reformers. … The original Meiji model had been the highly centralized and structured French Napoleonic format.
During the 1870’s a more informal and decentralized American format was implemented instead. The liberal
atmosphere which pervaded the education system was a general reflection of the anti-Confucianist attitude of that period Sumikawa,1999: 13
Shunsuke Sumikawa explained that the government makes an extra effort in
educational development by composing an expedition called as Iwakura mission. The mission led by Tanaka Fujimaro, the goal is to tour the Western countries
ranging from Europe to America as a diplomatic and fact finding expedition. After they open their eyes on the West, many reformers change their way of thinking.
Then upon the return of Tanaka, he acquires service from America to change the original education system in Meiji era. The French Napoleonic system format then
changed into American format which is more liberal. The school teaching then emphasizes on learn about science, politics, cultures, and other things about the
West and they also discarded the past principles because of they favor the Western concepts.
The new ruling class, in terms of socio-economics consisted of an urban-based upper middle class. It was primarily composed of industrial managers and
bureaucrats. To the bureaucrats and managers, the ruling class also included military officials, doctors, professors, architects, and members of liberal
professions. All of these classes, by the late Meiji period tended to be drawn completely from the universities and colleges. Sumikawa,1999: 14
Shunsuke also explained from the quotation above that there is a new ruling class in Meiji era. Before Meiji era the ruling class consists of Daimyo and upper samurai
class, but in Meiji era, they are abolished by the Emperor. The ones that replace the
ruling class in Meiji era are industrial managers, bureaucrats, also those with liberal professions and military officers. The members of this class are drawn from
universities. In which this is means they are universities graduate and has a high level of education or mostly these people are called as intellectuals. The lower class that is
ruled by these people are those who are uneducated. This means that intellectuals have a high social standing in the society at that time.
E. Theoretical Framework
The writer uses the theory of character and characterization to analyze the characteristic of one of the important character in the story, in this case is Avalon
Coldmoon. The theory of character and characterization will help the writer to answer the first problem formulation. In order to know about intellectuals in Meiji era, the
description about the characters and its characteristics is needed. By using the theory of character, the writer will get a help to understand how the conditions of the
intellectuals in that era trough the characterization of Avalon Coldmoon in the novel. In doing this research, first the writer will identify the characteristic of the
Avalon Coldmoon. Second, the writer will find out how the character and characterization of Avalon Coldmoon becomes a clear example of Japanese intellectual
in that era. Then the conclusion will follow afterward.
21
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of Study
Wagahai wa Neko de aru, written by Soseki Natsume during 1904-1906. This three volumes novel is set within Meiji period of Japan.It is called as I Am a Cat in
translated version. It is known as a work of great satire written in a fresh and modern way instead of the fact it was written in Meiji period. It is initially started as a short
story which later becomes the first chapter of this novel. The novel translated by Aiko Ito and Graeme Wilson and it was printed in
United States of America under the Tuttle Publishing, a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing
– a division of Periplus Editions HK Ltd. It was printed in 2002. According to Beongcheon Yu in his study about Soseki Natsume, this book has its own
charm despite its rambling structure and discursive content. In I Am a Cat, plot is the least important element; the charm lies elsewhere.
What made the book an instantaneous and sensational success? And what is it that makes it still a popular work despite the passage of time? When it came out
the public immediately recognized that it belonged neither to the tradition of
lovers’ romances nor to the half-baked naturalistic genre; it was as new and fresh as they were worn out. Equally novel was Soseki’s use of a nameless cat
as his narrator, able to look at man and society whimsically and with detachment, from non-human dimension. This alone was refreshing in
contemporary literature. Furthermore, it was a delightful satire. And the work provided Soseki opportunities to plunge into intellectual discussions which were
speculative but stimulating, extreme but unique; it was in fact, a vehicle for a
dazzling display of wit and humor, which hit the reader when he least expected it. Yu, 1969: 41-42
I Am a Cat is a story of an unnamed feline that observes the human around him. He also serves as a satirical narrator in the whole story who gives comments on the
follies of the people around him. He is a stray cat who later wanders to a certain English teacher, known as Mr. Sneaze. Later, he lives with Mr. Sneaze
’s family. The feline
’s observation is not only the circle of Mr. Sneaze’s family, but also widens to Mr. Sneaze
’s friends: the philosopher, Waverhouse; the esthetician, Maze; Mr.Sneaze
’s former student, Coldmoon and a poet, Beauchamp. He observes their activities and conversations on various subjects including East-West culture, human
civilization, suicide, nervous breakdowns, stability of nuts and also womanhood which considered pitiable for the feline. Even though the feline hero makes interaction with
humans, he also interacts with other cats in his neighborhood. He experienced love with Tortoiseshell, a lovely cat of a music teacher. He also has an unpleasant encounter
with another male cat named Rickshaw Blaky. The story becomes more complex when Mr. Sneaze meets his newly rich
neighbor the Goldfields. Goldfield makes a demand on Coldmoon as a match for their lovesick daughter. Mr. Sneaze will not give in and warn the Goldfields the potential
danger of the offer and Goldfields also make it a condition that he first secures his doctoral degree. It reached climax when Goldfields, aided by the music teacher bribes
some high school students to annoy Mr. Sneaze. Later the acquaintances of Mr. Sneaze
persuaded him to cease his futile action and after that announce his engagement to Goldfields
’ daughter. They threw him beer party and toast together, but after the party ends they feels a sense of emptiness.
The reason why the novel’s title is Wagahai wa Neko de Aru or I Am A Cat in the translated version is because Soseki use a stray cat with no name to become the
narrator of the story that observes the mankind through cat’s view. The cat considered himself to be more superior to humans in which why the cat references himself with
the term wagahai in Japanese. The cat also grows in resemblance to human being because of his tendency to criticize humanity as if he is also a human. Wagahai in
Japanese is a word that mostly used by aristocrats to refer themselves. The title gives a reference to the novel how the story in this novel brings the reader to see the
humankind from a feline’s view.
B. Approach of The Study
In this study, the writer uses the sociocultural – historical approach. It is the
most appropriate approach to help revealing the intellectuals in Meiji era in order to understand the life of Japanese intellectual in that particular era which revealed
through the story. Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods stated in Reading and Writing about Literature:
Critics whose major interest is the socio cultural-historical approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that
produced it. They define civilization as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people and point out that literature take these attitudes and actions as
i
ts subject matter…Rohrberger, 1971: 8 According to the statements above, the way socio-cultural historical approach related
to a literary works is in the civilization that produces the work. Civilization along with its culture defined as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people. It is
necessary to understand the social surrounding when the novel was created to understand the culture, issues, and the way of life of the society. This approach is used
to understand about Japanese intellectual from Coldmoon’s character.
C. Method of The Study
In this study, the writer used library research. The writer managed to find suitable sources containing necessary data by considering the factors of validity,
accuracy, relevancy, and appropriateness which could finally decide the suitable source to use.
The primary source was the novel I Am a Cat by Natsume Soseki translated by Aiko Ito and Graeme Wilson. The secondary data were taken from various sources.
Therefore, some review, critics, books of history about Japan, data from internet and
