CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The thesis of Sonya Michaella, a student from Faculty of Language Literature Satya Wacana Christian University, entitled Basil’s Inconsistent and Unpredictable Personality in Harris’s Not A Day Goes By: A
Psychological Analysis uses Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis to
reveal Basil’s personality. The final result of her study is Basil’s personality
which inconsistent and unpredictable.
Khairul Fuad, a student from English Department State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga, has his thesis entitled Jilly’s Defense Mechanism as Seen in Phyllis A. Whitney’s The Singing Stones, is also used Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis but unlike Sonya’s thesis, this thesis’ result is only stopped on
defense mechanism used by Jilly in order to defend herself and survive.
Although my thesis uses the same theory which is Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis, the objective or purpose is to reveal Penelope Longstreet’s
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Plot
Plot is the way in which story events arranged, it is shaped by causal connections –historical, social, and personal- by the interaction between characters, and by the juxtaposition of events (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). According to Gustav Freytag in his dramatic structure pyramid, there are five stages of plot (Freytag, 1894:115):
(a) Exposition
Exposition is the beginning part of story. The way the writer presents the basic information such as character or setting and introduces the basic situation in which characters are involved (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). Exposition provides the reader with essential information such as the place, the time of the action, the nationality and life relation of the protagonist.
(b) Rising Action
The rising action introduces the conflict or problem in the story. The protagonist starts to reveal some of their problems and goals (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). This part also reveals the events where it becomes complicated and the conflict raised.
(c) Climax
(Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). It features the most conflict and struggle which the most probable outcome of the main conflict is finally revealed. However, the climax does not mark the end of conflict. Climax only determines how the conflict will be decided. (d) Falling Action
The falling action is when the built-up tension is finally released. Protagonist has to react to series of events that have been changed after the climax (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). They perform the necessary plot actions to fulfill the protagonist’s fortunes that are now
clear after the climax and eventually winding down to resolution. (e) Resolution
A finished scene which either shows the contending forces in the strife with the protagonist, in the most violent activity, or affords a clear insight into the life of the protagonist (Kirsner and Mandell, 2000:67). At this point all of the problems that the characters faced throughout the story are worked out and the story is concluded and here the conflicts are resolved, all loose ends are tied up, and as it mentioned the story concludes with either a happy or sad ending.
2. The Operation of Structure of Personality
a) Structure of Personality
1) Id contains biological drives or basic biological drives, which the only structure of personality present at birth. Id functions according to the
pleasure principle and represents source of the energy. It is hedonistic and aims to satisfy its urges, which reduces tension and brings pleasure. Id’s motivation is to seek pleasure and to avoid pain of everything. Id
is like spoilts of child. When Id wants something, Id must have it. Id do not have any reason, logic, value, and morality. In the opposite side, Id have demand, impulsive, blind, irrational, selfish, and love pleasure or hedonistic (2008:38). In the course of life, many impressions and impulses are repressed into the id, where they exist side by side with the basic drives. In the id, any image associated with pain or tension should be instantly destroyed (Crain, 2011:269). In an adult, the demands of id normally operate outside conscious awareness.
3) Superego represents our morality aspect. Superego contains dreams that we fight and follow the reality in society, especially rules in family and society. Usually, superego develops at a young age. Superego controls our act in society according the rules and values. Superego gives sense of proud if we do the right thing and gives sense of guilty if we do the wrong (2008:40).
b) Anxiety
Anxiety is a negative emotional state associated with threat to the self; in Freud’s theory, it arises when the ego is faced with an influx of
stimuli with which it cannot cope, as a result of either external danger or the demands of id or superego (Glassman and Hadad, 2004:223). Since ego is unable to acknowledge the drives within the id, the breakthrough of unsatisfied id impulses into conscious awareness can trigger anxiety.
c) Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are strategies to solve intrapsychic conflict or problems (Cloninger, 2008:42). Glassman and Hadad in their book say that defense mechanisms are techniques used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety and the threats which give rise to it (Glassman and Hadad, 2004:224). All of defense mechanism begin with repression of unacceptable impulses.
would fail to protect the ego from the awareness of the conflicts which are the source of anxiety. Second, most defense mechanisms operate by allowing gratification in some indirect way, typically involving either symbolic gratification or a substitute object; to extent that this reduces id’s demands, it can be useful strategy. Third, to be effective in
protecting the ego, defense mechanisms must distort reality (2004:224). There are several kind of defense mechanisms according to Freud’s theory:
1) Repression, moving memories on purpose from conscious mind to unconscious mind (Hidayat, 2011:32). The forgotten memories are somethings that make us uncomfortable or feels painful. Once repression works, it will be difficult to eliminate it because we will use repression to protect ourselves from the various dangers by eliminating the dangers themselves.
2) Denial, a primitive defense mechanism which individual does not acknowledge some painful or anxiety aspect of reality or of the self (2008:42) and it is common in the daily life. It is a self-defense mechanism that relate with repression and involve denial towards the existance of several threats or traumatic events that had been experienced (2011:32).
repress the impulse and change it with the behavior that more socially accepted. Unconsciously, people use the mechanism in daily life.
4) Projection, in which a person’s own unacceptable impulse is incorrectly thought to belong to someone else (2008:43). Therefore, as if the threats were projected on external object. This movement was done because the origin source of neurotic anxiety and moral anxiety is the fear towards the outside punishment. Anger, aggressiveness, and impulse that are exist in ouselves will be like shown and possessed by other people (2011:33).
5) Regression, reverting to behavior characteristic of an earlier stage under conditions of stress, is closely associated with fixation (Glassman and Hadad, 2004:226) or in a simple way, taking a position of a child in some problematic situation, rather than acting in a more adult way. This period is the part from psychosexual which is more fun and free from frustration and anxiety, especially on the childhood period (2011:33).
6) Rationalization, in which reasonable, conscious explanations are offered rather than true unconscious motivations (2008:44). Simply speaking that this mechanism is happen by re-interpreting behavior to become more rational and acceptable (2011:33).
impulse was not provided will substitute it with other object (2011:34). The substitute object is something that is not a threat for his/herself, although the substitution will not completely ease the tension as if directly to the original object.
8) Sublimation, diversion of id’s impulse by expressing in a form of acceptable behavior in society (2011:34) or in which impulses are expressed in socially acceptable ways (2008:44).
9) Identification, in which a person fuses or models after another person (2008:44). Other definition says that this mechanism is incorporating characteristics of a drive object into one’s own ego (2004:228).
10)Intellectualization, a kind of withdrawal reaction in which the individual chooses the logical way to confront the situation that causes damage (Fuad, 2014:15). In which a person focuses of thinking and avoids feeling (2008:44).
C. Theoretical Framework
Character’s attitudes, feelings, beliefs, and value are revealed through character’s words and actions (Kirszner and Mandell, 2000:1028, 1034). The
character’s words and actions are all contain in the plot. For revealing a character’s behavior, psychological approach in this case freudian
psychoanalysis is needed. Freudian psychoanalysis believes that unconscious forces have the power to influence behavior (Cloninger, 2004:33). Therefore, plot is used to find Penelope’s structure of personality and begin the operation.
The operation of structure of personality that contains id, ego, superego; anxiety; defense mechanisms which they operate in sequence in revealing Penelope Longstreet’s behavior. However, in order to begin the operation, id,
ego, superego need to be found by looking through the events from the film script’s plot stages such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and
