The Portrayal of The Protagonist in 'The Penny' By Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford.
ABSTRACT
Di dalam tesis ini, saya menganalisis karakteristik tokoh utama dari novel
yang berjudul The Penny karangan Joyce Meyer dan Deborah Bedford. Setelah
membaca dan menganalis novel tersebut saya mendapati bahwa tokoh utama dari
novel ini, Jenny Black, memiliki karakter yang round dan dynamic. Ia memiliki
banyak karakteristik yang mengalami perubahan. Pada awalnya, ia digambarkan
sebagai seorang yang mempunyai sedikit pengetahuan tentang Tuhan. Selain itu,
siksaan dan perlakuan semena-mena dari keluarga, terutama sang ayah,
menyebabkan ia menjadi seorang yang tidak percaya diri, penyendiri, tidak bisa
mempercayai orang lain. Namun, di pertengahan cerita, Jenny mengalami
perubahan karakter. Hal ini disebabkan oleh pertemuan dan pengenalan pribadi
akan Tuhan. Ia menjadi seorang yang beriman pada Tuhan dan hal ini
membuatnya menjadi seorang yang percaya diri, terbuka dan bisa mempercayai
orang lain.
Kedua penulis novel ini beragama Kristen. Tujuan mereka dalam
penulisan novel ini adalah untuk menunjukkan pada pembaca bahwa sebuah
keputusan untuk menerima Tuhan dapat mengubah kehidupan seseorang secara
total dan menjadi lebih baik. Pengenalan akan Tuhan bisa membantu seseorang
untuk mengampuni dan lepas dari trauma di masa lalu.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ...........................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................2
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................2
Method of Research ...................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis .........................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: THE PORTRAYAL OF THE
PROTAGONIST IN THE PENNY
BY JOYCE MEYER AND DEBORAH BEDFORD ............................4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ................................................................17
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................22
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Penny.............................................................................24
Biography of Joyce Meyer .......................................................................25
Biography of Deborah Bedford ...............................................................26
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Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Penny
Jenny Black is a young girl. Since the age of 14, she has to live a horrible
abusive life. Her father often creeps into her bedroom at night, and her mother
pretends not to know about it. Even Jean, her sister cannot do anything to help
her. Those horrible conditions make her traumatic.
The condition becomes worse because Jenny has no one to rely on to help
her and to share her problems with. Firstly, it is because of her terrible life. She
does not value herself as she feels ashamed and embarrassed, so that she keeps
herself away from socializing and she is having difficulty of trusting other people.
However, one day when she is on the way to watch a Grace Kelly movie,
she picks a penny on the asphalt that causes a series of events that change her life
forever. She knows that if she wants to be free from the abusive pattern of her
family, she has to be healed from her pain, and it means she has to forgive her
parents like God who has forgiven her. Even though there seems to be no hope,
Jenny never gives up, and slowly but surely Jenny learns about forgiveness by
trying to understand and accept the reality why her parent hurt her. Finally,
through a time-consuming process and support from people around her, she can
forgive her parent and her life becomes so much better.
24
Biography of Joyce Meyer
Pauline Joyce Hutchison Meyer, more commonly known as Joyce Meyer,
was born in 1943 in Missouri, USA. She is one of the world’s leading practical
Bible teachers. She is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, who has
written more than seventy inspirational books concerned with the search for
strength, confidence, belief, and faith in oneself by makes a close relationship
with God, including Look Great, Feel Great; the entire Battlefield of the Mind
family of books; and many others. She has also released thousands of audio
teaching materials as well as complete video libraries. Joyce’s Enjoying Everyday
Life radio and television programmers are broadcasted around the world, and she
travels extensively to conduct conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are
parents of four grown-up children and they make their home in St. Louis,
Missouri, USA.
Joyce Meyer often talks about the abuse she suffered as a child. She was
sexually, mentally, physically abused, and she experienced failure in her first
marriage. She uses her personal setbacks as real life examples of the power of
God in overcoming the hardships of life. A number of Meyer’s books speak out to
women. For example, in her book The Confident Woman, Meyer teaches women
to find strength in God and look to Him for answers.
