THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN IN THE MAIN CHARACTER OF TETSUKO KUROYANAGI’S TOTTO-CHAN THE LITTLE GIRL AT THE WINDOW AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT IN CHILD
DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN IN THE MAIN CHARACTER OF
TETSUKO KUROYANAGI’S TOTTO-CHAN THE LITTLE
GIRL AT THE WINDOW
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
YULISTANTI TRI WISMADANIK
Student Number: 004214025
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
JOGJAKARTA
2008
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT ON CHILD
DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN IN THE MAIN CHARACTER OF
TETSUKO KUROYANAGI’S TOTTO-CHAN THE LITTLE
GIRL AT THE WINDOW
By
YULISTANTI TRI WISMADANIK
Student Number: 004214025 Approved by Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum.
17 July 2008 Advisor Adventina Putranti , S.S., M. Hum
17 July 2008 Co-Advisor
Children Learn What They Live If a child lives with criticism, He learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, He learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, He learns to be shy. If a child lives with tolerance, He learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, He learns to confidence.
If a child lives with praise, He learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness, He learns justice. If a child lives with security, He learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, He learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, He learns to find love in the world. anonymous
I dedicate this thesis to: Pada tanggal : 1 September 2008
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I praise the Lord as I have accomplished my thesis and for any help and supports of others, which I believe God sends them to show His wonderful love to me.
I would like to express my gratitude to Drs. Hirmawan Wijanako,
M.Hum, my major advisor, for his guidance and patience in completing this
thesis My gratitude also goes to the lecturers and staffs of English Letters Department for their aid during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
I also would like to express my gratitude to my beloved family; my father, ), who always taught me to work hard, my mother, T
Yesaya Anwar P (
Tukiyatiningsih who always reminds me to finish this thesis, my sisters, Yunarti
P, DS Nugraheni & Septi Dhanik P, who have encouraged me in many ways.I am grateful to my best friends: Helena, Ndut, Susie, Linda, Dechenk, that have shared many experiences and stories with me. My gratitude is also for
Paramita’s crew, Mbak Ummy, Widha, Eko, Yudi and Joe, who support me in
finishing this thesis.I thank friends of mine whom I passed through the process of studying in Sanata Dharma University: Rita, Mita, Yuyun, Lia, Sisil, Wiwin, Wheni, Debby, Lany, Brian.
Yulistanti Tri Wismadanik
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE………………………………………………………………… i
APPROVAL PAGE …………………………………………………………. ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE……………………………………………………… iii
MOTTO PAGE………………………………………………………………. iv
DEDICATION PAGE...…………………………………………..…………. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…...…………………………………………… . vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………..………………. . vii
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………….. ix
ABSTRAK......................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION…………………………………………… 1
A. Background of the Study…………………………………………………1 B. Problem Formulation……………………………………………………... 3
C. Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………… 3
D. Definition of Terms……………………………………………………….. 4
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW………………………………… 5
A. Review of Related Study…………………………………………………. 5 B. Review of Related Theories………………………………………………. 81. Theories of Character and Characterization…………………………... 8
2. Theories of Environment………………………………………….…... 10
3. Theories of Development……………………………………………… 13
4. Theories of Hyperactivity……………………………………………. . 15
C. Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………. 16
CHAPTER: III METHODOLOGY…………………..…………………………...................
17 A. Object of the Study…………………………….…………………..……… 17
B. Approach of the Study……………………………..……………………… 17
C. Method of the Study………………………………………………………. 18
CHAPTER: IV ANALYSIS…………………………………………………. 20
A. The Characteristics of Totto-Chan…………………..…………………… 20
B. The Environments of Totto-Chan and Its Influences on Toto-Chan’s Character Development………………………….………….…………… .27 1. The Environments of Toto Chan……………………………………..
27
a. Family……………………………………………………………
27
b. School…………………………………………………………….. 29 2. The Influences of the Environments on Toto-Chan………………….
31 a. Influences of Family……………………………………………..
