The Feminism Found In Betty Smith’s Novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

APPENDICES I. Summary Of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Francie Nolan is eleven years old in 1912, living in a very poor section of Brooklyn called Williamsburg. But hold on, this is no gloomy tale of the hardships of poverty—in fact, the first sentence of the novel lets us know that Francie is a pretty person. To her, Williamsburg is serene, especially on easy breezy Saturdays in the summer. One of the first things the narrator writes about is the “ Tree of Heaven,” a really tough tree that can grow in terrible conditions, even out of cement. One of these trees is growing in the yard behind Francie’s tenement apartment building. Its leaves surround her fire escape, and she loves to sit out there and feel like she is living in a tree. So right away, Francie and this tree are connected, see? Can we expect her to be one tough mama, like the tree? Maybe.

The novel is divided into five different books. In Book One, we go with Francie from place to place on a serene Saturday. Even though nothing extraordinary happens on this day, we learn many things about her, her family, and the culture she lives in.We meet Mama,Papa, a couple aunts, and walk throug h the streets with her.

Francie spends the day:

• Cashing in some scraps she and her brother collected at the junkie for some pennies

• Running errands for her mother

• Visiting her favorite place, the library

• Ironing and chatting with Papa

• Talking with her favorite Aunt Sissy

• Going to Confession

• Seeing Aunt Evy and her mopey husband Uncle Willy

• Doing her required reading

• Listening to Papa sing Molly Malone as he comes up the stairs from work.

• Hanging out with her family in the middle of the night

• Falling asleep in the front room to the comforting sounds of Mama and Papa chatting all night. And there you have it, folks—A typical serene Saturday in the summer.

Book Two flashes back twelve years to when Johnny and Katie first meet and brings us up to when Francie is six years old. Here we get lot of background scoop about both sides of the family and how they influence who Francie is. As newlyweds, Katie and Johnny have a blissful first year, but things get tough soon enough. Our Francie has a tough first year, and many people don’t think she will live for very long because she is so small and sickly. Then Papa loses his job, and Mama is pregnant again by the time Francie is three months old. Yikes. The Nolans move a couple times because of scandals and embarrassments caused by Papa’s drinking and Aunt Sissy’s behavior. They have no money to afford a new place, but that doesn’t stop Mama. She finds a place where she can work as the janitress in exchange for paying rent because she knows that she can’t depend on Johnny. He spends a lot of time drinking these days.

Book Three, the lengthiest book, follows Francie’s life till she is fourteen years old. We learn a lot about Francie’s start in school, which is nothing close to the magical land where she gets to clap the teacher’s erasers outside like she expected. Instead, school is an overcrowded and mean place where the wealthier students are obviously preferred by their teachers. And thanks to Mama’s fear of sickness, Francie has no chance of making any friends—the girl reeks from getting her hair combed with kerosene and wearing a garlic necklace to ward off various ailments.

When Francie is thirteen, a sexual predator lurks in the shadows of Williamsburg. Several girls are molested, and one is even murdered on her same block. Just when things start to calm down, the predator strikes again. This time, his victim is Francie. Soon after this, things go downhill fast for Papa. In an attempt to sober up, he dies from pneumonia and alcoholism. It seems like all hope is lost, and Francie will have to drop out of school to work, but then Johnny saves the day. McGarrity, a saloon owner who misses Johnny, wants the kids to work for a few hours after school each day. This extra money helps them through the birth of the littlest Nolan, Annie Laurie.

Book Four focuses on Francie’s working life. In just the few months after graduating from grade school she worked in an artificial flower factory, was laid off, and found a new job at a clipping bureau as a reader. As September approaches, Mama decides only Neeley can go to high school this year. Francie is mad, but she has a plan—she is determined to study for an admissions test to bypass the high school requirement altogether. Katie gets a marriage proposal

from Sergeant McShane. This is a very good break for them all, as he is financially able to take care of Katie and her children. He wants to pay for them all to go to college and wants to adopt Laurie.

Book five, Mama gets married, and Francie, who passes her entrance exam, is off to start at the University of Michigan. The boy from the summer college classes, Ben, gives Francie a promise ring. He wants to marry her in five years. She is not so sure. Maybe she will, but she has a while to think about it. She looks out the window as she prepares for her date with him and notices that her favorite tree that was cut down has started to grow a new tree from its stump. She also notices a little girl watching her get ready just like she used to do when she was little. She whispers “Good-bye, Francie” and closes the window (56.152).

II. Biography Of Betty Smith

Elisabeth Lillian Wehner

Born : December 15, 1896

Brooklyn, New York, United States Died : January 17, 1972 (aged 75)

Shelton, Connecticut, United States Pen name : Betty Smith

Occupation : Writer

Education : Univeristy of Michigan Notable Works : A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Betty Smith, the daughter of German immigrants, grew up poor in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. After stints writing features for newspapers, reading plays for the Federal Theater Project, and acting in summer stock, Smith moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina under the auspices of the W.P.A. While there in 1943, she published A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, her first novel. Smith's other novels include Tomorrow Will be Better (1947), Maggie-Now, (1958) and

Joy in the Morning (1963). She also had a long career as a dramatist, writing one-act and full-length plays for which she received both the Rockefeller Fellowship and the Dramatist Guild Fellowship. She died in 1972. (From the publisher.)

Betty Smith was an American author, born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants. She grew up poor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which was published in 1943. Having married early George H. E. Smith, a fellow Brooklynite, she moved with him to Ann Arbor, Michigan, while he pursued his law degree at the University of Michigan. At this time, she gave birth to two girls and waited until they were in school so she could complete her higher education. Although Smith had not finished high school, the university allowed her to enroll in classes anyway. There she honed her skills in journalism, literature, writing, and drama, winning a prestigious Hopwood Award. She was a student in the classes of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.

In 1938 she divorced her George Smith and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she married Joseph Jones in 1943. It was at this time that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published. She teamed with George Abbott to write the book for the 1951 musical adaptation of the same name. Throughout her life, Smith worked as a dramatist, receiving many awards and fellowships including the Rockefeller Fellowship, the Dramatists Guild Fellowship, and the Hopwood Award for her work in drama. (From Wikipedia.) Elizabeth Lillian Wehner is born December 15, 1896, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, and christened at Holy Trinity Church. She is the daughter of John and Catherine Wehner, German immigrants, who married February 16, 1896. Her parents call her Lizzie or Littie, and her friends refer to her as Elizabeth or Beth. She begins calling herself Betty in 1938. Completes eighth grade at P.S. 23 in the Greenpoint

neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1910 and leaves school at age 14 to work. Works at a succession of jobs from 1910 to 1915, including at a factory making tissue flowers and at a clipping bureau, where she reads 200 newspapers a day. Attends Girl's High School, 1915 to 1917. She is editor of the school newspaper. Elizabeth's mother marries Michael Keogh in 1918. Elizabeth takes her mother's new husband's last name, becoming Elizabeth Keogh. Elopes with George Smith, June 6, 1919, moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

From 1927 to 1930, Elizabeth enrolls at the University of Michigan. She also takes playwriting classes and begins writing plays, including Wives-in-Law

and A Day's Work. In 1930, Elizabeth is awarded the Avery Hopwood Award, for her play Jonica Starrs. Attends Yale University Drama School from 1931 to 1934. Elizabeth has two one-act plays produced, Mannequin's Maid and Blind Alley in 1932. In 1933, Elizabeth and George Smith legally separate. She falls in love with Bob Finch, a fellow playwriting student at Yale. In 1937, Elizabeth wins a Berkeley Playmakers award for her play So Gracious in the Time. She wins the same award in 1938 for Three Comments on a Martyr. Elizabeth and George divorce in 1938, and she begins calling herself Betty Smith.

