Perceptions of achieving a successful life revealed in Amy Tan`s The Kitchen God`s Wife and Richard Bach`s Jonathan Livingston Seagull - USD Repository

  

PERCEPTIONS OF ACHIEVING A SUCCESSFUL LIFE

REVEALED IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE AND

RICHARD BACH’S JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL

  

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

  

By

Yosep Rahmat Pratama

Student Number: 051214076

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

  

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2009

  

PERCEPTIONS OF ACHIEVING A SUCCESSFUL LIFE

REVEALED IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE AND

RICHARD BACH’S JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL

  

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

  

By

Yosep Rahmat Pratama

Student Number: 051214076

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

  

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2009

  Success can be achieved by hardworking, not just by dreaming.

  Do not ever give up before you are completely lost. Do not ever get lost before you fight. Do not ever go for fight if you do not have the faith you can win.

  ORA et LABORA I dedicated this thesis to:

• . My ALMIGHTY LORD JESUS CHRIST and MOTHER MARY
• . My beloved father Mr. Andreas Sunarjo, my beloved mother Mrs. Jani Djuanda, my beloved grandmother (emak) Mrs. Hertati, my beloved late grandfather (akung) Mr. Agus Aripin, and my beloved late grandfather (opa) Mr. Stefanus Djuanda.
• . My lovely younger sister and brother, Elizabeth Dianita Dwinanda and Yacobus Trinugraha Putranto.

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First of all, I would like to express my highest and deepest gratitude to the and MOTHER MARY for THEIR

  ALMIGHTY LORD JESUS CHRIST

  greatest love and blessing in my life, for THEIR HOLY SPIRIT. Thank him for always beside me and for keeping me up when problems come in my life. Thank him for every single miracle and blessing in my life which always comes in the right time when I need it. Thank him for guiding me to pass the hard time in doing my thesis, so that finally I can finish it.

  I am deeply indebted to Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum., as my thesis sponsor for her patience, guidance, encouragement, assistance, and correction in the process of making this thesis. I am also deeply indebted to Sister Margareth

  

FCJ for her patience, guidance, encouragement, assistance, and correction in the

  process of making this thesis. This thesis would be nothing without their noteworthy advice. May God Himself, will be the One who gives them all the happiness, health, and success as the return of their kindness.

  My gratitude also goes to all my lecturers in English Language

  

Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University for the knowledge

and help during my study.

  I also would like to express my highest and deepest gratitude to my father Mr. Andreas Sunarjo, my beloved mother Mrs. Jani Djuanda,

  beloved

my beloved grandmother Mrs. Hertati, my beloved late grandfather Mr.

  , and my lovely younger brother

  younger sister Elizabeth Dianita Dwinanda

Yacobus Trinugraha Putranto for their love, encouragement, support, faith, and

  prayer. Neither any of spoken nor written words could ever describe how much they really mean to my life.

  I also send big thanks to my best friends Andika for his support and for the dear friendship in the bitter moments and the sweet moments. I am so grateful to have best friends like them.

  Last but not least, I sincerely thank all the people who help me in finishing this thesis. I cannot mention their names one by one. However, their support and prayer really help me so that I can finish this thesis. Their participation and contribution are very much appreciated. May God grant them with happiness, health, and success.

  Yosep Rahmat Pratama

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………… i APPROVAL PAGES……………………………………………………… ii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY……………………………. iv PAGE OF DEDICATION………………………………………………… v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………….. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………. viii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………….. xii

  

ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………….. xiv

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 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 2.1 Review of Related Theories…………………………………….

  8 2.1.1 Critical Approaches to Literature……………………..

  9 2.1.2 Cultures and Beliefs…………………………………..

  10

  2.2 Review of Related Cultures…………………………………….

  12 2.2.1 Chinese Culture………………………………………….

  12 2.2.1.1 Confucianism as the Reflection of Chinese Culture..

  12

  2.2.1.2 The Origin of Feng Shui……………………………

  13

  2.2.1.3 Yin – Yang…………………………………………

  13 2.2.2 American Culture………………………………………..

