The Reflection of Naturalism in Ethan's Life As Seen In
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THE REFLECTION OF NATURALISM IN ETHAN’S LIFE AS SEEN IN EDITH WHARTON’S ETHAN FROME AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By INTEN PUSPITO Student Number: 014214139 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2009 ii iii iv v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My greatest gratitude first and foremost goes to Jesus Christ. I thank Him for the blessing. I thank my mom and dad for their tender love. I dedicated this thesis for them. I thank my dearly annoying brothers and lovely sisters for always walking me through the ‘rain’ and for their unconditional love. Next, my huge gratitude goes to my Advisor and Co-Advisor, Modesta Luluk Artika W., S.S. and Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka,M.Hum. whose guidance and support have made this thesis possible to be finished. I can never thank them enough for the wisdom, knowledge and especially patience that they have shown me. To my friends I called best friends; mbak Ary, Donna and Key, Dian and Yose, Arul and Villa. I thank them for their patience for listening my grumbling. My unforgettable ‘cipika cipiki’: Anis, Irin, Puput, Vitun, Novel. I thank them for coloring my days, and showing me what friendship means. I love you all. Last but not least, my gratitude goes to Samurai R. I thank him for his unexplained support and whatever! Thank you. That means a lot. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................. i APPROVAL PAGE ....................................................................................... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE .................................................................................. iii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALTIY ............................................ iv LEMBAR PUBLIKASI ................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. vii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... viii ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1 A. Background of the study ................................................. 1 B. Problem Formulation ..................................................... 5 C. Objectives of the Study .................................................. 6 D. Definition of Terms ......................................................... 6 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ............................................... 8 A. Review of Related Studies .............................................. 8 B. Review of Related Theories ............................................ 10 1. Theory on Character and Characterization ................ 11 2. Theory on Setting ...................................................... 13 3. Theory on plot ........................................................... 15 4. Theory on Naturalism in Literature ........................... 15 C. Theoretical Framework .................................................. 19 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 21 A. Object of the Study ........................................................ 21 B. Approach to the Study ..................................................... 22 C. Method of the Study ....................................................... 22 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 24 A. The Characterization of the Main Characters in the Novel .................................................................... 24 B. The Aspect on Naturalism ............................................... 31 1. Determinism in Ethan’s life. .................................... 31 2. Ethan’s Tragic life .................................................... 51 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 56 APPENDIX .................................................................................................... 59 vii ABSTRACT INTEN PUSPITO. The Reflection of Naturalism in Ethan’s Life as Seen in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University (2009). Literary works can be treated as the record of the ideas or philosophies that existed in the real life. One the philosophy them is naturalism. This undergraduate thesis focuses on the philosophy of naturalism reflected in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. This naturalistic novel makes a great surprise for the readers who know Wharton who always writing about upper class people. Therefore, it is worth studying in order to see the reflection of naturalism in the main character. This undergraduate thesis analyzes two main problems. The first one is the characteristic of the main character in the novel. The second is how the main character’s characteristic reflects the idea of naturalism. The study of the novel is conducted trough library research using related books, and internet resources. In conducting this study, first the characteristic of the main character is analyzed using theories on characters and characterization. Next, the ideas of naturalism which reflect trough the main character is analyzed using the theory of the naturalism and other related data including a theory on setting and plot. Finally, the moral philosophical approach is also used as the basic concept of the way of thinking in doing this study. This approach is used to see the reflection of the idea on naturalism. In the novel, the main character’s life, Ethan Frome’s life is determined by the environments. He is poor educated man, but his education is prematurely cut off after the death of his father. He has no skill in agriculture, but his condition forced him carrying the farm and the mill. Ethan’s life is also determined by the chance that he gets. His moral decision to marry a whining and quarrel woman rather than to move west alone later on leads him into a miserable marriage. Under this hard condition, the only one who could brighten his life is Mattie. Unfortunately, Ethan’s passion to Mattie is a liberator to his tragic decision. Thus, Ethan’s life is determined by the environment, chance and passion. It is including his tragic life in Strakfield shows the idea of naturalism. viii ABSTRAK INTEN PUSPITO. The Reflection of Naturalism in Ethan’s Life as Seen in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University (2009). Karya karya sastra dapat digunakan sebagai media ide ide atau filosofi filosofi yang ada dalam kehidupan nyata. Salah satunya adalah filosofi naturalisme. Skripsi ini menitikberatkan pada filosofi naturalisme yang tercermin dalam novel karya Edith Wharton Ethan Frome. Karya naturalistik ini membuat banyak pembaca yang mengenal Wharton dengan karya karya nya yang menceritakan tentang masyarakat kelas atas kaget. Oleh karena itu karya seperti ini layak untuk diteliti untuk membuktikan apakah benar filosofi naturalisme sungguh tercermin dalam kehidupan tokoh utamanya. Skripsi ini menganalisis tiga masalah utama. Yang petama adalah karateristik tokoh utama. Yang kedua adalah bagaimana karateristik tokoh utama mencerminkan ide naturalisme. Analisis novel ini dilaksanakan dengan cara studi pustaka menggunakan buku, artikel serta sumber sumber online berkaitan. Dalam proses analisis, mula mula karakteristik dari tokoh utama yang akan dipelajari dianalisis dengan menggunakan teori karakter dan karakterisasi. Kemudian ide naturalisme yang tercermin dalam kehidupan tokoh utamanya dianalisa dengan menggunakan teori naturalisme dan teori yang bersangkutan lainnya, yaitu teori seting dan plot. Pada akhirnya pendekatan moral-philosophical yang diterapkan menjadi konsep dasar pemikiran penulis dalam melakukan pembahasan masalah dalam penelitian. Pendekatan tersebut digunakan untuk melihat ide naturalisme dalam tokoh utama karya ini. Dalam novel ini, kehidupan tokoh utama, Ethan Frome sangat dipengaruhi oleh lingkungan sekitarnya. Dia adalah laki laki miskin yang terpelajar, namun pendidikannya terpaksa harus berhenti setelah insiden kematian ayahnya. Dia tidak mempunyai keahlian dalam bidang agrikulture namun kondisi linkungannya memaksanya untuk mengurusi pertanian. Kehidupan Ethan juga dipengaruhui oleh kesempatan yang ada dalam kehidupannya. Keputusan yang berdasarkan tanggungjawab moral yaitu dengan menikahi wanita yang hanya suka mengeluh pada akhirnya menuntunnya pada sebuah pernikahan yang menyedihkan. Di bawah tekanan itu, satu satunya orang yang dapat membuatnya semangat adalah Mattie. Namun sayangnya, nasfu Ethan pada Mattie menjadi sebuah pemicu baginya untuk mengambil keputusan yang tragis. Karater yang sangat dipengaruhi oleh lingkungan, kesempatan dan nafsu termasuk kehidupan Ethan yang tragis mencerminkan ide naturalisme. ix 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature is an author’s media that is usually seen as a form idea of philosophy. Literary works, including poems, novels, and prose can be used as a means to express