have their own opinion; nine of ten juries decide Tom guilty for the crime. Atticus tries to appeal to the higher court but Tom has given up his hope. Tom tries to escape
from the jail by climbing over the fence and he is shot to death by the guards leaving seventeen bullet holes in Tom’s body.
To Kill a Mockingbird is truly a great novel. The characters are well
developed, the story is exciting, and there are some great lessons that can be learned. There are four reasons why the writer conducts study on the novel especially on
Atticus Finch. First, the writer finds Atticus Finch as a good model of a true- gentleman. He is able to live with others without losing his identity. He has absolute
spirit, faith, firmness, and courage to fight for what he believes in and to survive facing difficult situation, especially in his great struggle in defending Tom Robinson
and in handling the conflicts. He is a good reflection needed by our society at this time, especially for parents, law upholders, and people who believe in justice,
equality, and humanity. Second, the novel is rich of life lessons and moral values, such as notion of acceptance in all forms, bravery, and education. The third reason is
that the story in the novel does not make the readers bored. The use of six years old girl as the narrator makes this novel easy to be followed and to be understood. The
innocence and straightforwardness of a child in facing situations gives the readers the sense of humor, simplicity, and natural. The fourth reason, the novel is awarded
Pulitzer Price. It shows that this novel is included as one of best novels in the world, and of course has great quality to be read. Based on background of the study above,
the writer is motivated to reveal Atticus’ character and his motivation to defend Tom Robinson.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
In this thesis, the writer has two objectives to be achieved. The first objective is to describe the character of Atticus in the novel. The first objective is the basis for
the second objective that is to reveal Atticus’ motivation to defend Tom Robinson. By accomplishing the objectives, the writer hopes to be able to explain Atticus’
motivations and his reasons in defending Tom Robinson.
1.3 Problem Formulation
In order to guide the analysis, the writer has formulated two problems in order to focus the study, the problem formulations are as follow:
1. How is Atticus Finch’s character revealed in the novel? 2. What are Atticus Finch’s motivations in defending Tom Robinson in the
trial?
1.4. Benefits of the Study
There are some benefits in doing this study. The first benefit is for the writer himself. By doing this study, hopefully, the writer is able to learn some moral values,
especially from the character of Atticus Finch. Hopefully, the writer is able to learn more how to live with himself, how to accept other people as they are, how to respect
diversities, and to know what a real bravery is. The second benefit is for the readers. This study helps the readers find a
model of a good person, good parents, and good law-upholder insight the character of Atticus Finch. The readers also can reveal what are the factors behind Atticus’
controversial decision to defend Tom Robinson, a black people, against a white man
in the trial. More over, And hopefully, this study can encourage other researchers to analyse another aspects in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
1.5. Definitions of Terms
There are some terms that need to be explained in order to avoid misunderstanding. The first is motivation. Motivation can be said as the process of
behaving that is organized and that defines its end states Bootzin et al., 1983: 367. Motivation leads people to behave in their manner to get some attainment.
Motivation in this study is described as the motive of the lawyer in defending his client before the trial. This motivation is divided based on two components; they
are internal drive and external incentives. Internal drive is a force inside one’s mind to do an action. External incentive is an outside power or objective that
makes one to do an action. The second term is defending. Defending comes from the word defend
which means “to act, speak or write in support of somebody or something” Hornby, 1995: 304. This term is usually used in a courtroom by a lawyer in
defending his defendant. The last term is mockingbird. Mockingbird is any of several species of New
World birds of the family Mimidae, especially Mimus polyglottos, a gray and white bird of the southern and eastern United States, noted for the ability to mimic the
sounds of other birds. The common, or northern, mockingbird Mimus polyglottos can imitate the songs of 20 or more species within 10 minutes
http:www.thefreedictionary.commockingbird
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of five major topics that are Theoretical Review, Review of Related Theories, Theoretical Framework, Criticism and Sources.
2.1. Theoretical Review
In this part, I will discuss the literary theories that are the critical approach, theory of conflict, the theory of character and characterization to guide my analysis toward the
novel.
2.1.1. Theory of Critical Approach
Guerin 1992:vii states that the richness of great literature merits correspondingly rich respond. He also says that such responds come best when the readers appreciate a
great work from many perspectives as it legitimately open itself to. To reveal the appreciation of a literary work can use many perspectives. These perspectives enable us
to know how to read and to judge a literary work. These kinds of perspectives are what later called critical approach.
According to Rohrberger 1971:3-16, It is important to understand critical approach, which will be our guidance in analysing literary work. The understanding
includes the approach’s nature, function, and positive values. In her book, Rohrberger categorizes five approaches, i.e. the formalist, biographical, sociocultural-historical,
mythopoeic, and psychological approach.
The perspective of the formalist approach is to see the literary object as a total integrity of the literary piece. It only focuses on the work itself. The focus is on the
structure of the work, which will be related to each part of the work. This approach does not examine the reference to the facts of the author’s life, the genre, the place of the
genre, the history, and social milieu related to the literary piece, but. Furthermore, this approach analyses all parts of a literary work in order to get the deeper meaning of the
work. In the biographical approach, the perspective focuses on the author, for instance,
the author’s idea, personality and life, which build his writing style, theme, characterization and other literary elements. Rohrberger also suggests that knowing what
the author intends to tell about is considered important in his approach. The sociocultural-historical approach relates the literary work with the reference
to the civilization or historical background that built it. This approach can investigate the social milieu that is reflected in the work or the cultural background that produces it.
However, the historical side might not be significant for the work. It depends on the role of historical side. If the historical side only occurs as a small part or setting it will be
insignificant. On the contrary, it will be significant if the historical aspect is dominant and relevant with what the author wrote.
The perspective of mythopoeic approach emphasizes on the repetition of a certain pattern in a certain literary work. The pattern, for instance, is the usual pattern that is
common to all people such as death and rebirth, fertility rites, withdrawal and return. The author of certain literary work may describe them either conscious or unconscious. The