  14

  2.2.2.1 Rags to Riches and Tramps to Millionaire…………

  15

  2.2.2.2 The American Dream………………………………

  16 2.2.2.3 The Way to Wealth in Poor Richard’s Almanack….

  17

  2.3 Review of Related Proverbs……………………………………

  18 2.3.1 Chinese Proverbs………………………………………...

  19

  2.3.2 American Proverbs………………………………………

  20

  2.4 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………

  21 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Object of the Study……………………………………………..

  25 3.2 Approach of the Study………………………………………….

  27

  3.3 Method of the Study……………………………………………

  28 CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS 4.1 The Meanings of Success……………………………………….

  31 4.1.1 Success is a Continuous Journey………………………...

  32

  4.1.3 Success is Creating the Harmony in the Life……….........

  64 4.3.7 Independent and Confident…………………...................

  4.4.4 Failure is Not the End of Everything……………………

  73

  4.4.3 Where there is a Will, there is a Way……………………

  72

  72 4.4.2 Perfection is Having No Limit…………………………..

  72 4.4.1 Success is a Matter of Luck……………………………..

  4.4 Values of Success ……………………………………………

  70

  69 4.3.10 Acknowledging Both Strengths and Weaknesses ……..

  67 4.3.9 Building a Good Synergy ……………………………….

  66 4.3.8 Careful and Well-Planned……………………………….

  63 4.3.6 Willing to Learn from Others …………………………...

  38 4.1.4 Success is All about Perfection…………………………..

  61 4.3.5 Humble ………………………………………….............

  59 4.3.4 Creative………………………………………………….

  57 4.3.3 Serious and Discipline ………………………..................

  55 4.3.2 Talking Less and Doing More …………………………..

  54 4.3.1 Positive Thinking and Optimistic…………......................

  4.3 Characteristics of a Successful Person…………………………

  51

  48 4.2.2 Doing the Process Carefully……………………………..

  47 4.2.1 Learning and Working Hard Continuously……………...

  44 4.2 The Process of Achieving Success……………………………..

  4.1.5 Success is a Choice………………………………………

  43

  74

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions…………………………………………………….

  77 5.2 Suggestions…………………………………………………….

  80 5.2.1 Suggestion for the Future Researchers ………………….

  80

  5.2.2 Suggestion for the English Teachers ……………………

  81 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………

  85 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 Biography of Amy Tan…………………………………….

  88 APPENDIX 2 The Summary of The Kitchen God’s Wife ………………..

  92 APPENDIX 3 Amy Tan and Her Works ………………………………….

  96 APPENDIX 4 Biography of Richard Bach ………………………………..

  97 APPENDIX 5 The Summary of Jonathan Livingston Seagull …………… 100 APPENDIX 6 Richard Bach and His Works……………………………… 102 APPENDIX 7 Syllabus of Intensive Reading II…………………………... 103 APPENDIX 8 Lesson Plan of Intensive Reading II………………………. 105 APPENDIX 9 Materials for Teaching Intensive Reading II ……………… 108

  

ABSTRACT

  Rahmat Pratama, Yosep. (2009). Perceptions of Achieving a Successful Life

  

Revealed in Amy Tan’s the Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s

Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study

  Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

  This thesis discusses the comparison of perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from Chinese and American culture as revealed in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Various perceptions about the meaning of success, process of achieving success, characteristics of a successful person, and values of success which are revealed in those two novels are being discussed in this thesis.

  The objective of this study is to compare the perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from Chinese and American culture as revealed in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This study intends to compare the perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from these two cultures to figure out the similarities and differences between them. The research problem can be formulated as follows: What are the perceptions of achieving a successful life as revealed in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull?

  This study employed the novels Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull as the primary sources. Besides, some relevant books on literature, theories of cultures and beliefs, and some reviews of related culture and perception were used as the secondary sources in order to support the analysis. Since this study concerned with the characteristics and values of Chinese and American cultures which influenced certain perceptions of success revealed in the novels, the socio-cultural approach was applied.

  The conclusion of this study is certain perception about success is really influenced by certain cultural value and philosophy. Chinese people define success more to the harmony which is created by creating a balanced condition on the elements that exist in this life. Moreover, they also define success as “a matter of luck.” Those two perceptions are influenced by the philosophy of Yin-Yang and Feng Shui. On the other side, American culture sees success in a different perception. They see success as “perfection.” This perception is really influenced by American philosophy that “practice makes perfect.” However, both Chinese and American cultures also define success as a journey. It is due to the fact that we have to experience series of events along the way to achieve success. Finally, success also means a choice that we are free to choose in what fields we are interested to succeed.

  Then, there are two processes of achieving a successful life. First is learning and working hard continuously. Second is doing the process carefully. more, serious and discipline, humble, willing to learn from others, independent and confident, careful and well planed, building a good synergy, and acknowledging both strengths and weaknesses are the common characteristics of a successful person.

  The values of success also need to be concerned. First, success is a matter of luck. Second, perfection is having no limit. Moreover, where there is a will- there is a way and failure is not the end of everything become the last value of success.

  To future researchers who intend to do an in-depth study on the novels Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the analysis on the characters development that is influenced by certain cultural backgrounds and the analysis of the differences between Chinese and American cultures in specific areas such as marriage or family still interested to be discussed. Meanwhile, English teachers could also utilize parts of these novels to increase students’ motivation to read in order to develop their reading skills.

  

ABSTRAK

  Rahmat Pratama, Yosep. 2009. Perceptions of Achieving a Successful Life

  

Revealed in Amy Tan’s the Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s

Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa

  Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Skripsi ini mengulas tentang perbandingan persepsi - persepsi dalam hal meraih kesuksesan hidup yang berasal dari kebudayaan Cina dan Amerika seperti yang terdapat dalam novel karya Amy Tan yang berjudul The Kitchen God’s Wife dan novel karya Richard Bach yang berjudul Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Ada banyak persepsi tentang arti dari kesuksesan, proses untuk meraih sebuah kesuksesan, karakteristik seorang yang sukses, dan nilai - nilai dari sebuah kesuksesan yang tertuang dalam kedua novel tersebut dibahas dalam skripsi ini.

  Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk membandingkan persepsi - persepsi dalam hal meraih kesuksesan hidup yang berasal dari kebudayaan Cina dan Amerika seperti yang terdapat dalam novel karya Amy Tan yang berjudul The Kitchen God’s Wife dan novel karya Richard Bach yang berjudul Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Studi ini ingin membandingkan persepsi-persepsi dalam hal meraih kesuksesan hidup yang berasal dari dua kebudayaan tersebut untuk menemukan kesamaan-kesamaan maupun perbedaan-perbedaan diantara keduanya. Rumusan permasalahan dalam studi ini adalah: Apa saja persepsi- persepsi untuk meraih sebuah kesuksesan dalam hidup sebagaimana tertuang dalam novel karya Amy Tan yang berjudul The Kitchen God’s Wife dan novel karya Richard Bach yang berjudul Jonathan Livingston Seagull?

  Studi ini menggunakan novel karya Amy Tan yang berjudul The Kitchen God’s Wife dan novel karya Richard Bach yang berjudul Jonathan Livingston Seagull sebagai sumber utama. Selain itu, buku-buku yang relevan mengenai kesusasteraan, teori-teori tentang kebudayaan dan kepercayaan, dan beberapa pembahasan tentang kebudayaan dan persepsi-persepsi terkait digunakan sebagai sumber-sumber tambahan untuk mendukung analisa. Oleh karena skripsi ini menekankan pembahasan pada karakteristik dan nilai-nilai kebudayaan Cina dan Amerika yang mempengaruhi persepsi-persepsi tertentu tentang sukses sebagaimana tertuang didalam novel, digunakanlah pendekatan social dan kebudayaan.

