The Battle of Domination between Adults and Children in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Abstract

This research examines the issue of adults’ domination of children, and also children empowerment in Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007). The study framework is developed using Nodelman’s orientalism in children’s literature (1992), Anshori’s children empowerment (2016), and Kurnia et al. (2021) power relations in children’s literature. The research data were in the form of multimodal data related to adults’ domination of children. Analysis is done with the basis of Halliday’s (1978) interpersonal metafunction, in particular the system of Attitude. Analysis of visual interactive meaning by Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) is also employed. The research found out that while adults exercise domination over children by controlling, ignoring, oppressing, and threatening, children show refusal to adults’ domination and show empowerment through their bravery, knowledge and idea, unselfishness, and empathy. This research also highlights that these issues might not be apparent while being a pervasive issue in children’s literature. Therefore, more egalitarian children literary works are needed to make children literature a safe space for its readers and not a ground to exercise power and instill ideology by adults.