which are based on a psychological necessity or other condition of an individual which may directly affect the survival of that individual. The social motives are those
which require the presence or participation of another individual for their expression or instigation. The self motives are those which contribute towards the maintenance
of the concept of self or ego which each individual has personally developed. Edwards’ idea about motive also will be used in determining what category is the
motive of the character. According to Adler in Human Motivation in McClelland, 1985: 39,
everyone is motivated by desire to compensate for weakness. They want to look perfect in the eyes of other people. Every human being wants to have strong dignity
in front of other people and they do not want to be despised even though they know they have some weaknesses. Therefore, they do their best to be stronger even if it is
hard to do. In addition, McClelland states that one of human motives is the motive of achievement. He defines motive of achievement as a desire to be successful 1985:
46. From those theories of motivation and motive, it can be concluded that all
people usually have certain motive when they do something in their life because motive is the foundation of every action human beings do. As the example, a girl is
working hard to earn lots of money to buy a car. That girl has a motive to have a car by working hard and earning lots of money. In this case, her effort by working hard
can be categorized as her behavior and the process of earning lots of money is the 21
motivation . Also through those theories, the writer can learn and analyze about the
characters’ motive in the play, internal and external factors which lead the characters to do a certain action, and their process in achieving their goal.
5. Theory of American Dream
In the book titled American Dream, “historically the motif of new beginning is tied to the image of America as a New World, a potential New Eden in the west, as
well as to common America attitudes toward history, opportunity, success, and failure” Fossum and Roth, 1981: 7. So, there was a land, a virgin land that was
known as the New World. The New World means a start of new era and new beginnings for the newcomers that came from others places that faraway from the
New World. The newcomers came to realize their dreams with a hope of better life for the family in the new place that they called a New World or a new paradise.
The same idea is also stated in the An Early American Reader, The very name calls the New World an idyllic myth, the start of a new
golden age, a new beginning for a new Adam. The name conspired with the idea of nature to ensure that the prevailing myth of the New
World would be that of a new Garden of Eden. The New World seemed to promise that mankind could recapture the innocence, joys,
and eternal life, as well as the freedom from cares and labor that had existed in the Garden of Eden Lemay, 1989: 1.
In the 1950s, the New World seemed to promise the new Adam a chance to get better life. It shows in that era, there were many immigrants that came to the New World.
They came with lots of reasons. Most of them left their country for a better life condition, freedom from wars, a greater economic opportunity, and the freedom from
22
political and religious oppression. One of the examples is the Youngers, they came to America to have a better life condition and a greater economic opportunity.
In his article “Who wants to be a millionaire: Changing Conceptions of the American Dream
”, Matthew Warshauer stated that Americans are captivated by what many consider as an easy avenue to achieving financial success, the “rags to riches”
legend has and continues to be a cornerstone of the American Dream. He said that, the traditional message taught that through hard work, frugality, and self-sacrifice one
could achieve
financial success
and social
mobility. http:www.readwritethink.orglessonslesson_view.asp?id=801
The term American Dream itself, as it is quoted in the book The American Dream
, was first introduced by a historian namely James Turslow Adams in his book The Epic of America
written in 1931. He suggested the meaning of American dream as:
Dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or
achievement. The dream might be ‘the greatest contribution’ that the United States has ‘made to the thought and welfare of the world’.
Fossum and Roth, 1981: 6
Furthermore, Fossum and Roth captured some of the ideals – equality, liberty, prosperity, opportunity – which commonly associated to the idea of American Dream
Fossum and Roth, 1981: 6. 23
Many people from outside of America had immigrated to the country. They came from different countries, homelands, ethnic and races. America had shaped their
dreams not only to make more money, to get prosperity, or to be more comfortable, but also to live a better life although not all of them could reach a better life.
C. Theoretical Framework
Some theories are employed by the writer to be the basic understanding in doing the analysis of the study. The theory of character and characterization is used
because in the first part of the analysis the writer deals with the characters and characteristics of the characters in the play. In here, writer needs those theories to
understand the basic concept of characters and to describe the characteristics of the character in the play.
The writer also uses a review on the Relation Literature and Psychology and theories of motivation and motive to find out and analyze the relation between those
theories with the ideas of American Dream. Those theories explain about the understanding human’s behavior in doing an action to achieve their goal. It enables
the writer to analyze the character’s motive in life, as the answer of the second problem.
To answer the second problem, the theory of American Dream is also needed to explain the basic concept of idea of American Dream. So, it is necessary to know
about all about those theories because the this study has a purpose to find the ideas of American Dream in the relation with the character’s motive in life which Hansberry
24
tries to reveal as response toward the society in her play A Raisin in the Sun. Those theories are related to one another and built the basic understanding of the study. The
theories also give important role in analyzing the problems presented in this study. 25
