The particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is called a code 704 Copyright © 2021 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 9, Number 2, December 2021 pp.704- 720 Prejudice Reflected in Stephen King’s Elevation (2018): A Sociological Approach Wisnu Wirawan Wisnoew21@gmail.com School of Teachers Training and Education, Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta, Surakarta, Indonesia Received: 29 November 2021 Accepted: 15 December 2021 DOI: 10.24256/ideas.v9i2.2293 Abstract This study aims to 1) identify indicators of prejudice in the novel. 2) analyze the form of the depiction of prejudice in the novel. And lastly, 3) analyzing the reasons why the author Stephen King included elements of prejudice in the novel Elevation (2018). This study uses a sociological approach. This research is included in qualitative research that focuses on the elements of prejudice in the novel by using descriptive analysis techniques to analyze the data. The researcher found three findings based on the problem statement. First, indicators of prejudice in the novel. Researchers found two indicators of prejudice, namely sexual prejudice and political prejudice. Second, the form of the depiction of prejudice in the novel. There are three instruments used by the author to describe prejudice, namely characters, settings, and events. Third, the reason why the author includes an element of prejudice in the novel is the author's concern about the social situation in the United States at the time the novel was written. Keyword : Prejudice; Stephen King; Sociological Approach Introduction Literature is something that came out from the creativity of a human which is usually presented in the form of written work. Almost all written documents can be called a literary work but there is an exception such as telephone books, magazines, newspapers, and important documents (Mario Klarer, 2013). As already mentioned before someone’s creativity can be developed and shape into useful literary works which is part of what's so-called literature. http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 705 The literary work itself has a definition that is a product that came from human imagination as a result of the experiences that the author has combined with thoughts, ideas, and feelings as a human being (Nuranisah, 2014). Besides that, according to Rohman (2012), literary works are art in the form of useful and beautiful written expression. As it can be seen from these two definitions, it can be concluded that literary work is something that enables humans to express their creativity in the form of beautiful words in order to be useful in society. Usually, most of the literary work came from the author’s reality and their involvement inside of it. Furthermore, the literary work itself is divided into two distinct types which are fictional and non-fiction. Fictional type usually consists of some written works related to imagination or fantasy from its author for example like drama, poetry, or novel. Meanwhile, the non-fiction type came from the reality that happens in the real world in other words a fact which included research papers, biographies, or newspapers. Among the fictional type of written work, a novel can be said to become one of the most common words to express human creativity. A novel is a type of fictional works which came from the fruit of its author’s fantasy containing ideas or thought that may useful for the readers. Apart from its definition which is fictional works, nowadays many authors combine their imagination and real-life events to create novels which not only entertaining but also somewhat educating for example the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally came from a true story about a German businessman Oskar Schindler and his attempt to save Jewish by employing them in his factory during the event of Holocaust. In the novel In a Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, he explains directly how experience and fiction can form an unusual relationship. He said that he doesn’t know about heroism or history book-stuff but when a person experiences a war the phrases and the newspaper words from the orators don’t mean a thing as an expression such as brave, victorious, and gallant become somewhat shameful and nauseous (Hemingway 2004: 143). And so, reading a novel can become a way for a person to aware of the issue in real life. One of the issues which became somewhat prominent nowadays is prejudice. According to Allports (1955) in his book The Nature of Prejudice, prejudice is a feeling of aversive or hostile attitude against a person who doesn’t belong to their group because his identity as member of others group and so all of the objectionable qualities which the others group have, its member will also have it. Furthermore, Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 706 prejudice itself can be happening to anyone not only just because their race or sex but also because of their religion, ethnic or sexual orientation. Based on survey held by Pew Research Center in 2019, it found that 82% of respondents believed that Muslims experienced some discrimination, followed by Blacks (80%), Hispanics (76%), and gays and lesbians (75%) (Pepperdine, 