In relation to the concept of absurdity, Sartre also had his own view. This fact was mentioned by Collins, The Existentialists:
Sartre makes a brave appearance when he observes that if the world is absurd, then man ought to face this truth openly rather than allow his
wishes to dictate his philosophy. Collins, 1952: 86
Essentially Sartre sees that the world is indeed absurd. However, human should not permit the difference between the wishes and reality which is absurd to
distort their mind and dictate the reality. People should face the world, which is absurd instead of running from it. This is simply because human chooses their
own essence; they must choose who they want to be.
C. Theoretical Framework
The existential theories mentioned in this chapter are the basis to analyze the problems formulated in the research. Furthermore, the concept of absurd in
philosophy is used for this research. Specifically, the analysis in this research uses the absurd condition stated by Camus as the basic analysis of each character. The
review of studies also becomes the reference in showing how the ideas of the struggle against the absurd can be depicted in this research. Especially, there are
also studies which show the idea of showing the absurd through inner conflicts Sanditama, 2008, ‘alienation’ and ‘bad faith’ Chen, 2010: 1. By these concepts
and ideas, the writer is also able to show the ideas of the struggle against the absurd in this research with better portrayal.
However, the
previous theory
of characters,
characteristics, characterizations and conflicts help to ground the problems in second problem
formulation and answer the questions in the first problem formulation. By understanding the characteristics and the conflict they deal, the writer is able to
see their problems in the story. Furthermore, the theory from Sartre and Camus serves to better understanding the ground ideas found by using the previous
theories. By using the existentialism theory by Sartre and Camus and their ideas about the absurd with the concept of anguish, forlornness and despair, the struggle
of each character against the absurd and their search for the meaning of their existence to reveal in answering the second problem formulation.
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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this research is a modern novel entitled, The Timekeeper. It is a novel by Mitch Albom which was published by Hyperion New York in 2012.
The novel is divided into 81 parts and it had 222 pages. Unlike most novels that have a main sentence and supporting sentences in a paragraph, this novel was
delivered in sentences which delivers general truth about life and commonly spoken sentences in short paragraphs. To substitute the function of the main and
supporting sentences in a paragraph, some of the sentences were styled in bold to emphasize the idea that the writer wanted to deliver. Here is the example:
“Try to imagine a life without timekeeping”
You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You
have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet, all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog
does not check its watch, Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time.
Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other
creature endures. A fear of time running out. Albom, 2012: 8
As exemplified, Albom uses the bold sentences to deliver the main idea. In addition to emphasizing his main idea, the bold print is also used to deliver the
maxim or moral and philosophical ideas to the reader. By using this style, Albom wants to gain more of the readers
’ attention so that they would start to reflect and
