Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: Penelope Longstreet’s Thoughtful Behavior Through Plot in Yasmina Reza’s Film Script Carnage: Freudian Psychoanalysis T1 392014501 BAB II
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The thesis of Sonya Michaella, a student from Faculty of Language
Literature Satya Wacana Christian University, entitled Basil’s Inconsistent
and Unpredictable Personality in Harris’s Not A Day Goes By: A
Psychological Analysis uses Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis to
reveal Basil’s personality. The final result of her study is Basil’s personality
which inconsistent and unpredictable.
Khairul Fuad, a student from English Department State Islamic University
Sunan Kalijaga, has his thesis entitled Jilly’s Defense Mechanism as Seen in
Phyllis A. Whitney’s The Singing Stones, is also used Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis but unlike Sonya’s thesis, this thesis’ result is only stopped on
defense mechanism used by Jilly in order to defend herself and survive.
Although my thesis uses the same theory which is Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis, the objective or purpose is to reveal Penelope Longstreet’s
behavior through plot and supported by the operation of structure of
personality. Therefore, my thesis is different since the final finding is the
behavior.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Plot
Plot is the way in which story events arranged, it is shaped by causal
connections –historical, social, and personal- by the interaction between
characters, and by the juxtaposition of events (Kirsner and Mandell,
2000:67). According to Gustav Freytag in his dramatic structure pyramid,
there are five stages of plot (Freytag, 1894:115):
(a) Exposition
Exposition is the beginning part of story. The way the writer
presents the basic information such as character or setting and
introduces the basic situation in which characters are involved
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). Exposition provides the reader with
essential information such as the place, the time of the action, the
nationality and life relation of the protagonist.
(b) Rising Action
The rising action introduces the conflict or problem in the story.
The protagonist starts to reveal some of their problems and goals
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). This part also reveals the events
where it becomes complicated and the conflict raised.
(c) Climax
Climax is the place in the piece where the result of the rising
action come out strong and decisively; it is almost always the
crowning point of a great, amplified scene, enclosed by the smaller
connecting scenes of the rising action and of the falling action
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). It features the most conflict and
struggle which the most probable outcome of the main conflict is
finally revealed. However, the climax does not mark the end of
conflict. Climax only determines how the conflict will be decided.
(d) Falling Action
The falling action is when the built-up tension is finally released.
Protagonist has to react to series of events that have been changed
after the climax (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). They perform the
necessary plot actions to fulfill the protagonist’s fortunes that are now
clear after the climax and eventually winding down to resolution.
(e) Resolution
A finished scene which either shows the contending forces in
the strife with the protagonist, in the most violent activity, or affords a
clear insight into the life of the protagonist (Kirsner and Mandell,
2000:67). At this point all of the problems that the characters faced
throughout the story are worked out and the story is concluded and
here the conflicts are resolved, all loose ends are tied up, and as it
mentioned the story concludes with either a happy or sad ending.
2. The Operation of Structure of Personality
According to Sigmund Freud, Structures of the Personality are
structures which contain in human’s personality or mind of someone and
divided into three structures (Cloninger, 2008:37).
a) Structure of Personality
1) Id contains biological drives or basic biological drives, which the only
structure of personality present at birth. Id functions according to the
pleasure principle and represents source of the energy. It is hedonistic
and aims to satisfy its urges, which reduces tension and brings pleasure.
Id’s motivation is to seek pleasure and to avoid pain of everything. Id
is like spoilts of child. When Id wants something, Id must have it. Id
do not have any reason, logic, value, and morality. In the opposite side,
Id have demand, impulsive, blind, irrational, selfish, and love pleasure
or hedonistic (2008:38). In the course of life, many impressions and
impulses are repressed into the id, where they exist side by side with
the basic drives. In the id, any image associated with pain or tension
should be instantly destroyed (Crain, 2011:269). In an adult, the
demands of id normally operate outside conscious awareness.
