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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Literary Approach
In analyzing the novel, the writer uses a critical approach as a basic consideration in understanding literary work. The approaches are taken from the
book of Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods Reading and writing about literature 1971: 6-15. They present five kinds of critical approaches. They are: formalist
approach, biographical approach, sociocultural-historical approach, mythopoeic approach, and psychological approach. The explanation of each approach can be
seen as follows:
1. Formalist Approach
Critics insist on the total integrity of the literary piece. It concentrates on the aesthetic value; the involvement of all the parts to the whole is seen as a
harmony to the complete work. It emphasizes on the literary object itself and its aesthetic meaning. It does not need reference to the fact of the author’s life
p. 6-7.
2. Biographical Approach
This approach is used for an appreciation of the ideas and personality of the author to an understanding of the literary object. The critics of this approach
attempt to learn as much as they can about the life and development of the author, and to apply this knowledge in their attempt to understand his writing.
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They believe that the work of literature is the reflection of the personality of the author, and that biographical material provides useful facts that could put
the reader in a better position to understand and appreciate the literary object p. 8
3. Sociocultural-historical Approach
The traditional historical approach to literature usually takes as its basis some aspects of the sociocultural frame of reference, and it is combined with an
interest in literary history. It means, sociocultural-historical approach insists on the analysis of socio-cultural and historical background as references to the
further understanding of the story.
4. Mythopoeic Approach
The critics of the mythopoeic frame try to “discover certain universally recurrent patterns of human thought, which they believe find expression in
significant works of art”. The patterns involve death and rebirth, quilt and sacrifices, primitive rites, initiation rites, or patterns of behavior basic to
Christian theology p. 11.
5. Psychological Approach
The psychological approach applies psychological theories to explain the character personality in the story. Each character’s attitude and behavior could
be referred to the psychology of human being p. 13.
Based on the explanation, the writer uses the psychological approach in analyzing Ernest Hemingway’s novel focusing on one of the characters in The Old
Man and the Sea. The character is Santiago who struggles alone far out the sea.
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2.2 Psychology
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