Final Exam (The Teaching of Literature)

SRIWIJAYA UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Jl. Padang Selasa No. 524, Bukit Besar, Palembang - Phone/Fax: 0711-354222

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SEMESTER TEST OF ACADEMIC YEAR 2011/2012

                        Subject/Credit                  : Literature Teaching/2 credits

                        Semester/Test System       : I/ CLOSE BOOK

                        Class                                : Regular

                        Day/Date                         : Monday, 14 November 2011

                        Time                                : 16.00 – 17.40.

                        Lecturers                         : Dr. Rita Inderawati, M.Pd.

                                                                 Z.A. Naning, Drs., M.A

Answer the following questions vividly!

1.   There are seven reader responses (RRS) that are valuable to appreciate literary works. Mention them and explain briefly. Which response/s can build students’ good personality? Which response/s can establish students’ critical thinking? Give argumentation for your choice. (score: 30)

2.  The seven reader responses are stated as the new paradigm of appreciating literary works by literature experts. Put forward your argumentation. Mention the weaknesses of the RRS Compare it with that the old one, the structuralism approach. (score:30)

3.  You have experienced in reading, discussing, writing, speaking, and listening literary works by applying the collaboration between Reader response strategy and the character building theory/framework in your  own group  of short story presentation. Elaborate the possibility of the new paradigm (the collaboration theories) in enhancing students’ language skills. (score: 40)     

 ******GOOD LUCK****** RI-IR

ANSWER

Kuntum Trilestari
20112506002
The Teaching of Literature
Final Exam

THE BUCKET RIDER

A.    The short story that I have read and presented is titled “The Bucket Rider”. Once we read the  title, it seems that the bucket can be ridden by someone. And someone who rides the bucket is called as bucket rider. But questions then probably appear; ‘How to ride a bucket?’, ‘Why does someone ride a bucket?’ and ‘Who is the bucket rider?’.

Commonly, the author will make an interesting or unique title to attract the reader attention to read, and this is what happened to me when I read the title for the first time. Of course I have to read the whole story in order to answer my own questions. Honestly, I have to read the story for several times. I could not get the idea of how to ride the bucket. Actually, there is an explanation written in the story of how he rides the bucket. It stated, “Seated on the bucket, my hands on the handle, the simplest kind of bridle...” In order to make myself be sure of the character, I tried to search in Google about the performance of the bucket rider. And I found some appreciations related to the performance of the bucket rider.

a 
b.  
c.

The appreciations above show how the bucket rider rides the bucket. It is clear that those picture answer my first question of how someone rides the bucket. In my concept, he slides the bucket on the ice and the ice helps him running the bucket.

            Next, I still wondered of why he rides the bucket. It is written that his mode of arrival must decide the matter; so he rides off on the bucket. This statement gives me a view that the bucket rider wants to attract the coal dealer attention by riding the bucket. Perhaps, he wants to show to the coal dealer that he is so weak to walk, he has no power, and he even has to ride the light bucket to go everywhere, so that he hopes the coal dealer wants to give the coal as he did to the grand people's cook who accordingly decides to give the dregs of the coffee-pot.

Moreover, I could not find the answer of ‘who is the bucket rider?’. I just have a concept that the bucket rider is a weak person. He is poor than he could not pay for the coals. He lives alone and he has no family to be asked for the coal.

Talking about the character building pillars, this story has shown self-confidence, work hard, creative, tolerance, honestly, caring and loving, discipline and respect.

-          Self-confidence: the bucket rider has self-confidence that he could get the coal on that day. He believes he could get the coal because of his previous experience in a restaurant. The grand people’s cook gave him the dregs of the coffee-pot after seeing his condition. He would like to do it to the coal dealer in order to get the coal. He has big hope and big confidence.

-          Work hard: he is so weak, but he still wanted to go out to get the coal in his bad condition. Even though, the weather is so cold and he could probably dying on freezing outside, but he still tried to get the coal. He cried in a voice burned hollow by the frost and muffled in the cloud made by his breath. He was trying hard to make the coal dealer gave the coal.

-          Creative: the bucket rider is creative that he could make a bucket becomes something that could be ridden. He rides off on the bucket. Seated on the bucket, his hands on the handle, the simplest kind of bridle. If I were him, maybe I will never think to ride the bucket. I will prefer walk to ride the bucket.

-          Tolerance: in this story, the character of tolerance is shown when the grand people’s cook wanted to give him even the dregs of the coffee-pot. Perhaps, they didn’t want to give anything, but as human being, they should help each other. That is why they gave even the dregs of the coffee-pot. At least, they had helped and gave each other.

-          Honestly: the bucket rider has told to the bucket dealer that he didn’t have money, but he would pay the coal after having money. It can be seen when he said, ”I'll pay you in full for it, of course, but not just now, not just now.” He knew maybe by saying this, the coal dealer would like to give coal because he had promised to pay for it later.

-          Caring and loving: this category is showed when the coal dealer’s wife inhibited her husband to go upstairs because of the condition of her husband is bad. She said to her husband, "You stay here; seeing you persist in your fancies I'll go myself. Think of the bad fit of coughing you had during the night.” The wife then decided to go upstairs replaced her husband duty.

-          Discipline: From the story, all the market, shop and business activity will be stop after 6 p.m. In this story, when the wife heard the six striking from the big clock ringing, she had to close the shop and stopped all the business activity. The statement is written as, “...I hear nothing; only six striking, and now we must shut up the shop. The cold is terrible; tomorrow we'll likely have lots to do again.”

-          Respect: actually, the coal dealer respects his wife. Even though, he heard someone shouting outside for the coals, but he just respected his wife not to go upstairs to check whether there was a customer or not. And even if he knew there is the bucket rider upstairs, he still couldn’t do anything because of his dominant wife.

B.     The setting of the story includes the economy issue. When the story began, it was in the bucket rider’s house. He told about going to the restaurant than the cook gave him the dregs of coffee at that time. And the main setting took place in the coal dealer’s house. In the winter season, snowy day and freezing air, the bucket rider kept trying to ask for coals. He begged as he was a beggar for only the worst coal they had. But unfortunately, the bucket rider did not get any coal.

2.  A.  Literature for all

The term of literature for all means that literature is not only for children or certain age but literature is learned for all age of learner. It means, the teaching of literature can be applied from the children to adult, from language classroom to non-language classroom. The concept of “all” means that, the literature could be learned by different age, different field of education, different profession and still literature can be learned by public people. The main purpose of literature for all in here is to maintain the local literature that almost be forgotten. In Indonesia, especially English education area, the literature that is learned is about foreign literature. It is rarely to discuss and elaborate our own literature. But Bahasa Indonesia education area still tries to maintain the local culture of literature. From here, the term of literature for all is used to raise our local literature and introduce our local literature to all people, all field and all ages.

B.      Literature across curriculum

Literature across curriculum means that the literature is included in other field/subject. Commonly, literature is learned by the language study program (English and Bahasa Indonesia Education Study Program). But the term of literature across curriculum is trying to cooperate the literature into all subjects. For example, in Medical field, students can read novels related to the medical area, and they can appreciate it into poems, pictures, photograph or pantomime. They add information from the literary works, they study the literature and they can appreciate the literary works. Or maybe in physics, from the lesson that they learned, they could make a poems about physics. It means that literature is not only learned by language area but across the curriculum, literature can be learned by others subjects.

C.     Literature for creative industry

Literature for creative industry means that the literature has sale values. There are a lots of literary works that have been developed into creative industry. For example, the short story becomes poems or songs, or from novels becomes a film. The local literature that Indonesia has, for example Malin kundang, could be created into film and be introduced to all country as Indonesia local literature. The real example of literary works that has been raised from the true story is “Laskar Pelangi”. From novel of true story, creative industry has created a movie and all people can see it. Even in Malaysia, Laskar Pelangi has been one of educated movies. 

