Chaacter's existential needs in novel The ministry of utmost happiness MURDANIL.pdf
1. CHARACTER’S EXISTENTIAL NEEDS IN NOVEL THE MINISTRY OF
UTMOST HAPPINESS BY ARUNDHATI ROY
A Thesis
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Humaniora in English and Literature Department of the Faculty of
Adab and Humanities of UIN Alauddin Makassar
By
MURDANIL
Reg. Number: 40300117052
ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
ALAUDDIN STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MAKASSAR
2023
2. MOTTO
“And remember the old dogs
who fought so well:
Hemingway, Celine, Dostoevsky, Hamsun.
If you think they didn't go crazy
in tiny rooms
just like you're doing now
without women
without food
without hope
then you're not ready.”
Charles Bukowski
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
AlhamdulillahiRabbil ‘Aalamiin. First of all, the researcher would like to
say thanks to Allah ta’ala. Because of his blessing, the researcher succeeded to
complete this thesis as the last objective to graduate from this institution. And do
not forget to send shalawat and salam, to the beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW
‘Allahummasolli Alaa Sayyidinaa Muhammad’, who became the best figure for
the entire life.
In this part of thesis, the researcher would like to express the gratitude for
several people who have been giving their motivation, advices, and even help the
researcher during the college journey, especially during this thesis process.
1. The most special thanks are addressed to the researcher’s family,
especially Baharuddin, S.Pd and Intang, S.Pd as his beloved parents who
give their love, patience, sincere prayer for his success and his support
materially and emotionally. Also, for Zul Hikmad and Adnan Fauzi as his
brother who always show their support and fix almost all of the researcher
problem. Without them, the researcher will not achieve everything that he
has now.
2. The researcher’s gratitude is addressed to all members of the institution
which includes Professors, Lectures, and Staffs of Alauddin State Islamic
University of Makassar. Especially the honorable Rector of Islamic State
University of Alauddin Makassar, Prof. Drs. Hamdan Juhannis, M.A.,
Ph.D., Dean of Adab and Humanities faculty, Dr. Hasyim Haddade, S.Ag.,
M.Ag. Which under his leadership stands his Vices’ Dean; Muh. Nur
Akbar Rasyid, M.Pd., M.Ed., Ph.D., Dr. Firdaus, M.Ag., and Dr. Andi
Ibrahim, S.Ag., S.S., M.Pd, All the lecturers and staffs of English and
Literature Department which especially, Dr. Jumharia Djamereng,
M.Hum. as the head of the department who has helped the researcher a lot
and Syahruni Junaid, S.S., M.Pd. as the secretary of the department.
3. Special thanks to the honorable supervisors, Dr. Umar Thamrin, S.Ag.,
M.Hum., M.A. and Ahmad, S.S., M.Litt. as the first and second
supervisors for their patience, motivation, comment, guidance, advice,
support, and knowledge in all the time to the researcher in writing this
research. Furthermore, the researcher would like to send his biggest thanks
to his first and second examiner, Nasrum, S.Pd., M.A. and Syahruni
junaid, S.S., M.Pd. for their best correction and advices who rise the
researcher up to be better in finishing his research.
4. The biggest thanks for all of the lecturers in English Literature Department
of Alauddin University who have given their precious knowledge during
academic years since 2017 till the end of his study. May the knowled
8.
9. ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MOTTO ........................................................................................................................ii
PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN SKRIPSI ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
PERSETUJUAN PEMBIMBING .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
APROVAL SHEET .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
PENGESAHAN SKRIPSI ................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..........................................................................................vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................ix
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................xi
CHAPTER I..................................................................................................................1
A. Background .......................................................................................................1
B. Research Question.............................................................................................5
C. Objective of the Research..................................................................................5
D. Significance of the Research..............................................................................5
E. Scope of the Research........................................................................................6
CHAPTER II ................................................................................................................7
A. Previous Findings ..............................................................................................7
B. Theoretical Framework.....................................................................................9
C. Synopsis ...........................................................................................................21
CHAPTER III.............................................................................................................24
A. Research Method................................................................................................24
B. Source of the data ...............................................................................................24
C. Instrument of the Research................................................................................24
D. Procedure of Collecting Data .............................................................................24
E. Technique of Data Analysis................................................................................25
CHAPTER IV .............................................................................................................26
A. Findings ...........................................................................................................26
B. Discussions.......................................................................................................39
11. xi
ABSTRACT
NAME : MURDANIL
REG NUMBER : 40300117052
MAJOR : ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY : ADAB AND HUMANITIES
TITLE : CHARACTER’S EXISTENTIAL NEEDS IN NOVEL
THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS BY
ARUNDHATI ROY
SUPERVISOR I : Dr. Umar Thamrin, S.Ag., M.Hum., MA.
SUPERVISOR II : Ahmad, S.S., M.Litt
EXAMINER I : Dr. Nasrum, S.Pd., MA
EXAMINER II : Syahruni Junaid, S.S., M.Pd
This research is aimed to analyze the existential needs in the novel The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy. The objectives of the research
is to find out the kinds of existential needs that affect the main character of
novel. The researcher uses Erich Fromm’s existential needs theory. The result of
the research revealed there are four kinds of existential needs that affect the
main character: Rootedness, effectiveness, A frame of Orientation and
Devotion, and Excitation and Stimulation. The researcher conclude that these
existential needs give the main character a compass for where she should go,
determine her every decision, and what action she should take in order to fulfill
her existential needs.
Keywords: Existential Needs, Rootedness, Effectiveness, A frame of
Orientation and Devotion, Excitation and Stimulation, The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness.
12. 1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Character is one of the intrinsic elements and fundamental things that
should be in a novel. Characters makes time and events move along the
storyline and make the story feel alive. To make it alive, every character
should have wishes and goals. It is very important for the development of the
story.
Characters, particularly the main character, have the ability to
influence the plot, create conflict, and even solve problems. Meanwhile, extra
characters, even if their roles are minor, must be included for the plot to
progress according to the author's wishes (Nurgiyantoro, 2018).
The presence of objectives, ambitions, or whatever the fictional
character desires makes it relevant to the current state of human life (the
reader). Every real being, like fictional characters, must have a purpose in life.
The purpose that will provide significance to their existence in the world.
Kierkegaard, a philosopher, said that after an individual—not society
or religion—has set his life goals, he must be responsible for giving meaning
to his life choices and living that meaning honestly and passionately (Watts,
2014).
The existence of the purpose of human life which later becomes his
basic need is an effort to find new ways to relate to the world and get over the
13. 2
horror of being alone, helpless, and lost so that he can feel at home. These
requirements are what Erich Fromm called existential because they are
founded in the basic circumstances of human life. All men have them, and
they must be satisfied for a man to remain sane, just as organic urges must be
satisfied for a man to remain alive. It is critical to be serious about meeting
these existential needs, a fundamental need for every Individuals will be free
of feelings of isolation and loneliness as a result of this contentment. This also
clarifies that human life's demands, as creatures with self-awareness and
reason, will not be met solely by food, drink, and sexual activity (Fromm,
1973).
It can be concluded that existential needs are the basic needs for every
individual to feel meaningful and have purpose in life, and to feel connected
to other people and nature. These basic needs that must be met so that
individuals can feel prosperous and feel that they have continuity in life.
The history of mankind has demonstrated that humans cannot be
detached from their existential requirements; existential needs that have
developed during a million years of human evolution.
According to Fromm, the result of that evolution has given birth to
Homo sapiens, the creature who can think, have self-awareness, and are able
to imagine the ideal world they can live in. Homo sapiens has made many
progresses in various fields in the world as well as the chaos itself. There are
some basic existential needs of humans, as Erich Fromm said: A frame of
14. 3
orientation and devotion, Rootedness, Unity, Effectiveness, Excitation, and
Stimulation (Fromm, 1973).
In addition to the existential needs above, Al-Qur'an, the Islamic holy
book, also reveals things related to human existential needs:
َيِتۡأَي اَّمِإَف ۖاٗيعِمَج اَهۡنِم ْاوُطِبَۡاٱهنۡلُق
َّن
ِم مُك
ُٗده يِن
اَدُه َعِبَت نَمَف ى
َ
َلَف َي
َونُنَز ۡ
حَي ُۡمه َ
َل َو ۡمِهۡيَلَع ٌف ۡ
َوخ
٣٨
َِينذَّٱل َو
َك
ِب ْاوُبَّذَك َو ْاوُرَف
ِتََٰيا
َن
ََٰٓل ْ
وُأ ٓا
َكِئ
َُوندِل ََٰخ اَهيِف ُۡمه ِۖ
ارَّنٱل ُب ََٰح ۡصَأ
٣٩
(2:38) We said: “Get down from here, everyone, and I'll give you
instructions; then, whoever follows my instructions will not have to be afraid
or mourn. (2:39) Those who refuse to accept this (instruction) and dismiss our
signs as false are doomed to spend eternity in the inferno.” (Q.S.Al-Baqarah)
Abul Aliyah in his interpretation said: When they were sent down from
heaven, Allah SWT explained about the warnings sent to Adam and his wife,
as well as the devil. What is meant is that Allah will send down a holy book
and prophets and apostles to his offspring at some point in the future (among
those who will warn their own people).
From the explanation of the verse above, it is quite clear that one of the
basic existential needs of human life represented by the prophet Adam is the
need for a guide (God). The need for guidance so that humans do not get lost
on earth.
The need for a guide is also one of the existential needs that Erich
Fromm alludes to in his book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness. But as
15. 4
Erich Fromm explains, because there are so many existential needs, it is often
difficult for each person to define his own existential needs. In addition, the
existential needs of each person, are also often blocked by things that come
from outside the individual. As experienced by Anjum, the main character of
Arundhati Roy's novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.
Anjum is a hermaphrodite since she was born. Biological
abnormalities, having two genitals initially made her confused. But as time
went on, she understood that he was more likely to behave like a woman. His
existential needs such as the desire to wear women's clothes, high heel, and
lipstick slowly emerged.
At that moment, she realized that her existential needs turn out to be
blocked by many things. The first obstacle was her parents. They prefer
Anjum to behave like a man. Anjum refused and ran away from her parent’s
house.
Anjum moved to a special hijra lodge, Khwabgah (The house of
dreams). There, she meets other characters that make her feel free and
accepted. But, that acceptance did not Anjum get easily. His father, Mulaqat
Ali was someone who was respected by the local people. People do not want
to have a problem with him. Initially, Anjum was always kicked out by the
residents of Khwabgah. But Anjum who had a stubborn disposition, not afraid
of reprimand and punishment, just kept coming back to Khwabgah's door step.
After being instructed to carry their bags and musical instruments for
months while town people moved around, massaging their sore feet, Anjum
16. 5
finally managed to fit himself into Khwabgah. She walked into a dilapidated
house as if walking through the gates of heaven.
The efforts to fulfill these existential needs are what readers will see
throughout reading this novel. In this research also, these existential needs will
be examined in the novel.
The researcher will use one of Erich Fromm’s theories, the existential
needs to analyze the novel. The theory will lead the researcher to find out the
kinds of existential needs that affect the main character.
B. Research Question
Based on the previous background, one problems need to be answered
by the researcher as follows:
1. What are the kinds of existential needs that affect the main character of The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy?
C. Objective of the Research
The following are the research objectives, which are based on the
research question above:
1. To find out the kinds of existential needs that affect the main character of
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy.
D. Significance of the Research
1. Theoretically
17. 6
At the theoretical level, the researcher hopes this research will give
a new perspective to other researcher who analyze the same object and can
develop it for the next research.
2. Practically
At the practical level, the researcher hopes this research will make
the reader understand more about the meaning of the whole content of this
novel, especially about the character’s existential needs, so the reader can
use it as a mirror to look at himself; to understand more about his
existential needs as a human. So, the reader can be more aware and careful
in living life.
E. Scope of the Research
In this research, the scope focused on analyzing the whole content of
the novel and carefully searching the character’s existential needs in it using
the theory that the researcher has prepared. The researcher also provides all
sources like books related to the research, such as The anatomy of human
destructiveness by Erich Fromm, that used by the researcher as the main
theory.
18. 7
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Previous Findings
There are some previous findings that related to the topic of the
research:
Eriyanti (2016), “Mechanism of Escapes to Cope the Main Character’s
Basic Anxiety in Order to Fulfill Her Existential Human Needs in Kindred Novel: A
Humanistic Psychoanalysis by Erich Fromm.” The aims of this research are to learn
how the main character deals with her anxieties and how she comes to terms with the
meaning and purpose of her existence during the slave era. This research employs
Erich Fromm's humanistic psychoanalytic method, which focuses on underlying
anxiety, escape mechanisms, and existential human needs.
Hanna (2016), “Human Needs of Erich Fromm in V Album Maroon
5’s Song lyrics.” One of the song lyrics of this Album talks about a man that
so crazy about his girlfriend. He will go to any length for his lover in order to
keep her attached to him. The goal of this study is to discover the types of
human needs and intrinsic elements that appear in the song lyrics from the V
album Marron 5.
Rahman (2020), “Transgender Issues in Indian Society from the
viewpoint of Arundhati Roy’s novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.” The
purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for the transgender
community's problems in Indian society. In order to investigate these
difficulties, the researcher looked at the transgender character Anjum in
Arundhati Roy's novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.
19. 8
Sabilla (2020), in her thesis, “Arundhati Roy’s worldview on
transgender in the Ministry of Utmost Happiness.” The theory of this thesis
used genetic structuralism by Lucien Goldman. This research aims to explain
the structure of the novel, transgender issues, and the point of view ofthe
author
There are some similarities and differences between this research and
the previous study above. In Eriyanti (2016) and Hanna (2016)’s research,
they used Erich Fromm’s concept to analyze the novel and the song lyrics.
This research also uses the same concept but has a different research focus.
This research focus how does the existential needs affect the main character.
While two previous researchers, Rahman (2020) and Sabilla (2020),
used Arundhati Roy’s novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness the object of
the research. But their research focus to analyzed the gender of the main
character of the novel.
20. 9
B. Theoretical Framework
1. Character
Character is one of the fundamental elements in fiction. Various
events in the story arise one of them because the efforts of characters.
Therefore, writers must be good at creating characters that feel alive and
can impress readers.
There are three important elements that must exist in a character:
physiological, sociological, and psychological. First, physiological
elements are something related to body characteristics, for example lips,
nose, head shape, facial features, looks, hair, skin color, accessories used
(glasses, bags, shoes, clothes, hats), gender, and age. Sociology is
something related to social structure, social processes including social
changes, and social problems. The psychological is psychological in
nature, for example symptoms and thoughts, feelings and will (KBBI, 2008).
The events in the story take place driven by the motivation and
goals of the characters. The goal comes from the psychological elements
of the character. This element is what makes the character look alive.
