AN ANALYSIS OF ISHAAN ASWATHI’S STRUGGLE TO
HEAL HIS LANGUAGE DISORDER IN AMOLE GUPTE’S FILM
“LIKE STARS ON EARTH”
THESIS
BY:
SHINTA ISAURA
(07360110)
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
AN ANALYSIS OF ISHAAN ASWATHI’S STRUGGLE TO HEAL
HIS LANGUAGE DISORDER IN AMOLE GUPTE’S FILM
“LIKE STARS ON EARTH”
THESIS
BY:
SHINTA ISAURA
(07360110)
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
AN ANALYSIS OF ISHAAN ASWATHI’S STRUGGLE TO HEAL
HIS LANGUAGE DISORDER IN AMOLE GUPTE’S FILM
“LIKE STARS ON EARTH”
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to achieve Sarjana Degree in English Education
BY:
SHINTA ISAURA
(07360110)
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
This thesis written by Shinta Isaura was approved on January 26, 2012.
By:
Advisor I, Advisor II,
This thesis was defended in front of the examiners of Faculty of Teacher Training and Education of University of Muhammadiyah Malang
and accepted as one of the requirements to achieve Sarjana Degree in English Education
on January 26, 2012
Approved by:
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education University of Muhammadiyah Malang
Dean,
Drs. H. Fauzan, M.Pd.
Examiners: Signatures: 1. Dr. Sri Hartiningsih, M.M. 1. ...
2. Puji Sumarsono, M. Ed. 2. ...
MOTTO
Daring to Begin
(Shinta Isaura - 2011)
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger,
more complex,
an more violent. It takes a touch of genius –
and a lot of courage – to move
in the opposite direction."
(Albert Einstein - 1879)
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to:
My Lord Allah SWT and Prophet Muhammad SAW,
My beloved parents,
All my friends in the world,
Also, to all children with dyslexia who have
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdulillah, all my grateful prays are praised to Allah SWT, The Almighty and The Most Merciful, for His gift to the writer in finishing the thesis. Allah, who gives me the soul of belief, is the only power in my soul, the source of the beauty in my life. Because of His powerful guidance I can finish my thesis entitle An Analysis of Ishaan Aswathi’s struggle to Heal His Language Disorder in Amole Gupte’s Film “Like Stars on Earth”. Sholawat and salam will always be given to our last Prophet Muhammad SAW who has been showed us to right way under the Islamic guidance. I would like to express great appreciation and thank to many persons who are behind the completion of his thesis. Therefore, I want to address her sincere thank to:
• Dra. Thathit Manon A, M. Hum, my first advisor, thank you very much for her given great patience, idea, guidance, correction, and constructive critics, without those of this thesis would have never been completed.
• Fardini Sabilah, S. Pd, M. Pd, my second advisor thank you very much for given great encouragement, correction, reading, with her valuable comment suggestion, the content of this thesis could be improved.
Hopefully, Allah SWT always blesses those reason mentioned above and all their sacrifice became their merciful deeds to help them gain success in their future. It is expected that this thesis can be useful and beneficial for people who read it. May Allah S.W.T bless all of us.
