THE SHIFT OF SOCIALISM INTO CAPITALISM IN GEORGE

ORWELL’S NOVEL “KEEP THE ASPIDISTRA FLYING”

A Final Project

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English

by

Mohammad Helmi Rahman

2250407070

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY

2014
 APPROVAL

This final project was approved by the board of Examination of English

Department of Faculty of Languages and Arts of Semarang State University on
….September 2014
Board of Examiners

1. Chairperson

Mr/Mrs.
NIP. …………… ________________
2. Secretary

Mr/Mrs
NIP. …………… ________________
3. First Examiner

Mr/Mrs
NIP. …………… ________________
4. Second Examiner as First Advisor

Dr. Rudi Hartono, M.Pd.

NIP. …………… ________________
5. Third Examiner as Second Advisor

Rini Susanti, S.S, M.Hum.

NIP. …………… ________________

Aproved by
Dean of Faculty of Languages and Art

Mr/Mrs.
NIP.

ii
 MOTTO AND DEDEICATION
Knowledge comes, but wisdom linger
(Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

To Allah, Muhammad and my parents

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Allah for being
guidance and companion on doing this final project.

My pure gratitude goes to Dr. Rudi Hartono, M.Pd., my first advisor, for his
supports and advice in completing this study and also to Rini Susanti, S.S, M.Hum.
my second advisor for her advice and guidance in finishing this final project.

I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Issy Yuliasri, M.Pd., the head of

English Department, all lecturers, and staff for having educated and help me
during my study at English Department.

Next, my deepest gratitude is devoted to my family who always supported

and motivated me. My special gratitude is also addressed to my fellows of English
Literature 2007 who have inspired me and supported me in finishing this task. I
also want to thank others who have given me their supports and helped me in
finishing this report.

I realize that this final project is not perfect; therefore, I hope criticism and
suggestions for improvement. I hope that this final project will be usefull for the
readers.

Mohammad Helmi Rahman

iv
 ABSTRACT

Rahman, Mohammad Helmi. 2014. The Shift of Socialism into Capitalism in

George Orwell’s Keep the Aspidistra Flying. Final Project, English
Department, Languages and Arts Faculty, Semarang State University. 1st
Advisor: Dr. Rudi Hartono, M.Pd. 2nd Advisor: Rini Susanti, S.S,
M.Hum.

This final project is a sociological analysis on George Orwell’s novella

Keep the Aspidistra Flying. This novel tells about how the shift of socialism into
capitalism by a little life of a human when money become god.

This final project has three problems to be explored; those are: (1)the
revealed of socialism (2)the revealed of Capitalism (3)the shift of Socialism into
Capitalism in this novel.

The method of investigation which was used was a qualitative method. In

writing this final project, I conducted a library research. The data were in the form
of words, phrases, sentences, and quotations which were related to the topic. The
data are collected through appendices. There are two appendices in this final
project; they are Apendix 1 and Apendix 2. The summary of the novel can be seen
in the Appendix 1; Apendix 2 contain the data to answer the first, second and third
problems.

The analysis results in several findings. I found that George Orwell used
irony in writing his novel. I discovered that there are two ideologies in human life,
Socialism and Capitalism. In the novel, Orwell explains that Capitalism is the
dominating ideology in the social life when money-god has become like a religion
in people’s lives. Orwell shows it by aspidistra as a symbol of capitalism.

Above all, there is one thing which can be drawn in dealing with social
problems. The importance of people’s understanding that as the member of
society in this world, being a capitalist or a socialist is about fulfilling needs
which also means that it is about how we can earn money.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENT

APPROVAL........................................................................................................

MOTTO AND DEDICATION ...........................................................................

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................

TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION......................................................................6

1.1 Background of the Study.........................................................................6

1.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic .............................................................3

1.3 Statements of the Problem ......................................................................3

1.4 Objective of the Study.............................................................................4

1.5 Significances of the Study.......................................................................4

1.6 Outline of the Study ................................................................................5

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .............................6

2.1 Review of Previous Research..................................................................6

2.2 Review of Related Theories ....................................................................7

2.2.1 Literature .................................................................................................7

2.2.2 Ideology...................................................................................................10

2.2.2.1 Socialism .................................................................................................10

2.2.2.2 Capitalism. ..............................................................................................11

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2.3 Theoretical Framework ...........................................................................13

2.3.1 Sociology in Literature ............................................................................13

CHAPTER III RESEARH METHODOLOGY .............................................16

3.1 Object of the Study..................................................................................16

3.2 Type of Research.....................................................................................16

3.3 Type of the Data ......................................................................................17

3.4 Role of the Researcher ............................................................................17

3.5 Method of Data Collection ......................................................................18

3.5.1 Document ................................................................................................18

3.6 Research Procedures ...............................................................................18

3.6.1 Reading ...................................................................................................18

3.6.2 Identifying Data ......................................................................................18

3.6.3 Inventorying the Data by Using Table ....................................................19

3.6.4 Classifying ..............................................................................................19

3.6.5 Selecting ..................................................................................................19

3.6.6 Reporting .................................................................................................19

3.7 Techniques of Data Analysis ..................................................................19

CHAPTER IV DISCUSSION ..........................................................................21

4.1 Socialism as Revealed in the Novel ........................................................21

4.1.1 Socialism Reflected by the Main Character in the Novel .......................21

4.1.2 Socialism Reflected by Different Places and the Inhabitants .................30

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4.1.3 Socialism Represented by Characters and Characterizations .................38

4.2 Capitalism as Revealed in the Novel ......................................................47

4.2.1 Capitalism as Reflected by the Setting of Place......................................47

4.2.2 Capitalism Reflected by Minor Characters in the Novel ........................58

4.2.3 Capitalism Reflected by Aspidistra.........................................................63

4.3 The Shift of Socialism into Capitalism as Reflected in the Novel..........67

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS................................84

5.1 Conclusion ..............................................................................................84

4.4 Suggestion ...............................................................................................86

APPENDIXES ...................................................................................................88

BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................94

viii
 CHAPTER I

INTRfODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Socialism and Capitalism, often viewed as a never ending battle of ideology, is

one of interesting topics to be investigated. The fact these ideology are opposite in

their point of view of class division. Both ideologies have same importance in this

tricky class division. Capitalism needs class division to run, while socialist judged

it as the exploitation towards subordinate by dominant class. This point elevates

the unfinished battle.

Capitalism extremely viewed as evil in the frame of Socialism. Socialism,

its goal is to untie labor from capitalist exploitation, rejects it for at least two

reasons. Firstly, according to socialists, Capitalism is exploitative in purpose of

benefits only. Their greed in huge profit drives them to lower production cost by

cutting the wages of their exploited labor. Secondly, socialist accuses capitalist

built superstructure in social life to maintain the subordinate class. It constructed

to cover the exploitation from labor’s eyes. These two reasons lead socialist to

free the labor from exploitative Capitalism.

The controversy is that Capitalism often viewed as social life destructive

ideology. This view appears as the effect of Capitalism’s exploitative. As the

result,

9
 10

the dominant class become more dominant, while for the subordinate is

only misery. Furthermore, the hatred towards Capitalism arose and Socialism

began its domination in people’s mind. However, these views are still in the frame

of Socialism. Capitalism has its own concept of class division. Kiyosaki (1998:

26) introduces his concept of Capitalism’s class division is placed in a quadrant

which the circle is individual’s while the quadrants are the choice of individual.

Thus, class division in Capitalism is in the concept of individual choice, not in the

relationship of the upper and the lower.

For some reasons, Capitalism has strong point in class division. Class

division offers people chance and motivation to level up in return of better result

for their effort. Class division also viewed as evil, due to workers exploitation in

it, for unreliable reason. It is the people who reject the idea of level up in class

division. The effort of leveling up is risky, so that they prefer to choose safer

“exploited” labor. Hence, hatred towards Capitalism and its class division is due

to people’s rejects towards level up and said as the unreasonable argument.

From brief explanation of Capitalism and Socialism above, the study of

them also can be conducted through a novel analysis. One of recommended

novelist for this case is George Orwell. In 1936, Orwell published his “KEEP

THE ASPIDISTRA FLYING”. In this novel, I am interested in conducting research

on Socialism, its opposite ideology, Capitalism and the shifting of Socialism into

Capitalism.
 11

1.2 Reason for Choosing the Topic

I chose George Orwell’s Keep the Aspidistra Flying as the object of my study,

with the controversial conflict between Socialism and Capitalism as the topic

because of the following reasons:

1) Socialism and Capitalism viewed as the opposite ideology although both

are in the same goal of wealth and prosperity.

2) In the same goal, Capitalism requires more responsibility of each

individual to earn the goal, economic or social. It is only individual

responsibility effort will lead to get success.

3) The differences between Socialism and Capitalism are followed by the

effort to change and banish their foe.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

The discussion is limited by focusing on the following problems:

1) How is Socialism revealed in the novel?

2) How is Capitalism revealed in the novel?

3) How is the shift of Socialism into Capitalism reflected in the novel?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

Based on the statement of problem above, the objective of study can be stated as

follows:

1) To describe how Socialism is revealed in George Orwell’s Keep the

Aspidistra Flying.
 12

2) To describe how Capitalism is revealed in George Orwell’s Keep the

Aspidistra Flying.

3) To show how the shift of Socialism into Capitalism is in George Orwell’s

Keep the Aspidistra Flying.

1.5 Significance of the Study

By conducting this study, I expect to give the readers a deeper understanding

about political matters related to political ideology of Socialism and Capitalism

through a literary work and to make them realize how important it is. This

understanding helps people to look after themselves and prevent others to abuse

power.

The result of this study also helps other people who are interested in

conducting similar studies and give them additional information about literature,

social politics especially the one which is related to Socialism and Capitalism.

1.6 Outline of the Study

This study consists of five chapters. Chapter I is introduction which discusses

background of the study, reason for choosing the topic, statement of the problem,

objective of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, and outline of

the study.

Chapter II presents review of related literature. It consists of some

references and theories which are related to the subject matter. It is including
 13

review on the previous study, review on the related theories and theoretical

framework.

Chapter III is methodology. It discussed about object of the study, type of

research, instrument, type of the data, type of the researcher, method of data

collection, and techniques of data analysis.

Chapter IV is discussion. It discusses the result of the analysis. In this

chapter, I discuss finding and interpreting data.

Chapter V is the conclusions and suggestions. It contains the conclusions

of the study and suggestions.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter discusses reviews of previous researches which have similar topics or

related topics with this study, review of related theories, and a theoretical

framework. In review of related theories, there are discussions about the concept

of literature, sociology in literature, ideology, Socialism and Capitalism.

2.1. Review of Previous Research

Nenin Astiti Ayunda conducted her study entitled The Capitalist Dominance

Found in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” in 2006. Her study deals with Marxism

Theory, particularly Capitalism as one of society’s step to Marxism. It analyses

the capitalist dominance found in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery. One of the

objectives of her study is to find out the background of the growth of Capitalism

and the cause of existence of Capitalism. The result of her study is that the

capitalists dominate the workers through work fields and civic activities. These

two different social classes live in a village where the lottery exists. Those who do

not have power and position in society where the lottery exists will not be allowed

to control the lottery that is admitted as the most prominent inherited tradition.

The capitalists use the available opportunity to

conduct the lottery. Thus, they endorse their power and reinforce their Capitalism

ideology to strengthen their existence in society.

The other study which has similar topic is conducted by Amat Mundir. In

2007 he wrote his final project entitled A Conflict of Interest between Capital and

14
 15

Labor in Jack London’s “The Iron Hill”. He conducted a sociological analysis of

the novel about the conflict which happens between the capital and the working

class in US. The result of his study shows that conflicts between them are caused

by human selfishness, individualism and laissez faire-individualism and freedom

spirit.

This study aims to complete the studies or journals which had been

conducted or written previously. The two previous studies conducted by Nenin

Astiti Ayunda and Amat Mundir tend to focus on the Capitalism and the class of

interest which happens between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. In this

investigation, I wish to complete the previous researches on the theme of

Socialism and Capitalism by attempting to view the shift of Socialism into

Capitalism in Keep the Aspidistra Flying.

2.2. Review of Related Theories

2.2.1 Literature

For centuries, writers, literary historians, and others have debated about the

definition of literature, but failed to agree on a definition for this term. We use the

word literature, in a broad sense to mean compositions that tell stories, dramatize

situations, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas (Roberts, 2003: 1).

Meanwhile, Rees (1973: 1-2) defines literature in broad sense and narrow sense.

In broad sense, literature is anything which is written such as newspaper, tabloid,

a cook book, etc. While literature in narrow sense is a piece of writing which
 16

expresses the writer’s feeling or emotion, thoughts or ideas, and attitudes toward

life and the world.

The word literature derives from the Latin term littera, meaning “letter”, which

supports the broad sense meaning of literature proposed by Rees. However, such a

definition eliminates the importance of oral traditions on which much of our

literature is based (Bressler, 1999: 9). Before the invention of writing thousands

years ago, literary works were necessarily spoken or sung, and they were retained

only as long as living people continued to repeat them (Roberts, 2003: 2). To

solve this problem some people chose to define literature as an art, thereby

leaving the open question of its being written or oral (Bressler, 1999: 9), and this

would later narrow the meaning of literature as imaginative or creative writing. By

this definition, or by the narrow sense definition, newspaper, a cook book, or a

tabloid can no longer be considered as literature. They are replaced by poetry,

drama, novel, or other imaginative writing.

Literature has moral function in addition to its purpose to entertain. Literature

links people to the cultural, philosophical, and religious world of which they are a

part. It enables people to recognize human dreams and struggles in different

places and times (Roberts, 2003: 2).

Literary can be classified into four categories. They are prose fiction,

poetry, drama, and non-fiction prose. Prose fiction includes myths, parables,

romances, novels, and short stories (Purbani, 2010). The essence of fiction is

narration, the relating or recounting of a sequence of events or actions (Roberts,

2003: 2). Poetry is a literary work which has its power in its words, thoughts,
 17

rhyme, and variety of rhythms to intensify its emotional impact (Roberts, 2003:

3). Drama is literary works which is designed to be performed in a stage before

the audience. The essence of drama is in the development characters and situation

through dialogues and action, while nonfictional prose is literature which presents

truths and conclusion about the factual worlds such as news report, essay,

editorial, biographical work, and the like (Suhariyadi, 2009).

Novel is the genre of the literary work I employed in this study. Novel is

developed late in history. Like short story, a novel tells a story. However, novel

presents more than an episode. In a novel, the writer has the freedom to develop

plot, characters, and theme slowly. Unlike short stories, most novels have

numerous shifts in time, place, and focus of interest. Novel deals with human

experience through a connected sequence of events (Supriyanto, 2008).

A good novel is the one which is able to widen its readers’ sympathies,

help its readers’ sense of proportion, and educate its readers’ moral judgment.

Therefore, a novel has a splendid function: to strengthen our imaginative

sympathies and insights and so make us wiser and better (Boulton, 1975: 9). The

elements of novel are plot, characters, conflict, setting, tone, and theme. Through

these elements a novelist creates a fictional world that seems to be real for the

reader.

