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3.2 Data Collection
In collecting the data, all references that are read and collected are the data to support in order to get the information for the process of completing this thesis. The
data of this thesis is symbol that found in the play John Millington Synge‘s Riders to
the Sea. First, the play is read carefully and then the words are identified, person, object or non object thing in the play that can be a symbol. Something is considered
as a symbol if it has idea, or emotion that make it conspicuous for some reasons and stands for something else.
3.3 Data Analysis
The data analysis is applied when all important data from the play Riders to the Sea as the source of the data in this thesis is collected. The data will be analyzed
by some steps. First, this thesis will give explanation about person, words, object or non-object thing which are considered as the symbol. Second, this thesis will be
analyzed to give the interpretations about the symbol. The interpretations will be supported by quotations from play, books, encyclopedia, and documents from
internet. Finally, the conclusions will be taken from the analysis.
20 Source of Data
Play John Millington Synge’s Riders to the Sea
Data Symbol
Conclusion
Personal Culture
Universal
Interpretation Analysis
Descriptive Qualitative
Below are the systematic of Analysis:
Researcher Analysis of
Symbol
Data Selection
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CHAPTER IV AN ANALYSIS OF SYMBOLS IN
JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE’S RIDERS TO THE SEA
4.1 Introduction
In Riders to the Sea, the main theme concerns about the power of the sea. As an island, Ireland has a very powerful connection with the sea which has incredible
power both as a giver and a taker. Riders to the Sea stands as a perfect articulation of themes and ideas that appear in later plays. Events take place entirely in a single room
as two sisters, Cathleen and Nora, hide from their mother, Maurya, the news that their brother Michael, a fisherman lost at sea, has washed ashore far north of their cottage.
The remaining son, Bartley, sets off to sign on with another departing fishing vessel, after Maurya fails to persuade him to stay. No sooner is Michael‘s death confirmed
than Bartley is thrown from his horse into the sea, where he also drowns. The theme has connecting with the symbols that are going to be analyzed.
Symbol is simply defined something that means something else, and also symbol is used repeatedly as pictured in this play. Symbol can be universal or
personal. It is conventional symbol because it is made through consensus, and its meaning has recognized by a society. In Riders to the Sea, there are symbols made of
nature which consists of sea, riders to the sea, and holy water; symbols made of materials which consists of white boards and nail, rope, nets, spinning wheel, cake
and pot-oven; symbols made of animal and color which consists of grey pony and red mare, the pig with black feet, black birds; symbol made of figure which consist of
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number nine; symbols made of points of the compass which consist of south, east and
west; and symbols made of name which consists of Maura, young priest, Bride Dara. 4.2 Nature
4.2.1 Sea
At the very opening of the play, the sea enters as a terrorizing living personality. Its power is the main theme of the play, illustrated for the audience by
the tearing open of the door at the beginning, and by the descriptions given by the girls. Their sense of time, of direction is determined by the sea. Sea is the symbol of
power beyond our logic. T he sea is also the route to the people‘s survival even though
it holds the people‘s death. This accounts for reason Henn sees the sea in its ambivalence as ―the giver and taker of life‖ Henn, 1963:39.
Symbol of nature is conventional symbol. The dramatic structure of the play centres around the sea: in the beginning there is suspense as to whether the sea has
given back the dead body of the young man it has taken, as Nora says: ―Were to find
out if its Michaels they are; some time herself will be down looking by the sea.‖ Synge, 1903:39
It is clear that sea is symbol of something beyond our logic because sea can be the giver and taker of life. The sea is a supernatural entity over which even the
Almighty God of the Christians has no control. The islanders depend on it for their sustenance but it also snatches the live that it gives. Every symbol in Riders to the Sea
is directly or indirectly connected to the Sea – the auxiliary of death. The sea,
therefore, pervades the play, contributing to the tragic mood. For Maura, the only escape is to lose every male in the family. Before the death of Bartley all the
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characters in the play except Maura, are hopeful that he will not become a victim of the sea. Even the young priest has hope that God will not do wrong with Maura;
Nora: I wont stop him, says he, but let you not be afraid. Herself does be saying prayers half
through the night, and the Almighty God wont leave her destitute, says he, with no son living.
