The main character`s perception of the existence of human being in Osamu Dazai`s No Longer Human - USD Repository
THE MAIN CHARACTER’S PERCEPTION
OF THE EXISTENCE OF HUMAN BEING
IN OSAMU DAZAI’S NO LONGER HUMAN
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By: Grace Adeline T
Student Number: 021214110
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
A Thesis on
THE MAIN CHARACTER’S PERCEPTION OF THE EXISTENCEOF HUMAN BEING IN OSAMU DAZAI’S NO LONGER HUMAN
By Grace Adeline T
Student Number: 021214110 Approved by
Major sponsor Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum. July 17, 2008 Co-sponsor
A Thesis On
THE MAIN CHARACTER’S PERCEPTION OF THE EXISTENCE
OF HUMAN BEING IN OSAMU DAZAI’S NO LONGER HUMAN
By Grace Adeline T
Student Number: 021214110 Defended before the Board of Examiners on July 24, 2008 and Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners Chairperson : Ag. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. …………… Secretary : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. …………… Member : Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum. …………… Member : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. …………… Member : Dr. A. Herujiyanto, M.A. ……………
Yogyakarta, July 24, 2008 Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University Dean,
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I wrote, does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, July 17, 2006 The Writer,
Grace Adeline T 021214110
I dedicate this thesis to
my beloved and
marvelous parents The
Djing Siem and
Frederika Rachel
Tumundo
to my sisters and brother; Kak Elsa, Kak Inne, and Kak DaniThis thesis is also
dedicated to my beloved
one, AleLEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
, Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Grace Adeline Tumundo
Nomor Mahasiswa : 021214110
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :The Main Character’s Perception of The Existence of Human Being in Osamu Dazai’s
No Longer Humanbeserta. perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada
Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk rnenyimpan, mengalihkan 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 yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 13 September 2008 Yang menyatakan
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my almighty Jesus Christ for His endless love and guidance. He gave me spirit, grace, strength, and power in finishing my thesis. Without Him, I would never have finished this thesis. I believe that there is nothing impossible for Him.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people who have supported me in finishing the thesis. I would like to thank my major-sponsor Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum., and my co-sponsor Ch. Lhaksmita Anandari, S.Pd., M.Ed., who patiently gave me guidance, suggestions, corrections, and encouragement for the completion of this thesis.
My great special gratitude goes to my parents, the greatest mom in the world, Frederika Rachel Tumundo, and the greatest father in the world, The Djing Siem. I would like to thank them for being my great, fabulous parents, for their endless love, care, trust, prayers, patience, tolerance, understanding, encouragement and the financial support. I am proud of having them as my parents. I would like to thank my wonderful beloved brother and sisters, Daniel Arianto Tumundo, Elsa Elisabeth Yuniar and especially Inne Ester Juanita Tumundo for their support, love, care, prayers, patience and understanding. I also want to thank my sister-in-law, Lasmi and my very cute, funny and adorable nieces and nephews, Tasya, Nike, Joe, and Darrent, for being my inspiration and
My greatest gratitude also goes to all the lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University, who gave me their best knowledge and skills during my study in the university. The same gratitude also goes to all of the staff of Sanata Dharma Library and the secretariat of PBI for their help and kindness.
My special thank goes to my beloved best friends, Ika, Arai, Regi, Reni, and Cicil for giving me love, support, friendship, loyalty, fun, understanding and unforgettable moments. I thank them for being my best friends, for accepting my weaknesses and strengths, for helping me through the good and bad time. I am also thankful to all of the students of 2002 for their love, kindness, togetherness, cooperation and memorable time.
My special thank also goes to EME’s crew, Mas Aga, Rina, Melly, Mbak Iiek, Mbak Nita, and Pak Kiman. I thank them for their love, support, care, and patience. I also thank my all EME’s friends. They always cheer up my days and make my days so colorful. “I love you all, guys!” I will not forget also to thank Bitta and Iin for their love and support, and because of them I can be in EME.
