Motivation Of The Main Character’s Survival In O’henry’s ‘Soapy’s Choice’ (PBING-23)

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Backgrounds of the Study

Why does somebody do something? Why do people go to work? Why do we go to college? There are many reasons why we do such things.Somebody does something because he/she wants  something  to be done, reached, and else. People go to work because they want to earn money, to  spendtheir times, to increasetheir societal status, and else. We go to school because we need knowledge,or maybe we just want to do our obligation to fulfill our educationstatus. The reasons here can be said as goals.All of those examples make us learn that there must be something drives them to do something besides the goals we have said above, it is a motivation.

For more details aboutmotivation, we can do one thingthat is askingany person who is successful in whatever he or she is doing, what motivate him/her, and very  likely,  the  answer  will  be  ‘goals’.  Goal  setting  is  extremely  important  to motivation and success. So, what motivate you? Just like what we have talked above, why are you in college? If you are in college becausethat is what your parents want, you may find it difficult to motivate yourself.

Someone will have a higher motivation if he is offeredby a reward. For example, a student will have a higher motivation to study when his father promises to give                him       a car            if      he          graduates           soon.    However,                    an       article     found      in

http://www.princeton.edu.rbenobou/RES2003.pdf said that motivation is something which comes from within really makes the difference. Furtherthe article says that certainly,  you  need  some  intelligence,  knowledge  base,  study  skills,  and  time management skills,but if you  do not have motivation, you would get far from reaching your success.

Motivation  gives  significant  roles  in  human’s  life.  Sometimes  without motivation, people cannot grow; since nothing motivates them to do something that will  bring  them  survive.  Hilgard  states  in  his  book  (1957:155)  that  motivation besides being a direction aspect, is also as the energizing aspect.

“Motivation is something that incites the organismto action or thatsustains and gives direction to action once the organismhas been aroused. It means that motives have either an activating or energizing aspect and a directing one”

This is also in chorus with what Champion says as stated by Ruch (1967:376) that motives make energy availablefor the activity required.Thus, although a drive or motive directs the  organismtoward some goals, which will satisfya particular need, it can also work as a general energizer.

Literature as part of our life talks so many kinds of problems occur in our society, such as social status, gender,discrimination, war, poverty,welfare and other human  problems.  The  phenomenon  I  can  find  in  Jane  Austen’s  novel  entitled “Emma” is about motivationof the main characterin arranging marriages. This kind of problem has a closerelation with our life in which it  couldbe occurred in our society, even to us.

Studying someone’s motivation is dealing with psychological approach,since it  reveals  problems  through  the  lens  of  psychology.  Psychology  according  to Davidoff (1976:1) is the scienceof behavior. Behaviorhere means any human or animal process or an activity that can be objectively observed and measured.

Since psychology studies human behavior, we also need to deal with human personality. It takes role in guidingsomebody’s immediate behavior and the further development of his/her  personality. He acts consistently in terms of the kind of person  he  believes  whether  it  is  to  be  lovable  or  unattractive,  bright  or  stupid, capable or clumsy.

Some peopleseem to be very successful, highly motivatedindividuals. The energy, the drive, or the directions come from motivation. Motivation is an area of psychology that has gotten a great deal of attention, especially in the recent years. The reason is that we all want to be successful, we all want direction and drive, and we all want to be seen as motivated.

Motivation refers, in a generalsense, to processes involved in the initiation, direction, and energy of individual behavior (Parkinson & Colman, 1995:38).

According to Kenney(1966:5) analyzing a literary work is to identify the separated part that make it up (this corresponds roughlyto the notion of tearingit into pieces), to deter relationship among the parts, and to discover the relationship of the part to the whole. So, I choose  Soapy’s motivationto achieve his goal in O’ Henrys’ Soapy’s choice as my study because motivation is one part of psychology that can be found from the character in the short story.

In my opinion, Soapy’smotivation is interestingto be discussed because he can survive in  the middle of his problem. He wishes to get in prison as he has to maintain himself warm in the winter time. Soapy is then doing stupid plans such as eating in a restaurant while having no money in his pocket and other foolish acts. I consider  Soapy’s motivation in dealing with his problems as full of struggle. This willingness to keep struggling is finally one thing that helps him to find a way out.

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