PROTAGONIST’S IDENTITY CRISIS IN PAUL KALANITHI’S NOVEL WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR

Abstract

ABSTRACT An identity crisis is a social phenomenon that can occur at any time to individuals in society. Therefore, this study discusses the Protagonist's Identity Crisis in Paul Kalanithi's novel When Breath Becomes Air. The purpose of this research is to identify and explain the types of identity crisis faced by the protagonist in Paul Kalanithi's novel When Breath Becomes Air. The researcher uses the identity crisis theory proposed by Erik Erikson (1993) and Baumeister, et.al (1985). The researcher used a descriptive qualitative analysis as a method to describe and analyze the novel. The following are the results of this research: 1) The discussion of the motivation crisis Paul faced is explained in three sub-chapters, namely the causes, subjective experience, and behavior. 2) The cause of the motivation crisis experienced by Paul Kalanithi is the result of his illness, namely liver cancer. 3) Paul experienced a series of subjective experiences, namely a). vacillating commitment and confusion about the value, b). regulars of vaguness, c). emptiness and self-unconsciousness, and d). anxiety. 4) Several behaviors that appear from Paul, i.e, a). comparing the activities he did when he was a doctor and a patient, b). looking at the world from two perspectives, namely hope and death, and c). feeling hopeless because his dreams, hard work and life choices are shattered.