"What is an Author" by Foucault

Foucault (1926 – 1987)

Foucault’s "What Is an Author?" was originally delivered as a lecture in 1969, two years after the first English publication of Barthes’ famous essay "Death of the Author, 1967)". Although never explicitly stated, it’s quite obvious Foucault is directly responding to and criticizing Barthes’ thesis as evidenced by the following statement early in the essay: “A certain number of notions that are intended to replace the privileged position of the author actually seem to preserve that privilege and suppress the real meaning of his disappearance.”

In his essay, "Author Function", Foucault states that the author had
shift from denotatir (biological / historical) to the author as a marker (eg, "Renda"
or "Pramoedya"), which has certain connotations field. Foucault shows how the
field is formed connotation of association posed a variety of texts such as:
biography, autobiography, critic reviews, incident reports involving themselves in the author's mass media, the outstanding reputation in contemporary society, and reputation in a variety of version of literary history (Budianta, 2002).

Both Barthes and Foucault agree the "Author” is an unnatural, historical phenomenon that has unfortunately obtained mythological, heroic status. And both aim to contradict and complicate this status. However, their methods are drastically different.

If "Death of the Author" actively attempts to kill the Author from the position of full-frontal attack, then "What is an Author?" casually submits to the inevitability of this death and opts instead to further problematize the foundational definitions underlying author and text.

Here, Foucault poses a series of ontological questions regarding a text. Questions like, Where does one draw a line in an author's oeuvre? What constitutes a work? Should everything an author writes, including notes, scribbles and shopping lists, be considered part of a work?

He then goes on to question and complicate the author in a similar vein. “'First, we need to clarify briefly the problems arising from the use of the author's name. What is an author's name? How does it function? Far from offering a solution, I shall only indicate some of the difficulties that it presents.”

Then Foucault restates the function of the “Author” in discourse, he said that “The Author”, the concept of the author is as :

Organizing devices

We realized and we recognized that the author is the “soul”, the “god”, and the “brain” of literary works, and he premitting us to put the certain text together, and sometimes he gave us the possibilities to conclude based on convention or innovation way to his work of arts, and the most crucial and fundamental level it is said that the author is the source of the text. So, no author, no texts.

Interpretation trigger / limiter

We could make some interpretation, if there is / are literary work/s if there is nothing, then we could not gave our interpret of something. And also, he is the one who could made an illusonary boundary about the interpretation of the readers.

FoucouIt wrote that the mention of the name of the author not have function pointer. If the point of Aristotle, the word would be related with 'the author of the analysis' or 'inventor understand ontology'. Designation It does not refer to a person. Function is not meaningful signifikatif name to mention. The mention Pierre Dupont does not mean people want to learn the facts about him, namely, that he lived in Paris, with blue eyes, a doctor, etc.. Name
the author is not functioning as the people in citizenship status. DaJam particular culture, the author's name is a decisive factor in the text the author function is to show their existence, circulation, and air- operation of a particular discourse in a particular community

Unsur Intrinsik dan Ekstrinsik "Anna and the King"

INTRINSIC ELEMENT :

Theme :

Is most certainly about equality and culture. This is present in the story of many cultural customs of Siam who believe in superstition and British culture that always think rationally. In addition the form of class distinction is evident in the country of Siam is also covered in this story.

Plot :

This story comes from the country Siam Bangkok. Which starts from the initial incident invited an English teacher who came from England. She was named Anna Leonowens and her son who was named Loise Leonowens. Anna was assigned to teach the children the King, amounting to 58 children. One of the daughters of King named Fa-Ying had attracted the attention of Anna, because she identifies herself with the spirit of funny monkeys that live in trees in the royal park. When she was suddenly stricken with cholera, Anna was called at his home to say goodbye. Arriving there Fa-Ying simply said goodbye and she died at the hands of King Mongkut. Fa-Ying turned out to death because she was training to dance like that done by Anna and king, until finally she lay helpless under the debris of rain. A few days later, when the king discovered that one of the monkeys that had been "borrowed" his glasses. He was comforted by his belief in reincarnation and the idea that the Fa-Ying may be reborn as one of her favorite animals. One time a new concubine Tuptim suspected of betraying the King of kings and eventually he was executed along with her boyfriend. When Anna tries to defend Tuptim in court and she was scolded by King Mongkut. Because according to King the action that done by Anna has exceeded the King, but it was several days before the death of Fa-Ying Anna reject the proposal of the King. Then she was angry and decided to leave Siam. But at the time Anna's departure, he was stopped by the celebration of the "appearance of the white elephant". This is done by the king to divert the attention of Alak. And the king was hiding with his descendants have been found by Alak. Then, when the troops approached the king and army Alak prepare bomb planted under a bridge through which the Alak group. Not unexpectedly turns Alak, a traitor of Siam plan tactics for the war against Siam. But his efforts were thwarted by Anna and Louis who had the bright idea to blow the British trumpet. And finally force of Alak was fear and scuttled. Siam country eventually survived the war. then when he got in the Kingdom of Anna and the King's arms.

Setting :

Place : in Siam Bngkok

Time :

§  Anna and the King of Siam (novel), a 1944 novel by Margaret Landon

§  Anna and the King of Siam (film), a 1946 film starring Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison

§  Anna and the King (TV series), a 1972 American sitcom

§  Anna and the King, a 1999 film starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat

Situation :

·         Happy when Siam win in the war, when the King dance with Anna

·         Sad when princes Fa-Ying dead, when given by king pushed away by Anna

·         Frigtened when the war and when the King face to face with Alak

Massage :

Culture of mutual respect is important. Because each country has different cultures.and because of the differences that can unite every human being.