2) Ego is the structure of personality that brings about the unity of
personality and it operates according to the reality principle. Ego
usually finds the reality and can understand the reality. The function of
ego is to express the id with the two things: opportunity and obstacle in
the reality. Ego is half of id and half of superego and its must be
balance (2008:40). The ego tries to forestall action until it has had a
chance to percieve reality accurately, to consider what has happened in
similar situations in the past, and to make realistic plans for the future
(2011:270)
3) Superego represents our morality aspect. Superego contains dreams
that we fight and follow the reality in society, especially rules in
family and society. Usually, superego develops at a young age.
Superego controls our act in society according the rules and values.
Superego gives sense of proud if we do the right thing and gives sense
of guilty if we do the wrong (2008:40).
b) Anxiety
Anxiety is a negative emotional state associated with threat to the
self; in Freud’s theory, it arises when the ego is faced with an influx of
stimuli with which it cannot cope, as a result of either external danger or
the demands of id or superego (Glassman and Hadad, 2004:223). Since
ego is unable to acknowledge the drives within the id, the breakthrough
of unsatisfied id impulses into conscious awareness can trigger anxiety.
c) Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are strategies to solve intrapsychic conflict or
problems (Cloninger, 2008:42). Glassman and Hadad in their book say
that defense mechanisms are techniques used by the ego to protect itself
from anxiety and the threats which give rise to it (Glassman and Hadad,
2004:224). All of defense mechanism begin with repression of
unacceptable impulses.
There are several basic points to note about the defense mechanisms:
First, the defense mechanisms operate unconsciously, otherwise they
would fail to protect the ego from the awareness of the conflicts which
are the source of anxiety. Second, most defense mechanisms operate by
allowing gratification in some indirect way, typically involving either
symbolic gratification or a substitute object; to extent that this reduces
id’s demands, it can be useful strategy. Third, to be effective in
protecting the ego, defense mechanisms must distort reality (2004:224).
There are several kind of defense mechanisms according to Freud’s
theory:
1) Repression, moving memories on purpose from conscious mind to
unconscious mind (Hidayat, 2011:32). The forgotten memories are
somethings that make us uncomfortable or feels painful.
Once
repression works, it will be difficult to eliminate it because we will
use repression to protect ourselves from the various dangers by
eliminating the dangers themselves.
2) Denial, a primitive defense mechanism which individual does not
acknowledge some painful or anxiety aspect of reality or of the self
(2008:42) and it is common in the daily life. It is a self-defense
mechanism that relate with repression and involve denial towards the
existance of several threats or traumatic events that had been
experienced (2011:32).
3) Reaction formation, in which a person thinks or behaves in a manner
opposite to the unacceptable unconscious impulse (2008:43) or in
other word, changing impulse that produce anxiety with opposite
impulse (2011:33). People who have strong sexual impulse will
repress the impulse and change it with the behavior that more
socially accepted. Unconsciously, people use the mechanism in daily
life.
4) Projection, in which a person’s own unacceptable impulse is
incorrectly thought to belong to someone else (2008:43). Therefore,
as if the threats were projected on external object. This movement
was done because the origin source of neurotic anxiety and moral
anxiety is the fear towards the outside punishment. Anger,
aggressiveness, and impulse that are exist in ouselves will be like
shown and possessed by other people (2011:33).
5) Regression, reverting to behavior characteristic of an earlier stage
under conditions of stress, is closely associated with fixation
(Glassman and Hadad, 2004:226) or in a simple way, taking a
position of a child in some problematic situation, rather than acting
in a more adult way. This period is the part from psychosexual which
is more fun and free from frustration and anxiety, especially on the
childhood period (2011:33).
6) Rationalization, in which reasonable, conscious explanations are
offered rather than true unconscious motivations (2008:44). Simply
speaking that this mechanism is happen by re-interpreting behavior
to become more rational and acceptable (2011:33).
7) Displacement, in which from energy in transferred one object or
activity to another (2008:43) and in a simple words that this kind of
mechanism can happen if the object which could satisfy or id’s
impulse was not provided will substitute it with other object
(2011:34). The substitute object is something that is not a threat for
his/herself, although the substitution will not completely ease the
tension as if directly to the original object.
