AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DITA SURWANTI Student Number: 044214006
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DITA SURWANTI Student Number: 044214006
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
Success is not Final, Failure is
not Fatal; I t is the Courage to
Continue that Counts
v
For M y Beloved Parents W ho W ork V ery
H ard for M e and I hope I can M ake Them
vi
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Allah S.W.T for all
blessing and gifts for me. I realize that Allah has given me strength and chance to
be able to finish this thesis. Then I would like to thank my beloved parents who
have worked hard to give me opportunity to study in this faculty. Because of
them, I can be stronger in life and believe in myself.
Then it is a great pleasure to express my gratitude to Dra. Theresia Enny
Anggraini, M.A., due to her guidance and assistance during this study. I really
appreciate her advice and her patience to help me finish this thesis. I also want to
thank Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka M. Hum. who gives suggestion for this thesis.
Therefore, I thank them and pray for their happiness and health.
I would also like to thank all my best friends: Tiny, Nofi, Elin, Pita, Lutfi,
Indri, Disti, Amel and all my friends in this faculty for their continuous support
and love which are really helping me. I also thank my friends in my ex-boarding
house: Neny, Yanti, Santi, also my KKN’s friends and all my friends wherever
they are. Thank you so much and hopefully our entire dream will come true and
we will always be friends forever.
The next gratitude goes to all secretariat staff members in the English
letters and all the library staffs of Sanata Dharma University. I thank them for
their helpful services.
vii
A. Kaname’s Attitude toward Traditional Japanese Culture at the Beginning of the Story...23
B. Kaname’s Environment Changes...32
C. The Influence of Environment Changes to Kaname’s Attitude toward Traditional Japanese Culture ...41
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...54
BIBLIOGRAPHY...57
viii
Prefer Nettles. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
This story is talking about the conflict between the traditional and modern Japanese culture. Kaname is created by the author as a modern Japanese man who does not like the traditional Japanese culture. In this story Kaname is psychologically developed. Kaname’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture is not the same as what it is at the beginning of the story. As the story goes forward Kaname experiences many environment differences which give contribution to his attitude change.
The reason of writing this thesis is derived from the writer’s curiosity to understand more about the change of Kaname’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture, his environment differences and also the influence of his environment differences to his attitude toward the traditional Japanese culture. Thus, the writer has formulated the following problems that base the writing of this thesis, they are: (1) What are Kaname’s attitude toward the traditional Japanese culture described at the beginning of the story? (2) What are Kaname’s environment differences that happened in the story? (3) How do the environment differences influence Kaname’s attitude toward the traditional Japanese culture?
This study applies a library research. There are two kinds of sources; the primary source is the story itself, Some Prefer Nettles. The secondary sources are obtained from several books on literature, psychology, and also from the internet. In answering the problems, several theories on literature and psychology are applied. They are theory of character, characterization, setting, influence of environment and attitude change. The psychological approach is chosen to explain Kaname’s attitude change.
ix
Prefer Nettles. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Satra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.
Novel ini menceritakan tentang konflik antara kebudayaan tradisional Jepang dan kebudayaan modern Jepang. Kaname diciptakan oleh pengarang sebagai seorang pria Jepang modern yang tidak suka dengan kebudayaan tradisional Jepang. Dalam novel ini Kaname mengalami perkembangan psikologi. Sikap Kaname terhadap kebudayaan tradisional Jepang tidak sama seperti pada awal cerita. Seiring berjalannya cerita Kaname mengalami banyak lingkungan berbeda yang mempengaruhi perubahan sikapnya.
Alasan dibalik penulisan skripsi ini adalah rasa ingin tahu dari penulis untuk memahami lebih jauh mengenai perubahan sikap Kaname terhadap kebudayaan tradisional Jepang, lingkungan Kaname yang berbeda dan bagaimana hal tersebut mempengaruhi sikapnya terhadap kebudayaan tradisional Jepang. Oleh karena itu penulis merumuskan masalah yang mendasari penulisan skripsi ini seperti di bawah ini: (1) Apa saja sikap Kaname terhadap kebudayaan tradisional Jepang yabg diceritakan di awal cerita? (2) Apa saja lingkungan Kaname yang berbeda? (3) Bagaimana perbedaan lingkungan tersebut mempengaruhi sikap Kaname terhadap kebudayaan tradisional Jepang?
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Ada dua macam sumber informasi, sumber informasi yang utama adalah cerita itu sendiri, yaitu Some Prefer Nettles. Sumber informasi yang kedua didapat dari bebrapa buku sastra, psikologi dan juga dari internet. Dalam menjawab rumusan masalah, beberapa teori sastra dan psikologi juga digunakan, yaitu teori karakter, teori karakterisasi, teori lokasi, teori pengaruh lingkungan dan teori perubahan sikap. Pendekatan psikologi dipilih untuk menjelaskan tentang perubahan sikap Kaname.
1 A. Background of the Study
Drama and novel are stories where the author makes the characters.
Characters are not real people, but characters are drawn from real life. Characters
are reasonable imitation of human being with all the good and bad traits of being
human. A story is usually concerned with a major problem that a character must
face. This may involve interaction with another character, with a difficult
situation, or with ideas or general circumstances that force action. The character
may win, lose, or tie. He or she may learn and be the better for the experience or
may miss the point and be unchanged despite of what has happened (Roberts and
Jacobs, 1989: 56).
It means that the author describes characters in the stories just like those
you find in the real life. Characters in the stories undergo experiences which are
sometimes difficult and painful, other times happy and successful, sometimes
mixtures of many emotions. With many kinds of different experiences they have
their own characteristics, thought and completed with the capabilities to change in
their disposition or outlooks as the plot of the story progresses so that they may
also be different sort of person at the end of the story as they are at the beginning.
