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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers several points of the background of the study, research

questions, objectives of study, scope and limitation, significance of the study,

research method which includes research design, data and data resource, data

collection, data analysis and definition of key terms.

1.1 Background of the Study

Everyone faces difficulties from time to time. It is a natural part of the

cycle of life. Sometimes the difficulties of the problems we face in life come from

situations out of control. We are all faced with challenges in our lives and success

at meeting those problems head-on lies much in our attitude towards them. Being

positive is the best way to face problems than being negative. People who get

stressed and depressed plus negative thinking usually cannot solve their problem

and give up. As Peale (1952:6) says “Belief in yourself! Have faith in your

abilities! Without humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you

cannot be successful or happy.” Believe in ourselves and confidence are the

positive ways to face the problem and it is important because when we feel

inferior, we will act inferior. We all know that confidence alone does not solve all

problems, when we have faith, positive way of thinking dan confidence, we will

behave in a way that makes sure it comes true.

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Like the Muslims, we are asked to be the positive person especially to

Allah Azza Wa Jalla, as it is said in one Hadith Qudsi

"Allah has said," I am based on my people prejudice to me. I'll always be

with them if they remember me. If they remember me in their heart, then I will

remember them in my heart. If they remember me in a congregation, then I will

mention them in the congregation better than them. If they get close to me, I will

approach them for a day. If they come near me for a day, then I will approach

them quietly. If they come near me, I will come quickly.” (Riwaya Bukhari)

Like the Muslims who always want to receive grace, we should always be

kind to Allah Azza wa Jalla. Doing good to Allah is done by seeking the blessing

from Allah, praying, bidding, and asking for forgiveness and help. As Allah

Almighty says “Verily, those who believe, those who emigrate and fight in the

way of Allah, expect Allah's mercy, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

(Q.S. Al Baqarah:128)

Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu Anhu, may Allah be pleased with him,

reported that the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said, “Allah Ta'ala says, "I

am based on my people's prejudice against me. When they do well, they will get

better. If prejudice is bad, then it gets worse.” (Bukhari).

This means that if we want to get the benefit from Allah Azza wa Jalla,

then we must be good to Allah. If we are good to Allah then good will come to us.

Instead, if we always have the negative thinking of Allah, blame all the evil on

Allah, then only bad will come.

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Developing a positive attitude can help us in more ways than I might

realize. When we think positive thoughts, we do not allow our mind to entertain

any negative thoughts or doubts. From the information above, it is clear that Allah

(swt) and The Messenger motivates us as human beings to always have positive

thinking to Allah for our good.

In Islam, there is indeed a known concept of qonaah which is interpreted

as being pleased with God's gift, even though it is a little. But this concept does

not mean that we must stand by without making any progress to improve our

lives.

Positivity impacts people of all age group. The Fault in Our Stars Novel

by John Green was published in January 2012 shows the positivity of the

characters against cancer. It is about a group of teenagers who are brought

together in a common battle against cancer. They meet in the support group for

cancer. Hazel, who narrates the book, is sixteen and has lungs so badly damaged

by cancer that she must always be connected to source oxygen. Though drugs are

currently controlling her illness, she knows that she has only years to live. One

day she attends a church-based cancer support group where she meets Augustus

who is seventeen and recovering from osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Hazel and

Augustus immediately hit it off and begin a romance centred around Hazel’s

favourite book: An Imperial Affliction by the fictional author Peter van Houten.

This book so closely describes her life and condition that she views it as

her Bible, the book that best describes reality as she experiences it. Because Peter
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van Houten deliberately left the book unfinished. As she and Augustus date, we

find out that Augustus has an outstanding Wish (granted by a Make-a-wish

foundation) and he uses his wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet Peter Van

Houten. They meet him and find that he is an angry, raving alcoholic and they

will get no answer from him. They deal with their disappointment by going to the

hotel. No sooner they return to America then Augustus finds that his cancer has

returned worse than ever.

The positivity of facing cancer in The Fault in Our Stars is analyzed using

The researcher uses psychological approach in analyzing the novel. Psychological

approach applies psychological theories to explain the character personality.

There are some fields of basic psychology, one of them is motivation.

Kleinginna and Kleinginna (1981:263-291) as quoted from

http://chiron/valdosta.edu/whuit/col/motivation/motivate.html state that

motivation is an internal state or condition that acts behavior and gives direction,

desire or want that energize and direct goal-oriented behavior: influence of needs

and desires on the intensity and direction of behavior.

Literary works and psychology have a very close correlation, both directly

and functionally. Direct correlation means that literature and psychology have the

same object, that is human life. Psychology and literature have a functional

correlation because both of them learn about people’s psychological condition.

The difference is that psychology discusses something real but literature discusses

something imaginative.
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There are three approaches in studying literary psychology, one of them is

expressive approach, which learn about the writer’s psychology aspect when he

expresses his creativity in his work. We can find expressive approach in pragmatic

theory as one of literary discourse. This theory learn about how we describe, how

we find what the speaker’s means, whether implicit or explicit expression.There

are several previous studies which are relevant to this research topic. Margiraharjo

(2016) is the one student at Udayana University. The title of her thesis is

“Conflict Analysis of Main Character in the Novel The Fault in Our Stars”. The

conflict is analyzed based on the theory of literature which is proposed by Kenney

(1966) who divides conflicts in two types, external and internal conflict. The

description of the presentation of the main character is analyzed based on theory

proposed by Berhardth (1953) who divides the psychological aspect into want,

emotions, and feelings. She focused on described conflicts in the main character

(internal and external conflicts) and the presentation of the main character of the

novel through the psychological aspect. The analysis of this research brought

some conclusion. Hazel as the main character is described as a very thoughtful

character. That is why she gets a lot of wars between her mind, and gets a lot of

conflicts with people around her. Beside that Hazel is just like another teenager

who wants to have a normal life. Still she realizes that she has cancer. The sources

of her conflict appear because of wars in her mind. She thinks too much until

cannot handle it. Then, after the conflicts she is been through she finally realized

that her life is totally fine.

