The Background of the Study

CHAPTHER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study

The study of literature is not like the study of math or science or even history, because those disciplines are based largely upon fact while the study of literature is mostly based upon imagination, and it needs interpretation and analysis in order to understand literary works. But each person usually brings a different set of values and a different background to the reading. Understanding a literary work,such as a novel, is not as easy as one may think. We need to understand the text of the literary work and some disciplines of knowledge that are related to it. It, therefore, becomes more complicated if an author mates use a discipline of knowledge, such as philosophy or psychology in his literary work. Even though, it makes the literary work more interesting because readers have to think the content deeply. Literature cant’t be separated from human life, while human life consists of various aspects. Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in their book Theory of Literature 1977: 94 state that ; “Literature represents life, and life is, in large measure, a social reality,even though the natural world and the inner of subjective world of the individual has also been object of literary imitation.” Thus, literature concerns with all Universitas Sumatera Utara aspects of human life and the universe in its entirety including relationship between individual and society, people environment, etc. The focus of analysis in this thesis is a novel written by an American novelist, Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea. There are various elements in a novel, such as theme, characterization, plot, setting and point of view. It is common that an analysis of a novel is focused on one of those elements, such as theme or characterization. The analysis of theme may cover various perspectives because theme is related to ideas. The ideas might be related to economic life of people, political condition of a country, or religious doctrines. Eugene H. Falk in Francois Jost, 1974:178 explains what theme and motif are, Theme may be assigned to the ideas that emerge from the particular structure of textual, elements as actions, statements revealing states of mind or feelings, such textual elements “designate by the term motif, the ideas that emerge from motif” call theme Ernest Miller Hemingway was a famous American writer especially in twentieth century. He was born on July 21,1822 in Oak Park, Illionis a small town in a Suburb of Chicago. And he began his career in writing as a reporter in “Kansas City Star” after he was rejected to join in the militery service. Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea, is a famous literary work. It made Hemingway get the Noble Prize for literature. It is a very interesting novel which describes about an old unyielding man who fights bravely against big marlin and cruel sharks. By analyzing the theme and motif of the novel, we can get some moral lessons from it. Universitas Sumatera Utara

1.2 Problems of the Study