Henki Kleber on Bow and Strings

Abstract

Abstract This article tries to analyse the representation of postcolonialism in Indonesian children's literary works in the form of a novel entitled Komponis Kecil by Soesilo Toer. Komponis Kecil tells a story about the friendship of two figures namely Henki and Meneer Kleber. Meneer Kleber taught Henki to play a violin which at that time was considered as a musical instrument of the European or upper-class society, which later influenced Henki in the process of finding his true identity. This article uses qualitative social research methods with Komponis Kecil novel as the main research object. This article analyses the postcolonial concepts of otherness, mimicry and hybridity under the concept of orientalism. This article will use inductive analysis as data analysis method and hermeneutics as a methodology for interpreting texts; with the main narrative theme of Henki's hybridity which makes it unable to separate his European influences. This article also examines the expression of postcolonialism which also signifies the emergence of the social realism genre in Komponis Kecil.