Sihole, Yosefine Anestasya (2026) ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION TOWARD THE MAIN CHARACTER IN LEILA MOTTLEY’S NIGHTCRAWLING. Undergraduate thesis, Faculty of Humanity.

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Abstract

This research thesis discusses the economic exploitation experienced by the main character, Kiara Johnson, in Leila Mottley’s Nightcrawling. The primary objective of this research thesis is to analyze the depiction, causes, and forms of economic exploitation, to examine the effects on Kiara’s life, and to explore her development of class consciousness and resistance through intrinsic literary analysis and a Marxist perspective. The research applies a Marxist literary approach and uses library research as its method, relying on the novel as the primary source supported by secondary scholarly sources. The intrinsic analysis focuses on character, setting, and conflict, while the Marxist perspective centers on concepts such as surplus value, labor subsumption, and the reserve army of labor. The findings of this research thesis reveal that Kiara’s exploitation is depicted through labor intensification and absolute surplus value. It is caused by her separation from the means of production and the capitalist drive for accumulation, manifesting in forms of formal, real, and hybrid subsumption. These lead to profound effects, including alienation, physical degradation, and the accumulation of misery. Ultimately, the novel illustrates how the working class is trapped in a cycle of poverty where survival demands the sacrifice of humanity.
Keywords: Alienation, Physical Degradation, Accumulation of Misery, Class Consciousness, Sacrifice of Humanity

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