Object of the Study Approach of the Study
The definition of characters is taken from M. H. Abrams statement in his book
.
He states the characters are
The persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral,
intellectual, and emotional by inferences from what person say and their distinctive ways of saying it
– the dialogue – from what they do – the action.
The grounds in the characters’ temprament, desires, and moral nature for their speech and actions are called their motivation. Abrams,
1999:32 From the quotation above, it is clear that character in the literary works is the
maker of the story and gives the reader information about people in the story from dialogue, action, and motivation. The way a person speaks and behaves also
reflects their character’s background.
There are two characters in the play. The first is Clay Williams, he is a middle-class African American man living in New Jersey. The second is Lula, a
red long-haired White American woman. The writer tries to examine the depiction fo Clay using the theory of character and characterization that is stated in the
Chapter II. First, the writer examines the personal appearance and the personality of Clay. In this discussion,
the writer only examines Clay’s depiction because he is the main character who experiences racial stereotyping from Lula, the other
main character. To examine his depictions, the theory of characterization taken from
Re aske’s book is applied. There are five ways to study their characteristics and the
writer applies them all. The ways to study the characteristics are the appearance of
the character, asides and soliloquies, dialogue between characters, hidden narration, and character in action.