However, person in a literary work might remain stable from the beginning until
the end of the story. They still can be the same person from their first
One of the authors who create their works or characters based on reality is
Junichiro Tanizaki. Tanizaki was one of the major writers of Modern Japanese
literature and remain one of the most popular Japanese novelists nowadays.
Tanizaki is a Japanese novelist whose works run strains of lyricism together with
a good deal of imagery taken from the acute observation of real life. We can find
many evidences of characters with dominant or even destructive woman in many
of his novel, as are subtle contrasts of new and old, Japanese and Occidental.
Tanizaki saw and depicted vividly the clash between Japan and the West, but on
the aesthetic plane (http://www.bookrags.com/biography/junichiro-tanizaki/).
One of his works where we can find theme about Japanese and Western
cultures and history is Some Prefer Nettles. In this novel the characters are described very well of having cultural conflict. One of characters in this novel that
is having conflict on Japanese and Western cultures along the story is Kaname.
Even E.E. Seidensticker, the translator of this novel, remarks it in the introduction
of the novel:
The real theme of Some Prefer Nettles is the clash between the new and the old, the imported and the domestic. The marital conflict and cultural conflict are in a very general way coextensive. Kaname for his part longs to bury his emotional troubles in the calm unity of the old Japanese way of life. The new and the old for Kaname and Tanizaki there is on the one hand Tokyo and on the other Osaka. (1954: x-xi).
From the marriage and cultural conflict which are happening to the main
character above, Tanizaki created a character who is having a complex or round
characteristics. He may develop as the story goes forward, since he experiences
After reading Tanizaki’s Some Prefer Nettles, the writer is interested in examining Kaname, the main character of the novel. The main character of
Kaname is indeed not a flat character, but he is a complex character. The writer
finds out that from the beginning until the end of the story, Kaname is
psychologically developed, so that he is not the same sort of person at the end as
he is at the beginning. His attitude toward traditional Japanese culture is changed
as the story goes forward.
Reading the novel, the writer finds out that the psychological change in
Kaname or in his attitude toward traditional Japanese culture is interesting. It is
interesting because the writer saw that through out the novel Kaname experiences
environment differences and meets different people that gradually give
contribution to the change of his attitude and finally give experiences for his self
evaluation. In other words, Kaname gradually gets influences from the
environment differences that happen to him and change his attitude.
Seeing the facts above, the writer is going to focus this study on the
character of Kaname. The writer is trying to find out how his attitude toward
traditional Japanese culture changes under the influence of the environment
differences that he experienced. Thus the environment in the novel is very
important toward the main character’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture.
The environment differences surround him give influence and make his attitude
change. Therefore this study is particularly intended to Kaname’s attitude change
under the influence of the environment differences. This study is also to examine
those differences contribute to the change of Kaname’s attitude toward traditional
Japanese culture.
B. Problem Formulation
In this paper, the writer will present the problems to be analyzed in the
study based on the background of the study above. They are:
1. What are Kaname’s attitudes toward traditional Japanese culture described at
the beginning of the story?
2. What are Kaname’s environment differences that happened in the story?
3. How do the environment differences influence the main character’s attitude?
C. Objectives of the Study
In this study the change of Kaname’s attitude toward traditional Japanese
culture under the influence of the environment differences will be analyzed. The
writer’s intention firstly is to identify Kaname’s attitude toward traditional
Japanese culture at the beginning of the story.
Secondly, the study wants to figure out kinds of environmental differences
that Kaname experienced during the course of the story from the beginning until
the end of the story.
Lastly, this study aims to see how the environmental differences that
D. Definition of Terms
There are some terms related to the topic that need to be clarified to avoid
misunderstanding of the meaning of the terms.
The first one is “environment”. According to Leon Mann in the book
Social Psychology,
Environment is a major determinant of the individual’s social environment and thereby defines his opportunities for learning and social interaction, among the environmental determinant of social behavior, those of climate, region and area are the most significant (1969: 15).
In this study, the writer defines environmental differences as different
social behavior, social interaction, climate, region and area where the character
live. It happens because the character goes to different environment where there
are many different things, places and people from where the character used to live.
The second one is “attitude”. Based on James Drever in his book A Dictionary of Psychology, attitude is defined as:
A more or less stable set of disposition of opinion, interest or purpose, involving expectancy of a certain kind of experience, and readiness with an appropriate response; sometimes used in wider sense, but rather less definitely, as in aesthetic attitude, in the sense of a tendency to appreciate or produce artistic results, or a social attitude, in the sense of being sensitive to social relations, social duties or social opinions; attitude scales and attitude tests are scales and tests devised to throw light on temperament and personality traits (1958: 22).
From the definition above, it can be concluded that attitude is character’s
opinion or interest which are shown from the character’s response of certain
events. It can also be concluded that attitude is part of personality. It is also
approved again by Hurlock that part of personality pattern least likely to change is
The third one is “influence”. Again according to James Drever in his book
A Dictionary of Psychology, ”influence is any past or present condition, experienced as or actually playing a part in determining one’s behavior, or course
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The writer found some related studies that had been done by other
researchers or writers on the same novel or author. Dorothy Perkins in
Encyclopedia of Japan wrote that Tanizaki is a novelist who is especially known for writing about men’s obsessive sexual desire for women. He was born in
cosmopolitan heart of Tokyo and studied Japanese literature at Tokyo University.
During the 1920s, he wrote plays and novels that portray men’s masochistic erotic
desire for the beautiful yet demonic power that women seemed to embody for him
(1991: 343).
According to Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, Tanizaki is one of major modern Japanese novelists whose writing is characterized by
eroticism and ironic wit. Tanizaki’s earliest short stories, of which “Shisei” (1910;
“The Tattooer”) is an example, have affinities with Edgar Allan Poe and the
French Decadents. After moving from Tokyo to the more conservative Osaka area
in 1923, however, he seemed to turn toward the exploration of more traditional
Japanese ideals of beauty (1995: 1091-1092).