2.2.2 Ideology

Ideology is part of politics. The largely concealed structure of values which

informs and underlies our factual statements is part of what is meant by 'ideology'.

By 'ideology' is the ways in which what we say and believe connects with the
 18

power-structure and power-relations of the society we live in (Eagleton, 2005:

23).

Ideology is simply the deeply entrenched, often unconscious beliefs which

people hold and it is started with the belief that things can be better. Anthony

Downs put ideology as a verbal image of good society, and of the chief means of

constructing such a society (Roskin, 2008: 94). There are various ideologies that

appears to the world as the history of nations recorded them such as Liberalism,

Socialism, Democracy, Fascism, and so on. Capitalism and Marxist Socialism are

two different ideologies which is investigated through this study. The two are very

famous for their battle has brought so much misery for people in the middle of

20th century.

2.2.2.1 Socialism

Socialism rose due to the obvious excesses of capitalist system. Karl Marx as their

leading thinker promoted a revolution. In his gigantic analysis Capital, he

explains why Capitalism would be overthrown by proletariat. He believed that

later would come a perfect society without class distinction. In Alain Badiou dan

Masa Depan Marxisme, explained that the proletariats have nothing to lose but

their chains and they have a world to win (Suryajaya, 2011).

The final goal for Marxist socialists is the emancipation of labor from

alienation, and therefore freedom for the individual to receive access to material

goods and necessities. It is argued that freedom from need would maximize

individual liberty, as individuals would be able to pursue their own interests and

develop their own talents without being forced into performing labor for others
 19

(the ruling class) via mechanisms of social control, such as the labor market and

the state (Burnley, 2004).

Socialists generally share the view that Capitalism concentrates power and

wealth within a small segment of society that controls the means of production

and derives its wealth through a system of exploitation. This creates a stratified

society based on unequal social relations that fails to provide equal opportunities

for every individual to maximize their potential (Willis, 1977).

In reality, when industrial production was very high, the socialist society

turns into communism, without police, money, or even government. Goods will

be in such plenty that people will just take what their need. There will be no

private property, so there will be no need for police. Communism would later be

called as the utopia beyond Socialism.

2.2.2.2 Capitalism

Capitalism is an ideology with a form of economic system where the means of

production are freely privately owned. Market forces are not controlled by

governments. Capitalism is sometimes referred to Modern Liberalism ideology

where government is allowed to interfere the free market system exists in the

society to protect people from unfair economic system (Mujiyanto et al, 2010).

In Capitalism, the free markets, along with individual productivity enable

anyone to achieve wealth. Capitalism is not the same thing as the pursuit of gain

and the greatest possible amount of money. Rather, Capitalism implies the pursuit

of forever-renewable profit. According to Weber, Capitalism has it root in the

writings of Benjamin Franklin. He says that Franklin's attitudes illustrate

 20

Capitalism's ethos. Franklin writes that time is money, that credit is money, and

that money can beget money. He encourages people to pay all of their debts on

time, because it encourages the confidence of others. He also encourages people

to present themselves as industrious and trustworthy at all times. Weber says that

this "philosophy of avarice" sees increasing capital as an end in itself. It is an

ethic, and the individual is seen as having a duty to prosper. (Weber, 1930: 1)

Capitalism focuses in promoting profit. Capitalism does not object to

substitutes for the methods that accomplish the same ends. However, the capitalist

ethic forbids a hedonistic life-style. Earning more and more money is seen

completely as an end in itself, and is not simply the means for purchasing other

goods.

2.3. Theoretical Framework

2.3.1 Sociology in Literature

Talking about sociology, it never can be separated from society. Definitely, it is

also learning about the interaction and the relationship between people within

society. There are some definitions of sociology by expert or sociologist.

According to Rose (1968:3) “sociology is the science of interaction among people

and the effects of this interaction of human behavior”. It means that human

behavior is influenced by the relation and the interaction which happened in the

society. People socialize and communicate each other every day. This

communication will influence and form people behavior later.

 21

In line with Rose, Timhaseff (1967: 4) states that sociology is defined as

the science of the society, and society must be defined from sociology. From

etymology, “Logy” means study on high level, “Socio” points to society, thus I

conclude that sociology is the highest level which learn about society. It also deals

with social structures and institutions such as class, family, community, etc.

Therefore, sociology learns how people interest, corporate, persuade, imitate, or

compete with other.

Literature is a part of human life. Talking about society is also about

people interest in life. Literature itself is simply a reflection of life. Welleck and

Warren (1956: 94) mention that “Literature represents life, and life is in large

measure, social, reality, even though the natural world and her inner or subjective

world of individual have also been objects of literary imitation.”

Sociology and literature are different branches of science. However, both

of them have the same object of study that is human being. As Endaswara (2003:

77) states that sociology of literature is branch of literature research which has

reflection of characteristic. In other words, sociology and literature can be said as

the perfect combination as the basis in developing an analysis of a literary work.

Furthermore, Welleck and Warren (1956: 95) define that ‘Literature is an

expression of society’. Based on the statement, it can be concluded that a literary

work can reflect the life of society. By reading or analyzing a literary work,

people can get a picture of what happens in the society since literature is a

reflection of life.
 22

One of the approaches in analyzing literary works is sociological approach

to literature. Damono (1979: 3) defines sociological approach to literature as a

kind of approach which considers social aspects and culture of society in literary

work. The main aspect in the sociological approach to literature is the

understanding of literature as a social mirror.

Reading the quotation above, I can infer that the elements of society such

as culture patterns and social structure are the basis in analyzing literature. The

writer as a member of community is the person who is more critical that the rest

of community. In addition, Damono (1979: 4) classifies sociological approach to

literature into three kinds:

1) Sociological of the writer. It consists of how the writer earns the living, his

professionalism in writing, the audience who is intended to the writer.

2) Literature is a social mirror which includes of how literature portrays, its

contemporary society, the influence of the writer’s character, the genre

which is employed by the writer; the writer’s social view.

3) Literature as a social function. It usually uses as a reformer and enjoyer.

Finally, the main point of analyzing the sociology of literature is to find out the

interrelation among society.

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter talks about method of investigation. The devices of the method is

used to support and analyze the data from the object of the study. It consists of

some sub chapters. They are object of the study, type of research, instrument, type

of the data, role of the researcher, method of collecting data and techniques of

analyzing data.

3.1 Object of the Study

The object of the study is a sub-theme of the prose elements in the novel by

George Orwell entitled “Keep The Aspidistra Flying”. The novel was published in

1936.

3.2 Type of Research

This research is a qualitative research in which the collected data are not in

number. A qualitative research collects data in the form of phrases, sentences, and

also utterances from the novel. This study needs a method to determine the step of

doing the study and to answer the questions which are stated in the problem

statement. I chose a qualitative descriptive method to analyze the novel because it

is suitable to the topic which was chosen. As stated before, a qualitative research

is a research that the collected data are in form of sentences and they are arranged

23
 24

or classified, then analyzed to get conclusions (Surachmad, 1985: 140). In this

case, I will apply descriptive qualitative method. The main purpose of the

qualitative descriptive research is to describe a kind of the situation (Arikunto,

2002: 184). This study needed a method to determine the step of doing the study

and to answer the questions which are stated in the problem statement. Thus, in

conducting this research, I applied descriptive qualitative approach. This method

uses low-inference interpretation by analytically "staying with the surface of the

words and events" (Sandelowski, 2000) eliciting descriptions about the experience

by those in the experience (Sullivan-Bolyai, Bova & Harper, 2005). This

knowledge representing the facts of the phenomenon is presented using everyday

language. This information used to inform practice and policy level interventions

(Sandelowski, 2000; Sullivan-Bolyai et al, 2005). Therefore, by using qualitative

descriptive approach I learned more about the problems that occur in the object of

the study. In doing it, I tabulated the proofs excerpted from the novel. After that I

analyze the tabulated excerpts and related each of them with the theories I used.

By doing so, I could make the description about the problems.

3.3 Type of the Data

The data is in the form of sentences, phrases and also utterances which derive

from the story in the novel. It contains explicit and implicit meaning which can

help in the process of discussing the topic of this study.

 25

3.4 Role of the Researcher

Here, I collected and analyzed the data from the novel. It means that I am as a data

collector and data analyzer.

3.5 Method of Data Collection

3.5.1 Document

In collecting data, I took words, phrases, sentences, idioms, and paragraphs that

were implied in explicit and implicit meaning from the novel. The collected data

then were gathered into a document to be analyzed.

3.6 Research Procedures

3.6.1 Reading

Reading the novel several times was the first step to identifying the data from the

text. The aim was to get the essence of the story especially related to the

information leading to the answers of the research problems.

3.6.2 Data Identification

The data, which are related to the analysis, were identified. There were two steps

in identifying: marking and numbering. Highlighting and bracketing were form of

marking used to identify the data. They were used to determine the presence of

certain words, phrases, sentences, idioms, and paragraphs that were implied in

explicit and implicit meaning.

 26

Highlighting was used for explicit and implicit meaning. Bracketing was

used for long sentences. Then after marking by highlighting and bracketing,

numbering would make identifying perfect. By numbering it would be easier to

identify the data.

3.6.3 Inventorying the Data

This step refers to listing the identified data by using table. The table consists of

columns of number, form of the data, the data location, and answering problems

of the study. The inventoried data can be seen in the appendix. It reveals of the

overall data in this analysis.

3.6.4 Classifying

After inventorying the data, I classified the inventoried data into some criteria

based on the problems of the study.

3.6.5 Selecting

I selected the data from the whole classified data which are related to the analysis.

3.6.6 Reporting

In the end, the findings were presented in the form of qualitative descriptive

report.

3.7 Techniques of Data Analysis

In this step, I used sociological approach to reveal Socialism and Capitalism and

the shift of ideology in Keep the Aspidistra Flying novel by analyzing and

connecting them with sociological phenomena in the society.

 27

This is a qualitative study, so that the data were analyzed by using several

steps. The first step was exposing the data. They were exposed to reveal the

context. The second step was explaining, interpreting and discussing them in the

light of the existing facts presented in the theory and background of the study

exposed. I used sociological approach in analyzing the data. The last was making

conclusion. The description and explanation of the data were presented in the

analysis. Finally, I gave some conclusions to answer the statement of the problem
 CHAPTER IV

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Finding

This chapter presents the discussion and analysis of the shift of Socialism into

Capitalism in George Orwell’s novel “keep the aspidistra flying”. The discussion

and analysis includes how the Socialism is revealed in the novel, how Capitalism

is revealed in the novel, as well as how the shift of Socialism and Capitalism is

reflected in the novel.

The analysis and discussion are focused on the intrinsic elements of the

novel which includes the plot, setting, character and characterization, and the

other intrinsic elements which reflect the real society. However, the center of the

analysis focus is on the main character, especially the main character’s

development and the society which influence the main character’s development,

as well as the influence of the other characters, and not to mention, the events that

change the main character’s way of thinking and personal development.

4.2. Discussion

4.2.1 Socialism as Revealed in the Novel

As the writer presents the narration in the point of view of third person

omniscient, the Socialism reflected in the novel can be crystal clearly seen even

28
 29

since the introductory first chapters. Instead of it, the writer also presents the

ideology of Socialism through the main character’s way of thinking, as well as

through how the main character behaves toward the other people. In addition, the

Socialism itself is also mostly presented in the atmosphere of the story as well as

in the different setting of places and times.

4.2.1.1 Socialism reflected by the main character in the novel

The main character, Gordon Comstock is depicted as a penniless moth-eaten thirty

years old man. In the story, his pennilessness is his choice to set a war against

money. But his thought of making a war against money is not explained in the

introductory chapter, as what we can see in the excerpt below.

The money clinked in his trouser pocket as he got up. He knew the precise
sum that was there. Fivepence half penny-two pence halfpenny and a joey.
He paused, took out the miserable little three penny-bit,.. (page 7)
The introduction shows how the main character is depicted as a middle

aged-yet-penniless man. This description makes the readers think that the main

character is a useless person. However, in the same chapter, it is also explained

that he is an author of a poetry book called “mice”, which means that Gordon is a

writer, and of course, as a writer he also has some qualifications that actually can

make him get much better job with better salary, as we can see here,

The single wretched little book that he himself had published, two years
ago, had sold exactly a hundred and fifty-three copies… (page 12)
A melancholy fascination, those shelves had for him. His own wretched
book was there skied, of course high up among the unsalable. Mice, by
Gordon Gordon;…(page 16)
 30

Through the excerpts above it can be seen that actually, Gordon is a

qualified person who could possibly get much better life rather than being a

penniless moth-eaten thirty years old man. However, he chose to be so because of

his dislike toward the concept of Capitalism, as we can see below,

His eyes refocused themselves upon the posters opposite. He had his
private reasons for hating them. Mechanically he re-read their slogans.
‘Kangaroo burgundy – the wine for Britons.’ ‘Asthma was choking her!’
‘Q.T. Sauce Keeps Hubby Smiling.’ ‘Hike all day on a Slab of Vitamalt!’
‘Curve Cut – the Smoke for Outdoor Men.’ ‘Kiddies clamor for their
Breakfast Crisps.’ ‘Corner Table enjoys his meal with Bovex.’ (page 11)
As we know that poster is one of the forms of advertisement. The

advertisement itself is actually a representation of Capitalism, for it is made to

draw the customer’s attention and to urge people to buy certain products.

Furthermore, the products are produced by companies which belong to the rich

people, at this rate we can say the bourgeois class. Through his hatred toward such

advertisements we can say that basically Gordon doesn’t agree with the concept of

Capitalism, it is proved clearly in the sentence “He had his private reasons for

hating them” (2nd line of the excerpt). Even though it is not clearly stated what his

private reason is, but in the next sentence when he re-read all of the slogans inside

the poster, we can understand that implicitly Gordon hates the concept of

Capitalism which is always money-oriented.

In the explanations above, it can be seen that Gordon declines the money-

oriented concept of Capitalism. However, Gordon agreement with the concept of

Socialism can’t be clearly seen until the writer, eventually explains Gordon way
 31

of thinking through his orientation of the use of money for social functions as we

can see below,

For after all, what is there behind it, except money? Money for the right
kind of education, money for influential friends, money for leisure and
peace of mind, … (page 13)
As we can see above that Gordon thought about money is socially

oriented. Even though he thinks about money so badly, however, his thinking

about money is not the use of money to gain power in society as what the

capitalists think about the use of money. Socialism orientation doesn’t mean that

in life we don’t need money, but we use money to socialize, to help each other

rather than to gain power toward the other people or toward the society. In the

excerpt above it is stated that Gordon orientation of using money is to socialize

rather than to gain influence and power toward each other which means that

implicitly, he himself is a socialist even though it is not explicitly stated.

Gordon’s character’s development until he eventually became a socialist is

started even since when he was a boy. Living in poverty with so much oppression

from his family, society and his friends finally led him to the path of Socialism.

