A reflection of the characters, setting, and plot related to psychoanalytic theory in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm� - USD Repository
A REFLECTION OF THE CHARACTERS, SETTING, AND
PLOT RELATED TO PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY IN
KATE CHOPIN’S “THE STORM”
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastrain English Letters
By
PRIYO WIDIANTONO
Student Number: 014214081
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
A REFLECTION OF THE CHARACTERS, SETTING, AND
PLOT RELATED TO PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY IN
KATE CHOPIN’S “THE STORM”
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastrain English Letters
By
PRIYO WIDIANTONO
Student Number: 014214081
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to: My father My mother My brothers
My all family in Jogja Andre&Lina’s Family Bapak&Ibu in Purworejo My Dear My Love
My Family in Semarang
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My entire grateful are for Jesus Christ, The Lord, The Savior, who hasalways given me strength and power to struggle in accomplishing this undergraduate
thesis. Your guidance is always with me. When I am down, You wake me up. When
I am once failed, it means You give me two gifts, thankfulness and success.I am greatly indebted to my advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum.
and my co-advisor, Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M.A. for the help, support, advice,
suggestion, and correction. Thank you so much for your patience and kindness. And
also thanks to all members of the English Letters’ staffs of the English Department
of Sanata Dharma, the Faculty’s secretariat, and the library staffs.I would like to thank my parents; my dad JB. Widirdjo, my mom JA.
Sujatmi, and my beloved brothers Widyanto and Wibriyanto. Thank you dad, thank
you mom for your prayer, love and care, your great patience, and for everything,
thank you my brothers, I love you all so much.To Andre’s family; Andre, Lina, my little Vanya, and mbak Tiwi, thank
you guys for the support and the tools. For Bapak and Ibu in Purworejo, thank you
so much for the advice and support.Finally, to my big great family in Semarang, I say thanks a lot. I have finished it, my dear my love Lisa Yunistrini, I thank you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................ i APPROVAL PAGE .................................................................................................. ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ............................................................................................. iii MOTTO PAGE .......................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION PAGE ............................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT............................................................................................................... viii ABSTRAK ................................................................................................................ ix
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1
A. Background of the study ................................................................................ 1 B. Problem Formulation ..................................................................................... 4 C. Objectives of the study .................................................................................. 4 D. Definition of Term ........................................................................................ 5CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ........................................................... 6
A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................................. 6 B. Review of Related Theories........................................................................... 81. Theory of Character and Characterization ................................................ 8
2. Theory of Setting and Plot ........................................................................ 13
3. Sigmund Freud’s Theory of Psychoanalysis ............................................. 18
C. The Relation between Literature and Psychology ......................................... 22
D. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 25
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 26
A. Object of the Study ....................................................................................... 26 B. Approach of the Study ................................................................................... 27 C. Method of the Study ...................................................................................... 28CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 30
A. The Characterization of the Major and Minor Characters ............................. 301. Calixta ....................................................................................................... 31
2. Alcee Laballiere ........................................................................................ 36
3. Bobinot ...................................................................................................... 39
4. Bibi ............................................................................................................ 41
B. The Depiction of the Setting and Plot in “the Storm” ................................... 42
C. The Reflection of Freud’s Theory of Psychoanalysis on the Major Characther in “The Storm” ........................................................................... 50
ABSTRACT
PRIYO WIDIANTONO (2009). A Reflection of the Characters, Setting, and
Plot Related to Psychoanalytic Theory in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma
University."The Storm" by Kate Chopin is a great literary example of the use of
setting. Chopin uses setting to not only influence the reader’s senses, but also, to
illustrate the actions and feelings of her characters. The description of her setting
also helps to make the characters actions and feelings more powerful and exciting
to the reader than if the story had taken place in a different setting. Chopin also
uses the element of plot in order to make the story more alive. The setting and plot
in the story will be reflected in the actions of the characters, especially the two
main characters that can be analyzed from psychological angle.This undergraduate thesis explores the intrinsic elements of the short
story “the Storm”. Specifically this undergraduate thesis elaborates on the
character, setting, and plot. The writer will show that the character, setting, and
plot of the story are important aspects in a literary work related to the theory of
Freud’s psychoanalysis.The writer conducts library research in working on this study. The writer
also used books, the criticisms about the work and articles from Internet for
sources. The theories used in this study are theory of character, setting, plot, and
the theory of psychoanalysis. The writer uses the suitable approach that relates to
this study which is psychoanalytic approach.The result of the analysis shows that Calixta and Alcee are the two major
characters in “The Storm” who have the important role to the story. Their actions
show how this story becomes interesting because of their love story in the past
and they want to renew it although they both had already been married to other
persons. In the story Chopin uses a great choice of short descriptive words to
describe her setting. Although the story is only five-parts, it can brilliantly present
the characters, setting, and plot in a good sense. The setting depicted in the story
“The Storm” is the neutral and symbolic setting which uses the storm itself as
nature and as a symbol of the feeling of the character. The plot of the story can be
seen in six aspects. In analyzing the two major characters with psychoanalytic
theory, the writer finds that the storm strongly influences their mind, way of
thinking, and behavior.
