ANALYSIS OF “SHOULDERS” BY NAOMI SHIHAB NYE :

A SOCIAL LITERATURE

Final Exaination of POETRY

Created by :

Cressa Agin WIjaya 15.321.017

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH TEACHING

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF PGRI MADIUN

2018
Shoulders
by Naomi Shihab Nye : 1952

A man crosses the street in rain,

stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
bacause his son is asleep on his shoulder.

No car must splash him.

No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo

but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.

His ear fiils up with breathing.

He hears the hum of a boy’s drea
deep inside him.

We’re not going to be able

to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.

The road will only be wide.

The rain will never stop falling.
A. Background of study

In daily life, people had faced with an art anywhere and anytime. A study of

art called literature. Literature is a term that used to describe written and sometimes

spoken material, it can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-

fiction. In this research, the researcher just focusses on non-fiction literature or it

can be said reality. It was represent the culture and tradition of language or people.

According to Wellek and Warren (1963: 22), they said that that the term of literature

looked best if we limit it to the art of literature, that is imaginative literature.

Literature is also produced by imagination of the author. Literature is not just a

document of facts, it is not just the collection of real events though it may happen in

real life. Literature can be create its own world as a product of the unlimited

imagination. Literature used to connect with each other individually, across societies

or individuals within one society.

Society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a

large social group sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject

to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Society often get

social problem in their lives. According to Webster (1987:1119), “Society is a part

of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of

living or conduct in a social circle or a group of social circles having a clearly

marked identity”. In a group of social, there is always a problem between some

people with another. The problem usually due to some factors, such as religion, race,
 culture, perception, and many more. Social problems are the general factors that

affect and damage the society.

A social problem is normally a term used to describe problems with a

particular area or group of people in the world. According to Rawls (1972), “Social

problem is unjust redistribution of wealth, unjust means not in accordance with

justice”. Social problems often involve problems that affect the real world. It also

affects how people react to certain situations. Laure (1976:125) stated that social

problem found in thirty –four widely reffered text,twenty one included the

requirement that the public or some segment of the public must perceive the

condition as problem before we can justly social problem exists. It is means that

social problems exist when there is no perception of a particular problem as

problematic.

Based on the explanation above, the researcher interested to analyze a poem

which is reviewed the social problems that occur in society. Regarding on these

social problems, the researcher tries to analyze a poem from Naomi Shihab Nye that

tells a problem that occurred in society. The researcher will makes the problem

solving based on this problem that told in this poem, so that the community knows

how to respond the social problems that are stake in their environment.

B. PROBLEM OF STUDY

1. How is the relation between an art and reality ?

2. What is the moral value behind of “Shoulders” poem ?

C. THEORY

In this chapter, the researcher used a Hegemony’s theory from Antonio

Gramsci in the book of “Selection from the Prisson Notebooks” to analyze the data.

According to Lennin in Gramsci (1971:158), "the fundamental political tendency

of Economism-Iet the workers carry on the economic struggle (it would be more

correct to say the trade-unionist struggle, because the latter also embraces

specifically working-clas politics) and let the Marxist intelligentsia merge with

the liberals for the political 'strugg le'." Lenin opposed to economism the theory

of a vanguard party which would unite intellectuals and workers, and bring

socialist theory "from outside" to the pro-letariat -which in the course of its

own, spontaneous activity can only develop or called trade-union consciousness.

From the statement above it can be concluded that a person's class can be seen in

terms of economy and community groups. In that book, Gramsci illustrates the state

of society in theory of hegemony clearly.

In the case of oretical syndicalism, Gramsci (1971:160-161), states: a)

“dealing with a subaltern group, which is prevented by this theory from ever

becoming dominant, or from developing beyond the economic-corporate stage and

rising to the phase of ethical-political hegemony in civil society, and of domination

in the state.”, b) “In the case of laissez-f aire liberalism, one is dealing with a

fraction of the ruling class which wishes to modify not the structure of the State, but

merely government policy; which wishes to reform the laws controlling commerce,

but only indirectly those controlling industry (since it is undeniable that protection,
especially in countries with a poor and restricted market, limits freedom of

industrial enterprise and favours unhealthily the creation of monopolies).”, c)

“What is at stake is a rotation in governmental office of the ruling-class parties, not

the foundation and organisation of a new political society, and even less of a new

type of civil society.”, d) “the independence and autonomy of the subaltern group

which it claims to represent are in fact sacrificed to the intellectual hegemony

of the ruling class,”, e) “The transformation of the subordinate group into a

dominant one is excluded, either because the problem is not even considered, or

because it is posed in an inappropriate and ineffective form, or because of a belief

in the possibility of leaping from class society directly into a society of perfect

equality with a syndical economy”.

