Character and Characterization Review of Related Theories 1. Critical Approaches

9 knowledge of the authors life. The socio-historical approach is an approach which seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it and the investigation includes the author’s biography and the social milieu. The psychological approach believes that great literature truthfully is the imitation of life and a realistic representation of human motivation and behaviours. The mythological approach is an approach which emphasizes on the old patterns which underlie most literary works. The Marxist approach is an approach which focuses on the economic and political elements of art, often emphasizing the ideological content of literature, because Marxist criticism often argues that all art is political. The reader response approach attempts to describe what happens in the readers mind while interpreting a text. The gender approach is an approach which examines how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary works. The deconstructionist approach is an approach which rejects the traditional assumption that language can accurately represent reality.

2. Character and Characterization

The term of character may refer two meanings. It may indicate the individual who appears in the story and may refer to the description of attitude, interest, desires, emotion, and moral principle of individuals Stanton 17. Therefore, the meaning of character can be both a person in the story or the characters’ characteristic. Presenting a particular character can directly indicates to particular characterization he has. Holman and Harmon state that the characterization is the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 10 creation of imaginary persons so that they exist for the reader as if the people in the real life 81. Through the dialogue, action, and commentary which we can get from some of interactions among the characters and circumstances, we can describe what the character’s traits are. In analyzing a character, we should try to determine the traits both major characters and minor characters. The physical descriptions also should be considered in analyzing the characters. It means that we should always try to dig up the outside and the inside of the characters. In addition, Abrams says that the method of characterization is divided into two parts. There are showing method and telling method. In showing method or dramatic method, the author presents the characters by their talking and acting, and then the reader can infer what motives and dispositions lay behind what they say and do. In telling method, the author becomes a kind of narrator to describe and evaluate the motives and dispositions qualities of the characters 21. There are nine ways, according to M.J Murphy 161-171, in which the author presents his characters to make his characters understandable for the reader. First is personal description; the author describes the character by his physical appearance. The character can be thin, fat, handsome, or bad looking. The clothes can describe the character’s economical condition. The rich character can be shown by the good qualities of his clothes. Second is character as seen by another; the author describes the characters from the eyes and opinions of the other characters’ opinion. The third is speech; the author describes the character in the novel through what the character says in the novel. It includes how is the characters speak, whenever the character is in the conversation with another, and how the characters present an opinion. The fourth is past life; the author can also 11 describe the character by letting the readers know something about the past life of the characters. This way can be described by direct comment from the author, the character’s thought, the conversation among the characters, or through what other characters say. The fifth is conversation of other; the author can describe the character through hisher conversation with other character and the things they say about the character. The sixth is reaction; the author can describe the character by letting the reader know how heshe can react to various situations and events. The seventh is direct comment; the author describes the character directly. Therefore, the reader can recognize the characters’ traits directly. The eighth is thought; the author is can describe the character by letting the reader know what the character is thinking about. The ninth is mannerism; the author describes the character’s habits in his or her daily life.

3. Society