THE RACISM OF THE BLACK WOMEN IN AUDRE LORDE

SELECTED POEMS ENTITLED POWER, WHO SAID IT

WAS SIMPLE, AND A WOMAN SPEAKS

A THESIS

Presented to the Faculty of Letters Bosowa University Makassar

in partial fulfillment of Requirement for Sarjana Degree
at English Department

LADY

4516051025

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS
BOSOWA UNIVERSITY
MAKASSAR
2020

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PERNYATAAN

Dengan ini saya menyatakan bahwa skripsi yang berjudul, THE RACISM
OF THE BLACK WOMEN IN AUDRE LODRE SELECTED POEMS
ENTITLED POWER, WHO SAID IT WAS SIMPLE, AND A WOMAN
SPEAKS beserta seluruh isinya adalah benar-benar karya saya sendiri, bukan hasil
plagiat. Saya siap menanggung resiko/sanksi apabila ternyata ditemukan adanya
perbuatan tercela yang melanggar etika keilmuan dalam karya saya ini, termasuk
adanya klaim dari pihak lain terhadap keaslian karya saya ini.

Makassar, 07 December 2020

Yang membuat pernyataan

Lady
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Praise for God, Jesus Christ for His everlasting love and His grace, thank you

for the blessing, and endless love. All glory, honor and praises to You alone.

This thesis would not have been possible without the support of Dr.

Sudirman Maca, S.S., M.Hum as the dean Faculty of Letters of Bosowa

University. The support, patience and confession of her supervisors, Dra. Dahlia

D. Moelier, M.Hum. Then to her second supervisor, Asyrafunnisa, S.S.,M.Hum

who has helped the writer patiently finishing this thesis by giving suggestion,

guidance, and correction from the very early stage of this research as well as

giving the writer extraordinary experience through the past year. The deepest

gratitude addressed to my lecturer Dr. H. Herman Mustafa, M.Pd. may he rest

in love and blessing showering his soul with mercy

The writer greatest appreciation also goes to Andi Tenri Abeng, S.S.,

M.Hum as her lecturer who have taught, motivated, and given guidance during

the writing of this thesis and especially to ma‘am Rahmawati Ali, S.S., and

ma‘am Yultri, S.psi for the support, love and advice during finishing process of

this thesis and thank you for being second mother during the study.

The writer also gratefully thank to her beloved parents and for her beloved

brother and who never stop asking about the completion of her study and help her

with financial. Their message magically give her reason to be focused to finish the

study. Their unwavering faith and confidence in her abilities that what has shaped

her to be the person she is today, thank a lot for endless love and prays.

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 Being thankful to her loyal friends who accompany during study and same

struggle in Faculty of Letters during four years at Bosowa University her beloved

LUMINAL 2016 FAMILY thank you for the 4 years of good memories and

LUMINAL 2016 FAMILY forever in her houghts.

The writer

Lady

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 ABSTRAK

Lady. 4516051025. „Rasisme terhadap wanita kulit hitam dalam puisi terpilih
oleh Audre Lorde berjudul Power, Who Said It Was Simple, A Woman Speaks‟.
Program Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra. Universitas Bosowa. Di
bimbing oleh : Dahlia D. Moelier dan Asyrafunnisa
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan rasisme yang tercermin dalam
puisi berjudul Power, Who Said It Was Simple, A Woman Speaks serta untuk
mengungkap kekuatan wanita kulit hitam melawan rasisme dalam puisi Audre
Lorde yang berjudul Power, Who Said It Was Simple, A Woman Speaks
Metode yang digunakan dalam pengumpulan adalah metode dokumentasi
karena peneliti mengumpulkan data dari puisi. Pengumpulan data dilakukan
dengan membaca puisi secara untuk memahami keseluruhan isinya dan
menemukan makna yang terutama esensi yang terkait dengan topik tersebut,
mengidentifikasi data yang dapat berupa kalimat kemudian objek data dapat
dipisahkan dari setiap bait dan ditemukan nilai rasisme pada setiap baris puisi,
setelah mengetahui hasil analisis tersebut, penulis akan menarik kesimpulan.
Sedangkan langkah analisis datanya penulis menggunakan teori ras kritis oleh
Delgado dan Stefancic (2001), seperti: rasisme, ras dan kekuasaan. Kedua,
mengidentifikasi kekuatan perempuan kulit hitam dengan memanfaatkan konsep
Black Femist oleh Collins (2000), dan Black Power Movement yang diedit oleh
Joseph (2006), kemudian penulis akan menginterpretasikan datanya, langkah
terakhir adalah menarik kesimpulan.
Penulis dapat menarik beberapa kesimpulan bahwa 3 jenis puisi digolongkan
menjadi satire dan ditulis berdasarkan realitas yang terjadi pada pengarangnya.
Dalam puisi 'Power' terdapat beberapa aspek rasisme yaitu warna kulit,
ketidakadilan, segregasi, dan diskriminasi ras. Dari puisi 'Who Said It Was'
terdapat aspek rasisme, seperti jenis kelamin, warna kulit, dan homofobia. Puisi 'A
woman speak‘ terdapat beberapa aspek rasisme yang terkandung dalam puisi,
yaitu diskriminasi ras, jenis kelamin, dan warna kulit. Selain nilai-nilai rasisme,
ketiga puisi tersebut juga mengandung ‘Kekuatan Perempuan Kulit Hitam‘ atau
yang disebut sebagai kekuatan atau cara yang digunakan perempuan untuk
melawan rasisme.

Kata kunci: Rasisme, Wanita Kulit Hitam, Puisi

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 ABSRACT

Lady. 4516051025. „The Rasicm of The Black Women in Audre Lorde Selected
Poems Entitled Power, Who Said It Was Simple, A Woman Speaks . English
Language and Literature program, Faculty of Letters. Universitas Bosowa.
Supervised by : Dahlia D. Moelier and Asyrafunnisa.
This study aims to describe the racism reflected in the poems entitled Power,
„Who Said It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks , and to reveal the power of black
women against racism in Audre Lorde's poems entitled Power, Who Said It Was
Simple and A Woman Speaks.
The method used in the collection is the documentation method because the
writer collected data from the poems. Data collection was carried out by reading
the poem in a comprehensive manner to understand its entire content and find the
meaning, especially the essence associated with the topic, identifying data which
could be a sentence, then the data object can be separated from each stanza and
found the value of racism on each line of poetry, after knowing the results of the
analysis the writer will draw conclusions. While the data analysis step the writer
uses critical race theory by Delgado and Stefancic (2001), such as: racism, race
and power. Second, identifying the power of black women by utilizing the
concept of Black Femist by Collins (2000), and the Black Power Movement
edited by Joseph (2006), then the writer interpret the data, the final step is to draw
conclusions.
The author can draw some conclusions that the 3 types of poetry are classified
into satire and are written based on the reality that occurs in the author‘s
experience. In the poem 'Power', there are several aspects of racism, namely skin
color, injustice, segregation and racial discrimination. From the poem 'Who Said
It Was', there are aspects of racism, such as gender, skin color, and homophobia.
In poem 'A woman speak‘ there are several aspects of racism contained in poetry,
namely discrimination against race, sex, and skin color. Apart from racist values,
the three poems also contained ‗The Power of Black Women‘ or what is called the
power or means used by women to fight racism.

Keywords: Racism, Black Women, Poem

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i
PAGE OF APPROVAL ii
PERNYATAAN iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN iv
ABSTRAK vi
ABSTRACT vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1
A. Background of the Research 1
B. Reason For Choosing the Title 3
C. Problem of the Research 4
D. Questions of the Research 4
E. Objectives of the Research 5
F. Scope of the Research 5
G. Significance of the Research 5
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 7
A. Previous Research 7
B. Literature 9
1. Poem 10
2. Kinds of Poem 11
3. Elements of Poem 12
C. Racism 17
1. Race 20
2. Racial Discrimination 22
3. Skin Color 24
D. Power 25
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 29
A. Types of the Research 29
B. Source of the Data 29
C. Technique of Collecting Data 30

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 D. Method of Analyzing Data 30
BAB IV FINDING AND DISCUSSION 33
A. Racism In Audre Lorde Selected Poems 33
B. Power In Audre Lorde Selected Poems 49
C. Discussions 64
BAB V CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION 65
A. Conclusions 66
B. Suggestion 66
BIBLIOGRAPHY 67
APPENDICES 70
A. Poem of Audre Lorde 71
1. Power 72
2. Who Said It Was Simple 73
3. A Woman Speaks 74
B. Biography of Audre Lorde 75
C. Biography of the writer 80

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Research

People are partitioned into isolated and elite natural entitles, called races. In

understanding with biological determination, certain races can consider

themselves as predominant and this presumption will bring very excepionally vital

social issues, which is racism (Dewi,2009:1). Common differences that humans

have become the main reason for the emergence of racism in society. The term

racism which refers to negative actions towards inferior people can be caused by

the emergence of several races who consider their group to be the better group

than others. One factor of using to determine excellence is skin color.

Race could be a social development that misleadingly partitions individuals

into distinctive bunches based on characteristics such as physical appearance

(particularly color) hereditary legacy, social alliance, social history, ethnic

classification, and social, financial, and political needs of a society in a given

certain period of time (Idris, 2017:18). Race is one of the main reasons for racism,

racial differences make people feel their race is better than others.

Racism has been organized between white individuals and black individuals

in terms of predominance and inadequacy, great and fiendish, in terms of

restriction and rights, but moreover all regions of life around the way in which

black people endure from white people‘s preference and pitilessness(Zouankouan,

2017:99). Black people in America have struggled to get their proper status

against racial discrimination that has not been resolved. Racial discrimination

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against colored people has become popular in United States history, where white

people against black people (Idris, 2017:18).

Understanding what literature really is has always been a challenge, defining

definitions has proven to be quite difficult (Meyer, 1997:1). Literature includes

any text worthy to be taught to the students by teachers of literature, when these

texts are not being taught to students in other departments of a school or

university', however the subjectivity of judgment is connected with some

interpersonally confirmable qualities, since being worthy of teaching implies both

valuation and popularization (Harmon, 2014:1).

The Oxford Dictionary defines that literature as ‗written works, especially

those which are considered to have superior or lasting artistic advantages, which

implies that it is historical nature, because only time can determine which artistic

superiority will survive. Literature features a set of characteristics called such as

superior, aesthetic, creative, imaginative, expressive, valuable, and universal

(Maharsi, 2016:3). One of the literary works that mostly people interested to is

poem.

Poem is literary work in the form of measurements or designed language, the

art of rhythmic composition, written or oral, designed to produce pleasure through

beauty, enhancement, imaginative thought, or depth (Irmawati, 2014:35). Poem is

related to a person's passionate state and social expression phenomenon in aspects

of life, therefore, poem usually describes the reality of human life that related to

the environment (Ariwibowo &Yosiana, 2019:2). It is a type of language that says

more and more intense than ordinary language, and also composed with the desire
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to communicate experiences especially those that express deep feelings or noble

thoughts in beautiful language (Agustina.H.N, 2018:1). Poem mostly marked by

meters and stanzas which can strike the reader immediately (Chen, 2019:512).

The portrait of racism can be seen in several literary works that have a theme

about discrimination against African-Americans. One of the literary work that has

a discriminating theme is the poem by Audre Lorde. It reveals how black people –

especially the black women - treated differently as white people during the late

19th by not admitting the black people as an America because of different race,

skin color and gender. These poem represents the black women feelings about the

social phenomena that occured around, and principal these poems is a form of

fighting against racism.

