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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the writer answers the three research questions that have been stated in the problem formulation. In the first research question, the writer tries to
analyze the characteristics of Tita De la Garza, as the main character, by using the theory of nine techniques of characterization that is proposed by M.J. Murphy. In
the second research question , the writer explains Mama Elena’s rules, which are
Mama Elena’s rule of marriage and the third rules which are not related to the rule of marriage by using the theory of repression from Freud in Peter Barry and Chris
Clause in Freudian Repression Definition Overview, and also explains the three reasons why Mama Elena gives the rule of marriage for Tita. In the third research
question, the writer shows the reactions of Tita again st her mother’s rules.
In order to answer all of those research questions, the writer uses the psychoanalytic approach in this study. According to Bressler 1998:148,
psychoanalytic literary criticism refers to literary criticism which, in method, concept, theory, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis began by
Sigmund Freud. Freud in Barry 2002:96 gives the definition of psychoanalysis itself, that it
is a form of theraphy which aims to cure mental disorders ‘by investigating the
interaction of conscious a nd unconscious elements in the mind’. By using the
psychoanalytic approach, the writer can show the interaction of unconscious and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
conscious mind of Tita that the unconscious is the storehouse of disguised desire that want to be revealed in and through the conscious.
According to Jess Feist and Gregory J. Feist in Theories of Personality 2008:24, the unconscious, for Freud, is the explanation for the meaning behind
dreams, slips of the tongue, and certain kinds of forgetting, called repression. Therefore, the unconscious mind of Tita are the repressions of Tita in the novel Like
Water for Chocolate , which then impulses out of consciousness through her four
reactions against her mother’s rules.
A. The Characteristics of Tita
Tita De la Garza, as the youngest daughter, has five characteristics. The first characteristics is, she is submissive for the authority of her mother. It can be shown
in the novel when Tita said to Mama Elena that Pedro wanted to ask for her hand, but Mama Elena refused it by explaining it to Tita that as the youngest daughter she
had to take care of her mother until the day she died p.10. This first characteristics, according to M.J. Murphy, in his book Understanding Unseen, can be characterized
through speech that whenever Tita is in conversation with her mother, Tita is giving the readers some clue about
her personality that she accepts her mother’s rule of marriage.
On the other hand, after Mama Elena gave a suggestion to Pedro’s father, don Pascual, to unite Pedro and Rosaura in marriage, it can be characterized through the
reaction of Tita towards the agreement of Mama Elena towards the Pedro and Rosaura’s wedding, because after Tita heard that Pedro and Rosaura wants to get
married, it makes Tita believes that Pedro ridicules their eternal love. It is shown in the novel,
Mama Elena came into the kitchen and informed them that she had agreed to Pedro’s marriage to Rosaura. Hearing Chencha’s story confirmed, Tita felt
her body fill with a wintry chill in one sharp, quick blast she was so cold and dry her cheeks burned and turned red, red as the apples beside her.
“Why did you do that, Pedro? It will look ridiculous, your agreeing to marry Rosaura. What happened to the eternal love you swore to Tita? Are not you
going to keep that vow?” p.15.
The second characteristics is she is caring. She is caring her sister, Rosaura, when she suffers from severe digestive problems. It is shown in the novel, “ Rosaura
had gained sixty-five pounds during her pregnancy, which made the labor to deliver her first child even more difficult. Even allowing for her sister’s excessive bulk,
Tita noticed that Rosaura’s body was extraordinarily swollen. First her feet swelled up, then her face and hands. Tita wiped the sweat from her brow and tried to revive
her but Rosaura did no t even seem hear her p.72 and also, “According to the
doctor, Rosaura had suffered an attack of eclampsia that could have killed her” p.74. This second characteristics, can
show that Tita’s second characteristics can be characterized through conversation of others that through the condition of
Rosaura, it shows that Tita’s personality is a caring.
In addition, Tita is caring her nephew, Roberto, by feeding him. It is shown in the novel
“The baby clamped desperately onto the nipple and he sucked and he sucked. When she saw the boy’s face slowly grow peaceful and when she heard the
way he was swallowing, she began to suspect that something extraordinary had happened. Was it possible that she was feeding the baby? She removed
the boy from her breast: a thin stream of milk sprayed out. Tita could not PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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