15 check whether all the elements of the story fit your thesis. Have you
missed an important aspect of the story? Or, have you chosen to focus on a secondary idea, overlooking the central one? Last, if
necessary, rework your thesis until it applies to every element in the story
.” p.222 The writer used those points as a guide to help the writer in formulating the
theme of the literary work selected. Those points also strengthen the contribution of symbol in revealing the theme of a literary work.
B. Theoretical Framework
There are some theories and an approach which are used in this study. The theories and the approach are used to deepen the understanding and analyzing
process of the topic discussed; the contribution of symbol in revealing the theme of the novel.
The theories of symbols are used to help the writer answer the first problem formulation. Those theories give an important role to guide the writer to
find the symbol in the novel Eat, Pray, Love. The theory of theme is used to analyze the contribution of the symbols to
reveal the theme of the novel. The theory of “theme” provides information of the
definition of themes and how to find and formulate the theme of the novel. The last is the theory of authentic happiness. This theory is used to know
the meaning of the symbol clearly and to help the writer to find the contribution of symbol in revealing the theme of the novel.
16
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three main sections, namely the object of the
study, the approach of the study and the method of the study. The object of the study explains about the novel that is being studied. The approach of the study
discusses the approach which was used in this study. The method explains the steps taken in analyzing the problem formulation.
A. Object of the study
Eat, Pray, Love, a novel by Elizabeth Gilbert is the object of this study. This novel was published by Penguin Books in February 16
th
, 2006. It consists of 108 chapter and 334 pages.
The novel is about the journey of Elizabeth Gilbert to three different countries which are Italy, India and Indonesia. The story begins when she was in
early thirties and she got everything on her life as a modern American Woman. She had a good job, a nice house and a husband. However, all of that things did
not make her happy, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. She did not feel happy with all that she had at that time. She did not feel comfortable with her
marriage anymore. She did not want to get pregnant. Her attitude started to change and it made her quarreling with her husband. Then, she decided to divorce, but
instead of making her life easier and happy, she felt more stressed because there PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
17 were many problems that impeded her divorce process; it took few months and
her husband could not cooperate with her. Then, she began to have a new relationship with a man named David. At first, she thought that he was perfect; he
was the best and made her happy. However, her relationship with David also did not run well. It made her become more and more stressed. After a few moments,
she came on an idea to get somewhere to find balance and pleasure in her life. Therefore, she went to Italy, India and Indonesia. She stayed four months in each
country and had many meaningful experiences there. The writer found that the novel Eat, Pray, Love contains symbols. There
are main symbols which are related to the theme of the novel. In such a way, the symbols contribute to reveal the theme of the novel.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the writer chose formalistic approach as the approach of the study. According to Kennedy
Gioia 2010 “Formalist criticism regards literature as a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its
own terms ” p. 679. Another idea which is expressed by Wellek and Warren
1958 says “the natural and sensible point for work in literary scholarship is the
interpretation and analysis of the works of literary themselves.”as cited in Kennedy Gioia, 2010, p.679 Moreover, Kennedy and Gioia2010 explain
that “To a formalist, a story is not a primarily a social, historical or
biographical document; it is a literary work that can be understood PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