2019). From the result it can be seen that prejudice become something that almost everyone whose belong to minority group experiences. Prejudice itself came from 3 sources combined which are stereotypes or beliefs, emotion, and predisposition to another group (David G Myers, 2010). First is beliefs or stereotypes in which cannot be separated when prejudice occurs. Usually, prejudice happens when someone begins to have a certain assumption about someone else who belongs to a certain group. This is what it's called stereotyping. It usually follows by the second factor which is emotion. Emotion especially negative emotions such as anger, hatred, or jealousy become the driving force that gives an individual to have a certain feeling to someone. And finally, from that those individuals will begin to have a predisposition about another group action which result in prejudice or worse discrimination. One of the authors who famous for his works in the horror-genre novel, Stephen King trying to add issue about prejudice into his novel which came entitled Elevation in which the writer chooses as the object in this study. Stephen King decided to write this relatively different novel comparing to his usual novel because of the condition when the novel was released. At that time the United States is divided into two opposing factions after the presidential election occurred. On one side is the Republican and the other is Democrat in which some of the Republicans especially those who labeled themselves as conservatives still against the idea of same-sex marriage. This caused a rising number of reported cases of prejudice against gay and a lesbian couple. The author is trying to raise this issue in the novel and how to react and act when someone witnessed prejudice happen. The novel Elevation receives several positive reviews from its reader. Ron Charles (2018) in his reviews at The Washington Post said that King’s new novel is a trick and treat as it depicts how to overcome prejudice and how to healed resentment in which those two-act come from inside our conscience. More than that he also said this novel is about exemplary behavior which centered on how adults are capable to evolve beyond their narrow-minded beliefs to resolve their differences. Despite being famous for his horror novel, Stephen King decided to write outside his comfort zone to respond to what happens around him. The writer's opinion about this novel is that it depicts a certain social issue which is prejudice in which in our society is sometimes being underestimated as something https://www.people-press.org/2019/04/15/sharp-rise-in-the-share-of-americans-saying-jews-face-discrimination/ https://www.people-press.org/2019/04/15/sharp-rise-in-the-share-of-americans-saying-jews-face-discrimination/ IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 707 insignificant. It also tells how to overcome differences and trying to be open-minded in every situation especially when it comes to a sensitive issue such as prejudice. It gives the readers a new perspective of how minorities are being treated in today's society which hopefully will arise awareness among them. The reason why the writer analyzes this novel because this novel is still can be considered new and so there aren’t many researchers yet who use this novel as their research object thus the writer can avoid plagiarism. More than that this novel raises a certain issue which still relevant to today’s society which is prejudice and the writer wants to know more detail about how the author portrayed the issue in the novel. According to some of the reasons from the writer above, the writer decided to analyze prejudice in the novel Elevation using Sociological Approach. Therefore, this study is entitled “Prejudice Reflected in Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach”. Method Several methods are being used in this study. First, to determine the type of research of this study. This study uses the methodology of descriptive qualitative research in which qualitative research is a kind of approach that enables the researcher to appoint life experiences in the form of series such as group discussion, interviews, etc. (Hennink et al, 2020). In the process itself, qualitative research tends to use symbols, theory, or definition so that the data can be descriptive and the research itself can be more certified. Second, to determine the object of the research in which the writer is using the novel Elevation (2018) written by Stephen King as the object of the study. Third, to determine the type of data and data source. The data that the writer uses are in the form of phrases, sentences, and dialogue written in the novel related to the issue of prejudice. Meanwhile, the data source for this study consists of two namely primary data and secondary data in which primary data source come from the novel Elevation (2018) by Stephen King and the secondary data source come from library research, journal, articles, and website which support the study. Fourth, to determine the technique of collecting data in which the writer uses documentation technique by reading the novel Elevation repeatedly, taking note and marking important parts related to the issue of the study, and finish it with a conclusion. Lastly fifth, to