An analysis on the children`s attitudes towards the death of their father as reflected in Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon - USD Repository
AN ANALYSIS ON THE CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE DEATH OF THEIR FATHER AS REFLECTED IN TONI MORRISON’S SONG OF SOLOMON A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Education ARIADNE DESY NATALIA SIBUEA Student Number: 981214047 ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PagePAGE OF TITLE ………………………………………………………… i
PAGE OF APPROVAL ………………………………………………….. ii
PAGE OF BOARD EXAMINERS ………………………………………. iii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY …………………………. iv
PAGE OF DEDICATION ………………………………………………... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………… viii
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………. xi
ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………… xii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………… 1
1.1 Background of the Study …………..………………… 1
1.2 Objectives of the Study .……………………………… 5
1.3 Problem Formulation ………………………………… 6
1.4 Benefit of the Study …………………………………. 6
1.5 Definitions of Terms ………………………………… 6
CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ……………. 8
2.1 Review on the Theory of Literature …………………. 8
2.1.1 Theory of Critical Approaches ………………... 8
2.1.3 Theory of Characterization ……………………. 11
3.1 Subject Matter ………………………………………… 29
4.1.2 The Character of Pilate Dead ………………….. 38
4.1.1 The Character of Macon Dead II ………………. 33
4.1 The Characterization of the Characters ………………. 32
CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS ……………………………………………….. 32
3.4 Sources ………………………………………………… 31
3.3 Procedures …………………………………………….. 30
3.2 Approach ……………………………………………… 29
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ………………………………………. 29
2.2 Review on the Theory of the Related Study …………. 14
2.3 Criticisms …………………………………………….. 24
2.2.5.2 Grief …………………………………… 24
2.2.5.1 Fear ……………………………………. 21
2.2.5 Fear and Grief ………………………………….. 21
2.2.4 Children’s Emotional Development …………… 19
2.2.3 The Importance of Family on Children’s Development …………………………………… 17
2.2.2 Attitudes ………………………………………. 15
2.2.1 Death and its Meanings ……………………….. 14
4.2 The Psychological Effects of the Death of Macon Dead II and Their Children …………………………………… 41
4.2.1 Macon Dead II …………………………………. 42
4.2.2 Pilate Dead ……………………………………... 47
4.2.3 The Comparison of Macon Dead II and Pilate Dead’s Attitudes ………………………………... 52
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ………………. 54
5.1 Conclusion …………………………………………... 54
5.2 Suggestions ………………………………………….. 56
5.2.1 Suggestions for Further Researchers …………. 56
5.2.2 Suggestions for the Implementation of Teaching English through Literature …………………….. 56
5.2.2.1 The Implementation of Teaching Reading through Song of Solomon …………….. 57
5.2.2.2 The Implementation of Teaching Speaking through Song of Solomon …………….. 58
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………….. 60
APPENDICES …………………………………………………………… 62
APPENDIX 1 Summary of the Novel ……………………… 62 APPENDIX 2 Toni Morrison and her Works ………………. 65 APPENDIX 3 The Implementation of Teaching Reading ….. 67 APPENDIX 4 The Implementation of Teaching Speaking …. 68
ABSTRACT
Sibuea, Ariadne Desy Natalia (2003). “An Analysis on the Children’s Attitudes towards the Death of Their Father as Reflected in Toni Morrison’s Song
of Solomon”. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
In reading Song of Solomon, I found that the death of someone we love really affects us. The characters of Macon Dead II and Pilate Dead are described by the author to convey the message of how we should face death especially the death of someone we love. The responses are reflected in their attitudes and they interest me because I find that every person has his or her own attitude towards the death of someone he or she loves.
This study is aimed to find out: 1) the ways Macon Dead II and Pilate Dead respond to the death of their father and 2) the psychological effects of the death of Macon Dead II and Pilate Dead’s father towards themselves, their family, and their children.
In conducting this study, I employed a library study. I employed the theory of character and characterization to answer the first problem. I used the theory of character and characterization to explore the characters’ characterizations that reflected their responses to the death of their father. To answer the second problem, I used the psychological approach. I applied the psychological approach in this thesis because I would like to explore the psychological effects of the death of the characters’ father towards themselves, their family, and their children.