In 1939, Betty receives a $1,200 Rockefeller Fellowship. In 1940, she receives a $1,000 Rockefeller & Dramatist Guild Award. Betty begins writing an autobiographical novel in the late 1930s, which will eventually become A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, published in 1943. Twentieth Century Fox purchases the film rights, with half the money going to the publisher, Harper & Brothers. Finch drinks to excess and is jealous of Betty's success. Their relationship ends, and he

leaves Chapel Hill. In 1943, Betty begins writing to Joe Jones, a columnist for the

Chapel Hill Weekly. They marry on August 7, 1943. The film version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn opens in 1945. By the end of 1945, Betty has earned nearly $110,000 from the sale of more than 3 million copies of the book. Betty's second novel, Tomorrow Will Be Better, is published in August 1948. In 1951, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn opens as a musical comedy at the Alvin Theater on Broadway. Betty and Joe separate, and she is again seeing Bob Finch, although he is married to someone else. Betty divorces Joe after the musical's successful opening. Betty and Bob Finch marry in 1957, after his wife agrees to a divorce. Betty's third book, Maggie-Now, is published in 1958. Betty's last novel, Joy in the Morning, is published in 1963. Betty Smith dies January 17, 1972, in Shelton, Connecticut, of pneumonia. She is buried in Chapel Hill at the Legion Street Cemetery, next to Bob Finch.

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3. RESEARCH METHOD 3.1 Research Method

Humans are social beings (homo socius), in the sense that he always has a tendency to communicate, interact, socialize with each other. In addition, human as well as beings who have a tendency to always want to know more about what is seen and heard. Curiosity more and more detail can be met by focusing on the social object that wants to be known and considered ever seen, heard, thought and felt. Departing from the curiosity of the human need to do research, so as to produce knowledge based on experience (empirical) on social objects were studied. And to get the results of the study, the researchers must understand how the research methods used to obtain objective results. In the research method basically researchers revealed a number of ways that are arranged in a systematic, logical, rational and focused on how the work before, during and after collecting data that are expected to answer the scientific formulation of the problem that has been set.

Smith results that have an interesting story about how a trip to a daughter until she was an adult in maintaining her existence through the desire to taste the world of education. In the process of this novel study required a theory and method that serves to facilitate understanding of the objects, while providing maximum results. Taking into account the literary work is an integral part of culture, the application of the theory is done in two stages, first, the theory in relation to literature as a social product specific, the two theories in relation to literature as a nature image.

3.2 Data and Data Source

This is library research. Library research works through from many books and references like , articles, journals, and websites in doing this research to support the topic. Here the writer takes the novel as the object. So this research also works by using some books that concerning to the topic, some literature books, articles, journals and website. Actually there are two sources of data, they are the primary data and the secondary data. In this research, the source of primary data is the novel itself that is written by Betty Smith.

Source : A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Novel Written : Betty Smith

Publisher : Harper and Row Publisher, New York

Tick : 322 in English Language and 648 in Indonesia language Copyright : 1943

And the secondary data is taken from some critical works, some books concern to the topic and the explanation of feminism and exsistence theory. This researh uses documentation methode. Firstly, the writer finds the book and the other references to get more data that relates exsistence and feminism approach. In this case, the writer uses the novel as a form of text to be analyzed. In addition, the writer also does searching more data to get the understanding The Feminism Found in Betty Smith’s Novel and the theory by web surfing.

In analyzing data, the writer makes the list of data to select the necessary data that scan be analyzed in this research. Secondly, is collecting and classifying the data concerning the cases of the research. In this step, the writer will apply the

theory that is concerned with the problem of the research to be described and to analyze data with the theory. Then after describing and analyzing data, the writer concludes the discussion of the data into the conclusion that is important to be read.

3.3 Data Collecting Procedures

In literature, through the medium of language, either spoken or written language, the overall social behavior can only be felt presence. Limited language skills in displaying images and stories, reflections and which in turn affects the emotions of the reader. Elements as introduced in structuralism, such as themes, characterizations, plot, setting, character, and moral message are aesthetic qualities so obtained through avocate sharpness in the image and story. But in this paper, the authors do not explain any elements of structuralism in detail but only a few elements are certainly related to novel studied.

As these elements are the themes, characters, characterizations and moral message. These elements that play an important role in the assessment of this scientific work.This is because the writer doesnot examine part structuralism elements used in the novelbut describing the struggle of the main character uses the theory of feminism approach. And in the assessment process, the authors use qualitative methods. Qualitative methods give attention to the data naturally, the data in relation to the context of its existence. The ways that encourages qualitative methods are considered as multimethode because research in turn involves a large number of relevant social phenomena. In the research literature will be involved authors, social environtment where the author is located,

including elements of culture in general. Thequalitative method is the paradigm of positivism Max Weber, Immanuel Kant, Wilhelm Dilthey. As the name implies, the nature of qualitative research maintain values while quantitative research is value-free. In literature science data source is the novel, the script, the data research, as the formal data are words, sentences, and discourse.

3.4 Data Analyis Method

In the previous sections, the authors have explained how the research methods used in analyzing scientific papers and has also been described how search data used and the sources from which the data were obtained. In this section, the method analysis is use the elements of literature. The approach is defined as a means toward the object to be examined. The approach needs to be stated broadly with the consideration that the approach implies ways of understanding the specific nature of science. In the approach contained the expected benefits of the research, both theoretical and practical, both to the individual researcher and the community at large. The approach used in the research literature is a psychological approach that uses the theory of feminism and self-existence. Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (1962: 81-82)suggests four models of psychological approach, which is associated with the author, the creative process, literature and readers. Nevertheless, the psychological approach is basically related to three main symptoms, which the author, works of literary and readers in other words that thse psychological approach more in touch with the author and literary works. This Smith’s novel itself is a novel that tells the story of how a little girl growing up to adulthood struggling to maintain her

existence as a woman who fought through education. Smith as the author of this novel tries to share with his readers how the importance of self-existence for a woman especially those who are often looked down by men who seem more dominating. In this case the psychological approach serves to give attention to the interaction between individuals, which the more psychological aspects to discuss aspects of the characterizations, the tendency of the emergence of streams, such asromantic, absurd, expression etc. Feminism theory is used to explain how the woman in the novelfights her authorizations and existence. It means theory of feminism refuses unfair , history and philosophi that concern as a center of dicipline.

Below is the flowchart of research design:

Actually there are many kinds of research. One of them is literature research such as this paper. This paper is a literature research so all of the research definetely concern to literature. Based on the flowchart above, there are some steps that the researcher does to analyze her research. The first step is the researcher has to find the source of data. In this paper, the source of data is the novel written by Betty Smith namely novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. All of the data that the researcher needed is about social problems, woman and the struggles. So the second step that researcher does is selected some quotation related with social probems, woman and struggles from the novel. The third step is the researcher has to analysis the

Researcher Source of data : Novel A

Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Quote/selected text related to social problems, woman and struggles.

Data selected: Interpreted analysis using the

theories: dynamic structuralism, feminism, exsistency,and also by descriptive and

qualitative method. Conclusion

data by using the related theories, such as dynamic structuralism, feminism, existency and also by descriptive and qualitative method. And the last is the researcher makes a conclusion about her research based on all of the data. All of the steps is needed of a researcher to make it easy her research.

4. THE DESCRIPTION OF FEMINISM 4.1 Social Problems of Francie’s Life

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is one of feminism novel. Actually, the story of this novel does not figured by all of women but this novel called as a feminism novel because this novel talks about a struggles of woman to fight her dream and her existance. There are five main characters in this novel. They are Katie Nolan, Johnny Nolan, Francie Nolan, Neeley Nolan and McScane, but the author focuses on woman character namely Francie and Katie Nolan because this research is analyzed based on the feminism research. However, the author only interested for one main character. She is Francie Nolan because this novel tells about her long journey to get her dreams. That is why all of this analysis related with Francie Nolan but the others main character are needed to complete and to build a great story of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.

Blumer (1971) and Thompson (1988) says thatthe definition of social problems is a condition that is formulated or expressed by an influential entity that threatens the values of a society that affect the majority of members of the public. The entity may be a general discussion or become a topic reviews in the media, such as television, internet, radio and newspapers. Social problems arise due to the significant difference between the values in the society with the existing reality. Which can be a source of social problems that such a process of social and natural disasters.

