society and thus a moral reform is necessary to be pursued. Yu asserted that with Akutagawa‟s sense of wit and irony and his angle of vision, he was an accomplished
satirist 1972:86. As a Marxist literary criticism, this thesis concerns with the capitalist mode of
production and the class oppression raised by Akutagawa in the novel, which is somewhat similar to the problem in the human world, specifically Japan as the home
country of the main character and Akutagawa himself. This thesis focus on figuring out the parallelism used by Akutagawa and answering why he used the kappas as an
allegory instead of projecting the problem with the human character. After proving that the characters in Kappa are the allegory of Japanese
society, the writer then analyzes how capitalism as an ideology works in both Kappaland and Japanese especially in 1920s. This study is necessary to be taken
because the writers want to prove that how the practice of capitalism in Japanese society raised during the 1920s documented in a literary work.
B. Problem Formulation
In this study there are two problems to answer. Those particular problems are: 1.
How is the society of Japan revealed through the allegory in the novel? 2.
How is the capitalism as an ideology criticized through the allegory? PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
C. Objectives of the Study
In relation to the problem formulation, this thesis firstly describes the characteristic of Kappas in the Kappaland and the setting where the story takes place.
The study includes the analysis on any symbols appeared in the story representing the Japanese society. Above mentioned analysis is beneficial to unfold the allegory used
in Kappa. This thesis seeks for analysis that this novel is an allegory of Japan world.
How capitalism as an ideology and economy practices works in Japan and how the state employs its apparatuses to support the economic progress and became an
industrial state.
D. Definition of Terms
In analyzing the novel, it is essential to define the terms used in the problem formulation. It aims to avoid misinterpretation and give clearer explanations. Hence,
the writer attempts to define several main terms as follows.
1. Kappa
According to Tsuruta kappa is “a legendary water-imp about three feet tall; it has a large beak, a skin that changes color like a chameleon, and a dish at the
top of its head that contains water” 1972:112. It lives in rivers and drags animals and unwary children to their deaths. As long as the indentation in the
top of its head is full of water, it can also live on land Healey in Akutagawa, 2009:35-36.
2. Capitalism
Capitalism is a system of commodity production. In the capitalist system producers do not simply produce for their own needs, or for the needs of
individuals with whom they are in personal contact; capitalism involves a nationwide, and often an international, exchange market. It is an essential
feature of capitalism that labour-power is itself a commodity. Since capitalism is founded upon the competitive search for profit, technological improvement,
including above all the increasing mechanization of the market, whereby an individual entrepreneur can increase his share of the available profit by
producing at a cheaper rate than his competitors Marx in Giddens, 1971:46- 56.
3. Ideology
An ideology is a system with its own logic and rigour of representations images, myths, ideas or concepts depending on the case endowed with a
historical existence and role within a given society Althusser in Boudon, 1989:18. Ideology is not in the first place a set of doctrines; it signifies the
way men live out their roles in class-society, the values, ideas and images which tie them to their social functions and so prevent them from a true
knowledge of society as a whole Eagleton, 2002:15. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4. Allegory
Allegory is a literary device in which a story or narrative is used to convey truths about reality. The word „allegory‟ is taken from two Greek words: alla
other and agoreuo to proclaim. An allegory conveys something other than its literal meaning. Sometimes allegory is defined as an extended metaphor.
Holman, 1960:11 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter is divided into four parts. The first part is the review of several critics regarding Akutagawa‟s Kappa and the position of this study among
those critics. The second part is the review of related theories. Those theories are used in this research to analyze the novel. The third part is theoretical framework.
This part shows how to utilize the reviewed theories in answering the question of problem formulation in this research. The last part is the review of historical
background. This part demonstrates several contextual data, including the setting of the novel that contributes in making analysis.
A. Review of Related Studies
The criticism and study about Kappa have been made by some critics, writers and students of literature. Most critics are based on the tendency of
Akutagawa as an I-novelist who used his novel to reveal his belief upon life, death, and human relation, especially on his writing Kappa, one of his prominent
late writings before he committed suicide in 1927. The first study the writer reviewed belongs to Theresia Vemi Mardiana, a
student of Sanata Dharma University English Letters Department year 2003. In her undergraduate thesis, Mardiana 2008 examines how the characters in Kappa
unfold the social condition of Japanese society in 1920s and the social criticismimplied through the imaginary characters of Kappa. In her study,
