Hope`s obsessive-compulsive disorder in Hope Donahue`s Beautiful Stranger - USD Repository
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2010
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034 Approved by
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. August 20, 2010 Advisor Adventina Putranti, S.S. M.Hum. August 20, 2010 Co-Advisor
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
By
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR
Student Number: 024214034 Defended before the Board of Examiners on 30 August 2010 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name SignatureChairman : Dr. Francis Borgias Alip, M.Pd., M.A. ______________________ Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ______________________ Member : Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S. ______________________ Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ______________________ Member : Adventina Putranti, S.S. M.Hum. ______________________
Yogyakarta, August 30, 2010 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean
Dr. Isodarus Praptomo Baryadi, M. Hum
…Live life as its best…
…Because you only live once…
This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to
My beloved parents My dearest sisters and brother My lovely friends
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Romauli Butar Butar Nomor Mahasiswa : 024214034
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
HOPE’S OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me- ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 29 September 2010 Yang menyatakan,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My biggest love and gratitude goes to my Father, Jesus Christ, for the love, the blessing, and always be there for me even though I missed every Sundays.
My bigest love for my father, Washington Butar Butar and my mother Surya Ratna Tampubolon for their love, prayer, support, attention and most of an their endless patience during my years in university. Another sweet love for my sisters and brother, Ellen Rini Butar Butar, Windy Erna Butar Butar and Surton Cakradipa Butar Butar, thanks for giving colors in my live.
My special gratitude goes to my major sponsor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum; for reading, criticizing, and correcting my work from the beginning until the end of this thesis. I would also thank Adventina Putranti, S.S.
M.Hum. as my co-advisor. I thank her for her ideas and contribution for the writing of this undergraduate thesis.
My endless love goes to my best friends, GrouPeace, Gratz and also The Rempongs Family for giving me such a wonderful friendship for always loving me just the way I am and for sharing the good times and bad time together. I do not know what kind of life I have here in Jogja without all of you.
I would like to say thanks to my friends in English Letters 2002, especially class A, and other friends in English Letters that I could not mention. I thank them for giving me sweet memories during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
Romauli Butar Butar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ......................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGE .............................................................................................. ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE........................................................................................ iii
MOTTO PAGE .................................................................................................... iv
DEDICATION PAGE........................................................................................... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAHUNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS .............................................................. vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................ vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................... viii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................. x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1
A. Background of the Study.............................................................................. 1 B. Problem Formulation.................................................................................... 2 C. Objectives of the study ................................................................................. 3 D. Definition of Terms ...................................................................................... 3CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ....................................................... 4
A. Review of Related Studies ........................................................................... 4 B. Review of Related Theories ......................................................................... 6 C. Theoretical Framework .............................................................................. 15CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 17
A. Object of the Study..................................................................................... 17 B. Approach of the Study................................................................................ 17 C. Method of the Study ................................................................................... 18CHAPTER IV...................................................................................................... 20
A. The Characterization of Hope Donahue..................................................... 20 B. The Factors which Influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder..... 29 C. The Impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her Mental Health .......................................................................................................... 40CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION.......................................................................... 50
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................. 52APPENDIX ......................................................................................................... 54
ABSTRACT
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR. (2010). HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE
DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER Yogyakarta:
English Letters Study Program. English Letters Department, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses a memoir entitled Beautiful Stranger. The objective of the writing this thesis derived from the writer’s curiosity to find out the author’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this novel, Hope Donahue is characterized as a woman who suffers from mental disorder, especially Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder.
There are three problems related to the topic of this thesis: (1) How is Hope characterized? (2) What are the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder? (3) What are the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health?
In order to answer the problems, a psychological approach is used because this thesis analyzed one’s mental condition and the impacts toward one’s mental health. This study applies library and internet research method. There are two sources used: primary and secondary sources. Beautiful Stranger, the novel, is the primary source in this study. The secondary sources are obtained from books on literature, psychology and websites.
Based on the analysis, Hope Donahue is five-feet-eight tall, with a model's built, blonde hair, and green eyes. She is an only child from a wealthy family. She gets everything she wants without having to earn it. Hope does not need to try very hard to get good grades because Hope was being rewarded for the outside, her beauty.