8) Sublimation, diversion of id’s impulse by expressing in a form of
acceptable behavior in society (2011:34) or in which impulses are
expressed in socially acceptable ways (2008:44).
9) Identification, in which a person fuses or models after another person
(2008:44). Other definition says that this mechanism is incorporating
characteristics of a drive object into one’s own ego (2004:228).
10) Intellectualization, a kind of withdrawal reaction in which the
individual chooses the logical way to confront the situation that
causes damage (Fuad, 2014:15).
In which a person focuses of
thinking and avoids feeling (2008:44).
As the conclusion, the id determine someone’s desire which needs to
be fulfilled in order to avoid feeling of tense while superego determine
the social aspect which is for deciding whether it is wrong or right. In this
phase, someone has a clash in his/her mind but ego takes a role as the
mediator to make a win-win solution. If the ego cannot find the way to
fulfill their desires, there will be anxiety which defense mechanisms is
used to defend and survive from the anxiety. Therefore, the behavior of
someone can be revealed through the operation of structure of personality.
C. Theoretical Framework
Character’s attitudes, feelings, beliefs, and value are revealed through
character’s words and actions (Kirszner and Mandell, 2000:1028, 1034). The
character’s words and actions are all contain in the plot. For revealing a
character’s behavior, psychological approach in this case freudian
psychoanalysis is needed. Freudian psychoanalysis believes that unconscious
forces have the power to influence behavior (Cloninger, 2004:33). Therefore,
plot is used to find Penelope’s structure of personality and begin the operation.
The operation of structure of personality that contains id, ego, superego;
anxiety; defense mechanisms which they operate in sequence in revealing
Penelope Longstreet’s behavior. However, in order to begin the operation, id,
ego, superego need to be found by looking through the events from the film
script’s plot stages such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and
resolution and find them. Once the id, ego, superego were found, the
operation could be continued. Therefore, plot was also needed for starting the
operation which could led to revealing Penelope Longstreet’s behavior.
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The thesis of Sonya Michaella, a student from Faculty of Language
Literature Satya Wacana Christian University, entitled Basil’s Inconsistent
and Unpredictable Personality in Harris’s Not A Day Goes By: A
Psychological Analysis uses Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis to
reveal Basil’s personality. The final result of her study is Basil’s personality
which inconsistent and unpredictable.
Khairul Fuad, a student from English Department State Islamic University
Sunan Kalijaga, has his thesis entitled Jilly’s Defense Mechanism as Seen in
Phyllis A. Whitney’s The Singing Stones, is also used Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis but unlike Sonya’s thesis, this thesis’ result is only stopped on
defense mechanism used by Jilly in order to defend herself and survive.
Although my thesis uses the same theory which is Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis, the objective or purpose is to reveal Penelope Longstreet’s
behavior through plot and supported by the operation of structure of
personality. Therefore, my thesis is different since the final finding is the
behavior.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Plot
Plot is the way in which story events arranged, it is shaped by causal
connections –historical, social, and personal- by the interaction between
characters, and by the juxtaposition of events (Kirsner and Mandell,
2000:67). According to Gustav Freytag in his dramatic structure pyramid,
there are five stages of plot (Freytag, 1894:115):
(a) Exposition
Exposition is the beginning part of story. The way the writer
presents the basic information such as character or setting and
introduces the basic situation in which characters are involved
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). Exposition provides the reader with
essential information such as the place, the time of the action, the
nationality and life relation of the protagonist.
(b) Rising Action
The rising action introduces the conflict or problem in the story.
The protagonist starts to reveal some of their problems and goals
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). This part also reveals the events
where it becomes complicated and the conflict raised.
(c) Climax
Climax is the place in the piece where the result of the rising
action come out strong and decisively; it is almost always the
crowning point of a great, amplified scene, enclosed by the smaller
connecting scenes of the rising action and of the falling action
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). It features the most conflict and
struggle which the most probable outcome of the main conflict is
finally revealed. However, the climax does not mark the end of
conflict. Climax only determines how the conflict will be decided.
