T1__BAB III Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: An Annotated Translation of Jack London’s to Build a Fire with Its Figurative Language T1 BAB III
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CHAPTER III
ANNOTATION
London‟s To Build A Fire story was rich of figurative language. During the translation
project, there are many elements found, but only fifteen figurative languages were chosen and
analyzed in order to know the story deeper than what can be seen, and also to enrich the
knowledge about figurative language especially from other cultures. Those fifteen elements
consist of three metaphors, five similes, and seven personifications. According to two different
theories which were used during the annotation, those figurative languages were divided and
analyzed according to the experts‟ focuses. The first is the translation of metaphor by Newmark
(1988) and the second is translation of personification by Shahabi and Roberto (2015).
A.
METAPHOR AND SIMILE
From Newmark‟s seven procedures of translating metaphors (88-91), there are only four
that were used during the annotation. Those procedures are reproducing the same image in the
TL, translation of metaphor by simile, translation of metaphor (or simile) by simile plus sense
and conversion of metaphor to sense. There are eight elements were discussed; three metaphors
and five similes.
1. Reproducing the same image in the TL
This procedure is the most commonly used. In this story, there are five elements using this
procedure of translating metaphor. They are one metaphor and four similes.
Table 3.1
Metaphor 1
No.
ST
TT
North and south, as far as his eye could
Sejauh matanya memandang ke utara dan
see, it was unbroken white, save for a
selatan, yang terlihat hanyalah warna
Paragraph dark hair-line that curved and twisted
3
putih. Di sana terdapat garis rambut
from around the spruce-covered island
berwarna hitam yang membengkok dan
to the south, and that curved and
membelit di sekitar pulau yang tertutup
twisted away into the north, where it
dengan pohon-pohon cemara mengarah
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disappeared behind another spruce-
ke selatan, dan ke utara dimana garis itu
covered island.
tidak dapat dilihat lagi dari sisi lain pulau.
Object: The trail
Image: Dark hair-line
Sense: The twisted path covered with spruce trees.
The island in the Yukon in table 3.1 was represented as someone‟s head. It was round and
the man should climb the high earth-bank which showed the top part of a head. Besides, it is told
that this island was covered with spruce trees which London compared to the hair of someone‟s
head. Then, a hair has its line which is narrow and long, and so was the trail in Yukon island. In
our imaginations, this was a narrow, long, and dark trail because of the spruce that was located
around the trail. The author used this comparison because it fit with the condition of the island,
and how the man walked up and down through the trails. Like fleas walk in hair.
The author here used metaphor to add the aesthetic value to the readers. He used “dark” to
complete the image of the trail. In the imagination, this idea leads people to think the hair color
was dark or maybe black, because the tree trunk is mostly black. The translator here chose the
word “hitam” rather than “gelap” to directly explain about the condition of the trail. By adding
more information about the color of the head, the readers will understand about how narrow and
dark the trail was. The translator also kept the same image, so that the TT will not lose the
original sense in the ST.
Table 3.2
Simile 1
No.
ST
TT
Once, coming around a bend, he shied Suatu kali, tibalah ia pada sebuah
abruptly, like a startled horse, curved tikungan. Pria itu merasa malu. Seperti
Paragraph away from the place where he had kuda yang terkejut, ia membelok jauh
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been walking, and retreated several dari tempat yang telah dilalui, dan
paces back along the trail.
mondar-mandir kebingungan di
sepanjang jalan.
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Object
: The man
Image
: A startled horse
Resemblance : Panic and confused with the new line
When a horse frighten, it suddenly becomes panic, and it will jump and run spasmodically.
A horse usually startles because of something like unfamiliar situations, unexpected trail
obstacles, or unusual things around (Johnson, “Startling, Shying, Spooking, and Skittishness in
Horses”). When horses are under stress, they do that involuntarily, and they can not control
startle response(“Horse Charming: Startle Response” 5). So, the characteristics of horse here are
applied on the man. When he arrived at a bend, he was shocked and confused. He ran, back and
forth, was panic, and scared. By comparing the man and a horse, the author wanted us to imagine
a man startled like a horse, so that we know the situation. The purpose of this metaphor is to
make the text more colorful, and dramatic, and also to add some aesthetic value to the story.
The translator here tried to use the same meaning as in the ST because the image was
already clear enough to be understood. At first, the translator wanted to translate precisely with
the words “retreated several paces back along the trail” became “mundur beberapa langkah
berbalik dari jalan kecil” yet finally the words “mondar-mandir” or walking back and forth is
smoother and does not sound stiff, as on the table 3.2. Moreover, it is match to represent how
someone in a panic andconfused while thinking about the direction of a trail. It leaves a nervous
impression to the readers about the man, like thinking of something but get nothing to do.
Table 3.3
Simile 2
No.
ST
TT
He started to untie his moccasins. They Kemudian, ia mulai membuka tali sepatu
were coated with ice; the thick German kulitnya. Kedua sepatunya berlapis es;
socks were like sheaths of iron half- kaos kaki Jermannya yang tebal menjadi
Paragraph way to the knees; and the moccasin berat
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bagaikan
sarung
besi
yang
strings were like rods of steel all tingginya mencapai lutut; dan tali sepatu
twisted and knotted as by some kulitnya juga rapuh seperti batang baja
conflagration.
yang bengkok-bengkok dan tersimpul
oleh amukan api.
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Object
: Thick German socks and the moccasin strings
Image
: Sheaths of iron and rods of steel
Resemblance : The quality
The German socks half-way to the knees is compared with iron. The characteristics of iron,
which resembles the German socks, are less brittle, strong, and can handle the high temperature
(Calvert, “Properties of Iron”). Then, the moccasin strings were compared to the rods of steel
which is lighter yet stronger can also be easily shaped. Behind the similes that London wrote
here, there might be the opposite meaning with the things he compared to. The condition of the
situation here is when the man became frozen more, while he needed his feet to walk. As we
know, the quality of iron and steel is good because they are strong and heavy enough to be used,
but can not protect someone from the cold. Yet, what the author meant here that the thick
Germans socks and the moccasin strings were not as good as what it seemed when they are
against the harsh nature. They were thin, and could pierce the man‟s body.
To help the readers to understand about the purpose, the translator added a word to explain
the meaning. From the ST there is already the word “thick” to compare the socks with the iron
which “thick” means “tebal” considering the iron is something thick and heavy. Then, there is no
characteristic explanation about the moccasin strings and the steel. Based on the quality of steel
above, the translator added the word “rapuh”, as on the table 3.3 to make the sentences clearer
about the resemblance, and the translator did not change the image to keep the original sense.
Table 3.4
Simile 3
No.
ST
TT
But no sensation was aroused in the Akan tetapi, ia tetap tidak bisa merasakan
hands. He had an impression that they tangannya. Pria itu berpikir bahwa kedua
Paragraph
33
hung like weights on the ends of his tangannya tersebut menggantung seperti
arms, but when he tried to run the batu timbangan di ujung lengannya.
impression down, he could not find it.
Namun,
ketika
ia
mencoba
menghilangkan pikiran itu, ia tidak dapat
menemukannya.