The topic of racism is interesting to analyze since it arises from various

things that originally came from small things. By reading the poems, the reader

can comprehend how the racism was encountered by black people during that

time, especially to the black women and how the black people treated unequally

as white people.

B. Reason For Choosing the Title

There are few reasons for choosing the title of this reseearch. Firstly, the

writer decided to analyze racism in Audre Lorde selected poem entitled Power,

Who Said It Was Simple, and A Woman speaks, since those poems represented

forms of racism that faced by black people as an African-American – especially

black women - in America during the late 19th to the early 20th century. Yet in this

era, the United Stated has renewed the human rights system which one of them is
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the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Secondly, the

topic about racism is fascinating to discuss since it arises from the very small and

common things that human being has, such as the differences of gender, races,

skin color, and etc. Lastly, this research is substantial in order to find out how the

black women delivers the feeling as one of the victim of racism and how to

against the racism through the literary work such poem.

C. Problem of the Research

In this research, the writer found some interesting issues to discuss in Audre

Lorde selected poems entitled Power, Who Said It Was Simple, and A Woman

Speaks, which become an object of this research. The problems are:

1. The racism that reflected in Audre Lorde poem, entitled Power, Who Said

It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks

2. The power of the black women against racism in Audre Lorde poems

D. Questions of the Research

Based on the background above, the writer formulated two research

questions, as follows:

1. How do the racism reflected in Audre Lorde poems, entitled Power, Who

Said It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks ?

2. How do the black women against racism in Audre Lorde poems entitiled

Power, Who Said It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks ?

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E. Objectives of the Research

It is necessary for the writer to extend the description of the research. The

objectives of the research, as follows:

1. To describe the racism that reflected in Audre Lorde poem, entitled

Power, Who Said It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks

2. To reveal the power of the black women against racism in Audre Lorde

poems entitled Power, Who Said It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks

F. Scope of the Research

Based on the title of the research An Analysis of Racism in Audre Lorde

selected poem entitled Power, Who Said It Was Simple and A Woman Speaks. The

writer decided to merely focus on analyzing the racism that reflected in those

poems and finding the power of the black woman against racism through the

literary work such poem.

G. Significance of the Research

According to the writer, there are two significance of the research, such as

theoretical and practical. They are as follows:

1. Theoritically, the research can be contributed in the literature study,

especially related to the racism that occurred in the literary works such a

poem. Secondly, the findings of the research are expected to provide

useful information for the English literature students and can be the

reference for the future writers.

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2. Practically, the result of the research are expected to create a new view of

racism towards the people for being more aware that racism could

posibbly occured in the society. Secondly, to give the value for people to

not practice the racism but should take it as a opportunity to respect other

people and the differences itself.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Previous Research

In this chapter, the writer would like to examine several previous writers who

had conducted the research related to literary works such a poem, especially about

the racism and racial discrimination.

The first research is conducted by Dewi (2009) entitled ―The spirit to

struggle against racism in Amiri Baraka‟s poems entitled notes for a speech and

ka‟ba‖. The aimed of this research is to revealed the anger of black African-

American and the spirit to fight against racial discrimination, regardless the skin

color, religion, the citizen right to freedom, and the right to equality in politic,

economy and social. In order to find the result, the writer used the theory of

racism. In analyzing the object of research there are four techniques, namely

conducted in searching and collecting data. They read, identify, inventory, and

finally classify data.As a the result of the research is the finding of racism forms

that reflected in Baraka‘s poem. .

The next research is written by Marpaung (2009) entitled “An Analysis Of

Racial Issues In Some Langston Hughes Poems‖. The first purpose of this

research is to analyze the negatively racial discrimination that occured to the black

people, such as Skin color, prejudice, dicrimination, steretypes, and racial

segregation, and the second one is to decribe what are the racial issues that

reflected in some Langston Hughes poems entitled, As I Grew Older, Dinner

Guest: Me, Theme for English B, Democracy, Argument, Cross, and Merry Go-

Round. The writer used the qualitative descriptive method since it provides a
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general description of the results of the analysis published in the analysis related

to the results of research in collecting data using the library method. The finding

of the research is the racism in the poem regarding Skin Color, Prejudice,

Discrimination, Stereotypes, and Racial Segregation.

The other research is conducted by Hardianti (2016) entitled “Racism

Reflected in Maya Angelou‟s Poem‖. The major problem of the research is racism.

The aim of the research is to indicate racism as it is show in few indicators such as

diction, imagery and symbol. According to the writer, the diction becomes one of

the important indicators that Angelou‘s poem reflected racism.

While the imagery helps the writer to figure out the racism in the poem by

explaining the mental picture that is picturing, potraying, or painting of

imagination as a reaction when the readers comprehend the poem, which is the

most influence part is visual imagery. And the symbol itself become the language

style of the researcher use to decide that the poem potrayed racism. In this

research, the writer explains how Maya Angelou's poetry against racism, criticism

of the type of racism and finding out why racism is an important issue in Maya

Angelou's poem using structural analysis and sociological approaches.

This type of research is qualitative research. The data collection method is

document analysis, and the data collection technique is by taking notes, while the

data analysis technique is descriptive analysis in which the researcher interprets

the text and content related to the psychology of the main character.

The last research which related to this research is established by Wulandari

(2018) entitled ―Racism In Benjamin Zephaniah Selected poem”. This study

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analyzes Benjamin Zephaniah's worldview on racism through his poem using the

Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. This study also

analyzes the homology of racism in society and literary works using the Genetic

Structuralism approach by Lucien Goldmann. The results of this research indicate

that there are several racism problems in Indonesia. Zephaniic poetry according to

Richa Delgado and Jean Stefancic's Theories.

That includes five aspects, 1). Everyday racism is like the racist attacks that

often occur to black people in Britain. 2). Intersections such as white people have

a negative impression on black people. 3) Mirrored Flower Converts or Material

Determinism like how white people characterize Black as a poor person in the

second class after white. 4). Colored sounds like the way a Black person expresses

his voice to suffer a white attack. 5). Social constructions such as items

manipulate the media to get money from black people who suffer. This research

also shows the homology between racism in poetry and the Benjamin community.

Conditions in the UK are criminal justice in the form of racist attacks that often

occur Black people.

The equation of this research and the previous researches is the analysis of

the racism in the poem. The differences are, firstly, the poem of Audre Lorde

entitled Power, Who Said It Was Simple and A Women Speaks has not analyzed

yet by any of the previous writers. Secondly, this research merely focuses in

analyzing racism that faced by the black women then revealing the power of black

women through the poem against the racism.

B. Literature
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Literary work is an expression of human life that cannot be separated from

real society, it is a reflection of social culture that shapes the deflection between

the writer and the social situation Ghozi (2008:14). Everything done by humans in

general can be defined as literature.

Literature is a fine art and must possess those qualities which will distinguish

it from the trades and skills, apart from its status as an art, is a human activity and,

because it is, it has its , standards and principles, it is not autonomous, it must

respect the nature of things, conform to the nature of man, to the divine scheme of

fact and truth, and to the supreme end and purpose to which all finite existences

are ordained (Ranney. D.J, 1938:49).

Literature is referred to as a whole written expression, with the limitation that

not every written document can be categorized as literature in the sense of a more

precise word, therefore, it usually includes additional adjectives such as

"aesthetic" or "artistic" to distinguish literary works from the text used daily

activities such as telephone books, newspapers, legal documents, and scientific

papers, which etymologically, the Latin word "litteratura" comes from "littera"

(letters), which is the smallest element of writing the alphabet (Klarer, 1999:1).

Literary works are products of poets that are based on human problems, it is

also an interpretation of the nature and meaning of life in all aspects. Literature is

a study that develops thoughts, feelings of the soul, and views that can enlarge the

mind with interest. it is a reflection of human life in the depth of attitudes,

behavior, thoughts, knowledge, responses, feelings, human imagination (Yosiana

& Marbella, 2019:1). Literature has many abilities of each literary figure as well
 11

as from various aspects, but the main idea has the same meaning. One of the

literary works that many people are interested to is poem.

1. Poem

Poetry or poem is a type of literary work that has several special

characteristics that make it different from other literary works. Peskin (1998:235)

stated that poem can communicates universal human truth, an instrument to make

humans see life and live it more intensely, however, too often, poem is accepted

in hostile spirits, because in essence, it is often difficult to comprehend.

Poem is an art form used to express emotions and feelings where humans can

easily distinguish poetry without sophisticated tools (Tizhoosh & Sahba & Dara,

2008:24). Poem has been regarded as something central to the existence of every

human being, something that has a unique value to view the real form of life, and

it is spiritually considered as poor if it does not have that value (Soleimani,

2017:554).

Poem has a pattern that gives us pleasure when heard, where the poet repeats

and echoes the sound to please the ear, the effect to attract attention and reflect or

reinforce the meaning of words, rhythm or rhythm, and sound, and the rhythm of

poetry is usually more organized than we hear in language ordinary (Agustina,

2018:1).

Poem is a form where special intensity is given to the expression of feelings

and ideas by using a unique style and rhythm, therefore it contains combination of

beautiful words that carry special messages and people will easily get a message,

other than that they can be entertained by reading or listening to the poem (Utama,

2016:1). In fact, poem can be considered as the record of the best and happiest
 12

moments of the best and happiest minds (Wood, 2015:14). As a genre of literary

works, poem helps readers understand the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of

others towards life.

2. Kinds of Poem

There are several kinds of poem that described by Marpaung (2009:19-21),

such as : First, Ode a lyric adopted from Greek but greatly changed in form by

various English poets and it tends to be rather formal and tall and often to people

who stand out. Second, Epic the most ambitious type of poetry deals with great

heroes whose actions determine the fate of their nation or humanity. Third, Elegy

was written to express feelings sadness or loss. Fourth, Pastoral uses the fiction

that all the characters are called shepherds and shepherds. Fifth, Satire a form of

ridicule and criticism, and it can be built against many different objects of the

universal bad nature of humans from ignorance, social crime or short politics.

This is often caused by the desire to correct the community, to correct the wrong.

Sixth, Epigram a short form of all poetry and maybe shorter as two lines, indeed

the shorter the more effective.

3. Elements of Poem

According to the writer, before executing the analysis, it is substantial to

discover the terms of the poem. There are several terms of poem which stated by

Irmawati (2014:36-40), such as:

a. Denotation
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Denotation is the senses that are agreed upon - what is referred to,

abbreviated, or designated, regardless of the feeling that might arise. And

this can again depend on the context the words appear on.

b. Connotation

Words are used not in isolation but in human situations. It is through

experience that meaning is taken. The meaning of the word is often

complex, has components such as images, ideas, qualities, relationships

and personal feelings and associations. The use of the word connotative is

intended to express the intent of the poet, namely to give a more beautiful

and stronger impression.

c. Imagery

Objects of perception of the human's senses may be reproduced as images

in the mind. People can image anything in mind, for instance a rose or a

cloud, or a places. Such mental reproduction of sense perceptions, when

called up by memory or by words, named imagery.

d. Visual Imagery And Variations

In poetry, visual imagery is the most common type. Individuals vary

greatly in the visual images they create from the words of poetry, in the

clarity and richness of thought images and in the detail of imagination with

the same words.

e. Auditory Imagery

Auditory Imagery means mental reproduction of sound. In the reading of

silent poetry, there are two types of auditory imagery: the sound imaging

symbolized by the words and the sound imaging of the words themselves.
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For example, when poem depicts "dog barked" readers can have a picture

not only of the sound of barking but also the sound of the word "barked."

f. Articulatory Imagery

Articulatory imagery is a mental reproduction of the movements made by

the vocal instrument in producing speech sounds.

g. Figurative Language

Poem is written in a language that uses many figures of speech. To

comprehend the poem is imperative than one learns how to interpret

figurative language. Figurative language utilizes of many kinds of figures

of speech, such as :

1. Simile

Simile is a figure of speech in which two things, basically different

but considered the same in one or more respects, are compared. A

simile is a statement.