Source:
“A Biography of Christian Author Joyce Meyer”, “Joyce Meyer Biography”
25
Biography of Deborah Bedford
Deborah Bedford was born in Fort Worth, Texas, grew up in Richardson,
Texas and earned her degree in journalism and a minor in marketing from Texas
A&M University. She is an award-winning novelist, whose novels have been
published in fifteen different countries and in a dozen different languages. She
and her husband, Jack, live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA with their two
children. She began her career as a romance writer but now she writes women’s
fiction that stirs readers’ hearts and points them towards hope in God. She also
writes inspirational books, such as A Rose by the Door, A Morning Like This,
When You Believe and Remember Me.
A turning point in Bedford's career came when in a sermon, her minister
convinced her that books with premarital sex scenes in them did not serve God,
and that she had compromised her religious beliefs for success by being a
romance novelist. She finally decided to write inspirational, Christian romances
from then on. Since 2001, her novels have focused on characters who find
forgiveness and renewal when they have to undergo painful experiences and
decisions.
Source:
“Deborah Bedford”, “Biography”
26
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Joyce Meyer is a Christian motivational speaker and best-selling nonfiction author. She is also internationally known as a celebrated author, speaker
and television personality (“The Penny: Joyce Meyer”). Although she has written
a number of Christian books on various topics, The Penny is her first novel, in
which she works with a best-selling fiction author, Deborah Bedford (“Joyce
Meyer: The Cost of a Penny”).
I choose to analyze The Penny by Joyce Meyer with Deborah Bedford
for my thesis because I find that the characteristics of the protagonist in this novel,
Jenny Blake, are interesting and “The situation in the novel itself is so well
depicted” (Conrad), because it is based on Meyer’s own life. The story of The
Penny revolves around a fourteen-year-old girl named Jenny. Jenny is a victim of
a hereditary abusive pattern in her family. She is sexually, mentally and physically
abused by her own family members, especially her father. However, through the
hard life, there is a point that “leads Jenny into a personal relationship with Jesus
that gives her strength to confront her father and break the pattern of
1
Maranatha Christian University
abuse in her family” (“Joyce Meyer: The Cost of a Penny”). The struggle and the
development of the characteristics of the protagonist make this novel more
interesting but still easy to read. Jenny’s characteristics here emphasize the
essence of Christianity and the need to forgive which becomes the main issue in
this novel. “This book is definitely a story of hope, courage, and God’s redeeming
love for us. It’s about the process and courage of giving God control over our
lives. Giving control to no one else but Him” (Nora).
As Robert in Writing about Literature has mentioned, a character is “a
verbal representation of a human being as presented to us by authors through the
depiction of action, conversations, descriptions, reactions, inner thoughts and
reflections, and also through the authors’ own interpretative commentary” (66).
Therefore, I decide to analyze the portrayal of the character because this novel
tells about a young girl who has a difficult life but she is highly determined to
have a better life and break the pattern of abuse in her family.
Statement of the Problem
1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the novel?
2. What is the purpose of the author in creating such a protagonist in the
novel?
Purpose of the Study
1. To show how the protagonist is portrayed in the novel.
2. To show the purpose of the author in creating such a protagonist in the
novel.
2
Maranatha Christian University
Method of Research
I use library research in writing this thesis. I begin by reading The Penny
by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford as the primary text. Furthermore, I gather
some resources and references taken from books and the Internet to support my
analysis. Finally, I draw some conclusions from what has been discussed.
Organization of the Thesis
I divide this thesis into three chapters, which is preceded by the
Acknowledgement, the Table of Contents and the Abstract. Chapter One is the
Introduction which consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the
Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization
of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the Portrayal of the Protagonist by Joyce Meyer and
Deborah Bedford. The last chapter, Chapter Three is the Conclusion of what has
been discussed in the previous chapter. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and
the Appendices, which contain the Synopsis of The Penny and the Biographies of
Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist in The Penny, I would like
to draw some conclusions. There is a young fourteen-year-old girl named Jenny
Black, who undergoes a horrible condition in her house, supposedly the safest
place for her. However, she is sexually, mentally and physically abused by her
own family members, especially her father. This novel shows that Jenny is the
victim of a collateral abusive pattern in her family, because the cycle of abuse can
run further to the next generation. Jenny’s grandfather abuses her father, and her
father abuses her even worse. Moreover, the situation becomes worse because her
mother and her sister cannot do anything to help her. Jenny’s mother who is
supposed to take care and protect her children, blinds herself from what her
husband has done to their own daughter. The result of this condition is a kind of
trauma, which later affects and shapes Jenny’s characteristics.
