Background of the Study
As social beings, humans always have the relation with the people among them. Based on that brief definition, which are a social being with their own uniqueness, a
conflict is likely to happen many times because of the differences. That condition also happens in a story which describes about human’s life and it is also experienced by
the main character in a story as a representation of human being. Conflict also takes part in human’s personality development. Sometimes, conflict can define the
motivation of the character in doing something. Roberts and Jacobs also say that every single moment, such as action, interactions, or speeches and also conflict that is
experienced by characters, can give the impact to the plot of the story or to the characters or even both. The most important of those points is able to be observed to
know the detail about the character 1987: 119. Stanton in his book, An Introduction to Fiction divides a conflict into two parts:
Every work of fiction contains obvious internal conflicts between two desires within a character, or external conflicts between characters or
between a character and his environment 1965:16. Stanton’s explanation makes the focus of the analysis of the main character’s
conflict clearer. It is obviously explained that there are two kinds of conflicts which happen in a story, internal and external conflict. He also adds a statement that those
two kinds of conflicts are in turn subordinate to the central conflict and central conflict always happens between the fundamental and opposing qualities of forces
1965:16. The explanation about character and the conflict above gives the writer certainty to raise the issue of conflict and its impact to the personality development of
the character.
Based on the object of the study of this undergraduate thesis, And The Mountains Echoed, the writer can find some little families in a different social class and they
deal with their own different problems as people who live in Afghanistan. Almost all families in the story have a female figure, whether as a mother, as a daughter or as a
sister. The female figures in the novel take an important part in their own family life. One example is in Parwana’s family. Parwana takes a significant role in her family.
She has a sister and her name is Masooma. She cannot walk anymore after falling from the tree. Because of that accident she becomes paralyzed. In this condition,
Parwana takes an important part in taking care of her sister, Masooma. Parwana has to struggle more in taking care of her sister alone.
The example that the writer puts above gives a brief description about the family’s life and the important role of female figure in the novel. The female figures
in the novel always have the conflict within themselves, or it can be said as inner conflict. The writer takes one female figure that experiences the most important
conflict which causes the main character’s personality to change. That character is Parwana’s step daughter, Pari.
Starting from Hjelle and Ziegler’s statement that says human’s personality is unpredictable, the writer focuses on analyzing the personality of Pari and its
development until she grows up and becomes an adult woman. Pari is the youngest biological children of Saboor, the name of Pari’s father. Pari’s mother is dead when
Pari is born. Pari’s father, Saboor, decides to marry Parwana. Parwana as a new
mother can serve and love the kids only in the beginning and the responsibility to take care of Pari has fallen to Abdullah, Pari’s old brother. The relationship between
Pari and Abdullah becomes closer and closer, and no one is closer to Pari than Abdullah, even their father and mother. Abdullah does mother’s and father’s job
gladly. Their togetherness is damaged by Saboor’s will. Because of the urgent matter he has to separate Abdullah and Pari. Starting from that moment Pari’s personality
gets the impact of that separation. Reading And The Mountains Echoed and observing Pari’s personality makes the
writer hypothesizes that the author of the novel, consciously or unconsciously, gives significant improvement on Pari’s personality which is started from the moment she
is separated from her brother, Abdullah. In this thesis, the writer tries to relate the conflicts which are experienced by Pari and its impact to her personality development
through the story. It includes the moment when she stays in France. Analyzing the development of the personality becomes important after knowing that Brouwer on his
book says that Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis, when the times change, we change with the times 1979:1. In this context the development through the times is
in the scope of Pari’s growth. According to the Roberts’ and Jacobs’ statement that every single moment can
give significant effect to the character, the writer decides to focus only on the family conflicts which are experienced by the main character on her early age. The family
here means any group which consists of people in intimate relationships Cheal in
Cheal, 2002:4. So, the family conflicts are in the scope of little social group which has relation to Pari. In this novel, family conflict that is experienced by Pari on her
early age is considered as the important thing that can determine her personality development later.
B. Problem Formulation 1. How is Pari’s personality described in the story?
2. What are the family conflicts experienced by Pari? 3. How do the conflicts affect Pari’s personality development?