Again Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, it is said that this novel is autobiography and was published in Japan in 1928 as Tade Kuu Mushi. It originally appeared as a newspaper serial and is generally considered one of the
traditional and modern culture in Japan. The protagonist, Kaname, considered
himself to be a modern man in a modern marriage. The novel’s other characters,
including his wife, mistress, and father in-law, and even the cities in which they
live, each symbolize either modernity or ancient way of life. In time of Kaname,
by degrees, resumes traditional attitudes and tastes. Eventually he makes love to
his father in-law’s old-fashioned mistress and leaves the modern world entirely
(1995:1049).
While according to Laurel Graeber, Tanizaki wrote the death or the end of
a marriage. The different taste of the partners and their faltering relationship
mirror the lost of Japan’s traditional way of life. It is engagingly written, often
very witty novel (1995).
In the reviews before it is mentioned that this novel is about modern and
ancient of Japanese life and culture. It is also telling about Kaname’s
characteristics toward the modern and traditional culture. In this study the writer
wants to analyze the main character more specific. The writer wants to analyze the
change of Kaname’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture deeper and also
wants to figure out the factors that give influence to his attitude change.
After reading the novel, the writer found that the environment differences
happened to Kaname influence and even change his attitude toward traditional
Japanese culture. The environment differences include the different places, social
relationship, social behavior and custom. Thus, the study is different from the
previous reviews because it discovers something new and significant of the novel,
reviews, which mentioned about the environment differences that influence and
change the main character’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture.
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theories of Character
In the book of Mastering English Literature, Richard Gill defines a character as someone in a literary work that has some sort of identity. It does not
need to be a strong one as long as it can picture what kind of character he or she
is. (1995: 127).
Based on Colwell (1968), character involves in two basic qualities. The
first is morality; it defines character as having moral status such as goodness or
badness. The second one is personality; it includes speech, habits, hairstyle,
hobby, attitude toward works, and all the complex attitudes and feelings that
define the individual.
The classification of characters is made by E.M. Forster in his book
Aspect of the Novel (1974: 18) which divides character into two types; they are flat and round characters. The flat characters are built around a single idea or
quality and are represented in outline and without many individuality details, and
so they can be fairly described in a single phrase or sentence. The flat characters
are characterized by one or two traits. The round characters are complex in
temperament and motivation and are represented with subtle peculiarity. The
round character based Colwell (1968) is a fully developed character and it needs
making different decision to indicate his complexity and how much he seems like
a person. It swings from one aspects of his character to another that has been
hinted at all along and it can develop without startling us.
2. Theories of Characterization
According Richard Gill, characterization is the way in which a character is
created and described in the story (1995:127).
Characterization based on Kate Grenville (1998: 36-39) is all the things
writers do to build up the characters as they want. It is a process that transforms
real-life people into characters in fiction. He also defines seven ways of how the
author creates character. The first is character should be drawn from real life. The
second is that character should not be allowed to take over from the writer. The
third is that character must be consistent. The four is that the character should be
thoroughly described and explained. The fifth is that character must be lifelike.
The sixth is that the character must be interesting. The last is that the character has
to be motivated.
Motivation based on Abrams (1993) is the ground in the character’s
temperament, desire and moral nature for their speech and action.motivation
becomes the reason behind the character’s action and utterance.
M.J Murphy (1972: 161-173) said in his book Understanding Unseens
that there are several ways in which the author attempts to make his characters
a. Personal description
The author can describe a character through his appearance or clothes.
b. Character as seen by another
Rather than describing a character directly, the author can describe a character
through the eyes and opinions of another.
c. Speech
The author can give the reader an inside into the character of one of the person in
the book through what the character says whenever he/she speaks, has a
conversation with another, puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clue to
his/her character.
d. Past life
Character’s past life that is given by the author can give the reader clue to events
that have helped to shape a character. It can be done by direct comment by the
author, through the person’s thought, through his conversation or the medium of
another person.
e. Conversation of others
The author can also gives the readers clues to a person’s character through the
conversation of other and the things they say about him.
f. Reaction
The author can also gives the reader a clue to a person’s character by letting us
know how that person reacts to various situations and events.
g. Direct comment
h. Thoughts
The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person or character is thinking
about.
i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits or idiosyncrasies which
may also tell us something about his or her character.
3. Theories of Setting
Before we go to the description of setting we should understand that
setting is a broad term and based on Richard Gill (1995: 148) it covers: the places
in which characters appear; the social context of characters, such as their families,
friends and class; the customs, beliefs and rules of behavior that give identity to a
society; the particular location of events; and the atmosphere, mood and feel that
all the above elements created.
While E.M. Forster (1974: 143- 146) defines three points of setting that
should be concerned, they are time, place and atmosphere. Setting of time is
divided into present time, past time, future time and no specific time. Setting of
place is divided into familiar place, unfamiliar place and imaginary place. While
atmosphere is the general feeling that is conveyed to the novel, it can be gloomy,
somber, terrifying, evil, cheerful, happy, sordid, pessimistic, optimistic and so on.
Robert Stanton on his book An Introduction to Fiction said, “Setting is the environment of its events, the immediate world in which they occur” (1965: 18).
emotional tone or mood that surrounds the character. It means that setting also
influence the theme and character of the story.
4. Theories of Influence of Environment
According to Pervin, Cervone and John in their book Personality Theory and Research,
“Even the most biologically oriented of psychologists recognizes that the environment plays a critical role in the development of our personalities. Some environmental determinants make people similar to one another, whereas others contribute to individual differences and individual uniqueness. The environmental determinants that have proven to be important in the study of personality development include culture, social class, family and peers” (2005:17).