From the analysis, I find that the protagonist, Jenny, is a round and
dynamic character. In the beginning of the novel, she is portrayed as an irreligious
girl, she has little knowledge about God. When someone mentions God, she
understands it in an earthly understanding by measure things with what she
18
Maranatha Christian University
already known. However, there is a point that makes Jenny’s characteristics
change. That is, when one day she is on the way to watch a Grace Kelly movie,
she picks a penny on the asphalt, which causes a series of events that leads Jenny
to a personal relationship with God. From that moment, Jenny starts to accept God
in her life and understand the need of forgiving in a purpose to be healed and to
break the pattern of abuse in her family to reach a better life.
Jenny is also described as a self-conscious girl. She always lives under
Jean, her sister’s shadow. Physically, when comparing herself to her sister, Jenny
feels as if her sister has everything that she does not. Moreover, Jenny’s father’s
bad treatment makes her feel ashamed and worthless. However, in the end of the
novel Jenny becomes a confident person. She values herself more and she can
proof that she can do something right when she takes a decision to against her
father to stop the abused.
Being abused also makes her become a distrustful girl. The traumatic
experiences that she has undergone in her family make it difficult for her to trust
other people, including herself. However, thanks to Miss Shaw and Aurelia, Jenny
starts to trust other people. Jenny’s being an introverted girl because of having
been abused and bad treatment of her father drifts herself away from socializing
and making friends. However, Jenny’s trust in God’s unconditional love affects
her relationship with other people and she turns into an extroverted girl. Now
Jenny has a lot of friends and people like her.
Based on the analysis above, there are some things that can be concluded.
Firstly, one’s characteristics can be shaped by traumatic experiences. Then, the
trauma itself can affect one’s personal and social life. Moreover, the condition
19
Maranatha Christian University
will become worse if there is no support from family and society. In Jenny’s case,
she has to undergo the horrible condition of being abused by her family member,
and she has to face it on her own. It also becomes worse because it affects Jenny’s
personal and social life. However, the condition changes when Jenny earns
support from Miss Shaw and Aurelia. It is proven that support from other people
can help one to overcome a problem.
I believe the main issue of this novel is Christianity and the need to
forgive. In Christianity, one can be healed from his / her past trauma by forgiving
those who have hurt them. Thus, my second conclusion is that one’s life can be
changed totally when that person accepts God and forgives those who have hurt
them. One cannot rely on his / her own power, and without forgiveness, one
cannot be free from any pain, any trauma and any pattern of abuse. In Jenny’s
case, when she makes a decision to accept God and forgive her father, she is able
to stop the abuse in her family and be cured from her past traumatic experience.
In my opinion, the story seems alive and real. It is because the condition
itself is based on the author’s own experience and I find that a lot of people have
also experienced it. For some people, abuse in the family is a common thing,
especially when it is done by parents to their children, because there is a
misconception that it is usual for parents to discipline their children by hitting or
slapping them. Different from hitting and slapping, raping is less common to
happen, because society believes that incest is prohibited. However, now adays
there are a number of incest and raping cases in many families. That is why, the
20
Maranatha Christian University
condition in the novel seems real because what happens to Jenny has also
happened in real life.
I also find an interesting thing in the novel, which is the use of a penny to
represent or symbolize God’s messages. Often I find that God uses simple things
to give messages and clues. He also works in the smallest details such as a
familiar coin of penny, which everyone can easily find on the street or anywhere.
In the novel, it is described that Jenny’s life does not suddenly change after she
accepts Jesus. Jenny’s father does not stop abusing her and Jesus does not
suddenly appear and rescue her. However, Jenny’s faith grows slowly together
with her hope of a penny. She believes that on the day she finds that penny, she
simultaneously finds God’s unconditional love and hope that He can change her
life into a better one.
