| dc.description.abstract | The Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith is a picture book written
by Elmer Boyd Smith in 1906. The story is about Native American Princess
named Pocahontas. She is being friendship with the English settler named John
Smith. Besides their friendship, there is liberal feminism issues that becomes the
background of the story. Liberal feminism issues becomes interesting to be
analyzed because the author creates the Princess of the great chief Powhatan as
the female main character in this story. She is greatly described the characteristics
of liberal feminism as strong and independent woman. In early story, Pocahontas
is described as a little daughter of the great chief Powhatan who lived in Virginia.
Then, she meets with Captain John Smith who is a member of the English settler.
The popular part of the story is when she rescued John Smith from the execution
and their relationship is improved. They are traded with each other and their
friendship continued untill she grows up as independent and strong woman.
Pocahontas character in this story is portrayed as a woman with strong minded
and independent who could achieved the equality between man and woman
especially in American society at that time.
This study aims to analyze the female main character with liberal
feminism characteristic that were represented through Pocahontas in the story.
Therefore, there are two kinds of theories used in this thesis. They are Stuart
Hall’s theory of the representation which is used to find the discourse of liberal
feminism within the story and the theory of liberal feminism as the supporting
theory which is used to give the information about the characteristics of liberal feminism. The construction of liberal feminism which is delivered in the story
represents the discourse of liberal feminism’s characteristics in American society
where the author lives. In the analysis processes, the researcher applies the theories to the data found in the text and continues to analyze the context behind
the story that obviously proves the existence of liberal feminism’s characteristics
and find the discourse of liberal feminism which is constructed in the story.
The type of research used in this research is qualitative research. It means
that the data have been selected in the form of sentences and texts from the story
or any other resources. As the result of the analysis, liberal feminism ideology can
be understood as the response of the potrayal woman in late 19st century, the
beginning of liberal feminism thoughts coming. Liberal feminism perspective
emphasizes the equality between men and women. The inequality is the result of a
patriarchy system prevailing in society. The equality can also occur by
transforming through remaking the pattern of several important institutions, such
as : law, work, family, education and media. For answering the problem, liberal
feminism tries to support women hold these truths to be self-evident. Their self evident are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The author writes a story about a princess that is different from the
portrayal of a princess in general. He describes his female character as a little girl
who have been living in the wild nature and this little girl is growing to become an
independent and brave woman. The researcher can conclude from the passage that
liberal feminism ideology has been finding through the story. The researcher has
been finding the ideas of liberal feminism who is offered as the representations of
the female main character. I found that the female main character depicted cleary
about women’s powers, performances, the diversity, and potency of women’s
intelligent who is equal with men. The educated, mentally healthy and competent
women was found in the portrayal of the female main character within the story. | en_US |
