The influence of social pressures among adolescents towards luke`s psychological life as seen in Judith Clarke`s Night Train - USD Repository
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL PRESSURES AMONG ADOLESCENTS
TOWARDS LUKE’S PSYCHOLOGICAL LIFE
AS SEEN IN JUDITH CLARKE’S NIGHT TRAIN
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Patricia Josephine Setyawan
Student Number: 051214121
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL PRESSURES AMONG ADOLESCENTS
TOWARDS LUKE’S PSYCHOLOGICAL LIFE
AS SEEN IN JUDITH CLARKE’S NIGHT TRAIN
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Patricia Josephine Setyawan
Student Number: 051214121
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
This thesis is sincerely dedicated to Papa JC, My beloved parents and younger brothers, The best friends of mine, And my lovely soul mate ever after.
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Patricia Josephine SetyawanNomor Mahasiswa : 051214121
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL PRESSURES AMONG ADOLESCENTS
TOWARDS LUKE’S PSYCHOLOGICAL LIFE
AS SEEN IN JUDITH CLARKE’S NIGHT TRAIN
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me-
ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media
lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun
memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai
penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Yogyakarta, 12 Agustus 2009 Yang menyatakan (Patricia Josephine Setyawan)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to present my greatest gratitude to the one and only Father of mine, Jesus Christ, who always grants His guidance and blessings throughout my whole life. I am so thankful for His blessing, as He has given me so many meaningful people in my life. I deeply thank Him for the love and strength He gives whenever I feel down and weary; as well as His endless assistance in encouraging me to complete this thesis. My faith in Him truly leads me to keep believing that He has such perfect plan in my life.
My deepest gratitude also goes to my beloved parents, Hery Setyawan and Dra. Yanna Liliani, for their eternal love, care and prayer towards this stubborn girl. I am so grateful especially to my dear mother due to her great patience and support in motivating me during the process of this work. She is the one who much inspires and strengthens me either in good times or bad times; she mostly deserves my special dedication. Her marvelous knowledge about psychology has helped me also in doing this thesis, so that finally I can proudly say “I am done!!” Furthermore, I earnestly thank my younger brothers, Abbey and Luke, for the joy and laughter which always cheer me up and ease my weariness. The same expression goes to Mr. Boyamin, my foster parent. I truly thank him for such considerable love, care and support he sincerely gives to me so far.
I also owe a great gratitude to my sponsor, V. Tripihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A, for her care, guidance, as well as her determined support and encouragement in helping me finish this work. My sincere gratefulness means nothing compared to her patience and understanding; never does she feel bored and reluctant in spending her valuable time to correct my thesis. Her contribution means a lot to me.
To all PBI lecturers who have guided me throughout these past four years, I do present my deep appreciation for such worthy knowledge, skill and tireless teaching which eventually shape more mature personality as what I am now. I also present my great gratitude to all staffs of USD who have given lots of contribution during my periods of study as well as the making process of this thesis.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of my wonderful friends in PBI, especially my beloved sisters ever after, Paulina, Anis, Daien and Dini. I am so thankful for the laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, happy and sad moments we have shared throughout these difficult years. Their tireless love, care, prayer and support have much encouraged me in passing through this life, bringing such a light of hope and spirit within my life. What a beautiful friendship I have with them. The same expression again goes to my dearest brother, Ko Gyovani, for the care and prayer brought up into my life, giving me strength to keep struggling till I finally reach the finish line.
To my lovely brother, mate, and lover all at once, Ko Luke, I earnestly dedicate my warmest gratefulness to him for being someone special in my life through the years, for the patience, love, care, and many other things he never stops to someone and find the meaning of true love ever since. I am so thankful for having him in my life.
To my friends in campus, Ophie, Lia, Yaya, Verdi, Ian, Febby, and many others whom I cannot mention one by one, let me present my deepest gratitude for the unforgettable moment and friendship we have passed in our loveable PBI. Nothing can replace it.
Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone, whom I have not mentioned here, thanks a lot for giving me a hand both directly and indirectly, for the help and support they give towards my study so that I can finally complete this thesis after all. Those mean a lot to me. Thanks and I love them all.
