The first question will be answered by describing the backgrounds and the characteristics of dependency complex. The backgrounds mentioned in the theory are
racism, Prospero complex and anti-Semitic mentality. One of the moments that show the backgrounds causing dependency complex is when the first
time the character „I’ came to America and joined in the elementary school named Leffingwell. In that
time, she faced curious and strange gazes from her new classmates. Although the reason is not stated in the novel, readers can think logically that she was the only
different person, racially or ethnically. The inability to speak english added her fellow classmates’ curiousity and underestimate. It shows that her classmates treated
her differently and racially. It’s clearly shown that racism happened in there. Racism
is one of the backgrounds causing the dependency complex. That is only one example of discussions in this thesis.
The second question will be answered by showing the real history of what Iranian did in the same era with the story in the novel. Then the real story is
compared to the story in the novel. Although Firoozeh Dumas entitles her novel with the word memoir, it won’t be believed that it is real until it’s compared to other
historical refferences. The dependency complex told in the novel will be compared to the real story of Iranian people in America. By showing it, the question about the
relationship between the story in the novel and the story of the real life will be answered. The descriptions of the dependency complex in the novel and in the real
story will also prove that dependency complex actually happened to Iranian people living in America.
2.4 The Approach to Use
The dependency complex theory is a theory of psychology and it has no relation with literature analysis. In order not to make the research trapped in the
clinical analysis of psychology, an approach is needed to alter the psychological theory and the literature analysis. The approach used is the psychological approach.
Psychological approach is an approach to art that creates the three kinds of illumination.
“First, it describes the creative process, a particular and harmonious kind of response to the audience. It is brought about by the stimulus of
a work of art. Second, it describes the study of lives of the authors as a means of understanding the art. The last, it can be used to explain
fictiti
ous characters.” Scott, 1962:71 From the quotation above, it means that firstly it can be used to analyse the creative
process of the author. It is based on the relationship between the author and literary work. In this case, this relationship will appear unware between the reader and the
author through feeling and thought during the creative process of literary work. Secondly, it is used to study the lives of the authors as a means of understanding their
arts. It is as the point of view of the author in viewing life. Therefore, this approach can be used to understand not only the personal problems of the writers, but also the
underlying patterns of their writings. Thirdly, it is used to analyse the fictious character of the work.
This research is stressing on the second and the third illuminatons. Since the title of the novel researched includes the word memoir, as it has been mentioned in
the chapter one, the novel tell the real life of the writer. This means that this psychological approach is used to analyse the life of the author of the novel to
understand the work. Mainly, this research focuses on the third illumination to analyse the fictious characters. Although it has been said that the characters in the
novel are real, they are still fictitious since they are told through literary works such as novel. The characters are fictiti
ous. That’s why the psychological approach is needed to analyse the characters and connect the psychological theory and the
analysis of literary work.
CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
