Authors:
Indra Sarathan
1
;
Randy Ridwansyah
1
and
Wildan Insan Fauzi
2
Affiliations:
1
Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
;
2
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia
Keyword(s):
Robinson Crusoe, Proto-Novel, Prose, Textbook, Collonialism, Education.
Abstract:
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York Mariner by Daniel Defoe was first published in England in 1719. It has been translated into over a hundred languages since its first publication, including Sundanese language written in Javanese script. It was published as Carita Robinson Krusoe[sic!] by the Dutch colonial government press in Batavia, Landsdrukkerij in 1879 and translated by Raden Kartawinata. However, little attention is given to the fact that it was one of the first adaptations of European novels during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia. Furthermore, in West Java, the novel was distributed to schools, which established by the Dutch, and used as a textbook in classrooms attended by indigenous Indonesians. This condition was a result of the Dutch Etchical policy which was aimed at bringing progress and prosperity to the native population. It was a contrast with the initial nature of colonialism brought by the Dutch to the Indonesian archipelag
o, which was to obtain maximum possible benefits. Therefore, literary research is required in order to understand better the contents of this work. This particular work can be further analysed to understand better the motivations within the text, which are not free from the values and norms of the spirit of the age.
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