Personally, I admire the character of Jenny and her struggle to reach a
better life. Although her life seems so horrible and gloomy, but as a fourteen-yearold girl, she can successfully face all her problems. The process and development
of Jenny’s characteristics makes the protagonist seem more human. I, as a
Christian learn from the protagonist that God will always answer my prayers even
though it might not be in a way or time that I expect to. Many people give up
before God has the opportunity to answer their prayers. However, Jenny as the
protagonist shows that even though God lets her wait longer, He gives her the
strength to survive. Another valuable thing that I learn from the protagonist is to
forgive sincerely one who gives most pains and trauma in her life. In my opinion,
the messages of the authors are successfully delivered to the readers. Everyone
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has his / her own problems, hatred and struggles. However one must be able to
forgive and trust God to help and solve the problems.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text:
Meyer, Joyce and Deborah Bedford. The Penny. London: Hodder & Stoughton,
2007
Reference(s):
Hornby, AS. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000
Robert, Edgar V. Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.,
2003.
Internet website(s):
“A Biography of Christian Author Joyce Meyer”. Suite101.com. Jul 2009. 3 Mar.
2011
“Biography”. Deborah Bedford. 3 Mar. 2011
Conrad, Tammy Petty. “A Penny is Worth More Than You Think.” Amazon.com.
July 2007. 9 Feb. 2010
“Deborah Bedford”. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2006. 3 Mar. 2011
“Distrustful”. Dictionary.com. 2011. 21 Feb. 2011
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Maranatha Christian University
"Irreligious." Merriam-Webster. 2011. 21 Feb. 2011
< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irreligious>
“Joyce Meyer Biography”. Quotemonk. 3 Mar. 2011
“Joyce Meyer: The Cost of a Penny.” The 700 Club. 2007. 9 Feb. 2010
McGill, RJ. “Book Review: The Penny by Joyce Meyer.” Blogger News Network.
Dec. 2007. 8 Mar. 2010
Meyer, Joyce. “Abuse and the Miracle of Recovery.” Everyday Answer. Joyce
Meyer Ministries. 22 Feb. 2010
Nora. “Story that Speaks to the Heart.” Amazon.com. July 2007. 9 Feb. 2010
"Religious." Wikitionary. 2011. 25 Feb. 2011
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Maranatha Christian University
Di dalam tesis ini, saya menganalisis karakteristik tokoh utama dari novel
yang berjudul The Penny karangan Joyce Meyer dan Deborah Bedford. Setelah
membaca dan menganalis novel tersebut saya mendapati bahwa tokoh utama dari
novel ini, Jenny Black, memiliki karakter yang round dan dynamic. Ia memiliki
banyak karakteristik yang mengalami perubahan. Pada awalnya, ia digambarkan
sebagai seorang yang mempunyai sedikit pengetahuan tentang Tuhan. Selain itu,
siksaan dan perlakuan semena-mena dari keluarga, terutama sang ayah,
menyebabkan ia menjadi seorang yang tidak percaya diri, penyendiri, tidak bisa
mempercayai orang lain. Namun, di pertengahan cerita, Jenny mengalami
perubahan karakter. Hal ini disebabkan oleh pertemuan dan pengenalan pribadi
akan Tuhan. Ia menjadi seorang yang beriman pada Tuhan dan hal ini
membuatnya menjadi seorang yang percaya diri, terbuka dan bisa mempercayai
orang lain.
Kedua penulis novel ini beragama Kristen. Tujuan mereka dalam
penulisan novel ini adalah untuk menunjukkan pada pembaca bahwa sebuah
keputusan untuk menerima Tuhan dapat mengubah kehidupan seseorang secara
total dan menjadi lebih baik. Pengenalan akan Tuhan bisa membantu seseorang
untuk mengampuni dan lepas dari trauma di masa lalu.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ...........................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................2
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................2
Method of Research ...................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis .........................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: THE PORTRAYAL OF THE
PROTAGONIST IN THE PENNY
BY JOYCE MEYER AND DEBORAH BEDFORD ............................4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ................................................................17
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................22
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Penny.............................................................................24
Biography of Joyce Meyer .......................................................................25
Biography of Deborah Bedford ...............................................................26
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Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Penny
Jenny Black is a young girl. Since the age of 14, she has to live a horrible
abusive life. Her father often creeps into her bedroom at night, and her mother
pretends not to know about it. Even Jean, her sister cannot do anything to help
her. Those horrible conditions make her traumatic.
The condition becomes worse because Jenny has no one to rely on to help
her and to share her problems with. Firstly, it is because of her terrible life. She
does not value herself as she feels ashamed and embarrassed, so that she keeps
herself away from socializing and she is having difficulty of trusting other people.
However, one day when she is on the way to watch a Grace Kelly movie,
she picks a penny on the asphalt that causes a series of events that change her life
forever. She knows that if she wants to be free from the abusive pattern of her
family, she has to be healed from her pain, and it means she has to forgive her
parents like God who has forgiven her. Even though there seems to be no hope,
Jenny never gives up, and slowly but surely Jenny learns about forgiveness by
trying to understand and accept the reality why her parent hurt her. Finally,
through a time-consuming process and support from people around her, she can
forgive her parent and her life becomes so much better.
24
Biography of Joyce Meyer
Pauline Joyce Hutchison Meyer, more commonly known as Joyce Meyer,
was born in 1943 in Missouri, USA. She is one of the world’s leading practical
Bible teachers. She is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, who has
written more than seventy inspirational books concerned with the search for
strength, confidence, belief, and faith in oneself by makes a close relationship
with God, including Look Great, Feel Great; the entire Battlefield of the Mind
family of books; and many others. She has also released thousands of audio
teaching materials as well as complete video libraries. Joyce’s Enjoying Everyday
Life radio and television programmers are broadcasted around the world, and she
travels extensively to conduct conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are
parents of four grown-up children and they make their home in St. Louis,
Missouri, USA.
Joyce Meyer often talks about the abuse she suffered as a child. She was
sexually, mentally, physically abused, and she experienced failure in her first
marriage. She uses her personal setbacks as real life examples of the power of
God in overcoming the hardships of life. A number of Meyer’s books speak out to
women. For example, in her book The Confident Woman, Meyer teaches women
to find strength in God and look to Him for answers.
Source:
“A Biography of Christian Author Joyce Meyer”, “Joyce Meyer Biography”
25
Biography of Deborah Bedford
Deborah Bedford was born in Fort Worth, Texas, grew up in Richardson,
Texas and earned her degree in journalism and a minor in marketing from Texas
A&M University. She is an award-winning novelist, whose novels have been
published in fifteen different countries and in a dozen different languages. She
and her husband, Jack, live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA with their two
children. She began her career as a romance writer but now she writes women’s
fiction that stirs readers’ hearts and points them towards hope in God. She also
writes inspirational books, such as A Rose by the Door, A Morning Like This,
When You Believe and Remember Me.
A turning point in Bedford's career came when in a sermon, her minister
convinced her that books with premarital sex scenes in them did not serve God,
and that she had compromised her religious beliefs for success by being a
romance novelist. She finally decided to write inspirational, Christian romances
from then on. Since 2001, her novels have focused on characters who find
forgiveness and renewal when they have to undergo painful experiences and
decisions.
Source:
“Deborah Bedford”, “Biography”
26
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Joyce Meyer is a Christian motivational speaker and best-selling nonfiction author. She is also internationally known as a celebrated author, speaker
and television personality (“The Penny: Joyce Meyer”). Although she has written
a number of Christian books on various topics, The Penny is her first novel, in
which she works with a best-selling fiction author, Deborah Bedford (“Joyce
Meyer: The Cost of a Penny”).
I choose to analyze The Penny by Joyce Meyer with Deborah Bedford
for my thesis because I find that the characteristics of the protagonist in this novel,
Jenny Blake, are interesting and “The situation in the novel itself is so well
depicted” (Conrad), because it is based on Meyer’s own life. The story of The
Penny revolves around a fourteen-year-old girl named Jenny. Jenny is a victim of
a hereditary abusive pattern in her family. She is sexually, mentally and physically
abused by her own family members, especially her father. However, through the
hard life, there is a point that “leads Jenny into a personal relationship with Jesus
that gives her strength to confront her father and break the pattern of
1
Maranatha Christian University
abuse in her family” (“Joyce Meyer: The Cost of a Penny”). The struggle and the
development of the characteristics of the protagonist make this novel more
interesting but still easy to read. Jenny’s characteristics here emphasize the
essence of Christianity and the need to forgive which becomes the main issue in
this novel. “This book is definitely a story of hope, courage, and God’s redeeming
love for us. It’s about the process and courage of giving God control over our
lives. Giving control to no one else but Him” (Nora).
