Talk:Child of All Nations

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Created main page for Child of all Nations by Pramoedya Reed (talk) 21:18, 12 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

First Edit[edit]

Looks like I was the first one to edit the page. Here is what I added:

Child of All Nations continues the story of the lives of the main character, Minke, and his mother in law, Nyai Ontosoroh. By describing the lives of these two people who live in the Dutch controlled islands of Java, Toer is able to discuss many aspects of life in a colonized nation. Child of All Nations explores the social hierarchy in a colonized nation by giving glimpses of how the Javanese farmers are required to be submissive to the Dutch as well as how even wealthy, educated Javanese like Minke and Nyai are still considered inferior by the Dutch because they are not European. Another main theme of the novel is the idea that, as the title suggests, the world is becoming more and more integrated. This theme is realized in the character of Minke who himself says that he is a child of all nations3. Minke speaks French, Dutch, Malay, and high and low Javanese and writes for a newspaper published in Dutch. His worldview is colored by the fact that he is wealthy and educated and therefore closer to the Dutch than other Javanese, however Minke also feels that what is happening to his people is not right. His life is caught between two worlds and a lot of the novel is related to him trying to understand who he really is.

I added this to get the ball rolling and provide a few main themes that someone else can expand on.

Jbethany (talk) 21:50, 15 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I added a bunch of historical facts about Indonesia that give the book prospective. jkm83087

I made a character list and added who I thought were the two main characters (Minke & Nyai), and also added another supporting character (Jean).

mflick90 (talk) September 16, 2009 - 1:33 AM

Added the recurring themes section containing women's rights, nationalism, & family Jngu (talk) 17:42, 16 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Should there be an external links section for relevant websites? Reed Taylor (talk) 14:40, 17 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think the author would refer to himself as Toer according to the Pramoedya Ananta Toer page. I think it is more common to just use Pramoedya. Reed Taylor (talk) 14:54, 17 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I added two more people, Kommer, because he becomes a big influence in Minke's life and Darsam, because he lives with Minke and is witness to some interesting events, to the list of main characters.

bstan3 (talk) September 17, 2009 - 8:23 PM

I added Khouw Ah Soe to the list of main characters since he adds to some of Minke's revolutionist thoughts about the Indies and the Dutch colonization of parts of Asia.

vacagirl September 18, 2009 - 2:42 PM

I added to and edited the two main characters, Minke and Nyai. I felt there wasn't enough information on the two most important characters in the book. Some of the previous sentences in that section were oddly worded, so I edited that as well.

Phanatic89 (talk) 12:05, 19 September 2009

I added the section "Juxtaposition with Japan" under the recurring themes. This perhaps is not necessarily "recurring," but it does give insight to the inner conflict that Minke goes through in experiencing and developing his own nationalism. His views of Japan as a successful Asian nation are juxtaposed with his views of them simply functioning as yet another colonizing power.

jhelvy (talk) 12:25, 19 September 2009

I added the recurring theme of the social ranking system referenced throughout the book. It shows the cultures "set up" at the time and lets us understand the culture in an indirect manner. Seeing that social system referenced over and over, it shows the importance of it and the overall role of it in the society presented in the novel.


mkamin (talk) 5:58, 19 September 2009

I added the story of Surati and Tuan Besar Kuasa that occurs in chapter seven as a major event within the novel. I think it effectively reveals the role and status of, not only native women in society, but of natives in general. This story highlights the power relationships within the novel and, I believe, it needed to be acknowledged. ———————————

I added a main events section and described Minke's stay with trunodongso and I also added to the Kommer description.Meg06 (talk) 15:03, 22 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I added the author bio. Most Spark Notes pages or other pages with information about a novel have a brief author biography, so I figured we could use one as well! It is extremely brief but has some more information on why the author wrote the way he did. I men come on the man went to jail three times!! (kkmor) 20 September 2009

