Review of Related Studies

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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter focuses on some reviews related to the work of literature and also some relevant theories to support the analysis on the topic discussed in this thesis. There are two sections in this chapter. The First section is the review on related studies of Nineteen Minutes. Second section consists of some theories used to analyze the topic.

A. Review of Related Studies

The novel under discussion is relatively new, having only been published for seven years at the time this thesis is written. Related studies in printed media books, magazines, etc. are very rare. Therefore, the writer has to find alternative sources of related studies from the internet. ―There’s a word we learned in social studies: schadenfreude,‖ one of this book’s characters writes. ―It’s when you enjoy watching someone else suffer.‖ Schadenfreude surges through Ms. Picoult’s version of Peter’s life, although it is not precisely his misery that the reader is meant to enjoy. It’s the sense that the tragedy that has struck the Houghtons could happen to even the nicest family — at least if the parents tolerate hunting, television and video games and neglect to notice that their child has become bully bait. nytimes.com, 2007, 5 September 2015 There are many topics and themes that can be discussed in the novel Nineteen Minutes. In the above quotation the article by Janet Maslin focuses on the social studies: schadenfreude. The author of the article makes one of the characters in the novel becomes the focus of the writing of the article. The author discusses how Peter faces a situation he experienced bullying in school.The duration of a high-school shooting rampage perpetrated by Peter Houghton is the setting of the article. The author tries to explain the development of Peter’s life Houghton from childhood until teenage. Bullying earned by Peter from his friends when he was a child until teenager form himself into a person who is create chaos in his high school. How the social life affect a persons character is the theme of the author in writing his article. It’s most convincing; Nineteen Minutes is less a narrative about a horrific event than an insightful deconstruction of youthful alienation, of the shattering repercussions of bullying, and the disturbing effects of benign neglect. Seventeen-year-old Peter wasnt a bad kid. He came from a loving home; his mother, Lacy, a warm and generous nursemidwife; his father, a pleasant if distracted scientist. They were all still reeling from the death of Peters brother, Joey, just the year before, but all were dealing in their own way. Boston.com, 2007, 4 September 2015 Another articles by Karen Campbell that talks about Nineteen Minutes said how one of the character in this novel, Peter, become the victim of bullying. The author said that what Peter does in High School tragedy is a consequence that occurs as a result of bullying acquired. The author said slow journey toward his desperate act began years before, as early as kindergarten. On his very first day, he was tagged as somehow different -- inferior, smaller, weaker, less socially comfortable. Karen Campbell explains in her article that Peter came from a loving home. Actually, person who comes from loving have a better live than others, but the relationship between Peter and his social life makes him become a person who are solitary person and not comfortable with his social life. The article written by Karen Campbell discussed about consequence that happened if there is a bullying in social life. If we read the existing reviews and essays, the writers basically agree that Nineteenth Minutes is a unique book and not easy to analyze. However, on the subject of the novel’s strong points and weak points, what makes the novel special or otherwise; their opinions often differ greatly and even contrast with each other. In the official website of Jody Picoult, Jodipicoult.com, 24 June 2013 Jody Picoult said that this book is hard to analyze. It is always hardest for Jodi Picoult to write a book that has kids in it close to her kids’ ages and Nineteen Minutes does. She thinks that every parent has probably experienced bullying in some form, either from the point of view the bully or the victim. So it’s a pretty universal subject. http:www.jodipicoult.comnineteen-minutes.html She knows that many of her readers are the age of the young characters in this book, and over the years. But it wasn’t until she began to connect what kids experience in school with how adults treat other adults who are somehow different that she began to piece together the story. Discrimination and difference at the high school level will never end until the adults running these schools can go about their own lives without judging others for their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Jody said that it’s funny if the readers should compare Nineteen Minutes to My Sister’s Keeper because she sees them as very similar books. They are both very emotional, very gut- wrenching, and they’re situations that every parent dreads. And like the moral and ethical complications of My Sister Keeper, we have a kid in Nineteen Minutes who does something that, on the surface, is absolutely devastating and destructive and will end the lives of others. But we can understand why a child who’s been victimized might feel like he’s justified in fighting back. We also think it’s fascinating to look at how two good parents might find themselves with a child they do not recognize a child who does something they cannot swallow. What makes this research different from the researches shown earlier is the topic that the writer discussed in this research. The writer discusses about how parenting style influence the changes the character of Josie Cormier. B. Review of related Theories There are several theories that the writer use to support the analysis. 1. Theory of Character and Characterization First the theory that support for this research is the theory of character and characterization, the writer uses theory from William Harmon, Hugh Holman, and Richard Gill. William Harmon and Hugh Holman stated that character is a complicated term that includes the idea of moral constitution of the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness, and the simpler notion of the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of one sort another; character is also a term applied to a literary form that flourished in England and France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is a brief descriptive sketch of a personage who typifies some definite quality. The person is described not as an individualized personality, but as an example of some vice or virtue or type, such as a busybody, a glutton, a fop, a bumpkin, a garrulous old man, or a happy milkmaid 2009:95. William Harmon and Hugh Holman also stated that characterization is a creation of imaginary persons so that they seem lifelike. There are three fundamental methods of characterization. First, the explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition, either in an introductory block or more often piecemeal throughout the work, illustrated by action. Second, the presentation of the character in action, with little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader can deduce the attributes of the actor from the action.Third, the representation from within a character, without comment by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self 2009:95. Regardless of the method by which a character is presented, the author may concentrate on a dominant trait to the exclusion of the other aspects of personality, or the author may attempt to present a fully rounded creation. If the presentation of a single dominant trait is carried to an extreme, not a believable character but a caricature will result. If this method is handled with skill, it can produce striking and interesting two-dimensional characters that lack depth 2009:95-96. Furthermore, a character may be either static or dynamic. A static character is one who changes little if at all. Things happen to such a character without things happening within. The pattern of action reveals the character rather than showing the character changing in response to the actions. Sometimes a static character gives the appearance of changing simply because our picture of the character is revealed bit by bit. A dynamic character, on the other hand, is one who is modified by actions and experiences, and one objective of the work in which the character appears is to reveal the consequences of these actions 2009:95. Character is a person in a literary work that has some sort of identity. Their identity made up by appearance, conversation, action, name and possibly thoughts going on in the head. In other character theory, Richard Gill added that characters in book are not real people but figures who have been specially created by the author. Characters also may have all sorts of link with the people we meet every day, or in some cases we feel more strongly about them than real people 1995:127. Richard Gill also divided characters based on their range into three. First, is character that very lightly sketched in, the second is a character that is clear but minimal. It means that in the story character is clearly but its minimal explanation. There is no building up of resolution, no weighting of moral considerations. And the third is complex character; it means that in this character we can see a lot of fully developed character 1995:128-129. According to Richard Gill, we do not just focus on the kind of characters we find in a novel, but actually we also must give attention to the process of characterization will be taken for granted in a good deal of what we say, and attention will be taken by what the characters are like. In particular, we shall be looking at how the identities of a character are present in the individual elements that make them what they are. 1995:135. Authors frequently make characters, distinctive by giving them recognizable and memorable ways of speaking. A character might, for instance, speak in a very complicated way, repeat certain words and phrases, use lots of illustrations, rely upon common sayings and proverbs, and say a great deal or very little. You should always look to see if a character speaks in a way which expresses his or her personality. Sometimes it is useful to point to grammatical features which establish a particular speaking style 1995:135-136. Of course, when a character speaks, that character is thinking. A character might, for instance, use lots of vivid images; or might be given a vocabulary which is laden w ith moral words. There is another way in which a character’s though can be evident to the reader. This is undeclared thoughts. If an author chooses to have access to the thoughts in character’s head, the reader can be aware not only of what he or she is thinking, but can be acquainted with the manner of thought or how the character’s mind is made up, and how they approach problems and challenges. Under the influence of psychological ideas, they regarded these private. Undeclared thoughts as being particularly expressive of what character is like 1995:136-137. After we see the character speaks, then we also notice the character’s clothes. Clothes are also something important to see character personality. Clothes are an extension or expression of someone’s personality. Their plainness, not only sets off someone beauty, but it is also expressive of their seriousness. Sometimes clothes are used to indicate social status. Clothes can also help to create the atmosphere of the book. Graham Greene, for instance, presents a world of seedy characters, whose shabby, dirty and scruffy clothes enact the very strong feeling in his novels of corruption, decay and failure. Music is important in the social and personal lives of adolescents. The typical adolescents spends over 10,000 hours listening to music, an amount of time similar to that spent in class by the time thay graduate from high school. Mark, 1988 Many researchers have examined why music is so important to adolescents and how adolescents actively use music to satisfy particular social, emotional, and developmental needs. Arnett et al., 1995 Researchers have been particularly interested in Adolescents and young adults who are marginalized andor experiencing major psychological issues and have found that they prefer heavier forms of music such as heavy metal and rock.Took and Weiss,1994. Researchers have suggested that these relationships occur because of the match between characteristics of listeners and the themes in heavy music e.g., rejection of authority, hyper individualism, acceptance of antisocial behavior; Klein et al., 1993. It is also likely that heavy metal music matches the qualities and intensity of their feelings e.g., tough, wild, angry associated with the themes through its pounding rhythm, fast pace, and discordant sounds. Arnett, 1996 suggest that heavy music can serve a cathartic or calming effect, an effect that relieves unhappiness, anger, or anxiety. 2. Theory of Adolescence In addition to the theory of character, there is the other that it is also important that support this research, which is adolescence theory. According to the writer, the adolescence theory is important because one of the main characters in novel that the writer analyzes was in adolescence ages. G. Stanley Hall is the pioneer of adolescence theory. Hall, who thought in evolutionary terms, saw the adolescent as representing a transitional stage in our evolutionary development from beast to human. Being adolescent for Hall was something like being a fully grown animal in a cage, an animal who sees freedom, but doesn’t know quite when freedom will occur or how to handle it. Thus, the adolescent was portrayed as existing in a state of great ―storm and stress,‖ as a marginal being, confused, troubled, and highly frustrated. 2002:222 The other psychologist named Robert Havighurst adding to support Hall’s theory. As psychologist Robert Havighurst has pointed out, every adolescent face challenges, in the form of developmental tasks that must be mastered. Among the tasks that Havighurst list are the following: Accepting one’s physical make – up and acquiring a masculine or feminine sex role, Developing appropriate relations with age mates of both sexes, Becoming emotionally independent of parents and other adults, Achieving the assurance that one will become economically independent, Deciding on, preparing for, and entering a vocation, Developing the cognitive skills and concepts necessary for social competence, Understanding and achieving socially responsible behavior, Preparing marriage and family, and Acquiring values that are harmonious with an appropriate scientific world picture. The pattern of development a particular adolescent display depends upon a great many factors. The most important of these include the individual’s adjustment in childhood, the level of adjustment of his or her parents and peers, and the changes that occur during adolescence. 2002:223 3. Parenting style theory The third theory that the writer use is parenting style theory. The writer use this theory because the way in which adolescents seek independence and the ease with which they resolve conflicts about becoming adults depends in large part on the parent-child relationship. Diana Baumrind 1971, 1973 observed and interviewed nursery school children and their parents. The impact of three distinct parenting styles on children. In authorities families parents are the ―bosses‖. They do not feel that they have to explain their actions or demands. In fact, such parents may feel the child has no right to question parental decisions. In democratic or authoritative families adolescents participated in decisions affecting their live. There is a great deal of discussion and negotiation in such families. Parents listen to their children’s reasons for wanting to go somewhere or do something, and make an effort to explain their rules and expectations. The adolescents make many decisions, but the parents retain the right to veto plans of which they disapprove. In permissive or laissez – faire families’ children have the final say. The parents may attempt to guide the adolescents, but give in when the children insist on