D.    Literature for character building

The literary works are considered as one way of building the reader characters. In every literary works there is a moral message. It compares the antagonist character and protagonist character so that the readers know exactly which one is good and which one is bad.  For example, the story of Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih, it shows the bad characters. The step mothers and the sister of Bawang Putih always repressed her and forced her to do all the house works. But Bawang Putih still treats her step mother and her sister well as she respects parent and sister. This moral message hopefully could build the good character of the reader that every bad action will be repaid by bad results.

E.     Literature in website

Literature is known by written literary works for example poems, short story, novels and plays. By using website, every people can access all the literary works. In a website, a literary work can be display and others can discuss each other about the literary works. The examples of literature in website is the use of Blog, Yahoo, Facebook, Website, WordPress, Google and etc. People can easily access the literary works in one website. One of the examples of literature in website is Facebook group that we have (the teaching of literature group from Mam Rita Inderawati). Some of video appreciations are uploaded in the group. There reviews about a novels or short story with all discussion and comments from the readers. There are also a topic of discussion about literature. These all can be seen in one group of Facebook.

3.      The teaching of literature for all levels of education must sharpen students’ cognitive, affective and psycho-motor aspects.  

a.       Reader Response Strategy

There are seven points in reader response strategy:

1.      Describing: After reading the literary works (short story/novel), readers could describe about the characters, performances, plot, time and settings of the story.

2.      Interpreting: it involves defining the symbolic meaning, theme, or point of specific events in the text. In making interpretations, we are usually discussing what the text about.

3.      Conceiving: when readers conceive of the characters or setting in a text, they are moving beyond a description of information to a statement about its meaning.

4.      Explaining:  In explaining a characters’ actions. Readers on their conceptions of characters’ traits, beliefs or goals to infer a reason for that character’s action.

5.      Connecting: Readers may often connect their own autobiographical or prior reading experiences with the text. Readers also can connect the story to the similar story, their own experience, social, culture, and religion to be discussed together.

6.      Engaging: It is when the readers are articulating their emotional reaction or level of involvement with the text. Readers often have difficulty expressing engagement because they are not consciously aware of how they are experiencing the text.

7.      Judging: when we judge a text/story, we are pulling back from it to make evaluative statements about its characters or literary quality. We may want to argue that the behavior of the characters was appropriate or inappropriate, rational or irrational, normal or abnormal. By the same token. We might want to suggest that the story was interesting or not, realistic or not, well-written or not. These judgements rarely come at the very end or our reading; they are very much a part of the process of making sense of the text.

The seven reader response strategy aims to build the readers’ critical thinking so that they know what they read, they understand the story and they will not be easily forget the story after reading because it is built in their mind that the story has taught them something special. The story has told them a good moral message that they will remember the important part later.

b.      Visual symbol response

The new paradigm has appear the visual symbol as the new appreciation kind to appreciate the literary text. This new paradigm will not use sentences or words in applying the appreciation but using the visual symbol. Readers are required to choose the characters that they like or hate to be created in visually on paper. There are four kinds of visual symbol:

1.      Graph: sociogram, maps, cards, charts, calligraphy.

2.      Illustration: posters, photographs, collation

3.      Film/video: text, animation, film, special effects

4.      Performing arts: dance, music, mime, tableaux

These visual symbols are used to appreciate the literary works into the non-words or multiliterature. This aims that after reading the story, readers could be creative not only elaborate the story but also appreciate it in visual symbol.

c.       Characters building pillars

Characters building pillar hopefully could build the good characters of readers. For example, in young learners age, they are easily to imitate what they see, what they hear and what they read. They could be taught of being good by showing the literary works where the protagonist and antagonist are compared. But then not only for young learners, but also all age. Young adult and adult reader will have a view of the effects of bad characters. Also the view of the bad effects in their life if they do bad thing, crime, bad characters of personality and etc. It is hoped that by reading the literary works, they could change their characters into the better one.