Background of the Study

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In general, literature is supposed to be a kind of imaginative writing with less importance. It is regarded so because everything in literature has finished being read within a few minutes or some hours. Activity of reading literature is time consuming that makes the work of literature paid less attention than other kind of writing. Literary writing tends to be subjective which is far from being objective such as scientific writing. Literature offers understanding in terms of knowledge if it is not accepted as science. The difference between science and art is not that they deal with different objects, but that they deal with the same objects in different way. In particular, literature is a portrait of life. As work that portrays humans’ life, literature deals with many aspects of life. Some major aspects that are covered by literature consist of social, economy, religion, and education. Education throughout school as the institution has been portrayed in many literature with various ways. For example, in the novel entitled Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata, the novel shows the existence of school that shows human’s struggle for education. Dead Poets Society by Tom Schulman reflects education as the medium for human to find their identity The Catcher in the Rye in the other hand portrays school from different point of view. If in the previous example the novel portrays school as tools for helping student’s development, in this novel school is portrayed as institution that causes 2 rebellion from the main character. The novel tells story about a teenager named Holden Caulfield who rebels against his school. Holden hates the people in his school. He does not like the artificiality of the people created by the school. Holden does not attend important occasion in the school and intentionally fails every subject even when he is able to pass it. Every students in Holden’s school try to show their greatness in different way, even when it forces them to make a bragging story. Students try to oppress other student to get respect and courtesy from teacher and their colleagues. Education is distinct, but to define the smart and the stupid one. Fairness is exist, but its existence is fair enough to make the strong student bully the weak. Holden gets oppressed by the condition where his parents want him to be successful by attending the school. However, the fact that he does not want to be in the school that implements the elitist standard and create discrimination, construct personal depression within himself. He questions the role of school and he rebels against the school’s failure. Holden sees whether each students in his school are trying to push one another in many different ways when he attends it. Superiority has been common tools for each students to show their grandeur. The school transforms into wild jungle where people who cannot defend their self with courtesy will be preyed and ignored. In addition, teachers have lost their part as a medium to help students. This situation causes Holden to rebel because school can’t help the student to solve their problems. The analysis of this thesis is centered on the main character’s rebellion in terms of not believing the role of school as education institution. Holden’s rebellion will be analyzed from the aspect of reason. Holden Caulfield is not satisfied towards 3 school because the teachers fail to educate character model to treat people equally. School is only a device for people to emphasize their prestige that they have by attending it. The Education about moral is not important for either the students or teachers as long as the ambition of being a prestigious member of elitist school can be fulfilled to get compliance from society. This condition is contrast with the basic task of school. It also causes Holden as the main character to rebel against his school. By analyzing Holden’s rebellion in this novel the writer not only hopes to figure what kind of rebellion done by Holden against the educational institution, but also able to reveal the reasons that affect him in doing rebellion against his school. This is the reason as well as the background of this thesis to discuss about rebellion against educational institution through the main character in J.D. Sallinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye.

1.2 Problem of the Study