The motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings as reflected in Mori`s Vita sexualis.

(1)

xii ABSTRACT

Patiung, Febri Floreta. 2008. The Motivation of Shizuka Kanai for Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life Under the Pressure of His Surroundings as Reflected in Mori’s Vita Sexualis. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This study is conducted to reveal the motivation of Shizuka Kanai's action for sustaining his normal sexual life and the effect of his action on his life achievement in Mori’s Vita Sexualis. Vita Sexualis is categorized as a social novel, since it is a novel which mostly tells about the relationship between people in a society. Through the social novel, the readers are able to see not only a certain society’s life and shape but also the conflicts that exist within it. This study is composed based on the thought that through characters’ eyes, the readers may see the situation of the society or even the world.

There are two main questions discussed in this study, namely (1) why Shizuka Kanai wants to sustain his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings, and (2) how the action of sustaining his normal sexual life affects his achievement in life.

The method of data gathering used was library research. The data was collected from the novel Vita Sexualis itself as the primary source and from related theories, criticisms, and other sources as the secondary data. This study used the psychological approach. The theory of character, characterization, motivation, and hierarchy of needs were employed in order to answer the first question. These theories were used to find out the motivation of Shizuka Kanai as the main character in sustaining his normal sexual life. To answer the second question, the theory of sexuality and goals in life were utilized.

The result of the analysis shows that Shizuka Kanai wants to sustain his normal sexual life inspite of the bad surroundings because he has the motivation to get higher education, to get more friends, and to have a normal life. He realizes that getting involved in an improper sexual life may mislead him and scatter the focus of his life. Based on the action that he does, Kanai gains the positive effect on his study. He gets the government’s scholarship to study abroad in Germany. However, he does not make it well socially since his introvert and unconfident characteristics keep him from building a relationship, especially with women, due to his lack of experience in socializing.

(2)

xiii ABSTRAK

Patiung, Febri Floreta. 2008. The Motivation of Shizuka Kanai for Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life Under the Pressure of His Surroundings as Reflected in Mori’s Vita Sexualis. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni. Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan. Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Studi ini disusun untuk mengungkap motivasi dari tindakan Shizuka Kanai mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang normal dan pengaruh dari tindakan Kanai tersebut pada pencapaian hidupnya dalam novel Vita Sexualis karya Mori. Vita Sexualis termasuk dalam kategori novel sosial, karena merupakan novel yang kebanyakan menceritakan tentang hubungan antar orang dalam suatu masyarakat. Melalui novel sosial, para pembaca tidak hanya dapat melihat kehidupan dan bentuk dari masyarakat tertentu tetapi juga konflik-konflik yang terjadi didalamnya. Studi ini disusun berdasarkan pemikiran bahwa melalui mata para tokoh, pembaca bisa melihat situasi masyarakat atau bahkan dunia.

Ada dua permasalahan mendasar yang dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu (1) mengapa Shizuka Kanai ingin mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang normal dibawah tekanan lingkungan sekitarnya, dan (2) bagaimana tindakannya untuk mempertahankan kehidupan seksual yang normal mempengaruhi pencapaian cita-cita hidupnya.

Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Data dikumpulkan dari novel Vita Sexualis itu sendiri sebagai sumber utama dan dari teori-teori, kritik, dan sumber-sumber lainnya yang berhubungan dengan studi sebagai data tambahan. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologis. Teori karakter, karakteristik, motivasi, dan hirarki kebutuhan dipakai untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama. Teori-teori ini digunakan untuk mengetahui motivasi Shizuka Kanai sebagai tokoh utama dalam mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang normal. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua, teori seksualitas dan cita-cita hidup yang digunakan.

Hasil dari analisis menunjukkan bahwa Shizuka Kanai ingin mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang normal meskipun lingkungan sekitarnya membawa beberapa pengaruh buruk karena ia memiliki motivasi untuk mendapatkan pendidikan yang lebih tinggi, mendapatkan lebih banyak teman, dan memiliki hidup normal. Ia menyadari bahwa terlibat dengan kehidupan seksual yang salah bisa menyesatkan dan membuyarkan fokus hidupnya. Berdasarkan tindakan yang ia lakukan, Kanai memperoleh pengaruh positif pada studinya. Ia mendapatkan beasiswa pemerintah untuk melanjutkan studi ke Jerman. Namun, ia tidak berhasil dengan baik dalam hubungan sosial karena sifat sulit bergaul dan tidak percaya diri menghalanginya untuk membangun hubungan, khususnya dengan wanita, disebabkan ia kurang pengalaman dalam bersosialisasi.

(3)

THE MOTIVATION OF SHIZUKA KANAI

FOR SUSTAINING HIS NORMAL SEXUAL LIFE

UNDER THE PRESSURE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS

AS REFLECTED IN MORI’S VITA SEXUALIS

A THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree

in English Language Education

Febri Floreta Patiung Student Number: 021214102

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

(4)

(5)

(6)

Determine to like your work,

then it will become a pleasure nor drudgery.

Perhaps you don’t need to change your job.

Change yourself and your work will seem different.

-Norman V.

Peale-This thesis is dedicated to my family,

to my friends, and to myself.

(7)

(8)

(9)

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank those who have supported me with their affection, patience, guidance, and criticism in working on my thesis. First and foremost, I would like to bestow my deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ for His plentiful love and never ending blessings in my life. His guidance has strengthened me to finish my thesis.

My gratitude and respect go to my beloved parents, Papa Janand Mama Maya, who have encouraged me in composing my thesis and given me their endless affection and prayers. I thank them for always asking on the progress of my thesis patiently. I also would like to thank my brother and sister, Yosua and Agitha, for sharing laughter with me everyday. Their care and support mean a lot to me.

My greatest appreciation goes to my major sponsor, Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto Y., M.Hum, who has guided me in composing the thesis. I really thank him for the willingness to give his time, ideas, and suggestions. I would also like to thank allthe lecturers of PBIfor the knowledge and experiences I have gained during the years I passed as the student of PBI. My thanks are extended toMbak Dani and Mbak Tari for helping me in finishing every administration requirement and problem.

I sincerely express my big gratitude toMawar, Sasha, Vivi, Itha, my best friends who always stay with me in every up and down along these years. They have made my life so colorful. I wish we will always have a beautiful friendship.

(10)

viii

My thanks go to my other companions,Ook, Udjo, Galih, Deddy, Lissa, Metty, Emen, Miko, Jantri, Krisna, Rendy, Seto, and all the members of PBI 2002 for those unforgettable stories and moments we have shared. I also thank them for the attention, advices, and support during the completion of my thesis. To all my friends in Jakarta and other places, Widhi, Vero, Erika, Vicky, Rene, Mila, Debby, Ertina, Bran, Babam, Agung, I am very happy to know them. I thank them for all of the time we have spent together.

Last but not least, my gratitude goes to those who have helped me go through my life path in any way that I cannot mention one by one. I really thank them for everything that has been given to me.

Yogyakarta, 18 December 2008

(11)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGES ... ii

DEDICATION PAGE... iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI... vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS... ix

ABSTRACT... xii

ABSTRAK ...xiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION... 1

1.1. Background of the Study... 1

1.2. Problem Formulation... 4

1.3. Objectives of the Study ... 5

1.4. Benefits of the Study ... 5

1.5. Definition of Terms ... 6

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE... 8

2.1. Review of Related Theories ... 8

2.1.1. Character ... 9

(12)

2.1.1.2. Types of Character... 10

2.1.2. Characterization ... 11

2.1.2.1. Definitions of Characterization... 12

2.1.2.2. Methods of Characterization... 12

2.1.3. Critical Approaches... 13

2.1.4. Sexuality... 14

2.1.4.1. Characteristics of People with Normal Sexuality... 15

2.1.4.2. Characteristics of People with Abnormal Sexuality.. 15

2.1.4.3. Causes of Abnormal Sexuality ... 17

2.1.5. Motivation ... 18

2.1.6. Hierarchy of Needs... 19

2.1.7. Goals in Life... 20

2.2. Criticism ... 21

2.3. Theoretical Framework ... 22

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY... 24

3.1. Subject Matter ... 24

3.2. Approach of the Study... 25

3.3. Method of the Study ... 25

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS... 27

4.1. The Reasons of Shizuka Kanai for Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life ... 27

(13)

4.1.1. Getting Higher Education... 28

4.1.2. Getting More Friends ... 33

4.1.3. Having a Normal Life ... 35

4.2. The Effects of Shizuka Kanai’s Action on His Life Achievement .... 36

4.2.1. On His Study ... 36

4.2.2. On His Social Relationship ... 40

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS... 45

5.1. Conclusions ... 45

5.2. Suggestions... 47

5.2.1. Suggestion for Future Researchers... 47

5.2.2. Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activities ... 48

REFERENCES... 50

APPENDICES... 52

Summary of Vita Sexualis ... 52

Ogai Mori’s Biography ... 55

Lesson Plan for Teaching Extensive Reading I ... 60

Material for Teaching Extensive Reading I ... 62

Ogai Mori’s Works ... 64

(14)

xii ABSTRACT

(15)

xiii ABSTRAK

(16)

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of five main parts, namely background of the study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study states the description of the topic in this study. The problem formulation contains two basic questions which describe the problems that will be analyzed in this study. The objectives of the study state the purpose of writing the study. The benefits of the study provide the explanation of those who can obtain the benefits from the study. The last part is the definition of terms. In this section, some explanations about several terms that are related to the study are explained to avoid any misunderstanding about them.

