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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents background of the study, statement of the problems,
purpose of the study, significance of the study, scope and limitation, and definition of
the key terms.
1.1 Background of the Study
Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. The term is
most commonly used to refer to words of the creative imagination including works of
poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction. Literature is the mirror of life. Our lives and
all the subjects that are related to our lives can be the subject matters or elements of
literature. So we can get the touch with our lives through literature.
Literature is always related to field of created or imaginative stories (Utami,
1999). Besides, Kirszner & Mandell have stated:
Imaginative literature begins with a writer's need to convey a personal vision to readers. Even when writers use factual material-historical documents, newspaper stories, or personal experience, for example-their primary purpose is present a unique view of experience, one that has significance beyond the moment (2001:1).
It means that authors usually write a story by using their imagination to
deliver their message to the readers.
Literature is one of the courses in some university especially in English
department at University of Muhammadiyah Malang. It is one of the important
courses that has to be taken by the students. It consists of drama, prose and poetry.
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literature is difficult subject to study and it is related to creativity and imagination. If
the students like literature and study well, they will get many advantages. It will give
them information, knowledge, new experience, about human daily life that they do
not know.
According to DiYanni (2004:1), “Many people read literature for pleasure.
Many others read literary works mainly to satisfy academic requirement.” It means
that as human beings, we need entertainment to make us better and get satisfaction
and one of ways to entertain ourselves is reading literature. Entertainment can be
taken from many kinds of product of literature such as, watching TV or movie,
listening to music, or reading novel. The focus of literature is many kinds of life.
Movie, poetry and novel are the media used by author to express the idea.
Movie is also called film. Movie is a story or series of events recorded by a
camera and shown as moving pictures on a screen in a theatre or on television.
(Bullon, 2009). Bennett and Royle have stated, “Film is, nevertheless, inextricably
tied in with the study of literature. Thinking about film provides innovative ways of
thinking about literature, and vice versa” (2004:142). It is clearly explained that film
is a media of literary work that gives us new ideas and knowledge to think about
literature.
Movies usually are made to entertain and deliver messages to the audiences. It
always has a mission in the movie and they often insert conflict into the films so that
audiences can learn from it. According to Tarigan, conflict is a struggle completely to
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family, school, society, and country.
Every people have a conflict in their daily life like personal conflict. Personal
conflict which is also called individual conflict is an ethical decision that has to make
(Martin, 2013). It means that many times the conflict will occur due to personality
clashes for instance, a person has to decide whether to report a wallet found with
$100 inside or to keep it for himself. It is important decision for the person to solve
his personal conflict. By the fact that conflict plays a significance role in someone’s
life, the writer wants to be analyzing individual conflict faced by the main character
in “Life of Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee in literary work is the focus of this study.
This movie is interesting to be analyzed because of several reasons. First, we
can get moral lessons about life in this movie, especially about the conflicts that the
main character faced and how he can solve his conflicts. The second reason is the
story of this movie was successful movie that reaping revenues of U.S $ 609.016.565.
It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won four academy awards in
Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, California, USA such as, Best Director, Best
Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score. So this movie is
recommended to be analyzed by the writer.
Piscine Molitor Patel or Pi is the main character in the "Life of Pi" movie, he
is analyzed because he plays as the narrator and protagonist in the movie. Not only
facing many conflicts and playing the role very interesting but also the way he
accomplishes his conflict is very different from others so people will not get bored.
Therefore, the writer interested to analyze Piscine Molitor Patel as the object of the
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There have been some previous studies analyzing conflicts. One of them is the
work of Andriyatna (2012) that analyzed individual conflict faced by Rizvan Khan in
the movie “My Name is Khan” by Karan Johar. Psychological conflict could be
found in this movie. Rizvan Khan as the main character got the psychological conflict
especially when his stepson was death, he was sad. He did not believe that his stepson
had died. Finally Rizvan Khan promised to his stepson to find the cause of his death.
A similar study was conducted by Supriyanto (2006) who focused on
individual conflicts faced by the main character on Anne Bronte’s novel “The Tenant
of Wild fell Hall”. Gilbert Markam was the main character in the novel faced the
psychological conflict when he felt in love with Helen Graham who inhibited wild
fell Hall. But, he was turned down by her because she still had husband. Finally, he
felt that his way was dear to marry her when Helen’s husband died. At the time he
felt confused and doubt about this.
In this current study “Life of Pi” movie is selected to be the object of the
study because this movie has different genre from the previous research. The genre of
this movie is adventure movie, while most of the movie which were analyzed by
previous research is drama movie. Furthermore, the main character of this movie
faced many individual conflicts because of its genre. Therefore, through this movie
the readers could learn how to express something and they could learn how to face
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1.2 Statement of the Problems
In this study, there are some problems that are necessary to be investigated in
relation with the story in the movie. The problems are as follows:
1. What kinds of individual conflict faced by the main character in “Life of Pi”
movie directed by Ang Lee?
