a. By Actions
Actions are able to show independence of child characters because naturally children love to act. These actions come through the descriptions or orders of actions
when they are doing a certain mission. In The Six Bad Boys , the action of children’s
independence can be found in Tom’s action to deal with a problem. Tom has parents who always nag everyday at home. It makes him dislike the condition at home. He
always tries to find a problem solving for him. Thus, he decides to tell lies everytime he wants to get rid of the problem at home Blyton, 2012:43. The highlight is on his
decision to lie as his problem solving everytime he finds the same problem at home. Although lying is not really solving a problem, it is Tom’s first action to get rid of his
problem. His friend, Bob, is also able to be independent when he has a problem.
One morning it rained heavily. He had to find a place to shelter in and discovered a little shed
full of odds and ends of things, belonging to one of
the warehouses. It was locked, but he could climb in through the window. Blyton, 2012:64
The rain is pouring down when Bob has lunch near a canal. Then, he tries to
find a shelter. The only one he can find is a small locked warehouse. He decides to climb through the window because the door is locked. The window is not locked so
he can come in to the warehouse. The datum shows that Bob is able to explore his own mind to act immediately from getting trapped in the rain.
In The Naughtiest Girl Again, Elizabeth also has her own way to solve a problem. Once, she feels very angry because she does not have evidences upon her
accusation of Robert’s mistakes. She decides to play the piano at the music practice- room.
“Leave me alone,” said Elizabeth crossly. She went into a music practice-room and sat down at the piano. She played a piece she knew,
very loudly and fiercely. Mr. Lewis, the music-master, looked into the
room in surprise. Blyton, 1993:37
Elizabeth decides to spend her time by playing the piano because she wants to calm herself down. She knows that music is the best cure so she decides to play
piano fiercely to represent her feeling. The datum shows her independent action in finding her own problem solving to deal with anger. In another chance, she feels
disappointed because she cannot perform in a school music concert. It is because one of her hands gets hurt after taming a horse in the school yard. The school music
concert is very important for her because it is held in front of all parents in the final meeting. She tries to pretend she is fine. She does some actions found in the datum
below.
She tried to be cheerful, and she did not left anyone see how miserable she
sometimes felt. She had pulled herself together, and was doing all she could to help the others in every way.
She had painted the crowns marvelously for the play, and had even painted some trees
for the scenery. Everyone thought they were wonderful. Blyton, 1993:179
It shows that she tries to hide her sadness by moving her focus on activities
she loves, which are painting the crowns and trees for the school play. She decides to hide her sadness because she does not want other people to know her feeling. She
feels difficult to hide her feeling but then she is able to control it by doing what she loves. She feels better when she helps her friends by painting some materials for the
school play. Next, Naughty Amelia Jane also provides actions
that reflect children’s independence. One of which is found in this datum below.
Now Amelia Jane, although she really was a very naughty doll, was feeling most uncomfortable about poor Tiddles, for she was fond of her. As soon as
the cook had gone she ran across to the fireplace, climbed over the guard, and looked up the chimney.
Blyton, 1989:113 Amelia Jane is very naughty to everyone in the nursery, including to Tiddles,
a Nurse’s kitten. She plays with Tiddles by herself and dresses it with a beautiful gown. The kitten dislikes Amelia’s treatment. She decides to run away to the
chimney because she is afraid of Amelia. Since Amelia loves Tiddles very much, she is eager to rescue the kitten by going up the chimney. She defeats her feeling of fear
of darkness. She also shows her courage to rescue another toy, clockwork mouse, that is in danger.
Amelia Jane ran to the dolls’ pram. She snatched up the thick blue rug there and rushed to the little clockwork mouse. She threw the rug all
around his little grey body and rolled him up tightly in it, head, tail, and
all She felt the flames trying to burn her hands, and they hurt her, but she didn’t stop. She meant to save the little mouse Blyton, 1989:179
The datum above shows the sequence of events when Amelia Jane tries to
rescue her friend, clockwork mouse, that is trapped in fire. She runs to the dolls’ pram, takes the thick rug, and covers it to the clockwork mouse’s body. Although her
hands get hurt because of the fire, she does not care. It shows her strong character to help her friend immediately and independently.
b. By Speech
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