heuristic of availability since he always compares what he does now and in the past.
2. Charley’s Decision Making Process
In this part, the writer shows how Charley processes his decision. The decision that is used in this part is the fifth decision which is made by Charley. It
is the decision to keep alive. The reason why the writer only uses the fifth decision is because this decision is the solving problem for the previous decision.
The decision to keep alive and wake up from Charley’s unconsciousness is regarded as the solution of all the problems.
Like stated in the previous part, Charley wants to commit suicide because of his desperation of life. When he tries to end his life, he gets an accident and
makes him in a coma. During his coma, he meets his mother who has already died since nine years ago. Finally, he knows everything he does not know before from
his mother. He wakes up from his coma and continues his life just like what his mother wants due to the information he gets.
Before the writer shows the significance of Charley’s dream, the writer shows the decision making process using the Hansen’s theory. According to
Hansen, they are six steps that the decision maker should take 1977: 420. The first step is defining the problem. In this step Charley starts to define his problem
when his mother asks him about his life. He considers that he has problems in his life. They are the problem between him and his daughter, his wife and his life
itself p.107. Since he cannot find any opportunities to fix everything again, he
considers it as his problem. The unavailability of opportunities is caused by the desperation of Charley for not being invited to his daughter’s wedding p.9.
“Why?” I repeated. I’d had three days to lather up my anger, and that was all that came out. One word. “Why?”
“Chick.” Her tone softened. “I wasn’t invited?” p.9
After knowing that he is not invited to his daughter’s wedding, Charley feels lonelier. Everything goes around in his mind that makes him cannot say
anything. He really feels hurt since he knows that her daughter is ashamed of him. He decides to end his life in his hometown, Pepperville Beach p.11. Before
reaching his hometown, Charley gets an accident that makes him coma. In his coma, he meets his mother who has already died for years.
The problems are Charley’s life itself. The problem appears when his mother asks him about his family. He has to say that his wife and his daughter
leave him because of his attitude p. 88. Before he answers his mother question, his mother has already known what happen to him actually. So, he asks Charley to
stay all day to spend one day with his mother p.56. The problems of Charley’s life make him insistent to commit suicide. The
first step of Hansen’s theory about decision making process is answered. Charley’s confusion about life becomes the main problem to be solved.
The second step that Charley must take is generating alternatives. After knowing his main problem, he will ask himself what happens after he commits
suicide. He thinks no one wants him, it is better to end his life. His wife and his
daughter have already left him. He has already fired from his job. He does nothing except gets drunk all the day p.9.
The first and the second step of Charley’s decision making process happen in his conscious state. The problems he has happen during his life and his only
alternative to commit suicide is taken when he is still conscious. The next step is gathering information. Charley must gather all the
information he needs before he can make a decision. The information may not guarantee a good decision but without any information, the chance of good
decision is also disappear 1977: 422. Charley might have neglected his mother’s love and focused his life
chasing his father’s love but in the end, like a wanderer, he goes back to the most pleasant place he really belongs to, which is his mother’s arms. Retrospection
brings his memory of him and his other back: all the good times and bad times he has spent with his mother. He recalls all of them and makes a list. He does make
lists of Times My Mother Stood Up for Me and Times I Did Not Stand Up for Mother after his mother’s death, in his unconsciousness of being a son who is
losing his mother. He himself realizes how imbalance of the lists. The two notes always appear every time Charley knows something new from his mother. He
gathers the information from his past. When all the information is ready, Charley must process that information.
It is the fourth step of decision making process. Charley listens to his mother explanation carefully. All the questions that he has before are answered one by
one. The most important is he knows the reason why his father leaves his family
on that day p.179. During the day, Charley hears someone calling his name for several times. “CHARLES BENNETO I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME
ANSWER ME” p.146. It becomes the sign for Charley to start making his decision. In his conscious state, a police officer tries to wake him up from his
coma by calling his name. Since he has not finished gathering all the information he needs, he cannot wake up and continues spending the day with his mother to
find more information p.153. At last, his mother wants him to live. He tells to Charley that everything
can be fixed up. She wants him to forgive himself. He wants him to forgive the entire mistake he made p.191.
Actually Charley wants to be with his mother, but he does not want to make his mother disappointed again. Then, he makes a plan what he must do.
Charley’s plan is not to make his mother disappointed. It finally makes him to wake up and continue his life.
I blinked hard. I saw the sky. I saw the stars. Then the stars began to fall. They grew larger as they grew closer, round and white, like baseball, and I
instinctively opened my pals as if widening my glove to catch them all p.192.
Charley gets all the information he need in his dream. He also processes all
the information he gets in his unconsciousness. The plan to make his mother not disappointed again is also taken in the dream.
The final step of decision making process is implementing the plan. This process happens in Charley’s conscious state. He does what he plans before in his
dream and continues his life. It is implied in the story that Charley decides to keep alive and fixes everything p.196-197.
Successfully, Charley passes his decision making process and comes to the good decision. All the information he gets in his unconsciousness help him to
make a good decision to keep alive.
3. The Influences of Charley’s Dream toward His Life
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