With love, Patricia Josephine Setyawan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page TITLE PAGE ..……………………………………………………………... i
APPROVAL PAGES ………………………………………………………. ii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY …………………………….. iv
PAGE OF DEDICATION …………………………………………………. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………... ix LIST OF APPENDICES …………………………………………………… xii
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………... xiii
ABSTRAK
…………………………………………………………………… xiv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ………………………………...
1 B. Objectives of the Study ……………………………...…..
4 C. Problem Formulation …………………………..…….......
4 D. Definition of Terms ……………………...…………….…
5 E. Benefits of the Study ……………………………………..
8 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Theoretical Review ………………………………………
10
1. Theory of Literature …………………………………
10 a. Theory of Character ……………………………..
10
b. Theory of Characterization ………………………
13 c. Theory of Critical Approaches …………………..
15
2. Theory of Psychology …………………………….…
16
a. Theory of Personality ……………………………
16 b. Theory of Motivation …………………………....
18 c. Adolescent Development ………………………...
20
d. Self-Esteem ………………………………………
22
e. Social Pressure ……………………………………
24 B. Criticism ……………………………………………...........
32 C. Theoretical Framework ……………………………………
35 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY A. Subject of the Study ………..……………………………..
37 B. Approach ………………………………………………….
38 C. Method of the Study ……………………………………….
39 CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS A. The Characteristics of Luke ………………………………..
42
1. Indifferent ………………………………………………
43
3. Sensitive …………………………………………….….
46 4. Attentive ………………………………………………..
48
5. Loner ……………………………………………………
50 6. Patient …………………………………………………...
52
7. Thoughtful ………………………………………………
52 8. Complicated …………………………………………….
53 B. The Influence of Social Pressures among Adolescents towards Luke’s Psychological Life …………………………………..
54
1. Feeling of Guilty and Regret ……………………………
58
2. Negative Self-Esteem ……………………………………
59 3. Self Estrangement ……………………………………….
62 4. Changing of Attitude ……………………………………..
64 5. Psychological Disturbance ……………………………….
66 CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions ………………………………………………….
70 B. Suggestions ………………………………………………….
72
1. Suggestion to Future Researchers ………………………
73
2. The Implementation of Night Train in Teaching Intensive Reading II ………………..…………………….
74
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page Appendix 1 Biography of Judith Clarke …………………………….........
80 Appendix 2 Summary of Night Train …………………………………….
86 Appendix 3 Lesson Plan ………………………………….………………
87 Appendix 4 Learning Material …………………………………………..
89 Appendix 5 Night Train pp. 56-61 ……………………………………….
91
ABSTRACT
Josephine, Patricia (2009): The Influence of Social Pressures among
Adolescents towards Luke’s Psychological Life as Seen in Judith Clarke’s Night Train. Yogyakarta: English Language Education
Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University. This is a study upon a fiction novel written by Juditch Clarke, a well- known novelist from Australia. The book, entitled Night Train, merely tells about an eighteen-year old boy, named Luke Leman who seems to be under such pressures of his surroundings such as parents, peers, and school. Threatened at school, pressured by his parents, paralyzed by anxiety about his final exams, Luke begins to doubt himself. His psychological mind is gradually irritated. He begins to suffer from such hallucination, which leads him to hear the sounds of a train at night. No one else hears it or even believes that the train exists. Tragically, his mental problem eventually brings him to death, followed by his parents and friends’ regret ever since.
Trying to analyze Luke’s suffering from psychological pressures merely caused by his social interaction, there are two problems formulated in this thesis, which also cover the objectives of the study all at once. First, this study attempts to see the character of Luke as a figure of a teenager in general. Second, the study is aimed to find out how such social pressures among adolescents influence Luke’s psychological life, either in the way of acting or thinking.
In order to complete the analysis, this study employs library research, whereby the data are obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Judith Clarke’s Night Train becomes the basis of my analysis, while the supporting references are mostly taken from relevant books and internet. Dealing with the study, therefore, I use psychological approach as a tool to analyze the case as it concerns with human’s psychological aspect of life, personal and social problems of an adolescent as found in the character of Luke, and how to cope with that.
Having applied Murphy’s theory of characterization, the analysis finding thus reveals the character of Luke as an indifferent, innocent, sensitive, attentive, loner, and complicated person. The social pressures Luke experiences from his family, peers and school even trace bad effects towards his psychological life as a whole. Feeling of guilty and regret, negative self-esteem, self- estrangement, changing of attitude, and psychological disturbance consequently become the influences of the deep pressures found in Luke due to his failure towards such social interaction after all.
ABSTRAK
Josephine, Patricia (2009): The Influence of Social Pressures among
Adolescents towards Luke’s Psychological Life as Seen in Judith Clarke’s Night Train. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa
Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Skripsi ini merupakan suatu studi mengenai sebuah novel fiksi karya
Judith Clarke, seorang novelis terkenal dari Australia. Buku yang berjudul Night Train ini bercerita tentang seorang anak lelaki berumur 18 tahun bernama Luke Leman yang berada di bawah tekanan lingkungan sekitarnya, antara lain orangtua, teman, dan sekolah. Merasa terancam di sekolah, tertekan oleh kedua orangtuanya, dan tak berkutik menyikapi kecemasannya terhadap ujian akhir, Luke mulai meragukan dirinya sendiri. Kondisi psikologisnya berangsur-angsur terganggu. Ia mulai sering berhalusinasi, mendengar suara-suara kereta api pada malam hari. Namun tak seorangpun mendengar atau bahkan percaya akan keberadaan kereta itu. Tragisnya, gangguan mental tersebut berakhir pada kematian Luke, seiring dengan penyesalan yang tak terhingga dari orang tua dan teman-temannya.
Mencoba menganalisa tekanan psikologis yang dialami oleh Luke akibat interaksi sosialnya, skripsi ini merumuskan dua pokok permasalahan, yang sekaligus mencakup tujuan dari studi ini. Pertama, studi ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan karakteristik Luke sebagai sosok seorang remaja pada umumnya. Tujuan yang kedua adalah untuk mencari tahu sejauh mana tekanan sosial yang dialami remaja berpengaruh pada kehidupan psikologis Luke, baik dalam hal cara berpikir maupun bertindak.
Untuk menyempurnakan analisis tersebut, studi ini menerapkan metode penelitian pustaka, di mana data-data yang ada diperoleh dari sumber primer dan sekunder. Novel Night Train karya Judith Clarke menjadi dasar dari analisis saya, sedangkan referensi-referensi pendukung lain yang relevan banyak diambil dari buku dan internet. Dalam studi ini, saya menggunakan pendekatan psikologis sebagai sarana untuk menganalisa masalah, yang pada dasarnya menyangkut aspek psikologis kehidupan manusia, persoalan pribadi dan sosial seorang remaja seperti Luke, dan cara menyikapinya.
Dengan diterapkannya teori karakterisasi Murphy, hasil analisis studi tersebut secara jelas menyimpulkan karakter Luke sebagai seorang remaja yang cuek, lugu, sensitif, penuh perhatian, penyendiri, dan rumit. Tekanan-tekanan sosial dari keluarga, teman, dan sekolah yang dialami oleh Luke bahkan meninggalkan berbagai dampak buruk terhadap kehidupan psikologisnya secara pengasingan diri, perubahan sikap, dan gangguan psikologis merupakan pengaruh-pengaruh dari tekanan mendalam yang dialami Luke sebagai konsekuensi atas kegagalannya terhadap interaksi sosial.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This first chapter covers five main parts, namely background of the
study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, definition of terms, and benefits of the study. The background of the study gives the explanation about the topic of the study. The problem formulation consists of two questions, which generally describe the problems that will be analyzed in this thesis. The objectives of the study mainly state the writer’s purpose of writing the thesis. Definition of terms deals with some terms used in the study. The last part, benefits of the study, give the explanation of who can get the benefits from the study, and what kinds of positive things those people may obtain.
A. Background of the Study
Human life and literature are inseparable because literature usually deals with human experience in this life. In other words, literature can be perceived as a portrait of human life. It talks about how human beings work out with their lives, the way how they face and solve their problems, and their thoughts as well. Literature can describe about sadness, tragedy, happiness, comedy, irony, and many more. The story within literature can also portray social, cultural, political, and historical life (Dryden 36, Little 1, Wellek and Warren 94). Undoubtedly, literature plays an important role in human life. Someone who reads literature may gain several positive values, such as knowledge, pleasure, and experience. From literature, he or she can also get some lessons and better understanding about life (Moody 2-3, Wellek and Warren 30).
Related to the study of literature, Wellek and Warren mentioned that this study can also be viewed from psychological perspective, which in many ways are closely related to human experience. In other words, it can be inferred that literature and psychology have a very close relation whereby some of literary works talk about psychological cases (Wellek and Warren 81). Psychology is a body of knowledge which studies human psyche, while the most related element of literature to psychology is its human or human-like characters. Literature and psychology have one common purpose that is to describe human conditions.
Literature tries to depict human conditions into drama while psychology studies human characteristic systematically and scientifically (Benedetti 130, Bornstein 144).
As literature reflects human life, there should be such basic understanding about human first. In fact, human is an individual which, together with other individuals, form a group called society. This process can finally lead to an understanding which states that human being is a social creature. He or she cannot live alone in this universe but must live side by side with others. All people have their own dependence on others, which is aimed at keeping the human relationships. For example, students need teachers to help them gain knowledge, a child needs parents to give them love and care as well as to help them grow.
Unfortunately, what people found in the reality does not conform to what was expected above. Some even face such problems come from the people living around them, which is their social surrounding, and it is not rarely that the problems are known as kinds of pressure. This fact, which is so called social pressure, is mostly experienced in young age. It is normal to say that a teenage year is a complex time in human life. Adolescents are often unstrained by social norms. They do not know where they fit in social neighborhood, including in his family and peers. They are expected to act in a mature attitude, choose and decide something for their own future yet they are not ready to take the risks while their attitudes sometimes cause a problem for others. If they are faced by the social norms, they will usually consider those norms seem to be trivial or unimportant because they always want to be free from anything. That is why adolescents are used to rebel against authority.
Having much concern to the fact stated above, therefore, the study is aimed to find out how far such social pressure among adolescents might influence their psychological life, either in the way of acting or thinking. Night Train (1998), an Australian novel written by Judith Clarke, is one good form of literature which best represents the case of which the writer wants to dig out. This his social surrounding. As what happens to Luke, the main character of the novel, here Judith Clarke wants to implicitly analyze Luke’s suffering from psychological pressures caused by the negative attitudes of the people surround him, including his family, teachers and peers. His “bad label” as a trouble maker leads him to suffer from such psychological distraction, such as hallucination, which finally brings him to tragic death.
B. Objectives of the Study
There are two aims that can be achieved from this study. First, this study attempts to see the character of Luke as a figure of a teenager in general.
Second, the study is aimed to find out how such social pressure among adolescents affect Luke’s psychological life, either in the way of acting or thinking, as seen in Judith Clarke’s Night Train.
C. Problem Formulation
Based on the explanation above, there are two problems formulated by the writer:
1. How is the character of Luke, as the representative of adolescents in general, described in the novel?
2. How do social pressures among adolescents affect Luke’s psychological life, either in the way of acting or thinking?
D. Definition of Terms
In this section, I will clarify some terms in order to make the readers better understand the content of the study and to avoid any misconception due to it. Some those terms are:
1. Social Pressure
According to Chaplin, social pressure is any type of coercion exerted by an institution or a group of individual (434). In an online article, it was stated that social pressures are the combined pressures that are around us during everyday life (Margaret). She noted that there are several kinds of social pressures which teens are familiar with, including peer pressure, academic pressure, and socioeconomic pressure. Another online source mentions that social pressures are used to come from many social environments in which we live, and those are exerted by culture, religion, family, friends, hobbies, etc.
In this study, social pressure is defined as a kind of pressure which generally comes from people living around one’s life, particularly family and peers. Social pressure is found to be one factor which mostly causes lots of problems towards one’s psychological life, in this case is mental depression experienced by an adolescent named Luke.
