Revealing moral messages through the character of Little Bee in Chris Cleave`s The Other Hand - USD Repository
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REVEALING MORAL MESSAGES THROUGH THE CHARACTER OF LITTLE BEE IN CHRIS CLEAVE’STHE OTHER HAND AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI
Student Number: 064214051
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
REVEALING MORAL MESSAGES THROUGH THE CHARACTER OF LITTLE BEE IN CHRIS CLEAVE’STHE OTHER HAND AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI
Student Number: 064214051
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
By: Helen Keller
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This Undergraduate Thesis is dedicated to: My Lord, Jesus Crist My Beloved Parents, Iswantoro & Felisitas Tri Lestari My Brother, Ampi Sendu Jatmiko
My Beloved Fiancé, Kurniawan Handoyoseputro, S.Hut., and My Lovely Friends.
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTIGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Pawestri Sukmajati
Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214051 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Revealing Moral Messages through the Character of Little Bee in Chris
Cleave’s The Other Handbeserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpusatakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelola dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 04 Oktober 2010 Yang menyatakan (Pawestri Sukmajati)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, my gratitude goes to my beloved God, Jesus Christ. He has already given all the best for me and I have experienced it. All the tears I have dropped change into happiness now. I know that He always be with me and His miracle is real. Thank you, Jesus! Without You, I am nothing.
My deep gratitude goes to my advisor, Ibu Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum. for her patience, helps and inspirations. It is my pleasure to have her as my advisor during this writing process. My gratitude also goes to Ibu Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. for her correction and suggestion.
I also give my gratefulness to my beloved parents, Iswantoro and Felisitas Tri Lestari, for their loves, prayers and supports. I thank my brother, Ampi Sendu Jatmiko, for taking care of me whenever I am sick.
I thank all my friends for their supports to finish this undergraduate thesis. First thanks goes to my choir coach, Mas Mbong, for his patience to teach me how to sing better and for all his mystical and interesting stories, I love it! I thank all my friends in PSM Cantus Firmus, especially Nana, Andre, Ade, Norma, Nora, Elsa and many more, who cannot be mentioned all, for giving me unforgettable moments. They always make me laugh and they can release my stress. Thank you for all the lovely experiences we have ever had, you are such a blessing for me. The next, thanks to all my friends in campus, especially Achied, Gentur, Gaby, Tere, Ketut, Wulan, Rika, Pipit, Cica, Riska, Elis, Media and Jully for all the memories we had. My gratitude also goes to everyone in Sanata Dharma vii PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
University, my big family in Yogyakarta, and my family in Madiun who cannot be mentioned one by one here.
The last, my special gratitude goes to my beloved fiancé, Kurniawan Handoyoseputro, S.Hut., for the love, patience, laughs, tears, strength and care he has given to me. Thank you for giving me supports whenever I am down.
Pawestri Sukmajati.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................ i
APPROVAL PAGE ...................................................................................... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE .................................................................................. iii
MOTTO PAGE ............................................................................................. iv
DEDICATION PAGE ................................................................................... v
STATEMENT PAGE ................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. ix
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRAK ..................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................................ 1 B. Problem Formulation ...................................................................... 3 C. Objectives of the Study .................................................................. 3 D. Definition of Terms ......................................................................... 4CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ............................................... 5
A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................. 5 B. Review of Related Theories ........................................................... 101. Theory of Character .................................................................... 10
2. Theory of Characterization ......................................................... 12
3. Theory of Message ..................................................................... 15
4. Theory of Moral .......................................................................... 16
5. The Relation between Literature and Moral ............................... 18
C. Theoretical Framework .................................................................. 19
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 21
A. Object of the Study ......................................................................... 21 B. Approach of the Study .................................................................... 22 C. Method of the Study ....................................................................... 23CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 25
A. The Characterization of Little Bee ................................................. 25 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJIPLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
1. Persistent ..................................................................................... 26
a. Escaping from the Bad Men .................................................... 26
b. Learning English ...................................................................... 28
c. To Meet Sarah .......................................................................... 30 2. Brave ...........................................................................................