Based on Pervin, et al, each culture has its own institutionalized and sanctioned patterns of learned behavior, rituals and belief. These culture practices,
which in turn often reflect long-standing religious and philosophical beliefs,
provide people with answer to significant question about the nature of the self,
one’s role in one’s community, an the values and principles that are most
important in life.
Few aspects of an individual’s personality can be understood without
reference to the group to which that person belongs. One’s social group; whether
lower class or upper class, working class or professional; is of particular
importance. Social classes factors help determine the status of individuals, the
roles they perform, and the duties they are bound by, and the privileges they
While parents may be warm, loving, hostile, rejecting, overprotective and
possessive or aware of their children’s need for freedom and autonomy. Each
parent of parental behavior affects the personality development of the child.
Environmental features outside the family life are important to personality
development. It is the child’s experiences with members of his or her peer group.
Peer influences are so strong that some psychologists view them as more
important to personality development than the family experiences. The peer group
serves to socialize the individual into acceptance of new rules of behavior and
provide for experiences that will long lasting influences on personality
development.
Walter Mischel said in his book Introduction to Personality that social environment does not influence the structure of the genes, but it can influence
their expression, the brain and the person’s personality. Situations and
environments importantly influence what people experience and do in a stable
relationship to these context: when the situations remain stable, so does their
characteristics pattern of social behavior; when the situations change, the behavior
pattern also does so predictably (1999: 228).
It is also supported by Elizabeth B. Hurlock in the book Personality Development, that at all ages, the more stable the environment, and the fewer pressure will be on a person to change his personality. It means that environment
influence the personality so much. If the environment does not change, the
personality would not change. If the environment changes, the personality would
5. Theories of Attitude Change
Attitude change based on Milton Rokeach in Belief Attitudes and Values
is a change in predisposition, the change being either change in the organization
or structure of beliefs or a change in the content of one or more of the beliefs
entering into the attitude organization. It may be focused on either an object or
situation. Sometimes attitude change can be called as opinion change, since
significant change in the expression of an opinion also represents a change in
attitude (1989: 134-139).
Marie Jahoda and Neil Warren said in their book Attitudes that there are three processes on how attitude can change; they are compliance, identification
and internalization (1970: 152- 155).
i. Compliance
It occurs when an individual accepts influence from another person or a
group because he hopes to achieve a favorable reaction from other. It is concerned
with gaining approval or avoiding disapproval from the influencing agent when
the individual complies, he or she does what the agent wants him or her to do- or
what he or she thinks the agent wants him or her to do- because he or she sees this
as a way of achieving a desired response from the agent. It is instrumental in the
production of a satisfying social effect.
ii. Identification
It occurs when an individual adopts attitude from another because it is
associated with a satisfying self-defining relationship or self-image to this person
the other says, doing what he does, believing what he believes, the individual
maintains this relationship and the satisfying self definition that it provides him.
An influencing agent who is likely to be an attractive object for such a
relationship is one who occupies a role desired by the individual- who possesses
those characteristics that the individual himself or herself lacks- such as control in
a situation in which he is disoriented or belongingness in a situation in which he
or she is isolated.
iii. Internalization
It occurs when an individual accepts influence because the induced
attitude is congruent with his value system. It is the content of the induced
behavior that is intrinsically rewarding here. The individual adopts it because he
or she finds it useful for the solution of a problem, or because it is congenial to his
own orientation, or because it is demanded by his own values, because he
perceives it as inherently conducive to the maximization of his values. The
characteristics of the influencing agent do play an important role in
internalization; the crucial is the agent credibility that is his relation to the content.
Based on Pervin, et al, the past, present, and future factors are important in governing the personality change. A basic principle of causality is that presently
active processes are the causes of events. In this sense, only the present is
important in understanding personality and behavior, but the present can be
influenced by experiences in the remote past or in the recent past. Similarly, what
immediate future or distant future. People vary in the extent to which they worry
about the past and the future (2005: 25).
C.Theoretical Framework
In this study the writer used some reviews and theories to support the
analysis. Reviews of related studies are used to give the information about the
novel and a little thing about the author. It also gives explanation of how this
novel is worthwhile to analyze.
Theories used in this study are theories of character, characterization,
setting, and psychology that is divided into theories of influence of environment,
and attitude change. All of these theories are used in order to answer the questions
revealed in the problem formulation.
Theories of character and characterization are applied to understand what
kind of people is the main character and how are his characteristics and
characterization.
Before analyzing the environmental influence toward the main character,
the writer needs to know the description of place where the main character lives
during the story. Thus, the theory of setting is used to get clear information toward
the place where the main character lives.
After understanding the description of the place, the writer needs to use the
psychological theories to analyze the attitude change of the main character. Thus
what so called environment, what kind of environment that can influence
character’s attitude and also the relation between attitude and environment.
To show the environment influence to the main character’s attitude, the
writer needs the theory of attitude change. This theory help the writer understand
what can be called as attitude change and the process on how the environment
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
A novel written by Junichiro Tanizaki entitled Some Prefer Nettles was firstly published in Japan in the year of 1930. It was originally appeared in Japan
as Tade Kuu Mushi. The one that the writer used in this study is the fifteenth printing edition that was printed in Singapore in 2001 by Tuttle Publishing. It
originally appeared as a newspaper serial and is generally considered as one of the
author’s finest works.
This novel consists of 202 pages and 14 chapters. It tells about cultural
conflict between the new and the old, the imported and the domestic (Tanizaki,
2001: x). It is a story of a modern man whose name is Kaname. Kaname lives in
Tokyo with his wife, Misako, and his son, Hiroshi. His tastes are very well
influenced by the Western Aesthetics. One day, Kaname agrees to accompany his
father in law seeing the puppet show in the downtown of Osaka as his last filial
duty since he is going to divorce his wife. After visiting the puppet show and
several times going with his old-fashioned father in-law, he got many experiences
and his interest is turned toward traditional Japanese Arts. A lot of things
happened inside Kaname’s mind and there are also lots of things that remind him
of his childhood’s memory. This Tokyo man who has superficial Western taste is
unconsciously attracted to Osaka and the Japanese past.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the approach that the writer uses is psychological approach.
