The Representation of Human Values in Robert J. Blake’s Novel Togo: A Literary Psychology Perspective

Abstract

This study examines the representation of human values in Robert J. Blake’s Togo through the perspectives of literary psychology and Human Relations Theory. The novel portrays the journey of Togo, a sled dog, and his team as they attempt to deliver diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska, under extreme natural conditions. This study focuses on three human values represented in the novel: teamwork, leadership, and tenacity. A qualitative descriptive method was used, with the novel Togo as the primary data source. Data were collected through close reading and analyzed by identifying and interpreting words, phrases, sentences, dialogues, and narrative episodes related to the three values. The findings show that teamwork is represented through cooperation, mutual trust, complementary roles, and shared responsibility among Togo, the other sled dogs, Leonhard Seppala, and the community involved in the mission. Leadership is represented through Togo’s courage, initiative, adaptability, and intuitive decision-making, as well as Seppala’s strategic guidance and sense of responsibility. Tenacity is represented through the characters’ persistence in continuing the journey despite snowstorms, exhaustion, hunger, injuries, and dangerous terrain. The study concludes that teamwork, leadership, and tenacity are interconnected values that enable the characters to overcome adversity and achieve their life-saving mission. Therefore, Togo can be understood as a literary work that represents universal human values relevant to individual character building and social life.