REVEALING THE DECONSTRUCTION OF MODERN PEOPLE’S TIME CONCEPT IN MITCH ALBOM’S THE TIME KEEPER A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Attainment of a Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Literature By DEWI PUTRI PRASETIAWATI 10211144001 ENGLISH LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY 2017 ii iii iv DEDICATIONS This thesis is dedicated to: My dearest Mom and Dad, and my most beloved family v MOTTO Apa gunanya ilmu kalau tidak memperluas jiwa seseorang sehingga ia berlaku seperti samudra yang menampung sampah-sampah? (Emha Ainun Nadjib) vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All praise be to the Almighty Allah SWT for the endless blessings, guidance, and mercies that always enlighten me in finishing this thesis, which cannot be accomplished without the assistance from other people. Therefore, my sincere gratitude is delivered to: 1. Dr. Widyastuti Purbani, M.A., as my first supervisor, and Niken Anggraeni, M.A., as my second supervisor, who have given me precious knowledge, guidance, and support so that this thesis can finally be accomplished; 2. Yosa Abduh Alzuhdy, M. Hum., my academic supervisor, who has so patiently guided me through my academic years; 3. all lecturers of the English Language and Literature Study Program of Yogyakarta State University for their precious knowledge and experiences and also the staffs who have offered me supportive help; 4. Bapak and Ibu who give me unconditional, irreplacable, and endless love so I can keep my faith in accomplishing my responsibilities in life; 5. Mas Bayu and Mas Pras who have been the best brothers on earth, especially Mas Pras who has always taught me the precious life lessons so I can live my life wiser and wiser; 6. Damast and Ninis, who have been great partners in my life through the priceless love and empowerment; 7. Tom, who has given me a total support, and from whom I have I learnt a lot; 8. Uli Rima, who has helped me a lot in the process of finisihing this thesis; 9. my triangulators: Damast and Dita for their time and support; 10. all classmates in Class G 2010 and Literature Class for being incredible best friends and for giving me memorable and lovable lessons and experiences of life; and 11. All people, whom I cannot mention one by one, who helped me in the process of writing this thesis. vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE .......................................................................................................... i APPROVAL SHEET .................................................................................. ii RATIFICATION SHEET ........................................................................... iii SURAT PERNYATAAN ............................................................................... iv DEDICATIONS ........................................................................................... v MOTTO ....................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURE ....................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................... xiii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................ 1 A. Background of the Research .............................................................. 1 B. Focus of the Research ........................................................................ 6 C. Formulation of the Problem ............................................................... 8 D. Objectives of the Research ................................................................ 8 E. Significance of the Research ............................................................. 9 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................. 10 A. Post-Structuralism ............................................................................. 10 1. Logocentrism ................................................................................... 12 2. The Unstbale Center ......................................................................... 15 3. Deconstruction .................................................................................. 18 a. The Concept of Deconstruction ................................................... 18 b. The Urgency to Deconstruct ....................................................... 20 ix c. The Method to Deconstruct ......................................................... 21 1) Finding the Binary Opposition Operation ............................... 21 2) Reversing the Old Binary Opposition Hierarchy ...................... 22 3) Dismantling the Old Held Views .............................................. 23 4) Welcoming the New Perspectives of the New Structure of Binary Opposition .................................................................. 23 5) Accepting Meaning as Undecidable ....................................... 24 B. Modern People’s Time Concept ........................................................... 24 1. How Modern People Use Their Time ........................................ 25 2. Modern People’s View on Their Used Time .................................. 27 C. Review of Previous Studies ............................................................... 28 D. Conceptual Framework ......................................................................... 30 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD .................................................. 33 A. Research Design ................................................................................ 33 B. Data and Sources of Data ................................................................... 33 C. Research Instruments ......................................................................... 34 D. Technique of Data Collection ............................................................ 35 E. Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 37 F. Trustworthiness .................................................................................. 38 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ..................................... 40 A. Findings ............................................................................................. 40 1. The Logocentrism of Modern People’s Time Concept Exposed in The Time Keeper ...................................................................... 40 a. Valuable Time Concept ............................................................ 41 1) Being Out of the Present Moment ....................................... 42 2) Measuring Time ................................................................... 45 3) Controlling Time .................................................................. 48 4) Having an Endless Time ........................................................ 51 x 2. The Methods Used to Deconstruct the Logocentrism of Modern People’s Time Concept in The Time Keeper ................................. 54 a. Exposing Irony .......................................................................... 55 b. Through the Preaching of the Mythical Charcaters ................... 59 1. Preaching for Breaking the Logocentric Idea of Being Out of the Present Moment ......................................................... 60 2. Preaching for Breaking the Logocentric Idea of Measuring Time ..................................................................................... 62 3. Preaching for Breaking the Logocentric Idea of Controlling Time .................................................................. 64 4. Preaching for Breaking the Logocentric Idea of Having an Endless Time ........................................................................ 66 B. Discussion ......................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ........................ 74 A. Conclusions ....................................................................................... 74 B. Suggestions ....................................................................................... 77 REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 79 APPENDICES ............................................................................................. 82 Appendix I Synopsis of the Novel .................................................................. 82 Appendix II The Data ...................................................................................... 84 Appendix III Surat Pernyataan Triangulasi ...................................................... 112 xi LIST OF FIGURE Page Figure 1. The Framework of Thinking of the Research ................................. 32 xii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. The Data Sheet of the Logocentrism of Modern People’s Time Concept that are Exposed ............................................................................... 35 Table 2. The Data Sheet of the Method Used to Deconstruct ........................ 36 xiii REVEALING THE DECONSTRUCTION OF MODERN PEOPLE’S TIME CONCEPT IN MITCH ALBOM’S THE TIME KEEPER by Dewi Putri Prasetiawati 10211144001