I added the characters of Trunodongso, Maysoroh, and Darman. All three of these characters play a large part in Minke's life story: Truno is Minke's first true native encounter, and thus the subject of Minke's first post regarding the indigenous people. Maysoroh is a reccuring character throughout the novel, and essentially keeps the relationship between Minke and Jean steady. Darman is important at the start of the novel because through his letters, the reader is able to learn what happens to Annelies. (198.82.100.130 (talk) 20:36, 20 September 2009 (UTC))[reply]


I added a section on anti-colonialism and Robert Jan Dapperste/Panji Darman in the characters and themes sections. edelurey- September 20, 2009


I added a very brief part of the story from Trunodongso's arrival at Nyai's up until the court cases. I thought it showed how desperate Minke was to get away and find somewhere he could write 

what he felt and not be implicated. (ash) September 20, 2009

I added more to the "Family" portion under the recurring themes of the page. The values of family are emphasized throughout the novel, and especially in Minke's life; Nyai and Minke live for each other. Cecccilia (talk) 19:47, 21 September 2009 (UTC)cecccilia[reply]

I added two characters two the Character list section. First I added Annelies, because I thought she played an important role to Minkes character. I also added Sastro Kassier because he is Nyai’s eldest brother and is the paymaster of the sugar plant. I also added to the Womens rights theme section about how Surati has to go through with being Tuans Concubine. Collin Medford 9/21/2009 5:00pm

I added Ter Haar to the character list and included a quote that basically sums up the character. Even though he plays a brief role in the novel, he is crucial to the intellectual development of Minke. Haar's radical and liberal ideas really expands Minke's perspective 360 and also alludes to the "French Revolution spirit" that Minke mentions through out the book.

xminjung (talk) 6:45, 21 September 2009

For starters, I edited the wording of some sentences to be less colloquial and more educated, while also remaining more general in the novel's description. This was more a trial for me, so more to come.

Sothisislife101 (talk) 23:03, 21 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I added to the main event section about Minke's interview with Khouw Ah Soe because I felt this event was one major contribution in Minke's understanding of the Dutch oppression. Sap2560 (talk) 7:48, 21 September 2009

I made a lot of grammatical and stylistic changes to the beginning paragraph, as well as to the character list, in order to improve the readability of the article. (Brittney Davis)

I made some edits for grammar and making the reading a bit smoother. I added Surati to the character list, because I feel she is a key element in Minke's character development. I also added in shoes as a reoccurring theme, since it pops up so many times.

Leighucc (talk) 05:35, 22 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I made a new section, "International Influences", moved the Japan and China comments to this section, made a few edits for clarity to the China entry, and added details about the Philippines.

Zzyzzxjapan (talk) 07:08, 22 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I figured more people information could be said on the ban so I did some research and managed to add some interesting facts.

Added some historical background to the Japanese influence section. Described what was going on in Japan that led to their major increase in global influence. kevinv10 (talk)

I added a section called "Minke's Point of Realization" under the Major Events heading. It briefly covers the implications of the event in which Minke realizes he has been neglecting his own people and decides to be a voice for them through writing. I also edited a word in "Anti-Colonialism" which seemed to be a typo and added a sentence under "Nationalism." (Maria Kim)

I added a little piece about the constant struggles of duality in the novel. I discussed how many things in the novel have opposite realities, like Dutch versus the Natives and the educated versus the uneducated. This is a very important aspect of the book and of colonization, showing how black and white the characteristics of colonization are. (Anna Pecora)

I added the information about Minem, the Philippines, and Khouw. (Jon Yu)

I added some proper citations for the page itself and fixed some of the MLA format for a good portion of the page and also reworded some of the "Historical Context" section so that it reads more clearly. - mkamin

I also added further detail to the Historical Context section of the page, highlighting more ellaborate details of the Battle of Surabaya.-dmeli —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.111.132.165 (talk) 03:43, 18 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Reorganization of Contents[edit]

Was there any particular reason the sections were shuffled around? Because they seem to be counter-intuitive in the arrangement they currently are. Sothisislife101 (talk) 05:47, 29 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Should the characters be moved back to the beginning and then the historical context moved towards the end?

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