His hatred toward Capitalism which then urged him to be a socialist started in his

schooling age, as we can see in excerpt below;

Even at the third-rate school to which Gordon was sent nearly all the boys
were richer than himself. They soon found out his poverty, of course, and
gave him hell because of it. Probably the greatest cruelty one can inflict on
a child is to send it to school among children richer than itself. A child
conscious of poverty will suffer snobbish agonies such as grown-up person
can scarcely imagine. In those days, especially at his preparatory school.
Gordon’s life had been one long conspiracy to keep his end up and pretend
that his parents were richer than they were. Ah, the humiliations of those
 32

days! That awful business, for instance, at the beginning of each term,
when you had to ‘give in’ ten bob or more. And the time when the others
found out that Gordon was wearing a ready-made suit which had cost
thirty-five shillings! (page 36)
Even in his school he found out that there was class stratifications which

then made the poor placed in the bottom of the social-class. This kind of

stratification which even made the school become one of Capitalism fields made

Gordon realize that I dealing such a capitalistic life h should have been able to

deny the reality and pretend that his family had been richer than they were. From

this point, Gordon started his socialistic thought by starting hating the stratified

capitalistic life.

As the time he also realized that the only thing that made him and his

family placed in the lower stratified class in the society was money. Money

created “the poor” and “the rich”, money created mindset in people that the poor

should be placed in the bottom of social class, and those who didn’t have any

money means poor, and humiliated more than the other people. Even then,

because of it, Gordon blamed his parents and his family for the poverty in his life.

The excerpt below shows how Gordon hated his family, poverty, and class

stratifications.

The first effect of all this was to give him a crawling reverence for
money.in those days he actually hated his poverty-stricken relatives –his
father and mother, Julia, everybody. He hated them for their dingy homes,
their dowdiness, their joyless attitude to life, their endless worrying and
groaning over threepences and sixpences.by far the commonest phrase in
the Comstock household was, ‘we can’t afford it’. In those days he longed
for money as only a child can long. Why SHOULDN’T one have decent
clothes and plenty of sweets and go to the pictures as often as one wanted
to? He blamed his parents for their poverty as though they had been poor
on purpose. Why couldn’t they be like other boy’s parents? They
 33

PREFERRED being poor, it seemed to him. That is how a child’s mind

works (page 37).
Then as Gordon grew older, he got conscious that he should change

something in people’s thought. With his idealism which was created because of

the poverty that had been dwelling in his entire life, he then came up with

subversive ideas to put hegemonies in people’s thoughts that Socialism was better.

He and his other socialist friends then put their ideas in little magazine they

created, as we can see below;

Gordon and his friends had quite an exciting time with their ‘subversive
ideas’. For a whole year they ran an unofficial monthly paper called the
Bolshevik, duplicated with a jelly graph. It advocated Socialism, free love,
the dismemberment of the British Empire, the abolition of the Army and
Navy, and so on and so forth. It was great fun. Every intelligent boy of
sixteen is a socialist. (page 37)
However, his perception about Socialism itself was not really in the right

way, for he thought that being a socialist was to hate money and not to deal with

it. Then, the more his family needed money, the more his hatred toward money

grew. Moreover, he then set a war against money. He even has a principle in his

life that in living there are two ways, that is being rich or refusing to be rich. This

kind of thought of his made him not only become a socialist but an anti-capitalist.

He legitimates his actions to avoid money by telling people around him that he

simply doesn’t want any good job, for each of good jobs gives him more money,

and he hates money, or exactly he is afraid to deal with it. The excerpt below

shows how Gordon started to think to be an anti-capitalist socialist.

There are two ways to live, he decided. You can be rich, or you can
deliberately refuse to be rich. You can possess money, or you can despise
money; the one fatal thing is to worship money and fail to get it. He took it
 34

for granted that he himself would never be able to make money. It hardly
even occurred to him that he might have talents which could be turned to
account. That was his schoolmasters had done for him; they had rubbed it
into him that the was a seditious little nuisance and not likely to ‘succeed’
in life. He accepted this very well, then he would refuse the whole
business of ‘succeeding’; he would make it his especial purpose NOT to
‘succeed’. Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven; better to serve in
hell than serve in heaven, for that matter. Already, at sixteen, he knew
which side he was on. He was AGAINST the money-god and all his
swinish priesthood. He had declared war on money; but secretly, of
course. (page 39)
In addition, Gordon’s war declaration on money the made him afraid of

engaging with more money. What he wished for is only to take common job with

little and common salary. He though that the better the job he got, the higher his

position in the society would be, and this (getting higher position in society)

would make him drowned in the stream of Capitalism which stratifies and

classifies people’s class in society according to their income. If this happened it

would mean that he lost his war against money, as we can see in the excerpt

below;

The Queen of Sheba were very pleased with their ads. Mr. Erskine also
was pleased. Gordon’s wages were raised by ten shillings a week. And it
was now that Gordon grew frightened. Money was getting him after all.
He was sliding down, into the money-sty. A little more and he would be
stuck in for life. It is queer how these things happen. You set your face
against success, you swear never to Make Good – you honestly believe
that you couldn’t Make Good even if you wanted to; and then something
happens along. Some mere chance, and you find yourself Making Good
almost automatically. He saw that now or never was the time to escape. He
had got to get out of it – out of the money-world, irrevocably, before he
was too far involved. (page 60)
As can be seen in the excerpt above that Gordon even thought that the

society is structured by money, which he represented with “money-sty”. Even

though he had potential to be a successful person, but he refused to be so because

 35

of his hatred toward money that always grows denser and denser each time he

engages with more money. Even then, he decided to resign from his job when he

was given a raise for his salary.

From all of the analysis about Gordon’s way of thinking about money, and

how he refuses to get more money, I conclude that in this novel Gordon is also a

representation of the Socialism itself. Moreover, from his thought we can also see

how he always so persistent against money. From his persistence against money,

I also conclude that Gordon is a radical anti-capitalist socialist which doesn’t only

refuse the concept of Capitalism which stratifies and classifies people’s classes in

society according to their income, but also refuses the existence of money itself,

even set a war against it. To sum up, I also can say that in the novel, Gordon is the

main symbol of Socialism.

4.2.1.2 Socialism reflected by different places and the inhabitants.

Instead of being represented by the main character, Socialism is also

reflected by the setting of place. The setting of place represents Socialism as how

people get along with each other without even considering the different social

classes. However, from many different setting of places I only took some setting

of places which, of all other setting of places, are the densest with the atmosphere

of Socialism. The Socialism atmosphere density can be seen from the way people

in those places regard each other, as well as how, in the novel, they can get along

with each other without even considering the difference of their own social class

which based upon their income.

 36

The first place which represents Socialism is the bookstore on which

Gordon works. In the bookstore, everyone, rich or poor are respected in the same

way by Gordon. Moreover, they also get along with each other without even

asking or inspecting their social classes. Gordon himself, always respect and

regard each people who come to buy a book or even who come to only visit and

take a look on the bookstore, as can be seen below,

Ping! The shop bell. Gordon turned round. Two customers for the library.
A dejected, round-shouldered, lower-class woman, looking like a draggled
duck nosing among garbage, seeped in, fumbling with a rush basket. In her
wake hoped a plump little sparrow of a woman, red-cheeked, middle-
middle class, carrying under her arm a copy of the forsyte saga tittle
outwards, so that passers-by could spot her for a highbrow.
Gordon had taken off his sour expression. He greeted him with homey,
family-doctor geniality reserved for library subscribers.
‘good afternoon Mrs. Weaver. Good afternoon Mrs. Penn. What a terrible
weather! (page 14)
In the excerpt above, it can be seen that even though Gordon actually

doesn’t really like the appearance of the customers, he still has the manner to

respect them in an equal way. Each of the coming customers is served well by

Gordon. Through the description of Gordon’s feeling, the writer tries to convey,

how library or bookstore can be the representations of how Socialism is still dense

among people.

Gordon, as the main character of the novel, also realized that in the

bookstore he should be able to treat people equally and he also realized that he

should be able to make himself equal with customers. The atmosphere of the

library that attracted people to come to buy or to only take a look for some good
 37

books made him realized that even though people were classified based on their

income, but there are some ways that people did, one of which was by reading

books so that they could look equal with the other people, at least from the

knowledge they got from the books they read. People’s efforts to socialize

themselves through books can be seen in the excerpts below;

In her wake hopped a plump little sparrow of woman, red-checked,

middle-middle class carrying under her arm a copy of the forsyte saga title
outwards, so that passers-by could spot her for a highbrow. (page 14)
Behind Mrs. Weaver’s back she smiled up at Gordon, archly, as highbrow
to highbrow. (page 15)
‘oh, no, not weally.’ An R-less Nancy voice. ‘may I just bwowse? I simply
couldn’t wesist youw fwont window. I have such a tewwible weakness for
bookshops! So I just floated in-tee hee!’. Float out again, then, Nancy.
Gordon smiled a cultured smile, as booklover to booklover. (page 17)
From the excerpts above, it can be seen that in the bookstore on which

Gordon works the socialization process happens. People believe that they are

equal among each other, so that they can freely regard the other people with the

same and equal way. Through the books, and the knowledge that they gain from

them, people legitimate that each of booklovers has the same position with each

other. This shows how the bookstore represents Socialism in many various ways.

Instead of being represented by the bookshop, Socialism in the novel is

also represented by the main character’s apartment. In his apartment, even though

there are only a few characters mentioned, the process of socialization happened

among characters. The writer only mentions four characters who live in the

apartment, they are Gordon, the landlady, Flaxman, and Lorenheim. The

landlady’s name is Mrs. Wisbeach who is explained as a curious character, or

 38

more precisely suspicious character, it is proved by the explanation from the

writer who characterizes her through Gordon’s point of view.

Mrs. Wisbeach, Gordon’s landlady, specialized in ‘single gentleman’

(page 27)
Mrs. Wisbeach’s face emerged, inspected him briefly but suspiciously, and
disappeared again. It was impossible to get in or out without being
scrutinized in this manner. Just what Mrs. Wisbeach suspected you of it
was hard to say; smuggling women into the house, possibly. (page 28)
However, even though she is depicted as a suspicious and reigning

character in the apartment, yet she still has the responsibility to serve food for the

inhabitants of the house. It proves how, in the house the process of socialization is

also done by the landlady, who is legitimated as someone who has more power in

the house. Gordon, and the other characters realize it, that she has more power in

the house, even she herself realizes it. However, her power in the house doesn’t

dull her thought for being responsible nor doesn’t it urge her to treat the

inhabitants of her house differently, as can be seen below;

At this moment Mrs Wisbeach’s voice rang shrewishly up the stairs:

‘Mister com-stock!’
Gordon went to the door. ‘yes?’ he called down.
‘your supper’s been waiting for you this ten minutes. Why can’t you
comme down and have it, ‘stead of keeping me waiting for the washing
up?’ (page 33)
Gordon’s supper was set out, waiting for him, in the circle of white light
that the cracked gas-jet cast upon the table cloth. (page 33)
The excerpts above show how the ideology of Socialism affects the

Landlady. She realizes that as a Landlady she also has some responsibilities to
 39

fulfill the inhabitants’ basic needs. This shows how the dense Socialism

atmosphere in the apartment influences her way of thinking.

Then, the other character who is influenced by the Socialism atmosphere

in the setting of place is Flaxman, one of the inhabitants in apartment. Flaxman is

a fat man who works at Queen of Sheba Toilet Requisites Co. The Socialism

exists through the interaction between him and the other characters in the

apartment, especially the main character, Gordon, as can be seen in the excerpt

below;

This was Flaxman, the first-floor lodger and travelling representative of

the Queen of Sheba Toilet Requisites Co. He saluted Gordon with a lemon
colored glove as he came down.
‘hullo, chappie!’ he said blithely. (flaxman called everyone ‘chappie’.)
‘how’s life with you?’
‘bloody’, said Gordon shortly.
Flaxman had reached the bottom of the stairs. He threw a roly-poly arm
affectionately round Gordon’s Shoulders. (page 28)
Flaxman’s easy-going nature reflects that he can get along with everyone

else without looking at their social status. It is also proved by his habit that he

always calls everybody else as “Chappie”. His habit of calling all people as

“chappie” shows that he regards people have the same position in society, which

also proves that ideologically he agrees with the concept of Socialism.

The last inhabitant mentioned in the apartment is Loreinheim. As

mentioned by the writer through Gordon’s thought, he is one of the characters

disliked by Gordon. Gordon, with his way of thinking toward him describe him as

a bad person, as can be seen below;

 40

On the second floor lived Lorenheim, a dark, meager, lizard-like creature

of uncertain age and race, who made about thirty shilling a week by
touting vacuum-cleaners (page 31)
His loneliness was so deadly that if you so much slowed your pace outside
his door he was liable to pounce on you and half drag, half wheedle you in
to listen to interminable paranoiac tales of girls he had seduced and
employers he had scored off. (page 31-32)
The excerpts above show how Lorenheim depicted as a not-really-good

man who exactly feels lonely so that he decided to live in an apartment to make

friend with people. His decision to live in an apartment is a proof that an

apartment is believed as a place on which people can get along with each other. It

(the apartment) is also an escape of the outer world where people classify their

position in the society based on the income they earn. From his loneliness, it can

be seen that Lorenheim is someone who believes in the concept of Socialism that

people should get along with each other and help each other without considering

the social class that is made by looking on the income each people earns.

The Socialism represented by the apartment, on which the main character,

Gordon Comstock lives, can be seen through the inhabitants activities and how

they get along with each other as well as how they think about life that needs

socializations. In addition, the condition and the atmosphere of the apartment also

influence each of the characters behavior toward social life. Even though each of

them are considered having different social class, if it is seen from their income

and positions in the apartment, they still get along with each other without even

giving a single glance upon the social status. Moreover, even the Landlady, who

has the highest position in the apartment, is willing to serve supper for Gordon

and the other inhabitants. This shows the real concept of Socialism which people
 41

are considered having the same position insociety and each of them has duty to

help each other to gain prosperity. Thus, from all of the discussions and

explanations above, it can be concluded that the apartment where Gordon lives is

an example of society which upholds the concept of Socialism, and not to mention

also represents the Socialism itself.

4.2.1.3 Socialism represented by characters and characterizations in the

novel.

As the story goes on, the writer explains more about the existence of Socialism

through many more different ways, one of which is by depicting Socialism

through the characters and characterization in the novel. In characterizing the

characters that represent Socialism, the writer use both direct and indirect

characterization. The direct characterization is used when the writer explain the

character’s traits through direct explanation, such as when he explains the main

character, Gordon Comstock as can be seen in this quotation “Gordon Comstock,

the last member of the Comstock family, aged twenty-nine and rather moth eaten

already. (page 1)”

While the indirect characterization is used when the writer mention the

character’s trait from the other character’s way of thinking of from the character’s

behavior toward the other character as can be seen when the writer explains about

Ravelston way of thinking through a conversation with Gordon.

“It’s dead” Gordon said. ‘Dead as a blasted foetus in a bottle’.

‘Oh, well, I suppose that happens to most books. You can’t expect an
enormous sale for poetry nowadays. There’s too much competition.’
 42

In the conversation above, it can be seen that Ravelston is trying to cheer

Gordon up. From that, a conclusion can be drawn that Ravelston is a type of

character that always tries to support his friends.

The first characters that represent Socialism are the Comstock family,

especially Gordon’s mother and Gordon’s sister, Julia. For them, the most

important thing was that Gordon could be able to go to school, in order to realize

that, they even spent the last money left by Gordon’s father when he died. As can

be seen below;

Since the Comstock s were genteel as well shabby, it was considered

necessary to waste huge sums on Gordon’s education’. (page 45)
Gordon was sent to wretched, pretentious schools whose fees were round
about £120 a year. Even these fees, of course, meant fearful sacrifices at
home. (page 46)
The Comstocks even let their life become harder in order to give Gordon

the proper education. Their choice to give priority to Gordon’s education is a

proof that they uphold the concept of Socialism. It can be said so because what

they think, that education is the most important thing, indicates that they also put

their hope to be better from giving Gordon the best education they could give so

that, later Gordon can be able to help supporting the Family. This shows how they

tried to support each other for the better life, as the concept of Socialism.

The Comstocks approval toward the Socialism is also proved by individual

struggle from Gordon’s mother and Julia to give the best education they could

give to Gordon. as showed in the excerpts below;

 43

He did not exactly know , but he half divined, that his mother had killed
herself in order to pay his school fees. (page 52)
Julia was a tall, ungainly girl, much taller than Gordon , with a thin face
and a neck just a little too long- one of those girls who even at their most
youthful remind one irresistibly of a goose. But her nature was simple and
affectionate. She was a self-effacing home-keeping, ironing, darning, and
mending kind of girl, a natural spinster-soul. Even at sixteen she had “old
maid” written all over her. She idolized Gordon. All through his childhood
she watched over him, nursed him, spoiled him, went in rags so that he
might have the right clothes to go to school in, saved up her wretched
pocket-money to buy him Christmas presents and birthday presents. (page
46)
From those excerpts, it can be seen that in living their life, the Comstock

did not struggle individually, but they tried to overcome everything together. Julia

even devoted herself to her brother, Gordon. She even still devoted herself to

Gordon by always giving him loans when Gordon had grown and Chosen to set a

fight with money then became a bookstore clerk that made him unable to even

fulfill his own needs. As showed below;

In spite to various revolves never to do it again, he still borrowed money

off Julia periodically. Julia’s hair was greying fast; there was a deep line
score down each of her thin re cheeks. She had settled her life into a
routine in which she was not unhappy. (page 63)
Julia even still gave priority to help Gordon, even though she knew that

what Gordon had been going through was the result of his own choice from

setting a fight with money. In order to put aside any bad thought about her own

life, she made an escape by doing many things that occupied her; it is proved by

the third underlined sentence in the excerpt above. The phrase “was not unhappy”

also means that she was not happy.

The Socialism reflected by the Comstocks also showed on how they tried

to manage their life together, because as we know that in Socialism everyone is

 44

trying to help each other to earn the better life. One of Socialism concepts is that

everything will be better if everyone helps each other. This kind of principle is

showed when Gordon, his mother and his sister altogether tried to manage their

life together;

Gordon’s wages were gradually raised, and the three of them ‘managed’,
more or less. It was Julia and Mrs. Comstock who did the most of the
managing. (page 53)
In addition, they also show the principle of Socialism through their way of

helping other people. for instance Gordon’s aunt got into mental hospital, they

tried to help supporting the money, even though she was not too close with the

Comstocks, as showed below;

As for Gordon’s branch of the family, the combined income of them,

allowing for the lump sum that had been paid down when aunt Charlotte
entered the mental home, might have been six hundred a year. (page 67)
The other characters that represent Socialism are Gordon’s school friends.

Even though they are not explained so detail by the writer, an only appear in a

little part of one of the chapters, their behavior and what they did with Gordon in

his school year shows how Socialism is really represented by them.

Gordon and his friends had quite an exciting time with their ‘subversive
ideas’. For a whole year they ran an unofficial monthly paper called
‘bolshevik’, duplicated with a jelly graph. It advocated Socialism, free
love, the dismemberment of the British Empire, the abolition of the army
and navy, and so on and forth. It was great fun. Every intelligent boy of
sixteen is a socialist. At that age one does not see the hook sticking out of
the rather stodgy bait. (page 48)
Gordon, mostly influenced by his friends made the socialistic unofficial

magazine. The rebelled against the Capitalism ideology and tried to share their
 45

thought about Socialism through their magazine. What they did is of course a

proof that they also represent Socialism in the novel.

Instead of those characters above, there is one more character who

represents Socialism, he is Ravelston. Ravelston is one of the characters who

influence main Character’s development. Even, in the story, actually the central of

Capitalism itself is represented by Ravelston.

Ravelston is Gordon’s best friend who is told even in the beginning of the

novel. In the beginning of the novel, Ravelston is introduced by the writer through

direct characterization when Gordon was thinking about him as showed in chapter

1 page 19;

Gordon thought of Ravelston, his charming, rich friend, editor of

antichrist , of whom he was extravagantly fond and whom he did not see
so often in a fortnight;…(page 19)
Ravelston always appears in almost all of the chapters. In the chapter 3,

Ravelston appears when Gordon needs help from him, as showed in this

quotation; “But this time he wasn’t going to be starved into submission. He went

to Ravelston and asked his help. (page 60)”

In this chapter, in the moment when gordon needs help from Ravelston,

the writer describes more about his characterization through direct

characterization. From the description, it can be seen crystal clearly that Ravelston

himself is a socialist as showed in page 60 below;

That was great thing about Ravelston. He could always see another
person’s point of view. It was having money that did it, no doubt; for the
 46

rich can afford to be intelligent. Moreover, being rich himself, he could

find jobs for other people. (page 60)
In the excerpt above, the writer implicitly tells what Ravelston thinks

about being rich. For Ravelston, being rich means being responsible to help each

other, it can be seen from the sentence “…being rich himself, he could find jobs

for other people”. Through this sentence, the writer tries to explain that Ravelston

upholds the concept of Socialism where people should help each other to gain the

better life.

Further, Ravelston is described more a good socialist in chapter 5. In the

beginning of the chapter, Ravelston is described as someone who doesn’t want to

look “rich” in some reason, one of which is the reason of upholding Socialism

concept and principles, as showed below;

No rich man ever succeeds in disguising himself as a poor

man………..Ravelston lived on the first floor, and the editorial offices of
antichrist were downstairs. Antichrist was a middle-to high- brow
monthly, socialist in a vehement but ill-defined way……. Practically
anything got printed in antichrist if Ravelston suspected that its author was
starving. (page 87)
In excerpt above, we can also see that Ravelston’s purpose to make the

socialist magazine is to help the other people to get more money easily, especially

penniless people like Gordon.

Socialism that is represented by Ravelston can also be seen from

Ravelston way of thinking and how he tries to strengthen Gordon’s Socialism.

The excerpt below shows that Ravelston thinks that the life is bad when

everywhere is occupied by Capitalism.

 47

Ravelston murmured agreement, with a curious air of guilt. And now they
were off upon their favourite subject ……… but it always made Ravelston
feel rather uncomfortable. In a way, of course, he knew –it was precisely
this that antichrist existed to point out- that life under decaying Capitalism
is deathly and meaningless. (page 90)
Moreover, the Socialism that represented by Ravelston can be seen more

clearly from the way Ravelston tries to strengthen Gordon’s Socialism concept,

because for Ravelston, the principle of Socialism in Gordon’s heart is still weak.

Gordon even often denies that he himself is walking in the path of Socialism by

setting a war against money, as can be seen below;

‘but where you make your mistake, don’t you see, is in talking as if all this
was incureable. This is only something that’s got to happen before the
proletariat take over’.
‘oh Socialism! Don’t talk to me about Socialism’. (page 92)
They veered swiftly away from the subject of money and began talking
about in a more general way about Socialism. Ravelston had been trying
for years to convert Gordon to Socialism… (page 93)
From all of the proofs that show that Ravelston is the central socialist of

the novel, there is still one more proof that shows it more clearly. In the moment

when Ravelston was going out with Hermione, his girlfriend, Hermione, who calls

him Philip even regard him as a socialist for making friends with so many lower

class people, one of whom is Gordon. this can be seen from the dialogue between

Ravelston and Hermione below;

Hermione was sleepily lecturing him.

‘Philip, why do you have to live in such a dreadful way?’
‘but I don’t live in a dreadful way.’
‘yes, you do. Pretending you’re poor when you’re not, and living in that
poky flat with no servants, and going about with all these beastly people.’
 48

‘what beastly people?’

‘oh, people like this poet friend of yours. All those people who write for
your paper, they only do it to cadge from you. Of course I know you’re a
socialist… (page 105-106)
From all of the discussions and explanations above, it can be seen clearly

that in the novel, Socialism is represented by the intrinsic elements of the novel

such as setting of place, the main character, and the minor characters. All of them

are the proofs that the atmosphere of Socialism is also dense in the novel which

means that the writer also appoints Socialism as the part of the theme in the novel.

4.2.2 Capitalism as Revealed in the Novel

Instead of Socialism, this novel also contains messages of Capitalism

which exactly exists in the society as reflected by the novel. In the novel, just like

how Socialism is reflected, Capitalism is also reflected by the intrinsic elements

such as setting of place, characters and characterizations, and so on. Through the

novel, the writer tries to explain to the readers that exactly, we live in the

Capitalism environment. Everyone can be influenced by Capitalism principles that

one of which is to deify money. For social life, Capitalism can either be good or

bad for the people, yet it depends on the people who have chosen the path of

Capitalism.

4.2.2.1 Capitalism as Reflected by the Setting of Place

Through the setting of place, the writer tries to reveal the existence of

Capitalism, which actually also represent the existence of Capitalism in the real

life in our society. There are so many places which represent Socialism in the
 49

novel, but there are only some which represent it clearly and strongly. The first

place is Gordon’s working environment, the second is Gordon’s school, the third

is Julia’s working place, the fourth is The New Albion, then the last, but not the

least is the hotel on which Gordon and Rosemary had dinner together.

Gordon’s working environment shows the existence of Capitalism through

the atmosphere and the other shops on the main. The writer depicts the

atmosphere through direct depiction on which he describes the atmosphere as well

as the people around it. he describes that the lower class people seem to be not

allowed to live in such capitalist environment, as showed below;

A couple of old creatures, a tramp or beggar and his wife, in long greasy
overcoats that reached almost to the ground, were shuffling toward the
shop. (page 19)
Gordon watched them go. They were just by-products. The throw-outs of
the money-god. All over London, by tens of thousands, draggled old
beasts of that description; creeping like unclean beetles to the grave. He
gazed out at the graceless street. At this moment it seemed to him that in a
town like this, every life that is lived must be meaningless and intolerable.
The sense of disintegration, of decay, that is endemic in our time was
strong upon him. (page 21)
Above, we can see that Gordon’s working environment is a capitalist area

which everybody with lower classes is not regarded worthy. A penniless beggar

who struggles for his and his wife’s life even neglected and considered that they

don’t exist in the world. Everything is measured by the amount of money the

people have. This kind of ideology, even later influences Gordon’s character

development.

Instead of such depiction, the writer also depicts Capitalism in Gordon’s

working environment through Gordon’s point of view toward the advertisement

 50

posters on the street and on the other shops. As the third person omniscient, the

writer explain Gordon’s hatred toward such capitalist way of deceiving people, as

can be seen below;

His eyes refocused themselves upon the posters opposite. He had his
private reasons for hating them. Mechanically he re-read their slogans.
‘Kangaroo Burgundy-the wine for Britons.’ ‘asthma was choking her!’
‘Q.T. Sauce Keeps Hubby Smiling.’ ‘hike all day on a slab of vitamalt!’
‘Curve Cut – the smoke for outdoor men.’ ‘kiddies clamour for their
breakfast crisps.’ Corner table enjoys his meal with bovex.’ (Page 18)
Gordon’s reason for hating such advertisement is actually because he

thinks that the one who made the advertisements of course are rich people which

owned companies, and of course such people are always capitalist, because they

do anything to collect money from the people through many ways, one of which is

through deceiving people with such nice words in advertisements. The posters and

the way the poor people, or more precisely lower-class people, being thrown away

from the shops are the proofs that Gordon’s working environment is a real

representation of Capitalism in the novel which also depicts its existence in the

society.

Instead of it, Capitalism is also revealed by the writer by describing

Gordon’s school in the past. Through this, the writer tries to explain that

Capitalism also exists even in the education field which is supposed to be neutral

from neither Socialism nor Capitalism. Capitalism in the school is depicted from

how the students classified their social-class in the school by measuring the

income their parents earned. The students whose parents earned high income

became high-class students while the students whose parents earned moderate
 51

income became middle-class students then the students whose parents earned low-

income, like Gordon, became low-class students. This kind of classification which

even exists in the school then leads the students become capitalists. Even then, the

low-class students became mockery, just like the proletariats who are just used by

the bourgeois to satisfy their needs of humor. This all can be seen in the excerpt

below;

Even at the third-rate schools to which Gordon was sent nearly all the boys
were richer than himself. They soon found out his poverty, of course, and
gave him hell because of it. Probably the greatest cruelty one can inflict on
a child is to send it to school among children richer than itself. A child
conscious of poverty will suffer snobbish agonies such as grown-up person
can scarcely imagine. In those days, especially at his preparatory school,
Gordon’s life had been long conspiracy to keep his end up and pretend that
his parents were richer than they were. Ah, the humiliation of those days!
That awful business, for instance, at the beginning of each term, when you
had to ‘give in’ to the headmaster, publicly, the money you had brought
back with you; and the contemptuous, cruel sniggers from the other boys
when you didn’t ‘give in’ ten bob or more. (page 47)
In the excerpt, it even mentioned that there are school classifications as

revealed in the first sentence “Even at the third-rate school”. “The third-rate”

means that there are also the other rated schools which with certain qualifications

could become first-rate and second rate, even perhaps the lower rates such as

fourth-rate or fifth-rate. By revealing this, the writer tries to tell the readers that

Capitalism is even implanted to the people’s mind even since when we are in the

school ages. This is what makes our lives stuck in the line of Capitalism, and it

seems difficult to fight against it. That’s why, for most of activities in life we

always mostly deify money.

 52

Another place that revealed the existence of Capitalism in the novel is

Julia’s working place. Julia’s working place, a teashop, shows how Julia treated as

a working class or more precisely, a proletariat. It is showed from Julia’s working

hour that is not proper with her salary, as showed in the excerpts below;

Julia, already at one-and-twenty, a dutiful, resigned drudge who worked

twelve hours a day and never had a decent frock.. (page 49)
During 1918 and 1919 she had work in a government office, and after that
she took a course of cookery and got job in a nasty, ladylike teashop near
Earl’s Court Underground Station. She worked a seventy-two hour week
and was given her lunch and tea and twenty-five shillings;… (page 50)
Julia was nearly thirty now, and looked much older. She was thinner than
ever, though healthy enough, and there was grey in her hair. She still
worked twelve hours a day, and in six years her wages had only risen by
ten shilling a week. The horrible ladylike lady who kept the teashop was a
semi-friend as well as an employer, and thus could sweat and bully Julia to
the tune of ‘dearest’ and ‘darling’. (page 54)
The excerpts show how Julia was treated as a real low-class worker. She

was pushed to work for twelve hours a day yet paid only for twenty five shilling a

week. Moreover, after working for six years she only got raise for ten shilling a

week which means that after so long devotion she only got thirty five shilling a

week. Furthermore it is also mentioned that her boss, always bullied her and

seemed to be so pushy with her. This shows how, in the real life such kind of

treatment to the lower class people really happens. The upper class people

suppress the lower class people by pushing them to work hard with low payment.