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Object
: The man‟s hands
Image
: Weight
Resemblance : Heavy
Before the man thought his hands were hanging like weights, he was aware the cold had
brutally frozen his body and hands until he did not know where his hands were. The man here
found his hands like weights that hung at the end of his arms which was as heavy as scales with
its weight. Landon compared the man‟s hands with weights which mean his hands at that time
were more than stiff. It was dead, and not working. He could not even sense his own hands
because the cold had reached the lowest point, and could make himself lost his hands. The
resemblance picture that the author might found come from the form of a scale which is almost
the same with the arms of the man, with the hands as the weights. He used this allegory because
of the same characteristics, also to help readers understand how heavy the man‟s hands were and
compared it with weights.
There are many kinds of weights in a market world, but it became a pair of scales, or
“neraca” in Indonesian when we imagine a man‟s hands. So, like on the table 3.4, the translator
directly translated the word “weights” with “anak timbangan neraca” which is often used in
many places, and easier to be understood by the readers. Besides, it isbecause when the man lost
the sensation of his hands, they became more than pins and needles, or a tingling sensation.
When we get a tingling sensation, for example, on our feet, we will heavily move them because
we feel pain. While the man here felt the numbness on his hands, which was nearly died and hard
to be felt even moved.
Table 3.5
Simile 4
No.
Paragraph37
ST
TT
With this new-found peace of mind
Dalam kepasrahan sebagaimana
came the first glimmerings of
tubuhnya mati rasa, ada kedamaian yang
drowsiness. A good idea, he
muncul dalam rasa kantuknya. Ia ingin
thought, to sleep off to death. It was
tertidur hingga mati. Ide yang bagus,
like taking an anesthetic. Freezing
pikirnya. Ini sama saja seperti meminum
was not so bad as people thought.
obat bius. Ternyata, membeku tidak
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There were lots worse ways to die.
seburuk yang orang-orang pikirkan.
Masih ada banyak cara lain yang lebih
buruk untuk mati.
Object
: Sleep off to death
Image
: Anesthetic
Resemblance : Lossing of bodily sensation
Simile in table 3.5 describes the man planned to sleep until he died. He knew that he was
near to death, so he thought that he would die without noticing it. Anesthetic is used to make
someone unable to feel pain and causes temporary loss of bodily sensation in surgical operation.
When someone needs an anesthetic, it is because unbearable pain will attack the body. London
here wanted to show us the coldness sensation the man felt had the same equality with the
surgical operation. The difference is just the anesthetic here was the coldness itself that could
make the man lose his consciousness and then attack him. So, he decided to sleep to make him
not feel the pain anymore. At the end, he did not think about the dignity anymore. He felt it was
better to die, so he could release his pain.
The translator did not replace the words with different meaning in Indonesia. It is very
clear to use “obat bius” to represent the parable that the author wanted to show. “Obat bius” here
has deeper meaning than “obat tidur” which only has a temporary effect. London here wanted to
show that anesthetic has permanent effect that can even make someone numb. Yet, to make the
text better, the translator only added some words at the beginning of the sentence like “dalam
kepasrahannya” to explain the man‟s condition or process before showing his minds about sleep
off to death, and imagined it as an anesthetic also forgot about his dignity.
2. Translation of metaphor by simile
This is the second procedure used during the annotation. There is only one element will be
discussed and it is a metaphor which later change into a simile.
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Table 3.6
Metaphor 2
No.
Paragraph
16
ST
TT
On the other hand, there was keen
Di sisi lain, terdapat sebuah hubungan
intimacy between the dog and the man.
dekat di antara anjing dengan sang pria.
The one was the toil-slave of the other,
Seperti budak yang bekerja keras untuk
and the only caresses it had ever
tuannya, dan satu-satunya kasih sayang
received were the caresses of the whip-
yang ia terima yaitu suara sang pria yang
lash and of harsh and menacing throat-
berbunyi seperti pukulan cambuk, yang
sounds that threatened the whip-lash.
kasar serta penuh ancaman
Object
: The man‟s voice
Image
: Whip-lash
Resemblance : Loud, harsh, painful
The statement above contained two expressions with figurative language. The first one is
irony where the author made the opposite of “caresses” and referred to “whip-lash”, and second
is the metaphor of sound of the man‟s voice towards the dog. When we talk about caresses, it
should be something loving or occurred because of something sweet. Yet, London here used the
opposite meaning which the words “caresses” means something hateful and cruel that referred to
the man‟s voice. The author saw the man‟s voice here like the sound of whip-lash. When we hear
the sound, it is identical with punishment and it caused an injury (Merriam Webster, “Definition
of Whiplash”). It is scary because the whip-lash is loud, harsh, and painful. Here we see the dog
obeyed the man because he was the food and fire provider yet actually there was no love for the
dog, only a violence from the man.
By comparing the whip-lash with the man‟s voice, we can presume how the man‟s voice
was. It was loud and harsh because the man was shouting or yelling towards the dog, like getting
very angry. Then, at the dog‟s ear, the man‟s voice here was not only loud and harsh, but also
full of threat. The translator here changed the metaphor into simile to make the allegory became
clearer. If the sentencewas translated the same like the original, then the readers may become a
bit confused with “suara cambukan” and it possibly became ambiguous. So here, the translator
only omitted some words and rearranged the sentences, so that the readers can easily understand
that the sound of whip-lash is referred to the voice of the man.
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3. Translation of metaphor (or simile) by simile plus sense
For this procedure, there is only one element and it is a simile that has its explanation or
sense after the expression is stated.
Table 3.7
Simile 5
No.
Paragraph
37
ST
TT
When he had recovered his breath and
Ketika ia bernapas dengan teratur, dan
control, he sat up and entertained inhis
terkendali, ia duduk dan menghibur
mind the conception of meeting death
dirinya dengan gambaran“mati secara
with dignity. However, the conception
terhormat”. Namun, gambaran itu tidak
did not come to him in such terms.
sesuai dengan ekspektasinya. Pikiran
His idea of it was that he had been
tentangitu justru membuat dirinya terlihat
making a fool of himself, running
bodoh, seperti ayam yang berlarian
around like a chicken with its head cut
dengan kepala terputus, demikianlah
off--such was the simile that occurred
orang yang sangat sibuk mencari jalan
to him. Well, he was bound to freeze
keluar dan langsung saja melakukan
anyway, and he might as well take it
tanpa berpikir terlebih dulu. Yang ada
decently.
dipikiran laki-laki tersebut adalah ia akan
tetap membeku, dan ia mungkin mulai
ikhlas menerima keadaannya.
Object
: The man‟s idea about “death with dignity”
Image
: A chicken with its head cut of
Resemblance : Vanity
Thing that was compared to a head of chicken here could be a dignity. Dignity for the man
was like the most important part of his body, like the head that can lead his moves. The old-timer
had told him not to travel in the coldness of the snow, and he was about to admit it was right. All
people know only a fool that want to travel alone in the middle of the tremendous cold. Other
than that, in English idiom, “a headless chicken” means busy doing many things so quickly
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without thinking carefully, or can be disorganized and uncontrolled (Cambridge Dictionary,
“Meaning of „run round like a headless chicken”), and so did the man. Here, he was busy to find
a way to survive yet his mind was silly and foolish, besides it did not work. For the addition, the
man here might feel very ashamed of himself because of his own thought and what he had done.
While at the end, it became vanity as he lost his dignity as a man. That was the resemblance that
the author found.