  Kesimpulan dari studi ini adalah persepsi tertentu tentang kesuksesan sangat dipengaruhi oleh nilai kebudayaan dan filosofi tertentu. Orang Cina menganggap sukses lebih kepada suatu harmoni yang tercipta dengan membuat kondisi yang seimbang diantara elemen-elemen yang ada dalam hidup ini. Lebih lanjut, mereka juga menganggap sukses sebagai “hal yang berkaitan dengan keberuntungan.” Dua persepsi tersebut dipengaruhi oleh filosofi Yin-Yang dan Feng Shui. Di lain pihak, kebudayaan Amerika melihat kesuksesan dari persepsi yang berbeda. Mereka melihat kesuksesan sebagai “kesempurnaan.” Persepsi ini

  Bagaimanapun, baik kebudayaan Cina dan Amerika mengartikan kesuksesan sebagai sebuah petualangan. Ini dikarenakan fakta bahwa kita harus mengalami berbagai macam kejadian selama kita berusaha mencapai sukses. Akhirnya, sukses juga berarti sebuah pilihan dimana kita bebas memilih di bidang mana kita berminat untuk meraih sukses.

  Lalu, proses meraih sukses dapat dibagi menjadi dua bagian. Pertama adalah belajar dan bekerja keras secara berkelanjutan. Kedua adalah melaksanakan proses secara cermat.

  Berbicara tentang sukses tidak lengkap tanpa berbicara tentang karakter seorang yang sukses. Berpikir positif dan optimis, serius dan disiplin, rendah hati, belajar dari oarng lain, mandiri dan percaya diri, cermat dan terencana baik, membangun sinergi yang baik, dan mengenal kelebihan dan kelemahan adalah karakter-karakter umum dari seorang yang sukses.

  Lalu, nilai-nilai dari sebuah kesuksesan juga perlu diperhatikan. Pertama, kesuksesan adalah sebuah keberuntungan. Kedua, kesempurnaan tidak mempunyai batasan. Lalu, dimana ada kemauan disitu ada jalan dan kegagalan bukanlah akhir dari segalanya menjadi nilai kesuksesan terakhir.

  Bagi para peneliti di waktu mendatang yang bermaksud untuk melakukan studi mendalam mengenai novel karya Amy Tan yang berjudul The Kitchen God’s Wife dan novel karya Richard Bach yang berjudul Jonathan Livingston Seagull, analisa mengenai perkembangan karakter-karakter yang dipengaruhi latar belakang kebudayaan tertentu dan analisa-analisa mengenai perbedaan antara kebudayan Cina dan Amerika dalam hal-hal tertentu seperti pernikahan dan keluarga masih sangat menarik untuk dibicarakan. Sementara itu, bagi para guru Bahasa Inggris dapat pula memanfaatkan bagian-bagian dari kedua novel ini untuk meningkatkan motivasi para siswa untuk mengembangkan kemampuan membaca mereka.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of five parts; they are background of the study,

  problem formulation, objective of the study, benefit of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study describes briefly the main topic of this thesis and also covers the reason for choosing the subject. Problem formulation mentions the essential problem to be analyzed in this thesis, whereas the objectives of the study explain the objectives or aims of conducting this research. Benefits of the study reveal the advantages that the readers may gain in reading this thesis. Moreover, this part is purposed to make the readers familiar with both novels used in this thesis. Definition of terms is the last part of this chapter which contains the description of key terms that are used in analyzing this novel.

1.1 Background of the Study

  Reading literary works may give people some values. It may enrich or broaden the reader’s perception and mind because literary works usually contain many truths about life as the reflection of the writer’s experiences. Henkel says that “a novel reflects elemental facts and forces in our rapidly changing world” (22). It shows that a literary work derived from human experiences chronologically that every human can learn about it, respond to it, and interpret it with various perceptions. Danziger and Johnson state that “literature is an

  2

  author’s or a writer’s interpretation and perception of life” (34). In this case, the writer’s interpretation and perception of life can be influenced by values of culture as a reflection of writer’s descendant. Hence, as one of the genres of literature, a novel consists of certain interpretations and perceptions of life.