My greatest gratefulness also goes to someone who is always at my side, Alexius Dharmawan Herny Hutama. I thank him for his deep love, care, affection, support, time, inspiration, patience, prayers, understanding and everything. No one can understand me like him. I am proud of having him beside me. I thank his family too for the support and love, especially to his sister,Tya, for her patience to
I would like to thank all of those whom I cannot mention one by one and who directly and indirectly have helped, supported and encouraged me during my study. This thesis could not have been completed without their help. May God bless all of them, amen.
Grace Adeline Tumundo
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................. i PAGES OF APPROVAL……………. .......................................................... ii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY .............................................. iv PAGE OF DEDICATION............................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................... ix ABSTRACT................................................................................................... xii
ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................... xiv
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study......................................................... 1
1.2 Problem Formulation .............................................................. 3
1.3 Objectives of the Study ........................................................... 3
1.4 Benefits of Study..................................................................... 3
1.5 Definition of Terms................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................ 6
2.1 Review of Related Theories .................................................... 6
2.1.1 Theory of Character .................................................... 6
2.1.2 Theory of Characterization ......................................... 7
2.1.4.1 Perception....................................................... 10
2.2 The Influence of Society to Someone’s Perception ............... 12
2.2.1 Japanese Society ........................................................ 16
2.3 Theoretical Framework .......................................................... 18
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 20
3.1 Subject Matter ........................................................................ 20
3.2 Approaches............................................................................. 21
3.3 Methods of the Study ............................................................. 22
3.4 Sources ................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS.............................................................................. 24
4.1 The Description of Yozo........................................................ 24
4.1.2 Yozo’s Characteristics .................................................. 24
4.1.2.1 Yozo is an Introvert Person............................ 25
4.1.2.2 Yozo Likes Pretending .................................. 26
4.1.2.3 Yozo is Sensitive ........................................... 28
4.1.2.4 Yozo is Timid................................................. 28
4.1.2.5 Yozo is Smart ................................................ 29
4.2 The Potrayal of Yozo’s Society in the Novel ........................ 29
4.2.1 The Influence of Society on Yozo’s Perception of the Existence of Human Being......................................... 35
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS.................................. 42
5.2.1 Suggestion for the Future Researchers....................... 45
5.2.2 Suggestion for English Teachers................................ 45 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 47 APPENDICES: Appendix 1 Biography of Osamu Dazai ........................................................ 49 Appendix 2 Summary of the Novel No Longer Human ................................ 53 Appendix 3 Syllabus of Intensive Reading II ................................................ 55 Appendix 4 The Implementation of Teaching Intensive Reading II.............. 57 Appendix 5 Lesson Plan ................................................................................ 58 Appendix 6 No Longer Human pp 124-127................................................... 59
ABSTRACT
Tumundo, Grace Adeline (2008). The Main Character’s Perception of the
No Longer Human. Yogyakarta: Existence of Human Being in Osamu Dazai’s
Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
The novel No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai describes a man who feels that he is no longer a human being. His society gives a big influence to his perception about the existence of human being. By looking at his society, he thinks that he cannot be like his society demands as a human being.
This study embodies the perception of Yozo, the main character, about the existence of human being which is influenced by his society. This study aims to answer two problems. First is the description of Yozo’s character, and second is to identify the influence of the society to Yozo’s perception about the existence of human being.
This thesis employs a library research where the information can be found from the books related to the topic. There are two kinds of sources: the primary source, which is obtained from the novel itself, No Longer Human, and the secondary sources which are obtained from books and journals on literature, psychology, perception, and culture.
In order to answer the problems, the use of theory of characterization and theory of personality are needed to identify Yozo’s characteristics. Theories of perception and the understanding about the existence of human being are needed to find out the perception about the existence of human being. To identify the influence of the society, the writer got the information from the novel itself, some books and internet.