On the table 3.7, at first, the translator tried to use the first procedure; reproducing the same
image in the TL. Yet, after searching many references, this idiom might sound strange and
confusing for the readers. There is no such term in Indonesia. They will not know about the
meaning of it. Then, to make it easier the translator decided to translate it by keeping the original
imageand added the sense of it, so the readers will understand about the idiom with its
meaning.By using this procedure, it will also enrich the knowledge about English idioms for
many Indonesians, especially those who are interested to figurative language.
4. Conversion of metaphor to sense
There is only one metaphor using this procedure. It is a metaphor which later is changed into
a form of sense, so that the expression will be clearer.
Table 3.8
Metaphor 3
No.
ST
TT
He held on through the level stretch of Pria itu berjalan beberapa mil di atas
Paragraph
9
woods for several miles, crossed a potongan-potongankayu tumbang,
wide flat of niggerheads, and dropped menyeberangi tanah bebatuan luas, dan
down a bank to the frozen bed of a menjatuhkan tanah ke dasar sungai aliran
small stream.
Object
: Rocks
Image
: A wide flat of nigger-heads
Sense
: Roundish, black, and hard
kecil yang beku.
Based on Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, “nigger-heads” or „negro head‟ is applied to
various black or dark-colored roundish objects, while in the US (informal) it means any hard
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black rock, or stone (Collin, “Definition of Niggerhead”). From those definitions, here we see the
resemblance between the head of negro with the stones. They were roundish, black and also
hard. This term might become the English idiom which is strange in some country. London here
tried to explain the condition of the place, about what kind of place that the man had passed. He
found many resemblances on this thing, so he used this idiom to color the language. Many
people outside English countries do not know about „nigger-heads‟ term. So, here the translator
did not translate it the same way with the original image but directly mentioned the sense or
meaning,to make the readers easily know and understand about the sentences.
As the translator has mentioned before, Newmark has seven procedures, yet only four were
used during the annotation. Then, from the four procedures which are used above, the most
frequently used procedure is reproducing the same image in the TL with five of eight elements
(metaphors and similes). His theories are helpful and easy to be applied during the annotation.
B.
PERSONIFICATION
The other figurative language found in To Build A Fire story is personification. According
to three procedures of translating personification by Shahabi and Roberto (4-5), there is only one
procedure used for seven personifications that will be discussed below.
1. Translation of personification to simile
On Shahabi and Roberto‟s procedures of translating personification, they were focused more
on animal as the object on each strategy, but it did not rule out the possibility for other
objects.The translator tried to adapt and modify their theories due to some incompatibility.
There are seven personifications found in this story.
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Table 3.9
Personification 1
No.
Paragraph
20
ST
TT
The blood of his body recoiled before
Darah yang mengalir di tubuhnya
it. The blood was alive, like the dog,
menyentak diri sang pria. Darah itu
and like the dog it wanted to hide away hidup, seperti anjing yang ingin
and cover itself up from the fearful
bersembunyi dan melindungi dirinya dari
cold.
dingin yang menakutkan.
The blood here became the living thing because it was compared to the dog that wanted
warmth. The one of the blood functions is as the regulator of body temperature. It is because
there is an oxidation system that resulted the heat of the body. If the oxidation system does not
work well, then the body temperature will become worse (Sari, “10 Fungsi Darah pada
Manusia”). In the man‟s condition, his blood did not work well at that time. London chose the
blood here as a living thing that rebelled against the cold and asked the man to build a fire to
melt his blood, so that it would not freeze. Then, based on the strategy, the translator added more
clarity by giving modifier to the blood that flowed, to make the readers not be confused with the
image. Yet, there is no simile part needed because the meaning already clear.
From the sentence “the blood recoiled before it” which translated into “darah di tubuhnya
menyentak diri sang pria” which mean it worked all of the sudden, indirectly London wanted the
readers to know that it was the blood that commanded the man to build a fire over and over
again. Then, when the man did not obey it, his body would freeze and torture him which mean
the blood here assumed as the man‟s soul. So, the translator here did not change the original
image, but only clarified the first sentence, not to translate the word “recoiled” into “melompat”
but “menyentak” which is more sensible with the context. Besides, it is already clear in the ST
about the blood that is compared to the dog, so that the TT does not need a change.
Table 3.10
Personification 2
No.
ST
Paragraph Toes and nose and cheeks would be
21
only touched by the frost, for the fire
TT
Jari-jari kaki, hidung, dan pipi sekarang
mulai menjadi hangat karena api mulai
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was beginning to burn with strength.
menyala semakin kuat. Pria tersebut
He was feeding it with twigs the size
memberi makan api yang kelaparan
of his finger. In another minute he
tersebut dengan ranting-ranting yang
would be able to feed it with branches
seukuran jarinya. Dalam hitungan menit
the size of his wrist.
lainnya, ia memberinya dahan seukuran
pergelangan tangannya.
Feeding is only for human and animal. Here, the fire was assumed as a living thing, like it
was starving and the man had to feed it to make it grew bigger and stronger. London did not just
simply said “the man gave the fire twigs the size of his finger” yet he used the words “feeding it”
to dramatize what the man did, and also to emphasize the fire here was the source of life in the
fearful cold of the Yukon. The fire successfully warmed up the man‟s body and the dog, so that
they relied on it. The translator only changed some sentences yet the meaning is still the same
with the original, and added the words “yang kelaparan” as the modifier, to explain more about
the fire. If the TT was translated precisely with the ST, then the readers will find a little difficulty
to understand the meaning. So, the first sentence above “... only touch by the frost ...” was
changed into “... menjadi hangat ...” because the word “touch” here means like the frost now
could not pierce the man‟s body because the fire was on and had grown stronger. Then, in the ST
it is mentioned that “he was feeding it with ...” and the translator kept the same grammatical
structure because “feeding a fire” was in the same unit. The most important thing is that the
reader will still get the point about the personification of the fire.
Table 3.11
Personification 3
No.
Paragraph
22
ST
TT
There was the fire, snapping and
Di sana ada api yang menggeretak,
crackling and promising life with every
meretih, dan menjanjikan hidup dengan
dancing flame.
setiap nyala apinya yang menari.
Again, the fire here was assumed as the living thing. After the man fed the fire, it danced.
The dancing flame means that the fire wiggled. It did not stand at the same move, it frequently
waves, dip, and bob like dancing. Dancing identically means pleasurable. The fire here brought
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many benefits, and it was compared to the human that can dance. Moreover, it snapped and
cracked. It was like the fire had persuaded the man that it was the one and only source for him
and the dog. That was why the man saw it promised a life. He also kept the fire burning to save
himself. In this short story, the man built a fire for several times. London used many
personifications, especially on the fire, in order to show us the main point on the story, about
how a fire became very important and needed in the middle of the cold. The translator did not
change, but kept the original sense, because the personification in Indonesia has already clear for
the readers. The translator did not add a modifier as well because the words “dancing” or “yang
menari” functioned as the clarity of the object, and there is no other connotation, so the image is
clear. The translator found that sometimes modifier to an object will not be really useful if the
object had explained itself with some information, like for example the adjectives.
Table 3.12
Personification 4
No.
