Portrayal of The Protagonists in Wally Lamb's 'She's Come Undone' and Janet Fitch's 'White Olfander'.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………...i
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………..……ii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………...………iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study………...………………………………………...1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………….3
Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………3
Method of Research……………………………………………………….3
Organization of the Thesis………………………………………………...3
CHAPTER TWO: PORTRAYAL OF THE PROTAGONIST
IN WALLY LAMB’S SHE’S COME UNDONE ……………………...5
CHAPTER THREE: PORTRAYAL OF THE PROTAGONIST
IN JANET FITCH’S WHITE OLEANDER………………………….18
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION………………………………..…………29
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………..………..33
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of She’s Come Undone………………………………………...35
Synopsis of White Oleander……………………………………………...36
Biography of Wally Lamb………………………………………………..37
Biography of Janet Fitch…………………………………………………38
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Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Di dalam skripsi ini, saya menganalisis karakteristik dua tokoh dari dua
novel berjudul She’s Come Undone karangan Wally Lamb dan White Oleander
karangan Janet Fitch.
Saya menganalisis bagaimana kejadian traumatik yang dialami kedua
tokoh di masa kecilnya memengaruhi karakteristik dan tingkah laku mereka pada
saat mereka dewasa. Selain itu, saya juga menganalisis bagaimana kedua tokoh ini
dapat menangani kejadian traumatik tersebut sehingga mereka pada akhirnya
dapat menemukan jati diri mereka yang sesungguhnya.
Dolores Price, tokoh protagonis dalam novel She’s Come Undone
digambarkan sebagai tokoh yang mandiri namun keras dan tertutup, sedangkan
Astrid Magnussen, tokoh protagonis dalam novel White Oleander digambarkan
sebagai seorang yang sangat bergantung pada orang lain dan sangat penurut pada
awalnya.
Kedua tokoh ini mengatasi trauma mereka dengan cara yang berbeda.
Dolores Price mengatasi traumanya dengan serangkaian terapi umum dan hipnotis
dengan seorang psikolog, sedangkan Astrid Magnussen mengatasinya sendiri
setelah melalui serangkaian kejadian yang dialaminya di rumah-rumah adopsi.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of She’s Come Undone
Dolores Price is a troubled young woman who undergoes unpleasant
moments in her childhood. She is happy until one day her pregnant mother loses
the fetus and starts to be mentally ill. Dolores’ father cannot stand his wife so they
get divorced. The mother is then sent to the hospital and Dolores has to live with
her conventional grandmother who sends her to a Catholic school.
Dolores becomes a girl who is not confident which makes her having no
friends. Once she thinks she gets a friend, he rapes her. Since then, she limits
herself from the outside world. She stays in her bedroom a lot and eats a lot so she
becomes overweight, which makes her less and less confident.
One day, Dolores’ mother dies and it ruins her more. She does not want to
stay with her grandmother so she decides to go to college. In college, she is
bullied because she is fat. She is also trapped into a lesbian relationship. These
things put too much stress on her so that she tries to commit suicide. She is saved
but she has to spend seven years in the hospital. There, she loses her weight,
recovers herself from the anger towards her parents and regains her confident.
Out of hospital does not mean that Dolores is problem-free. She has a
relationship that ends up badly and her grandmother dies. However, she does not
35
Maranatha Christian University
let herself down again, so she starts to get further education. At this point, she
meets Thayer, her future lover. With Thayer, Dolores begins to have a better life.
Synopsis of White Oleander
Astrid Magnussen is a young girl who has to face hard time living with
different foster families in short periods. This happens because her mother is
sentenced for murdering her womanizer boyfriend with drugs and oleander.
Astrid used to fully depend on her mother because she is the only parent
she has. Astrid never knows her father because he and her mother get divorced
when she is only a little girl.
Astrid’s condition gets worse because of the different situation in each
foster house. It makes Astrid get more confused and easily tempted by bad things.
In these places, Astrid is involved in adultery, violence and drugs. She befriends a
prostitute and once witnesses her foster mother commit suicide.
On one occasion, Astrid suddenly remembers one moment in her life when
she is abandoned by her mother. Her mother leaves her to her babysitter, Annie
for more than a year. At that point, Astrid realizes it is the reason why she really
depends on her mother.