determine the technique in analyzing the data in which Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 708 the writer begins with selecting the object of the study then focusing on the main issue of the study which is prejudice, and then uses a sociological approach to identify it. Results and Discussion The Indicators of Prejudice No Indicators of Prejudice Details 1. Sexual Prejudice - Argument between Ms. McComb and Scott Carey about the neighbor attitude towards the lesbian couple, Ms. McComb and Ms. Donaldson - The locals’ attitude towards the lesbian couple forces their restaurant business to face bankruptcy - Inappropriate remarks from Bull Neck towards the lesbian couple without considering their feeling - Confrontation between Scott Carey and Bull Neck regarding Bull Neck’s inappropriate remarks against the lesbian couple using sexist words 2. Political Prejudice - Discrimination against the lesbian couple as the locals’ committee decided to replace their restaurant because homosexualism is against their principal as Conservative Republican The writer finds indicators of prejudice in the novel mostly in the form of sexual prejudice as the victim of prejudice are the married lesbian couple, Deirdre IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 709 McComb and Missy Donaldson. There are two kinds of indicators that suggest that prejudice happens towards the couple either through the attitude or the utterance from the perpetrator. The attitude which indicates that prejudice is happening can be seen from Missy Donaldson’s words on page 33 in the novel. Ms. Donaldson : “Only when the winter comes. We’d need the locals to pull us through. You know how it is, you must. The locals trade with other locals during the cold weather, and it’s just enough to tide them over until the summer people came back. The hardware store, the lumberyard, Patsy’s Diner . . . they make do through the lean months. Only not many locals come to Frijole. Some, but not enough. Deirdre says it’s not just because we’re lesbians, but because we’re married lesbians. I don’t like to think she’s right . . . but I think she is.” From this excerpt it can be seen how Missy Donaldson begin to suspect that the reason why her restaurant is struggling to meet ends needs because her identity as lesbian couple which make the locals reluctant to came to her restaurant to help them going through the winter. This is the opposite to what happen to other shop in the town as they trade with each other so that they can keep their shop afloat until the next spring. This kind of attitude that the locals show to the lesbian couple show how the locals are showing contempt to the couple as they do not like their identity as lesbian couple so they decide to ostracize their restaurant. Other than the attitude, the indicator of prejudice can be seen from the utterance of the perpetrator. Simple utterance can become a tool to hurt others according to how the person delivered their words. The utterance which being said by the perpetrator can be seen in the following excerpt on page 38. But Bull Neck didn’t want to fight. He crumpled up the poster and threw it on the sidewalk at Scott’s feet. “Here’s your girlfriend,” he said. “Take it home and jerk off over it, why don’t you? Short of rape, it’s the closest you’ll ever get to fucking her.” From the excerpt, it can be seen how the utterance used by Bull Neck is considered as sexual harassment to the victim of prejudice as he using several words that can be categorized as sexist such as the words jerk off, rape, and fuck. These three words are often used to demoralized women as some men still see a woman as an item that belongs to them. Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 710 Other than sexual prejudice there is also an indicator that shows the victim experienced their misgiving because of the difference in their political view which can be found on page 44. Scott : “So . . . just because she’s a lesbian . . .” Mike : “A married lesbian. That’s a deal breaker for lots of folks. You know what Castle County’s like, Scott, you’ve lived here for what, twenty-five years?” Scott : “Over thirty.” Mike : “Yeah, and solid Republican. Conservative Republican. The county went for Trump three-to-one in ’16 and they think our stonebrain governor walks on water. If those women had kept it on the down-low they would have been fine, but they didn’t. Now there are people who think they’re trying to make some kind of statement. Myself, I think they were either ignorant about the political climate here or plain stupid. Good food, though. Have you been there?” Scott : “Not yet, but I plan to go.” In the American political system, there are two distinctly different parties which are Republican and Democrat. The Republicans always sought to stand on their traditional value especially those who identify themselves as conservative. But in recent years there is growing movement from the LGBT community which makes some conservative Republicans held contempt to those who past of that community and so as the background of the novel took place in the fictional town of Castle Rock which most of them identify themselves as Conservative Republican, it is inevitable that when the married lesbian couple open their restaurant in the town and introducing themselves as a lesbian couple, the locals interpreted that as some kind of statement regarding their political view. The Portrayal of Prejudice In the novel Elevation prejudice is being addressed by the author by creating three portrayal which are character, setting, and event. a. Character Character is being categorized into three which is Prejudice Character, Victim of Prejudice and Opposing Prejudice. 