Tjalie Robinson: "Reflections in a Brown Eye".

Abstract

During the 350 years that the Dutch Indonesia colonized Indonesia, Dutch Eurasians were the backbone of the Dutch colonial government and considered themselves Dutch. Culturally and socially they leaned towards the Dutch but ironically were fully accepted by them. The impoverished ones who were unable to get a Dutch education and therefore were quite removed from Dutch culture created one of their own evident in their language (Petjo), theatre (Stamboel) and music (Kroncong). This dissertation is an in depth study of the rise and the fall of Dutch Eurasian culture. The focus of this study is Jan Boon (1911-1974) better known under his pseudonyms Tjalie Robinson or Vincent Mahieu, names indicating his Eurasian identity. As the most important Indo writer, he started as a journalist and became famous for his "piekerans (ponderings)" for Dutch newspapers in Indonesia published as Ponderings of a Streetloafer. After Indonesia's independence, he left his country of birth and settled in The Netherl and s like so many other Dutch Eurasians. Indos who did not want to become Indonesian citizen were expelled from the country. In The Netherl and s, he became well-known for his Dutch Eurasian cultural magazine Tong-Tong. Unwillingly he became the spokesman for the Indo refugees who tried to start a new life in a cold and hostile environment. Proud of his dual cultural heritage, he sharply critized the Dutch for their treatment of Indos and Indo culture. He encouraged Indos to preserve their unique culture, even though many felt that the only possible way to survive in The Netherl and s was total assimilation. This controversial st and brought Robinson many enemies and divided the Indo group. Nevertheless, he stood firm on this conviction until he died of a heart attack in 1974. He also established himself as a short story writer. His piekerans as well as these stories show the "hunt" as his philosophy of life. His work created quite a commotion among Dutch literary critics precisely because of his perspective. Unlike well-established Dutch authors of colonial literature, Robinson's wrote from the perspective of the common Indo. To illustrate his unique voice, this dissertation includes three stories in translation: "Vivere Pericosolamente," "The Wall," and "Tjoek." The dissertation ends with a final evaluation of Indo Literature today.