Theory on Character and Characterization

character or mark or a combination of the letters or the like used to represent something 1989: 1440 In Hugh C. Holman and William Harmon’s A Book to Literature, a symbol is something that is itself and yet stands for or suggest or means something else, a symbol is like an image that evokes and objective reality and has a meaning that suggests another level of meaning 1988: 494. Furthermore, Rohrberger in Reading and Writing about Literature states that symbol by definition stands for something beyond and itself and often for many things 1971: 15. According to Robert Stanton in his An Introduction to Fiction, symbol may be anything from an egg to the story’s setting, a single object, a physical, type of object, a physical substance, a shape, a sound, a fragrance, and so forth. They may represent a face of a human personality, futile ambitious, the romanticism of youth and so on 1965: 31. Symbol, in fiction according to Stanton’s theory, has three usual effects depending upon how it is used. First, a symbol appears during an important moment of the story underlines the significant of the moment. Second, a symbol repeated several times to remind us. Third, a symbol that recurs in varying context to define or clarify the theme 1965: 32. Rohrberger states that one reason why literature can be approached from so many different directions and by much reason of different generations is by he appearance of symbols. Moreover she says that putting a symbol is not always based on a certain object, object details, characters or places. Every action can be PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI endowed with a meaning beyond themselves so that ideas and feeling as intangible things can be a concrete reality and meaning can be visible 1971: 15. 3. Theory of American Dream There was an inhabitant land that was still virgin and fertile. The virgin land was known as the New World, the start of a new good era and a new beginning for the new people. They, the new people, who came from faraway places, had longed for a better world where their family could live comfortably. Finally, those people had found a place that they called New World as a new paradise for them to realize their dreams. The New World seemed to promise them a chance to get a better life. In his An Early American Reader, Leo Lemay states that the very name calls the New World an idyllic myth, the start of a new golden age, a new beginning for a new Adam. The name conspired with the idea of nature to ensure that the prevailing myth of the New World would be that of a new Garden of Eden. The New World seemed to promise that mankind could recapture the innocence, joys and eternal life, as well as the freedom from cares and labor that had existed in the Garden of Eden Lemay, 1989: 1. Those immigrants affected people who lived in that time and the culture in that society. It also affected their dreams as a new comer in the land which later would be called as America. The idea of the dream of American or popularly called as American Dream . In general, the American dream can be defined as being the opportunity PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI and freedom for all citizens to achieve their goals and become rich and famous if only they work hard enough. http:www.ego4u.comenread-oncountriesusaamerican-dream In American Studies Today: An Introduction to Methods and Perspectives, Amritjit Singh, Max J. Skidmore, and Isaac Sequeira states that Americans have long been dedicated to the creation of the good society, and they have come close to fulfillment in the postwar era. They have achieved a remarkable state of material quantity that is more than enough – good food, comfortable clothes, convenient homes, fast cars, excellent medical care; to a considerable they have been relieved from the constant fatigue, the pain, hunger, sickness and misery which have been mankind’s lot through history. It is a striking fact that with so much leisure and abundance there has been a little idleness or even relaxation. In general, Americans show a great fear of wasting time, and furiously pursue new experiences and higher levels of performance as if they are determined to make the most of each day and each hour. 1995: 224-225 In his American Studies: A Conceptual Approach , Irving L. Gordon states that American and foreign observers have attempted, throughout the history, to identify “typical American traits”. Americans have been described as possessing the following traits: 1 hard working, materialistic, and practical, 2 adventuresome and optimistic, 3 impatient and inclined toward violence, 4 patriotic and nationalistic, 5 supporters of humanitarian and idealistic goals, and 6 believers in fair play, equality of opportunity, and individual responsibility 1984: 385