ST
He watched, using the sense of vision
Ia melihat menggunakan indera
in place of that of touch, and when he
penglihatan akan apa yang ia sentuh.
saw his fingers on each side the bunch,
Kemudian, ketika ia melihat jari-jarinya
Paragraph he closed them--that is, he willed to
27
TT
pada sekumpulan korek api, ia
close them, for the wires were drawn,
menutupnya. Ia hendak menutupnya
and the fingers did not obey.
karena ranting-rantingnya terjatuh, namun
jari-jarinya yang kaku tidak mau
menaatinya.
Brain is the one that give command to our bodies to move. The man here wanted to build a
fire that needed his hands to collect the twigs, branches, etc, to turn it on. Yet, his fingers did not
obey because they could not. The coldness had attacked them and made them became frozen and
could not even move. Here, London dramatized the sentence to make the readers really
understand that from the first until the time the man decided to build a fire, his hands were the
most important part, yet unfortunately they could not work. The man here always got a problem
with his hands. Indeed, without them, he could do nothing to help himself from the cold.
Moreover, it was explained that the man used his visions to know where his hands were. It shows
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us that he really lost his sensation on his hands because he had reached his lowest point of life.
We can imagine how stiff the man‟s fingers were until he could not take the fallen twigs. Based
on the strategy theory, the translator only added the words “yang kaku”, as on the table to 3.12,
to clarify the fingers condition. While the rest, the translator more or less translated in the same
way like the original text because it was already clear enough for the readers to understand about
the personification of the man‟s fingers.
Table 3.13
Personification 5
No.
Paragraph
37
ST
TT
This time the shivering came more
Kali ini, rasa menggigil menyerang tubuh
quickly upon the man. He was losing
lelaki itu lebih cepat. Ia kalah dalam
in his battle with the frost. It was
perjuangannya melawan embun beku
creeping into his body from all sides.
yang perlahan merayap ke seluruh bagian
The thought of it drove him on, but he
tubuhnya. Bayangan akan dirinya yang
ran no more than a hundred feet, when
menjadi beku menguasainya, tapi ia tidak
he staggered and pitched headlong. It
berlari lebih dari seratus kaki ketika ia
was his last panic.
mulai berjalan sempoyongan yang
disebabkan oleh pandangannya yang
mulai gelap. Itulah kali terakhir ia
merasakan panik
“He was losing in his battle with the frost. It was creeping into his body from all sides”.
The frost here was assumed as a living thing. It means that the man here had fought against the
frost, which actually is a non-living thing and a part of nature that no human can defeat, and then
lose. Besides, the frost here also assumed as an animal like termite that can creep and infest unto
something and then caused damage. The author here wants the readers to imagine about the
man‟s condition and feeling through the allegory he made, about how vicious the cold he felt.
While actually, the author here simply wanted to say the cold had attacked the man, and then he
wanted to survive until he met his friends. Yet, London wrote it in a different way and gave us
image.
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That was London‟s uniqueness of writing. He wrote those was simply to explain the
readers about the process of how the cold had attacked the main character. The translator here
chose to translate the real meaning to maintain the real sense. The words “merayap” is more
suitable than “menyerang” because it works cruelly and kills slowly. The frost here did not
directly kill the man, but slowly torture his body until he died. London‟s chosen words were
already clear and deep, so the translator used the same sense in Indonesia, the difference is just
the translator merged those two sentences became one phrase to make it clearer and sounds
better.Besides, another modifier was not added because in this phrase the object had already
explained itself clearly.
Table 3.14
Personification 6
No.
ST
TT
Then he scratched the bunch along his Kemudian,
ia
menggoreskan
semua
leg. It flared into flame, seventy batang korek api dengan bantuan kakinya
sulphur matches at once! There was no lalu tidak lama api itu nyala. Tujuh puluh
Paragraph
29
wind to blow them out. He kept his korek api belerang dalam satu goresan!
head to one side to escape the Di sana tidak ada angin yang meniupnya.
strangling fumes, and held the blazing Pria itu menahan kepalanya jauh-jauh
bunch to the birch-bark.
dari
asap
yang
mencekik,
dan
menggenggam seikat korek yang menyala
pada kulit pohon.
The fumes here assumed as a living thing that were able to strangle. The author
intentionally made the fumes strangled to explain the condition to the readers that the man could
not even breathe at that time. It showed that the fumes of fire of the sulphur matches did not only
become smelly or sting but strangle that had attacked the man‟s throat. So, the aroma of the
fumes were more than sting and it had made the man could not breathe and even cough
spasmodically. Here, the word “strangling” has become the modifier for the object itself. Like a
person that can strangle someone‟s neck, the fumes here strangled the man as well. The word
“strangling” here was already became the modifier to the object itself. The translator translated
61
the same meaning as in the ST, and did not add another modifier or word to clarify the object
because the phrase here was already clear and easy to understand for the readers to imagine.
Table 3.15
Personification 7
No.
Paragraph
40
ST
TT
Later, the dog whined loudly. And still
Kemudian, anjing itu melolong keras
later it crept close to the man and
laluterus berjalan perlahan mendekati
caught the scent of death. This made
pria itu dan mencium bau kematian. Hal
the animal bristle and back away. A
ini membuat bulu binatang itu berdiridan
little longer it delayed, howling under
berjalan mundur. Ia memperlambat
the stars that leaped and danced and
langkahnya, melolong di bawah bintang-
shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it
bintang yang melompat, menari serta
turned and trotted up the trail in the
bersinar dengan terang di langit yang
direction of the camp it knew, where
dingin. Kemudian, ia memutuskan untuk
were the other food-providers and fire-
berbalik dan berlari kecil ke arah
providers.
perkemahan dimana ia tahu bahwa di situ
tersedia banyak makanan juga api.
The stars here are assumed as living things that not only shine but leap and dance as well.
As we know, only humans can do those things. When humans leap and dance, it shows that they
are happy because of something. In this part, this happened after the man died and the dog
wanted to continue the trip to find the camp. This allegory seems contrast with the man‟s
condition. At the beginning, the story told us the day was dark and the sky was very clear, but at
the end, when the man was near with the location, and then he died, the sky was bright even the
stars were there and seemed happy. It sounds the opposite. Death should have miserable and
painful situation with sense of darkness, not joyful and bright.
After noticing this point, the translator chose to translate it by maintaining the original
meaning in order to keep the original sense. The sense here is already clear, so it is not a problem
to translate it precisely.Like the words “the cold sky”, the translator chose to translate it to
“langit yang suram” because it referred to the condition of a sky. The sky with lack of affection,
and its color was pale blue showing no impression of warmth. This is to show the readers that the
62
sky was still the same from the beginning, and then now it was grieving related to the death of
the man. The translator replaced the word “cold” with “suram” because the readers will be
confused to think about how “cold sky” will be like. So, it is better to clarify the words meaning
directly.
From Shahabi and Roberto‟s three procedures in translating personification, there is only
one that the translator chose and used. It is translation of personification to simile with seven
elements has been discussed above. During the annotation, the translator found this procedure
was very helpful by giving another modifier to the object in order to make it clearer. Yet,
sometimes there were objects which did not need any modifier anymore because there were
already the adjectives or information that have explained the object itself. Besides, even though
the name is “personification to simile” procedure there is no word “as or like” as the main
characteristic of simile. It is not appropriate with the name, but after all this procedure is useful.