The result of this study shows that Yozo is an introvert, likes pretending, sensitive, timid and smart. He has a different way of thinking from other people. He is against what his society declares about human being. Society declares that if one wants to live he must eat. On the other hand, Yozo thinks that human beings do not need to eat regularly in order to live. Yozo is confused with the society’s sayings like eating for life or life for eating. Yozo finds it difficult to get the answer. Yozo discovers that society says something good about someone in front of him but says something bad in his back. If one wants to be accepted in his society and considered as a human being, he should follow what the society demands even tough he should pretend to be someone else. Having this thought, Yozo wants to be accepted by his society. So, he pretends to be a clown because by being amusing clown he can be accepted in his society and people realize his existence as a human being. Yozo loves doing it as if it is the only way he could be accepted by his society although he denies his own belief. Yet, Yozo feels that he fails in being a human being. He cannot understand other people’s thoughts. He
Finally, the implementation of teaching English using literary work is suggested, especially for teaching intensive reading II using No Longer Human.
ABSTRAK
Tumundo, Grace Adeline (2008). The Main Character’s Perception of the
Existence of Human Being in Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human.Yogyakarta:
Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Novel No Longer Human karya Osamu Dazai menceritakan tentang seseorang yang merasa bahwa dia bukan manusia lagi. Lingkungan sosialnya memberi pengaruh yang besar kepada persepsinya tentang keberadaan manusia. Dengan melihat lingkungan sosialnya, dia berpikir bahwa dia tidak bisa menjadi seperti yang lingkungan sosialnya inginkan.
Skripsi ini membahas tentang persepsi Yozo, tokoh utama, tentang keberadaan manusia yang dipengaruhi oleh lingkungan sosialnya. Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua permasalahan. Pertama adalah gambaran karakter Yozo dan yang kedua adalah untuk mengidentifikasi pengaruh dari lingkungan sosial kepada persepsi Yozo tentang keberadaan manusia.
Skripsi ini menerapkan penelitian pustaka yang didapat dari buku-buku yang berhubungan dengan topik. Ada dua jenis sumber: sumber utama, yaitu novel itu sendiri, dan sumber kedua didapat dari buku-buku dan jurnal-jurnal kesusastraan, psikologi, persepsi dan budaya.
Untuk menjawab dua permasalahan tersebut, penggunaan teori karakter dan kepribadian diperlukan untuk mengetahui karakter Yozo. Teori persepsi dan pemahaman akan keberadaan manusia dibutuhkan untuk mengetahui persepsi tentang keberadaan manusia. Untuk mengetahui pengaruh lingkungan sosial, penulis mendapat informasi dari beberapa buku dan internet.
Hasil skripsi ini menunjukkan bahwa Yozo adalah seseorang yang tertutup, suka berpura-pura, sensitif, pendiam dan pintar. Dia mempunyai cara pikir yang berbeda dengan kebanyakan orang. Dia menentang apa yang lingkungan sosialnya nyatakan tentang manusia. Lingkungan sosial menyatakan bahwa jika kamu ingin hidup makanlah. Bertentangan dengan Yozo, dia menganggap bahwa manusia tidak perlu makan teratur untuk hidup. Yozo menghadapi kebingungan dengan apa yang lingkungan sosialnya ungkapkan seperti makan untuk hidup atau hidup untuk makan. Yozo sukar menemukan jawabannya. Yozo menemukan bahwa lingkungan sosialnya mengatakan sesuatu yang baik di depan seseorang tapi mengatakan yang jelek tentang orang itu dibelakangnya. Jika seseorang ingin diterima lingkungan sosialnya dan diakui sebagai manusia, dia harus mengikuti apa yang lingkungan sosialnya tuntut meskipun dia harus berpura-pura menjadi orang lain. Dengan pemikiran seperti ini, Yozo ingin diterima di lingkungan sosialnya. Dia berpura-pura menjadi badut karena dengan menjadi badut yang menyenangkan dia bisa diterima di lingkungan sosialnya dan masyarakat menyadari keberadaannya sebagai manusia. Yozo dengan orang lain. Dia tidak bisa merasakan apa yang orang-orang rasakan seperti rasa lapar misalnya. Dia merasa bahwa dia bukan manusia.
Pada akhirnya, penggunaan karya sastra dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris sangat dianjurkan, terutama untuk mengajar membaca secara berkesinambungan dengan menggunakan novel No Longer Human disertakan.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of five parts. The first one is the background of the
study which discusses the reason for choosing this topic. The second part is the problem formulation which contains two questions that the writer uses to analyze the main character’s point of view of the existence of human being in Osamu Dazai’s novel No Longer Human. The third is the objective of the study that contains the purpose of writing this thesis. The fourth is the benefit of the study which explains the significance of this study to the readers. The last one is the definition of the terms which briefly explains the terms used in this study.
1.1 Background of the Study
What is a human being? Considering this question, there will be another question about who can be included as human beings. Most people who just have ordinary life which means that they try to have a good life, may not think about these questions. They merely follow the cycles of life, born, live and death.
According to most people, they will consider themselves as human being.
Being influenced by many factors such as a background from various cultures can be the reason of asking those questions. Having more than one backgrounds of culture could also make someone confused about his existence, his understanding about human being, and his meaning of life. We can find Yozo,
In Biology, human beings are defined as animals. In this case, we would ask the question about other animals whether they have a meaning or significance which attached to their life or not. If human life is the only thing that has a meaning, what is it that sets humans apart from other animals? The great apes are the first cousins of humans. Is there a meaning attached to their life? Does a cow, a pig or a monkey have a meaning or purpose ascribed to its life, except to serve as food for humans? Maybe we never think why we usually eat three times a day and why we eat. There is an easy question with a difficult answer, eating for life or life for eating.
Hence, it is difficult to answer the question about the existence of human being. Maybe we never realize why we are here and how human life comes into existence. We can find these questions in the book How Life Really Works. The answer for the first question about existence is if object or event manifests itself in an observable manner. Human beings obviously exist because they manifest themselves to other human beings. By reading this book, we will know that since we clearly exist we may ask about our origin and the reason why we are here.
The topic about the existence of human being is interesting. That is the reason why the writer chooses to study this topic. We can find the answers for all of those questions by doing some observation, reading books about life and human being, and also by reflecting through our own lives.
In the novel No Longer Human, Yozo’s point of view about human being being. There are also many factors that can influence Yozo in asking about the existence of human being. One of the possible factors of why he asks about this is due to his dual backgrounds, in which they positioned him between the disintegration of the traditions of his aristocratic provincial family and the impact of modernism. Yozo’s society may also give big influence to his question or his perception about human being. It is also interesting to study more about his background and how it influences Yozo.
1.2 Problem Formulation
Considering the discussion above, two problems are formulated as follows: a. How is Yozo, as the main character, described?
b. How does the society influence Yozo’s perception on the existence of human being?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are to describe Yozo as the main character and analyze the influence of society in Yozo’s perception about the existence of human being.
1.4 Benefit of the Study
Secondly, it will help the people or the readers who read this to realize about who they are and their existence. By reading this study, they will know themselves well and hopefully they will try to be a better human being than before.
For further researchers, they can develop this study by analyzing the comparison between Eastern culture especially Japanese culture and Western culture. There are many aspects from this novel No Longer Human that can be discussed. Hopefully, this study will give a broaden view about human being for further readers and researchers.
1.5 Definition of Terms
Before discussing this study further, the writer will clarify two important terms used in this study to avoid misunderstanding.
Existence means when an object or event manifests itself in an observable
manner (Requadt). Anything that human beings claim to exist must show objective evidence to human beings that it exists; otherwise, it would be meaningless to say that it exists. According to Oxford dictionary, existence is a noun, the state or fact of being real or living.
In Biology, human being is defined as an animal. However, we, human, are different from animal. We are higher than animal in the way of thinking and living. According to Oxford dictionary, human being is a noun, a person rather than an animal or a machine. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
Hominidae (the great apes). In this study, human being refers to something which
exists and can be observed. Specifically, in this study shows how the main character would like to find out whether he is included as human being or not by stating how human being should be.
