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approach is sociocultural-historical approach. This approach insists that a reference of the civilization that produces the work of art is merely the way to
trace the actual work. The proponents of this approach define civilization as behavior resulting from the way people think and feel, and also the actions of a
specific group of people; and show that literature takes these behaviors as the issue. Therefore, it is crucial that the critics examine the social milieu where a
work was produced and which it reflects p.9. The fourth approach is mythopoeic approach. This approach deals with the
finding of a certain universally periodic mold of human notion, which is understood to find expression in noteworthy works of arts p.9. The fifth
approach is psychological approach. This approach deals with the attempt to discover and exhibit certain periodic molds. Furthermore, the psychological
approach draws on a diverse body of knowledge. This study uses the sociocultural-historical approach to accomplish the
analysis. The sociocultural-historical approach leads us to analyze the story in reference to the civilization in Japan. By using this approach it enables the writer
to analyze the relation among the old traditions and life tragedy of Chieko, one of the major characters of Yasunari Kawabata’s The Old Capital.
3. Theory of Character
Abrams gives two definitions of the word character. First, he states that character is “a literary genre: a short, usually witty, sketch in prose of a distinctive
type of person”. Second, he states that character is “the person, in a dramatic or
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narrative work, endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and what they do – the action” 1993, p.20.
Therefore, a character is the person in a narrative work and his or her traits or characteristics.
In his book, An Introduction to Fiction, Stanton says the word character refers to the individuals who appear in the story 1965, p.17. Miligan 1983,
p.195 says that there are two kinds of characters found in a story, the major and secondary characters. The major characters are those who appear more often than
the other characters in the story. It means that the character becomes the center of the story and also its focus, from the beginning to the end. The secondary
characters are those who appear less often in the story. It means that the characters only appear in a certain setting. The characters have less important roles than
major characters’ role.
4. Theory of Characterization
Rohrberger and Woods state that characterization is an author’s creative process in creating a character. This process consists of describing the character’s
physical appearance, style, manner, thought, action and other’s opinion about him or her 1971, p.231. According to Murphy, there are nine ways an author may
reveal the characters’ personality and traits to the readers. They are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others,
reaction, direct comment, thoughts, mannerism 1972, pp.161-173.
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First is personal description, which means the author describes the characters’ appearances directly. Second is character as seen by another, which
means the author uses another character’s opinions to describe a character. Third is speech, which means that what a character says can give the reader some clues
to hisher character. Fourth is past life, which means the author gives a clue to characters’ past events that help the reader understand his or her character.
Fifth is conversation of others, which means the conversation of other people and the things they say about a character can be a clue to the person’s
characteristics. Sixth is reaction, which means the author helps the readers to recognize a person’s character by describing how that person reacts to various
situations and events. Seventh is direct comment which means the author gives a comment on a person’s characteristic directly.
Eighth is thoughts, which means the author can give his readers direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. Ninth is mannerism, which means
the author can tell his readers about the character’s characteristic from the character’s mannerisms, habits and idiosyncrasies. The writer utilizes the theory
of characterization to analyze what sort of character Chieko is described in the novel. This is also to obtain the description of Chieko’s character.
5. Theory of Tradition a. Tradition
