)

In Ye Xian story, writer found wishing too. In china hold an annual celebration. In this celebration usually the girl and the boy who lived in town go there to find his/her mate. ( http://web.budaya-tionghoa.net/index.php/item/3776-cinderella-jiplakan-cerita-klasik-tiongkok-yang-mendunia)

ANALYSIS

With the finding from all sources about materialism in Europe, Indonesia, and China, we can know that materialism already exist for a long time. In Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih story showed that stepmother always visit Bawang Putih to get attention from Bawang putih’s father. Bawang Putih’s father is success seller, and stepmother is a poor widow, so the writer catch that stepmother would married with Bawang Putih’s father because things. Beside that, stepmother want to be a rich woman, she has high class lifestyle. She wants people appreciate and realize that she has so many things. These phenomenon appear in Cinderella story too. The stepmother was ex-countess. Cinderella’s father is success seller. Writer thinks that stepmother wants to be a countess again, so she would marry with Cinderella’s father. After she married with Cinderella’s father, she will get his things. She will be a countess again. In Ye Xian story, Ye Xian’s father did polygamy.  The writer thought that it is impossible second wife would married with Wu, if Wu isn’t a headman. It is sure that the second wife married with the headman because at the past a headman have a higher social class in the society, have more respect in the society itself and have much money to give to the family. The stepmother’s of Bawang Putih and stepmother’s of Cinderella are a widow. They married with a success seller and a widower. Wu as the father of Ye Xian is a headman. He did polygamy, he has two wives. Logically, second wife know that he has a wife, why she would married with Wu. Writer thought that second wife just want get appreciate, and things because Wu is a headman, so Wu has higher social status. These entire stories showed that things is everything and make an idea called materialism that showed in stepmother and second wife married reason that catches by the writer.

The happiness from Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih’s story happened when Bawang Putih get gold pumpkin from old woman and found so many gold and diamonds inside. The writer think from gold and diamonds that bawang putih found can make bawang putih fate better than a poor girl before she found the gold and diamonds. In Cinderella story, happiness found when the prince found the other coupled of glass shoes in the Cinderella and the prince married her. Cinderella become a princess. It means her social status become up. Ye Xian’s story tells that Ye Xian become a queen, after she married with the king. Ye Xian from higher social status be civilians after her father dead and get very hard life when she live with her stepmother, when the king come to her house to searching a gold slipper and found it in her house, she married with the king because the king found the other couple of gold slippery in the house and become a queen, include royal family, she get back her social status. All of these story end happily. Bawang Putih with gold and diamonds that she get from old woman, Cinderella and Ye Xian happy because they found their mate. This happy section has a same effect that all happiness that get by them, make their life better, raise their social status from civilians to royal family/rich people.

The wishing from Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih story is about greed. Bawang Merah want get gold and diamonds like Bawang Putih, so she will be a rich woman, and can buy anything she want and make her life better. In Cinderella’s story, wishing showed when Cinderella decide to go to ball, and lied to her stepmother just to meet the prince. She want meet the prince and want to be prince’s wife. She will live with prince at kingdom, to be a princess without her stepmother and step sister. She make her social status higher. Ye Xian same as Cinderella, she prayed so she can go to an annual celebration and found her mate. Although she left that celebration, and her gold shoes slip, and she doesn’t meet with her mate, finally she married with the king and become a queen. She get back her social status, and make her life better without stepmother and stepsister. All of these story, has wishing but in difference characteristic. All of these showed that there are any hard effort to make life better. Cinderella and Ye Xian found her mated, and happy in ending of story, but Bawang Putih get gold and diamonds that will make her life better. With all findings, we know that social status is very important thing in society. In my opinion, without social status, we can not learn how to appreciate each other. Of course, we don’t need too much respect. We should prove ourselves, we should hard work and make our life better than before. Bawang Putih, Cinderella, and Ye Xian stories tells about an effort to get better life.