Existentialism as revealed in Sophie`s journey to reality in Jostein Gaarder`s Sophie`s world - USD Repository

  

EXISTENTIALISM AS REVEALED IN SOPHIE’S JOURNEY

TO REALITY IN JOSTEIN GAARDER’S SOPHIE’S WORLD

  AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

M. FRANCIS GARRY

  Student Number: 014214083

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

  DON’T STARE AT THE SKY WITH BLU RRY EYES

  This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to My beloved parents My dearest sisters My dearest family in the universe

  

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

  Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : M. FRANCIS GARRY Nomor Mahasiswa : 014214083

  Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :

  

EXISTENTIALISM AS REVEALED IN SOPHIE’S JOURNEY TO

REALITY IN JOSTEIN GAARDER’S SOPHIE’S WORLD

  beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikankepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya di Internet atau media lainuntuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupaunmemberikan royalty kepada saya sela mA tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagaipenulis.

  Demikian pernyatan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 29 September 2008 Yang menyatakan

M. FRANCIS GARRY

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First of all, I thank Allah SWT for all the abilities and chances I have in this universe. My gratitude goes to my beloved parents for the greatest love they have given. I thank my mother for all the beautiful lessons of love she gave me in my life. I thank my two little sisters for their love and sharing. I also thank my lovely Ambar for giving me her love, advice, and courage.

  I would like to thank Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for being patient, guiding me as I prepared this thesis and also for my co-advisor, Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, M.A. as she guided me trough the final submission. I would like to thank my lecturer and friend, Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. who frequently challenged me during my final years in the university. I would also like to thank my academic advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., who directed me for the period of these years. I also thank Dr. P. Hary Susanto, S.J., for the precious discussions we have done. Finally, I really thank to Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A., who helped and gave me many chances for my study in the university.

  I would like to thank all my friends in the Department of English Letters Sanata Dharma University: Imbik, Wawan/KardiMan, Yosep, Fariz, Ian, Endra, Obed, Nova, Sigit, Bima, Wisnu, Farah, Fredy, Sindha, Erna, Dita, Ian, Sandi, Tito, Dian, and all of 2001 folks. I thank them for the true friendship they have given to me. I also thank the Bunguls: Ari, Andika, Parjo, Risky, for their friendship. Deep in my heart, I thank Ka Masrani for giving me a new encouragement in my life.

  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 ……………………………………………………………. viii ABSTRAK ……………………………………………………………… ix

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study …………………………………… 1 B. Problem Formulation ……………………………………….. 5 C. Objective of the Study ……………………………………… 5 D. Definition of Terms …………………………………………. 6 CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies …………………………………. 7 B. Review of Related Theories ……………………………….. 10 1. Theories on Character ……………………………………… 10 2. Theories on Existentialism …………………………………... 12 3. Theories on Moral Relativism ………………………………. 15 4. The Interrelation between Literature and Philosophy ………. 17 C. Theoretical Framework …………………………………….. 18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study ………………………………………… 19 B. Approach of the Study …………………………………….. 20 C. Method of the Study ……………………………………….. 21 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Character of Sophie …………………………………… 24 B. Sophie’s Reason to Go to the Reality………..………………. 30 C. The Aspects of Existentialism …………………….……….. 38

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ……………………………………… 50

  

ABSTRACT

  M. FRANCIS GARRY. Existentialism as Revealed in Sophie’s Journey to

  

Reality in Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. Yogyakarta: Department of

English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.

  is a kind of a story within a story. The story is written by

  Sophie’s World

  Albert Knag with a purpose to give it as a birthday gift for her daughter, Hilde. It begins when the character, named Sophie, gets a letter which is inscribed the question: Who are you? The sender is Alberto Knox who, later, will guide her to find her own truth and reality in her existent world. Then, Sophie gets more questions and discussions about philosophy. Sophie tries to be free from Knag’s mind which means that she has to go out from the book. The struggle to find her freedom is discussed in this study. The aspects of existentialism are described in the story along with Sophie’s journey to find the meaning of her life.

