CLASS EXPLOITATION IN RON RASH’S SERENA NOVEL: A MARXIST

e-ISSN 2549-7715 | Volume 4 | Nomor 3 | Juli 2020 | Hal: 492-505

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CLASSEXPLOITATIONINRONRASH’SSERENANOVEL:AMARXISTCRITICISM

MuniralizahNurman,SinggihDaruKuncara,FatimahMujahir

EnglishLiteratureDepartment,FacultyofCulturalSciences,MulawarmanUniversity

Email:[email protected]

ABSTRACT

This study examined Serena novel written by Ron Rash as the object of theresearch. The aimed of this research was to find out the portrayal of classdistinction and labor exploitation in the novel. To achieve the purposes of thestudy, the research applied Marx’s Social Class and Exploitation theory, andInternational Labor Organization or ILO’s Indicators of Labor Exploitation. Thisresearch used descriptive qualitative research method and Marxist criticism toanalyzethesocialissueofclassexploitationreflectedinthenovel.Thedatainthisresearch were words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs that indicated socialclassandexploitation.Theresultofthisresearchshowedtwosocialclasses,theywere bourgeoisie and proletariat. Bourgeoisie referred to Serena, Pemberton,BuchananandWilkiewhowereowneroftimberbusiness,whileproletariatweretheworkerswhoselifeonlydependedonbourgeoisieforemployment.Meanwhile,therewerefourformsoflaborexploitation.Firstwasexcessiveworkinghour,likeworkedelevenhoursshiftadayandonly fifteenminutesbreak.Secondwas lowsalary, likecheap laborand inappropriatewages.Thirdwasbad livingcondition,likelimitedanduncomfortablelivingcondition, liveincheapandraggedwoodenboxcar. And fourth was hazardous work, like no safety equipment, manual anddangeroustools,forcedtoworkinmoodygroundandagainstextremecold.Keyword:Marxistcriticism,Capitalism,Classdistinction,Exploitation,Modeof production.

ABSTRAK

Penelitian ini mengkaji novel Serena yang ditulis oleh Ron Rash sebagai objekpenelitian. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menemukan gambaranperbedaankelasdaneksploitasipekerjadidalamnovel.Untukmemperoleh tujuanpenelitian, penelitian inimenggunakan teoriKelas Sosial danEksploitasi olehKarlMarx,danteoriIndikatorEksploitasiPekerjaolehInternationalLaborOrganization(ILO).Penelitianinimenggunakanmetodepenelitiankualitatifdeskriptifdankritik



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Marxis untuk menganalisis isu sosial yaitu eksploitasi kelas di dalam novel. Datapenelitian ini adalah kata, frasa, kalimat dan paragraf yang menunjukkan kelassosialdaneksploitasi.Hasildaripenelitian inimenunjukkanduakelas sosial, yaituborjuisdanproletar.BorjuisadalahSerena,Pemberton,BuchanandanWilkie,yaitupemilik dari bisnis kayu, sedangkan proletar adalah para pekerja yang hidupnyahanyabergantungpadapekerjaanyangdiberikanolehborjuis.Sementara itu.adaempat bentuk eksploitasi pekerja. Pertama adalah hari dan waktu kerja yangberlebihan, seperti bekerja dengan selama sebelas jam per hari dan limas belasmenitistirahat.Keduaadalahgajirendah,sepertipekerjamurahdangajiyangtidaksesuai. Ketiga adalah kondisi tempat tinggal yang buruk, seperti kondisi tempattinggal yang terbatas dan tidak nyaman, ditempatkan di sebuahmobil kotak darikayu yang murah dan compang-camping. Dan keempat adalah kerja yang penuhresiko, seperti tidak ada peralatan keamanan, alat kerja manual dan berbahaya,dipaksauntukberkerjadilahanberlumpurdanmelawancuacadinginyangekstrim.Katakunci:KritikMarxis,Kapitalis,Perbedaankelas,Eksploitasi,ModeProduksi

A. INTRODUCTIONGenerallyinindustrialactivity,thefactorsofproductionareneededin

producinggoodsandservices.Eyiyerearguesthatthefactorsofproductionarenature, labor and capital (qtd. in Chigbo 162). Labor is an active resourcewhich is one of the factors in the smoothness of a production process. Theworkers in their activity should be supported by good and humane forms ofmanagement work so that they can work well. However in reality, manyemployersexploittheirworkers.