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3. Smart and Tricky ........................................................................ 35
4. Caring but Selfish ....................................................................... 40 5. Insincere ......................................................................................
45 B. The Moral Messages Revealed through the Character of Little
Bee .................................................................................................. 49
1. The Importance of Not Giving Up Easily .................................. 50
2. The Importance of being Brave .................................................. 52
3. The Importance of Making Smart Tricks ................................... 53
4. The Importance of being Care .................................................... 55
5. The Importance of being Sincere ................................................ 57
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .................................................................... 59 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 61
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ABSTRACT
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI. Revealing Moral Messages through the Character
of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010.The writer is interested in revealing the moral messages through the character of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand. The novel tells about the struggle of an African young woman to survive for her life. She has experienced many bad experiences that force her to do many difficult things to survive. The writer is interested to analyze the moral messages through the character of Little Bee and hoping that the readers can learn positive values through the character.
There are two problems that are formulated to analyze the moral messages of the character, Little Bee. The first is to find out how the characterization of the character, Little Bee is. The second, to reveal the moral messages that is reflected from the character of Little Bee.
This study uses moral-philosophical approach. To analyze the objectives, the writer did several steps. The first was reading the novel for several times in order to understand the detail of the story. The writer tried to focus on the main character, Little Bee. Then, the writer applied the theories to analyze the characterization of Little Bee. After that, the writer revealed the moral messages that are gained through the character of Little Bee. The last step was drawing conclusion about this study.
The study finds that Little Bee is a persistent person and a brave person. She is shown as a smart and tricky person. She cares about the others but she can be selfish when she faces difficult situations. Bee is also shown as insincere person. The character of Little Bee reflects her struggles to survive. There are some moral messages that can be gained through the character of Little Bee: one should not give up easily to get what he/ she wants. One should be brave to do anything he/ she is considered to be right. One ought to use his/ her smartness to make smart tricks. One ought to care and help the others who are in difficulty. It is better if one not only thinks about his/herself first but also thinks about the others.
One ought to be sincere toward the others. xi PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI. Revealing Moral Messages through the Character
of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2010.Penulis tertarik untuk mengungkap pesan-pesan moral melalui karakter dari dari Little Bee dalam novel milik Chris Cleave, The Other Hand. Novel ini menceritakan tentang perjuangan seorang wanita muda dari Afrika untuk bertahan demi hidupnya. Dia telah mengalami banyak pengalaman buruk yang memaksanya untuk melakukan banyak hal sulit untuk bertahan hidup. Penulis tertarik untuk menganalisis pesan-pesan moral melalui karakter dari Little Bee dan berharap agar para pembaca dapat mempelajari nilai-nilai positif dari karakter tersebut.
Ada dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan untuk menganalisis pesan-pesan moral dari karakter Little Bee. Pertama, untuk mengetahui penokohan karakter Little Bee. Kedua, untuk mengungkap pesan-pesan moral yang nampak dari karakter Little Bee.
Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan filosofi moral. Untuk menganalisis pertanyaan, penulis membuat beberapa langkah. Pertama, membaca novel tersebut beberapa kali untuk memahami cerita secara mendalam. Penulis mencoba fokus pada karakter utama yaitu Little Bee. Selanjutnya, penulis menerapkan teori-teori untuk menganalisis penokohan dari Little Bee. Setelah itu, penulis mengungkap pesan-pesan moral yang diperoleh dari karakter Little Bee. Langkah yang terakhir adalah menarik kesimpulan dari penelitian ini.
Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Little Bee adalah seseorang yang gigih dan seseorang yang berani. Dia digambarkan sebagai seseorang yang cerdas dan banyak akal. Dia peduli terhadap orang lain, namun dia bisa menjadi egois pada saat dia menghadapi situasi-situasi yang sulit. Bee juga dilukiskan sebagai seseorang yang tidak tulus. Karakter dari Little Bee menggambarkan perjuangan-perjuangannya untuk bertahan hidup. Ada beberapa pesan moral yang dapat diperoleh melalui karakter Bee: seseorang tidak boleh mudah menyerah untuk mendapatkan apa yang diinginkan. Seseorang seharusnya berani melakukan segala hal yang dianggap benar. Seseorang sebaiknya menggunakan kecerdasannya untuk memilih cara-cara yang terbaik. Seseorang sebaiknya peduli dan menolong orang yang sedang dalam kesulitan. Akan lebih baik apabila seseorang tidak mementingkan kepentingan diri sendiri dahulu tetapi memikirkan kepentingan orang lain juga. Seseorang sebaiknya tulus terhadap orang lain. xii PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature is creative work based on the experiences of human’s life that
usually contains specific issues at specific time. Wellek and Warren in Theory of Literature describe literature as drawing human life.
Literature is the reflection of human feeling toward his life. It is closely related to human experience through which we can learn the image of human beings that is expressed in the written way. It can also be defined as the work of arts which represents human life (1956: 94).
From the quotation above, it can be said that knowledge about life can be gained through literature. According to Hudson, “Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced in life, what they thought and have left about life through the medium of language” (1958: 10). In other word, the authors produce literary works based on what they have experienced in life; what they have seen and what they have felt through creative writings. Novel, comedy, short story, and creative nonfiction are the most general genres in literature. They can all be in the genres prose or poetry and they are written through creative writings. Novel is one of literary genres contains of story that is written with specific purposes. Henkle stated that “Many of the best novelists insist that a book should be, first of all, a good story that keeps the reader’s interest” (1977:2). It means that many novelists try to create a very creative and interesting story to interest the people to read it. The experiences of life might inspire the novelists to write a novel.
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One thing that can be gained by reading a novel is through the messages given by the author. Sometimes there are implied meanings in the acts of the characters in a novel. The author may send us the messages he or she wants to tell indirectly through the characters. Henkle said, “It would enrich our appreciation of the novel if we could put its messages into clearer perspective” (1977:2). Something valuable can be learnt by understanding the messages of a novel.
In this thesis, the writer wants to analyze the second novel of Chris Cleave, The Other Hand. Cleave had visited a detention centre for illegal immigrants and he met three of them. The experience supports Cleave to create the novel, The Other Hand. He creates a story about a Nigerian young woman who becomes an illegal immigrant in England. What make this novel interesting is the way the author shows the experiences of the Nigerian young woman, Little Bee, to fulfill her longing to keep alive and the ways she struggles to survive in her life. Flashbacks are used in the novel and the narration is written into two different perspectives, and those make the novel different from the others. This novel is also interesting because the reader can see both tragedy and humor in the novel.
The novel The Other Hand, tells about the life of an African young woman named Little Bee. She has to survive in her hometown, Africa, because of the oil war that has happened in her village. Bee has to survive from the men of the oil company who want to kill her. Furthermore, she has to survive in England, such a new world for an African village girl like her. She has to survive from the people
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who will endanger her life in England. Bee is a young woman who never gives up to get what she wants. Whatever she does in this novel is nothing but survival.
She has experienced bad experiences, and for her, life is survival.
The author tends to draw some moral messages through Little Bee and her life. That is why, in this analysis, the writer is interested to discover the moral messages can be gained through Little Bee’s character. It is related to the ways she acts for survival. Hopefully, positive values can be learnt through this analysis. In addition, based on Henkle’s statement, the messages in the novel can make the readers appreciate this literary work better. The writer also hopes that this study will contribute some knowledge to the readers.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the topic, these two problems are used as guidance to analyze the novel.
1. How is Little Bee characterized?
2. What moral messages are revealed through the character of Little Bee?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the two problems formulated above, the writer can gain the object of the study. The first is to discover how the characterization of the main character, Little Bee, is described. After discovering it, the writer tries to identify the moral messages that are revealed through the character of Little Bee as seen through the behaviors and the dialogues of Little Bee in the novel.
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D. Definition of Terms
The writer gives some literary meaning to help the reader to understand certain terms in order to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding about the meaning of the terms.
