This Earth of Mankind

Pramoedya Ananta Toer—a famous Indonesian editor, essayist, and social activist—wrote This Earth of Mankind (1980)—the first book of his series The Buru Quartet—while imprisoned in the Buru Concentration Camp following a military coup that overthrew Sukarno, the first democratically elected president of Indonesia. Incarcerated for 14 years and prevented from having writing material, Toer memorized the books of his series and recited them to his fellow inmates each day until his release in 1979. The novel, set in Java in 1898, follows the first-person perspective of 18-year-old Minke, an especially bright Native Javanese boy who enrolls in an exclusive prep school for Dutch students. As his time to graduate approaches, a series of events causes him to wrestle with whether his allegiance is to his native Java or to the Dutch who educated him. Meanwhile, Minke falls in love with a girl named Annelies, whose mother is a concubine who desires a better fate for her daughter in a world riven by racial division and rampant misogyny. All the factors Toer writes about are those he faced as he lived through turbulent decades of transition in Indonesia. Toer’s books, though banned in his home country, have been international bestsellers. His accolades include the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, the Fund for Free Expression Award, the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize, and the Pablo Neruda Award for the Buru Quartet.

This guide is based on the Penguin Paperback Edition (1996).

Content Warning: This Earth of Mankind discusses classism and racism at length. Chapters 6 and 14 contain descriptions of rape (with the latter perpetuated by a family member).

Plot Summary

The protagonist begins This Earth of Mankind by saying he does not intend to use his real name. He instead refers to himself with a name used by an aggravated teacher in grade school: Minke, meaning “monkey.” The novel is based on notes he took 13 years ago, in 1898. Minke describes a period of mourning in which a woman left him, and he did not know if he would ever see her again. He explains that he is a Native Javanese boy and a Muslim. Because of his grandfather’s influence, he has been able to attend schools meant for the children of Europeans—“Pure-Bloods”—and Mixed-Blood Indos. Now, Minke is in his last year at H.B.S. prep school in Surabaya as its sole Native student.

Minke is fixated on the beauty of Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, who shares his birthday. A fellow student named Robert Suurhof invites him to meet a girl whom he says is more beautiful than the new queen. Minke rides with Robert S. to the home of Herman Mellema, a wealthy Dutch recluse. Herman’s son, an Indo also named Robert, is reluctant to allow Minke into his home. Minke sees Robert M.’s younger sister, Annelies, and realizes she is indeed more beautiful than the queen. He also meets the siblings’ mother Nyai Ontosoroh, a Native woman who is a concubine—the unmarried partner of Herman (with nyai being the word for concubines and housekeepers). When the two Roberts leave, Annelies gives Minke a tour of the plantation, called Wonokromo. Awed by her beauty, Minke kisses her on the cheek, which she finds disturbing.

The group sits for supper, only to be interrupted by bearish patriarch Herman Mellema, who challenges Minke’s presence, calling him a “monkey.” Nyai orders him to leave and apologizes for his behavior. As Minke and Nyai leave, the latter stops their carriage and confronts the former with Annelies’s statement that he kissed her. When Minke admits it, Nyai asks him to kiss Annelies again. He complies, and Nyai asks him to return soon.

Minke cannot stop thinking about Annelies. He goes to his business partner Jean Marais, a French military veteran, for wisdom. Jean tells Minke he is in love with Annelies and should return to Wonokromo soon. Back at his rented room, Minke encounters Darsam, a fierce-looking former soldier who is Nyai’s most trusted servant. Darsam presents Minke with a letter saying Annelies is withdrawn, and that only his presence can restore her. Minke moves into Nyai’s home. Annelies appears gaunt but recovers quickly upon seeing Minke. Nyai tells Minke that a carriage will take him to school every morning.

Minke learns that Annelies was so distressed the day she met him that she asked to sleep with her mother. As they lay talking, Nyai told her how her father sold her to Herman when she was only 14. Nyai decided she would improve her position in life so that no daughter of hers would ever be sold as a wife or concubine—and instead have a choice of husband. Thus, she learned languages, literature, and business skills, eventually taking over the plantation’s operation from Herman. Nyai tells Annelies that Maurits, Herman’s son by a Dutch wife, appeared one day at Wonokromo. He condemned his father, saying he was the legitimate heir and would take all of Herman’s possessions one day. Herman deteriorated and his relationship with Nyai, who did not know he was married, ended.

Robert M. invites Minke to his room, quizzing him about his intentions. Later, Nyai shows Minke an article presenting a new, enlightened view of nyais. Minke confesses he wrote it under a pseudonym. Nyai is impressed and in turn, impresses Minke with her grasp of Native literature.

Nyai wakes Minke in the night to tell him that a policeman has come for him. The officer compels Minke to come with him, though he will not reveal where they are going. Minke finds himself on a train with the officer, riding toward his hometown. Eventually, he ends up at the home of the bupati—the Native local governor. As Minke prostrates himself, he realizes the bupati is his father, who chastises him for not reading his family’s letters—telling him to attend his installation as an interpreter for Dutch visitors. Minke’s mother greets him warmly and asks about his current living arrangement—knowing he lives with a nyai’s family; she scolds him for ignoring his own heritage. Minke’s interpretation at his father’s installation impresses the “assistant resident,” a Dutch overlord named Herbert de la Croix, who invites Minke to his home the next day. There, Minke meets Herbert’s two daughters, who joust with him intellectually as a test.