Malang, January 26, 2012
The writer,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE...i
APPROVAL...ii
LEGALIZATION...iii
MOTTO AND DEDICATION...iv
ABSTRACT...v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS. ...vii
LIST OF APPENDIX...xii
LIST OF PICTURES...xiii
LIST OF CHART...xiv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION...1
1.Background of the Study...1
1.2 Statement of Problems...5
3.Objectives of the Study...5
4.Scope and Limitation of the Study...6
5.Significance of the Study...6
6.Definition of the Key Terms...7
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE...9
1.Literature...9
2.2 Film...10
2.2.2 The Elements of Film...14
1. Micro Elements of Film... 14
a.Cinematography... 14
b.Editing... 14
c.Sound...15
d.Mise-en-scene...15
e.Lighting and colour...16
2. Macro Elements of Film...16
a. Genre...16
b.Narrative...16
2.3. Representation...16
2.4. Element of Fiction Film...17
a. Character...17
2.3.1 The Kinds of Struggle...22
1. Struggle of existence (life)...22
3. Armed struggle...22
2.3.2 The Factors of Struggle...23
1. Material Struggle...23
2. Mental or Moral struggle...23
2.3.3 The Ways of Struggle...23
1. Physical Struggle...23
2. Mental struggle...23
2.3.4 The Negative Effects of Struggle...24
1.Stress...24
2.Depression...24
3.Fear...25
4.Angry...25
2.3.5 The Positive Effects of Struggle...25
1.Motivation...25
2.Satisfaction...25
3.Belief to God...26
4.Independence...26
5.Self confidence...26
2.4 Language Disorder Affects Learning Disability...26
2.4.1 The Types of Learning Disorder...27
1. Arithmetic Dyslexia /Arithmetic Difficulty (Dyscalculia)...28
2. Writing Dyslexia/Writing Disability (Dysgraphia)...28
2.5 Synopsis of Film “Like Stars on Earth”...30
3.3 Object of the Study...38
3.4 Data Collection...38
3.5 Data Analysis...39
CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION...41
4.1 Research Findings...41
4.1.1 Ishaan Aswathi’s Struggle to Heal His Language Disorder...42
1.1.1. Applies Special Method in Reading...44
1.1.2. Applies Special Method in Writing...48
1.1.3. Applies Special Method in Arithmetic...50
4.1.2 The Causes of Ishaan Aswathi’s Struggle to Heal His Language Disorder...52
4.1.2.1 Ishaan Wants to go Home to Meet His Family...52
4.1.2.2 Ishaan’s Friends Always Underestimated Him...54
4.1.2.4 Ishaan's Teachers Always Concluded That He is stupid
and abnormal...59
4.1.2.5 Ishaan Wants to Be Like Other Normal Children...62
1.3. The End Of Ishaan Aswathi's Struggle To Heal His Language Disorder ...65
4.2 Discussion...67
4.3 The Lesson Can Be Taken From Ishaan Aswathi's Struggle To Heal His Language Disorder...70
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION...72
5.1. Conclusion...72
5.2 Suggestions...73
5.2.1 Suggestion for the students ...73
5.2.2 Suggestion for the audiences and the readers of film script ...74
5.2.3 Suggestion for the Prose subject ...74
5.2.4 Suggestion for the teacher ...74
5.2.5 Suggestion for the parents...75
5.2.6 Suggestion for the next researcher...75
LIST OF APPENDIX
LIST OF PICTURES
Picture 1: Mr. Nikum wrote ‘a’ and ‘e’ to produce the sound...44
Picture 2: Each letter was followed by Ishaan...44
Picture 3: Mr. Nikum was going to write letter ‘b’ on Ishaan’s arm...45
Picture 4: Ishaan wrote similar form of letters in the same page arm...46
Picture 5: Mr. Nikum wrote some words and practiced Ishaan to read “mat” and “mate”...47
Picture 6: Ishaan was listening to the recorder while he was reading the text...48
Picture 7: Ishaan’s writing production...49
Picture 8: Unreadable and narrow space...49
Picture 9: Readable and narrow space...49
Picture 10: Readable and appropriate space and size...49
Picture 11: Ishaan wrote number ‘8’ in different blackboard...50
Picture 12: Numbers which were prepared by Mr. Nikum in ladder-step...51
LIST OF CHART
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adler. 2004. Psikologi Kepribadian. Malang: UMM Press. Alwisol. 2009. Psikologi Kepribadian. Malang: UMM Press.
Arp, Jhonson. 2006. Perrine’s Literature. Structure, Sound and Sense, Ninth Edition. USA: Boston.
Arp, Thomas R. and Johnson, Greg. 2002. Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, Seventh Edition. USA: Boston.
Ary, Donald. 2006. Introduction to Research In Education, Seventh Edition. New York: Thomson Wadsworth.
Bacon. 2009. Language Is a Place of Struggle. United States of America: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Bogarad, Crocket, Schmidt. 2006. Legacies. Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. Third Edition. USA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Bogdan, Robert C. And Sari Knopp Biklen. 2007. Qualitative Research for Education. USA: Syracure University.
