Wanudya Cahya Mita , 2211412020 (2019) THE USE OF DEFENSE MECHANISM TO REDUCE CHARACTERS’ ANXIETY AS DEPICTED ON MARKUS ZUSAK’S THE BOOK THIEF. Under Graduates thesis, UNNES.

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Abstract

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion that has symptom such as worry, fear, unhappy moods that can be felt in different level. Under the pressure of excessive anxiety, the ego is sometimes forced to take extreme measure to relieve the pressure. This study was conducted to analyze the use of defense mechanism to reduce characters' anxiety as depicted on Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. The purposes of this study are to describe anxiety that is depicted in the novel and to explain how defense mechanisms overcome characters anxiety. This study was done using a descriptive qualitative method and using psychoanalysis theory by Sigmund Freud to explore anxiety and defense mechanism. The object of the study was the novel The Book Thief and this study focused on Liesel Meminger, Max Vandenburg, Hans Hubermann, and Michael Holtzapfel as the main characters. List of quotations that contain characters’ utterances and actions was used as the research instrument and the data was taken through library research. In the novel, characters experienced some conflicts which happened between their id, ego and superego or morality. The conflicts mainly happened due to the environmental of Nazi Germany era where characters had to struggle to survive and maintain morality. This situation caused anxiety. The analysis of the main characters shows different methods of defense mechanism they use to reduce anxiety. The results of the study showed that the characters suffer from both neurotic and moral anxiety. To reduce those anxiety characters use some defense mechanisms like sublimation, displacement, denial, identification and rationalization

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