Character is a brief descriptive sketch of a personage who typifies some
definite quality. So, main character is the character which appears more frequently than the other characters. It is also called major characters. In this study, the main character refers to Yozo.
Perception is the way how we perceive something. In this study, we will analyse Yozo’s perception about the existence of human being.
Society is a particular community of people who share the same customs, laws, etc. In this study, society refers to the Japanese society in which Yozo lives.
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter consists of three parts. The first part states reviews of related
theories to support the analysis. They are theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of critical approaches, and theory of psychology. The second part talks about the influence of society to someone’s perception. Finally, the third part states theoretical framework that describes how the theories reviewed are applied to solve the problem of the study.
2.1 Review of Related Theories This section will review theories that are considered relevant in this study.
They are, first, theory of character which enhances understanding about character that is presented in the literary work. Second is the theory of characterization that helps to explain how an author characterizes the character in the story. The third is the theory of critical approaches which contains the approaches that are used in this study.
2.1.1 Theory of Character
There are some elements that we can consider in reading a novel or literary work such as characters, settings, plot, and themes. In this study, I will focus on Further, Milligan (155) says, “Two kinds of characters found in a story namely major and secondary characters. Based on the rule in a story the major characters are those who appear more often than the other characters in the story, while the secondary characters are those who appear less often in the story.”
Abrams defines the word character into two kinds. First, he defines character as “a literary genre: a short, usually witty, sketch in prose of a distinctive type of person” (Abrams 20). Second, he defines character as “the persons, in a dramatic or narrative work, endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue-and what they do-the action”. So, character is the person in a narrative work with his or her traits or characteristics.
Harvey (45-47) says that there are three categories of character. They are protagonist, background, and the intermediate figure characters. Protagonist character undergoes conflicts leading his attitudes along the story. Background character that can appear individually and collectively appears just necessarily to become the background for the protagonist character. Intermediate figure characters appear between protagonist and background characters that can become important in certain parts and sometimes less important in other parts.
2.1.2 Theory of Characterization
In order to know deeper about the character of the main character in a and traits to the readers. The first is personal description which means the author describes the character’s appearances directly. Second is the character as seen by another which means the author uses another character’s opinions to describe a character. It means that we can know the main character by understanding other character’s sayings or thoughts about him/her in a novel. Third is speech which means that what a character says can give the reader some clues to his/her character. Fourth is past life which means the author gives a clue to characters’ past events that help reader to have picture about his character. It is clear that by knowing a character’s past lives, we can relate what the character did in past lives which often affects his/her future life. Fifth is conversation of others which means the conversation of other people and the things they say about a character can be a clue to the person’s characteristics. Sixth is reaction which means the author helps the readers to recognize a person’s character by describing how that person reacts to various situations and events. Seventh is direct comment which means the author gives a comment on a person’s characteristics directly. Eighth is thoughts which means the author can give his readers a direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. The last one is mannerism which means the author can tell his readers about the character’s characteristics from the character’s mannerism, habits and idiosyncrasies.
2.1.3 Theory of Critical Approaches the critical approach (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr 3). A critical approach to literature is important to be taken as a basic in understanding literary work; it is the nature, function and positive values. In analyzing literary works, we can use different approaches and choose which approach is appropriate to analyze our analysis.
Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. (6-13) mention five kinds of approaches. First, formalist approach is the approach that insists on the total integrity of the literary piece. Second, biographical approach is the approach that insists the importance or an appreciation of the ideas and personality of the author to understand the literary object. Third, sociocultural-historical approach is the approach which considers that literature is not created in a vacuum, but it gains ideas from the culture, so we can have ethnical judgement concerning the truth of the author’s statement. The fourth one is mythopoeic approach. This approach tries to discover certain universally recurrent patterns of human thought, which they believe it will be insignificant works of arts, and the last is psychological approach that views works through the lens of psychology.
