This Earth of Mankind

There were three distinct castes in the Javanese society of 1898 and no individual could move from one caste to another. Does (or did) the U.S. have a caste system? Can a caste system be uncanny, that is, universally understood though unspoken?

According to the novel, the Javanese Native society of Minke’s lifetime disempowered women and apparently did little to protect them from abuse. Has Javanese culture and law improved in this regard? In what ways did colonization exacerbate the poor treatment of women?

Nyai encourages Annelies to spend time with Minke and grow emotionally attached to him; she also seems to condone their physical relationship. Why does Nyai desire Minke to be a part of Annelies’s life? What are Nyai’s hopes for the young couple, and how do they benefit herself?

During the murder trial of Nyai’s owner (and former partner) Herman Mellema, the judge refuses to allow Nyai to testify in Dutch, even though she speaks the language fluently. What message was the court trying to send with this ruling? Why would prosecutors go out of their way to discuss Minke and Annelies’s relationship when it had no bearing on the murder? Since the prosecutors did not end up convicting anyone, what did they accomplish?

Is Dr. Martinet justified in blaming Minke for having to drug Annelies to keep her calm until Minke returned to Wonokromo? Minke often refers to Annelies as a spoiled child. Why, then, does he accommodate her every wish?

Why do you think Toer added minor characters Robert Suurhof and Robert Mellema to Minke’s story? Is there significance to them sharing the same first name?

Minke is an exceptionally gifted child of a Native family who received the privilege of a Dutch prep school education, enabling him to understand the Dutch world. How does his schooling affect his personal struggle with allegiance? Considering his bias toward European culture and his estrangement from his family, why does he struggle at all?

Toer was successively imprisoned by colonial, then anti-colonial, governments for 14 years. Why would opposing political powers find it necessary to keep an author in prison? If not for Toer’s political leanings, why else would the Indonesian government want to ban his novels?