Chaer, Abdul. 2009. Psikolinguistik Kajian Teoritik. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
Connie Williams and Professor Carroll. 2000. Literary Study for Dummies. USA: Boston.
Corey, Melinda. 2002. The American Film Institute, First Edition. New York: The Stonesong Press.
Dawson. Catherine. 2000. Practical Research Methods, First Edition. Uunited Kingdom: Cromwell Press.
Eric A. Zillmer and Mary V. Spiers. 2001. Principles of Neuropsychology, First Edition. Canada: Thomson Wadsworth.
Eric A. Zillmer and Mary V. Spiers. 2008. Principles of Neuropsychology, Second Edition. Canada: Thomson Wadsworth.
Geminicszazus. 2003. Motivation Learning. Jakarta: Asdi Mahasatya.
Hapsari, Sandra. 2007. The Struggle For Human Rights Of Gay And Aids- Infected Person Of The Main Character In Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia Film.
Semarang: Universitas Negeri Semarang.
Iwuchukwu, Onyeka. 2008. Elements of Film. Lagos: National Open University of Nigeria.
Jeffery S, Spencer, Beverly. 2006. The Psychology in a Changing World. New Jersye: Prantice Hall
Jeffrey, Spencer, and Beverly. 2006. Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World.
New Jersey: Perarson Education.
Kendrick. 2010. Literary Elements Handout. New York: Monarch Press.
Nevid, Rathus, and Green. 2005: 485. Abnormal Psychology In A Changing World, Five Edition. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Nevid, Rathus, and Green. 2006: 485. Abnormal Psychology In A Changing World, Sixth Edition. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Newman, Jackie. 2008. GCSE Flim Studies for WJEC, First Publised. USA: Heineman Pearson Education.
Oxford dictionary, 2003. Oxford press.China.
Schakel, Peter and Ridl, Jack. 2005. Approaching Literature in the 21st
Century.
New York: World Publishing Company.
Stewart, Watkiss. 2004. Motivation. USA: Warwickshire.
Stowe, Cynthia M. 2000. How to Reach And Teach Children And Teems With Dyslexia.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Williams, Popay, and Oakley. 2005. Welfare Research, First Edition. London: Philadelphia.
Yesufu, Christine. 2008. Elements of Drama. Victoria Island: NOU Press.
_______, Definition of words (Online). (http://www.braindydictionary.com). Access 13 June 2011.
1
CHAPTER CHAPTERCHAPTERCHAPTER IIII
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses about background of the study, the statement
problems, the objective of the study, the scope and limitation, the purpose of the
study, and also the definition of the key terms. Each section is presented as follows:
1.1 1.1
1.11.1 BackgroundBackgroundBackgroundBackground ofofofof thethethethe StudyStudyStudyStudy
Literature and society are closely related. Literature is inseparable from
life since it describes the events that can happen in a society, what human being has
experienced in her life or it scribes the reality. Authors express what they see and do,
and they often convey social conditions in literary works. According to Arp and
Jhonson, any fiction that illuminates some aspects of human life or behavior with
genuine originality and power is called literary (2006:63). As many authors are
inspired by social conditions, literature can be said as a portrait of life.
One of literary works that reflects human life which describes mind and
soul through the characters is film. According to Newman, film is complex literature
that gives knowledge from the visual-aural language expression (2008). Films are
made to entertain and convey messages to audiences. The film makers often have a
mission in the films that they make. They often insert moral value into the film so
that audiences can learn from it. Moreover, the film about a human right is exciting
2
Talking about human being, however nobody is perfect in this world.
Although God has created human being better than other creatures, God still gives
weakness in every person. Abnormal social interaction of human also refers to the
weakness which is categorized as language disorder. Language disorder refers to
language disfluency which causes the damage of understanding and expression of
language, such as dyslexia. Stowe states that, dyslexia affects a person’s ability to
deal with language, including spoken language as well as written (2000: 1). It shows
that language disorder as dyslexia is not only affecting speaking and listening but also
learning.
Generally, the parents or teachers thought that children who suffer from
reading, speaking, and writing impairments are lazy. They easily conclude that those
impairments are the signs of stupidity as dyslexic, for example Albert Einstein. Albert
Einstein who was a dyslexic was popular as genius person. Many of his high school
teachers labeled him dumb and he could barely read his textbook. Nevertheless,
Einstein was struggling to change his life better than before. Einstein used his free
time to formulate papers and published them three years later. Once the world saw his
work, he was recognized the genius he was. Beside him, there are other people with
dyslexia who have special competence and have struggled to change their life better,
such as Tom Cruise as an actor, Leonardo da Vinci as a painter, Thomas Alfa Edison
as a scientist, Walt Disney as entrepreneur and so on (Stowe, 2000).
Based on some famous people above, the writer can conclude that
struggle is one of the characteristics that human should have. According to Alwisol,
3
in life, he or she must struggle to get everything that they want. Humans can try many
ways to get everything that they want, but not all wish as can be reached by human
being. People can see the struggle not only in real life but also in fiction story like
story in novel, or film.
The struggle for better life can be seen in the “Like Stars on Earth” film.
This film tells about a dyslexic character, namely Ishaan Awasthi, who cannot write
or spell any word appropriately. Whereas, whatever words or numbers that he saw,
those were inverted, mirror imaging, or spread out. That was why he could not read
and understand the words and numbers as normal people. Parents thought that their
son was stupid, lack of effort, and did not want to study hard then sent Ishaan to
boarding school. During teaching process, Mr. Nikum, the art teacher, who was a
dyslexic, perceived that there was something wrong with Ishaan. His prediction was
accurate that Ishaan suffered dyslexia. By time, patience and care, Mr. Nikum
ultimately helped Ishaan found himself and Ishaan also struggle to heal his learning
disorder by spending his spare time to study with Mr. Nikum.
In short, nobody in this world is as perfect as God. People have to learn
how to read and write in order to learn other knowledge. Yet, reading, writing, doing
something according to direction, and speaking are not as easy as others because
language disorder is caused by weak quality connection between his right and left
hemispheres and usually can be diagnosed when the children are fourth grade or 7-9
years old (Stowe, 2000). The phenomenon of dyslexia and struggle to change life is
interesting to be analyzed, especially that was shown by the character of “Like Stars
4
This research is important to be analyzed because “Like Stars on Earth”
film brings a good message to everyone who watches it. This film shows how a child
with dyslexia has a struggle to change his life looks better. Besides, this film can
clarify the misconception in social life reality about language disorder (dyslexia), that
someone who suffers from reading, speaking, and writing impairments doesn’t mean
that they are lazy. They just need a little help from us. This film also gives learning
for the teacher. After teachers watching that film, and knowing that some students
have characteristics of dyslexia, they must teach them patiently, well, and great
respect for their abilities. In relation to this study, this film has received several
awards, including the Best Award for 2008 and the 2008 on Family. It was India's
official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film. This film also
succeeded to get approximately $ 98 million. (http://film/contributor/180439558/bo).
In addition, the previous research had done by Sandra Hapsari (2007)
entitled “The Struggle for Human Right of Gay and AIDS-infected person of the
main character in Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia film” analyzed about someone
who has disease but he struggled to change their life to be better. One of the results of
that study is, the struggle of the main character in the film is about to prove the
discrimination, to get a lawyer and get over from AIDS. This previous research adds
the reason of why the writer assumes that Ishaan Awasthi struggles to heal his
language disorder is also important to be analyzed.
Considering the background above, the writer is interested in conducting a
literary study entitled “An Analysis of Ishaan Awasthi’s Struggle to Heal His
5
reasons why the writer chooses the title above. First, the writer would like to get
some inspirations and to broaden knowledge about learning human behavior by
watching this film. Second, the writer is interested to know the struggles of main
characters in order to heal his language learning disorder to make his life better than
before. In addition, the writer take struggle to be analyzed because it has correlation
with someone’s life, as we know that people cannot live without struggling in this
world.
