Aim of the Study Problem of the Study Definition of Terms

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1.2 Aim of the Study

The objective of this study is to look into one’s decision to commit suicide as reflected in Hanna, one of the characters of Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader.

1.3 Problem of the Study

The problem of this study can be formulated as follows: 1. How is Hanna described in the novel? 2. What are the meanings of Hanna’s decision to commit suicide?

1.4 Definition of Terms

1. Character According to Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms defines: Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which is interpreted by the reader as being endowed by the moral and disposed qualities that are expressed in what they say ‘the dialogue’ and by what they do ‘the action’ 1981: 20. Abrams said that the representatives of characters are the human beings. These characters inherit human characters. They are presented through their speech and action in the story, not just depending on the narration of the author. According to Hornby’s Oxford Advance Learner’s Dicitionary of Current English, “a character is all the qualities and features that make a person, groups of people, and place different from others” 2000: 196. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 6 2. Illiteracy According to Tonya Hilukka, “Illiteracy is being not able to read or write. Illiteracy is about dependence and helplessness in their everyday activities” 2009:1. It is clearly defined by Hilukka that illiteracy is the fact that someone cannot read or write. They never learned how to read or write and they really are ashamed of themselves toward this fact. They don’t want others to know about their handicap and they will try to hide it as long as they can from other people. Being illiterate is a kind of struggle, how they pretend to be able to read and write in spite of the fact that they can do nothing. According to Stephanie S. Miller in her graduate thesis “Sharing Ideas with Illiterate Woman: a Challenge for Print Feminist” proves, “Most statistics show that illiteracy is in fact: gendered problems, two thirds of the 750 million non literate adults in the world are woman. Those who are professionally involved in feminist literacy theory and training a growing discipline recognize how poverty, violence against woman, and child bearing are central to illiteracy as cause and effect” 1992: 1. Women are the biggest portion of the population in the world that is experiencing illiterate problems. It is caused by so many facts of gender problems that are involved in the case of being illiterate. In accordance with one of the characters in the novel, that is Hanna, a middle aged woman who is illiterate, the theories have proved in much the same direction. 3. Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally destroying oneself or a violent self- inflicted destructive action resulting in death. The decision to commit suicide is PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 7 almost always a combination of a wish to live and a wish to die. According to Emille Durkheim Smith, 1983: 129, there are four categories of suicide. The first, egoistic suicide, happens when a person no longer finds a basic for existence in life. The second, altruistic suicide, happens when suicide is considered heroic. The third is anomic suicide, happens when there is a great change in the person’s family and social relationships. The person is not ready to live with the change. The fourth is fatalistic suicide, occurs among prisoners, slaves, or others in situations of excessive regulation. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 8

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE