Travel Writing Genre: A Critical Study of Authors and Readers Society in Indonesia
Semarang State University, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
In sociological literature, a literary work is perceived as an evaluative response toward social change occured in society. Travel writing, as a main corpus of this study, is a getting popular genre consumed by travel readers. In line with that, questions come up, is travel writing genre assumed as evaluation toward society change? Does pleasure become one of human needs nowadays? In response to those questions, a critical study about travel writing genre relate to society change particularly middle high people’s lifestyle has been conducted. This study intends to describe social aspects as form of critical study and the relation between travel writers, works, and readers. For methodological purposes, library research was conducted to gain comprehensive data and questionnaire was addressed to travel writing readers as the subjects of the study. To analyze the data, sociology of literature approach was applied. The study shows that between works and readers, between travel writers and travel writing readers, all works are appreciated. The forms of appreciation are critique, suggestion, and or public enthusiasm. Travel writing works are appreciated by learning the knowledge of culture, lifestyle, values from narration written by the authors. About the readers who most of them are travelers, it is very common to have personal interpretations toward the works. There are bounds of psyche and sociological within the scenes of story through indirect communication between travel writers and travel writing readers.
KEYWORDS
travel writing, travel writer & reader, critical study