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The second study of Husna (2016) is one student of Muhammadiyah

University of Surakarta entitled “Fear Reflected in John Green,s The Fault in

Our Stars (2012): A Psychoanalytic Approach”. The researcher used the

Psychoanalytic theory. Based on the analysis, the researcher got some

conclusions. This research showed that the problem by the major character is their

fear. This novel tells about Hazel Grace Lancaster’s and Augustus Water’s fear

after they were diagnosed with cancer at the very young ages. They live out their

days with fear of death, pain, and oblivion. They were trying to figure out how to

overcome their fear.

The third research by Jajat Sudrajat (2007) from Semarang State

University entitled “A PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SANTIAGO’S

MOTIVATION TO STRUGGLE FAR OUT INTO THE SEA AS REFLECTED IN

HEMINGWAY’S THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA”. The researcher used

Psychology of Human Behavior theory by Richard A Kalish. The researcher

elaborates the intrinsic analysis with the psychological and motivational approach

that shows the relation between the related theories and the content of this

research. The result of this research shows that the conclusion related to

Santiago’s character, his motivational positivity to struggle far out into the sea,

and the effects of motivation found in the novel.

The differences among those researches and this research are the object

and focus of the study. This research focused on the positivity of facing cancer in

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

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1.2 Research Question

Based on the description of the background of the study above, the

researcher formulates the research questions a follows:

1. What makes the characters with cancer increase their positivity in John

Green's The Fault in Our Stars?

2. How does positivity become the theme of John Green's The Fault in

Our Stars?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

Concerning the research question above, this study intended to present the

description of:

1. The positive mind and motivation of the the characters who are facing

cancer in The Fault in Our Stars novel.

2. The positive and motivation of the characters in the novel that reflected the

positivity in real life.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The result of this study is expected to give some benefits as the following:

The research has theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, this

research can increase knowledge about psychological approach that can be used to

analyze the social and personal problems in the novel.

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In addition, it helps other researchers to analyze the problem in the novel

from the other side using another theory.

Practically, this research gives inspiration for the society especially for the

family or the people who have to fight against cancer to keep being positive.

1.5 Scope and Limitation

This research discusses the positivity of facing cancer in The Fault in Our

Stars by John Green. Therefore, first, the research focused on the positivity and

motivation of the characters who against cancer of facing the life and the

positivity of the characters in the novel reflected in real life. The limitation is The

Fault in Our Stars novel by John Green published in January 2012 in New York,

United States.

1.6 Research Method

The research method includes four points, research design, data sources,

data collection, and data analysis.

1.6.1 Research Design

The researcher uses . Psychological approach applies psychological

theories to explain the character personality. There are some fields of basic

psychology, one of them is motivation.

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Kleinginna and Kleinginna (1981:263-291) as quoted from

http://chiron/valdosta.edu/whuit/col/motivation/motivate.html state that

motivation is an internal state or condition that acts behavior and gives

direction, desire or want that energize and direct goal-oriented behavior:

influence of needs and desires on the intensity and direction of behavior.

The data of this study will be analyzed by using the theory that applies the

theory of psychological and motivational approach. By using those

theories, the researcher wants to describe the positivity of some characters

in facing cancer in the novel. Next, the researcher finds out the positivity

that reflected in real life.

1.6.2 Data Source

The data has been taken from the literary work: The Fault in Our Stars by

John Green. The Fault in Our Stars was published in 2012. This novel contains 24

chapters which are based on the main character's point of view.

The data will be taken from the content of the novel which is related to the

characters against cancer. The data are presented in the form of words, phrases,

and sentences in the novel.

1.6.3 Data Collection

The data collection is taken from words, phrase and sentences in The Fault

in Our Stars novel by John Green. As the steps to get the data, the researcher does

some activities. The first step to acquire the data is reading the novel entitled The

Fault in Our Stars accurately to obtain an intact understanding. Next, the research
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is executed by identifying and clarifying the entire data based on research

questions.

1.6.4 Data Analysis

After collecting the data, the researcher analyzes the data by the data using

psychological and motivational theory. Next is doing the interpretation of the data

according to the researcher’s knowledge and opinion.

1.7 Definition of Key Terms

Definition of terms is a very brief section consisting of a series of

definitions of some key terms or concepts found in this proposal to avoid

misunderstanding about some basic concept of this study.

a. Motivational Psychology

the internal force that drives us to achieve goals. It’s the reason

for behaving in a particular way The psychological approach applies

psychological theories to explain the character personality in the story.

Each character’s attitude and behavior could be referred to the

psychology of human being.

b. Positivity

The practice of being or tendency to be positive or optimistic in attitude.

c. Cancer

A genetic disease-that is, it is caused by changes to genes that

control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide.
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