According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971:13), psychological approach is an
approach involving the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns
and which refers to a different body of knowledge, which is psychology. In
applying this approach, psychological theories are generally used as the
interpretive tool.
The writer decides to apply the psychological approach because in this
study the writer is going to find out the attitude change of Kaname as one of the
main character of Tanizaki’s Some Prefer Nettles. In analyzing an individual’s attitude change, it is necessary to deal with psychological aspect because attitude
is part of recurrent pattern of psychology.
Like what Robert Stanton said on his book An Introduction to Fiction that psychological approach is principally to explore the mind of its central character,
especially on the deeper, less conscious level (1965: 64).
Thus, it is proper to use psychological approach because a better
understanding of a character’s attitude can be achieved. More, attitude is one of
the subjects of psychology, so it will guide the writer on the right analysis because
it views a literary work based on literary interpretation.
C. Method of the Study
The writer used library research to support the writing of this paper. In this
literary text to analyze this work correctly. Information were also collected from
some sites on the Internet.
There are two kinds of sources; primary sources and secondary sources. The
primary source that the writer used was the literary work itself, Some Prefer Nettles (2001), while some of the secondary sources that the writer used on this work were Richard Gill’s Mastering English Literature (1995), C. Carter Colwell’s A Student’s Guide to Literature (1968), M.H Abrams’s A Glossary of Literary Terms (1993), E.M Forster’s Aspects of the Novel (1974), Kate Grenville’s The Writing Book: A Workbook for Fiction Writers (1998), M.J. Murphy’s Understanding Unseens (1972), Robert Stanton’s An Introduction to Fiction (1965), Pervin, et al’s Personality Theory and Research (2005), Elizabeth B. Hurlock’s Personality Development (1976), Walter Mischel’s Introduction to Personality (1999) Marie Jahoda and Neil Warren’s Attitudes (1970), Milton Rokeach’s Beliefs Attitudes and Values (1989) also other sources that the writer got from the internet.
After the writer got enough information from the sources then the writer
began to analyze the literary text. There were several steps that the writer took in
order to solve the problem. First was analyzing the main character and the
development of his life events by applying the theories of character and
characterization. Theory of character from Richard Gill was applied to understand
the identity of the main character in the story. Colwell’s theory of character was
used to understand how the character’s identity was presented, whether from the
habit, hobby, attitude and feeling. Forster’s theory of character was used to
explore what kind of character Kaname is, whether he is a flat or round character
from his individuality details that are single or complex. While Colwell’s theory
of character was applied to prove round character should have developed
character, which is shown from many actions, situations and unexpected decisions
that the character chose.
Grenville and Gill’s theory of characterization was used to understand how
the character was created or built up from real life, their consistency, their full
description, interesting or not and also being motivated or not. Abram’s theory of
motivation was used to understand the ground or the reason behinds character’s
temperament, desire, speech and action. M.J. Murphy’s theory of characterization
was used to understand how the character was created whether from the personal
description, another opinion, speech, past life, conversation of others, character’s
reaction, direct comment, thought and mannerism.
The second step was analyzing the environment change by using the
theory of setting. Gill’s theory of setting was used to know what can be called as
setting in the novel which needed to be analyzed, it covered the places where the
character appears, the families, friends, customs, belief and rules of the society,
atmosphere, mood and feel. E.M. Forster’s theory of setting was used to explain
the time, place and the atmosphere in the story. Stanton’s theory of setting was
applied to prove how the environment of events in the novel could reveal or
could also be found directly from the text of the novel that examined the place
where the main character passed or through it.
In the third part, theories of psychology were used since the analysis was
using the psychological approach. First was Pervin, et al’s theory of influence of environment. This theory was used to show what kinds of environment (culture,
social class, family or peers), which were important to attitude change of the
character. Second were the Hurlock and Mischel’s theories of environment to
show the relation between the environment’s situation and the attitude pattern.
Then Jahoda and Warren’s theory of attitude change was used to figure out how
compliance, identification and internalization processes can change an
individual’s attitude. Rokeach’s theory of attitude change was used to show how
the change of belief and opinion toward object or situation can be called as
attitude change. Pervin, et al’s theory of past, present and future, helped to figure out how life experience of the character in the past, present and future factors also
influenced the personality change of the main character. After the data was
collected, the change of Kaname’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture in
the story under the influence of environment was analyzed. In the analysis of the
24
The analysis in this chapter is divided into three parts based on the
problems formulated before. First, the analysis finds out Kaname’s attitude toward
traditional Japanese culture at the beginning of the story. The second, figures out
the environment differences that happen to Kaname’s life in the story. The third
one finds out the influence of environment differences toward Kaname’s attitude
toward traditional Japanese culture, whether directly or indirectly.
A. Kaname’s Attitude toward Traditional Japanese Culture at the Beginning of the Story
In this part, the writer discusses about Kaname’s attitude toward
traditional Japanese culture at the beginning of the story. Based on E.M Forster
there are two types of character, flat and round character. In this story Kaname’s
character is categorized as round character since he has complex characteristics. It
is shown from many kinds of action that Kaname does in the story and many
different situations that he should face. Here Kaname also makes different
decision that is unexpected and different from his attitude at the beginning of the
story. Thus Kaname in this story is a developing character. Since this research is
trying to analyze the character’s attitude therefore the writer specified the analysis
on Kaname’s attitude toward traditional Japanese culture and the influence of the
more or less stable set of disposition of opinion, interest or purpose, involving
expectancy of a certain kind of experience. In this analysis it includes his opinion
and interest toward traditional Japanese theater, music, people, house and place.
His opinion and interest toward traditional Japanese theater includes the puppet
show in Benten and Gennojo Theaters. His interest toward music includes on the
traditional Japanese musical instruments, Samisen, and the traditional Japanese songs which are played during the puppet shows. Then his interest toward
traditional people is shown from his interest toward his father in-law and his
mistress, O-hisa, whose appearance like a doll and also the natives of Awaji Island
whose occupations all are in the theater fields. While his interest toward
traditional house is shown from his preferable decision to stay on the traditional
Japanese house belongs to his father in-law.
Gill defines a character as someone in literary work who has some sort of
identity and in this story Kaname’s character is identified as a modern Japanese
man who lives in a modern district area of Tokyo (1995:127). He is considered as
a modern man because he has a modern taste and interest. He does not like the
traditional Japanese culture and arts. It is shown from the author’s direct comment
about his attitude toward traditional Japanese culture and arts.
The old man, now nearly sixty, was in the retirement in Kyoto, where he lived the life of the conservative man of taste. While Kaname’s own tastes were rather different and often enough annoyed at the old man’s display of connoisseurship…. (2001: 5)
Here the author gives direct comment to describe Kaname’s characteristics
about his attitude toward traditional Japanese culture that is different compared to
the traditional Japanese culture because he has a modern taste, contrary to his
father in-law who has a conservative taste and master in judging traditional arts
and music. The intense of his modernity is showed through his reaction toward his
father in-law’s taste. Murphy said that one of the ways to characterize a character
is from the character’s reaction to various events and situation (1972: 168). Not
only he dislikes his father in-law’s taste and manner toward the traditional arts,
but also how he is annoyed to see the old man’s activities especially on traditional
Japanese puppet. The author also describes it directly that he has such a strong
modern character.
He had what seemed to him a profoundly good reason: pure Japanese tastes, such as the old man’s, were dominated by the standards of the Edo period, …, and Kaname simply did not like the Edo period. He reacted sharply against it, …. (2001: 36).
It is explained clearly by the author in direct comment that Kaname hates
the traditional Japanese taste and also the old man’s taste because the traditional
Japanese arts are very well influenced by the Edo period (1972: 170). Edo period
takes place as the same time with the military government of Tokugawa
shogunate. The shogunate enforces the strict division of social classes into
samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants and passes numerous sumptuary laws to
control the increasingly wealthy merchant class. It can be concluded that Edo
period is an authoritarian era. Cultural aspects which were well developed on this
era are Kabuki and Bunraku Puppet Theater, geisha, kimono styles, arts and crafts
such as pottery and lacquer work.
Kaname’s reaction toward Edo period is in high level of dislike. He does
any motivation. Grenville and Abrams said that a character should be motivated
and there is the ground in the character’s temperament, speech and action. The
motivation or the ground of Kaname’s temperament for his action toward Edo
period is because he becomes one of the victims of the Edo period influence when
Edo period still has power in Japan. The author gives direct comment about the
merchant class was treated unfairly and very mean during Edo period. Murphy
also said that past life can shape a character. Here Kaname’s past life as the son of
a merchant family forced him of experiencing bad treatment from the sharply of
Edo period and it made him react against the Edo period (1972: 166).
Edo culture was colored through and through with the crassness of the merchant class, and no matter where one turned, one could not escape the scent of the market place….but the very fact that he was a child of the merchants’ quarter made him especially sensitive to its inadequacies, to its vulgarity and preoccupation with the material (2001: 36).
As the people who got suffered because the Edo period when he was a
child, Kaname hates the Edo period very much. The cruelty of Edo period was
basically just for veneration. Many people could be forced to be in the low
position and must respect and honor people who have the power. Of course that is
not an easy past life experience that a child should face.
Edo culture was colored through and through with the crassness of the merchant class. It was not enough that something should be touching, charming, graceful; it had to have about it certain radiance, the power to inspire veneration one had to feel forced to one knees before it, or lifted by it to the skies (2001: 36).
That is not the only motivation behind his dislikes attitude toward Edo’s
culture. Kaname does not like the Edo culture because he is a women-worshipper.
the character. Here Kaname is a modern man with a modern way of thinking and
he has opinion that women can be equal to men. He considers that women do not
need to be obedient or below men’s position all the time. Kaname does not like to
see the weakness of women is exploited especially in arts or culture. It is shown
again in direct comment by the author. “Kaname required this not only in works
of arts. A woman worshipper, he looked for the same divine attributes in
women….” (2001: 36-37).
For those reasons too he does not like the traditional Japanese arts such as
music and drama, since it is very well influenced by the Edo period and also it
was made by artists from the Edo period too. They created arts which tell about
the weakness of women. That is very different from what Kaname wants for the
equal position of women toward men.
While the dramatists and novelists of the Edo period were able to create soft, lovely women who were likely to dissolve in tears on a man’s knee, they were quite unable to create the sort of woman a man would feel compelled to kneel before (2001: 37).
The traditional Japanese arts of course cannot satisfy a modern man like
Kaname who is a woman-worshipper. Even those arts make Kaname sad and feel
regret toward the life of Japanese people that is very lack of worshipfulness. His
reaction toward traditional Japanese culture is shown again in direct comment.
For those reasons too, Kaname prefers to find out other arts which can
make him happy, such arts that has an equal view toward women position and
high worshipfulness. He can find that in the foreign novels, music, and movies.
Those arts satisfy Kaname a little because it has an occidental view of women.
Here Kaname’s mannerism toward foreign novel is also showing Kaname’s
character like what Murphy said before (2001: 37).
That is the reason or motivation why Kaname much prefer the foreign arts
and culture. He can find woman worship and the figure of women as something
that he likes. The author gives direct comment on his preference toward foreign
arts and culture and compares it with Japanese arts.
