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b. Data
The main data used in this research were dialogues, narration, comments, expressions, opinions, and characterizations of one main character; Andrea Sachs
and one supporting character; Lily Goodwin and other characters which supported the analysis. The supporting data used in this research were in the form of
information, comments, and opinions that supported the analysis.
3. Technique of Collecting Data and Analyzing Data
The researcher gained the data by doing a close reading activity to the
novel The Devil Wears Prada 2003 by Lauren Weisberger as the source of main data and other sources as the sources of supporting data. Both data that were
related to the subject of the research were collected. Then the data were analyzed by using some theories. The last step was drawing conclusion.
4. Theoretical Approach
The research was conducted within the boundary of American studies which used interdisciplinary approach. Therefore this study employed some
approaches that were suitable to the subject matter to answer the research question. In this research the researcher employed sociological approach and
cultural approach.
a. Sociological Approach
Literary work always represents and deals with social life by the time the literary work is made. Using language as its medium, an author transfers the
condition happens in society. Thus literary works are often called as an imitation
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of life. Besides transferring the society’s condition, an author also tries to transform her society by adding her imagination into her work. As Rene Wellek
and Austin Warren stated: Literature is a social institution, using as its medium language, a
social creation. Such traditional literary devices as symbolism and metre are social in their very nature. They are conventions and
norms which could have arisen only in society. But furthermore,
literature ‗represents’ life and ‗life’ is, in large measure, a social reality, even tough the natural world and the inner or subjective
world of the individual also been objects of literary imitation Wellek and Warren, 1977: 94.
Applying the sociological approach helped the researcher to explain about the American social condition described in the novel and finally could help the
researcher in answering the research question.
b. Cultural Approach
Culture refers to all the things in our daily life. The object of study in cultural studies is not culture defined in the narrow sense, as the object of
aesthetic excellence but culture understood as texts and practices of everyday life. Popular culture is one of the objects of discussion in cultural studies Storey,
1996: 2. Popular culture refers to the product of human work and thought. It surrounds us and it reflects as well as shapes the society’s beliefs and values. The
novel The Devil Wears Prada 2006 is a cultural product which reflects beliefs and values. By understanding the novel The Devil Wears Prada 2006 as a cultural
product, the researcher can study the cultural myth, beliefs, and values. In analyzing the novel The Devil Wears Prada as a cultural product, the researcher
used the popular formula theory by Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause.
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Popular culture tells us what we are now, what we have been in the past and where the two overlap to define what we may always be. Popular culture can
become the key to formulating definitions of a spirit of era Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 4-5. When a product of popular culture is popular at a certain time, it also
reflects what happens in the society. Literary work is one of the products of popular culture. Through the product of popular culture we may study about the
beliefs and values of society. As the formula of popular culture, the more popular a product of popular culture, the more it reflects the myth, belief and values of
society Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 5. In the house of popular culture, myth lies on the basement. It becomes the
base where everything starts. It has the characteristics of strong, stable, significant and longstanding. Myth reflects the beliefs and values and it forms the cultural
mindset. “Myth says nothing about ‗truth’ or ‗falsity’ of any belief or value; it says that the belief or value is significant and long lasting-vital to mindset of the
culture, which holds it-and that is widely accepted as being true Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 84” . Myth is believed and accepted to be true. The myth is usually
passed down from one generation to the next generation. One of the myths in America is myth of individual freedom. The American myth of individual
freedom can be found in the very beginning of the history of this country up to now. It means that the myth exists in America and it is stable in the society. Thus
by applying the popular formula theory in which the theory of myth is included, the researcher could describe the myth of individual freedom that is reflected in
the novel.
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Since the research used literary work as source of data, structural point of view cannot be omitted in this analysis. Structural point of view was used in this
analysis only as a way to get a deeper comprehension about what the literary work tells about; not in the case to find the aesthetic value of the novel.
Historical background was applied in this research. The novel reflects the characteristics of Americans and the social condition in United States. What have
shaped the characteristics of Americans and what happens in the society at the present time always relates to the events happened in the past. As stated by Jack
Nachbar and Kevin Lause, all of the American myths have grown out of very real historical events 1992; 85. The American myth of individual freedom stems
from the struggling of the 13 colonies fought against British army to reach their independence. The myth has settled in the mindset of the Americans and they
have believed it up to now. It is certain that what happens at the present time always relates to the events happened in the past. Thus to understand the condition
at the present time we need to have knowledge of the past. Exploring the history of certain events might help the researcher to understand the beliefs and values
reflected in the novel and eventually helped the researcher to answer the research question.
G. Thesis Organization
This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter is Introduction which consists of research background, scope of study, research question, the
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