2. Adolescent
Hornby as stated in Oxford Sixth Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English defines adolescent as a young person who is developing from a child into an adult (18). Furthermore, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia defines adolescence as a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adolescence covers the period of life between 10 and 20 years of age.
The transitional stage mentioned above involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes. Furthermore, it is explained that adolescence represents the period of time during which a person experiences a variety of biological changes and encounters a number of emotional issues. The end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood varies by country as well as by function, as even within a single country there will be different ages at which an individual is considered mature enough to be entrusted with particular tasks, such as driving a vehicle, having sexual relations, serving in the armed forces, voting, or marrying.
In this study, adolescent refers to a young person who is experiencing such kind of transitional period from a child into an adult. Lots of changes in physical, mental and emotional normally occur during this age, which in fact lead to many personal and social problems, as revealed in Luke, the figure of an
3. Self Image
According to an online article, self image deals with how we see ourselves. This may be how we see ourselves physically or our opinion of who and what we are, which is normally called self concept. It should be noted that there are several things contained in self image, including what we think we look like, how we see our personality, what kind of person we think we are, what we believe others think of us, how much we like ourselves or we think others like us, and the status we feel we have (Perera).
Self image is strongly related to self esteem. The article defines self esteem as how we feel about ourselves. They are closely connected because if we have a poor opinion of ourselves, our self esteem will be low as well.
In this study, thus, self image is seen as the way someone perceives his/her self in many different aspects, either physical look or personality. Self image, in many ways, determines one’s psychological life particularly towards one’s self esteem. It eventually influences the way someone thinks, speaks and behaves. There are many factors affect one’s self image, one of which is social pressure, which can be found in the case of Luke.
4. Psychological Life
In order to understand the definition of psychological life, it seems better to firstly break down the phrase and get the meaning of each word. concerns itself with how and why organisms do what they do (Gleitman 1). Another insight precisely pointed out that psychology affects so many aspects of our lives, notably which deals with human problems-solving. Psychology gives better understanding of why people behave as they do and provide insights into our own attitudes and reactions (Atkinson, Richard, and Hilgard 5-6).
The term life in this context apt to be defined as the state of being alive as a human being; an individual person’s existence. Dealing with such period of time, moreover, life refers to the period between someone’s birth and their death when they are in a particular situation (Hornby 774).
As proposed in a book, psychological life is profoundly metaphorical in nature, and yet unmistakably grounded in concrete experience (Romanyshyn).
In this study, psychological life is thus seen as the mind state of one’s existence as human being which strongly influences how he/she thinks and behaves in a particular situation. Therefore, psychological life is mostly related to both mental and emotional state of one’s mind; as it is portrayed on Luke in the face of several problems caused by social pressures surround.
E. Benefits of the Study
There are several benefits supposed to achieve by conducting this study as follows:
1. For the readers a. Especially for those who are willing to study Judith Clarke’s Night Train.
This study will help them in studying the literary work itself, since it will give them some additional information in understanding this novel particularly in analyzing the central character and the psychological aspect upon which it is involved.
b. To be more general, this study can give beneficial information about children psychology for novice parents, so that now or later this valuable lesson can be well-applied in educating their children.
2. For PBI and PBI students
a. For PBI students, this study provides lots of additional information in understanding the novel as one reference to improve reading skill, both in terms of vocabulary and reading comprehension.
b. As teacher candidates, PBI students are supposed to be ready in teaching school students later, not to mention adolescents. They have to own such deep understanding about adolescent’s development and how to cope with that. Given this study, much information about adolescent’s psychological life can be obtained in order to help them face the real problems later.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter’s points are to explain some theories that are related to
this study. It is divided into three parts. The first one is the theoretical review used to support the analysis, including theory of literature and theory of psychology. In the theory of literature, there are theory of character, characterization, and critical approaches, while theory of personality, motivation, adolescent development, self-esteem, and social pressure are presented in the theory of psychology. The second part states criticism which conveys some criticism about the novel of this study. Those theories function are thus covered in the theoretical framework.