1) Prejudice Character In the novel, prejudice character is being portrayed by Trevor Yount a.k.a Bull IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 711 Neck and Mike Badalamente, i. Trevor Yount a.k.a Bull Neck The following dialogue happen between Trevor and Scott in Patsy’s Diner when they confront each other which found on page 38. But Bull Neck didn’t want to fight. He crumpled up the poster and threw it on the sidewalk at Scott’s feet. “Here’s your girlfriend,” he said. “Take it home and jerk off over it, why don’t you? Short of rape, it’s the closest you’ll ever get to fucking her.” Trevor Yount or Bull Neck is a young and muscular guy who works in Castle Rock Public Works. He tends to rant his mouth about a certain thing without considering the feeling of others party that he refers to and if there is someone who attempts to stop his rant, they will likely to get a bust nose. In this case Trevor seems to enjoy the insult that he said about the lesbian couple which include some sexist and inappropriate words such as rape, jerk off, and fuck. ii. Mike Badalamente The following dialogue occurred between Mike and Scott on page 42 when they talked about the reason why the poster which featured Ms. McComb do not get put out a lot. Scott : “So . . . just because she’s a lesbian.” Mike : “A married lesbian. That’s a deal breaker for lots of folks. You know what Castle County’s like, Scott, you’ve lived here for what, twenty-five years?” Scott : “Over thirty.” Mike : “Yeah, and solid Republican. Conservative Republican. The county went for Trump three-to-one in ’16 and they think our stonebrain governor walks on water. If those women had kept it on the down-low they would have been fine, but they didn’t. Now there are people who think they’re trying to make some kind of statement. Myself, I think they were either ignorant about the political climate here or plain stupid. Good food, though. Have you been there?” Mike Badalamente is an owner and the sole employer of his store book, The Book Nook which seems to neutral when it comes to the subject of lesbians but from the way he talks about the lesbian couple, it can be seen how he still considered them as something unnatural and tends to blame them for what happened in the town. In Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 712 this case, Mike seems to blame them for their actions when Ms. McComb introduced Ms. Donaldson as her wife which makes the majority of the people dislike them, including him. 2) Victim of Prejudice In this novel, victims of prejudice are being portrayed by Deirdre McComb and Missy Donaldson. i. Deirdre McComb The following dialogue occurred between Scott Carey and Mike Badalamente on page 42 when Scott asked him about the poster which Ms. McComb featured in it. Scott : “I saw a poster in Patsy’s, and one in the window of the computer store, and the one in your window. Nowhere else. Whats up with that?” Mike’s smile went away. Mike : “Nothing to be proud of. She’s a lesbian. That would probably be okay if she kept it to herself-no one cares what goes behind closed door-but she has to introduce that one who cooks at Frijole as her wife. Lots of people around here see that as a big old screw you.” Scott : “So business won’t put up the posters, even though the entry fees benefit the Rec? Just because she’s on them?” Deirdre McComb is one of the lesbian couples who opened their new restaurant the Holy Frijole in Castle Rock as she begins to experience sexual prejudice from the locals. The locals seem to dislike her and her wife as they were thinking that Ms. McComb was here to make some kind of statement regarding her political ideology when she introduced her and her wife as a married lesbian which some say was a big mistake as most of the locals identify themselves as Conservative Republican in which sees homosexuality as something bad. ii. Missy Donaldson The following dialogue occurred between Scott and Ms. Donaldson on page 33 when she begins to tell the condition of her new restaurant. Ms. Donaldson : “Only when the winter comes. We’d need the locals to pull us through. You know how it is, you must. The locals trade with other locals during the cold weather, and it’s just enough to tide them over until the summer people came back. The hardware store, the lumberyard, Patsy’s Diner . . . they make do through the lean months. Only not many locals come to Frijole. Some, but not enough. Deirdre says it’s not just because we’re lesbians, but because we’re married lesbians. I don’t like to think she’s right . . . but I think she is.” Missy Donaldson is Ms. McComb's wife’s as well as the chef in their restaurant IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 713 the Holy Frijole. She begins to realize that their decision to move from Boston to Castle Rock was a mistake as she begins to experience sexual prejudice from the locals. Their restaurant is on the brink of bankruptcy and as the winter comes the situation will get worse unless the locals helped them. But the locals seem very reluctant to visit their restaurant as Ms. McComb believed it was because of their identity as lesbians. Missy does not want to think that way but it becoming clear that besides that reason, there is no other reason why the locals don’t want to visit their restaurant. 