This proves that people uphold Capitalism ideology on which the upper class try

to make use of the lower class as much as possible with the most minimum

payment they could arrange.

 53

The other place in the story that reveals the existence of Capitalism is

Gordon’s old working place, New Albion. New Albion is a company of

advertisement agency. As a company which provides the other companies by

providing ways of making advertisement, of course New Albion is influenced a

lot by Capitalism.

The New Albion was one of those publicity firms which have sprung up
everywhere since the war – the fungi, as you might say, that sprout from a
decaying Capitalism, it was a smallish rising firm and took every class of
publicity it could get. It designed a certain number of large-scale posters
for oatmeal stout, self-rising flour, and so forth, but its main line was
millinery ad cosmetic advertisements in the women’s illustrated papers,
besides minor ads in two penny weeklies such as, Whiterose Pills for
Female Disorders, Your Horoscope Cast by Professor Raratongo, The
Seven Secrets of Venus, New Hope for the Ruptured, Earn Five Pounds a
Week in your Spare Time, and Cyprolax Hair Lotion Banishes all
Unpleasant Intruders. There was a large staff of commercial artists, of
course. (page 56)
Moreover, the atmosphere in New Albion itself is really dense with

Capitalism. The employees are the money lovers who uphold capitalist ideology

that money is everything. They even don’t believe in the religion, because for

them the most sacred thing in the world is only money, as proved below;

Most of the employees were the hard-boiled, Americanized, go-getting

type – the type to whom nothing in the world is sacred, except money.
(page 57)
The company also makes use of the workers to the most. The workers are

pushed to work as best as they can, but they are paid minimally nonetheless. Even

the boss always makes the most of each chance that possibly can make the

company be able to earn more money. It is proved by the event when Gordon’s
 54

capability to make poems is used by the boss to make good, nice, and effective

words for making the advertisement for the other companies.

About the time when the clerks grew tired of chaffing Gordon, Mr. Eskine,
the managing director, who had hitherto taken only the minimum notice of
him, suddenly sent for him and inter viewed him…. The news that Gordon
had written poems, so far from shocking him, vaguely impressed him. …
Then, without further questions, he promoted Gordon to a special post as a
secretary…. Gordon’s wages were not raised for the moment, but the firm
had their eye on him. with luck he might be a full-fledged copywriter in a
year’s time. (page 58-59)
Even with Gordon’s talent that can possibly raise the company’s income,

the boss doesn’t have any intention to raise Gordon’s wages. This kind of

exploitation is also a proof that the company is a real socialist area on which the

upper-level employees don’t think about the lower-level employees’ prosperity.

Nonetheless, after being used by the company for quite a time, Gordon finally gets

a raise for his wages, just like her sister, Julia, he also only gets ten shilling raise a

week. It is showed in the excerpts below;

For six months he was working with Mr. Clew. Mr. Clew was a harassed
man of about forty, with wiry hair into which he often plunged his
finger…. It was Gordon showed almost from the start, a remarkable talent
for copywriting. He could compose an ad as though he had been born to
it…. Mr. Clew thought him very promising…. The Queen of Sheba were
very pleased with their ads. Mr. Eskine was also pleased. Gordon’s wages
were raised by ten shillings a week. (page 59-60)
Then, another place, and the last place that is discussed in this final

project, that revealed Socialism in the story, is the hotel on which Gordon and his

girlfriend, Rosemary had dinner together as showed below;

They dragged their way as far as the bridge. They were thoroughly
footsore now. But behold! Here at last was what they wanted, for just
beyond the bridge, down a sort of private road, stood a biggish, smartish
hotel, its back lawn running down to the river…. ‘It looks expensive,’ said
 55

Rosemary. It did look expensive. It was a vulgar pretentious place, all gilt
and white paint – one of those hotels which have overcharging and bad
service written of every brick…. Two gleaming two-seater cars were
parked in the drive. Gordon quailed, the money in his pocket seemed to
shrink to noting, this was the very opposite to the cozy pub they had been
looking for. (page 140-141)
From the excerpt above we can see that the hotel represents Capitalism

from the way Gordon and rosemary think about the hotel. Moreover, the hotel

appearance seems to be forbidding Gordon, who has only little sum of money, to

enter the hotel building. Furthermore, the two gleaming two-seater cars which

Gordon sees in the hotel area proved that the hotel is only for the upper class

people. It represent, how, in the real life, the low class people seem to be not

allowed to get good service. Even when they try to be snobbish and don’t even

care with their position, it will place them in the worse situation such as being

rebuked or mocked even by the waiter, as what happened to Gordon and

Rosemary when Gordon pushes to have dinner in the expensive hotel;

The waiter was almost openly contemptuous. He had summed them up at

glance as having no money….. He (Gordon) was feeling his money to
make sure that it was still there. Seven and eleven pence left, he knew. The
waiter’s eye followed the movement…. The waiter had comeback with a
flyblown printed menu. He handed it to Gordon and stood over him with
the menacing air of a waiter who knows that you have not much money in
your pocket…. The cheapest thing on the list was cold beef and salad for
one and six pence. He said, or rather mumbled:
‘We’ll have some cold beef please.’
The waiter’s delicate black eyebrows lifted. He feigned surprise. (page
142-144)
Gordon, with his snobbish dignity ask Rosemary to enter the hotel

building and order some food. However, he realizes that his money is not much so

that he thinks twice and orders the cheapest food. He also realizes that the writer
 56

realizes that Gordon only has a little sum of money. Then when Gordon orders the

cheapest food in the menu, The waiter, even though doesn’t mock Gordon’s

orally, but by using his eyebrow-lifting expression he, tries to mock Gordon for

only order such cheap food. This shows how, the service in the public area,

regarding hotel as one of the public areas, is based on the people’s social class.

Low social class people will be served half-heatedly even by the lowest rank clerk

or employees in the public places. This shows the principle of Capitalism, where

people who have more money will get better service of more precisely, better

things.

From all of explanations above, a simple, yet clear conclusion can be

drawn that in the novel, Socialism is also depicted and revealed through the

depictions of people’s behavior toward the other people in the different places.

This resembles the reality in the social life that when someone has more money,

he/she will get higher position in society and will be regarded more by the other

people. However, when someone doesn’t have so much money, he/she will be

treated worse and not equal with people with more money. This shows how the

principles of Capitalism is upheld by people in the real life, in the society.

4.2.2.2 Capitalism Reflected by Minor Characters in the Novel

Just like the discussion in the previous chapter about Socialism which represented

by characters and characterizations in the novel, Capitalism is also represented by

minor characters and characterizations in the novel. There are so many minor

characters who represent Capitalism in the novel, but there are only some who
 57

clearly and strongly represent the real existence of Capitalism. The first character

that represents Capitalism is Hermione, Ravelston’s girlfriend, then the second is

Rosemary, Gordon’s girlfriend, the last is Mr. Erskine, Gordon’d boss in the New

Albion.

In the novel, both of Socialism and Capitalism are reflected in a unique

way. They are reflected by the spouse of couples. Ravelston is a socialist, while

Hermione is a capitalist. Gordon is a socialist, while Rosemary is a capitalist. The

opposite ideologies are matched in the character and characterization of the

couples.

Hermione represents Capitalism through the way she regard people who

have less money. She calls them as beastly people, even she regards them as lower

class people when she has an argument with Ravelston. Even though in her talk

she says that everyone is a socialist, but the way she express her idea of social

classification shows that ideologically, she upholds the principle of Capitalism on

which people with more money have more power in the society as well as higher

society class. It is showed in the dialogue between her and Ravelston below;

Hermione was sleepily lecturing him. ‘Philip, why do you have to live in
such a dreadful way?’
‘but I don’t live in a dreadful way.’
‘yes, you do. pretending you’re poor when you’re not, and living in that
poky flat with no servants, and going about with all these beastly people.’
‘what beastly people?’
‘oh, people like this poet friend of yours. All those people who write for
your paper. They only do it to cadge from you. Of course I know you’re a
socialists. So I am. I mean we’re all socialists nowadays. But I don’t see
 58

why you have to give all your money away and make friends with the
lower classes. You can be socialist and have a good time, that’s what I
say.’ (page 106)
From her way of thinking, she even tries to convert Ravelston’s Socialism

way of thinking by saying that everyone is a socialist, but he should be a socialist

who enjoy his own good time. This proves that Hermione is a capitalist, even

though, in front of Ravelston she says that she is a socialist as well. Nonetheless,

the way she says that she is a socialist is contradictory with her statement that

Ravelston’s friends are beastly people, or more precisely, lower class people. This

shows that she only pretends acknowledging the socialist ideology. It is a proof

that Hermione represents Capitalism in the novel.

The other character that represents Capitalism is Rosemary, Gordon’s

girlfriend. Different with Ravelston and Hermione who clearly represent

Socialism and Capitalism with strong proofs - Ravelston directly claim that

himself is a socialist, while Hermione clearly classifies people from their income-

Gordon and Rosemary do not directly claim themselves as socialist or capitalist.

However, the proofs that show that Gordon is a socialist and Rosemary is a

capitalist can be seen through their behavior toward other people, and through

how the think about life. Rosemary, as Gordon’s girlfriend is a capitalist who later

influence Gordon’s socialist way of life then converts him into a capitalist.

Rosemary is an important character who takes an important role in the main

character’s development, instead of Ravelston.

 59

In the beginning, Rosemary is described by the writer from the way

Gordon thinks about her. He thinks that Rosemary doesn’t want to go bed with

him only because Gordon is penniless.

….; and of Rosemary, his girl, who loved him – adored him, so she said –
and who, all the same, had never slept with him. Money, once again; all is
money. (page 19)
Moreover, Rosemary is an ignorant woman who doesn’t want to meddle

with the other people’s business, even at the first time she met Gordon, she

underestimated him as a mockery, as showed below;

When they passed one another in the corridors she eyed him ironically, as
though she knew all about him and considered him a bit of a joke…(page
57)
By this time Gordon had got to know Rosemary. She did not try to prevent
him from throwing up his job. It was against her code of interfere –‘you’ve
got to live your own life,’ was always her attitude. (page 61)
It shows that rosemary upholds the principle of Capitalism that everybody

shouldn’t get into everybody else’s business. As in Capitalism, people live

individually without taking care of the other people’s business. In other words, in

Capitalism, people should live by themselves because what important in live is

money, not togetherness, and money should not be shared with the other people.

This kind of principle then makes people who uphold the ideology of Capitalism

become ignorant and selfish people.

Another character who represents Capitalism in the novel is Mr. Erskine,

Gordon’s boss in the New Albion Company. In the previous discussion, he has

been discussed briefly. In this discussion, he will be discussed more deeply, for he

really represents the capitalist in the novel. Mr. Erskine represents Capitalism in
 60

the way he treats his employees and in the way he thinks about make the most of

every single chance to collect more money.

Mr. Erskine was a large, slow-moving man with a broad, healthy,

expressionless face.... his wits were as slow as his movements, and he was
the kind of man who never hears of anything until everybody else has
stopped talking about it…. he had not that sniffish, buttoned-up spirit that
usually goes with an ability to make money…. He could assess people on
their merits; consequently, he was rather good at choosing talented people.
(page 58)
In addition, he is also an ignorant man, which shows that he is a capitalist.

His ignorance shows that what important for him is to make the most the talented

employees like Gordon to earn as much money as possible for the company. It

represents the practice of Capitalism, for in the Capitalism, the bourgeois who

have higher position in the working field always make the most of using talented

low rank workers (proletariat). His ignorance is showed in the way he interviews

Gordon, as showed below;

He never listened to Gordon’s answers, but punctuated his questions with

a noise that sounded like ‘ Hm, hm, hm.’ Wrote poetry, did he? Oh yes?
Hm. And had it printed in the papers? Hm, hm. Suppose they paid for that
kind of thing? Not much, eh? No, suppose not. Hm, hm. Poetry? Hm. A bit
difficult, that must be. Getting the lines the same length, and all that. Hm,
hm. Write anything else? Stories, and so forth? Hm. Oh yes? Very
interesting. Hm! (page 59)
From the excerpt above, it can be seen that what Mr. Erskine does to

interview the talented employees is just a formality. He doesn’t even consider the

employees behavior or words. He neglects what Gordon says, and just gives very

short and indecent answers. From that, we can also see that the principle of his

Capitalism is that he will only consider things that seem to be beneficial and

important for him, important means something that can make him get more
 61

money. This proves how Mr. Erskine really represents the existence of Socialism

in the novel.

4.2.2.3 Capitalism Reflected by Aspidistra.

In accordance with the title of the novel, “Keep the Aspidistra Flying”, of course

the story is also telling about aspidistra, even though it is not clearly told in the

novel that Aspidistra is the main theme of the novel. The story of aspidistra itself

actually always occurs in almost all of the chapters in the novel. Aspidistra is told

in the story, through the main character’s way of thinking toward it. From how the

main character, Gordon, thinks about aspidistra, it can even be concluded that

Aspidistra is the antagonist of the novel. It can be said so, because it also

influences Gordon’s character development in the whole story. Furthermore, in

every event on which Gordon sees an aspidistra, everywhere, there always occurs

an inner conflict inside Gordon’s self. For instance, it can be seen in the chapter 2,

on which aspidistra occurs in the first time, then it is described that Gordon has a

personal hatred toward it;

As Gordon threw away the match, his eye fell upon the aspidistra in its
grass-green pot. It was a peculiarly mangy specimen. It had only seven
leaves and never seemed to put forth any new ones. Gordon had a sort of
secret feud with aspidistra. Many a time he had furtively attempted to kill
it – starving it of water, grinding hot cigarette-ends against it stem, even
mixing salt with its earth. But the beastly things are practically immortal.
(page 33)
Above, in the underlined sentence, it can be seen that Gordon himself has

set up a fight against aspidistra, as he has set up a war against money. Every time

he meets an aspidistra, it seems that he is always complaining its existence in

 62

almost every part of his environments, as showed when he sees aspidistras in the

dining room of the apartment.

Gordon went down. The dining-room was on the first floor, at the back,
opposite Flaxman’s room, twilit even at midday. There were more
aspidistras in it than Gordon than Gordon had ever accurately counted.
They were all over the place – on the sideboard, in the floor, on
‘occasional’ tables; in the window there was a sort of florist’s stand of
them, blocking out the light. In the half-darkness, with aspidistras all about
you, you had the feeling of being in some sunless aquarium amid the
dreary foliage of water-flowers. (page 33)
In the chapter 3, when the writer tells about Gordon’s past, it is even told

that since Gordon was young, he has set a personal hatred toward aspidistra. The

reason is that it (aspidistra) seems to always occur everywhere as if it had been

one of the country’s symbols which equal with the lion and the unicorn, as

showed below;

What he realized, and more clearly as time went on, was that money-
worship has been elevated into a religion. Perhaps it is the only real
religion – the only really felt religion – that is left to us. Money is what
God used to be. Good and evil have no meaning any longer except failure
and success. Hence the profoundly significant phrase, to make good. The
Decalogue has been reduced to two commandments. One for the
employers – the elect, the money-priesthood as it were – ‘thou shalt make
money’; the other for the employed – the slaves and underlings – ‘thou
shalt not lose thy job.’ It was about this time that he came across The
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists and read about the starving carpenter
who pawns everything but sticks to aspidistra. The aspidistra became a
sort of symbol for Gordon after that. The aspidistra, flower of England! It
ought to be on our coat of arms instead of the lion and the unicorn. There
will be no revolution in England while there are aspidistras in the
windows. (page 49)
In the excerpt above, it is showed how Gordon relates money with beliefs

that then the money itself becomes a religion for people. Even in the work field,

the commandments are all about keep earning money by keeping the job and
 63

keeping the income. This kind of thought of Gordon is then related with the

existence of Aspidistras in everywhere. The sentence ‘the starving carpenter who

pawns everything but sticks to aspidistra’ shows that people are also consider

aspidistra as a symbol of luck, on which they put all of their luck for “getting and

keeping” job on it. Considering this phenomenon, Gordon then concludes that in

the aspidistra, there is a seed of Capitalism that is believed by people to be the

most reigning ideology. It is showed in the last sentence of the excerpt above

‘there will be no revolution in England while there are aspidistras in the

windows’. The word ‘revolution’ in the sentence proves that aspidistra is a

symbol of Capitalism, for at the time, Capitalism is believed to be as equal as

religion in the country, and the opposite ideology of Capitalism is Socialism

which means that the revolution only can be reached if people no longer uphold

Capitalism and change their ideology into Socialism. Thus, from it, it can be seen

that in the novel, the existence of Capitalism is also revealed by the writer through

representing and symbolizing it in the form of aspidistra.

4.2.3 The Shift of Socialism into Capitalism as Reflected in the Novel

In revealing the shift of Socialism into Capitalism, I still use the same method as

used in revealing the existence of both Socialism and Capitalism as reflected in

the novel. The method is by following the main character’s development as

influenced by the minor characters and the so-called antagonist in the novel, the

aspidistra. The character development of the main character, Gordon, can be more

easily be traced after analyzing the existence of Socialism and Capitalism which

represented by the intrinsic elements of the novel.

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As what have been explained and discussed in the 4.1. that from the

beginning, the nature of the main character, Gordon, is that he is a socialist even

though along the story he doesn’t want to directly acknowledge the ideology of

Socialism in his mind. As the major dynamic character, all of the principles of

Socialism ideology he upholds do not suddenly exist in himself without any

influence of other character or the event he underwent in the past. His Socialism

ideology that then makes him set a war against money and hate aspidistra -for he

symbolizes aspidistra as the representation of Capitalism- occur because of the

influence of many things in his life. Then, as the story goes on, he starts to be

giving up in his war with money. His surrender is also influenced by the influence

of the static character, Rosemary, who happens to be his girlfriend. She herself

doesn’t directly influence Gordon’s ideology; however, Gordon, by the thought

that everything could be easier if he had money, then seems to be haunted by his

lack of money. This conflict in his mind reaches the climax when Rosemary tells

Gordon that she is pregnant after having made love with Gordon. Eventually,

Gordon decides to marry her and refuses to kill the “seed” inside her. This

decision leads Gordon in the choice to “MAKE GOOD”, that is making a proper

living by earning enough money from proper, or even good job. He then, who in

the first time hates aspidistra the most, even asks Rosemary to buy a new

aspidistra for their house. This shows how his hatred toward Capitalism starts to

vanish, even he starts to sink inside it.

Furthermore, as what has been explained in 4.1.1. that Gordon, as the main

character of the novel, represents the existence of Socialism in the novel. As the
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story of his and his girlfriend, Rosemary, goes further, Gordon’s ideology of

Socialism starts to change. The change of his ideology is basically influenced by

the existence of Rosemary. Rosemary doesn’t influence Gordon directly, as what

Ravelston does in strengthening Gordon’s Socialism ideology. However, every

time Gordon thinks about Rosemary the inner conflict inside Gordon’s mind

always suddenly occurs. The inner conflict is always about money. This inner

conflict of Gordon’s is even showed in the first time the writer introduces

Rosemary, in chapter 1;

....;and of Rosemary, his girl who loved him – adored him, so she said –
and who, all the same, had never slept with him. Money, once again; all is
money. All human relationship must be purchased with money. If you
have no money, men won’t care for you, women won’t love you; won’t
that is care for you or love you the last little bit that matters. And how
right they are, after all! For moneyless, you are unlovable. (page 19)
He even regards that his lack of money is the only thing that makes him

feels like uncivilized man. It is the lack of money that he thinks makes him

deceived by his poet friends, and makes Rosemary always rejects to sleep with

him. His way of thinking about money, can be said as a result of social

suppression that then always triggers the inner conflict inside him, and also

triggers him to think about Rosemary, as can be seen in the event when he wasn’t

informed about the cancellation of a tea party held by his poet friend. He thinks

that is because he is the poorest poet among his poet friends.

Money, money, all is money! Because he had no money the Dorings

snubbed him, because he had no money the Primrose had turned down his
poem, because he had no money Rosemary wouldn’t sleep with him.
Social failure, artistic failure, sexual failure – they are all the same. And
lack of money is at the bottom of them all. (page 84)
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What Gordon thinks about money makes him start to shift his own radical

Socialism ideology that makes him hates money. What he thinks, in the moment

he thinks about money when the shadow of Rosemary comes up on his mind is so

contradictory with what he thinks in his past, when he set a fight with money in

the first time. At the time he didn’t know about rosemary, he always thought that

money was an evil thing that made world unstable. He even thought that money

was the only thing equal with the religion which then made people forgot their

faith and turned their faith into money god which is symbolized by Gordon with

aspidistra. This contradictory thinking of Gordon’s can be seen in chapter 3, on

which the writer tells about Gordon’s past.

What he realized, and more clearly as time went on, was that money-
worship has been elevated into a religion. Perhaps it is the only religion –
the only really felt religion – that is left to us. Money is what God used to
be. Good and evil have no meaning any longer except failure and success.
Hence the profoundly significant phrase, to make good. (page 49)
Gordon thought it all out, in the naïve selfish manner of a boy. There are
two ways of to live, he decided. You can be rich or you can despise
money; the one fatal thing is to worship money and fail to get it. He took it
for granted that he himself would never be able to make money. (page 50)
However from the second excerpt we can also see that actually Gordon’s

choice to be a socialist is because he is afraid of failing in achieving things,

especially in earning money to make a good living. The sentence “the fatal thing

is to get money and fail to get it” indicates his fear of failing in achieving things in

life. It also means that his choice to be a socialist by setting a war against money

is a form of an escape way that he chooses to avoid failure. This way of thinking

of Gordon is actually influenced by his family and his schoolmasters in all of his

schools.
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The Comstocks, as Gordon knew them, were a peculiarly dull, shabby,

dead-alive, ineffectual family. They lack vitality to an extent that was
surprising.…One and all they turned out listless, gutless, unsuccessful sort
of people. None of the boys had proper profession. (page 43)
He took it for granted that he himself would never be able to make money.
It hardly even occurred to him that he might have talents which could be
turned to account. That was his schoolmasters had done for him; they had
rubbed it into him that he was a seditious little nuisance and not likely to
“succeed” in life. He accepted this. Very well, then, he would refuse the
whole business of “succeeding”; he would make it his especial purpose not
to ‘succeed’. (page 50)
Such kind of mindset that his family and his schoolmasters had implanted

to his mind when he was in the school ages then became a postulate for him that

suffers in living his life. The postulates, eventually create a process of hegemony

that then constructs his Socialism ideology. In addition, of course sort of

hegemonic influences then push Gordon’s mentality to shrink, especially when it

deals with achievements. Even though he himself knows that he has a good talent

as a writer and as a poet, but he then legitimates his fear of failure by claiming

that he has set a war against money, exactly Money God that he symbolizes in the

form of aspidistra.

His unconfident is then even worsened when he meets Rosemary and be

with her. From the beginning it can be seen that even though he has set a war

against what so called Money God, he still always thought about money.

However, his unconfident, or more precisely his fear of achieving good things in

life, then suppressed inside his mind because of the social classification created by

the existence of Money God which makes him and his poor family becomes what

so called lower class people. his meeting with Rosemary then creates an

ambivalence inside his mind. Ambivalence between whether he still hates money,
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for all the failure it could possibly make, or he needs money for fulfilling the need

of being couple, for being couple always needs money; money to ask the spouse

to have dinner, to go together in an excursion, to buy surprising things for the

spouse, and so on. Even then, it (the ambivalence) then creates an inner conflict

inside Gordon’s thought, an inner conflict about his lack of money every time he

thinks about Rosemary. Moreover, his inner conflict about the war of ambivalence

inside his mind doesn’t only occur when he thinks about Rosemary, but it also

occurs every time he sees and think about aspidistra, for aspidistra always reminds

him that he has set a war against money. Rosemary and aspidistra, eventually

become the triggers of his ambivalent conflict of money, as can be seen below;

As Gordon threw away the match, his eye feel upon the aspidistra in its
grass-green pot. It was a peculiarly mangy specimen. It had only seven
leaves and never seemed to put forth any new ones. Gordon had a sort of
secret feud with the aspidistra. Many a time he had furtively attempted to
kill it – starving it of water, grinding hot cigarette-ends against its stem,
even mixing salt with its earth. (page 33)
What he realized, and more clearly as time went on, was that money-
worship has been elevated into a religion. Perhaps it is the only real
religion – the only really felt religion – that is left to us. Money is what
God used to be. Good and evil have no meaning any longer except failure
and success. Hence the profoundly significant phrase, to make good. The
Decalogue has been reduced to two commandments. One for the
employers – the elect, the money-priesthood as it were – ‘thou shalt make
money’; the other for the employed – the slaves and underlings – ‘thou
shalt not lose thy job.’ It was about this time that he came across The
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists and read about the starving carpenter
who pawns everything but sticks to aspidistra. The aspidistra became a
sort of symbol for Gordon after that. The aspidistra, flower of England! It
ought to be on our coat of arms instead of the lion and the unicorn. There
will be no revolution in England while there are aspidistras in the
windows. (page 49)
Two excerpts above show how Gordon hates aspidistra because he has

symbolized aspidistra as the symbol of Money God which also symbolize the
 69

Capitalism. In this case, his hatred toward aspidistra shows his disagreement

toward Capitalism, which makes people always consider things based upon

“price” and how much money someone can earn. But then, contrarily, when

Gordon start to think about Rosemary; he always thinks that he needs money to

attract Rosemary more, to make Rosemary loves him more, thus she would be

willing to go bed with him, as showed below;

Gordon thought of Ravelston, his charming, rich friend, editor of

antichrist, of whom he was extravagantly fond, and whom he did not see
so often as once in a fortnight; and of Rosemary, his girl, who loved him –
adored him, so she said – and who, all the same, had never slept with him.
money, once again; all is money. All human relationship must be
purchased with money. If you have no money, men won’t care for you,
women won’t love you; won’t, that is care for you or love you the last
little bit that matters. And how right they are, for moneyless, you are
unlovable. (page 19)
From the excerpt above, it can also be seen that when he thinks about

Rosemary, contrarily with when he thinks about aspidistra, Gordon admits to

himself that e needs money, to be a real man, to be a real human. Even he also

thinks that for moneyless, he is unlovable; it is only because Rosemary doesn’t

want to go to bed with him. This shows how every time he thinks about Rosemary

the great ambivalence, between the war against money and his need of money,

inside his mind always occurs.

Then, Gordon’s Socialism ideology that makes him decides to make a war

against money start to break in the moment when can manage to make his poem

entitled London Pleasures accepted and published in Californian Review, an

American magazine that then gives him payment for his poem in a great deal. For

the Poem, he has got fifty dollars. This event, then become a turning point of his
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hatred toward money. Even then, though he still remembers that he should give

some money to Julia, but he becomes extravagant in using his money and loses

his money that he has already saved for Julia. His being extravagant in spending

the money is actually as a form of the climax of his worries in facing the failure.

After getting such amount of money, he realizes that he is able to get much

money, then this proves that so long what he always thinks, that he is incapable of

earning money, which made him decided to set a war against money is wrong at

all. This turning point, then creates a Capitalism ideology inside him. He invites

Rosemary and Ravelston for a dinner in an expensive reastaurant, even he orders

expensive food and drinks which makes Rosemary gets quite sick of him because

he suddenly gets really extravagant and money-spending. From here, Gordon’s

Socialism ideology starts to ruin. This event is showed in chapter 8, as excerpted

below;

Gordon had got hold of money from somewhere and was squandering it
immediately; as usual, Raveslton felt he hadn’t the right to interfere.
Where should they go? Gordon was demanding. Ravelston began to speak
in praise of those jolly little Soho restaurants where you get such a
wonderful dinner for half crown. But Soho restaurants sounded beastly as
soon as Ravelton mentioned them. Gordon wouldn’t hear of it. Nonsense!
They must go somewhere decent. Let’s do it all regardless, was his private
thought might as well spend two quid – three quid, even. Where did
Ravelston generally go? Modligani’s admitted Ravelston. But Modligani’s
was very – but no! not even over the phone could Ravelston frame that
hateful word ‘expensive’. How reminds Gordon of his poverty? Gordon
mightn’t care for Modligani’s, he euphemistically said. But Gordon was
satisfied. Modligani’s ? right you are – half past eight. (page166)
From the excerpt, it also can be seen that Gordon is actually pushing

himself, because he doesn’t want to be regarded by Ravelston or Rosemary as a

useless man. he tries to prove that he is worthy enough by showing that he can
 71

treat both of them having dinner in an expensive restaurant. This shows how his

ideology starts to change, because he thinks that his friend, and his girlfriend will

regard him more if he has more money to spend with them. This kind of thinking,

that friendship or relationship can only be measured by the amount of money

someone has is one of Capitalism principle, where everything is “priced”.

Furthermore, Gordon even treats Rosemary improperly after dinner by

forcing her to kiss him and to go to bed with him, even though he knows that

Rosemary doesn’t want to go bed with him. in doing so, forcing her to kiss and go

to bed with him, Gordon tries to show that at the time, when he holds quite much

money, he has the power to ask Rosemary to fulfill what Gordon wants. Even

then, when Rosemary rejects him, he asks Ravelston to go to a bar and get some

harlots to sleep with. This event is showed in chapter 8, as excerpted below;

He took her by the arm and began to lead her down towards the bottom of
Regent Street, holding her rather tight as though afraid she would escape.
For the moment he had forgotten about Ravelston…. Rosemary hung
back, nnot liking the way Gordon as pulling at her arm.
‘Where are you taking me Gordon?’
‘Round the corner, where it’s dark. I want to kiss you.’
‘ I don’t want to be kissed.’
‘Of course you do.’
‘No!’
‘Yes!’
….He smelt very strongly of wine. She struggled, turning her face
away….
‘Gordon, you musn’t!’
‘Why mustn’t I?’
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‘What are you doing?’

….this time she was angry. She struggled violently, fending his hand
aside. (page 178)
‘I want a drink ,’ complained Gordon.
‘But dash it! you can’t start drinking here.’
‘take me to the pub,’ Said Gordon. (page 180)
‘Ravelston! I say, Ravelston!’
‘What?’
‘Let’s pick a couple of tarts.’
In spite of Gordon’s drunken state, Ravelston was scandalized. ‘My dear
old chap! You can’t do that kind of thing.’
‘Don’t be so damned upper-class. Why not?’
‘But how could you, Dash it! after you’ve just said good night to
Rosemary. (page 184)
As showed in the excerpt above, Gordon, even in his drunk state, he calls

Ravelston as an upper-class which means that he actually realizes that his position

and Ravelston position in society is so far different. It can be said so because as

we know that while in the drunk state, people have much more courage to tell

their feeling toward something or someone. Moreover, while in the drunk state

people never realize what they say, however usually what they say are based on

the suppressed emotion inside their “psyche”. It means that deep inside his heart,

Gordon realize that Capitalism in society is something unavoidable and he agrees

such classification in society which is made based on the income people earn.

Thus, this event shows how Gordon’s Socialism ideology starts to shrink.

As the story goes on, Gordon’s ideology shift proceeds further. The main

influence of his ideology shift is the existence of Rosemary in his life. At first he
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only thinks about money when he thinks about Rosemary, but then, the process

goes further. His success in asking Rosemary to have sex with him which then

makes Rosemary gets pregnant makes him needs money more, because he then

decides to marry her, as showed below;

‘We shall have to get married, I suppose,’ he said flatly.

‘Well, shall we? That’s what I came here to ask you.’
‘But I suppose you want me to marry you, don’t you?’
‘Not unless you want to. I’m not going to tie you down. I know it’s against
your ideas to marry. You must decide for yourself.’
‘But we’ve no alternative – if you’re going to have this baby.’ (page 241)
‘If I marry you I shall have to turn respectable,’ he said musingly.
‘could you?’ she said with a touch of her manner.
‘I mean I shall have to get a proper job – go back to the New Albion. I
suppose they’d take me back.’….
‘there is no sense in marrying if I can’t keep you. Suppose I married you
when I was like I am at present – no money and no proper job? What
would you do then?’ ( page 242-243)
In this event, Gordon ideology shift is starting to be stronger. He thinks

that if he marries Rosemary, he should have a proper job and New Albion is the

only hope he has. Instead of knowing that New Albion is a capitalist Company

which makes ad to deceive people, he still decides to go back to the company. He

knows, that all along, the company’s ideology is very contradictory with his, but

he makes such decision in order to keep Rosemary and his baby. After deciding it,

Gordon even thinks that after all, life can’t be separated from money. This

thinking of his shows that he has really been a capitalist. In addition, he then

reconciles with aspidistra and regards it as the tree of life, as showed below;
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He wondered about the people in houses like those. They would be, for
example, small clerks, shop assistants, commercial travellers, insurance
touts, tram conductors. Did they know that they were only puppets dancing
when money pulled the strings? You bet they didn’t. And if they did, what
would they care? They were too busy being born, being married,
begetting, working, dying. It mightn’t be a bad thing, if you could manage
it, to feel yourself one of them, one of the ruck of men. Our civilization is
founded on greed and fear, but in the lives of common men the greed and
fear are mysteriously transmuted into something nobler. The lower-
middle-class people in there, behind their lace curtain, with their children
and their scraps of furniture and their aspidistras – they live by the money-
code, sure enough, and yet they interpreted it was not merely cynical and
hoggish. They had their standards, their inviolable points of honor. They
‘kept themselves respectable’ – kept the aspidistra fling. Besides, they
were alive. They were bound up in the bundle of life. They begot children,
which is what the saints and the soul-savers never by any chance do.
The aspidistra is the tree of life, he thought suddenly. (page 255)
In the excerpt above, it can be seen how Gordon’s ideology has really been

transmuted into Capitalism ideology. However he himself realizes that Capitalism

is not something that should be taken for granted. He realizes that it is a

phenomenon in life, the unavoidable one, and in order to survive the stream, one

should try to get along with it. In addition, even then, after getting married with

Rosemary he wants an aspidistra or two in his house. Rosemary knows it all along

that Gordon used to hate aspidistra, that’s why after hearing Gordon demanding

such thing she refuses. But Gordon insists to have an aspidistra, and quarrel

between them happens, as can be seen in the excerpts below;

‘to think we’re really married! Till death do us apart. We’ve done it now,
right enough.’
‘terrifying, isn’t it?’
‘I expect we’ll settle down all right, though. With a house of our own and
a pram and an aspidistra.’ (page 259)
He laid his coffee cup down on the ‘occasional’ table.
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‘this is where we’ll put the aspidistra,’ he said.

‘put the what?’
‘the aspidistra.’
She laughed. He saw that she thought he was joking, and added: ‘we must
remember to go out and order it before all the florists are shut.’
‘Gordon! you don’t mean that? You aren’t really thinking of having an
aspidistra?’
‘yes, I am. We won’t let ours get dusty either. They say an old toothbrush
is the best thing to clean them with.’ (page 262)
‘Gordon, you are joking – you must be joking!’
‘No, I’m not. I tell you we’ve got to have an aspidistra.’
‘but why?’
‘it’s the proper thing to have. It’s the first thing one buys after one’s
married. In fact, it’s practically part of the wedding ceremony.’ (page 262)
‘she did not understand him. she thought he was merely being preserve.
They grew heated, and, according to their habit, quarreled violently. It was
their first quarrel as a man and wife. Half an hour later they went out to the
florist’s to order the aspidistra. (page 263)
From the excerpts above, it can be seen that after getting married with

Rosemary his thinking about aspidistra is totally change. In addition, it is also

totally contradictory with Gordon’s way of thinking toward aspidistra as told in

the beginning of the story. his hatred toward aspidistra which then transmuted into

“love” toward aspidistra is the main proof that he undergoes an ideology shift,

from Socialism into Capitalism.

 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This is the last chapter that consists of conclusion and suggestion or implication

after analysing The Shift of Socialism into Capitalism in George Orwell’s Novel

Keep the Aspidistra Flying. The conclusion covers the overall analysis and

discussions of the research topic. In addition, after doing the research in the novel,

there are some suggestions that I have provided to the readers in order to make the

readers able to understand more about the existence of the two contradictory

ideologies in the real life. Hopefully, by doing so, I can contribute something to

the readers way of thinking in overcoming the phenomenon of ideology war

which does exist in the real life as reflected in the novel.

5.1. Conclusion

There are some conclusions that can be drawn from the research topic I

conducted. Each of the conclusions is drawn from the overall research topics.

1) It’s a general fact that there is an ideology war in the life we are

living. There are two contradictory ideologies that always attack each other,

Socialism and Capitalism. Both ideologies do exist in life, even though

people do not really pay attention on their existence. People who don’t agree

with social classification choose the path of Socialism on which they can

help each other and socialize much more freely without considering their

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social class. In Socialism, people aim to achieve equal prosperity for all.

Orwell, through the novel tries to reveal the phenomenon of Socialis

existence by depicting its existence in various ways. By doing so, he intends

to tell people that in living our live we need to be a socialist, for living

always needs socializing.

2) It’s a well-known fact that the world we are living is generally

reigned by the power of Capitalism. In the concept of Capitalism,

everything is measured by the “price”, even human classification is also

determined by “price” which means that the class of each person is based on

how much money they can earn. This kind of ideology is actually

undeniable and unavoidable for we have been long influenced by such way

of thinking. In the novel, Orwell can really reveal that Capitalism is the

dominating ideology in the social life. People classify their position in

society, they even don’t care with each other, because the only thing they

really care is money. The money itself which reigns people’s though is

symbolized by Orwell with Aspidistra. The existence of aspidistra in

everywhere represents how money-god has become like a religion in

people’s lives.

3) Life is always dynamic, everything can possibly happen, so does

the shift of ideology. Through the novel, it can be seen that the main

character, Gordon, is actually a representation of general people who

dynamically thinks about the ideology they uphold. They way Gordon hated

aspidistra shows how he hated Capitalism, even then he set a war against
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money to show that he didn’t agree with the concept of Capitalism on which

people stratified and classified. But then, he realizes that in living the life,

everyone needs money. Being a socialist or a capitalist is a matter of choice

in life. When the needs in life increase, so does the need of earning more

money. As long as the life can go on, being a socialist and capitalist is no

longer really important.

This kind of concept – that people needs make them change their ideology –

is the concept of ideology shift that Orwell tries to show to the people. From

this point, he tries to reveal that the existence of Capitalism is extremely

unavoidable. Because being a capitalist or a socialist is, once again, about

fulfilling needs which also means that it is about how we can earn money.

5.2. Suggestion

After reviewing the research topic and drawing some conclusions, I

provide some suggestions related to the analysis of the research topic which very

closely related to the depiction of the real life.

1) In living our life we need an ideology to uphold. The need of

upholding an ideology in our life is because there are so many phenomena

that we engage in our life. Without having any basic ideology we will

always get drowned in the extreme stream of each phenomenon. The

ideology war between Socialism and Capitalism is also one of the

phenomena in life. We can be both socialist and capitalist in the same time

for each of them has very contradictory concepts. If someone wants to have
 79

a “save” and good life which can make the life he is living stable and

harmonious, he/she can take the path of Socialism where everybody is

determined to help each other.

2) As the Capitalism is also exists in our life, instead of Socialism,

we, as human being should realize it and don’t only take it for granted. The

existence of Socialism forces us to take for granted that there are social

classification in society; however we shouldn’t just take it for granted

because the social classification is actually just a means that the capitalists

use to create a social construction. This social construction is implanted in

people’s mindset through hegemony and legitimation. If we understand how

hegemony and legitimation work, we can face the Capitalism stream much

more easily.

3) People should realize that ideology can undergo ideology shift on

which people with Socialism ideology can suddenly change their ideology

become Capitalism or otherwise. Thus, people should be aware with such

phenomenon. The awareness of ideology shift can be built from our own

way of thinking. We should understand the existence of both ideologies and

the way they are spread out by the means of hegemony and legitimation. It

is our duty to sustain the balance in our society, so we should really be

aware and tries to avoid the ideology shift in our life.

APPENDIXES

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APPENDIXES

APPENDIX 1: Summary of The Novel’s Plot

George Orwell Keep the Aspidistra Flying starts as Gordon Comstock has

‘declared war’ on what he sees as an ‘overarching dependence’ on funds by

leaving a promising career being a copywriter for an promoting business referred

to as ‘New Albion’—at which he shows fantastic dexterity—and using a low-

paying career as an alternative, ostensibly so he can write poetry. Coming from a

respectable family members background through which the inherited wealth has

now grow to be dissipated, Gordon resents possessing to operate for the located.

The ‘war’ (as well as the poetry), nonetheless, aren’t heading specially properly

and, below the anxiety of his ‘self-imposed exile’ from affluence, Gordon has

grown to be absurd, petty and deeply neurotic.

Comstock lives in the bedsit in London, earning adequate to reside without

any luxuries in the tiny bookshop owned by a Scot, Mc Kechnie. He operates

intermittently with a magnum opus he plans to call London Pleasures; meanwhile,

his only published operate, a slim volume of poetry entitled Mice, collects dust for

the remainder shelf. He is simultaneously content with his meagre existence and

also disdainful of it. He lives without economic ambition as well as the will need

for the ‘good career,’ but his located ailments are unpleasant, his career is

uninteresting, and his impecuniousness can be a frequent source of humiliation for

him.
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Comstock is ‘obsessed’ by what he sees being a pervasion of funds (the ‘Money

God’, as he calls it) behind social relationships, sensation positive that females

would locate him a lot more interesting if he have been far better away. On the

beginning with the novel, he senses that his girlfriend Rosemary (whom he met on

the Albion, and who remains to operate there), is dissatisfied with him as a result

of his poverty. Through the novel, Comstock oscillates among self-admiration and

self-loathing—one moment filled with disdain for your capitalist vulgarities he

sees all around him, the subsequent writhing with shame above some imagined

slight. An example of his economic embarrassment is when he’s desperate for the

pint of beer at his neighborhood pub, but has work out of pocket funds and is

ashamed to cadge a drink off his fellow lodger Flaxman.

As George Orwell Keep the Aspidistra Flying continues, a single of

Comstock’s last remaining good friends, Philip Ravelston, a Marxist who

publishes a magazine referred to as Antichrist, agrees with Comstock in principle,

but is comfortably well-off himself and this causes strains when the practical

miseries of Comstock’s lifestyle grow to be apparent. He does, nonetheless,

endeavour to publish some of Comstock’s operate and his efforts had resulted in

Mice getting released via a single of his publisher contacts (unbeknownst to

Comstock).

Gordon and Rosemary have tiny time together—she operates late and his

landlady forbids female visitors to her tenants. Rosemary won’t have sex with him

but he persuades her to commit a day with him inside the country around
 83

Burnham Beeches in which he hopes to break her resolve. Nonetheless, what

exactly is intended being a pleasant morning out away from London’s grime turns

in to a disaster when they can not locate a pub open and are forced to consume an

unappetizing lunch with a fancy, overpriced hotel as an alternative. Gordon has to

shell out the bill with every one of the funds he experienced set aside for their

jaunt and worries about possessing to borrow funds from Rosemary. On the

essential moment when he’s about to take her virginity, she raises the problem of

contraception and his interest flags due to the fact he could not afford this sort of

things—money once more.

Possessing sent a poem to an American publication, Gordon abruptly

receives from them a cheque worth ten pounds—a considerable sum for him on

the time. He intends to set apart half for his sister Julia, who has often been there

to lend him funds and assistance. He treats Rosemary and Ravelston to dinner,

which begins properly, however the evening deteriorates because it proceeds.

Gordon, drunk, tries to force himself upon Rosemary but she angrily rebukes him

and leaves. Gordon remains drinking, drags Ravelston with him to check out a

pair of prostitutes, and ends up broke and in the police cell the subsequent

morning. He is guilt-ridden above the thought of getting unable to shell out his

sister back again the funds due to the fact a single with the tarts stole his £5 note.

Ravelston pays Gordon’s fine right after a brief look just before the

magistrate, but a reporter hears in regards to the circumstance, and writes about it

inside the neighborhood paper. The ensuing publicity final results in Gordon
 84

losing his career on the bookshop, and, consequently, his comparatively

‘comfortable’ life-style. As Gordon searches for an additional career, his lifestyle

deteriorates, and his poetry stagnates. Right after located with his friend Ravelston

and his girlfriend Hermione in the course of his time of unemployment, Gordon

ends up operating at an additional book shop and low-cost two-penny lending

library owned by the sinister Mr. Cheeseman for an even smaller wage of 30

shillings a week. This was 10 shillings much less than he was earning just before

due to the fact he experienced been sacked on account of his drunken escapade.

Determined to sink for the lowest level of society in the planet without funds or

moral obligation, Gordon takes a run-down area in the dire Lambeth slum.

