Representation of the Imagination of Western and Eastern Orientalism in the Novel Sang Raja by Iksaka Banu: A Postcolonial Study

Abstract

The Western imagination as a superior and legitimate subject, and (3) the ambivalent imagination in the power relations between the West and the East. The study focuses on Iksaka Banu’s novel Sang Raja, which portrays colonial reality through the characters’ perspectives, historical experiences, and social relationships between the colonial authorities and the indigenous people in colonial society. The research data consists of narrative excerpts, dialogues, and events containing representations of Western and Eastern Orientalism. The research instrument was developed by the researcher using a corpus of data to facilitate data categorization according to the research focus. Data analysis was conducted using a qualitative descriptive method with content analysis techniques through the stages of data collection, categorization, interpretation, and drawing conclusions. The research findings reveal the existence of a stereotype of Eastern inferiority, portraying the East as simple and weak; a construction of Western superiority, depicting the West as rational and powerful; and the emergence of ambivalence in the power relations between the West and the East. These findings confirm that Orientalism is not merely an imaginative representation but also serves as an ideological justification for colonial domination.