The behavior of third world’s bourgeois in the short story 'si padang'

Abstract

This article discusses the behavior of third world bourgeois in the short story Si Padang by Harris Effendi Thahar from Homi K Bhabha's perspective. The concept used is the west-east dichotomy and mimicry/mockery in the third world. The problem raised by this article is the behavior of rich people which is not the same as the traditional Minangkabau concept of wealth. This difference occurs because of the intersection of western and eastern culture, resulting in mimicry. The concept of third world mimicry in Bhabha's sense can be seen from figures who show off their wealth excessively but also provide social responsibility by building facilities in their hometown. The results found are that the behavior of the rich man in the short story Si Padang is to pursue symbolic status in which wealth is squandered to gain recognition. Second, the characters who do not practice mimicri will be eliminated in the social arena. The conclusion is that the mimicry negotiation process is not balanced, the East in this short story is more dominant than the West.