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Rohrberger and Woods 1971 explain that characterization is an author’s creative process in creating a character. This process consists of describing the character’s
physical appearance, style, manner, thought, action and other’s opinion about him or her p.231. By understanding this process, the characteristics of a character
will be easier to describe. In this study, Murphy’s theory of characterization is used to analyze the
characters. According to Murphy 1972, there are nine ways for author to make his or her characters understandable, which are as follows.
a. Personal Description
The author can describe the person’s appearance and clothes in the story. The author describes what the characters are like and tells the readers the details
of the characters’ appearance; bodybuild, the face, skin colour, eyes, hair and
clothing. The author gives every detail through his own words or narration. b.
Character Seen by the Other Character
The author can describe a character through the eyes and opinions of other people in the story. The readers get as it were, a reflected image. In other words,
the author describes a character in the story by letting people in the story make opinions about the character him or herself.
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c. Speech
The author can give the readers an insight into the character of one person in the story through what the person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever
he is in the conversation with the others, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving his readers a clue to his character. The way a character speaks and gives
opinion to others gives the readers an insight to the characteristics.
d. Past Life
The author lets the readers learn something about a person’s past life, the author can give the readers a clue to events that h
elped to shape the person’s characters. This way can be seen through the direct comment from the author,
person’s thought, conversation or the medium of another person.
e. Conversation of Other Characters
The author can give the readers’ clue to a person’s character through the conversation of other people and the things they say about the character itself. The
clues that the readers have comes from the characters’ conversation. In addition, Laar and Schoonderwoerd 1969 also state that, ‘Dialogue tell the readers
something about the character that is speaking’ p.171. It means that when characters in the story are having conversation, they describe one to another’s
characteristics. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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f. Reaction
