BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents six parts, namely the background of the study, problem limitation, problem formulation, objective of the study, benefit of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study contains some reasons which serve as a basis for writing this thesis and the importance of discussing the topic of the study. The limitation of problem states the problems which are limited. The problem formulation states the problems discussed in this study. The objective of the study states the aim of this study. The benefit of the study states the expected benefit of the study for the readers. The definition of term clarifies some important terms used in this study, the influences of family on Sula Peace’s personality.

A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Human personality differs from one another. There are no people in the world who share the same personality. Each person has a distinct and unique personality that shapes the person’s characteristics. When people with various characteris tics live together and make interactions, conflicts may rise due to the differences. Therefore, understanding about human personality will lead people to be more tolerant to others. By then, the conflict can be easily overca me. A person’s basic personality is formed in his childhood because of the effect that brought from this phase. Childhood gives a big contribution upon 2 human personality. There are many factors and family takes the most important factor in shaping the child’s personality. In childhood, a child gets education from his family. A child learns by imitating his parents or the members of his family. When he grows up, a child will be influenced by some aspects, such as family, environment, school, and so on. In this study, the writer is going to analyze Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula. Toni Morrison is an Afro-American who became the eighth woman and the first black woman received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993. She becomes a single parent for her two sons since her divorce from Harold Morrison. This is the main reason why many of her novels are influenced by her personal life about marriage, single parent, divorce, and also the relationship between mother and children as seen in Sula and Beloved. Sula tells the story about a Black woman’ life experience. The woman is Sula Peace. This novel tells about Sula’s life from her childhood until her death. There are many problems that happened in her life, especially her relationship with the people ar ound her. She learns many things from her family background. As Light and Calhoun claims family is the primary agent and the starting point of one’s personality where a child will learn the values and social relationships in the society by watching the parents 1989:124. Sula is not only influenced a lot by her mother but also her grandmother. By watching their behaviours everyday, Sula has her own perception about value of life. A child is in the process of developing of values and social relationship. The environment around a child is very important because he sees the people 3 around and will imitate the way they behave. Childhood is a crucial phase because it gives important contribution in shaping the personality of a child. Therefore, early years are critical because a child’s attitude, habits and behavior patterns are in the process of being formed Light, 1989: 124. Seeing the fact above, the writer would like to focus this study on the influences of family on Sula Peace’s personality. Sula is chosen as the subject matter of the analysis because of three reasons. Firstly, the novel is very interesting, especially for the writer. The writer is interested in exploring more about the central character. It is known that one’s personality depends on what he learns in his childhood. Here, the writer will learn more about how the family influences one’s personality. Secondly, it is interesting and tempting to learn about the life and the struggle of life in Toni Morrison’s Sula . In that novel, we can learn about life through one of the major character’s personality and the messages implied in the novel. Thirdly, by reading and analyzing this novel, the readers can learn and understand how to view the world and how to understand other people and their personality.

B. PROBLEM LIMITATION