1.1 Background of the Study

Sexuality can be divided into two, normal and abnormal. Normal sexuality is what people usually know as the common relationship between man and woman. While abnormal sexuality can be divided into some parts. Two of them are homosexuality and bisexuality. Homosexuality is the condition of a person who has a feeling of loving another person within the same gender. Bisexuality is always the middle ground between sexes, genders, and sexualities, rather than being a sexuality, or indeed a gender or sex, in itself, because it is the “middle” sexuality where a person not only likes to have a relationship with his opposite gender but also with the same gender (Hemmings 2).

(17)

The sexuality matters can be portrayed in works of literature, such as what we find in novels. A novel can widely reflect the society and its various life within, characters of people, laws, norms, religions, or even science. According to Henkle, we come to literature to learn about other people. In literature, we can find so many aspects of life: values, emotions, the power of love, and so on. The works of literature are close to what people think, see, feel, and do in daily experiences (6).

One of many novels which talk about similar realities connecting to sexuality is Vita Sexualis. This novel can be said not only as the best novel but also the most controversial novel by the author Ogai Mori. The novel attempts to wrestle with issues of sexual desire, sex education, and the proper place of sensuality. The author seems to tell his own journey into sexual awareness, spanning fifteen years, from the age of six when he first sees erotic woodcuts, to his first physical response to a woman, and also the moment he meets a professional courtesan.

The setting of the novel is in Meiji era. During that time, pornographic works were secretly published, for the law of censorship was very strict. Many books were banned for describing the love affair of a brother and sister or born of theetaclass and parents of a child, also an intercourse between the young wife of a high school principal and a dentist. Hence, this era was very controversial since the country regulations and the reality seen from the citizen’s life were contradictive. Sexual life was a daily life for them at the time, but they did it unpublishly. Mori explains that from the time where pornographic books were written exclusively by hand and passed around, a few unusual examples of pornography appearing and jumping into the time where all those things were

(18)

widely circulated, of course that very significant change gave shocking value deviation to the Japanese culture and made Japan tighten the codes (9-11).

Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis shares a story about the life journey of a man, especially his experiences in discovering things connected to sexual life. The story starts with the main character, Shizuka Kanai, who is playing around and finally comes to a widow’s house, his neighbor. Six year-old Kanai is an innocent boy that runs out quickly of the house of the widow because of her showing him erotic pictures and he knows that there is something strange and disagreeable with the pictures, even though he does not know for sure what it is. Four years later he finds out that his parents also have those kinds of pictures.

When he is eleven, he sees geishas for the first time and feels they are not people whom he wants to interact with. He feels that even though he has a longing for love and affection, he does not feel, as others feel, any real sexual drive. Actually he does not suffer from any sexual disorientation. He is a normal man with an introvert characteristic, especially in his sexual life. Up to the age of sixteen, he knows only him and his friend, Kojima, who are still virgins to graduate from the English Academy. He is still innocent up to the time he graduates from the university when he is nineteen. But when he is twenty, misled by some accidental and silly inducement, he experiences his first sexual relationship with a prostitute. His sexual desire paralyzes his mind that even though he knows it is wrong, he cannot resist doing it. At the age of twenty one, he feels another sexual relationship with a geisha. Those experiences leave

(19)

uneasiness to him that he does not want to do it again. He finally leaves Japan after receiving the government order allowing him to study abroad. He remains unmarried until the time he goes to Germany.

This topic is very interesting to discuss since Shizuka Kanai is a unique character. It is described in the novel that during Meiji era where prostitutions spread and most people are involved in it, he is one of very few people who are not willing to join that kind of life along his study. He knows that it is not the right thing to do and he restricts himself not to ruin his own life and concentrates on achieving his goal, especially in education. Furthermore, this novel shows us the struggle of Shizuka Kanai to survive in the society which is unfriendly to the person like him who is considered strange and unusual only because of his physical appearance and his straight-thinking thought.

Based on the facts that have been mentioned above, this study is going to underline the motivation of Shizuka Kanai who sustains his normal sexual life and the positive effects he gains as the results of his action. Hopefully, Kanai’s experiences can bring a reflection to the readers of the novel.

1.2 Problem Formulation

Based on the background, there are two problems that will be discussed in the study:

1.2.1. Why does Shizuka Kanai want to sustain his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings?

(20)

1.2.2. How does the action of sustaining his normal sexual life affect his achievement in life?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The aims of the study are to find out why Shizuka Kanai wants to sustain his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings and how this action affects his achievement in life as mentioned in the problem formulation above. Based on those problems, this study intends to reveal Kanai’s motivation and the positive effects of the action to his achievement in life. Moreover, the result of this study wants to enlarge the readers’ knowledge about Meiji era.

1.4 Benefits of the Study

From the study of the novel Vita Sexualis, there is an analysis about the motivation of the main character of the novel, Shizuka Kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings and the results of this action to his future life. Hopefully, it will give the readers some benefits that are described as follows.

First, the study of the novel Vita Sexualis presents important life values to the readers for their reference of further steps of life. Shizuka Kanai can be a good role model since he applies many life values which finally bring him to a success. Second, the study is expected to help anyone who wants to study more about literary works by having this as a reference which may enlarge their literature

(21)

knowledge, especially about Vita Sexualis by Ogai Mori. It brings some additional information in understanding Vita Sexualis which may be useful to analyze the main character based on the psychological point of view.

Finally, the study includes the suggestions of how to use the novel as a source in order to add the variety of language teaching methodology. Some parts of the novel can be used by the lecturer to teach Extensive Reading.

1.5 Definition of Terms

In this section, there are further discussions on several terms. These terms need to be explained in order to give better understanding of the study.

The first word is motivation. Motivation is the reason for doing something; it will influence someone to behave in a specific way. White, Wofford, and Gordon say that motivation refers to “the reasons that cause a character to act as he does” (734). It leads a person to achieve his goals or needs.

The second word is sustain. Sustain has the essence of the situation “if you sustain something, you continue it or maintain it for a period of time” (Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Adult Learners 1574). Sustaining makes someone keep up a certain thing in order to stay the same or if possible, develop to be a better person.

The third word isnormal. Something is defined as normal if it is “regular, standard, natural” or in “the usual condition, level, or quantity” (Webster’s New Explorer Dictionary and Thesaurus 356). In this study, a person might be called sexually normal if he or she has the attraction with the sexually mature member of

(22)

the opposite gender and does not have any sexual disorientation, as in homosexuality or bisexuality.

The fourth word isabnormal. It is a certain behavior which depends upon time, culture, attitudes, and some other factors. Abnormal is labeled to those emotionally disturbed persons and described as “the unique in terms of the general” (Stone viii).

The fifth word is surroundings. The term surroundings signifies “everything that surrounds a place or persons, especially as it influences the quality of life” (Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture 1336). Surroundings can affect people to live as what they see from it.

The last is Vita Sexualis. The title Vita Sexualis is taken from Latin language. According to Moreland and Fleischer, the Latin word Vita means life (433). Therefore, Vita Sexualis means sexual life. In this study, the discussion is about the main character, Shizuka Kanai’s journey in sexual life as the main topic.

(23)

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of review of related theories, criticism, and theoretical framework. The review of related theories covers theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of critical approaches, theory of sexuality, theory of motivation, theory of hierarchy of needs, and theory of goals in life. Criticism contains information about the novel and the author from some sources. Further, theoretical framework describes some explanations of the reviewed theories used in employing the answers of the problems on the problem formulation.

