Theory of Character and Characterization

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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF R ELATED LITERATURE

This chapter provides the theories that are related to this study. This chapter will be divided into two main parts, namely the theoretical review and theoretical framework. The theories in theoretical review consist of theory of character and characterization, theory of critical approach, and theory of personality.

A. THEORETICAL REVIEW

This part contains two sub parts, the theory of character and characterization and the critical approach.

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

Character has an important role in a novel. It makes the story more meaningful because the author could convey the message of the story to the readers through the characters. According to Nurgiyantoro, reading a novel means that the readers are faced wit h the character 1995:176. Therefore, it is very important for the readers to know the theories of character so that the readers are involved in the whole story. There are two kinds of character according to Milligan. They are major and secondary characters. The major characters are those who appear more often in the story than the other characters, whole secondary characters are those who appear less in the story 1983:195. 7 Forster differentiates flat character from round character. A flat character has a steady characteristic, which means that the characteristic does not change from the beginning of the story until the end of the story 1974: 46-51. In order to analyze the characters in the novel more easily, it is important to know how the author pre sents the characters in the story. In this case, we have to know whether it is presented directly or implicitly. According to Murphy, there are nine ways that are used by an author in presenting the characteristics of the characters in the novel 1988:30-38. First of all is personal description. It refers to the physical appearance of the character, such as the height, the posture of the body, and the skin color. This kind of description helps the readers to visualize the character and to understand the physical characteristics. Second is a character as seen by another. The character is described through the opinions of the characters. Third is speech. Speech is a manifestation of character. The author explains the character through what the person says about him or her. From the way he or she speaks in a conversation or the way he she gives opinion to others. Fourth is past life. The past life of the character in the novel is connected to her or his present life. Her or his past life shapes the characteristics of the person. By knowing the past life of the characters, it is very useful for the discussion because the story is related to the past event which shapes the personality of the characters. Fifth is conversation of others. It is very useful to pay attention to the conversation of other characters in order to know the characteristics of a certain character that is going to be analyzed. The conversation 8 shows what the characters look like. Sixth is reaction. The personality of the character can be understood from his or her reaction. The reaction of the character reflects her or his thought. Seventh is through direct comment. The author gives the readers a straight forward description about the character. It helps the reader to find the information about the character more easily. Eighth is thoughts. The author gives direct description of the character’s mind, what he or she is thinking about and it leads to the mental process of the character. The thought inside the character’s mind can be disclosed. The last way is mannerism. The author describes the character’s mannerism that may also tell reader something about the characters.

2. Theory of Critical Approaches