2.1.4 Theory of Psychology
To analyze the main character in No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, this study uses psychological theory. This theory is related tightly to character, because in psychology all the discussion is about understanding, analyzing, and human psychology which is perception related to the discussion in understanding the main character, Yozo, in the novel.
2.1.4.1 Perception
Perception is an aspect of human behaviour. Perception is the way how we perceive something. If we see something usually we will give judgement about it.
Everyone can have different perception about one thing. That is why we have different opinion or judgement about one thing. For all mankind the basic process of perception is the same; only the contents differ and these differ only because they reflect different perceptual inference habits.
Commonly, perception is related to our sight and our brain. We can perceive something because we can see it. But in fact the eyes play only a part in the identification of objects, in the perception of their appearance, their position in space, and so on, although of course it is an essential part. Therefore between the projection of this visual pattern on the brain, and our full consciousness of the world of object, a series of elaborate mental processes takes place which converts the visual pattern into the perception of the world as we know it (Vernon 15). Some of these processes occur spontaneously. Thus the child from early infancy has some awareness of the shapes and colours of things around him.
Everyone has perception. Not only for adults, children also learn to perceive the world around them. Thus, the most important and fundamental type it is true that the child is immensely interested in his environment, and wants to find out all he can about it and understand it well, nevertheless the function of perception is primarily to enable him to react effectively. In the first place, he must learn to perceive and classify food objects as distinct from objects; and also the food he likes and dislikes. Perception for children is not only for the objects, the appearance and behaviour of other people, but also in terms of the sort of behaviour which it is appropriate for the child to show. Finally, there are objects and situations which it is impossible to perceive satisfactorily because they cannot be seen clearly, or they are so strange and unfamiliar that there is no category of objects into which they can be fitted, so they will react slowly and uncertain.
A large number of experiments have been done in various ways to investigate the perceptual processes of adults. It has been found that people are first of all conscious that there is ‘something there’, something standing out from and different from the general background of the field of view (Vernon 32). In identifying objects, they may be touched and weighed in the hand. In recognizing people, the sound of their voices is often as important as the sight of their faces. If they are food objects, they may be smelt and tasted. Perception is rapid and accurate. The process of classification according to the pattern of appropriate behaviour takes place without any thought on our part, because through frequent experience it has become habitual, automatic, and effective. In fact, in all the innumerable skilled activities we perform in the ordinary course of our lives, what it is called, and what we should do about it. Except the perception of objects, there are also perceptions of shape, colour, space, movement and special types of material such as pictures, films and television, reading, etc. Colour perception is often associated with feelings of pleasure or displeasure. Most people have preferences for certain colours rather than for others.
Perception is related to motivation and emotion. A large amount of experimental work has been carried out to investigate the relationship between motivation and perception. Perception is never instantaneous. The forming of perception takes time. Naturally if the time available for viewing is short, perception is limited in amount. The process of perception will develop gradually. There are many factors that can influence someone’s perception about something. The factors are the culture, the society or the environment, the knowledge, etc.
2.2 The Influence of Society to Someone’s Perception
Society is a particular community of people who share the same customs, laws, etc. Rose (567) defines society as an ordered and dynamic system of all the social interactions involving the members of a total population which can be identified as sharing a culture distinct from that shared by other populations. A society will be composed of lesser social groupings and structures which are themselves subsidiary systems of social interactions of more restricted scope and purpose and which may produce sub-cultures of their own in some respects not to divorce their related social groupings and the individuals who participate in them from the general society.
If a person wants to get involved or to have a society, he/she must follow the rules of the society which he/she chooses. The social group expects every person who belongs or wants to belong to the group to conform to its standards. It judges him according to his ability to come up to these expectations, decides whether to accept or to reject him, and, if accepted, how much acceptance to grant him.