Kaname therefore preferred a Hollywood movie to a seventeenth century Kabuki play. For all its vulgarity, Hollywood was forever dancing attendance on women and seeking out new way to display their beauty. And he felt that Japanese drama and music were far too much under the Edo period influences that were so distasteful to him (2001: 37-38).
As it has explained before that Kaname is women-worshipper and he
believes that women can be in the same position with men. That is why he does
not like the traditional type of Japanese women. It is proved from Kaname’s
speech when he gives comment to the old man’s traditional mistress, O-hisa. He
said that those kinds of women are just looked like a doll. “She’s one of the
antiques in his collection, exactly like an old doll” (2001: 7).
Moves from Kaname’s type of girl, Kaname’s attraction to foreign arts and
literature is proved from his action to collect of The Arabian Nights story and he has the complete series of it. He orders his brother to buy him full of the seventeen
Different from others traditional Japanese people, Kaname loves to sit in
his veranda of the Western-style wing in his house enjoys reading The Arabian Nights for hours while sipping tea in the morning. His habit is definitely different with common Japanese people who have been busy with their own work since
dawn. While Kaname’s manner more looks like Western people who enjoys
relaxing in the morning while reading a book.
…but Kaname seemed to be sitting in a rattan chair on the veranda of the Western-style wing. He had a teacup in his hand and was flicking over the pages of the large book (2001: 67-68).
From the above quotation, it can be seen that Kaname’s modernity is not
only shown through his actions and manner, but also from his house. There is a
veranda of a Western-style wing in the side of his house. But it is not only that, he
also has some Western-style rooms in his house. Kaname’s brother uses one of the
Western-style rooms when he visits Kaname. “It had not been so noticeable
outside in the garden, but here in the tight Western-style room….”(2001: 70).
Kaname also has a modern bathroom where the water is clean and the light
is bright inside it. It can be seen from his father comment to Kaname’s bathroom
that “A pure white bath or toilet is apiece of Western foolishness”
(2001:193-194). While Kaname feels insufferable to take a bath in a traditional Japanese
bathroom because it is very dark inside, the water is so dark too. He has opinion
that traditional Japanese bathroom is not clean, since the water is very rarely
changed. That is the reason why he prefers the modern Japanese bathroom rather
Then, too, Kaname was used to tiled bathroom at home, and he always found taking a bath here rather like being shut up in a dark cellar. The water, perfumed with cloves, suggested nothing so much as cloudy, sediment-filled medicine bath (2001: 193).
Another factor or reason behind his moderns is merely because he lives in
modern district of Tokyo. It is explained before by Stanton that place or setting
can influences character. In this story Kaname is a modern man because he is
influenced by the modernity of the place where he lives. The author describes in
direct comment about the modernity of Tokyo.
Tokyo is a special problem….Earthquakes and fires are common, and each rebuilding bring characterless houses of cheap imported woods that might better be used for matches, and shabby Western-style building suggest a run-down, end-of-the-line town in the United States (2001: 130).
Before the earthquakes happened, Tokyo is the same like other area in
Japan. Kaname also experienced the traditionality of Tokyo when he was a child.
After the earthquakes happened, Westernization is continuously affected Tokyo
into such a modern area.
In accordance to the Western influence, people of Tokyo also become
modern and their lifestyles are also affected. Tokyo people become so familiar to
sleep at night, so does Kaname. Here it can be seen that Kaname’s manner is
influenced by the society custom and behavior. It is the same like what Gill and
Stanton said that custom and rule behavior can influence the character in the story.
“He thought of forcing himself to sleep early, but he was trained to late hours”
(2001: 120). Tokyo people also love to stay at home and do not like to travel far
away, this social behavior again influences Kaname’s manner who prefers to stay
stay at home….”(2001: 111). Kaname’s manner that proves that he is very rarely
travels around from the way he brings lots of clothes when he is just going for few
days with his father in -law.
Kaname was always careful about his clothes and he was not used to traveling; and even for a trip planned to take no more than two or three days her had brought along several changes of clothing (2001: 153-154).
Kaname’s other modernity is his appetite to foreign foods. His wife is also
a modern type of woman and she often prepares foreign foods for daily
occupation, such as German pastry, sandwich of sausage and chopped pickles, and
liver sausage that she used to buy in German shop in Kobe. The manners they
apply in the dining room also modern. They also accustomed to use fork when
they eat (2001: 86-88). Gill also said that setting can be families and here
Kaname’s wife also supports Kaname’s modernity by preparing foreign foods in
their house. Kaname does not like traditional Japanese food because he considers
that it just has a nice outlook without a delicate taste.
Murphy said that character’s habit can also be a clue to the character and it
is seen from Kaname’s other modernity which is shown from his habit to go to a
prostitute house in Kobe. The author gives direct comment that he often goes
there and it surely that Kaname knows much type of women that he sees there.
“He had known women enough in his life who ministered to that particular need”
(2001: 8).
Many Japanese people also like to go to a prostitute house or Japanese
teahouse, but Kaname’s habit is a little different with the other Japanese men. He
girls there are foreign girls which belongs to Mrs. Brent. It is unusual for Japanese
man to go to such foreign prostitute house. There is only a few Japanese men go
to such place, even it is very rarely happened. He chooses to go there because it is
much cheaper and he does not need waste much more time rather than in Japanese
teahouse. Another reason is that he thinks that it will be easier to forget the girls
because they are foreign, so it is much safer.
…he would have said that he found it safest for secret debauchery to go to a house that rarely admitted Japanese, that Mrs. Brent’s was cheaper and less time-consuming than a Japanese teahouse, that after he and a woman had been behaving like animals it was somehow easier for them to forget, less damaging to their pride, when they were foreigner to each other (2001: 163).
In Mrs. Brent’s house, he meets a young girl named Louise who since the
beginning he finds very attractive and makes him go to this prostitute house
continuously. She is very genius in language and she can understand many
different languages just in a short period of time.