Synge, 1903: 40.
But the young priest forecast proves to be wrong when we hear the death of
Bartley. This wrong forecast is ironical and enhances the intensity of Maur a‘s grief as
well as shows the cruelty of the sea, a symbol of destroyer, by showing how Maura is left ―with no son living.‖ The wrong forecast of the young priest and its acceptance by
Cathleen and Nora shows their ignorance of the power of the sea. It is only Maura who knows and understand well the real po
wer of the sea. Bartley‘s death gives a lesson to the islanders that if they want to live in harmony and peace with the sea,
they should be aware of the various moods of the sea. If the sea is calm she plays the role of giver so the fisher men should seek their livelihood in the sea at this time. If
the sea is not calm and the weather is not good, they should not go into the sea because this time the sea is in the role of a taker.
The men of the family, past and present, were and are trapped, in a sense. To make a living, they must go to sea. But the sea is the bringer of suffering and
tragedy. They are, in effect, in a no-win situation. They must go to sea to survive economically, but death on the sea is so common that all of Mauryas sons, as well as
her husband, are killed on it. Maur a‘s male members are not aware of this. So, they
are drowned.
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It seems, Maura is aware of the kindness, cruelty and various moods of the sea. So, she is anxious about the safety of her males and struggles with the sea but is
defeated surrenders herself to the sea, the uncontrollable power of the sea. To Maurya the sea is the enemy, the destructive principle, and destroyer of human and family
continuity. Sea represents the unpredictable forces of nature with which men have to contend for their lives, as she says;
Maura: ―If it wasnt found itself, that wind is raising the sea, and there was a star up against the moon, and it
rising in the night. If it was a hundred horses, or a thousand horses you had itself, what is the price of a
thousand horses against a son where there is one son
only?‖ Synge, 1903:41.
It describes that the sea provides a living, such as it is, for the characters of the small cottage. Unfortunately, it is also that which causes their suffering. The sea, in
the play, has been presented as both kind as well as cruel. It is kind because it provides livelihood to the inhabitants of the island. They earn their livelihood by
catching fish and collecting sea weeds from the sea. It is cruel because it also takes the lives of the people. The people die in it that the sea in this play is giver as well as
taker. The sea, in this play, represents a powerful force of Nature over which nobody has any control. If someone opposes the power of the sea, he will be loser. Maur
a‘s sons are drowned because they have gone against the rule of the sea, they have sailed
during the high winds and high sea. They have broken the law of the sea and so the sea has punished them. The people, living on the sea coast must obey the law of the
Nature. They must be aware of the sea and its various moods.
Thus, among all the other symbols that add to the gloom and horror of the play, the symbol of the sea appears to be the most prominent and enduring.It is
important to note that the sea is a symbol of life and its ordeals. Aboelazm suggests
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that the sea symbolically represents the evils of life that surround the island dwellers. The sea ―is the enemy, the destructive principle, and destroyer of human and family
continuity‖ Aboelazm, 2011:296.
The play details the struggles of the dwellers of the island against the forces of nature, which are beyond their control. The people cannot do without the sea, even
though the sea holds disaster for them. The paradox is that the sea is their major means of survival and at the same time, their death trap.
The fishermen struggle to get a living out of the sea in tiny, frail boats made of tarred canvas, which they make themselves. Synge has chosen to make the sea the
architect of Muras cruel fate. The sea is an archetypal symbol and has a universal significance. The hostility between man and the sea has been gone on since times
immemorial. The sea is no respecter of ranks. Mauras men folk are poor fishermen. But people of all ranks and classes are drowned in the sea. In other words, the hungry
sea devours the rich and the poor, kings and nobles, as well as poor fishermen and sailors. The suffering of the mother would be the same whether Bartley is a poor
fisherman or a rich prince. Thus, the suffering caused by the sea is a common experience of man.
The sea is one of those universal symbols which is not decoded by one culture much differently from another as it is a common reference to all. First, it represents
the source of life, the primeval origin of all creatures; it is the womb of the world. Antithetically, by its sheer strength and power of destruction it represents death as
well. Thus an everlasting womb-tomb cycle takes form, with both life and death forces taking equal part.
