Class Conflict in Eka Kurniawan’s Novel Beauty Is a Wound: A Sociological Study of Literature

Abstract

This study examines class conflict in Eka Kurniawan’s novel Beauty Is a Wound (Cantik Itu Luka) through a sociology of literature approach. It aims to identify the forms of class conflict represented in the novel, explore the social factors that give rise to them, and analyze how the author portrays unequal power relations. Using a qualitative descriptive method, the study treats the novel as its primary source of data and examines its characters, dialogue, events, and narrative descriptions. The analysis draws on Laurenson and Swingewood’s view of literature as a reflection of social conditions and a means of engaging with them. The novel depicts class tensions shaped by colonial domination, differences in social status, economic inequality, and the abuse of power. Through the experiences of its characters, these tensions reveal how privileged groups maintain control while marginalized people face exploitation and limited choices. The study concludes that class conflict is central to the novel’s portrayal of social injustice. Beauty Is a Wound both represents unequal social relations and invites readers to question the structures that sustain them.