2. Metaphor

Metaphor is the figures of speech which words or phrases are applied

to a person, idea or object that cannot be applied literally, metaphor is

an implicit analogy that imaginatively identifies one thing with

another. It is a tool that the poet uses to change, or distort the meaning

of words.

3. Personification

Personification is a figure of speech in which abstractions, animals,

ideas and inanimate objects are endowed with human form, character,
 15

nature, or sensitivity. In poetry, this figurative word has four uses,

which often interact, such as: a.) Personification can be used to

describe, to provide greater clarity and certainty to the subject; b.)

Provides a means of concentration, allows the poet to speak much in a

few words; c.) A method for assembling poetic material from a variety

of life materials, gives the poetic experience a sense of fullness and

richness that may be lacking in direct and literal treatment of the

subject; d.) Intensify and diversify feelings in poetic experiences by

collecting various objects that naturally wake them up.

4. Symbol

A symbol is something that is used to, or is considered, represent

something else. More specifically, symbols are words, phrases, or

other expressions that have complex related meanings; in this sense,

symbols are seen as having different values from whatever is

symbolized. There are 2 kind of symbols, such as: a.)Conventional

symbol is what has been widely used and whose meaning is

immediately understood. For instance, The flag is a symbol of a

country, The Cross is a symbol of Christianity, The Swastika is a

symbol of Nazi Germany. And many poets use Rose as a symbol of

youth or beauty; b.) Nonce symbol is one found and used for certain

events; its interpretation is determined by the poetic context that is

part of it. The poet does not make direct statements about the
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symbolic values of the symbols, but trusts the context to make this

meaning clear to the reader.

5. Alliteration

Alliteration is a tool commonly used in poetry and sometimes in

prose: repetition of the initial sound in two or more words from

phrases, lines of poetry, or sentences. Alliteration is considered an

ornament or decoration that appeals to the ear, a tool for creating

effects.

6. Paradox

There are three part of paradox, such as: a.) A statement apparently

self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; b.)

A self-contradictory, false proposition; c.) An opinion or statement

contrary to generally accepted ideas.

7. Irony

A figure of speech where the literal meaning of a word or statement is

the opposite of what was intended. In literature, irony is a technique

for showing intentions or attitudes that are contrary to what is actually

a situation.

8. Understatement

A form of humor or irony in which something is intentionally

represented is less powerful or striking than facts. Disparaging

remarks, phrases in moderate, controlled terms, are antonyms of

excessive and hyperbole. In the most general sense, disparaging

statements are statements that are below the truth or facts, which
 17

represent something less important than that actually, or which states

something with less force than the fact guarantees.

9. Overstatement

Overstatement is the opposite of understatement, a statements, which,

if taken literally, exceed the limits of fact or truth, which represent

something greater or more important than the truth, or which states

something stronger than the facts needed. The aim is to

overemphasize or intensify the statement or situation.

10. Metonymy

According to Maula (2013:24) In metonymy, something is named that

replaces something closely related to it.

11. Allusion

Wulandari (2015:17) stated that allusion is a figure of speech that

commonly used by someone.

12. Pars pro toto

Pars pro toto is a form of using language as a substitute for the whole

representative (Kusumawati 2010:16)

h. Inversion

Inversion occurs in poetry for emphasis and also to accommodate the

meter.

i. Mood

Mood refers to the disposition of thoughts, feelings, emotional states. The

atmosphere of a literary work about the dominant atmosphere. Each major

 18

work of literature has a general mood, but also shifts a lot in moods to

reach a counterpoint, to provide comic relief, or to reflect changing

situations in a plot.

j. Image

There are 2 kinds of image, such as: a.) A physical representation of a

person, animal, or object that is painted, carved, photographed, or looks

opposite; b.) A Visualized mental or visual impressions are called words,

phrases, or sentences. A writer can use figurative language to make images

as clear as being physically present objects and ideas themselves.

C. Racism

In the early 20th century, racism had matured and spread throughout the

world. Racism is a topic that many people are aware of but unwilling to discuss

(Leach, 2019:2). The racism would be explained which related to this research by

using the Critical Race Theory by Delgado and Stefanic (2001). The Critical Race

Theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars interested in

studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.

Critical race theory not only dares to treat race as the center of US law and

policy, it also dares to look beyond popular belief that getting rid of racism means

simply getting rid of ignorance, or encouraging everyone to "get along" (Delgado

& Stefanncic, 2001:1). This theory addresses the same problem as the problem

other racial theories about the study of conventional and ethnic civil rights, but

place in a broader perspective that includes economics, history, groups, and

interests, feelings, and subconsciousness (Wulandari, 2018:12).

 19

Racism, also called racialism, action, practice, or any belief that reflects the

worldview of race - the ideology that humans can be divided into separate and

exclusive biological entities called "races", that there is a causal relationship

between inherited physical traits and traits the nature of personality, intelligence,

morality, and other cultural and behavioral features; and that some races are

inherently superior to others (Smedley, 2020:1).

In many countries, leaders have begun to think about the ethnic component

of their own society, usually religious or linguistic groups, in racial terms and to

designate "higher" and "lower" races. The term of racism can be vary based on the

perspective of the scientist, because the main concept is that they depend on

social, historical, economic and political factors rather than static reductionist

biological concepts Idris (2017:19). In truth, racism can occur to anyone at any

stage of life (Leach, 2019:4).

Structural racism in the US is the normalization and legitimacy of a series of

dynamics - historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal - that routinely

benefits whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse effects on

humans color, which is a system of hierarchy and injustice, especially marked by

white supremacy - special treatment, privilege and power for whites at the

expense of blacks, Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islands, Native Americans, Arabs, and

oppressed people other races (Lawrence & Keleher, 2004:1).

Racism is manifested through discriminatory or exclusive practices, on the

one hand, and prejudiced beliefs, opinions, attitudes and ideologies, on the other,

which become a phenomenon and expressed in the dimensions of society, groups,

 20

individuals, and institutions, and as such is not analyzed as an individual attribute

of an individual or agency, but as a more complex structural phenomenon (Wal,

2002:421).

Racial discrimination and racism are two related things that cannot be

separated. Racial discrimination is defined as the unfair treatment of individuals

based on their racial group membership, while racism is an ideology that justifies

or determines behavioral actions from certain forms of racial discrimination (Clair

& Denis, 2019:3). Racism evokes attitudes and ways of thinking and considers

that one race is better than another, this attitude causes people to underestimate

themselves in a group (Hutami, 2018:11).

Racism produces several levels in society and those levels will direct groups

of people to the act of disparaging others. Racism involves having the power to

carry out discriminative sys-thematic practices through community institutions

(Greene, 1998:1). The results of racism have intentionally been overtime

informing cultural and institutional practices that are based on the assumption of

white superiority over non-white ethnic groups (Guess, 2006:652).

Racism has been part of the American landscape since slavery began,

however, social media and phones have made racism more familiar and reoccur in

American discourse (Leach, 2019:1). Before the first slavery arrived in America

in 1619, during the introduction to America, African-American were exposed to

harsh conditions on slave ships and on plantations (Vance, 2018:7). For more than

three hundred years while African slavery was practiced, African descendants

were subject to discrimination, and were completely alienated from political

 21

power, which racial discriminatory laws and racial violence against African

Americans began to increase in the United States (Dewi, 2009:2).

‖Since of the American social impact and advantage, the prevailing

society has the occasion to tailor the introduction of everybody
inside the US to keep up a feeling of social homeostasis, where the
predominant - White culture-is viewed as better in nature looked at
than the mediocre messages showed about other racial and ethnic
minority populaces. Recorded nursery rhymes, for example, "In
case you're White, you're okay; in case you're Earthy colored, stay;
in case you're Dark, get back" and other comparable messages are
continually shown through the predominant culture's decision of
media programming (Lockett, 2013:1)‖

Based on the quotation above the writer concludes that African-Americans

are a group of people who are treated and rejected unfairly by people in the United

States and how African-American descendants are inferior humans, where white

Americans treat black African-American inhumanely.

1. Race

The nature of racial differences, and even mere "existence" the human race,

continues to be a major source of controversy and confusion (Kirkegaard,

2019:142). Race is a social construction that is used to distinguish people into

groups based on most enduring characteristics, such as skin color, hair texture, or

shape of the eyes, and heredity, while racial groups are physically different, there

is no evidence that these physical differences are genetically related to differences

in behavior or intelligence (Clair &Denis, 2019:1).

In the United States since the beginning of its history, Native Americans,

African-Americans, and European-Americans are classified as different races

(Dewi, 2009:1). Race groups are held together by biological bonds, some
 22

inherited tendencies to behave in certain ways and prefer certain languages (Dewi,

2009:1). Simply put, race is a grouping of people based on physical appearance

and heredity (Wulandari, 2018:10). Every races has differences, especially in

physical form, culture, language, and even behavior and racism arises when there

is an assumption or consideration that races are superior to other races, then view

other races as inferior humans being (Wulandari, 2018:11).

Race and racism are often seen as a variable in statistical analysis in relation

to outcomes such as symptoms of anxiety and depression, stressors, and coping

mechanisms (Leach, 2019:3). Race is a social fact in which the social and political

significance of vaginal discharge plays an important role, classical scholars have

commented on "race" as a social fact (Guess, 2006:654). This belief system

assumes a hierarchy between various human races or racial groups and influences

people's behavior and even oppression of others from different racial groups.

The term race has referred to people as physically different from one another,

therefore race has many different meanings; it is a confusing term that the beliefs

of many anthropologists must be abandoned altogether (Dewi, 2009:6). The

concept of "race", which stems from the recognition of clear physical differences

between different human groups, has been developed by anthropologists as a tool

for classifying populations (Marpaung, 2009:17) And, as often happens when a

concept is expanded beyond its original reach, the development of this racial idea

has produced many difficulties.

2. Racial Discrimination
 23

Racial discrimination refers to discrimination against an individuals or

groups based on the race. The word ―discrimination‖ comes from the Latin

"discriminare", which means to distinguish, which is defined as a manifestation of

behavior from negative prejudice (Dewi, 2009:11). Discrimination is an act that

treats people unfairly because of their membership in certain social groups.

Discriminatory behavior takes many forms, but all of them involve some form of

exclusion or rejection (Marpaung, 2009:23).

Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less friendly than other

people in different conditions, for example due to differences in skin color or race,

which then has the aim of removing the feeling of pleasure towards the victim

(Fugazza, 2008:23). The practice of racial discrimination has been going on for

centuries and has had a very negative impact on the lives of many people,

different treatments are given because of different races or skin colors which harm

the racial group (Nurindra, 2018:5).