Exploitation of one social class by another is seen in industrialcapitalism. Capitalist society deals with economic contradiction that shapesclassdistinctionandcreatesconflictamongtheclasses. Isaacalsoarguesthattherelationsbetweensocialclassesarerelationsofpower,wherethecapitalistclass has power over the working class (123). Labor is not considerated asequalpartners,butanobjectforcapitalist’sinterest.Theeconomicandpowercontradictionbetween the social classes caused the laborexploitation,wherecapitalist treat the labor unfairly for their own benefit. Labor exploitation ishappenedbecause incapitalist society, themeansofproductionareprivatelyowned by a minority of the members of society who tend to employ thesemeansinsuchawaytomaximizetheprofit(Wood47).Incapitalistsystem,thecapitalist search for higher profit. The private ownership confers power oncapitalistandenablesthemtoexploittheirlaborinordertogetmoreprofitandwealth.

The issues above also appear in literary works because literature isreflection of human life or the attitude of society.Wellek andWerren statesthat literature is mirror or expression of life. Literary work becomes a



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document that represents the time and the social truth (99-100). By usingliterature, the author can tell the historical truth and represent the socialcondition incertainera.As theaimsof thisresearch, theresearcherrevealedthe social class and the economic contradiction in the terms of productiondepictedinSerenanovelusingMarxistcriticism.

Serena novel set in 1929s in the SmokyMountains of North CarolinaduringtheGreatDepression,massiveindustrializationandcapitalismarealsodominate America at that time. The story is about Serena and GeorgePemberton and their timber business. Serena and Mr. Pemberton is an evilcouple. They do anything for profit in their lumber company. This novelillustrated the hellish conditions that workers endure, working six 11-hoursshiftsaweek,unsafeworkingconditionandnosafetyequipment.

Based on the illustration of the background above, the aims of thisresearchare:(1)todescribetheclassdistinctionincapitalistsocietyportrayedin Serena novel; and (2) to describe the labor exploitation under system ofcapitaismportrayedinSerenanovel.

B. LITERATUREREVIEW

1. CharacterandCharacterizationCharacteristheimportantelementinastorybecauseitdrivesthestory.

Character is a person in literary work who has identity which is made upthrough their appearance, conversation, action and name to represent amassage (Gill 127). From the statements above, character is person or othercreatureashumanbeinginnarrativeworkwhohasidentityandmoralqualityasexpressedintheirdialogueandaction.

When talking about character, it also talks about characterization.Characterreferstothepeopleinthestory,whilecharacterizationisthetraitsofthecharacter.Gillexplainscharacterizationisthewayacharacteriscreatedinthestory(127).Itimportantinliteraturebecauseithelpsthereadertorevealwhatthecharactersarelike.Therearetwofeaturesincharacterization,thoseare telling and showing characterization. In Telling characterization, thenarratordirectlytellsreaderswhatthecharacterislike.Theinformationaboutthe character conveys trough the narrator’s opinion, while in showingcharacterization, the reader needs to conclude and gather informationthroughout the novel in order to understandwhat the character is like (Gill134). It means that the author indirectly shows the traits of character invariouswaysandmakethereader interpretsthetraitsofcharacter itself.Gillfurther explains that there are some ways in which a character emerges inshowing characterization. They are character’s speech, think, the appearance,dress,thesocialstanding,thenameandaction.

2. MarxistCriticism

Marxist criticism is a theory of analysis literature that examiningeconomic,andsocialclass issues.AsAbramsexplains,Marxistanalyzessocialgroupings,relationsandthewaysofpeoplethinkingwhichlargelydetermined



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by the changing mode of material production (181). From the definition,Marxistcriticismanalysisandcritiqueoftheclass-relationswithinsocietythatshapedbythedevelopmentofproductionsystemwhichiscapitalism.

