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This condition is not easy for Lydia. To have divorced parents in her life is hard. It is hard as she must take care of her brother and sister. Another evidence to show
Lydia’s bravery towards her parents is when she tells her father that she yells to her mother. This is the first time for her to shout in front of her mother and she
regrets it. “Yelled. I yelled that … ” She hesitated. Her voice was shaking at
the memory. “I yelled at her that, if she didn’t let me go today, she would
regret it” p.188
From the quotations above it can be seen that one of Lydia’s characteristic is brave.
2. The Characteristics of Christopher
Christopher is a twelve-year-old boy. He is the second child and the only son of this family. He also has some characteristics described in the novel.
a. Sensitive Christopher has a sensitive feeling. There are some quotations that show
his sensitive side. The first happens when his mother argues with his father. Daniel asks Miranda to have the children live with him rather than finding a
housekeeper to take care of the children. Miranda refuses it and makes Christopher feel disappointed. A glistening tear tracked slowly down
Christopher’s cheek, and dropped on the newspaper coupon, flooding and blurring the telephone number p.49. The tears that fall down on his cheek seem to show
his incapacity to stand on his mother’s decision. Another tear falls down when Christopher sees his parents’ fighting.
Seeing and hearing his parents shout to one another, Christopher cannot keep his
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emotion to rebel on their fight. Suddenly in tears, Christopher utters his disappointment and anger on his parents’ fight. Christopher rose, too. “So do I,”
he told them. He was in tears. “You are disgusting and ugly, both of you” p. 176 That is another proof that Christopher is a sensitive child. He tries hard to
utter his disappointment on his parents’ fight but he cannot hold his tears from falling down. Thus, it can be concluded that Christopher has sensitive
characteristics. b. Dependent
Christopher is also a dependent child. He often asks her sister to help him to strengthen his opinions in front of his father or mother. On one occasion
Christopher asks her sister for a help when their father feels disappointed and angry about his wife’s decision in looking for a housekeeper. Daniel expects that
the children can stay with him while their mother is working. Daniel thinks it is better for the children to live with their own parents rather that with stranger. This
condition makes Daniel frustrated. Daniel thinks that Christopher and his sisters never try to ask or force their mother to let them stay in Daniel’s apartment. The
quotation below happens when Daniel knows that Miranda is looking for a housekeeper. Knowing the fact, Daniel interrogates Christopher. Seeing Daniel
uncontrolled question, Christopher asks his sister to help him. “But you did want to come?” he pressed his son.
Christopher shook himself irritability, and turned to Lydia for help. She answered for him. p. 34
It also happens when Christopher feels disappointed with his mother decision. His mother looks for a house keeper without asking his opinion. He thinks that his
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mother tries to keep him away from his father. “You didn’t.” Christopher was surly. “You tried to keep him right out, as usual.” He turned to his sister for
support. Didn’t she, Lydia?” p.70. Whenever he tries to argue on his father’s or mother’s decision, he always asks his sister’s support. The quotations above prove
that he is a dependent child, he needs someone to lean on. c. Rebellious
Having an inconvenient situation, Christopher becomes a rebellious boy. He
cannot accept his parents’ divorce. He often complains whenever her mother tries to put him away from his father. The first example is when his mother picks him
up early in his father’s apartment. Christopher shows his dislike through his speech. He protests in a petulant voice p.51. The word petulant is given by the
author to describe Christopher’s characteristics. The second is when his mother hires a housekeeper to take care of the
house and the children. “Why do we have to have a housekeeper anyway, mother? The house is all
right, and so are we And if you need us to be looked after, why can’t Dad do it?” p.68
“But isn’t fair,” he persisted. “I didn’t mean to be rude, and I’m sorry if I was. But I still don’t see why Lydia and Natty and I can’t spend the extra
time with Dad.” p.69-70
Through Christopher’s speech, the readers can see that Christopher loves his
father. Only having a few times with his father changes him into rebellious child. Another occasion that shows the rebellion side of Christopher is when his
mother picks the children up early. He complains in a rebellious voice because of
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having short time with his father. “The quail is home,” Christopher muttered with all the insolence of remaindered rebellion. p. 51. All of those quotations above
implicitly describe a rebellion side of Christopher. This is also one of the divorce’s influences on children’s behavior.
3. The Characteristics of Natalie
