CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Studying
literature is interesting
because it will
give experience and knowledge about
literature itself. Furthermore,
it will be
more interesting if we can analyze it deeply. There are so many
literary sides that we can analyze, for example
literary element.
Sometimes, literary work reflects
the author’s life. In the writer’s work, he not
only tells the
story about his
experiences but also
idea or imagination.
However, here,
the researcher only
tells about prose
especially novel. A
novel usually describes the reflection of the social, politic and
economic problem etc.
For example,
The Last Samurai.
It describes the
social problems in Japan.
It is about human problems happen between the
emperor of Japan and his society on how to defense and lose samurai.
When people learn about society,
it focuses on human problems. In social side, it
also studies about
many things, for example about
a life of
people, the custom, the relationship among society and
etc. Usually the born of literary work reflects
one’s life and it may make that persons reflect it in the form of novel, for example.
Society also can
influence one’s personality
so that it
will make developing
or even changing
the basic personality
of that person.
The effect of developing
or changing the personality cannot be separated by social factor. As Elizabeth and Burns (1973:31) say that
literature is not only the effect of social causes but also the cause of social effect.
That’sway both will influence one to each
other on specific things and it attracts the researcher to observe.
In
this thesis, the
researcher wants to
analyze more about
developing characteristics, not
about the changing, of the main character namely Algren in the novel
of The Last
Samurai by Edward Zwick.
It reflects the
idea of the
author about the
society of Japan
at that time.
It is exactly
about samurai’s society.
Samurai is historical member of a
powerful militarycaste in feudal Japan (Oxford Dictionary).
This novel is
much completely about
samurai’s life. Many contradictions happen
in this novel.
The contradiction happens
between the emperor of Japan and samurai. In the samurai’s
era,it was Meiji Restoration in 1860-1912. Meiji
Restoration is the
modernization or westernization of
Japan’s political institution,
society and economy. During the period of Meiji, the emperor abolished the samurai’s right to be only armed
force to favor of more modern and western-style conscripted
army. As the
result, many fundamental innovations were
introduced to Japanese
life. However, samurais’
then realize that
it will abolish
the culture of samurai. In this
case, Japanese government constructs the
western
life while samurai
wants to defend
Japanese culture. It makes clash of civilization, then,
between western culture
which represents the
modernity in economic,
social and political
life and Japanese
culture which represents traditional economic, social and political
life.
When the researcher reads the
novel and also sees the film, it was attracted her. In
The Last Samurai, the major character acts very good on how he prevents what he believes. In fact, he is an American
soldier who is paid by the Japanese government
to destroy samurai’s warrior. In this case, the emperor of Japan asks for
helping to the
American government and
American government delivers Algren (the major character) to help the
Emperor ofJapan. Algren exercises the emperors’
warrior well. However, it needs longer time to prepare it because the warrior
is not really
ready with his
preparation. Algren uses
rifle as a
weapon while the
emperors’ warrior has
never used it
before. On the
contrary, Colonel Bagley,
captain’s Algren, commands
him to prepare
the emperors’ warrior immediately. As a result, in the battle,
Algren fails. Many emperors’ warrior are killed except Algren. He is brought to the
samurais’ village. Katsumoto, the leader of samurai, wants to learn his enemy through Algren,
that’s way he is brought to the village.
In this village, Algren learns many things about samurai’s society. He learns
how a life
of samurai, how
samurai defends their
truly culture and
the principal of
samurai itself. According
to Algren, the
life of samurai
is unique.
They have a straight discipline
and the relationship between one to each other is very friendly. Samurai’s life is as peasants.
It isusually done by the women while the
men do exercise like the army does. The principal of samurai in side of war is called “Bushido”. Bushido is the way of the
warriorin a war as a truly samurai.
However, it should not only be
done in a war but also in their life. In short, they must live in orderliness that is not be had by
the society of Algren, generally, and especially
of Algren itself.
For couple of months, Algren more
recognizes and appreciates his life. He is
the person who thinks that life must be individual thing. It was not hand in
hand with the
other people, it was individualist. After
living in this
village, he finds what he
looks for many
years, peaceful life.
Finally, it makes
Algren becomes samurai. He follows the second battle but as
samurai. It surprises Japanese. How comes
the American soldier that has a hard think and an egoistic characteristic be a samurai. It becomes the second reason why
the researcher analyzes this novel. In this second
battle, Katsumoto (the
leader of samurai)
does not consider
the Japanese emperor
as his enemy.
He only wants
to realize emperor
that samurai which
is given by
their ancestors can’t
be lost. According
to the principal
of samurai which is taken from
the word of “Samurai” itself, Katsumoto against the Japanese emperor is such kind of serving to
the emperor. The emperor, however, wants to
develop their country
to be more
modernized. The emperor
is also influenced by his chancellor, and it makes
more strongly effort to throw away the samurai’s
culture. In short, those two reasons why
I conduct the research entitled THE SHIFT
OF ALGREN’S PERCEPTIONS
ON SAMURAI PORTRAYED IN EDWARD ZWICK’S THE LAST SAMURAI.
1.2 Statement of the Problems Concerning to the background of the study
above, the researcher has the problems: 1. What are Algren’s original perceptions on
Samurai? 2. How does Samurai’s society
influence Algren’s perception? 3. What
are Algren’s new perceptions on Samurai so he becomes a Samurai? 1.3 Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are formulated as
follows: 1. to describe Algren’s
original perception on samurai 2. to
describe samurai’s society that influence Algren’s perception 3. to describe Algren’s new perceptions on
Samurai so he becomes to be a samurai 1.4 Significance of the Study Theoretically, this research is aimed at
enriching bases of literary studies especially
those which are
related to the
society, exactly the
samurai’s society.
Society can influence the
perceptions of the character. By learning this study, it is aimed at giving the understanding how society
is very important of human life.
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