Traumatic Mourning and Melancholia in Characters of Suzanne Collins’ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Psychoanalytic Study

Raden Alexander Carlson Medicio, Drs. Muh. Arif Rokhman, M.Hum. Ph.D.

2025 | Tesis | S2 Sastra

Tesis ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dampak trauma pada para karakter utama novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes karya Suzanne Collins. Pendekatan teori yang digunakan adalah pendekatan psikoanalitik dengan menggunakan model Mourning and Melancholia Sigmund Freud. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui proses kualitatif pada bahan objek utama yaitu ceirta novel. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tiga karakter utama, yaitu Coriolanus Snow, Lucy Gray Baird, dan Casca Highbottom menderita duka atau melankolia akibat efek peristiwa traumatis yang terjadi selama alur cerita novel. Snow menderita duka dan melankolia sebagai akibat dari trauma yang disebabkan oleh hilangnya orang tua dan kekayaan keluarganya, serta kehilangan teman-teman dekatnya karena peristiwa Hunger Games ke-10. Snow dapat mengatasi melankolianya dengan menggunakan kecerdasan dan kelicikannya selama berjalannya cerita sampai dia dapat memperoleh kembali kekayaannya. Lucy menderita duka dan trauma melankolia akibat kehilangan sebagian besar anggota keluarganya saat masa kecil yang masih bisa ia atasi, serta kehilangan pasangannya, Billy, yang kini tak bisa ia atasi akibat pengkhianatan Snow yang membuat Lucy melarikan diri ke hutan. Highbottom menderita trauma melankolis akibat dikhianati ayah Snow, yang mengakibatkan terciptanya Hunger Games. Ia mencoba mengatasinya dengan menggunakan narkotika dan merencanakan balas dendam terhadap Snow, namun akhirnya gagal.

This thesis aims to analyze the effects of trauma on the major characters of the novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. The theoretical approach used is a psychoanalytic approach using Sigmund Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia model. Data collection is done through a qualitative process on the primary object material which is the novel. The results of the research have shown that three major characters, which are Coriolanus Snow, Lucy Gray Baird, and Casca Highbottom suffer from the effects of traumatic events that occurred during the storyline of the novel. Snow suffers from both mourning and melancholia as a result of traumas caused by the loss of his parents and family wealth, as well as his close friends due to the events of the 10th Hunger Games. Snow copes with, and eventually overcomes his melancholia by persevering through the story using his wits and cunning until he can secure back his fortune. Lucy suffers both respective mourning and melancholic traumas due to the loss of most of her family members during her childhood which she could overcome, and the loss of her loved one Billy during the present day which she could not overcome due to Snow’s betrayal resulting in her escaping into the woods. Highbottom suffers melancholic trauma due to being betrayed by Snow’s father resulting in the creation of the Hunger Games, and copes by having an addiction to a narcotic drug as well as plotting revenge on Snow, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Kata Kunci : Sigmund Freud, Mourning, Melancholia, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Trauma