In general, every social group expects its member to do two things: to learn to be “socialized” and to learn to play an approved social role. In becoming
socialized , a person must learn what the social group considers “proper”
performance behaviour and must use “fronts” to cover up thoughts and feelings which the group considers unacceptable. He must, for example, learn not to look bored no matter how bored he may be. He must learn not to talk about tabooed subjects and not to look pleased when a person is hurt or is beaten in a game. So, sometimes it needs to pretend to survive or exist in a society.
Society gives much influence to someone’s perception. The place where he or she lives in, the condition he or she has, the family and friends he or she has, all of them are called society. It contributes an influence to someone’s perception about something.
It is tempting to assume that perception and reasoning solely entail behaviour. There are several great tensions shaping the human condition: the role of nature versus nurture in shaping humans' social fates and the tensions between the needs of individuals' and the needs of their social systems. The relative importance of these tensions-and relative potency of one force versus the other- has produced great divides in social psychological theories.
If, for instance, people see what they expect to see and society is the source of these expectations, or if life is but of a series of freely selected behavioural choices which, in turn, are socially-shaped action sequences, then we indeed have the social component of a social psychology. This study intends to stress the socio-cultural component of consciousness and thought. Not only our sensory organs and brain, and personal factors (e.g., personality types, cognitive maturity, emotional status and social experiences) which shape perception and decision-making but also our social environment that largely determines what we perceive (and what we ignore) and which channels the ways in which we cognitively process that information. Shaping perceptions is, as will be seen, the key to social power. People see what they expect (and want) to see, and the source of these expectations derive as much from what they learn from interacting with each other as they do from direct personal experiences. The fact is that we all do not perceive the same things alike. From the very small unit of society which is family will give big contribution or influence to someone’s perception.
It is interesting to read what Eviatar Zerubavel, the author of The Fine can be of two ideal-type minds: the rigid and the fuzzy. The rigid abhors the ambiguous and chaotic and cherishes clear distinctions, purity, and order. It is the mindset characterizing authoritarians and, in its extreme, the closure-seeking agoraphobics who "dread all forms of open-endedness" (49) and the sufferers of anorexia and bulimia, who are obsessed "with maintaining a rigidly bounded self" (51). The fuzzy mind, on the other hand, feels aversion toward all boundaries, mocks and plays with conventional (and arbitrary) distinctions, and gravitates toward ambiguities, novel syntheses, and experiences of communion where one blends in with one's social surroundings. Its mental fluidity characterizes the worlds of the very young, mystics (who "renounce the very idea of `classifying and dissecting,' promoting instead a holistic view of reality whereby everything flows into everything" (84), and the psychotic. Quests to offset experiences of separateness and tyranny of order lead the author to explore sleep, play, humour, and the arts. In sum, rigid and fuzzy mindedness underlies group memberships and individuals' positions toward some of the moral issues of our times.
These fine lines which allow the perception of entities and categories (and thereby giving order and meaning to the chaotic experiences of everyday life) are largely social in origin. They create the boundaries between what's mine and yours, between "us" and "them," what's sacred and profane, and what's "real" and "unreal."
2.2.1 Japanese Society
The events described in the notebooks or in this novel seem to relate mainly to Tokyo in 1930 or so, but it was not until about 1935, when the Japanese military clique was first beginning to rampage in the open. The story happened during the war.
Japan today is a developed country. It produces many electronic tools and the technology is increasing rapidly. Japan is one of the countries in Asia which can make the same position with another developed country in West. Even Japan has become the community which is capitalist and industrialist and growing rapidly but it is completely different with another capitalist and industrialist countries. Generally, there are positive and negative traits in Japanese society. If one comes to Japan and wants to have better relations, as well as a better understanding of how many Japanese people think and perceive him or her, there are a lot of key items one should be aware of. Some might be liked and others might be not. Do not feel that one will ever have to completely understand the Japanese, since the Japanese don't completely understand themselves either.
The Japanese have been raised to think of themselves as part of a group, and their group is always dealing with other groups. Many westerners see Japanese as aloof which means not friendly or interested in other people, shy, and always walking on eggshells. There is a lot of truth in that -- Japanese are extremely sensitive to what others might think of them (or worse -- what they say worst things that can happen to Japanese, who is raised to be part of a group and depend on others (Japanese Culture. A Primer for Newcomers. 1997-2004. 2).