The manifestation of racial discrimination can be seen from the attitude of

prejudice, insulting words and words, and acts of oppression against the black

community (Chalid, 2017:1). The term racial discrimination can refer to

manifestations of negative prejudicial behavior based on race or racial group

which there are differences between people based on race or racial groups

regardless of individual achievements, such as personal achievements, skills or

abilities (Dewi, 2009:12).

Racial discrimination or racism is understood primarily as the product of

particular historical relationships between groups of people in which some people

 24

have unjustly asserted claims to dominance over others and in this sense, ‗race‘

refers to a form of categorization that reflects particular power relations between

groups rather than reflecting actual group attributes (physical or behavioral) then,

racism is thinking and behavior that seeks to preserve race hierarchy (Durrheim,

2009:2).

Discrimination has become one of the complex problems leading to African-

Americans in America, which separation laws for example make black lose their

rights as human beings and also as citizens and also can be transformed in the

form of nationality, race or ethnicity, regional, religion, gender and gender

(Hardianti,2016:33). In the United States, only white people can be racist, since

white people dominate and control the institutions that create and uphold

American cultural norms and values (Greene, 1998:1). ). For example, with the

war on drugs starting in the 1960s, people of color as a group, but especially

African-Americans, were targeted for arrests on drug-related charges (Lockett,

2013:2).

Throughout American history, racism and discrimination practiced have

developed from open dehumanization. The most prominent example is the

transatlantic slave trade, where Africans were forcibly taken from their homes and

families and enslaved to work in the newly acquired American colonies (Owusu,

2017:6). Differences in physical appearance are common in people's lives who

want to be the best among others (Fanani, 2013:6).

However, that will be a problem when their intention to become superior is

fulfilled in an immoral way. Discrimination can enable a person to describe

 25

negative feelings towards the target group or people who are prevented from

getting an adequate education; consequently, it will serve to confirm their

stereotypes as stupid and uneducated (Marpaung, 2009:14).

3. Skin Color

Racism involves discrimination against people based on their racial identity,

which in turn is traditionally established through a complex mixture of self-

identification and other identification through appearance (including color) and

heredity (Harris, 2008:54). Skin color is a form of discrimination in which

humans are given different social and treatment treatments based on skin color

(Marpaung, 2009:12).

Skin tones can be found all over the world. This term is generally used for

the phenomenon of people who discriminate in their own ethnic groups. This

usually occurs in black people, based on skin color by whites. There seems to be

an implicit calculus behind this belief that makes the individual's goodness

inversely proportional to the darkness of the skin.

People often use the terms race and color interchangeably in common

languages. In the United States, color terminology often dominates racial

discourse due to the common use of color-based racials such as "Black" and

"White." Color is thus often used as a synonym for race, 2 but while the two

overlap, coloris also differs from race because colorism is from racism (Harpalani,

2015:609). The relationship between race and color is complex, the two are

interrelated, and difficult to separate.

 26

Most scholars, have only examined the impact of racism in African-

Americans as a whole and have ignored the impact of important intragroup

differences such as skin color about racism, expressed through preferential

treatment through higher quality care for children based on skin color, operating

in African-American family. In addition, there are no studies investigating

whether the process of socialization of race varies based on skin color (Landor,

2012:1). Color and racism have been part of American discourse for more than a

century.

In Skin color, there are two separate measures of skin color that are

perceived as discrimination Monk Jr (2015:400). One measure is the frequency of

perceived skin color discrimination from whites, and the other is the frequency

measure of perceived skin color discrimination from black people. As such, I not

only consider the role of skin color in shaping health outcomes, but I also consider

the multidimensionality of discrimination.

D. Power

This research examines the concept of power through The Black Power

Movement edited by Joseph (2006) and the concept of power through the Black

Feminist Thought utilizing by Collins (2000).

In the late 19th century, many black women including public housing tenants,

wealthy mothers, and nuns mobilized cars outside, but in context, Black Power

radicals. These women protest against racism, a discriminatory state, and an

economic system that makes people poor. They called for the pride of blacks and

demanded the power, social rights, and dignity that their communities, their
 27

families and themselves rejected as black women, mothers, and often their

families were the main financial providers (Joseph, 2006:81). The awareness as

black women emerges and makes them try to fight discrimination using their own

methods.

The Black Power Movement grew out of the Civil Rights Movement which

continued to gain momentum during the 1950s and 1960s, Although not a formal

movement, the Black Power Movement marks a turning point in Black-White

relations in the United States and also in the way black people see themselves. At

that time, black people including black women began to think about their presence

and began to appreciate as humans.

The suppression of Black Feminist Thought is most African-American

women are brought to the United States to work as slaves in situations of

oppression. Bullying represents an unfair situation where, systematically and over

a long period of time, one group refuses another group's access to community

resources. Race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, age and ethnicity are among the

main forms of pressure in the United States. However, the convergence of race,

class and gender oppression characteristics from U.S. slavery forming all further

relationships that African-born women have in American families and black

communities, with employers, and among each other (Collins, 2000:4)

The critical determinant of black women's activism is the influence of race

and gender, because these factors are permanently married to their subjectivity.

African-American women face the socio-cultural and structural challenges of

sexism that are prevalent in the United States and also in the black community
 28

(Gaines, 2013:7). Power can be something that belongs to the group, and

gradually flows with the transition of social movements, revolutions, or political

changes. In that sense, power is often a dynamic often seen through dialectical

relations connecting oppression and activism (Okafor, 2019:6).

The treatment of this group has the potential to make every Africa n-

American woman invisible as a full human. In addition, black women often get a

liminal position in actuality and trying to fight for black self-defense and

blabbering against sexist oppression. Known as "American writer, feminist,

woman, librarian, and civil rights activist", Lorde is considered one of the

twentieth-century African American poets who defended herself, race and gender

as women and black women (Husseini, 2016:1).

 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

This chapter consisted of Type of the Research, Source of the Data,

Technique of Collecting Data, and Method of Analyzing Data.

A. Types of the Research

This research belongs to descriptive qualitative, since the data are in the form

of written word and can be descriptively analyzed. Qualitative and descriptive

research methods has become very common procedures for conducting research in

many disciplines (Nassaji, 2015:129). This method includes two techniques to

answer the problems. First is exposing the data, in order to reveal the context.

Second, the data interpretation, is to present the racism.

B. Source of the Data

In gathering data, there are two types of data source in this research. The first

source is called primary data. This is the source from which the object data of

analyzing are taken, which is Audre Lorde‘s selected poem, Power (1978, Who

said It Was Simple (1973), and Woman speaks (1997). Those poems potrayed the

racism that experienced by African-American especially the black women in

America during the the late 19th. The second source is called secondary data. This

resourch also called library research which contains books, journals, library

research and internet sources that supporting the data.

 30

C. Technique of Collecting Data

In analyzing the object data of the research, there are several techniques that

conducted in finding and collecting the data. Those four techniques will be

explained as the following:

1. Reading

Since the object of the research is the poem of Audre Lorde entitled,

Power, Who said it was simple, and woman speaks, the basic step in

analyzing the data is reading those poems. The writer reads the poems

several times comprehensively in order to understand the whole content

and finding the exact meanings of the poems particularly the related

essence to the topic.

2. Identifying

After reading the poem several times, the data identified can be in the form

of sentences. Relevant data in the transcript can be underlined or marked.

3. Finding

After identifying, the data object can be separated from each stanza and

finding the value of racism in each line of the poem.

4. Conclusion

After finding the result of the analysis, the writer will draw a conclusion.

D. Method of Analyzing Data

To analyze the racism in Audre Lorde poems, the writer used critical race

theory by Delgado and Stefancic (2001), such as : racism, race and power.

Secondly, identifying the power of the black women by utilizing the concept of
 31

the Black Feminist by Collins (2000), and the Black Power Movement edited by

Joseph (2006), and then the writer will interpreting the data, the last step is

drawing conclusion.
 33

CHAPTER IV
FINDING AND DISCUSSION

A. The Racism Reflected in Audre Lorde Selected Poems

This section discussed about analysis the type of racism that interpretted in

Audre Lorde poems. The explanation of the each poems was described below.

There were 25 data found in Audre Lorde poems entitled ―Power‖, ―Who

Said It Was Simple‖, and ―A Woman Speaks‖ The writer would explained all the

data in this section.

1. Power

Based on the kinds of poem, 'Power' could be classified into satire because

this poem contained critism caused by racism or social crime. Written by Audre

Lorde, this poem was a graphic and impactful poem based on reality that taken on

racism in the justice system, police brutality, and white supremacy. ‗Power' was

based on real-life murder and court cases. This poem was first published in 1978

but is still relevant today. The case mentioned in this poem revolves around the

murder of a ten year old black boy named Clifford Glover who was murdered in

1973. The killer was an undercover racist policeman named Thomas Shea.

The boy was shot when he and his stepfather were stopped on the street at 5

am on April 28, 1973. Suspecting the two of them were guilty of robbery, the

undercover policeman stopped and pulled out his guns. Clifford and his stepfather

fled, believing that they would be robbed themselves. The release of Thomas

Shea, who was the first New York City police officer to ever stand trial for

murder on duty, led to widespread rioting in parts of South Jamaica in Queens,

New York.
 34

Data 1:
‖A policeman who shot down a ten year old in Queens
stood over the boy with his cop shoes in childish blood‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 21-22, stanza 3)

In the first line of the verse above was another verse of injustice that occured

in the poem. It showed how a ten year old boy was killed in Queen by the police

officer the words ‖A policeman who shot down a ten year old in Queens‖

indicated the racism such as injustice, because an adult white man used his

authority as a policeman to kill an innocent boy.

By using the element of poem, which is allusion, the word "a ten year old"

literally referred to the victim of racism in the poem, then the word "in Queen"

was also an allusion because it described the place where the incident or event

occurred. A policeman who felt that he had power and authority that made him

lookeed down on the little boy because he was just an ordinary citizen with no

power and an authority. So that for that reason, even killing seems to be the truth

for the police.

The authority that policeman had, made himself such a justification or a tool

to do whatever he wanted, so that it made them feel greater and better than others

who have no authority whatsoever. The role of a policeman was indeed as a

safeguard in society, but in this poem the police used the authority to practice

racism and harm the poor boy. He did not even half-hearted and have the heart to

kill a child who were not committed to crime.

In the second line, the words ―stood over the boy with his cop shoes in

childish blood‖ referred to the way the police officer treated a litlle boy just to put
 35

his shoes on top of the dead body, it simply showed how he looked down on the

boy just because he was a policeman and the child was just an ordinary citizen

who had no authority. By using the element of poetry which is pars pro toto, the

words ― cop shoes‖ litrerally referred to the authority that the police man had. The

uniform that he wore and the authority he possessed made him feel as powerful

and as the superior, so that it justified the heinous act he had done to the poor boy.

These two lines conveyed injustice, which is one aspect of racism that was

very vulnerable to occurring in society, often ending with heinous murder, as

happened in this poem. It was not a normal thing, people with the authority they

have actually use it to hurt and harm others even often without unreasonable

reasons, but because they felt that they had the right to do so, racism like this

occured.

Data 2:

―and a voice said ―Die you little motherfucker‖

and there are tapes to prove it‖ (Lorde, 1978:line 23-24, stanza 3)

In this verse clearly identified how the white male police practiced racism in

sadistic ways by killing the little boy without mercy, and even cursed him with

profanity and swore at him. This showed how sadistic the murder by the police

was, even though the child and his stepfather had not done anything wrong. In the

first line says ―Die you little motherfucker‖ described how acted of racism

brutally occured in the poem.

