THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SETTING TOWARD THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN IN JAMES McBRIDE’S THE COLOR OF WATER
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SETTING TOWARD
THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ DEVELOPMENT
AS SEEN IN JAMES McBRIDE’S THE COLOR OF WATER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
FONNY PANGARUNGAN
Student Number: 014214124 Student Registration Number:
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SETTING TOWARD
THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ DEVELOPMENT
AS SEEN IN JAMES McBRIDE’S THE COLOR OF WATER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
FONNY PANGARUNGAN
Student Number: 014214124 Student Registration Number:
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SETTING TOWARD
THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ DEVELOPMENT
AS SEEN IN JAMES McBRIDE’S THE COLOR OF WATER
By
FONNY PANGARUNGAN
Student Number: 014214124 Student Registration Number:
Approved by
th Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, M. A July 12 , 2008.
Advisor
th Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S. S., M. Hum. July 12 , 2008.
Co-Advisor
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SETTING TOWARD
THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ DEVELOPMENT
AS SEEN IN JAMES McBRIDE’S THE COLOR OF WATER
By
FONNY PANGARUNGAN
Student Number: 014214124 Student Registration Number:
Defended before the Board of Examiners On July 24
th
, 2008 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name SignatureChairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. __________________ Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. __________________ Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. __________________ Member : Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, M. A __________________ Member : Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S. S., M. Hum. __________________
Yogyakarta, July 24
th
, 2008 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean Dr. I. Praptomo Baryadi, M. Hum.
“
In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy
paths.”
Proverbs, 3:6
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank the one and only Saviour, Jesus Christ, a great power beyond everything. You promised to be there for me, continuously, and You have proven to me that You never let me down. I thank You for being my guide and friend.
My deep gratitude goes to Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M.A., my advisor, and Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S. S., M. Hum., my co-advisor, who helped me to finish the writing of this undergraduate thesis. I am really grateful for the assistance they have given through consultations during this undergraduate thesis preparation process.
I will be always thankful for my beloved parents’ unconditional love and endless support during the process of writing this undergraduate thesis. I also thank my beloved siblings; Jane, Anny, Yuny, Fajar and Karyn, who keep believing in me and keep encouraging me to achieve my goals.
I thank Agi whose support has made me stay strong to face my fear. Finally, we did not make it!!
To the one and only, my Miss Secretariat, Mbak Niek, thank you for the assistance you have provided in every my “Ms. Enny ada?” visited.
Thank you to everyone at Domby Kid’s Hope; K’Ady, K’Ira, K’Tary, K’Tata, K’Richard, K’Ian, K’Joint, Santi, Sinda, Monda, Ian and Margareth.
Thank you for supporting me through each of your prayer during the process of finishing my undergraduate thesis.
Fonny Pangarungan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................... i APPROVAL PAGE ......................................................................................... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE .................................................................................... iii MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................. vi ABSTRACT..................................................................................................... viii ABSTRAK ....................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION ................................................................
1 A. Background of the Study....................................................................
1 B. Problem Formulation .........................................................................
5 C. Objectives of the Study ......................................................................
6 D. Definition of Terms............................................................................
6 CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL REVIEW ...............................................
8 A. Review of Related Studies ................................................................
8 B. Review of Related Theories ..............................................................
9 1. Theories of Characters and Characterization ...............................
9 a. Characters...............................................................................
9 b. Characterization .....................................................................
10 c. Character Development..........................................................
12 2. Theories of Setting .......................................................................
12 3. The Relations between Character and Setting .............................
14 C. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................
15 CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY ............................................................
16 A. Object of the Study.............................................................................
16 B. Approach of the Study .......................................................................
17 C. Method of the Study...........................................................................
18 CHAPTER IV : ANALYSIS .........................................................................
20 A. Description of the Main Characters ...................................................
20 1. Ruth McBride-Jordan...................................................................
20 2. James McBride.............................................................................
29 B. The Influence of Family, Religion and Society as the Setting...........
33 of the Stories toward the Main Characters’ Development
1. The Influence of Family...............................................................
34 a. toward Ruth McBride-Jordan.................................................
34 b. toward James McBride...........................................................
43 2. The Influence of Religion ............................................................
50 a. toward Ruth McBride-Jordan.................................................