Characterization :
Anna Leonowens:

Widow, British woman and a teacher for the children of the King. She is brave, strong opinionated, thoughtful, helpful, articulate and insightful,
Louis Leonowens: 

Son of Anna Leonowens, originally from England, a friend of Prince Chulalongkorn. Its bold against the wrong, obedient to parents, love for his mother, would get angry when someone insults his father.
The King Mongkut: 

The King in the kingdom of Siam, had many wives, concubines andchildren, like Anna Leonowens. Its compassionate, wise, intelligent and assertive.  He will try to protect their offspring even though the danger had threatened him.

Prince Chulalongkorn: 

The descendants of King Mongkut's original, a friend of Loise Leonowens and King Mongkut’s successor. Character: will not budge, dear to his father, well-spoken, always wanted to know and kind.

Princess Fa-Ying: 

The favorite son of King Mongkut, familiar with his father always thought of himself as a monkey and likes to draw to give to Anna Leonowens. Nature: cheerful, cute and spoiled.
Concubine Tuptim:

Stay with Anna she was a concubine of King, but he is considered treason, so he was put to death. Nature: faithful and kind.
Alak: 

He is a traitor kingdom of Siam, who master minded the war he had made​ the  Siamese people worried. He is nasty and cold.
Chowfa: 

Brother of King Mongkut. He died after being poisoned by Alak.
Lady Thiang: 

Wife of King Mongkut and recommended to be a language teacher Britain by the King. In character: kind, obedient and affection to their children.

Lord Bradly: 

The merchants of England, husband of Mrs. Breadly, the rich, have a stake in the company and Siam.
Bradly: 

Wife of  Lord Bradly, the people friendly and looks nice.

EXTRINSIC ELEMENT

The background of the author :

Born Margaret Dorothea Mortenson to Anenus Duabus "A.D." and Adelle Mortensen in Somers, Wisconsin, She was one of three daughters of A.D. and Adelle Mortenson, devout Methodists who soon moved to Evanston, Illinois. She graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1921 and from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois in 1925. She taught at a school for a year, then married Kenneth Landon, whom she knew from Wheaton, and in 1927 they signed up as Presbyterian missionaries to Thailand was an American writer best remembered for Anna and the King of Siam, her best-selling 1944 novel of the life of Anna Leonowens which eventually sold over a million copies and translated into more than twenty languages. In 1950, Landon sold the musical play rights to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who created the musical The King and I from her book. A later work, Never Dies the Dream, appeared in 1949.

Life

Margaret Landon was married sixty-seven years. Her husband, Kenneth, worked for many years in the State Department and on President Eisenhower's White House staff. He finished his career in the School of International Service at American University. The couple had four children, Margaret Schoenherr, William, Carol Pearson, and Kenneth, Jr.; thirteen grandchildren, and twenty-five great-grandchildren. The author died in Alexandria, Virginia, December 4, 1993, and is buried in Wheaton Cemetery in Illinois.

After a year of teaching, she married Kenneth Landon, who she had met at Wheaton. In 1927 the young couple set out for service as Presbyterian missionaries in Siam, now Thailand. In her ten years there, Mrs. Landon gave birth to three children, all in Bangkok. She served as principal of a mission school in Trang, reading widely about the country and its history. In the process, she learned of Anna Leonowens. In 1937 she returned to America with her family and soon began writing, first articles, then a book about Leonowens. In 1942 she moved to Washington, D.C., where her husband had joined the government as an expert on Southeast Asia.

Between 1927-1937, Landon raised her first three children while running a mission school in Trang and read extensively about the country. During her readings, she learned about Anna Leonowens, the late-19th Century governess to the Siamese royal family. When the Landon family returned to America in 1937, she soon began writing articles and then began researching material for a book on Leonowens.

Margaret Landon was married 67 years. She died in Alexandria, Virginia, December 4, 1993, aged 90, leaving 13 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. She is interred in Wheaton Cemetery in Illinois.

Anna And The King of Siam was published in 1944 and soon became a best seller. It eventually sold over a million copies and subsequently was published in more than twenty languages around the world. In 1950 Mrs. Landon sold the musical play rights to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who created the musical THE KING AND I from her book.

A vast collection of information about the many aspects of Margaret Landon's life, including how she came to write her book, may be found in the Kenneth and Margaret Landon Collection at Wheaton College.

Margaret Landon, whose novel "Anna and the King of Siam" was the inspiration for the Broadway musical "The King and I," died on Saturday at the Hermitage retirement home in Alexandria, Va. She was 90.

Although Mrs. Landon spent more than 10 years in Siam, now Thailand, it was not her story, but that of Anna Leonowens, that was the basis for Mrs. Landon's 1944 book. While living in Siam, Mrs. Landon discovered the autobiographical books by Anna Leonowens, a Welsh widow who was a governess, teacher and secretary in the court of King Mongkut in the 1860's.

The story in Mrs. Landon's book was told in a 1946 film starring Irene Dunne, as Anna, and Rex Harrison, as the king. But it was the 1956 musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein 2d that immortalized the story of the Mrs. Leonowens and her extraordinary relationship with the King of Siam. 10 Years as a Missionary

In this novel there is 2 theory of literature :

1.      Feminisme : When there is difference between woman and man

2.      Marxism : When there is class struggle which who high class will oppress the low class