ANXIETY IN DANIEL DEFOE’S ROBINSON CRUSOE: A PSYCHOANALYTHIC APPROACH

Baihaqi, Fauzan (2009)
Abstract
The object of the research is the novel entittled Robinson Crusoe. The study gives focus on the anxiety of Robinson Crusoe.The major problem of this study is how anxiety is reflected in Robinson Crusoe. This research is aimed to analyze the structural elements of Robinson Crusoe and analyze the novel based on Psychoanalytic approach. This research paper is qualitative research. The object of the study is Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe. The primary data source is Robinson Crusoe itself and the secondary data sources are the other sources related to the analysis such as journal, website, periodicals, and literary criticism about Robinson Crusoe. The method of data collection is documentation research. The technique of data analysis is descriptive analysis. The result of the study reveals the main character in Robinson Crusoe, undergoes a life that is controlled the dynamic id within the ego and superego in dialectical relationship. His life is mainly driven by the id parts of his personality that fill his life with anxiety feeling as his id influences what he has to do in life. Hence, he follows the idealism which he believes.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In this life, there are many matters able to make us continually in
the condition of fear. Fear of new circumstance, fear of other person who
we do not know his or her name, even fear of ourselves. All of fears
emerge because we, as human, experience a series of thinking process in
our brain. A series of thinking process itself can be indicated as a form of
adaptation into a new situation that is strange for individual because he or
she has never been facing before. Well the problems that can cause fears
are in past, present, or in future day. As long as we live in this world, we
cannot avoid many problems emerge as the result of interaction with
anyone, anytime, and anywhere. There is always anxiety in ourselves. For
example if we are just leaving our office and then we are walking back to
our home in an empty street, then there is no people at all there, while we
are on foot, there must be a fear inside our mind, because there is no one
near us it means we must protect and help ourselves.
The environments contain of dangerous areas and unsafe places, it
demands humans to be more aware of surrounding circumstance where
they live to defend their existence. Humans need to keep their interaction
with other as a part of social creature. It can give more contributions in
making an environment become safe or not. Environment has ability in
rising of pain, also increases and decreases the tension. The tension
increases when people feel that they cannot take control the circumstances
around them, so it bothers their comfort. And it becomes decrease when
they feel that the environment gives them a safety and pleasure.
Hence, the individual reaction toward the threats of pain and
mutilation from the outside which do not ready to overcome is becoming
feared and making afraid. People live to get a good life and one of the
indicators is that they can fulfill their needs and wishes. But their reaction
toward the threats which do not ready to overcome will pervade their ego
by the anxiety automatically.
Anxiety is one of the psychoanalytic principles, which has the
main role in developing personality (Hall, 1980: 83). Anxiety deals with
human psychology and it has relation with the literary work especially in a
character of the novel.
The realities and imaginations of an author which are reflected in
literary work are created by the author by witnessing the fact and by
undergoing the reality and social life. Every author can deliberately
convey his or her view toward society through his work. In the literary
work, we can find some greatest names, novelist Daniel Defoe is not an
exception. In 1719 when he was 59 years old, he would start to make long
fiction prose masterpiece, presenting documentations (like good
journalistic reports) without direct experience. Hence occurrence of real
world, it is very artful simple but it is also full of awareness. It is depicted
in the story about an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation. Defoe is
one of greatest English novelist that was born in the world. And Robinson
Crusoe novel is one of the novels which he was written. Although
pertained overdue man of letters write fiction in his life career. Finally
around the age of sixty, the date of April 25th in that year the novel was
published to the general.
It is inspired by real experience, Robinson Crusoe narrates a story
concerning a single survivor from a sunken boat and he is casted away on
Caribbean island. He stays to fight against all difficulties, shoulders
distress alone almost during three decade, at the same time he also masters
himself and his new bizarre world. But in his loneliness, he could find a
new friend who is capable to make him awake from his afraid and despair.
So that he could find his common world again.
In this case, the writer concerns with the novel of Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe. He can depict interesting situation, and the anxiety of
major character in the novel. So that, the novel is interesting to be read and
studied in order to get messages from it. Besides that, he also has some
great works from his experiences. Then he writes Moll Flanders, A
Journal of the Plague Year, and Roxana, followed shortly after.
From the illustration above, the researcher will analyze Robinson
Crusoe novel using psychoanalytic approach. He will analyze the
psychological condition of the major character, Robinson Crusoe, because
Defoe describes him as a man who has afraid and despair loneliness in the
isolated island. It puts the emphasis on anxiety.
B. Literary Review
Based on researcher’s observation, at least in Muhammadiyah
University of Surakarta, the writer finds there is no research that has been
conducted in Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta to study Daniel
Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe by using psychoanalytic approach.
However, during the observation, the researcher found another
study of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe entitled “comparison between
the novel and movie version of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe:
structural analysis” done by Desy Wuryaningsih (2005). This research is
about comparing the novel and movie version comprises character, setting,
plot, point of view by using structural analysis. The researcher now uses
the psychoanalytic approach to find the anxiety of this novel.
C. Problem Statement
The problem statement of this paper is “How is anxiety reflected in
Robinson Crusoe?”
D. Limitation of the Study
The writer will focus on analyzing the anxiety of Robinson Crusoe
as the major character of the novel based on psychoanalytic approach.
E. Objective of the Study
The objectives of study are as follow:
1. To analyze the novel based on its structural elements.
2. To analyze the novel based on psychoanalytic approach.
F. Benefit of the Study
The study is expected to give benefits as follow:
1. Theoretical Benefit
To give a new contribution to the other literary research, especially
for those who study popular novel.
2. Practical Benefit
To give information, better understanding, and additional
knowledge to literary research especially dealing with the novel.
G. Research Method
To analyze the data found in this novel, the writer will use the
qualitative method in this study. Therefore, The writer has some steps as
follow:
1. Object of the Study
Object of the study is Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe
2. Type of the Data and the Data Source
a. Primary Source
The primary data are taken from the novel itself Robinson
Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
b. Secondary Source
The secondary sources are some materials related to the
data required, such as writer’s biography, the data taken
from official website, journal, etc.
3. Technique of the Data Collection
The method used for collecting data is library research by
collecting and selecting both primary and secondary data. The
researcher will involve some required steps:
a. Reading the novel to get the messages, and better
understanding.
b. Reading some related references to observe the theory,
data and information.
c. Making notes of important part in both primary and
secondary data sources.
d. Classifying the data into some categories.
4. Technique of the Data Analysis
In analyzing data, the writer employs “descriptive qualitative
research” in which the writer collects the data, classifies the data
and analyzes it, then the last is making conclusion from each data.
H. Research Paper Organization
The writer systematizes the research into five chapters as follow:
the first chapter is introduction, covering the background of the study, the
problem of study, literary review, limitation of study, the objective of
study, benefit of study, research method and research paper organization.
Second chapter presents the theory of psychoanalytic by Sigmund Freud.
The researcher connects the study with Freud’s psychoanalytic theory,
such as the psychoanalytic theory, system of personality, which consists of
the id, ego and superego, anxiety and the last is application of it. Third
chapter is research method using structural analysis of the novel, which
includes the structural elements of character and characterization, plot,
setting, point of view, style, theme, and the discussion, while the
psychoanalytic analysis dealing with the problem of the major character is
presented in fourth chapter. And the last chapter is conclusion and
suggestion.