Rosemary, possessing avoided Gordon for some time, abruptly comes to

check out him a single morning at his dismal lodgings. Regardless of his terrible

poverty and shabbiness, they make really like but it can be with out any emotion

or passion. Later, Rosemary drops in a single morning unexpectedly on the

library, possessing not been in touch with Gordon for some time, and tells him

that she is pregnant. Gordon is presented while using selection among leaving

Rosemary with a lifestyle of social shame on the hands of her family—since both

of them reject the thought of an abortion—or marrying her and returning with a

lifestyle of respectability by using back again the career he when so deplored on

the New Albion with its £4 salary.

He chooses Rosemary and respectability after which it experiences a

sensation of relief at possessing abandoned his anti-money principles with this

 85

sort of comparative ease. Right after two many years of abject failure and poverty,

he throws his poetic operate ‘London Pleasures’ down a drain, marries Rosemary,

and resumes his promoting career, happily plunging in to a campaign to promote a

brand new merchandise to stop foot odour. In his different lodgings, Gordon has

often experienced to share his area with aspidistras which continue to thrive

regardless of his mistreatment of them. In his lonely walks all around mean

streets, aspidistras seem to appear in each lower-middle class window. As the

book closes, Gordon wins an argument with Rosemary to set up an aspidistra in

their new tiny but secure flat on London’s Edgware Road.

 86

Appendix 2:

Data Tabulation

No. Proofs of No. Proofs of No. Proofs of

Socialism Capitalism ideological shift

1. His eyes refocused 1. Gordon watched 1. Money, money,

themselves upon them go. They were all is money!
the posters just by-products. Because he had
opposite. He had The throw-outs of no money the
his private reasons the money-god. All Dorings snubbed
for hating them. over London, by him, because he
Mechanically he tens of thousands, had no money the
re-read their draggled old beasts Primrose had
slogans. of that description; turned down his
‘Kangaroo creeping like poem, because he
burgundy – the unclean beetles to had no money
wine for Britons.’ the grave. He gazed Rosemary
‘Asthma was out at the graceless wouldn’t sleep
choking her!’ street. At this with him. Social
‘Q.T. Sauce Keeps moment it seemed failure, artistic
Hubby Smiling.’ to him that in a failure, sexual
‘Hike all day on a town like this, failure – they are
Slab of Vitamalt!’ every life that is all the same. And
‘Curve Cut – the lived must be lack of money is
Smoke for meaningless and at the bottom of
Outdoor Men.’ intolerable. The them all. (page
‘Kiddies clamor sense of 84)
for their Breakfast disintegration, of
Crisps.’ ‘Corner decay, that is
Table enjoys his endemic in our time
meal with Bovex.’ was strong upon
(page 11) him. (page 21)
 87

2. For after all, what 2. Even at the third- 2. Gordon thought it

is there behind it, rate schools to all out, in the
except money? which Gordon was naïve selfish
Money for the sent nearly all the manner of a boy.
right kind of boys were richer There are two
education, money than himself. They ways of to live,
for influential soon found out his he decided. You
friends, money for poverty, of course, can be rich or you
leisure and peace and gave him hell can despise
of mind, … (page because of it. money; the one
13) Probably the fatal thing is to
greatest cruelty one worship money
can inflict on a and fail to get it.
child is to send it to He took it for
school among granted that he
children richer than himself would
itself. A child never be able to
conscious of make money.
poverty will suffer (page 50)
snobbish agonies
such as grown-up
person can scarcely
imagine. In those
days, especially at
his preparatory
school, Gordon’s
life had been long
conspiracy to keep
his end up and
pretend that his
parents were richer
than they were. Ah,
the humiliation of
those days! That
awful business, for
instance, at the
beginning of each
term, when you had
to ‘give in’ to the
headmaster,
publicly, the money
you had brought
back with you; and
the contemptuous,
cruel sniggers from
the other boys when
 88

you didn’t ‘give in’

ten bob or more.
(page 47)
 89

3. Gordon and his 3. During 1918 and 3. Gordon thought

friends had quite 1919 she had work of Ravelston, his
an exciting time in a government charming, rich
with their office, and after friend, editor of
‘subversive ideas’. that she took a antichrist, of
For whole year course of cookery whom he was
they ran an and got job in a extravagantly
unofficial monthly nasty, ladylike fond, and whom
paper called the teashop near Earl’s he did not see so
Bolshevik, Court Underground often as once in a
duplicated with a Station. She worked fortnight; and of
jelly graph. It a seventy-two hour Rosemary, his
advocated week and was given girl, who loved
Socialism, free her lunch and tea him – adored him,
love, the and twenty-five so she said – and
dismemberment of shillings;… (page who, all the same,
the British Empire, 50) had never slept
the abolition of the with him. money,
Army and Navy, once again; all is
and so on and so money. All
forth. It was great human
fun. Every relationship must
intelligent boy of be purchased with
sixteen is a money. If you
socialist. (page 37) have no money,
men won’t care
for you, women
won’t love you;
won’t, that is care
for you or love
you the last little
bit that matters.
And how right
they are, for
moneyless, you
are unlovable.
(page 19)
 90

4. There are two 4. The New Albion 4. Gordon had got

ways to live, he was one of those hold of money
decided. You can publicity firms from somewhere
be rich, or you can which have sprung and was
deliberately refuse up everywhere squandering it
to be rich. You can since the war – the immediately; as
possess money, or fungi, as you might usual, Raveslton
you can despise say, that sprout felt he hadn’t the
money; the one from a decaying right to interfere.
fatal thing is to Capitalism, it was a Where should
worship money smallish rising firm they go? Gordon
and fail to get it. and took every was demanding.
He took it for class of publicity it Ravelston began
granted that he could get. It to speak in praise
himself would designed a certain of those jolly
never be able to number of large- little Soho
make money. It scale posters for restaurants where
hardly even oatmeal stout, self- you get such a
occurred to him rising flour, and so wonderful dinner
that he might have forth, but its main for half crown.
talents which line was millinery But Soho
could be turned to ad cosmetic restaurants
account. That was advertisements in sounded beastly
his schoolmasters the women’s as soon as
had done for him; illustrated papers, Ravelton
they had rubbed it besides minor ads mentioned them.
into him that the in two penny Gordon wouldn’t
was a seditious weeklies such as, hear of it.
little nuisance and Whiterose Pills for Nonsense! They
not likely to Female Disorders, must go
‘succeed’ in life. Your Horoscope somewhere
He accepted this Cast by Professor decent. Let’s do it
very well, then he Raratongo, The all regardless,
would refuse the Seven Secrets of was his private
whole business of Venus, New Hope thought might as
‘succeeding’; he for the Ruptured, well spend two
would make it his Earn Five Pounds a quid – three quid,
especial purpose Week in your Spare even. Where did
NOT to ‘succeed’. Time, and Cyprolax Ravelston
Better to reign in Hair Lotion generally go?
hell than serve in Banishes all Modligani’s
heaven; better to Unpleasant admitted
serve in hell than Intruders. There Ravelston. But
serve in heaven, was a large staff of Modligani’s was
for that matter. commercial artists, very – but no! not
Already, at even over the
 91

sixteen, he knew of course. (page 56) phone could

which side he was Ravelston frame
on. He was that hateful word
AGAINST the ‘expensive’. How
money-god and all reminds Gordon
his swinish of his poverty?
priesthood. He had Gordon mightn’t
declared war on care for
money; but Modligani’s, he
secretly, of course. euphemistically
(page 39) said. But Gordon
was satisfied.
Modligani’s ?
right you are –
half past eight.
(page166)
 92

5. The Queen of 5. Most of the 5. He took her by

Sheba were very employees were the the arm and
pleased with their hard-boiled, began to lead her
ads. Mr. Erskine Americanized, go- down towards the
also was pleased. getting type – the bottom of Regent
Gordon’s wages type to whom Street, holding
were raised by ten nothing in the her rather tight as
shillings a week. world is sacred, though afraid she
And it was now except money. would escape. For
that Gordon grew (page 57) the moment he
frightened. Money had forgotten
was getting him about
after all. He was Ravelston….
sliding down, into Rosemary hung
the money-sty. A back, not liking
little more and he the way Gordon
would be stuck in as pulling at her
for life. It is queer arm.
how these things
happen. You set ‘Where are you
your face against taking me
success, you swear Gordon?’
never to Make
‘Round the
Good – you
corner, where it’s
honestly believe
dark. I want to
that you couldn’t
kiss you.’
Make Good even
if you wanted to; ‘ I don’t want to
and then be kissed.’
something happens
along. Some mere ‘Of course you
chance, and you do.’
find yourself
Making Good ‘No!’
almost ‘Yes!’
automatically. He
saw that now or ….He smelt very
never was the time strongly of wine.
to escape. He had She struggled,
got to get out of it turning her face
– out of the away….
money-world,
irrevocably, before ‘Gordon, you
he was too far musn’t!’
involved. (page
‘Why mustn’t I?’
 93

60) ‘What are you

doing?’
….this time she
was angry. She
struggled
violently, fending
his hand aside.
(page 178)

6. Julia was a tall, 6. ‘oh, people like this 6. ‘I want a drink ,’

ungainly girl, poet friend of complained
much taller than yours. All those Gordon.
Gordon , with a people who write
thin face and a for your paper. ‘But dash it! you
neck just a little They only do it to can’t start
too long- one of cadge from you. Of drinking here.’
those girls who course I know
‘take me to the
even at their most you’re a socialists.
pub,’ Said
youthful remind So I am. I mean
Gordon. (page
one irresistibly of we’re all socialists
180)
a goose. But her nowadays. But I
nature was simple don’t see why you
and affectionate. have to give all
She was a self- your money away
effacing home- and make friends
keeping, ironing, with the lower
darning, and classes. You can be
mending kind of socialist and have a
girl, a natural good time, that’s
spinster-soul. Even what I say.’ (page
at sixteen she had 106)
“old maid” written
all over her. She
idolized Gordon.
All through his
childhood she
watched over him,
nursed him,
spoiled him, went
in rags so that he
might have the
right clothes to go
to school in, saved
up her wretched
 94

pocket-money to
buy him Christmas
presents and
birthday presents.
(page 46)

7. As for Gordon’s 7. What he realized, 7. ‘Ravelston! I say,

branch of the and more clearly as Ravelston!’
family, the time went on, was
combined income that money-worship ‘What?’
of them, allowing has been elevated
‘Let’s pick a
for the lump sum into a religion.
couple of tarts.’
that had been paid Perhaps it is the
down when aunt only real religion – In spite of
Charlotte entered the only really felt Gordon’s drunken
the mental home, religion – that is state, Ravelston
might have been left to us. Money is was scandalized.
six hundred a year. what God used to ‘My dear old
(page 67) be. Good and evil chap! You can’t
have no meaning do that kind of
any longer except thing.’
failure and success.
Hence the ‘Don’t be so
profoundly damned upper-
significant phrase, class. Why not?’
to make good. The
Decalogue has been ‘But how could
reduced to two you, Dash it! after
commandments. you’ve just said
One for the good night to
employers – the Rosemary. (page
elect, the money- 184)
priesthood as it
were – ‘thou shalt
make money’; the
other for the
employed – the
slaves and
underlings – ‘thou
shalt not lose thy
job.’ It was about
this time that he
came across The
Ragged Trousered
Philanthropists and
 95

read about the

starving carpenter
who pawns
everything but
sticks to aspidistra.
The aspidistra
became a sort of
symbol for Gordon
after that. The
aspidistra, flower of
England! It ought to
be on our coat of
arms instead of the
lion and the
unicorn. There will
be no revolution in
England while there
are aspidistras in
the windows. (page
49)

8. That was great 8. ‘I mean I shall

thing about have to get a
Ravelston. He proper job – go
could always see back to the New
another person’s Albion. I suppose
point of view. It they’d take me
was having money back.’….
that did it, no
doubt; for the rich ‘there is no sense
can afford to be in marrying if I
intelligent. can’t keep you.
Moreover, being Suppose I married
rich himself, he you when I was
could find jobs for like I am at
other people. (page present – no
60) money and no
proper job? What
would you do
then?’ ( page 242-
243)

9. No rich man ever 9. He wondered

succeeds in about the people
disguising himself in houses like
as a poor those. They
man………..Ravel would be, for
 96

ston lived on the example, small

first floor, and the clerks, shop
editorial offices of assistants,
antichrist were commercial
downstairs. travellers,
Antichrist was a insurance touts,
middle-to high- tram conductors.
brow monthly, Did they know
socialist in a that they were
vehement but ill- only puppets
defined way……. dancing when
Practically money pulled the
anything got strings? You bet
printed in they didn’t. And
antichrist if if they did, what
Ravelston would they care?
suspected that its They were too
author was busy being born,
starving. (page 87) being married,
begetting,
working, dying. It
mightn’t be a bad
thing, if you
could manage it,
to feel yourself
one of them, one
of the ruck of
men. Our
civilization is
founded on greed
and fear, but in
the lives of
common men the
greed and fear are
mysteriously
transmuted into
something nobler.
The lower-
middle-class
people in there,
behind their lace
curtain, with their
children and their
scraps of furniture
and their
aspidistras – they
 97

live by the
money-code, sure
enough, and yet
they interpreted it
was not merely
cynical and
hoggish. They
had their
standards, their
inviolable points
of honor. They
‘kept themselves
respectable’ –
kept the aspidistra
fling. Besides,
they were alive.
They were bound
up in the bundle
of life. They
begot children,
which is what the
saints and the
soul-savers never
by any chance do.
The aspidistra is
the tree of life, he
thought suddenly.
(page 255)

10. Ravelston 10. He laid his coffee

murmured cup down on the
agreement, with a ‘occasional’ table.
curious air of guilt.
And now they ‘this is where
were off upon their we’ll put the
favourite subject aspidistra,’ he
……… but it said.
always made
‘put the what?’
Ravelston feel
rather ‘the aspidistra.’
uncomfortable. In
a way, of course, She laughed. He
he knew –it was saw that she
precisely this that thought he was
antichrist existed joking, and
to point out- that added: ‘we must
 98

life under decaying remember to go

Capitalism is out and order it
deathly and before all the
meaningless. (page florists are shut.’
90)
‘Gordon! you
don’t mean that?
You aren’t really
thinking of
having an
aspidistra?’
‘yes, I am. We
won’t let ours get
dusty either. They
say an old
toothbrush is the
best thing to clean
them with.’ (page
262)
‘Gordon, you are
joking – you must
be joking!’
‘No, I’m not. I
tell you we’ve got
to have an
aspidistra.’
‘but why?’
‘it’s the proper
thing to have. It’s
the first thing one
buys after one’s
married. In fact,
it’s practically
part of the
wedding
ceremony.’ (page
262)

11. They veered

swiftly away from
the subject of
 99

money and began

talking about in a
more general way
about Socialism.
Ravelston had
been trying for
years to convert
Gordon to
Socialism… (page
93)

12. Hermione was

sleepily lecturing
him.
‘Philip, why do
you have to live in
such a dreadful
way?’
‘but I don’t live in
a dreadful way.’
‘yes, you do.
Pretending you’re
poor when you’re
not, and living in
that poky flat with
no servants, and
going about with
all these beastly
people.’
‘what beastly
people?’
‘oh, people like
this poet friend of
yours. All those
people who write
for your paper,
they only do it to
cadge from you.
Of course I know
you’re a
socialist(page105-
106)
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