From the analysis, I conclude that the way each of the characters responds to the death of their father is different from each other. Macon Dead II responds to the death of his father negatively whereas Pilate Dead responds to the death of her father positively. The difference affects their own family and children. Macon Dead II’s negative response brings negative effects for himself, his family, and his children. On the other hand, Pilate Dead’s positive response brings positive effects for herself, her family, and her children. Finally, I give suggestions to future researchers to explore the major theme and character of this novel and also the influence of the author’s life to this novel. This novel can also be used as a material for teaching English.
ABSTRAK
Sibuea, Ariadne Desy Natalia (2003). “An Analysis on the Children’s Attitudes towards the Death of Their Father as Reflected in Toni Morrison’s Song
of Solomon”. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Dalam membaca Song of Solomon, saya menemukan bahwa kematian seseorang yang kita cintai sangat mempengaruhi kita. Karakter Macon Dead II dan Pilate Dead digambarkan oleh pengarang untuk menyampaikan pesan tentang bagaimana kita seharusnya menghadapi kematian khususnya kematian seseorang yang kita cintai. Respon para karakter dicerminkan dalam sikap mereka dan hal ini menarik perhatian saya karena saya menemukan bahwa masing-masing orang memiliki sikap terhadap kematian seseorang yang dia cintai.
Studi ini bertujuan untuk membahas tentang: 1) cara-cara Macon Dead II dan Pilate Dead menanggapi kematian ayah mereka dan 2) akibat-akibat yang bersifat psikologi dari kematian ayah Macon Dead II dan Pilate Dead terhadap diri mereka, keluarga mereka, dan anak-anak mereka.
Dalam menulis skripsi ini, saya menggunakan studi pustaka. Saya menggunakan teori tentang karakter dan karakterisasi untuk menjawab batasan masalah yang pertama. Saya menggunakan teori karakter dan karakterisasi untuk memahami karakterisasi para karakter yang mencerminkan tanggapan-tanggapan mereka terhadap kematian ayah mereka. Untuk menjawab masalah yang kedua, saya menggunakan pendekatan psikologi. Alasan mengapa saya menggunakan pendekatan psikologi dalam skripsi ini adalah karena saya ingin memahami pengaruh-pengaruh yang bersifat psikologi dari kematian ayah para karakter terhadap diri mereka, keluarga mereka, dan anak-anak mereka.
Dari analisa, saya menyimpulkan bahwa cara para karakter menanggapi kematian ayah mereka berbeda satu sama lain. Macon Dead II menanggapi kematian ayahnya secara negatif sedangkan Pilate Dead menanggapinya secara positif. Perbedaan tersebut mempengaruhi keluarga dan anak-anak mereka sendiri. Tanggapan negatif dari Macon Dead II membawa pengaruh yang negatif terhadap dirinya sendiri, keluarganya, dan anak-anaknya. Di lain pihak, tanggapan positif dari Pilate Dead membawa pengaruh yang positif terhadap dirinya sendiri, keluarganya, dan anak-anaknya. Akhirnya, saya menyarankan kepada para peneliti selanjutnya untuk menggali tema dan karakter utama dari novel ini dan juga pengaruh kehidupan penulis terhadap novel ini. Novel ini juga dapat digunakan sebagai implementasi untuk mengajar bahasa Inggris.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of five points. The first is the background of the
study which talks about the reasons why I chose the topic of the study. The second is the problem formulation which talks about the problems of the study. The third part talks about the objectives of the study. The fourth part talks about the advantage of the study. The fifth talks about the terms used in this study.
1.1 Background of Study
Death certainly happens at the end of our life. Whoever we are, rich or poor, saints or sinners, there is nothing we can do when it comes to us. Cicero, as quoted by Aiken, states that
No man can be ignorant that he must die, Nor be sure that he may not this very day (Aiken, 1994: 3). Ready or not, we have to face death when it takes away our life and forces us to leave behind everything we have in this world. This is the fact that makes most of us afraid of death. The fear of death does not happen only for these days, but it has been happening since long time ago. People from old cultures agree that death is something unpleasant and will probably always be. They assosiate it with everything bad, everything that makes them frightened, everything that deals with punishment. Death is therefore pictured as something terrifying. It deals with everything bad and evil. "Therefore, death in itself is associated with a bad act, a frightening happening, something that in itself calls for retribution and punishment" (Kubler-Ross, 1969: 2). People think about death negatively. They consider it as something that must be avoided since it brings about misery.