ABSTRAK
PRIYO WIDIANTONO (2009). A Reflection of the Characters, Setting, and
Plot Related to Psychoanalytic Theory in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
"The Storm" oleh Kate Chopin adalah satu contoh bagus dari
penggunaan latar belakang sebuah cerita. Chopin menggunakan latar tidak hanya
untuk mempengaruhi gambaran pembaca, tetapi juga untuk memberikan ilustrasi
tentang adegan dan perasaan dari para tokohnya. Deskripsi dari latar yang
disuguhkannya juga membantu agar adegan dan perasaan dari para tokoh menjadi
lebih kuat dan hidup sehingga menarik bagi pembaca dibandingkan misalnya
disuguhkan latar yang lain. Chopin juga menggunakan unsur alur untuk membuat
cerita lebih hidup. Latar dan alur di dalam cerita ini akan direfleksikan pada
adegan-adegan dari para tokohnya, khususnya oleh dua tokoh utamanya yang
akan dianalisa dari sudut psikologi.Skripsi ini mengekplorasi tentang unsur-unsur utama dari cerita pendek
“The Storm”. Khususnya skripsi ini memadukan unsur tokoh, latar, dan alur.
Penulis akan menunjukkan bahwa tokoh, latar, dan alur dari cerita ini adalah
aspek-aspek yang penting di dalam satu karya sastra yang berhubungan dengan
teori psikoanalisis dari Freud.Penulis memakai metode penelitian dari sumber data perpustakaan untuk
melakukan studi ini. Penulis juga mennggunakan buku-buku, kritik-kritik tentang
cerita pendek ini, dan artikel dari internet. Teori-teori yang digunakan di dalam
studi ini adalah teori tentang tokoh, latar, alur, dan teori tentang psikoanalisis.
Penulis menggunakan pendekatan yang sesuai dengan studi ini yaitu pendekatan
psikoanalitik.Hasil analisis menunjukkan Calixta dan Alcee adalah dua tokoh utama di
dalam “The Storm” yang tentunya mempunyai peran penting pada cerita ini.
Adegan-adegan mereka menunjukkan bagaimana cerita ini menjadi menarik
karena adanya kisah percintaan mereka di masa laludan mereka ingin
mengulanginya lagi walaupun mereka masing-masing sudah menikah dengan
orang lain. Di dalam cerita ini, Chopin menggunakan pilihan kata yang hebat
untuk mendeskripsikan latar yang disuguhkannya. Walaupun cerita ini hanya
terdiri dari lima babak, tetapi cerita ini mampu menyuguhkan dengan pintar
mengenai tokoh-tokoh, latar, dan latar dalam suasana yang menarik. Latar yang
diangkat di dalam cerita pendek “The Storm” adalah latar yang murni dan
simbolik yang mana menyuguhkan ‘the storm’ (badai) itu sendiri sebagai yang
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of Study Literature is one expression of life through medium of language. As Hudson says in An Introduction to the Study of Literature, literature presents
some kinds of human aspects of life such as history, psychology, social, and many more. By reading literary work, we can get some lessons of life which are closely related to human aspects of life.
Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us, it is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language (1960: 10). Literary works may give the readers an understanding of the idea of the messages values in the works. In the process of reading, readers may get the implied meaning from the literary works. As Jeremy Hawthorn states in
his book Unlocking the Text: Fundamental Issues in Literary Theory that,
The report of some readers…that a poem or story induces them in the vivid images, intense feelings or heightened consciousness, is neither anything that can be refuted nor anything that it is possible for the objective critic to take into account (1987: 20).
