Theory of Character and Characterization
life. It can be said that the characters function as representative of human beings in true life. Therefore, it is possible for them to have quality or characteristics.
Characterization itself is defined by Rohrberger and Woods as the process by which an author creates character, the device by which he makes us believe a
character is the particular type of person he is 1971: 20. Therefore, it is obvious that the author of such literary work uses characters to describe people or human
beings as in reality. The strategy is used to emphasize that the characters’ action, statements and thoughts must all be what human beings are likely to do, say, and
think under the conditions presented in the work Roberts, 1986: 148. Meanwhile, according to Gill characterization is the way in which a character is
created 1995: 135. Therefore, character is the result and characterization is the process.
There are usually four strategies or methods to make judgments about the qualities of characters Barnet et all, 1988: 712. Those methods give the details of
the characters, which are needed in this study. The first strategy is dealing with the characters’ say. The characters’
speech or dialogue in the story shows their thought and feeling. The readers can know the development of the story or the change of the characters’ life during the
story. Moreover, the speech can be a way to show characters’ attitude or connections with one another, and also the motivation of the characters in the
story. The second is the characters’ action or what they do in the story. The
action also reveals the emotion or the feeling of the characters towards something. 10
The readers are possible to interpret action as the signs of character. Moreover, through the characters’ behavior the identifying of the characters can be done
easily. The third is the other characters’ say about a certain character. In daily
life, it is very common to see or hear people are talking about other people neither the goodness nor the evil. In stories, that situation is also can be encountered as in
reality. What the characters say may give more information and can be a clue to determine another one.
The last one is the author’s direct description about the characters. The author may speak about the characters as storyteller or observer who gives
description directly.