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a. Theme
Hartoko and Rahmanto 1986:142 says that the theme is the ideas of common bases that sustains a work of literature and are contained in the text
semantic structure and regarding commonality or differences. Theme is the main idea that the writer expresses. Theme also can be defined as the underlying
meaning of the story. Theme is another prime element of literature, which contains the central idea of all literary form such as novel, drama and short story.
It reflects innocence, experience, live, death, reality, fate, madness, sanity, love, society, individual etc. Stanton and Kenny 1965:70 have stated theme is a
meaning of story which especially explains a big part of the elements in the simple way. It is more or less synonymous the central idea and central purpose.
The expanding of story does not always paralled with the framework because the idea will often develop suitable with the author’s will. Hamalian and Karl
1976:23 says that where they claim that before a writing story, the author will frame her ideas first. But when she thinks that the idea has become so usual in life
and bored, she develops it out of the basic framework and makes her story more interesting to be enjoyed and implemented her readers.
In novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Smith as the author of this novel builded the theme by seeing the real conditions of her environment in her town
that is Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She framed her life story became a novel. The theme is about struggles of a woman to fight her dreams and her existene. Francie
Nolan as the main character is the person who fight for that. She does everything for getting her dreams although she grew up poor but she never give up to fight
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her dreams and her existence. And the last she get all the things she wants especially get her existence from her environment. By her struggles, Francie
proves that a woman is not borned only for being a wife but a woman can be able to be an educated woman.
b. Character
. Harahap 2007: 23-24 wrote that character has several meanings, the
most common of which is “the aggeregiate of traits and features that form the nature of person or animals”. Characters also refer to moral and ethical standards
and principles. In literature, character has several other specific meanings, notably that of a person represented in a story, novel, play, etc. In seventeenth and
eighteenth century England, a character was a formal sketch or descriptive analysis of particular virtue or vice as represented in a person, what is a more
often called a character sketch. In a literary work, character is made to complete a novel operation to the reader that has been planned by maker. Eastman 1965:17
states, “Character is an apparatus, mechanism, a device planned by his maker to help power the complete operation of novel upon the reader.”
A character occupies a strategic position to bring and convey message, moral, or something that is purposely conveyed to the reader. Siregar 1997:53,
Abrams 1985:21 says thatcharacters are the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted by the 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. The grounds in character’s temperament and moral
nature for his speech and action constitute his motivations. Scott 1980: 48
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defined that character is short pros sketches of different types of people moulded to a pattern. From this definition we can catch an idea that characters are drawn
from different types to a pattern. Each of character has his or her own traits. Characters may be ambitious or lazy, serene or anxious, aggressive or tearful,
thoughtful or inconsiderate, open or secretive, confident or self doubting, kind or cruel, quite or noisy, visionary or practical, careful or careless, impartial or biased,
straightforward or underhanded,”winners”or”losers” and so on. Characters can be convincing whether they are presented by showing or by telling. Michael Meyer
2002: 121 states, “Authors have two major methods of presenting characters; showing and telling. Showing allows the author to present a character talking and
acting, and lets the reader infer what kind of person the character is. In telling, the authors intervenses to describe and sometimes evaluated the character for the
reader”. Smith wrote down in the novel that there are many kinds of characters in
this novel but there are only five main characters. They are Francie Nolan, Katie Nolan, Johnny Nolan, Neeley Nolan and McShane.Talking about their each
characters, all of the main characters has different character. Francie Nolan is an ambitious woman. She is hard fighter and clever. Katie Nolan, Francie’s mother
seems like her. They haves many similarities. Katie Nolan is also hard worker. She is smart and wise woman. But she has trouble to build a good communication
with her daughter, Francie Nolan. Johnny Nolan, Francie’s father is not responsible man. He is not good enough for being a father for his children. He is
drinking. Altough Johnny Nolan has a bad character according many people, but
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for Francie, he is a good father even she knows that her father is a drinking. Francie lover her father because only her father knows and understands about her
languange, her dreams and her fighting. And Johnny Nolan does the same way. He loves his familiy but he does not know how to show it because he thinks he is
not a good husband and father for her family. Their poverty makes Johnny Nolan stress and depression. Neeley Nolan is Francie’s brother. Neeley is a good boy but
he does not has deep wishing like as his sister. He is not too ambitious but he loves so much his mother and sister. Neeley has a capability to manage money
well. And the last main characters is McScane. McScane does not has full part in this novel, but his presence gives big effects for Francie’s family. After her father,
Johnny Nolan has gone, McScane comes for being a new father for Francie and Neeley. McScane is very understanding person. He is very kind and patient. He
never forces Francie and Neeley to accept him as their father because he knows that he never can be able to change Johnny Nolan in their heart.
It is all about the main characters in the novel. Yet, the writer only analyzed Francie Nolan specificly because the writer wants to discuss only about
her struggles to fight her dreams and her existance from feminism approach.Francie is the point of this story. All the journey of this novel is talking
about how Francie fights, pretends, and success by helping another main characters especially her family.
c. Characterizations
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