Choosing such principle in conducting a literary analysis requires us to use psychological perspective. A literary study using psychological perspective is also known as psychoanalytic criticism. In Beginning Theory,
2 Psychoanalytic criticism is a form of literary criticism which uses some of the technique of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature (2002: 96). Literature and the author have a close relationship because an author’s
social background, ideology, and experience have an important role in the
process of creativity creating the work of literature. Society and personal
experiences of the author are the main source for the author to create his or her
works. The author uses literature to express his or her feeling, thought,
experience, problem, or a certain view of life through characters, setting, events
or incidents, and motives in his or her works directly or indirectly. Literature is
an imitation of life, literature is not merely a copy of the world; there is a
creative process. It is as what Kenney says in How to Analyze Fiction, Poetry,
and Drama (1966: 3).During her life, Kate Chopin has produced many literary works, such
as novels, and short stories. Most of them explore issues that are not far from
her life; her life’s experience as a young widow who struggles with her hard life
after her husband passed away. She also tries to get happiness and pleasure in
her life. Since the author’s background is the strong element that influences his
works, the writer is interested to analyze one of Kate Chopin’s short stories,
“The Storm”. In 1898, Kate Chopin wrote “The Storm” but she never published
it.Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” is a simple story about the experience of a
3 Her ex-lover, a married man named Alcee came to her house to take shelter from the storm. In the story, Alcee admired Calixta’s beauty and he seduced Calixta. Alcee tried to make Calixta remembered the beautiful moments which they had when she and Alcee were in love, especially the beautiful moment in Assumption when they had romantic kissing. At first, Calixta tried to defend herself from Alcee’s seduction. In the story, Alcee did not give up to make Calixta fell into his arm. Finally they did sexual intercourse. This sexual intercourse signed their love affair. Actually they already had a happy family but an affair broke their holiness of marriage. After the storm passed Calixta’s husband, Bobinot and her child, Bibi returned home. Calixta welcomed her husband and child arrival happily and she gave a sweet kisses to her husband and her child. Alcee also wrote a love letters to his wife to show his love to her wife in a faraway distance. Although Calixta and Alcee had an affair, their marriages were still safe and normal.
In this study the writer is going to analyze the main characters’ characteristics related to the setting and plot. In analyzing this topic, the writer tries to relate literature and psychology. It is undeniable that literature and psychology are two different fields that can influence each other. Wellek and Warren in their book, Theory of Literature, state that analyzing literary works relating to psychology can mean studying theory of psychology that may present within works of literature. The point in this study is the
4 “The Storm” appears as an extraordinary work of art; because of its sexual directness and complete lack of moralizing is nothing less than astonishing. It made Kate Chopin unable to publish “The Storm” until long after Kate Chopin’s death.
B. Problem Formulation
Considering the background above, the writer would like to examine two problems in this literary study.
1. How are the major and minor characters characterized in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”?
2. How is the setting and plot in the story depicted?
3. How is Sigmund Freud’s Theory of psychoanalysis reflected on the characterization of the major characters in the short story “The Storm”?
C. Objectives of the Study
To give the answers to the problems stated, the writer will analyze the characterization of the major and minor characters in this short story. This will help the writer to understand the characteristic of the major and the minor characters in the short story “The Storm”.
After the writer finds the characterization of the major and the minor characters in the short story “The Storm”, the writer lists the characteristic of
5 setting and plot in this story is to give its impact. Then, the writer uses the result of the characterization of both characters, especially the two main characters and the analysis of setting and plot to find out the all important elements of human’s unconsciousness within the theory of Freud’s psychoanalysis which are reflected in the Kate Chopin’s short story “The Storm”.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid any kinds of misinterpretation in understanding in this thesis, there should be an explanation about the meaning of psychoanalytic criticism.
