very brave and very kind. You m ay not know it, but you are helping him. I’ve
tried … but … Bauer, 2004: 183”.
3. Smart
Aside from his great skill in drawing, Joseph is a smart boy, especially when he has to face Tom. Joseph knows that in order to draw the real Tom, he
has to know who Tom is. Knowing that Tom is a mystery, Joseph needs to find a way to get to know him and that is not easy because nobody knows Tom
except Tom himself and his sister. When Joseph realizes that the silkworm can be the gateway for him to, at
least, talks to him, he takes the chance. Even when Joseph is caught in a tactless moment when Tom suggests Joseph not to come back if he does not
want to, Joseph changes the subject back to the silkworms to clear the air. Joseph’s reaction by changing the subject to make the situation less
uncomfortable is a smart move. By his reaction in that situation, it is a clue to show Joseph’s smart characteristic in reacting to various situations and events
Murphy, 1972: 168. When Joseph is about to leave, he offers to bring some mulberry leaves for the silkworms the next time Joseph comes.
Joseph placed his hand on the door frame and spoke without turning around. ‘If you want,’ he said, the words searching like tentative fingers in
the dark, ‘I could pick some mulberry leaves and bring them with me … next time … if the eggs have hatched. Bauer, 2004: 74’
This shows that Joseph tries to find a way to have another interaction with Tom by having conversation or even a small activity together.
Beforehand, Joseph does not have any interest with silkworms, but having silkworm-activity with Tom can be also a way to study Tom, even with less
conversation. By watching Tom do his silkworm-activity, Joseph starts to see little by little the other side of Tom that has been shown from the outside.
The mysterious behavior that Tom has for the past thirty years is never missed to be talked around the neighborhood from year to year. From a person
that has been lived there for a long time until new person even children in the neighborhood. Tom has become a terrifying person to small kids like Joseph
and his friends. The local kids told Joseph stories of horrible deformity and madness, as
well as sinister tales that could be revealed only in sly whispers. Whatever the truth might have been, it was soon lost like a delicate flower in a tangle
of noxious weeds. Although Joseph didn’t really believe the cruel stories he had heard, like
everyone else he was drawn to the mystery of the secretive neighbor Bauer, 2004: 7.
Even the stories of Tom that revolves in the neighborhood are always about the bad and horror of Tom, Joseph himself does not really solely believe
the stories he hears. He hears, but not really listening. He is not easily consumed with what people say about Tom even he does not know the truth.
That is actually something that makes Joseph dare himself to go to Tom’s house.
For the first time Joseph had the opportunity to really observe Tom Leyton. After all the wild rumours he had heard about disfigurement and
deformity, it was quite a sho ck to see that Tom Leyton’s face was strong
and engaging, although it invited no communication Bauer, 2004: 7. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Coming as a young boy who does not really know what he is doing, Joseph is actually being smart by trying to be open and accept Tom as his
model.
C. The Contribution of Joseph Davidson as the Minor Character to
Tom’s Personality Change
As a minor character, the presence of Joseph gives a great contribution in transforming Tom as the main character because Joseph is the one who can
actually motivate Tom to realize he has a life that leads Tom to have a personality change. As Hurlock said in Personality Development, personality
changes happen because of various adjustments in the thoughts and feelings regarding to
person’s concept of self Hurlock, 1974: 124. The reasons that are considered to be responsible for the adjusments comes from many conditions.
Four of many conditions are changes in environment, changes in significant people, changes in social pressure, and changes in self-concept.
The change after Tom meets Joseph is not his first time. Before Tom meets Joseph, his personality has been significantly changed after he returned
from the war. Tom’s first change happen because his deployment to the war
when the environment and the pressure are different than before. A whole lot different environment forces him to fulfill new pressures, as Hurlock said that
“strong social pressures encourage changes in certain aspects of personality” Hurlock, 1974: 126. Moreover, after the pressure that Tom has in the
battlefield, he get another pressure when he returned home and cannot make PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
peace with the nightmare in the battlefield. The military experiences make Tom cannot live like before that motivates him to shut his world and change his self-
concept.
Jos eph’s Contribution as A Friend
Joseph Davidson, a very talented young artist, has put himself in a series of situation that he does not realize will give someone a chance to live again
after thirty years living in a dead life. As a minor character, Joseph does not show much significant changes or dynamic of himself. As stated in Reading
The Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques of Interpreting Fiction by Roger B. Henkle,
Occasionally such representative figures play larger roles in a novel without reaching the importance of a major character. Often we encounter
a character who seems to embody the attitudes and way of life that we assume to be average or normal for a person in this society, and whom we
cannot say is purely incidental to the unfolding of the story. Such a character may be a friend of a major character in the novel, or ones who
comes on the scene frequently to comment on events or interact with the major characters Henkle, 1977: 95.
Most of the story is about his meeting with Tom and their relationship. Therefore, the researcher finds Joseph as the minor character is important to
the changing of Tom. In his relationship with Tom, Joseph plays as a friend who encourages Tom to have interactions with Joseph and to have motivation
to believe in himself. As a minor character, the presence of Joseph with all of his characteristics
gives a great contribution in transforming Tom as the main character because Joseph is the one who can actually motivate Tom to realize he has a life.
Standing as a minor character, Joseph supports the main character by creating PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
spheres for Tom to open up his eyes. As stated by Henkle, “the most obvious function of secondary character is to populate the world of the novel.” Henkle,
1977: 94. As an old man who once loved kids, added with the loneliness that Tom
has for the past thirty years with no friends, Tom is not certain about the presence of Joseph. Nevertheless, the arrival of Joseph makes Tom doubt
himself about not wanting a company other than his sister in the house. Tom does not, in a very long time, have someone who he can be spending time with
other than his sister. When Joseph comes to
Tom’s house in a very careful way as stated in the previous analysis as part of Joseph
’s smartness, Tom knows that Joseph is not a threat for his current condition.
Not knowing about Tom’s condition, Tom sees the bravery inside Joseph. Moreover, Joseph comes as a young boy who still
has innocence within him, but no show of himself as a stupid boy. Some of the neighbors will con
sider Joseph is not being smart by going to Tom’s house. On the other hand, Joseph feels the other way around when he knows that Tom is
not as bad as what people say, confirmed with line saying “After the wild rumours he had heard disfigurement and deformity, it was quite a shock to see
that Tom Leyton’s face was strong and enganging” Bauer, 2004: 63. When at first Joseph thinks that it is a bad idea to go to Tom’s house, he
cannot lie to himself that later he is interested in knowing more about Tom. His curiosity speaks for itself. Therefore, Jose
ph keeps coming to Tom’s house. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
