ABSTRACT
America is a wonderful land that cannot be separated from immigrants. Armenian immigrants, especially those who came from Turkey, are immigrants with the purpose to save their lives from Genocide conducted by Ottoman Empire. They chose to flee from their homeland and live peacefully in America as immigrants, but it does not mean without any problems of life at all. The researcher is interested in doing research on the life of Armenian-American immigrants in America in 1910s reflected in William Saroyan’s The Man with the Heart in the Highlands.
The objectives of the study are to know the typical characteristics of Armenian-American immigrants in 1910s portrayed in the William Saroyan’s drama, The Man with the Heart in the Highlands, to find out how Armenian- American immigrants adapt their original culture to survive in America in the drama, and to explain how Armenian-American immigrants’ life portrayed in the drama The Man with the Heart in the Highlands reflects the real condition of America in 1910s.
To accomplish the objectives of the study, the researcher applies a sociological criticism to analyze literary work that focused on the human beings’ problem in society. For the reason to find out the historical fact of Armenian society that lived in America in the past, the researcher uses the third perspective that sees literary works as the model or manifestation of the historical events or the socio-cultural condition.
The results of this analysis are as follows: First, The Man with the Heart in the Highlands has really stated three Armenian-American immigrant’s typical characteristics. Second, Armenian-American immigrants adapted their original culture to survive in America in the drama. Lastly, Armenian-American immigrants’ life reflected in the drama The Man with the Heart in the Highlands reflects American condition in 1910s.
