REPRESENTASI LANSIA DALAM DRAMA NENEK TERCINTA KARYA ARIFIN C. NOER

Abstract

The phenomenon of elderly individuals experiencing emotional vulnerability, social isolation, and cognitive decline constitutes a critical issue genuinely represented in literary works. This study aims to analyze the representation of elderly characters through the dialogue of the character Nenek in Arifin C. Noer's play script Nenek Tercinta (1966) in terms of psychological, social, and spiritual aspects. A descriptive-interpretative qualitative approach was employed by integrating Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory (id, ego, superego), Ramlan's sentence modes, and Searle's illocutionary speech acts. Primary data comprised 58 spoken dialogues of the character Nenek, while secondary data were gathered from netizens' comments on the social media platform X to verify the sociological reality of the elderly. The results indicate that the representation of Nenek is divided into three personality structures linguistically manifested as follows: 1) the id dominates through impulsive emotional outbursts, paranoia, and emotional regression expressed in imperative and exclamatory sentences functioning as directive and expressive speech acts; 2) the ego operates through reality testing, defense mechanisms, and brief moments of cognitive awareness regarding dementia (lucid moments) expressed in declarative sentences with assertive speech acts; and 3) the superego emerges toward the end of the play through the acceptance of fate, religious values, and moral teachings expressed through directive speech acts inviting and assertive speech acts stating spiritual awareness. Sociological illustration demonstrates that Nenek's character representation accurately corresponds to the psychosocial phenomenon of the elderly in modern society. These findings confirm that elderly characters in literature can be portrayed in a complex and humanized manner while filling a research gap regarding elderly characters as primary subjects.