THE IMPACT OF THE STALIN\\\'S REGIME ON SOCIETY IN HOWARD BRENTON\\\'S WEAPONS OF HAPPINESS

Since the drama entitled Weapons of Happiness by Howard Brenton tells the social condition of Russia under Stalin’s regime is interesting to be discussed, this study is intended to describe the impact of the Stalin’s Regime on the society in which circulates in 1940-1950’s in Russia. Concerning with this matters, this study focuses on the analysis of the characters’ utterances, author’s narrations and descriptions that represents impact of the Stalin’s Regime in 1940-1950’s in Russia. New historicism theory is used as the basis theory to analyze the impact of the Stalin’s regime that happens in a certain time that is described in the drama.
This study is conducted by using qualitative method because (1) the data that are analyzed and interpreted are not manipulated. (2) the data collected and analyzed are in the form of words. They are the characters’ utterances, author’s narrations and descriptions that are related to the great terrors of Stalin’s regime and the effects of the great terror experienced by the characters in the drama. (3) the key instrument of this study is the writer herself.
After analyzing the drama, it can be concluded that there are several kinds of great terrors experienced by Soviet people in Stalin’s regime. They are (1) deportation. (2) Execution causes many Soviet people die. (3) Arrest. (4) the last is famine. Based on the great terror, there are several effects of the great terror. Those are (1) fear, (2) scar on mind and (3) dealing with guilt.