| dc.description.abstract | This research utilizes the young adult novel as the subject of the study. The
young adult novel used in this study is Girl in Pieces. The purpose of this study is
to find out how the discourse on violence against women is presented in the story ,
how the main character’s healing journey and to determine the ideology that
contributes to the novel's production. This research is interesting to analyze because
there are many acts of violence that overshadow women, including rape and abuse,
and depict women as weak and inferior creatures to men, so that women are more
vulnerable to becoming victims of crime.
The violence that appears in Girl in Pieces includes physical, psychological
and sexual violence. The depiction of physical violence that occurs to the main
character is meant to explain the reality of family violence, because this violence is
perpetrated by her own mother. Throughout the novel, the main character is
subjected to emotional abuse and psychological manipulation, by her boyfriend and
Frank, all of which contribute to her feelings of low self-esteem, anxiety and
depression. The main character also subjected to sexual violence and the novel
portrays the devastating effects that this violence has on her, the novel shows how
the main character is struggling to cope with the trauma and how she tries to numb
the pain through self-harm.
In order to analyze violence against woman as a subject matter from this
novel, Stuart Hall's representation theory is utilized in this study. Representation is
used to communicate with others or society. Discourse frames representation in
literary works. In this case, discourse by Foucault is used as a framework of
knowledge to determine the meaning of representation. Moreover, this research is
categorized as qualitative research. There are two kinds of data in this research.
First, primary data are taken from dialogues or statments related to the violence
against women that depicted in the novel. The secondary data are gained from
books, journals, magazine, newspaper and articles that give a lot of information to
the researcher.
As the result of this discussion, this research concludes that the violence
against woman that occurs in this novel is due to the toxic environments, such as
homeless shelter and abusive relationships. These environments perpetuate cycle of
violence, making it difficult for the main character to escape and find stability
because she is powerless to fight the violence. In this case, the destructive effects
of the violence depict as the main character resorts to self-harm as a way to cope
with her emotional pain.the last conclusion, the authors show how the main
character find her own voice to gain strength and dignity within herself, or support
from others. It also shows the self-determination and self-esteem, discovering a
determination to rebuild a better life and heal from trauma. | en_US |
