ANXIETY OF OLIVER TWIST IN CHARLES DICKENS’S THE ADVENTURES OF OLIVER TWIST: PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH

ANDHIKA, HIMAWAN PUDYA (2009)
SUMMARY
This problem statement of this study is how Oliver Twist’s anxiety
influences his personality in Charles Dickens’s The Adventures of Oliver Twist.
The object of the research is the novel entitled The Adventures of Oliver Twist, by
Charles Dickens. The researcher uses Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.
The study belongs to qualitative study in which the writer uses two data
sources, namely primary data source and secondary data source. The primary data
source is the novel The Adventures of Oliver Twist it self and the secondary data
source is the other sources related to the analysis such as the author biography,
books of literary theory and also psychological books, particularly related to the
psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud like: New Instructory Lectures on
Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud, 1964. The method of data collection is library
research. The technique of data analysis is descriptive analysis.
From the result of analysis, it can be drawn some conclusion. Firstly, the
elements of the novel present a good unity. It consists of exposition, complication,
climax, and resolution. Secondly, the anxiety of Oliver Twist influences his Id to
do something under his unconscious. As the work of Ego, Oliver Twist fulfills the
Id demand. Nevertheless, his Superego can differentiate what is true and false.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Everybody has a problem in their lives. There is no one who lives in
the world without having a problem. A kind of problem can motivate a
person to do something better, so they feel challenged. But, there are many
existing problems that can make uncomfortable and anxious. Sometimes,
people are capable of solving the problem rationally; that is they can face the
problem in hurry and the problem creates anxiety.
Anxiety is a problem in the real world; it becomes a problem for
people. Some people try to reduce the anxiety by escaping from the problem
a moment and getting happiness from the environment. Anxiety is a state
closely related to fear and, like fear it has motivation consequences.
Anxiety as one of psychoanalytic principles is part of psychoanalytic
studies. An Australian Physician, Sigmund Freud, found the psychoanalytic
theory of human being personality in the early 1900s. The term of
psychoanalysis has fundamental assumption that the mental element of
human is divided into two levels: The conscious (the rational) and the
unconscious (the irrational). Then Freud describes three components of
personality: there are Id, ego, and superego. In the concept of psychoanalytic
theory, Anxiety is the most important element in psychoanalytic theory. In
defining anxiety, Freud emphasizes that is “a self effective, unpleasant state,
accompanied by a physical sensation that warn the person against impending
danger. The unpleasantness is often vague and hard to pinpoint, but the
anxiety itself is always felt” (Freud, 1933/1964: 82-85). According to Hall
(1985: 41), anxiety is a “ a key variable in almost all theories of personality.
The point of conflict, which is an inevitable part of life, anxiety is often seen
as a major component of personality dynamics”.
Literature psychoanalysis is an interesting subject to be presented by
authors as the major theme of their literary works. One of the authors who
propose the psychoanalytic study, especially anxiety as the problem of his
literary work is Charles Dickens in his play The Adventures of Oliver Twist.
Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812 in Landport division
of Porsea, England. He was the second child and the oldest son of John and
Elizabeth Dickens. During his childhood Charles Dickens lived in poverty.
His fate became worse then since his father, John Dickens, was imprisoned
for unsolved debt earthily, and Dickens who was twelve years old, went to
work in a factory for making boot blacking in London. He bitterly resented
having to leave school to do unskilled work from of this kind, feeling that he
would never have the change of doing well in life. When he was fifteen, he
became a clerk in a lawyer’s office. Dickens grew as an ambitions figure and
he went on his own education, reading as much as he could he also taught
himself shorthand and as the result he was soon as an expert shorthand
writer. Such skill than led him become a reporter in the law contrary, taking
down the political speeches for newspaper. The real beginning of his career
as an author came in 1836. At the time he wrote the Pickwick Paper, which
he developed and became his first novel Pickwick. This was foundation of
his career as an author until he succeeded creating a large number of novels:
Oliver Twist (1837), Nicolas Nickleby (1838), The Old Curiosity Shop
(1840), He Battles Life (1846), Hard Times (1854), Little Dorrit (1855), A
Tale of Two Cities (1859) and so on. Oliver Twist is a part of historical
novel, the background of the novel is Industrial Revolution. In the Industrial
revolution the children must be strong, they must have many power to do
their job, because in that era many children are worked although he must
becomes a thief. They must strive to defend their lives, although they have
not parents.
In this research the writer chooses the title “ANXIETY OF OLIVER
TWIST IN CHARLES DICKENS’S THE ADVENTURES OF OLIVER
TWIST: PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH”.
B. Previous Study
Oliver Twist is one of Charles Dickens best sellers and interesting
novel to analyze. Santi Noviana (2003) studied Struggle for Life Reflected
in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist: An Individual Psychological Approach.
The other researcher was Retno Trimulyani she analyzed Nancy’s moral
virtues as reflected in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. She did not analyze the
major character, but she analyzed one of the minor characters, Nancy. She
focuses on Nancy’s moral virtues as a woman. The researcher did not find
any research which analyzed the same novel but found another researcher
who used the same approach. She was Nunik Transristy (2003), a student of
Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta, her thesis entitled Anxiety of Harry
Potter’s in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Camber of Secrets: A
Psychoanalytic Approach . Meanwhile, the present researcher analyzes this
novel focusing on anxiety of Oliver Twist’s by using psychoanalysis entitled
Anxiety of Oliver Twist’s in Charles Dickens’s The Adventures of Oliver
Twist: A Psychoanalytic Approach
C. Problem Statement
The problem statement of this study is how anxiety of Oliver
influences him in Charles Dickens’s The Adventures of Oliver Twist
D. Limitation of the Study
This study is limited to the Anxiety of Oliver Twist in the novel Oliver
Twist. This study uses the theory of Psychoanalytic.
E. Objective of Study
The objectives of the study are follows:
1. To analyze the structural elements of the novel.
2. To analyze the main character’s (Oliver Twist) personality based on the
psychoanalytic perspective.
F. Benefit of Study
The benefits of this study are:
1. Theoretical Benefit
Hopefully, the result of this research will give some benefits to the world
of literature, beside development; particularly the literary study on
Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist
2. Practical Benefit
This study is expected to give deeper understanding about the novel
especially from the aspect of psychoanalysis and gives input to other
researchers who are interested in analyzing Charles Dickens’s Oliver
Twist.
G. Research Method
1. Type of the Research
In analyzing the novel, the researcher uses qualitative research. It
is a type of research that does not need a statistic to collect the data.
2. Type of the Data and the Data Source
The type of data is text, while the data sources are divided into
two kinds:
a. Primary data source
The primary data source is the play itself; The Adventures of
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens’s.
b. Secondary data source
The secondary sources of data are books of literary criticism,
and articles from the internet and movie.
3. Technique of the Data Collection
The technique of data collection in this study is library research.
It consists of some steps, as follows:
a. Reading the novel rapidly and tries to imagine to understand the
novel
b. Identifying the data
c. Taking notes and underlining the important words, phrases of
sentence, which are related to the study
d. Classifying the data into some categories
4. Technique of the Data Analysis
The technique of data analysis of the research is descriptive
analysis, it’s used to describe the element of the play make some
understanding to ward the play.
H. Paper Organization
This study consists of five chapters. It is started with the first chapter,
introduction that comprises of the background of the study, literature review,
problem statement, objective of the study, benefit of the study, research
method and paper organization. The second chapter presents the underlying
theory and theoretical application. The third chapter presents the structural
analysis of the play, which involves the character and characterization, plot,
setting, theme, and style. The fourth chapter presents psychoanalytic
analysis and its application in analyzing Charles Dickens’s The Adventures
of Oliver Twist. The fifth chapter deals with conclusion and suggestion for
this study.