THE REPRESENTATION OF CLASS STRUGGLE IN JOHN STEINBECK‟S THE PEARL

Abstract

The Pearl is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is about class struggle by the main character, Kino. This novel tells about husband and his wife named Kino and Juana. Kino struggles to get his rights. Steinbeck pictures inequality in society and inadequacies of capitalism. He has exposed the exploitation of the poor class of society in America in his novel. There are three problems to discuss in this thesis. The first question asks about how class struggle is reflected by the main character in the novel. The second is the causes of the main character‟s struggle in the novel. And the last is the impacts of struggle towards the main character in the novel. This research uses sociological approach. This research uses Karl Marx‟s theory especially Class struggle. Since this research is a qualitative research, a documentary method is used to collect the data, as well as the inductive method which is used to analyze the subject matters. The result of study shows that Steinbeck tends to give explanation of the lower class that cannot do anything against capitalist systems. In this novel, Kino just gives up and cannot do anything; he realizes that he is always controlled by the bourgeois. This is proven by Kino‟s failure to struggle in achieving his great future.