Characters have the essence of being stable or changed in the works of literature. One thing to remember is that characters need consistency. They cannot
act in a way they impossibly do along the beginning up to the end of the works. It is one of the significant elements that should exist, because they are figures who
make the works have the reason to tell something, which is about the characters themselves.
2.1.1.2 Types of Character
Character in literary works can be categorized into some types. Forster as quoted by Abrams divides characters into flat and round. He states a flat character
is a character without many details which is built around “a single idea or quality” and can be described in a single phrase or sentence. Meanwhile, a round character
is a complex character in temperament and motivation that it is difficult to describe him with any adequacy as a real person. He also has the capability to
surprise the reader 20-21. Stanton differentiates character into main or central character and
peripheral character. A main character is the person who is relevant to every event in the story, and usually the events cause some changes either in him or in the
readers’ attitudes toward him. A main character always appears continuously, so it seems that he dominates the whole story. On the other hand, a peripheral character
is the person who seems to appear rarely in the story. His presentation is not as many as the main character and less dominant in changing 17-18.
Character also can be divided into protagonist and antagonist. Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. say that the most important character in a story, the one to whom
all the events in the story have relevance is called protagonist. Usually, it is easy for the readers to identify him and give sympathy. When a protagonist is involved
in conflict with another character, the other is called the antagonist. Antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist and usually the readers do not admire
this kind of character 20. Finally, character has other types based on the development or changes.
Perrine states two types of character, static and dynamic character. A static character is the same sort person at the end of the story as he was at the beginning.
It means that the character does not change. While a dynamic character is the person who is capable to change in some aspects of his character. The change may
be large or small, and may be for better or for worse 71. A character has its own characterization that is different with other
characters. It may undergo a radical change or even does not change at all. Thus, it can bring a change in the characterization and opinion.
2.1.2 Characterization
Theory of characterization consists of some important parts to assist in answering the first problem of this study. Those parts are definitions of
characterization and methods of characterization. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2.1.2.1 Definitions of Characterization
Abcarian and Klotz define characterization as “the process by which the characters are rendered to make them seem real to the reader” 6. From the
definition, characterization means the way of the author in describing the characters so that the readers are able to differentiate a character from the others
and figure out the ideas, thoughts, and information brought by each character. However, the more we think about characterization, we come to the fact that it
cannot be separated from the other elements of fiction: tone, plot, theme, setting, and so on. Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. present characterization as “the process by
which the author creates character, the device by which he makes us believe a character is the particular type of person he is” 20. It shows that the author has to
introduce a certain character and create situations, so that the character can bring his role to life in the story.
2.1.2.2 Methods of Characterization
Murphy states that there are nine ways he attempts “to make the characters understandable to, and come alive for, his readers” 161. The first way is by
personal description. The author is able to describe a person’s physical appearance and clothes in the story 161. The second is character as seen by another. The
author describes the character through the eyes and opinions of another and therefore the readers get a reflected image 162. The third is by speech.
Whenever a character speaks or is in conversation with another or puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clues to his character 164. The fourth is past life.
