The Representation Of Poverty In “Hansel And Gretel” And “The Tom Thumb”

Abstract

This research utilizes the fairy tales as the object of this study. The fairy tales used in this study are Hansel and Gretel and Tom Thumb. The purpose of this research is to find out how the poverty discourse is presented in the stories. This research is an interesting to analyze because the two fairy tales have the same plot and discuss the same topic about poverty. Poverty that is emerged in Hansel and Gretel mentions that there is a family who lives in poverty condition. The parents cannot feed the children because they have a little food to survive. Moreover, the great dearth that befalls on the land makes them difficult to procure food. To prevent the problem above, the parents have to abandon the children to the forest in order to stabilize the economic need in their life. Furthermore, poverty that is presented in Tom Thumb mentions that there is a family who wants to have a child. After they wish to have a child, there is something miracle that happens to them. They have a little child who is called Thomas Thumb. He has a little body like small thumb. The parents give him a plenty of food in order to grow well. However, his body is the same size. To comply the economic need in his family, Thomas Thumb has to deceive the people around him in order to fulfill the economic need in the middle of forest. In order to analyze poverty as the subject-matter from those fairy tales, this research uses the theory of representation that is written by Stuart Hall and connects to Foucault‘s discourse. Moreover, this research is categorized as a qualitative research. There are two kinds of data in this research. First, primary data are taken by narrative description, dialogue, utterance in the fairy tales. The secondary data are gained from several books, journal, article to support primary xi source. As the result of this discussion, this research concludes that poverty presented in Hansel and Gretel is caused by the lack food and a great dearth that befalls on the land. Additionally, poverty emerged in the fairy tale is also caused by the financial problem. In this case, poverty that happens in the fairy tales causes the parents have to do the criminal action to the children in order to survive in the forest. Furthermore, poverty presented in Tom Thumb also infers that the little child who has to deceive the people in order to fulfill the economic need in his family. The last conclusion, the author legitimazes the criminal action which is done by parents to the children because the parents do not have other choices to stabilize the economic need in their family.