5
capable of and what they are interested in. Before the child are assigned a job, they have plenty of training hours to accomplish.
In the ceremony of twelve, where all the people in the community gathered, every twelve has been chosen a job. Surprisingly Jonas has been selected as the
next Receiver of Memory by the chief elder. This task is very important in the community because there is only one receiver in the community and he has to
receive all the memories from the past. It means he has great responsibility in his shoulder. This memories have been kept from society because they did not want
to suffer from the memories itself. It brought pain to them. Jonas had no idea of what task of a new Receiver is about.
He had given some privileges which others cannot get, in order to complete the training. As the time goes by and he had done the training, the character of
Jonas changed. He received memories and feelings that he never felt before. From the training he knew the feeling of happiness, joyful, sadness, and hatred. He felt
more ‘human’ by receiving the memory. From the plot above,
it is important to know how Jonas’s characteristic developed since he is selected by the chief elder as the next receiver of memory.
Henceforth this study aims to know why his character changed from the perspective of psychology.
In order to analyze the topic of this thesis, the writer concludes three problem formulations. First, how the character of Jonas described. Second, what the issues
that Jonas faces in the society are. Third, what the influence of the society toward Jonas’ character development.
6
B. Problem Formulation
From the background of the study that the writer has described above, the writer concluded three problem formulations, which are:
1. What are the descriptions of Jonas’ character? 2. What were the issues that Jonas faced in the society?
3. What is the influence of the society toward Jonas’s character development?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on problem formulations above, there are three objectives of the study which must be found out in the thesis in order to answer the problem formulation.
First of all, it tries to see how the character of Jonas described in the novel. The second is to examine the issues of the society in the novel. The third is to find out
Jonas’s character development due to the experience that he faces.
D. Definition of Terms
To understand more about the topic, the writer gives some explanations on several important terms mainly used and closely related to the topic.
1. Character
In Glossary of Literary Terms-fourth edition , it is stated that “Characters are
the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7
reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue- and by what they do-the action” 1981: 20.
2. Characterization
According to Sylvan Barnet, Morton Berman, and William Burto in an Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, Drama I, characterization is defined
by what the characters do stage direction, by what they say, by what others say about them, and by the setting in which they move. From what the character say
in the context of the story, the readers can see their characterizations. From what the character does in the story, the readers can easily recognize the character’s
action in the story. Other people’s actions in the story may also help to indicate the characterization of the character.
3. Personality
Jess Feist and Gregory J. Feist in Theories of Personality discussed that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics
that gave both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior 2006: 196.
4. Development
In An Introduction to Theories of Human Development, development is explained as a series of changes that is moving forward in a measurable pattern as
a result of the interaction between biological and environmental factors Salkind, 2004: 4.
8
Lemme defines development in Development in Adulthood, as systematic changes in behavior overtime that result from interaction between the individual
and the internal and external environment 1995: 8.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter consists of three parts: Review of Related Studies, Review of Related Theories, and Theoretical Framework. In the Review of Related Studies,
the writer gives a brief explanation on certain studies that have been done that have similar topic with the writer’s study. In the Review of Related Theories, the
writer explains about the theories that are going to be used which are relevant for analyzing the topic of the writer’s study. In Theoretical Framework, the writer
explains how the theories are applied in the writer’s study.
A. Review of Related Studies
This discussion is not the only one that discusees Louis Lowry’s The Giver.
The topic of the study is different, but there are other people who have done the same topic in the previous years.The writer finds some related studies that discuss
the same work but in different topic. Those related studies help the writer to understand more about the issue in the novel that the writer wants to reveal.
There are two undergraduate theses that analyze the same work, but have different topics from the writers. The first undergraduate thesis is entitled
“The PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
Importance of Memory Relating to Jonas’ Self-Actualization through Jonas’ Characteristics in Lois Lowry’s The Giver” by Yoseph Hary Wibowo
Yoseph focuses on how the character of Jonas deals with all the memories and how the tracks of memory become the way Jonas actualizes himself. He said in
his undergraduate thesis: “Lives generally need memory. The community needs a receiver of
memory to give them wisdom of life. Jonas decide to escape the community forever in order to unleash all memories that have been kept from the citizens for
so long. This kind of struggle is considered as self- actualization” 2008: ix.
Therefore, the roles of memory are very important that can lead to Jonas’
self- actualization. In his thesis, Yoseph wants to analyze Jonas’ self-actualization
through the way Jonas faces the experiences to deal with all the memories. From memories, people get many experiences of life. From experiences itself, they can
learn something about life and take the value from it. “With his characteristics, Jonas is able to experience life meaningfully that
is full of memories. Later, the importance of memory can be perceived since received memories have given him wisdom of life” 2008: ix.
Yoseph uses psychological approach in his undergraduate thesis, since the concept of memory and self-actualization are the significant theories in
psychology. The topic that the writer chose is different from Yoseph, but using the same approach. The writer wants to analyze the character development of
Jonas using psychological approach. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
10
Other related study that use the same work is Pranathalia Bondan Prasnorirni’s undergraduate thesis entitled “Revealing the Theme through
Characters and Settings: A Formalistic Study of Louis Lowry’s The Giver”. Pranathalia explores the descriptions on characters and settings to reveal the
theme the main idea of the novel. “All characters in the novel are pictured as good persons. They live with strict rules, etiquettes and habits that help to shape
their personalities. The setting in the novel is described as unemployment, peaceful, safe and comfortable society” 2004: x.
As Pranathalia mentioned above, she explains how the settings place and time can influence people’s characteristics in the novel. She explains the
descriptions on characters and settings one by one in details using formalistic approach to reveal the theme of the novel. Yet here the writer uses different
approach from Pranathalia’s undergraduate thesis. Since the focuses in the thesis is the character development of Jonas in The
Giver, the writer adds another related study that use the same approach. This study is taken from Nicki Astrianingsih’ undergraduate thesis entitled “A
Psychological Study of the Character Development of Maud in Sarah Water’s Fingersmith
”. Although the literary work that Nicki analyzed is different from the writer, it uses the same approach, which is psychological approach to understand
the character development of the main character in the novel. “Maud’s personality changes are affected by several conditions. Maud’s
personality development is supported by external factors. The external factors are the environment and her experiences that she gets in the madhouse, her uncle’s
