Portrayal of Major Characters in Amy Tan's 'The Bonesetter's Daughter'.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

ABSTRACT

Tugas Akhir dengan judul “Potrayal of Major characters in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter” ini ditulis untuk memenuhi persyaratan kelulusan dari program S-1 jurusan Sastra Inggris di Fakultas Sastra Kraisten Maranatha.

Di dalam The Bonestter’s Daughter dikisahkan tentang tiga wanita dari generasi yang berbeda, yaitu nenek yang bernama Precious Auntie, anak perempuannya yang bernama LuLing, dan cucu perempuannya yang bernama Ruth. Hal tersebut menyebabkan novel ini menarik untuk dibaca. Novel ini banyak membahas tentang perbedaan pendapat, pandangan, pola pikir, perilaku dan kepribadian mereka.

Saya akan membahas tentang tokoh-tokoh utama dalam novel ini. Generasi pertama adalah Precious Auntie. Precious Auntie lahir dan dibesarkan di China. Precious Aunite masih menganut kepercayaan China. Ia sangat mempercayai kutukan-kutukan, hantu, dan sebagainya. Precious Auntie mempunyai seorang anak perempuan yang bernama LuLing.

Generasi kedua adalah LuLing. LuLing adalah anak perempuan dari Precious Auntie. LuLing lahir di China namun ketika ia menginjak dewasa, ia pindah ke Amerika Serikat. LuLing juga masih menganut kepercayaan China. Ia sangat mempercayai kutukan-kutukan, hantu, dan sebagainya. LuLing juga mempunyai seorang anak perempuan yang bernama Ruth.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha Generasi terakhir adalah Ruth. Ruth lahir dan dibesarkan di Amerika Serikat. Ruth berbeda dari Precious Auntie dan LuLing. Ruth tidak mempercayai kepercayaan China. Ruth berpikir seperti layaknya orang Amerika yang tidak mempercayai kutukan-kutukan, hantu, dan sebagainya.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE………i

TABLE OF CONTENTS………...ii

ABSTRACT………...iii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study………..1

Statement of the problem………...2

Purpose of the study………..2

Method of Research………..3

Organization of the Thesis………3

CHAPTER TWO: DISCUSSION IN POTRAYAL OF

MAJOR CHARACTERS IN AMY TAN’S THE BONESTTER’S

DAUGHTER………..…..4

CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION………15

BIBILIOGRAPHY……….18

APPENDICES:

Synopsis of the Bonesetter’s Daughter………..19

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APPENDICES

SYNOPSIS

Precious Auntie is the daughter of a great Bonesetter. Her family collects the bones with high quality and they help other people with their broken bones. Precious Auntie loves Baby Uncle. They decide to get married. But before they get married, they do a premarital sex in an old barn. Unfortunately on the day of Precious Auntie and Baby Uncle get married, an opium seller, namely Chang who also loves Precious Auntie kills Precious Auntie’s father. Chang also kills Baby Uncle.

When Baby Uncle’s family knows about Precious Auntie’s pregnancy, they feel ashamed of the fact that Precious Auntie has already been pregnant before she and Baby Uncle get married. Baby Uncle’s mother wants Precious Auntie to leave her house. But before Baby Uncle’s mother tells to Precious Auntie that she has to leave her house, Precious Auntie tries to kill herself by drinking boiled ink. However her attempt fails but her face becomes black and

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burned so people do not recognize her face again. Eventually, Baby Uncle’s mother keeps Precious Auntie as LuLing’s nanny because she is afraid that Baby Uncle’s Ghost exists in her dream and tells her not to hurt Precious Auntie.

LuLing actually is Precious Auntie’s daughter but Big Uncle, Baby Uncle’s brother and his wife have adopted LuLing since LuLing was a baby. LuLing is going to get married with the son of Chang’s family. But Precious Auntie does not agree with it. She tells LuLing not to marry Chang’s son. But LuLing disobeys Precious Auntie’s advice. It causes Precious Auntie to commit suicide and die. Then, LuLing does not marry Chang’s son because Big Uncle’s business in Beijing is burned.

Big Uncle and his wife send LuLing to an orphanage. There, she meets her first husband, namely Pan Kai Jing. But he dies in war. Then she moves to the USA followed with Gaoling. LuLing meets her second husband, Edwin Young. They have a daughter, namely Ruth Luyi Young. LuLing suffers from Alzheimer when she gets old. Ruth and LuLing often have arguments. But after LuLing is sick, Ruth is willing to listen to LuLing’s past story. At last they can understand each other. Ruth fells that she has to listen to Precious Auntie’s and LuLing’s past story in order to understand more about her mother and her past.

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BIOGRAPHY

Amy Tan was born on February 19th, 1952, in Oakland, California. After her father, John Tan, and her older brother died, Amy, her mother, and her younger brother moved to Europe.

She met her boyfriend, named Lou De Matei in Mc Minville, Oregon. They were married in 1974. She received a bachelor’s degree in English and Linguistics in San Jose City College; San Jose State University. She studied jazz piano. She also began to write fiction. Her first book is named “Endgame”. This book made her won her admission to the Squaw Valley writer’s workshop. At 1989, Tan’s book won enthusiastic reviews. It spent eight months on the New York Times best-seller list.

She wrote The Joy Luck Club (1989), The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secrets Senses, and two children books, The Moon Lady and The Chinese Siamese Cat. She was a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club. As well, her essays and stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. She also wrote The Bonesetter’s Daughte r (2001), The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings (2003), her latest fabulous work.

As a teenager, Tan had difficulty accepting her Chinese heritage. She wanted to look like an American-to be an American. At one point, she even slept with a clothespin on her nose, hoping to change its shape. She prefers chose American over Chinese whenever she had the opportunity and tells her independence in any way that she could. She dreamed of being a writer, while her parents want her to become a neurosurgeon or concert pianist.

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Tan became even more rebellious, dating a German who was associated with drug dealers and had serious mental problems. Then Amy went with her boyfriend back to California where she attended San Jose City College as an English and linguistics major. Tan’s mother did not speak to her for six months after her last rebellion.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A novel is easier to understand clearly, and presents important moral messages to the readers. Novel is a genre of literature in the form of narrative or prose fiction ‘… it is a form of story or prose narrative containing characters, action and incident, and perhaps, a plot.’ (Cuddon, 1979: 430-431). In a novel, a writer can give a more detailed description of the flow of events, characters and settings than in other genres. That is why I am interested in analyzing novel. I believe that among many writers, Amy Tan is one of the very talented writers. It is proved from her works: The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secrets Senses, and two children books, The Moon Lady and The Chinese Siamese Cat. She also works as a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club. Besides, her essays and stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. Her works have been translated into more than twenty-five different languages. Amy Tan tells great stories with powerful themes, such as love, belonging, death, and compassion. She creates strong characters which make Tan’s books become fabulous novels.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 2

Among many of Amy Tan’s books, I am going to analyze The Bonesetter’s Da ughter. It tells about mother-daughter relationship. They are raised in different countries which have different culture. The situation makes this novel interesting.

I choose the portrayal of major characters to be analyzed. The reason why I choose the portrayal of major characters to be analyzed is because the major characters in this novel have interesting cultural background. The major characters of this novel also have a complex past. ‘A character is obviously relevant to us and to our experience if he is like ourselves or like others whom we know. Lifeness, then, is properly understood as one form of relevance. A character is relevant if there are a lot of people like him in real world.’ (Kenney, 1966: 27).

THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In doing the thesis, I would like to state the problems as follows:

1. How does the author portray the major characters in The Bonesetter’s Daughter?

2. _{What is the author’s purpose in creating such major characters?}

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

In relevance with the statement of the problem, I would like:

1. To show the way the author portrays the major characters in The Bonesetter’s Daughter .

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 3

METHOD OF RESEARCH

The method of research used is library research. First of all, I begin by reading Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter . I also read some books which are relevant to the topic being discussed. Then I look for some information from the internet to support this research. Finally I use the data for analysis from which I draw conclusion.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

I divide the thesis into three chapters. In the first chapter, I present the Introduction, consisting of the Background of the Study, The Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Methods of Research and Organization of the Thesis. In the second chapter, I present the analysis of portrayal of major characters in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter . The thesis ends with the Bibliography, the synopsis of the novel, and the biography of the author.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having analyzed The Bonesetter’s Daughter, I conclude that Amy Tan succeeds in portraying her major characters. The conclusion that I can take is every mother always loves her daughters, but sometimes they are reluctant to listen to their daughter’s opinion. Therefore, it causes problem to the mothers. The mothers should respect the daughters’s point of view and opinion, so they can understand each other. That is the important key which is needed to maintain a good relationship between mother and daughter.

Now I would like to conclude the portrayal of She is a bone doctor. She is able to write and read. Although, in Chinese cultures, at her time only boys can learn read and write. Women usually learn how to cook or to take care of their children. Precious Auntie is lucky she does not have brothers. Because I think if she has brothers, she will not be learning how to write and read. Her father’s knowledge will not be in heritage to her. I also conclude that Precious Auntie does not come from a wealthy and high level society family, are bent so that their feet will become small. major characters in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The first major character is Precious Auntie.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

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If the woman’s feet are not small, usually she is a slave girl or a foreigner. Precious Auntie has a strong Chinese culture. She always wants to know about her daughter’s private life. Like other Chinese people who always want to know their children’s private lives, unlike American people who give freedom to their children. Precious Auntie is also a loving and caring mother. Therefore, she always wants to regulate her daughter’s life. That is one of Chinese people’s habits. Moreover, Precious Auntie’s regulations and lavish love has made her daughter become a spoiled girl and can not do anything by herself because she depends on her mother to do anything. She also believes in superstition things. She believes in ghost and curses. Precious Auntie has a daughter, LuLing, without getting married. Therefore, she opposes to Chinese culture which having sex before getting married.

The second major character is LuLing. She is the daughter of Precious Auntie. LuLing is a smart woman. She is good at Chinese and English calligraphy. Not everyone is able to do it. However, she does not want to learn English language although it is important to her. Therefore, she depends on Ruth to become her translator. She is also smart in facing Japanese soldier when she wants to go to Peking. LuLing likes to communicate with her mother’s dead spirit. She believes that if she follows what her mother’s dead spirit says, she might not have been cursed or got a bad luck. I also see that LuLing cannot control her desires to make love before getting married with her boyfriend. Yet, it does not happen.

LuLing has a daughter named Ruth. LuLing and Ruth often have fights with each other. It is because LuLing wants Ruth to always obey her; she wants Ruth to hold Chinese culture just like her. She wants to know Ruth’s secret while

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

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Ruth, the third major character believes that she has a right to have freedom. She wants to live like other American people. She also does not want to get married although her Chinese culture is against it. She feels that she is an American and she does not need to follow her Chinese culture.

I also see that the author wants to show that the American-born daughters are unsure to follow their Chinese background, for the reason that there are lots of illogical regulations. Moreover, Chinese mothers are afraid that their daughters will forget their Chinese culture. The mothers do not want the Chinese tradition to disappear. They hope that although their daughters think like Americans yet they will still believe in Chinese culture. Moreover, I think that Tan wants the American-born daughters to learn and know Chinese tradition in order to understand their mothers’ well.

I also see that Tan’s purpose in writing this novel is that she wants the American-born daughters to be given a little bit of freedom to express themselves as free individuals by their mothers.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 18

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References:

Cuddon, J.A. A Dictionary of literary Terms. London: Penguin Books, 1882 Kenney, William. How to Analyze Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1982

Internet Website:

Delese, Wear. Tan. Amy: The Bonesetter’s Daughter. 1 May 2005

(http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdescrips/tan11870-des-html)

(http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=the+one-child+policy)

(http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/searchdetail.aspx?q=custom+of+china

&pg=1&grp=art)

(http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=holiday+and+celebrati

ons&Submit2=Go)

Primary Text

Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. United States of America: The Balantine Publishing Group, 2001

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 2

Among many of Amy Tan’s books, I am going to analyze The Bonesetter’s Da ughter. It tells about mother-daughter relationship. They are raised in different countries which have different culture. The situation makes this novel interesting.

I choose the portrayal of major characters to be analyzed. The reason why I choose the portrayal of major characters to be analyzed is because the major characters in this novel have interesting cultural background. The major characters of this novel also have a complex past. ‘A character is obviously relevant to us and to our experience if he is like ourselves or like others whom we know. Lifeness, then, is properly understood as one form of relevance. A character is relevant if there are a lot of people like him in real world.’ (Kenney, 1966: 27).

THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In doing the thesis, I would like to state the problems as follows:

1. How does the author portray the major characters in The Bonesetter’s Daughter?

2. _{What is the author’s purpose in creating such major characters?}

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

In relevance with the statement of the problem, I would like:

1. To show the way the author portrays the major characters in The Bonesetter’s Daughter .

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 3

METHOD OF RESEARCH

The method of research used is library research. First of all, I begin by reading Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter . I also read some books which are relevant to the topic being discussed. Then I look for some information from the internet to support this research. Finally I use the data for analysis from which I draw conclusion.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

I divide the thesis into three chapters. In the first chapter, I present the Introduction, consisting of the Background of the Study, The Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Methods of Research and Organization of the Thesis. In the second chapter, I present the analysis of portrayal of major characters in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter . The thesis ends with the Bibliography, the synopsis of the novel, and the biography of the author.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 15

CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having analyzed The Bonesetter’s Daughter, I conclude that Amy Tan succeeds in portraying her major characters. The conclusion that I can take is every mother always loves her daughters, but sometimes they are reluctant to listen to their daughter’s opinion. Therefore, it causes problem to the mothers. The mothers should respect the daughters’s point of view and opinion, so they can understand each other. That is the important key which is needed to maintain a good relationship between mother and daughter.

Now I would like to conclude the portrayal of She is a bone doctor. She is able to write and read. Although, in Chinese cultures, at her time only boys can learn read and write. Women usually learn how to cook or to take care of their children. Precious Auntie is lucky she does not have brothers. Because I think if she has brothers, she will not be learning how to write and read. Her father’s knowledge will not be in heritage to her. I also conclude that Precious Auntie does not come from a wealthy and high level society family, are bent so that their feet will become small. major characters in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The first major character is Precious Auntie.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 16

If the woman’s feet are not small, usually she is a slave girl or a foreigner. Precious Auntie has a strong Chinese culture. She always wants to know about her daughter’s private life. Like other Chinese people who always want to know their children’s private lives, unlike American people who give freedom to their children. Precious Auntie is also a loving and caring mother. Therefore, she always wants to regulate her daughter’s life. That is one of Chinese people’s habits. Moreover, Precious Auntie’s regulations and lavish love has made her daughter become a spoiled girl and can not do anything by herself because she depends on her mother to do anything. She also believes in superstition things. She believes in ghost and curses. Precious Auntie has a daughter, LuLing, without getting married. Therefore, she opposes to Chinese culture which having sex before getting married.

The second major character is LuLing. She is the daughter of Precious Auntie. LuLing is a smart woman. She is good at Chinese and English calligraphy. Not everyone is able to do it. However, she does not want to learn English language although it is important to her. Therefore, she depends on Ruth to become her translator. She is also smart in facing Japanese soldier when she wants to go to Peking. LuLing likes to communicate with her mother’s dead spirit. She believes that if she follows what her mother’s dead spirit says, she might not have been cursed or got a bad luck. I also see that LuLing cannot control her desires to make love before getting married with her boyfriend. Yet, it does not happen.

LuLing has a daughter named Ruth. LuLing and Ruth often have fights with each other. It is because LuLing wants Ruth to always obey her; she wants Ruth to hold Chinese culture just like her. She wants to know Ruth’s secret while

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 17

Ruth, the third major character believes that she has a right to have freedom. She wants to live like other American people. She also does not want to get married although her Chinese culture is against it. She feels that she is an American and she does not need to follow her Chinese culture.

I also see that the author wants to show that the American-born daughters are unsure to follow their Chinese background, for the reason that there are lots of illogical regulations. Moreover, Chinese mothers are afraid that their daughters will forget their Chinese culture. The mothers do not want the Chinese tradition to disappear. They hope that although their daughters think like Americans yet they will still believe in Chinese culture. Moreover, I think that Tan wants the American-born daughters to learn and know Chinese tradition in order to understand their mothers’ well.

I also see that Tan’s purpose in writing this novel is that she wants the American-born daughters to be given a little bit of freedom to express themselves as free individuals by their mothers.

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

18

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References:

Cuddon, J.A. A Dictionary of literary Terms. London: Penguin Books, 1882 Kenney, William. How to Analyze Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1982

Internet Website:

Delese, Wear. Tan. Amy: The Bonesetter’s Daughter. 1 May 2005

(http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdescrips/tan11870-des-html) (http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=the+one-child+policy) (http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/searchdetail.aspx?q=custom+of+china &pg=1&grp=art)

(http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=holiday+and+celebrati ons&Submit2=Go)

Primary Text

Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. United States of America: The Balantine Publishing Group, 2001