25 culture of Japan. Here, some related literature on Bushido and the socio-cultural
condition of Japan are necessary. The second problem is the manifestation of Bushido to the main character,
Totto-chan. To support the answer, I use psychological approach by X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Besides that the theory of character by Abrams and theory of
characterization by Hugh Holman are employed to have better understanding about Totto-chan’s character. Furthermore, I would like to combine those theories
with the theory of human needs Abraham Maslow. Since the theory of human needs has five stages, I only use the last stage of human needs. It is the self-
actualization needs. There are eight ways that can lead to the self-actualization. In this study, however, I only concern for the first way because this novel tells about
direct experience in the main character childhood. In the characteristics of self- actualized person, there are fourteen characteristics and I focus only on three
characteristics which are acceptance of self, others, and nature, spontaneity, and sympathy for humankind.
26
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section is Object of the Study. This section explains the focus of this study. The second section is
Approach of the Study. This section discusses the approaches being used in this study. The third section is Method of the Study. This section explains the steps in
analyzing the work.
3.1 Object of the Study
This study deals with literature and the subject matter is a novel entitled Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. This novel
was published by Kodansha Publishers Ltd. in 1981 with its Japanese title Madogiwa no Totto-chan
. In 1984, it was translated into English by Dorothy Britton and published by Kodansha International Ltd. In 1996 the first edition of
Totto-chan in English translation was published. It contains 188 pages and is divided into 61 chapters which are translated from its’ original text into English.
This study focuses on Totto-chan character as the main character. She is a 7 years old child having a big curiosity and high spirit to know everything around
her. She starts her school in the first grade when she has to be expelled by the teacher. At the new school, Totto-chan meets the headmaster, who later will help
Totto-chan in understanding life and learning a lot of things together with her schoolmates. The headmaster combines the educational system he has with the
seven principles of Bushido as the values that society believe. Mr. Kobayashi is
27 very patient and has a great love to his job and his pupils. He teaches his pupils
using uncommon ways. In this school, he gives his pupils a freedom in studying the lesson. Sometimes he adds some interesting activities. Mr. Kobayashi also
teaches his pupils to understand people and to give love for others. By doing this, the headmaster hopes that his pupils can fulfill their self-actualization.
The seven principles of Bushido appear in this novel from the description of the author through the dialogues, actions, and manners the characters in the
novel. Using those principles, the teachers at Tomoe Gakuen want to mold their student to be able to fulfill students’ self-actualization. Totto-chan, as the main
character, shows the fearless feeling to say what she wants, the spirit, the hard working, and the love among others. The headmaster helps Totto-chan to sharpen
those characters in her. Through the characters, this novel teaches the value of making right
decision, honesty, and respecting others. This novel also gives us motivation to have self confidence, to have no fear, to always have the spirit in life, and to love
others with a pure heart. Furthermore, through this novel, readers can see that the principles of Bushid sooner or later become the culture as the guidance for the
society in life.
3.2 Approach of the Study
In order to get the answers of the problem formulations, a certain approach is needed. The approach is used to help me in analyzing Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s
Totto-chan: the Little Girl at the Window. Moreover, it is used to give the
28 boundaries of the aspects and background of knowledge on the work to discuss.
The focus of this study is on the seven principles of Bushido given from the old Japanese culture and on the manifest of its meaning to Totto-chan.
This study applies two approaches. The first approach is socio-cultural- historical approach. This approach is used because it is closely related to the
Japanese society, culture, and history toward Totto-chan’s experiences on the World War II. The culture and history will influence the society in the way of
thinking about life including Totto-chan. The writer, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, includes a piece of Japan situation at that time. By using the socio-cultural-
historical approach, I can analyze the culture and attitude Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window.
The second approach is the psychological approach. This approach is used to analyze the manifest the value of seven principles of Bushido toward main
character, Totto-chan. The manifest of those values can be seen through Totto- chan’s characters that show characters of self-actualized person.
3.3 Method of the Study
I used the library study to analyze Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window. The first thing I did in analyzing this novel was reading
the novel Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window to find the message of the novel. I used this novel as the primary source to find evidence for this study. From
the first time reading the novel, I was interested in the uniqueness of the school Tomoe Gakuen. Furthermore, it made me want to explore more and try to
