CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY
This chapter is divided into three major parts. The first part is subject matter. It contains the specification of the study and a brief summary on the story
of the novel. The second part is approach of the study, which describes the suitable approach for this literary study. The third part is method of the study. It
explains how this study is conducted, what sources are used, and steps taken in analyzing the novel.
3.1 Subject Matter
The subject matter of the study is a novel Vita Sexualis that was written by Ogai Mori and published by Tuttle Publishing, Massachusetts 2001. It consists of
one hundred and fifty three pages and is divided into sixteen chapters. With its title Vita Sexualis, this novel is considered as one of the most successful novels
that Mori has ever created. Mori, who was born in Tsuwano, January 19, 1862, wrote many other novels along his life. Some of them are Half a Day 1909,
Youth 1910, Under Reconstruction 1910, Delusions 1911, and The Wild Goose 1911.
The story of Vita Sexualis is about Shizuka Kanai, a young man who faces the reality in Japanese atmosphere along the Meiji era. He has many conflicts
dealing with the sexual life happening around him. The condition forces him to overcome the pressure of Japanese life style with the supports from his close
people. He spends fifteen years to develop his sexual awareness while also trying to fulfill his interest in having a good formal education.
24 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3.2 Approach of the Study
As mentioned in Chapter 2, there are five approaches that Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. offer. Among them, the approach to apply in this study is the
psychological approach. The main concern of this approach is the characters’ personalities in the story. This approach is mainly used to study the psychological
side of Shizuka Kanai in order to reveal his personality and the motivation he brings for sustaining his normal sexual life. Therefore, the appropriate approach
for this study is the psychological approach.
3.3 Method of the Study
In gathering the data, the means used was the library research. It became the option because most of the data for this study were searched and found in the
library. The references were particularly on the literary theories, the approaches, criticisms, and much other information.
There were two kinds of sources that were used in this study. They were primary source and secondary source. The primary source was the novel itself,
Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis, published by Tuttle Publishing, Massachusetts 2001. The secondary sources included the books, the articles of related theories,
and the criticisms on the author and the novel. Some of the main sources selected were Forster’s Aspects of the Novel: And Related Writings, Henkle’s Reading the
Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques of Interpreting Fiction, Rohrberger and Woods, Jr.’s Reading and Writing about Literature, Smith’s Abnormal Behaviors,
Stone’s The Abnormal Personality through Literature, and other books and articles utilized for assistance in this study. The complete lists of sources can be
seen in the References section. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