Character in fiction are not dolls. They are living beings who have flesh,
blood, and pain; they have a past, a future, and a will. They have a goal to
achieve: get rich so he can get everything he wants, have fun, be a good
teacher, be able to motivate his students to continue their education as high
as possible, maintain the integrity of the family, become a famous rock
21. 10
musician, explore the secret of God. Every desire will motivate someone
to do something (Laksana, 2013).
The desire, in From’s theory, arise because it is triggered by human
existential needs. Needs that move someone to do something, or in other
word, motivate someone to achieve their goals in life.
2. The existential needs
The emergence of the existential needs in humans began since
primordial man experienced cognitive evolution. According to Harari, the
cognitive revolution occurred between 70.000 and 30.000 years ago, when
new ways of thinking and speaking emerged. According to the most
widely recognized theory, genetic defects changed the inner wiring of
Sapiens' brains, allowing them to think in previously inconceivable ways
and communicate in an entirely new language (Harari, 2014).
The existence of this evolutionary process resulted in the
emergence of wholly new qualities, including self-awareness. The only
animal that not only recognizes objects but also recognizes that he
recognizes them is man. Man is the only animal having both instrumental
intelligence and reason, the ability to use reasoning to grasp things
objectively, to know the essence of things in and of themselves, rather
than only as a means to his enjoyment. Man, equipped with self-awareness
and reason, understands himself as a distinct entity from nature and others,
as well as his flaws, ignorance, and impending mortality (Fromm, 1973).
22. 11
This self-awareness then makes humans feel alienated, separated
from others (nature, even their fellow humans), helpless, and hopeless. For
that humans need a handle or a place to depend. These needs Erich called
“existential needs” because they are rooted in the very conditions of
human existence. They are shared by all men, and their fulfillment is as
necessary for man's remaining sane as the fulfillment of organic drives is
necessary for his remaining alive. It is critical to be serious about meeting
these existential needs, a fundamental need for every Individuals will be
free of feelings of isolation and loneliness as a result of this contentment.”
This also clarifies that human life's demands, as creatures with self-
awareness and reason, will not be met solely by food, drink, and sexual
activity (Fromm, 1973)
To fulfill their existential needs (the need to "effect," or to move
something), humans are moved by their character (passion rooted in
human character) which is a complement to instinct (instinct drives rooted
in man's physiological needs (organic drives) which have been weakened
since humans have undergone the evolutionary process. Instinct can no
longer be the main guide for humans in living life, therefore humans need
"passion rooted in human character". This character then, specifically,
refers to a person's personality.
3. Kinds of existential needs
a. A frame of orientation
23. 12
The first existential needs are orientation and devotion. A
special goal for humans to obedient to an object: to gods of various
kinds, religions, ideologies, witchcraft, ancestral spirits, and so on.
Humans require a devotional object to serve as the focus of all their
efforts and the foundation for all their actual—not just declared—
values.”For a variety of reasons, he requires such a devotional object.
The object brings all of his energy together in one direction. It lifts him
above his secluded existence, with all of its worries and insecurities,
and gives life meaning. He transcends himself and escapes the cage of
extreme egocentricity by dedicating himself to a goal outside his
isolated ego (Fromm, 1973).
b. Rootedness
When the infant is born he leaves the security of the womb, the
situation in which he was still part of nature-where he lived through his
mother's body. At the moment of birth he is still symbiotically attached
to mother, and even after birth he remains so longer than most other
animals. The more complete the separation is, the greater the need to
replace the original biological roots by new affective roots. Yet there
remains a deep craving not to sever the original ties or a deep craving
to find a new situation of absolute protection and security, to return to
the lost paradise (Fromm, 1973).
The way to paradise is blocked by man's biological, and
particularly by his neurophysiological constitution. He has only one
24. 13
alternative: either to persist in his craving to regress, and to pay for it
by symbolic dependence on mother (and on symbolic substitutes, such
as soil, nature, god, the nation, a bureaucracy), or to advance and
establish new roots in the world through his own initiatives, his
encounters with the brotherhood of man, and his release from the
influence of the past.
Man, conscious of his separation from his fellow beings, must
establish fresh connections with them; his own sanity depends on it. He
would experience complete loneliness and lostness if he lacked strong
affective connections to the outside world. He can, nevertheless, relate
to others in a variety of measurable ways. He can relate to others
symbiotically—that is, by becoming a part of them or making them a
part of himself—which is possible even if his sense of freedom has not
yet fully evolved. Symbiotic relationships require the presence of
independence and productivity. In this mutually beneficial
arrangement, he aspires to either control others (sadism) or be
controlled by them (masochism). If he is unable to choose between the
paths of love and symbiosis, he can use narcissism to find a solution. In
this state, he transforms into the world and "loves" it by "loving"
himself. This is a common method of satisfying the urge for
relatedness (often combined with sadism), but it is risky since in its
extreme form, it can result in various types of lunacy. The desire to
eliminate everyone else is a final and cancerous kind of problem-
25. 14
solving (often combined with excessive narcissism). If there is no one
outside of me, I have no reason to fear them or to identify with them. I
avoid being crushed by the world by destroying it.
c. Unity
With self-awareness, humans are aware of their separation
from nature and the human world outside themselves. As a result,
humans experience a feeling of alienation. There are several things that
humans can do to turn off their consciousness or make themselves
semi-conscious, such as “drugs, sexual orgies, fasting, dancing, and
other rituals that abound in various cults,” to turn off their
consciousness or make themselves semi-conscious, such as when they
are in a trance state or ecstasy. He can also try to identify with the
animal to reclaim the lost harmony. This is the essence of many
primitive religions in which the tribe's ancestor is a totem animal, or in
which man identifies with the animal by acting like it (for example, the
Teutonic berserkers who identified with a bear) or by wearing an
animal mask. Subordinating all energies to one all-consuming passion,
such as the desire for destruction, power, celebrity, or property, can
also lead to unity. Or through religions that shared a common goal: to
achieve oneness by being fully human—oneness inside man, oneness
with nature, and oneness with all men—rather than by regressing to
animal existence. Man does not appear to have made much progress
26. 15
toward the goal that these religions espouse in the small history of
twenty-five hundred years (Fromm, 1973).
d. Effectiveness
Man's awareness of himself as being in a strange and
overpowering world, and his consequent sense of impotence could
easily overwhelm him. If he believed himself to be wholly passive, just
an object, he wouldn't have a feeling of his own identity or free will.
To make up for this, he needs to develop a sense of being able to make
a difference, influence others, or, to use the most appropriate English
word, be "effective." Today, the term "effective" is used to describe a
speaker or salesperson who is successful in achieving results.
However, the original meaning of "to effect" (from the Latin ex-Jacere,
to do) has been compromised. An effective person is one who has the
capacity to do, to effect, realize, carry out, and fulfill; to effect is the
same as to bring about, to accomplish, to realize, to carry out, and
fulfill; a person who has the ability to perform, affect, or accomplish
something is said to be effective. The claim that one is not helpless but
rather that one is a living, breathing human being is made when one is
able to make a difference. The ability to affect implies being both
active and not just passive; being both active and not just affected. In
the end, it serves as evidence that one is. The guiding principle can be
stated as follows: I am because I cause.
27. 16
Numerous studies have emphasized this fact. The "pleasure in
being a cause" was cited as an important incentive in children's play by
K. Groos, a classic interpreter of play, around the turn of the century.
This was his explanation for the child's enjoyment of clattering,
moving things around, playing in puddles, and other similar activities.
His conclusion was that "we demand knowledge of the effects and the
ability to be the producers of these effects” (Groos, 1901). J. Piaget,
who observed the child's special interest in objects that he effects with
his own movements, expressed a similar idea fifty years later (Piaget,
1952). R. W. White proposed the term "effectance" for the
motivational aspect of competence when describing one of man's basic
motivations as "competence motivation." (White, 1959).
