2.1.1 Character
Theory of character contains some crucial parts to understand the characters in the novel. It is important to find out the answer to the first problem
of this study. Those parts are definitions of character and types of character.
2.1.1.1 Definitions of Character
Character is one of the most important elements in literary works. Abrams defines character as “a literary genre: a short, and usually witty, sketch in prose of
a distinctive type of person” or “the persons 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” 20. In other words, characters are the people in the
novel, including their personalities or characteristics. Through the eyes of the characters, the readers can experience not only the characters’ life but also see
what Henkle says as “a vision of a world” 48. The characters show the picture of their world in the story and make the readers able to identify the novel’s world.
The character in the novel, as Forster calls as “Homo Fictus” 38, has the qualities of ordinary human beings. They are named, given sexes, provided with
personalities, including physical and psychological aspects. But, there is a difference since the characters in the novel can be understood completely because
their inner and outer life can be exposed if the author wants to, something that cannot be found in real life Forster 32.
Characters have the essence of being stable or changed in the works of literature. One thing to remember is that characters need consistency. They cannot
act in a way they impossibly do along the beginning up to the end of the works. It is one of the significant elements that should exist, because they are figures who
make the works have the reason to tell something, which is about the characters themselves.
2.1.1.2 Types of Character
Character in literary works can be categorized into some types. Forster as quoted by Abrams divides characters into flat and round. He states a flat character
is a character without many details which is built around “a single idea or quality” and can be described in a single phrase or sentence. Meanwhile, a round character
is a complex character in temperament and motivation that it is difficult to describe him with any adequacy as a real person. He also has the capability to
surprise the reader 20-21. Stanton differentiates character into main or central character and
peripheral character. A main character is the person who is relevant to every event in the story, and usually the events cause some changes either in him or in the
readers’ attitudes toward him. A main character always appears continuously, so it seems that he dominates the whole story. On the other hand, a peripheral character
is the person who seems to appear rarely in the story. His presentation is not as many as the main character and less dominant in changing 17-18.
Kategori