literature, or, finally, the effects of literature upon its readers audience psychology.
In this study, the writer exposes the study of a psychological type presents within a work of literature. On the surface, psychology and literature are seen as
two different things. Psychology may be seen as a field of study which concerns on
human’s mind and how it affects human’s behavior. To make an analysis of psychology, people do it systematically. Therefore, all the things related to
psychology field are made in scientific way. While, literature is seen as a field of study which deals with a work of art in written form like prose, play, and poem.
Literature is very contrast with scientific writing since literature is respected as the work of art.
Yet, when the writer looks deeper, both psychology and literature share the same property. Through psychology, people
get help to understand one’s behavior. Through literature, people have the understanding on human values in
the art of writing. In short, psychology and literature concern on human’s condition in life.
The author of the story experiences a creative process while producing a work of literature either prose, play, or poem Wellek and Warren, 1990: 81. The
creative process is closely related to the author’s state of mind. As a result, the
author may create a character in a novel that is the reflection of the author-self and perhaps the character shares the same qualities with the author. Thereafter, a
psychological study takes part on this matter. By applying psychological study, it enables
the reader to identify the character’s behavior. So, it is clear that
psychology and literature have a very close relation in attempt to analyze a character’s behavior in a literature.
3. Review on Alienation in Psychology and Social Psychology
Social psychology is a study of human’s behavior or attitude in a society.
In general, social psychology explains the behavior of people in the society since they are controlled, influenced, and limited by it. Caveman, in
Social Psychology: Understanding Human Interaction
mentions: Social psychology is an attempt to understand, explain, and predict how
the thought, feelings, and actions of other whose presence may be actual, imagined, or implied Caveman, 1973: 8.
Through social psychology, people are expected to be able to explain and predict what is thought by others in real life as well as to explain and predict the
feelings of the character in a literary work on the social context Caveman, 1973: 8. This expectation is aimed to give and also get the mutual respect among
human beings in their interactions. Therefore, human beings may understand each other
’s feelings to maintain their relationships in society. In addition, in relation to the social psychology, human beings have many
interactions in attempt to fulfill their needs. The interaction itself is probably done not only for those who have the same social status. The upper class may have an
interaction with the middle class, working class, or even lower class. It may also happen vice versa. As result, to survive and fulfill hisher needs, human beings
may encounter problems since each human being has different needs
Social psychology focuses on individuals in a group. Therefore, the term „group’ is used to say „society’ since individuals do not exist in isolation of social
and cultural influences. Perhaps man’s chief problem is not biological survival, but the more
philosophical and existential one of learning to live with himself. Man does not exist, however, as an isolate in time and space, because he is a
product of his relations with others and must be understood in those terms is he is to be understood at all. Hence, living with oneself is also social
problem Lindgren, 1981: 3.
In relation to problems in social psychology, social psychology has many important concepts. One of them is alienation. Barclay and Moncivaiz in their
web-based article define alienation. Alienation is a state when a person withdraws or becomes isolated from
other people and his or her environment. People who are alienated will often reject loved ones or society, and feel distant and estranged from their
own emotions healthline.com, 2013.
According to them, alienation happens when someone is disconnected from self or even from society. When someone is disconnected from himherself,
it is called self-alienation. In contrast, when someone is disconnected from the society it is called social alienation.
Psychologically speaking, someone does not just simply suffer from alienation coincidently. According to Barclay and Moncivaiz, there are seven
main symptoms on how someone can be considered in the state of alienation: feelings of helplessness, the feeling that the world is empty or meaningless, the
feeling of being different, difficulty approaching and speaking with others, the refusal to obey rules, signs of depression, and excessive sleep or insomnia.
The feeling of helplessness happens when someone has no one to rely on and to get help when heshe in trouble. The feeling that the world is empty or
meaningless happens when someone loses hisher purpose in life, so heshe feels useless to live in this life. The feeling of being different is when someone is not
similar with others in terms of way of thinking, life purpose, attitude, and habit. The difficulty to approach and speak with others exists when someone has no
eagerness to make such interactions with other person. So, heshe tends to do anything by himherself alone. The refusal to obey rules is when someone has
hisher own ideal of life purpose and unfortunately hisher life purpose is usually against the norms in society. The signs of depression can be found whenever
someone fells depressed with hisher condition at that time. The excessive sleep or insomnia happens when someone is busy with hisher own thought on a
certain matter and heshe thinks about it so deeply like heshe cannot leave that matter for a second. So, heshe always thinks about that matter.
Furthermore, someone suffers from alienation not only because of hisher own will to be in the state of being alienated nor born alienated. As Davis says in
Man in Crisis
, “a person becomes alienated for heshe lacks of love, perceives powerless, and worthless, etc.” 1970: 296. As a result, heshe often looks
hisher self as the third person and heshe will detach hisher self from the society.
An alienated person lives a life alone since heshe is detached from the society. Heshe rarely has any interaction with other person; heshe only thinks
about himherself life purpose. Therefore, it results on hisher unstable emotional
