Hybrid Identity and the Deconstruction of Colonial Myth In Toer’s Novels Bumi Manusia and Anak Semua Bangsa

Abstract

This study analyses how Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Bumi Manusia and Anak Semua Bangsa expose and deconstruct colonial assumptions about race, gender, and power dynamics in the Dutch East Indies, while portraying hybrid identities as a means of cultural resistance. This research integrates postcolonial and decolonial frameworks, utilizing a qualitative-descriptive methodology to conduct a comprehensive examination of the story, characters, and ideological symbols within the text. The study's findings indicate that characters like Minke and Nyai Ontosoroh employ language, education, and morality as instruments for decolonizing consciousness, whereas Annelies, Robert Mellema, and Jan Dapperste exhibit a range of hybridity from conflict and rejection to interracial solidarity. Colonial myths regarding Western superiority and Eastern inferiority are articulated and subsequently deconstructed through narratives that validate universal humanity. Pramoedya's oeuvre delineates colonial tensions while also establishing a novel epistemological framework grounded in ethics, labour, and human dignity. This article asserts that literature serves as a reflecting and liberating tool for decolonial consciousness in Indonesia.