Ilmi, Alysia Jati Mustika (2025) POWER ABUSE DEPICTED IN CLAIRE KEEGAN’S SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE. Undergraduate thesis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya.

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Abstract

This undergraduate thesis discusses the issue of power abuse as depicted in Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These. The objective of this research is to analyze the causes, forms, and effects of power abuse in Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These. The theories utilized in this research are the theory of abuse of power by James Newton Poling and the theory of discipline and punishment by Michel Foucault. This research adopts a sociological approach, utilizing the library
research method, which incorporates both primary and secondary data. This study shows that the causes of power abuse in this novel are society’s fear of powerful
institutions and the arrogance of these institutions, social power inequalities, and patriarchal ideology in society, which stems from religious institutions. The forms of power abuse include unilateral power, hierarchical observation, normalizing
judgement, examination, and panopticism. The effects of power abuse are the destruction of the relationship’s web, blind zone, theological problem, and docile bodies. It can be concluded that in Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, the existence of power abuse is deeply embedded within the social and religious system of the community. It creates a culture of silence and normalization of the abuse in the face of powerful institutions, which ultimately destroys the social and spiritual
connection toward truth, justice, and collective moral responsibility.
Key words: power abuse, institutional power, sociological approach

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