  As well as the writers raise various perceptions in writing the novel, in reading the novel, the readers also raise different perceptions. In relation to choose the topic for writing the thesis, I intend to discuss the topic related to perceptions especially in achieving a successful life. Moreover, since my thesis is in the field of literature, I am going to discuss the topic of perceptions of achieving a successful life by comparing two novels from two different writers who have different backgrounds of culture.

  I intend to discuss the topic related to the perceptions of achieving a successful life due to the fact that we live in the global era. It cannot be denied that life in the global era demands a lot for succeeding. Besides, living in the global era demands a qualified person who is able to compete with others. In this case, competition is dealing with success in achieving something. According to Kiyosaki, success is “obtaining a desired goal which is not something inherited” (48). It means success can only be achieved through a good competition which is done through qualified efforts. Therefore, no matter what age, colour or origin you are, success is something that everyone can achieve at certain points in their life by finishing a competition with qualified efforts.

  There are several scientists and experts who determine the meaning of

  3

  biggest scientists in the world, success is based on imagination plus ambition and the will to work. By looking at his statement, success can be described as the realization of an aim which needs hard works as the essential part of it. According to Confucianism, a Chinese philosophy which primarily focuses more internally on the way emphasizes benevolence and harmony in life, success always deals with how we can create the balance and the harmony within all of the elements in this universe, control the change in cycle, and do everything in discipline. According to Daniel T. Willingham, an American educator from American Federation of Teachers, success can be achieved through practice beyond the point of perfection.

  Concerning the facts above, I am interested in comparing the perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from Chinese and American culture as portrayed in literary works. Those two cultures are two of the biggest cultures in the world which have lots of unique values and characteristics. Hence, I am interested in comparing these two cultures to figure out the differences and the similarities between them in the way they view success. Since my concern in this study is comparing the perceptions of achieving a successful life from Chinese and American culture as portrayed in literary works, I chose The Kitchen God’s Wife written by Amy Tan and Jonathan Livingston Seagull written by Richard Bach as the main source of this study. These two novels bring their own perceptions from two different writers coming from two different cultures.

  I choose The Kitchen God’s Wife written by Amy Tan, a Chinese-

  4

  norms, and principles of life, especially in the relation of achieving a successful life.

  Moreover, I also chose Jonathan Livingston Seagull written by Richard Bach as the second novel in this study as the representative of American way of thinking, values of norms, and principles of life especially in the relation of achieving a successful life.

  Looking at the statement from Danziger and Johnson (34) which says that “literature is an imitation of varied experiences of living people which come from the result of an author’s or a writer’s interpretation and perception of life,” I am sure that the writer’s interpretation and perception of life can be influenced by values of certain cultures as the reflection of writer’s descendant. Therefore, using these two novels as the main sources of the study can help me to compare the perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from Chinese and American culture.

1.2 Problem Formulation

  There is one essential problem which leads the analysis of the study to a profound explanation. The research problem can be formulated as follows: What are the perceptions of achieving a successful life as revealed in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull?

  5

  1.3 Objectives of the Study

  The objective of the study is to compare the perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from Chinese culture and American culture as revealed in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Moreover, this study intends to compare the perceptions from these two cultures to figure out the differences and the similarities in the way they view success, in the way they view the process to achieve success, in the way they view the characteristics of a successful person, and in the way they view the values of success.

  1.4 Benefits of the Study

  The first benefit of this study is to make the readers of this thesis familiar with Amy Tan’s and Richard Bach’s works. By reading this thesis, the readers in general and the students of English Language Education Study Program who are interested in Amy Tan’s and Richard Bach’s works will get more perspectives on the novels The Kitchen God’s Wife and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. They also can get more comprehension about the perceptions of achieving a successful life derived from Chinese and American culture. Moreover, this study will give a lot of benefits for the development of education. Hopefully, this thesis could be useful for other researchers who are conducting their work related to this study.

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1.5 Definition of Terms

  In order to avoid misinterpretations, the writer defines some important terms that are used throughout this study. The first term is Confucianism.

