CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Analysis Literature
is reffered to as the entirety of written expression, with the restriction that
not every written document can be
categorized as literature in the more exact sense of word (Klarer, 2004:1). It means that not all of printed works can be classified as
literature, for example informative
writing such as geography, history or medical written. It is because of the different kind language used. Besides, it
is wider than just printed works. Literature also refers to compositions that tell stories,
dramatize situation, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas (Roberts, 1995:1). Wellek and
Warren (1963:94) state, “literature is said to be creative, an art”. So, it is clear that
literature is a creation of an author made into the beauty of art writing.
Literature is said to be a medium of expressing
ideas. It reflects the reality through the medium of language. Wellek and Warren also
state, “literature is a social institution, using as its medium language, a social creation”. Since
literature is also a social creation, literature is also the expression of society that contains
social reality, and is expressed through the language.
Literature has three genres, namely prose,
poetry and drama. Prose is a fictitious narrative
kind of writing. In general, this is can be said as novel. Poetry is meaningful
arrangement of words. Drama is a story
which is intended to be performed on the stage. They have much in common but different in
expressing idea, style and others.
The
word prose derives from the Latin ‘prosa’, which is literally translated to ‘straightforward’. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry
E. Jacobs (1995:2) classify prose into two, fiction prose, which is made based on the
author’s creation and imagination, and non-fiction prose, which describes facts, opinions. Prose
can be classified into some other forms, for example novel, short story, romance, and
biography. The first three forms are something thar often called as fiction, meanwhile the latest
is non-fiction.
Novel as a literary work provides the readers
reflection reality of human life through beauty of art writing. As Taylor (1981:46)
states, “a novel is a normally a quite length of complexity which attempt to reflect and
express something of the quality of value of human experience”. Since novel is written by the
author to express something of the quality of value of human experience, a novel represents human.
Human itself is part of the society.
Literature and society are two fields of
knowledge that cannot be separated. Literature itself appears from the society where the
authors can get inspiration although it is not an accurate information. Taylor (1981:2)
emphasizes this by saying that a work of literature does not necessarily give us accurate information
about the way life is actually lived (although it may do so as a secondary consideration) rather
it causes us to recognize truth about human existence through the direct presentation of
selected experiences. It is clear enough that literature potrays the human existence in its
society.
According to Rene Wellek (1963) in his
book Theory of Literature, there are conventions
and norms which could have arisen only in society. Surely in the society, there
are rules or norms which must be
obligated. Those truly exist. People, as the member of society, must obey the rules or norms as well.
However, some people choose to disobey them.
They choose to break the rule and be different from the society around them. As
the result, those people must face the
consequences of their rebellion. They will be criticized and even punished by the society. This is happe
ned in this novel, The Scarlet Letter (1850), written by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864).
The characters Hester Prynne and Pearl disobey
the norms, then get punishment from the Puritans society in Massachusetts.
Puritans was the name given in the sixteenth
century to the more extreme Protestants within
the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far
enough in reforming the doctrines and
structures of the church, then wanted to purify it. The early Puritans who first came to America in 1620
founded a precarious colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. While half the colonists died
that first year, the other half were saved by the coming spring and the timely intervention of
the Indians. These first settlers were followed ten years later by a wave of Puritans that
continued in the 1630s and thereafter, until, by the 1640s, New England had over twenty-five
thousand English settlers. The second group in the 1630s settled in the area of present-day
Boston in a community they named Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is this colony that forms the
setting of The Scarlet Letter.
The Scarlet Letter is the
second novel of Nathaniel
Hawthorne which reveals Hawthorne’s insight into the Puritans. Through
that novel, he criticizes the way of Puritans’ life: their general spritual welfare, their
uncompromising morality, their self-righteousness and their fanaticism.
Hawthorne realizes that there is something
wrong with Puritans’ belief to judge a person.
An example which shows about that is when Hester Prynne, the character of this novel, get punished because she does an affair
with another man and then has a baby. Hester sets forth towards the place appointed for her
punishment, surrounded by the Puritans. When Hester finally stands in the middle of the
Puritans, they become so cynical to her. They jeer, laugh, and even shout with bad words to her.
