ii. Anticipation It is a defense mechanism which involves realistic planning for future
events. The users of this defense mechanism literally anticipated the danger and making a plan in order to prevent the situation from causing disturbance to the
user or people around them. iii. Acceptance
This mechanism is the opposite of denial, the users of this mechanism positively accepting their actual situation.
iv. Patience The defense mechanism in which the users patiently endure their current
difficult circumstances until it passes away. v. Humor
Expression of ideas or feelings that brings pleasure to oneself or others. Sometimes the users of humor sarcastically jokes about the current situation in
order to cheer the users or the people around them. vi. Courage
The willingness to face a certain threat, the user of this mechanism prefer to face the problem head on rather than run away from it.
C. Theoretical Framework
Terror management is used to solve the problems that study have from analyzing the novel Animorphs. The first problem may not be answered by
applying the theory, as the first problem is about finding out what is the source of the terror, and how that terror were able to incite fear in the protagonists’ mind.
Terror management theory can be applied to solve the second and third problem, the second problem is about what is the effect of the terror, this is related to the
level of self esteem that the protagonists of the novel Animorphs has. Because all protagonists have different kind of self esteem the effect of the terror will also
be varied. This study analyzes the level of self esteem that each of the protagonists possess, and see how does it helps the character in defending their mind or
emotion against the terror of death from their enemies. As stated before in previous section that terror management theory deal with the management of self
esteem, thus the study will adopt that theory to see the management of self esteem inside the novel.
George Valliant’s defense mechanisms will be used to analyze how the characters of Animorphs cope with their situation. What kind of defense
mechanism that they will adopt to help them coping with their problem, what is the result of using that defense mechanism, whether they are able to manage their
situation by using the defense mechanism or not. This thesis fused the application of Terror Management Theory and
Defense Mechanism, because this thesis believed that both theories can be synchronized to solve the problem. Theory of Terror Management will be used to
understand how the character react to the terror, or in the word how the terror affected the protagonists, are they scared, or will they fight back against the terror.
After learning their behavior toward the terror this thesis analyzed what kind of attempt which they used to fight the terror which lingered in their mind.
Minderop’s characterization of characters in a novel will be used to further understand the nature of the character of Animorphs. It is difficult or maybe
impossible to analyze the protagonists’ reaction toward the terror if we do not understand the characteristic of the protagonists.