3) Opposing Prejudice In this novel, opposing prejudice are being portrayed by Scott Carey. i. Scott Carey The following dialogue occurred between Scott and Bull Neck on page 37 when they confront each other over an inappropriate remark about Ms. McComb and her wife. Patsy’s was small, but always crammed at lunchtime and filled with chatter. Now the talk and the busy gnash of forks on plates stopped. Heads turned. Patsy stood beside the cash register, alert for trouble. Bull Neck : “Once again. Buddy, butt out. What we talk about is none of your business.” Ronnie got up in a hurry. Ronnie :” Hey, Scotty, why don’t I walk out with you?” Scott : “No need. I don’t need an escort, but I have to say something first. If you eat there, the food is your business. You can criticize it all you want. What those women do in the rest of their lives is not your business. Got it?” Scott Carey is the main protagonist in this novel which also the new neighbor of Ms.McComb and Ms.Donaldson so he feels obliged to make things right when someone rants about the identity of his new neighbor because he thought each one has their privacy which needs to be respected including their identity as a married lesbian couple. When he confronts Bull Neck for his remark about the couples, it shows how Scott is opposing the prejudice. b. Setting Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 714 Setting in this novel are being categorized into three which is Setting of Place, Setting of Time, and Setting of Situation. a. Setting of Place The setting of the novel itself is happening in the fictional small town of Castle Rock which is inspired by the real town of Durham, Maine where the author Stephen King was born. i. Patsy’s Diner The following dialogue occurred when Scott is confronting Bull Neck on page 37 for his remark about the lesbian couple in Patsy’s Diner. Patsy’s was small, but always crammed at lunchtime and filled with chatter. Now the talk and the busy gnash of forks on plates stopped. Heads turned. Patsy stood beside the cash register, alert for trouble. Bull Neck : “Once again. Buddy, butt out. What we talk about is none of your business.” Ronnie got up in a hurry. Ronnie :” Hey, Scotty, why don’t I walk out with you?” Scott : “No need. I don’t need an escort, but I have to say something first. If you eat there, the food is your business. You can criticize it all you want. What those women do in the rest of their lives is not your business. Got it?” In Patsy’s Diner there is a scene of confrontation between Scott Carey and Bull Neck as Scott trying to tell Bull Neck to watch his word as the lesbian couple’s privacy needs to be respected but Bull Neck doesn’t accept this and tell Scott to mind his own business. ii. The book store The following dialogue occurred between Scott and Mike on page 42 regarding the poster which featured Ms.McComb in his book store The Book Nook. Scott : “I saw a poster in Patsy’s, and one in the window of the computer store, and the one in your window. Nowhere else. Whats up with that?” Mike’s smile went away. Mike : “Nothing to be proud of. She’s a lesbian. That would probably be okay if she kept it to herself-no one cares what goes behind closed door-but she has to introduce that one who cooks at Frijole as her wife. Lots of people around here see that as a big old screw you.” IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 715 Scott : “So business won’t put up the posters, even though the entry fees benefit the Rec? Just because she’s on them?” In the book store, Mike explains to Scott why the poster which featured Ms. McComb can only be seen in several places and why people tend to not put it up in their store it was because of her identity as a lesbian which for the majority of people in Castle Rock was a big taboo and it causes them to ostracize her by not putting her poster in their store. iii. Scott’s house The following dialogue on page 68 occurred between Scott and a pair of boy- girl on Halloween Day. It had occurred to him that Missy might have created some special Halloween treats, chocolate-dipped carrot sticks, or something of that ilk. The girl : “Our mother told us not to go there, because those aren’t nice ladies.” The boy :” They’re lesbeans. Daddy said so.” Scott : “Ah. Lesbeans. I see. You kids get home safe, now. Stay on the sidewalks.” In Scott’s house, after he gives the pair of boy-girl combo a treat, Scott asked the pair what they get from the house of Ms. McComb and Ms. Donaldson. Both the boy and the girl said that they are forbidden by their parents to go there as their parents said that they weren’t nice ladies and also because they are lesbians. b. Setting of Time The occurrence of prejudice that happens in the novel is something that still happens to this day, especially in the U.S after Donald Trump became the president in the 2016 election. It became clear that under his leadership the U.S are more divided than ever as the conflict between the different group is increasing. The background of the timeline in this novel is the U.S in 2018 the year the novel has been released. The following dialogue occurred between Scott and Mike in Mike’s book store the Book Nook. Scott : “So . . . just because she’s a lesbian . . .” Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 716 Mike : “A married lesbian. That’s a deal breaker for lots of folks. You know what Castle County’s like, Scott, you’ve lived here for what, twenty-five years?” Scott : “Over thirty.” Mike : “Yeah, and solid Republican. Conservative Republican. The county went for Trump three-to-one in ’16 and they think our stonebrain governor walks on water. If those women had kept it on the down-low they would have been fine, but they didn’t. Now there are people who think they’re trying to make some kind of statement. Myself, I think they were either ignorant about the political climate here or plain stupid. Good food, though. Have you been there?” In this dialogue, it can be seen why people of Castle Rock tend to treat the lesbian couples badly as most of them are identifying themselves as Conservative Republicans which being shown when Mike tells Scott how they win for Trump three-to-one in the 2016 presidential election in which based on that fact, it’s clear why people of Castle Rock are so disapproving against the lesbian couple as conservative is famous to not support LGBT community. c. Setting of Situation In the novel, the author trying to portray prejudice using different kinds sort of situations such as tense, mistrust, and clandestine which being described by the relationship between the character in the novel. The following dialogue on page 68 occurred between Scott and a pair of boy and girl in front of his house during the Halloween. The last pair, a boy-girl combo who were supposed to be-maybe-Hansel and Gretel, showed up at just after six thirty. Scott gave them each a couple of treats so they wouldn’t trick him (around nine or ten, they didn’t look particulary tricksy), and asked if they’s seen any others in the neighborhood. The boy : “Nope. I think we’re the last ones.” He elbowed the girl. The boy : “She kept wanting to fix her hair.” Scott : “What did you get up the street?” While pointing to the house where Ms. McComb and Ms. Donaldson lived. Scott : “Anything nice? It had occurred to him that Missy might have created some special Halloween treats, chocolate-dipped carrot sticks, or something of that ilk. The girl : “Our mother told us not to go there, because those aren’t nice ladies.” The boy :” They’re lesbeans. Daddy said so.” Scott : “Ah. Lesbeans. I see. You kids get home safe, now. Stay on the sidewalks.” Based on the dialogue above, it can be seen how the pair of boy and girl told Scott that they do not go to the lesbian couple house to get a treat as their parents IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 717 warned them to not go there as the occupants aren’t nice ladies and lesbians which show how their parents are treating Ms. McComb and Ms. Donaldson as someone who cannot be trusted which leads to mistrust. c.Event In Elevation novel, there is an event related to prejudice. The event is sexual harassment. 1). Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a behavior that an individual does to other individuals by making an inappropriate and unwelcomed sexual remark that happens in the workplace or any other social situation. The following dialogue on page 38 happen between Scott and Bull Neck outside Patsy’s Diner. But Bull Neck didn’t want to fight. He crumpled up the poster and threw it on the sidewalk at Scott’s feet. “Here’s your girlfriend,” he said. “Take it home and jerk off over it, why don’t you? Short of rape, it’s the closest you’ll ever get to fucking her.” From the dialogue above, it can be seen at the end of their conversation Bull Neck give some remark to Scott which considered as sexual harassment to the one he refers to which is Ms. McComb indirectly. He used some words which considered inappropriate sexual remarks such as jerk off, rape, and fucking. 1.1 The Reason Stephen King discuss prejudice issue in the novel Stephen King is an American author who famous for his work in horror, supernatural, science-fiction and suspense genre in which a lot of it has already been adapted into film and tv-series such as Carrie (1974), The Shining (1977), Cujo (1981), and It (1986). The author decided to discuss the issue of prejudice because the times when he begins to write Elevation novel, the social condition in the U.S are very divided more than ever as part of the aftermath of the 2016 U.S presidential election in which Donald Trump as a Republican became the 45th president of the United States after an upset victory against his rival the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The way Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 718 Donald Trump handles his administration created a lot of protests which some of it came from the president himself as he made so many lies and a false statement which some of it can be categorized as prejudicing or racist