Biographer’s Appraisal in Joko Widodo Biography “Man of Contradiction and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia”

Abstract

This study explores the biographer’s appraisal towards Jokowi’s contradiction and struggle to remake Indonesia. The data were obtained purposively from the chapter five of the biography “Man of Contradiction: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia” (2020) and were analyzed by applying Martin and Rose’s appraisal framework (2007). The findings reveal that positive judgments were used to assess Jokowi's actions when he became his company CEO, business association chairman, Surakarta mayor, Jakarta governor, and Indonesia president; and negative judgments to criticize his leadership style and his administration’s weaknesses and strengths. The positive appreciation was given to Jokowi’s efforts on his decision to build infrastructures throughout Indonesia, while negative appreciation on Jokowi's administration that was deemed to have covered up cases of deaths and victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, to indicate his feelings towards Jokowi, the biographer uses affect that covers the desires, self-confidence, worry, fear, happiness, sadness, security, insecurity, and unhappiness Jokowi experienced during his presidential administration.