  According to Xinzhong (58), “Confucianism is a Chinese philosophy which primarily focuses more internally on the way emphasizing benevolence, harmony, wisdom, family, and honouring one's ancestors.” Moreover, this philosophy also explains about the relation between matter and principle, the method of discovering truth, relation between human and nature, and the tendency not to invoke a unified and personified supernatural power. In this study, Confucianism means the way or a principle to achieve a success which deals with how we can create the balance and the harmony within all of the elements in this universe, control the change in cycle, and do everything in discipline.

  Another term used in this study is harmony. According to Xinzhong (34), “harmony is a state of peaceful existence and agreement or the things go well together and produce an attractive result.” In this study, harmony is having a closer difference in the meaning. Harmony in this study means the balance condition between good and bad sides that lots of people in the world try to fulfil in order to support their intention in achieving something which is worthy. Thus, harmony is some kind of situation in which things around it are arranged in a good order so that these things can go well together to produce a good result. comes as the third important term. According to Xinzhong

  Yin and Yang

  (69), Yin and Yang means “a balance between two opposite things, such as female

  7

  (yin) and male (yang).” In this study, Yin and Yang means the balanced condition which creates two things in opposite, such as good and bad, dark and bright.

  Perfection according to Denver (47) is “the act of making something

  perfect by doing the final improvements.” In this case, everyone who wants to reach the perfection must have everything is finished in a complete condition without faults or weaknesses. In this study, perfection also means to make something become perfect by doing the final improvements.

  Luck according to Xinzhong is a positive energy achieved from

  maintaining the harmony in life (57). The positive energy really needs to support our efforts to achieve success. Creating the positive energy can only be done with maintaining the harmony in life. We should give a balance portion for doing lots of efforts, taking a rest, giving a charity, and praying to God. Those ways are the example of maintaining the harmony to get luck. Luck is important and really needs to support our efforts to achieve success. Luck in this study also has the same meaning as what Xinzhong said. according to Hornby is a belief or an image which comes up as

  Perception

  the result of how someone sees or understands something especially with sense and mind (58). In this study, perception also has the same meaning as what Hornby said. Perception really shows the ways of understanding for certain things. That understanding is gain through the process of sensing and thinking.

  Moreover, looking at certain facts and proofs can also be used as the ways to create certain perceptions.

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In this chapter, certain theory of critical approach to literature, certain

  theories of cultures and beliefs, certain reviews about Chinese and American culture, and certain reviews of related perceptions to achieve success are presented to support the discussion. This chapter is divided into four parts, namely review of related theories or theoretical description, review of related culture, review of related perception, and the last part is theoretical framework.

  Review of related theories consists of some related theories which are applied in conducting this study. Review of related culture consists of reviews of two related cultures which are applied in this study. Some philosophies and beliefs are discussed in this part. Review of related perceptions consists of some related perceptions of achieving a successful life in the form of proverbs.

  Theoretical framework explains the contribution of the theories and reviews in solving the problems, especially in the matter of why those theories and reviews are needed and how they are applied in the study. Moreover, those theories and reviews are synthesized so as to make them operationally applicable to the problems.

2.1 Review of Related Theories

  The theories which are applied in this study deal with the theory of critical

  9

2.1.1 Critical Approaches to Literature

  According to Rohrberger and Woods (3), “literary criticism is the study, discussion, analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of literary works.” Literary criticism is usually expressed in the form of a critical essay. In analyzing a literary work, we need to determine what we want to explore and reveal, then we select the appropriate tool to criticize the work. Therefore, a critical approach to literature needs an understanding of its nature, function, and positive values.

  Someone must know what literature is, how to read it, and how to appraise it.

  There are some common critical approaches which are usually used as tools to criticize the literary work. The first approach is the Formalist approach.

  This approach comes up due to the fact that literature is a unique form of human knowledge. Hence, it is necessary to understand the work within the work itself by looking at all the elements contained in the work.

  This approach also tries “demonstrating the harmonious involvement of all parts to the whole, pointing out how meaning is derived from structure, and pointing out how technique determines structure” (7).