Historically,Marxism is a social, economicandpolitic theorybasedonthe writings of German philosophers Karl Marx (1818–1883) and FriedrichEngels (1820–1895). Their work The Communist Manifesto in 1848, explainabout the principle of communism and critics the capitalism, this crisisculminates in the proletarian revolution and eventually led to theunderstanding of capitalism replaced with communism, without social classandhumanbasedoncommonownership(Dobie85).Fromthisview, initiallyMarxismwasnotdesignedasamethodofliteraryanalysis.MarxismisMarx’sprotestagainstcapitalismtovoicethestruggleofworkingclass.

ThefirstmajorofMarxistcriticisGeorgeLukacs,aHungariancritic.Histhought known as reflectionism which is a text will reflect the society. Thereflectionists practiceMarxist criticism to discover how characters and theirrelationshipsrevealclassconflict,thesocioeconomicsystem,orthepoliticsofatimeandplace(Dobie85).ThenMarxistprovidesawayofunderstandingandanalysis literature and works to reveal inequitable economic relationship asthesourceofclassconflict.

3. SocialClass

Incapitalistsociety,Marxdescribesaproductionsystemdominatedbyowners ofmeans of production. Capitalism has a two structure consisting ofthe bourgeoisie or the capitalist who own and control the means ofproduction, and the proletariat who are the workers controlled by thebourgeoisie and whose labor produces their wealth (Dobie 87). From theexplanation,inMarxisttheory,theformationofclassdivisionandclassconflictarisesincapitalistsocietybecauseofcontradictionsandinjusticesineconomicrelationships.

That cotradiction in economic relation creates power relation amongclasses. Issac said the capital-labor relation is a relation of domination andsubordination(83-84),aseexplainedbellow:

a. Domination

The superordinate is the superior group that has greater access tothe economic resources, wealth, prestige and power (Dowding 646).Bourgeoisie as superordinate class in society have domination inwealthand power. The capitalist/bourgeoisie are able to control the proletariatthroughtwomechanisms.Thefirstisdirectcontrolthroughtheexerciseofpower,whichmeansworkingclassunderthecontrolofthecapitalistandthe product is the property of the capitalist (Isaac 126). The second isindirect control of people's minds through the imposes of ideology orideas. According to Dobie, an ideology formed by the dominant classfunctionstolegitimatetheirpowerinsociety.Thenleadspeopletoaccepta system that isunfavorable for themwithoutprotestorquestioning.To



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make it seems logical things to be, they have developed a falseconsciousness(92).

b. SubordinationThe group that being dominated and has limited access to the

economic resources, prestige and power (Dowding 646). Subordinationbelongs to low position/class and being controlled by other. They aresubordinate because they are poor and powerless. Isaac explains thatproletariatsdependtheirlivesonwagesgivenbythebourgeoisie.Theydonothavemeansofproduction,buttheirlaborpowertosell(Isaac126).Thiseconomicconditionplacesthematsubordinatepositioninsociety.

4. TheoryofValueandExploitationCapitalism isunjustbecause it involvesexploitation.Exploitation is

unfairtreatmenttowardsomeoneorgroupofpeopleinordertobenefit fromtheir work because of their inferior position (Dowding 232). In other work,exploitation happened when one class is benefitted and other is suffering.Capitalists earn profits not by buying cheap and selling expensive, but fromwork done by workers. According to Marx in Saad-Filho’s Anti-Capitalism: aMarist Introduction, labor power (theworker’s capacity towork) ismade orseen as a commodity to get profit. The capitalist increase the hours ofworkwhere the laborers continue toworkeven though theyhaveproducedgoodswhosevalueisenoughforcapitaliststoreturnthecapitalandpaysalaries.Inthe rest of time, the workers are exploited. They produce the value for thecapitalist.ThisiswhatMarxcallsurplusvalue(35).

Formtheexplanationabove, thewaycapitalexploit theworkerarebymanipulates the labor time andwage of theworkerswhich are lengthen theworking day and decrease wages. In this case, proletarian produces valuesgreater than the wages they receive and the more values are taken by thecapitalist.

5. IndicatorsofLaborExploitation

There are some indicators of labor exploitation according to ILO(International Labor Organization). The ILO established the Special ActionProgram to Combat Forced Labor (SAPFL) in 2001. SAPFL spearheads ILOactivitiesinagainstforcedlabor,includinghumantrafficking.Thisprogramdidthesurveyandcollectstheindicatorsfromawidegroupofexpert(SAP-FL4).

a. BadLivingConditionExploitationcan includepoor livingconditions.This includesbeing

deniedfreedomofchoiceforlocationorlivingconditions.Workersforcetoliveinapoorcondition,unhealthy,unsanitary,andisolatedplace.