The existence of social problems in the community established by the institution that has special authority such as community leaders, government,

social organizations, community meetings, and so forth. But who decides that something is a social problem or not, is a society which is then disseminated via an entity. And the severity of the social problems that occur can be measured by comparing the ideal with the reality of something that happened (Coleman and Cresey, 1987). And to facilitate observing social problems, Stark (1975) divides the social problems into three kinds:

a.Conflict and gaps :poverty, inequality, environmental issues etc.

Poverty, inequality and environmental issues are the exampels of social problems that can be able to influence the growing of someone character. Poverty may be comes for the situation from own family but inequality and environmental issus definetely comes from environtment.

b. Deviate characteristic : mental disorder, crime, juvenile delinquency etc.

Deviate characteristis will growing up in someone if she or he is borned in disorder family and environment. Without a good guideness from family, maybe this deviate characteristic can be able to influence the someone character.

c. Human development: family problems, the elderly, population etc.

Actually family problems give a big effect for human development. The growing up of people depend on their own family. It is caused family is a place while someone can be accepted just the way she or he is.

In the novel, there are some social problems faced in the midst of the family and even the society in which Francie grew up. Of course the environment in which we live and also parenting of our parents are very influential in our

development. For it is written below some of the social problems experienced by Francie in families and communities.

4.1.1 Poverty

Socio-economic circumstances certainly affect the development of children, if we note that the presence of sufficient economic, material environment faced by children in the wider family, he gets wider opportunities to develop a variety of skills he can not develop if there is no infrastructure. Socio-economic life of the family Francie is not good. This can be shown through the house even environmental conditions become Francie family residence. As written in the following excerpt:

“ Late in the afternoon the sun slanted down into the mossy yard belonging to Francie Nolan’s house, and warmed the worn wooden fence.” (Smith, 1947:15)

Francie home state is very simple existence. Staying in the district of stackingmakes it recognize a tree that calls the Tree of Heaven. The trees are not as beautiful as its name. This tree grows narrow region, on the pile of garbage and being the only tree that grows between the cement. The tree grows slowly, but only in the district flats. That is why the tree is also known as the tree likes the poor. However, Francie loves the tree. She feels free if can fantasize over the tree everyday.

Seeing the economic conditions make the mother ofFrancie, namely Katie Nolan has to take part in the search for a living for their family's needs. It is also based on the lack of responsibility of the Francie’s father, namely Johnny Nolan who only spend a result of his work for

drunkenness. Whereas, Johnny only work as asinger in a bar who does not remain. If there is a call, he will work. However, if nothe just spend time at the bar to have fun with his friends and sometimes take over a job as a barmaid. This is evident in the following quote:

“ Mama worked as a janitress and kept three tenement houses clean. Who would ever believe that mama scrubbed floors to make a living for the four them? Everyone said it was a pity that a slight pretty woman like Katie Nolan had to go out scrubbing floors. But what else could she do considering the husband she had, they said. They admitted that, no matter which way you looked at it, Johnny Nolan was a handsome lovable fellow far superior to any man on the block. But he was a drunk.” (Smith, 1947:25)

Katie Nolan has to work hard as a clean-up officer to fulfill the needs of their families. Based on Johnny conditions, we can see that he is less responsible men. This situation makes Katieworks hard. But this is also makes Johnny increasingly feel failed to become a husband and a child of his family. Sometimes Johhny regrets of his decision for getting marriage and has a family. He argues that his family makes him becomes unhappy man. The situation is noted in the quote below:

“ I drink because I don’t stand a chance and I know it. I couldn’t drive a truck like other men and I couldn’t get on the cops with my build. I got to sling beer and sing when I just want to sing. I drink because I got responsibilities that I can’t handle. There was another long pause. Then he whispered, “ I am not a happy man. I got a wife and children and I don’t happen to be a hardworking man. I never wanted a family.” (Smith, 1947:55)

Johnny live their lives. Behind his disappointment to himself, in fact he was very fond of her two children is Francie and Neeley. Only he does not know how to please her family. This situation forces Francie and Neeley have to work in their young age. Francie is six years old and Neeley is five years old.Both of them

must work to help their parents. Work as a collector of junk into their daily work. The Brooklyn almost all children as they work as a collector of used goods. Although this work is referred to as a lowly job, but Francie and Neeley enjoy this job as a way for them to help their parents meet the needs of their daily lives. As contained in the following excerpt:

“ For Francie, Saturday started with the trip to the junkie. She and her brother, Neeley, like other Brooklyn kids, collected rags, paper, metal, rubber and other junk and hoarded it in locked cellar bins or in boxes hidden under the bed.All week Francie walked home slowly from school with her eys in the gutter looking for tin foil from cigarette packages or chewing gum wrappers. This was melted in the lid of a jar. The junkie wouldn’t take an unmelted ball of foil because too many kids put iron washers in the middle to make it weigh heavier. (Smith, 1947:17)

The poverty happened in Francie’s family makes them live simply. Even while all the members ofher familiy already have their respective jobs, but it does not allow them to enjoy a meal with as they pleased.Katie sometimes have to think of a unique way so that both her son and her husband also enjoyed every meal served by it. This situation often makes Francie has its own admiration for her mother. The situation can be seen in the following excerpt:

“ The Nolans practically lived on that stale bread and what amazing things Katie could make from it. She’d take a loaf of stale bread, pour boiling water over it, work it up into a paste, flavor with salt, pepper, thyme, minced onion and an egg ( if eggs were cheap), and bake it in the oven.” (Smith, 1947:66)

4.1.2 Environment

The environment is very large role in influencing a person's personality. Environmental theory reveals that the relative influence of the three aspects of the environment. The three aspects are :

1. A situation where we are, 2. How we treat parents,

3. And also the influence of our friends.

In the novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Francie personality was formed by the family and also the environment in which she lived. As seen clearly in the excerpt below:

“ Francie Nolan, was of all the Rommelys and all the Nolans. She had the violent weaknesses and passion for beauty of the shanty Nolans. She was a mosaic of her grandmother Rommely's mysticism, her tale-telling, her great belief in everything and her compassion for the weak ones. She had a lot of her grandfather Rommely's cruel will. She had some of her Aunt Evy's talent for mimicking, some of Ruthie Nolan's possessiveness. She had Aunt Sissy's love for life and her love for children. She had Johnny's sentimentality without his good looks. She had all of Katie's soft ways and only half of the invisible steel of Katie. She was made up of all of these good and these bad things.” (Smith, 1947:106)

According to the science of Sociology, Francie personality formed from the family is the result of a socialization process that occurs accidentally because she witnessed behavior like what is done by the people around her in the interactions between them. The statement is true because since kidFranciehad lived with the family of her mother before they actually have their own rental house. In addition to family, Francieis also formed from the environmental conditions. Her habit of reading, observing, living day by day is something special on her owned Francie something different from all the others. That God is given to her one of the unique things that made no fingerprints pair was the same on this earth. It seen by quotes below :

“ She was made up of more, too. She was the books she read in the library. She was of the flower in the brown bowl. Part of her life was made from the tree growing rankly in the yard. She was the bitter quarrels she had with her brother whom she loved dearly. She was Katie's secret, despairing weeping. She was the shame of her father staggering home drunk.” (Smith, 1947:107)

4.1.3 Unintact Family

One of the main factors that influence a child's social development is a factor of the family unit. What is meant by family unity is the unity in the family structure, namely that a family consisting of father, mother and children. Francie family including the family structure intact but in interacting family does not have a harmonious interaction. Francie often found at odds with her father and mother accompanied aggressive actions. It is contained in the following quote:

“ Katie was ashamed to stay in the neighborhood after Johnny's great spree. A good many of the neighbors' husbands were no better than Johnny, of course, but that was no standard for Katie. She wanted the Nolans to be better and not as good as anybody. Too, there was the question of money. Although it was no question because they had very little and now there were two children.” (Smith, 1947:147)

This situation does not make Francie becomes a child who is not growing, but the result of her parents relationship disharmony, Francie grows into a young girl covered with both parents especially those of her mother. She is more like her father than her mother, but Francie is hard to express her love for her father and be closed to her mother. As well as on some excerpts below:

“ Francie knew that Mama was a good woman. She knew. And Papa said so. Then why did she like her father better than her mother? Why did she? Papa was no good. He said so himself. But she liked Papa better.” (Smith, 1947:55)

Another reason that makes Francie is not too close to her mother is because Katie loves over her son that isNeeley. Even though she realizes that

hermother is the woman whom she admired for her toughness, but Francie is much more open to her father even though her father Johnny seemed to be relaxed and does not care about their circumstances. But Francie's father has compassion always able to warm Francie. In contrast to the more loving mother Neeley. As shown in the following excerpt:

"Maybe," thought Francie. " She doesn't love me as much as she loves Neeley. But she needsme more than she needs him and I guess being needed is almost as good as being loved.Maybe better."