Therefore, when making requests, it often takes more time since the person asked usually consults others in the group to reach a consensus. In short, however, while the westerner starts so many sentences with "I", the Japanese "I" usually means "with the approval of the group". Everyone in a Japanese company knows that to succeed they need to act together, and being profitable in the long run is the only way to guarantee employment.
Many people coming to Japan ask if the Japanese are racist and cold to westerners. The answer is not that simple. But it is no exaggeration to say that, bending the metaphor a bit, the Japanese see things through race-coloured glasses. It must be emphasized though that Japanese racism is in almost all cases never hostile towards others so the idea of people screaming epithets at you like in the U.S. is inaccurate.
Since avoiding conflict and trouble is extremely important in Japan, using diplomatic language is often used rather than the direct approach. Japanese may say things very politely and vaguely, but if the meaning is not clear it is perfectly acceptable to ask for clarification. It is said that in formal situations a direct "No" is avoided and there are a thousand nicer alternatives which can be true, but it depends a lot on the situation and social status of the parties involved.
Japanese society has two concurrent streams that frequently bump heads own pace. Facing this is the overwhelming social pressure to conform, follow the rules, and make sure everyone else is in the same boat as him (Japanese Culture.
A Primer for Newcomers. 1997-2004. 5). With big Japanese cities having extremely high population densities, personal space is scarce, and with little space in front of one many Japanese retreat to the only space they can; inside their heads. Becoming introverted, shy and withdrawn is not atypical. There are exceptions to this of course; some young people love to associate with westerners because of this and they can more freely express themselves and not have to worry about being looked down as too gregarious. Liquor consumption is also high in Japan and used as a social lubricant to loosen up. It is the easiest way to loose their stress. We could see the main character of No Longer Human as the example of someone who always drinks liquor if he has problems. But privacy in Japan is a precious commodity, more for cultural than demographic reasons, and nobody likes someone to butt into your life. Everyone belongs to some group, and every group has people of superior rank and status. The notion of boss and worker being perfect buddies after work without a thought of the company relationship for Japanese is impossible.
2.3. Theoretical Framework
There are two problems that should be discussed in this study. The first one is the figure of Yozo as the main character and the second one is the influence the writer expects to find the answers to the problems mentioned in the problem formulation.
First of all, theories of character and characterization are needed to explore the character of Yozo in No Longer Human. Those two theories cannot be separated because if one talks about character, automatically he will relate it to characterization.
The next theory is about the theory about psychology which deals with human perception. The writer chooses human perception because the writer wants to know how the main character perceives about perception. It is also important to study the society especially the Japanese society because it influences the main character’s perception about the existence of human being.
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the methodology that will be used in this study. This
chapter consists of four parts. They are subject matter, approaches and method of study and sources. In the first part which is subject matter the writer would like to present the work that the writer uses in this study and the focus of the analysis. The second part is approaches which deal with the approaches that the writer uses in this analysis. The third part is the methods of the study concern the method of analyzing the work. The last part is the sources present the source of analyzing the work.
3.1 Subject Matter
The subject matter is the novel No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai and was published in May 1948, a time fraught with contradictions for Dazai. It was translated in English by Donald Keene. The writer read the ninth printing which was printed in 2000 in Singapore.
According to statistical publication by Shinchosha, Dazai’s Ningen
Shikkaku (translated as No Longer Human), surprisingly, is his most
representative master- piece. It was first published in 1952, and has been printed for 5.3 million exemplars until now. As paper back best seller, Dazai’s Ningen
Some of his master pieces: Shayo (The Setting Sun, 1947), Biyon no Tsuma (Vilon’s Wife), Ningen Shikkaku (1948). Dazai’s last masterpiece is Goodbye, a novelette series which is published in Asahi Shimbun daily news.