In his book An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Peter Barry defines psychoanalytic criticism as a form of literary criticism that uses some of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature. Psychoanalysis itself is a form of therapy that its aim is to cure mental disorder by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious in the mind (2002: 96).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies A famous work, whether it is in literature or in the other fields, will
become public’s attention. This attention then will create many kinds of opinion from them, whether they like or dislike it. In literature, usually the readers compose their point of view of a literary work in criticism. That kind of criticism often goes to Kate Chopin’s works. In this chapter, the writer tries to show and explain about some studies which are done to analyze Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” and some criticisms from books and internet. These will prove that Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” is worth reading and interesting to discuss. The writer also explains about some theories which are needed to characterize the all characters, to come up to our understanding of the relation between psychoanalysis and the characters through the characters themselves, and to deal with the concept of setting and plot in Chopin’s short story “The Storm”. These will help the writer to analyze Kate Chopin’s short story “The Storm” which is as a reflection of the theory of character, setting, plot, and Freud’s psychoanalysis.
From the book Literature Reading and Writing the Human Experience by Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz with Peter Richardson tells that Kate Chopin’s Many of literary works placed in the section “Innocence and Experience“, “Conformity and Rebellion”, ”Culture and Identity” speak of Love and Hate as well.
In this age of psychological awareness, the claims of the flesh are well recognized. But psychology teaches us, as well, to recognize the aggressive aspect of the human condition. The omnipresent selfishness that civilization attempts to check may be aggressively violent as well as lustful. Thus we have the simple eroticism of Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” (1998: 945).
The essay above explains that in the short story “The Storm”, Kate Chopin used setting in creating her story as her way to influence the reader’s feeling, and emotion. Each sentence in “The Storm” showed that Kate Chopin tried to emphasize the use of setting in creating her story. In “The Storm”, Kate Chopin invited the readers to feel the setting or the condition in the story. In a simple way, Kate Chopin invited the readers to feel the presence of the storm which is scary and horrible. The essay tells that, the more we understand the setting in “The Storm”, we can understand the content of the story.
Another essay from www.123helpme.com , tells that “The Storm” shows the act of adultery of Calixta and Alcee.
Kate Chopin may portray women seeking sexual and professional independence, she is showing sins of society, things that the women should not do because it is wrong. Kate Chopin decided to portray women committing adultery, which is sin, and make it does not matter to commit sin. In “The Storm” Kate Chopin portrays Calixta committing sin when she does a sexual intercourse with her past love Alcee. Kate Chopin tries to portray adultery as a way of life and that everyone does it.
rd The essay above, explains that love affair in “The Storm” is the act of adultery and the act of adultery is a sin. The essay tells that Kate Chopin had a purpose in writing her short story “The Storm”. Her purpose is that she wants to show that the act of adultery is a way of life and everyone may able to do the act of adultery. In a simple way, the act of adultery such as love affair may happen to everyone.
This study focuses on analyzing the two major characters, Calixta and Alcee Laballiere in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” in psychological angle concerning the symbols and the setting.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
To begin with the fiction, the author introduces his characters to the readers, as one of the important elements of dramatic or narrative work. Since a character is very important in this analyzing study, it is very important also first to find the best definition of it. The definition of characters is taken from Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms.
Characters are the persons, in a dramatic or narrative work, endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say, i.e. the dialogue, and what they do, i.e. the action. The ground in a
Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction says that the term “character” has two meanings. It can refer to the individuals who appear in the story and also the mixture of interest, desires, emotions, and moral principles that shape each of these individuals (1965: 17). Equivalently, Holman and Harmon in A Handbook
to Literature
mention that the term “character” is used to designate the individual’s speech and action. Therefore, the character can represent human being actions, behaviors, and attitudes (1986: 81).
According to the importance in its story, characters can be described as major and minor characters. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms defines that major or main characters are the most important characters which become the center of attraction of a story. Usually the acts of the story are focused on these characters from the beginning to the ending part. The core of the story is highlighted through these characters’ experience. Minor characters appear in a certain setting, just necessarily to become the background for the major characters. Their roles in a story are just to support the development of major characters. In the other words, basically, a story is about major characters (main characters), but they cannot stand on their own, they still need other characters to make the story convincing and lifelike. Minor characters are characters of less important than those of the mains (1981: 20).
In Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster divides characters into flat and represented in outline and without much individual detail. A flat character can be fairly described in a single phrase or sentence. The use of simple characters is to fulfill minor roles in a work of fiction. The flat character is usually the same sort of people at the end of the story as in the beginning of the story. Round character is obviously more lifelike than the simple one because in real life people are not simply embodiments of single attitude. The round character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle peculiarity. Usually round characters are major figures in the story. Round characters possess many individual and unpredictable human traits. They may be considered dynamic in which they demonstrate their capacities to change or to grow. The mark is that he is capable of surprising the readers (1974: 46-54).
Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature state that characterization is the creation of imaginary persons. The characters are created imaginatively, but they have to be seen real, therefore they exist for the reader or audiences as lifelike (1986:45). Perrine also defines characterization as the creation of an author’s imagination about character as a real person so that they exist for the reader as lifelike (1974: 88).
According to Mary Rohberger and Samuel H. Woods, the process of creating characters is called characterization. In Reading and Writing about
Literature
, they state, “The process by which an author creates a character is called characterization. There are two principal ways an author can characterize (1971: 81).
Murphy’s Understanding Unseen gives more detailed techniques of characterization. It mentions nine techniques of characterization used by the author to describe the characters of a story (1972: 161:173).
a. Personal description An author uses this method particularly to give the description of face, body, and other physical appearances.
b. Character as seen by another The author can also describe a character through the eyes and opinion of others.
c. Speech The author gives the readers some clues to a person‘s character in the book through what the person says. Whenever a character is in conversation with another and whenever a character gives such opinions, a character is giving the readers some clues to its character’s personality.
d. Past Life By letting the readers learn about a character’s past life, an author can give the clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. It can be done by direct comment produced by the author, through the person’s thought, through its character’s conversation, or through the medium of another person.
e. Conversation of Others The author can also give the readers some clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about its character.
f. Reactions The author can give the readers a clue to a person’s character by letting them know how the person reacts to various situations and events.
g. Direct Comment The author can also describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h. Thoughts The author can give the readers direct knowledge or what a person is thinking about. What in the person’s mind is and what he feels reflected on his character. i. Mannerism
An author can describe a person’s way of behaving and habits which may also tell the readers something about a character.
2. Theory of Setting and Plot
In his book How to Analyze Fiction, Kenney divides the setting into three types; they are neutral setting, spiritual setting, and setting as dynamic. The neutral setting is a reflection of the truth that things can happen somewhere. The principal concern of the author is in plot character and not really interest in the setting, because the fiction has an unclear contemporary’s urban or rural setting. The spiritual setting is the values that are embodied or implied by the physical setting. The spiritual setting is the rural setting that does not only describe about grass, cows, and barns, but also the important thing is a certain value. The setting as dynamic is the setting that thrusts from dynamic into the action. The setting is affected by the events and explains the role of a major character (1966: 38-40).
Kenney also divides the setting into three kinds, which are the use of setting as metaphor, the use of setting to create atmosphere, and the use of setting as dominant element which consists of time and place as dominant elements. The function of the setting as metaphor has a purpose in the character’s internal states or a pervasive spiritual condition. The use of setting to create atmosphere is more talked than defined. It focuses on the suggesting than the setting. There is one critic that describes the creation of the atmosphere. It is kind of the setting and also helping to establish the expectation of the reader. The setting as the dominant elements which are time and place as the dominant elements can be fiction. And place as the dominant element is the place dominates in the whole story that tries to find out the effects in a particular character of geographical setting (1966: 40-44).
Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen says that the setting of the literary works is the background of the characters lives. The setting can be concerned with the place and time where characters live. These have an important effect on the personalities, actions, and the characters’ way of thinking (1972: 141).
Beaty and Hunter in New Worlds of Literature emphasize that setting is a part of the complex perspective on people and action that is offered to a reader; it helps to set tone and mood and it helps to realize both character and plot. Meaning to say that setting can help the readers in realizing character and plot in the story, set the tone and mood, and it can make the readers seeing many more on people and action in the story (1989: 111).
The same as what Beaty and Hunter have stated, Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature say that the setting aids in establishing credibility; it can help to explain both characters and situation; it can contribute to the atmosphere or predominated mood; it can be active in foreshadowing; it can be symbolic. Setting can give complete info to the readers and help them to find out what the author wants to reveal in his work (1971: 22).
According to Roberts and Jacobs in their book Fiction: An Introduction to
Reading and Writing
state explain that there are six uses of setting, they are: setting and credibility, setting and statement, setting and characters, setting and organization, setting and atmosphere, setting and irony. In their explanation on setting and characters, they say that setting may intersect with characters as one of the means by which characters are to be underscored and therefore understood. It means that setting has some connections with the characters, so they can be understandable (1987: 191-194).