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b. ExcessiveWorkingDaysorHoursThis includes being forced to work long hours and days and the

concept of forced overtime. It also includes excessive workloads becauseexcessivequotas of productivity. The ILO convention aboutworkinghourare The hours of work (industy) convention, 1919 (No. 1), whichestablished the principle of 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week for themanufacturing sector, The hours of work (commissary and officer)convention, 1930 (No.30), which extended 48 hours a working week forcommissary and officer, andThe forty-hoursweek convention, 1935 (No.47), which established new standard of 40 hour week (Lee, MCann andMessenger2).

c. HazardousWork

Hazardousworkrelatestoworkingindangerousconditionswithoutprotection,beingforcedtoprovidesexualservices,workthatistoodifficultto undertake, work too difficult for aminor to undertake and hazardousworking environment or very badworking environment such as extremeheat,extremecoldandnon-safelyfacility.

d. LoworNoSalary

Nosalaryrelatestocasesinwhichindividualiscompletelydeniedofhis/hersalaryorreceivepayment in the formofgoods/ in-kindpayment.Low salary refers to cases where the individual receives less than theagreedsalaryorwhereheispaidlessthantheminimumwage.

e. NoAccesstoEducation

Exploitation can also include being denied to access education oropportunitiesofstudy.Thisexploitationusuallyhappenedtothechildrenworkersorschool-ageworkerswhodonotallowedhavingeducation.

f. NoRespectofLaborLaws

Inthiscase,thereisnosocialprotectionintermsofsocialinsurancewhich provides compensation for injured and old age workers. It alsoincludescaseswheretheindividualwasforcedtoworkwithoutacontract.There isnorespectof labor lawsthatregulatesandprotects theworker’sright. This condition gives effect to the conditions of the work, such asdeception about the employer, deception about the payment, deceptionabout the number of working hours, deception about the workingconditions.

C. RESEARCHMETHOD

This research used descriptive qualitative research as the method.Qualitativeresearchischaracterizedbyitsaims,whichrelatetounderstandingsomeaspectofsocial life,anditsmethodswhich(ingeneral)generatewords,ratherthannumbers,asdataforanalysis(PattonandCochran2).Regardingto



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definition above, this research design was appropriate for this researchbecausetheresearcheranalyzedthesocialissue,whichwasclassexploitationthat contained in Serena novel. This research also usedMarxist approach toanalyzethenovel.Marxistcriticismsearchesoutthedepictionofinequitiesinsocialclasses,animbalanceofgoodsandpoweramongpeople,ormanipulationof theworker by thebourgeoisie (Dobie93). ByusingMarxist approach thisresearchanalyzedtheclassexploitation,whichwasthemanipulationofworkerby the bourgeoisie and also the form of imbalance in economic and poweramongclassesinsociety.

1. DataandDataSources

Thedata inthisresearcharedialogueandthenarrationintheformofwords,phrases, sentencesandparagraphs fromSerenaNovelwrittenbyRonRash. The primary data source is Serena novel written by Ron Rash whichpublished by Canongates Book in 2010. And the secondary data source aresome references such as books, journals and article, undergraduate thesis orotherinternetsources.

2. DataCollection

Theresearcherdidsomesteps incollecting thedata.The firstwas theresearcher read the Serenanovel carefully to understand themeaning of thewhole story. The second was to read some related references from books,journals,articles,andessaysorotherinternetresources.Thethirdwastotakesome important notes of words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs thatcontain information relating to the issue in this research, those were classdistinctionandlaborexploitation.

3. DataAnalysis

After collecting the data, the researcher did some step of dataanalysis.First,thedatathathadbeencollectedfromSerenanovelwereselectedand classified based on the issue of class distinction and labor exploitation.Second, organized and presented the data based on the class distinction andformsoflaborexploitationtomakeresearchereasyinanalyzingthedata.AfterthattheresearcheranalyzedthedatausingtheoryofSocialClassbyKarlMarxtodiscoverclassdistinction,theoryofExploitationbyKarlMarxandIndicatorsof Labor Exploitation by ILO (International Labor Organization) to discoverlabor exploitation in Serena novel. The researcher also used the theory ofcharacterization by Gill to convey how the class distinction and the laborexploitation were portrayed by some characters. Third, drew the conclusionbasedontheresultofanalysis.

4. Triangulation

Basedonfourbasictypesoftriangulationabove,theresearcherappliedtheory triangulation. In theory triangulation, the researcher used theory ofexploitation by KarlMarx to explain the process and concept of exploitation



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andindicatoroflaborexploitationbyILO(InternationalLaborOganization)toidentify forms of labor exploitation. The both theory useful in examine thevalidityofresearchfindingthattheresearchfindingconstitutetheexploitation.

D. FINDINGSANDDISCUSSION

1. Findings

1.1 ClassDistinctionPortrayedintheNovela. Bourgeoisie

The first social class that reflected in Serena novel was bourgeoisie.Bourgeoisiereferredtotheupperclass,whichownedthemeansofproduction(e.g.nature,tools,financial)anddominatedtheeconomyandproletariat.Asthedomination class, theyhaddomination inwealth andpower. InSerenanovelcanbefoundwhentheauthordescribeaboutoneofcharacternamedSerenainthefollowingnarration,

Pemberton knew other aspects of Serena's appearance helped fosterBuchananandWilkie'sobvioussurprise—pantsandboots insteadofadress and cloche hat, sun-bronzed skin that belied Serena's socialclass, lipsandcheeksuntintedbyrouge,hairblondeandthickbutcutshortinabob,distinctlyfeminineyetalsoaustere(5).Serena’sclassportrayedtroughthesocialstandingofcharacter,which

meant character’s social environment like family and economic status wasillustrated.Inthenovel,Serenadidnotweardress,clochehat,rougeonherlipsandcheeksliketheotherupperclasswomenanditbeliedhersocialclass.Shewasanupperclassorbourgeoisiewomanbutitjustbeliedbyherappearance.In this case, Serena’s class was mentioned so that the reader did not getconfusedaboutherorigin.Insamedescription, itmentionedthat“SerenahadbeenborninColoradoandlivedthereuntilsixteen,childofatimberman….She’dcometoeastonlyafterherparentsdeath”(6).Theauthorpresentedherfamily’s economic status. She was a daughter of a man who owns a timberbusiness. It showed that she was from rich family. Her wealth was frominheritance.Bourgeoisieinthisnovelwerethetimberbarons.

b. Proletariat

The first social class that reflected in Serena novel was proletariat.Proletariatwas theworkingclasswhowascontrolledorbeingdominatedbybourgeoisie because their life depended on wages given by the bourgeoisie.Workers were in subordinate position in society because they were poor,powerless. This novel illustrated about the contras of life of the two socialclasses, inmakingmoneyor fulfillingtheirdailyneeds.Whenthebourgeoisiehadmeans of production and labor to create theirwealth, differentwith theproletariatwhowereonlyhadtheirlaborpower,

Menseekingworkcametothecampinasteadyprocessionnow,somecampedout in the stumpsandslash,waiting foramaimedorkilled



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worker to be brought from the woods in hopes of being hisreplacement(199).The life of proletariat class depended on bourgeoisie class for

employment. It was portrayed thought workers’ action above “waiting for amaimedor killedworker to bebought from thewoods in hopes of beinghisreplacement”, itshowedthesubordinatecondition, theyhas limitedaccess tothe economic resources, that the working class survived only by work anddepend on the salary that given by Pemberton. They came every day andwaited for job. They hoped to replace other workers who were injured andkilled.Eventhoughtheyknewtheworktheyweregoingtodowouldhavethesame risk as the worker that being replaced. This clearly illustrated thepowerlessofproletariat,wherehavingajobwithlowpayandputinriskworkwasbetterthanhavingnojob.Pembertonandhispartnerssawthemasmerecommoditiesthatcouldbeeasilyreplacedcheaply.