The same need is manifested in the fact that the first real
sentence of some children between the ages of fifteen and eighteen
months is some variation of "I do-I do," repeated, and that "me" is
frequently used before "mine" for the first time(Schecter, 1968). Due
to his biological situation, the child is forced to be helpless until the
age of eighteen months, and even then, he is largely dependent on the
favors and goodwill of others. The child's natural powerlessness
changes on a daily basis, whereas adults generally change their attitude
toward the child much more slowly. The child's tantrums, crying,
stubbornness, and various ways of battling adults are among the most
visible manifestations of his attempt to have an effect, to move, to
28. 17
change, and to express his will. The child is usually defeated by the
adult's superior strength, but the defeat does not go unnoticed; it
appears to activate a tendency to overcome the defeat by actively
doing what one was forced to endure passively: to rule when one had
to obey; to beat when one was beaten; in short, to do what one was
forced to suffer, or to do what one was forbidden to do. Neurotic
tendencies and sexual peculiarities, such as voyeurism, compulsive
masturbation, or a compulsive need for sexual intercourse, are
frequently the result of such early prohibitions, according to
psychoanalytic data. It almost seems as if this compulsive shift from
passive to active mode was an attempt, albeit a futile one, to heal still
open wounds. Perhaps the general appeal of "sin," of doing the
forbidden, can be explained here as well. That which is not permissible
attracts as well as that which is not possible. Man appears to be
profoundly drawn to the personal, social, and natural boundaries of his
existence, as if compelled to look beyond the narrow frame in which
he is forced to exist. This impulse may play an important role in both
great discoveries and great crimes.
The adult, too, feels the need to reassure himself that he is
capable of effecting change. There are numerous ways to achieve a
sense of effecting: by eliciting an expression of satisfaction in the baby
being nursed, a smile from the loved one, a sexual response from the
lover, and interest in conversation from the partner; by work-material,
29. 18
intellectual, and artistic. But the same need can also be satisfied by
having power over others, by experiencing their fear, by the murderer's
watching the anguish in the face of his victim, by conquering a
country, by torturing people, by sheer destruction of what has been
constructed. The need to "effect" expresses itself in interpersonal
relations as well as in the relationship to animals, to inanimate nature,
and to ideas. In the relationship to others the fundamental alternative is
to feel either the potency to effect love or to effect fear and suffering.
In the relationship to things, the alternative is between constructing
and destroying. Opposite as these alternatives are, they are responses
to the same existential need: to effect. In studying depressions and
boredom one can find rich material to show that the sense of being
condemned to ineffectiveness to complete vital impotence (of which
sexual impotence is only a small part) is one of the most painful and
almost intolerable experiences, and man will do almost anything to
overcome it, from drug and work addiction to cruelty and murder.
e. Excitation and Stimulation
Another existential need that humans usually feel is the need
for excitation, a need that is able to make humans active, make
themselves effective. One way to generate excitation is to stimulate
yourself both through positive and negative things that can be obtained
through a novel, a poem, an idea, a landscape, music, a loved one,
accidents, a murder, a fire, war, or sex could all serve as activating
30. 19
stimuli. None of these stimuli elicit a simple response, instead, they
invite you to respond by actively and sympathetically reacting to them,
by becoming actively engaged in, seeing, and discovering ever-new
elements of your object (which ceases to be merely "object"), by
becoming more awake and aware. Instead of remaining a passive
object on which the stimulus operates and to whose song your body
must dance, you express your capacities by being connected to the
environment, becoming active and productive. The activating stimulus
results in striving, and the individual is actively seeking a goal. The
basic stimulus provides a drive, and the person is driven by it (Fromm,
1973).
f. Chronic Depression-Boredom
This existential need arises in people with chronic depression.
Saturated mental condition; there was something inanimate and
uninteresting in him. He tends to feel empty.
Among the working class, this saturation can increase. Tired of
monotonous activities during work, long working hours, and low
wages. In addition, they are also not involved in creative planning (like
people who occupy a higher social class), which can train imagination,
intellect, and the ability to organize things.
To better understand this mental condition, here are some
examples of cases of chronic depression-boredom sufferers:
31. 20
“One girl, hospitalized in a state mental hospital, had slashed
her wrists and explained her act by saying that she wanted to see if she
had any blood. This was a a girl who felt nonhuman, without any
response to anyone; she did not believe she could express or, for that
matter, feel, any affect. (Schizophrenia was excluded by a thorough
clinical examination.) Her lack of interest and incapacity to respond
was so great that to see her own blood was the only way in which she
could convince herself that she was alive and human.”
“One of the boys in the training school, for instance, threw
rocks up on top of his garage and let them roll down, and would try to
catch each rock with his head. His explanation was that this was the
only way in which he could feel something. He made five suicidal
attempts. He cut himself in areas that would be painful and always
made it known to the guards that he had done so, in order that he could
be saved. He reportedthat feeling the pain made him feel at least
something.”
From the two cases above, it shows that the behavior of people
with chronic depression tend to do destructive actions to themselves.
This action is an effort to fulfill existential needs so that the sufferer
can feel alive "to see her (the girl) own blood was the only way in
which she could convince herself that she was alive and human. And
"that feeling the pain made him (the boy) feel at least something"
32. 21
According to Erich Fromm, it is highly probable that even cases
of severe depression boredom would be less frequent and less intense,
even given the same family constellation, in a society where a mood of
hope and love of life predominated. But in recent decades the opposite
is increasingly the case, and thus a fertile soil for the development of
individual depressive states is provided (Fromm, 1973).
C. Synopsis
Twenty years after her debut novel was published and won the
Booker Prize in 1997, Arundhati Roy back, then published her second
novel entitled The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.
The narrator of the novel talks about Anjum, the main character of
the novel, a hijra—an Indian term for transgender—who comes from
Kashmir, a region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent.
Anjum, who was originally named Afdal, a male's name, is not like
transgender people in general. He was born as a Hermaphrodite; a disorder;
having two genitals (male and female) at once.
As a result of this disorder, Afdal has a male body shape but is more
inclined to have a female personality in general. The identity that confused
him, alienated him, and made him tried to hide his true identity. One day,
she met Bombay Silk, a transgender who convinced him, and solidified his
identity to become a hijra. He then changed his name to Anjum (From he to
she).
33. 22
This decision became the forerunner of the problems that befell him
continuously. A hijra means a minority. Being a minority means being
prepared or unprepared for the consequences of ostracism, humiliation, and
expulsion. The abnormality of her body, then, trigger the existential needs
that he must fulfill in order to remain in a sane state.
The first obstacle that Anjum experienced come from her parents.
Jahanara Begum who knows the first time that her child named Aftab was
born by having two genitals, decided to hide the truth for years. Including
hiding it from her husband, Mulaqat Ali. She was sure that her baby's
vaginal part was not the real vagina. The vaginal aisle did not open, she had
checked. She was also sure that the vaginal part would disappear somehow,
leaving only the penis, the genitals of a baby boy.
Until nine years old, Aftab’s vaginal part have not disappeared.
Jahanara Begum finally told her husband. Mulaqat Ali was furious because
his wife had not informed him of Ahtab's condition earlier. Looking for
other ways to medicate the strange parts of their child's body, they decided
to go to a sexologist, Dr. Ghulam Nabi.
The visit gave Mulaqat Ali a clue. He realized the surgery cost to
remove Aftab's vaginal parts was too expensive. For this reason, he chose
another method that he thought was possible. He started a cultural project
to instill masculinity in Aftab. But fate said otherwise, the deepest part of
Aftab’s body still directs him to be a woman.
34. 23
One night, Aftab stole some money and moved into Khawabgah.
Jahanara Begum waded in to retrieve her. He refused to leave. Meanwhile,
Mulaqat Ali still does not accept the situation. His broken heart never
healed.
Aftab who changed his name to Anjum, then, moved to a special
hijra lodge, Khwabgah (The house of dreams). There, she meets other
characters that make her feel free and accepted: Ustad Kulsoom Bi, a guru
and the chief of Khwabgah. Bulbul, Razia, Heera, Baby, Nimmo, Mary,
and Gudiya are seven more people who are similar to her.
Anjum's encounters with various people led him to another
encounter that later greatly influenced her life. He found a girl on the steps
of the Jama Mosque. The girl is alone and crying. After waiting for the
girl's parents who never came, then she was sure this child had been
abandoned. Anjum then decided to adopt the child and named her Zainab.
The focus of the story on Anjum is later in the next chapters,
intertwined with stories of violent conflicts between Islam and Hinduism,
India-Kashmir, India and Pakistan, and various other violent events.
It was in those moments of chaotic events, where Anjum was
dragged into it, that she met several characters who would later become his
friends and her enemies (Roy, 2017)
35. 24
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
A. Research Method
Qualitative research aims to investigate, comprehend, and analyze social
phenomena in their natural setting. The goal of adopting a qualitative research
approach is to gather more specific information and acquire a more complete
view of issues, instances, or events. (Stoner, 2009)
In terms of deeply exploring and understanding the novel as the main
source, the researcher uses existential needs theory by Erich Fromm and other
references that related with the research.
B. Source of the data
The source of the data on this research is The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness, a novel by Arundhati Roy, published in 2017 by Hamish
Hamilton (UK) Alfred A. Knopf (US) with 499 pages.
C. Instrument of the Research
Crang & Cook (2007) declare note-taking is a field diary or notebook
throughout the research process. Based on that, the instrument of the research
used note-taking as an instrument in collecting the data.
The researcher read the novel and the other references and took a note in
the paper on the important thing or quotes that will be included in the research.
D. Procedure of Collecting Data
1. The researcher read the data source, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, a
36. 25
novel by Arundhati Roy.
2. After reading the novel, the researcher classified some of his confusion that
he shaped into research question.
3. The researcher tried to find a theory of literature who can answer or identify
the possible answer of research question.
4. The researcher collects all important quotations are related to the research and
describe into the result of the research.
E. Technique of Data Analysis
Techniques of data analysis involve reviewing all data from research
instruments such as notes, documents, test results, recordings, and other sources.
This action should be carried out in order to make the data more understandable
so that a conclusion can be drawn (Moleong, 1989).
This research describes the kind of existential need that show in the
character's personality. Meanwhile, the answer of the other research question by
analyzing the background of the character and observing what events affect or
influence In his life. To find the existential need, the researcher will use Erich
Fromm’s concept of existential need.
37. 26
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter consists of two parts, the first part is findings that will answer
the research questions and the second part is discussion that will present the
argument related to Character’s Existential Needs in Novel the Ministry of Utmost
Happiness by Arundhati Roy.
A. Findings
This part consists of the data analysis from The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness novel. The purpose of the analysis is to find out the kinds of
existential needs that affect the main character of The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness by Arundhati Roy. This research used existential needs theory by
Erich Fromm to analyzed the novel.
1. The kinds of existential needs that affect the main character of The Ministry
of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy.
There are six kinds of existential needs that Erich Fromm has
explained in his book, The anatomy of human destructiveness: A Frame of
orientation, Rootedness, Unity, Effectiveness, Excitation and Stimulation,
Chronic Depression-Boredom.
After reading the novel as the object of research, the researcher
found four existential needs that had the most influence on the development
and behavior of the main character. Those are Rootedness, Effectiveness, A
frame of Orientation and Devotion, and Excitation and Stimulation.
a. Rootedness
38. 27
This existential need for rootedness arises after humans are
born from their mother's womb and realize that they have been
separated and no longer have protection in their mother's womb.
Because the path to return to the mother's womb is blocked by human
biological conditions, in order to feel the union, humans form bonds or
social relationships with fellow humans.
As a result of this need for root, it is also what then gives rise
to human traits or characters such as masochism, sadism, and
narcissism. "A person who wants to is either trying to manipulate
others (sadism) or being controlled by others" (masochism). If he can
not choose between love and symbiosis, he can solve the dilemma by
relating solely to himself (narcissism); then he transforms into the
universe and loves it by "loving" himself." This is a common way of
coping with the urge for relatedness (typically combined with sadism),
but it's also a dangerous way of dealing with it; in its severe form, it
can lead to lunacy. The desire to annihilate all others is a final and
dangerous kind of problem-solving (typically combined with excessive
narcissism). If no one exists outside of me, I don't have to be afraid of
them, and I don't have to relate to them. By destroying the world I am
saved from being crushed by it.
Datum I
One night he stole some money and his sisters’ nicer clothes and
moved into the Khwabgah. Jahanara Begum, never known for her
shyness, waded in to retrieve him. He refused to leave. She finally left
39. 28
after making Ustad Kulsoom Bi promise that on weekends, at least,
Aftab would be made to wear normal boys’ clothes and be sent home.
Ustad Kulsoom Bi tried to honour her promise, but the arrangement
lasted only for a few months (Roy, 2017:28)
One characteristic of existential need for "rootedness" is the
existence of "separation" between a child and his mother. The narration
above describes the parting scene. Aftab ran away from home and fled
to Khwabgah. Jahanara begum, his mother, who immediately knew
about it, came to fetch him. Aftab refuses to leave.
Datum II
At first, he was shooed away because everybody, including the
residents of the Khwabgah, knew Mulaqat Ali and did not want to get on
the wrong side of him. But regardless of what admonition and
punishment awaited him, Aftab would return to his post stubbornly, day
after day. It was the only place in his world where he felt the air made
way for him. When he arrived, it seemed to shift, to slide over, like a
school friend making room for him on a classroom bench. Over a period
of a few months, by running errands, carrying their bags and musical
instruments when the residents went on their city rounds, by massaging
their tired feet at the end of a working day, Aftab eventually managed to
insinuate himself into the Khwabgah. Finally, the day dawned when he
was allowed in. He entered that ordinary, broken-down home as though
he were walking through the gates of Paradise.
At the age of fifteen, only a few hundred yards from where his
family had lived for centuries, Aftab stepped through an ordinary
doorway into another universe. On his first night as a permanent resident
of the Khwabgah, he danced in the courtyard to everybody’s favourite
song from everybody’s favourite film – ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ from
Mughal-e-Azam (Roy, 2017:22)
This existential need explains the need to replace the original
roots by new affective roots (on symbolic substitutes, such as soil,
40. 29
nature, god, the nation, a bureaucracy). The narration above tells when
Aftab decide to move from his home to Khwabgah, a place where
Hijra live and socialize. Aftab chose this place because it was there
where he could be accepted as he was, and there he could find a “new
affective roots”, Khwabgah.
