JOLALI: Journal of Language and Literature

NAILA’S STRUGGLE OVERCOMING GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN AISYA SAEED’S WRITTEN IN THE STARS NOVEL

Muedah — 2026-01-27

This study examines gender discrimination and women’s struggle as represented in Aisha Saeed’s novel Written in the Stars. Gender discrimination remains a persistent issue within patriarchal societies, where women are often subjected to unequal treatment, limited autonomy, and coercive social practices. Using a descriptive qualitative research design, this study analyzes narrative passages and dialogues that depict discriminatory practices experienced by the female protagonist, Naila, and her resistance to patriarchal domination. The analysis is guided by Fakih’s concept of gender discrimination and Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist theory. The findings reveal that Naila experiences several forms of gender discrimination, including subordination, marginalization, and psychological violence, particularly in the context of forced marriage and restricted personal freedom. These discriminatory practices position women as objects of control within familial and cultural systems. Despite these constraints, Naila demonstrates resistance through awareness, emotional defiance, and the pursuit of self-determination. Her struggle reflects an existential process of becoming a subject who challenges oppressive gender norms. This study concludes that Written in the Stars portrays gender discrimination as a structural problem rooted in patriarchal ideology while simultaneously highlighting women’s capacity for resistance. By applying feminist theory to contemporary young adult fiction, this research contributes to feminist literary studies and offers insight into how literature functions as a medium for exposing and contesting gender inequality.

ANALYSIS OF POLITENESS MAXIMS IN RAYMOND CARVER’S WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE

Cindy Tri Ardani — 2026-01-27

This study investigates the use of Geoffrey Leech’s politeness maxims in Raymond Carver’s short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love through a qualitative descriptive approach. The study aims to identify the types of politeness maxims employed by the characters in their interactions. The data consist of utterances produced by the main characters—Mel, Terri, Nick, and Laura. The findings reveal that, among Leech’s six politeness maxims, only three are present in the story: Modesty, Agreement, and Sympathy, with a total of seven occurrences. The analysis demonstrates that the characters primarily employ strategies of self-effacement, conflict minimization, and emotional alignment, which are central to discussions of love, trauma, and personal experience. The Sympathy Maxim appears most frequently, reflecting the emotional intensity surrounding narratives of past relationships and individual definitions of love. Mel predominantly uses the Modesty Maxim to soften assertive expressions, while the Agreement Maxim maintains conversational harmony by respecting differing viewpoints. These findings suggest that politeness in Carver’s dialogue is highly context-dependent and closely tied to the characters’ emotional openness and sensitivity. This study addresses a gap in previous research, which has largely focused on gendered or sociolinguistic aspects of the text without examining the underlying politeness strategies. By demonstrating that politeness maxims function not only as social conventions but also as emotional devices within literary dialogue, this research contributes to the field of pragmatic literary analysis.

SIGNA’S CHARACTER BUILDING IN ADALYN GRACE’S BELLADONNA

Tamara Rahyuanti — 2026-01-28

This study analyzes the character development of Signa Farrow, the orphan protagonist in Adalyn Grace’s Belladonna (2022), using Erik Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Role Confusion. The research aims to identify the stages of Signa’s character development and to explain the impact of her character’s development on the narrative and other characters in the novel. This study applies a qualitative descriptive method with a psychological literary approach. The data are taken from narrative descriptions, dialogues, and events that portray Signa’s emotional, moral, and psychological growth. The findings reveal that Signa’s character building develops through four main stages: struggles and isolation, adaptation and social learning, moral conflict and responsibility, and identity acceptance. These stages reflect Erikson’s identity development process, showing how Signa transforms from an emotionally insecure orphan into a confident young woman with a clear sense of self. The study concludes that Belladonna presents orphanhood not merely as a condition of loss, but as a psychological foundation for identity formation and emotional resilience in young adult fiction.

A FELICITY CONDITION ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN CHARACTER IN LITTLE WOMEN (2019)

Theola Caesar Aisyah Sidik — 2026-01-30

This study examines the types of speech acts and the realization of felicity conditions performed by the main characters in the Little Women (2019) movie, using Austin’s (1962) speech act theory and Searle’s (1969) felicity condition framework. Employing a descriptive qualitative method, the research identifies 97 utterances comprising assertive, directive, commissive, expressive, and declarative acts. It analyzes whether each fulfills or deviates from the propositional content, preparatory, sincerity, and essential conditions. The findings show that 81 utterances are felicitous and 16 are infelicitous, demonstrating that successful communication occurs when intention, context, and authority support the speech act, while infelicity arises from insincerity, lack of ability, or mismatched context, thereby deviating from the felicity conditions. These pragmatic outcomes play a significant role in understanding how felicitous and infelicitous utterances shape the movie's emotional dynamics, character, and plot tension. The study also concludes that felicity conditions are essential for understanding how speech acts function effectively or deviate in the movie utterances, offering deeper insight into how communication constructs relationships and meaning in a movie.

FAITH, CARE, AND CONTRADICTION: MARY COOPER’S POSTHUMAN MOTHERHOOD IN YOUNG SHELDON

Livia Traesar — 2026-01-30

This study explores the representation of Mary Cooper, the mother figure in the television series Young Sheldon (2017–2024), through Rosi Braidotti’s Mother–Monster–Machine framework. As a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, the series revisits the conflict between science and religion in small-town Texas, centering on Mary, a devout Baptist mother raising a child prodigy whose rational worldview often challenges her faith. Using a qualitative descriptive approach with textual and narrative analysis, this research examines episodes that highlight Mary’s negotiations of faith, motherhood, and moral authority. The findings reveal that Mary embodies three interconnected subjectivities: as Mother, she performs care rooted in faith and emotional endurance; as Monster, she embodies the patriarchal fear of religious intensity; and as Machine, she mediates the ideological tension between belief and reason, serving as an ethical interface within her family. These overlapping identities present Mary Cooper as a posthuman hybrid, illustrating how religious motherhood adapts to the contradictions of modernity. The study concludes that Young Sheldon transforms motherhood from a static moral category into an ethical negotiation, redefining faith as both emotional intelligence and a strategy for resilience in a rational, posthuman world.