The Portrayal of The Main Character's Persistent Depression In The Way I Used To Be By Amber Smith

Abstract

Depression is not only occurred in real world, but also it is pictured in literary works which is
represented by the character of the works. One of the literary works which represent depression is a
novel entitled The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith. A fourteen-year-old girl, Eden McCrorey, is
raped by her brother's best friend in her own bedroom. Her experience leads her to the depression. She
shows the symptoms of depression that for four years. The symptoms of depression is triggered by
several factors. Based on the background of problems, purpose of this study are (1) to describe the
symptoms of persistent depression of the main character in The Way I Used to Be and (2) to describe
the factors of persistent depression of the main character in The Way I Used to Be.
So far, the writer has not found The Way I Used To Be examined scientifically whether they are in
the form of articles or scientific journals or other scientific papers. However, the novel itself has been
reviewed by some loose reviews, which are the reviews in personal blogs and books criticism websites.
This research applies psychology of literature offered by Wellek and Warren. Wellek and Warren state
that there are three categorizes of psychology of literature, which are: (1) analyzing the author's
personality which is the way a certain literary work was made, (2) the psychological types which are
present in the literary works and the characteristics of their behavior, and (3) the effect of literature on
its reader. Since the study the character’s behavior experiencing depression, therefore the writer uses
app approach by Legg (2018) which has nine types of depression, namely: (1) Major Depression, (2)
Persistent Depression, (3) Manic Depression, (4) Depressive Psychosis, (5) Perinatal Depression, (6)
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, (7) Seasonal Depression, (8) Situational Depression, and (9)
Atypical Depression.By these types, the writer can categorize which one is the type of depression
experienced by Eden.
The research is a qualitative research. The method using is descriptive. The object of the research
is a novel entitled The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith. It is conducted on the close reading
technique based on a psychology of literature approach. Close reading is a significant exploration
where the sign is seen at the first reading in a work. Literature is not a self-proven work but must be
interpreted carefully (Jacobus, 2002). The data collection are: (1) reading the novel to find the data
based on the formulation of the problems, (2) classifying the data based on the symptoms and the
factors of persistent depression, (3) interpreting the data which is found, (4) processing the data based
on the theory used, (5) concluding the data which is analyzed.
In this study, the writer found the symptoms and factors of Eden’s depression. These symptoms
appear for four years. Based on the duration of the symptoms of depression, the main character
experiences persistent depression. The symptoms experienced by Eden among them are: (1) persistent
feelings of sadness and hopelessness, (2) a lack of interest in daily activities consists of marching band
and book club, (3) poor self-esteem, and (4) a negative attitude consists of smoking, drinking, partying,
and sleeping with many guys randomly. The dominant data of persistent depression is negative
attitudes. The negative attitudes affect the behavior and life of Eden. There are several factors trigger
the symptoms of persistent depression experienced by Eden, which are: (1) sexual abuse consists of
being raped and being groped, (2) physical abuse, and (3) indirect and direct verbal abuse. The worst
event in her life is being raped, but the symptoms of her depression are not vividly seen yet. The
symptoms are evident after more small yet distressing circumstances in her life, namely physical abuse
and verbal abuse. In conclusion, Eden McCrorey who was once a good kid, geeky, and sweet, but after
the factors of persistent depression happened to her, her emotional change becomes unstable, she has a
negative attitude, and have the tendecy to commit suicide. The changes are caused by persistent
depression experienced by Eden.
Keywords: Persistent Depression, Symptoms, Factor