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This idea comes over very strongly throughout this play. The sea is both the source of substances for the family and the reason for its destruction, as one by one
Mauras sons give up their lives to the sea. There is first pathos created by the senseless fatality of their deaths, then resignation to the inevitable. She finds a sort of
peace when she loses everything she has to lose. Having nothing left for the sea to take, Maura no longer has reason to fear it.
4.2.2 Riders to the Sea Synge‘s choice of title is the superb brainwork of his genius. The title Riders
to the Sea is the most significant and symbolic to the thematic journey. The readers are curious to know who the riders are. They will go deep into the sea with the riders.
Then the mystery will be revealed and the readers will shed tears. The two riders Barthey and Michael represent the whole riders of the peasant families of Aran
Islanders. So, riders to the sea is the symbol of struggle of Maura‘s male members in
the waves of life. The real beauty will come out with the fragrance of title. The title helps to go deep into the text and the sea. The story is about the tragic
fate of Maura an old woman of the island. She has her father-in-law, her husband and six sturdy sons. They are all riders to the sea. But all of them except Bartley were
devoured before the curtain rises. The play is about the last rider, Bartley. Maur a‘s
fifth son Michael was drowned in the sea nine days before the play begins. Bartley wants to go to the sea. The sea devours him also. As Bartley says,
“It’s life of a young man to be going to the sea.” Synge, 1903:42.
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The title also has supernatural element. One of the riders is the ghost of Michael who pursues his living brother and takes him away from this world. To quote T. R.
Henn —
―It the sea is the killer of the young, the bread winners, whose life is to be upon it. The fishermen are all its riders, mysteriously linked to the human and super-
human riders, here and in tradition.‖
It indicates the manner in which the final tragedy overtakes Maura. The sea has devoured all the males of Maura family. All are the riders to the sea. The lives of the
Aran islanders are determined by the sea. Their fates are destined by the hungry sea. Synge with his tragic scheme pushes the riders into the sea. So all the riders have
taken shelter under the sea after their death. They go the sea as a rider, like riding a horse. Horse itself is the symbol that bring to death. Hence the title is very suggestive
and symbolic.
The title, actually taken from the Bible, is an extended metaphor meaning ―we are all moving toward mortal death, literally true of the people of the Aran
Islands, where this play takes place, who depend on the sea not only for a livelihood, but also as the only conne
ction to the ―world‖ the mainland. As each of Maura‘s sons reaches maturity, the economics of the culture draws them to the dangerous sea
life. The knotted sweater bundle is evidence of the recent loss of one son, and seeing the second son riding a horse along a steep cliff or his ghost is another physical
manifestation of the sea‘s toll on those it ―calls‖ to ride to it. The sea, besides being the drowning cause of many sailors and fishermen, is also the universal receptacle for
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our bodies after our souls have left. An old Irish saying, ―The ocean refuses no river‖,
bears out this metaphor‘s meaning as well.
4.2.3 Holy Water
Riders to the Sea is a kind of tragedy play that the suffering of the protagonist is the consequence of the sins and it appea
rs to be no reason for Maura‘s tribulation.
The deaths of her sons are not, as the consequence of acts of evil. This play is a part of Christianity plays. Holy Water is the symbol of religiosity or miracle. In this play,
Maura spreads the holy water to the dead body and Michael‘s dress. So that Holy
Water is the symbol of calmness.
Maura: “Theyre all gone now, and there isnt
anything more the sea can do to me.... Ill have no call now to be up crying and praying when the wind breaks
from the south, and you can hear the surf is in the east, and the surf is in the west, making a great stir with the
two noises, and they hitting one on the other. Ill have no call now to be going down and getting Holy Water
in the dark nights after Samhain, and I wont care what way the sea is when the other women will be keening.
To NORA Give me the Holy Water, Nora; theres a
small sup still on the dresser.” Synge, 1903:52
The symbolic quality of Bartley‘s body can be further supported by the way the characters rela
te to them. That Bartley‘s body is sacred even a taboo and can be related to only by the use of Holy Water otherwise, Maura touches only his feet.
Nora and Cathleen do not touch him at all, is not surprising.
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4.3 Materials
Kategori