Apparently she had something of a genius for languages, and she alone of the girls was able to handle Mrs. Brent or a drunken American in English. But that she should have mastered Japanese in such a short of time- one minute she would be singing Slavic songs to the balalaika or the guitar, the next she would be at “Song of the Yalu River” or “Song of the Yasuki Boatman”, almost the skill of a professional minstrel (2001: 162).
B. Kaname’s Environment Differences
Mann said that environment includes social interaction, social behavior,
climate, region and area. In this analysis, the environment differences which are
happening to Kaname also include the difference of social interaction, social
behavior and area. The first is the difference of social interaction. The writer has
said before that Kaname used to live and interact with modern people in Tokyo.
When he accepts his father in-law’s invitation to see the puppet theater, his social
interaction is also changed. His father in-law is very different with the modern
Tokyo people because the old man is a traditional Japanese man.
When Kaname and his wife are invited by his father in-law to see the
puppet show in the Benten Theater in the old downtown district of Osaka,
Kaname agrees with his invitation without asking Misako’s opinion. It can be
seen from this author’s direct comment.
Misako’s father had called from Kyoto the day before and asked if the two of them would join at the theater. Misako had been out, and Kaname had been rush enough to say that they “probably could” (2001: 5).
Kaname accepts the invitation because he does not feel nice to reject his
father in-law invitation and also does not want to make the old man disappointed.
“as a matter of fact, he could not very well have refused… attempt to please the
old man” (2001: 5). Instead of the reason, Kaname has opinion that it may be the
last chance for him to please the old man and do his responsibility as son in-law
because soon he will divorce his wife. “…he wanted one last chance to
concern about his future that he will divorce his wife. He is afraid that he will not
have any chance to do such filial duty to his father in-law anymore. Thus he
accepts his father in-law’s invitation although he does not like the old man’s
traditionality. It can be seen that Kaname makes an unexpected decision by
accepting his father in-law’s invitation although he does not like the traditionality
of the old man.
Kaname’s father in-law is characterized as an old man with half-bald head
and his age is about fifty-six years old (2001: 18-19). This old man is a traditional
Japanese man who still believes with the traditional manner and fonds of the
traditional Japanese arts and culture. “He was always careful to cultivate in his
dress and his manner and impression of advanced years,” he even said “Old man
should act like old man” (2001: 19). It is proven from his clothes when Kaname
meets him in the Benten Theater. His clothes color is not even bright; it looks very
old and somber. The author also gives comment that his clothes are looked like
the puppet costume and people can assume that it had been chosen for such a long
time ago.
His cloak was as indefinite color, a shade of green it could probably have been called lively and yet with a touch of somberness, like the costume of the puppets, or like one of those mellow old brocades the model dilettante might have chosen for his cloak in the Middle Ages (2001: 19).
Here is also directly shown that the old man has a traditional Japanese
taste and he lives in Kyoto for his old days. “The old man was in the retirement in
Kyoto, where he lived the life of the conservative man of taste” (2001: 5).
Kaname even gives comment that this old man is one of the traditional Japanese
paintings, even traditional Japanese girl whose appearance is looked like doll such
as O-hisa.
“I read somewhere the other day that men who are too fond of the ladies when they are young generally turn into antique collector s when they get old. Tea sets and paintings take place of sex…She’s one of the antiques in his collection, exactly like an old doll” (2001: 7).
The old man likes to watch the traditional Japanese puppet show in the
traditional theater too, not in the modern theater. This impression is gotten from
Kaname’s conversation with his wife Misako.
“It’s a place downtown called the Benten. That means we sit on the floor? I can’t stand it,… that’s the sort of place people like your father go. His taste have got a little beyond me- and after the way he used to love the movies” (2001: 7).
He also likes to discuss about Japanese puppet and compare it to the other
puppet especially the Occidental puppet. He also argues that Bunraku Puppet is
better than the others for many reasons. Even he assumes that Bunraku puppet has
something that cannot be found in other puppets.
The old man, when he discoursed on the puppet theater, liked to compare Japanese Bunraku puppet with the Occidental string puppets…The Bunraku puppet was therefore unique, inimitable, or medium so skillfully exploited that one would be hard out to find parallels for it anywhere (2001: 23).
This old man also believes that a person who has Osaka fashion should
play samisen or traditional Japanese music instrument. That is why he forces
O-hisa to study the samisen and asks her to sing a folksong with samisen in front of
him and Kaname in the hotel on the journey to Awaji.
The old man’s traditionalistic is shown again when he give comment to
young people who like things related to the West or Occidental is as shallow as
the Occidental puppets (2001: 35).
The diffrence of Kaname’s social interaction that gives influence to his
attitude is not only from his father in-law. It is also from a young mistress whose
appearance looked like traditional Japanese doll who always beside the old man.
This young girl dresses with such a pale fabrics so that she looks older than her
real age. She wears such clothes as the old man asks her to, so their range of age
becomes not too different. Although she wears such old type of clothes, Kaname
still can figures out from her young fingers and shoulders that she is very young.
The somberness of her dress made her look to be in her late twenties- and indeed it appeared that she had been instructed by the old man, so they might seem a slightly better matched couple- but the glow of her pink fingers and the flesh of her shoulders, and told clearly that she could be no more than twenty two or twenty three at the most (2001: 125).
This mistress always beside the old man to serve everything that the old
man needed. “The old man held sake cup… and among her other duties O-hisa
had to be sure that it was never allowed to grow dry” (2001: 20).
The old man also takes care the traditional manner of drinking, especially
sake that must be drunk from wooden lacquer ware. He also brings all supplies
that he needed so that he will not need anything when the show is performed. He
finds it a pleasure to bring his own supplies because it is a common thing to do by
the Japanese people in the past when they go to a puppet show. All the necessity
