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B. Review of Related Theories
The writer reviews three theories. The first is the theory of character. The second is the theory of characterization. The last is the
author‘s intention.
1. Theory of Character
The Help is a fictional novel, whose character is a product during the
writing process. Abrams 1985 describes character as ―the name of literary genre;
it is a short, and usually witty, sketch in prose of a distinctive type of a person ‖
p.23. In Abrams‘ description,
Character are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional,
and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say —the
dialogue —and by what they do—the action p.23.
Supporting Abram‘s statement, Gill 1995 defines character as ―a person in a
literary work‖ p.127. Furthermore, he adds that a character has ―an identity which is made up by appearance, conversation, action, name and possibly
thoughts going on in the head ‖ p.127.
Although some characters might have some typical human characteristics in the same ways as people in real life, their personalities are made in particular
ways by the author as they speak and act only in the book. A character may remain the same from
the beginning until the end of the story, or ―may undergo a radical change, either through a gradual process of motivation and de
velopment‖ Abrams, 1985, p.23. In this study, it is important to analyze the character in
order to answer the first research question, which analyzes about the main
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character, because according to Gill 1995 ―a character‘s thought can be evident
to the reader. ‖ p.136. Furthermore, Gill states that:
If an author chooses to have access to the thoughts in a character‘s head, the reader can be aware no only of what he or she is thinking, but can be
acquainted with the manner of thought —how the character‘s mind is made
up, and how they approach problems and challenges. p.136 In other words,
a character‘s thought is made up by the author and the reader could only define the characteristic from what is written in the story. The reader
could use a character‘s thought as an evidence to describe the character‘s personality. Thus, in this study, the theory of character is used to analyze the main
character‘s characteristic in order to reveal her intention in writing a book.
2. Theory of Characterization
The process of making a character is known as characterization. Characterization is
defined by Gill 1995 as ―the way in which a character is created
‖ p.127. Abrams 1985 states there are two ways of portraying the character. The ways are by telling and showing. In telling, the author describes the
characters directly through the sentences in order to be criticized and ―often to evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities‖. In showing or termed as
―dramatic method‖, the author only ―presents the characters talking and acting‖ and lets the readers see the motives and dispositional beyond words and acts p.
24. Presenting a character cannot be separated from the setting of the story. Setting covers the places where character appears, the social context; family,
friends, c lass, a character‘s manners, tradition, and rules that give a character
identity in society and also some particular scenes and atmosphere created along
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with previous elements Gill, 1995, p.148. Thus, setting and social context are important factors in analyzing a character.
Murphy 1972 mentions several examples of ways which the author makes the characters understandable to the readers. According to Murphy, there
are nine ways of characterizing pp. 161-173: a.
Personal description The author directly describes the person
‘s physical appearance such as herhis build, herhis skin-color, herhis hair, and herhis clothes with
various adjectives that make the description more vivid. b.
Character as seen by another The author conveys the
person‘s character through the choice of words and phrases
through another character‘s eyes and opinion so that the reader will get the reflected image of the person.
c. Speech The author gives the reader clue about the person
‘s personality through what the person says and every time the person has conversation with other
characters. d. Past life
The author lets the reader learn about the person ‘s past life events that shape
her character. It can be done by giving direct comments, through the person
‘s inner thought, or through the medium of another character. The person
‘s past life might influence her personality in the present day. e. Conversation of others
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