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of novels are dealing with people and their social life’s problem. Novel is also an account of life which may be related to mythical stories, historical events, social occurences,
philosophical ideas, biographical elements, or religious doctrines. In the sociology of the novel, sociology is dealing with an art. Novel is really close to
the social phenomenon that happens in the society. It is as what Michel Zeraffa says in Burns and Burns 1973: 35, Sociology of Literature and Drama: Selected Readings that:
The form and content of the novel derive more closely from social phenomenon than do those of other arts, except perhaps cinema; novel
often seem bound up with particular moments in the history of society.
Novel is a long fictional narrative work which somehow imitates the reality and might have certain effects to readers. The rise of the novel is in 18
th
century. Authors at that time created their literary works without following the traditional way that has been set. Before
18
th
century, the characters and the stories always came from the aristocrats. Nevertheless, starting from this period, the characters and the stories started to come from the commoners
who possessed a more unique life. Iqbal is a novel by Francesco D’adamo. It is based on the true story of a Pakistani
child slave named Iqbal Masih. It takes place in Pakistan in 1980. Iqbal novel portrays the life of Pakistani children in 1980 which was occupied with depiction of poverty and
commencement to being labours towards the children themselves. There are some social problems that is found in the Pakistan’s society as reflected in the novel. Poverty and child
labour are two main problems that is found in it. Through Iqbal novel, it is proved that novel has a connection with society. Novel can reflect the human’ social life.
2.3 Historical Approach
A novel involves several distinct processes, which concerns with a particular human study or human science. Novel is concerned with a supremely formless reality: the reality of
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history, which every novel attempts to interpret. The novel is directly concerned with the nature of human’ situation in history, and with the direction in which that situation is to
move. The name Balzac comes to symbolize the novel as the true esxpression of historical
and social reality. The novel’s reign as both representation of, and way of getting to know, the history of society is soon broken off and contradicted by the novel’s emergence as an
aesthetic fact; it emerges as a work of art just when it is conceived as bound up, in substance as well as form, with historical and social phenomenon. It is as Elizabeth Burns and Tom
Burns mention in the Sociology of Literature and Drama: Selected Readings 1973: 39, that:
The historical development of the novel comprises two opposite tendencies:the novel was born and established itself as a genre on account
of, and to account for, historical and social phenomena; it attained the status of art when it set it self over against them.
One of the approaches which is used in the analysis of Iqbal is historical approach. A
historical approach analyses literary work according to its history. It is based on the historical set up of the time the work is done. In other words, historical approach is one of the
approaches to analyze literary work in which the author and the reader comprehend the message of the literary work by remembering the historic moment along with the literary
work is written. Historical approach explores the meaning and significance of language as what has
been written by the author. It considers the relevance of literary work as social document. In other words, literary work is the reflection if the time it is written.
Historical approach is generally more relevant in the framework of the history of traditional literature, the history of literature with the implication of authors, literary works,
and the periods of specified points with the objects of individual literary works. According to
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Ratna 2004:66 in Teori, Metode, dan Teknik Penelitian Sastra, there are several objects of targets of this approach based on the indicator of history and literature, they are:
1. Changes of the language of literary work as the result of republication.
2. The functions and purposes of literary work at the time it is published.
3. The position of author at the time of writing.
4. Literary work as the representation of its era.
2.4 Poverty
