Background of the Study

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of the study, the objectives of the study, the problem formulation, the benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study focuses on the topic of the study. In the objectives of the study, explanation on the focus of the study is given. The problem that will be discussed is given in the problem formulation, and the explanation about the benefit of the study for the writer and other researchers is given in the benefits of the study.

1.1 Background of the Study

Literature is reflection of human life because it usually talks about every aspect in human life. It is expressed in poetry, or through narrative story such as short story, novel, and drama. Lots of people like to read novel more than other literary works. It is mostly because novel is easier to understand, and also the aspects in the novel itself such as characters and the setting in the novel seem to be real. By reading a novel, the readers can see the characters and settings through imagination in which the readers may have a wish to experience it. Sometimes when we read a novel, we can feel some feelings which will appear from the story. They can be happiness, sadness, anger, or maybe a motivation which can make us to do something. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI In this study, a topic about motivation is going to be revealed. Motivation is like a desire or a will to do something to reach the goal. A psychologist, Morris, defines motive as a specific need, desire, or want such as thirst, or achievement that energizes and directs goal – oriented behaviour 408. It is clear from the definition that human want to do something or do an action because they are motivated to get their aim. In this study, the main character’s motivation will be discussed that he has a relationship with a geisha. Japanese literature is one of the famous ones in the world. Japanese authors write many great classic and modern stories, tales, poems, and also plays. One of the greatest novelists in Japan is Yasunari Kawabata, who is the first Japanese writer that received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Snow Country, one of Kawabata’s literary works, is a literal translation of the Japanese title Yukiguni. The name comes from where the story takes place, rural Japan that receives a huge amount of snow in the winter. It is located on the west coast of the main island in Japan, and it is famous as the region which has the most snow in the world. Snow Country tells about Shimamura, the main character, who has love relationship with a hot-spring or onsen geisha, named Komako. The story begins from the first visit of Shimamura, who comes to a remote hot-spring resort. Shimamura somehow likes Komako and therefore visits the resort a few times. Komako really likes Shimamura and she has done a lot of things like a crazy person in love. On the other side, Shimamura is PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI interested in Yoko too, though never goes far beyond distant observation and occassional conversations. The topic about Shimamura as the main character’s motivation to have a relationship with a country geisha named Komako is interesting to be revealed in this study. It is interesting to know the motivation of a man, a wealthy man whom has a relationship with a remote hot-spring geisha, that he is also a married man.

1.2 Problem Formulation