CHAPTER III
ANNOTATION
London‟s To Build A Fire story was rich of figurative language. During the translation
project, there are many elements found, but only fifteen figurative languages were chosen and
analyzed in order to know the story deeper than what can be seen, and also to enrich the
knowledge about figurative language especially from other cultures. Those fifteen elements
consist of three metaphors, five similes, and seven personifications. According to two different
theories which were used during the annotation, those figurative languages were divided and
analyzed according to the experts‟ focuses. The first is the translation of metaphor by Newmark
(1988) and the second is translation of personification by Shahabi and Roberto (2015).
A.
METAPHOR AND SIMILE
From Newmark‟s seven procedures of translating metaphors (88-91), there are only four
that were used during the annotation. Those procedures are reproducing the same image in the
TL, translation of metaphor by simile, translation of metaphor (or simile) by simile plus sense
and conversion of metaphor to sense. There are eight elements were discussed; three metaphors
and five similes.
1. Reproducing the same image in the TL
This procedure is the most commonly used. In this story, there are five elements using this
procedure of translating metaphor. They are one metaphor and four similes.
Table 3.1
Metaphor 1
No.
ST
TT
North and south, as far as his eye could
Sejauh matanya memandang ke utara dan
see, it was unbroken white, save for a
selatan, yang terlihat hanyalah warna
Paragraph dark hair-line that curved and twisted
3
putih. Di sana terdapat garis rambut
from around the spruce-covered island
berwarna hitam yang membengkok dan
to the south, and that curved and
membelit di sekitar pulau yang tertutup
twisted away into the north, where it
dengan pohon-pohon cemara mengarah
47
disappeared behind another spruce-
ke selatan, dan ke utara dimana garis itu
covered island.
tidak dapat dilihat lagi dari sisi lain pulau.
Object: The trail
Image: Dark hair-line
Sense: The twisted path covered with spruce trees.
The island in the Yukon in table 3.1 was represented as someone‟s head. It was round and
the man should climb the high earth-bank which showed the top part of a head. Besides, it is told
that this island was covered with spruce trees which London compared to the hair of someone‟s
head. Then, a hair has its line which is narrow and long, and so was the trail in Yukon island. In
our imaginations, this was a narrow, long, and dark trail because of the spruce that was located
around the trail. The author used this comparison because it fit with the condition of the island,
and how the man walked up and down through the trails. Like fleas walk in hair.
The author here used metaphor to add the aesthetic value to the readers. He used “dark” to
complete the image of the trail. In the imagination, this idea leads people to think the hair color
was dark or maybe black, because the tree trunk is mostly black. The translator here chose the
word “hitam” rather than “gelap” to directly explain about the condition of the trail. By adding
more information about the color of the head, the readers will understand about how narrow and
dark the trail was. The translator also kept the same image, so that the TT will not lose the
original sense in the ST.
Table 3.2
Simile 1
No.
ST
TT
Once, coming around a bend, he shied Suatu kali, tibalah ia pada sebuah
abruptly, like a startled horse, curved tikungan. Pria itu merasa malu. Seperti
Paragraph away from the place where he had kuda yang terkejut, ia membelok jauh
12
been walking, and retreated several dari tempat yang telah dilalui, dan
paces back along the trail.
mondar-mandir kebingungan di
sepanjang jalan.
48
Object
: The man
Image
: A startled horse
Resemblance : Panic and confused with the new line
When a horse frighten, it suddenly becomes panic, and it will jump and run spasmodically.
A horse usually startles because of something like unfamiliar situations, unexpected trail
obstacles, or unusual things around (Johnson, “Startling, Shying, Spooking, and Skittishness in
Horses”). When horses are under stress, they do that involuntarily, and they can not control
startle response(“Horse Charming: Startle Response” 5). So, the characteristics of horse here are
applied on the man. When he arrived at a bend, he was shocked and confused. He ran, back and
forth, was panic, and scared. By comparing the man and a horse, the author wanted us to imagine
a man startled like a horse, so that we know the situation. The purpose of this metaphor is to
make the text more colorful, and dramatic, and also to add some aesthetic value to the story.
The translator here tried to use the same meaning as in the ST because the image was
already clear enough to be understood. At first, the translator wanted to translate precisely with
the words “retreated several paces back along the trail” became “mundur beberapa langkah
berbalik dari jalan kecil” yet finally the words “mondar-mandir” or walking back and forth is
smoother and does not sound stiff, as on the table 3.2. Moreover, it is match to represent how
someone in a panic andconfused while thinking about the direction of a trail. It leaves a nervous
impression to the readers about the man, like thinking of something but get nothing to do.
Table 3.3
Simile 2
No.
ST
TT
He started to untie his moccasins. They Kemudian, ia mulai membuka tali sepatu
were coated with ice; the thick German kulitnya. Kedua sepatunya berlapis es;
socks were like sheaths of iron half- kaos kaki Jermannya yang tebal menjadi
Paragraph way to the knees; and the moccasin berat
22
bagaikan
sarung
besi
yang
strings were like rods of steel all tingginya mencapai lutut; dan tali sepatu
twisted and knotted as by some kulitnya juga rapuh seperti batang baja
conflagration.
yang bengkok-bengkok dan tersimpul
oleh amukan api.
49
Object
: Thick German socks and the moccasin strings
Image
: Sheaths of iron and rods of steel
Resemblance : The quality
The German socks half-way to the knees is compared with iron. The characteristics of iron,
which resembles the German socks, are less brittle, strong, and can handle the high temperature
(Calvert, “Properties of Iron”). Then, the moccasin strings were compared to the rods of steel
which is lighter yet stronger can also be easily shaped. Behind the similes that London wrote
here, there might be the opposite meaning with the things he compared to. The condition of the
situation here is when the man became frozen more, while he needed his feet to walk. As we
know, the quality of iron and steel is good because they are strong and heavy enough to be used,
but can not protect someone from the cold. Yet, what the author meant here that the thick
Germans socks and the moccasin strings were not as good as what it seemed when they are
against the harsh nature. They were thin, and could pierce the man‟s body.
To help the readers to understand about the purpose, the translator added a word to explain
the meaning. From the ST there is already the word “thick” to compare the socks with the iron
which “thick” means “tebal” considering the iron is something thick and heavy. Then, there is no
characteristic explanation about the moccasin strings and the steel. Based on the quality of steel
above, the translator added the word “rapuh”, as on the table 3.3 to make the sentences clearer
about the resemblance, and the translator did not change the image to keep the original sense.
Table 3.4
Simile 3
No.
ST
TT
But no sensation was aroused in the Akan tetapi, ia tetap tidak bisa merasakan
hands. He had an impression that they tangannya. Pria itu berpikir bahwa kedua
Paragraph
33
hung like weights on the ends of his tangannya tersebut menggantung seperti
arms, but when he tried to run the batu timbangan di ujung lengannya.
impression down, he could not find it.
Namun,
ketika
ia
mencoba
menghilangkan pikiran itu, ia tidak dapat
menemukannya.
50
Object
: The man‟s hands
Image
: Weight
Resemblance : Heavy
Before the man thought his hands were hanging like weights, he was aware the cold had
brutally frozen his body and hands until he did not know where his hands were. The man here
found his hands like weights that hung at the end of his arms which was as heavy as scales with
its weight. Landon compared the man‟s hands with weights which mean his hands at that time
were more than stiff. It was dead, and not working. He could not even sense his own hands
because the cold had reached the lowest point, and could make himself lost his hands. The
resemblance picture that the author might found come from the form of a scale which is almost
the same with the arms of the man, with the hands as the weights. He used this allegory because
of the same characteristics, also to help readers understand how heavy the man‟s hands were and
compared it with weights.
There are many kinds of weights in a market world, but it became a pair of scales, or
“neraca” in Indonesian when we imagine a man‟s hands. So, like on the table 3.4, the translator
directly translated the word “weights” with “anak timbangan neraca” which is often used in
many places, and easier to be understood by the readers. Besides, it isbecause when the man lost
the sensation of his hands, they became more than pins and needles, or a tingling sensation.
When we get a tingling sensation, for example, on our feet, we will heavily move them because
we feel pain. While the man here felt the numbness on his hands, which was nearly died and hard
to be felt even moved.
Table 3.5
Simile 4
No.
Paragraph37
ST
TT
With this new-found peace of mind
Dalam kepasrahan sebagaimana
came the first glimmerings of
tubuhnya mati rasa, ada kedamaian yang
drowsiness. A good idea, he
muncul dalam rasa kantuknya. Ia ingin
thought, to sleep off to death. It was
tertidur hingga mati. Ide yang bagus,
like taking an anesthetic. Freezing
pikirnya. Ini sama saja seperti meminum
was not so bad as people thought.
obat bius. Ternyata, membeku tidak
51
There were lots worse ways to die.
seburuk yang orang-orang pikirkan.
Masih ada banyak cara lain yang lebih
buruk untuk mati.
Object
: Sleep off to death
Image
: Anesthetic
Resemblance : Lossing of bodily sensation
Simile in table 3.5 describes the man planned to sleep until he died. He knew that he was
near to death, so he thought that he would die without noticing it. Anesthetic is used to make
someone unable to feel pain and causes temporary loss of bodily sensation in surgical operation.
When someone needs an anesthetic, it is because unbearable pain will attack the body. London
here wanted to show us the coldness sensation the man felt had the same equality with the
surgical operation. The difference is just the anesthetic here was the coldness itself that could
make the man lose his consciousness and then attack him. So, he decided to sleep to make him
not feel the pain anymore. At the end, he did not think about the dignity anymore. He felt it was
better to die, so he could release his pain.
The translator did not replace the words with different meaning in Indonesia. It is very
clear to use “obat bius” to represent the parable that the author wanted to show. “Obat bius” here
has deeper meaning than “obat tidur” which only has a temporary effect. London here wanted to
show that anesthetic has permanent effect that can even make someone numb. Yet, to make the
text better, the translator only added some words at the beginning of the sentence like “dalam
kepasrahannya” to explain the man‟s condition or process before showing his minds about sleep
off to death, and imagined it as an anesthetic also forgot about his dignity.
2. Translation of metaphor by simile
This is the second procedure used during the annotation. There is only one element will be
discussed and it is a metaphor which later change into a simile.
52
Table 3.6
Metaphor 2
No.
Paragraph
16
ST
TT
On the other hand, there was keen
Di sisi lain, terdapat sebuah hubungan
intimacy between the dog and the man.
dekat di antara anjing dengan sang pria.
The one was the toil-slave of the other,
Seperti budak yang bekerja keras untuk
and the only caresses it had ever
tuannya, dan satu-satunya kasih sayang
received were the caresses of the whip-
yang ia terima yaitu suara sang pria yang
lash and of harsh and menacing throat-
berbunyi seperti pukulan cambuk, yang
sounds that threatened the whip-lash.
kasar serta penuh ancaman
Object
: The man‟s voice
Image
: Whip-lash
Resemblance : Loud, harsh, painful
The statement above contained two expressions with figurative language. The first one is
irony where the author made the opposite of “caresses” and referred to “whip-lash”, and second
is the metaphor of sound of the man‟s voice towards the dog. When we talk about caresses, it
should be something loving or occurred because of something sweet. Yet, London here used the
opposite meaning which the words “caresses” means something hateful and cruel that referred to
the man‟s voice. The author saw the man‟s voice here like the sound of whip-lash. When we hear
the sound, it is identical with punishment and it caused an injury (Merriam Webster, “Definition
of Whiplash”). It is scary because the whip-lash is loud, harsh, and painful. Here we see the dog
obeyed the man because he was the food and fire provider yet actually there was no love for the
dog, only a violence from the man.
By comparing the whip-lash with the man‟s voice, we can presume how the man‟s voice
was. It was loud and harsh because the man was shouting or yelling towards the dog, like getting
very angry. Then, at the dog‟s ear, the man‟s voice here was not only loud and harsh, but also
full of threat. The translator here changed the metaphor into simile to make the allegory became
clearer. If the sentencewas translated the same like the original, then the readers may become a
bit confused with “suara cambukan” and it possibly became ambiguous. So here, the translator
only omitted some words and rearranged the sentences, so that the readers can easily understand
that the sound of whip-lash is referred to the voice of the man.
53
3. Translation of metaphor (or simile) by simile plus sense
For this procedure, there is only one element and it is a simile that has its explanation or
sense after the expression is stated.
Table 3.7
Simile 5
No.
Paragraph
37
ST
TT
When he had recovered his breath and
Ketika ia bernapas dengan teratur, dan
control, he sat up and entertained inhis
terkendali, ia duduk dan menghibur
mind the conception of meeting death
dirinya dengan gambaran“mati secara
with dignity. However, the conception
terhormat”. Namun, gambaran itu tidak
did not come to him in such terms.
sesuai dengan ekspektasinya. Pikiran
His idea of it was that he had been
tentangitu justru membuat dirinya terlihat
making a fool of himself, running
bodoh, seperti ayam yang berlarian
around like a chicken with its head cut
dengan kepala terputus, demikianlah
off--such was the simile that occurred
orang yang sangat sibuk mencari jalan
to him. Well, he was bound to freeze
keluar dan langsung saja melakukan
anyway, and he might as well take it
tanpa berpikir terlebih dulu. Yang ada
decently.
dipikiran laki-laki tersebut adalah ia akan
tetap membeku, dan ia mungkin mulai
ikhlas menerima keadaannya.
Object
: The man‟s idea about “death with dignity”
Image
: A chicken with its head cut of
Resemblance : Vanity
Thing that was compared to a head of chicken here could be a dignity. Dignity for the man
was like the most important part of his body, like the head that can lead his moves. The old-timer
had told him not to travel in the coldness of the snow, and he was about to admit it was right. All
people know only a fool that want to travel alone in the middle of the tremendous cold. Other
than that, in English idiom, “a headless chicken” means busy doing many things so quickly
54
without thinking carefully, or can be disorganized and uncontrolled (Cambridge Dictionary,
“Meaning of „run round like a headless chicken”), and so did the man. Here, he was busy to find
a way to survive yet his mind was silly and foolish, besides it did not work. For the addition, the
man here might feel very ashamed of himself because of his own thought and what he had done.
While at the end, it became vanity as he lost his dignity as a man. That was the resemblance that
the author found.
On the table 3.7, at first, the translator tried to use the first procedure; reproducing the same
image in the TL. Yet, after searching many references, this idiom might sound strange and
confusing for the readers. There is no such term in Indonesia. They will not know about the
meaning of it. Then, to make it easier the translator decided to translate it by keeping the original
imageand added the sense of it, so the readers will understand about the idiom with its
meaning.By using this procedure, it will also enrich the knowledge about English idioms for
many Indonesians, especially those who are interested to figurative language.
4. Conversion of metaphor to sense
There is only one metaphor using this procedure. It is a metaphor which later is changed into
a form of sense, so that the expression will be clearer.
Table 3.8
Metaphor 3
No.
ST
TT
He held on through the level stretch of Pria itu berjalan beberapa mil di atas
Paragraph
9
woods for several miles, crossed a potongan-potongankayu tumbang,
wide flat of niggerheads, and dropped menyeberangi tanah bebatuan luas, dan
down a bank to the frozen bed of a menjatuhkan tanah ke dasar sungai aliran
small stream.
Object
: Rocks
Image
: A wide flat of nigger-heads
Sense
: Roundish, black, and hard
kecil yang beku.
Based on Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, “nigger-heads” or „negro head‟ is applied to
various black or dark-colored roundish objects, while in the US (informal) it means any hard
55
black rock, or stone (Collin, “Definition of Niggerhead”). From those definitions, here we see the
resemblance between the head of negro with the stones. They were roundish, black and also
hard. This term might become the English idiom which is strange in some country. London here
tried to explain the condition of the place, about what kind of place that the man had passed. He
found many resemblances on this thing, so he used this idiom to color the language. Many
people outside English countries do not know about „nigger-heads‟ term. So, here the translator
did not translate it the same way with the original image but directly mentioned the sense or
meaning,to make the readers easily know and understand about the sentences.
As the translator has mentioned before, Newmark has seven procedures, yet only four were
used during the annotation. Then, from the four procedures which are used above, the most
frequently used procedure is reproducing the same image in the TL with five of eight elements
(metaphors and similes). His theories are helpful and easy to be applied during the annotation.
B.
PERSONIFICATION
The other figurative language found in To Build A Fire story is personification. According
to three procedures of translating personification by Shahabi and Roberto (4-5), there is only one
procedure used for seven personifications that will be discussed below.
1. Translation of personification to simile
On Shahabi and Roberto‟s procedures of translating personification, they were focused more
on animal as the object on each strategy, but it did not rule out the possibility for other
objects.The translator tried to adapt and modify their theories due to some incompatibility.
There are seven personifications found in this story.
56
Table 3.9
Personification 1
No.
Paragraph
20
ST
TT
The blood of his body recoiled before
Darah yang mengalir di tubuhnya
it. The blood was alive, like the dog,
menyentak diri sang pria. Darah itu
and like the dog it wanted to hide away hidup, seperti anjing yang ingin
and cover itself up from the fearful
bersembunyi dan melindungi dirinya dari
cold.
dingin yang menakutkan.
The blood here became the living thing because it was compared to the dog that wanted
warmth. The one of the blood functions is as the regulator of body temperature. It is because
there is an oxidation system that resulted the heat of the body. If the oxidation system does not
work well, then the body temperature will become worse (Sari, “10 Fungsi Darah pada
Manusia”). In the man‟s condition, his blood did not work well at that time. London chose the
blood here as a living thing that rebelled against the cold and asked the man to build a fire to
melt his blood, so that it would not freeze. Then, based on the strategy, the translator added more
clarity by giving modifier to the blood that flowed, to make the readers not be confused with the
image. Yet, there is no simile part needed because the meaning already clear.
From the sentence “the blood recoiled before it” which translated into “darah di tubuhnya
menyentak diri sang pria” which mean it worked all of the sudden, indirectly London wanted the
readers to know that it was the blood that commanded the man to build a fire over and over
again. Then, when the man did not obey it, his body would freeze and torture him which mean
the blood here assumed as the man‟s soul. So, the translator here did not change the original
image, but only clarified the first sentence, not to translate the word “recoiled” into “melompat”
but “menyentak” which is more sensible with the context. Besides, it is already clear in the ST
about the blood that is compared to the dog, so that the TT does not need a change.
Table 3.10
Personification 2
No.
ST
Paragraph Toes and nose and cheeks would be
21
only touched by the frost, for the fire
TT
Jari-jari kaki, hidung, dan pipi sekarang
mulai menjadi hangat karena api mulai
57
was beginning to burn with strength.
menyala semakin kuat. Pria tersebut
He was feeding it with twigs the size
memberi makan api yang kelaparan
of his finger. In another minute he
tersebut dengan ranting-ranting yang
would be able to feed it with branches
seukuran jarinya. Dalam hitungan menit
the size of his wrist.
lainnya, ia memberinya dahan seukuran
pergelangan tangannya.
Feeding is only for human and animal. Here, the fire was assumed as a living thing, like it
was starving and the man had to feed it to make it grew bigger and stronger. London did not just
simply said “the man gave the fire twigs the size of his finger” yet he used the words “feeding it”
to dramatize what the man did, and also to emphasize the fire here was the source of life in the
fearful cold of the Yukon. The fire successfully warmed up the man‟s body and the dog, so that
they relied on it. The translator only changed some sentences yet the meaning is still the same
with the original, and added the words “yang kelaparan” as the modifier, to explain more about
the fire. If the TT was translated precisely with the ST, then the readers will find a little difficulty
to understand the meaning. So, the first sentence above “... only touch by the frost ...” was
changed into “... menjadi hangat ...” because the word “touch” here means like the frost now
could not pierce the man‟s body because the fire was on and had grown stronger. Then, in the ST
it is mentioned that “he was feeding it with ...” and the translator kept the same grammatical
structure because “feeding a fire” was in the same unit. The most important thing is that the
reader will still get the point about the personification of the fire.
Table 3.11
Personification 3
No.
Paragraph
22
ST
TT
There was the fire, snapping and
Di sana ada api yang menggeretak,
crackling and promising life with every
meretih, dan menjanjikan hidup dengan
dancing flame.
setiap nyala apinya yang menari.
Again, the fire here was assumed as the living thing. After the man fed the fire, it danced.
The dancing flame means that the fire wiggled. It did not stand at the same move, it frequently
waves, dip, and bob like dancing. Dancing identically means pleasurable. The fire here brought
58
many benefits, and it was compared to the human that can dance. Moreover, it snapped and
cracked. It was like the fire had persuaded the man that it was the one and only source for him
and the dog. That was why the man saw it promised a life. He also kept the fire burning to save
himself. In this short story, the man built a fire for several times. London used many
personifications, especially on the fire, in order to show us the main point on the story, about
how a fire became very important and needed in the middle of the cold. The translator did not
change, but kept the original sense, because the personification in Indonesia has already clear for
the readers. The translator did not add a modifier as well because the words “dancing” or “yang
menari” functioned as the clarity of the object, and there is no other connotation, so the image is
clear. The translator found that sometimes modifier to an object will not be really useful if the
object had explained itself with some information, like for example the adjectives.
Table 3.12
Personification 4
No.