In this research, the researcher uses a descriptive qualitative research to

analyze the data. According to Beverley Hancock, Elizabeth, and Kate (2009:7),

they stated that qualitative research was concern with developing explanations of

social phenomena. From the statement above, there is a word “explanations” which

is has same meaning with description. Therefore, the data will be taken form of

verbal data (word and number). In this research, the researcher will be use a

document research as the type of the research. The document research refers to a

research which is conducted with data document. Since the research investigates

some aspects that research needs, researcher start to collect the data which is

document data (journal, article, web blog, and books) which is relevant with the

topic. Documentary research method refers to the analysis of some of documents

 that contains of the information that will researcher analyzed. The conclusions will

be taken from from the result of analysis and the data collected before.

In this research, the researcher uses documentation as the technique of

collecting data methods in qualitative research. Beverley Hancock (2009:19) stated

that documentation is various written materials can produce qualitative information.

This can be very useful in trying to understand the organizational philosophy that

might be needed in ethnography. They can include policy documents, mission

statement, annual reports, minutes of meeting, codes of conduct, websites, series of

letters or emails, case notes, health promotion materials etc. Based on those

statement above, they are suitable with this research of collecting data. The primary

data will be taken from the poem of Naomi Shihab Nye with the title “Shoulders”.

The secondary data will be taken from the theory of Gramsci in his book “Selection

from the Prisson Notebooks” and any other journal, article, or news as the supporting

data.

D. Analyzing Data

1. Primary Data

Shoulders
by Naomi Shihab Nye : 1952

A man crosses the street in rain,

stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
bacause his son is asleep on his shoulder.
 No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo

but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.

His ear fiils up with breathing.

He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.

We’re not going to be able

to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.

The road will only be wide.

The rain will never stop falling.

2. Table of Interpretation Data

No. Stanza Interpretation Meaning

1. A man crosses the street in rain, A father who was looking for
stepping gently, looking two times north the safe place for his son even
and south, though the world was rowdy
bacause his son is asleep on his pressing the poor people.
shoulder.
2. No car must splash him. No one cares about what he
No car drive too near to his shadow. has done
3. This man carries the world’s most There is no awareness about
sensitive cargo providing an assistance even
but he’s not marked. if in difficult circumstances
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.
4. His ear fiils up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.
5. We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.
6. The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.

2. Supporting Data

Sik bingung wakakakkakaakk tinggal sikkkk

a. Narration or Introduction

In this chapter the researcher will narrate the poem above. In this

poem tells the awareness of the people who easily kill innocent

animals just to gain profit. They know that what they did in the end

could be interpreted as “ living graves “ where many animals were

killed,but for the perpetratos of the animals killer living in wealth.

From this explanation,the researcher interested to analyze this poem

as her research .
b. Table of Data

NO DATUM

1 We are the living graves of

murdered beasts,

Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites.

We never pause to wonder at our feast,

If animals,like men,can possibly have

rights.

2 We pray on Sundays that we may have light,

To guide our footsteps on the path we

tread.

We’re sick of war,we do not want to fight

3 The thought of it now fills our hearts with

dread,

And yet-we gorge ourselves upon the

 dead.

Like carrion crows,we live and feed on

Meat,

4 Regardless of the suffering and pain

We cause by doing so,if thus we treat

Defenseless animals for sport or gain,

How can we hope in this world to attain

The PEACE we say we are so anxious for.

We pray for it,o’er hecatombs of slain,

To God,while outraging the moral law.

Thus cruetly begets its offspring-WAR

Based on 3 data above,the reseracher present the data analysis of this research.

The researcher which is found by the reseracher is including hegemony type,as

follow :

Datum 1 :

Tells of the cruetly of those who could kill animals just to satisfy their want.In

specific ways,it can be expalined that the people who kill animals just to make

a profit.

Datum 2 :

There is a regret from the perpetrators of animal killer who just satisfy their

guts and they are tired of doing this.

Datum 3 :

There is a situation where they treat animals sadly. They hope to be able to stop

this sinful activity.

c. Interpretation

SESOK EEEE NGANTUK