Psychological analysis on the main character of A Separate Peace by John Knowles

ABSTRACT

Literature is a product of human imagination. Endraswara (Aminuddin, 1990: 62) states that “Literature is the ontological structure of the work of art, and it organizes the whole with various constituents, interrelations, and mutual dependencies.” Literature is a form of fiction, as most of the stories in literature are unreal. It is a creation of humans, and sometimes, some works are written based on real life. Themes such as love, sacrifice, heroism, happiness, and faithfulness are common. Additionally, literature is presented in various forms, such as short stories, novels, romances, and plays.

This study focuses on analyzing the psychological aspects of the main characters in *A Separate Peace* using Carl Gustav Jung’s theory. Psychoanalysis is part of the personality psychological aspect that analyzes the personality of the main character. This study employs a descriptive qualitative method. It is called descriptive because it describes the main character in the novel, and it is qualitative because the research presents interpretation and explanation in narrative form. The data are not treated with statistical procedures; they are found in the form of words, sentences, and phrases in the text. The data were selected from the novel, which consists of two types of personalities of the main characters.

In this study, the writer is the key research instrument in analyzing the data. The source of the data is the novel *A Separate Peace* by John Knowles, published in 1959. The study identifies two main characters: Gene and Finny. Based on these findings, the writer concludes that each character, Gene and Finny, has different types of personality influenced by four functions: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. The writer also finds that there are two types of personalities of the main characters according to Jung's theory: extravert and introvert. Gene is a dominant introvert type because his character is quiet, obedient to rules, polite, and unsocial. Finny is a dominant extravert type because he is cheerful, breaks the rules, and is sociable.

Additionally, the four functions influence the personality of the main characters. Therefore, the writer suggests that this study can enrich readers' understanding of psychological aspects, especially the personality of characters in literary works. The writer hopes that it will inspire new ideas about other aspects influencing human personality and can serve as a reference for further research.