24 Theory and
Kennedy and Gioia’s Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. Then, in order to understand the Marxi
sm approach, Barry’s Beginning theory
and Bertens’ Literary theory were applied. In addition, the researcher applied Katresnanism approach as proposed by Herujiyanto.
There were some steps that the researcher did when conducting this study. The first step was reading the whole novel in order to understand the story. The
researcher focused on Bhi sma’s characteristics, struggles, and his details stated in
the novel. Then, the researcher reread the novel again and tried to understand it more. The researcher focused on Bhisma as the main character and noted some
useful, related information to Bhisma. It could be obtained by observing the description by the narrator or the author as well as the description or thought by
the other characters. Then, the researcher provided two formulated problems in order to limit the topic being discussed and other char
acters’ thoughts about him. The second step was finding more data in relation to the two formulated
problems from other books and sources, for example, theory of character and characterisation to answer the first problem formulation: how Bhisma is portrayed
in the novel. In addition, theory of Marxism and theory of Katresnanism were applied to answer the second problem formulation: the
meanings of Bhisma’s struggles. The third step was analysing the two formulated problems by applying
all Marxism theory and the second aos of Katresnanism theory. At this point, the researcher did the analysis from both primary and secondary sources to support
the findings. Finally as the last step, the researcher drew a conclusion for this study.
25
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This study deals with the characteristics of Bhisma, the major character of The Question of Red and the meanings of his struggles. The discussion of this
chapter is divided into two parts based on the two formulated problems as mentioned in the first chapter. The first part is the discussion of
Bhisma’s characteristics, while the second one
discusses the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles.
A. Bhisma’s Characteristics
The analysis on the character of Bhis ma is based on Murphy’s theory of
character and characterisation. According to Forster in Gill 1995 and Thomas and Johnson 2006, Bhisma belongs to round character since a lot of changes
occur to him throughout the story. He, additionally, has more than two predominant traits characteristics. Besides, the nine ways of Murphy reveals
Bhisma’s characteristics and personalities. This study, accordingly, concerns on the analysis of
the meanings of Bhisma’s characteristics. As a result, there are seven of Bhisma’s characteristics found in The Question of Red.
1. Attractive
Bhisma is an attractive man. He is popular among staff in Sono Walujo Hospital due to his good appearance. When Amba arrives at the Sono Walujo
hospital for the first time and registers herself, there is a young woman staff
26 introduces
Bhisma to Amba. “This new doctor”, the young woman says with a sudden blush, “is a graduate from a German University. He is, how shall I say it,
very un-Indonesian. His mannerism, even his face, seem half-European ” p. 172.
It makes Amba curious about him. In addition, Bhisma becomes a trending topic among nurses and female staff when they gather to have lunch. They say
, “So handsome and aristocratic” p. 195. They talk about him because they are
attracted to Bhisma. One day in the afternoon, Amba meets Bhisma behind a tree. Without any
doubt, she directly states Bhisma is the most handsome man that she has ever seen.
“He was unusually tall. Easily more than six feet, a height that seemed to cause him to stoop a l
ittle, and made Amba feel tiny” p. 181. Bhisma’s appearance is definitely perfect for every woman. Since then, Amba has not been
able to look at him because of his attractiveness.
2. Attentive
a. Attentive to His Family
Bhisma’s own life forms him grows as a caring person. He experiences many things, especially since he
knows their parents’ fall into poverty. Prior to that, Bhisma lives in a noble, rich, and happy family. His father works as
respectable publisher of high quality books . Nevertheless, his family’s life
drastically changes in early 1940s, when Japan took off Indonesia from Netherlands, all people lived in an apprehensive situation.
One day, when Bhisma is playing with his friend, Tony Muis, he hears their parents discussing to plan to sell any good to survive during the war.