In the same book Roberts and Jacobs also mention that there are two types of setting; natural setting and manufactured setting. Natural setting is the out-of doors setting where nature is seen as a force that shapes action and therefore direct and redirect lives. A deep woods way make walking difficult or dangerous or they maybe a place for a sinister meeting of devil worshipers. The open road may be a place where one person seeks flight, other face a showdown and still others may meet their fate. The ocean may be the location of youth but also may provide the environment for memory of vanished dream. It wants to say that nature is one of the major forces governing the circumstances of the characters that go about facing the conflicts on which the plot of the story depends. Manufactured setting is always connected to people who create them. Therefore, a building or rooms may tell something about the people who built it
Stanton’s An Introduction to Fiction defines plot as entire sequence of the casually linked events related to each other and cannot be separated.
In the broadest sense, the plot of a story is its sequence of events. We usually limit the term, however, to include only casually linked events that is, events that directly cause or result from other events, and cannot be omitted without breaking the line of action (1965: 14).
The events that are meant above are not only including the physical occurrences, like a speech or action, but also a character’s change of attitude, a flash of insight, and decision. On other words Stanton says that plot is the backbone of a story (1965: 15).
Kennedy in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama mentions that plot is defined as a plan or groundwork for a story, based on conflicting human motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human response. Thus, the plot of the story is the establishment of a conflict and the consequences, variations, and development that stem from it. To the degree that plot requires a set of events that may be laid out in a chronological order, which may have a clearly formed shape, it may be termed a major structure of the story (1983: 107-108).
To analyze more complete about the plot, the writer uses the idea of some aspects which the plot may be had in such a story. According to Kennedy and also Pickering and Hoeper, plot can be divided into some aspects that form the plot or the skeleton or pattern of development: exposition, complication, crisis,
In his book Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, Kennedy explains that in a story there will be five aspects: exposition, complication, crisis, climax, and resolution or denouement (1983: 120-121).
While Pickering and Hoeper in their book Literature, draw the plot of a traditional short story as in also five aspects: exposition, complication, crisis, falling action, and resolution (1986: 21-22).
The writer will combine the two ideas as follow:
a. Exposition The beginning of the section presents everything that is important in the story such as the necessary background information, the main characters, their goals, their limitations and potentials. The background information is to set the scene and may give description about the situation and the time when the action takes place.
b. Complication Sometimes referred to as the rising action, breaks the existing equilibrium and introduces the characters and the underlying or inciting conflict. It is place for conflict to be developed gradually and intensified.
c. Crisis The crisis is the turning point, the separation between what has gone before and what has would come after. In practice, the crisis is usually a decision or d. Climax The climax is the high point in the action, in which the conflict and the consequent tension are brought out to the fullest extent. Another way to think of climax is to define it as that point in a story in which all the rest of the action becomes inevitable. This inevitability happens as a result of the fact that once the high point is reached, there must be an action or development that brings the climax to a conclusion.
e. Falling action The tension subsides once the climax has been reached and the plot moves toward its appointed conclusion. Meaning to say that falling action can be the section to calm down and lead the way for the resolution.
f. Resolution or denouement The final section of the plot is its resolution; it records the outcome of the conflict and establishment some new equilibrium or stability. The resolution (a releasing or untying) or denouement (untying) is the set of actions bringing to the story to its conclusion.
3. Sigmund Freud’s Theory of Psychoanalysis
Hall in his book, A Primer of Freudian Psychology states that theory of psychoanalysis dealt with conscious and unconscious is mainly based on the
superego
. Despite of their own functions, properties, components, operating principles, dynamism, and mechanism, they interact so closely with one another.
In other words, it is the product of the interaction among these three systems that results in individual behavior (1954: 22).
Before an individual gets an experience and has no knowledge yet of objective reality, and before an individual gets an experience about the outer world, it is id that stimulates the individuals to do so. That is why Freud calls id as the true psychic reality. As what Hall says that the only function of id is to channel the instinct so that there is no strained situation as the result of a pressure or failure. Therefore, id brings the individual from a strained situation to a joyful situation. The id does not tolerate any increase of energy that makes uncomfortable state of tension. Consequently, when the tension level of the individuals raised, id function to discharge the tension immediately and returns the individual to a comfortably constant and low energy. Therefore, Freud calls
id
as the principle of pleasure. When the id fails releasing an individual from a strain, it tries to at least reduce the strain so that the psychic goes back to the constant condition. Since id tries to keep the constant condition, id is also called as the principle of constancy (1954: 22-27).
