in the fire. She then states to cure herself by applying ointment for her hands and fixing her burnt dress Blyton, 1989:184. She does these actions with her own effort
and ideas. She says these plans to her friends so that they know if she wants to change.
c. By Other’s Comment
The comments from other characters are also important to reflect the independent quality of the characters being studied. Their comments might appear in
the forms of dialogues or information from the narrator. Bob’s independent character in The Six Bad Boys is portrayed through
Pat’s description upon him. Christmas was coming. Pat was home again. She was lively and happy once
more, and would be going back to school after Christmas. She talked and talked about Bob:
Bob said this and Bob said that. Bob gave me this and Bob is going to give me that.
Blyton, 2012:146
The datum below shows that according to Pat, Bob is independent by being
kind to give her many things. Pat never asks him to do so. Bob loves to give her many things because he claims her like his own sister. Thus, it
is Bob’s decision to be kind to her. In The Naughtiest Girl Again
, Elizabeth’s independent character is collected from Harry’s opinion about her.
“And I know quite well that she meant to do her very best this term,” said
Harry. “I’ve heard her say so heaps of times. She lost her temper with me last term, but she said she was sorry and has been absolutely decent to
me ever since .” Blyton, 1993:34
The datum above shows Elizabeth’s change from a naughty student to a better one through Harry’s point of view. He gives such statement to his friends when
he knows that Elizabeth has a problem in the match. The last is Amelia Jane’s
independent character in Naughty Amelia Jane. One of the toys in the nursery, the pink rabbit, gives her statement that Amelia is able to unlock the cupboard door if in
case all the toys plan to punish her by locking her inside the cupboard Blyton, 1989:33.
d. By Author’s Comment
The author or the narrator is able to play a role to give descriptions or information about the personalities of any characters. In this study, the author gives
the information about the independent quality of child characters through her description. In The Six Bad Boys
, the author gives her comment about Tom’s way to solve problems.
As for Tom, he was like Bob. When things went wrong he went wrong too, and was silly and rude and showed off. It was his way of trying to
forget , his way of saying to the world, “You’re trying to get me down, are
you? Well, I’ll show you I’ll get you down instead” Blyton, 2012:81 Being silly and rude is Tom’s independent way to solve his problems. He
starts doing it when he really often finds his parents nag at home. In readers’ opinion, it might be unjustifiable but it needs to be respected since it comes from Tom’s idea
how to solve his problem. In The Naughtiest Girl Again, the author also gives information about Elizabeth’s independent to decide to be a better person.
Poor Elizabeth had suffered badly at the weekly Meetings, for she had
been so naughty and disobedient, and had broken every rule in the school.
But now she had come to see that good behaviour was best not only for
herself but for the whole school too, and she was very much looking forward to everything. Blyton, 1993:7
The datum above shows Elizabeth’s independent problem solving by changing her character from a bad girl to a good one. This information is implied
from author’s information about her. The last is in Naughty Amelia Jane. The author also gives comment about how far Amelia Jane becomes independent. Elizabeth is
independent in the form of making herself so much happy by doing tricks on her friends Blyton, 1989:95.
B. Discussion
Children’s literature is one of genres in literature. It becomes the best and proper kind of reading for children and adult
s as well. Children’s literature provides many features that other genres do not. One of them is to provide more understanding
about children’s world and mind. It is because to understand a child needs a different approach that is usually conducted on adults. For example, extra patience is required
to deal with children during their growth and development. As the only genre in literature intentionally designed for children, children’s
literature should represent them. Therefore, it should represent not only the innocence of children but also another side of them which adults might not always realize. This
side is the hidden nonchildlikeness which allows children to make decisions and solve problems by their own ways and ideas.
Unfortunately, some children’s stories do not represent the hidden nonchildlikeness side well. One of the examples is Little Red Riding Hood. The main
character is portrayed as an obedient child. She is doing what she is told, even when