Astrid realizes that she cannot be herself if she is still under her mother’s
influences. So, she fights her mother by not being a witness in her case. She
decides that she will live her own life without her mother. She begins to find the
meaning of her life. She meets Paul. They fall in love with each other. They move
to Germany and live together. Astrid tries to live her life in her own ways.
36
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb is an American author who was born on 17 October 1950. He
was brought up 10 miles north of New London, Connecticut. Lamb took
Education as his major when taking his bachelor and master degree in University
of Connecticut. After finishing his master degree, he continued his study at
Vermont College, where he earned an M.F.A degree in Writing.
Lamb’s first novel, She’s Come Undone, was first published in 1992. It
later became New York Times number one bestseller and was chosen by Oprah
Winfrey in her show as selective book for Oprah’s Book Club. Six years later,
Lamb published his second novel, I Know This Much is True. After that, he wrote
some more fiction and non-fiction books. The fictions are The Hour I First
Believe and Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. The non-fictions are
Couldn’t Keep It to Myself and I’ll Fly Away.
Lamb’s books has brought him some awards such as Los Angeles Times
Book Awards’ Art Seidenbaum Prize for first fiction, Governor’s Arts Award and
NEA grant for fiction.
Now Lamb settles down with his wife and their three children in
Connecticut. He works in University of Connecticut’s English Department as an
Associate Professor of Creative Writing.
Source:
“Wally Lamb”
“Meet the Writers”
“Bio”
37
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Janet Fitch
Janet Elizabeth Fitch was an American author who was born in Los
Angeles on 9 November 1955. She studied in Reed College majoring in History
and then she continued to Keele University in England. There, she learned
Russian History.
Fitch has a lot of job experiences, including typesetter, proofreader,
graphic artist, freelance journalist and editor. She started her writing career with
the short stories which she published in literary journals. Her first novel, White
Oleander, was developed from her short story under the same title. This book later
became a chosen book in Oprah’s Book Club and was made into a movie in 2001.
Beside White Oleander, Fitch wrote another famous book entitled Paint It Black.
She planned to publish her next book in the spring 2009 but unfortunately her plan
has not been put into realization.
At this time, Fitch, with her husband and daughter, lives in Los Angeles.
She shares her knowledge about writing fiction by teaching in the University of
Southern California’s Master of Professional Writing program. She also now
becomes an editor of fiction manuscripts.
Source:
“Biography”
“Janet Fitch”
“Biography for Janet Fitch (II)”
38
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Self-discovery is commonly defined as “[t]he act or process of achieving
understanding or knowledge of oneself” (“Self-discovery”). The two novels She’s
Come Undone and White Oleander raise a very interesting issue about two
women who have traumatic experiences in the form of parental fights and
abandonment in their past. These experiences later make them try to find their true
selves and the meaning of their lives. Each main character goes into a journey of
self discovery. They begin with analyzing the causes of their broken lives and
then struggle to make their lives better.
In my opinion, these two books are astonishingly wonderful because each
of them is the first novel from each author, yet each of them becomes the
bestseller. Wally Lamb is an outstanding author who has the guts to use a new
method in his first novel, She’s Come Undone. In this novel, Lamb tries to put
himself in a woman’s position and situation by creating a woman protagonist.
Moreover, he creates a woman protagonist, who is not just a common woman, but
1
Maranatha Christian University
a woman who undergoes mental illness. Surprisingly, Lamb succeeds to delve into
her mind in detail. “Lamb's choice of the female voice has been praised by critics”
(“She’s Come Undone: Female Voice”) and his guts have earned him some
awards.
The author of White Oleander, Janet Fitch is a talented author who has
dozens of journalistic experiences. Her experiences make her able to create an
intricate character and “the artistry of her work, the lines that take the reader's
breath away, are hard-won” (“About the Author”). Fitch admired Edgar Allan
Poe’s works which make some of her works much influenced by him. She does
not “follow Poe’s storyline in anyway” (“From White to Black”), but she makes
her works concern more “in part, with the internal corruption and destruction …
[and She] cast a Poe-like shadowy spell” (“From White to Black”).
In my major thesis, I am going to analyze how the protagonists are
portrayed in She’s Come Undone and White Oleander using formalism.
Protagonist is defined as “the main character in a play, film/movie or book”
(Hornby 1060). So, to portray a protagonist means to describe the main
character’s characteristics in a particular way.
