KONSTRUKSI POSTMODERN DALAM NOVEL LARUNG

Abstract

This research study intends to reveal the extent to which Larung (2001), as a
recent Indonesian novel, shows postmodern features, especially in its construction,
concerning the worlds under erasure and the Chinese box worlds.
The theory adopted in the study is that of postmodern fiction by Brian McHale.
The method employed is semiotics by Hurshovsky. The theory and method are based
on the assumption that postmodern fiction is ontological in nature. This is different
from modern fiction, which is epistemological in nature. According to McHale, the
ontological nature comprises zones, construction, words, and groundings. This
study investigates, in particular, the construction in Larung.
The research findings show that in Larung there are features classified by McHale
into construction, covering the worlds under erasure and the Chinese box worlds.
In the former, Larung explores the features proposed by McHale, namely something
always happening, something always existing, excluded middles, forking paths,
and a sense of a (non) ending. In the latter Larung also explores features proposed
by McHale, namely moving toward infinite regression, trompe-l’oell, strange loops,
characters in search of an author, abysmal fictions, and something real. However,
in terms of moving toward infinite regression Larung shows opposite features; it
does not narrate things backward continuously, but it moves backward and forward
to the present. Therefore, Larung can be classified as novel with a postmodern
construction.