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Thackeray's Satire on British Society of the Early Victorian Era Through PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI i MATERIALISM AND SOCIAL STATUS: THACKERAY’S SATIRE ON BRITISH SOCIETY OF THE EARLY VICTORIAN ERA THROUGH REBECCA SHARP CHARACTER IN VANITY FAIR AThesis Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education By Nadia Octaviani Student Number: 021214111 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2008 i i PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI vi We are what we imagine Our very existence consist in our imagination of ourselves Our best destiny is to imagine who and what we are The greatest tragedy to befall us is to go unimagined N. Scott Nomaday This thesis is dedicated to my family, to my friends, and to my self. vi vi PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank those who have given me their affection, support, guidance and criticism in finishing every part of my thesis. First of all, I would like to bestow my gratitude to Allah s.w.t. for guiding and keeping me not to stray from His path and finally finish my thesis. My deepest gratitude is given to my beloved dad and mom, Pak Kun and Mama Ning, who have given me their never-ending affection and prayer to support me through the life. I also thank them for keeping asking patiently on the progress of my thesis. I would like to thank my two little brothers, Danang and Damar, for kindly sharing their fight and laugh with me. My greatest appreciation is addressed to my sponsor Ibu Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M. Hum., who believed and convinced me that I am able to finish and defend my thesis, though I hesitated in myself. I really thank her for her patient guidance, suggestion, time and ideas in improving this thesis. My thankfulness goes to Ibu Agnes Dwina Herdiasti S.Pd., M.A., who had checked my thesis in such a short time. I also would like to thank to all PBI lecturers for the experience and knowledge that I could be proud of myself as a student of PBI. My thanks are given to Mbak Dani and Mbak Tari for helping me in every administration problems. Big thanks to my Ndul, Handy Inderata, for opening up my eyes to the world that I had never seen before. Through laughter and cry, I thank him for those unforgettable moments that have been coloring my life. All those support, faith, happiness, hope and love that he gives have shaped me as who I am. My vii vii PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI viii gratitude also goes to all of my comrades who have kept me away from a dull life. Sasha, Echie, Ita, Mawar, I thank them for always welcoming me. Thanks for the never “jaim” friendship lesson. It has been six-wonderful-year friendship. To all my 2002 companions, Ook, Udjo, Metty, Uchiel, Lissa, Wida, Regina, Andre, Miko, Galih, Reni, Ikas, Rika, I am proud to know them all. I also thank “Black Jacket” and “Wizard of Oz” plays performance squads for showing the fun of self esteem. For Endra 14a girls, I thank them all for sharing the same roof Uwi for delivering the meal, Chiwi for swimming lesson and special thanks for my insomniac companion Ayu, for her late night sharing and grammar-checking session. I also thank Dian and Diah who had been my whip to finish this thesis. Last but not the least; I am grateful to those whom I cannot mention one by one. Thanks would not be enough to show my gratitude. Yogyakarta, April 16, 2008 Nadia Octaviani viii viii PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI ix TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ..................................................................................................... i PAGE OF APPROVAL ..................................................................................... ii PAGE OF BOARD EXAMINERS .................................................................... iii STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY................................................. iv LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMI................................................................. v PAGE OF DEDICATION................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENT ..................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... xii ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study ........................................................................ 1 1.2. Problem Formulation ............................................................................ 4 1.3. Objectives of the Study ......................................................................... 4 1.4. Benefits of the Study ............................................................................. 5 1.5. Definition of the Terms ......................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ............................. 8 2.1. Review of Related Theories .................................................................. 8 2.1.1. Theory of character ..................................................................... 8 ixix PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI x 2.1.2. Theory of characterization .......................................................... 10 2.1.3. Theory of Critical Approach ....................................................... 11 2.1.4. Theory of Satire .......................................................................... 12 2.1.5. The Relationship between Literature and Society ...................... 14 2.2. Review on British Society of Victorian Era .......................................... 16 2.1. Governmental and Political condition ........................................... 16 2.2. Economic Condition ...................................................................... 17 2.3. Social Condition ............................................................................ 18 2.3.1. High Class Society ................................................................ 18 2.3.2. Middle Class Society ............................................................ 19 2.3.3. Lower Class Society ............................................................. 19 2.2.4. Moral Values ........................................................................ 19 2.3. Criticism ................................................................................................ 21 2.4. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 24 3.1. Subject Matter ....................................................................................... 24 3.2. Approach of the Study .......................................................................... 25 3.3. Method of the Study .............................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 28 4.1. Character Analysis of Rebecca Sharp ................................................... 28 4.1.1 Social Traits .................................................................................. 29 4.1.2. Physical Traits .............................................................................. 32 x x PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI xi 4.1.3. Psychological Traits ..................................................................... 33 4.1.3.1 Cunning .............................................................................. 33 4.1.3.2. Clever ................................................................................. 35 4.1.3.3. Independent ....................................................................... 37 4.1.3.4. Selfish ................................................................................ 39 4.1.3.5. Hypocritical ....................................................................... 40 4.1.3.6. Ambitious .......................................................................... 42 4.2. Satire on British Society ....................................................................... 44 4.2.1. Thackeray Satirizes British Society is Materialistic .................... 46 4.2.2. Thackeray Satirizes the Importance of Social Status ................... 48 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ............................... 51 5.1. Conclusions ................................................................................................. 51 5.2. Suggestions ................................................................................................. 53 5.2.1. Suggestions for Future Researcher .................................................... 53 5.2.2. Suggestion for Teaching Learning Activities .................................... 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................. 56 APPENDICES 1. Summary of
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