Background of the Study

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of five parts. The first part is the background of the study which contains the reason in choosing the novel, the general information about the novel, and the reason in choosing aspects to be discussed. The second part is the problem formulation. In this part, there are some problem statements that will be discussed and analyzed further. The next part is the objectives of the study that answers the question formulated in the problem formulation. The fourth part is the benefits of the study that explains about the advantages of this study for the readers. The last part is the definition of terms related to the study.

A. Background of the Study

Literature makes the world colourful through arts, since it is one of the human works that full of inspirations, values and imaginations. Pooley says “Literature always deals with human beings” 2, it means that literature touches humanity through poems, dramas, novels, and play performances. In addition, Wellek and Warren also state that literature is a complex object, “literary work is not simple object but rather a highly complex organization of stratified characters with multiply meaning and relationship” 27. Based on the statement above, it can be assumed that literature is rich of complex characters, relationships, and values. Behind its beauties, literature is also rich of messages and social conditions. Sometimes, it also describes history. In brief, literary gives description about human life in beautiful ways. 1 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI This study uses a novel because novel is one of the kinds of literary works that rich of characters, conflicts and resolution of problems. By reading a novel, the reader can improve their imaginations and enrich their knowledge about many conditions in life. A novel can give information about many cultures, characteristics, problem resolutions, and life values. For this study, the writer uses The Boleyn Inheritance that is written by Philippa Gregory. This novel is one of the Philippa Gregory’s fascinating literary works that tells about kingdom court, England Kingdom. This novel is written based on history of England. Because of that reason, this novel is not only giving information about cultures, social conditions, and personalities of people but also giving knowledge about England’s history. It was first published in 2006. This novel is the sequel of The Other Boleyn Girls which tells about the chronicles of the first, the second and the third marriages of King Henry VIII. Gregory creates all of the characters based on true history of England. Furthermore, The Boleyn Inheritance tells about the chronicles about the fourth and the fifth marriages of King Henry VIII. According to the story, there are many obstacles of being King Henry’s queens, especially when the queen is rejected by King Henry VIII. Through this novel, we can learn about the history of King Henry’s queens and learn about how they survive from the tyranny of their husband. Besides giving many values of life and history of England, this novel is also unique. It has three main characters. The first main character is Anne. She is a young woman who runs from her home to be the fourth queen of England. The second main character is Jane Boleyn, a woman who becomes the queen’s lady- PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI in-waiting, and the third main character is Katherine Howard, a pretty girl who becomes a maid-in–waiting of the queen of England. Finally, Katherine becomes the fifth queen of England. In this novel, Gregory voices her story through these characters. Each of them voices their minds, their thought, their speeches and their plans to survive from King Henry’s tyranny. Because of that reason, the writer chooses this novel to discuss. Besides containing messages about life, literature is also rich of conflicts because literature is the expression of life through the medium of language Hudson 10. As we know, human’s life is never free from conflicts. Human is both individual and social creatures. A human as an individual creature means that every human has his own uniqueness such as different personalities, manners, behaviours, and attitudes. On the other hand, a human is also a social creature which means that he or she needs other people to survive. In a relationship, there must be differences, either the differences in personalities, beliefs, interpretations, motivations, or goals. These differences can be the source of conflicts. Because of that reason, there is no doubt that human will face conflicts among them. According to Isenhart and Spangle 7, our daily life problems are often caused by internal-unconscious state such as anxiety, fear, ego, aggressiveness or guilt. Based on this statement, it can be concluded that human conflicts are not only triggered by his relationship with others but also triggered by his feelings. Generally, conflict is a condition that brings people into doubts, sadness, unhappiness, and also fears. According to this description, it seems that conflicts only lead human into sorrow. Conflicts are unpredictable. Many factors can PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI trigger a conflict to happen whether it comes from internal or external causes. However, conflicts have big influence in human development. It plays big roles in someone’s life. Conflict also affects someone’s behaviour towards others. Therefore, learning every conflict that occurs in life is essential for the process of self development, whether it is in reality or in a form of fiction like novels, dramas, poems, and plays. Because of that reason, the writer chooses conflict to be explored more in this study. Basically, every human has his own uniqueness in personalities, goals, decisions, and also priorities. Personality leads someone to choose his way to face conflicts. It has a great influence in someone’s way of life, whether it is good or bad. Therefore, human personalities are always interesting to learn. Because of that reason, the writer chooses personality to be discussed in this study. Furthermore, the writer chooses Anne of Cleves because she faces many conflicts and pressures rather than other two main characters, Jane Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Anne runs from her country, Cleves, and comes to England in order to marry King Henry VIII. One day, all of the main characters meet in one destiny and share the same inheritance, the Boleyn inheritance. Anne of Cleves, who is chosen to marry the King, begins her new life in a new country with a big hope. She wishes to be a good queen for England. Unfortunately, her hope to be a good queen never comes to reality. Her life is in danger when the king tries to annul their marriage and the other characters play a seduction game to seek a chance to sit on the throne again. She is the only queen who is rejected by the King from the beginning. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Because of many conflicts, manipulations, false witnesses, accusations, and lies are described through the story, this novel gives a description on how personalities of people lead them to take different ways in resolving conflicts in life. The Boleyn Inheritance also describes how people’s actions and decisions in facing problems lead them to their own destiny. In the novel, it is interesting to study Anne’s personality traits and conflicts. The writer is interested in analyzing Anne’s conflicts because Anne faces many conflicts in her life that nearly put her to the death. Therefore, by analyzing Anne’s personality traits and conflicts in this novel, it can give a new point of view for the readers in facing and solving their problems.

B. Problem Formulation