A Pragmatic Study of Oppression in English Selected Novels

Introduction:This research was designed to address oppression in English selected novels. It aims to analyze the oppression maxim made by the main characters in an English novel. Therefore, the objectives of the research are to analyze the oppression maxim in the novel and the speech act that classifies the main characters' utterances. The research questions are: (1) what kinds of oppression maxim are used by the main characters in English selected novels? (2) To which illocutionary act is the main characters' utterance in English selected novels delivered? The data are the selected English novels, including the main characters' utterances. The main characters use the speech act of an illocutionary act that indicates oppression towards the utterances of the conversational partner who understands them. The researcher found that (1) the oppression of the maxim used by Jamaica Kincaid's "Lucy: A Novel" is a form of deception and the maxim of relation, and (2) the speech act of the main characters' utterances in Jamaica Kincaid's "Lucy: A Novel" belongs to the constatives