C. Review of Gossip among American Teenagers
Based on Alice Marwick and Danah Boyd in The Drama 2011: 1, today’s gossip, jokes, and arguments that bring conflict for teenagers are nothing
new. Through gossip, teens try to define the boundaries of acceptability, allowing them to construct and refine their own morality and sense of social norms. Many
teens ask their friends whether they already know about the newest gossip or not to place themselves in a group. It allows teens to both make certain they are
mutually aware of a particular event and signal their own attitude towards it. 2011: 10
“While teen conflict will never go away, networked public have changed how it operates.” Marwick, 2011: 23. Gossips also circulate on networked
publics. As attention seekers, teens perform gossip for everyone. Both the performative and attention-seeking aspects of gossip grab teenagers into
popularity. This review is really suitable with the novel being used in this research
which is Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. The existence of a website called gossipgirl.net containing lots of gossip obtains the participation of the characters
which are teenagers to read and state opinions. It deals with their eagerness to seek attention from others.
D. Theoretical Framework
This research reveals the influence of gossips toward the conflict in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl. There are three problem formulations made to be
answered. Thereby, there are some theories presented to help the writer in answering the questions. The theory of gossip by Patricia Mayer Spacks and Erik
K. Foster are used to figure out and classify the gossips found in the story. After that, the theory of conflict by Robert Stanton and Maciver and Charles H. Page
are used to find out the conflicts happening in the story in relation with the gossip. There are some conflicts between characters and conflict within character. Lastly,
there are also some studies using whether the same topic or the same novel which is needed to deepen the analysis of this research. The review of gossip among
American teenager is also used to help the writer to comprehend the way American teenagers behave.
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