The brutality of a racist policeman of killing the boy, swearing and harshing

words was a picture of the sadistic experienced by that poor little boy. By using
 36

pars prototo, the swearing word ―motherfucker‖ used by the police man to replace

the name of the little kid who being swore. The oath spoken by the police depicted

how he saw the little boy as someone worthy of being killed, as well as showing

that the child has committed such a huge mistake and unforgivable that the only

way to forgive was to take off his right to life.

Data 3:

―At his trial

this policeman said in his own defense
―I didn't notice the size nor nothing else
only the color‖. And
there are tapes to prove that, too.‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 24-28, stanza 3)

In the next line, the verses showed an aspect of racism such as racial

discrimination and skin color. In these lines showed ―this policeman said in his

own defense I didn't notice the size nor nothing else only the color‖ it is simply

showed th e clear reference to what the policeman have said that he had no other

reason to kill the child other than because he was black. Knowing that an innocent

child was murdered because of his skin color and it was one of the most vivid

illustrations of how violently the racism was encountered by black people at that

time.

Here it was illustrated that the murder that occurred to the boy was not due to

an error or reason that generally occurred. The words of ―I didn't notice the size

nor nothing else only the color‖ This proved how the white policeman was very

racist, for him he didn't need any other reason or even the boy's fault to be able to

kill him, he thought killing on the grounds that he was black was a natural and
 37

appropriate reason to judge. The only reason why he was killed was racism, where

he was killed simply because he was black, it showed how skin color is

considered a "big mistake" that someone deserved to be killed with that identity. It

was with this mind-set that this brutality could occur.

How sadistic was the practice of racism in that era, just by looking at

people's skin color, it made people could be seen to be trash. Killing a little boy

who didn't pray on the grounds of skin color was an act of racism that was so

cruel at that time, inhuman, immoral, they only saw themselves as superior just

because their skin color was white. This line illustrated how white people viewed

black people as not human beings who did not had the right to live, so they

thought killing black people was a natural act.

2. Who Said It Was Simple

‗‗Who Said It Was Simple‘‘ was published in Lorde's third volume of poetry,

Based on the kinds of poem it could be classified into satire because this poem

contained critism to the society and written based on the reality experienced by

the author. From a Land Where Other People Live in 1973. This poem focuses

specifically on the flawed notion of a racism that faced by black women,

addressing racial oppression through lines such as discussing the problematic

women. Where the women treated unequally as the man. Audre simply, but

lyrically, discusses the racism she witnesses in the feminist movement in this

short poem, which was written in 1973. Lorde is a women who was assigned

female at birth and identified as such; a lesbian; and black. Her tone in this poem

is somber, but witty and a tad sarcastic.

 38

Data 4:

―An almost white counterman passes

a waiting brother to serve them first
(Lorde, 1973:line 8-9, stanza 2)

In the first lines of the verse, the words "an almost white counterman"

indicated an aspect of racism such a skin color and gender. And then continued

with the words ―a waiting brother to serve them first‖ the words showed depicted

passing by and waiting for their other brothers to serve them first. The word

"them" referred to the white males, which explained how they treated a man better

than women. By using one of the element of poetry which is metonymy, the word

―brother‖ was literally referred to the white male being served as the first which

means supperior than the others.

The verses " a waiting brother to serve them first " clearly stated that there was

a more special treatment of men as well as those with white skin color. Here it is

clear that there was racism between the differences between men and women, also

be tween the black and the white people. Continuing the word "first" in the

previous verses, the writer could also described that the women in this poem as

the "second" which means they will always be needed as the backward and never

as the former.

Those two related words referred to how the women were treated unequally

with men, especially when the woman was black. The existence of women among

men was not considered normal so they were treated unfairly. The different

treatment between the two was evident in this verse, and at the same time it has

confirmed how racism was experienced by black women through the poem.
 39

Data 5:

―and the ladies neither notice nor reject

the slighter pleasures of their slavery‖
(Lorde, 1973:line 10-11, stanza 2)

Then proceed with the next line said ―and the ladies neither notice nor reject‖

this line revealed how the role of women in dealing with the treatment that men

are in the previous line, which simply showed the racism that faced by the black

woman, which was gender a\nd skin color. Namely as it was clearly written in the

poem that the women did not protest instead accept the fact that they being treated

differently.

The word ―ladies‖ could be classified as metonymy by using the figurative

languange. It reflected the black women in that moment, which clearly clarified

that black women was fully rejected as the women with black skin in that sense.

Both of these lines have the meaning that being a victim of improper

treatment did not make them fight back or defended themselves at that time, as it

was written in the poem that they neither paid attention nor refused. But then

going through poetry certainly implied resistance to racism itself.

Then in the next line, there was written "slavery" which clearly described the

women as the source of slavery in that era. Slavery was one aspect of the form of

racism that was quite a lot experienced by black people, which were an African-

Americans. Where women were victimized or treated like slaves or dishonored,

where such incidents were not uncommon for black women in America. In this

poem the woman tried to explain how serious racism was experienced by black

women and how sad the experience was as a woman in America in that era.
 40

Data 6:

― But I who am bound by my mirror,

as well as by my bed‖ (Lorde, 1973:line 12-13, stanza 2)

The first line showed ―But I who am bound by my mirror‖ it simply

represented how a woman who was not really considered existence. It was clearly

emphasized that the woman seems to be questioning her existence as a woman

also as a black. The word ―I‖ refers to the woman who felt they have never been

treated properly like men, which illustrated aspects of racism such as gender and

skin color in this verse.

The word ―mirror‖ in the end of the first line described what she viewed

when facing a mirror, simply showed that seeing herself. It could be seen by

using the element of poem which is pars prototo. As a woman and black was

actually becomes a deficiency in her, causing her to be treated no better than men

and other white people. The word "Who I am bound" has a very deep meaning,

where a woman feels as if she was bound and imprisoned, which means that they

were unable to do anything with their identity, namely as women and black

people.

And then the word "bound" here simply described the torment experienced

by women who faced unfair treatment, such as wanted to rebel but at the same

time they couldn‘t do anything, they could not erase their identity as a woman

because it is impossible. Self-identity was a physical thing that no human being

could change it. Being born as a woman has to endure them badly and make them

feel like they were attached.

 41

The second line described the woman with lesbianism. The word "bed"

referred to the lesbians. By using one of the figurative language, the word of bed

could be represented a methaphor in terms of poem. Having an identity as a black

woman and being a lesbian were also a huge factor of racism experienced by

women in that era. They were looked down upon because they were seen as

different from others. This such a reasons become the basis for racist perpetrators

to practice "racism" against the victims. Lesbianism was seen as inappropriate and

unworthy in that era, so there was no reason that lesbian women could be free of

the practice of racism.

Data 7:
―see causes in color
as well as sex‖ (Lorde, 1973:line 14-15, stanza 2)

In the next line of the verse said ―see causes in color‖ which again it

emphasized that because of the difference in skin color she had, which was black

causes her must experience the racism. The words of "see causes" the woman

represented that it was because of her skin color that people saw herself as not

worthy of being treated properly, just like black people. Very obvious because it

was followed by the word "color".

In the second line reflected the metonymy in the element of poetry which

was ―sex‖ and ―as well as sex‖ it described the gender, like the first line, this

verses continued what happened in the previous line. That both, skin color and

gender were the reasons for the racism they sufferred. This line affirmed how the

equality of values between as "black people" and as "women" are two things that
 42

had the same value in front of people, namely as a justification for their racist

attitudes.

Data 8:

―and sit here wondering

which me will survive
all these liberations‖ (Lorde, 1973:line 16-18, stanza 3)

In the last stanza of the poem, it described how women in the end would only

hope that justice would come to them. In the first line says ―and sit here

wondering‖ depicted of the women waiting and wondering, simply depicted the

state of women who are tired of the racism that have happened to them. The word

"sit here" indicated that there is nothing they can do to fight back, it refers to the

word "surrender" and accept the situation. These two words have deep meaning,

reflected in the hopes and waiting they have been waiting for a long time, namely

that their identity should not be made a "problem" or a justification for the unfair

treatment they experienced.

The second line ―which me will survive‖ showed a situation where women

asked and even doubted whether they were able to survive the racist situation that

they face. The word "survive" clearly referred to a difficult situation that women

experienced, so they must be able to get through and survive the situation. This

line provided information that showed as a women it was never easy to become

victims of racist practices, it was very heavy and painful for them. The strength of

women was not as strong as men, so it was very clear that the weakness of a

woman was described in this poem. But unfortunately, women's weaknesses could
 43

not help them to be free from unfair treatment, they instead had to fight for

themselves, with their identity as women.

The word "liberations" in the last line of the poem clearly represented how

the women who seemed to have been imprisoned then they wanted to be liberated.

It is a metonymy when it comes to the figurative language. It replace the real

meaning of the closest word to it which is the word being imprisoned.

The expression of this word has a deep meaning for the reader, there was such

a strong desire that struggled in the hope of being separated from the racist

practices that continue to occur in that era. If we were reminded to return to the

previous line which was written "survive", it is very clearly that the hope of

liberation was so strong for women to be able to survive and have the confidence

that they could go through the situation.

3. A Woman Speaks

Based on the kinds of poem it could be classified into satire because this

poem contained critism to the society and written by the author based on the

reality who experienced racism and injustice. The poem ‗A Woman Speaks‟ was a

poem of recognition and identity. The not only addresses internal battles and her

own suffering, but also discussed the social injustices that African American –

black women- suffered in the United States. The poem's fiction, on the surface,

brings out the serene tone of the poem.

The serenity facet of this poem was used to express how her struggle against

injustice will not be fought with violence or hatred, and how she did not blame

certain parties or institutions for her personal suffering. Instead, she planned to
 44

use the power and beauty of words to communicate the flawed image of women,

fight injustice and racism, and alleviate her internal despair.

―A Woman Speaks‖ was a warrior song for the unseen and the conversation

between women from different cultures. It seeked to affirm the life experiences of

black women in the US and across the diaspora, and at the same time opened a

dialogue about what could still be done in the feminist movement to improve the

lives of women of color. What was also important for this section was that there

were no accusations, only statements about Lorde's own truth. This work was not

meant to be condemned, but to open a world perspective to others who may not

have experienced it in this way.

Written in 3 stanzas, the poem A Woman Speaks, from The Collected Work

of Audre Lorde, was like the sea before a storm. Its tone and form create a serene

surface, but as it develops, it points towards the true conflict within. Lorde

focused on the inconsistencies in the world view of black women and on her own

struggles to define her identity outside the norms of society. There were many

declarative statements that served as her own assertions of value, power, and

vulnerability during the historical period of underrepresentation and prejudice she

and the black women was experienced.

Data 9:

―Moon marked and touched by sun

my magic is unwritten‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 1-2, stanza 1)

In the first line of the poem, the verses ―Moon marked and touched by sun‖

paid attention to how the black women were perceived as equally unnatural, as an

art form that lauds their features and beauty, yet at the same time, their history
 45

was largely forgotten. The woman depicted in this poem called attention to the

need to understand and act rather than feeling sorry for this removal.

