arrangement of the room evokes a comfortable feeling. The properties and its arrangement show and emphasize the good financial condition.
The actual geographical location in this novel refers to the place inhabited by the society. The condition of topography, natural and artificial scenery reveals
the social condition of society in France. Most of the description of landscape conveys an unwell condition; it presents a boring miserable place. The
manufactured setting and its physical arrangement of peasants’ cottage or inn show the poverty as having bad financial condition. On the contrary, the actual
geographical location of the monastery evokes comfortable feeling and shows good financial condition.
2. The Occupations and Daily Manner of Living of the Characters
Setting can be learnt through the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters to discover the social condition of the society in the novel. In the
novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters are conveyed through the statement of the character in the
novel. It was five in the morning, and four thousand feet above the sea; and I had
to bury my hands in my pockets and trot. People were trooping out to the labours of the field by twos and threes, and all turned round to stare upon
stranger. I had seen them coming back last night, I saw them going a field again; and there was the life of Bouchet in a nutshell p.20.
From the quotation above, it can be seen that the setting conveys a routine phenomenon in the society; most people work as farmers and peasants. It gives
the sight of the peasants’ work. Life is hard for them since they start working at 29
early morning and stop working at night. Peasants do that a such work everyday. The life of the peasants in Bouchet is conditioned in that daily routine. The
occupation is clarified by the description about people who work in the field. It is also presented in this sentence: “On both sides of the road, in big dusty fields,
farmers were preparing for next spring p.23.” The quotation gives the information that a farmer does his or her work in the field continually. Working in
the field is a daily routine for farmers. The quotation above shows that the farmer’s occupation is done in most of the season. The daily manner of peasants is
described by working hard. From all these furrowing ploughshares, from the feet of oxen, from
labourer here and there who was breaking the dry clods with a hue, the wind carried away a thin dust like so much smoke p. 23.
The quotation above shows that peasants need work hard to cultivate the field with its dry soil. In the novel, the occupation of peasants or farmers which is
shown are not only working in the field but also gathering leaves for the animals. The slope was strewn with lopped branches, and here and there a great
package of leaves was propped against a trunk; for even the leaves are serviceable, and the peasants use them in winter by way of fodder for their
animals p.89.
The setting presents peasants’ or farmers’ occupation with their daily manner which always do labor in the field along the day and some of them also gather
leaves for the animals. It is a routine activity for them. The novel describes the occupations and daily manner of living of the
characters through people who work as shepherd. The daily manner of living of the shepherd is explained directly. “[…] and I found at length that it came from
someone leading flocks a field to the note of a rural horn p. 64”. It is in the 30
morning that the daily manner of living of shepherds is leading their animals. Shepherds’ work is always keeping animals. The novel describes the shepherds’
work along the day. The road smoked in the twilight with children driving home cattle from the
fields; and a pair of mounted stride-legged women, hat and cap and all, dashed past me at a hammering trot from the canton where they had been
to church and market p.16.
The setting describes shepherds, who are children, who drive the cattle home in the afternoon, while women go home from the church or market. The daily life
shows that shepherds lead their animal to the rural horn in the morning and lead them home in the afternoon. The novel also describes that at night shepherds still
keep animals. Cattle awake on the meadows; sheep break their fast on dewy hillsides,
and change to a new lair among the ferns; and houseless men, who have lain down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of the
night p.67.
The quotation explains that shepherds who are houseless keep their animal in the open nature. They spend all their time just with the cattle. When the cattle wake
up, they do too. Close to the last chapter of this novel, shepherd who is very old struggles with the harsh nature in driving their animals.
A very old shepherd, hobbling on pair of sticks, and wearing a black cap liberty, as if in honour of his nearness to the grave, directed me to the road
for St. Germain de Calberte […] Where he dwelt, how he got upon this high ridge, or how he proposed to get down again, were more than I could
fancy p.108.
Shepherd is described as a hard working person that needs to work hard driving the animals in the harsh nature. It is seen in what he has done, getting on the
highland and going down again. Furthermore, shepherds always keep animals 31
every time. The occupations and daily manner of living of the shepherds show the harsh life for shepherds.
The setting of the novel also presents a seller occupation. In the beginning of the story, the setting is explained by the action of character who wants to start
his journey and buy a donkey in the market. It can be seen that seller is one of occupation in the society.
Father Adam had a cart, and to draw the cart a diminutive she-ass, not bigger than a dog […] Our first interview was in Monastier market-place
[…] all the buyers and sellers came round and helped me in the bargain; and the ass and I and Father Adam were the centre of a hubbub for near
half an hour p. 4.
From the statement, it can be seen that bargaining process happens between a buyer and a seller. Thus, some part of the societies has the occupation of sellers.
In order to support the description of seller occupation, the setting presents the statement of a character who hears the rattle of cart or carriage. The setting is
clarified by the sound, like in the following statement of a character. I have heard the rattle of a cart or carriage spring up suddenly after hours
of stillness, and pass, for some minutes, within the range of my hearing as I lay abed p.69.
The sound of the cart’s clatter indicates that someone does an activity using this object. A cart’s function is to carry things and in this discussion, the cart is used to
carry goods to the market. The daily manner of living of the seller is starting the work at the hour after midnight. That statement informs that the daily life of a
seller is full of hard work in a difficult condition. The occupations and daily manner of living of the characters as the setting
in the novel is conveyed through the peasant, shepherd and seller, but there are 32
more occupations described in this novel. The setting is conveyed through the monk, priest and soldier. Like in the previous section, this occupation is described
through the character’s experience who is Scotsman. He observes his environment where he becomes a boarder near the monastery.
For in a Trappist monastery each monk has an occupation of his own choice, apart from his religious duties and the general labours of the house.
Each must sing in choir, if he has a voice and ear, and join in the haymaking if he has a hand to stir: but in his private hours, although he
must be occupied, he may be occupied on what he likes p.49.
The monks’ occupation is presented directly in the sentences. The occupation as the social setting explains that the monks have double occupation, both the
obligatory job and individual job. The continuity of the occupation is also implied. By two in the morning the clapper goes upon the bell, and so on, hour by
hour, and sometimes quarter by quarter, till eight, the our of rest; so infinitesimally is the day divided among different occupations p. 52.
The monks’ daily life is described through the sound of the bell. The bell indicates that it is the hour when they begin their job. The monks’ occupation seems to be
structurally regular activities. The occupation of the monks in this novel is described through sound, too.
The occupation of priest and soldier are also shown in this novel. “A priest, with six or seven others, were examining a church in process of repair, and
he and his acolytes laughed loudly as they saw my plight p. 13”. The daily manner of living of the priest is bad that they do not care about other’s trouble.
The novel also describes a parish priest who spends a while in the monastery for prayer.
One was a country parish priest, who had walked over that morning from the seat of his cure near Mende to enjoy four days of solitude and prayer.
33 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
[…] He was an old soldier, who had seen service and risen to the rank of commandant; and he retained some of the brisk decisive manners of the
camp p.55.
This novel describes the priest as a religious people, but he does not have good manner because he does not care other’s trouble and does laugh at other’s trouble.
The quotation above also describes the soldier who becomes a guest that observes and learns about life in the monastery.
3. The Time or Period in which the Action Takes Place
