Английская Википедия:Footsteps (novel)
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox book Footsteps (Indonesian: Jejak Langkah) is the third novel in the Buru Quartet tetralogy by the Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The tetralogy fictionalizes the life of Tirto Adhi Soerjo, an Indonesian nobleman and pioneering journalist. This installment covers the life of Minke – the first-person narrator and protagonist, based on Tirto Adhi Soerjo – after his move from Surabaya to Batavia, the capital of Dutch East Indies. The original Indonesian edition was published in 1985 and an English translation by Max Lane was published in 1990.
Synopsis
The novel, like the tetralogy, is based on the life of Indonesian journalist Tirto Adhi Soerjo (1880–1918).Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn This novel – the third installment of the tetralogy – covers the period 1901 to 1912 and is set on the island of Java, Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia).Шаблон:Sfn The protagonist, also the narrator, is Minke (a fictionalization of Tirto). Minke leaves Surabaya, where he studied in a prestigious high school, to go Betawi (or Batavia), the capital of Dutch East Indies, to continue his education.Шаблон:Sfn There he attends the STOVIA, a school for native doctors, the only avenue for higher education available to the natives in the Dutch East Indies.Шаблон:Sfn He continues to encounter racist colonial policies; for example, he is not allowed to wear European dress, but instead must wear indigenous dress.Шаблон:Sfn While studying there he meets Mei, a Chinese activist who is working on forming an organization for the Chinese in the Indies.Шаблон:Sfn They marry but she soon dies of malaria.Шаблон:Sfn
After Mei's death, Minke continues to be drawn to politics and forms a grassroots political organization for the Indies natives.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The organization is called Sarekat Dagang Islam (Islamic Traders' Union), which later becomes Sarekat Islam (Islamic Union); in real life this organization is credited as the first native grassroots organization in the Indies.Шаблон:Sfn Minke's writings, which are critical of the Dutch authorities, and his poor grades lead to his expulsion from the medical school.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn He then realizes that his passion does not lie in medicine, and becomes a journalist. He founds first a magazine and then the first newspaper to be owned and operated by natives.Шаблон:Sfn As writer and editor, he tries to instill political and social knowledge to his fellow Indies subjects.Шаблон:Sfn He also meets and marries an exiled princess, whom he loves and finds happiness with.Шаблон:Sfn Later he also met an Indo man named Jacques Pangemanann who asked Minke to publish his script titled 'Njai Dasima'.
After his young colleagues at the newspaper publish a highly critical editorial against the Governor-General, the newspaper is banned and Minke is arrested for accusation of tax evasion.Шаблон:Sfn The novel ends as he is led into exile outside Java and is forced to leave his wife.Шаблон:Sfn
Development
Like the previous books of the Buru Quartet, Pramoedya began Footsteps as oral narration to other prisoners, while he was a political prisoner in Buru.Шаблон:Sfn He was imprisoned without trial by the Suharto administration for fourteen years, accused of sympathizing with communists and of being involved in the 1965 coup attempt.Шаблон:Sfn Given the lack of materials, he based the details of the Dutch Indies at the turn of 20th century on the memory of his historical research during the 1960s.Шаблон:Sfn Later he was allowed to write, and composed the tetralogy in writing.Шаблон:Sfn[1] Prior to the release of the book he also published a non-fiction account of Tirto Adhi Soerjo, on which the protagonist Minke was based.Шаблон:Sfn
The book was published in Indonesian as Jejak Langkah in 1985Шаблон:Sfn and was translated into English by Max Lane in 1990.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Themes
The protagonist Minke is based on Tirto Adhi Soerjo (1880–1918), a figure of the Indonesian National Awakening and one of the country's first journalists.Шаблон:Sfn According to Carlo Coppola of the Oakland University, reviewing the book in World Literature Today, the book demonstrates a "strong commitment to broad humanistic ideals".Шаблон:Sfn The book contrasts Minke's attraction towards modern technology and notions of freedom brought by the Europeans with the alienation they brought to the subjugated Indies subjects.Шаблон:Sfn A review by Publishers Weekly noted the book's contrast of Minke's "dream of a united, multiethnic", independent Indonesia against the "harsh realities of colonial occupation".Шаблон:Sfn The book also highlights the oppression and "brutal subjugation" of the Indies' native subjects by the Dutch authorities and their native collaborators.Шаблон:Sfn It also shows Minke's maturation through two marriages.Шаблон:Sfn
Reception
Coppola praised Pramoedya's storytelling abilities and how the story makes the reader eagerly wait for the next installment.Шаблон:Sfn He also noted the book's "tenor of political tract" because it discusses the author's ideals "too lengthily" throughout.Шаблон:Sfn Kirkus Reviews criticised the book for its "clumsy mix" of "political reportage and [...] personal details", and "obtrusive" political agenda.Шаблон:Sfn Publishers Weekly said that the book was a "vibrant portrait" of Indonesia's development of nationhood, "rich in human drama and history", and praised the English translator Lane's introduction as being helpful for new readers on the topic.Шаблон:Sfn
For some time, the tetralogy was banned in Indonesia by the Suharto administration, as it was accused of spreading "Marxist-Leninist teaching".Шаблон:Sfn
References
Citation
Bibliography
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