The second point is there are four factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The first one is genes. The second is environmental influence. The third is guilt and shame. The last one is Hope’s way of thinking.
The third point is there are some impacts of Hope's Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health. Hope grows into a lack of confidence typed of person. Overshadowed by her mother beauty, Hope feels that she has to be like her mother. In search of beauty, hope experienced 28 plastic surgeries. She needs to be beautiful and wanted to look like anybody other than herself. Acting impulsively made Hope further away from herself; she wanted to become another person. Because of acting impulsively, Hope tends to find herself in panic attack.
The panic attack also occurs when she fails performing her "beauty routine"
ABSTRAK
ROMAULI BUTAR BUTAR. (2010). HOPE’S OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE
DISORDER IN HOPE DONAHUE’S BEAUTIFUL STRANGER Yogyakarta:
Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.Penelitian ini mendiskusikan sebuah Memoir berjudul Beautiful Stranger. Tujuan penulisan skripsi ini di awali dari rasa ingin tahu penulis untuk menemukan obsessive-compulsive disorder di pengarang. Di novel ini, Hope Donahue digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang menderita kelainan mental, khususnya obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Ada tiga permasalahan yang berhubungan dengan topik skripsi ini: (1) Bagaimana karakterisasi Hope? (2) Apa saja faktor yang mempengaruhi
obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope? (3) Apa saja dampak
obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope kepada keadaan
mentalnya? Untuk menjawab pertanyaan tersebut digunakan sebuah pendekatan psikologi karena skripsi ini menganalisis keadaan mental seseorang dan apa saja dampaknya terhadap keadaan mentalnya. Penelitian perpustakaan dan internet juga di gunakan dalam penelitian ini. Novel Beautiful Stranger, adalah sumber utama dalam penelitian ini. Sumber sumber pendukung diperoleh dari buku-buku literatur, buku-buku psikologi dan situs terkait.
Berdasarkan analisis, Hope Donahue, seorang wanita dengan tinggi hampir 170 centimeter seperti layaknya seorang model, dengan rambut pirang, dan memiliki mata berwarna hijau. Dia anak tunggal dari keluarga yang kaya raya. Dia mendapatkan semua yang diinginkannya tanpa harus bekerja keras untuk mendapatkannya. Hope tidak perlu berusaha keras untuk mendapatkan nilai yang bagus sejak ia di sekolah, karena semua di nilai dari luarnya saja, yaitu kecantikannya.
Poin kedua adalah faktor yang mempengaruhi obsessive-compulsive
disorder yang di derita oleh Hope. Ada empat faktor yang mempengaruhi
obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope, yaitu: pertama adalah
gen, kedua adalah pengaruh lingkungan sekitar, ketiga adalah rasa bersalah dan malu, keempat adalah cara berpikir Hope terhadap sesuatu.
Poin ketiga adalah dampak obsessive-compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope kepada keadaan mentalnya. Ada beberapa dampak obsessive-
compulsive disorder yang di derita oleh Hope kepada keadaan mentalnya. Hope
tumbuh menjadi seseorang yang kurang percaya diri. Sejak Hope kecil, ia selalu berada di blakang bayang-bayang kecantikan ibunya. Hope harus bisa cantik seperti ibunya. Hope telah melakukan 28 operasi plastik dalam pencariannya untuk menjadi cantik. Ia sangat ingin menjadi cantik dan ingin terlihat berbeda. Tindakan-tindakan spontan Hope membuat Hope menjadi pribadi yang berbeda, pribadi yang tidak dikenalnya. Hope terkadang mengalami kepanikan dikarenakan tindakan spontannya. Serangan panik itu juga datang ketika Hope gagal menerapkan rutinitas kecantikannya.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study What is an obsession? Is it normal if a person has an obsession? According to A Dictionary of Psychology (Drever, 1958: 18), obsession is a
persistent or recurrent idea, usually strongly tinged with emotion, and frequently involving an urge towards some form of action, the whole mental situation being pathological. From the above explanation, it can be concluded that obsession is a condition in which the person’s mind is completely filled with thoughts of one particular thing or person so that he/she cannot think of anything else.
It is difficult to draw a line between normal and abnormal behavior. Behavior that some people consider normal sometimes seems abnormal to others. Then, how do psychiatrists distinguish the normal from the abnormal? There are numbers of ways to define abnormality, but none of them is completely adequate.
In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association agreed upon a standard system for classifying abnormal symptoms, which was published in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder or DSM. This has been
revised four times. The most recent revision is DSM-IV (Kasschau, 1995: 358).From this manual, psychiatrics can make a distinction between normal and abnormal behavior.
The abnormalities above can be found in the real life and can be learnt from literary works. As stated by Kalish (1973: 8), literature holds the mirror up to man. So, a novel is one of the examples of the literary works which frames the reflection of human experiences.
Beautiful Stranger is dealing with those issues. It is based on a true story
of the writer herself, a beautiful girl named Hope Donahue, who is obsessed with her appearance.
Hope Donahue is a writer who is interested in expressing her feeling, her thought, and her experience of life through the medium of a novel. Her mesmerizing novel is Beautiful Stranger in 2004. The background of Beautiful
Stranger is inspired by Donahue’s personal experience as a woman who is
obsessed of being beautiful. She studied woman's magazines for the latest cosmetic products promising perfection, spent hours ruminating over her "flaws", and countless time and money in the plastic surgeons office having one procedure after another. She experienced lots of plastic surgeries to satisfy her obsession. In Hope’s mind, the passion of being beautiful increased deeply although she had nothing really wrong with her look. Her obsession became a disease, namely Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This one side of judgment has provoked the writer’s curiosity. The writer is curious with the factors which influence Hope’s disorder and the impacts of her disorder toward her mental condition.
B. Problem Formulation
Throughout this study, there are three problems which can be formulated in the following questions:
1. How is Hope characterized?
2. What are the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
3. What are the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health?
C. Objectives of the Study
The first is to give the description of the main character, Hope. The second is to find out the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
And the last is to find out the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental health.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid any misinterpretation and understanding the title, this thesis will provide the explanation on the important words used and closely related to the topic, which is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
According to Abnormal Psychology: Revised Sixth Edition, Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder in which the mind is flooded with persistent and uncontrollable thoughts or the individual is compelled to repeat certain acts again and again, causing significant distress and interference with everyday functioning (Davison and Neale, 1996: 150).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies There are not many related studies about Beautiful Stranger that can be
found both in library and internet. Nonetheless, there are many studies discussing about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder but there is none which specifically used
Beautiful Stranger as the object. The followings are few of the studies which have
to do with the topic of the thesis.According to Dr. Gellar (http://www.psychservices.psychiatryonline.org), professor of psychiatry and director of public-sector psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Donahue portrays her search for perfection through plastic surgery. She takes us through her journey of transformation, during which she gets bigger breasts, bigger lips, a smaller nose, cheek implants, and a brow lift. She is easily controlled and influenced by the plastic surgeon—plastic surgeons who are often narcissistic, caustic, and sadistic and who intimidate their patients into having cosmetic surgery.
In his reviews, Dr. Gellar (http://www.psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/57/1/145) also stated that what Donahue needed was psychotherapy, not plastic surgery. Plastic surgery could never deal with the theme of Donahue's life: "I did not feel important enough to be of consequence to myself, let alone anyone else."
Donahue does gain insight through psychotherapy, but, unfortunately, she sees this as a less important part of her story.
Lee Mellott (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail) also gives his comment about Beautiful Stranger in www.amazon.com. Beautiful Stranger is the true story of how Hope Donahue was totally immersed and obsessed with her appearance. Hope studied woman's magazines for the latest potions promising perfection. She spent hours thinking about her "flaws", and countless time and money in the plastic surgeons office having one procedure after another.
As reviewed in www.oprah.com, Beautiful Stranger is one of the examples of a powerful response to a culture obsessed with extreme makeovers and risky procedures that promise flawlessness. Oprah stated that Donahue’s story will inspire the countless women and men like her who struggle every day in a culture that feeds us dangerous images of unattainable perfection.
As explained in some studies before, most critics focus on plastics surgery and beauty. In compliance with some of those critics, the writer is going to analyze the theme of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Hope Donahue’s Beautiful
Stranger. The study of the main character of Beautiful Stranger is interesting
because the main character unconsciously suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. From the novel, the writer will find the characteristics of the main character, the causal factors of her Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the impacts of her Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental condition.
B. Review of Related Theories
There are three theories that will be used in the analysis. They are theory of character and characterization, the relationship between literature and psychology, and theory of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization In Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams defines character as “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialog and what they do-the action” (1993: 23).
According to Holman and Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature, characterization is the creation of imaginary persons in fictions (drama, novel, short, short story, or narrative poem), so that they exist for the reader as lifelike. They define three methods of characterization afterwards: firstly, by the explicit presentation from the author of the character through direct exposition; secondly, by the presentation of the character in action; and thirdly, by the representation from within a character (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81).
While M.J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen: An Introduction
to English Poetry & English Novel for Overseas Students (Murphy, 1972: 161-
173), illustrates some ways in representing the characters. The author attempts to make his characters understandable and to come alive for the readers by: a) Personal description To describe the character, the author explains physical appearance of the character. The description is often related to psychological condition. The personality itself can be reflected from external appearance.
b) Character as sees by another Instead of describing, the author can directly describe the character through the opinion of another. Other characters will give explanation about what the character is like. Other’s thought about a certain character can be a significant factor to build understanding of him.
c) Speech The author can give us insight into the thought through what the character says. Whenever a person is speaking, he is giving the readers some clue to his character.
d) Past life By learning about a person’s past life, the author can give the reader a clue that has helped to shape a person’s character. The character past life is always closely connected to his present life.
e) Conversation with others The author can give us clue to a person’s character though conversations of other people and the things they say about him. We need to pay attention towards the conversation of other characters. It is useful to go to speech-by-speech to determine exactly what it is meant or implied by each of them. f) Reactions The character shows his personality from his reactions to various situation and events.
g) Direct comment Direct Comment is the way the author describes a person's character by giving to the reader a straightforward description about comment on the character.
h) Thoughts We follow the inner life of the mind and then make the association of the ideas. In brief, we are facilitated to disclose the thought inside the characters’ mind. i) Mannerism
The author may describe a person’s mannerism that may also represent the characters.
2. The Relationship between Literature and Psychology According to Wellek and Warren, psychology and literature have a very close relation in which some of literary works talk about psychological cases.
They say that people can learn theory of psychology that may revealed in works of literature by analyzing the works. Furthermore, the important part is the application of the psychological laws within works of literature (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 81).
Psychology is a body of knowledge which studies human psyche, the most related element of literature to psychology is its human or human-like characters. Referring to Barnet’s explanation about character in Literature for Composition that character is a figure with specific mental and moral qualities; it is obvious that characters are observable through psychology in terms that they consist of unique mental qualities (1988: 71).
While in the book Psychological and its Allied Disciplines (1984: 144) edited by Bornstein et al., Lindauer stated that literature is best at describing the human condition in a dramatic form, while psychology has the strength to investigate human characteristic or behavior in systematic ways. Both literature and psychology have one common purpose that is to describe human condition. Literature tries to depict human condition into drama while psychology studies human characteristics systematically and scientifically.
In The Psychological of Human Behavior, Richard A. Kalish states that literature also “holds the mirror up to the man”. A good novelist can communicate the feelings of his functional characters and make them seem more life-like that the real people whose behavior the psychologist attempts to describe (1973: 8).
3. Theory of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
a. Definition of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (1) Obsessions
Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again and feel out of your control. The person does not want to have these ideas.
He finds them disturbing and annoying, and usually recognizes that they do not really make sense. People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder worry extremely about dirt and germs and become obsessed with the idea that they are contaminated or contaminate others. They may have obsessive fears of having inadvertently harmed someone else even though they usually know this is not realistic. Obsessions are accompanied by uncomfortable feelings, such as fear, disgust, doubt, procrastinate or a sensation that things have to be done in a way that is "just so". (Davison and Neale, 1996: 150)
The content of obsession has been investigated by Akhter in Davison and Neale’s Abnormal Psychology: Revised Sixth Edition (Davison and Neale, 1996: 151). After interviews with eighty-two obsessive-compulsive patients, he identified five distinguishable forms of obsession: i. Obsessive Doubts
Persistent thoughts that a completed task had not been adequately accomplished were found in 75 percent of the patients. “Each time he left his room a twenty-eight-year-old student began asking himself, ‘Did I lock the door? Am I sure?’ in spite of a clear and accurate remembrance of having done so” ii. Obsessive Thinking
Seemingly thinking endless chains of thoughts, usually focusing on future events, were reported by 34 percent of those interviewed. A pregnant women tormented herself with these thoughts: “If my baby is a boy he might aspire to a career that would necessitate his going away from me, but he might want to return to me and what would I do then, because if I … ” iii. Obsessive Impulses Seventeen percent of the patients had powerful urges to perform certain actions, rangging from rather trival whims to grave and assaultive acts. “A forty- one-year-old lawyer was obsessed by what he understood to be the ‘nonsensical notion’ of drinking from his inkpot but also the serious urge to strangle an apparently beloved only son” iv. Obsessive Fears
Twenty-six percent of the patients were anxious about losing control and doing something that would be socially embarrassing. “A thirty-two-year-old teacher was afraid that in the classroom he would refer to his unsatisfactory sexual relations with his wife, although he had no wish to do so” v. Obsessive Images
Persisting images of some recently seen or imagined event plagued 7 percent of the sample. A patient “‘saw’ her baby being flushed away in the toilet whenever she entered the bathroom”
(2) Compulsions People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder try to make their obsessions go away by performing compulsions. Compulsions are acts the person performs over and over again, often according to certain "rules." People with an obsession about contamination may wash constantly to the point that their hands become red, painful and inflamed. A person may repeatedly check that she has turned off the stove or iron because of an obsessive fear of burning the house down. She may have to count certain objects over and over because of an obsession about losing them. Unlike compulsive drinking or gambling, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder compulsions do not give the person pleasure. Rather, the rituals are performed to obtain relief from the discomfort caused by the obsessions.
The content of compulsion has been investigated by Akhter in Davison and Neale’s Abnormal Psychology: Revised Sixth Edition (Davison and Neale, 1996: 151). After interviews with eighty-two obsessive-compulsive patients, he identified two distinguishable forms of compulsion: i. Yielding Compulsions Compulsive urges seemingly forced actions on 61 percent of the patients.
“A twenty-nine-year-old clerk had [a notion] that he had an important document in one of his pockets. He knew that this was not true, but found himself impelled to check his pocket, again and again” ii. Controlling Compulsion
Diverting actions apparently allowed 6 percent of the patients to control a compulsive urge without giving in to it. “A sixteen-year-old-boy with incestuous impulses controlled the anxiety these aroused by repeatedly and loudly counting to ten”
Additional information on the content of compulsions is provided by Rachman and Hodgson’s (1973). There were two general categories of compulsion: checking rituals, such as looking under the bed; and contamination compulsion, such as hand washing (Davison and Neale, 1996: 151).
(3) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder It is an illness that affects thoughts and actions but is believed to be rooted in a chemical imbalance of the brain. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the main diagnostic reference of Mental Health professionals in the United States, published by the American Psychiatric Association in 1994. This puzzling illness is characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts - called obsessions - and/or repetitive, ritualized behaviors that the person feels driven to perform - called compulsions. Obsessions can also take the form of intrusive images or unwanted impulses.
(http://www.ocfoundation.org/whatisocd.aspx)
b. Causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research, which has done in National Institute of Mental Health, indicates that obsessive-compulsive disorder might run in families (The NIMH Genetics
Workgroup. Genetics and Mental Disorders). It suggests that genes do play a role in the development of the disorder. Childhood-onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder runs in families. When a parent has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there is a slightly increased risk that a child will develop Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, although the risk is still low. When Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder runs in families, it is the general nature of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is inherited, not specific symptoms. Thus a child may have checking rituals, while his mother washes compulsively (http://www.ocfoundation.org/causes.aspx).
Another Research using identical twins and the relatives of people of Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder suggests that more than 50% of a person’s risk for developing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is genetic, with the other half being determined by the environment. Given this, researchers have been searching for the specific genes that create a risk for developing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (http://ocd.about.com/od/causes/a/OCD_genes.htm).
Not all cases of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder have a genetic origin. The disorder sometimes occurs after brain damage caused by various means, such as birth trauma, encephalitis, and head trauma (Hollander, 1990). Research suggests that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involves problems in communication between the front part of the brain and deeper structures. These brain structures use the chemical messenger serotonin. It is believed that insufficient levels of serotonin are involved in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (http://www.ocfoundation.org/causes.aspx).
Guilt and shame seem to occur strongly in some people’s Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder, particularly that of young people. Children tend to feel guilt about their natural needs from a very early age and it can be said that guilt and feeling over-responsible is endemic to obsessive people. The cause of Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder is probably a mix of many factors described above, including neurobiological, environmental influences and the way we think (http://www.anxietycare.org.uk/docs/ocdcauses.asp). c. Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involves having both obsessions and compulsions. A person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder may sometimes have one or the other.
Common obsessions are: contamination fears of germs, dirt, etc. imagining having harmed self or others, imagining losing control or aggressive urges, intrusive sexual thoughts or urges, excessive religious or moral doubt, forbidden thoughts. A need to tell, ask, and confess common compulsions: washing repeating checking touching counting.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder symptoms can occur in people of all ages. Not all Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder represent an illness. Some rituals - e.g., bedtime songs, religious practices - are a welcome part of daily life. Normal worries, such as contamination fears, may increase during times of stress, such as when someone in the family is sick or dying.
C. Theoretical Framework
To conduct this study, some theories are applied. The theory used firstly in this study is the theory of character and characterization. The writer uses character and characterization theory to reveal the characterization of Hope Donahue.
The second theory is the relation between literature and psychology. This is used mainly to support all the theories. Since this is a literary study, the writer feel need to explain why novel which based a psychological subject can be an object in a literary study by using and quoting the experts’ saying.
The third theory is the theories of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Since the whole story deals with the subject of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, it is more appropriate to use the theories of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to answer the questions stated in problem formulations.
In answering the problem formulation, all the theories stated above cannot be ignored. Each theory has its own significance. Later, all the theories applied in this study are very helpful in answering the problem formulation.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The object of the study is a novel by Hope Donahue, entitled Beautiful Stranger . This novel was published in New York in 2004 by Gotham Books. The novel consists of 292 pages and is divided into 28 chapters. Beautiful Stranger is a memoir of how Hope Donahue coped with beauty. She experienced 28 plastics surgery to satisfy her obsession for being beautiful. After many plastics surgery, she realized that there was something wrong with her
obsession about beauty. Finally she knew that she was suffered from Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder, a kind of anxiety disorder whom the person’s mind is flooded with persistent and uncontrollable thoughts or compelled to repeat certain acts again and again.
B. Approach of the Study
In relation to the topic of this thesis, the writer applies the psychological approach to unveil the main character’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 12), the psychological approach is to explain human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary object, therefore, knowledge of psychology ground is important in order to understand the literary works.
Lewis Leary (1976: 57) in his book A Study and Research Guide states that a psychological approach as an approach that applies principles of modern psychology to characters or situation within a literary work or to the person who wrote that work while Wilfred L. Guerin in his book, A Handbook of Critical
Approach to Literature (1999: 125), the psychological approach was perhaps the
most controversial, the most abused and least appreciated. However, the psychological approach can be fascinating and rewarding since its proper application to interpret the literary work can enhance the writer’s understanding and appreciation of literature. The approach lets the readers to analyze characters’ psychology or situations in the literary works.
In this thesis, the writer applies this approach by using some psychological theories or concepts as the interpretative tools. The reason why the writer chooses this approach in analyzing the topic is that the writer is going to analyze the psychological aspects on the main character of the novel
C. Method of the Study
To come to a complete analysis, there were several steps applied. The main step was collecting by doing library research. The primary source was Hope Donahue’s Beautiful Stranger written by Hope Donahue in 2004. The secondary sources were including books, internet online references taken. Those secondary sources were used to help strengthen the thesis. Since this study was using the psychological approach, the writer looked for books that reviewed similar studies.
There were some steps taken in the research. First was reading and rereading the novel. Next was making some notes of some interesting quotations to support the topic of this thesis. Third, the library research was done in order to collect data on previous studies and related theories to be used in the present study. The forth step was analyzing the problems. The fifth step is observing the novel in order to find the characteristics of the main character, the factors which influence Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and the impacts of Hope’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder toward her mental condition. Finally, after writing the analysis, the writer brought the study to a conclusion.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS This chapter is divided into three parts based on the three questions
formulated in Chapter I. The first part is the depiction of Hope Donahue in order to show that she is in fact suffering from OCD. The second part is about the factors which influence’s Hope Donahue’s OCD. The third part is showing how Donahue’s OCD affect her mental health.
A. The Characterization of Hope Donahue
According to M.J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens: An
Introduction to English Poetry & English Novel for Overseas Student (Murphy,
1972: 161 - 173), there are some ways to reveal the characterization of the character in the novel, such as personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation with others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts and mannerism. Throughout those ways the writer can reveal the characterization of Hope Donahue in Beautiful Stranger.
Hope Donahue, a thirty-six-year-old woman, is five-feet-eight inches tall, with a model’s build, blonde hair, and green eyes.
I am five-feet-eight-inches tall, with a model’s build, blonde hair, and green eyes. People say I am beautiful (Donahue, 2004: 1). She is an only child from a wealthy family. She grew up in an elite community in Los Angeles. She gets everything she wants without having to earn her to be like Jane Pauley who is a beautiful American television journalist and most known for her 13 year tenure on NBC’s “Today” Program and later 12 years of “Dateline NBC”.
My name is Hope. I am thirty-six year old. I grew up in a tiny enclave of Los Angeles called Hancock Park, an area as renowned for its stately mansions and old-money families.
… I am an only child. My father is a bank chairman, my grandfather a doctor of international acclaim. My mother stayed home in our beautiful house to raise me, as mothers did then. I am intelligent, witty, well traveled. I went to the best private schools. I never had to apply to for a college scholarship or save for a new car. These things were given to me (Donahue, 2004: 1).
Being raised in a wealthy family, Hope never has to work hard to get what she wants. Her parents will give everything that she asks for without have to worries about how much it costs.
As an only child, Hope is used to spend her times alone. It made her become an introverted person.
Solitude never bores me, a fact which I probably ought to find alarming but which I chock up to having been an only child, all those hours of playing by myself. (Donahue, 2004: 31)
Since she is used to be alone she spends most of her times in her bedroom, and her mirror as the center. She has a habit of checking out her appearance on the mirror over and over again.
I consider myself reasonably happy in the universe no larger than my bedroom, the solar center around which I revolve being my mirror. It’s ridiculous, compulsive, how many times a day I look at myself. I have to keep checking, to make sure I’m still there. It’s like checking for a pulse. It’s a habit which reeks of vanity, and so carries the same of that deadly sin; I would be loathe to admit my obsession to anyone. (Donahue, 2004: 35) The fact that she is used to spend her times alone makes her distant from the social life around her because she hardly ever goes out and socializes.
In fact, Hope is shy. She could not bear to be the center of attention. She is not good at all in socializing every time she joins a new group. She thinks that going up to someone and talking to them is unthinkable. She could not bear the fact that everybody’s eyes were on her, because that made her panic.
My mother had told me, since I was a teenager, that I should be the next Jane Pauley. There was no reason, she said, that a pretty girl like me could not achieve this pinnacle of broadcasting. When I pointed out that it perhaps took more than good looks to do that job, my mother added, unfazed, that I was also “a people person.” It shocks me, now, how little my mother knew me. I was most definitely not a people person. Though I hid it well, I was staggeringly shy. I was in a sorority, but I was not at all social. I led campus tours, but suffered panic attacks before nearly everyone. The idea of going up to someone and talking to them, let alone sticking a microphone their face, was unthinkable. (Donahue, 2004: 25)
However, Hope’s mother always thinks that her daughter is a “people person” and that Hope, just like her, likes to be the center of attention. Hope’s mother always talk to Hope like a best girlfriend, like they are the same age rather that a mother- daughter relationship. She convinces Hope that she is a “people person”. A “people person” here means a person who is easy in socializing in a new environment. On the other hand, Hope is not a people person. She is, in fact, a very shy type of girl. When her mother realizes about Hope’s shy personality, she used some unique ways to try to make her tougher. That is why since Hope was a teenager her mother always said that Hope should be the next Jane Pauley, a beautiful American television journalist.