2. What are the causes of individual conflict faced by the main character in “Life of
Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee?
3. How does the main character solve his individual conflict in “Life of Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee?
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purposes of the study are to get the answer of problems. They are
formulated as follows:
1. To find out kinds of individual conflict faced by the main character in “Life of
Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee.
2. To know causes of individual conflict faced by the main character in “Life of Pi”
movie directed by Ang Lee.
3. To know how the main character solves his individual conflict in “Life of Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee.
1.4 Significant of the Study
The writer expected that the result of this study has some significance, they
are as follows: first, to the readers, it is expected that the readers can anticipate, solve
and identity the problem of human being that happen in their personal life. Second,
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teacher and lecturers to explain about movie as the material of the subject to the
students especially the content of the movie such as conflict, theme, and setting. Also
for English department students who are interested in analyzing the literary works,
especially in movie, the result of this study can be used as a reference in doing the
similar research.
1.5 Scope and limitation
The scope of the study focuses in “Life of Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee.
The limitation of this study is on individual conflict faced by the main character in
“Life of Pi” movie directed by Ang Lee.
1.6 Definition of Key Terms
To avoid misunderstanding of the definition key terms which are used in this
study the writer will explain the definition of key terms, they are:
1. Individual conflict is an ethical decision that has to make (Martin, 2013).
It means that decision that have to make by someone to solve his problem.
2. Main character is the most important character in a story, which cannot stand on
its own and need other characters to make the story more convincing and lifelike
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988:67).
3. Movie is a story or series of events recorded by a camera and shown as
moving pictures on a screen in a theatre or on television (Bullon, 2009).
AN ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL CONFLICT FACED BY THE MAIN CHARACTER IN”LIFE OF PI” MOVIE DIRECTED BY ANG LEE
THESIS
By:
RENDITA MEILINA 201010100311281
ENGLISH DEPARTEMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
AN ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL CONFLICT FACED BY THE
MAIN CHARACTER IN”LIFE OF PI” MOVIE DIRECTED BY
ANG LEE
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to achieve Sarjana Degree in English Education
By:
RENDITA MEILINA
201010100311281
ENGLISH DEPARTEMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
This thesis written by Rendita Meilina was approved on February 4th, 2015.
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 requirements to achieve Sarjana Degree in English Education.
On February 4th, 2015
Approved by:
ORIGINALITY DECLARATION
The undersigned:
Name : Rendita Meilina
Student ID number : 201010100311281
Program of study : English Department
Faculty : Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
I declare that the work presented in this thesis was carried out by myself and does not
incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree
or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge this thesis does not
contain any materials previously publish or written by another person except where
MOTTO AND DEDICATION
MOTTO
“There is no success without struggle
And there is no struggle without sacrifice”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil’alamin, All praises is to Allah SWT, the Lord who has
bestowed the blessing upon me in completing this thesis. Greeting, prayers, and love
are also presented to beloved our prophet Muhammad SAW, His families, His
companion and His followers.
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to my first
advisor Rina Wahyu Setyaningrum, M.Ed., and my second advisor Puji Sumarsono,
M.Ed. that they have been a tremendous mentor for me and the great contribution,
meaningful guidance, corrections, suggestion encouragement, motivation, and use
full feedback that have inspired the writer over the completion of my thesis.
Second, my special thanks to my family. Words cannot express how grateful I
am to my mother, Mujiati, my father, Jadi and my husband, Nur Sholeh
who always give me support, pray, and finance, they are my role model in the world,
also thanks to my two young brothers, Refandi Dwi Mujiantoro and Yanuar David
Setyawan and my little princess, Nayyara Bittaqillah suhaa that they are my
motivation to do my thesis and all my family.
The last, I would like thanks for my close friends, Ika, Myta, Maynda, Eny,
Anzar, Herliana, Qoniq, Cindy, and Lilik who give me support and motivation also,
all of my friends whose name cannot be mentioned one by one here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.2 Statement of the Problem ...5
1.3 Purposes of the Study ...5
1.4 Significance of the Study ...5
1.5 Scope and Limitation ...5
1.6 Definition of Key Terms ...6
2.3.9 Science Fiction Film ...12
2.7 Resolution of Conflict ...20
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1Research Findings ...26
4.1.1 Kinds of Individual Conflict faced by the main character ...26
4.1.1.1 Social Conflict ...26
4.1.1.2 Psychological Conflict ...28
4.1.1.3 Physical Conflict ...32
4.1.2 Causes of the conflict faced by the main character ...32
4.1.2.2 Psychological Conflict ...34
4.1.2.3 Physical Conflict...38
4.1.3 How the main character solves the conflicts ...40
4.1.3.1 Social Conflict ...40
4.1.3.2 Psychological Conflict ...42
4.1.3.3 Physical Conflict...47
4.2 Discussions ...48
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions ...52
5.2 Suggestions ...53
REFERENCES
APPENDIX I BIOGRAPHY OF ANG LEE
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