Figurative language used in a novel by Arafat Nur on the Aceh conflict

Abstract

This paper aims to describe the figurative language used in the novel Burung Terbang di Kelam Malam (hereafter, BTKM, or translated as ‘A Bird Flies in The Dark of Night’), written by Arafat Nur in 2014. BTKM is one of the ten novels by this author whose language style is strongly influenced by the 32-year long conflict between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement. The research data are the figurative language used in the novel in the form of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs; be it a part of the descriptions, the monologues, or the dialogues between characters. The data are analyzed using the stylistic analysis. The result of the research shows that the novel uses simile most (32 occurrences), followed by satire (22), hyperbole (18), metonymy (16), metaphor (13), sarcasm (11), synecdoche (9), personification and irony (each with 8 occurrences), and with litotes (6) as the least used figurative language. These results imply that the most used figurative language became powerful language tools to represent the social, political, and cultural problems in Acehnese society during the conflict and the post conflict era. The psychology of the characters is presented through language that associates with fear, sensitivity, anxiety and insecurity in the middle of the conflict and among people with power who are pitiless.