In the novel This Land of Humanity by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, discrimination against social structure, race and gender is evident. The setting is in the Indies, or now called Indonesia. At that time, there are terms for different races in the book, which are "native" meaning someone who is pure Indonesian, "Indo" half European and half Indonesian, and "full blood" or "European" when someone is pure European. . An Indo and a pure blood get more respect in the society than a native. Furthermore, European or pure blood is at the top of this social hierarchy, people who are European or pure blood receive the most respect in society. Gender differences are prevalent in this novel, where most of the women in this book have power in their homes, but are looked down upon in society. The female characters who experience these things are Annelies, the main character's love interest, Nyai Ontosoroh, Annelies' mother who is a concubine, and Magda Peters, the main character's European teacher. Women in this novel are portrayed differently depending on their race, social structure, and the gender they were born into, which can be seen through Nyai Ontosoroh, Annelies, and Magda Peters. Nyai Ontosoroh's power extends only as far as his daughter and her business. , in society she is simply a native. As a child, Nyai Ontosorh experienced great suffering. Nya's father sold her to a European man, Herman Mellema at a young age. For example: "I later discovered that the envelope contained twenty-five florins, representing my father's surrender to him." (84) Nyai could have done nothing to stop her father from selling her; after all she is just a child. Herman Mellema teaches Nyai how to read, write and understand Dutch. He educates her with a European... middle of paper... levels of social structure, such as Nyai who is native, Annelies who is Indo, and Magda Peters who is pureblood. Nyai Ontosoroh has complete control over her family, but is belittled in society due to her low social position. Annelies has control over her love interest and is quite high in social status, however she has yet to succumb to her mother having control over her. Magda Peters is a European woman who has the power to be a pureblood and an educator, however the scope of her power is limited to her Dutch students. Throughout the novel This Land of Humanity all these women have some sort of power in their lives, both in their personal lives and in society, despite coming from different levels of the social hierarchy. Works Cited Toer, Pramoedya Ananta. This land of humanity: a gripping romance novel. Ringwood: Penguin, 1982. Print.