Approach Method of the Study

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3.2 Approach

To analyze the problem formulated in this study, the mythopoeic approach is used. Rohrberger and Woods explain that the mythopoeic approach is to discover certain universality recurrent patterns of human thought which are considered sharing the same universal belief to certain community mind. In general, the patterns include death and rebirth, guilt and sacrifices, and also primitive rites. The mystical relationship found in a story can be explained using this approach 11. The writer identifies that the main symbol used in The Bonesetter’s Daughter is “the bone”. Bone is the archetype which carries particular meaning that Amy Tan wants to convey to the readers. That is why the mythopoeic approach is used both to reveal the meaning of the symbol of bone and its representation based on the novel and find out the messages embedded in the novel using the symbol of “bone”.

3.3 Method of the Study

In carrying out the study, the writer collected data from various sources. The primary source was the novel analyzed entitled The Bonesetter’s Daughter written by Amy Tan and published in 2001 by The Ballantine Publishing Group, New York. The secondary sources were the sources that support the analysis of the novel in this study. They were information and theories found in the books of literature, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, A Glossary of Literary Terms, Chinese Gods and Myths, Dictionary of Symbols, Reading and Writing about Literature, and The Bible of Dream. The writer also used articles from internet 18 sources to add to the criticism on Amy Tan’s works and her biography. To complete information about all of the sources used to support the analysis, the writer provided a list of references to refer to. A library research was conducted in this study. It means that the data was gathered by reading books and taking important notes in order to assist the writer in conducting this study. The primary data was The Bonesetter’s Daughter, a novel written by Amy Tan. Notes were taken while reading the novel. The secondary data was taken from some books and articles from internet sources dealing with this study. There were some steps used during the process to answer the questions stated in the problem formulation. First of all, The Bonesetter’s Daughter was read three times in order to get the essence of the story. Secondly, the subject to be discussed in this study was decided; that was analyzing the symbol of “bone” used in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Next, the problem of the study was formulated and followed by searching supporting data from various sources. Information about the Chinese mythology, bone, oracle bone, and Peking Man were taken from some books and internet sources. After gathering the data, the novel was reread and underlined the important parts of the novel that supported the analysis about revealing the representation of the symbol “bone” found in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Then, the analysis was done using the mythological criticism approach, review on Chinese mythology and tradition, the meaning of “bone” and oracle bone, and the discovery of Peking Man in China. Besides gathering data that support the analysis, some sources from internet 19 websites related to the author’s biography were also collected. Finally, some conclusions of the study were drawn based on the result of the analysis as the answers to the questions stated in problem formulation. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI T ÄÄ áàÉÜ|xá àxtv{ âá áÉÅxà{|Çz? tÇw ÑÜÉÅ|áx âá áÉÅxà{|Çz? ã{xà{xÜ à{xçËÜx àÜâx |ÇäxÇàxw? ÄxzxÇw ÉÜ ytvàA fàxãtÜw bËÇtÇ 20

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS