too much time in his life. Consequently, the writer chose the moral lessons depicted in Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte selves as the topic of the study. Then the
researcher created two problem formulation to make the study more focus and comprehensive.
The second step was to get a better understanding about the two alienated characters in the novel. To do this, the writer needed suitable books as a guidance
for theory on characters and characteristics. They were An Introduction to Fiction by Stanton, A Glossary of Literary Terms by Abrams, A Handbook to Literature by
Holman and Harmon, Introduction to Literature Volume I by Barnet et al, and Understanding Unseen by Murphy. By using these theories, the writer found out
the characteristics from Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte. From there on, the writer took theory of alienation from some books, such as Nisbet’s The New
Encyclopedia of Britannica, Karp and Yoel’s Sociology and Everyday Life, and Lowry and Rank’s Sociology. These theories were used to explain deeper about the
characteristic of alienation experienced by Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte. The last step was done by the writer by examining the moral lessons through
Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte using theory of moral and morality and referring to the moral philosophical approach. The writer found some books related
to the theory, they are Gardner’s On Moral Fiction, and Gonsalves Right and Reason.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the characteristics of two alienated characters in the novel, Sarah Lemon and Victor
Delamonte. The second one distinguishes the way of Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte appreciate the value of time. The last part deals with the moral lesson
of life and death revealed through Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte.
A. How the Alienated Characters Appreciate their Time in Albom’s The Time
Keeper
Albom’s The Time Keeper is considered as an unusual novel because it has not only one major character but three, they are Dor or Father Time, Sarah Lemon,
and Victor Delamonte. The three of them are considered as major characters because according to M.H. Abrams, a major character usually takes part both
directly and indirectly in almost the entire story since the story itself focuses on him 1993:23. However, the writer decides not to include Dor in the thesis since it is
irrelevant to the analysis. The reason why Dor is excluded in this thesis merely because the character is not undergoing the alienation. Therefore, in this section,
the description of Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte’s characteristics is discussed by scrutinizing the fragmented stories of each character presented in the novel.
Often, they are shown in the past and present forms back and forth and contain important information about their characteristics.
1. Sarah Lemon
Sarah Lemon is a seventeen-year-old girl whose parents divorced when she was twelve years old. The divorce happened two months after her birthday.
Afterwards, Sarah stays with Lorraine, her mother, instead with Tom, her father. Sarah used to have a warm, friend-like relationship with her mother which after the
divorce, turns into a mother-teenage daughter gap. The absence of her father—who Sarah thinks does not want her any longer after the divorce—influences not only
Sarah’s personality, but also her previously-healthy relationship with Lorraine. Sarah feels like being trapped in a strange household with the mother, who keeps
talking negativities about her former husband, without knowing that her teenage daughter expects her father in a quite different way from her.
After the split, Sarah stayed with Lorraine, who would blame Tom, her absent ex, for every wrong thing in their lives. Sarah would nod sympathetically. But
each of them, in a way, was still waiting for the man; Lorraine to admit he was wrong, Sarah to have him rescue her. Neither thing happened Albom,
2013:14.
It is clear that Lorraine expect Tom to come back and apologize for mistakes he did to the family while Sarah hopes Tom to come to rescue her and bring happiness in
their home again—which never happens. Her parents’ divorce and her mother’s negative talks about her father, has
brought a sense of alienation to Sarah’s life. Sarah’s mother always complains to her friends about how her husband “was never good enough” and that he is the
cause of their divorce Albom, 2013:35. In Sarah Lemon’s case, however, her mother attempt to alienate her from her father in fact, does not cause hatred toward
the father. Instead, it causes isolation in the relationship between the two of them.