31
b. The Influences of School…………………………………………
34
CHAPTER: V CONCLUSION………….…………………………………. 50
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………….…………………………………… 52
APPENDIX: Summary of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-Chan The Little Girl
at the Window.…………………………………………………………… 54
ABSTRACT
YULISTANTI TRI WISMADANIK. The Influence of Environment in Child
Development as Seen in the Main Character of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-
Chan The Little Girl at the Window. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters,
Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.Every child will develop, both physically and psychologically. The development itself needs others support. In Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s novel, Totto-
Chan the Little Girl at the Window , Totto-chan is the main character who
develops by the influences of her environment. Through her family and school, Totto-Chan’s personality is changing, she becomes a nice little girl. The study will show the influence of environment toward Totto-Chan’s development.
The study raises two problems to be examined. The first problem is how the main character, Totto-Chan, is described in the story. The second problem is how the environment influences the development of Totto-Chan and also how the development as the effect of the environment is described.
In order to reach the objectives of the study, the study uses library research to collect the data. The Data is Tetsuko Kuroyanagi novel entitled Totto-Chan the
Little Girl at the Window and other sources, which are closely related to the study.
The approach applied in the thesis is psychological approach.
The study finds that Totto-Chan develops because of the influence of the environment. In the beginning, Totto-Chan is described as a hyperactive girl, she is different from other children, she has a unique character that makes her get into trouble. Then she comes to Tomoe School which gives her all she needs as a hyperactive child. The education from the school and support from her family make her change. By the influence of her environment, she experiences development from a hyperactive girl to a normal child, who has good manner, helpful, and tolerant. It is proved that right environment will give good influences to a child.
ABSTRAK
YULISTANTI TRI WISMADANIK. The Influence of Environment in Child
Development as Seen in the Main Character of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-
Chan The Little Girl at the Window. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris,
Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.Setiap anak pasti akan berkembang, baik secara fisik maupun psikologis. Perkembangan itu sendiri membutuhkan banyak dukungan. Dalam novel karya Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Totto-Chan The Little Girl at the Window, Totto-Chan adalah karakter utama yang berkembang karena pengaruh dari lingkungan terhadap perkembangan Totto-Chan. Melalui keluarga dan sekolah, karakter Totto-Chan mengalami perubahan, Toto-Chan menjadi seoarang anak yang baik.
Penelitian ini menyajikan dua masalah untuk dibahas. Masalah pertama adalah bagaimana karakter Totto-Chan diuraikan dalam novel. Masalah kedua adalah bagaimana lingkungan dapat mempengaruhi perkembangan Totto-chan dan juga bagaimana perkembangan sebagai hasil dari pengaruh lingkungan diuraikan.
Untuk mencapai tujuan penelitian ini, digunakanlah studi pustaka untuk mengumpulkan data. Data tersebut adalah novel karya Tetsuko Kuroyanagi,
Totto-Chan The Little Girl at the Window dan berbagai sumber yang erat
hubungannya dengan fokus penelitian ini. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam analisis di tesis ini adalah pendekatan psikologi.
Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa Totto-Chan dapat berkembang karena pengaruh dari linkungannya. Pada awalnya, dia digambarkan sebagai anak perempuan yang hiperaktif, ia berbeda dari anak-anak pada umumnya, ia memiliki karakter yang unik yang membuatnya masuk dalam kesulitan. Kemudian ia masuk ke sekolah Tomoe yang menyediakan semua yang dibutuhkan oleh seorang anak yang hiperaktif. Pendidikan dari sekolah dan juga dukungan dari keluarganya membuat Totto-Chan berubah. Dengan pengaruh dari lingkungannya ia mengalami perubahan dalam dirinya. Dari seorang anak yang hiperaktif ia menjadi seperti anak normal lainnya, yang memiliki perilaku yang baik, mau membantu, dan sangat toleran. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa lingkungan yang tepat akan memberikan pengaruh yang baik pada anak.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Human being is always changing from his birth to the time of death. Human being changes not only physically but also psychologically. There are many aspects that help human being change, and one of them is the environment. The first environment that a new born child knows is his home. From his home a
child gets his early experiences with his family who gives him love and care. His second environment that gives influence to a child is the environment outside his house such as his friends and school. Jersild in his book Child Psychology said that the foundations of psychological development in the individuals are structural and also dependent upon hereditary factors and environmental influences (1954:14).