In these two novels, the protagonists have round and dynamic
characteristics because the circumstances change them. And, these complex
characteristics influence the story. So in my analysis, I am going to discuss the
changes of these characteristics and how the protagonists’ experiences help
change those characteristics.
2
Maranatha Christian University
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The statements of the problem in my major thesis are:
1. How are the protagonists portrayed in the novels?
2. What are the purposes of the authors in creating such protagonists?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purposes of the study in my major thesis are:
1. I want to analyze how the protagonists are portrayed in the novels.
2. I want to show the purposes of the authors in creating such protagonists.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
In analysing She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb and White Oleander by
Janet Fitch, I use library research. First, I read the two novels as the primary texts.
Next, I find some literary criticisms about the authors and the works from the
internet to help the writing of my anaysis. Finally, I finish the analysis with a
conclusion.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
This
thesis
consists
of
four
chapters,
beginning
with
the
Acknowledgement. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the
Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two consists
of the portrayal of the protagonist in She’s Come Undone. Chapter Three is the
portrayal of the protagonist in White Oleander. Chapter Four, is the Conclusion.
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At the end of the thesis, there are Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist
of the synopsis of the two novels and the biography of the authors.
4
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Having analyzed the portrayal of the protagonists in She’s Come Undone
and White Oleander in chapter two and three, I can find some similarities and
differences from the two protagonists. The first similarity is that both protagonists
undergo abandonment in their childhood. Dolores, the protagonist in She’s Come
Undone, has to lose her parents in her childhood because of their separation and
her mother has to stay at a mental hospital. Similar to Dolores Price, Astrid, the
protagonist in White Oleander, is abandoned by her mother in her early childhood
and she also never has the figure of a father. The abandonment becomes a
traumatic experience for both of them and for that reason, both protagonists have
behaviour and characteristics issue, and they have to endure a long journey of
self-discovery.
Another similarity is both protagonists succeed in finding their true selves
in the end. They change and their bad characteristics which are formed by their
traumas are replaced by better ones. Dolores changes from an impudent,
introverted, self-conscious and pessimistic person to a polite, extroverted,
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confident and optimistic person. While Astrid changes from a dependent, diffident
and pessimistic person into a person of independence, confidence and optimism.
Beside the similarities, there are some differences between Dolores Price
and Astrid Magnussen. They are two different individuals who have distinct
characteristics. Dolores is impudent, introverted, self-conscious and pessimistic,
while Astrid is a dependent, diffident and pessimistic person. From these
characteristics, I can say that in the beginning, Dolores is more of a rebellious
person while Astrid is the submissive type of person.
The next difference is Dolores’ abandonment happens when she is old
enough to remember it, while Astrid is too young to remember. In other words,
Dolores remembers about the abandonment in her conscious mind while Astrid
keeps it in her unconscious mind. Therefore, although the trauma that these
protagonists experience is similar, they develop different characteristics.
The last difference is Dolores Price’s self-discovery is aided by others, one
of which is the psychiatrist in the mental hospital who helps her in amending her
childhood, while Astrid Magnussen’s self-discovery happens within herself
through the series of experience that she goes through in foster houses.
Based on the analysis of the similarities and differences above, there are
some things that can be concluded. Firstly, abandonment in childhood period can
be traumatic and can affect one’s characteristics in adolescence period. The
trauma can happen to any children even if they do not have capability to
remember it. Trauma is kept in one’s mind either in conscious or unconscious
mind. Either way, the trauma will affect one’s characteristics, action and
behaviour. Often these people will not realize why they act in certain ways until
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Maranatha Christian University
they find the root of the problems, which is the trauma. As for children, mostly
they need love and attention. This is why abandonment from people they love, in
this case their parents, can be traumatic to them.
Secondly, the characteristics affected by the traumatic events can be
changed. From the analysis of the two protagonists, there are two ways to change
or to discover one’s true self. First, it is done with other people’s assistance like
Dolores. The second way happens within one’s self like Astrid, or in other words,
without any help from others.
Lamb creates the character Dolores Price to show that someone can be
released from her traumatic experience through the assistance from other people.
Lamb shows that to be able to free someone from her trauma and in order to make
that person find her true self, a therapy is needed. The therapy can be done with or
without a specialist as long as it involves other people. Like Dolores, the therapy
is in the form of conversation with the others and some form of therapies with a
psychologist. In these therapies, Dolores is decoyed to find the root of her
bitterness through hypnotism and by undoing her childhood.
Unlike Lamb, Fitch through White Oleander wants to show that traumatic
experiences can be cured through repeated actions and several new experiences
that are totally different from the ones which someone has when she is in the
traumatic situation. Fitch gives the idea that to discover one’s true self, one does
not need other people’s help. It can happen within that person with the help of the
series of experiences. Like in Astrid’s case, she finally discovers her real
characteristics after several experiences and the repeated abandonment she has in
foster houses, without any assistance from the outside party.
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In the final conclusion, I believe that abandonment in one’s childhood may
cause fatal effects in one’s life. However, the trauma of abandonment can be
cured either through Dolores Price’s ways or Astrid Magnussen’s ways. It
depends on the situation and condition of the person.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts:
Fitch, Janet. White Oleander. New York: Back Bay Books. 2000.
Lamb, Wally. She’s Come Undone. New York: Washington Square Press. 1996.
References:
“About the Author.” Literati.net. 2009. 24 Aug. 2009
“Bio.” Teenreads.com. 2003. 25 Aug. 2009
“Biography.” Bookbrowse. 2009. 25 Aug 2009
“Biography for Janet Fitch (II).” IMDb. 2009. 25 Aug. 2009
“From White to Black.” First Person Bookpage. 2006. 30 Aug. 2009.
Hornby, AS. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford
University Press. 2000.
“Identity Crisis.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 28 Sept. 2009
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“Impudent.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010
“Janet Fitch.” Wikipedia. 2009. 25 Aug. 2009
“Meet the Writers.” Barnes&Noble. 2009. 24 Aug 2009
“Optimism.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010
“Pessimism.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010
“Pessimist.” Brainy Quote. 2010. 20 Aug 2010
< http://www.brainyquote.com/words/pe/pessimist201731.html>
“Self-discovery.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 28 Sept. 2009
"She's Come Undone: Female Voice." 123HelpMe.com. 2009. 24 Aug. 2009
“Wally Lamb.” Wikipedia. 2009. 24 Aug. 2009
“What a Wally!!” Dooyoo. 2009. 3 Oct. 2009
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………...i
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………..……ii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………...………iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study………...………………………………………...1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………….3
Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………3
Method of Research……………………………………………………….3
Organization of the Thesis………………………………………………...3
CHAPTER TWO: PORTRAYAL OF THE PROTAGONIST
IN WALLY LAMB’S SHE’S COME UNDONE ……………………...5
CHAPTER THREE: PORTRAYAL OF THE PROTAGONIST
IN JANET FITCH’S WHITE OLEANDER………………………….18
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION………………………………..…………29
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………..………..33
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of She’s Come Undone………………………………………...35
Synopsis of White Oleander……………………………………………...36
Biography of Wally Lamb………………………………………………..37
Biography of Janet Fitch…………………………………………………38
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Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Di dalam skripsi ini, saya menganalisis karakteristik dua tokoh dari dua
novel berjudul She’s Come Undone karangan Wally Lamb dan White Oleander
karangan Janet Fitch.
Saya menganalisis bagaimana kejadian traumatik yang dialami kedua
tokoh di masa kecilnya memengaruhi karakteristik dan tingkah laku mereka pada
saat mereka dewasa. Selain itu, saya juga menganalisis bagaimana kedua tokoh ini
dapat menangani kejadian traumatik tersebut sehingga mereka pada akhirnya
dapat menemukan jati diri mereka yang sesungguhnya.
Dolores Price, tokoh protagonis dalam novel She’s Come Undone
digambarkan sebagai tokoh yang mandiri namun keras dan tertutup, sedangkan
Astrid Magnussen, tokoh protagonis dalam novel White Oleander digambarkan
sebagai seorang yang sangat bergantung pada orang lain dan sangat penurut pada
awalnya.
Kedua tokoh ini mengatasi trauma mereka dengan cara yang berbeda.
Dolores Price mengatasi traumanya dengan serangkaian terapi umum dan hipnotis
dengan seorang psikolog, sedangkan Astrid Magnussen mengatasinya sendiri
setelah melalui serangkaian kejadian yang dialaminya di rumah-rumah adopsi.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of She’s Come Undone
Dolores Price is a troubled young woman who undergoes unpleasant
moments in her childhood. She is happy until one day her pregnant mother loses
the fetus and starts to be mentally ill. Dolores’ father cannot stand his wife so they
get divorced. The mother is then sent to the hospital and Dolores has to live with
her conventional grandmother who sends her to a Catholic school.
Dolores becomes a girl who is not confident which makes her having no
friends. Once she thinks she gets a friend, he rapes her. Since then, she limits
herself from the outside world. She stays in her bedroom a lot and eats a lot so she
becomes overweight, which makes her less and less confident.
One day, Dolores’ mother dies and it ruins her more. She does not want to
stay with her grandmother so she decides to go to college. In college, she is
bullied because she is fat. She is also trapped into a lesbian relationship. These
things put too much stress on her so that she tries to commit suicide. She is saved
but she has to spend seven years in the hospital. There, she loses her weight,
recovers herself from the anger towards her parents and regains her confident.
Out of hospital does not mean that Dolores is problem-free. She has a
relationship that ends up badly and her grandmother dies. However, she does not
35
Maranatha Christian University
let herself down again, so she starts to get further education. At this point, she
meets Thayer, her future lover. With Thayer, Dolores begins to have a better life.
Synopsis of White Oleander
Astrid Magnussen is a young girl who has to face hard time living with
different foster families in short periods. This happens because her mother is
sentenced for murdering her womanizer boyfriend with drugs and oleander.
Astrid used to fully depend on her mother because she is the only parent
she has. Astrid never knows her father because he and her mother get divorced
when she is only a little girl.
Astrid’s condition gets worse because of the different situation in each
foster house. It makes Astrid get more confused and easily tempted by bad things.
In these places, Astrid is involved in adultery, violence and drugs. She befriends a
prostitute and once witnesses her foster mother commit suicide.
On one occasion, Astrid suddenly remembers one moment in her life when
she is abandoned by her mother. Her mother leaves her to her babysitter, Annie
for more than a year. At that point, Astrid realizes it is the reason why she really
depends on her mother.
Astrid realizes that she cannot be herself if she is still under her mother’s
influences. So, she fights her mother by not being a witness in her case. She
decides that she will live her own life without her mother. She begins to find the
meaning of her life. She meets Paul. They fall in love with each other. They move
to Germany and live together. Astrid tries to live her life in her own ways.
36
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb is an American author who was born on 17 October 1950. He
was brought up 10 miles north of New London, Connecticut. Lamb took
Education as his major when taking his bachelor and master degree in University
of Connecticut. After finishing his master degree, he continued his study at
Vermont College, where he earned an M.F.A degree in Writing.
Lamb’s first novel, She’s Come Undone, was first published in 1992. It
later became New York Times number one bestseller and was chosen by Oprah
Winfrey in her show as selective book for Oprah’s Book Club. Six years later,
Lamb published his second novel, I Know This Much is True. After that, he wrote
some more fiction and non-fiction books. The fictions are The Hour I First
Believe and Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. The non-fictions are
Couldn’t Keep It to Myself and I’ll Fly Away.
Lamb’s books has brought him some awards such as Los Angeles Times
Book Awards’ Art Seidenbaum Prize for first fiction, Governor’s Arts Award and
NEA grant for fiction.
Now Lamb settles down with his wife and their three children in
Connecticut. He works in University of Connecticut’s English Department as an
Associate Professor of Creative Writing.
Source:
“Wally Lamb”
“Meet the Writers”
“Bio”
37
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Janet Fitch
Janet Elizabeth Fitch was an American author who was born in Los
Angeles on 9 November 1955. She studied in Reed College majoring in History
and then she continued to Keele University in England. There, she learned
Russian History.
Fitch has a lot of job experiences, including typesetter, proofreader,
graphic artist, freelance journalist and editor. She started her writing career with
the short stories which she published in literary journals. Her first novel, White
Oleander, was developed from her short story under the same title. This book later
became a chosen book in Oprah’s Book Club and was made into a movie in 2001.
Beside White Oleander, Fitch wrote another famous book entitled Paint It Black.
She planned to publish her next book in the spring 2009 but unfortunately her plan
has not been put into realization.
At this time, Fitch, with her husband and daughter, lives in Los Angeles.
She shares her knowledge about writing fiction by teaching in the University of
Southern California’s Master of Professional Writing program. She also now
becomes an editor of fiction manuscripts.
Source:
“Biography”
“Janet Fitch”
“Biography for Janet Fitch (II)”
38
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Self-discovery is commonly defined as “[t]he act or process of achieving
understanding or knowledge of oneself” (“Self-discovery”). The two novels She’s
Come Undone and White Oleander raise a very interesting issue about two
women who have traumatic experiences in the form of parental fights and
abandonment in their past. These experiences later make them try to find their true
selves and the meaning of their lives. Each main character goes into a journey of
self discovery. They begin with analyzing the causes of their broken lives and
then struggle to make their lives better.
In my opinion, these two books are astonishingly wonderful because each
of them is the first novel from each author, yet each of them becomes the
bestseller. Wally Lamb is an outstanding author who has the guts to use a new
method in his first novel, She’s Come Undone. In this novel, Lamb tries to put
himself in a woman’s position and situation by creating a woman protagonist.
Moreover, he creates a woman protagonist, who is not just a common woman, but
1
Maranatha Christian University
a woman who undergoes mental illness. Surprisingly, Lamb succeeds to delve into
her mind in detail. “Lamb's choice of the female voice has been praised by critics”
(“She’s Come Undone: Female Voice”) and his guts have earned him some
awards.
The author of White Oleander, Janet Fitch is a talented author who has
dozens of journalistic experiences. Her experiences make her able to create an
intricate character and “the artistry of her work, the lines that take the reader's
breath away, are hard-won” (“About the Author”). Fitch admired Edgar Allan
Poe’s works which make some of her works much influenced by him. She does
not “follow Poe’s storyline in anyway” (“From White to Black”), but she makes
her works concern more “in part, with the internal corruption and destruction …
[and She] cast a Poe-like shadowy spell” (“From White to Black”).
In my major thesis, I am going to analyze how the protagonists are
portrayed in She’s Come Undone and White Oleander using formalism.
Protagonist is defined as “the main character in a play, film/movie or book”
(Hornby 1060). So, to portray a protagonist means to describe the main
character’s characteristics in a particular way.
In these two novels, the protagonists have round and dynamic
characteristics because the circumstances change them. And, these complex
characteristics influence the story. So in my analysis, I am going to discuss the
changes of these characteristics and how the protagonists’ experiences help
change those characteristics.
2
Maranatha Christian University
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The statements of the problem in my major thesis are:
1. How are the protagonists portrayed in the novels?
2. What are the purposes of the authors in creating such protagonists?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purposes of the study in my major thesis are:
1. I want to analyze how the protagonists are portrayed in the novels.
2. I want to show the purposes of the authors in creating such protagonists.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
In analysing She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb and White Oleander by
Janet Fitch, I use library research. First, I read the two novels as the primary texts.
Next, I find some literary criticisms about the authors and the works from the
internet to help the writing of my anaysis. Finally, I finish the analysis with a
conclusion.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
This
thesis
consists
of
four
chapters,
beginning
with
the
Acknowledgement. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the
Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two consists
of the portrayal of the protagonist in She’s Come Undone. Chapter Three is the
portrayal of the protagonist in White Oleander. Chapter Four, is the Conclusion.
3
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At the end of the thesis, there are Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist
of the synopsis of the two novels and the biography of the authors.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Having analyzed the portrayal of the protagonists in She’s Come Undone
and White Oleander in chapter two and three, I can find some similarities and
differences from the two protagonists. The first similarity is that both protagonists
undergo abandonment in their childhood. Dolores, the protagonist in She’s Come
Undone, has to lose her parents in her childhood because of their separation and
her mother has to stay at a mental hospital. Similar to Dolores Price, Astrid, the
protagonist in White Oleander, is abandoned by her mother in her early childhood
and she also never has the figure of a father. The abandonment becomes a
traumatic experience for both of them and for that reason, both protagonists have
behaviour and characteristics issue, and they have to endure a long journey of
self-discovery.
Another similarity is both protagonists succeed in finding their true selves
in the end. They change and their bad characteristics which are formed by their
traumas are replaced by better ones. Dolores changes from an impudent,
introverted, self-conscious and pessimistic person to a polite, extroverted,
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confident and optimistic person. While Astrid changes from a dependent, diffident
and pessimistic person into a person of independence, confidence and optimism.
Beside the similarities, there are some differences between Dolores Price
and Astrid Magnussen. They are two different individuals who have distinct
characteristics. Dolores is impudent, introverted, self-conscious and pessimistic,
while Astrid is a dependent, diffident and pessimistic person. From these
characteristics, I can say that in the beginning, Dolores is more of a rebellious
person while Astrid is the submissive type of person.
The next difference is Dolores’ abandonment happens when she is old
enough to remember it, while Astrid is too young to remember. In other words,
Dolores remembers about the abandonment in her conscious mind while Astrid
keeps it in her unconscious mind. Therefore, although the trauma that these
protagonists experience is similar, they develop different characteristics.
The last difference is Dolores Price’s self-discovery is aided by others, one
of which is the psychiatrist in the mental hospital who helps her in amending her
childhood, while Astrid Magnussen’s self-discovery happens within herself
through the series of experience that she goes through in foster houses.
Based on the analysis of the similarities and differences above, there are
some things that can be concluded. Firstly, abandonment in childhood period can
be traumatic and can affect one’s characteristics in adolescence period. The
trauma can happen to any children even if they do not have capability to
remember it. Trauma is kept in one’s mind either in conscious or unconscious
mind. Either way, the trauma will affect one’s characteristics, action and
behaviour. Often these people will not realize why they act in certain ways until
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they find the root of the problems, which is the trauma. As for children, mostly
they need love and attention. This is why abandonment from people they love, in
this case their parents, can be traumatic to them.
Secondly, the characteristics affected by the traumatic events can be
changed. From the analysis of the two protagonists, there are two ways to change
or to discover one’s true self. First, it is done with other people’s assistance like
Dolores. The second way happens within one’s self like Astrid, or in other words,
without any help from others.
Lamb creates the character Dolores Price to show that someone can be
released from her traumatic experience through the assistance from other people.
Lamb shows that to be able to free someone from her trauma and in order to make
that person find her true self, a therapy is needed. The therapy can be done with or
without a specialist as long as it involves other people. Like Dolores, the therapy
is in the form of conversation with the others and some form of therapies with a
psychologist. In these therapies, Dolores is decoyed to find the root of her
bitterness through hypnotism and by undoing her childhood.
Unlike Lamb, Fitch through White Oleander wants to show that traumatic
experiences can be cured through repeated actions and several new experiences
that are totally different from the ones which someone has when she is in the
traumatic situation. Fitch gives the idea that to discover one’s true self, one does
not need other people’s help. It can happen within that person with the help of the
series of experiences. Like in Astrid’s case, she finally discovers her real
characteristics after several experiences and the repeated abandonment she has in
foster houses, without any assistance from the outside party.
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In the final conclusion, I believe that abandonment in one’s childhood may
cause fatal effects in one’s life. However, the trauma of abandonment can be
cured either through Dolores Price’s ways or Astrid Magnussen’s ways. It
depends on the situation and condition of the person.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts:
Fitch, Janet. White Oleander. New York: Back Bay Books. 2000.
Lamb, Wally. She’s Come Undone. New York: Washington Square Press. 1996.
References:
“About the Author.” Literati.net. 2009. 24 Aug. 2009
“Bio.” Teenreads.com. 2003. 25 Aug. 2009
“Biography.” Bookbrowse. 2009. 25 Aug 2009
“Biography for Janet Fitch (II).” IMDb. 2009. 25 Aug. 2009
“From White to Black.” First Person Bookpage. 2006. 30 Aug. 2009.
Hornby, AS. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford
University Press. 2000.
“Identity Crisis.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 28 Sept. 2009
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“Impudent.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010
“Janet Fitch.” Wikipedia. 2009. 25 Aug. 2009
“Meet the Writers.” Barnes&Noble. 2009. 24 Aug 2009
“Optimism.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010
“Pessimism.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 20 Aug. 2010
“Pessimist.” Brainy Quote. 2010. 20 Aug 2010
< http://www.brainyquote.com/words/pe/pessimist201731.html>
“Self-discovery.” The Free Dictionary. 2009. 28 Sept. 2009
"She's Come Undone: Female Voice." 123HelpMe.com. 2009. 24 Aug. 2009
“Wally Lamb.” Wikipedia. 2009. 24 Aug. 2009
“What a Wally!!” Dooyoo. 2009. 3 Oct. 2009
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