Characterization is one of literary elements that always exists in every story. These literary elements help beautify and give deeper meaning to literary works. The
elements also make literary works special to analyze because these elements make an analysis of literary works differ from other kinds of analysis. Characterization is
closely related to personality and values. Each character in a story might have different personalities and values because they have different background and roles in
the story. The same is true in children’s literature since child characters in the stories are made to have various family backgrounds and environment. Thus, there are
various ways to represent children through characterization. In the real life, the personalities or characters of a person always develop and
change. In literature, the characters also might experience the same things through the portrayal of how they struggle when they have problems. The problems and the
situations are not far from human experiences in the real life. These conditions in the stories are the ones that are constructed intentionally based on the possibility that
might happen Wald, 1975:938. Thus, the characters also have the constructed personalities or qualities. They are intentionally created with complexity to strengthen
their importance in the stories. Independence as one of qualities in child characters in children’s literature
can be analyzed through several points of view. According to Lukens, there are five ways for the authors to reflect it in characterization 1999:81-82:
1. By Actions
. The characters in the stories always have actions in response to many things from the beginning of a story to the end of it. Through actions, the
characters can be examined on how they make their own decisions. The readers are able to see what kind of characters or personalities that they have.
2. By Speech
. Reflecting children’s independence can also use the speeches coming from the characters being studied. These speeches can imply their qualities
and the recognition of their change.
3. By Appearance
. The physical appearances of the characters being studied are also able to perform certain qualities or personalities. For example, if a character has
a wicked personality, than she will be described to have sulky and scary face.
4. By Other’s Comment. The ‘other’ in here is the supporting characters. They
also have important roles to show children’s independence and other characteristics of the main characters. Their responses usually come from speeches or dialogues with
other characters, including main characters. 5.
By Author’s Comment. The author’s duty is not only to present the story in
an order she manages but also to be the narrator who introduces many elements in the story. The author’s comment can also be the means to reflect children’s
independence by telling the readers what kinds of abilities the child characters have. It is because the author is the one who knows everything about the story and its
characters. It seems to be slightly different between author’s comment and the
characters’ actions. The difference between author’s comment and the characters’ actions is on the description of the information.
The author’s comment contains personal judgment or opinions about the characters. Meanwhile, characters’ actions
contain only the sequence of actions they do. Thus, author’s comment is more explicit than the characters’ actions.
The quality of a character can be strongly identified by actions and speeches because both things are naturally influenced by the personality of the character
Lukens, 1999:83. By actions, the personality is implicitly illustrated. The readers are able to feel the journey of “coming to know” what kinds of personality the
characters have, especially the main characters. By speeches, the personality is implicitly embodied in the contents of the speeches.
Becoming independent is a trait that needs processes. The analysis on the actions and speeches of the characters being studied is the way to show the
characters’ independence through characterization. Besides, other characters’ and author’s comments also play important roles to help show independence in child
characters. The dominant results by actions and speeches indicates that child characters have gained independence. It means that child characters are free from
dictate that haunts them.
E. Previous Research Findings
