character and characterization, theory of the relationship between literature and psychology, and theory of alienation in social psychology.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
In a novel, a character becomes a very essential intrinsic element since it is the center of the story. A character in a story becomes the device to deliver the
value that is implied by the author. According to Abrams 2012: 46, “the characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work,
who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-
the dialogue-and by what they do-the action
”. A character may expose the nature of the person itself to be hisher distinct
feature. Therefore, a character is an individual in a narrative work that has characteristics which contribute to the development of the story. So, a character
becomes an important intrinsic element in a story. By then, the characteristics of a character can be seen from what they say and do.
In addition, whenever the writer conducts a literature criticism particularly while analyzing the character, the writer has to acknowledge the characterizing
method or known as characterization. The way to analyze a character can be both by showing and telling. In
A Glossary of Literary Terms: Tenth Edition
, Abrams and Harpham explain:
A broad distinction is frequently made between alternative methods for characterizing that is, establishing the distinctive characters of the
persons in a narrative: showing and telling. In showing also called „the dramatic method”, the author simply presents the characters talking and
acting, and leaves it entirely up to the reader to infer the motives and dispositions that lie behind what they say and do. The author may show
not only external speech and action, but also a character’s inner thoughts,
feelings, and responsiveness to events; for a highly developed mode such inner showing, see
stream of consciousness
. In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and often to evaluate, the
motives and dispositional qualities of the characters Abrams and Harpham, 2012: 47.
Through talking in dialogue, the character is pictured. It is because
dialogue gives the reader a clue about what qualities that a character has. In fact, dialogue is not only able to give the reader information about the qualities of the
character but also to infer the character’s motives behind the dialogue. As a result, the reader m
ay see further what lies behind the character’s dialogue to define the characteristics of that character.
In order to define the character’s characteristics, there are several ways that can be applied. Murphy, in the book
Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Student
, delivers nine ways to examine a
person’s characteristics in a work of literature. The first way is personal description. Through personal description, the
author tells directly a character’s details such hisher appearance and clothes. For an instance, if the character wears ragged and dingy clothes in any occasions in
the story and the character’s eyes are hollow, the reader has the image that
character is a slob. Those descriptions are described by the author. Hence, to identify the character’s characteristics, the reader can focus on the author’s
description. The second way is character as seen by another. Through the eyes and
opinions of another, the author can describe a character’s quality. For an instance,
the other characters see a certain character as a kind-hearted person because that
