29 JAMAL
I think so. PREM
You think so. A brave man, Ladies and Gentlemen, a brave man. I, XLIII, 30
Jamal’s character is seen by other characters. Jamal’s character is described by Prem through Prem’s reaction to Jamal’s action in the script. According to
Murphy 1972, an author makes the character understandable by the readers. Jamal’s character from the conversation above can be found in Murphy’s theory
through speech. Another evidence which indicates that Jamal is a brave person is when
Jamal meets Arvind, a boy he meets when he works with Maman. Arvind is unlucky since Maman took Arvind’s eyes to collect more money. In their meeting,
Jamal gives him money and asks about Latika, the girl he loves. Arvind answers that Latika is with Maman and Jamal decides to come to them. When Arvind
knows that Jamal wants to come to Maman just to meet Latika, Arvind does not think that Jamal will co
me back safely. It can be seen through Arvind’s reaction below.
Jamal heads off through the traffic. Arvind shouts after him. ARVIND
I will sing at your funeral, yaar. I, XCVI, 62. From the reaction above, Arvind thinks that it is a dangerous thing to come to
Maman. Therefore, if Jamal comes to Maman, Maman will kill him for sure. However, Jamal does not care about it. Jamal still goes to Maman in order to find
Latika. According to Murphy’s theory, Jamal’s characteristic based on the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
30 evidence above can be found through reaction. It can be seen from Arvind’s
reaction when he knows that Jamal wants to come to Maman to find Latika.
3. Generous
Jamal Malik’s generous characteristic is shown when he gives his friend, Arvind who is blind, some money even though he is not a rich man. The money
that Jamal gives to Arvind is the money that he gets from two American tourists after he guides them and then get beaten up by the Indian driver who is with them
because his car is being stripped of all its parts. Jamal gets a couple of notes out of his pocket and puts them into Arvind’s
outstretched hand, he feels the notes with his fingers. ARVIND
A fifty. And a hundred Blessings upon you, Sahib. JAMAL
How do you know? ARVIND
There are many ways of seeing. Arvind puts his hands together and bows deep again. Then, Jamal takes his
shoe off and gets out a hundred dollar bill. JAMAL
Here. Jamal crouches down and puts the bill into Arvind’s hand. His fingers feel
it. He sniffs it. ARVIND
Dollars. But how many? JAMAL
One hundred. ARVIND
Now you are playing with me, Sahib. JAMAL
No. I swear. ARVIND
What is on it? The pictures. Tell me. JAMAL
A building. With a clock on it. Trees behind it. ARVIND
The other side. Turn it over. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
31 JAMAL
A man- it doesn’t say his name. He is sort of bald, but has long hair
on the sides. ARVIND
smiling Benjamin Franklin. My God, my God. Thank you, Sahib. You
were generous the first time. But this… I, XCVI, 60 Jamal gives some dollars he get from the American tourists to Arvind when he
accidently meets him. Arvind is singing to beg for some money. He feels sorry to Arvind since he sings in the street eyeless. Instead of using the money he gets, he
gives all of it to Arvind. According to Murphy’s theory, Jamal’s characteristic in the situation
above can be seen through a person’s reaction. In this case is Arvind’s reaction after he receives the money from Jamal.
4. Introvert
Jamal is an introvert person. Even though he is close to Latika, during his separateness with her, he is never seen going out together with his other friends.
He does everything alone. He even lives alone while he is looking for Latika and lives separately with his brother, Salim. Someday, J
amal finds Salim’s phone number and he keeps it. Salim’s number becomes the only number he has. The
evidence that shows Jamal is an introvert person can be seen in the conversation below.
PREM Doesn’t look as if your friend is in, Jamal. Who is it?
JAMAL My brother’s number, but-
32 PREM
- the sort of brother who’d go for a walk on the twenty million
rupee question? JAMAL
It’s the only number I know. I, CXV, 180 Jamal cannot answer the last question of the quiz. The question is about The Three
Musketeer’s third member. When he was a kid, Jamal and Salim always mentioned themselves as The Three Musketeer as Athos and Porthos. However,
they did not know the name of the third member after those two names until they grew up. The last question of the quiz asks him about the name that he never
knows. Therefore, he decides to phone a friend. Instead of calling a friend, he calls his brother because he has no other numbers
except his brother’s number. It can be said that Jamal is an introvert person since he does not have friends and
even a number of other people except his brother, Salim. According to Murphy 1972, Jamal’s introvert characteristic can be seen by looking at Jamal’s speech.
5. Reactive
Jamal is a reactive person. He reacts easily in some situations in the script. In this case, Jamal’s reactive characteristic only relates with Latika. The first
situation which shows that Jamal is a reactive person is when he finally meets Salim after a long time.
SALIM Jamal
Jamal looks around. There is Salim standing on the edge of the building. He saunters over to Jamal, his arms outstretched in theatrical greeting. He
is groomed, expensively dressed with the best mobile money can buy dangling from a gold chain around his neck
SALIM God is good, bhai. God is good.
