The film Wild (2014) by Nick Hornby is the subject of analysis in this
research. The aim of this research is to identify the causes of grief experienced by
Cheryl Strayed, the main character, and to analyze the stages of grief depicted in the
main character using the Kübler-Ross grief theory.
The method used in this research was descriptive qualitative. The primary
data for this analysis were taken from the film script entitled Wild (2014), consisting
of dialogues, monologues, and narratives. Additionally, secondary data was drawn
from articles, international journals, and books which were related to the significance
of this research. The steps required to analyse the data included watching the film,
reading the film script, identifying the data, and classifying the data.
The result of this research revealed two main findings. First, Cheryl
experienced grief because her mother‟s serious illness which leads to her death.
Second, Cheryl through the stages of grief started from anger. Anger is shown when
she heard the doctor diagnosis, which said that her mother's serious illness could not
be cured. Bargaining is when she prayed to the universe hoping that a miracle would
happen so that her mother could survive. She also experienced depression stage when
she admitted to a psychiatrist that she did bad things after her mother's death.
However, finally she would reach the acceptance stage when she finally began to
accept that someone's death would definitely happen and we could not prevent it.