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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
In this thesis, the writer uses the novel by Vincent Lam‟s The
Headmaster’s Wager which is published by Hogarth in 2012. It consists of 441 pages, include Vincent Lam‟s essay Memories of My Grandfatther. This novel is
his first novel that is published after he wrote short story Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures that won the 200 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was also adapted
for television and broadcast on HBO Canada. In addition to strong review, The Headmaster’s Wager is longlisted for 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medals for
Exellence in Fiction with the other 49 fictions. The story took the setting during the time of Vietnam War between North
and South Vietnam. In the story, Percival was the headmaster of English School, Chen Hap Sing, in Cholon, South Vietnam. Percival was a Chinese who lived
with his son, Dai Jai. Percival was known as the person who held his Chinese tradition sturdily. He always underestimated to Vietnamese and never let his son
to have a relationship with them. As a Chinese, he always thought that he was superior and had a higher class than Vietnamese. Therefore, he only mingled with
Chinese and lived in Cholon which was a Chinese city. It could be assumed that Percival was an ethnocentric person. However, he was just a minority in Vietnam.
When the war became worse, Percival could not hold his heritage anymore. Vietnam War had brought many problems to Percival‟s life. Consequently,
Percival had to change his perspective. Percival used to go home, to China, unfortunately, he had to go to America to continue his life.
B. Approach of the Study
The aim of this study is to identify the effect of Vietnam War on Percival‟s
ethnocentrism. To help analyzing the problem, the writer applies the sociocultural-historical approach. Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing
Literature state that “critics whose major interest is the sociocultural-historical
approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it” 1971:9. It means that there is a relationship
between literature and society where the work is created. The critics will focus on the actions and the attitudes conducted of a specific group of people in the society
and its relation toward the work of literature. Likewise, Rohrberger and Woods also state that analysis of the society is a
necessity 1971:9. Literature is not created in short times, but it takes a process. Before literature is influenced by the society, it is influenced the author first.
Then, the author expresses his reflection on society in literary work. Literature will be a representation of ideas, actions, or attitudes of the society. So, society
takes an important role toward literature. Additionally, Rohrberger and Woods state that “the traditional historical
approach to literature usually takes as its basic some aspect of the sociocultural frame of reference, combining it with an interest join the biographical as well as a
knowledge of and interest in literary history” 1971:9. It implies that what is
represented in the text should be justified by the reality. So, from the quotations above, sociocultural-historical can be defined as
the belief that puts literary works as the product of civilization in one time that includes society, culture, and history. The approach gives contribution in order to
help the writer to analyze the society in the novel which is Vietnam War that changes Percival‟s ethnocentrism. Sociocultural-historical approach will be
suitable for the study to allow the writer to achieve deeper understanding about the society, culture, and historical background of the society where the novel
takes place and time. By knowing the actual circumstance outside the text, the writer will be able to reveal the idea that the author wants to inform the readers.
C. Method of the Study
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