ABSTRACT
Seno Gumira Ajidarma's short story collection “Eyewitness” positions the conflict between Indonesia and East Timor as the narrative's core. Heroes and anti-heroes were born among East Timorese through the Act and political withdrawal. Both are non-ideological reactions motivated by national pride, but in different ways; the former is by taking action, and the latter is by refusing to take action. This article aimed to identify the two reactions and explain the national pride hidden behind the characters’ subconscious. This qualitative research used a textual analysis method with a psychoanalytic approach and integrated Žižek's political theory and Smith's theory of national pride. The investigation results on sixteen stories showed that national pride leads subjects with different social, political, and cultural backgrounds to maintain territorial unity. In “Eyewitness,” the national pride that underlies the Act and the political withdrawal both have significance in the independence history of Timor-Leste.