Datum III
Aftab’s first real friend in the Khwabgah was Nimmo
Gorakhpuri, the youngest of them all and the only one who had
completed high school. Nimmo had run away from her home in
Gorakhpur where her father worked as a senior-division clerk in the
Main Post Office. Though she affected the airs of being a great deal
older, Nimmo was really only six or seven years older than Aftab. She
was short and chubby with thick, curly hair, stunning eyebrows curved
like a pair of scimitars, and exceptionally thick eyelashes. She would
have been beautiful but for her fast-growing facial hair that made the
skin on her cheeks look blue under her make-up, even when she had
shaved. Nimmo was obsessed with Western women’s fashion and was
fiercely possessive of her collection of fashion magazines sourced from
the second-hand Sunday book bazaar on the pavement in Daryaganj, a
five-minute walk from the Khwabgah. One of the booksellers, Naushad,
who bought his supply of magazines from the garbage collectors who
serviced the foreign embassies in Shantipath, kept them aside, and sold
them to Nimmo at a hefty discount.
“Do you know why God made Hijras?’ she asked Aftab one
afternoon while she flipped through a dogeared 1967 issue of Vogue,
lingering over the blonde ladies with bare legs who so enthralled her.
“No, why?”
“It was an experiment. He decided to create something, a living
creature that is incapable of happiness. So, he made us.” (Roy, 2017:25)
The “substitute mother” for one to feel “rootedness” or
experiencing the brotherhood in this existential need concept, Anjum
41. 30
finds in his friendship with Nimmo Gorakhpuri. Aftab begins made a
friendship with Nimmo in Khwabgah. They share each other’s feelings
and thoughts. For instance, they talk about their identity as hijra.
Datum IV
Zainab was Anjum’s only love. Anjum had found her three years
ago on one of those windy afternoons when the prayer caps of the
Faithful blew off their heads and the balloon-sellers’ balloons all slanted
to one side. She was alone and bawling on the steps of the Jama Masjid,
a painfully thin mouse of a thing, with big, frightened eyes. Anjum
guessed that she was about three years old. She wore a dull green salwar
kameez and a dirty white hijab. When Anjum loomed over her and
offered her a finger to hold, she glanced up briefly, grasped it and
continued to cry loudly without pause. The Mouse-in-a-hijab had no idea
what a storm that casual gesture of trust set off inside the owner of the
finger that she held on to. Being ignored instead of dreaded by the tiny
creature subdued (for a moment at least) what Nimmo Gorakhpuri had so
astutely and so long ago called Indo–Pak. The warring factions inside
Anjum fell silent. Her body felt like a generous host instead of a
battlefield. Was it like dying, or being born? Anjum couldn’t decide. In
her imagination it had the fullness, the sense of entirety, of one of the
two. She bent down and picked the Mouse up and cradled her in her
arms, murmuring all the while to her in both her quarrelling voices. Even
that did not scare or distract the child from her bawling project. For a
while Anjum just stood there, smiling joyfully, while the creature in her
arms cried. Then she set her down on the steps, bought her some bright
pink cotton candy and tried to distract her by chatting nonchalantly about
adult matters, hoping to pass the time until whoever owned the child
came to get her. It turned out to be a one-way conversation, the Mouse
did not seem to know much about herself, not even her name, and did
not seem to want to talk. By the time she had finished with the cotton
candy (or it had finished with her) she had a bright pink beard and sticky
fingers. The bawling subsided into sobs and eventually into silence.
42. 31
Anjum stayed with her on the steps for hours, waiting for someone to
come for her, asking passers-by if they knew of anybody who was
missing a child. As evening fell and the great wooden doors of the Jama
Masjid were pulled shut, Anjum hoisted the Mouse on to her shoulders
and carried her to the Khwabgah (Roy, 2017:35)
This existential need requires a person to find a "surrogate
figure" for the mother. Someone can relate himself to others in
different and ascertainable ways, for instance, he can love others.
Aftab who changed his name to Anjum found the replacement in
Zainab. She finds this girl on the steps of the Jama Masjid. When she
looks at the girl, (Datum V) her body felt like a generous host instead
of a battlefield. Was it like dying, or being born? Anjum could
notdecide. In her imagination it had the fullness, the sense of entirety,
of one of the two. Anjum then realized that she “falls in love” and
want to have the girl. When Anjum is urged to inform the discovery of
the missing child, she hopes that no one will come to retrieve the child.
b. Effectiveness
Man's awareness of himself as being a strange in this world, as
well as his subsequent sense of powerlessness, may quickly overwhelm
him. He would lack a feeling of his own will, of his identity, if he saw
himself as completely passive, as a simple object. To compensate for
this, he must develop a sense of being able to accomplish anything,
move someone, or use the most appropriate English word, "be
effective."
43. 32
A sensation of affecting can be achieved in a variety of ways,
including generating a grin from a loved one, a sexual response from a
lover, and conversational interest from a conversation partner; and via
work-material, intellectual, and artistic. However, having control over
others, experiencing their terror, the killer observing the misery in the
face of his victim, conquering a country, torturing people, and simply
destroying what has been built can all satisfy the same urge.
Datum VI
For the first few years of Aftab’s life, Jahanara Begum’s secret
remained safe. While she waited for his girl-part to heal, she kept him
close and was fiercely protective of him. Even after her younger son,
Saqib, was born she would not allow Aftab to stray very far from her on
his own. It was not seen as unusual behaviour for a woman who had
waited so long and so anxiously for a son (Roy, 2017:11)
An example of “Overpowering world”—in terms of existential
needs “effectiveness”—which restrain someone can be seen in the
narrative above. To keep a secret about Aftab's condition, Jahanara
Begum has tightened her surveillance on her son. He is so protective.
He did not let Aftab observe far from him. That is one of the reasons
why Aftab one day ran away from his house.
Datum VII
He cut down on household expenses and drew up lists of
people and relatives from whom he could borrow money.
Simultaneously, he embarked on the cultural project of inculcating
manliness in Aftab. He passed on to him his love of poetry and
discouraged the singing of Thumri and Chaiti. He stayed up late into
the night, telling Aftab stories about their warrior ancestors and their
44. 33
valour on the battlefield. They left Aftab unmoved. But when he heard
the story of how Temujin – Change Khan – won the hand of his
beautiful wife, Borte Khatun, how she was kidnapped by a rival tribe
and how Temujin fought a whole army virtually single-handedly to get
her back because he loved her so much, Aftab found himself wanting
to be her (Roy, 2017:19)
The next example of the overpowering world is represented by
Mulaqat Ali, Aftab's father. He who later knows about his son Aftab's
condition, immediately took the initiative to take him to a New Delhi
doctor. He believes there is a medical solution to this problem. Dr.
Ghulam Nabi says that medically, Aftab is an example of a
hermaphrodite. He recommended surgery that would seal off or
remove the female genitalia and leave Aftab's male genitalia.
Treatment will help, said Dr. Nabi, but the trend of hijra will likely
remain, namely Aftab as a man—as his father expected—has the
possibility to behave as a woman. Because of this, Mulaqat Ali started
a cultural program or project to instill masculinity in Aftab. This
project is one way to control Aftab's freedom, limiting what he wants
to be.
Datum VIII
While his sisters and brother went to school, Aftab spent hours
on the tiny balcony of his home looking down at Chitli Qabar—the tiny
shrine of the spotted goat who was said to have had supernatural
powers—and the busy street that ran past it and joined the Matia Mahal
Chowk (Roy, 2017:20)
One of the effects of Mulaqat Ali's “power” can be seen in his
cultural project to instill masculinity in Aftab. This project make Aftab
45. 34
stop attending in formal schools. Every morning, unlike his younger
sister and brother who still go to school, Aftab will spend hours on his
balcony watching the activities of people in the market.
Datum IX
“Do you know why God made Hijras?’ she asked Aftab one
afternoon while she flipped through a dogeared 1967 issue of Vogue,
lingering over the blonde ladies with bare legs who so enthralled her.
“No, why?”
“It was an experiment. He decided to create something, a living
creature that is incapable of happiness. So, he made us.”
Her words hit Aftab with the force of a physical blow. ‘How can
you say that? You are all happy here! This is the Khwabgah!’ he said,
with rising panic.
“Who’s happy here? It’s all sham and fakery,” Nimmo said
laconically, not bothering to look up from the magazine. “No one’s
happy here. It’s not possible. Arre yaar, think about it, what are the
things your normal people get unhappy about? I don’t mean you, but
grown-ups like you – what makes them unhappy? Price-rise, children’s
school-admissions, husbands’ beatings, wives’ cheatings, Hindu–Muslim
riots, Indo–Pak war – outside things that settle down eventually. But for
us the price-rise and school admissions and beating-husbands and
cheating-wives are all inside us. The riot is inside us. The war is inside
us. Indo–Pak is inside us. It will never settle down. It can’t.” (Roy,
2017:26)
Another cause of the growth of this existential needs is when a
person feels that he is in a strange world, because he feels different
from other people. The dialogue above illustrates that, Anjum and
Nimmo are hijra, and consider themselves different from other people
in general. The minority who are always treated badly and unfairly by
46. 35
society. As Nimmo said, they were created by God to be unhappy, all
the kind of riot and war are inside them.
Datum X
Her top favourite was the Flyover Story – Anjum’s account of
how she and her friends walked homelate one night from Defence
Colony in South Delhi all the way back to Turkman Gate. There were
five orsix of them, dressed up, looking stunning after a night of revelry at
a wealthy Seth’s house in D-Block.After the party they decided to walk
for a while and take in some fresh air. In those days there was such a
thing as fresh air in the city, Anjum told Zainab. When they were
halfway across the Defence Colony flyover – the city’s only flyover at
the time – it began to rain. And what can anyone possibly do when it
rains on a flyover?
“They have to keep walking,” Zainab would say, in a reasonable,
adult tone.
“Exactly right. So, we kept walking,” Anjum would say. ‘And
then what happened?’
“Then you wanted to soo!”
“Then I wanted to soo!”
“But you couldn’t stop!”
“I couldn’t stop.”
“You had to keep walking!”
“I had to keep walking.”
“So, we soo-ed in our ghagra!” Zainab would shout, because she
was at the age when anything to dowith shitting, pissing and farting was
the high point, or perhaps the whole point, of all stories.
“That’s right, and it was the best feeling in the world,’ Anjum
would say, ‘being drenched in the rain on. That big, empty flyover,
walking under a huge advertisement of a wet woman drying herself with
aBombay Dyeing towel.”
Inevitably at this point Zainab would fall asleep, smiling. Every
hint of adversity and unhappiness was required to be excised from
Anjum’s stories. She loved it when Anjum transformed herself into a
47. 36
young sex-siren who had led a shimmering life of music and dance,
dressed in gorgeous clothes with varnished nails and a throng of
admirers.
And so, in these ways, in order to please Zainab, Anjum began
to rewrite a simpler, happier life for herself. The rewriting in turn began
to make Anjum a simpler, happier person (Roy, 2017:39)
This existential needs arise because a person placed completely
as an object, something passive (for instance in Datum VI and VII). In
order to get out of the position of the object, a person needs to make
himself a subject, an actor, in other words, make himself effective.
Someone who can influence others. This is what Anjum does in the
narrative above. He adopted a child named Zainab, and showered him
with love. To entertain (make influence) Zainab, for example, he told
her various stories, one of which is the story above.
c. A frame of orientation and devotion
Man needs a map of his natural and social world, without which he
would be confused and unable to act purposefully and consistently.
Whether he believed in sorcery and magic as final explanations of all
events, or in the spirit of his ancestors as guiding his life and fate, or in
an omnipotent god who will reward or punish him, or in the power of
science to give answers to all human problem (Fromm, 1973).
Datum XI
She needed the Khadim’s blessings. She became theatrical and
emotional, people began to stare and the Khadim had to calm her down.
He asked her whether she had visited the dargah of Hazrat Gharib Nawaz
in Ajmer since Zainab had come into her life. When she said that for one
reason or another she hadn’t been able to, he told her that that was the
48. 37
problem, not anybody’s sifli jaadu. He was a little stern with her about
allowing herself to believe in witchcraft and voodoo when Hazrat Gharib
Nawaz was there to protect her. Anjum was not wholly convinced, but
agreed that not visiting Ajmer Sharif for three years had been a “serious
lapse” on her part (Roy, 2017:51)
Datum XII
A few days later they set off by train. They spent two days in
Ajmer Sharif. Anjum pushed her way through the press of devotees and
bought a green-and-gold chadar for one thousand rupees as an offering to
Hazrat Gharib Nawaz in Zainab’s name (Roy, 2017:52)
One characteristic of existential need “A frame of Orientation
and Devotion” is awareness that a person needs a supernatural power
outside of himself, wheather coming from god or ancestral spirit, to
give answer to his problem. In the first quote above, Anjum realizes
that it was a big mistake (serious lapse) for her never to visit the
dargah of Hazrat Gharib Nawaz. This is what caused Zainab, her
daughter, to get sick. In the second quote, Anjum finally went to
Ajmer Sharif to pay pilgrimage and lay flower on dargah of Hazrat
Gharib Nawaz in Zainab’ name
d. Excitation and Stimulation
Observations of daily life indicate that the human organism as
well as the animal organism are in need of a certain minimum of
excitation and stimulation, as they are of a certain minimum of rest. We
see that men eagerly respond to and seek excitation. The list of
excitation generating stimuli is endless. The difference between
people—and cultures—lies only in the form taken by the main stimuli
49. 38
for excitation. Such an activating stimulus could be a novel, a poem, an
idea, a landscape, music, newspapers, heard about in the radio news
reports, or watched on television and in movies.
Datum XII
Aftab was a better than average student, but even from the time
he was very young it became clear that his real gift was music. He had a
sweet, true singing voice and could pick up a tune after hearing it just
once. His parents decided to send him to Ustad Hameed Khan, an
outstanding young musician who taught Hindustani classical music to
groups of children in his cramped quarters in Chandni Mahal. Little
Aftab never missed a single class. By the time he was nine he could sing
a good twenty minutes of bada khayal in Raag Yaman, Durga and
Bhairav and make his voice skim shyly off the flat rekhab in Raag
Pooriya Dhanashree like a stone skipping over the surface of a lake
(Roy, 2017:12)
This existential need is the need for stimulation that can make
someone excited. Someone can continue to do something without
getting bored because what he does make him passionate. In the quote
above, is clear that Aftab is passionate about music. Little Aftab never
missed a single class.
Datum XIV
She kept her TV on night and day. She said she needed the noise
to steady her mind. She watched the news diligently and became an
astute political analyst. She also watched Hindi soap operas and English
film channels. She particularly enjoyed B-grade Hollywood vampire
movies and watched the same ones over and over again. She couldn’t
understand the dialogue of course, but she understood the vampires
reasonably well (Roy, 2017:83)
50. 39
Another activity that stimulates Anjum to stay sane is watching
television. She is very passionate about watching various shows,
including news, Hindi soap operas, English films, and Hollwood
movies.
B. Discussions
1. The kinds of existential needs that effect the main character of The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy.
From the six types of existential needs, the researcher found
four types of existential needs that have the most influence on the main
character, namely Rootedness, Effectiveness, A frame of Orientation
and Devotion, and Excitation and Stimulation.
In the existential needs Rootedness, as explained above, is an
existential need that arises when a child realizes that he has been
separated from his mother's womb. The faster the separation process,
according to Erich Fromm, the faster the child will find a substitute
object for his mother. The substitute object can be in the form of a new
area or place of residence, nature, God, country, bureaucracy, or in a
new friendship as an effort to feel brotherhood. The purpose of this
substitute is to free the subject from the power of his past.
The explanation above is in accordance with Aftab/Anjum's
pattern of life from the time he was born until he grew up. Aftab was
born as a Hermaphrodite; a disorder; having two genitals (male and
female) at once. This situation made Aftab's parents, Jahanara Begum
51. 40
and Mulaqat Ali sad. They did everything possible to treat their child's
illness. As Mulaqat Ali did when he created a cultural project to instill
masculinity into Aftab. The project which unfortunately failed, because
Aftab, who has a male posture, chooses to look and behave like a
woman. His parents' efforts to change Aftab made him feel unaccepted
for who he was. It was this feeling of isolation that prompted Aftab to
run away from his home.
One morning, from the balcony, Aftab saw a tall woman with
thin hips, bright lipstick, gold high heels and a Salwar Kameez dress,
buying a bracelet at the market. Aftab had never seen such a tall and
female-looking person. He rushed down the stairs and followed the
woman.
Aftab arrived at a blue door that the woman entered. Suddenly
Aftab was seized with the desire to become a person like that woman.
She wanted to shine through the butcher shops, she wanted to smile
through the barbershop, she wanted to reach out with a hand with
painted nails and a wrist wrapped in bracelets and comfortably lift the
gills of a fish to check its freshness.
Aftab began to wander in front of the building with the blue
door. He learned that the building was called Khwabgah—the house of
dreams.
The people who live in it are the Hijra. One of them, Bombay
Silk, the woman he had seen before. The other seven are Bulbul, Razia,
52. 41
Heera, Baby, Nimmo, Maria, and Gudiya. They have a cleric and leader
of the place, namely Kulsoom Bi.
At first Aftab was expelled because they knew he was Mulaqat
Ali's son, and didn't want to get into trouble with him. But regardless of
reprimand and punishment, Aftab kept returning to his post, day after
day. Finally, the day came when Aftab was allowed into the Khwabgah.
And so, when he was fifteen years old, just a few hundred
meters from where his family had lived for centuries, Aftab stepped
through an ordinary door into another universe.
While the existential need for Effectiveness is a need that arises
when a person realizes that he lives in a strange world and is very
powerful over him. This situation makes a person feel that he is passive,
just an object, and his identity as a human being seems meaningless. In
order to be free from this feeling, one must make oneself a subject, as a
doer, in other words one must make oneself effective. To effect is the
equivalent of: to bring to pass, to accomplish, to realize, to carry out, to
fulfill; an effective person is one who has the capacity to do, to effect,
to accomplish something. To be able to affect something is the assertion
that one is not impotent, but that one is an alive, functioning, human
being.
The pattern of Anjum's life as described above begins when
Anjum feels that the world in which he lives is very powerful over him.
53. 42
The world is represented by his parents who apply strict rules for him.
Rules that make him feel trapped, unable to move freely.
Knowing that Anjum is a hermaphrodite, a hijra, a man who is
likely to behave as a woman, Jahanara Begum is very protective of her
child. He didn't let Anjum roam far from him, putting in many limits to
protect him.
Meanwhile, Mulaqat Ali, started a cultural project to instill
masculinity into Anjum. A project that later ended up in vain. Anjum
who has a male body shape, prefers to look and behave like a woman.
His identity as a Hijra also had a big influence on his social life.
Nimmo Gorakhpuri, his best friend once said that living as a Hijra
meant living as a minority, a person who was always isolated from
society. It was this feeling of alienation, isolation and passivity that
Aftab wanted to change. One of them, by adopting a child, namely
Zainab.
He filled Zainab with love and affection. He asked Zainab to
call her mommy, tell her the stories she took from the experiences she
had gone through, bought Zainab a goat, and much more.
The next existential need is A frame of Orientation and
Devotion. When someone is confused and does not know which way to
go, then he needs an object that can guide and determine his destiny.
Anjum needs this type of existential need when Zainab, her
daughter, is sick. She went to a Khadim for help, he ask what he had to
54. 43
do so that her girl could recover. The Khadim asked her whether she
had visited the dargah of Hazrat Gharib Nawaz in Ajmer since Zainab
had come into her life. Anjum realized that her child’s illness was not
caused by witchcraft, but because of her mistake. She never visiting the
dargah to make pilgrimages and sow flowers in Zainab’s name.
The last existential need is Excitation and Stimulation. This
existential need is the need for stimulation that can make someone
excited. One way to generate excitation is to stimulate yourself both
through positive and negative things that can be obtained through a
novel, a poem, an idea, a landscape, music, a loved one, accidents, a
murder, a fire, war, or sex could all serve as activating stimuli.
Someone can continue to do something without getting bored because
what he does make him passionate.
Aftab/Anjum has two hobbies that always axcite her, singing
and watching television. She is never once skiped a singing class. She
could sing a good twenty minutes of bada khayal in Raag Yaman,
Durga, and Bhairav and make his voice skim shyly off the flat rekhab
in Raag Pooriya Dhanashree like a stone skipping across the surface of
a lake by the time he was nine. While her other hobby, watching
television. She watched TV at all hours of the day and night. She
watches a lot shows, such as Hindi soap operas, English films, and
Hollwood movies.
55. 44
These four existential needs that guide Anjum through life.
With his abnormal physical condition and chaotic environment around
her, she can still survive. She can still be in relationship with people
who accept his flaws and love her. Zainab, her daughter, where she
poured out all her affection; Kulsoom Bi who provided a place to stay
for her in Khwabgah; her friends, the hijra, especially Nimmo
Gorakhpuri who helped her when she was in trouble; also Saddam
Ziauddin and Imam Ziauddin who became her business partners.
56. 45
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
This chapter contains of conclusions and suggestion, after found the
existential needs that affect the main character in the novel The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness by Arundhati Roy.
A. Conclusion
From the six types of existential needs, the researcher found four types of
existential needs that have the most influence on the main character's life:
Rootedness, Effectiveness, A frame of Orientation and Devotion, and
Excitation and Stimulation. These existential needs give Anjum, the main
character, a compass for where she should go, determine her every
decision, what action she should take, such as: Anjum rebelled from the
restraints of his parents by running away from home. Anjum attempts to
become part of the inhabitants of Khwabgah, the Hijra. Anjum forms a
friendship with Nimmo Gorakhpuri. Anjum adopts a daughter named
Zainab.
B. Suggestion
1. For next researchers, the researcher suggests them to analyze other
character in the novel. There many character that have important roles and
influences the development of the story.
2. For the readers, The Minstry of Utmost Happiness is very complex novel
in every aspect. For instance, there are several issues discussed in this
57. 46
novel: transgender issues, caste, religious wars (Islam-Hindu), and India-
Pakistan conflicts. The reader can read this novel as an effort to
understand the problems that exist in India, also to understand what the
author critiques and stands for.
58. 47
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Murdanil was born in Bulukumba, 18th
April 1999. He is
the second child of Baharuddin, S.Pd and Intang, S.Pd.
He graduated from Elementary School SDN 286
Mallombong, then continued his junior high school in
SMPN 1 Bulukumba, and continued to SMAN 1
Bulukumba and graduated in 2017. After finishing his
study at school, he enrolled at Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar in
2017 as a student of English and Literature Department of Adab and Humanities
Facullty. If you have any question related to his research, you may contact him in
danil.d.putra@gmail.com