(Smith, 1947:443)

4.2 The Struggles Of Francie In Facing Her Social Problems

Four transcendence Beauvoir's theory that can be done to enforce the self existence of women leaders, among others:

a. Being an intelect woman

Being a woman who is educated is the hope of every person. Women who have a higher education will be recognized by its environment and will be considered as a qualified woman. According Ollenburger and Moore (1996: 139), the structure of education determines the pattern of women's lives. With a highly educated woman can raise vertical mobility to improve the socio-economic status. Not only that, women also have a role as an identity, as well as the science will grow and flourish. Then the more perfect when science is imbued by the owner in life and able to immerse themselves in the community. It is clear that the role of education is very big to maintain the existence of a woman.

Without education, a woman will just be a woman who must live her life as a housewife without being able to develop her potential. But it is different with Francie. Francie is a girl who has the soul of a high existence to the world of

education. In fact, she loved education since she was small. Herpassion for reading made Francie grow differently with children her own age. This can be seen in the following excerpt:

“The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was as good as the feeling she had about the church. She pushed open the door and went in. She liked the combined smell of worn leather bindings, library paste and freshly-inked stamping pads better than she liked the smell of burning incense at high mass. But Francie was a reader. She read everything she could find: trash, classis, time tables and the grocer’s price list.” (Smith, 1947:39)

Having an interest in the library, books and stationery make Francie has a big dream to fight for her existence as a woman through her education later. The desire has become a passion and her hope since childhood. While the others children imagine about playing gomes, Francie have thought about her dreams for having her own home with many books. As shown in the following except:

“ Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I’ll have a desk like this in my parlor and white walls and a clean green blotter every Saturday night and a row of shinning yellow pencils always sharpened for writing and a golden-brown bowl with a flower or some leaves or berries always in it and books..books..books.” (Smith, 1947:41)

When Francie knows that her parents would send her to school, she is very happy eventhoughshe has to wait for her brother Neeley until the age of 6 years so that they could go to school together. The situation is not made less enthusiasm to fight for education. She had imagined many things about the school. This can be seen through the excerpt below:

“ School days were eagerly anticipated by Francie. She wanted all of the things that she thought came with school. She had heard mama and papa speak of the school room. She wanted to

see the map that pulled down like a shade. Most of all, she wanted “school supplies” ; a notebook and tablet and a pencil box with a sliding top filled with new pencils, an eraser, a little tin pencil sharpener made in the shape of a cannon, a pen wider, and a six-inch, soft wood, yellow ruler.” (Smith, 1947:195)

b. Being a worker woman

Women are referred to simply as a housewife is a woman who follows her husband. It seems more stable process of social change. Steadiness was evident from the increasing number of women involved in productive work. Although women have always been put in the category of "earner", but in fact the presence of womenalways supplement the family income is increasingly becoming important in the economic life of the household. Even with that family welfare will be increased, because of the economic contribution of women's work in the household are not ignored (Susanto, 1992: 65).

In the novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn very clearly shown how mothers Francie rejects that understanding. As a woman, Katie Nolan is also the backbone of the family. Katie has to work to fulfill all their needs. It is also exemplified by herdaughterFrancie. Francie decides to work to be able to complete their education. Especially when her father Johnny Nolan was gone, Francie fights her own work until her education is complete.Francie had received an offer to work on one of her friends that McGarrity as a servant in his house. This can be seen through the following quote:

"I talked it over with my Missus," dreamed McGarrity, "and she sagreed with me that we could use your girl. No hard work, you understand, just making the beds and washing a few dishes. I could use the boy downstairs, peeling eggs and cutting cheese into hunks, you know, for the free lunch at night. He wouldn't be

anywhere near the bar. He'd work in the back kitchen. It would be for an hour or so after school and half a day on Saturday. I'd pay each two dollars a week." (Smith, 1947:413)

Francie struggled completing her education in hopes through education that Francie is able to change the lives of her family. Especially when her father, Johnny Nolan has gone, Francieshouldwork to resolve all struggles. But in the end, Francie is able to reach her dream of becoming a writer. The struggle in defense of her existence as a woman makes her managed to become what she is now. Her desire to become an educated woman is able to be realized and make a big difference to the lives of her family.

c. Being a workerwomento achieve a socialist transformation of society Getting a description of changing the position of women in current social context, firstly we need be to known how the society changes generally. (Holzner dan Saptari, 1997:242). The Francie’s life changes after she decided for schooling to get education then working in some part time job for finishing her study. Francie achieve a socialist transformation from the society in her school and her job. When she was studying, she is the most clever student in her class. She called the best writer. This condition makes her being known by every people around her, include her teachers. Her existence avowed through her potential. This can be seen from the quotations below :

“ The school got out a magazine at the end of the year in which the best story written in composition class from each grade was published. Francie’s composition called “Winter Time” had been choosen as the best of the seventh grade work.” (Smith, 1947:309)

Francie’s capability in writing made her achieved trancsformation from her society. This situation helped her to develop her self even she never got many

attantion from her parents. She never gave up for fighting her existance in her school. It is not only from her teachers or from her environtment, she achieved transformation also from her friends in school. Eventhough she rarely communicated with her classmates and her schoolmates, her friends also appreciated and avowed her existence. In their graduation day, Francie accepted many appreciations from her friends even that she did not know them one by one. This can be seen from the quotations below :

“ Francie got her pencil box and autograph book from her desk. She started to say goodbye to the girls. They crowded around her. One put her arm around her waist and two others kissed her cheek. They called out goodbye messages. They wrote in Francie’s all but empty book. Some wrote small and cramped; others, loose and sprawling. Francie read as they wrote : I wish you luck, I wish you joy. When night draws back the curtain, and pins it with a star. Remember I am still your friend, though you may wander far. Way back here and out of the sight. I sign my name, just for spite.”

(Smith, 1947: 469)

While she has graduated from her school, Francie seek a job. Since she worked, she likes changing her job each chance she got. She could say she had tried every work there was. In her working, she also got her existence from her society there. Her potency always made her avowed easily. This situation can be seen from this quotation :

“ Francie got on to the filling system very easily. In two weeks, she had memorized the two thousand or so names or headings on the file box. She was fresh to the work, anxious to please, had strong clear eyes (she was the only reader not wearing glasses) and had developed a photographic eye very quickly. She read between a hundred and eighty and two hundred newspaper a day. Yes, Francie was the fastest reader in the Bureau.” (Smith, 1947:497)

Francie got her existence from every people around her, when she was a student and when she was a worker. But there someone that never avowed her

existence, she was her Mother, Katie Nolan. Althought her father, Johnny Nolan was a drinking, Johnny Nolan was the one who supported Francie and well known Francie. Yet her mother was different. Her mother loved Neeley than Francie. Until Francie grown up, Katie Nolan done the same. This is can seen from the quotes below :

“ No, I can’t see. I can only see that you favor Neeley more than me. You fix everything for him and tell me that I can find a way myself. Someday, I’ll fool you, Mama. I’ll do what I think is right for me and it might not be right in your way.” (Smith, 1947:512)

During her figting, Francie always trying hard for make her Mother proud of her. And her struggle was useless. At the last, after Francie got a good job and become a writer, Katie Nolan as her mother avows her existance. This can be seen from the quote below :

“ I know. And I’m pleased that you can and will fight for what you should have. And you’ll always come out all right-no matter what. You’re like me that way. We’re too much alike to understand our own selves. Mama said.” (Smith, 1947: 514)

The existance of women need to be avowed from every person around them. Francie successfully fought her existence through her skills that she has got in her self. Her family, her friend, her society at last avowed her existence. A capability can make people show her existence and will be avowed by people around them. Actually, the capability has a big role to make someone achieves transformation for her life. Francie has proved it. Even she was not a rich person, but her society avowed her present through what Francie has done for her society. Capability, skills, talents and the others similar name help women to survive her feminism and her existence. Women need to know what skills that they have.

