Racial Injustices in Epic Fantasy: A Critical Examination of Rebecca F. Kuang's “The Poppy War”

The Poppy War novel by Rebecca F. Kuang depicts the life journey of an orphaned and poor teenage girl named Rin after qualifying for a prestigious academy. This changes her life, including the emergence of many conflicts, one of which is racism. This study aims to describe the forms of racism experienced by the main character and its impact. The method used in this study is a qualitative method, using critical race theory (CRT) from Richard Delgado & Jean Stefencic, with a literary sociology approach, and a note-taking research instrument. The results of this study show that the forms of racism against the main character are everyday racism, material determination, social construction, and intersectionality. Of all the forms of racism experienced by Rin, the daily racism most affects her survival. The impacts include perpetuation of social injustice, trauma and psychological stress, human rights violation, and inhibition of opportunity and mobility. Based on the impact, what affected Rin the most was the psychological impact.

Racism, critical race theory, The Poppy War novel

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