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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter includes three sections. The first part deals with the subject of this study. The second part concerns with the literature approaches used
to answer the problem formulation. Next is the method of the study, which deals with the methodology, sources, steps and process in conducting this thesis.
A. Subject of the Study
This thesis studies the novel Night Train. The novel was written by Judith Clarke, a well-known Australian novelist. It was published by Penguin
Books, Australia in 1998. This book consists of 171 pages and 26 chapters. This novel is a fiction. It merely tells about an eighteen-year old boy,
named Luke Leman who seems to be under such pressures of his surroundings such as parents, friends, and school problems. Threatened at school, pressured by
his parents, paralyzed by anxiety about his final exams, Luke begins to doubt himself. His psychological mind is gradually irritated. He begins to suffer from
such hallucination, which leads him to hear the sounds of a train at night. No one else hears it or even believes that the train exists. Tragically, his mental problem
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eventually brings him to death, followed by his parents and friends’ feeling of regret.
This book has a flashback plot. The ending of the book has been revealed in the beginning, yet it does not reduce the suspense and the curiosity of
the readers in longing for the process led to climax. It is a recommended book for those who want to deeply recognize the world of adolescent and its psychological
development.
B. Approach
According to Rohrberger and Woods, psychological approach is to explain human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary
object, therefore, knowledge of psychology ground is important in order to understand the literary works 12.
Another statement said that psychoanalytic criticism takes the methods used to analyze the behavior of people in real life situations and applies them to
the dramatized patterns of human behavior in literature. “Psychological interpretation can afford many profound clues toward solving a work’s thematic
and symbolic mysteries, but it can seldom account for the symmetry of a well wrought poem or a fictional masterpiece” Guerin.
Dealing with the study, therefore, I use psychological approach as a tool to analyze the case as it concerns with human’s psychological aspect of life,
personal and social problems of an adolescent, and how to cope with that. By
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using theory of adolescent development and social pressure as the main tool, the influence of social pressures towards adolescent’s psychological life, which in
this case is represented by the figure of Luke, can be deeply analyzed and elaborated. The other theories such as theory of personality, motivation and self
esteem are therefore used as a base to support the analysis, particularly which is related to the deep character of Luke itself.
C. Method of the Study
In order to complete the study, a lot of thought as well as reference books and notes are required. As the data gathered to support the analysis are
mostly taken from books and literary work, the methodology applied in conducting the thesis is thus called library research. There are many sources that I
used in analyzing the psychological aspect of an adolescent as reflected in Luke’s life. The sources are basically divided into two parts. The first is primary source
which becomes the basis of my analysis about adolescent’s psychological aspect of life as revealed in the character of Luke. The primary source used in the study
is an Australian novel, Night Train, which was written by Judith Clarke. The second parts are the secondary sources which become the supporting sources in
giving data and information to the study. There are four main books which are used to support the analysis. They are Adolescents in Turmoil, Parents Under
Stress: A Pastoral Ministry Primer by Richard D. Parsons, Adolescence and
Youth: Psychological Development in a Changing World by John Janeway
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