in which make the U.S public divided into two with some solely support the president and others wanted the president to step down. The author is very concerned about this condition so he decided to create a novel which largely different than other novels he writes before because Elevation novel focuses on the subject of life itself especially regarding the prejudice which the minority group faces in their daily life based on the present situation in the U.S by the time he finishes Elevation novel. The author shows how people with narrow-minded mindsets can become dangerous as they tend to treat those who are different whether because of race, sexual orientation, or political ideology as something dangerous which result in prejudice or worse discrimination. But other than that the author also shows how to overcome that issue as he portrayed in the novel that unity and respect can be achieved regardless of their difference in race, sexual orientation, and political ideology. Conclusion In this study, the researcher gather data from the novel Elevation (2018) in which the data was processed and classified using the theory of Sociology of Literature by Diana Laurenson and Alan Swingewood. The findings from the process are based on the problem statement from chapter I which includes the indicators of prejudice in Elevation novel, the portrayal of prejudice in Elevation novel, and the reason why the author Stephen King decides to discuss prejudice specifically in Elevation novel. The first will be the indicators of prejudice in Elevation novel which is divided into two namely sexual prejudice and political prejudice. Sexual prejudice is an act of bias or aversive toward other people based on their sexual orientation in which often be called homophobia which means irrational fear against homosexuality which further be divided based on the act they manifest that is a negative attitude and negative utterance toward those with different sexual orientation. Political prejudice is a negative behavior or an aversive act toward other people based on their political ideology which often begins with intolerance to those with a different ideology. The second will be the portrayal of prejudice in Elevation novel in which the author uses three instruments namely character, setting, and event. Character is categorized into three which are prejudiced character, the victim of prejudice, and opposing prejudice. The setting is divided into three namely setting of places, setting of time, and setting of situations. Meanwhile, the event related to prejudice will be IDEAS, Vol. 9, No. 2, December 2021 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 719 sexual harassment done by one of the prejudiced characters to the victim of prejudice. The third will be the reason why the author Stephen King decided to discuss prejudice specifically in Elevation novel as it turns out the reason why Stephen King decided to include the issue of prejudice in his novel was because of his concern regarding the social situation that happens after the 2016 U.S presidential election as the U.S under their new administration of Donald Trump are divided more than ever in which the cause of this situation comes from the president itself as he tends to spread false and misleading statement which often characterized as prejudice or racial. The author trying to portrait what exactly happens in the U.S society at that time especially the experience for those who belong to the minority group. In his novel, the author is trying to address the problem as well as trying to show that even with all of their differences in the end unity and respect can be achieved through understanding and tolerance. From that fact, it is clear that the novel has a close relationship with what happens in reality which occurs in real life in which the author Stephen King himself is experienced. References Allport, G. W. (1955). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Charles, R. (2018, October 29). Stephen King’s Halloween book is shockingly heartwarming? Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/stephen-kings- halloween-book-is-shockingly--heartwarming/2018/10/29/82bc41f6-db1d- 11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story. Cruz, R. (2018, October 26). From Stephen King, Master of Darkness, a Light New Tale New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/books/review/stephen-king- elevation.html Klarer, M. (2013). An introduction to literary studies. Routledge. Myers, D.G. (2010). Social Psychology Tenth Edition. Hope College, Michigan: McGraw- Hill Pub. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/books/review/stephen-king- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/books/review/stephen-king- Wisnu Wirawan Prejudice Reflected In Stephen King’s Elevation (2018) A Sociological Approach 720 Nuranisah, S. (2014). Aspek Motivasi Dalam Novel Rantau 1 Muara Karya Ahmad Fuadi: Tinjauan Psikologi Sastra dan Implementasinya Dalam Pembelajaran Sastra di SMA (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta). Pepperdine. (2019, July 9). Confronting Prejudice: How to Protect Yourself and Help Others. https://onlinegrad.pepperdine.edu/ Rohman, S. (2012). Pengantar metodologi pengajaran sastra. Jogjakarta: Ar-Ruzz Media.