1.2 LaborExploitationPortrayedintheNovela. ExcessiveWorkingDaysorHours

The employer benefited from the oppressive nature of capitalism,gained largeamountsofwealth fromtheir lumbercompany.Duringthegreatdepression, a time when the American people endured incredible economicmisery,manypeopleoutofwork.Thehigher social classesgreatlybenefited,becauseworker produced theirwealth from theworkhard that theworkersdid.Theyexploitedtheworkerbyforcingthemtoworkexcessivehoursadayorlongtimeworking.Ascanbeseeninthisdata,

“Mostoftheloggerswerestillexhaustedfromlastweek’ssixeleven-hoursshifts.Somewerehungoverandsomewereinjured”(24).It showed the workers exploitation that the workers had to long

working hours. This exploitation was directly portrayed by the narrator’sdescription about the condition of the worker. The illustration above“exhausted from last week’s six eleven-hours shifts” showed the workersuffering. They had to do heavy work in long time that caused them to“exhaust”andeven“injured”duringthework.Theydidthemanuallabor,workeleventhhoursshiftaday forsixday,while thestandardworkinghourweresevenoreighthoursadayandfortyorforty-eighthoursworkingweek.Elevenhoursadaymeantsixty-sixhoursworkingweekwith lowwage.Workerwasbeing commodity for them tomake a profit.With longworking hours,moreproductionwasproduced.Lowsalariesandlongworkinghourswerewayforcapitaliststogetsurplusormoreprofitfromworker.

b. LowSalary

In capitalism,bourgeoisie gainedbigprofitsbyexploiting theworkersandgivingthemlowwages.ItwasrepresentedinthenovelwhenSerenaandPembertonwenttoseetheconditionofthelumber.Theytalkedabouttheinsand outs of lumber company in everyday life, including the wage of theworkers,



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“Andtheirpay,”“Twodollarsadayrightnow,butBuchananwants toraise it to two-ten.”“Why?” “Heclaimswe’ll losegoodmentoothercamps,”Pembertonsaidashepulled up in front of their house. “I Say these government land grabsmeanasurplusofworkers,especiallyifchampionsellsout.”“WhatdoesWilkiethink?”“Wilkieagreeswithme,”Pembertonsaid.“Hesaystheonegoodthingaboutthisstockmarketcrashischapterlabor.”“IagreewithyouandWilkie,”SerenaSaid(16).Thedialogueaboveshowedthe formof laborexploitationdonebythe

employerstowardtheirworkers.Theownersofcapitalgavelowwagestotheirworkerssothatmoremoneywasspentonproduction.Itwasportrayedbythecharacter’sspeech.Oneoftheirpartner,Buchananwantedtoraisethewageoftheworkerfrom“twodollar”totwo-ten,Pembertonandotherpartner,Wilkieagree to not increase the wage and Pemberton said “cheap labor” wasimportant.Inotherwordworkerswithtwodollarspaymentwascheaplabor.Twodollarwas lowat thateraso that itneeded tobe raised,especially theyworkovertime.Itclearlyexploitation,theyworklongtimebuttheirwageswasnot increasingor inotherword theirwagesdidnotappropriate to their longworking.

c. BadLivingCondition

Itseemedclearthatpeoplewholiveinpooreconomicconditionswerevery vulnerable to various forms of exploitation.One of themwas bad livingcondition, where the employer forced the worker to live in unworthy place.Workersdidnothavetheabilityoropportunitytodeterminewhereandhowtheylived.ThisalsoappearedwhenSerenausedherpowertocontrolworkers.Besidediscussabouttheworker’ssalary,SerenaandPembertonalsodiscussedabouttherentofworker’shousinganditscondition.

AfterVaughn left, Serena steppedback into thebedroomwindowandpeeredoutthestringhouses.“Doestheworkerhaveelectricity?”“Justinthedininghall.”“It’sbestthatway,”Serenasaid,Steppingbackintotheroom’scenter.“Not just themoneysavedbut for themen.Theywillworkharder iftheylivelikeSpartans.”………..“Money freed tobuymore timber track,” Serena said. “Ifwe’dwishedourwealthspentotherwisewe’dhavestayedinBoson.”(17)The dialogue above showed the formof labor exploitation,whichwas

the employer let the worker live in bad condition. It was portrayed by thecharacter’sspeech,fromwhattheSerenasaid.Theemployerlettheworkerlivein lacking, that “the only roomwith electricity in the worker camp was thedining hall”, Serena argued “itwas best thatway, theywouldwork harder if