  The Biographical approach is the second approach which is used to examine a literary work based on the importance of acknowledging the author’s personal life for a deep understanding to his or her writings. However, in this approach, it is not necessary to include all the facts from the author’s life, especially when it is not relevant to the meaning or the context of the work. Thus, providing useful facts that could put the reader in a better position to understand

  10 The Socio-Cultural approach seeks to understand a literary work by

  investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produce it. “It focuses on the cultural, economic, and political values contained in that literary work” (9). Hence, it explores more to the relationship between the writer and the society.

  The Gender approach seeks to understand how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary works. In this approach, feminist critics usually appear to criticize the literary work by examining how the image of men and women in literature reflects or rejects the social forces. It talks mainly about the equality between men and women.

  The Psychological approach seeks to examine the work by reflecting on life as a realistic representation of human motivation and behaviour. “This approach sees the literary work as an expression of the state of mind and the structure of personality of the individual author” (13). Moreover, this approach uses the theory of psychology to explain human’s motivation, personality and behaviour patterns written in the literary objects.

  The Mythological approach examines the literary work by dealing with how the individual imagination uses myths and symbols in different cultures and epochs.

2.1.2 Cultures and Beliefs

  The British anthropologist, Sir Edward Burnett Taylor (57), defines

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  perceptions and behaviours.” In the 1950s, A. L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhon (62) stated that culture is “the values and beliefs that people used to interpret experience and generate behaviour, and all of those reflected in their behaviour.”

  According to Havilland (24), culture in anthropology, is “the patterns of behaviour and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share.” Every human group has different types of cultures from others.

  According to Lakoff (64), culture has several different characteristics. First, culture is based on symbols. “Culture is abstracts ways of referring and understanding ideas, objects, feelings, or behaviours, and the ability to communicate with symbols using language.” Second, culture is shared. People in the same society share common behaviours and ways of thinking through culture.

  Third, culture is learned. Culture is socially inherited. It can be understood trough the process of learning. A person must learn culture from other people in a society so that the person can be accepted in the society. The last, culture is adaptive. People use culture to flexibly and quickly adjust to the changes in the world around them.

  One German anthropologist, Biehler, said that Belief is one of specific categories of ideology besides value and idea. Belief gives people an understanding of how the world works and how they should respond to the actions of others and their environments. This understanding influences most of people’s perception and behaviour. Moreover, particular beliefs often tie in closely with the daily concerns of domestic life such as making a living, health and sickness, happiness and sadness, interpersonal relationships and death. (42)

  On the other side, Scriven (27) in “Primary Philosophy” stated that “belief

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  says or does.” The content of belief may describe an object or situation as true or false and evaluate it as good or bad.

2.2 Review of Related Cultures

  This part represents some reviews of related culture. Since this study discusses the perceptions of achieving successful life derived from Chinese and American culture, some reviews of Chinese and American culture in the form of certain philosophies and beliefs are discussed in this part.

2.2.1 Chinese Culture

  Confucianism, Feng Shui, and Yin-Yang are discussed in this part. Those three items are the Chinese philosophies which really give big influences to the Chinese people’s perceptions.

2.2.1.1 Confucianism as the Reflection of Chinese Culture

  Confucianism is an old Chinese philosophy. According to Mao Tse Dong, “Confucianism is a Chinese tradition of thought that focused in the fields of ethics and politics, emphasizing personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, traditionalism, and sincerity.” He also states that Confucianism creates the world meritocracy by its principle which says that “one's status should be determined by ability instead of ancestry, wealth, or friendships.” Confucianism can also be said as a system of moral, social, political,

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  culture up to this era. Thus, Confucianism really gives big influence for shaping the Chinese culture and state of China.

  2.2.1.2 The Origin of Feng Shui

  The Chinese believe that the universe is influenced by the interaction of four elements or wu qing (metal, wood, fire, and earth) which are derived from the art-science called Feng Shui. According to Yitseng,

  Feng Shui ( / Fung Shway), translated literary as wind (feng) and water

  風水