5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusion

A social construction is something that does not exist independently in the "natural" world, instead it is a creation of society. Cultural practices and norms shows the existence of social constructs and social practices, customs, and rules concerning the way we use, view, and understand them. In other words, we all act and think based on the philosophy of our people. After analyzing the novel and linking it to the phenomenon of social construction of women’s life, the writer can conclude that Sylvia Plath has truly shown a realistic struggle that an individual can face in a particular society. Betty has made readers see the impact of how social standards and regulations can hit an individual hard. The rules and regulations that are constructed by society on women’s lives have become a cultural tradition for centuries. Patriarchal ideologies have oppressed women in many ways that they have been living in captivity ever since. A turn of events happened for women during the war and an unexpected opportunity made some women’s perspectives change, as well as their self-recognition of their own capabilities in the working sector. Women started to fight for their rights and slowly gain more freedom to live their desired lives. The feminist movement plays the main role in fighting for women.

In her novel, Betty Smith portrayed a reality of life that overwhelmed women during this time. Francie was not happy doing what was expected of her by society and she wanted more. The story she tells is one of unhappiness and the mental breakdown that is caused by not being allowed to fully discover her own

greatness. Betty does not only show how the main character suffers, but also exposes the causes of close social surroundings, their rejection and construction. The struggles that Esther face is varied and shown in the novel and from the analysis in the previous chapter. These are struggles of being not good enough for her family, struggles of fitting into society, struggles of having her desired life and career, struggles of trying to commit suicide, struggles in overcoming her own weaknesses, struggles in finding the perfect men, struggles of moving on from betrayal, and especially struggles of pleasing society. These are all the struggles of Francie Nolan that Betty Smith has portrayed in the novel.

5.2 Suggestion

Based on the overall analysis of this study, there are some eye opening ideas and facts about our society and the world that we live in, both for men and women. The events and changes that have happened throughout history about feminism have indeed made the lives of women to improve. Steadily it has given a voice for women and more opportunities. From the novel that has been studied, the writer hopes that readers, especially women, can be more resilient in facing such oppressions from society. Because society is a strong enemy when they are not beside with you, as social construction have a way of making decisions for everyone and everything. Women should be more intellectual, smart, strong and independent in standing for themselves in order to live their life desire. There are also so many other cases such as domestic violence and other types of abuse towards women going on around the world. With this study, the issues and struggles that women have faced is hoped to be a reference to readers about a

certain condition that might still exist nowadays.And finally even if the events of

A Tree Grows In Brooklynare so parallel to those of Betty's real life, the novel actually remains a fictionalized autobiography. Plathcalled it a "potboiler," admitting that she had used the techniques of a fiction writer in order to achieve a certain effect and to support particular interpretations of the events told. Rather than read A Tree Grows In Brooklynin terms of the author's biography, readers misght read it.

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Dynamic Structualism

A novel is a result of imagination from an author. A novel exits in the way it does because an author has chosen to put it together in that particular way. This means that novels are not real lifelike all works of art-poems, plays, plots or pieces of music- they have been constracted or crafted. Novels, however are fictional, it have been made up. A character in a novel can not be compared to a real person from whom he or she has been copied. When you write about novels, it is very important to make clear that they are not direct records of real events.

Novel is a literature that has intrinsic and extrinsic elements. Intrinsic elements is an element builds the literature. Nurgiyanto (1995:23) says, this element causes the literature presence by the fact and can be found in the literature Novel is called as a great literature because can be able to produce a conflict that happen in each characters. The story in a novel can be able to change the fate of main character, include in love problems, power, poverty and the other society life problems. It causes novel has the intrinsic elements that function to create the interesting story. Intrinsic elements include of character, characterizations, setting, plot, theme, moral messages. This six elements can be able to build great story of the main character. Therefore, good or bad a story of a novel depends on the intrinsic elements that is used by the author.

In novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, there are some intrinsic elements concern to feminism research, there are theme, character, characterizations and moral message.

a. Theme

Hartoko and Rahmanto (1986:142) says that the theme is the ideas of common bases that sustains a work of literature and are contained in the text semantic structure and regarding commonality or differences. Theme is the main idea that the writer expresses. Theme also can be defined as the underlying meaning of the story. Theme is another prime element of literature, which contains the central idea of all literary form such as novel, drama and short story. It reflects innocence, experience, live, death, reality, fate, madness, sanity, love, society, individual etc. Stanton and Kenny (1965:70) have stated theme is a meaning of story which especially explains a big part of the elements in the simple way. It is more or less synonymous the central idea and central purpose. The expanding of story does not always paralled with the framework because the idea will often develop suitable with the author’s will. Hamalian and Karl (1976:23) says that where they claim that before a writing story, the author will frame her ideas first. But when she thinks that the idea has become so usual in life and bored, she develops it out of the basic framework and makes her story more interesting to be enjoyed and implemented her readers.

In novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Smith as the author of this novel builded the theme by seeing the real conditions of her environment in her town that is Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She framed her life story became a novel. The theme is about struggles of a woman to fight her dreams and her existene. Francie Nolan as the main character is the person who fight for that. She does everything for getting her dreams although she grew up poor but she never give up to fight

her dreams and her existence. And the last she get all the things she wants especially get her existence from her environment. By her struggles, Francie proves that a woman is not borned only for being a wife but a woman can be able to be an educated woman.

b. Character.

Harahap (2007: 23-24) wrote that character has several meanings, the most common of which is “the aggeregiate of traits and features that form the nature of person or animals”. Characters also refer to moral and ethical standards and principles. In literature, character has several other specific meanings, notably that of a person represented in a story, novel, play, etc. In seventeenth and eighteenth century England, a character was a formal sketch or descriptive analysis of particular virtue or vice as represented in a person, what is a more often called a character sketch. In a literary work, character is made to complete a novel operation to the reader that has been planned by maker. Eastman (1965:17) states, “Character is an apparatus, mechanism, a device planned by his maker to help power the complete operation of novel upon the reader.”

A character occupies a strategic position to bring and convey message, moral, or something that is purposely conveyed to the reader. Siregar (1997:53), Abrams (1985:21) says thatcharacters are the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say - the dialogue - and by what they do – the action. The grounds in character’s temperament and moral nature for his speech and action constitute his motivations. Scott (1980: 48)

defined that character is short pros sketches of different types of people moulded to a pattern. From this definition we can catch an idea that characters are drawn from different types to a pattern. Each of character has his or her own traits. Characters may be ambitious or lazy, serene or anxious, aggressive or tearful, thoughtful or inconsiderate, open or secretive, confident or self doubting, kind or cruel, quite or noisy, visionary or practical, careful or careless, impartial or biased, straightforward or underhanded,”winners”or”losers” and so on. Characters can be convincing whether they are presented by showing or by telling. Michael Meyer (2002: 121) states, “Authors have two major methods of presenting characters; showing and telling. Showing allows the author to present a character talking and acting, and lets the reader infer what kind of person the character is. In telling, the authors intervenses to describe and sometimes evaluated the character for the reader”.

Smith wrote down in the novel that there are many kinds of characters in this novel but there are only five main characters. They are Francie Nolan, Katie Nolan, Johnny Nolan, Neeley Nolan and McShane.Talking about their each characters, all of the main characters has different character. Francie Nolan is an ambitious woman. She is hard fighter and clever. Katie Nolan, Francie’s mother seems like her. They haves many similarities. Katie Nolan is also hard worker. She is smart and wise woman. But she has trouble to build a good communication with her daughter, Francie Nolan. Johnny Nolan, Francie’s father is not responsible man. He is not good enough for being a father for his children. He is drinking. Altough Johnny Nolan has a bad character according many people, but

for Francie, he is a good father even she knows that her father is a drinking. Francie lover her father because only her father knows and understands about her languange, her dreams and her fighting. And Johnny Nolan does the same way. He loves his familiy but he does not know how to show it because he thinks he is not a good husband and father for her family. Their poverty makes Johnny Nolan stress and depression. Neeley Nolan is Francie’s brother. Neeley is a good boy but he does not has deep wishing like as his sister. He is not too ambitious but he loves so much his mother and sister. Neeley has a capability to manage money well. And the last main characters is McScane. McScane does not has full part in this novel, but his presence gives big effects for Francie’s family. After her father, Johnny Nolan has gone, McScane comes for being a new father for Francie and Neeley. McScane is very understanding person. He is very kind and patient. He never forces Francie and Neeley to accept him as their father because he knows that he never can be able to change Johnny Nolan in their heart.