And when she is pinned with a symbol A, means
adultery, then her life becomes worse. Puritans become more rude towards her.
They loathe her, do not want to
interact with her and her baby, Pearl. They choose to punish her, not to find out the man whom Hester has an
affair with. Hester, who choose to keep the man, faces the punishment by herself. Hester does
not care about what Puritans always do to her.
Hester only want to save her child, Pearl, and
that man whom Hester loves so much.
However, the most interesting part which
becomes the reason why I choose this novel as the object of analysis is the value of
Puritan society itself. It is true that Puritan society become intollerant and rude to Hester Prynne
and Pearl. But then, they realize their mistakes after seeing the good life of Hester and
Pearl. They do not give judgement or punishment anymore. This is interesting because social
judgement still can be found nowadays. Many people like to judge or punish someone without
knowing the person well.
1.2 Problems of Analysis During the process of
analysis, it is important to make the specification of problems that are going to be analyzed. It helps the
writer to avoid the ambiguity of the analysis and get clear description about the object of analysis
itself. So in this analysis, writer finds and decides some problems that needed to answer
further. They are: 1. How is Puritans
sosial judgement reflected in the novel The Scarlet Letter? 2. Why
are the characters of The Scarlet Letter (Hester and Pearl) being punished by Puritans?
1.3 Objectives of Analysis Objectives of analysis are the statements
about activities and objects that are going to be analyzed based on the problem of analysis.
The writer holds on these objectives in doing the analysis. There are two objectives found
in this analysis, they are: 1. To find
how Puritans sosial judgement is reflected in the novel The Scarlet Letter.
2. To
find the reason why the characters of The Scarlet Letter (Hester and Pearl) are
being punished by Puritans.
1.4 Significance of Analysis The analysis of
this thesis is expected to be able to give significance, both theoretical and practical, for the readers. Firstly, this
thesis will give information to the readers about the relation of literature sociology, through the
characters Hester Prynne and Pearl in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Readers are also part of
society. They have to learn how to make good relationship with other people. By reading
this analysis, the readers can take the positive sides and make the negative element of Puritans
society as a thing to be avoided and to be improved in their society. Secondly, this
thesis will enrich the knowledge of English Department Students in studying about social
judgement as part of the study sociology literature. Then they become interested in studying more about
literature of sociology as found in this
novel. Lastly, this thesis will give the readers a better understanding about literature and society, and also their
relationship as well.
1.5 Scope of Analysis There will be a lot of
discussion about Puritan social judgement through characters. In this analysis, the writer limits the fields
that are going to be analyzed in order not to make the analysis become wider and out of the topic.
Therefore, this thesis is only focused on Puritans social judgement through the main characters.
They are Hester Prynne and Pearl in novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
1.6 Review of Literature The writer uses some
books as sources to find and get the data and information to analyze this thesis. They are: 1. Literature: An Introducing to Reading and
Writing (Fourth Edition )(1995) by Edgar Robert and Henry E. Jacob. In this book, they
write about what kinds of literature. It is very helpful to those who want to study
about literature.
2.
Theory of Literature (1982) by Rene Wellek and Austen Warren. This book,
relevant to its title, provides the
theory of literature, for example the relation between literature and society. In this book, there are two kinds
of approach in analysing a literary work, which are intrinsic and extrinsic approach.
Intrinsic approach emphasizes its analysis on the elements of that literature itself,
while extrinsic approach relates the literary work with the other objects of study, such as
biography, philosophy, psychology, sociology,
etc.
3.
Understanding Society: An Introduction to Sociology(1987) by Clone
Hedger Persell.
It explains deeply about sociology of
literature; the relationship between literature and sociology. It helps the writer to know the
basic information about sociology of literature.
4. The
Interpretation of Belief (1987) by David Jasper. In one of the chapter, it
explains the Puritans mind and life. The
writer uses this to get the data about Puritans.
5. A thesis An Analysis of Puritanistic Values
in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
by Friska Sinaga. This thesis tells about the bad value of Puritan society in
the novel The Scarlet Letter. It helps
the writer to know the basic information about Puritanism.
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