having their own way. Or the parents may simply give up their demands, voicing no expectations, virtually ignoring the young people in their house. Maccoby and Martin 1983 later identified a fourth parenting style: uninvolved parents were typically very self-centered in their child rearing, seemed uncommitted to their role and quite distant from their child. Numerous studies suggest that adolescents who have grown up in democratic or authoritative families are more confident of their own values and goals than other young people. First of all, there are two dimensions of parenting by Vasta, Haith, and Miller. They are parenting warmth and parenting control. Both dimensions should be best applied equally in a family. Parenting warmth includes support, affection, love, care, encouragement from parents to their children. Parenting control is the other side of parenting dimensions which involves the monitoring of the children, the disciplined and regulated behavior of the children 1995:476. The combination of the two dimensions and research done by Diana Baumrind resulted in four styles of parenting. There are authoritative parents, authoritarian parents, permissive parents, and indifferent parents. Authoritative parents are those parents who are high both in warmth and control over their children. They have the characteristics of caring, loving, and sensitive parents. At the same time, they also set clear limits on the children behavior. Children of authoritative parents have the most positive effects on their early social development. Children become self-confident, independent, academically and socially successful. Authoritarian parents are low in warmth, but high in control. They generally have the characteristics of demanding with threats and punishment. They have a strong control over their ch ildren’s behavior. As the result, children under the authoritarian parents are moody, easily upset, aggressive and often creating problems. Permissive parents are the opposite of the authoritarian parents. They set high warmth, but low control. They are loving and sensitive parents, but set very few limits on their children’s behavior. Because of the lack of control of the parents, children become impulsive, immature and out of control. Indifferent parents are those parents that are low both in warmth and control. They set few limits as well as little attention, affection, and concern for their children. Children under indifferent parents become very demanding, disobedient, and lack of social skills to deal with other people Vastaet al.1995:476. Huffman and the Vernoys summarized the parenting styles of Baumrind’s research into three broad patterns: authoritarian parents, permissive parents, and authoritative parents. Huffman et al. added that authoritarian parents demand mature awareness and responsibility of their children. No questions are needed to be asked by the children under the authoritarian parents. This style of parenting makes the children have poor communication skills in their social development. For the permissive parents, Huffman et al. divided into two types. They are indifferent parents who set few limits as well as little attention, and indulgent parents who provide high affection and concern but few controls on their children. Huffman et al. also added that children under the indulgent parents have no respect to others. The third style of parenting is authoritative parents who are caring, but also set firm limits and encourage increased responsibility of the children. As the result, children become self-reliant, self-controlled, high achieving, friendly and sociable Huffman et al.1997:316. Almost similar to Huffman et al., Kasschau also divided Baumrinds’s research into three patterns: authoritarian families,democraticauthoritative families, and permissivelaissez-faire families. According to Kasschau, parents in authoritarian families are considered as a boss. Meanwhile, in the democraticauthoritative families, discussion and negotiation between parents and their children are highly involved in the families. In the permissivelaissez-faire families, Kasschau found that children have the final say. Parents make no demands and rules about their children’s behavior. They guide their children, but give up easily when children insist on having own way Kasschau, 1995:236-237. From all the parenting styles, it can be concluded that the authoritative parenting is the best one, as stated by Bukato and Daehler: ―It seems clear that authoritative parenting yields the best results. This seems to come from two features – the establishment of limits on the child and responding to the child with warmth and support‖ Kasschau, 1995:237. C. Theoretical Framework In analyzing the problem formulation, the writer uses several theories to support the answers of the problem. Theories of character and characterization, theories of adolescence, theory of parenting style are chosen in order to describe the characteristics of the major and minor characters, Josie and Alex Cormier, in Nineteenth Minutes, as well as the major character, Josie. Theory of parenting is used to analyze how Alex Cormier applies the parenting style towards Josie. Parenting style theory and adolescences theory are applied to show the success of the Alex’s role as parents in fulfilling their parenting style by providing the physiological and emotional needs of the main character as an adolescent. 21

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY