A STUDY OF THE MEANING OF LAURA WINGFIELD’S ACTIONS IN TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE A Thesis Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
A STUDY OF THE MEANING OF LAURA WINGFIELD’S ACTIONS
IN TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE A Thesis Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Fitrianingsih 031214076
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2008
A STUDY OF THE MEANING OF LAURA WINGFIELD’S ACTIONS
IN TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Fitrianingsih
031214076
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
PAGE OF DEDICATION
As pur e as wat er of Heaven , I l ove y ou!
Gr eat er t han t he bl ue sky y ou ar e i n my i magi n at i on
I even doubt t he t r ue, but n ot my l oveD’ y ou bel i eve me?
Don ’t ! I f ool y ou That ’s fake
However , what coul d be r eveal ed mor e?
Un l ess I pr et en d t o be cr azy j ust t o con vey a fake? Even st ar s ar e mesmer i zed by suffer s when t he r i ght must be j udged as t he wr on g?
But i f y ou l ove me, t he n ever en di n g l on el i n ess wi l l be en ded
Li ke a n ucl ear boast t hat dest r oy t he wor l d Al t hough I kn ow fai t h an d wi sh ar e n ot t he same
My can dl e l ove i s for y ou
To feel t he cal m soulTo j oy t he r ed r ose i n t he hear t , mi n d, an d dr eams of my sl eepi n g Though j ust a fake fr om y ou My Bl ue….
Dedicated with love and gratitude to: My beautiful granny who loves me more than any other grand daughter in the world My family: Mom, aunt, and brother Agung “ Penceng” Hartanto who supports all the time
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Almighty God, the greatest energy in the world, for the blessing, strength, mercy, and never-ending love during my life, especially during the completion of the thesis. They power me up to overcome any problems in my whole life.
I also would like to express my greatest gratitude from the bottom of my heart to those who helped me in the process of finishing the thesis. Without their helping hands, I am probably not finished it yet now.
My deepest gratitude goes to Drs. A. Herujiyanto, M.A., Ph.D., my major sponsor for the patience, times, and willingness to help me completing my
Ms. Agnes Dwina Hardiasti S.Pd., M.A.
thesis. The same gratitude also goes to
and Ms. Christina Lhaksmita Anandari, S.Pd., M.Ed. , my co-sponsors who
helped me with the patience, time, and encouragement until the end of my thesis accomplishment.
I would like to thank to all lecturers of English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University for their guidance during my study. I also thank secretariat staffs, Ms. Dhani and Ms. Tari for being so helpful. I also thank the library staffs for their help during the completion of my thesis.
My deep gratitude is extended to my grand mommy, Ny. Tulasih Hadi Sutjipto, my mom, Emerita Sri Endangningsih, and aunt, Istiyati, for their everlasting love, attention, prayers, and also financial support since the first time I opened my beautiful eyes up to this moment. I also thank my brother, Heru
I would like to thank to my friends in my life. First, it goes to my elementary school friends: Daning, Dita, Nyinyok, and of course, Ajeng andeng. I thank them all for being my friends up to this moment and support me doing the study. Then, my gratitude goes to my brothers and sisters in SMP 16 Jogjakarta: Sari (I thank her for the psychological consultation), Ery ,Veni , Etika, Irawan, Roni, Rosi, and Naslek. Next, my gratefulness is also extended to my high school friends: Juned (We were one, one laugh and one cry), Farish, Victor (He is the best one, friend and lover), Anjar, Bowo, Dexter, Emsa, Galuh, Nug, Miko, and of course Lintanx. I thank them for peering my teenage time. With love, I would express my gratitude to all my beloved friends in English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University: Liol, Betha (I thank her for the ideas), Cempluk ,Petra, Krisna, Nina, Anas, Utik, Linda, Shanty, Reta, Leli, Uci, Dudi, Datu, Ardi, Vendi, Niko, Toni, Wiwid, Yoyok, Haryo, and Indri. I thank them for their nice attentions, advices, and supports during my sweet and bitter moment. I also thank to Rere, Kris, Whini, and Adhi (I thank him very much for every help).
I also thank those who come in my life so far. I thank them for giving me lesson that life can be beautiful or bitter. Life can always go wrong.
Last, but not least, to my beloved boyfriend, Agung “Penceng” Hartanto, who has shared his time, love, affection, caring, help and support to me. I thank him for being my real man who always supports me when I am down. He is my inspiration.
Fitrianingsih
TABLE OF CONTENT
PAGE OF TITLE....................................................................................................i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ......................................................................................ii
PAGE OF DEDICATION ....................................................................................iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...................................................v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................viii
ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................xii
ABSTRAK ...........................................................................................................xiii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
..........................................................................1 A. Background of the Study.....................................................................1 B.
Objectives of the Study.......................................................................4 C. Problem Formulation..........................................................................4 D.
Benefits of the Study...........................................................................4 E. Definition of Terms.............................................................................5
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
.................................7 A. Review of Related Theories................................................................7
1. Character and Characterization.....................................................7 a.
Character.................................................................................7
b.
Characterization......................................................................9
2. Psychology..................................................................................10 a.
Psychoanalysis......................................................................10 b.
Motivation.............................................................................16 c. Conflict.................................................................................16
3. Post-colonialism..........................................................................17 B. Theoretical Framework.....................................................................19
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................20
A. Object of the Study............................................................................20 B. Approach of the Study......................................................................21 C. Method of the Study..........................................................................22 CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS.................................................................................23 A. The Characteristic of Laura Wingfield.............................................23 1.
Laura Wingfield as the major and round character...............23 2. The Physical Appearance of Laura Wingfiald......................24 a.
Exotic..............................................................................25 b. Old Fashioned.................................................................26 c. Foot Defected..................................................................26 d. Pretty...............................................................................28 e. Weak/ Fragile..................................................................29 3. The Personality of Laura Wingfield......................................30
a.
Shy...................................................................................30 b. Peculiar/ Different...........................................................31 c. Sensitive..........................................................................32 d. Unconfident.....................................................................33 e. Dependent.......................................................................34 f. Obedient..........................................................................34 g.
Living in herworld/ illusion...........................................36 h. Lonesome........................................................................37 B. The meaning of actions conducted by Laura using psychological approach.....................................................................38
1. Collecting the glass menagerie and playing old phonograph record frequently.........................................40
2. Pretending to go to the course...............................................46 3.
Kissing Jim after dinner........................................................51 C. The meaning of actions conducted by Laura Wingfield using
Katresnanism
....................... ............................................................55
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
..................................58 A. Conclusions....................................................................................58 B.
Suggestions....................................................................................60 1.
Suggestions for the next researchers.....................................60 2. Suggestions for teaching- learning implementation using the drama...............................................................................60
BIBLIOGRAPHY
................................................................................................65
APPENDICES Summary of The Drama
......................................................................................67
Biography of Tenneessee Williams .....................................................................69
Lesson Plan ...........................................................................................................72
The Handout for Teaching Drama .....................................................................74
The Picture of Tennessee Williams .....................................................................77
The Picture of Tennessee Williams’ First homein Columbus, Mississippi .………………………………………………………78
The U.S. Postal Service honored Williams on a stamp in 1994 ………………79
The First Scene of The Glass Menagerie as the Teaching Material The Drama Text “The Glass Menagerie”
ABSTRACT
Fitrianingsih. 2008. A Study of the Meaning of Laura Wingfield’s Actions in
Tennessee Williams’
The Glass Menagerie, Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Departments of Language and Arts and Education, The Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyzes a play entitled The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams. The play tells about conflicts in a family which consists of a mother (Amanda), an older sister (Laura), and a younger brother (Tom). Laura has foot defect that makes her become terribly shy, dependent, and peculiar. Tom as the bread winner has to work although actually he hates the job. Amanda keeps on dreaming of Laura’s marriage. The centre of the family problem is Laura. She is very dependent and fails to establish her social world.
The aims of this study are to find the characteristics of Laura Wingfield as one of the main characters in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and to analyze the meaning of her actions. In order to do so, the problems to be discussed are: (1) “How is Laura portrayed in the play?” (2) “What are the meanings of Laura’s actions in the play?”
Library research was applied to gather the data. The primary source was taken from the text of the play itself, while the secondary sources were taken from several books on literature such as journals and papers as well as some articles from the internet. The psychological approach was applied to get the understanding of the motivations and meaning behind Laura’s actions based on psychological theories. The post-colonial approach was also applied to get deeper understanding of Laura’s actions based on post-colonial literature, in this study called Katresnanism.
Based on the analysis, Laura Wingfield is young, pretty, exotic and obedient. On the other hand, she is shy, lonesome, peculiar, sensitive, dependent, old fashioned and weak. On top of that, Laura has foot defect and lives in her own world. There are three main actions of Laura found in this study. They are collecting the glass menagerie and playing old phonograph record; pretending to go to the course; and kissing Jim. The first action means that she needs some friends and needs to actualize herself. The second action means that she needs love and wants to enjoy both physical and psychological freedom. The last action means that she has natural desires as a mature woman, they are love and sex.
For future researchers, it is suggested that they conduct the same study but by applying sociocultural-historical approach. It is also recommended that The Glass Menagerie is implemented in teaching Drama class in the fifth semester of the English Language Education Study Program.
ABSTRAK
Fitrianingsih. (2008). A Study of the Meaning of Laura’s Actions in Tennessee
Williams’ The Glass Menagerie
, Yogyakarta: Program Study Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisa sebuah drama berjudul The Glass Menagerie karya Tennessee Williams. Drama ini mengisahkan tentang konflik dalam sebuah keluarga yang terdiri dari ibu (Amanda), kakak perempuan (Laura), dan adik laki- laki (Tom). Laura memiliki cacat di kaki yang membuatnya sangat pemalu,kurang percaya diri, sangat bergantung, dan aneh. Tom adalah tulang punggung keluarga meskipun sebenarnya dia membenci pekerjaannya. Amanda senantiasa berharap akan pernikahan Laura. Inti dari permasalahan di keluarga ini adalah Laura. Dia sangat bergantung dan gagal dalam membangun kehidupan sosial bermasyarakat.
Skripsi ini mempunyai tujuan untuk menemukan karakteristik dari Laura Wingfield, salah satu dari tokoh utama drama karya Tennessee Williams yang berjudul The Glass Menagerie dan menganalisa arti dari tindakan-tindakannya.
Untuk itu ada dua masalah yang akan didiskusikan: (1) “Bagaimanakah Laura digambarkan dalam drama tersebut?” (2) “Apakah arti dari tindakan-tindakan Laura dalam drama tersebut?”
Skripsi ini merupakan penelitian pustaka. Sumber primernya adalah teks drama itu sendiri, sedangkan sumber-sumber sekundernya adalah buku-buku tentang kesusastraan dan psikologi seperti jurnal dan paper serta artikel dari internet. Pendekatan Psikologis diterapkan untuk mendapatkan pengetahuan mengenai motivasi dan arti dibalik tindakan Laura berdasarkan teori psikologi. Pendekatan post-colonial juga diterapkan untuk mendapatkan pemahaman dari tindakan Laura berdasarkan teori post-colonial, dalam studi ini bernama
katresnanisme .
Berdasarkan analisa, karakteristik Laura Wingfield adalah muda, cantik, eksotik, dan patuh/ penurut. Di lain pihak, ia pemalu, kesepian, sensitif, bergantung, kuno dan lemah. Di atas semua itu, Laura memiliki cacat kaki dan hidup dalam dunianya sendiri. Ada tiga tindakan utama yang ditemukan di dalam skripsi ini. Tindakan-tindakan tersebut adalah mengkoleksi hewan-hewan kaca dan memainkan pemutar fonograf kuno; berpura-pura berangkat kursus bisnis; dan mencium Jim. Tindakan pertama berarti dia membutuhkan teman dan tindakan untuk mengaktualisasikan diri. Yang kedua berarti dia membutuhkan cinta dan ingin menikmati kebebasan fisik dan psikologis. Tindakan yang terakhir berarti dia memiliki hasrat alamiah sebagai wanita dewasa yaitu cinta dan seks.
Bagi calon peneliti selanjutnya disarankan untuk mengadakan penelitian tentang kasus yang sama namun dengan menerapkan pendekatan sosial kebudayaan dan sejarah. Disarankan pula untuk menerapkan drama The Glass Menagerie di kelas Drama untuk semester lima Program studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter is divided into five parts. The first part is background of the
study which clarifies the reason why this study is conducted. The second part is objective of the study. The third one is problem formulation. It deals with the questions to answer in this study. The fourth part is benefit of the study. It explains some benefits of the thesis. The last part is definition of term which explains some important words and expressions used in the study.
A. Background of the Study
Lazar in his book entitled Literature and Language Teaching says that literature is a world of fantasy, horror, feelings, visions put into words (1).
Literary works are interesting for people especially those who have a great sense of art. The readers, audiences, or listeners may feel the fantasy, horror, or vision that can fly away their feeling and imagination. The works also enable the readers to enjoy every heart beat of the conflict, the rise and down of the emotion of the story and the life journey of the characters in the texts. In this way, literary works function for pleasure and enjoyment.
Literary works include prose, poetry, and drama or play. According to Kennedy in Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama (1195-1196), play is a work of storytelling in which actors represent characters. Play is a written literary work that reflects and portrays the real human life experiences. The progression of the plot connects the readers or the audiences with their humanity experiences.
The reason of choosing the drama as the subject of the study in the thesis is because the play was written by one of the American greatest playwrights, Tennessee Williams. The Glass Menagerie is one of successful plays written by Williams. His other successful plays are The Rose Tattoo, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Summer and Smoke. After conducting the first performance of The Glass Menagerie in Chicago in 1944, he won New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1945. Williams considered as a highly regarded playwright in America because of the success of the play. The success of the play has triggered me to conduct the study. Besides, the unpredictable ending of the play has touched me to select it as the subject of the thesis. Through The Glass Menagerie, Williams also tries to convey moral values of human life. The readers or audiences do not only enjoy each exciting scene of this story but also discover and learn the valuable messages from the play such as how we should really understand others sincerely by viewing deeper from their motivation rather than our own perception. In other words, we can get a precious life value that if we want to be understood, we should understand people first. One way to understand others is to know the motivations and reasons behind their actions.
The study is conducted because analyzing Laura Wingfield’s from psychological point of view is exciting. Studying the struggle within the mind of Laura is interesting. By knowing the motivation and the real meaning behind Laura’s action, one can not judge her from her physical actions. Two examples of her action are keeping the glass menagerie and dropping out from the course. In general, people would judge her as a peculiar woman. However, in fact, we need to understand her deeply. She probably has her own reason that we need to consider. Hence people have to know the real meaning inside Laura.
The study is also conducted because it builds the readers to view one action through different paradigm which coaches us to understand/help others who are psychologically ill. In general, most of Laura’s actions are not reasonable. For example, she chooses to keep collecting her glass animals rather than live with others and plan her future. It is possible that common people may judge her odd or silly. Therefore, this study tries to reveal the truth of Laura by viewing from psychoanalysis theory. Others should help a person who is emotionally crippled like her because every action she takes has one or more basic motivation. So, it is important to come close to those kinds of people like what Jim has done to Laura.
The other reason is the story itself: the three main characters face many complicated problems and conflicts. Although the three of them painfully suffer from the great depression, the study focuses on Laura Wingfield since she is the centre of the problems faced by other main characters. Laura’s foot defect and her hopelessness construct immense conflicts between Amanda and Tom. The study concerns with the actions taken by Laura and the reasons why she conducts each action, for example is collecting the glass animals.
B. Objectives of the Study
The aims of the study are to find the characteristics of Laura Wingfield as one of the main characters in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and to analyze the meaning of her actions.
C. Problem Formulation
The problems to be discussed in the study are:
1. How is Laura Wingfield portrayed in the play?
2. What are the meanings of Laura’s actions in the play?
D. Benefits of the study
The study may give several benefits to the readers, students, and English Literature teachers. Conducting the study provides richer knowledge about literature and the structure of literary sentences written by the playwright.
Furthermore, finding appropriate approaches and theories to analyze the work is important to reveal the way an author conveys the ideas and messages through the play.
For common readers and students, the study will be a short introduction before reading the play The Glass Menagerie. Hopefully, the readers will understand better about the meaning of this interesting play. It is also hoped that the common readers and the students may recognize the depth of real life experience reflected in the drama. For teachers, particularly English teachers, the study provides them one reference in teaching literature, especially drama.
E. Definition of Terms
This part explains the definition of terms used in the title. The terms presented here are action, character, personality and menagerie. They have broad and various meanings. In order to avoid misconception, some terms used in the study are explained in this section.
The first term is “action”. According to Hornby in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, action means process of doing things. It is also defined as an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity (Dictionary.com Unabridged, 2006). Therefore, the actions discussed in the study are restricted to Laura.
The next term is “character”. Barnett (71) states two definition of character. The first one is a figure in a literary work and the second one is the mental and moral qualities of a figure. Meanwhile, Abrams (20) defines character in a play as a person presented in dramatic situation and interpreted by the readers as a being given with moral and mental qualities that are expected in what he says
- the dialogue- and by what he does -the actions- (23). Thus, character in a play is an imagined person or psychological condition in the story that is different from one to another. In the study, the analysis is restricted to the character of Laura Wingfield.
The word “characterization” means the way to create imaginary person so that they exist for the reader as life like (Holman and Harmon 81). The use of the characterization is to describe the characters’ traits.
The next one is “personality”. Allport as quoted by Hjelle and Ziegler in Personality Theories: Basic Assumption, Research,and Applications defines it as the dynamic of organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristics behavior and thought (284).
The last term is “menagerie”. Encarta Webster’s College Dictionary defines menagerie as a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for the curiosity and entertainment for the public. In the drama, Laura Wingfield has a collection of glass menagerie.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter provides theories related to the study. The two parts included in this chapter are review of related theories and theoretical framework. Review of related theories deals with the theories applied in conducting the study. Theoretical Framework explains the contribution of the theory in solving the problems. A. Review of Related Theories
1. Character and Characterization
a. Character
Character is one of several elements of drama that plays a very important role. Guth, in his book entitled Discovering Literature Stories, Stories, Poems, and Plays, states that character is about the people in the play, their motivation and wish, and also explanation of the way they take action (6). This definition views the meaning of character as the trait. For example, Griet’s character in Girl with a Pearl Earrings is smart. Abrams defines character as the person appeared in a narrative work that is interpreted by the readers as being endowed with expressive ethical and emotional qualities performed in the way he takes action and speaks (23). The second definition above views the meaning of character as the player or the figure in a literary work.
There are two kinds of character according to Guth, they are flat character and round character (70). A flat character is a character that has one- track personality such as Mr. Nice Guy is always kind to other people or a madcap man who is always angry to everybody. A round character is a character that has blended traits that cause him/ her to become complicated, for example the character of King Lear in A Shakespeare Tragedy. King Lear at the beginning is a very loving father. Because of his disappointment to his daughter, he suddenly breaks off his paternal relation to her.
Milligan, in The Novel in English: An Introduction, says that there are two kinds of character. The first one is major character and the second one is secondary character. Major character is the character that appears more often in the narrative. Secondary character is the character that appears less in the storyline (195). In the story of Cinderella, the character said as the major character is Cinderella and the example of secondary character is the father of the prince.
Some points are stated by Guth when the readers or audiences study the character. Two of them are action and motivation. When people focus on a character, they will find a figure from what the character has done and reason why he does so or the motives beyond the actions (69). The reader will see clearly what kind of action that a certain character has shown and understand the motivation why certain character does the action. For example, a character is crying and the motive behind his action is because his little brother has just passed away.
b. Characterization
Beaty in Literature and Language Teaching A Guide for Teachers and Trainers defines characterization as the process the writer depicts the character with definite characteristic that are diverse from others (231). Meanwhile, Murphy states that characterization is a means to tell the readers and the audiences about the personality of a character and to make the character look alive (87).
Characterization has an important meaning. It will help the reader and audience to understand the personality and the motivation of each action taken by the character.
Barranger says that in a play, a character is identified by his/her physical characteristics, verbal communication, and costume; his socioeconomic status; his/her makeup; and his moral choice (339). She also describes three methods to understand the characters.
1. Observe the author say about certain character in stage directions. In the stage directions, the playwright defines the feeling, thought, actions and motivations of the character to do something. The playwright also defines the character physical movement or psychological condition based on his thought.
2. See the characteristics through what the characters say about them and through what other characters say about him/her. The dialogue of the characters may reveal the emotional feeling, the information about the character’s motivation in acting and also when the action happens.
3. Note general types or specific features of the character’s physical and psychological condition, which differentiate one to another. The physical features can be seen through characters’ appearance, the costume, the face, and the socioeconomic status. The character’s psychological condition is the inside feeling and thought of the character, which arise as a result of how a character copes with the problems. The reader or audience can recognize some differences, which indirectly show the characteristic of a character or others.
2. Psychology
a. Psychoanalysis
In order to understand deeply certain literary works, one needs to view from the psychological which then becomes psychoanalytic criticism. Abrams explains psychological criticism deals with a literary work principally function as an expression, in a form of imaginary story, of the mind and structure of the author’s personality. While psychoanalytic criticism deals with the literature and other art works consist of the imagined, desired, satisfaction of hopes that is rejected by the reality, social standard, of life (263-264).
Bressler says that this criticism is an approach with the aim of is to explain the hows and whys human done certain actions (148). Freud as quoted in Bressler (148) states that applying psychoanalysis to the text or literary work is to uncover the writer’s unseen motivations and desires. At the beginning, psychoanalytic theory mainly concerns on the author. Afterward, it is employed in analyzing the character of the text made by an author.
Freud in Bootzin (412-413) states that psychoanalysis is to illustrate the process in bringing the unconscious material into one’s awareness that could be observed rationally. Freud’s psychoanalysis cannot be separated from the three major systems of personality structure; they are id, ego and superego. Freud in Hall and Lindzey’s Teori-Teori Psikodinamik (Klinis) (63-68) elaborates the major systems above.
a. The Id The Id is the original personality system. It consists of all psychological substances that are inherited and exist since one’s birth. It works to stop the tension and return to the low energy level when a person experiences an increasing of energy or tension. The id is actually the unconscious part of the personality of a person. Freud in Baron (464) says that id consists of body needs, sexual desires, and aggressive impulses. They include in basic instinct of human being. Id is a part that can be called pleasure principle.
b. The Ego The ego appears as the results of the organism needs for appropriate transactions with the objective world of reality. It is considered as the conscious part of one’s personality. It differentiates between things in the mind and things in the external world. Freud in Baron (464) states that its’ task is to hold the id in check until conditions appropriate for satisfaction of its impulses exist. So, ego works in accordance with reality principle. It directs one’s behavior to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Braun also states that through remembering, reasoning, and evaluating, the ego try to satisfy the desire of id (408).
c. The Superego It is the moral part of personality that represents the ideal which strives for perfection rather than real. It is for deciding whether something is right or wrong. The superego is the conscience. The conscience is built based on the basic environment of a person. Braun (209) therefore implicitly says that a boy internalizes moral standard he learns from his father.
The three systems above work together like a team in running a personality. They are not separated but a unity. An action is the product by the interaction of the id, ego, and superego.
Freud in Baron’s Psychology introduces anxiety and defense mechanism (464-465). Anxiety is a sense of unpleasant because of tension occurs in an individual in reaction to unacceptable impulses. On the other hand, defense mechanisms defines as the techniques applied by the ego to keep threatening material out of consciousness to reduce anxiety. There are several defense mechanisms commonly discussed so far. They are:
1. Repression Braun in Psychology Today states that repression is a defense mechanism that keeps unacceptable thoughts from consciousness and pushes them back into the unconsciousness (411). For example, a woman fails to recognize her attraction to her handsome new son-in-law.
2. Fixation It is a momentary or permanent halt in development, occurring as a response to anxiety in associated with the next stage of development (Braun, 411). For example, a child who is too much dependent to others includes in fixation. Anxiety hinders him to learn to be independent.
3. Regression It happens in response to threatening situation in a way appropriate to an earlier age or level of development (Baron, 465). For example, a woman who has just married that faces problems in her new family chooses to go back to the parents.
4. Rationalization Baron explains rationalization as a defense mechanism that conjures up socially acceptable reasons for thoughts or actions based on unacceptable motives (465).
One example is a young woman explains that she ate an entire chocolate cake so that it wouldn’t spoil in the summer heat.
5. Displacement It is a defense mechanism that redirects an emotional response from a dangerous object to safe one (Baron, 465). For example, anger is redirected from one’s boss to one’s child.
6. Reaction formation Baron states that reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which a person acts in a manner directly opposite to their unconscious wishes (465). For example, instead of acknowledging that she hates her child, she shows a lot of expression of love.
From the six defense mechanisms above, one is chosen to analyze the meaning of Laura’s action. It is repression. Repression is the most appropriate one to use.
The defense mechanisms stated above are tactics to relieve anxiety. However, Baron says that when anxiety is getting sharp, the ego resorts to those mechanisms which are actually have two characteristics (411). First is denying, falsifying, or distorting reality. Second is operating unconsciously, so that the person is unaware of what is taking place.
Jung as quoted in Braun introduces an aspect about one’s tendencies to be concerned primarily with himself or with outside world (412). The first category is introvert that means people who are quiet, hesitant, cautious, and reclusive. They have difficulty in making friends and choose to observe the world rather than involved himself in many activities. They also generally inhibit expression of their impulse and feelings. The other is extrovert which means people who are talkative, open, confident, and sociable. They are easy to make friends and take a part in a lot of activities.
Social psychology theories rooted from Psychoanalysis are discovered by Adler and Horney. Adler as quoted in Braun says a sense of imperfectness originates in childhood and the inability to overcome it rise feeling of inferiority (414). The word to call this situation is inferiority complex. Adler also says in Baron that attempting to overcome feelings of inferiority is Striving for Superiority (474). This is the main motive for human being. It means that a person engages in compensation. One tries to overcome feelings of inferiority by developing the abilities he has.
Horney in Braun describes three ineffective styles of interacting with others (415. They are moving toward others, moving against others, and moving away from others. The explanations of each are elaborated as follows.
1. Moving toward others These people usually become compliant, a kind of doormat. They need desperately to be liked but cannot return true affection to those who feel these needs.
2. Moving against others These people are attempting to find security by dominating others. They avoid anything that may bring helplessness. They assume that it is appropriate to manipulate others.
3. Moving away from others They try to find security by withdrawing themselves from others, never allowing close relationships with others. They need privacy and isolation to social contact. These people avoid themselves from harm, but to do that, they give up the probability of growth and change.
Looking at the main problem of the study, which concerns on Laura, the third ineffective styles of interacting with others is used. In the drama, Laura tends to be alone and she is also unable to affiliate with people. Thus, Horney’s theory above is appropriate as the additional matter to analyze the problem in the study.
b. Motivation
Bootzin implicitly defines motivation as the dynamic property of behavior that is directed by a number of intentions and that leads to some objectives or the fulfillment of some need (367). It means that each action performed by every human being is based on a certain motive.
Maslow (1954), as quoted in Aiken in General Psychology states the basic hierarchy of needs (115). The first is physiological need, such as hunger, fatigue, elimination pressure, sex, exploration, pain avoidance, and thirst. The second is safety need, for example needs to feel protected and safe from danger.
The third is love/belonging need. This is a need to go along with and accepted by others. The fourth is esteem need. It includes the desire for achievement, for independence, for competence, and for strength. The fifth is self-actualization needs. It refers to the need to develop one’s potentials and talents. The sixth is cognitive need for instance desire to understand. The last one is aesthetic need which includes need for beauty, symmetry and structure.
c. Conflict
Kalish states that conflict occurs when a person is motivated by two or more needs and the fulfillment of one causes the contradiction of the other (137).
Four types of conflict are stated by Kalish in The Psychology of Human Behavior. They are approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, approach-avoidance, and multiple approach-avoidance (137-138).
The first type refers to two profitable and mutually exclusive goals. It is about deciding two beneficial things. The second is avoidance-avoidance. It happens when an individual is required to select one of two unpleasant choices. The third one is approach- avoidance. It refers to decide a goal involves satisfying and disappointing things. The fourth is multiple approach-avoidance. This type occurs when a situation involves a complicated combination of pleasant and unpleasant features.
3. Post-colonialism
Ashcroft in The Empire Writes Back defines post-colonialism as all the culture affected by the colonial process from the colonization time to this time commenced by European imperial aggression (2). So, it was created since the colonial countries became independent. Several countries in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, South America and Australia were colonized by European. So, the literatures of these countries could be said as post-colonial literatures.
Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia which was colonized also by European. In this case, Indonesian literature is also included in post- colonial literatures. There are so many literary theory come up from Indonesia, an example is theory of katresnanism.
Herujiyanto in his paper introduces katresnan criticism to the world.
Katresnan
is a Javanese word which means divine love. Theory of Katresnanism is actually a Javanese native theory. Theory of katresnanism (divine love) is a term which refers to the result of an inductive work functioning as a reminder and invitation (eling-kelingan) of one’s true self (jati diri) and one’s existence which was granted due to katresnan (divine love) as soon as one was born (2). In his paper, Herujiyanto also states that
katresnanism is as a discipline of thought that means to enquire into one’s work
(including that of one’s own): thinking about the work involving some problem like: why the work done as it is, why the doer is the way that he/she is (3). That is the significant point applying this theory to conduct the study. Thus, this discipline aims to dig and find out the real meaning of certain work and to view that one is himself through doing identification to certain person.
Aos Katresnanism The Real Truth:
1 . andhap asor (being
12. kraton nDalem
23. sithik idhinghumble) (being spiritual) (promoting win-win)