The words "moon" and "sun" described that the women as a beautiful

creatures. In poetry these two words were often used to describe something that

was beautiful and worthy of worship, for example women. Women were known to

be beautiful creatures, because they have enchanting and extraordinary abilities

that men do not have. Therefore, women were synonymous with beautiful things,

such as having a gentle heart, beautiful body shape, cooking, being able to bear

children and much more.

But then followed by a second line that said "my magic is unwritten", this

verse represented that the women were not considered to exist. They were looked

down upon so that they were not seen and were treated unequally by men. The

word "magic" referred to their existence, then the word "unwritten" has the

meaning as not to be considered or acknowledged.

Here it was clearly illustrated how women were beautiful creatures but at the

same time their existence could be called as a ―mistake‖. Which of these mistakes

was their identity as women, which in fact should not be as if it were a mistake.

However, because of the racism that occurred in that era, their femininity became

a foundation in practicing racism itself.

Data 10:

‖but when the sea turns back

it will leave my shape behind ‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 3-4, stanza 1)
 46

These two lines illustrated how the women were forgotten because of their

identity as women which clearly implied the aspect of racism. These lines

reflected that no matter what the women have done, whether it goodness or even

something greater than that, it would not make them reason to be called natural

beings.

The words ―when the sea turns back it will leave my shape behind‖ it showed

that at the end at the day they will remain creatures that were left behind and were

not considered. All the achievements or struggles made by women could not be

used as a benchmark for their acceptance of their existence. They had no right to

do anything because they were women.

In these lines illustrated how the value of a woman was so clear in terms of at

all, actions like this they faced give insight into how men intimidate the existence

of women, let alone black women. This poem explained about gender racism

experienced by women but not only because of their identity as women but also

because of their skin color.

Data 11:

―I seek no favor
untouched by blood
unrelenting as the curse of love
permanent as my errors
or my pride‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 5-9, stanza 1)

These verses above expressed the feelings of being unfamiliar to others. The

absence of a voice the women described can be linked to historical discrimination

against women in the workplace \and a lack of political representation.

 47

The word ―I‖ referred to the ―women‖ which was followed by the sentences

"seek no favor" which meant that as a woman who was looked down upon and her

existence was not considered normal, they would not beg or beg to be treated

properly as men, they believe that with the beauty and strength as a woman they

would able to stand on their own feet. These lines indicated to the toughness of a

woman's deep feeling even in an invisible state.

In this part, it becomes a clear point for the aspect of racism that seen in the

previous stanza, where when the women experience the racism, they would be

able to get through it and survive on her own. In the third line it stated "curse of

love" which meant that the treatment that women should receive was in fact an

unbearable curse of life.

The word "errors" in the forth line referred to the existence of those who

have been regarded as an unnatural mistake, by finding such facts destroying

trampling on their pride as creatures that should be called "beauty" because in

reality they were only seen as trash that deserves to be wasted and not appreciated.

The racism aspect in this stanza was clearly visible with the strong emotional

picture conveyed by women as victims of racism itself.

Data 12:

―I do not dwell
within my birth nor my divinities
who am ageless and half-grown
and still seeking
my sisters‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 16-20, stanza 2)

The verses ―I do not dwell within my birth nor my divinities‖ explained that

how the women were not born as they should to be born, the point was that as we
 48

knew that the existence of women was actually considered the beauty or grandeur

of everything that was created, but what happened in this poetry was that they

faced the opposite or different, which clearly illustrated the value of racism.

The meaning was very deep and easy for the reader to comprehend when

reading these verses, there was such a feeling that was devastated by the fact that

what happened to them was supposed not what it should be happened, there was

also such a strong desire in every words in the second line, the desire wanted to be

what it should be and also the desire to be seen as a beautiful creature just like

white women in general.

In the third line said ―who am ageless and half-grown‖ it given the meaning

of both age and time, which expressed such complaints about the suffering that

they have encountered as a black woman for a long time, then also referred to a

woman's age, that no matter what age they were, old or young, it could not be

separated from acts of racism. The measure was neither gender and nor age. Being

old or young was not an excuse to be free from victims of racial discrimination.

As if questioned and wanted the freedom to live as the identity they were born

with.

The words "and still seeking" in the fourth line represented that the

remaining hope they had for justice, namely justice to be treated like men, to be

respected and valued by its existence. The word also has the meaning of waiting

for the elimination of this act of racism. It becomes more clear when it was

continued with the word "my sister" in the last line which meant black woman,

which expressed that justice could also be obtained by women. The two lines, if
 49

connected, simply have a very clear meaning, for instance that the women still

had hope for justice or equal treatment as men.

Data 13:

―I have been woman

for a long time
beware my smile‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 25-27, stanza 3)

The first line written ―I have been woman for a long time‖ showed that the

woman who had been a victim of the persecution of racism for a long time.

Described how the suffering that has been going on for a long time and still

continues to this day. The word "have been" meaning that the sad events they

experienced, the unequal treatment they experienced, have occurred over a long

period of time and are still happening.

In then continued in the next line which said "beware my smile", these verses

referred to the charm of a woman that should be seen by the world, but the reality

was reversed, the charm or power meant here was considered unnatural and was

seen as a bad creation. The word "beware" referred to requesting recognition of

their existence as women and feeding them that even though they were black it

did not mean that they were not humanly worthy like white women.

Data 14:

―I am
woman
and not white‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 32-34, stanza 3)

In both these lines, it was clearly implied the aspect of racism that reflected

in the poem. The word ―woman‖ and ―not white‖ These two verses which simply
 50

emphasized how gender and skin color become such a big issues around white

people. This was the conclusion expressed in the poem, namely the affirmation of

racism itself.

Indirectly, the verses showed how identity as women was looked down upon,

and as black was a mistake for them. Being born as a black woman was as if a

disaster so they have to go through difficult times as long as the practice of racism

continued and it was carried out by white people. These lines were the last lines of

this poem, which become an emphasis on racism that occured in the poetry.

B. Power of the Black Wowen In Audre Lorde Selected Poems

As explained in the previous chapter, the concept of power in research is

based on the concept of Black Feminist Thought by Collins and Black Power

Movement by Joseph. In this section, the writer would find the value of the power

of the black woman in the following poems according to these two concepts.

1. Power

Data 15:

‖The difference between poetry and rhetoric

is being ready to kill
yourself
instead of your children‖ (Lorde, 1978:line 1-4, stanza 1)

The poem reflected the racial discrimination and segregation of African-

Americans at the hands of white supremacists. The begins with the words ―The

difference between poetry and rhetoric‖ which indicated the contrast between

rhetoric and poetry. The speaker here - referred to the women – it explained that

poetry with its metaphorical and imagistic powers was able to speak of a brutality

that was only discussed and forgotten.

 51

This woman expressed her anger and rage at a white police officer who shot

a ten year old boy in Queens just for the color of his skin, and there was evidence

of this savagery too. The way she expressed the words to the poem was known as

the power. However, despite having substantial evidence of the heinous crimes,

the policeman was acquitted by a jury of eleven white men who thought justice

was served. Unfortunately, white people have enjoyed this supremacy for

centuries.

The next lines said ―is being ready to kill yourself instead of your children‖

this verses simply expressed the anger that was so strong within him that he saw

the sad reality that this innocent boy experienced on the grounds that his skin was

black. This woman as a black woman was furious at the sadistic and tragic events

of racism.

Her power as a black woman could be seen in the next word, "children." This

word referred to her feelings as a woman and a mother, indicated a sad feeling to

see a child. She expressed her power through words, such as poem. This method

became one of the ways for black women to fight or protest against racism in that

era.

Since the existence of the black women was never valuable and not

considered by black people, they were deemed incapable of resisting so they

found their own method to combat the racist practices that occurred around them.

It was called the power of the black woman.

Data 16:

―I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds

and a dead child dragging his shattered black
 52

face off the edge of my sleep‖ (Lorde, 1978:line 5-7, stanza 2)

In the first line, the words "I am" referred to the woman who witnessed the

racism incidents experienced by an innocent boy that happened in this poem. The

words " I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds " implied that she had a

desire to defend and seek justice for the child victim of racism.

These verses was found to be the power of black women, the woman

expressed and protests against the occurrence of racism around. The defense made

through literary works, namely poetry, they poured out all their feelings of anger

and as an act of disrespect for the racism experienced by the little boy. Then,

followed by the word "of raw gunshot wounds" which described that the woman

could feel the pain and misery that the little boy felt.

There was such a physical pain in this words, as if she had personally

experienced the sadistic murder. Here also showed how strong a woman's desire

was to expressed her feelings as being hurt. The power that women have through

this poem was clearly reflected in each lines.

In the second and the third lines said ―and a dead child dragging his shattered

black face off the edge of my sleep‖ the woman described the situation of the boy

who had been killed on the grounds that he was black. The word "dead child"

clearly meant that the state of the child's body which was lifeless.

And then followed by the word "dragging his shattered black face off the

edge of my sleep‖ this verses simply illustrated that the condition of a poor little

boy being killed tragically haunted the woman's mind and feels like defending the
 53

poor little boy as the victim of racism. The way the woman poured her feelings

and anger into the poem became the power of her as the black woman.

Data 17:

―blood from his punctured cheeks and shoulders

is the only liquid for miles
and my stomach
churns at the imagined taste while
my mouth splits into dry lips‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 8-12, stanza 2)

In the first line showed ―blood from his punctured cheeks and shoulders‖

simply pictured that the woman described the racism victim after being killed by

describing the state of the dead body in a sad and bloody state. The verse clearly

showed the sadness felt by the woman.

Then continued on the second line ―is the only liquid for miles and my

stomach‖ this verses represented that there was the woman seemed to be able to

feel the flow of the child's blood flowing within her even though it was a long

distance between the incidents of the murder. The sadness and concern felt so

deeply for the woman to know that an innocent boy was the victim of such vicious

racism.

In the forth line described ―my stomach churns at the imagined taste‖ it

simply the representation of the intense anger felt by the woman. And then

continued by the word "my stomach churns" which refers to disgust and

resentment at the perpetrator of the murder of a racist person against an innocent

boy.
 54

The power of the black woman could be seen from every word that was

written in every line in this poem, a sense of concern and anger radiates so clearly

in each verse. The woman felt furious and as if she felt the anger so much inside

her. Yet at that moment, there was nothing else she could do but to expressed the

anger rather than protest through words. With the hope that what she wrote down

could be seen by these racists people.

In the last line of the quota above written "my mouth splits into dry lips"

indicated to how the woman was unable to speak in protest or defense for what

happened, the only power black women at that time was pouring out anger and

disapproval through the words into the poem. The black woman found it as the

power to against the racism.

Data 18:

―without loyalty or reason

thirsting for the wetness of his blood
as it sinks into the whiteness
of the desert where I am lost‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 8-12, stanza 2)

In the first to the second lines said ―without loyalty or reason thirsting for the

wetness of his blood‖ here was clearly illustrated the anger of the woman by

saying that the racists seemed to thirst for human blood so they were looking for

reasons to kill those who were innocent. The word "thristing" in the second line

referred to a situation where a person imposed an action by finding illogical

reasons, by justifying his treatment as a form that all white people should take

actions against the black people.

 55

In the third and fourth lines written ―as it sinks into the whiteness of the

desert where I am lost‖ these two verses, there was a mention of "whiteness"

which referred to the white people. The woman described how black people were

treated unfairly in African-American history. The word "sinks" in the third line

referred to the helplessness of black people being the victims of ongoing racism.

In terms of rice, the word means that they need help, namely justice to be treated

equally like ordinary humans.

An the in the following line, the word "lost" simply indicated to the black

women who were disoriented in the bitter situation they were in. For instance,

when a person feel to be lost, all they need was the way out meant is liberation

from acts of racism against black people.

Data 19:

―without imagery or magic

trying to make power out of hatred and destruction
trying to heal my dying son with kisses
only the sun will bleach his bones quicker‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 17-20, stanza 2)

In the first line of the verse above said ―without imagery or magic‖ it

reflected that the women who no longer had the strength to fight racism that

occured, but rather by using words of poetry for their feelings. With this verse,

they named the power as the "magic" which referred to puns and in the way they

poured the feeling and anger through the poem, simply by telling, insinuating and

protesting.

In the second line written ―trying to make power out of hatred and

destruction‖ implied that the woman wanted to create power from the hatred and
 56

destruction that lied before them, namely the fact that a little boy was brutally

killed without doing anything wrong. The woman hopes that by pouring out her

thoughts through the poem could be the power for her to help the next victims of

racism. This was clearly a form of protest by black women when this sadistic

incident happened to the poor innocent little boy.

In the third line showed ―trying to heal my dying son with kisses‘ which

implied the black woman's feelings of compassion for the little boy. The word

"kiss" there, showed that the love and compassion she has towards the victim of

that grisly murder and hopes that he will be able to restore the situation but it was

impossible.

The pity that she felt inside was very strong and deep as woman and also as a

black person could not be contained, so that the next line was written "only the

sun would bleach his bones quicker" which was this verse contained the hope of

the woman of the poor boy that nothing could help him when the tragic happend.

The power of the black women at that time only lied in the words they described

through the poem which full of deep meaning.

Data 20 :

―and one Black Woman who said

―They convinced me‖ meaning
they had dragged her 4'10'' black Woman's frame
over the hot coals
of four centuries of white male approval
until she let go
the first real power she ever had
and lined her own womb with cement
to make a graveyard for our children‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 34-42, stanza 4)
 57

In the first line of the verses written ―and one Black Woman‖ showed how

the poem clearly all about the black women that tried to defend the little boy who

being killed for being black. Being a woman with black skin made her feel

obliged to do something about what happened to the boy who was killed because

he was born black. The words contained the anger and power along the other

verses.

In the second line to the forth lines explained ―They convinced me meaning

they had dragged her 4'10'' black Woman's frame over the hot coals‖ it

represented that in the poem also reflected how the black people treated the black

woman disrespectfully and unnaturally. This seemingly unworthy treatment, as if

then connected the incident experienced by the boy, which was racism.

It was explained through the third line that said ―they had dragged her 4'10''

black Woman's frame over the hot coals‖ The word "dragged" indicated to the

cruel treatment perpetrated by white men against black women, which indirectly

indicated that the white men treat a black woman in an immoral way, represented

that black women were not valued at all as women because they were black. This

other verse of the poem represented to the black women as the victims of cruel

treatment because of the skin color. Then on the next line, a woman who struggled

to be released from the practice of racism was described.

In the seventh line to the eighth says ―the first real power she ever had to

make a graveyard for our children‖ it described that the rage felt by a black

woman was the first power women have was to be able to bear children, This

gives the meaning of the protests that women voice to the murder of boys in this
 58

poem, that a mother who has so hard to bear a child why should end up witnessing

their child die being killed by racist police for sad reasons. This line also implied

that a child did not deserve to be treated that cruelly without committing a crime.

In this last line, voicing anger at the racist-murderer- in this poem, she lamented

and complained why an innocent child should be killed so miserably.

The last line was written "to make a graveyard for our children" which

contained a protest from the woman. It reflected that an innocent little children

deserve the love of their parents and their closest people but not to be brutally

murdered without reason, then justify the evil act by saying "because he was

black. " This clearly read as a form of protest and distress from a woman, or even

as a mother.

Data 21:

―my power too will run corrupt as poisonous mold

or lie limp and useless as an unconnected wire
and one day I will take my teenaged plug
and connect it to the nearest socket
raping an 85 year old white woman
who is somebody's mother
and as I beat her senseless and set a torch to her bed
a greek chorus will be singing in 3/4 time
―Poor thing. She never hurt a soul. What beasts they are.‖
(Lorde, 1978:line 47-55, stanza 5)

The word "my" in the first line referred to the black women, and then

followed by the word "power". These verses was very clear about the power of a
 59

black woman in fighting racism that occurs to the little boy who was killed

sadistically because of racism. The power intended was by providing defense and

protest against the racist perpetrator - white people -, the woman described that as

a woman she cannot just stand by witnessing these heinous practices carried out

by the police, she felt the need to do something to change the system was broken

in that era. By pouring out anger and disapproval through poem was the method

of the black women to fight racism.

In the fifth line, the phrase said "raping an 85 year old white woman who is

somebody's mother" in this verse provided the description of a woman who told a

parable, by trying to give an understanding of this parable, the point was what if a

white woman was also brutally and brutally treated, will they –white people- just

accept it? or would they get angry? The woman tried to give white people the

same picture situation in order that could made them feel the same oppression and

suffering that black people had. This line contained such a strong sense of revenge

in the mind of a black woman that she expressed it in parables such as poem.

Every words in this stanza contained the anger of a black woman at the murder of

the poor boy.

The last line given ―and as I beat her senseless and set a torch to her bed, a

greek chorus will be singing in 3/4 time ―Poor thing. She never hurt a soul. What

beasts they are‖ these verses simply provided the answer to the questions of black

woman that intrepreted in the previous line, namely that white people only have

respect and compassion for their fellow whites, but not for blacks. This was

clearly described the protest and the power of the woman who did not accept this
 60

injustice, each of the words contained anger and sadness at the same time, as

struggling for justice.

In the poem Power contained every power expressed by black women, the

protest and anger that were reflected in every stanza in this poem. Simply put, this

poem became like a black woman's weapon at the time in fighting racism,

especially the sadistic incident that happened to a boy who was killed by white

policemen for the reason "because the little boy was black".

2. Who Said It Was Simple

Data 22:
―There are so many roots to the tree of anger
that sometimes the branches shatter
before they bear‖ (Lorde, 1973:line 1-3, stanza 1)

In the first line of this poem written ―There are so many roots to the tree of

anger‖ it described the anger that black women had, the anger appearred from the

various reasons for racism experienced by the black women. Some of the reasons

why women fall victim to acts of racism which were gender, skin color and

lesbianism. The value of the power black woman in this poem could be seen in the

first line that described the anger of a woman as a victim of racism.

This poem described a black lesbian woman who was treated unworthily

from the people around her, then the woman did not accept it and ventures her

anger through the poem. The woman described protesting against the

mistreatment she experienced because she was different from others. Being

looked down upon and unworthy made her have to pour her feelings into the form

of poem as a protest and power to fight racism.

 61

Data 23:

―and sit here wondering

which me will survive
all these liberations‖ (Lorde, 1973:line 16-18, stanza 3)

In the last stanza in this poem said ―and sit here wondering‖ it could be

interprreted by using the metonymy, which depicted the power of the black

woman pouring her thoughts as awaiting an end to the unfair treatment they

received. This line explained that anger or protest did not always have to be

expressed with anger but also that sometimes the power of women lies in the

words they utter, either gently or harshly.

The word "survive" in the next verse showed that the strength of black

women in fighting against racist acts that occur, by believing that whatever

happens they would able to survive and they call it as a power. They seemed to be

wondering if they would be able to survive and accept all the mistreatment they

received, sounding like sighing and hoping that they would be able to face the

reality.

The word "liberations" in the last line of the stanza referred to the hope that

black women want to achieve, namely to be like other people and be treated fairly

and properly. The word contradicted with the words "in prison" which indicated

that being under the pressure of racism made these women feel imprisoned and

bounded. To get out of "prison" they need the power to resist, then with this

method, namely fighting racism with poem, could be named as power of black

women.
 62

3. A Woman Speaks

Data 24:

―I have been woman

for a long time
beware my smile
I am treacherous with old magic‖
(Lorde, 1997:line 25-28, stanza 3)

In this third stanza of the poem ―I have been woman for a long time‖

described the situation of women who have been under the oppression of racism

for a long time, the word "for a longtime" in the second line has a very deep

meaning, simply because black women were fed up with the mistreatmesnt that

they received just because they were a woman. This verse reflected that as if they

were tired of the practice of racism they experienced as black women, there were

complaints and hatred in every words that was written.

In the third line said "beware my smile" it referred as the anger and the

bravery of the black woman, indirectly they emphasized through these words that

they were not afraid and express their power through words. The word "smile"

was classified as an allussion in the type of poetry element. It referred to the

beauty that women have, and the woman wanted to define that behind their beauty

there was hidden power and anger. At the same time ―smile‖ can also indicated as

the power of women who were fighting as women to be treated like ordinary

people.

The last line of the stanza reflected the powerful words. The word

"treacherous with old magic" indicated that apart from the beauty that women

have, they have a dangerous side and were not easy to be beaten. This verse
 63

described how the black women had the great power and should never

underestimate a woman just because of they look weak, inside they have power

and strength, of them was being able to create the method to fight the racism and

the injustice they suffer which was racism.

Data 25:

―and the noon's new fury

with all your wide futures
promised
I am
woman
and not white‖ (Lorde, 1997:line 29-34, stanza 3)

In the last part of this poem ―and the noon's new fury‖ it described how

angry women were towards racist and racism perpetrators that continue to befall

women in that era. The second line referred to what would happen in the future,

promising a bright future to women even though they were not considered

humanly due to differences in gender and skin color. It also told about the women

who experienced acts of racism because of differences in race, culture, gender.

Instead of actual warning, these lines represented a statement of mysterious

power, with a hint of sarcasm to dismantle the idea of black women as dangerous.

She seemed to yearn for the "broad future" in the sixth line, and it was written in

the line 4 to 6 "I am a woman and not white " it represented to boldly present her

different self, beyond the reach of this "promise" but and remained a woman,

engaged in a similar struggle for equality, however, it must be realized.

In the last line it was again emphasized that this poem talked about black

women, which clearly described the reasons why they were victims of the
 64

oppression of racism. Then also, it referred to the power that women have by

being able to fight racism by expressing their feelings and anger and protest

against the racial discrimination they received as black women. This poem simply

showed that the women were not weak in words, but they were able to turn

beautiful words into their power to fight racism.

C. Discussion

This section presented the discussions based on the findings of the research

in Audre Lorde Selected poems entitled Power, Who Said It Was Simple, adn A

Woman Speaks. The writer realized there were some kind of different aspects of

racism that reflected in those poems. It could be seen from each of the lines and

also in the stanzas. To be able to discover the racism itself, the writer used the

theory of Delgado and Stefancic (2001) which named Critical Race Theory.

Moreover, the writer also discovered some of the words that interpreted as racism

by using the element of poem such as metonymy, pars prototo, and allusion.

In addition, the writer also discovered that the three poems above were

classified into satire and the poems were contained racism values that focus on

black women, however to the racism, these poems also revealed the value of

power that black women got as a method to combat racism that occured around

them, or even themselves as victims of unequal treatment that they face for years.

In fact, in this research the writer also discovered the value of the racism by

using the terms of poem which is figurative language such as allusion, metonymy,

methaphor and pars prototo. The figurative language were discovered in some of
 65

the words in the poem, nonetheless not every data in this research were explained

by figurative language. Some of the figurative language were used to find the

value of racims in the poems.

Apart from the value of racism the writer also examined the power of the

black woman by interpreting every word that written in these poems by using the

theory of the Black Feminist by Collins (2000), and the Black Power Movement

edited by Joseph (2006). The result showed that there were several words and

lines that were found as the power or the anger of the black women against the

racism which poured into the beautiful meaningful words that were not quite easy

to comprehend.

The power of the black woman that reflected in the poems could be found by

using the two theories above. Furthermore, the writer used the figurative language

such as allusion, metonymy, pars prototo and methaphor. The figurative language

were using to identify some of the specific words that might be appeared in this

reseacrh. The use of using the figurative lnguange is to assist the writer to

interpret the real meaning of the certain words and be able to decipher the whole

meaning of the those words into sentences

The three poems in this research were all clasified into satire since the poems

contained critism issue to the society and written based on the reality that

happened in the society. The poems represented the protest of the black women

who against the racism in that era which namely the power. The power that

explained in this research practically as the method and an anger of the black
 66

women to against the racism by using their own method which is through the

words such as poem.

The poem ‗Power‘ represented the type of racism such as skin color, gender,

injustice, segregation and racial discrimination. This poem was described about

the murder of a little boy because of his skin color. According to the content of

the poem, the writer discovered some of the aspects of the racism which also

classified into satire since it contained the protest against what happened to the

little boy and it happened in the reality. In addition, this poem also reflected the

power of the women or the anger and the protest against the incident that faced by

the little boy as the victim of the racism. The power itself could be seen from the

words or the stanzas that written in the poems used by the black woman that stood

by the little boy.

The second poem ‗Who Said It Was Simple‘ reflected the type of racism such

as gender, skin color, and homophobia. This poem reflected about the anger of the

women against the racism in that era. As the black woman that also a lesbian

made the women were treated unequally. In this poem, the racism appeared from

the certain words that classified as satire since it appeared from the reality event

and also as the critism towards the racism that occured to the black lesbian

women. In fact, the poem were analyzed by using the figurative language such as

methaphor, metonymy, allusion and pars prototo. In this poem also identified as

the power or the method to against the racism that appeared to the black women.

The power discovered from the each words that poured into the poem, could be
 67

said as an anger and a method that used to defense themselves as the victim of the

racism that they experienced as the lesbian black women.

The last poem ‗A Woman Speaks‘ represented several aspects of racism,

namely racial discrimination, gender and skin color. The poem potrayed the

racism that experienced by the black women who faced the racism because of the

different gender, skin color and the culture. The aspects of the racism could be

found in some certain words that poured into the poem. To be able to discover

those values, the writer used the theory that explained in the previous chapter

which named Critical Race Theory (2001), furthermore the use of figurative

language of analyzing the data were partially assist the writer to discover the

aspects of racism in the poem.

 68

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION

After analyzing and discussing the objectives problem in the previous

chapter, the writer would like to presented some conclusions and suggestion.

A. Conclusions

After analyzing the aspect of racism and the power of the black woman in

Audre Lorde selected poems by using the theory by Delgado and Stefancic called

Critical Race Theory, and to analyze power of the black woman using Black

Feminist Thought by Collins and Black Power Movement by Joseph. The writer

could draw several conclusion, as follows:

1. Based on the kinds of poem, ‗Power‘ could be classifed into a satire because

the poem contained criticism to the community described from reality when

little boy who is brutally killed because he is black. In this poem there are

several aspects of racism, namely skin color, injustice, segregation and racial

discrimination.

2. In the poem ‗Who Said It Was Simple‘ the writer grouped the poem into satire

because this poem had critism issue to the society and written based on the

reality that happened to the author. It revealed about the oppression

experienced by women because of gender, skin color and lesbianism. In this

poem, there are aspects of racism, such as gender, skin color, and

homophobia.

3. The poem ‗A woman speaks‘ counted into satire because this poem expressed

critism and written by the author based on the reality who experienced racism
 69

and injustice. In the poem A Woman Speaks reflection of women who

experience racism because of differences in gender, race, culture and skin

color. There are several aspects of racism contained in poetry, namely racial

discrimination, gender and skin color.

4. The three poems are contained "the power of the black women" or what is

called the anger or method that used by black women to fight racism. These

three poems reflected the anger and struggles that the black women had been

through, but they existed not in every ztanza. There are several of the stanzas

and lines that revealed the power that the writer discovered, which could be

seen from each meaningful words that poured into the poems.

B. Suggestion

In this research, the writer realized that this research has several weaknesses.

This ensued because of the capable limitation of the writer knowledge and

experiences. Indeed, in this research the writer still needs corrections and

suggestions. This research expected to be more beneficial for the student of

literature and could be the references to the future writer. In addition, the result of

this research can give contribution to others and give advantages to all people that

they have intention to learn about live through work of art.

 70

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 74

APPENDICES
 75

A. Poem of Audre Lorde

1. Power

The difference between poetry and rhetoric (1)

is being ready to kill
yourself
instead of your children.

I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds (5)

and a dead child dragging his shattered black
face off the edge of my sleep
blood from his punctured cheeks and shoulders
is the only liquid for miles
and my stomach (10)
churns at the imagined taste while
my mouth splits into dry lips
without loyalty or reason
thirsting for the wetness of his blood
as it sinks into the whiteness (15)
of the desert where I am lost
without imagery or magic
trying to make power out of hatred and destruction
trying to heal my dying son with kisses
only the sun will bleach his bones quicker. (20)

A policeman who shot down a ten year old in Queens

stood over the boy with his cop shoes in childish blood
and a voice said ―Die you little motherfucker‖ and
there are tapes to prove it. At his trial
this policeman said in his own defense (25)
―I didn't notice the size nor nothing else
only the color‖. And
there are tapes to prove that, too.

Today that 37 year old white man

with 13 years of police forcing (30)
was set free
by eleven white men who said they were satisfied
justice had been done
and one Black Woman who said
―They convinced me‖ meaning (35)
they had dragged her 4'10'' black Woman's frame
over the hot coals
of four centuries of white male approval
until she let go
 76

the first real power she ever had (40)

and lined her own womb with cement
to make a graveyard for our children.

I have not been able to touch the destruction

within me.
But unless I learn to use (45)
the difference between poetry and rhetoric
my power too will run corrupt as poisonous mold
or lie limp and useless as an unconnected wire
and one day I will take my teenaged plug
and connect it to the nearest socket (50)
raping an 85 year old white woman
who is somebody's mother
and as I beat her senseless and set a torch to her bed
a greek chorus will be singing in 3/4 time
―Poor thing. She never hurt a soul. What beasts they are.‖ (55)
 77

2. Who Said It Was Simple

There are so many roots to the tree of anger (1)

that sometimes the branches shatter
before they bear.

Sitting in Nedicks
the women rally before they march (5)
discussing the problematic girls
they hire to make them free.
An almost white counterman passes
a waiting brother to serve them first
and the ladies neither notice nor reject (10)
the slighter pleasures of their slavery.
But I who am bound by my mirror
as well as my bed
see causes in colour
as well as sex (15)

and sit here wondering

which me will survive
all these liberations. (18)
 78

3. A Woman Speaks

Moon marked and touched by sun (1)

my magic is unwritten
but when the sea turns back
it will leave my shape behind.
I seek no favor (5)
untouched by blood
unrelenting as the curse of love
permanent as my errors
or my pride
I do not mix (10)
love with pity
nor hate with scorn
and if you would know me
look into the entrails of Uranus
where the restless oceans pound. (15)

I do not dwell
within my birth nor my divinities
who am ageless and half-grown
and still seeking
my sisters (20)
witches in Dahomey
wear me inside their coiled cloths
as our mother did
mourning.

I have been woman (25)

for a long time
beware my smile
I am treacherous with old magic
and the noon's new fury (30)
with all your wide futures
promised
I am
woman
and not white. (35)
 79

B. Biography of Audre Lorde

Audre was born in New York City on

18 February, 1934. The youngest of three

children born to immigrant parents from

the West Indies, Audre was so nearsighted

that she was legally blind and had a

condition known as ―tongue-tie‖ which

inhibited her speech development. That,

combined with the fact that she was growing up in Harlem during the Great

Depression, meant Audre had a childhood that could not have been easy. Her

mother, a great lover of words, taught Audre to read and write when she was four

years old. She passed her love of words on to Audre, and this love became her

salvation.

Audre‘s passion for words was crystallised in poetry, and she found poems to

be a useful way to express her thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences.

However, as Audre approached her teen years, she soon found that some of the

things she wanted to say couldn‘t be expressed by the poems she was reading. It

was then that she decided to write her own. She wrote her first poem in the eighth

grade, and by the time she graduated high school, she‘d already had a poem

published in Seventeen Magazine. Audre continued writing poetry throughout her

time at Hunter College, where she received her bachelors degree, and throughout

her time at Columbia University, where she received her masters in Library

Science in 1961.
 80

The year after completing her master‘s degree, Audre‘s poetry was featured in

Langston Hughes‘ New Negro Poets. That same year, she also married Edwin

Rollins, and together, they had two children before divorcing in 1970. During

their marriage, Audre‘s poetry was published in a number of journals and

anthologies. During this time Audre also worked as a librarian, and devoted much

of herself to political activism. As an activist, she protested the war and

participated in both the civil rights and feminist movements.

By the end of the 1960s, Audre‘s career as a poet had begun to take off. In

1968, she was named a poet in residence at Tougaloo College, where she also

discovered a love for teaching. That same year, her first collection of poems was

published. The book was well-received, and two years later, she released her

second collection, Cables to Rage. Cables to Rage was her first foray into protest

poetry, and it was also the book where she came out as a lesbian. Audre wrote five

other books of poetry after the publication of Cables, skilfully exploring

everything from lesbian relationships to parenting, violence, racism and

homophobia. Her work earned her a National Book award nomination and a

reputation as a visionary.

Audre died on 17 November 1992, at the age of 58, following a courageous

14-year battle with breast cancer. She dealt with her illness as she did every other

battle in her life—with strength, courage, and exceptional writing. She chronicled

her illness in her first prose book, Cancer Journals, inspiring women everywhere

in the process.
 81

C. Biography of the writer

Lady was born in Sumarorong on 22

February, 1998. She is the youngest of three

children, born to the parents named Yustina

Barrang B and Tadius Tekkay. She is originally

from Toraja, South Sulawesi but she grew up in

Mamuju, West Sulawesi. She started the elementary

school in the city where she grew up until she finished the high school. When she

was very little, her family decided to move out to the city, Mamuju. That‘s where

she started her new life, schools and everything. Her mother is a teacher, teaching

religion education which is christian in one of the senior high school in Mamuju.

Her father is a self-employed.

She has a brother and a sister. Her brother name is Agung Ekayanto, a

married man with two children, a daughter and a son which still very litte. Her

sister name is Yuyunianty, an adult woman who‘s ready to marry her future

husband very soon.

In 2016 she went to college in Makassar, South Sulawesi and majoring

English Literature in Bosowa University. The reason behind the major that she

took was that when she was a child she had always been a huge fan of English.

She liked to listen to news, tv shows, songs, and anything in English, besides, she

acknowledged that English is the universal language. However when she finished

the high school, she began to fall in love with poetry and movies, so that was all

the reason behind this English Literature department that she was in.
82