It is all about the main characters in the novel. Yet, the writer only analyzed Francie Nolan specificly because the writer wants to discuss only about her struggles to fight her dreams and her existance from feminism approach.Francie is the point of this story. All the journey of this novel is talking about how Francie fights, pretends, and success by helping another main characters especially her family.

c. Characterizations

In talks a fiction, often used terms such as character and characterization, character and disposition, character and characterization alternately pointing

almost the same meaning. The term 'character' refers to the person, the perpetrator of the story, for example, as an answer to the question, "Who is the main character of the novel?" Or "Who is the protagonist and antagonist in the novel?" And so on. Character, disposition, characterizations, refers to the nature and attitude of the characters as interpreted by the reader, it refers to the quality of self. Characterization is often equated with the character and disposition meansdesignate on the placement of certain figures with certain temperaments in a story. Jones (1968: 33) says thatthe characterizations are painting a clear picture of someone who is featured in a story. Stanton (1965: 17) says that the use of the term 'character' (characterizations) alone in the literature include on two different sense, namely, as the characters are displayed, and as attitudes, interests, desires and emotions and moral principles that are owned by these figures. Thus, between a figure with its disposition indeed is something intact. However, the term 'characterization' wider sense than 'character' because the simultaneously covers the issue of who the characters, how dispositive, and how the placement and discribing in a story that could give a clear picture to the reader. So in terms of characterizations that once contained two aspects, namely, content and form.Jones (1968: 33) states that what and who is actually a character in a story not to be something very important for the reader but when the reader can identify themselves in these figures and understand and interpret the characters in accordance with the logic of the story and perception.

Smith as the author builded many characterizations on her novel. The characterizations that the main characters have is protagonist. Francie Nolan,

Katie Nolan, Johnny Nolan, Neeley Nolan and McScane are the protagonist featured in that novel. They are a poor family lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Katie and Johnny Nolan as a parents are figured by unintact family because Johnny Nolan is not a responsible husband. Meanwhile, Francie and Neeley as the children of Katie and Johnny are the person who wants fight with their life. Both of them do not mind if they have to work to help their parents in fulfilling their daily needs. And McScane is a new father of Francie and Neeley after their father has gone. McScane is a good man for their mother, Katie but it is difficult for Francie and Neeley to accept the presence of McScane to be their father. However, McScane pretends because he loves Katie and her children.

d. Moral Message

Moral in literature usually reflects the author's view of life is concerned, and that is what want to be delivered to the reader. Kenny (1966: 89) states, story is usually intended as a suggestion relating to certain moral teachings of a practical nature, which can be taken and interpreted through stories concerned by the readers. Moral is a 'hint' that had been given by the author on various matters relating to the problems of life, such as attitude, behavior, and social manners. Moral messages are practical reasons 'clues' that can be displayed or found directly in real life as it is shown also in the story through attitudes and behavior of the characters. A work of fiction written by authors to offer a model of life that can be deal the author. Fiction contains a moral application in the attitudes and behavior of the characters in accordance with his view of morality. Through stories, attitudes and behavior of the characters that the reader is expected to take

a moral message that mandated or delivered by the author. Even the moral element of the message is really the underlying idea of writing a work, the idea behind the creation of literature as a supporter supporting the message. Literary works of fiction always offers a moral message associated with the virtues of humanity, fighting for their rights and human dignity.

This novelteaches the reader especially women to fight their dreams for showing that woman is not borned only for a wife but only can be able to be an educated person. The moral messages that Smith wants to say for the reader is never give up on your dream whatever your life background. By having education, a woman can be existanced of her environtment. This novel is trying to open and changes the women mindset about what struggles means. If you have your talents and your efforts to get your dreams, you will get like as Francie has done.

2.2 Feminism

One important issue that emerged towards the end of the 20th century is gender. The gender issue has been discussed that enters every social analysis, the subject of the discourse of the debate on social changes and also become the main topic of conversation on development and social change. The term gender was originally developed as a social science analysis by Ann Oakley in1972 and Fakih in 1997, he thought genderregarded as a good analytical tool to understand the problem of discrimination against women in general.

Gender is a cultural concept, seeks to make a difference in terms of roles, behavior, mentality and emotional characteristics between men and women is

growing in society. Inthe previous section have explained that the roots of gender inequality is the gender difference. In gender studies, there are two major theories in the social sciences that gave birth to feminism, the flow of the status quo or functionalism and flow of the conflict. Feminist theory is the underlying research authors to resolve the issues in the novel. Feminists do not only belong to women but to men or women who have awareness of the oppression and exploitation experienced by women. But his achievements are not only limited to that alone, but the existence of women also need to be developed and championed.

Steps in conducting research feminist literary criticism in a work of fiction, namely:

(1) There must be a female character who plays the main character or a subordinate then associated with male figure;

(2)Look for the position of the characters in the community;

(3) To find out the purpose of life, for example women aspire to the various ways to develop themselves into independent human beings and unseen will be supported by the feminist movement. Thus women will elevate the status and dignity to be level with the status and dignity of men, either in the family or in the community;

(4) The behavior and character of women leaders from the description given directly from the author. Authors can also portray a female character as a person who thirst for education or knowledge of diligent work outside the home environment, especially to supplement the family income, so that

people can be recognized as someone who has their own identity without being associated with the position of the husband;

(5) Pay attention to the establishment and the words of the woman figure. What people think, do, and say will provide much information about the characters. Suppose a woman wishful to receive an adequate education to be able to help the family economy, then the figure has realized one goal is fighten by feminist movement. Djajanegara (2000: 56) says that similarly dialogues involving many characters that would reveal the character and way of thinking. The next step is to examine other figures, especially the male figure who has a relationship with a female character who is being observed. Pursued ways not unlike the way portray female characters. Djajanegara revealed feminism always encourage women to develop themselves before getting married. Women are encouraged to acquire knowledge as high as possible in order to afford an Independent without having to depend on others, and he was able to achieve a level footing with the male position in society (2000: 56). In line with the above opinion, Betty Friedan does not oppose the marriage. Women are not recommended to be single for the rest of his life. Feminism upholds moderate nature that enables women give birth and care for the baby. Feminism moderate support women in carrying out the tasks of this nature. However, moderate feminism also recommends that the first women to develop themselves to be able to live independently, both intellectually and economically, because of this ability will make him have equal status with men, and will release itself from dependence on men.

2.3 Existence

Fuad (2010: 177) states, existence is a way of being human. Animals and humans are in the world but the way its being not the same. Humans understand that life has meaning In line with the above opinion. Supaman and Sobirin reveal the presence of humans in life are within limitations. Within the limitations of human beings should be able to give meaning to his life by setting the value. Setting a value in life is the duty of human existence. Without the meaning of life or values, human as well as the bodies of living.So it can be concluded that the existence of a human being is how to live a life in this world with all its limitations.

Freedom is a curse, because someone is aware there is no relief from the freedom to choose and enforce themselves according existence precedes essence. In other words, we are just as living organisms are amorphous (do not have a steady form) until we create a separate identity with essential for ourselves through conscious action, through choices and decisions, reaffirm goals and long project, and enforce objectives and new projects. Sartre was later confirmed that no one forced us to take action in any way; we are absolutely free. Sartre makes a distinction between observer and observed by dividing the self into two parts, namely there for itself, which refers to the presence of repetitive material which is owned by a man with an animal, vegetable, and mineral. There for itself refers to the presence of moving and conscious, that only humans. This is consistent with the nature of human consciousness itself which always leads to the outside of himself and beyond himself (transcendence). Humans are not immanent (confined

in itself) but is transcendent (exit or beyond itself). Humans want to overcome fear and uncertainty by increasing self, struggling to overcome the passive nature of the controlled nature to be active, aiming and free, change of creatures become creators. Original reality may be painful and unpleasant, strived to be a healthy and pleasant world.