Child development as one of the psychological studies is an interesting topic to be discussed. It is because during the time of childhood, a child will experience many development challenges and conflicts which prepare him for adolescence and adulthood. Kuroyanagi in her novel Totto Chan The Little Girl at
the Window shows that childhood is an important time to grow and develop. She
reveals it in the character of Totto Chan who develops because of the influences of her environment. Thus, this study focuses on Totto Chan development and the environment that gives big influences in Totto Chan’s life.
Totto Chan the Little Girl at the Window is a story of a little girl who has a
2 as a musician gives her opportunities to know as much as she wants. As an active little girl Totto Chan develops herself to be a thoughtful child. Her parent gives opportunity to grow as what she is. They not only give love and care but also give Totto Chan opportunity to know the feeling of loosing something important in her life and to choose what she really wants to do. In this story, Totto Chan family has an important role in their child development. As states by Schiamberg in Human
Development that family has to perform the primary function of socializing the
child from birth through at least adolescence. There should be mutual interactions between parents and child and the interactions include the transmission and interpretation of cultural standards of values and behavior (1982:261).
The environment outside the house also gives important influences to a child development. The environment outside the house will introduce the child how to socialize and how to interact with other people and also how to be tolerant to other people. The study of the novel also talks about the environment outside Totto Chan’s family. Totto Chan will get many new experiences outside her house; she finds out that her new school is very interesting. She meets new friends who are very nice to her and new teachers who always support her, and most of all she can do many things that she really wants to do in her school. Her relationship with other children and her headmaster and also the studying system of the school that make her develop and give her many new things. In this period of schooling Totto-Chan begins to learn, interacts with others and organizes her behavior. In
Child Development , Craig states:
Middle childhood is the time before adolescence when the child is adjusting to the new environment of school, is forming close ties with people outside the home and is developing work and play habits along with many new interest (1979:396).
Since Kuroyanagi’s Totto Chan the Little Girl at the Window is a story about a life of a child during her childhood, this study will analyze Totto-Chan’s characteristics, her childhood and how her development is influenced by her environment.
B. Problem Formulation
The study talks about the character of Totto Chan that finds her world through her experiences. Therefore the study would be based on two questions following:
1. How is the main character Totto Chan described in the novel?
2. How does the environment influence Totto Chan’s character development as revealed in this story?
C. Objectives of the Study
Firstly, this study aims to identify the character of Totto Chan from the way she thinks and act. As a child Totto Chan used to see things based on her point of view as a little child. She does not realize that she has experienced many things which are valued for her life.
The last is that the study will identify the influences of the environment
3
4 kind of environment that Totto Chan faces and how this environment gives big influences toward her life and development.
D. Definition of Terms
In this study, it is important to know the terms which are used in this study. The first term is “environment”. In Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged
Dictionary of the English Language , the word ‘environment’ is defined as the
aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences, especially as affecting the existence or development of someone or something (1989:477).
The second term is “child development”. In Berk’s Child Development, it is the study of human growth and change from conception through adolescence. It is part of a larger discipline known as developmental psychology or human development, which includes all changes that take place throughout the life span (1984:39).
The third term is “development”. According to Craig’s Child
Development , it can be defined as the changes in the structure, thought or behavior
of a person that occur as function of both biological and environmental influences (1979:9).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies Gunawan Muhhamad in his essays collection Catatan Pinggir 2: Totto- Chan , said that the book of Totto-Chan The little Girl at the Window is a
phenomenon. The book of Totto-Chan the little Girl at the Window keeps an accusation, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi present an alternative education for Japanese education system, which is known as a complicated system. Tetsuko kuroyanagi in her story has opened up the destructive and formal style of education which is shackle to the students (1989:376-377).
The book of Totto Chan The little Girl at the Window is not a work of fiction, but based on the childhood of its author (a popular Japanese actress, author and talk-show host, philanthropist, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and WWF-Japan director), focusing specifically on her experiences as a student at Tomoe Gaukuen, an experimental school in Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded by one Sosaku Kobayashi who obviously loved children and had unique ideas about how they should be raised and educated. Tomoe no longer exists, but educators can learn much from its example. The book describes Totto-Chan's adventures as a curious, imaginative little girl. She is deemed "impossible" by the teachers in her first school and is expelled, but Kobayashi welcomes her with open arms, and, for Totto, Tomoe is a dream come true, a place where she is
6 surroundings and express herself to her heart's content.. Totto-Chan is broken up into very short chapters, each one relating a short incident or commenting on an interesting aspect of the school or Totto's life and upbringing. It is an easy reading novel, simple, unaffected and charming - and also rather funny. Totto and her classmates are cute, but the hero of the book is, without a doubt, Kobayashi who was ever optimistic and always ready to see the good in every child (http://daphne.blogs.com/books/2005/09/mini_review_tot.html).
Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window is a book written by Japanese
television personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi about her childhood at Tomoe, an alternative elementary school founded by educator Sosaku Kobayashi. Tomoe was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945. The book chronicles Totto-Chan’s life and the wonderful time she spends in her new school Tomoe Gakuen. The book begins with Totto-chan's mother coming to know of her daughter's expulsion from the school. Her mother realizes that what Totto-chan needs is a school where more freedom of expression is permitted. Thus, she takes Totto-chan to meet the headmaster of the new school, Mr.Kobayashi. From that moment a great friendship springs between master and pupil. The book goes on to describe the beautiful times that Totto-chan has, the friends she makes, the lessons she learns, and the vibrant atmosphere that she imbibes. All of these are presented to us through the eyes of a child. Thus, we see things through the eyes of the child, and how the normal world is transformed into a beautiful, exciting place full of joy and enthusiasm. We also see, in our perspective as adults, how Mr. Kobayashi
7 a great man, a man who understands children excellently and as to how he strives to develop their qualities of mind, body and heart. His concern for the physically handicapped and his emphasis on equality of all children are remarkable. In this small, yet beautiful school, the children lead happy lives, unaware of the great things going on in the world. The World War II has started. Yet in this school, no signs of it are seen. One day the school is bombed, and is never rebuilt. This ends of Totto-chan's years as a pupil at Tomoe Gakuen. The book is the chronicle of a remarkable school, and of it's remarkable headmaster who's kindness and generosity win the hearts of all his children. Indeed, such educators as Mr.Kobayashi were rare in those days. Now, in these frantic days, one can only dream of such a school, where above all things the need for giving students freedom to study and enjoy the activities which they wanted was recognized. Thus, because of the remarkable atmosphere the kids experience at Tomoe, most of them rise to the top of their professions. The book wonderfully chronicles the beauty of life as seen from the innocent eyes of a young girl (http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2118)
The studies above are explaining about the school, the education which Totto-Chan had received. Those studies pointed on the system of education, Totto-chan school was an alternative school that was different from common school or formal schools in Japan. Those studies explained how the headmaster Mr. Kobayashi rules the school. Yet, this study is different from the studies above. This study focuses on the development of the character although this studies also
8 psychologically. This study will explain on how the environment - that is the family and school – gives big influences on the psychological development of the character.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
A character is an important factor in fiction. In the beginning of the fiction, the author must introduce his character to the readers. In the other hand, it can clear the fiction itself. Because of character is significant especially in this research, and then it is very important to find the best definition of it.
Character is a person presented in dramatic or narrative work, endowed with moral and dispositional qualities, that are expressed in what they say i.e. the dialogue, and what they i.e. the action. The ground in a character’s temperament and moral nature for his speech and action constitutes his motivation. (Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms, 1985; 20)
While according to De Larr (1963:170) character is in human situation and makes them behave like actual human being.
After we find the definition of character than it is also important to know the type of character. In Reading the novel: An Introduction to the Technique of
Interpreting Fiction , Henkle states that characters can be divided into major
characters and minor characters. Major characters are the most important and complex characters in a novel. They can be categorized as such characters through the complexity of their characterization. The attention is given to the major characters by the author or other characters and the personal intensity that seems to be transmitted. Major characters deserve the fullest attention because they
9 perform a key structural function. Meanwhile the secondary characters are the characters that perform a more limited function. They are limited in the ways that the major characters are not (1977:88).
E.M. Forster in Aspect of the Novel (1927:18) classifies characters into two types, flat and round characters. The flat characters are built around a single idea of quality and are represented in outline and without much individuality detail, and so they can be fairly describe in a single phrase or sentence. The flat characters are characterized by one or two traits. The round characters are complex in temperament and motivation and are represented with subtle peculiarity: those they are as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life and like the most people, they are capable of surprising us. While the all fictional character can be classified as static or developing. The static character is the same sort of person at the end of story as he or she was at the beginning. The developing or dynamic character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his or her character, personality or outlook.
According to Perrine (1974; 68-69), characterization could be presented in two ways: a. Direct Presentation
The author who chooses direct presentation simply tells readers about the characters in the story. He tells the qualities of the characters in exposition or analysis or has someone else in the story who tells us what they are like.
10
b. Indirect Presentation In indirect presentation, the author shows the readers the characters in actions and lets the readers infer what they are like from what they think, they say, or they do. The author just presents the characters acting and talking and leaves the readers to infer their qualities from what they say, think, and do.
2. Theory of Environment
Environment becomes more and more powerful as an influence that shapes behavior and personality. The first environment that a child knows is his family or home. According to Watson, basically there are two major effects that a home has on the life of a child. The first is that the home provides the conditions that facilitate some kinds of behavior and inhibit others. A home environment, is a home which has rich stimuli and has order and also focus. The stimuli itself directed at the child in the form of conversation, attention, caressing, fondling and playing. These stimuli have facilitating effect on the appearance of more mature forms of behavior. The second effect consists of the ways in which the child personality is shaped. It concerned in the interaction between the parent and the child (1973; 297).
Based on Hetherington & Parke in Child Psychology a Contemporary
Viewpoint , family or parents should become teacher for their child. Parents should
teach the child the rules of society in which she must live by telling the child what the rules are and by praising or disciplining her when she conforms to violate
11 children. It means that parents make themselves as a model for the child to imitate (1986; 490-491).
Parental control is also important and necessary for children to develop into socially and intellectually competent individuals. Children need authoritative parents. It means that they are not intrusive and permit their children considerable freedom within reasonable limits, but willing to impose restrictions in areas in which they had greater knowledge or insight (Hetherington&Parke1986; 495).
The second environment that gives big influences in the child development is the school environment. School characteristics such as curriculum, quality of teachers, diversity and organization of instructional program are important in the development of the child. According to Schiamberg & Smith in Human Development, the role of the school and classroom is clearly significant to the child academic performance. The way the school or classroom is organized may go a long way toward supporting the child in the school. There are two types of classroom: a. The traditional classroom. In this type, the classroom is characterized by structured arrangement of lessons and discipline as the best ways to achieve student learning.
b. The open classroom. In this type, the teacher and the student become cooperating partners in the learning process. The basic assumption is that children are naturally motivated to learn socially valued skills. Therefore the function of education should be tap to the spontaneous interest in learning by
12 said that the classroom should be arrange so that each child moves at his or her own pace by making a choices of activities during the course of a school day. In this classroom, the students can show their good behavior through the exploration and interaction with peers (1982; 363-364).
According to Gessel & Frances in The Child from Five to Ten, dramatic self-activation is a method of growth and of learning. It is a natural mechanism whereby the child organizes his feelings and thinking. But the last is too great for him alone. The school is the cultural instrument which must help him to enlarge and to refine his dramatic self-projection. The function of the school is to provide personal and cultural experiences which will simultaneously organize the growing emotions and the associated intellectual images. Naturally this can be done effectively only through activity programs and projects which will set into operation the child’s own self activity. He learns not by role but by participation and a creative kind of self activation. His teacher takes him and his schoolmates on a trip to a dairy. The children talk it all over some time later, after an interval of assimilation. For a disadvantaged child, a well conducted school is a heaven.
For the average school-beginner the understanding teacher becomes a kind of auxiliary mother on whom he fixes affection. Teacher does not displace his mother, nor does teacher aspire to become substitute mother, but theacher strengthens his senses of security in the strange world beyond the home. He derives a new confidence in this new world from her daily welcomes and assurances, and from the sheer satisfaction of his broadening experiences and
13
3. Theory of Development
According to Schiamberg & Smith, development during the years of middle childhood is filled with many exciting and sometimes dramatic changes in the child. As children enter the formal, the stage is set for developments in the way they think, learn, interact with others and organize their behavior. During this time the child usually begins to have more extensive interactions outside the family, especially with his peers (1982; 343).
In Child Development by Arthur T. Jersild, in child development there is a forward impetus in growth, a growing child seeks to be himself, to discover, to realize his resources which is including his resources for doing, thinking, and feeling, for standing independently on his own feet and also for being deeply involved in interpersonal relationships with others. In this process, a child must risk and venture, and this may mean failure as well as success, painful consequences as well as pleasant rewards. It means that the process of growing up is not just continuously pleasant forward jaunt but growth also accompanied by growing pains (1954; 24).
According to Crow in Child Psychology: Summary of Growth and
Development with Review Questions and Answer , there are five factors which
influence child character development. They are the home, the school, peer associates, religious influences and other factors of influences. In this study only two factors that will be used, the first is the home, the child’s behavior is influenced not only by the family’s attitude toward and treatment of himself but
14 another, their behavior in the home, and their relationships to persons and things outside the home. Parents’ attitudes toward the child also give important effect toward child character development. Not only concerning the effect upon the child of being a wanted or a rejected child. The effect upon a child of a parent’s attitudes toward him depends not so much upon whether they wanted him as it does upon their understanding of his needs and their ability to meet these needs in all areas of his developing personality. With these understanding and ability, the child will be enabled to progress through the various stages of interpersonal relationships until he obtains a comprehension of his social as well as personal responsibilities and obligations. Home conditions also important in child character development, conditions which is favorable to desirable adjustment are experienced by the child who is reared in a home in which kindliness; sincerity, honesty, and cooperation are practiced daily by the other members of the family.
The second factor which can influence the child character development is the school. During his interrelationships with the teachers and schoolmates his behavior habits and attitudes he has acquired to this point are either intensified or modified. His experiences in concrete school situations that encourage the development of desirable group behavior can serve as effective means of improving his attitudes and of helping him to gain greater understanding of general concepts of morality or of ethical principles (Crow, 1958: 168).
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4. Theory of Hyperactivity
In Abnormal Psychology Gerald C. Davidson & John M. Neale said that children often behave impulsively or act before thinking, a pattern that may lead both to social friction and to academic failure ( 1996: 429). They have difficulty focusing on a single activity and often shift erratically from one task to another without finishing those projects they begin. These children tend not to maintain the behaviors expected of them for more than a few minutes. They seem to have remarkably high energy levels, approaching activities with striking and sometimes formidable intensity. A hyperactive child is all too frequently “in trouble” with his peers, his teachers, his family and his community. He seems almost normal in every way, but yet he has inordinate and pervasive difficulties getting along in everyday world.
The term hyperactive is familiar to most people, especially to parents and teachers, other diagnoses that have in the past been used to describe in attentive and impulsive youngsters include minimal brain dysfunction, which clearly suggested that subtle brain damage caused the behavioral problems, and hyper kinesis, these term is renamed as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Davidson, 1996: 430). The focus was shifted to the difficulty the child’s has in concentrating on the task at hand for an appropriate period of time and on the child’s involvement in non-goal-directed over activity. These inattentive children seem to have particular difficulty controlling their activity in situations that call for sitting still, such as at school; or at mealtimes. When required to be quiet, they
16 tactless, obstinate and bossy. Their activities and movements seem haphazard.
These children quickly wear out their shoes and clothing, smash their toys, and soon exhaust their family, teachers, and friends.
C. Theoretical Framework
The study focuses on the main character of the novel, Totto-Chan. The review of theories is needed to answer the problem of the study.
The theories consist of theory of character, characterization, environment and development. The theories of character and characterization are applied to find the type of the main character Totto-chan, and to answer the first problem formulation. The theory is useful to describe the character of the main character in the novel. The theory of character and characterization, the theory of environment and theory of development is needed to answer the second problem formulation.
In conclusion, the review of relate theories are chosen in order to analyze the way of the intrinsic element especially the character used to present the child development side.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-Chan the Little Girl at the Window is the
object of this study. Totto-Chan the little Girl at the Window is an autobiographical novel that portrays the story of a little girl named Totto-Chan (Tetsuko herself) in her childhood especially in her schooling time.
This book is an English version of Madogiwa no Totto-Chan, the Japanese original edition, published in Japan by Kodansha International Ltd. Copyright in 1981 by Tetsuko kuroyanagi. The English version copyright in 1982 by Kodansha International Ltd. Translated by Dorothy Britton.
This book is a long-standing best seller in Japan and has been distributed to USA and England. It has changed many points of view about education system.
This book told us about the life of a little girl named Totto-Chan in her childhood. There are so many experiences that happened in Totto-Chan childhood and it made her develop.
B. Approach of the Study
This study applies the psychological approach, an approach which is focused on psychological interpretation for entrancing the understanding and appreciation of literature (Rorhberger & Woods, 1971; 13). The study focuses on
18 interpretation especially in the development of a child. The psychological approach helps us to interpret the psychological aspect and development of the character in the novel. Therefore, the psychological approach will be very helpful to reveal the issue of this study since it views a literary work based on psychological interpretation.
C. Method of the Study
The thesis is a library research. The writer collects many data to have the research understandable. The writer divides the data into two categories, primary data and other references.
The primary source is the novel by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi entitled Totto-
Chan the Little Girl at the Window . The secondary sources are taken from some
books concerning with the study. It means that the data gathered from books on literature, criticism, and theories on child development and psychology that maybe helpful. Besides, the data is also compiled from Internet. Some sources that will be important for the analysis are Aspect of the Novel by E.M. Forster, Child
Development by Clara E. Berk, Child Psychology a Contemporary Viewpoint by
E. Mavis Hetherington & Ross D. Parke, Child Psychology by Arthur T. Jersild,
Human Development by Lawrence B. Schiamberg & Karl U. Smith, and Child
Development by Grace J. Craig.To complete the study, library research was done in some steps. The first step was having a thorough reading of the novel for several times to help
19 reading is needed in making notes of points, quotations, and also summary of the story which were used o find the significant element of story.
The second step was referring to some references that are related to the studies of Totto-Chan the Little Girl at the Window and theories of literature focusing on character and characterization. The references supported the study in gathering more data to link all of the findings.
The third step was applying the psychological theories especially in child development in order to answer the problems formulated in this work. The theories were used to analyze the character and make the analysis based on the questions that were formulated earlier
Finally the last step was drawing the conclusion based on the previous observations. This part contained the statement that is based on the answer to the problems and broader conclusion that related to the topic of the study.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS This chapter consists of two parts based on two problems of this study. The first part is the description of character Totto-chan in the story. It presents the
description of Totto-chan and the interaction of Totto-chan with other characters or with her surrounding. The second part is to describe or identify the environment where Totto-chan live and the influences of the environment toward Totto-chan’s psychological development.
A. The Characteristic of Totto-Chan
This part will discuss the character of Totto-Chan. Totto-Chan is 7 years old girl. Her father is a musician and her mother is a housewife. As a little girl Totto-chan can be said as a hyperactive child. It seems that Totto-chan always makes trouble for herself or for her surroundings. It is happened when she is at first grade of elementary school; her teacher cannot understand why Totto-chan always makes so much trouble and the teacher cannot handle it. Totto-Chan’s behaviours have made her teacher and her friends annoyed. Due to Totto-Chan’s behaviour, her mother is invited to school.
Mother has been sent Totto-chan’s homeroom teacher who came straight to the point. “Your daughter disrupts my whole class. I must ask you to take her another school”. The pretty young teacher sighed. “I’m really at the end of my tether” (p.11).
Her mother, of course, very shocked because of it, she does not
21 makes herself into trouble. Her mother worried about Totto-Chan because she has to take Totto-Chan to another school. It means that Totto-Chan already being expelled from the school when Totto-Chan just only on the first grade. As a hyperactive child, Totto-Chan is excited to the new things she sees. For Totto- Chan, her experiences in her school is a great thing, she can do many things in this place. Yet, her new experiences have taken her to the trouble.
She had said. “School’s wonderful! My desk at home has drawers you pull out, but the one at school has a top you lift up. It’s like a box, and you can keep all sorts of things inside. It’s super! (p.12). Actually, her experience with her desk at her school becomes one of the troubles that she makes. She likes to open and shut the drawer for hundred times that makes the teacher and the whole class annoyed.