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Chapter I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of The Analysis It is very common to understand that works of fiction share a number of general elements such as characters, plot, structure and theme. Fiction in terms of prose work or novel has a basis in describing situations which are similar to those that many human beings experience, know, or think. Even, fantasy, the creation of events that are dream-like or fantastic, is anchored in the real world, however remotely. This connection of art and life shows that literary work attempts to portray real human beings in realistic situation; to quote Roberts (1993: 50-1). The last line of the quoted statement above directs me to deal with the most obvious cause of a work of art that is its creator or the author. This thesis analyses biographical material related to a novel “A Man Named Dave” which was written by Dave Pelzer. It is clearly seen that the last word of the novel’s title is similar to the first name of the novelist. That is why I try to search the connection of real life-experience of the novelist to sequence of events of the novel in terms of biographical analysis. Cuddon (1998: 83) defines that biography is an account of a person’s life, and a branch of a history. It provides any forms of material which is germane to the biographer’s purpose: the subject’s own writings (especially diaries and letter), his laundry bills, official archives, memoirs of contemporaries, the memories of living witnesses, personal knowledge, other books on the subject, photographs and paintings.

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Not so far different from Cuddon, Welleck (1985: 75) emphasizes the same notion. He further says that: “In the view of biographer, the poet (read: the novelist) is simply another man whose moral and intellectual development, external career, and emotional life, can be constructed and can be evaluated by reference to standards, usually drawn from some ethical system or code of manners. His writings may appear as mere facts of publications, as events like those in the life of any active man”.

I wonder to present my analysis based on the point of what a biographer expresses the author’s self-portrait through his work. This is my concern whether Dave Pelzer aims at displaying his personality, wants to draw a self-portrait, to confess, to express himself in his novel “A Man Named Dave” by the help of biographer’s hones comments or evaluations in Dave Pelzer’s biography. This is the background as well as the reason why this thesis provides an analysis about biographical material in Dave Pelzer’s “A Man Named Dave”.

1.2 Problem of the Analysis Kenney (1966: 5-6) declares that to analyze a literary work is to identify the separate parts that make it up, to determine among the parts and to discover the relationship among the parts. It is true that a literary consists of theme, character, setting and plot as one part that constructs a work in oneness as one part, and the existence of the author’s interest as the other part. The author is the center of focus that knows more of what he or she is writing about. This thesis provides an analysis about the related events in a novel titled “A Man Named Dave” related to biography of the novelist. The biography records some of the novelist’s personal life experience. Therefore, it tries to show

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connected events as what portrayed in the novel to the written records of what sounds similar to the novelist’s life. Thus, the problems which are going to be analyzed in this thesis are: 1. What are Dave Pelzer’s sufferings in his childhood both mentally and physically as written in his biography related to the story of his novel “A Man Named Dave” 2. What is the specific moment of Dave Pelzer’s adulthood noted in the novel in relation to his biography? 3. What is the characters of family-life conception after his marriage?

1.3 Objective of the Analysis The objective of this analysis is first to describe the Pelzer’s suffering both mentally and physically in his childhood as recorded in his biography related to the story or sequent of events as portrayed in the novel. Secondly, it is to explain the specific moment as picture of his adulthood. Thirdly, it is to trace the fundamental conception of family life after his marriage.

1.4 Scope of the Analysis The analysis of this is restricted to the description of what is written down or factual recorded in the novelist’s biography related to the story of the novel in order to underline some similarities or conformities of life-experience of the novelist in his novel. It cannot be denied that biographer’s great help in recording the summary of the novelist’s life history is essential in this study. It is said so because the study is covering the novelist’s sufferings in his childhood, the

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novelist’s adulthood and the novelist’s family life conception after marriage. As expressed in the novel. It is focused on finding whether there has been a related event of his life hood to be written down in his novel “A Man Named Dave”.

1.5 Significance of the Analysis Biography is an ancient literary genre besides the common large genres such as novel, poetry and drama. First of all, it is chronologically and logically part of historiography. In order words, Biography is a recorded a person’s life done by biographer through various materials collected in diary, witness or documents. Not absolutely is right a work of literature is totally the self-portrait of the author. Yet, it cannot be denied that the recorded material may be traced for there have

been connected events of what is written in the work to the real-life

experience of the author. Thus, the significance of the analysis is to add vocabulary of literary analysis in terms of biography and the work for students of literature. Perhaps, this study may be helpful to students of history that try to trace the connection of one’s life history to reality of life-experience.

1.6 Method of the Analysis First step of completing this thesis writing is to read the novel several times. While reading it, I try to select data by quoting the text of the novel which expresses personal experience of the character, Dave in the novel. This is important to do because I as to connect it to the details of the novelist’s life in his biography. The selection of the data in terms of quotations is based on actual

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events which represents real-portrayal of life. It is focuses on Dave the character, because I have assumption that Dave is truly Dave, the novelist. The next step is to deal with Dave Pelzer’s biography. The biographer has provided some factual details about the novelist through his documented writings. I try to connect the events of actual life experience as written in the biography with the content or the story of the novel. This connection is aimed at finding whether there is connection about the novelist’s life history to the writing of the novel. Such a method is better known as biographical method of analysis as done in the present thesis.

1.7 Review of Related Literature Welleck (1985:75) clarifies that biography can be judge in relation to the light it throws on the actual production of literary work, but we can, of course, defend it and justify it as a study of the man of genius, of his moral, intellectual and emotional development. What Welleck wants to say is simply the through study of a person through his biography. If it is supposed to be a literary work, the person is the author. So, the author has at least got involved in the process of writing through making up the minds of the characters in his work. What strengthen my assumption is the related events of actual experience of life or history to the imaginative work of literary work. It is possibly materialized that a literary work is a real-portrait of the author’s self. It may be evaluated through the events portrayed in the work itself. Further to say, a literary work is possibly self-expression thought it is not totally absolute right. At least, there must

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be connection of biography to the writing of the work by selecting events in the work and the biography for looking similar occurrences. I admit that this thesis writing is not purely first-hand made. Silvia NG, a graduate student of student of literature USU, had made a study of biographical analysis of Herbert George Well in his work “Love and Mr. Lewisham”. She has found out that there has been similarity of life experience as expressed in the novel with the novelist’s life history. She concludes that the main concern of biographical analysis to look at connected events of life as expressed in the work with the recorded events of author’s life in the author’s biography. Silvia NG’s thesis has made valuable contribution to my thesis study. What NG has done brought me to do the same but with different material, of course.

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