51
3. The Influence of Society ..............................................................
58 a. toward Ruth McBride-Jordan.................................................
58 b. toward James McBride...........................................................
63 CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION....................................................................
67 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................
69
ABSTRACT
FONNY PANGARUNGAN (2008). The Influence of Social Setting toward the
Main Characters’ Development as seen in James McBride’s The Color of
Water. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata
Dharma University.This thesis examines the influence of family, religion, and society as the setting of the story toward the main characters’ development as seen in the book of James McBride’s The Color of Water. McBride presents family, religion, and society as his setting in recreating his mother’s life and his life as well in this memoir.
This thesis focuses to answer the problems on how the main characters are described in the story and to show the influence of family, religion, and society as the setting of the story toward the main characters’ development.
The examination is done by analyzing each of the characters who are considered as the main character in the story. In describing the main characters, the analysis is focused on the dialogue and the action of the characters. The examination later continues by analyzing how family, religion, and society as the setting of the story influence the main characters’ development. Since the writer considers the work as a sole object, and emphasizes the analysis based on the work itself, then the writer employs the New Criticism approach to perform the analysis.
The results of the study show how family, religion, and society influenced the main characters’ development. Ruth’s unpleasant memory of her father’s parental tyranny forces her to leave home to start her own life. Meanwhile, James’ lack of family background information makes him confuses to shape his self- image as a mixed-child. Religion, a strong belief in God, has made Ruth decided to convert to Christianity from Judaism. She believes that she becomes a new person when she accepts Jesus into her life. As for James, his belief in God has helped him to leave the crack world and stop being a crack addict. He believes that because of God’s help he can change into a better person. Society also influenced Ruth and James’ character development. Ruth marries a black man that brings negative judgment from society for she is a white woman. It makes her instilled the notion into her children that only school and church are important. And as for James, his problem with racism in society makes him to instill the pride of being a black man in his self when he becomes a grown-up.
ABSTRAK
FONNY PANGARUNGAN (2008). The Influence of Social Setting toward the
Main Characters’ Development as Seen in James McBride’s The Color of
Water. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata
Dharma.Skripsi ini membahas bagaimana pengaruh keluarga, agama, dan kelompok masyarakat terhadap perkembangan karakter tokoh utama yang ada dalam buku The Color of Water karya James McBride. James McBride menghadirkan keluarga, agama, dan kelompok masyarakat sebagai latar dalam bukunya saat menggambarkan kembali kehidupan ibunya beserta kehidupannya sendiri.
Fokus penelitian ini membahas permasalahan bagaimana penggambaran tokoh utama dalam cerita dan pengaruh keluarga, agama, serta kelompok masyarakat, sebagai latar cerita, terhadap perkembangan karakter tokoh utama. Penelitian dilakukan dengan menganalisa dua karakter berbeda yang dianggap sebagai tokoh utama dalam cerita. Dalam menggambarkan kedua tokoh utama, analisa difokuskan pada dialog dan aksi tiap karakter. Penelitian dilanjutkan dengan menganalisa bagaimana keluarga, agama, dan kelompok masyarakat mempengaruhi perkembangan karakter tokoh utama. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan New Critism. Pendekatan ini dipakai karena penulis menjadikan karya James McBride sebagai satu-satunya obyek dan sumber dalam penelitian ini dan menekankan analisa berdasarkan karya tersebut.
Hasil studi memperlihatkan bagaimana keluarga, agama, dan kelompok masyarakat memberi pengaruh pada perkembangan karakter tokoh utama. Kenangan tidak menyenangkan yang dialami Ruth karena didikan secara tirani oleh ayahnya memaksanya untuk meninggalkan rumah dan memulai hidupnya sendiri. Sementara itu, kurangnya informasi mengenai latar belakang keluarga membuat James bingung untuk membentuk gambaran dirinya sebagai seorang anak campuran. Agama, rasa percaya yang kuat pada Tuhan, telah membuat Ruth berpindah dari agama Yahudi ke agama Kristen. Dia percaya bahwa dia menjadi manusia baru ketika dia menerima Yesus kedalam hidupnya. Bagi James, kepercayaannya dalam Tuhan telah menolongnya saat dia meninggalkan dunia obat-obatan terlarang dan berhenti menjadi pecandu obat-obatan terlarang. Dia percaya karena pertolongan Tuhan dia bisa menjadi orang yang lebih baik. Kelompok masyarakat juga memberi pengaruh pada perkembangan karakter Ruth dan James. Ruth menikah dengan seorang pria kulit hitam yang membuat masyarakat memandangnya hina karena dia adalah seorang wanita kulit putih. Hal ini membuatnya menanamkan pandangan pada anak-anaknya bahwa hanya sekolah dan gereja yang penting untuk mereka. Sementara bagi James, masalah rasisme yang dialaminya dalam masyarakat telah membuat dia menanamkan dalam dirinya kebanggaan sebagai seorang pria kulit hitam ketika dia dewasa.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study A piece of literary work is the result of an author’s awareness of life. Through the medium of words and language, he can portray things in life that
inspired him in writing. What we as readers, pictured there is generally inspired by other people or his experiences in the past. One’s dreams about future also can inspire a literary work. As Hudson states in his book, An Introduction to the Study
of Literature,
Literature is the expression of life through the medium of language. It can be regarded as something essential since it contains real life, people, thought, and their feeling about life (1958:10). Hudson also states that as a social being at times one needs to share his feeling, emotion, thought, and even his experiences of life. Literary form is a universal way to share one’s feeling, emotion, thought, and experiences of life. Since literary work ‘contains real life, people, thought, and their feeling about life’ (1958:10), Hudson states four kinds of desires or impulses that influence the creation of literary work. They are our desires for self-expression; our interest in people and their doings; our interest in the world of reality, where we live, and in the world of imagination, which we conjure into existence; and our love of form as form, which means that aesthetic impulse is present and we take a special satisfaction in the simple shaping of expression into forms of beauty, or we called literature as art (1958:11).
One of the oldest forms of literary expression is biographical literature.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 2, explains that this literary genre ‘seeks
to re-create in words the life of a human being, that of the author himself or of another person, drawing upon the resources, memory and all available evidences- written, oral, pictorial” (1983:1006). Biographical literature is divided into two forms: biography which is written from personal knowledge of the subject or from research, and autobiography which is the life of a man that happens to have been written by himself and there is therefore unfinished, meaning that his future life has not included yet in the story (1983:1007-1009).
As a literary form, autobiography has been a carefully selected way for an author shares his feeling, emotion, thought, and experience in life. Instead of camouflaging his story of life by re-telling it in a form of another genre of literature called novel, he frankly telling his life to readers in a form of autobiography.
Autobiography itself manifests in a wide variety of forms and one of a well-known form is memoir. This type of autobiography usually emphasizes what is remembered rather than who is remembering. Memoir emphasis is not on the author’s developing self, but on the person or people he has known and the events he has witnessed (Abrams, 1981: 15). A good example of this type is James McBride’s The Color of Water, a memoir in which the author telling his experiences of his life and his mother’s experiences of life as well and people and events that are significant to their lives.
The writer is interested in this memoir since the writer finds that the main characters’ development to view life and its issues are influenced by family, religion, and society; the topic that the writer is going to discuss. James McBride presents family, religion and society as his setting in telling his mother’s story and his story as well. In a literary work, setting is one of the important elements. Setting contains the environment or the society where the characters live. Setting also contains certain event due to the development of the characters. The characteristics of character are formed or influenced by its settings. In the works of art, characters sometimes change or remain stable by the influence of society.
Most public also believe that the characters that still develop are formed or influenced easily by their society, (Murphy, 1972:141). Family or primary group of life that is experienced by one has a crucial role to form his or her character development as well, (Hurlock, 1974:352).
James and his mother, Ruth McBride-Jordan, the main characters in the memoir, are aware –their own understanding– that they are different. James knows that his mother is white while he and his siblings are black or so-called mulatto. On the other hand, Ruth understands as a white woman that, being a wife of a black man is as hard as being a mother of black children. As a family, there is always confusion from the kids’ side to be different from their white mother without realizing that their mother has her own past that she never revealed to them until they grown up.
Family has a crucial role to form children’s character since family is the most important background during early years of childhood. This is where young children spend most of their time, acquire many important social cognitive skills or in the process of knowing, understanding, and learning something and develop for better or worse-various attitudes, beliefs and values through their parents’ ways in teaching them, (Hurlock, 1974:352-353). In McBride’s The Color of
Water, it shows that Ruth and her son, James, have different family background
that influenced each of their character development. Experiences in their childhood have great effect in their adulthood.
In living their life, Ruth and James’ development cannot be separated from the way they believe in God. Ruth makes her family to ‘fear’ and believe in God in her own way that affected each of her children in different ways. Santayana in his book, Reason in Religion, says that “religion is the pattern of belief and practice through which men communicate with or hope to gain experience of that which lies behind the world of their ordinary experience” (1962:11). Ruth converts to Christianity from Judaism, as she finally finds out that “she has new life in Jesus” (McBride, 1996:235). She believes that Jesus gave her hope. Jesus is her salvation and that Jesus “pressed her forward”. Ruth’s remarkable faith has helped James in finding his own understanding of God’s love in his life and his mother’s life. Through religion, they experienced God’s love in their life.
Reading McBride’s The Color of Water, one will see that Ruth and James as developing characters experience the same society, where race does still a matter. Society takes an important role in contributing the character development. Zanden on his Sociology: A Systematic Approach defines society as “the network or web of social relationship that exists among a plurality of the individuals, and possesses continuity through successive generation” (1965:153). Society of the times in which young Ruth lives does not change much in James’s times. The rule in society of the times they live bring different impacts to Ruth and James as developing characters. Society’s refusal on her being a black man’s wife, makes Ruth never bother with out-side house life besides her family life. As for James, being a white woman’s son makes him, and his siblings, always confuse about who they are.
The two stories, son’s and mother’s beautifully juxtaposed, tell about love, faith, family and forgiveness. The two stories are worth telling and very inspiring, and showing an eloquent exploration of what a family really means.
The writer is interested in discussing and will limits the study on about how family, religion, and society as the setting of the two stories have great influence to the main characters’ development.
B. Problem Formulation
From the background stated in the previous part, the problem formulation for the topic of this thesis may be best described in a form of question as follows:
1. How are the main characters in James McBride’s The Color of Water described?
2. How do family, religion, and society as the setting of the story influence the main characters’ development?
C. Objectives of the Study
The analysis of this study will focus on two objectives. The first is to discuss how main characters are described in the story. The second is to show the influence of family, religion, and society as the setting of the stories toward the main characters’ development.
D. Definition of Terms
There are some terms in this thesis that are necessary to be clarified in order to make the readers understand the content of the study better. Although some of the terms are general, to avoid the ambiguity and misunderstanding about the meaning of certain terms, the writer gives the literary meaning of three important concepts used in this study.
1. Character
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams stated the definition of characters as “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say through the dialogue and by what they do through the action,” (1981:20).
2. Social Setting
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms explains that “the setting of narrative or dramatic work is the general locate, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs” (1981:192).
Genette in Narrative Discourse says the same thing that society or social setting refers to everything related to the society’s life in a certain place, which is being described in the story. It includes the customs, tradition, belief, ideology, the way of thinking, and behaving, and perhaps the social status of the character (1980:33, 35).
3. Character Development
Forster in Aspects of the Novel says that character development is the changing of a character from beginning until the end of the story. A character is developed if she or he experiences a change in some aspects of disposition, personality, or outlook. He is not the same person as he was at the beginning of the story. He changes into a new character. The changing depends on the condition and experiences as it is in the story (1974:54).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review on Related Studies James McBride wrote The Color of Water as his tribute to his white
mother. On http//:www.teenink.com/Past/2002October/Books/TheColorof.html, Artyom M. stated that “The Color of Water is a great work of literature and addresses the most difficult problem of society”.
Growing up in the all-black housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklin, as the son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white had made him fear for his mother’s safety and made her as the object of his constant embarrassment. Yet, his mother was an inspiring figure for him. In this remarkable memoir, James rewrote his mother life and his life as well. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman’s true heart, solid values, and indomitable will.
“She tells in her own words the story of her past. Around her narrative, James, the son, has written a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.” (http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/color_of_water.html) James recreated his mother’s life. As he does, he comes face to face with racism and social segregation. Through The Color of Water, James portrays that
Ruth McBride-Jordan, his mother, battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children. Review on www.amazon.com/gp/product says that in telling her compassion, insight, and realism”. It is, in a word, inspiring and readers will finish reading it “with unalloyed admiration for a flowed but remarkable individual. And perhaps, a little more faith in us all”.
This thesis will go along with some studies of this book to discuss how family, religion and society influenced the mother and son’s character development. The topic of this thesis has never yet discussed by other writers who choose The Color of Water as his or her material to discuss. The writer hopes that this study will enrich the discussion on The Color of Water and will give contribution to the study of The Color of Water in general.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theories of Characters and Characterization
a. Characters
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams defines character as a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work. The character is often endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed through dialogue and action (1985:20). Based on Abrams’s definition of character, it is clear that what the character does and says are very important in analyzing the character. Through the action and speech, readers can also see the interaction between one character and other character in literary work that determines what kind of person who he or she is. The presence of a main character is the most important since it can be that the story, from beginning until the end, centered and focused to this character (1985:20-21).
Holman and Harmon in their book entitled A Handbook to Literature, state that a character may be either static or dynamic. A static character is one who changes little if not 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. A dynamic character is one who is modified by actions and experiences, and one objectives of the work in which the character appears is to reveal the consequences of these actions (1986:83).
b. Characterization
In literary work, the author reveals the characteristic of his or her character. The process in which an author creates a character is called characterization. Authors use any or all of several basic means of characterization: a character is revealed by his action, his speech, his thought, his physical appearances and what other characters say or think of him.
According to Perrine, characterization is a representation of character in story. It is of course different from character because characterization is the way in which character represented. Therefore, character is the result, while characterization is the process. Perrine says that an author may present his character either directly or indirectly. His explanation is further discussed below: i. Direct Presentation “The author tells the readers straight out, by giving exposition or analysis, and telling what a character is like” (1974:68). This method is easier for the readers to know what kind of character he or she is because there is guidance from the author or other character(s) in the story. In this part, the readers only quote from what the author says in the story. ii. Indirect Presentation This is a method in which “the author shows the readers the character in the action. We infer what he or she is like from what he thinks, says, or does” (1974:68). This method is quite difficult than the previous one because firstly, there is no guidance from the author. Secondly, the readers have to be critical enough or in other words, to be an active reader, to be able to give a right judgment towards the character seen from his or her dialogue.
Meanwhile, M.J. Murphy on his work Understanding Unseens (1972:161- 173) illustrates nine ways of how an author make his or her characters understandable to, and come alive, for his or her readers. Firstly, the author may describe the characters through the appearance of the character. Secondly, the author may describe the characters through the eyes and opinion of another.
Thirdly, the author may also give an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what the person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us clues to the character. Fourthly, the author may let the readers learn something about a person’s past life. Fifthly, the author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him. People do talk about other people and the things they say often give us a clue about character of the person spoken about. Sixthly, the author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events. Seventhly, the author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly. Eighthly, the author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect, he is able to do what we cannot do in a real life. He can tell us what different people are thinking. The last, the author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits or idiosyncrasies which may also tell us something about his character.
c. Character Development
Forster in Aspects of the Novel says that character development is the changing of a character from beginning until the end of the story. A character is developed if she or he experiences a change in some aspects of disposition, personality, or outlook. He is not the same person as he was at the beginning of the story. He changes into a new character. The changing depends on the condition and experiences as it is in the story (1974:54).
Laurence Perrine in her Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense states that all the fictional characters can be classified as static or developing. The developing or dynamic character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his or her character personality or outlook. It can be a big change or a small change; and it can be better or worse (1974:71).
2. Theories of Setting
Holman and Harmon in their book, A Handbook to Literature, define setting as the physical, and sometimes spiritual, background against which action of a narrative takes place. They mention that there are four elements make up setting, a. the actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and door in a room, b. the occupation and daily manner of living of the characters,
c. the time or period in which the action takes place,
d. the general environment of the characters, for example, religious, mental, moral, social, and emotional condition through which the people in the narrative move (1986:465).
For Hans P. Guth, setting is the time and place of the events of the story. Often the setting helps shaping the characters and events. Village or city, north or south, poor or wealthy neighborhood, will be like and what is most important in their lives (1981:729).
Meanwhile, Langland explains that society is a concept and a construct both in fiction and life. It shows that there is an intersection of art and life, which is important. Langland says that absolute literary realism may be impossible, but art cannot help making claims to something beyond itself. It means that literature can mean something besides itself (1984:5).