(d) Falling Action
The falling action is when the built-up tension is finally released.
Protagonist has to react to series of events that have been changed
after the climax (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). They perform the
necessary plot actions to fulfill the protagonist’s fortunes that are now
clear after the climax and eventually winding down to resolution.
(e) Resolution
A finished scene which either shows the contending forces in
the strife with the protagonist, in the most violent activity, or affords a
clear insight into the life of the protagonist (Kirsner and Mandell,
2000:67). At this point all of the problems that the characters faced
throughout the story are worked out and the story is concluded and
here the conflicts are resolved, all loose ends are tied up, and as it
mentioned the story concludes with either a happy or sad ending.
2. The Operation of Structure of Personality
According to Sigmund Freud, Structures of the Personality are
structures which contain in human’s personality or mind of someone and
divided into three structures (Cloninger, 2008:37).
a) Structure of Personality
1) Id contains biological drives or basic biological drives, which the only
structure of personality present at birth. Id functions according to the
pleasure principle and represents source of the energy. It is hedonistic
and aims to satisfy its urges, which reduces tension and brings pleasure.
Id’s motivation is to seek pleasure and to avoid pain of everything. Id
is like spoilts of child. When Id wants something, Id must have it. Id
do not have any reason, logic, value, and morality. In the opposite side,
Id have demand, impulsive, blind, irrational, selfish, and love pleasure
or hedonistic (2008:38). In the course of life, many impressions and
impulses are repressed into the id, where they exist side by side with
the basic drives. In the id, any image associated with pain or tension
should be instantly destroyed (Crain, 2011:269). In an adult, the
demands of id normally operate outside conscious awareness.
2) Ego is the structure of personality that brings about the unity of
personality and it operates according to the reality principle. Ego
usually finds the reality and can understand the reality. The function of
ego is to express the id with the two things: opportunity and obstacle in
the reality. Ego is half of id and half of superego and its must be
balance (2008:40). The ego tries to forestall action until it has had a
chance to percieve reality accurately, to consider what has happened in
similar situations in the past, and to make realistic plans for the future
(2011:270)
3) Superego represents our morality aspect. Superego contains dreams
that we fight and follow the reality in society, especially rules in
family and society. Usually, superego develops at a young age.
Superego controls our act in society according the rules and values.
Superego gives sense of proud if we do the right thing and gives sense
of guilty if we do the wrong (2008:40).
b) Anxiety
Anxiety is a negative emotional state associated with threat to the
self; in Freud’s theory, it arises when the ego is faced with an influx of
stimuli with which it cannot cope, as a result of either external danger or
the demands of id or superego (Glassman and Hadad, 2004:223). Since
ego is unable to acknowledge the drives within the id, the breakthrough
of unsatisfied id impulses into conscious awareness can trigger anxiety.
c) Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are strategies to solve intrapsychic conflict or
problems (Cloninger, 2008:42). Glassman and Hadad in their book say
that defense mechanisms are techniques used by the ego to protect itself
from anxiety and the threats which give rise to it (Glassman and Hadad,
2004:224). All of defense mechanism begin with repression of
unacceptable impulses.
There are several basic points to note about the defense mechanisms:
First, the defense mechanisms operate unconsciously, otherwise they
would fail to protect the ego from the awareness of the conflicts which
are the source of anxiety. Second, most defense mechanisms operate by
allowing gratification in some indirect way, typically involving either
symbolic gratification or a substitute object; to extent that this reduces
id’s demands, it can be useful strategy. Third, to be effective in
protecting the ego, defense mechanisms must distort reality (2004:224).
There are several kind of defense mechanisms according to Freud’s
theory:
1) Repression, moving memories on purpose from conscious mind to
unconscious mind (Hidayat, 2011:32). The forgotten memories are
somethings that make us uncomfortable or feels painful.
Once
repression works, it will be difficult to eliminate it because we will
use repression to protect ourselves from the various dangers by
eliminating the dangers themselves.
2) Denial, a primitive defense mechanism which individual does not
acknowledge some painful or anxiety aspect of reality or of the self
(2008:42) and it is common in the daily life. It is a self-defense
mechanism that relate with repression and involve denial towards the
existance of several threats or traumatic events that had been
experienced (2011:32).
3) Reaction formation, in which a person thinks or behaves in a manner
opposite to the unacceptable unconscious impulse (2008:43) or in
other word, changing impulse that produce anxiety with opposite
impulse (2011:33). People who have strong sexual impulse will
repress the impulse and change it with the behavior that more
socially accepted. Unconsciously, people use the mechanism in daily
life.
4) Projection, in which a person’s own unacceptable impulse is
incorrectly thought to belong to someone else (2008:43). Therefore,
as if the threats were projected on external object. This movement
was done because the origin source of neurotic anxiety and moral
anxiety is the fear towards the outside punishment. Anger,
aggressiveness, and impulse that are exist in ouselves will be like
shown and possessed by other people (2011:33).
5) Regression, reverting to behavior characteristic of an earlier stage
under conditions of stress, is closely associated with fixation
(Glassman and Hadad, 2004:226) or in a simple way, taking a
position of a child in some problematic situation, rather than acting
in a more adult way. This period is the part from psychosexual which
is more fun and free from frustration and anxiety, especially on the
childhood period (2011:33).
6) Rationalization, in which reasonable, conscious explanations are
offered rather than true unconscious motivations (2008:44). Simply
speaking that this mechanism is happen by re-interpreting behavior
to become more rational and acceptable (2011:33).
7) Displacement, in which from energy in transferred one object or
activity to another (2008:43) and in a simple words that this kind of
mechanism can happen if the object which could satisfy or id’s
impulse was not provided will substitute it with other object
(2011:34). The substitute object is something that is not a threat for
his/herself, although the substitution will not completely ease the
tension as if directly to the original object.
8) Sublimation, diversion of id’s impulse by expressing in a form of
acceptable behavior in society (2011:34) or in which impulses are
expressed in socially acceptable ways (2008:44).
9) Identification, in which a person fuses or models after another person
(2008:44). Other definition says that this mechanism is incorporating
characteristics of a drive object into one’s own ego (2004:228).
10) Intellectualization, a kind of withdrawal reaction in which the
individual chooses the logical way to confront the situation that
causes damage (Fuad, 2014:15).
In which a person focuses of
thinking and avoids feeling (2008:44).
As the conclusion, the id determine someone’s desire which needs to
be fulfilled in order to avoid feeling of tense while superego determine
the social aspect which is for deciding whether it is wrong or right. In this
phase, someone has a clash in his/her mind but ego takes a role as the
mediator to make a win-win solution. If the ego cannot find the way to
fulfill their desires, there will be anxiety which defense mechanisms is
used to defend and survive from the anxiety. Therefore, the behavior of
someone can be revealed through the operation of structure of personality.
C. Theoretical Framework
Character’s attitudes, feelings, beliefs, and value are revealed through
character’s words and actions (Kirszner and Mandell, 2000:1028, 1034). The
character’s words and actions are all contain in the plot. For revealing a
character’s behavior, psychological approach in this case freudian
psychoanalysis is needed. Freudian psychoanalysis believes that unconscious
forces have the power to influence behavior (Cloninger, 2004:33). Therefore,
plot is used to find Penelope’s structure of personality and begin the operation.
The operation of structure of personality that contains id, ego, superego;
anxiety; defense mechanisms which they operate in sequence in revealing
Penelope Longstreet’s behavior. However, in order to begin the operation, id,
ego, superego need to be found by looking through the events from the film
script’s plot stages such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and
resolution and find them. Once the id, ego, superego were found, the
operation could be continued. Therefore, plot was also needed for starting the
operation which could led to revealing Penelope Longstreet’s behavior.