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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five parts. They include background of the study, research problems, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of
terms. In the background of the study, I discuss the reason for choosing the topic. In the research problems section of this study, I give a general description of the
problems encountered in my research. Objectives of the study explain the overall goals of the study. Benefits of the study give an explanation about who can benefit
from the study. The last part of this study discusses the definition of various terms related to the study.
A. Background of the Study
Reading literary works can enrich our minds with knowledge. Literary works, such as novel portrays the reality of social life. Wellek and Warren state that stories
are the imitation of the varied experiences of human beings, the imitation of our life, including human relationships 34. Many phenomena that can be found in daily life
imitated in literary works. From literary works we can also find the point of view of the author. Literary works can also be perceived as a means of communication
between an author and the readers. They show us author’s perspectives about the issues behind the story. Moreover, an author usually writes stories based on his or her
experience or perspective in the society where he or she lives.
Novels, genre of literary works, also imitate our daily life. From novels we can observe the point of view of the author about various issues. Hence, from novels
we are able to find a reflection of life based on the author’s perception. Since literary works portray the phenomena in our life, different kinds of
phenomena, such as falling in love, sadness, and even political and military turmoil are commonly found in literary works. Those phenomena are usually felt and
experienced individually by the characters in the story. In this undergraduate thesis, I have chosen a novel which was written based
on the author’s experiences and those of her family in facing political and military turmoil during different regimes. It presents how the three Chinese women on
different generations struggle in the context of turbulent events and how each of them is likely positioning themselves as a woman.
Jung Chang’s Wild Swans, for instance, is in the genre of historical fiction, and attempts to address fictional narrative means. Wild Swans’ changing
authoritarian portrays the regimes in China in the twentieth century. The novel chronicles lives of the three Chinese women who experienced gender turbulation
because of the influences of the regimes authorities that occupied power of their country, are depicted in details. The novel attempts to show how they face the
everyday changes created by each regime and how the regimes’ oppression influences their role as a woman in society.
It is interesting to discover how the different regimes influence on the lives of individuals based on their roles as women. Referring to what has been mentioned
before; I decided to compare the gender experience in terms of analyzing the influences of the regimes’ authority on the role of the two Chinese women across two
generations.
B. Research Problems
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