Datum 13 Solomon told Ford that he was a freeman. He wanted Ford to release him from
slavery. However, Ford was unwilling to comply with his request. He said that he tried to save Solomon from Tibeats.
In reference to this context, the statement I am trying to save your life is stated by Ford in order to show unfairness of the request asked by Solomon. Ford
owes money from bank when he buys Solomon and he still pays the debt if he frees Solomon. Therefore, he transfers Solomon as well as his debt to Epss.
Furthermore, Ford thinks that transferring Solomon to Epps is the best way to help Solomon from Tibeats‘ attack.
c. Adjuncts to Refusals
The function of adjuncts to refusals which emerges in 12 Years a Slave is to show gratitude or appreciation toward
the request, offer, suggestion, or invitation. The example is in the conversation between Solomon and Mrs. Shaw. Mrs. Shaw
offered Solomon to drink a cup of tea. However, Solomon refused her offer. Mrs. Shaw
: Do you drink tea? Solomon
: Thank you, Mistress, but I dont dare.
Datum 18 In reference to this context, the expression of gratitude is shown in the statement
Thank you. Solomon precedes his refusal by an adjunct in order to show his gratitude toward Mrs. Shaw‘s offer. As a slave, he is rarely offered to have a cup
of tea, especially with someone from a higher social level. Hence, he shows his gratitude toward Mrs. Shaw.
At last, all types of refusals are performed by the characters in 12 Years a Slave.
Indirect type becomes the dominant type of refusals since the characters want to emphasize that the request, offer, suggestion, or invitation is impossible to
be performed. Furthermore, indirect type becomes the dominant type as some characters do not have a close relationship with the refusee or as they try to
minimize the possibility of offending the refusee in order to maintain their relationship with the refusee.
In direct type, the characters only perform non-performative statement. Non-performative statement is mostly used by the characters to refuse the request,
offer, suggestion, or invitation from the refusee who has the same social level with them. They do not need to try to be polite to the refusee since they are in the same
social level. In addition, the characters have an intimate relationship with the refusee, so they are free to directly refuse the request, offer, suggestion, or
invitation. Meanwhile, only five out of eight realizations of indirect type are found in
12 Years a Slave. Among all realizations of refusals, the attempt to dissuade the interlocutor becomes the most dominant one. The characters from a higher or the
same social level mostly perform the attempt to dissuade the interlocutor when they want to ridicule the requester or the request. Moreover, the characters from a
higher social level perform the attempt to dissuade the interlocutor in order to show their superiority over the characters from the lower status.
In addition, there are eight functions are found in 12 Years a Slave. Demanding understanding from the refusee becomes the main function of refusals
since it lessens the negative impact of refusals. The characters ask the refusee to understand the reason they cannot comply with the request, offer, suggestion, or
invitation. Therefore, they can minimize the possibility of offending the refusee.
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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter is divided into two sections, namely conclusion and suggestion. Conclusion section describes three points which are concluded from the research
findings and discussion. Meanwhile, suggestion section provides some suggestions for some parties related to the result of the research.
A. Conclusion
The researcher draws the conclusion based on the findings and discussion of refusals used in 12 Years a Slave movie. The conclusion is presented below:
1. The first objective of the research is to identify the types of refusals
performed by the characters in 12 Years a Slave. The data of the research are classified based on the classification of refusals proposed by Beebe, Takahashi,
and Uliss-Welz. There are three types of refusals found in the movie. The types of refusals found in the movie are direct type, indirect type, and adjuncts to
refusals. Indirect type becomes the main type of refusals which is performed by the characters. The characters prefer to perform indirect type since they want to
emphasize that the request, offer, suggestion, or invitation is impossible to be performed. The distant relationship with the refusee also becomes the
consideration of the characters in choosing indirect type of refusals. In addition, indirect type is performed as the characters try to maintain their relationship with
the refusee.
