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like a match. After so long growing further and further apart, in the last few days their friendship had got up firmly back on track.” 205
d. Compassionate
Being a compassionate person is not easy. Feeling sorry or pity for others’ suffering is neglected by people nowadays because many of them think that it is not
their business. However, Sophie considers compassion to others is important because humans are social creatures that cannot be separated from their relationship with
others. And to have and maintain a good friendship or relationship with others, everyone should be compassionate.
Sophie’s encounter with compassion grew when she was in her childhood. She comes from a broken home family; therefore she needs friends that she can share
her life with. And then from her mother’s second marriage, Sophie got a fine family with a kind stepfather and stepbrother. Sophie started learning to be compassionate
and loved her new family, and even though her mother got divorced again, she still kept in touch with her ex-family. From the author’s direct comment on Sophie, it is
showed that she still loves her ex-family that she does not like others criticize on them. “You hardly ever saw him before the wedding,” Sophie pointed out, a tightness
in her throat. She didn’t like any criticism of Marcus. 263 To be compassionate, a person should have proactive, sympathetic, and
kindhearted attitude toward others. Sometime he or she will be directed into difficult situation that he or she should be honest or compassionate toward others. That was
experienced by Sophie in which she gets dilemmas to be honest or compassionate
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knowing that Natasha has chosen the wrong man to love. It can be known from what Sophie thought and did.
“She hung up, feeling hollow. She hated keeping something from her friend but she also had no desire to be the bearer of bad news. Time to think of other,
more cheerful things.” 334
Sophie always tries to be a good friend. She always offers to help her best friend, Natasha, passing her suffering when Natasha got pregnant and was neglected
by the man she made relationship. Sophie’s compassion is described in the story of the novel. It can be seen from what Sophie says in her conversation with Natasha and
also from the things Sophie does for Natasha. “But still, Tash, before you do anything, I think you should wait at least a
week. It’s not going to make any difference and you need some time to calm down. And remember, whatever you do, I’ll help you. I’m your friend.”
…. “Yes I bloody well do. You’ve always tried to pretend you don’t need anyone,
Tash, but you do. We all do. So just let me be there for you.” 343-344
From the conversation, it can be concluded that Sophie is a compassionate friend that she knows her best friend very well. Sophie knows whenever her friends
are suffering and she always tries to take the problems down together.
e. Attractive
In the novel, the author describes Sophie as an attractive character. It can be figured out from the way Sophie takes her style in fashion, meet and gets her new
friends, and the way she behaves or treats her friends. Sophie always looks cheerful when she is with her friends. Therefore, Sophie gets many friends and they are
willing to be friends of her.
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In the novel, Sophie is described as an attractive person who is gorgeous, good looking, talkative, and an easy-going person. Everyone who meets her definitely
admits that she is pretty and attractive. Even sometimes others know her because she looked like an actress or a TV star as quoted below:
“You know. My friend. The one you met in Jamie’s that time.” “Oh, her The one who looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones.”
“…. People often said that about Sophie. Before that, when CZJ was still a B- list television star, they had said Elizabeth Taylor – ….” 8-9
An attractive person is always considered as a chic or stylish person. So is Sophie that she is considered as an attractive person as she is very chic on her style. It
is showed by what her mother says on her: “Don’t you look nice? You’ve always been so good at that English eccentric look.” 13 And as her best friend, Natasha also
admitted that Sophie is a beautiful woman in which Natasha always envies on her. It is stated through Natasha’s thought:
“She had come to terms with the fact that, no matter how many facials she had or designer clothes she bought, her friend would always be prettier than her,
always have an adoring boyfriend on her arm.” 10
Sophie knows that she is used to having nice looking that makes every one turn their head looking at her. And being attractive is Sophie’s contentment on her
self that finally she has something to be proud on. In the novel, it is written that people always have a look at her: “She stood at the arrivals gate, conscious of other
people staring at her, wondering who the excited girl Sophie still couldn’t bring herself to think of herself as a woman was.” 146
Besides of having good looking, being a talkative is one of Sophie’s attractiveness. She is used to chatting with other people easily even with someone she
