edition, dedicated to Jan Hofmeyr, came out three months before Hofmeyr’s death at age 53 in December 1948. Book sales in South Africa were second only to those of
the bible, and Paton became famous. http:archives.obs- us.comobsenglishfilmsmxcryaboutb.htm. Paton became famous after the first
edition of Cry, the Beloved Country not only in South Africa but also in Europe because the novel soon translated into 20 languages.
Paton knew the area around Ndotsheni well. He taught school there when he was a young man. It is here where most of the main character in the novel was born.
Paton wants to write a literary work because he wants to reveal his minds and ideas, which concern with his environment. We can learn many things in literature, such as
the characterization of the main character, the conflict faced by the main character, the setting of the story, and the ideas or criticism that the author wants to show, and
through the conflict, we can see that the author describes his ideas of social criticism and fate by using a language that the reader may understood. Basicly, the internal
conflicts happen in the story faces by the main character Stephen Kumalo wants to show the people of South-Africa against the discrimination of races and the injustice
at the time when Paton lives. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
B. Problem Formulation
This part discusses three problems which I formulate to give a brief definition of my study. The problems are formulated as follows:
1. How is Stephen Kumalo depicted in the novel? 2. What are the conflicts and the causes of the conflicts faced by Stephen Kumalo?
3. What are Paton’s criticism of the South African Society in the early 20th century as reflected in Stephen Kumalo’s conflicts?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study aimed to answer the questions in problem formulation. First, the study discusses the characterization of Stephen Kumalo as the main character of the
novel. Second, the study discusses the conflicts and the causes of the main character’s conflicts. This discussion will reveal other characters and condition which causes the
main character having conflicts. Third, the discussion will be focused on the conflicts faced by the main character. This study will connected the problem formulation one
and two to answer problem formulation four. Four, the discussion will reveal the author criticism toward the South African society at that time. This study will reveal
the conflicts of the main character to show what Paton criticizes toward the South African society at that time.
D. Definition of Terms
To get a clear understanding about the study, I try to explain some important terms or definition related with the topic of the discussion. Those terms are as
follows:
1. Conflicts
I would like to give a little brief definition about what the meaning of conflict. Conflict is the struggle that grows out of the interplay of two opposing forces in a plot
At least one of the opposing forces is usually a person, or, if an animal or animate object is treated as though it were a person, a protagonist. There may be involvement
in conflicts of four different kinds 1 a struggle against nature 2 a struggle against another person 3 a struggle against society 4 a struggle for mastery two elements
within the person Holman and Harmon, 1986 :107. Conflict may be divided into two kinds, internal and external conflict. Internal
conflict is between two desires within a character; external conflict is between characters or between a character and his environment Stanton, 1965 : 62. I can
conclude that internal conflicts is the condition where the character have to struggle inside himself while external conflicts is the struggle between the character and the
force outside the character which could be anything. This internal conflicts makes the character shows certain feelings such as fear, suffer, depressed, angry or even sad.
2. Social Criticism
The definition of Social Criticism in this section I divided into two. First I try give the definition of Criticism itself then Social, and then I try to draw conclusion
from both definitions. The definition of the word “criticism as Paul Procter states in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English is “the act of forming and expressing
judgements about the good or bad qualities of anything, especially artistic work, work of a critic” 1978:263.
In the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literature Terms edited by Chris Baldick, “Criticism is an activity which one of them is judgement of its worth by
comparison with other work”. Baldick also adds more specific explanation that “criticism is concerned with revealing the author’s explanation sometimes called
‘expressive’ Criticism 1991: 48. While Society, used by a novelist, sometimes refers merely to the high or
fashionable class. However, ‘society’ can be wider in sense, not only comprehending merely people and their class but also their customs, conventions, beliefs and values,
their institutional-legal, religious and cultural and their physical environments Langland, 1984: 6. I can conclude that society is a group of people who live
together with their own values, beliefs and customs. A society in this study refers to the South African Society. There are many
aspects I can learn through the South African society such as their customs, how they live, their believes, norms, and politics.
I conclude that Social Criticism is an act of expressing judgment toward a group of people that live in one area, and that judgment could be toward anything
such as values, norms or even politics. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
