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E. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding of the content of this study, there are some important key terms that must be clearly defined. The key terms are
author‘s intention and African American.
1. Author’s Intention
According to Hancher 1972, p.827, intention refer s to ―what he
intended‖. In addition, Salar 2011 describes intention as ―an entity with causal and explanatory power over it‘s effects and their features‖ p.10. Payne 1977
also adds the term intention in English usage tha t generally refers to ―what one
has in mind to do or bring about ‖ p.249. According to Longman Dictionary of
Language and Culture , the word intention refers
to ―a plan which one has; purpose‖. The word intention used in this context is specifically associated to
author‘s intention. Author‘s intention is descibed by Hancher 1972 as a ―design or plan in the author‘s mind‖. In this thesis, the writer used Hancher‘s definition
of author‘s intention.
2. African American
According to the definition that is used in 2010 U.S Census of US Office Management and Budget, ―Black or African American‖ refers to a person having
origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa ‖ United States Census Bureau,
2010. It is supported by the statement of Stuckey 1987 in Slave Culture:
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Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America that ―Afro – American
referred people of African ancestry in the Americas to the land, history, and culture of their forebears, whiles their recognizing their presence as unassimilated
people in America‖ p.243. According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
, African American refers to ―an American with dark skin, whose family
originally came from the part of Africa south of the Sahara desert ‖. The term
―Negro‖ means black in Spanish and Portuguese used to be acceptable for referring to dark
–skinned people of African origin. However, the term ―negro‖ is considered offensive and it is rep
laced by ―colored‖ or African American South African History Online.
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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of some theories and studies which are related to the study. The writer divides this chapter into four parts. The first part is the review of
related studies. The second part is the review of related theories. The third part is the review of socio-historical background. The last part is the theoretical
frameworks.
A. Review of the Related Studies
In order to complete the writ er‘s analysis about Skeeter Phelan‘s character;
the writer reviews some studies which are related to the topic. One of the studies is
Egalitarianism in Kathryn Stockett‘s Novel The Help by Tuessonwily, Ningsih, and Wahyuni 2013. Their study is about the characteristic of the protagonist
main character, Skeeter Phelan. The significance of this study to the writer‘s
analysis is that this study mentions one of the fundamental characteristics of Skeeter Phelan. It is stated in the study that:
Novel The Help 2009 written by Kathryn Stockett shows egalitarianism. It is revealed through text-based and context-based interpretation. Text
based interpretation examines the interrelation between fictional devices such as character and setting p.8.
To understand about egalitarian character, the writer also reviews Egalitarianism
study by Richard Arneson 2013. Arneson 2013, p.1 describes Egalitarianism as ―a trend of thought in political philosophy. An egalitarian favors equality of
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