| dc.description.abstract | This thesis analyzes Sidney Sheldon’s novel, Tell Me Your Dreams. This novel
tells about the causes of Terrifying Experience, a series of killing done by Ashley,
and Ashley’s psychological treatment by psychiatrist. She always remembers about
her father sexual abuse and it makes Ashley traumatized. Ashley kills all five people
who want to have sex with her, and she castrates them. Ashley does not have memory
for what she has done. Her condition is known after some doctors make investigation
towards her and find that there are three personalities in Ashley’s mind, they are
Ashley, Toni, and Alette. Then some doctors call Ashley’s psychological disorder
“Multiple Personality Disorder “(MPD). However, this thesis does not analyze about
the Multiple Personality Disorder but specifically discusses about Ashley’s terrifying
experience, her psychological burden, and the process of defense mechanism in her
mental conflict using Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality “Defense Mechanism”.
In addition, this thesis also discusses about how Ashley’s terrifying experience leads
her to tragic life.
This thesis uses psychological approach because the basic analysis is about the
main character’s terrifying experience and her psychological conflict. This approach
leads to defense mechanism theory by Sigmund Freud. The theory helps to find the
main character’s mental conflict because defense mechanism theory also studies
about anxiety and repression of something. Futhermore, the method of analysis in this
thesis is inductive method. It tries to analyze from specific facts to general facts.The result of the study shows Ashley’s terrifying experience that leads Ashley
to tragic life. Her childhood traumatic experience and her father sexual abuse make
Ashley create her other personality. Therefore, this phenomenon has a close relation
with defense mechanism theory especially the anxiety, repression, reaction formation
and denial. Ashley creates her other characters, they are Toni Prescott and Alette
Patters in her mind, in order to secure her life. Toni is the worst one and Alette is the
cooperative one. Three of them - Ashley, Toni and Alette - are very different.
Ashley tragic life is caused by her anxiety, ambition and her paranoid. In this
case Ashley is only a victim of her hatred about her terrifying experience. Toni as one
of Ashley’s alterations brings her into tragic life.
The analysis of this thesis gives a lesson that child sexual abuse can become
traumatic experience in his or her life. Hence, in adulthood he or she does not control
his or her personality. Sometimes it can produce problems in his or her life.
Terrifying experience will be a very dangerous thing for his or her psychological
development. | en_US |