Furthermore, she explains that society is understood not merely people and their classes, but also customs, convention, beliefs and values, their institutions – legal, religious, and cultural– and their physical environment. In brief, society remains everything we have seen it to be –norms, conventions, codes, backgrounds, places, people, institutions– but its particular manifestations in a
Genette in Narrative Discourse says the same thing that society or social setting refers to everything related to the society’s life in a certain place, which is being described in the story. It includes the customs, tradition, belief, ideology, the way of thinking, and behaving, and perhaps the social status of the character (1980:33, 35).
From the explanations above, it can be said that society in the literary work might not be an absolute realistic mirror of the existent society in the real life, but there is a possibility that it comments on the society in our life.
3. The Relations between Character and Setting
Characters as protagonists in the literary work reveal their perspectives and values through action, speech, and thought. To act and to reflect their perspectives, the characters need a medium. The medium can be the society. That medium to which the characters respond and in which they exist defines a set of values distinct from that of the characters (Langland, 1984:9). In addition, Harvey says that through social setting we can see how an individual relates to other individuals in the society, how they group themselves, whether the individuals have classes or not, or how an individual is influenced by another (1956:56).
According to M.J. Murphy, society, which is included in setting, has a great effect or influence upon personalities, action, and the characters’ way of thinking. If the society changed, the personalities, actions, and the characters’ way of thinking will be different. If the characteristic of the society is A, the characteristic of the characters will be more or less A because the influence of the
From the theories above, we are able to know that there is relation between characters and society. It also can be known that society can influence its character.
C. Theoretical Framework
All the theories above will be used in the writer’s analysis. The theories on character and characterization will be useful to analyze question number one as this question related to character. Theories on character and characterization will help the writer to find the main characters’ characteristic in live in the society. The theories on setting will be used to analyze question number one and two, that is, how to find the society in the novel and the influence to the characters. These theories will help the writer to find the character’s characteristic and the development. The theory on the relation between setting and character is very helpful to identify the way the society can influence the characteristics of its member and also to help the writer to find the influence of the society on the main characters.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study This thesis deals with James McBride’s book, The Color of Water. The
book consists of 291 pages, with six additional pages for critics’ comments, the writer’s brief biography, and family pictures. It published by Riverhead Books in January 1996 in hardcover edition. The edition, which the writer read, is the first Riverhead trade paperback edition and published by the same publisher in February 1997.
James McBride is an award –winning writer and composer. His critically acclaimed memoir, The Color of Water, won the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Excellence, was an ALA Notable Book of the Year, and spent more than two years on The New York Times bestseller list. In 2003, it was the inaugural selection of “New York City Reads Together”, as well as the 2004 selection of “One Book/One Philadelphia”. The Color of Water has sold more than 1,7 million copies in the US alone and is now required reading at numerous colleges and schools across the country. It is perennial favorite among book clubs and community-wide reading groups, and has been published in 16 languages and in more than 20 countries.
This memoir is talking about mother and son who told their own story of life yet connected to each other. Along with his mother’s story, James tells his own story of life as the eighth kid of a mix-family. He centered his story on his confusion for being a black kid of a white birth mother who seems never concern on her kid’s identity crisis. His confusion finally leads him, as an adult, to persuade his mother to tell her story of life. The mother is a rabbi’s daughter, born in Poland and raised in the South. She fled to Harlem and married a black man.
Together they founded a Baptist Church. When her first husband died, she struggled to raise her eight mix-children by herself until she met her second husband who gave her four more children but then also died and left her alone with the twelve mix-children. What a remarkable life of the mother that she did put her twelve children through college.
B. Approach of the Study
A literary approach is needed in analyzing a literary work so that a good analysis can be produced. In analyzing a literary work, every writer has his or her own way and approach. Some writers may analyze the same work of literature, but they may be different from one to another in using approaches. This study will go to the depth of the story, meaning that the writer will emphasize the analysis based on her interpretation of the work itself. Therefore, the formalistic approach, or also called the New Criticism, will be employed in analyzing all the problems stated above.
In A Handbook of Critical Approach to Literature, Guerin stated, The New Critics sought precision and structural tightness in the literary work; they favored a style and tone that tended toward irony; they insisted on the presence within the work of everything necessary for its analysis; and they called for an end to a concern by critics and teachers of English with matters outside the work itself – the life of the author, the history of his times, or the social and economic implications of the literary work, It means that the New Criticism assumes the autonomy of the work itself and therefore, the extrinsic elements consideration –the author’s life, his times, sociological, psychological background, or political implications are not related. This approach considers the work as a sole object and is not related to the extrinsic elements such as the author’s life and the times when the work is created.
C. Method of the Study
The method that the writer used to collect data for the thesis was library research. There were two kinds of sources, which the writer used to discuss the problems; the first was the primary source that the writer took from McBride’s
The Color of Water . Then the writer looked for the secondary sources that support
the discussion of the problems. They contained of the criticism and some theories for the analysis. Library research was doing to fin some books, criticism, and theories, which were needed. It was the first step to do after deciding the topic. The writer also searched the data on the internet such as reviews and criticisms to complete the secondary data.
In order to answer all the problems mentioned in problem formulation above the writer used the data collected from the primary and secondary sources.
Since the writer considers the work as a sole object, and emphasizes the analysis based on her interpretation of the work itself, then the writer employed the New Criticism approach to perform the analysis of the study.
After collecting the data, the writer then tried to answer the problems in the analysis. The writer tried to answer the first problem by describing the main characters in McBride’s The Color of Water. In describing the main characters, the writer tried to focus the analysis on the dialogue and the action of the characters. Afterwards, the writer tried to answer the second problem that is about how family, religion, and society as the setting of the stories influence the main characters’ development. In this case the writer tried to pay attention to the whole text. After answering all of the problems, the writer tried to draw conclusion from the analysis.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS In this chapter, the writer would answer the questions as stated in chapter I
through the analysis below. The first part of the analysis would answer the question about how the main characters are described. The second part of the analysis would answer the question on the influence of the family, religion, and society as the setting of the story toward the main characters development.
A. Description of the Main Characters
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Term stated that “characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say –the dialogue –and by what they do- the action.” Due to what Abrams says, it can be seen that the descriptions of the main characters below are based on what they or what other characters say and on what they do throughout the story.
1. Ruth McBride-Jordan
Ruth McBride Jordan, as what she tells to her son, James, through her life story, was born on April 1, 1921 in Poland with Jewish name: Ruchel Dwajra Zylska. Her family gets rid of this name when they come to America and changes it to Rachel Deborah Shilsky. Her father, Fishel Shilsky is an Orthodox rabbi and her mother, Hudis, is an ordinary house wife, who has polio that paralyzed her left side and leaves her in overall poor health. Under the sponsorship of Ruth’s mother eldest sister, Laurie, Ruth and her family come to America in 1923 as immigrants to run from being wiped out in the Holocaust by Hitler. They arrive in America when Ruth is two years old and her older brother, Sam is four years old.
When Ruth and her family first get off the boat, they live with her grandparents, Zaideh–grandfather and Bubeh–grandmother in Manhattan, New York. As a child who comes from an Orthodox Jew family, Ruth is portrayed as a kid who does not understand about the laws of Orthodox Jews well. She knows that Orthodox Jews wear black clothes, with large black hats as her Bubeh wears and long beard. As an Orthodox Jew she eats kosher everyday, but she does not know anything about kosher
“…… you think it’s a halvah candy bar. You need to read up on it because I ain’t no expert. They got folks who write whole books about it, go find them and ask them! Or read the Bible! Shoot! Who am I? I ain’t nobody! I can’t be telling the world this! I don’t know!” (McBride, 1996:17).
Quoting Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: Updated Edition of kosher as food is prepared according to Jewish law (2006:896), what she knows about kosher is that they do it with different table settings for every meal, different tablecloths, different dishes, forks, spoons, and knives. She wants to ask someone, but as kid in her family she does not ask question. “There were too many rules to follow, too many forbiddens and “you can’ts” and “you mustn’ts”,” (1996:2). She does what she is told, and she obeys the rules in her family. She has to sit tight, but for her that is the hardest thing to do. She likes to be outside the house. But the most expensive entertainment that she can get is reading romance magazines on
“I was a runner. I liked to get out of the house and go. Run. The only thing I was allowed to do on the Sabbath was read romance magazines.” (1996:17).