1.2 1.2
1.21.2 StatementStatementStatementStatement ofofofof ProblemsProblemsProblemsProblems
Based on the background of the study above, the research investigates the
following problems:
1. What is Ishaan Awasthi’s struggle to heal his language disorder in the
film “Like Stars on Earth”?
2. What are the causes of Ishaan Awasthi’s struggle to heal his language
disorder in the film “Like Stars on Earth”?
3. How is the end of Ishaan Awasthi’s struggle to heal his language disorder
in the film “Like Stars on Earth”?
1.3 1.3
1.31.3 ObjectivesObjectivesObjectivesObjectives ofofofof thethethethe StudyStudyStudyStudy
Based on the statement of the problems, the purpose of this study is
6
1. To know Ishaan Awasthi’s struggle to heal his language disorder in the
film “Like Stars on Earth”.
2. To find the causes of Ishaan Awasthi’s struggle to heal his language
disorder in the film “Like Stars on Earth”.
3. To know the end of Ishaan Awasthi’s struggle to heal his language
disorder in the film “Like Stars on Earth”.
1.4 1.4
1.41.4 ScopeScopeScopeScope andandandand LimitationLimitationLimitationLimitation ofofofof thethethethe StudyStudyStudyStudy
This study is focused on the film “Like Stars on Earth”. There are many
struggles, which are done by some characters. There are many characters who
struggle in this film, but in this study, the writer only focuses on the main character’s
struggle, namely Ishaan Awasthi.
1.5 1.5
1.51.5 SignificanceSignificanceSignificanceSignificance ofofofof thethethethe StudyStudyStudyStudy
The result of this study hopefully gives valuable contributions, generally
for all readers, lectures and especially for the students of English Department of
Muhammadiyah University of Malang, which are described as follows:
1. This study is expected to provide a description of the important struggle
to get self esteem, and to show that people have to appreciate each other. So, it can be
used by the reader to anticipate, solve and identify the problem of human being that
may happen in their personal lifes, like social, education, health and so on.
2. This study is expected to enrich the study of literature, especially the
7
Stars on Earth”, it will give educational values and valuable lessons. So, it can make
the readers to think more critically in learning human behavior.
3. This study is expected that the readers would have better understanding
about problems that always happen in healing language disorder faced by Ishaan
Awasthi as dyslexic child which is found in “Like Stars on Earth” film.
4. This study can be an alternative reference for the students who are
interested in analyzing prose especially for the similar research.
5. This study is expected to be an input toward lectures who teach literature
and anyone who likes literature as well.
1.6 1.6
1.61.6 DefinitionDefinitionDefinitionDefinition ofofofof thethethethe KeyKeyKeyKey TermsTermsTermsTerms
The title of this thesis is “An Analysis of Ishaan Awasthi’s Struggle to
Heal His Language Disorder in Amole Gupte’s Film “Like Stars on Earth”. In order
to avoid misunderstanding in interpreting the terms used in this study, this study gives
some definitions related to the key terms:
Analysis Analysis
AnalysisAnalysis ::::the process of sorting, arranging, coding, and in other ways
looking for patterns in data for the purpose of coming up
with findings (Bogdan and Biklen, 2007: 271).
Struggle Struggle
StruggleStruggle ::::is to labor in pain or anguish; to be agony; to labor in any
kind of difficulty or distress (Brainy Dictionary, 2005).
Language Language
LanguageLanguage disorderdisorderdisorderdisorder :::: is one of language studies which takes psycholinguistic
case. In this research, it involves both language production
8
Dyslexia Dyslexia
DyslexiaDyslexia :::: is a developmental or acquired disorder of reading
involving the disruptions of one or more of the component
skills of reading. Central reading skills include letter
identification, phonological awareness and processing, and
decoding of the written word (Zillmer and Spiers, 2001:
551).
Film Film
FilmFilm ::::is complex literature that gives knowledge from the
visual-aural language expression (Newman, 2008).
Like Like
LikeLike StarsStarsStarsStars onononon EarthEarthEarthEarth :::: is a film which tells about a dyslexia child in language
learning. It is written by Amole Gupte then produced by
Amir Khan and bought by Walt Disney for released on 2008