  This thesis is intended to discuss about the character development, freedom of choice, and philosophical movement in Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. First, the writer tries to find out what sort of character is depicted in Sophie’s personality as the major character in the novel. Second, the writer tries to understand why Sophie wants to go out to the reality, the reality that she wants, and examining some philosophical movements that influence her to do this action. Third, the writer tries to find out the aspects of existentialism that are revealed by Sophie’s journey to the reality.

  Library research was used in analyzing the story. The writer also used philosophical approach and took existentialism as the main focus to the study. The concept of freedom of choice, subjective truth, and moral relativism were discussed here.

  The findings of this study are: First, the characteristics of Sophie are inquisitive, spirited, opinionated, and critical. Second, it reveals the causes of why Sophie wants to go to the reality. The influence comes from Alberto Knox’s lesson about philosophy and some extraordinary events which stimulate her to consider her thought about freedom. Third, it reveals the aspects of existentialism such as the subjectivity of the truth, defining the reality, and individual choice with its moral standard within. Everyone has their own vision about something. It shows that everyone has their own truth. This standpoint has moral standard as responsibility which means we are responsible for ourselves and for everyone because of the interconnection matters. Our freedoms are limited by others who also have freedoms. We are parts of an enormous power which works this universe. We search and try to solve the same problem in sailing the universe. We ask about the meaning of life.

  

ABSTRAK

  M. FRANCIS GARRY. Existentialism as Revealed in Sophie’s Journey to

  

Reality in Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra

Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.

  adalah sebuah jenis cerita berbingkai. Cerita ini dikarang

  Sophie’s World

  oleh Albert Knag dengan tujuan untuk diberikan sebagai sebuah hadiah ulang tahun bagi anak perempuannya yang bernama Hilde. Cerita dimulai ketika seorang karakter bernama Sophie menerima sebuah surat yang bertuliskan pertanyaan:

  

Siapakah kamu? Sang pengirim bernama Alberto Knox, yang mana nanti akan

  membimbing Sophie untuk menemukan kebenaran dan kenyataan yang bersifat pribadi di kehidupan nyatanya. Setelah itu Sophie mendapatkan lebih banyak lagi pertanyaan-pertanyaan dan diskusi-diskusi tentang filsafat. Sophie mencoba untuk membebaskan dirinya dari dalam pikiran Knag yang artinya dia harus keluar dari dalam buku cerita itu. Perjuangan Sophie untuk mencari kebebasan dibahas dalam karya ini. Aspek-aspek existensialisme dijabarkan dalam cerita ini bersama dengan perjalanan Sophie untuk me ncari arti hidupnya.

  Tesis ini bermaksud untuk mendiskusikan perkembangan tokoh, kebebasan memilih, dan perjalanan secara filsafat dalam Sophie’s World karya Jostein Gaarder. Pertama, adalah untuk mengetahui jenis tokoh yang seperti apa yang digambarkan dalam pribadi Sophie sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel. Kedua, adalah untuk mengerti sebab keinginan Sophie menuju kenyataan yang dia inginkan dan me mpelajari beberapa perjalanan filsafat yang mempengaruhinya untuk melakukan tindakannya. Ketiga, adalah untuk mengetahui aspek-aspek existesialisme yang diangkat dari perjalanan Sophie menuju kenyataan.

  Penelitian dalam perpustakaan dilakukan untuk menganalisa cerita ini. Penulis juga menggunakan pendekatan filsafat dan memilih existensialisme sebagai fokus utama dalam karya ini. Konsep dari kebebasan memilih, kebenaran yang subyektif, dan relatifitas moral dibahas di sini.

  Hasil- hasil dari penelitian ini adalah: Pertama, karakteristik-karakteristik dari Sophie adalah rasa ingin tahu yang besar, bersemangat, berpendirian kuat, dan kritis. Kedua, penelitian ini mengungkapkan sebab-sebab kenapa Sophie ingin menuju alam realitas. Pengaruh ini datang dari ajaran Alberto Knox tentang filsafat dan beberapa kejadian luar biasa yang menstimulirnya untuk memikirkan kebebasannya. Ketiga, penelitian ini mengungkapkan aspek-aspek eksistensialisme seperti kebenaran subyektif, mendefinisikan kenyataan, dan pilihan individu bersama dengan moral standarnya. Setiap orang mempunyai pandangan sendiri akan sesuatu. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa setiap orang memiliki kebenarannya sendiri. Sudut pandang ini memiliki standar moral sebagai pertanggung jawaban yang berarti kita bertanggung jawab kepada diri kita dan semua orang karena kita

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study A literary work is not created from an inexistent situation. It means that

  there are many aspects that can influence the birth of literary works. Some historical backgrounds or philosophical backgrounds can be the possible ones to make the works created. Those things can give many perceptions and help us to reveal many problems even if it is a very sma ll one that we cannot realize easily.

  William Barret, in his work Irrational Man, gives Sartre’s view about literature: “…literature is a mode of action, an act of the writer’s freedom that seeks to appeal to the freedom of other individuals and eventually to the total free collective of mankind” (Barret, 1962: 250). The statement is taken from Sartre’s

  . It is obvious that literary works are related to and are

  What is Literature

  influenced by the writer’s background and we can analyze many problems inside it in certain circumstances.

  Another meaning of literature is written by Wellek and Warren in their book, Theory of Literature. They state that literature is a social institution that uses a social condition and uses language as its medium (1956: 94). What they want to discuss is about using social creations to represent social reality in order to gain knowledge about social reality. Furthermore they write that a literary work

  Graham Little writes in his book Approach to Literature that literature functions as a representation of the situation and thoughts happening in certain setting of time, and place (1963: 1). From literary works we can observe the structure of certain society and notice how human being is treated. We can know the conditions of the society and, thus, know how to deal with the problems.

  A novel by Jostein Gaarder is narrating about the character, named Sophie Amundsen, who wants to find the reality and understand her own existence in the world. The story explains about the history of philosophy which is narrated in simple ways but has deep meanings. This book was the first international best seller at that time and was republished many times. It had also been known as The

  

New York Time bestseller. Sophie, as the major character, tries to reveal about her

  existing world, her aim to live in the world. Many questions have been given by her teacher, Alberto Knox, in order to guide her inquiries about the world she lives in.

  The book is a book within the book which means the story of Sophie is written by another writer inside Sophie’s World itself. It is written by Albert Knag, the brain behinds Sophie ’s and Knox’s existence. He writes the story about Sophie as a birthday gift to his daughter Hilde. The content is about philosophical journey and movement that Sophie experienced. When Sophie knows about her own existence that she is just a pawn of Knag, who has power to control everything in her world, she is shocked and decides to get out from it. She tries to book Irrational Man writes Plato’s explanation about philosophy. He wrote: “Philosophy is the soul’s search for salvation, which means for Plato deliverance from the suffering and evils of the natural world” (1962: 5). Sophie chooses her own way in order to find her own salvation in her real world and nobody can stand on her way to find it.

  The writer finds it interesting to discuss about the character of Sophie, her reason why she wants to find her own freedom and the values of existentialism that are described in the story. The writer analyzes this novel based on existentialist perspective since the concept of freedom of choice is deeply issued in exis tentialism. The freedom of choice is the basic matter of human rights which every person has to obey, respect, and have it with all kind of responsibilities they have.

  Everybody wants to make changes in his life into the better situation. It is natural behavior and we have to accept that as the matter of human rights. Many choices are faced to be chosen in our daily life with different characteristic and qualities. Whether we know the answers or not, it is relevant that we are gaining our quality of life along with our journey in life if we define ourselves. Sartre’s point about it is written by Kaufmann. He says that if man as the existentialist sees him is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself. It is not just simply what he conceives himself, but about what he wills (Kaufmann, 1965:

  In Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, there are many ideas that are revealed by Knox in order to make Sophie understand s about the existing world.

  Knox tries to guide Sophie to find her own freedom and be responsible for her own choices. James A. Gould and Willis H. Truitt in Existentialist Philosophy state:

  “If existence really does precede essence, there is no explaining things away by reference to a fixed and given human nature. In other words, there is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom. … That is the idea I shall try to convey when I say that man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet, in other respects is free; because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does” (1973: 34). Human mind is free and people are responsible for their own passion, the passion that comes from mind. Mind is the source of human acts, the acts that human is responsible with.

  At first glance, the writer was not really interested in this book. But, after reading the beginning chapter, the writer finds that it is a good book to read. It tells about the history of philosophy from the ancient Greek until nowadays with brief explanations but challenges us to think deeply. Sophie’s character gives reflections to the writer about the world where he lives and helps to understand in where he stands in his own existing world. That is why the writer is eager to analyze Sophie’s journey to reality in Jostein Gardeer’s Sophie’s World in philosophic ways.

  B. Problem Formulation

  In order to have a thorough analysis, this thesis focus on the problems stated below:

  1. What sort of character is Sophie?

  2. Why does Sophie want to go out to reality?

  3. What aspects of existentialism are revealed by Sophie’s journey to reality?

  C. Objectives of the Study

  This thesis attempts to discuss about the character development, freedom of choice, and philosophical movement in Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. The objectives of the study are represented as follows.

  First, the writer tries to find out what sort of character is depicted in Sophie’s personality as the major character in the novel. In this discussion the writer will identify Sophie’s character development from the beginning until the end as she makes her own decisions in her life.

  Second, the writer tries to understand why Sophie wants to go out to the reality, the reality that she wants. In this discussion the writer will analyze some philosophical movements that influence Sophie’s choice to go out to the reality.

  Third, the writer tries to find out the aspects of existentialism that are revealed by Sophie’s journey to the reality. The writer tries to identify the aspects

D. Definition of Term

  Since this study focus on the issue of existentialism in the character’s journey, there is a need to explain about what is existentia lism according to the title Existentialism as Revealed in Sophie’s Journey to Reality in Jostein

  . Sophie’s journey in the story mostly contains this

  Gaarder’s “Sophie’s World” kind of philosophy in her aim to get the main purpose.

  William F. Lawhead, in The Philosophical Journey, states that existentialism is a philosophical movement that believes in the priority of subjective choosing over objecting reasoning, concrete experience over intellectual abstractions, individuality over mass culture, human freedom over determinism, and authentic living over inauthenticity. There is a number of themes that all existentialist thought because he believes that there is no common list of doctrines to which all the existentialist subscribe and he explains that individua lism is one of the major themes of existentialism (Lawhead, 2000: 183).

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies John Elson states “what you get is an improbable international bestseller”. Sophie’s World was written by a schoolteacher for teens and young adults. It is

  also something like a modern-day versio n of Through the Looking Glass. By comparing the two texts, what can we get from the text of Sophie’s World? What John Elson wants to say is that the story, Sophie’s World, is just a kind of repetition from the latest identical story, Through the Looking Glass. That is why he wrote that the book is not for anyone (http://www.timemagazine.com/review of sophie’s world).

  Reviewing Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, John Elson in his “Looking- Glass Philosophy” writes that:

  Gaarder, who is married and the father of two sons ages 10 and 18, teaches at a high school in Oslo. He wrote Sophie's World to fill a gap. Stores were full of New Age pap and other mystical mush, but there were no books that would introduce young people to serious philosophy. By trying to blend fantasy with head-cracking summaries of deep thought, Gaarder feared that he had "sat down between two stools. But I was mistaken. Sophie's World fell on top of all the stools” (http://www.stjohns- chs.org/general_studies/philosophy/TIME'SREVIEWOFSOPHIE/TIMES OPHIE.html). Elson wants to tell that the certain text is for no one. It cannot go further than a skillful performance which means it has no sense of fiction even literary works.

  Richard Gehr made a review about the certain issues of existentialism in Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. He writes about the lack of quality about the philosophical questions within the book. He states:

  “Gaarder's book is a philosophical Idea, whose clean lines and slick marketing offer a one-size- fits-all coziness masking the bitter ideological rivalries and utter radicalism characterizes so much of the field's history. On the other hand, any Sophie's World reader inspired to further investigation will collide with all that soon enough, which suggests an even more provocative sequel”(http://www.google.co.id/review of Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder (Richa rd Gehr)).

  Steven Wu has given more review about what he saw in Sophie’s World. He writes that Sophie’s World is a curious book and a much-simplified but well- written exposition of the history of Western philosophy, covering many of the major thinkers and providing capsule summaries of their major thoughts (http://www.scwu.com/bookreviews/). Wu sees Sophie’s World as a summary of the history of western philosophy with a good expositio n within. It has a good plot to explain briefly about western philosophy. Every philosopher has a major thought, and, in Wu opinion, Gaarder presents an excellent overview when he draws major thoughts of every philosopher, especially when he draws connections between philosophers.

  On contrary, Wu questions about Gaarder’s presentation of philosophy about women. The problem is the ordinate amount of time Gaarder spends talking about women, women’s issues, and women’s place in philosophy. exploring an interesting aspect of the philosopher's thinking (http://www.scwu.com/bookreviews/). Jostein Gaarder has another work and the title is The Solitaire Mystery.

  

The Solitaire Mystery is a story about twelve-year-old Hans Thomas and his father

  set out by car from Norway to search for Hans Thomas' mother in Greece, he is unaware that his life will be changed forever. Gaarder, once again, writes a novel about philosophy with a story plot inside which has intentions to give simple explanations and interpretations about philosophy and he has a good ability to do such kind of works (www.readinggroupguides.com/thesolitairemystery). From his two works, it is conspicuous that Jostein Gaarder mostly writes some philosophical story for his works.

  It is obvious that the writers, who present some reviews, tend to give the opposites perceptions about what Gaarder wants to reveal. According to Richard Gehr, the text is so brief if we talks about the history of the philosophy in a whole. But, it is a novel about the history of philosophy and it gives another world to see and feel about the fiction that has been made. Otherwise, the target readers are for general readers and Gaarder has good intuition to build this story. With all of the problems, characters, and plots within, the text is not just what so called a skillful performance. It gives another perceptions and stimulates a more broad point of view about the existing world where we live. In this undergraduate thesis, the writer will focus in the idea of free will as a part of human existence. This study is

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theories of Character

  Character in a literary work is ve ry important, so that the reader can understand the story. Therefore, the theories of character are needed. Richard Gill writes about character in his book, Mastering English Literature. He says that a character is someone in a literary work who has some sort of identity (it needn’t be a strong one), an identity which is made up by appearance, conversation, action, name and (possibly) thoughts going on in the head (Gill, 1995: 127).

  E.M. Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, introduces two kind of characters; they are flat character and round character. A flat character is also called as a type or ‘two-dimensional’. Forster says that this type of character is built around ‘a single idea or quality’ and it is presented without much individualizing detail.

  (Forster, 1927: 37). With this condition, therefore it is enough to describe flat character into a single phrase or sentence. It is different from the flat character, a round character is complex in temperament and motivation. It is represented with subtle particularly. With this condition, it is difficult to describe this type of character in a phrase or sentence. Like most people in general, their character sometimes are unpredictable; therefore they are capable to make the readers surprise.

  Mario Klarer’s An Introduction to Literary Studies says that there are ‘kinds of characters’ and ‘modes of presentation of characters’. ‘Kinds of characters. Klarer’s typified character, which means that the character has one specific trait drawn by the author, has identical characteristic with Forster’s theory about flat character. The individualized character in Klarer’s idea also has some identical characteristic with Forster’s theory about round character. Klarer’s ‘Modes of presentation’ has two basic explanations, ‘explanatory method’ and ‘dramatic method’. The explanatory method describes a person through a narrator.

  The character is represented through the filter of a narrator. Narrator plays direct role for the specific attributes of the characters. The dramatic method means that the narrator tends to give impression to the reader from the characters he made. He creates the character and makes any movement to the characters without any intervening things from him.

  “The image of a person is “shown” solely through his or her actions and utterances without interfering commentary, thereby suggesting an “objective” perception which leaves interpretation and evaluation solely to the judgment of the reader” (Klarer, 1999: 23).

  Another theory comes from Henkle (1977: 20). In his book it was stated that character can be described as major and secondary ones. Major characters are the most important and complex character in the novel. They can be identified as such through the complexity of their characterization, the attention given to them (by the other characters), and the personal intensity that they seem to transmit. It is the major characters that deserve our fullest attention because they perform a key structural fiction, upon them. We build expectation and desire, which in characters are not. They may be less sophisticated, so that their responses to the experience are less complex and interesting (Henkle, 1977: 20).

  In A Glossary of Literature terms, Abrams also states about the theory of character. He writes that character is the person who appears in dramatic or narrative work that has both moral and dispositional qualities. Those kinds of qualities can be seen through his action and speech constitutes his motivation (Abrams, 1980: 20). Furthermore he adds that character is “the person presented in a dramatic work, which is interpreted by readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional of qualities that are expressed in what they say—the dialogue—and do—action” (Abrams, 1980: 23).

2. Theories of Existentialism

  William F. Lawhead, in The Philosophical Journey, states that existentialism is a philosophical movement that believes in the priority of subjective choosing over objecting reasoning, concrete experience over intellectual abstractions, individuality over mass culture, human freedom over determinism, and authentic living over inauthenticity. There is a number of themes that all existentialist thought because he believes that there is no common list of doctrines to which all the existentialist subscribe and he explains that individualism is one of the major themes of existentialism. He also explains that philosophy means the love of wisdom and the root of words. Philosophy is the about human freedom and his presence in the world. Blackham, in his book Six

  Existentialist Thinkers says:

  “Human presence in the world is not a form of being, but a form of doing, of choosing and making itself” (Blackham, 1959: 128).

  H. J. Blackham also writes about existential philosophy does about in his

  

Six Existentialist Thinkers and explains about the ambiguity of the existing

individuals.

  “Existence lies beyond thought, and beyond existence is possibly some form of transcendence: this is the field of personal venture and experience in which the manoeuvre takes place. The business of existential philosophy in he lping the person to make himself and get his experience is to furnish analyses of the concrete structures of first-hand experience in which the ambiguities are operative: certain affective states (nausea, ennui, dread, joy) which revel being by wiping away the familiar face of things and dissolving subjective pre-conceptions;…the bounded situations which have to be lived in faith or despair” (1959: 154). The ambiguities of existence are not in a situation to destroy the other, but rather than that, it can reinforce the other side. It leads us to the idea of subjective truth which means that every truth is subjective, no matter how and where we stand as the experiencer or the spectators, and man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.

  It is not easy to find the truth because truth is different to each other. Truth depends on the environment and culture, so, in conclusion, truth is subjective. The idea of subjective truth is supported by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. Truth is subjectivity which means that it must be personally appropriated and truth and action imply both an environment and a human subjectivity (Blackham, 1959: 154, Kaufmann, 1965: 288, Lawhead: 192).

  Walter Kaufmann in Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre writes that existentialism is not a school of thought nor reducible to any set of tenets. Many of existentialists are not in agreement on essentials. Kaufmann writes about the differences between Pascal, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and even Dostoevsky as examples. They are different in the basic thoughts (Kaufmann, 1965: 11).

  Again, Kaufmann writes that existentialism is a doctrine that does render human life possible; a doctrine, also, which affirms that every truth and every action imply both an environment and a human subjectivity (1965: 288). It means that every truth is subjective, no matter how and where we stand as the experiencer or the spectators, and man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. William F. Lawhead in his book The Philosophical Journey wrote that according to Kierkegaard, truth is subjectivity which means that it must be personally appropriated, it must make a difference to your life and you as a person must be intimately involved in it. Friedrich Nietzsche also stated that we do not have any objective knowledge at all and he believed that there is no visual and conceptional perspective- free stand point, for every judgment is made from someone’s concrete, personal perspective (Lawhead, 2000: 192).

  More over, Kaufmann explains about two kinds of existentialists. There are Christians and existential atheists. These two kinds of existentialists have the We, as human being, encounter ourselves, surges up in the world, and, then, define ourselves afterwards because we are in possession of ourselves as we are, and places the entire responsibility for our existence honestly upon our own shoulders (1965: 290-291).

3. Theories of Moral Relativism

  Moral relativism is the view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are culturally based and therefore subject to a person’s individual choice. We can all decide what is right for ourselves and every person has rights to choose his own destiny.

  Existentialists regard human existence as ultimately unexplainable and it is different from theists point of view who believe that human are created by God and are given a purpose by that Maker. Although theists and existentialists generally agree on “freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts,“ but they differ significantly in that theists hold to an absolute moral standard, while existentialists believe in moral relativism (www.allaboutphilosophy.org/existentialism-theory-faq.htm).

  Existence precedes essence and our responsibility is thus much greater than we had supposed (Kaufmann, 1965: 290). It means that when a man commits himself to anything, fully realizing that he is not only choosing what he will be, but is at the same time a legislator deciding for the whole of mankind. existence squarely upon his own shoulders. And, when we say that man is responsible for himself, we do not mean that he is responsible only for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men (Kaufmann, 1965:291).

  James A. Gould and Willis H. Truitt in Existentialist Philosophy also state: “If existence really does precede essence, there is no explaining things away by reference to a fixed and given human nature. In other words, there is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom. … That is the idea I shall try to convey when I say that man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet, in other respects is free; because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does” (Gould, 1973: 34). Our freedom is limited by others because every body has freedom too in life. Sartre’s idea about it is that our responsibility is thus much greater than we had supposed, for it concerns mankind as a whole (Kaufmann, 1965: 292). It means that every one is committing not only for oneself, but humanity as a whole. The theory of subjective truth can give people wrong impression and tends people to rationalize what they are doing. So, there are ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong as a base and it is called moral relativism. Moral relativism leads people to their responsibility, and responsibility is an important thing for deciding choices (Kaufmann, 1965: 291, www.allaboutphilosophy.org/existentialism-theory- faq.htm).

  This kind of subjectivity above is the principle of existentialism and it called “subjectivism”. Subjectivism has two kinds of basic understanding. First, it concerns in the freedom of the individual subject. The second is about the explanation that every one chooses himself for all men, or, in choosing for himself he chooses for all men (1965: 291).

4. The Interrelation between Literature and Philosophy

  Cicero in De Officiis said that “philosophy is the study of wisdom.” Also in De Oratore, he said that a philosopher is one “who strives to know the significance, nature and causes of everything divine or human, and to master and follow out as whole the theory of right living.” That is to say that philosophy is perhaps the most important object in its relation to literature rather than the others (McFarland, 1976: 25).

  Samuel Taylor Coleridge thinks that literature and philosophy tend to merge their interests. He argues “that delightful harmony, which ever will be found where philosophy is united...with poetry.” Again he says that a great Poet must be, implicit if not explicit, a profound Metaphysician (McFarland, 1976: 27).

  The most admired way of mingling philosophy and literature is to have perspectives on being arise from the work of art. It means that a body of thought can be clothed in literary form. Schelling at one time try to do the presentation of his philosophy in the form of a poem, and Coleridge proposed to convey his own thought in a vast poem and at another time thought of relate it into a novel. Another example is the Bhagavadgita, which is a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna about the nature of reality and about the meaning of human action, is a philosophy. It means that this work is a vehicle of philosophy and at the same time that this is one of major poems (McFarland, 1976: 31).

  The distinction between literature and philosophy may also be regarded as the abstract and the concretely particular as their character. Some art looks from the immediate and particular to the abstract, while some philosophy looks from the abstract to the more particular.

C. Theoretical Framework

  In order to understand and solve the problem of study, review of related studies and theories are needed. It gives some basic understanding about the problems and give a lot of point of views to analyze the story.

  Character is an important element in a novel and it makes dynamic movements in the story. Thus, it is significant to apply the theories on character to examine the novel and understand the story. The theories on existentialism is also informed and applied as an important elements to study the novel. It gives some basic understanding about philosophical movements that has been applied in the novel, especially about Sophie’s reason to go out to reality in the second problem formulation, while theories on moral relativism explain deeper inside the philosophical movements and its responsibility as seen in the third problem formulation. The philosophical movements in the novel are not happened in a wink of the eye, but they have phases to go through and share the ideas of those

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The novel, Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World was published in 1991 and

  originally written in Norwegian under the title Sofies Verden by H. Aschehoug & Co (W. Nygaard). In 1995, the novel was translated into English and published in Great Britain by Phoenix House. Then, in 1999, Sophie’s World was adapted into a Norwegian movie by screenwriter Petter Skavlan and also adapted into a PC CD- ROM game by Learn Technologies in 1998. It was shown on the BBC as part of The

  

Late Show in 1995 which adapted by Paul Greengrass. Now, it has been translated

into fifty-three languages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie's_World).

  Jostein Gaarder saw that there were gaps and lack of interests in youth generations in Norway to know about the basic history of philosophies. They tend to read comics and anything that showed heroic characthers rather than knowing some basic philosophies as the source of knowledges. Gaarder knew that it is important to understand the path and the philosophers’ thought from the ancient time until modern day as the journey of human evolution.

  Sophie’s World began when Sophie was just in front of her garden gate and

  took a letter addresed to her. She opened it and found only a slip of paper. The paper questions. The other qustions, such as: Where does the world come from? and What is

  

philosophy? , came into Sophie’s daily life. Every question that was received had a

deep meaning and Sophie did not know if those questions would change her life.

  The story is actually a book within a book. The character, Albert Knag, was in Lebanon and writing a book of philosophy for his daughter’s fifteenth birthday, Hilde Moller Knag. Albert Knag created a character named Alberto Knox, the person who sent letters to Sophie and later would be Sophie’s advisor and teacher, in his book. He wrote it to give his daughter new perceptions of life and made it in such a story to attract her. Yet, Alberto Knox, one of the character in Knag’s book, guides Sophie to find her way to what she believed and gave many basic explanations about certain philosophies.

B. Approach of the Study

  Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World tells a story about philosophy and the journey of it. In analyzing the story, the writer uses philosophical approach and takes existentialism as the main focus. Philosophical approach is the approach which is stating and ascertaining what is taught in the text and this is not superficially didactic (Guerin, 1999: 26). Literature and philosophy have similar problems through the society and this issue is presented by Knight in his book Literature Considered as

  . He writes that it has some things in common. It critisizes the issue that

  Philosophy approach means finding the basic interpretation about the truth, the good and the reality through the text.

  Sophie, the main character in the novel, tries to find the truth and reality. Her journey to find the truth is supported by Knox by giving her many philosophical questions. Because of that, the writer uses philosophical approach to reveal the idea of existentialism and explain the aspects of it. This theory can analyze her journey and expose the philosophy of existentialism as Sophie has gone through. The aspects of existentialism are analyzed by giving many reasonable interpretations according to the theory.

  How to choose your own way is the main issue as the writer sees in the novel. We are faced with many choices every day and the most important thing is, we choose our own destiny. Based on the philosophy of existentialism that Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger have said, truth is subjective and every person is responsible for their choices. Sophie’s World gives many basic philosophical questions and explanations without any absolute answers inside it, and according to the writer, her journey gives many reflections and should be analyzed in such ways.

C. Method of the Study

  Library research was used to analyze the story. From the library and internet the writer could find some references and reviews about the story. The sources were sources might give unreliable statements which could mislead the writer into the wrong appreciations if the writer did not select it carefully. So, it was better for the writer to make deep research and cross-examination for some internet research.

  The novel of Gaarder Sophie’s World became the primary source of this study. The secondary sources were taken from the books and references related to the story and theories, and also from internet. The books and review of character and characterization, existentialism, and philosophy were needed and could be found in the library and internet.

  There were four steps that the writer did in doing the research. The first step was read and reread the story until the writer understands and got the impression from the story. The idea that had been conveyed by the novel could be received appropriately after the writer did this step, so the writer could formulate the problem analysis.

  The second step was searching and gathering some books and papers about existentialism which could explain the concept of it. The books such as The