31 Pilon whirled him around and kicked
him with accuracy and fire. “Pig,‟ he said, „dirty thieving cow. You will get the blanket back or I will beat you
to ribbons.‟ p. 85 Murphy 1972 states that character can be seen through direct comment
and reaction. Based on the author‟s direct comment and also Pilon‟s reaction, it is
proven that Pilon is idealistic. His effort to show his gratitude to his good friend and his reaction to scold somebody who does a bad thing to his friend show that
he is an idealistic person.
2. The Pirate
This part analyzes the Pirate‟s characters. According to Murphy‟s theory, characterization can be revealed through many ways. One of them is through
personal description. It means that the author describes a person‟s appearance and clothes. Steinbeck introduces the Pirate at the first time through this way. He
describes the Pirate as a huge and broad man who has thick beard. The Pirate wears shoes, jeans and a blue shirt without any hat.
A great many people saw the Pirate every day, and some laughed at him, and some pitied him; but no one knew him very well, and no one
interfered with him. He was a huge, broad man, with a tremendous black and bushy beard. He wore jeans and a blue shirt, and he had no hat. In
town he wore shoes. p. 59
The Pirate‟s character can be recognized not only from his physical appearance, but also from his behavior. He has strong characteristics that make
him different from other people in Tortilla Flat. There are five characteristics of the Pirate found in the novel as follow:
a. Least intelligent
Steinbeck describes the Pirate as the least intelligent person. It can be seen
32 through character seen by another Murphy, 1972. Pilon sees that the Pirate is not
an intelligent person. The Pirate does not have a good brain like others because he cannot think as good as other people. That is why the Pirate cannot take care of
himself. „…God did not give him all the brain he should have. That poor little
Pirate cannot look after himself. For see, he lives in filth in an old chicken house. He feeds upon scraps fit only for his dogs. His clothes are thin and
ragged. And because his brain is not a good one, he hides his money.‟ p. 62
Steinbeck also describes the Pirate as least intelligent through “direct
comment”. “The Pirate looked down at the ground and tried to think clearly, but as always, when he attempted to cope with a problem, his brain grew grey and no
help came from it, but only a feeling of helplessness” p. 65. The Pirate has difficulty to think clearly. When he tries to think about a solution to his problem,
he becomes confused. Therefore, he finds no way to solve his problem. The proof above shows that the Pirate does not have good intelligence like
his friends. He is the least intelligent among the paisanos. Therefore, he cannot cope with problems in his life. He does not find any solution to his problems. He
needs help from others.
b. Dependent
The Pirate is not a self-reliant person. He depends his days on others. He cannot face his life without others. That is why, he is always accompanied by his
five dogs. He feels safe when he is around his dogs. Therefore, he becomes dependent on his dogs. Pilon also sees that the Pirate cannot take care himself.
„God did not give him all the brain he should have. The poor little Pirate cannot look after himself. For see, he lives in filth in an old chicken house.
33 He feeds upon scraps fit only for his dogs. His clothes are thin and
ragged.‟ p. 62 …
He looked to his dogs for protection, but they had gone back to sleep, for it was none of their business. p. 66
… As he walked down the street, he felt naked and unprotected without his
dogs. It was as though one of his senses were gone. He was frightened to be out alone. Anyone might attack him. p. 129
Thus, it is proven that the Pirate cannot take care of himself. He depends on his dogs to get protection from the harmful things in his life. Besides, it also
shows that the Pirate cannot cope with his own problem. Not only does the Pirate depend on animals, but also he depends on other
people. It can be seen when Pilon tells him that his friends worry about his way of living, he cannot decide what to do. He says “ „You must tell me what to do,
Pilon. I did not know these things” p. 66. It shows that the Pirate waits for
Pilon‟s suggestion. He cannot find any solution for his problem. Moreover, he depends on his friend‟s decision.
Regarding character as seen by another, direct comment, and speech Murphy, 1972, it is concluded that the Pirate is a dependent person. He needs
other person to solve his own problem. Moreover, he depends on his pets for the protection from the danger.
c. Simple