A. Theoretical Review
1. Theory of Literature
a. Theory of Character
A character is an important factor in fiction. It is needed as the introduction given by the author for the readers. Furthermore, character is placed in human situation. Thus, it makes them behave like actual human being. It means that each character in the literary work is the reflection of people in life. People’s thought, speech and behavior are described verbally in the literary work in the form of dialogue and action by the author (De Laar and Schoonderwoerd 170, Roberts and Jacobs 119).
Abrams has two definitions of character. First, it is the name of a literary genre which is usually a short and humorous prose of a distinctive type of person. Second, it refers to the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work. This person is usually interpreted by the reader as being provided with moral, dispositional and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say (the dialogue) and by what they do (the action) (23). The second definition of character is the most appropriate in discussing the definition of character in this study. To make it simpler, Kennedy and Gioia define character as an imagined person who inhabits a story (60).
A character also has its classification. E.M. Forster classifies character into two types. First, the flat character that is built around a single idea and quality and is represented in outline and without much individuality detail, and so they can be fairly described in a single phrase or sentence. The flat characters are characterized by one or two traits. The last type of character is the round character; characters which are complex in temperament and motivation and are represented with subtle peculiarity. Therefore, those characters are difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life and like most people, they are capable of surprising us. While another classification of character can be static or developing. The static character is the same sort of person at the end of the story as he or she was at the beginning. The developing or dynamic character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his or her character, personality or outlook (Forster 18).
Kenney describes characters into two categories; they are simple and complex characters. “Simple character is less the representation of a human personality than the embodiment of a single attitude or obsession a character” (30). It is called simple because we only see one side of the character. On the other hand, complex character is not seeing a single side of the character only. In life, there are many aspects to be considered. Life can be different from many aspects and many characters. “Complex character is obviously more lifelike than the simple one, because in life people are not simply embodiments of a single attitude” (29).
Another case classifies characters in a novel into major and minor characters. Major character is the most important character, the central character, the one to whom all the events in the story have relevance (Rohrberger and Woods 20). Usually the events in the story cause some changes either in the central character or in the reader’s attitude toward the major character (Stanton 17). Major character is often called the protagonist or the hero (Van de Laar and Schoonderwoerd 164). Minor character or the secondary character is the other character in a story. Although minor character performs more limited functions, their attitude toward the major character is important. The similarities and or the differences between the major and minor characters help to define the major
b. Theory of Characterization
According to Holman and Harmon, characterization is the creation of imaginary persons in fictions (drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem), so that they exist for the reader as lifelike. They define three methods of characterization afterwards: firstly, by the explicit presentation from the author of the character through direct exposition; secondly, by the presentation of the character in action; and thirdly, by the representation from within a character (81).
Little, instead, states that “to be of interest and value in literature, characterization must be to some degree realistic”. The consistency of character is vital to development of the plot. Therefore, even in a fantasy, an essential element is truth to life. The character should be real, believable, and based on possible variations of human nature so that the readers are able to identify themselves with the human creatures, to maintain the interest and concern with the theme of the story (92).
Murphy, furthermore, proposed nine ways by which an author is able to make his characters understandable to the readers (161-173): 1) Personal description
The author describes a person’s physical appearance and clothes to build the character.
2) Presenting the characters as seen by another Here, the author describes his character through another’s eyes and opinions,
The readers get the points through reflected image. 3) Speech
The character is recognized by the readers from what other persons in the story say.
4) Past life Letting the readers know and learn something about a person’s past life surely can give a clue to shape the person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author or through a person’s thoughts, her conversation or through the medium of another person.
5) Conversation of others What other people talk about the character, it can give some clues to recognize the character talked about.
6) Reactions Considering a person’s reaction toward some situations or events may give the readers some clues to the character.
7) Direct comment The author can also describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
This is actually the clearest description of a character where the reader can directly draw conclusion of someone’s character.
8) Thoughts By knowing what a person is thinking about and what is in his mind, the tell the readers about different people’s thoughts. The readers are led to the mental process of the character that conveys the ideas.
9) Mannerisms The author can describe a person’s traits, habits, and ways of life in order to tell the readers something about his personality.
c. Theory of Critical Approaches
Rohrberger and Woods state that critical approach to literature necessitates an understanding of its nature, function and positive values contained in literary work, such as novel, to provide the means whereby readers can understand how literature is shaped (3). According to Rohrberger and Woods, there are five critical approaches that we have to know to put us in a position to receive some of the positive esthetical values, namely formalist approach, biographical approach, sociocultural-historical approach, mythopoeic approach, and psychological approach.
Another opinion proposed by Kennedy and Gioia state that there are ten critical approaches to literature. They are formalist criticism, biographical criticism, historical criticism, psychological criticism, mythological criticism, sociological criticism, gender criticism, reader-response criticism, deconstructionist criticism, and cultural studies (630-658).
Dealing with the study, therefore, I use psychological approach as a personal and social problems of an adolescent, and how to cope with that. This argument is strengthened by Kennedy and Gioia as follows: Psychological criticism carefully examines the surface of the literary work, it customarily speculates on what lies underneath the text, which is the unspoken or even unspeakable memories, motives, and fears that covertly shape the work, especially in fictional characterizations (641).
2. Theory of Psychology
a. Theory of Personality
In Drever’s point of view, personality is defined as a term used in various sense, both popularly and psychologically. The most comprehensive and satisfactory being the integrated and dynamic organization of the physical, mental, moral, and social qualities of the individual as that manifests it to other people, in the give and take to social life. On further analysis it would appear in the main to comprise the natural and acquired impulses, and habits, interests and complexes, the sentiments and ideals, the opinions and beliefs, as manifested in his relations with his social milieu (203).
Such difference among people and the stability of any individual’s behavior over long periods is the essence of personality. According to Freud, personality consists of three interacting aspects: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id or unconscious consists of the biological drives with which the infant is born, and its energy is divided between Eros, the life instinct generated by the libido, and Thafanos, the death instinct. It is “pleasure principle”, which is always pressing for some kind of satisfaction. The ego or the “I” forms the rational part of the psyche. It develops at about the age of six months, controls the individual’s actions and manipulates the environment according to the reality principle, which is based on the organism’s concern for safety. The ego opposes the id, as well as the superego. The superego or conscience is the part of ourselves that regulates our moral judgments, telling us what is right or wrong. It impels the individual toward an ego ideal of moral perfection, is also an approximate equivalent of conscience (414).
Carl Jung believed that a forward movement characterizes personality development: people are guided by the future aims as well as by their past experiences. Human beings continually try to realize their full potential and to achieve unity among all aspects of their personality. A person begins this effort by developing all parts of his or her personality. This process is called individuation. Jung proposed that there are two major personality orientations.
First is introversion, in which the person withdraws interest from the external world and consequently is quiet, reserved, and cautious. Second is extraversion, in which the person primarily oriented to the external world and thus is outgoing, sociable, and excitement seeking (413).
b. Theory of Motivation
Motivation is the intentions, desires, goals, and needs that determine human and animal behavior. An inquiry is made into a person’s motives in order to explain that person’s actions.
People conduct an action with motive. This motive leads them to behave in their manner to get some achievement. It would be impossible to discover motivation unless behavior was organized (Bootzin, Loftus, and Zajonc 367). It is believed that some purposes guide a person’s behavior to get an end state, which may be a goal or the satisfaction of some needs. Therefore, motivation can be inferred as the process of behaving that is organized and that defines its end states.
Motivation cannot rouse without any stimulus. Some stimuli are needed to evoke goal-directed behavior, as Bootzin et al. explain in their book (368). Thus, the concept of motivation is based on two components: internal drive and external incentives. The internal drive activates and adjusts the being toward some goals, whether the external incentive is the goal itself.
According to Hufman, Verney and Vernoy, there are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (377). Intrinsic motivation means the desire to perform an act for its own sake. For example, someone reads literary books for his or her own interest and pleasure, not for his or her needs to get a reward. Extrinsic motivation means the desire to perform an action because of external rewards or avoidance of punishment. For example, a student studies hard in order to get a reward and good grade from his or her teacher.
As stated previously, there are some drives or reasons or motives which cause people to conduct an action. Maslow says that people conduct an action to fulfill their needs. He develops a five-level hierarchy of needs that each need level must be generally satisfied before the person attempts to fill those needs on the next level (Goble 38-42).