2.1 Review of Related Theories

Theories of related literature consist of seven important parts. The first is theory of character. The second is theory of characterization. The third part is theory of critical approaches. The fourth part is theory of sexuality. The fifth part is theory of motivation. The sixth is theory of hierarchy of needs, and the last part is the theory of goals in life. The theory of character consists of the definitions of character and the types of character. The theory of characterization consists of the definitions of characterization and the methods of characterization. Meanwhile, the theory of sexuality consists of the characteristics of people with normal sexuality, the characteristics of people with abnormal sexuality, and the causes of abnormal sexuality.

(24)

2.1.1 Character

Theory of character contains some crucial parts to understand the characters in the novel. It is important to find out the answer to the first problem of this study. Those parts are definitions of character and types of character.

2.1.1.1 Definitions of Character

Character is one of the most important elements in literary works. Abrams defines character as “a literary genre: a short, and usually witty, sketch in prose of a distinctive type of person” or “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say--the dialogue--and by what they do--the action” (20). In other words, characters are the people in the novel, including their personalities or characteristics. Through the eyes of the characters, the readers can experience not only the characters’ life but also see what Henkle says as “a vision of a world” (48). The characters show the picture of their world in the story and make the readers able to identify the novel’s world.

The character in the novel, as Forster calls as “Homo Fictus” (38), has the qualities of ordinary human beings. They are named, given sexes, provided with personalities, including physical and psychological aspects. But, there is a difference since the characters in the novel can be understood completely because their inner and outer life can be exposed if the author wants to, something that cannot be found in real life (Forster 32).

(25)

Characters have the essence of being stable or changed in the works of literature. One thing to remember is that characters need consistency. They cannot act in a way they impossibly do along the beginning up to the end of the works. It is one of the significant elements that should exist, because they are figures who make the works have the reason to tell something, which is about the characters themselves.

2.1.1.2 Types of Character

Character in literary works can be categorized into some types. Forster as quoted by Abrams divides characters into flat and round. He states a flat character is a character without many details which is built around “a single idea or quality” and can be described in a single phrase or sentence. Meanwhile, a round character is a complex character in temperament and motivation that it is difficult to describe him with any adequacy as a real person. He also has the capability to surprise the reader (20-21).

Stanton differentiates character into main or central character and peripheral character. A main character is the person who is relevant to every event in the story, and usually the events cause some changes either in him or in the readers’ attitudes toward him. A main character always appears continuously, so it seems that he dominates the whole story. On the other hand, a peripheral character is the person who seems to appear rarely in the story. His presentation is not as many as the main character and less dominant in changing (17-18).

(26)

Character also can be divided into protagonist and antagonist. Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. say that the most important character in a story, the one to whom all the events in the story have relevance is called protagonist. Usually, it is easy for the readers to identify him and give sympathy. When a protagonist is involved in conflict with another character, the other is called the antagonist. Antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist and usually the readers do not admire this kind of character (20).

Finally, character has other types based on the development or changes. Perrine states two types of character, static and dynamic character. A static character is the same sort person at the end of the story as he was at the beginning. It means that the character does not change. While a dynamic character is the person who is capable to change in some aspects of his character. The change may be large or small, and may be for better or for worse (71).

A character has its own characterization that is different with other characters. It may undergo a radical change or even does not change at all. Thus, it can bring a change in the characterization and opinion.

2.1.2 Characterization

Theory of characterization consists of some important parts to assist in answering the first problem of this study. Those parts are definitions of characterization and methods of characterization.

(27)

2.1.2.1 Definitions of Characterization

Abcarian and Klotz define characterization as “the process by which the characters are rendered to make them seem real to the reader” (6). From the definition, characterization means the way of the author in describing the characters so that the readers are able to differentiate a character from the others and figure out the ideas, thoughts, and information brought by each character. However, the more we think about characterization, we come to the fact that it cannot be separated from the other elements of fiction: tone, plot, theme, setting, and so on. Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. present characterization as “the process by which the author creates character, the device by which he makes us believe a character is the particular type of person he is” (20). It shows that the author has to introduce a certain character and create situations, so that the character can bring his role to life in the story.

2.1.2.2 Methods of Characterization

Murphy states that there are nine ways he attempts “to make the characters understandable to, and come alive for, his readers” (161). The first way is by personal description. The author is able to describe a person’s physical appearance and clothes in the story (161). The second is character as seen by another. The author describes the character through the eyes and opinions of another and therefore the readers get a reflected image (162). The third is by speech. Whenever a character speaks or is in conversation with another or puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clues to his character (164). The fourth is past life.

(28)

The author gives a clue to events that have to shape a person by letting the readers learn something about his character through past life. It is done by some ways like direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his conversation, or through the medium of another person (166). Next is by conversation of others. We can get clues of characters through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him (167). The sixth is by reaction. It can be a clue for the readers to know how a character reacts to various situations and events (168). The seventh way is by direct comment. The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly (170). The eighth is by thought. The author gives direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. He can tell us about the thoughts of the characters in the story. He wants to show the characters’ personalities in a perspective way by coming into their inmost thoughts (171). The last way is by mannerism. The readers can get clues of one’s characters by his mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies (173).

2.1.3 Critical Approaches

According to Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., there are five kinds of critical approaches which are used as means of understanding the nature function and positive values of literature. The first approach is the formalist approach. It is based on the total integrity of the literary piece and concerned with the esthetic value of the work (6-7). The second is the biographical approach. It is concerned with the necessity for an appreciation of the ideas and personality of the author in order to understand the literary object. Biographical material may bring many

(29)

useful facts that can help the readers to understand as well as appreciate the literary object (8-9). The third is the social cultural historical approach. It defines civilization as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people. In literature, the attitudes and actions take part as its subject matter. Literature is also a criticism of life that affects human in society, and great literature should express the values of order, restraint, and human dignity (9-11). The fourth is the mythopoeic approach. It has the aim of discovering certain universally recurrent patterns of human thought (11-13). The last approach is the psychological approach. It involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns of human beings. The theories of psychology are applied in order to explain the character’s personality in the story (13-15).

2.1.4 Sexuality

In sexuality, there are two main types to discuss. Those are normal and abnormal sexuality. People with normal sexuality are those who live their life in a common way, have an intimate relationship between opposite sexes. This type of sexuality is what people believe as the right orientation. On the other hand, abnormal sexuality is the sexuality with disorientation. There are some kinds of abnormal sexuality, but the most common are homosexuality and bisexuality. Hemmings defines homosexuality as the condition in which a person is sexually attracted to another person within the same sex, while bisexuality is a “middle” condition between normal and abnormal sexuality, since the person who has this disorientation is not only sexually attracted to the opposite gender but also the same gender (2).

(30)

2.1.4.1 Characteristics of People with Normal Sexuality

Jim Smith presents the idea of normal and abnormal behavior, including sexuality, based on various theories in the area of psychology that have developed over the years. He finds that the existence of abnormal behavior depends upon several conditions such as time, culture, and attitudes (5). In sexuality, sexual dysfunctions and sexual variants are the so-called “abnormalities” of human. Hence, it can be concluded that normal sexuality means the state of sexually with no dysfunction or variant suffered by a person. Sexual orientation comes up unconsciously in human’s mind. It is a kind of archetypes that are not ready-made ideas because they are genetically psychic inheritances (Bressler 154-155). Sometimes the orientation also can be acquired through mental illness, interaction, and a process of learning (Smith 5-8). Therefore, heterosexuals, people with the desire of sexual engagement with a sexually mature member of the opposite gender, are those who are considered as normal (Smith 138).

2.1.4.2 Characteristics of People with Abnormal Sexuality

According to Smith, abnormal sexuality can be divided into two major parts, sexual dysfunctions and sexual variants. Sexual dysfunction refers to “impairment either in the desire for sexual gratification or in the ability to achieve it”. It is something that is related to someone’s personal health and background. For example, erectile insufficiency and frigidity (137). On the other hand, sexual variant is “behavior in which satisfaction is dependent primarily on something other than a mutually desired sexual engagement with a sexually mature member of the opposite gender” (138).

(31)

Smith divides sexual variants into thirteen types. The first is male and female homosexuality. This condition is based on the sexual attraction of a person to another within the same gender (138). The second is bisexuality. Bisexuality is considered as one of homosexual types. Bisexuals are “individuals who engage in both homosexual and heterosexual practices during a sustained period”. Many homosexuals who are desperate with their homosexuality life would fit into this category (139). The third is transvestism and transsexualism. Transvestism covers those who achieve sexual excitement by dressing as a member of the opposite sex, while transsexualism is a case of “a person who feels “trapped” in a body of the opposite sex”. There is an indication that their cross-gender identity began in childhood and continued into adulthood (139). The fourth is prostitution. It is a kind of sexual relations as a transaction, in return for money (140). The fifth is fetishism. The sufferer is interested to some body parts of inanimate objects, such as an article of clothing (140). The sixth is sexual variants involving nonconsent or assault, which involves “a definite element of injury or significant risk of injury, physical or psychological, to one or more parties involved in a sexual encounter” (140). The seventh is voyeurism. It refers to the achievement of sexual pleasure through secretly looking at the forbidden; for example, undressing female (140). The eighth is exhibitionism. Exhibitionist gets sexual excitement by exposing the genital part to members of the opposite sex under inappropriate conditions; such as in parks or more public places (141). The ninth is sadism, in which the sufferer achieves sexual stimulation and gratification by inflicting physical pain on the sexual partner (141). The tenth is masochism; it “includes deriving pleasure from self-denial, expiatory physical suffering (such as that of

(32)

religious flagellant), and suffering in general” (141). The eleventh is incest. It happens when there is a sexual relation between family members within the same blood (141). The twelfth is pedophilia, with children as the object of sexual pleasure (142). The last type is rape. Raping is “sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse by a person with another who is compelled to submit to force” (142).

2.1.4.3 Causes of Abnormal Sexuality

Abnormal sexuality or sexual perversions may happen because of some stimulation. According to Alan Stone and Sue Smart Stone, “perversions, like any other symptoms, are not simply fixations, but also represent an attempt to deal with anxiety or conflict” (319). Smith states that there are some factors which are seen as the causes of abnormal sexuality. Sexual dysfunctions may be affected by genital injuries, disease, fatigue, excessive alcohol, and others as follows (Smith 137).

The first is faulty learning. It can lead young people to start out with wrong expectations and information that possibly impair their sexual adequacy (138). The second concerns feelings of fear, anxiety, and inadequacy. They are attributed to faulty learning and later aversive experiences (138). Interpersonal problems are also considered as a factor. Emotions and feelings take roles in this factor (138). The fourth is changing male-female roles and relationships. Sometimes men feel less dominant than women who expect too much in the relationship, so that it affects men sexually (138). Other factors are homosexuality, low sex drive, and rejection and disturbed family background

(33)

which make it difficult for a person to get involved in an interpersonal relationship.

Meanwhile, sexual variants may be affected by three factors. The first is the normal level absence of adults presence of the opposite sex (138). The second is individual’s lack of social skills which are actually important for adult heterosexual relationships (138). The last is the failure of creating a firm psychological gender identity inside oneself (138).

2.1.5 Motivation

Motivation is the reason for a person to do something. It will cause someone to behave specifically. There are some definitions of motivation which come from various experts. Wright, Taylor, Davies, Sluckin, Lee, and Reasor say that motive is a particular level of reasons for doing something as when we discuss motives for a crime, for example. It refers to that which causes an individual to behave in a specific way (206). Jung states that sometimes we cannot separate motivation with emotion because emotion operates motives in generating responses. He simply considers both motives and emotions as motives (4).

According to Bootzin, Loftus, Zajonc Black, La Piccolo, and Holahan, “motive is the dynamic property of behavior that gives it organization over time and that defines its end states”. It is the purpose that leads someone’s behavior in order to achieve goals or needs as the end state (367). They divide motivation into two parts, external and internal motivation. The external motivation orincentusis the motivation that comes because of the environment influences, while the internal motivation ordrivescomes from the person himself (368). They also have

(34)

the theory of extrinsic motivation for the behavior that is motivated by external reward, while intrinsic motivation is for the behavior motivated by an individual’s established persons (383).

2.1.6 Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s definition about motivation, as explained by Petri, relates to the human needs. People’s behavior is caused by some motives and that they conduct actions to fulfill their needs. According to Maslow, there are five basic needs which are stated in the hierarchy of needs. The first needs are the physiological needs. The need for food, liquid, shelter, sex, sleep, and oxygen are the most basic, powerful, and obvious of all human needs since they are needs for physical survival. These needs are primary needs for human being (302-303).

The second are the safety needs. A person needs the safety to grow in order to feel secure. It will emerge after the physiological needs are satisfied (303). The third are the belongingness and love needs. Maslow says that without love, the growth and development of someone’s ability will be troubled. Love is a healthy-loving relationship between two people, which includes mutual trust. It involves both giving and receiving (303). The fourth are the esteem needs. Maslow defines two kinds of esteem needs, self-respect and esteem from other people. Self-esteem growing in a person will cause him to be more confident, capable, and productive (303-304).

The fifth needs are the self-actualization needs. Self-actualization needs will emerge when the first four levels of need have been satisfied. It is the desire

(35)

someone has inside to prove himself, become more and more what he is, as well as become everything that he is capable of becoming (304-305).

2.1.7 Goals in Life

When a person has a motivation to achieve something, he attempts to get the goals. Halsey defines goals as “dreams with deadlines”. Individual can make his dreams come true by setting goals and trying some efforts in order to bring them into realization. She says that “by setting goals and identifying what you need to do to get there, will cut down on a lot of stress in your life. At the same time, you will be making those dreams a reality”.

Bryan presents eight steps of goal achievement theory that he believes can help to manage actions of pursuing goals. The first step is by defining the goal. A person has to start with defining goal as precisely as possible, for example a good job, a new car, or anything else. The second is visualizing. By visualizing that the goal comes true, a person can picture himself after the goal has come true. The third is by writing the goals down. Writing down things to achieve and often looking at them encourage a person not to stop trying. The fourth is to believe it will happen. Doubting causes goal will not happen because it is admitting defeat. A person needs to believe that he is worthy of the goal. The fifth step is by gaining the knowledge. It means finding out what other people do to achieve the same goal. The sixth step is working out a plan. A person should look at where he is now, where he wants to be, and work backwards, step by step, until he can see what the first step is, that he needs to take to get to his goal. The seventh is taking

(36)

the first step. Often becoming the hardest part to do, taking the first step has much power to support a person in pursuing his goal, because it leads to other steps follow. The last step is to keep going. Even though the efforts to do are getting tougher, they still have to be faced

(Bryan, Gordon. 8 Step Basic Goal Achievement Theory.

http://www.icbs.com/KB/inspiration/kb_inspiration-8-step-basic-goal-achievement-theory.htm, accessed on August 8, 2008).

2.2 Criticism

In order to understand the novel Vita Sexualis deeply, some criticisms from some books, articles, and sites that relate to the novel and Ogai Mori as the author of the novel are gathered. The article of James Reichert from Asian Languages of Stanford University states that Ogai Mori waged a 20-year campaign against Naturalism. The culmination of this extended campaign was Vita Sexualis, a work that strove to discredit Naturalism and its founding principles. He considers Ogai Mori’s mobilization in utilizing two strategies to attack Naturalism: history and science. He says about how the author will explore the way that those two strategies work with and against each other.

Some sites of Ogai Mori comment on how he left behind no direct disciples to carry on his work, but the extraordinary range of his activities, the high seriousness of his purpose, and the enormous influence he exerted on both contemporary and later writers have caused him to be ranked with Natsume Soseki as one of the preeminent writers of the Meiji period.

(37)

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of "Vita Sexualis" is its lack of sexuality. Ostensibly a record of burgeoning sexuality, written by a father to his son, so that his son would be better prepared for his own maturation, the main character is almost completely asexual, unable to understand the rampant behavior of his friends and contemporaries. He openly admits that he has never experienced the desires that seem to drive everyone around him. Women and men make themselves available to him, but he is defiant in his moral purity and never indulges.

They say that Vita Sexualis is a sexual philosophy in which it does not describe sexuality as something vulgar, but in fact, it is wrapped in a serious and intelligent way of writing. The readers will find the novel as a soft description of sexual life in Meiji era.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

This study analyzes the motivation of Shizuka Kanai, the main character of Mori’s Vita Sexualis, for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings. Based on the theory of critical approaches by Rohrberger and Woods, the psychological approach is used to help in analyzing the main character of the story.

This part is going to describe the contribution of the theories to support and answer the problems. The theory of character and characterization are needed to know who Shizuka Kanai is. The theory of character is important to explain about what is meant by character. It helps to reveal Shizuka Kanai’s character which also deals with some characters in the novel and to see the novel’s world through the characters’ eyes. The theory of characterization is employed to discover the characterization of the characters. In the first problem, the analysis is dealing with the motivation of Shizuka Kanai. Therefore, the theory of motivation

(38)

and the theory of hierarchy of needs are applied. The theory of motivation gives information about what motivation is and helps to reveal the motive behind Shizuka Kanai’s actions and decisions. The theory of hierarchy of needs provides information about Shizuka Kanai’s needs in the relation with his motivation. The psychological approach is used to observe what really influence Shizuka Kanai’s life and decisions.

The second problem is about how the action of Shizuka Kanai affects his achievement in life. The theory of sexuality and the theory of goals in life are utilized. The theory of sexuality is used to give information about some characters’ sexual life and orientations, including Shizuka Kanai. The theory of goals in life is applied to know what is meant by goals and the effect of Shizuka Kanai’s action to it.

(39)

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY

This chapter is divided into three major parts. The first part is subject matter. It contains the specification of the study and a brief summary on the story of the novel. The second part is approach of the study, which describes the suitable approach for this literary study. The third part is method of the study. It explains how this study is conducted, what sources are used, and steps taken in analyzing the novel.

3.1 Subject Matter

The subject matter of the study is a novel Vita Sexualis that was written by Ogai Mori and published by Tuttle Publishing, Massachusetts 2001. It consists of one hundred and fifty three pages and is divided into sixteen chapters. With its title Vita Sexualis, this novel is considered as one of the most successful novels that Mori has ever created. Mori, who was born in Tsuwano, January 19, 1862, wrote many other novels along his life. Some of them are Half a Day (1909), Youth (1910), Under Reconstruction (1910), Delusions (1911), and The Wild Goose (1911).

The story of Vita Sexualis is about Shizuka Kanai, a young man who faces the reality in Japanese atmosphere along the Meiji era. He has many conflicts dealing with the sexual life happening around him. The condition forces him to overcome the pressure of Japanese life style with the supports from his close people. He spends fifteen years to develop his sexual awareness while also trying to fulfill his interest in having a good formal education.

(40)

3.2 Approach of the Study

As mentioned in Chapter 2, there are five approaches that Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. offer. Among them, the approach to apply in this study is the psychological approach. The main concern of this approach is the characters’ personalities in the story. This approach is mainly used to study the psychological side of Shizuka Kanai in order to reveal his personality and the motivation he brings for sustaining his normal sexual life. Therefore, the appropriate approach for this study is the psychological approach.

3.3 Method of the Study

In gathering the data, the means used was the library research. It became the option because most of the data for this study were searched and found in the library. The references were particularly on the literary theories, the approaches, criticisms, and much other information.

There were two kinds of sources that were used in this study. They were primary source and secondary source. The primary source was the novel itself, Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis, published by Tuttle Publishing, Massachusetts 2001.

The secondary sources included the books, the articles of related theories, and the criticisms on the author and the novel. Some of the main sources selected were Forster’s Aspects of the Novel: And Related Writings, Henkle’s Reading the Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques of Interpreting Fiction, Rohrberger and Woods, Jr.’s Reading and Writing about Literature, Smith’s Abnormal Behaviors, Stone’s The Abnormal Personality through Literature, and other books and articles utilized for assistance in this study. The complete lists of sources can be seen in the References section.

(41)

Some steps were taken in analyzing the novel. The first step was reading the novel Vita Sexualis as the main source of this study and trying to find out what the story was all about. The second step was selecting the interesting topics or the problems in the novel that were going to be discussed in this study. In obtaining good understanding to the story of the novel, it needed a few times to read the novel. The third step was outlining the main points to be discussed. The fourth step was gathering information about the related theories, the most appropriate approach, and criticisms to analyze the problems. The fifth step was trying to answer the problems based on the information found. The last step was making the result of this study into a conclusion.

(42)

CHAPTER FOUR ANALYSIS

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part discusses Shizuka Kanai’s reasons for sustaining his normal sexual life. It is an attempt to answer the first problem. In this part, the role of Shizuka Kanai as the main character is analyzed. The second part is a discussion on the effects of the achievement on his life.

4.1 The Reasons of Shizuka Kanai for Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life The novel Vita Sexualis tells about a life journey of a man especially in the sexual life, from the age of six up to the age of twenty one. The story describes experiences that the main character goes through along those periods of time.

As explained in the theory of character, a main character is the person who is relevant to every event in the story and appears continuously, so it seems that he dominates the whole story; while a peripheral character is the person who rarely appears in the story (Stanton 17-18). From this theory, it can be concluded that Shizuka Kanai is the main character in Vita Sexualis since he is the one who becomes the center of the story and appears continuously from the beginning to the end of the story. The novel shares Kanai’s life as the main topic. It is seen from how Kasuji Ninomiya, the writer for Vita Sexualis in the introduction, explains about the novel. He directly describes

(43)

Thus the narrator-hero of Vita Sexualis declares he will endeavor to write the history of the sexual desires of one Shizuka Kanai, himself, but the result of this nineteen-year chronicle of a sexual life is that Ogai succeeds in creating that twofold path of body and spirit in all its psychologically ambivalent complexity (16).

Character is also divided into flat and round. Forster describes a flat character as a character without many details and can be simply defined. On the other hand, a round character is a character with many changes and complexities (20-21). Based on the character division, Shizuka Kanai is considered as a flat character. Along the story, Kanai is always described as a straight-thinking person. He never changes his thought about sexual life. He is also always interested in knowledge, especially literature. The author Ogai Mori uses Kanai’s thought and reaction to emphasize his flat character.

Probably Kojima and I were the only virgins to graduate from the English Academy. And even after entering the department of literature at our university, we kept the moral sanctions of our triumvirate intact so that Kojima and I remained innocent (102).

It shows how Kanai’s perspective concerning sexual life remains the same. He always believes that sexuality issues will somehow be an obstacle to his efforts in pursuing what he desires in life.

After the analysis on the character, the first problem arises. To discover Kanai’s reasons for sustaining his normal sexual life, the theory of motivation especially Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is utilized.

4.1.1 Getting Higher Education

As mentioned in chapter 2, Maslow states there are five elements of human basic needs in the hierarchy of needs. They are physiological needs, safety

(44)

needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs (302-305).

In the novel, it is described that Kanai is an intelligent student. At the age of ten, he says “My father began teaching me English a little at a time” (38). He is a young man with a big curiosity. He likes reading very much and willing to learn new things. However, he is not a man who has a special interest in sexual life. When he is eleven years old, he enters a private school located at Ikizaka in Hongo where German is taught. He goes there because his father wants him to take mining as the specialization. Kanai’s father lodges him in the home of the famous Professor Azuma to ease him going to school since his estate at Mukojima is too far from the school.

During the time I lived at Professor Azuma’s, I was never pressured by sexual desires (56).

My lesson at school did not seem very difficult. Since I had studied English under my father’s instruction, I had been using a dictionary by a man named Adler. It was in two volumes, one German-English, the other English-German. Whenever I was bored, I would amuse myself by looking up such a word asmember and then finding its equivalentzeugungsliedor by looking up the wordpudendaand findingscham(57).

When Kanai is thirteen, he gives up German and enters the Tokyo English Academy. The change is not because he cannot follow the German lessons, but partly because of the revision of the educational system by the Ministry of Education and partly because of his interest in studying philosophy. In this new school, his passion for reading gets its proper place. There is a library in the dormitory. Kanai makes use of this means to fulfill his self-actualization needs. Maslow explains that self-actualization needs involve the desire someone has inside to prove himself and to become more and more what he is, as well as to

(45)

achieve everything that he is capable (304-305). Kanai needs to feed his hunger of knowledge, therefore he reads books regularly.

Permission was granted to the owner of a lending library to trade in the dormitory. I was one of his regular customers. I read Bakin. I read Kyoden. When I found someone had taken out Shunsui and was reading him, I even borrowed that book “secondhand” from him and read it (61). At the age of fourteen, Kanai keeps on showing his intelligence. Still, he does not feel any real sexual desire yet. He finds much more interest in books of knowledge rather than those romance books. He seems to focus on the study and think less about special relationships of men and women.

As usual, my daily lessons still didn’t give me any trouble. Whenever I had some free time, I read those books from the lending library. Because I was gradually able to read faster, I finished almost all the works of Bakin and Kyoden. Then I tried reading some other writers, those of the historical romances we callyomihon, but I found them uninteresting. I read some of the so-called ninjobon, novels which describe the love affairs of lower class people, borrowing the books secondhand from my friends. These relationships between men and women flashed through my mind as if in some beautiful dream. But then that dream faded without leaving any deep impression (73).

After Kanai passes the final exams in the school when he is fifteen, there is a great amount of students who are eliminated from school because of failing their study. Shonosuke Hanyu, Kanai’s playmate in school, is one of them. In those days Kanai finds two new friends, Koga and Kojima. Koga becomes Kanai’s roommate in the school dormitory due to the students’ shakeup. At first, Kanai has a bad feeling about Koga and they do not blend instantly. When they are in their room, Koga discovers Kanai’s books and essays. He asks “What sort of books are those?” (88). Kanai explains about the books and leads Koga to question the purpose in reading them. Koga thinks that it is useless to read books if there is no particular goal.

(46)

“What’s your purpose in reading that kind of stuff?” “It’s not for any particular purpose.”

“Then it’s all useless, isn’t it?’

“If that’s the case, then my, or anyone’s, entering this school and pursuing an education is useless, don’t you think? You probably didn’t enter only to become a government official or a teacher, did you?”

“You mean that when you graduate, you don’t want to become a government official or teacher?”

“Well, I may. But I’m not studying just to become one.”

“You mean, then, you’re studying in order to learn, that is, you’re studying for the sake of study?”

“Well. Yes, I guess that’s right.” “Well, you’re an interesting kid” (89).

Kanai clearly loves studying and developing his knowledge. He does not see education as something obligatory for him to do, but in fact, it is something that he really likes and concerns about. The same day, Koga asks Kanai to join him for a walk. Even though Kanai does not like him, he is willing to try going out together with Koga. Later, they see a young girl about twelve or thirteen years old who works as a Japanese street dancer in a public square.

“I don’t know what kind of child she is,” Koga said, “but she’s been treated badly, hasn’t she?”

“Probably Chinese children are treated more harshly. I once heard that a Chinese baby was placed in a square box, forced to grow square, and then put on display. The Chinese may be capable of that kind of thing.”

“How did you come to hear that story?”

“It’s in theGushoshinshi, a Chinese book on biography and anecdotes.” “You certainly read strange things. You’re an interesting kid” (90).

Again, Kanai gives the impression that he enjoys gaining knowledge. His needs of self-actualization are fulfilled by developing his knowledge and achieving a good education in his study.

Kanai becomes a university student in the department of literature and lives in a boardinghouse at the age of sixteen. He assumes that probably Kojima

(47)

and he are the only virgin graduates from the English Academy. They even keep the moral sanctions of their friendship after becoming university students that affects their innocence.

When Kanai is seventeen years old, his father becomes an official in Kosuge prison in Tokyo and decides to move to Kosuge. Kanai spends his weekends by visiting his parents at Kosuge. Kanai’s mother knows a girl who is very skillful in playing koto. The girl occasionally visits Kanai’s mother so that sometimes Kanai meets her when he is on holidays. Being closer enough to Kanai’s mother, it is discovered that the girl wants to be Kanai’s wife. She looks for a husband who is at least a university graduate, and that is the reason why she approaches Kanai. But since Kanai does not consider marrying anyone at that age, he refuses it. He chooses to focus on his education.

I didn’t especially dislike this clever, active girl, but because I had no interest in marrying that early, nothing came of the entire episode, falling through like water absorbed in sand (107).

The seriousness of Kanai in achieving a good education from his study also proven by the way he studies hard. Kanai says “Since the graduation exams were drawing nearer, I thought of going to some quieter place to study for them” (108). He willingly goes to his house in Mukojima which is a perfect place for preparing the exams. As a result, he graduates from the university at the age of nineteen. There is an opinion from someone that Kanai is so young to be considered as a university graduate. He graduates without any experience in a special relationship with a woman. Yet, his hard work is ready to be paid off. Kanai thinks that he has a big chance to study abroad, so he waits for the good

(48)

news. “There was talk I would finally go abroad to study next year. As usual I idled away my time in our house in Kosuge” (127).

Kanai is twenty one years old when finally the decision of going abroad is given. His achievement in getting a higher formal education is a real evidence of how far his motivation can bring him.

That same year on the seventh of June I received the government order allowing me to study abroad. I was to head for Germany.

I went to the home of a German to study conversation with him. My studies during my early days at Ikizaka proved quite helpful.

I boarded a ship at Yokohama on the twenty fourth of August. It so happened that I left Japan without marrying anyone (146).

Kanai's sacrifice to repress the desire of love, relationship, and even sensual pleasures certainly helps him to get what he pursues.

4.1.2 Getting More Friends

Kanai is an introvert person. He has only few friends in his school or neighborhood. So when he has a new friend who shares similar thoughts and interests with him, he will keep the friendship to last. The esteem needs are the needs that Kanai tries to fulfill by making friends. If the needs are satisfied, a person can be more confident, capable, and productive (303-304). When Kanai returns to Mukojima during summer vacation, he finds a friend named Eiichi Bito. They have something in common, which is reading. It is what makes Kanai maintain his good relationship with Eiichi.

Eiichi, whose face was flat and yellowish, was morose and taciturn. He was quite good at Chinese literature. He was most enthusiastic about the famous poet and Confucian scholar Sankei Kikuchi. I read his anthology, Seisetsuroshisho, after borrowing it from Eiichi. I read Kikuchi’s parody of a Chinese classic, Honcho-gushoshinshi. When I heard that Sankei had

(49)

published some poems, I went to Asakusa and bought Kagetsushinshi, the magazine they appeared in, came home, and read them. The two of us even attempted composing some poems ourselves. We tried writing short essays in the manner of the Chinese classic. These were the kinds of things we enjoyed doing most (80).

They share the same hobby and enjoy some quality time together. Since Eiichi is a person who seems to avoid sensual pleasures at least until he has a degree, this influences Kanai. As the friendship grows, Kanai’s interest in knowledge and studying also grows. Eiichi becomes a good friend to support Kanai and his interest, “I competed with Eiichi in our exercises of composing essays in the Chinese manner. When we became more interested in it, we wanted to study Chinese composition with a good teacher” (96).

As time passes by, Kanai begins to get along well with Koga, his dormitory roomate. Through Koga, finally he also has a friendship with Kojima. The three young man are about to become best friends. This alliance is another factor that makes Kanai sustains his normal sexual life. Like Eiichi, Koga and Kojima also influence Kanai to remain safe from sensual pleasures, as “Kojima was a most innocent child. His sexual life was a complete zero” (94). On the other hand, Koga is actually not that innocent. Sometimes after drinking some sake and not feeling in a good mood, he will leave the dormitory, usually at night, to release his sexual desire, but then he will regret it (94).

Kanai does not think of sexual desire in such point of view as many other students in the school do partly due to the friendship he has with Koga and Kojima. They have a big role in avoiding Kanai to associate with other students who can become stumbling blocks for him. The three of them often get together and criticize other students’ behavior (95).

(50)

4.1.3 Having a Normal Life

Kanai’s thought about sexual life is basically always positive. He is attentive of the values and consequences related to sexuality. He prefers to stay away from sexuality matters as well as he can. His self-actualization needs are completed by having a normal life. When Koga’s friend, Adachi, happens to have an intimate relationship with a prostitute, Kanai reflects the issue as something deviating yet can be understood if it happens in the society.

Of course I felt no greater joy existed than obedience to one’s parents. And for the sake of this obedience it was a fine thing to restrain one’s sexual desires as much as possible. It was not strange, however, to find that some human beings were unable to (100).

Kanai sustains his normal sexual life also for the sake of health. He does not want to get any disease from an abnormal sexuality may cause. He thinks that “Concealed at the bottom of my heart was, afterwards, a kind of uneasiness. It concerned the question of whether or not I might pick up some awful disease” (139). His awareness of abnormal sexuality lets him not to distract his life focus with sexuality problems.

From the discussion above, the reasons of Kanai’s action for sustaining his normal sexual life are revealed. He is motivated by the will to get a higher education, to get more friends, and to have a normal life. Therefore, he chooses to stay in the right direction of life, trying not to be involved in negative influences. Then, after finding out the motivation, the analysis continues to the second problem.

(51)

4.2 The Effects of Shizuka Kanai’s Action on His Life Achievement

There are two major discussions in this part, sexuality and goals in life. As explained before in chapter 2, sexuality is divided into normal and abnormal. There are thirteen types of abnormal sexual variants namely homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism and transsexualism, prostitution, fetishism, assault sexuality, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism, masochism, incest, pedophilia, and raping. The theory of sexuality is used to find out the sexual orientation of some characters in the novel, while the theory of goals in life provides information about steps taken to achieve goals which relate to Kanai’s action.

4.2.1 On His Study

Kanai’s consideration of good and bad things has been started from the time when he is still young. When he is ten years old, he watches the Bon Festival dancing which is quite popular in the province. At the time he enjoys the festival, he hears a conversation of two dancers talking about a prostitution area.

While I was watching the dance, I happened to overhear some masked dancers talking to one another. Apparently the two men knew each other. “Last night you went to Atagoyama, didn’t you?”

“What you making that up for?” “Oh no? Someone said you did.”

While they were arguing in this way, another man beside them cut in: “If you go up there early in the morning, you can find a lot of stuff left behind.”

A burst of laughter followed. Feeling as if I had touched something dirty, I stopped watching the dance and returned home (46).

Kanai knows that the conversation is something he does not suppose to hear, so he decides to leave the festival even though he actually does not know exactly the real essence of the conversation.

(52)

Kanai is eleven years old when he sees prostitutes for the first time. Kuriso, the steward who becomes Kanai’s friend when he is alone, asks him to go for a walk together. They pass some places and eventually come to a street which has many women whose faces are covered with white paint. Kanai thinks that their faces are not ordinary. They have strange face make-up and look similar one another. “Though I didn’t understand what I was witnessing at that time, I later learned that these faces were for sale. These were the faces of prostitutes” (52). The women call and tease Kuriso, but he enters the shop where the woman he already knows is. Kanai does not feel comfortable with the situation that he hesitates to go into the shop.

A remarkably high-pitched voice yelled these words. Kuriso entered the woman’s shop and sat down. Since I merely stood where I was, a look of disgust on my face, Kuriso waved me in to take a seat (52).

Kuriso and the woman talk about an adult topic. Their conversation is something that Kanai cannot join. Kanai does not mind because he knows that the woman is a type of person he avoids.

They spoke in this way. Their words had two kinds of meaning. Kuriso never considered I would be able to conceive the second meaning behind their words. The woman also treated me as if I were nonexistent. Not that I was complaining however. I found her quite disagreeable. I didn’t want to have her talking to me (53).

It shows that Kanai has developed a mature sense of sexual life from young age. He already knows how to choose the kind of life that is best for him.

In the same year, Kanai studies German and lives at Professor Azuma’s house. He focuses so much on the study that he does not find it interesting to explore the sexual life. One day, he discovers a conversation between the houseboy and the maid of Professor Azuma.

(53)

He was explaining to her something like the following: A woman’s machinery can be put to use at any time. It can go into operation without any relation to feelings. A man’s machinery is at times serviceable, at times not. If a man takes a fancy to something, his machinery springs forward. If he feels something distasteful, it gives poor showing. The maid was listening with crimson ears. Disgusted, I returned to my room (56-57). Kanai is a young man with big curiosity, but he is uncomfortable to hear or talk about sexuality. Moreover, the topic is something that does not relate to educative sexuality matter.

Kanai’s action for sustaining his normal sexual life gives him the opportunity to focus more on his education. His goal to get the government’s scholarship to study abroad in Germany needs proper preparations, and since he is not distracted by any sexuality matter, he has more time to study. Kanai’s life is surrounded by some events which show him that sexuality matters can bring some negative effects to someone’s life. Hanyu’s experience is one of them. He has a relationship with an apprenticed geisha and it disturbs his study (79).

Henmi, one of Kanai’s senior students from the queers also cannot make it well in school. He is a homosexual. That abnormal sexuality distracts his concentration in the study.

After the final exams at the close of the past year there had been such a great weeding out of students that each class had some members who left school. the majority of these sacrificial candidates were mashers. Even little Hanyu was eliminated along with the others.

Henmi also dropped out of school. But only recently had he suddenly turned into a masher, lengthening his kimono sleeves and hishakamaskirt and plastering his hair with perfumed pomade, that hair of his which had formerly pointed to the heavens like the leaves of a palm tree (85).

Another example from Kanai’s surrounding that sexuality matter can ruin life is the experience of Adachi, a good friend of Koga. He is intimate with a

(54)

prostitute and tied up to her. Not so long after, he is expelled from school. He has a gloomy life as the result of the relationship.

About a year later I heard a rumor that a handsome policeman in a section of Asakusa was quite the gay blade among many nurses and widows. Several years later Koga was at Okuyama in Asakusa and happened to meet a man dressed in a wadded garment made of taffeta, his face sinister, his cheeks hollow. They said that was the miserable end of Adachi, who was being kept by a female acrobat performing in a cheap Okuyama tent show (100-101).

Kanai learns many things from his surroundings. He is wise enough to take lessons from others’ experiences. Bryan states in chapter 2 that there are eight steps of goal achievement theory; defining the goal, visualizing, writing the goals down, to believe it will happen, gaining the knowledge, working out a plan, taking the first step, and to keep going. Kanai’s expectation to get permission to study abroad in Germany is the way he defines the goal of his life. A person has to start with defining goal as precisely as possible. He studies hard and puts aside his curiosity as a young man in exploring sexual life. Kanai also has a strong belief that he will get the scholarship. It is another way to manage actions of pursuing goals, to believe it will happen. A person needs to believe that he is worthy of the goal. Otherwise, he admits defeat.

Since my class standing when I graduated was good, it was rumored I might be permitted to study abroad at government expense. However, since it was far from being settled, my father was worried. I wasn’t, so lying on my bed in my four-and-a-half mat room in our official residence at Kosuge, I read my books (120).

Another step that Kanai does is gaining the knowledge. It is no doubt that Kanai is willing to diligently study in order to achieve his goal. He likes to read a

(55)

lot, and it becomes his nature to read anything that is interesting to him. Taking the first step and keep going are other ways Kanai works out. He never gives up on his study and in fact, he enjoys studying. He knows exactly what he wants in life and does the steps required to get his goal. As a final point, Kanai’s goal to study abroad is achieved.

4.2.2 On His Social Relationship

Smith divides abnormal sexuality into thirteen types, which are homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism and transsexualism, prostitution, fetishism, nonconsent or assault sexuality, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism, masochism, incest, pedophilia, and raping (138-142).

Kanai’s school has its own dormitory. Kanai says “It was there that I first heard about sodomy” (58). He finds out that his classmate, Kagenokoji is the object of those students who cannot have girls to love. This abnormal sexuality they suffer is homosexuality. Some of the dormitory students are trapped in their life condition that makes them attracted to others within the same gender. One of the students also looks upon Kanai as the object. He starts to offer Kanai some refreshment and some chats. But then he becomes more intimate and scares Kanai.

From the beginning, though, I felt his kindness was a little too tenacious, so I didn’t like it, yet fearing to be impolite to a senior, I merely tolerated our association. Before long he was grabbing my hand. He even pressed his cheek against mine. It was annoying, unbearable. I had no genius as an Urning, as a sodomite (58).

(56)

One day when Kanai comes to that senior student’s room, he finds that the bed is already prepared. The student forces Kanai to sleep with him. At the time, his thought is “The more passionate he became, the greater became my dislike and fear” (59). Kanai tries to get out of the room, but then a friend of the student helps him to attack Kanai. The fight makes noises that few students come to the room to see what is happening. One of them breaks the fight. Kanai is able to run away from the room and never goes into the dormitory again

In his new school, the thirteen years old Kanai discovers a new sexuality matter. Some of his seniors who are called the mashers like to go to prostitution areas. They dress more elegant, while the queers are those other students who are manlier and less care. The mashers’ habit is a kind of abnormal sexuality, which is prostitution. Prostitution, as explained by Smith, is a kind of sexual relations as a transaction. The prostitutes work in order to get money by serving their clients (140).

And where do you think these feet in white socks were headed? Toward those archery “shops” at Shiba and Asakusa and the houses of ill-fame in Nezu, Yoshiwara, and Shinagawa. When the mashers went out in their usual dark blue socks, they often frequented the bathhouses. Not that the queers failed to go to the public baths, but they never went upstairs. The mashers counted on taking that trip upstairs. Without fail women would be there waiting (64).

Kanai does not join any of the group. He is a neutral student. He prefers to be a witness of the seniors’ habit and stay away from them rather than becoming one of them. As he does not suffer any sexual dysfunction or variant, Kanai can be concluded as a man with normal sexuality (Smith 5).

(57)

There is a day when Kanai wants to play with Eiichi. He goes to Eiichi’s house and finds that Eiichi is going out fishing. Eiichi’s mother asks Kanai to come in. Unexpectedly, the woman seduces him. Since Kanai is not well experienced with women, he feels inconvenient in that situation.

She almost seemed to press her cheek against mine as she peered at me from the side. Her breath fell against my face. I felt that breath was strangely hot. And at the same time it suddenly occurred to me that Eiichi’s mother was a woman. For some reason or other I became terrified. I might have even turned pale (83).

Finally, Kanai decides to get away from Eiichi’s house. Actually, he has the interest in having a special relationship with a woman, but because of his lack of confidence, he has not experienced it yet (99). He is heterosexual, whom Smith describes as people with the desire of sexual engagement with a sexually mature member of the opposite gender (138).

At the age of seventeen, Kanai feels a real feeling to a woman. He really likes the woman that he sees for the first time in front of a curio shop. It appears that he longs for the belongingness and love needs. Maslow says that love is a healthy-loving relationship between two people, which includes mutual trust (303).

Each time I went to Kosuge on my way there and back, I felt a joy in passing those sliding doors. And once when I saw a girl standing in the open space between the doors, I felt, for about a week, some undefinable satisfaction. When I found the girl wasn’t there, I felt, for a week, a vague dissatisfaction (103).

From that time until long past my graduation from the university – no, that’s not so – until the day I went abroad two years after my graduation, this girl was quite definitely the heroine of my beautiful dream (104).

(58)

Kanai does not even know the name of the woman. All that he knows is the name of the shop where he always sees the woman. Years later he finally hears about the woman’s character. The chief priest of a temple in the neighborhood is sending her living expenses (104). But still Kanai does not make any attempt to approach the woman and so nothing happens between them. He is not brave enough to do anything as a way to struggle for his feeling. Here, he shows that he has a confidence issue related to women.

As many other men do, Kanai has a dream to marry a woman. When Kanai is twenty, his friend Koga is already married, so that this consideration also comes up from his mind. Here, his belongingness and love needs are considered again. But even though Kanai’s mother has insisted him to get married as soon as possible, at least before he studies abroad, Kanai still does not feel ready for it. Separated from his lack of confidence to be in contact with women, he has a mature thought about marriage that he shares to his mother in order to make her understand about his decision.

I would, in any event, be married at some time or other. When I did, I would really be troubled if I married someone I didn’t like. It would be easy to decide if I liked her or not. However, it would even be hard for the woman to marry a man she didn’t like (121).

Kanai’s action to stay in the right path to sustain his normal sexual life makes him become a good man, yet his introvert and unconfident characteristics make it hard for him to build a social relationship, especially with women. He fulfills his self-actualization needs as a way to gain knowledge as well as to build confidence. His

(59)

self esteem needs are satisfied by getting more friends who have the same vision as him. However, he cannot manage to please his needs of belongingness and love. Hence, this condition leads him not to marry or even have a special relationship with any woman when he is already twenty-one years old.

(60)

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter is the closing of the study. It is divided into two parts, conclusions and suggestions. The first part summarizes the analysis of the problems in the study. The second part describes the recommendations for future researches on the topic and the ways to apply Vita Sexualis in the teaching-learning activities.

5.1 Conclusions

After analyzing Vita Sexualis in the previous chapter, the study comes to the conclusion. There are two problems that are discussed in the study. The first is Shizuka Kanai’s motivation for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings and the second is how his action to sustain his normal sexual life affects his achievement in life.

The first conclusion is the answer of the first problem. Shizuka Kanai is described as a person with high curiosity, especially in the field of knowledge. His motivations for sustaining his normal sexual life are to get higher education, to get more friends, and to have a normal life. Kanai realizes that his action to have a normal sexual life is needed in order to support his goal. He is an intelligent person who wants to focus his life on educational matters. His interest in studying and learning new things bring him to achieve his goal. He also wants to have friends that share similar thoughts and interests with him. Having a normal life is

(61)

a part of the motivation since he is aware of the risks of sexuality life. Therefore, he chooses to stay away from the influences of sexuality trends around him. He knows that those bad influences may distract his efforts in pursuing his goals and dreams. He is aware of the possibility to be tempted since he is a normal man with love and desire, so he makes the right decision by sustaining his normal sexual life until he finishes his study.

Based on the analysis, it is also found that Kanai can act and react properly in facing the surroundings and this causes him to be a weird man. There are some people in Kanai’s surroundings with some kinds of abnormal sexuality. He has experienced being approached by a homosexual senior student in his school and has known that some of his friends and relatives are involved in prostitution. However, he has a strong determination. He learns from others’ mistakes and tries not to ruin himself with sexuality problems.

The effect of his action for sustaining his normal sexual life on his study is that he can manage to stay focus on his goal, which is to achieve a higher formal education by studying abroad. Some steps are taken to turn his goal into reality. He studies hard and respects the opportunities coming to his life. As a very smart and diligent student, it is not difficult for Kanai to gain excellent results in his study. He has a strong belief that he will get the scholarship he wants. He also takes the first step and keeps going with his motivations. Finally, he gets the government’s scholarship to study in Germany and shows that his determination can be accomplished through his motivations and the effects. On the other hand, the effect on his social relationship is not so well. He remains straight-thinking

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

The motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings as reflected in Mori`s Vita sexualis.

THE MOTIVATION OF SHIZUKA KANAI

FOR SUSTAINING HIS NORMAL SEXUAL LIFE

UNDER THE PRESSURE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS

AS REFLECTED IN MORI’S VITA SEXUALIS

Determine to like your work,

then it will become a pleasure nor drudgery.

Perhaps you don’t need to change your job.

Change yourself and your work will seem different.

-Norman V.

Peale-This thesis is dedicated to my family,

to my friends, and to myself.

Parts

Dokumen yang terkait

SIMON’S MOTIVATION IN SOLVING HIS PROBLEMS AS THE VICTIM OF A BROKEN FAMILY AS REFLECTED IN FINE’S FLOUR BABIES

Javanese Culture as Guidance for Suharto's Personal Life and for His Rule of the Country

THE REFLECTION OF JACK LONDON'S LIFE AS SEEN IN HIS NOVEL "THE CALL OF THE WILD" : A BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH.

The influences of Dawson`s first love on his life as seen in Nicholas Sparks` The Best of Me.

The meanings of Bhisma`s struggles in his life as portrayed in Laksmi Pamuntjak`s The Question Of Red.

The influence of David`s decision of taking his daughter with down syndrome away from his family on his family on his family`s life in Kim Edwards` The Memory Keeper`s Daughter.

The influence of the minor characters on Santiagoâ€™s motivation in realizing his dream as seen in Paulo Coelhoâ€™s The Alchemist.

The influence of chick benetto`s intrapersonal conflicts on his personal life as reflected in mith albom`s for one more day.

THE PERSONAL GROWTH AS DEPICTED IN OGAI MORI’S “VITA SEXUALIS” A THESIS As Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Teaching Faculty

The motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings as reflected in Mori`s Vita sexualis - USD Repository

Dukungan

Links

The motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings as reflected in Mori`s Vita sexualis.

THE MOTIVATION OF SHIZUKA KANAI

FOR SUSTAINING HIS NORMAL SEXUAL LIFE

UNDER THE PRESSURE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS

AS REFLECTED IN MORI’S VITA SEXUALIS

Determine to like your work,

then it will become a pleasure nor drudgery.

Perhaps you don’t need to change your job.

Change yourself and your work will seem different.

-Norman V.

Peale-This thesis is dedicated to my family,

to my friends, and to myself.

Parts

Dokumen yang terkait

SIMON’S MOTIVATION IN SOLVING HIS PROBLEMS AS THE VICTIM OF A BROKEN FAMILY AS REFLECTED IN FINE’S FLOUR BABIES

Javanese Culture as Guidance for Suharto's Personal Life and for His Rule of the Country

THE REFLECTION OF JACK LONDON'S LIFE AS SEEN IN HIS NOVEL "THE CALL OF THE WILD" : A BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH.

The influences of Dawson`s first love on his life as seen in Nicholas Sparks` The Best of Me.

The meanings of Bhisma`s struggles in his life as portrayed in Laksmi Pamuntjak`s The Question Of Red.

The influence of David`s decision of taking his daughter with down syndrome away from his family on his family on his family`s life in Kim Edwards` The Memory Keeper`s Daughter.

The influence of the minor characters on Santiagoâ€™s motivation in realizing his dream as seen in Paulo Coelhoâ€™s The Alchemist.

The influence of chick benetto`s intrapersonal conflicts on his personal life as reflected in mith albom`s for one more day.

THE PERSONAL GROWTH AS DEPICTED IN OGAI MORI’S “VITA SEXUALIS” A THESIS As Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Teaching Faculty

The motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings as reflected in Mori`s Vita sexualis - USD Repository

Dokumen yang Anda mencari sudah siap untuk unduhkan