Postcolonial Travel Writing: Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse in O.A Bushnell’s the Return of Lono
Abstract
This paper analyzes O.A Bushnell’s the Return of Lono from postcolonial perspective, focusing on the ambivalence of colonial discourse and the resulting contradiction which ultimately undermine Western claim of superiority. This novel dramatizes the arrival of Captain Cook’s expedition on the Hawai’ian isles from the first-person perspective of Jonathan Forrest as he reminiscences of their prior expedition. The Westerners’ view of an idealized and imagined Hawai’i constructs Hawai’i as a space which is exotic and primitive while simultaneously promotes the idea of beauty and welcoming. While previously abiding on the Western paradigm which denigrates the natives as animalistic and savage Others, Forrest’s perspective unsettles this dominant thought and contextualizes the resulting ambivalence within colonial discourse. This paper employs the concept of contact zone as stated by Pratt and also the theory of colonial discourse and ambivalence as is proposed by Ashcroft et al. The finding concurs that every exertion of colonial thought will result in resistance as by nature, the colonial discourse itself is intertwined with ambivalence.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ashcroft, B. (2001). Post-Colonial Transformation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315229539-3
Ashcroft, B. (2008). Afterword: Travel and power. In J. Kuehn & P. Smethurst (Eds.), Travel Writing, Form, and Empire: The Poetics and Politics of Mobility (pp. 229–241). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203890974
Ashcroft, B. (2021). Unlocking the Future: Utopia and Postcolonial Literatures. In D. D. Kim (Ed.), Reframing Postcolonial Studies : Concepts, Methodology, Scholarly Activism (pp. 43–67). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52726-6_2
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2003). The empire writes back: Theory and practice in post-colonial literatures: 2nd edition. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203426081
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2013). Post-colonial studies: The key concepts. In Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts (Second Edi). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/978023777855
Borm, J. (2004). Defining Travel: On the Travel Book, Travel Writing and Terminology. In G. Hooper & Ti. Young (Eds.), Perspectives on Travel Writing (pp. 13–26). Ashgate.
Bushnell, O. . (1971). the Return of Lono : A Novel of Captain Cook’s Last Voyage. University of Hawai’i Press.
Chandran, G., & Vengadasamy, R. (2018). Colonialist narrative in a post-colonial era travel writing, into the heart of Borneo. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 18(4), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2018-1804-02
Clark, S. (1999). Travel Writing and Empire : Postcolonial Travel and Empire. Zed Books Ltd.
Crane, K. (2019). Ecocriticism and Travel. In The Cambridge History of Travel Writing (pp. 535–549). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316556740.035
Das, N., & Youngs, T. (2019). Introduction. In N. Das & T. Youngs (Eds.), the Cambridge History of Travel Writing (pp. 1–16). Cambridge University Press.
DeLoughrey, E., & Handley, G. B. (2011). Introduction: Toward an aesthetics of transition. In E. Deloughrey & G. Handley (Eds.), Postcolonial Ecologies: Literatures of the Environment (pp. 1–18). Oxford University Press.
Deyo, B. D. (2014). Rewriting History/Animality in J. M. Coetzee’s. Ariel: A Review of International English Literature, 44(4), 89–116.
Edwards, J. D., & Graulund, R. (2010). Introduction: Reading postcolonial travel writing. In J. D. Edwards & R. Graulund (Eds.), Postcolonial Travel Writing: Critical Explorations (pp. 1–16). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230294769
Fussell, P. (1980). Abroad : British Literary Travelling Between the Wars. Oxford University Press. https://www.ptonline.com/articles/how-to-get-better-mfi-results
Hulme, P., & Young, T. (2007). Talking about Travel Writing. the English Association.
Hulme, P., & Youngs, T. (2002). Introduction. In P. Hulme & T. I. M. Youngs (Eds.), the Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing (pp. 1–13). Cambridge University Press.
Indriyanto, K., Adi, I. R., & Rokhman, M. A. (2021). Positioning the Portrayal of White Protagonists in O. A Bushnell’ s the Return of Lono and Ka’a’awa. Journal of Language and Literature, 21(1), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.24071/joll.v21i1.2783
Indriyanto, K. (2023). Spatializing Narrative : Postcolonial Spaces of Oswald Andrew Bushnell ’ s Ka ’ a ’ awa. Journal of Language and Literature, 23(1), 197–208. https://doi.org/10.24071/joll.v23i1.5455
Lindsay, C. (2010). Beyond Imperial Eyes. In J. D. Edwards & R. Graulund (Eds.), Postcolonial Travel Writing: Critical Explorations (pp. 17–35). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315643212-8
Lindsay, C. (2015). Travel Writing and Postcolonial Studies. In C. Thompson (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Travel Writing (pp. 25–34). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203366127
Najita, S. Y. (2006). Decolonizing Cultures in the Pacific : Reading History and Trauma in Contemporary Fiction. Routledge.
Nero, K. (1997). The End of Insularity. In D. Denoon, M. Meleisea, S. Firth, J. Linnekin, K. Nero, & J. Llnnekin (Eds.), The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders (pp. 439–467). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076798800000001
Pratt, M. L. (1992). Imperial Eyes : Travel Writing and Transculturation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315643212-8
Rapp, C. (2004). A Paradise Lost : Mapping Contemporary Literature from Hawai’i [Universitat konstanz]. https://d-nb.info/985197935/34
Said, E. W. (1994). Culture and Imperialism. Vintage Books. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203758298-7
Said, E. W. (1997). Orientalism. Penguin Books. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910802195745
Silva, N. K. (2005). Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/3659346
Thompson, C. (2011). Travel Writing. Routledge.
Thompson, C. (2016). Introduction. In C. Thompson (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Travel Writing (pp. xvi–xx). Routledge.
Trask, H.-, & Kay. (1991). Lovely Hula Lands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture. Borders/Lines, 23, 22–34. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/bl/article/download/24958/28913
Trask, H.-K. (1993). From a Native Daughter : Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai’i. University of Hawai’i Press.
Young, B. B. . (2001). A tribute to O.A Bushnell. Pacific Health Dialog, 8(5), 462–464. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.8.5.12.s12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31294/wanastra.v15i1.14821
Copyright (c) 2023 Kristiawan Indriyanto, Tan Michael Chandra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Index by:
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
Published by Department of Research and Community Service (LPPM) Universitas Bina Sarana Informatika by supported Relawan Jurnal Indonesia
Jl. Kramat Raya No.98, Kwitang, Kec. Senen, Jakarta Pusat, DKI Jakarta 10450
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License