ST
He watched, using the sense of vision
Ia melihat menggunakan indera
in place of that of touch, and when he
penglihatan akan apa yang ia sentuh.
saw his fingers on each side the bunch,
Kemudian, ketika ia melihat jari-jarinya
Paragraph he closed them--that is, he willed to
27
TT
pada sekumpulan korek api, ia
close them, for the wires were drawn,
menutupnya. Ia hendak menutupnya
and the fingers did not obey.
karena ranting-rantingnya terjatuh, namun
jari-jarinya yang kaku tidak mau
menaatinya.
Brain is the one that give command to our bodies to move. The man here wanted to build a
fire that needed his hands to collect the twigs, branches, etc, to turn it on. Yet, his fingers did not
obey because they could not. The coldness had attacked them and made them became frozen and
could not even move. Here, London dramatized the sentence to make the readers really
understand that from the first until the time the man decided to build a fire, his hands were the
most important part, yet unfortunately they could not work. The man here always got a problem
with his hands. Indeed, without them, he could do nothing to help himself from the cold.
Moreover, it was explained that the man used his visions to know where his hands were. It shows
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us that he really lost his sensation on his hands because he had reached his lowest point of life.
We can imagine how stiff the man‟s fingers were until he could not take the fallen twigs. Based
on the strategy theory, the translator only added the words “yang kaku”, as on the table to 3.12,
to clarify the fingers condition. While the rest, the translator more or less translated in the same
way like the original text because it was already clear enough for the readers to understand about
the personification of the man‟s fingers.
Table 3.13
Personification 5
No.
Paragraph
37
ST
TT
This time the shivering came more
Kali ini, rasa menggigil menyerang tubuh
quickly upon the man. He was losing
lelaki itu lebih cepat. Ia kalah dalam
in his battle with the frost. It was
perjuangannya melawan embun beku
creeping into his body from all sides.
yang perlahan merayap ke seluruh bagian
The thought of it drove him on, but he
tubuhnya. Bayangan akan dirinya yang
ran no more than a hundred feet, when
menjadi beku menguasainya, tapi ia tidak
he staggered and pitched headlong. It
berlari lebih dari seratus kaki ketika ia
was his last panic.
mulai berjalan sempoyongan yang
disebabkan oleh pandangannya yang
mulai gelap. Itulah kali terakhir ia
merasakan panik
“He was losing in his battle with the frost. It was creeping into his body from all sides”.
The frost here was assumed as a living thing. It means that the man here had fought against the
frost, which actually is a non-living thing and a part of nature that no human can defeat, and then
lose. Besides, the frost here also assumed as an animal like termite that can creep and infest unto
something and then caused damage. The author here wants the readers to imagine about the
man‟s condition and feeling through the allegory he made, about how vicious the cold he felt.
While actually, the author here simply wanted to say the cold had attacked the man, and then he
wanted to survive until he met his friends. Yet, London wrote it in a different way and gave us
image.
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That was London‟s uniqueness of writing. He wrote those was simply to explain the
readers about the process of how the cold had attacked the main character. The translator here
chose to translate the real meaning to maintain the real sense. The words “merayap” is more
suitable than “menyerang” because it works cruelly and kills slowly. The frost here did not
directly kill the man, but slowly torture his body until he died. London‟s chosen words were
already clear and deep, so the translator used the same sense in Indonesia, the difference is just
the translator merged those two sentences became one phrase to make it clearer and sounds
better.Besides, another modifier was not added because in this phrase the object had already
explained itself clearly.
Table 3.14
Personification 6
No.
ST
TT
Then he scratched the bunch along his Kemudian,
ia
menggoreskan
semua
leg. It flared into flame, seventy batang korek api dengan bantuan kakinya
sulphur matches at once! There was no lalu tidak lama api itu nyala. Tujuh puluh
Paragraph
29
wind to blow them out. He kept his korek api belerang dalam satu goresan!
head to one side to escape the Di sana tidak ada angin yang meniupnya.
strangling fumes, and held the blazing Pria itu menahan kepalanya jauh-jauh
bunch to the birch-bark.
dari
asap
yang
mencekik,
dan
menggenggam seikat korek yang menyala
pada kulit pohon.
The fumes here assumed as a living thing that were able to strangle. The author
intentionally made the fumes strangled to explain the condition to the readers that the man could
not even breathe at that time. It showed that the fumes of fire of the sulphur matches did not only
become smelly or sting but strangle that had attacked the man‟s throat. So, the aroma of the
fumes were more than sting and it had made the man could not breathe and even cough
spasmodically. Here, the word “strangling” has become the modifier for the object itself. Like a
person that can strangle someone‟s neck, the fumes here strangled the man as well. The word
“strangling” here was already became the modifier to the object itself. The translator translated
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the same meaning as in the ST, and did not add another modifier or word to clarify the object
because the phrase here was already clear and easy to understand for the readers to imagine.
Table 3.15
Personification 7
No.
Paragraph
40
ST
TT
Later, the dog whined loudly. And still
Kemudian, anjing itu melolong keras
later it crept close to the man and
laluterus berjalan perlahan mendekati
caught the scent of death. This made
pria itu dan mencium bau kematian. Hal
the animal bristle and back away. A
ini membuat bulu binatang itu berdiridan
little longer it delayed, howling under
berjalan mundur. Ia memperlambat
the stars that leaped and danced and
langkahnya, melolong di bawah bintang-
shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it
bintang yang melompat, menari serta
turned and trotted up the trail in the
bersinar dengan terang di langit yang
direction of the camp it knew, where
dingin. Kemudian, ia memutuskan untuk
were the other food-providers and fire-
berbalik dan berlari kecil ke arah
providers.
perkemahan dimana ia tahu bahwa di situ
tersedia banyak makanan juga api.
The stars here are assumed as living things that not only shine but leap and dance as well.
As we know, only humans can do those things. When humans leap and dance, it shows that they
are happy because of something. In this part, this happened after the man died and the dog
wanted to continue the trip to find the camp. This allegory seems contrast with the man‟s
condition. At the beginning, the story told us the day was dark and the sky was very clear, but at
the end, when the man was near with the location, and then he died, the sky was bright even the
stars were there and seemed happy. It sounds the opposite. Death should have miserable and
painful situation with sense of darkness, not joyful and bright.
After noticing this point, the translator chose to translate it by maintaining the original
meaning in order to keep the original sense. The sense here is already clear, so it is not a problem
to translate it precisely.Like the words “the cold sky”, the translator chose to translate it to
“langit yang suram” because it referred to the condition of a sky. The sky with lack of affection,
and its color was pale blue showing no impression of warmth. This is to show the readers that the
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sky was still the same from the beginning, and then now it was grieving related to the death of
the man. The translator replaced the word “cold” with “suram” because the readers will be
confused to think about how “cold sky” will be like. So, it is better to clarify the words meaning
directly.
From Shahabi and Roberto‟s three procedures in translating personification, there is only
one that the translator chose and used. It is translation of personification to simile with seven
elements has been discussed above. During the annotation, the translator found this procedure
was very helpful by giving another modifier to the object in order to make it clearer. Yet,
sometimes there were objects which did not need any modifier anymore because there were
already the adjectives or information that have explained the object itself. Besides, even though
the name is “personification to simile” procedure there is no word “as or like” as the main
characteristic of simile. It is not appropriate with the name, but after all this procedure is useful.