Theory of Psychological Approach
12 easy to recognize and remember afterwards and a flat character does not change
by circumstances pp. 46-51. The second type of the characters is a round character or is also called as
portraiture. Forster 1974 elaborates round characters as characters that have several characteristics which are “complex in temperament and motivation and is
represented with subtle particularity; such a character therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life, and like real persons, is
capable of surprising us” pp. 52-56. In characterization, an author should know the ways of presenting the
characters to the readers. Gill 1995 divides two methods an author usually used to present the characters; those are telling and showing. In telling, an author
directly presents the characters to the readers whereas in showing, an author demands the readers to find out what the character are like from what they see
p.134. Moreover, Murphy 1972 categorizes the various ways an author attempts to make the characters understandable by the readers into nine ways or
methods. The first way according to Murphy 1972 is a personal description. “The
author can describe the detail of a person’s appearance and clothes as the build, skin-color, hair, clothes, etc” pp.161-162. In addition, Gill 1995 states that
presenting the appearance helps an author to exercise “the degree of control over the responses of the reader” p.138. Gill also adds that clothes have several
functions in novels as “an expression of personality, it uses to indicate social
13 status, it can help to create the atmosphere of a book and it can be an essential
element in plot-development” pp. 139-140. The second way is a character as seen by another. Murphy 1972
elaborates that an author can describe a character through another character’s eyes and opinions. “The readers get, as it were, a reflected image” p.162. The third
way is the speech. Murphy 1972 states that The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons
in the book through what that person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an
opinion, he is giving us some clue to his character p.164.
Gill 1995 also states that the way in which a person speaks makes a character distinctive p.235.
Fourth is the past life. Murphy 1995 states the past life of a character can give the readers a clue about how events in the past life have influences in the
personality development of the character. Murphy adds “this can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his
conversation or through the medium of another person” p.166. The fifth way is the conversation of others. Murphy 1995 acknowledges that “people do talk
about other people and the things they say often give a clue to the character of the person spoken about” p.167.
The sixth way to present the characters according to Murphy 1995 is the reactions. How a person reacts to various situations and events gives the readers a
clue about hisher characteristic p.168. The seventh way is a direct comment. “The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly” p.170.
The eighth way is the thoughts. “An author can give us direct knowledge of what
14 a person is thinking about. The reader then is privileged position; he has, as it
were, a secret listening device plugged in to the inmost thoughts of a person in novel” p.171. The ninth way the author uses to make the characters
understandable is the mannerism. By describing the mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies may tell something about a person’s character in the novel p.173.