Theoretical Review REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
approach to interpret the socio historical aspects of the condition when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written.
The mythopoeic approach seeks the need of finding certain universality recurrent patterns of human thought, such as death and rebirth, guilt and
sacrifices, primitive rites, which the critics believe to find in expression in significant work of art. The mystical relationship found in a story can be
explained by using this approach. The last approach is the psychological approach which tries to locate and
demonstrate certain recurrent patterns from the knowledge of psychology. The critics who apply this approach would explore literary works using psychological
theories to explain human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary objects. In other words, the character’s thoughts and behaviors can be
traced more deeply 14 .
Thus, the knowledge of psychological ground is important in order to understand some kinds of work.
2. Character Character is one of the important elements in a novel. Abrams defines
character as a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and disposition qualities
that are expressed in what they say and what they do Abrams 9. Thus, a character has different characteristic from the other characters, whether it is on
personalities or on physical appearance. Each of them creates a unique quality and contributes a certain role and meaning. Characters are categorized into:
a. Main or major character Abrams states that a major character is the central character of the
story. On the other words, he must be the most important character in a story. He or she becomes the focused character from the beginning to the end of the
story. Harvey states that protagonist is a character whose motivation and history are most fully founded and steadily in a way more dramatic than other
characters in the novel 56. b. Minor Character
According to Abrams, minor characters appear in certain setting just to become the background for the major character. Their roles are less important
than the major character, because they are not fully developed and their roles in a story are just to support the major characters Abrams 20.
3. Characterization After we know the existing characters in the novel, we need to know
another element such as characterization to describe the characters, either physically or psychologically. To make the readers know what kind of character
he or she is, the author uses some methods to present the personalities and the characters in a novel. The author will blend these methods into a unity so that the
characters will become real. This knowledge is an aid to understand the personalities and the characters in the novel which then help the readers to
understand the work as a whole. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Murphy in Understanding Unseens 161-173 classifies nine ways of how an author reveals the characters’ personalities and traits to the readers. The first
way is by looking at personal description. The author portrays a clear description of the characters’ physical appearance and personal description. The characters’
clothing is one aspect to know their character. The physical appearance and personal description also include some details of someone’s performance, such as
face, eyes, skin, body, hair, and other distinctive features. The personal description is very important because it can give the reader very obvious clues to
the characters. The second way is by examining on how character seen by another. The author may also describe the character through the eyes and opinion
of others, instead of describing the character directly, so the reader can get a reflected image. A character may encounter other character in the story on what
they are like. The third way is known from speech. The author can give the reader a
better understanding and an insight into the character of one of the persons in the novel through what the character says, through the conversation a character makes
with another, the opinion that the character has in mind. The fourth way is by referring to past life. By letting the reader learn from a person’s past life, the
author can give the reader a clue to events that have helped to shape one’s character. The author may show it by giving a direct moment, through the
person’s thought, conversation with others or the medium of another person. The fifth way is by observing character’s conversation with others. The things that
people discuss or talk about one character also help us to get a better PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
understanding about a character. Other characters conversations and what they say about one character may give clues on a certain character. The sixth way is
looking at character’s reaction to reveal character’s personalities. The author gives a clue on a character by permitting us to know how a character reacts to various
conditions and atmospheres happen to himself or his surroundings. The seventh way is studying the direct comment. The author can also
describe or give comment on a person’s character directly. He tells the reader directly about a character’s personality. The eighth way is examining to
character’s thought. The author gives the readers direct knowledge of what a character is thinking about. What is in a character’s mind and what heshe feels is
reflected in his personality. The reader then is in privileged position; he has, as it were, a secret listening device plugged in to the inmost thoughts of a person in a
novel, something that we can not do in real life. The ninth or the last way to understand personalities is called mannerism. Here, the author portrays a
character’s manner, habits, or idiosyncrasies that may tell the readers about his characterization.
4. Ways of Struggle The African American lived under oppressions, inequality and treated in
inhuman fashion for so long time, decades or even centuries. It was not easy for them to get their freedom back so that they were able to live as normal human,
getting their rights, not as the property subject to dictates of their owner. In order PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
to get their freedom, African American had to struggle hard, even by sacrificing themselves. In short, they struggled by two techniques, violence and non-violence.
a. Violent Struggle The violent struggle constitutes people to use the physical powers and
hatred. Some of African American slaves tried to run away from their masters and some of them chose to fight against their masters and killed them if it was
necessary. In spite of it, Martin Luther King in Non-Violence and Racial Justice argues that violent struggle is an ineffective way, it may become and endless reign
of chaos, so prefer not to use this technique. b. Non-violent Struggle
According to King, the alternative to violent is non-violent struggle. This technique was also promoted by Mohandas K. Gandhi. It takes no physical power.
King in the article which is entitled Non Violence and Racial Justice explains five criteria of non-violence struggle:
1 Non-violent struggle is not a method for cowards, it does resist. This
method does not aggressively use physical power toward the opponent. Otherwise it focuses on dynamic spiritual, emotion, and mind. This method
tries to persuade the opponent that he is mistaken. Physical struggle is avoided 2
Non-violent struggle doesn’t seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding. The struggler tries to awake the sense
of moral shame in the opponent. The end is redemption and reconciliation. 3
Non-violent struggle is between justice and injustice. Therefore the struggler fights against the evil, not the person who does the evil deeds. The
people who struggle against racial injustice must realize that the basic tension is not between races.
4 Non-violent struggle avoids not only external physical violence but also
internal violence of spirit. In struggling for human dignity, the oppressed people must not allow themselves indulge in hate, otherwise they must have
the ethics of love, sense and morality. At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
In speaking of love, according to King, there are three words for love in the Greek New Testament. There are three words for love. First, there is eros,
which means romantic love. Second, there is philia, which means intimate affection between friends, the person loves because he is loved. The third is
agape, which means understanding, redeeming good will for all men, an
overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. When we love on the agape level we love men not
because we like them, not because their attitudes and ways appeal to us, but because God loves them.
5 Non-violent struggle believes that the conviction that the universe is on the
side of justice, God is on the side of truth. It is this deep faith in the future that causes the non-violent struggler to accept suffering without the feeling to do
revenge, because he knows that there will be happiness and glory to accomplish in the end.