1. Messages
According to Beaty and Hunter in New World of Literature, message is the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989: 899).
2. Moral
According to Hinman in Ethics, A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, moral is a set of rules, and the rules tend to show about what you ought to do or
should do (1998:5). Moral issues are a matter of what we see and how we see it
(1998:15-16). Moral help us to understand how to live a good life and it also provides knowledge and insights that will be useful if we decide to live a moral life (1998:27-28).
3. Moral Message
According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, moral message means a practical lesson about what to do or how to behave, which you learn from a story or from something that happens to you (2003:1066). PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies The Other Hand by Chris Cleave was first published in 2008. In the United States and Canada, The Other Hand is published under the title Little Bee. Since the novel is quite new, related studies in printed media are very rare. As a
solution, the writer has to find another criticisms or comments on Cleave’s from the Internet. The writer believes that those will help her in analyzing this thesis.
The positive or negative criticism or comments from public toward the Cleave’s The Other Hand will be showed in this part.
Some critics give their criticisms and comments on the intrinsic elements of the novel being analyzed, The Other Hand. There are positive and negative criticisms and comments put here and those show that the novel is controversy. In an article “A beach Vacation Goes Horribly Awry”, Sarah L. Courteau states that Little Bee is a young woman who has horrible past experience and she has to struggle for her life.
Little Bee is a young woman with a past so damaging that it seems to negate the possibility of a future, but her tensile stubbornness keeps her going. Her very name is a mechanism for survival (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022403232.html).
The quotation above is supported by Lee Thomas’ comment: “The young Nigerian refugee renamed herself on the traumatic day that lies at the heart of the book, and now answers only to Little Bee”
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(http://fictionwritersreview.com/reviews/little-bee-by-chris-cleave). Little Bee is not the real name of the young Nigerian woman; it is just a way to survive.
According to Courteau, Little Bee, her older sister and their family are unlucky to live in Nigeria, in a place where valuable oil can be mined. Their family pays a deadly price. Then, on a beach in Nigeria where Sarah and her husband, Andrew, have walked, they are confronted in a difficult choice: “Save the girls at great personal cost or ignore them”. Courteau says that Cleave “Has carved two indelible characters whose choices in even the most straitened circumstances permit them dignity – if they are willing to sacrifice for it”. She also states that The Other Hand or Little Bee is “The best kind of political novel” and the reader might “Unaware of its politics because the book doesn’t deal in abstractions but in human beings” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022403232.html).
Mary McIntosh: The Other Hand is a novel set both in Nigeria and in England. The date is not detail but it feels very contemporary. The story tells about how Little Bee, a young Nigerian woman, is trapped in an immigration detention centre in the south of England and her cruel experiences which led her up to that place. It also follows the life of Sarah, an English woman who has a small son, who finds herself bound up with Little Bee and her life. “Chris Cleave interweaves the two stories, and the lives of the two women with real skill and there is a strong narrative running through the book which compels the reader to keep turning the pages. You really care about the lead characters and Sarah’s son, Charlie, plays an important role as the book
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progresses”(http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/suffolkmagazine/lifestyle/stayi ng-in). McIntosh feels that the novel filled with humanity, and with flashes of humor and the novel provides happiness and sadness. It is supported by Jason Austin, he says that The Other Hand is a novel of a great drama and humor that links the domestic, sometimes frivolous life of the modern UK with the plight of its asylum seekers (http://www.readings.com.au/review/the-other-hand-chris- cleave).
Tim Teeman states that Chris Cleave does love to court controversy, both in his first and his second novel, The Other Hand. Cleave’s technique is “hammer squashes nut”, which allows explanations and no room for something implied, and it works for those who love Cleave’s work. Teeman gives criticism to The Other
Hand :
You will have to love Sarah – but she just seems batty, bizarre and inconsistent, and despite the tragedy she has suffered, unsympathetic. Her final trip to Kenya with Little Bee makes no sense. Sarah also has a son who dressed up as Batman, and whose concerted cuteness and endless squeaking about justice and heroes almost makes you wish, twistedly, that the denouement wasn’t as happy as it turns out to be (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_enetrtainment/books/f iction/article4442648.ece).
