CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1. 1. Background of the Study
There are many ways to express idea and feeling. One of the ways to express idea or feeling is by writing a literature. Rene Wellek and Austin Warren 1997: 5
said that literature should be creative, an art and what an author has produced. Not have much different meaning from Wellek and Warren, Julien D. Bonn 2010: 93
said that literature in a broader aspect, literature can be define as any written or spoken material but the term most often refers to creative works. While according
Robert dan Henry 1993:1 Literature refers to compositions that tell stories, dramatize situations, express emotions and analyze and advocate ideas. Although
they have different meanings, but the writer concludes that literature is a creative work which contains beauty that arises out of the human ability to create language.
Wellek and Warren also said literary language has an expressive function, indicates the tone and the attitude of the speaker or writer. Literary language tries to
influence, persuade and eventually change the attitudes of readers. The most important in literary is a sign language, the sound symbolism of words. There are
many variety techniques created e.g. alliteration and sound patterns to attract the reader’s attention to the literary work 1997: 15. Literature itself has functions; it
entertains the reader, it provides knowledge such as history, culture, social life and it is give us moral teaching. Literature is to please and to teach the reader. Literary
works may please their listeners or readers. It has an element of entertaining or to afford pleasure or we can say that many stories attract our interest. Some literary
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could stir our feeling and emotion. As the result, we may feel sad, happy, or angry after listening or reading a story.
Edgar V. Robert and Henry E. Jacobs 1995:2 classified literature into four categories or genres: 1 prose fiction, 2 poetry, 3 drama, 4 nonfiction prose.
Prose fiction or narrative fiction includes myths, parables, romances, novels and short stories. Poetry expresses a conversation or interchange that is grounded in most
deeply felt experiences of human beings. Drama is literature designed to be performed by actors. Beside, non-fiction prose is literary genre that consists of news
reports, feature articles, essays, editorials, textbooks, historical and biographical works and the like, all of which describe or interpret facts and present judgments and
opinions. The fiction that will be discussed in this thesis is a novel entitled My Sister’s
Keeper written by Jodi Picoult. Rees’ 1973:106 stated that novel is a fictitious prose narrative of considerate length in which characters and action representative of
real life are portrayed in a plot of more or less complexity. The novel My Sister’s Keeper is one of her works which became a New York Times bestseller. Beside that
she has published many novels; there are Salem Falls, Plain Truth, Vanishing Act and many more. Picoult’s novels usually deal with ethical issues and are told from a
variety of viewpoints, with each chapter written in a different character’s voice. Abrams 1981: 20 stated that characters are the persons in a narrative of dramatic
work of art such as novel, play or film, that are interpreted by reader as being enclosed with moral and dispositional qualities expressed in what they say – the
dialogue – and what they do – the action.
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As we know that character is one of an important aspect of the novel. There are many characters in My Sister’s Keeper novel, the characters are: Sara Fitzgerald is a
mother of three children, Jesse, Kate and Anna. She made decisions for Anna and taking control of her life, Brian Fitzgerald is Anna’s father. He is a fire fighter
captain. Being a good parent, facing a difficult problem and take care all of the broken family is not easy for him, Anna Fitzgerald is a younger daughter of
Fitzgerald couple. She was born for a specific purpose, to save her sister life, Kate Fitzgerald is an older daughter of Fitzgerald couple. She diagnosed had a leukemia,
but in case of Kate she had an Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, one of rare leukemia disease, Jesse Fitzgerald is a son of Fitzgerald couple. He is a broken home child,
Campbell Alexander is a lawyer. Anna hires him to sue her mother her rights over her own body, Julia Romano is a guardian al litem. A GAL is chosen by a court to be
a child’s advocate during a legal proceeding that involves a minor. From the description of the characters, the writer decided to choose one of the main character
named Anna Fitzgerald. Anna Fitzgerald is a thirteen years old girl was born for specific reason to save
her sister life. Anna should be an allogenic donor for her sister because her sister has leukemia. By newborn, she used to do sacrifices for her sister, Kate. Actually, Anna
is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the
leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. Then when she reached aged thirteen, Anna tries to get her rights over her own body, she wants a freedom from being her
sister donor, Kate. Anna tries to tell her mother to stop using her body to save her sister. But on the other hand, her mother does not want to lose her daughter Kate and
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Anna. Her mother should sacrifice one of her daughter’s life to save the other. Her mother action is not exactly cruel, but cannot be said as good, either.
In this thesis, the writer will analyze the sacrifices found from the character Anna in My Sister’s Keeper written by Jodi Picoult. The writer chooses one of Jodi
Picoult works because the story was interesting especially about the sacrifices of Anna. Generally, sacrifice was come from the heart. No one should be forced to do
it. But different in Anna’s story, she should sacrifice herself from newborn until her death. And we know that every people have a moral, even it is good or bad. The
moral value in this novel deals with the human problem in life. This story can be a good lesson for reader; they can see how to be a good person by being more tolerant
of other people’s feelings, minding their attitude and responsibility in society.
1. 2. Problem of the Study
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