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theylivedlikeSpartans”,thephrase“livelikeSpartans”meantasimpleandnocomfortlivingcondition(“Spartan”1386).Hemadethelifeofworkerslimitedsothatworkers increasinglyworkedhardfortheir lives. It indicatedhowthebourgeoisie got theirweight despite by providing the low salary toworkers,but also by letting theworker live in uncomfortable living condition. Serenawas a cunning bourgeoisie, she definitely got profits because workers hardwork benefit them andmoneywould save andmoney could be freed to buymoretimbertrack.

d. HazardousWork

Hazardous work related to working in dangerous conditions withoutprotection, work that was too difficult to undertake and hazardous workingenvironment or very bad working conditions. This form of exploitation wasillustratedinthestory,asdatabellowthatshowedthehazardousworkwhichwere portrayed through the telling characterization where the narratordirectlytoldordescribedthecharacterscondition,

FromOctoberuntilMay,snowandiceclungtotheridge.Severalmendied when they slipped trying to avoid falling trees or limbs.Another tumbled off a cliff edge and one impaled himself on hisown axe and still another was beheaded by a snapped cable. Acutting crew lost its way during a snowstorm in January and wasfounddayslater,theirpalmspeelingoffwhensearcherspridetheaxehandles from their frozen hands. Fingers and toes lost to frostbitewereamongtheseason’slesserhazards(101).Themenmustworkinallextremeweathers,asthedataabovethattold

about thehazardousworkingenvironment likeextremecold.Thedescriptionofcharacter’sconditionaboveportrayedthattheworkerswereforcedtoworkin extremeweather. The harshness of thewinter, as itwas described above,causedmanyaccidents.Thegroundfullofsnowwhichcausedseveralmendiedwhentheyslippedtryingtoavoidfallingtrees,fellfromtheedgeofacliffandlostinasnowstorm.Workedusingdangeroustools,theworkershouldbealertbut coldweathermade themblank.One impaleshimself onhis ownaxe andanotherwasbeheadedbyasnappedcable.Frostbitegot them lost fingerandtoes.

2. Discussion

Serena novel represented class distinctions between bourgeoisie andproletariatclass.Thebourgeoisiewasindicatedbythecharacters’domination.The domination meant wealth and powerful. Bourgeoisie in this novel weretimber barons or the owner of timber business. Their wealth was from thetreestheycutandfromproletariatwork.Theydressedinneat,cleanandfindclothes,alsotheirexpensivestuffsthatshowedtheirlifestyle.Bourgeoisiewerepowerful. Theydidnot afraidof any consequences fromwhat theydid.TheycouldpayaSheriffandfreeformpunishmentafterkillingsomeone.Theycouldcontrol theproletariat’s condition, likewages and life. And controlledpeople



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mind,madeasiftheyprovidedjobsforpeoplebyboughtpeoplelandandmadethemworkwith them but in fact, they exploited people and destroyed theirhome.Afteralltreeshadbeencut,theycouldmovetootherplaceandrebuildtheirnextbusiness.

The proletariat was indicated from the characters subordination. Thesubordinationmeant poor andpowerless. In the novel, people fromworkingclassdependedtheirlifeonBourgeoisie’employmentsothattheyonlywaitformaimed and killedworkers andhoped to replace them.Theworkerswore amanufacturingworkwearcalledbiboverall,usedcheapbuttoughmateriallikeflannelshirtandpantsandworealoggerbootscalledchippawahboots.Theirclotheswerealsowornandoldcolor.Proletariatdidnothavepowertoprotectthem self from exploitation, their reaction toward the social inequality wasonly silent, lament or accepting. When all the natural resources run out,workerslosttheirincome.

In thenovel, characters’ socialclasseswasportrayed throughshowingcharacterization, in which the characters’ social class was indirectly showedthrough the character’s speech, think, the appearance, dress, the socialstanding, and action. Character’s name was not found in the novel becausetherewasnotthedifferentiationinthenamecallingbetweenthetwoclasses.There was not telling characterization found because the narrator did notmentiontheinformationaboutwhatsocialclasswasthecharactersbelongto.

