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interpreting data. In this research, the researcher tried to discover the messages and the meaning embodied in the text by following the procedure of the
qualitative method. Krippendoff 2004: 11 states that content analysis is a kind of research
that concerns more on the characteristics and messages in the text as unity. However, content analysis does not only make the content of the message as its
object, but also associates the content with the symbolic conception in the realm of communication. Therefore, by using this technique in this research, an
objective, systematic, and relevant understanding of a given various message of the communication that the author presents in the text will be gained.
Thus by using descriptive qualitative method and content analysis technique, the researcher tried to describe or explain the archetype of
hero’s journe
y in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. It is hoped that content analysis fulfils the procedures of processing the data with the aim to give deeper knowledge to
the readers as the facts are presented. It is also hoped that descriptive qualitative is the most appropriate method due to the formulation of the problem.
B. Data Type
The data in this research are words, clauses, phrases, sentences, and discourses related to the
Archetypes of hero’s journey that are found in Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist. The researcher interpreted and analyzed the data
by employing relevant theories.
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C. Data Source
The researcher collected the data from the primary source that is the novel The Alchemist published by Harper Collins, New York in 1993. This novel was
written by Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian novelist who got international acclaim as one of the greatest novelists in temporary literary works. This novel is translated into
English by Alan R. Clarke in consultation with Paulo Coelho. This novel has been translated into 73 languages and has sold more than 135 million copies in 168
countries. Thus, since this novel is a mass product and belongs to pop literature, it can be analysed in the scope of English literature. The researcher also used books,
journals, articles and online sites in internet as secondary source that provides the information about archetypes of h
ero’s journey in literary texts.
D. Data Collecting Technique
1. The Research Instrument
The primary instrument of this research is the researcher herself. According to Lincoln and Guba in Vanderstoep, 2009: 188 the best instrument
for descriptive qualitative inquiry is the human, for human instruments are shaped by experiences. Moreover, human instruments can respond and adapt to research
problems. In this research, the researcher herself used her capacity to interpret and analyze the data. Thus, as the main instrument, the researcher had several roles of
making working-design, creating working-hypotheses, collecting data, analyzing data, and interpreting data. Finally, the researcher’s role is reporting the finding of
the research.
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2. The Research Procedure
The researcher collected the data by using read-write technique. The researcher began the process of the research by reading the novel
comprehensively. Then the researcher collected the data which are related to the research questions by making notes. Then, the researcher tried to interpret,
describe and categorize the data related to topic being discussed in this research. To collect the data easily, the data sheet is used to help the researcher. The
data sheet is arranged in a table. The table is used to record all the data found by the researcher after conducting a series of careful reading activity toward the
novel. The example of the data sheet that is used by researcher is presented in the table below:
Table.1 A Form of the Data Sheet Model
N o
Stages of the
Archetype s of Hero’s
Journey Category
p a
ge Data
Description Literary
Elements that
Present the Archetypes
1. The
Ordinary World
a. Introdu
cing the
Hero and His
Enviro nment
3 The boy’s name was
Santiago. Dusk was falling as the boy
arrived with his herd at an abandoned church.
The roof had fallen in long ago, and an
enormous
sycamore had grown on the spot
where the sacristy had once
stood. He
decided to spend the night there. He saw to
it that all the sheep entered through the
ruined gate,... The hero is introduced
as a Shepherd boy who lives in a countryside
and moves from one place to another. His
environtment is also introduced
in this
stage. Plot-
Introduction
The hero is presented in late evening, the
building an
abandoned church
symbolizing that the place
was under
colonial rule or was conquered by another
power. Setting
– Time
and Place
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E. Data Analysis
The researcher tried to reveal the archetypes of hero’s journey and to uncover the way
the archetypes of hero’s journey are presented in the novel. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is the object of the research. The researcher relied on
Cre swell’s idea of qualitative method. In analysing the data, Creswell 2009: 185
mentions the six steps namely organizing and preparing the data, reading through all the data, coding the data, giving a description, interrelating description and
interpreting the meaning of description. In this research, firstly, the researcher identified the data from the novel,
The Alchemist, by making some notes. Secondly, the researcher read and reread the whole data and arranged the data into two major parts. The first part is the
stages of archetypes of hero’s journey and the second part is the methods used to
reveal those stages of the archetypes of hero’s journey. Thirdly, the researcher
coded and categorized the data in the data table into thematic categories related to the stages of archetype of hero’s journey that appear in the novel. Fourthly, the
researcher sorted or ordered the data by selecting the relevant data and excluding the irrelevant data. The selected relevant data were classified and interpreted
according to its thematic meaning. Fifthly, the researcher made the interrelation between the description of the data and Vogler’s theory of archetypes of hero’s
journey to get the findings based on the objectives and the discussion. Finally, the researcher
made an interpretation of the findings based on researcher’s comprehension about the theory.