2.4 Existence of Feminism

Beauvoir furthermore disclose the other's problem. Began believes that when a woman she beings that need to be protected because of "weakness" of his body. He thinks that he can not live without a man, becausethe woman was created from the rib of man. Therefore, it is defined based on the opinions of men and not vice versa. Men are to be the subject, it is an object of absolute while the female or "other" (the other). Beauvoir furthermore revealed that his theory of women refers to the theory of existentialism of Jean Paul Sartre who stated that there are three modes items, namely "There" in humans items, namely there- in-itself (être en soi),there-for-in-itself (pour êtresoi) and there-for-others (etre pour les autres) and the three closest to feminism is there-for-others(être pour les autres). This philosophy saw human relations. Sartre, every human relations conflict comes from the core of the intersubjective relations. Among the subjects or consciousness, meaning that each maintains the subyek or her world and tried to enter another consciousness in the world.In the relations between men and women, male and female objectmade as "other" (the other). Then the man claimto be the identity and women as others. It could be said that men and women as subjects as objects. Tong (2010: 282) says that when asking women to transcend

limiting reviews their immanence, he was not being asked to negate the women themselves, but to let go of all the burdens that impede reviews their progress toward authentic self. Further Beauvoir explains that the man named "male" self, while "women" the otherness. Therefore, if men want to remain free, he must subordinating women against him. The oppression of women is a historical fact interconnected, an event in time repeatedly questioned and distorted. Women are always subbordinate lazy. Secondly, women have internalized the foreign perspective is essential that male and female is not essential. Reflecting on women prostitutes, narcissistic and mystical woman, he concluded that of all the construction is not built by the women themselves. Because women are not the builders themselves, the women then fed to obtain approval from the masculine world into productive society. Women, Beauvoir constructed by men, through the structures and institutions of men, just as men do not have the essence, women does not have to continue to be what they want men. Women can be the subject, can engage in positive activities in the community, and can redefine or eliminate her role as wife, mother and worker. Women can establish themselves because there is no essence of eternal feminism, who scored the identity of ready-made for him. All the hinders women's efforts to establish itself in a patriarchal society in th is regard.If women want to stop the condition as a second or gender, women must be able to cope with the forces of the environment. Women must have toreview their opinions and ways as are men. In the process towards transcendence, according to Beauvoir, there are four strategies that can be waged by women. The

theory I use to analyzed the struggles of Francie from feminism approach is the fourth theory of transcendencethat can be waged by women items, namely:

1.Women can work

Although the hard and tiring work of women, employment still provide a variety of possibilities for women, by women who otherwise would be to lose the opportunity altogether. By working outside the home along with men, women can "recapture transcendence". Women will be concretely confirmed his status as a subject, as someone whodetermine actively the direction of his fate.

2. Women may be an intellectual

The which is a member of a group that will build change for women. Intellectual activity is the activity when a person thinks, sees, and define, and not nonactivity when one becomes an object of thought, observation, and definition. 3. Women can work to achieve a socialist transformation of society

Beauvoir convinced that one of the keys for women's liberation is economic power. If a woman wants to realize all she wants, she must help create a community that will offer material support to transcend boundaries encircling it now.

Speaking about the existence is insuperable from the way humans break free and her there-herself, then four transcendence that will author uses to remove the existence of heroine andthe author combines the theory of freedom.

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Zainuddin (1992:99)saysthatliterature is an art works that is prohibited by the standard of literature language using style language and interesting story telling. A literary work brings us to the world of dreams and takes us away from reality. It has to be contrasted with a literary work that needs our interpretation. Literature is a personal expression of feeling including,experience, idea, motivation, confidence in the concrete description by using language.Sudjiman (1984:53) says, novel is a long prose fiction by presenting figures and displays a series of events and setting. As a work of fiction, novel offers a world, a world of life idealized models, an imaginary world, which was built through the intrinsic elements such as events, plot, character and characterization, backgrounds, viewpoints, and others.

Although it is an imagination, the problem that is raised from a novel is lifeproblems such as happiness, disappointment, betrayal, honesty and struggles of life. Talking about the struggle of life, the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of the novels that can provide great inspiration to everyone about what it means a struggle of life and existence itself a woman. Francie Nolan, who is the main character in the story is a girl who fight and existence in pursuit of her dream to get an education and escape from the trap of poverty experienced by families even the condition of her fatherthat isJohnny Nolan, who always drink because depressed with a very poor family conditions coupled with the desire of her

beloved daughter who wants to get education properly. This makes him stress and always drink and eventually die. Yet with all the efforts and struggles she did, Francie manage to go out of the settlement Brooklyn and continue her studies at a distance of Brooklyn. And finally she manage to finish her studies and got a job as a famous writer.

Gunawan (1993: 101) says that a struggle must be supported by a number of values and a set of norms that live in the community. The issue of education and equality of women is the nature of women's struggles. The struggle never be separated from the social structures that support it. The struggles of women do not just stop at the material struggle but the struggle to gain selfexistence. Education is one way to gain recognition for herself and others. And to get the education needed a big struggle.

Based on the description above,the writer choosesnovelA Tree Grows in Brooklynas an object of research becauseshe is very interested of the woman in that novel, that is Francie Nolan. Francie Nolan is a great girl, she is a big dreamer althought she knows that is impossible to make all her dreams came true but she fight. She is a hard worker. She never give up about her life. She loves her familiy so much. She loves her father althought her father makes her dissappointed by dringking all the time. She does not care about what are people saying about her father, the only thing that she know is her father loves them too. Francie Nolan is wonderful just the way she is. Yet before Francie, her mother Katie Nolan is a great woman too who fight hardly for her family. She does not think about her husband, Johnny Nolan who always drink and do not responsible to fullfill their

daily needs. This case make Katie Nolan being a hard worker even her husband refuse her to work.

All the characteristics of Katie Nolan there was in Francie Nolan. She had the character of her Mom. These two characters made the author interested to analyze this novel. Yet the author decided to analyze only about Francie Nolan. It causes this novel talks about a long journey of Francie Nolan to get her dreams in fighting her education and about the struggles of her Mom just a glancing flash back. Beside that this novel tells the formidable figure fighting for her dream woman. Beside that the knowledge of the writer, the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn written by Betty Smith is the object of the research that has not been analyzed with existence and feminism approach, both are ways to find the existence of female characters themselves, so that the research is interesting tostud y.

1.2 Problems of the Study

Based on the background mentioned above, several problems are formulated as follow:

a.What are the Francie’sproblems in the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? b. How didFrancie’s efforts in fighting for her dreams and existence? 1.3 Scope of the Study

The writer chooses a novel to her topic of her study. There are many kinds of novels however, the writer is more interested in Betty Smith’s novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

This paper will discuss about the main character , namely Francie Nolan. This study is primarily taken within the scope of studying the struggle of Francie Nolan for getting her dreams and how she can fight her existence in order to make the discussion more specific. For analyzing this paper, author uses the theory of literature. Based on the theory of literature, there are two elements that is used in literature, they are intrinsic elements and entrinsic elements. In this paper, author only used one element, that is intrinsic element. Intrinsic elements is an element builds the literature and include of character, characterization, setting, plot, theme and moral messages. This six elements can be able to build great story of the main character but in this paper, the author limit the element by using four elements that concern to the title of this paper analyzed. The fourth elements are character, characterizations, theme and moral messages.

