14
Vampire in the Twilight novel. Constructionist recognizes public, social
character of language. Things don’t mean: we construct meaning, using representational system – concepts and signs. It is social actors who use the
conceptual system of their culture and the linguistic and other representational system to construct meaning, to make the world meaningful
and to communicate about that world meaningfully to others.
9
B. Concept of Character and Characterization
B.1 Character
One of the essential elements of drama is character. Character is the primary material from which plots are created through the speech and
behavior of dramatic personage. Character is the person told in the story who builds in the story. Character may be described as presented actors or
actress as a player of the drama. William H Gass defines that “characters are those primary substances
to which everything else is attached”.
10
Here Gass breaks through the stereotype that character is not only a person but it can also refer to natural
objects, symbols and even idea. HubenkaGarcia in the Design of Drama defines “character as the people
within the play who enact the dramatic action”.
11
It means that characters in drama are the persons presented in works of drama who convey their personal
9
Ibid. p. 25
10
Michael J. Hoffman and Patrick D. Murphy, Essential of the theory of fiction. Durham and London : Duke Press University, 1988, p.vii.
11
HubenkaGarcia. The Design of Drama. New York : David Mckay Company, p.3.
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qualities through dialogue and action by which the reader or audience understands their thought, feeling, intentions and motives. The personal
qualities here may either be physical and superficial external or psychological and spiritual internal. Characters can possess both types of
these personal qualities. They are: a.
External Characteristics which consist of names, physical appearance, physical nature, manner of speech and accent, manner of dress, social
status, class, education, friends, community interest. b.
Internal Characteristics which consist of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. To perform those characteristics whether external or internal,
the writer of the play usually performs the character in the different ways. Character in drama can be major or minor, protagonist or antagonist, flat
or round, and static or dynamic.
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1. Major and Minor Characters
Major or central or main character is a character that holds and important role, very dominant and always appears in each
conflict. On the contrary, the character which appears only few times and takes the shorts portion is called minor or subordinate character.
2. Protagonist and Antagonist characters
Protagonist is the first actor or the main character of the drama, the one who is center of action and holds the attention even
though he does not appear throughout the play, as James Potter does
12
Ibid. p.9
16
in his Elements of Literature that “even if does not always actively initiate the events, the protagonist is always the focal point of the
story”.
13
While antagonist Character is character who always causes problems for the protagonist’s opposing force.
The antagonist does not need be a person; it can be animal, a superstition, a misconception, fate or any abstraction or force
placed in dramatic conflict with protagonist. Similarly the protagonist does not need be a hero or even heroic. There are not
admirable things about him, since the concern is with object of attention, not its morality.
3. Flat and Round Characters
As E.M Foster points out in his book Aspect of the novel “flat or type or two dimensional character is constructed around
single idea or quality, it never surprises”.
14
It means flat character is defined by a single quality without much individualizing detail from
the character. When flat character is performed in a play, the character is denied to grow and change.
While round character is a complex individual incapable o being easily defined because round character’s physical, emotional,
and intellectual dimension change. When a play is performed by round character, the character must change, both central and
subordinate actors are necessary.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
17
4. Static and Dynamic characters
Static character is character who remain sable in his attitude throughout a work. While dynamic character undergoes personal
development and change through a gradual process or a crisis. The concept of the character in drama is more familiar than
the other intrinsic elements and it is more interesting for many people. Character is rather easily discernible and it engages a natural
interest in personalities.
15
But because most of dramas do not include the narrators who present the background, instead, the
character in drama can be learned by the reader through the character’s words, actions, and comments by others about them and
the playwright stage directions. For example from the character’s words, the readers learn about the emotions, attitudes, hopes, fears,
strengths and weakness through the monologue, dialogue and soliloquy
.
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And the character’s words can convey important information to drama’s action and to development of its theme.
B.2 Characterization
Beside character, another element which is very important in drama is characterization. Character and characterization are different. If the character
is the person in the story, characterization is the way in which a character is created. In other word “characterization is the process by which the writer
15
Robert C. Roby and Bary Ulanov, Introduction to Drama New York : Book Company inc, 1962, p.xii.
16
Monologue is an extended speech by one character, dialogue is an exchange of words between to characters and soliloquy is a speech that reveals the character’s thoughts and is
delivered while a character is alone on the stage. Ibid. p.152
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reveals the personality of a character”.
17
It means characterization refers to the way in which the author and the actors establish character, through particular
features of dialogue, action, gesture manual, facial or both and so on. Two methods of characterization often distinguished are those in which
the author shows without comment a character’s words and action, implying rather that describing their traits and its called indirectly or implicitly
characterization. The other one is directly or explicitly characterization, in directly characterization, the author tells the reader directly about the character
explicitly, even intrusively guiding the audience’s understanding of characters through commentary and evaluation.
Briefly, the reader or audiences know about the characterization through two ways are direct and indirect method. Direct method tells to the audiences
or the readers what the personality of the character is. While indirect method shows the things that reveal the personality of a character.
C. Concept of Ideology