The characterization of Sarah is dissatisfied to Teeman. According to him, Cleave is not consistent and not too insightful in creating Sarah. The story, how Sarah and Little Bee meet and about Sarah’s son who always wears Batman costume is unnatural.
Teeman states that “The characters are clearly characters. Their words are clearly the invention of a
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writer’s”(http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_enetrtainment/books /fiction/article4442648.ece). Furthermore, Anne Brooke says that Cleave has failed to make the characters naturally. “The trouble we have here is an author who can write well and poetically when he puts his mind to it, but who has no real notion of how to handle character” (http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/the-other-hand-by-chris-cleave- but-on-the-other-hand/). Brooke gives comment to one of the main characters, Sarah.
I must admit I started off prepared to like Sarah – she’s a strong-minded individualist who takes no prisoners, and what’s not to like about that? It is strange therefore how quickly Sarah becomes selfish and unlikeable within the story, and her attitude to both her husband and her lover never seems entirely consistent – one moment she’s swearing undying love to one or the other of them in rather purple prose (no matter that her husband is dead) and the next she’s all but forgotten their existence. (http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/the-other-hand-by-chris- cleave-but-on-the-other-hand/)
Brooke thinks that the character, Sarah, might seem more realistic when she starts thinking Sarah as a man. Brooke also states Cleave is one of male writers who cannot write English woman. Philip Marchand states the content of the story in the novel does not work well, and in the last part of his article, he states that the number of really good novelists is so small (http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/afterword/archieve/2009/02/21/philip- marchand-little-bee-can-t-quite-keep-up-with-its-buzz.aspx). Meaning to say, Cleave is not quite good in creating a novel.
Claudia J. Beresford gives different comment to Cleave, she says that Cleave successfully create “the voice of female character”. The reader might be
9 surprised that the author of The Other Hand is “Chris”, and it is not the short of “Christina”.
Cleave manages to capture the voices of his main female characters with remarkable insight. There are few male writers who voice a woman’s thoughts so flawlessly it is hard not to be stunned (http://modern-british- fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_other_hand).
In her article, “A Review of One This Year’s Best Kept Secrets”, Beresford gives comments on the technique and style on Cleave’s:
The narration is shared between the two women, a good idea, for the characters come from such very different worlds that one could hardly speak for the other. Written from the perspective of a young girl who has lived a life most of us would be incapable of imagining, the tone is both innocent and wise to the point of being heart-breaking. Unlike in many other books in which this technique is overused, Cleave does not let this become trite and the reader may hope for another moment (http://modern- british-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_other_hand).
Furthermore, Thomas says that Little Bee takes one side of the narrative, and the other takes by Sarah O’Rourke. Through this “split-screen”, Cleave undertakes the multiple perspectives innate in any story: someone always put outside. And according to Thomas, both the girl (Little Bee) and the book reflect the “Spirit of survival”. He gives compliment to wonderful story written by Cleave. Through Little Bee’s eyes, we can understand other world a little better (http://fictionwritersreview.com/reviews/little-bee-by-chris-cleave).
According to Beresford, both the way the characters are written and how the plot is allowed to develop is original. She also says that the flashback used in the novel is a good effect. The end of the book seems to be unsatisfactory ending because the end of the story depends on the reader, or it might be fun for the
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reader to state what will happen next (http://modern-british- fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_other_hand).
The criticisms and comments above, more or less discuss the intrinsic elements on The Other Hand. There are two main characters in the novel, Little Bee and Sarah, but they tend to discuss only in the characterization of Sarah. As stated above, Thomas says that Little Bee and the book reflect the spirit of survival so the character of Little Bee must be interesting to be discussed. The writer tries to explore moral issues. Furthermore, this analysis will attempt to reveal the moral messages can be gained through the character of Little Bee.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character
Character is one of the intrinsic elements in the literary work, such as novel. The writer will analyze the main character in the novel The Other Hand, Little Bee. In the second edition of Mastering English Literature, Richard Gill states that a character is a person emerged in a literary work that has some sort of identity or characteristics, an identity which is created by appearance, conversation, action, name, and thoughts existing in the head. Characters are literary creation appears in books and they have all sort of links with the people in real life, but we only meet them in books (1995:127).
Rohrberger in Reading and Writing About Literature, describes characters as persons who are involved in stories and act out in particular situations some
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kind of conflict in a pattern of events (1971:20). Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms describes character as the persons appear in narrative work.
Character are 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- the dialogue- and by what they do- the action (1981:20).
In other words, characters in a literary work are just a human being who appears in the story and they also have qualities that can be seen through the dialogue and action.
Stanton states that in most stories there is a central character who is relevant to every events in the story and the events can create some change either in him or in our attitude toward him. Moreover, what makes a character has a reason for behaving as he does is his motivation. Stanton differs the motivation into two; specific motivation and basic motivation. Specific motivation is the character’s immediate reason, perhaps unconscious, for any particular speech or act. While basic motivation is an aspect of his general character: it is the ongoing desire that governs him throughout the story, the direction toward which almost all his specific motivations tend (1965:17).
Holman and Harmon in A Handbook of Literature says that character is a complicated term that contains the idea of the moral constitution of the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness and the simpler notion of the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of one sort or another (1986:81).
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Roger B. Henkle in Reading the novel, the character can be described as major and minor. Major characters as the most important and complex characters can be identified as such through the complexity of their characterization, the attention given to them, and the personal intensity that they seem to transmit (1977: 87-97).
2. Theory of Characterization
Gill gives statement on characterization, “Characterization is a method and character the product”. He says that characters have been created in an exacting method, and they are the product of characterization. The words used by the author are to give details about the character and give clues who he or she is.
Their conversations, their appearances, their attitude and so on are methods chosen by the author to characterize the characters (1995:127).
M. J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to (1972:161-173) puts nine
English Poetry and the English for Overseas Students
ways in which an author attempts to make his characters in a novel easy to understand and become alive for the readers. The ways are: a. Personal description
The author can describe a character through his/her appearance; the face, body, hair, skin color, and also the clothes used. Those can give information about the character.
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b. Character as seen by another Instead of describing a character directly, the author can portray him through the eyes and opinions of another.
c. Speech The author can give insight to the characters through what the character says. Whenever the character is conversing, he is giving a clue for the readers about the character.
d. Past life By letting the readers learn something about a character’s past life, the author makes the readers be able to shape a person’s character.
e. Conversation of others The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him.
f. Reactions The author can give us clues about a person’s character by seeing how the character reacts to different situations.
g. Direct comment The author can describe a character by giving direct comment.
14 h. Thoughts
The author gives us direct knowledge of what is the person thinking about and it reflects his personality. i. Mannerism
The character’s mannerism and habits in his life can describe the character’s personality.
Another opinion toward characterization comes from Perrine, in his book
Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense : Characterization must follow three principles in order to be convincing.
Firstly, the characters in the story must have consistency in the way they behave. This consistency might be broken if only there is a sufficient reason to explain this change of behavior. Secondly, whatever the characters do, they must have clear motivation especially when they break the consistency of their behaviors. Finally, the characters must appear life like or plausible (1974:69).
Abrams states that there are two methods of characterization, namely showing and telling. In showing method, the author presents the conversations and the actions of the character and let the reader to infer what motives and disposition lay behind what they say and do. In telling method, the author gives his view and description toward the motives and dispositional qualities of the character (1981:21).
In A Handbook to Literature , Holman and Harmon say that characterization is the creation of the imaginary persons so that they exist for the
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readers as life like. It is how the author presents his or her characters in the story (1986:81-82). Holman adds that there are three ways of characterization:
1. The explicit presentation; the author gives explicit presentation through direct exposition and it is illustrated by action.
