someone. When Ronnie is arrested by the police, he also does not angry with her. He also does not discuss about it with Ronnie. He believes her. Different with
Kim, Kim will be angry if she knows that Ronnie is arrested by the police in North Carolina. Ronnie needs someone who can understand and listen to her.
c. Kind
Three persons in that novel say that Steve is a kind man. When Steve stays in the hospital, Ronnie always accompanies him. Ronnie regrets because she has
wasted three years to hate her father. At that time, Steve‟s time is limited. He only has less than a year to live. Ronnie realizes that she loves her father very much.
She does not wa nt to lose him. “He was a good man, a good father, and he
deserved more than that” Sparks, 2009:374. He is a good father for Ronnie. He always loves Ronnie even though she hated him. And now, Ronnie wants to take
care of her father. Ronnie regrets about her action towards her father. She realizes that she really loves her father. She can not hate him because of the parental
divorce. Will admires
Steve. “Only Steve, a man he‟d grown to admire, a man he‟d learned from, and the kind of man he himself hoped to be a
s he grew older” Sparks, 2009:383. Will learns to be a good man from Steve. He gets many
lessons of life from Steve. Pastor Harris is the last person that says Steve is a kind person. “I can‟t
imagine how hard this is for you. Your dad is a speci al man” Sparks, 2009:376.
Ronnie takes care of her father in the hospital, she meets Pastor Harris. They talks about Steve‟s illness seriously. Pastor Harris tells that Steve is a special man.
“They know I think of him as my son” Sparks, 2009:376. Pastor Harris has regarded Steve as his son.
The author of The Last Song describes Steve‟s characteristics through
conversations of others. Sparks gives the reader clues about Steve‟s characteristics through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him
Murphy, 1972:167. They say that Steve is a good person, good father, special man. From their words imply that Steve is a kind person.
d. Loving
During Ronnie takes care of her father in her holiday, she reads many letters from her father. She has never read any letters from Steve. One day, she reads all
Steve‟s letters for her. When she reads one of Steve‟s letters, she knows that Steve very loves his
family. I always love you, and I will always love Jonah. I always love your mother,
and she will always have my respect. She us the giver of the two greatest gifts I’ve ever received and she’s been a wonderful mother Sparks,
2009:414. In that letters, Steve says that he loves his family so much. He loves his
children, Ronnie and Jonah. And the most important is Steve always loves his ex wife. Steve sent all letters for Ronnie after the divorce happened.
When Steve talks to Jonah in the hospital, he tries to explain about his cancer. Jonah is really sad. Steve also tries to entertain his son and reminds him
about the window that they have made together. “I call it God light, because it reminds me of heaven. Every time the light
shines through the window we built or any window at all, you‟ll know I‟m
right there with you, okay? That‟s going to be me. I‟ll be the light in the window.” Sparks, 2009:408
Steve promises to Jonah that he will be the light in the window. He says that he will always be there for Jonah. He never leaves Jonah and his family.
Sparks also describes how Steve really loves his children directly. “Steve
loves his children more than life itself, but more than that, he knew that Jonah needed him, and once more, he was struck by the realization that he was failing as
a father” Sparks, 2009:406. In the other conversation between Pastor Harris and Ronnie, Pastor Harris also tells that Steve loves his children more than he loves
himself. “He loves the two of you more than life itself, and he didn‟t want to hurt you” Sparks, 2009:376. Pastor Harris tells to Ronnie how her father was so
nervous before he meets her and Jonah. Because Steve really loves Ronnie, he is willing to build a wall to cover the piano from Ronnie‟s view. Ronnie does not
want to see the piano in Steve‟s house. She also does not like of Steve plays the piano in the house. Because of that, Steve always plays the piano in the church.
Steve is willing to do anything to make Ronnie happy although he cannot often plays piano in his house. He also does not force Ronnie to love piano again after
she never plays it.
B. The Influence of the Absence of the Father Figure on Ronnie’s
Behavior
Steve and Kim divorced when Ronnie was fourteen years old. It means that Ronnie spends her adolescent period without her father figure. She lives only with
one parent, her mother. Living with her mother means less contact with her father,