However, not all people think that death is something frightening. A lot of philosophers view that it is something natural. It happens as part of our life. Hence, we must face it at the end of our life without being afraid. Epicurus and Leonardo da Vinci stress that death is something that we should not be afraid of. We should take it as something that ends our life (Aiken, 1994: 182).
From the discussion above, we can see that there are different opinions about death. However, we have to understand that it has one similarity that is bringing effects on those who lose someone because of it. Losing someone, especially the one we love, is not an easy experience to face. Suddenly, we cannot be with him anymore. We cannot feel his existence around us. We cannot see, talk, laugh, and get angry with him. We cannot even touch him anymore. Death takes all those experiences away and it really makes us hurt and feel lost, the feeling that can put us in deep grief and sadness.
This makes death become a neverending theme in literature. A lot of poets, authors, and playwrights write about it because it has been a mysterious entity for them and they have been curious about it. Walt Whitman, an American poet, wrote about a bird losing his mate in one of his poems entitled "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking", which reveals the meaning of life and death. Arthur Miller, an American playwright, wrote a play entitled "The Death of a Salesman", cannot fulfill his dreams.
Toni Morrison, one of African American woman writers, also wrote a novel related to death. The title of her novel is Song of Solomon. In this novel, she talks about people who have to face the death of someone they love. Macon Dead
II and Pilate Dead are the characters who have to cope with their father's death. It is a very bad experience for them since they see their father get shot. It makes them sad and terrified. On the other hand, they have to survive and continue their life.
Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, according to Hirsch, as quoted by Matus, is a novel about fathers, or more specifically, the loss of fathers (Matus, 1998: 72). All characters in the novel lose their fathers. The condition influences their life because fathers are important for them. By losing their fathers, the characters’ life become incomplete. They feel emptiness inside of them that can only be filled by the existence of a father. To children, a father represents the family history and for those who do not know their family history will become people who do not have identities.
The title of the novel, Song of Solomon, basically tells the readers about the history of Solomon’s family, which is told in the form of a song. Solomon is the great-grandfather or Milkman Dead, the main character in the novel, who flies away to Africa because he cannot bear slavery and leaves behind his family. By doing so, Solomon makes his children lose their father and so do his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Losing their father makes them lose their identity because they do not know their family history. At the end of the novel, Milkman Dead is family. Here is the song of Solomon:
Jake the only son of Solomon Come booba yalle, come booba tambee Whirled about and touched the sun Come konka yalle, come konka tambee Left that baby in a white man’s house Come booba yalle, come booba tambee Heddy took him to a red man’s house Come konka yalle, come booba tambee Black lady fell down on the ground Come booba yalle, come booba tambee Threw her body all around Come konka yalle, come konka tambee Solomon and Ryna Belali Shalut Yaruba Medina Muhammet too. Nestor Kalina Saraka cake. Twenty-one children, the last one Jake! O Solomon don’t leave me here Cotton balls to choke me O Solomon don’t leave me here Buckra’s arms to yoke me Solomon done fly, Solomon done gone Solomon cutt across the sky, Solomon gone home. (p. 303)
In Song of Solomon, we can see that losing someone we love will affect ourselves and our life automatically. Whether the effects will turn out to be positive or negative, it depends on us. It depends on how we cope with it. It deals with our attitudes in facing death itself. We can accept death as something natural that happens at the end of our life or we can reject it and then blame on it because it brings about grief and misery in our life as time goes by. Positive and negative attitudes will cause certain effects which will influence our life. That is why it is important for us to behave wisely toward every experience that happens in our life,
The death of Macon Dead II’s and Pilate Dead’s father also affects them and also their life. However, the way they cope with it is different from each other.
Macon Dead II represents a person who responds negatively and Pilate represents a person who responds positively. The difference does not only influence their own life, but also their family and children.
Besides the way they respond to death, I found another thing that is interesting to discuss further. The fact that Macon Dead II is a man and Pilate Dead is a woman makes me think whether men can be stronger than women in facing death. People tend to think that women are weak compared to men.