2. The presentation of the characters through actions without or with little explicit comment by the author. It is expected that the readers will be able to deduce the attributes of the actor from the action.
3. The representation from within a character. Without comment on the character by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions of the character’s inner self, with the expectation that the reader will come to a clear understanding of the attributes of the character.
3. Theory of Message
Message is also one of the intrinsic elements in a literary works, especially novel. Novel may have more than message, it may consist moral message. The author’s belief, wish, and interest and the reader’s interpretations may occur moral message.
According to Beaty, “Message is the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art” (1989: 899). In short it can be said that message is a conclusion that can be found in literary work.
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In An Introduction to the Study of Literature , Henry Hudson states that a good message is a message that reveals a new and bigger possibility that they do not realize. Most writers would try to tell and to show those possibilities by using their work. In fact, he even tries to create those possibilities themselves. A good message does not tend to follow general pattern or norm but it creates new pattern based on human values (1958:23). Kenney in his book How to Analyze Fiction states when one talk about message, he/ she also discusses moral. It can be said briefly that generally moral means teaching of good and bad (1966:89).
4. Theory of Moral
We cannot avoid moral problems in our life, because moral related with the ways we act in our life. In life, we cannot avoid such choices that hurt or help other people, choices that might infringe on their rights or violate their dignity or use them as tools to get to our aims. Those are the examples of making decision about morality. Morality is about living, as long as we continue living, or we choose to stop living is a moral issue (Hinman, 1998:2).
Moral is a clue how to act in right. Hinman said that moral is a set of rules, and the rules tend to show about what you ought to do or should do (1998:5).
Someone must have a reason of doing something and the way he or she acts related with morality. In The Elements of Moral Philosophy, Rachels gives the minimum conception in brief about morality:
Morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason – that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing – while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual who will be affected by one’s conduct (1999:19).
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It means that morality gives us a depiction of what it means conscientious moral agent. The conscientious moral agent is someone who sees everyone’s conduct equitably; who carefully sifts facts and examines their implications; who accepts principles of conduct only after examining his or her reason even when it means that his or her convictions may have to be revised; and who, finally, is willing to act on the results of this deliberation (1999:19).
According to Hinman in Ethics, A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, moral contents of a particular type such as: duties, right, human welfare and suffering, and so on. Moral can be approached from a particular point of view like impartial, caring, and so on. Moral issues are a matter of what we see and how we see it (1998:15-16). Moral also help us to understand how to live a good life and it also provides knowledge and insights that will be useful if we decide to live a moral life (1998:27-28).
Theory of moral is needed in this analysis because it associated with someone’s act. Hinman in Ethics, A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory states about moral theories:
They help us to understand the ways in which people structure their lives, the ways in which their diverse actions fit together into a coherent whole. These theories are primarily descriptive in character, that is, they focus on describing how people actually act and thus on understanding the underlying coherence of their actions (1998:25). It means that moral theories help us to understand how things actually work, in this case related to someone’s actions. The theories “can only provide knowledge and insights that will be useful if we decide to live a moral life” (1998:28). It can
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be said that moral can help us to do the right things. It is clear that moral theories give knowledge how to live a good life.
Bourke in Ethics states that “the most general concept which may be grasped by any man as leading to action, is the concept of the good” (1961:174- 175). It is a speculative principle and becomes practical principle that: The good should be done; the evil should not be done (1961:175).
Other examples of such primary rules of the natural moral law are: it is good for being to act in conformity with its nature; it good for a reasonable being to act reasonably; it is good for a being to act in conformity with its end; it is good to be prudent, temperate, brave, and just; it is bad to injure anyone unjustly; it is bad to tell a lie; it is bad to commit murder (1961:176).
5. The Relation between Literature and Moral
As stated in the introduction, according to Wellek in Theory of Literature, literature is a reflection of human life (1956:94). The focus of studying literature is more than studying about the form or figurative language of the literary work. The study can be more than that. Since literature contains about human life, the reader can learn many things through literature, including learning about morality.