As Robert in Writing about Literature has mentioned, a character is “a
verbal representation of a human being as presented to us by authors through the
depiction of action, conversations, descriptions, reactions, inner thoughts and
reflections, and also through the authors’ own interpretative commentary” (66).
Therefore, I decide to analyze the portrayal of the character because this novel
tells about a young girl who has a difficult life but she is highly determined to
have a better life and break the pattern of abuse in her family.
Statement of the Problem
1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the novel?
2. What is the purpose of the author in creating such a protagonist in the
novel?
Purpose of the Study
1. To show how the protagonist is portrayed in the novel.
2. To show the purpose of the author in creating such a protagonist in the
novel.
2
Maranatha Christian University
Method of Research
I use library research in writing this thesis. I begin by reading The Penny
by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford as the primary text. Furthermore, I gather
some resources and references taken from books and the Internet to support my
analysis. Finally, I draw some conclusions from what has been discussed.
Organization of the Thesis
I divide this thesis into three chapters, which is preceded by the
Acknowledgement, the Table of Contents and the Abstract. Chapter One is the
Introduction which consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the
Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization
of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the Portrayal of the Protagonist by Joyce Meyer and
Deborah Bedford. The last chapter, Chapter Three is the Conclusion of what has
been discussed in the previous chapter. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and
the Appendices, which contain the Synopsis of The Penny and the Biographies of
Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist in The Penny, I would like
to draw some conclusions. There is a young fourteen-year-old girl named Jenny
Black, who undergoes a horrible condition in her house, supposedly the safest
place for her. However, she is sexually, mentally and physically abused by her
own family members, especially her father. This novel shows that Jenny is the
victim of a collateral abusive pattern in her family, because the cycle of abuse can
run further to the next generation. Jenny’s grandfather abuses her father, and her
father abuses her even worse. Moreover, the situation becomes worse because her
mother and her sister cannot do anything to help her. Jenny’s mother who is
supposed to take care and protect her children, blinds herself from what her
husband has done to their own daughter. The result of this condition is a kind of
trauma, which later affects and shapes Jenny’s characteristics.
From the analysis, I find that the protagonist, Jenny, is a round and
dynamic character. In the beginning of the novel, she is portrayed as an irreligious
girl, she has little knowledge about God. When someone mentions God, she
understands it in an earthly understanding by measure things with what she
18
Maranatha Christian University
already known. However, there is a point that makes Jenny’s characteristics
change. That is, when one day she is on the way to watch a Grace Kelly movie,
she picks a penny on the asphalt, which causes a series of events that leads Jenny
to a personal relationship with God. From that moment, Jenny starts to accept God
in her life and understand the need of forgiving in a purpose to be healed and to
break the pattern of abuse in her family to reach a better life.
Jenny is also described as a self-conscious girl. She always lives under
Jean, her sister’s shadow. Physically, when comparing herself to her sister, Jenny
feels as if her sister has everything that she does not. Moreover, Jenny’s father’s
bad treatment makes her feel ashamed and worthless. However, in the end of the
novel Jenny becomes a confident person. She values herself more and she can
proof that she can do something right when she takes a decision to against her
father to stop the abused.
Being abused also makes her become a distrustful girl. The traumatic
experiences that she has undergone in her family make it difficult for her to trust
other people, including herself. However, thanks to Miss Shaw and Aurelia, Jenny
starts to trust other people. Jenny’s being an introverted girl because of having
been abused and bad treatment of her father drifts herself away from socializing
and making friends. However, Jenny’s trust in God’s unconditional love affects
her relationship with other people and she turns into an extroverted girl. Now
Jenny has a lot of friends and people like her.
Based on the analysis above, there are some things that can be concluded.
Firstly, one’s characteristics can be shaped by traumatic experiences. Then, the
trauma itself can affect one’s personal and social life. Moreover, the condition
19
Maranatha Christian University
will become worse if there is no support from family and society. In Jenny’s case,
she has to undergo the horrible condition of being abused by her family member,
and she has to face it on her own. It also becomes worse because it affects Jenny’s
personal and social life. However, the condition changes when Jenny earns
support from Miss Shaw and Aurelia. It is proven that support from other people
can help one to overcome a problem.
I believe the main issue of this novel is Christianity and the need to
forgive. In Christianity, one can be healed from his / her past trauma by forgiving
those who have hurt them. Thus, my second conclusion is that one’s life can be
changed totally when that person accepts God and forgives those who have hurt
them. One cannot rely on his / her own power, and without forgiveness, one
cannot be free from any pain, any trauma and any pattern of abuse. In Jenny’s
case, when she makes a decision to accept God and forgive her father, she is able
to stop the abuse in her family and be cured from her past traumatic experience.
In my opinion, the story seems alive and real. It is because the condition
itself is based on the author’s own experience and I find that a lot of people have
also experienced it. For some people, abuse in the family is a common thing,
especially when it is done by parents to their children, because there is a
misconception that it is usual for parents to discipline their children by hitting or
slapping them. Different from hitting and slapping, raping is less common to
happen, because society believes that incest is prohibited. However, now adays
there are a number of incest and raping cases in many families. That is why, the
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condition in the novel seems real because what happens to Jenny has also
happened in real life.
I also find an interesting thing in the novel, which is the use of a penny to
represent or symbolize God’s messages. Often I find that God uses simple things
to give messages and clues. He also works in the smallest details such as a
familiar coin of penny, which everyone can easily find on the street or anywhere.
In the novel, it is described that Jenny’s life does not suddenly change after she
accepts Jesus. Jenny’s father does not stop abusing her and Jesus does not
suddenly appear and rescue her. However, Jenny’s faith grows slowly together
with her hope of a penny. She believes that on the day she finds that penny, she
simultaneously finds God’s unconditional love and hope that He can change her
life into a better one.
Personally, I admire the character of Jenny and her struggle to reach a
better life. Although her life seems so horrible and gloomy, but as a fourteen-yearold girl, she can successfully face all her problems. The process and development
of Jenny’s characteristics makes the protagonist seem more human. I, as a
Christian learn from the protagonist that God will always answer my prayers even
though it might not be in a way or time that I expect to. Many people give up
before God has the opportunity to answer their prayers. However, Jenny as the
protagonist shows that even though God lets her wait longer, He gives her the
strength to survive. Another valuable thing that I learn from the protagonist is to
forgive sincerely one who gives most pains and trauma in her life. In my opinion,
the messages of the authors are successfully delivered to the readers. Everyone
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has his / her own problems, hatred and struggles. However one must be able to
forgive and trust God to help and solve the problems.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text:
Meyer, Joyce and Deborah Bedford. The Penny. London: Hodder & Stoughton,
2007
Reference(s):
Hornby, AS. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000
Robert, Edgar V. Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.,
2003.
Internet website(s):
“A Biography of Christian Author Joyce Meyer”. Suite101.com. Jul 2009. 3 Mar.
2011
“Biography”. Deborah Bedford. 3 Mar. 2011
Conrad, Tammy Petty. “A Penny is Worth More Than You Think.” Amazon.com.
July 2007. 9 Feb. 2010
“Deborah Bedford”. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2006. 3 Mar. 2011
“Distrustful”. Dictionary.com. 2011. 21 Feb. 2011
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"Irreligious." Merriam-Webster. 2011. 21 Feb. 2011
< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irreligious>
“Joyce Meyer Biography”. Quotemonk. 3 Mar. 2011
“Joyce Meyer: The Cost of a Penny.” The 700 Club. 2007. 9 Feb. 2010
McGill, RJ. “Book Review: The Penny by Joyce Meyer.” Blogger News Network.
Dec. 2007. 8 Mar. 2010
Meyer, Joyce. “Abuse and the Miracle of Recovery.” Everyday Answer. Joyce
Meyer Ministries. 22 Feb. 2010
Nora. “Story that Speaks to the Heart.” Amazon.com. July 2007. 9 Feb. 2010
"Religious." Wikitionary. 2011. 25 Feb. 2011
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