1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five subchapters, i.e. background of the study 1.1, research problem 1.2, purpose of the study 1.3, scope of the study 1.4,
previous study 1.5, and writing organization 1.6.
1.1 Background of the Study
Language is the most important element used by people for communication in everyday life. It consists of set of words in order to convey a message. In this
modern era, the development of language always expands from time to time. It has dynamic characteristics and it can change both the structure and the way in
delivering message. Hence, linguistics as the language science does not only focus on sentence pattern but also how the role of language use can function as a
medium for conveying meaning. In this context, literature works are closely related to the language usage.
As we know, the use of language in literature works is the most crucial part which plays a role to express and to deliver message to the readers. One of
the most popular kinds of literature works is short story. Basically, short story is a kind of narrative prose which its length is shorter than other fictions like novel.
What makes a short story becomes interesting is the style of language and the way in delivering meaning. The density of the content in the short story is also a
trigger of how important the use of language is to interpret meaning. In short
2
story, there are a lot of moral values which aim to impress the reader. Moreover, short story has characters with unique characterizations in different background
and context. Sometimes, the readers do not fully understand the content of the story and each value of the story delivered. Some of them waste their time to
guess what author conveys in the story. Therefore, ideational meaning as one of the language metafunctions holds a key to discover what idea, experience, and
concept used by the author to express the moral values in short story. The writer is interested in analysing ideational meanings contained in Putu
Wijaya’s short story entitled “Peradilan Rakyat”. This story tells about the discussion happening between a father and a son which have the same job
occupation as lawyer in dealing with all forms of Indonesia’s law deviation
.
This research makes an interpretation referring to the moral value based on SFL. In
addition, the writer describes the characterization of the main characters through each moral value presented.
1.2 Research Problem