Further, the exploitation could be indicated when proletariat wassuffering.Theworkers’sufferingcouldbeseen insomeformsofexploitation,thefirstwastheworkersworkedinlongtime,whichwaselevenhoursshiftadayandonlybreakfor fifthminutesthatcausedthemexhaustedandinjured.Thesecondwasworkerswerepaidinlowwages.Theyweregiventwodollaraday, which was cheap labor at that time, the workers’ wages were notappropriate to their long working and not enough for the workers and thefamily.Thethirdwasworkerslivedinfewcomfortsandlimitedcondition,theirhouselackofelectricity,theirhousesweremadeofcheapwoodenboxcar,thefoundationusedraggedlocustpoles,andthewindowwasonlyagougedholeinthe wood. And the fourth exploitation was workers worked in hazardouscondition.Therewasnosafetyequipment,workusingmanualanddangeroustools,forcedtoworkinmoodyground,againstextremecold,forcedtologthetrees thatmade themworking in close to one another. Injured,maimed andkilled as a loggerwere things that clearly described. Theywere drowned insplashponds, impaledbytheirownaxes,beheadedbysnappedcables,frozeninsnowstorms,fellfromledgesandcrushedbymachinery.

The researcher did not find the form of exploitation like no access toeducation.Thestorydidnotrepresentthattheproletariatwasbeingdeniedtotheaccessofeducationoropportunitiesofstudy.Thisformofexploitationwasusually experienced by the childrenworkers. In Serena novel, therewas notchildrenworker. Itwasmentioned that the youngestmember of the crew atnineteen(30).



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Theresearcheralsodidnot find theotherexploitation,whichwasnorespectof labor laws.Thisnoveldidnot talk about employment contract orsocialinsurance.In1929,therewasnolegallaborlawthatregulatedthelaborright from government and labor movement was declined during thedepressionera.Aftertheendofgreatdepression,AmericacametoNewDealera where the government started to initiate a series of labor laws. And in1935 the federal government guaranteed the right of American workers toformandjoinindependentlaborunions,andbargaincollectivelyforimprovedwages,benefits,andworkingconditions(Faragher859).

Additionally, all the forms of exploitation were depicted in tellingcharacterizationsothatthesituationoftheworkerslookrealisticbecausethenovel clearly described the conditions of theworkers,what they did, underwhat conditions, what they experience, etc. And depicted in showingcharacterization, in which the exploitations were showed in bourgeoisiedecision,orderandcontrol,whichweredepictedintheirmindandspeech.

Inconclusion,theclassdistinctionwasmattertotheexploitationissuein this research because the exploitation occurred due to contradiction ineconomicpower.Thenoveldescribedhowthebourgeoisiewhichwasagroupof timberbaron came to theNorthCarolinaMountain andwith theirwealth,they bought people’s land and made people who were majority farmers,worked for them.Theydominated the locals andused theirpower to exploitpeople and forest for their personal wealth. Proletariat only depended onbourgeoisie foremployment.Theydidnothavepower toagainstor they losttheirlivelihood.

E. CONCLUSION

The researcher concluded that Serena novel represented two kinds ofclassdistinctions.Theywerebourgeoisieastheownerandproletariataslaboror worker. The social class of each character could be indicated by theireconomicandpower.Thetwosocialclasseswereportrayedbythecharacter’sspeech,action,thought,dressandappearance,andsocialstandingofcharacter.TheresearcherdiscoveredthatthecharacterswhobelongtobourgeoisiewerePembertonandhiswife,Serena,andalsotheirpartnersBuchananandWilkie.Thecharacterswhobelongtoproletariatreferredtotheworkers.

Moreover, in this research, the researcher revealed some form ofworkers exploitation in Serena novel based on ILO’s Indicators of LaborExploitation. From six indicators of labor exploitation, it proved that therewere four indictors. Theywere excessiveworking days or hours, low or nosalary,badlivingconditions,andhazardouswork.Theexploitationportrayedinboth tellingand showing characterization. In telling, the conditionsof theworkers directly described through narrator’s or other character’s opinionandinshowing,theemployer’sexploitativeteatsweredepictedthoughtheirspeechandthought.



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CLASS EXPLOITATION IN RON RASH’S SERENA NOVEL: A MARXIST