Montagu in his book The Natural Superiority of Women says that … women, the second-class citizens of a patriarchal society. Women, it was alleged, had smaller brains than men, and less intelligence; they were more emotional and unstable; in a crisis you could always rely upon them to swoon or become otherwise helpless; they were weak and sickly creatures; they had little judgement and less sense; they could not be entrusted with the handling of money; and as for the world outside, there they could be employed only at the most menial and routine task (p. 21). Here, I would like to see whether the opinion is also correct related to the moment when men and women have to face the death of someone they love since women are considered more emotional than men.
Even though the major theme of this novel is not the effects of a death of a father, and Macon Dead II and Pilate Dead are not the major characters, I am interested in discussing them further. It is because I believe that the theme and the characters can teach us the values of life especially the values of losing someone we love.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
Everybody will die. This is a certainty that we cannot deny, but the important point is how we respond to the death of someone we love. It is necessary for us to grieve, but we must remember that we cannot grieve all the time for the rest of our life. We must understand that losing someone we love does affect ourselves and also our life, but it does not have to make us stop continuing our life.
The way the characters in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon respond to the loss of their father can be taken as an example for us. Thus, in this thesis I would like to discuss the ways Macon Dead II and Pilate Dead respond to the death of their father. I also would like to find out the psychological consequences of the attitudes towards the death of their father for themselves, their family, and their children.
1.3 Problem Formulation
1. How do Macon Dead II and Pilate respond to the death of their father?
2. How do the different attitudes toward the death of their father affect themselves, their family, and their children psychologically?
1.4 Benefit of the Study
Death is part of our life. It is something that all of us must face in the end of our life. We cannot avoid it when it comes to us or to someone we love. We also cannot deny that we will feel really sad when someone we love dies. However, we must be strong in facing the death of someone we love. It means that around us.
Hopefully, the focus of this thesis, that is to find out how to cope with the loss of someone we love, will give benefits both for me as the writer and the readers.
1.5 Definitions of Terms
In this thesis, there are two terms that need to be defined in order to avoid misinterpretation and give a clear understanding about the theme. The first term is
attitudes. According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current
English , attitude is "way of feeling, thinking or behaving" (p. 50). Fazio and
Roskos-Ewoldsen state that attitudes mean associations between attitude objects (virtually any aspect of the social works) and evaluations of those objects (Baron and Byrne, 1997: 112). Judd et al. write that attitudes mean lasting evaluations of various aspects of the social world-evaluations that are stored in memory (Baron and Byrne, 1997: 112). I conclude that attitudes are the ways people judge events that happen in their life based on their knowledge and experiences of life.
The second term is death. According to Webster's New Twentieth
Century Dictionary , death means the act of fact dying: permanent cessation of life
in a person, animal, or plant, in which all vital functions cease permanently (p.467). So, death in this study means the condition of human being in which he is not alive anymore.
The third term is children. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary , children means son or daughter (of any age) (p. 194). death especially the death of a father. As we know, death is something frightening for most of us and to children, it is something that they are not familiar with even do not know yet. Therefore, I would like to analyze how they respond to death especially the death of a father.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter consists of two parts. The first is the review of the theory on
literature, more specifically the theory of critical approaches, the theory of character, and the theory of characterization The second is the review of related studies which talk about the psychology about death, attitudes, children and family.
2.1 Review on the Theory of Literature
This part consists of some theories related to literature that support my analysis. They are: theory of critical approaches, theory of character, and theory of characterization.
2.1.1 Theory of Critical Approaches
Rohrberger and Woods in their book Reading and Writing About
Literature say that literature has "the esthetic response". It is "the response to
literature as an art form, and the response is to its beauty" (1971: 3). The readers of literary works have to have "the esthetic response" so that they can enjoy and understand the literary works.
Rohrberger and Woods explain that there are five approaches concerning the study on literature, namely the formalist approach, the biographical approach, psychological approach. They suggest readers of literary works to use the approaches in conducting a study related to literature in order to make the readers able "to receive some of the positive esthetic values". The approaches are also used as "the means" for the readers so that they can understand how literature is made and the meaning of it (1971: 6).
The first approach is "the formalist approach", which emphasizes the whole of the literary work. It concentrates mostly on "the esthetic value". This approach is related to "demonstrating the harmonious involvement of all the parts to the whole and with pointing out how meaning is derived from structure and how matters of technique determine structure" (1971: 6-7).
The second approach is "the biographical approach" which views that someone's biography can be a basis of a literary work. Therefore, readers try to learn as much as possible about the author's life in order to be able to understand his works better. The author's biography will provide all the background of his work which will lead the readers to a better understanding of the work itself (1971: 8).
The third approach is "the sociocultural-historical approach". It insists that things and events that happen in a society have a great contribution to a literary work. Therefore, it is necessary to make a careful study of the social surroundings of a literary work (1971: 9).
The fourth approach is "the mythopoeic approach". People who use this approach try to find some "universally recurrent patterns of human thought", which they believe is a basis of a literary work. What is meant by "universally myths and folk rites and are so basic to human thought that they have meaning for all men" (1971: 9).
The fifth approach is "the psychological approach". This approach uses the theories on psychology in analyzing a literary work. By doing so, the readers are expected to be able to understand a literary work better (1971: 13).
In conducting this study, I use the psychological approach. The reason why I chose this approach is because it can support me in analyzing and answering the formulated problems that are presented in the problem formulation. I apply some theories of psychology in order to be able to find out the psychological consequences of the characters in responding the death of their father.
2.1.2 Theory of Character
Stanton states in his book An Introduction to Fiction (1957: 17) that there are two definitions that emerge when we hear the term “character”. First, it means "the individuals who appear in the story". Here, we can refer to people in a story. Second, it means "the mixture of interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles that makes up each of these individuals". In other words, it means the characteristics of people in a story. For example, kind-hearted, polite, and clumsy.
The statement is supported by Baldick in his book The Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Literary Terms . He says that the term character has two meanings.
First, it is "a personage in a narrative or dramatic work". Second, it is "a kind of prose sketch briefly describing some recognizable type of person" (1957: 33).
E.M. Forster divides the term "character" into two, "flat and round", in his round a single idea or quality. The really flat character can be expressed in one sentence." Since "flat characters" are simply described by the author in a novel, they have two advantages. First, they are "easily recognized whenever they come in". Second, they are "easily remembered by the reader afterwards" (1974: 47-48).
Meanwhile, what is meant by "round characters" is that they "cannot be summed up in a single phrase". It is because they have "connection with the great scenes through which they passed and as modified by those scenes”. It is to say that "round characters" are described to have a complex personality by the author in a novel. This complex personality is shaped and influenced by the things that happen around them (1974: 48).
2.1.3 Theory of Characterization
Baldick (1990: 34) defines the term characterization as "the representation of persons in narrative and dramatic works". There are two methods that can be used in order to reveal the characters' personality, they are: "direct methods like the attribution of qualities in description or commentary, and indirect (or 'dramatic') methods inviting readers to infer qualities from characters' actions, speech, or appearance".
According to Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen, there are nine methods used in understanding a character in a novel.
1. Personal description In this method, "the author can describe a person's appearance and clothes" (p. 161). By understanding the physical description of a example, "her shoelaces undone, a knitted cap pulled down over her forehead, bringing her foolish earring and sickening smell into the kitchen" (Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, p. 20).
2. Character as seen by another Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him through the eyes and opinions of another" (p. 162). Other characters have their own judgement to a character. Their judgement helps the readers know the personality of the character. For example, "Sometimes I think Wolf Larsen mad, or half-mad at least, what of his strange moods vagaries" (Jack London's The Sea Wolf, p. 75).
3. Speech By using this method, "the author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what that person says" (p. 164). What is said by a character in any situations in a novel shows what kind of a person he is to the readers. For example, "I'm aiming to get my money down. He can go on and die up there if he wants to. But if he don't toss me my rent, I'm going to blow him out of that window" (Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, p. 24).
4. Past life What is meant by this is "…the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person's character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person's thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person" (p.166). becomes a factor that shapes his personality. For example, the death of his father makes Macon Dead become a cruel landlord (Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon).
5. Conversation of others Here, "the author can also give us clues to a person's character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him" (p. 167). In understanding a character's personality, the readers can also pay attention to what other characters in a novel utter. It is important since their utterance can help the readers know a character better. For example, Mrs Bains' opinion about Macon Dead "a nigger in business is a terrible thing to see. A terrible, terrible thing to see" (Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, p. 22).
6. Reactions By using this method, "the author can also give us a clue to a person's character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events" (p. 168). The ways a character solves the problems he has reveal his personality. The readers have to be careful in seeing the ways since they can be a guidance to know the character well. For example, when Macon Dead knows that Porter wants to kill himself, he rushes to get his gun and wants to get his rent before Porter dies (Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, p. 24).
7. Direct comment In this method, "the author can describe or comment on a person's character's personality by himself without using other media. For example, "He (Mr. Summers) was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him, because he had no children and his wife was a scold" (Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery").
8. Thoughts It means that "the author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about" (p. 171). The author lets the readers know what is in the mind of a character. Therefore, the readers can understand his personality. For example, "Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?" (Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart").
9. Mannerism By using this method, "the author can describe a person's mannerisms, habits or idiosycrasies which may also tell us something about his character" (p. 173). Someone can be categorized into a specific personality through the things he does. Thus, a character's peculiar behavior tells the readers a lot about his personality. For example, "She was too direct, and to keep up with her he had to pay careful attention to his language" (Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, p. 37).
2.2 Review on the Theory of the Related Study
This part consists of the theories of psychology about death, attitudes, and children's emotional development.
2.2.1 Death and its Meanings
The way a person views death can be different with others. It is because every person has a different background and experiences related to death. Those who grieve for their relatives or friends will consider death as something evil. Death takes away people around them and makes them really sad. "Therefore, death in itself is associated with a bad act, a frightening happening, something that in itself calls for retribution and punishment" (Kubler-Ross, 1996: 2). The thought of death as something evil has been in people's mind since a long time ago. In her book On Death and Dying, Kubler-Ross stresses that "when we look back in time and study old cultures and people, we are impressed that death has always been distasteful to man and will probably always be" (1996: 2).
However, there are many people who think that death is a natural event that occurs in our life. It happens as a part of our life. A lot of philosophers view that death is something that we must face at the end of our life without being afraid. Socrates says that "death may be better than life, and the true philosopher is cheerful in facing it". Epicurus thinks that "death is a personal extinction but it should not be feared". Leonardo da Vinci says that "just as a happy day ends in a happy sleep, so a happy life ends in a happy death" (Aiken, 1994: 182). In my opinon, there is no need to be afraid of death because basically it is something
2.2.2 Attitudes
According to Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, as quoted by Baron and Byrne in their book Social Psychology, attitudes are "associations between attitude objects (virtually any aspect of the social world) and evaluations of those objects" (p.112). Another definition stated by Judd et al., as quoted by Baron and Byrne, attitudes are "lasting evaluations of various aspects of the social world-evaluations that are stored in memory" (p. 112).
Baron and Byrne say that attitudes are important. It is because of two reasons. First, "they strongly influence social thought -- the way in which we think about and process social information" (p. 112). Second, "they influences behavior" (p. 113). In my opinion, attitudes are the way people judge events that happen in their life based on their knowledge and experiences of life.
Based on the research results found by researchers, there are factors that seem to play a role in attitude formation.
1. Social learning, in other words, many of our views are acquired in situation where we interact with others or merely observe their behavior. Such social learning involves three basic forms of learning: classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, and modeling.
2. Social comparison, it deals with our tendency to compare ourselves with others in order to determine whether our view of social reality is or is not correct (Festinger, 1954).
3. Genetic factors, in which we can inherit our attitudes or at least a tendency to develop certain attitudes about various topics or issues. formation of attitudes (p.117). In discussing attitude, most people will misinterpret it with behavior. Basically, both of the terms are different from each other. According to Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English , there are three definitions of
behavior. They are: “way of behaving; manners (good or bad); treatment shown towards others” (p. 74). Talking about attitudes will lead us to the discussion about behavior as well because it has been assumed by researchers that attitudes influence behavior, however it depends on when and how. “If attitudes influence behavior, then knowing something about them can help us to predict people’s behavior in a wide range of contexts” (Baron and Byrne, 1997: 113).
Attitudes affect behavior at least in two different mechanisms which of these operates depends on whether the individuals have the time and opportunity to engage in careful thoughts, or reflecting careful thought, and must act quickly, or impulsive action (p. 128).
The strength of “attitude-to-behavior link” is also determined by many factors relating to: 1. aspects of the situation, such as the operation of social norms and time pressure, 2. aspects of attitudes themselves, such as their strength, importance, and accessibility, 3. aspects of individual, such as self-monitoring (p. 148).
