Description of Character A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTER AND MORALITY

2. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTER AND MORALITY

2.1 Description of Character

A novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The letter supplied the present genetic term in the late 18 th Century. To become part of literary production novels had to address the discussion of art. Wikipedia, 8 January 2010,10:15 The construction of the narrative, the plot, the way reality is created in the work of fiction, the fascination of the character study, and the use of language are usually discussed to show novel’s artistic merits. Every novel is an account of life; every novel involves conflict, characters, action, settings, plot and the theme. An author has a full freedom present characters suitable with what her work, whoever the person, the social status, the characterization and whatever their life problems. Most novels are concerned with ordinary people and their problem in societies where they interact. Character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art such as a novel, play or film. Klara Maio 1999:17 stated that character often represent the general traits of a group of person or abstract ideas. Medieval allegorical depictions of characters preferred typification in order to personify vices, virtues, or philosophical and religions positions. Universitas Suamtera Utara There are some definitions of the character. In Webster, English Dictionary 2000:74 stated that, “Character is the combination of quality that distinguishes an individual person, group or things; moral strength; reputation; disposition.” Characters also refer to moral qualities and ethical standards and principles. In seventeenth and eighteenth-Century England, a character was a formal sketch or descriptive analysis of a particular virtue or vice as represented in a person. Edgar V. Roberts and Hendry E. Jacobs 1995:133 stated that fiction usually focus on one or a few major characters who undergo a change attitude or characters as they interact with other characters with difficult situation, or with an idea or general circumstances that force action. The character may win, lose or tie. In fiction, a character may be defined as a verbal representation of human being. Through action, speech, description, and commentary, authors portray characters who are worth caring about, rooting for, and even laving, although there are also characters you may laugh at, dislike, or even hate. A character occupies a strategic position to bring and convey massage, moral, or something that is purposely converged to the reader. Abrams 1985:21 says that “Characters are the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue, and by what they do – the action.” The gerunds in a characters temperament and moral nature for his speech and action constitute his emotions. A writers use of speech for character can obviously be very Universitas Suamtera Utara important to indicate what that character thinks, feels or believes, speech can be used to suggest personality as well as intelligence, class and education. The distinguishing quality called trait or characterization is deferent one character to another. Each of the character has his or her own traits. Characters may be ambitious or lazy, serene or anxious, aggressive or tearful, thoughtful or inconsiderate, open or secretive, confident or self doubting, kind or cruel, quite or noisy, visionary or practical, careful or careless, impartial or biased, straightforward or underhanded, “winners” or “losers” and so on. According to Edgar V. Roberts and Hendry E. Jacobs 1995:135, tell us how characters disclosed in fiction. There are: 1. Actions What character does is our best way to understand what they are. As with ordinary human beings, fictional characters do not necessary understand how they may be changing or why they do the things they do. Nevertheless, their actins express their characters. Actions may also signal qualities such as nalvete’, weakness, deceit, a scheming personality, strong inner or conflicts, or a realization or growth of some sort. 2. Descriptions, both personal and environmental Appearance and environmental reveal much about a character’s social and economic status, of course, but they also tell us about character traits. Universitas Suamtera Utara 3. Dramatic statements and thoughts Although the speeches of most characters are functional essential to keep the story moving along-they provide material from which you can draw conclusions. Often, characters use speech to hide their motives, though we as readers should see through their action narrated in the works. 4. Statements by other characters By studying what characters say about each other, you can enhance your understanding of the character being discussed. Ironically, the characters doing the talking often indicate something other than what they intend, perhaps because of prejudice, stupidity, or foolishness. 5. Statements by the author speaking as story-teller or observer What the author, speaking with the authorial voice, says about a character is usually accurate, and the authorial voice can be accepted factually. However, when the authorial voice interprets action and characteristics, the author himself or herself assumes the role of reader or critic, and any opinions may be questioned. For this reason, author frequently avoid interpretations and devote their own conclusions. From the opinions, can be concluded that there are three ways to disclosed characters in fiction: by the action, description, and statement or thoughts. Universitas Suamtera Utara According to Nurgiantoro, the difference of point of view, and observations, character can be categorized as follows: Main character and Peripheral character, Protagonist character and Antagonist character, Simple character and complex character, Static character and Developing character, Typical and Neutral character. This paper discusses about main characters’ morality. Therefore, for clarification of technical terms used in this paper, it concerns with definition of main character and peripheral character. A. Main Character The main character is the central figure of a story. Alternatively, the phrase denotes a primary advocate of or proponent for a cause or movement. The main character can be a hero villain in a story – it is just the character with the lead role. As a rule of thumb, main characters usually have a lot to say and appear frequently throughout the play. Main character is classified important and kept on performing that it feels dominating the whole story. Even in certain novels, a main character always presents in every event and can found in every page of novel concern. The main character in a novel can be more than one. B. Peripheral Character There are some characters that are presented only once or couple times in a story, and it may be in relative short narration. According to Nurgiantoro 1998: 177 stated that peripheral is the character that appears once or sometimes in the novel, it may exist relatively in short portion; and peripheral character usually appears only if there is any connection with the main character, directly or indirectly. Universitas Suamtera Utara

2.2 Description of Morality