While on the train back to Surabaya, Minke notices an Asian man watching him. The man, whom Minke nicknames Fatso, gets off the train when he does and follows his carriage with his own. Darsam and Annelies greet Minke. In town, Darsam tells Minke to accompany him into a store and confesses that Robert M. asked him to assassinate the younger. Darsam believes Minke should avoid Wonokromo. Minke returns to his carriage and tells Annelies that he must stay at a rented room.

When the police took Minke from Wonokromo, Nyai ordered Robert M. to ride to the police station to ask about Minke’s destination. Robert M. stops on the road, unconcerned about Minke. Babah Ah Tjong, the Asian man who owns the brothel next to Wonokromo, approaches Robert M. He lures Robert M. into his establishment and sends him into a room with Maiko, a Japanese sex worker.

Babah cleans Robert M. up, cuts his hair, and sends him home late in the afternoon. When Robert M. says the police never heard of Minke, Nyai calls him a liar and says she recognizes the smell of the brothel on him, like his father. Robert M. leaves Wonokromo.

While visiting his business partner Jean, Minke sees Fatso watching him. Minke’s landlord tries to attack Fatso, who deftly rebuffs him and runs away. Minke receives letters from Dutch overlord Herbert’s daughters encouraging him to do well in his studies, because they believe he will be a great man. Darsam arrives with a letter from Nyai saying Annelies is desperately ill.

Arriving at Wonokromo, Minke receives a scolding from Nyai for his absence. She says only he can make Annelies well, though Annelies scarcely responds when he tries to speak to her. Dr. Martinet arrives and tells Minke he has sedated Annelies, and that she will awaken soon. He confides that Minke is now her primary caregiver, as she only responds to him. When Annelies wakes, both she and Minke quickly begin to feel better.

Minke’s daily arrival at school in an expensive carriage attracts much attention from his fellow students, who begin to avoid him. The school director asks Minke if he is married, which would require him to withdraw from school. Minke attends a Saturday open discussion in which his favorite teacher, Miss Magda Peters, reads an article he himself wrote without knowing who the author is. However, Robert S. identifies Minke as the author. Magda makes Minke stand before the class and praises him. She then quizzes Minke about his living arrangement. He tells her about Nyai’s great learning and wisdom, and asks her to visit Wonokromo. When Magda does, she is overwhelmed by all she sees and affirms Minke’s judgment of the plantation as an excellent place to learn.

One evening, Annelies summons Minke to her bedroom to tell her a story so she can sleep. They end up having intercourse. Minke asks Annelies if she ever had sex with someone before him, and she confesses that she was raped by her brother, Robert M. They fall asleep together, and Minke realizes Nyai has covered them with blankets.

Minke learns that Robert S. spreads rumors about him. When Robert S. tells the paper that publishes Minke’s stories that Minke is a Native, the paper summons Minke and offers him a permanent position. Minke also meets with Dr. Martinet and has a candid discussion about Annelies’s well-being. He learns that the doctor is interested in the psychological aspects of healing and has written articles about it.

On a Sunday afternoon, Minke grows apprehensive, thinking he saw Fatso. When Fatso strolls past the front gate of Wonokromo, Darsam pursues him with a machete. Alarmed, Minke pursues Darsam, followed by Annelies and Nyai. They chase Fatso onto the grounds of the brothel and go through an open door where they find the body of the recently deceased Herman. The sex worker Maiko appears, along with Robert M., who runs away. Nyai takes Annelies home. A police carriage arrives, and Darsam and Minke explain how they came to be at the brothel.

Great notoriety follows the police investigation, with many sensational newspaper reports; everyone who knows Minke reads about him at the brothel. Determining that Herman was poisoned, the police charge Babah with murder and commence a trial in which Minka, Annelies, and Nyai must testify. The judge stops the trial when it becomes clear that Fatso and Robert M.’s testimonies must be heard.

Minke returns to school and is immediately expelled. His teacher Magda shows up at Wonokromo and asks Minke to come to a meeting at school. He learns that there was such an uproar over his expulsion, that the administration decided to allow him to return, with strict limitations: Minke will attend the last three months of class, then take his final exams.

Minke arrives with Annelies for his graduation ceremony. He is stunned to learn that he finished with the second highest exam grades throughout the Indies. When the director congratulates him, Minke invites him, the faculty, and his fellow students to attend his and Annelies’s wedding celebration. A crowd arrives, many of whom end up spending the night.

Six months after the wedding, Annelies and Nyai are summoned to the Dutch court, where they learn that Herman’s son by his Dutch wife, Maurits, is asserting his control over Herman’s estate. Since Annelies is a minor and the Dutch do not recognize her marriage to Minke, she must go to Amsterdam under the care of Maurits. Minke and Nyai summon several attorneys (including one sent by Herbert), who conclude that they cannot stop the proceedings. The judge orders Annelies, who is now bedridden, to depart for Amsterdam in five days. Darsam and other fighters surround the compound and do battle with the police, resulting in several deaths. A fearsome group of government soldiers arrives and dispel those defending Annelies. Minke and Nyai stand in the doorway and watch as Annelies is escorted to a carriage and driven away.