As we know that family is the first environment for children to grow up, therefore it plays an important role in children’s development. The relationships in a family also determine their developments. Close relationships that children have among the members of family help them grow up well. However, the deterioration in family relationships will cause children to grow up not in a good way.
The deterioration in family relationship basically is caused by “conditions which, to some extent, are controllable”. As people change, their relationships with others also change. Here, it is possible for deterioration to occur. It happens to any family relationships. Hurlock says that there are four relationships that might be deteriorated as the family members change (p. 435-436). They are:
1. Parent-Child Relationship Parent-Child relationship will change when the child grows older. He does not depends on his parents as much as he grows older because he can take care of himself. This makes parents feels strange if they are not ready for the changes and it may cause the deterioration in their relationship.
2. Husband-Wife Relationship The existence of a baby in husband-wife relationship becomes a great factor in it. If both husband and wife are able to play parental roles well, there will be emotional warmth between them which certainly makes the relationship closer. However, if they fail to play the parental roles, they will be upset of their own spouse and it can causes a deterioration in husband-wife relationship.
The deterioration on family relationship will cause a deterioration in sibling relationship too. The elder sister who used to regard her younger brother as “an adorable doll” will consider him as “a brat” later. The younger brother who used to regard his elder sister as “an idol” will consider her as “a nuisance” later.
4. Relationship with Relatives As children grow older, their relationships with relatives will change.
Their grandmother and grandfather are not the ones who spoil them anymore. They become “a very strict disciplinarian”. This, of course, leads to family deterioration. Changes in family relationships can lead to a more harmonious relationship. However, it is very rare. Most changes happens in family relationship will result deterioration. Once poor relationship establishes, it will tend to persist and grow worse. This because people will have less communication and understanding among themselves. The treatment a mother gives to her children when they are still babies will usually change in quantity rather than in quality. A rejective parents will be more rejective later on.
Deterioation can be improved by giving time and chance for each family member to change his attitude. A period of separation will be the best way to enable each member of family to get a better perspective on the problem (Hurlock, 1964: 436).
2.2.4 Children's Emotional Development
who they are and also their roles in social life for the first time in a family. Whether they will be good or bad children, the family determines it. Hurlock says in her book Child Development that the home, the child's first environment, sets the pattern for his attitudes toward people, things, and life in general" (1964: 433). Bossard and Boll, as quoted by Hurlock, explain the importance of family for children's development further.
Home is the place the children come back to, with their experiences. It is the lair to which he retreats to lick his wounds: the stage to which he returns to parade the glory of his achievements: the refuge he finds in which to brood over his ill treatment, real or fancied. Home, in other words, is the place to which one brings the everyday run of social experience, to sift, to evaluate, to appraise, to understand, or to be twisted, to fester, to be magnified, or ignored, as the case may be (1964: 434). Not only family as a whole, but family members also influence children's development. Each family member gives the children examples of how they should live their own lives. "Furthermore, the child identifies with the family members he loves, imitates their behavior, and learns to adjust to life as they adjust" (Hurlock, 1964: 433).
Therefore, the wholeness of the family is important for children's development, especially their emotional development. It allows them to feel the love and affection from their family at home. If they do not feel the love and affection completely or, in other words, lack of love and affection, they will suffer "emotional depriviation". It means the absence of "pleasant emotions" such as love and affection in children's lives (Hurlock, 1964: 185).
Emotional depriviation will cause damage to many areas of development. There are six most common areas of development that are likely to be damaged
1. Physical development The child will suffer a delay in normal physical development. It includes listlessness, emaciation, quietness, general apathy, loss of appetite, and psychosomatic illnesses.
2. Motoric development It is usually delayed and the child is more clumsy and awkward compared to his age-mates. It is shown in his ways of sitting, standing, and walking.
3. Speech development The child develops a speech disorder, for example stuttering.
4. Intellectual development The child will have a difficulty in concetrating and he will be easily distracted.
5. Social development The child tends to be uncooperative and hostile. He also responds negatively to the advances of others. He shows asocial behavior such as aggressiveness and disobedience.
6. Personality development The child's personality will not develop perfectly. He will be self- bound: he shows little interest in others. He will be selfish and demanding too. (Hurlock, 1964: 186)
2.2.5 Fear and Grief
Fear and grief are categorized as common emotional patterns by Hurlock in her book Child Development.
2.2.5.1 Fear