Ego
is the result of the creation of spiritual or inner system as the result of reciprocal relationship between an individual and his outer world. It comes into with the objective world of reality. Therefore, ego always considers the reality before it tries to reduce the strain. The hungry individual has to seek, find, and eat food before the tension of hunger can be eliminated. The individual has to be able to differentiate a memory image of food from the actual perception of food exists in the outer world. Then, the individual has to convert the image of food into a perception that is realized by finding and eating the food. The individual has to be able to match the memory image of food with the sight or smell of food because they come to the person through his senses. This is what makes ego different from id. Ego can distinguish between things in mind and things in the external world, while id knows only the subjective reality of mind.
Ego
functions as a mean of reaching the reality of what is demanded by
id . This is the reason why ego is called the principle of reality. When id imagines
some food because the individual is hungry, ego tries to motivate the individual to get some food to eat, so there is no strain anymore. That is to say that in accomplishing its functions, ego acts as the mediator of the instinctive demands on the one hand and the reality on the other. The aim of ego is to prevent the discharge of tension until an object that is appropriate for the satisfaction of the need is discovered. To accomplish its function ego operates by means of secondary process, it is realistic thinking. By means of secondary process, ego formulates a plan for the satisfaction of the need then tests the plan, usually by when the individual is hungry, he will think of where he can find the food and the proceeding to look in the place. In order to perform its role efficiently, ego has a control over all the cognitive intellectual functions. Because ego is dominated by the principle of reality, ego develops itself in accordance with what the individual undergoes in the real world. It is ego that has to solve any problems when the individual tries to satisfy his need. Therefore, it is also ego that acts because of spontaneous stimulus on the one hand and adapts its action to what the reality demands (1954: 27-31).
Superego
consists of some values and evaluative norms. Superego is the internal representative for the traditional values and ideals of society as interpreted and dictated by the parents to the children. Because it deals much with the values and the evaluative norms, superego represents the ideal world rather than the pleasure. Its main function is to decide whether something is right or wrong so that it can act accordance with the moral standards authorized by the society. That is why superego can not release itself from the rules, norms, and beliefs of the society.
Hall says that superego bears three functions. Firstly, it functions to inhibit the impulses of id, especially the impulses of a sexual or aggressive nature. This is because these are impulses whose expression is most highly condemned by the society. Secondly, superego functions to substitute moralistic tries to challenge id and ego and to make the world over into its own image. In short, the function of superego is to control the conscience when it endangers either oneself or the society. Superego, with its values and evaluative norms, enables individual to be good member of society. When he wants to have sexual intercourse, for example, superego will control the individual to do it with his couple in a relation of marriage. Like what happens to ego, superego develops itself in accordance with the individual’s experience. Superego also tries to control the instinct. The only difference is that ego is influenced by the experience about reality while superego is influenced by the experience of the definition of bad and good. Therefore, superego starts its development when the individual understand what is bad and what is good (1954: 31-35).
C. The Relation between Literature and Psychology
Literature is an expression of individual to a certain issue in reality. To some extents, every literary work has connection with the real world. Stanton in
Introduction to Fiction implies that literature is a unique imitation of life.
In life, on the other hand, there are no stereotypes, no mere copies: every person is an individual to those who known him, every love affair is a unique experience to the lover. The serious author takes life as his model. Instead of writing a “typical story”, he writes of particular individual in particular situation. The result, paradoxically, is that his story is typical- typical of life (1965: 7). Kennedy in An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama states that approaches. First, it investigates the creative process of the artist: what the nature of literary genius is, and how it relates to normal mental function. The second major area for psychological criticism is the psychological study of a particular artist. Most modern literary biographies employ psychology to understand their subject’s motivation and behavior. The third common area of psychological criticism is the analysis of fictional characters. Freud’s study of Oedipus is the prototype for this approach, which tries to bring modern insights about human behavior into the study of how fictional people act (1983: 147).