AGAINST THE DOMINANT IDEOLOGY IN NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S THE SCARLET LETTER: A MARXIST APPROACH

Abstract
AMBARSARI, IKA (2010)

The major problem of this study is how the struggle of Hester Prynne against the Dominant Ideology (law/government regulation) in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, especially viewed from Marxist approach. The object of this study is the novel The Scarlet Letter, which is giving emphasis on the major character. The aim of the study is giving contribution to the body knowledge, particularly the literary study on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. The technique of collecting data analysis is library research. In this study, the writer uses two data sources, namely primary and secondary data. The primary data source is the novel itself and secondary data are the theory of Marxist, which is introduced by Karl Marx, and other books that are related to the research. The method of data collection is qualitative research. The results of the research are as follows: firts, the analysis of structural elements of The Scarlet Letter novel are connected each other to form unity that cannot be separated one from another in order to support each other. Second, The Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s literary work that tell about Hester’s struggle against the Dominant Ideology to get her freedom and rights from the pain of punishment and the authority of oppressor in goverment. The last, Marxist analysis shows that there is life changing of major characters in freedom of pain is resulted from struggling against law as the Dominant Ideology in government of country which arranges the human life that makes conflict between the upper class and lower class, the oppressor and oppressed. The life changing of struggle the freedom creates new changing of law in which law should not give cruel punishment to the criminal people which breaks the human rights in the society life.