Robert Melema Is A Sexist

Robert Mellema is depicted as a sexist, racist man who disrespected his mother, raped his sister, and sent a hitman to kill his sister's lover. All the characters in This Earth of Mankind show Robert in a bad light. For instance, in Annelies' narrative about the night her father, Herman Mellema, comes home after being gone for seven days after the day her stepbrother, Maurits Mellema, confronts Herman about his unfaithfulness, challenges him to bring the matter to court, and maligns Herman's second family, Robert is shown as a disrespectful son who defends his father, a man who failed to defend his own family. In fact, this is how he is represented in the whole book without having the chance to defend himself. The only reason all the other characters assume to be behind Robert's actions is that he is racist, sexist, and power-hungry; he hates Natives because he is racist. Readers accept this reason and judge him without putting themselves in his shoes. “Everyone has been judged good or bad by a third party at some time or other,” Minke once tells Robert, saying that Robert should not believe that he is a ”crocodile with the ladies” just because Robert Suurhof says so (Toer 107). Similarly, readers should not immediately believe that
Robert is related to the family by blood, but they reject him, but they accept Minke into the family as if he has always been their relative. Minke, a Native, is respected and loved by Sanikem, Annelies, and even Darsam, more than Robert, an Indo, ever was. Sometimes, Minke even seems to be held as the man of the house. Therefore, Minke's presence threatens Robert's already vulnerable position in the house. Along with merely being a Native, Minke's threatening Robert's position forces him to resort to sending a hitman after Minke to be rid of Minke and secure his position once and for