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Golden's View Toward the Life of Geishas As Reflected in the Characters in Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha

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Golden's View Toward the Life of Geishas As Reflected in the Characters in Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha GOLDEN’S VIEW TOWARD THE LIFE OF GEISHAS AS REFLECTED IN THE CHARACTERS IN GOLDEN’S MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By DESY WAHYU HASTIKA Student Number: 994214021 Student Registration Number: 99005112010612021 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2007 Oh, God of dust and rainbows, help us see That without dust the rainbow would not be. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) iv This thesis is dedicated to My Beloved Parents, Bapak B. Saparudin & Ibu T.M. Listifah Mas Didik Mbak Denny And those who love Japanese culture v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is a very special moment for me to express my greatest thanks to the people who have helped me in writing the thesis. Firstly, I would like to thank my lovely Jesus Christ for this unbelievable life. I will not forget to thank Mother Mary for the love and help she gives me. My greatest gratitude is dedicated to Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum as my advisor. I thank her for the patience to read and reread, give correction to my thesis, and also for her kindness to spend time for my thesis. I realize that without her help I cannot finish and improve my thesis. I am grateful to have Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum as my co-advisor for sparing his time to criticize and give helpful advice to this thesis. My sincere thanks also go to all lecturers of The Department of English Letters of Sanata Dharma University for the knowledge and guidance during my study. I also would like to give my big thanks to the secretariat and library staffs for the good service and patience. My exceptional gratefulness goes to my family, Bapak B. Saparudin and Ibu T.M Listifah, my brother who is also the main sponsor of my study Antonius Didik (Black) Listiawan and my sister Denny Dwi Kristanti for their support, and never stop praying. Thanks for the opportunity given to me. My special thanks go to my only family in Jogjakarta, Beo 34 community Anna “Beo”, “Bronie” Kus, Citra “Cepu”, Widhie “Pepeng”, Agnes “Brindil”, Lucy, Retti, Mbak Ida, Asti “Astot”, Diena, Tante Lisa, Josephine, Wiwied vi “O’ong” thanks to be a place to share and to be the partner in crime and fellowship. I also want to thank Pondok MAPASADHA for the colors and adventures they give in my life especially for DRAGON’S family. My special big thank to Tilik (RIP) for the challenge and great experience. I would like to thank Oh Lala Bistro and New Zealand Ice Cream crews for the laugh and big understanding and also Mrs. Ling Ling and Mas Denny for the duties entrusted to me. Without their help I would have never printed my thesis. Thank to Neelam and Ita for checking my grammar, and also thank to Tri Reno Purnomo “Ipunk” for the experience, the spirit and enjoyable togetherness. And if there are people who have helped me but I have not mentioned their names on this page, I do apologize. Desy Wahyu Hastika vii TABLE CONTENTS TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………...……… i APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………..……. ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……………………………………………….…….. iii MOTTO PAGE ………...……………………………………………….….… iv DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………..……. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………….…… vi TABLE CONTENTS ................................................................................…...viii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ix ABSTRAK ...........................................................................................................x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………..………1 A. Background of the study ……………………………………..…….. 1 B. Problem Formulation ………………………………………..………3 C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………..…… 3 D. Definition of Terms ……………………………………………..….. 4 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ………………………….............5 A. Review of Related Studies ……………………………………..……5 B. Review of Related Theories …………………………………............7 1. Theories of Character ...................................................…......7 2. The Relation between Literature and Society …..................10 3. Theory on Society in the Novel ...................................….....11 C. Review of Geisha …………………………………………………..12 D. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………….18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………20 A. Object of the Study …………………………………………………20 B. Approach of the Study …………………………………………….. 21 C. Method of the Study ………………………………………………..22 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ………………………………………………….23 A. The Characterization of Sayuri, Hatsumomo, Pumpkin and Mameha .............................................................................….....23 . 1. Sayuri ……………………………………………………...23 2. Hatsumomo ..................................................................…....28 3. Pumpkin .......................................................................…....31 4. Mameha ....................................................................….......33 B. The Life of Geisha as Reflected in the Novel ...…...........................35 C. Golden’s View toward the Geisha’s Life as Reflected in the Novel. ......................................................................................45 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...……..............................................................55 BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................58 viii ABSTRACT DESY WAHYU HASTIKA.(2007). GOLDEN’S VIEW TOWARD THE LIFE OF GEISHAS AS REFLECTED IN THE CHARACTERS IN GOLDEN’S MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2007. Memoirs of A Geisha is a novel, written by an American in 1998. This novel talks about the social life of a geisha. The job as an entertainer demands the geisha to attract men in such parties every day. It makes the geisha is assumed as a prostitute. A bravery and tenacity are most needed to become a geisha. Geishas are placed in the house called Okiya, a house with strict rules where they learn much about the cultural tradition of Japan. A hard life, competition, authorization and loneliness are coloring the life of geisha which are full of elegance, glamour, and happiness. Through the characters of the novel, Arthur Golden gives a new view and depiction of the real life of geisha which is unexposed, referring to his experiences. In this thesis, the writer uses a literary research. The data are taken from the novel Memoirs of A Geisha, encyclopedias, some dictionaries and also some articles from internet which are related to the topic. The writer uses socio-cultural historical approach, because this novel is related to the Japanese culture and the thesis aims to give a depiction of the geisha’s life in the author’s view. The research result find out that Sayuri is depicted as a beautiful woman, a brave, a clever and also an optimistic person. Hatsumomo is depicted as an antagonist, arrogant, jealousy, and does not like to be competed. Mameha is an intelligent and a successful geisha. Pumpkin is a weak woman and a person who bears a grudge. From these characters, Arthur Golden gives a suggestion that a geisha is not the same as a prostitute as common people think. Strict rules, and demands on ability of dancing and singing are the most things which differentiate the geisha with the prostitute. Behaviors and politeness in the society make a geisha is respected as a person who is loyal to the tradition. ix ABSTRAK DESY WAHYU HASTIKA. (2007). GOLDEN’S VIEW TOWARD THE LIFE OF GEISHAS AS REFLECTED IN THE CHARACTERS IN GOLDEN’S MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2007. Novel Memoirs of A Geisha ditulis pada tahun 1998 oleh seorang laki- laki yang berasal dari Amerika. Novel ini menceritakan tentang kehidupan sosial geisha, wanita penghibur Jepang. Pekerjaannya sebagai wanita penghibur yang harus menemani pria setiap hari membuat geisha dinilai sebagai kelompok sosial yang sama dengan prostitusi. Keberanian dan keuletan sangat dibutuhkan untuk menjadi seorang geisha. Para geisha ditempatkan dalam suatu rumah yang disebut okiya, rumah yang mempunyai peraturan yang sangat ketat, tempat dimana mereka belajar segala hal tentang tradisi budaya Jepang. Kehidupan yang keras, persaingan, ketidak bebasan dan kesendirian mewarnai kehidupan geisha yang penuh dengan kemewahan, keindahan dan kegembiraan. Melalui karakter-karakter dalam novelnya, Arthur Golden memberikan cara pandang dan gambaran tentang kehidupan geisha yang sebenarnya yang kurang terangkat berdasarkan pengalamannya. Dalam penulisan skripsi ini, penulis menerapkan studi pustaka. Data-data diambil dari novel Memoirs of A Geisha, ensiklopedia, kamus-kamus dan jaringan situs internet yang berhubungan dengan topik. Pendekatan yang digunakan penulis adalah pendekatan sejarah sosial budaya, karena novel ini sangat erat hubungannya dengan budaya Jepang dan tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah memberikan gambaran tentang kehidupan geisha dari sudut pandang pengarang. Hasil pencarian menunjukkan bahwa Sayuri digambarkan sebagai wanita yang cantik, berani dan pandai serta optimis. Harsumomo digambarkan sebagai antagonis, arogan, iri dan tidak mau tersaingi. Mameha adalah geisha yang cerdik dan sukses. Pumkin digambarkan sebagai geisha yang lemah, bodoh dan pendendam. Melalui karakter-karakter tersebut, ditemukan bahwa kehidupan geisha sangatlah berat. Calon geisha harus melalui berbagai tahap yang berat untuk menjadi geisha.
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