He decided to fight against colonialism, not by physical actions, but educating and enlightening people through his writings that dismantle the wrack of colonial government on his newly established newspaper “ Medan Priyayi” (means Aristocratic Field). His encounters with remarkable characters such as Nyai Ontosoroh, a concubine of a Dutchman, an Aceh War veteran from France Jean Marais and his only daughter, a young activist of Chinese democratic movement, and even the Governor General of Dutch East-Indies, being an important part of his struggle against injustice.
His admiration for the greatness of European civilization and their advance in science turned to a disappointment after he experienced a racial discrimination by European descent (especially the Dutch) and discovered a systemic injustice of Dutch-Indies colonial government to his fellow Indonesian natives. Minke was described as a talented young student who has a great interest in science, history, politics, and journalistic writing. Toer depicted the first three books to be personal notes of Minke. The protagonist named Minke (not a real name), an aristocratic Javanese young man who gained an exceptional privilege to obtain an European education. The background of this quartet is Dutch East-Indies (now Indonesia) in the late 19th until early 20th century, where Indonesia’s national awakening has started to arise. The four books of this quartet: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps, and House of Glass were being considered as a timeline of the protagonist’s footsteps toward his goals. Fortunately, several survived copies were circulated outside Indonesia to be translated and internationally published. But shortly after the manuscripts were completely written and being published, the quartet was banned by Attorney General and majority of the published copies were withdrawn from circulation and burned. Before his writing rights was given, Toer orally told the story to his fellow prisoners. This quartet was written during Toer’s 14-years imprisonment as a political prisoner during Indonesia’s New Order Government in Buru Island of Moluccas, after being accused without a trial. The Buru Quartet is a historical fiction tetralogy by an internationally acclaimed novelist from Indonesia, Pramoedya Ananta Toer. “The Buru Quartet” by Penguin Books (1990)
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