1.4 Objective of the study

In accordance with the background and the formulation of the problem above, the writer can formulate the goals to be achieved in this study are :

a. To find out the problems of Francie Nolanin the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

b.To find out the efforts ofFrancie Nolan to fight her dreams and her existences. 1.5 Significance of the study

The result of this paper is expected to enrich the readers’s knowledge about the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as well as learning a lesson about women in society. Firstly, the significance of this study is to give readers an insight and exploration about the social oppression to the main character in the

novel and the struggle of the main character to live her life. Secondly, through this research the writer hopes that the readers will be more aware of how certain roles or lives in certain society is very hard to achieve by women in a world that is already a determined social construction of it. A scientific study should provide theoretical and practical benefits, so the tested quality of research conducted by researchers. The theoretical benefits of this research are expected to add the studies in the field of literature, especially the analysis of existentialist feminism. Practical benefits of this research can raise awareness about the existence of women who want freedom and women's efforts to gain equality of life.

ABSTRACT

The title of this paper is The Feminism Found in Betty Smith’s novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” This paper contains about the oppurtunities of women to get an education equal to men . It is able to change the view of women mindset. Through this novel, the author portrays female characters who are not just fighting for a graduate level education, but it also shows how the efforts of women to recognize its existence. The issues contained in the novel are, unconducive environtment for Francie to be developed and poverty condition that make it difficult to fulfill her desire for studying. Both of issues are the background of this paper research. This research is aimed to reveal the struggles of Francie in solving her problems and her existence to pursuit of her dream. The writer uses the theory of structural and existentialist feminism to determine Francie’s efforts in achieving her existence. Analysis of this novel can be concluded as a heroism of Francie, where she is managed to free from her family poverty by the way is realizing her dream to be graduated person, then she would be able to demonstrate its existence by becoming a writer. So, it will make her able to be exist and receive recognition from her family and friends.

ABSTRACT

The title of this paper is The Feminism Found in Betty Smith’s novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” This paper contains about the oppurtunities of women to get an education equal to men . It is able to change the view of women mindset. Through this novel, the author portrays female characters who are not just fighting for a graduate level education, but it also shows how the efforts of women to recognize its existence. The issues contained in the novel are, unconducive environtment for Francie to be developed and poverty condition that make it difficult to fulfill her desire for studying. Both of issues are the background of this paper research. This research is aimed to reveal the struggles of Francie in solving her problems and her existence to pursuit of her dream. The writer uses the theory of structural and existentialist feminism to determine Francie’s efforts in achieving her existence. Analysis of this novel can be concluded as a heroism of Francie, where she is managed to free from her family poverty by the way is realizing her dream to be graduated person, then she would be able to demonstrate its existence by becoming a writer. So, it will make her able to be exist and receive recognition from her family and friends.

ABSTRAK

Karya ilmiah ini berjudulTheFeminism Found in Betty Smith’s Novel “ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” Karya ilmiah ini membahas tentang kesempatan perempuan untuk mendapatkan pendidikan yang sejajar dengan laki-laki untuk mampu mengubah pandangan atau pola pikir perempuan. Melalui novel ini, pengarang melukiskan tokoh perempuan yang tidak hanya sekedar berjuang untuk mendapat pendidikan tingkat sarjana, tetapi juga menunjukkan bagaimana usaha-usaha tokoh perempuan tersebut supaya eksistensi dirinya diakui. Permasalahan yang terdapat dalam novel ini adalah, lingkungan yang tidak kondusif bagi Francie untuk berkembang serta kondisi kemiskinan yang membuat Francie sulit untuk mewujudkan keinginannya mendapat pendidikan. Kedua hal tersebut melatarbelakangi penelitian tugas akhir ini. Penelitian tersebut bertujuan mengungkapkan penyelesaian masalah Francie serta perjuangannya dalam mencapai eksistensi dirinya untuk mewujudkan impiannya. Penulis menggunakan teori struktural dan feminisme eksistensialis untuk mengetahui sejauh mana usaha Francie untuk mencapai eksistensinya. Hasil analisis terhadap novel ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa Francie berhasil membebaskan dirinya dari kemiskinan yang dialami keluarganya dengan mewujudkan impiannya yaitu menjadi sarjana, kemudian ia mampu menunjukkan eksistensinya dengan cara menjadi seorang penulis. Sehingga hal tersebut membuat dirinya mampu bereksistensi dan mendapat pengakuan dari keluarga dan teman-temannya.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My biggest thankful appreciation is certainly to my Almighty God Jesus Christ for giving me blessings, strength, spirit and everything in everyday that enables me to prestigous work in life. Without His guideness, I am not really sure I can finish this paper.

I would like to thank the dean of Faculty of Culture Studyies, Dr.Syahron Lubis, M.A, the head of Diploma III English Program, Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A, and I also would like to thank all the lecturers in English Study Program who have shared their excessive knowledge and the contributions during the academic years. Here I would like to thank Miss Putri for her helping in administration supports.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my lovely patient advisor, Dra. Rohani Ganie, M.Hum who alwasy advises me to finish this paper. I am indepted thank you for her precious time for helping, correcting, sharing, supporting and also guiding me until this paper is accomplished.

My great thankful is also dedicated for my beloved parents, Mom, Rentauli Nababan and Dad, Charles Panggabean. You are my grace, my blessing, my inspiration. I proudly dedicated this paper for both of you. Thanks for giving me your admirable love until I finish my study. I also thank you for my brother Prakasih Panggabean, my young brothers Poltak Panggabean and Fransisco Panggabean and the last but not least is my little sister Virgin Panggabean. Thank you for your presence and your perserving love. Thanks to my uncles especially

Uda Toni for so much love, pray and your kindness. I will not forget all of your sacrifices for me. Your supports have been the most valuable things in my life. Family is a friend for life forever.

My special appreciation is also for my best friends, Gracia, Januari and Henny. Many thanks for the time we shared, the time we laughed, the time we fought, the time we cryied and the time we enjoyed. I also bring my great thank you for my Onetatias (Kak Myke, Kak Vero, Riska and Erwin). Many thanks for all the love, pray, patient and the support. Thank you for introduicing me what a family is. And then, I dedicated my thank you for Kak Michio. Thank you for taking care of me in all my conditions.

Thanks to all my beloved friends, sisters and brothers in Sutimas ( Yosua, Agustina, Kak Jenni, Bang Sam, Kak Eva, Erik, Elia, Bang Daud, Yesi, Febri, Sondang). Our boarding house is our home. Many thanks for time we shared, for place we laughed and for wishes we prayed. I also bring my thank you for my beloved buddies Dessica, Verry, Andika and Jeki. You mean something for me.

I would like to say thank you again for my incredible classmates A and B that I can not write one by one. But special thanks is dedicated for my members (Vina, Caca, Novi, Frira, Bella, Halima and Janna). Thanks for calling me your leader. It is a nice and quirky call name. Thank you for this sweet people Putri, Liana, Ira and Theresia. You are so good to me.

And the last but not least is for my favorite people namely, KMKS. All of you looks like an alarm for me, thanks for reminding me on my whole day about this paper. It became a strength for me. I am also dedicated my great appreciation

to everyone I have crossed paths with but I can not mention you one by one, but your presence is precious for me.

Honestly thank you is a small and simple word to reply all the things that you have done for me but here I am dedicated my gratitude and appreciation for all of you. May God bless us, forever and ever.

Medan, August 2015

Writer,

Reg. No. 122202061 Eka Junita P

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR DECLARATION ... i

COPYRIGHT DECLARATION ... ii

ABSTRACT ... iii

ABSTRAK ... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

1.INTRODUCTION ... 1

1.1 Background of Study ... 1

1.2 Problem of Study ... 3

1.3 Scope of Study ... 3

1.4 Objective of Study ... 4

1.5 Significance of Study ... 5

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 5

2.1 Dinamic Structualism ... 5

2.2 Feminism ... 13

2.3 Existency ... 16

2.4 Existency Feminism ... 17

3. RESEARCH METHODE ... 21

3.1 Researsh Methode ... 21

3.2 Data and Data Resources ... 22

3.3 Data Coleccting Methode ... 23

3.4 Data Analysis Methode ... 24

4. THE DESCRIPTION OF FEMINISM ... 27

4.1 Social Problems of Francie’s Life ... 27

4.2 The Struggles of Francie In Facing Social Oppresion ... 35

5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 42

5.1 Conclusion ... 42

5.2 Suggestion ... 43

REFERENCES APPENDICES