27 other words, she enjoys being an independent person,
“She spent weekends going for long solitary walks, sketching the bare trees in winter and the leafy foliage in
summer” p. 176.
Not only avoiding people, but Suwen also avoids conflicts in her life. She will not argue with others when she has different idea and she will keep her idea
in her mind. In some occasions, Suwen does not state her idea when Nica argues her project. The reason is that she does not want to have any conflicts with Nica.
She ever arg ues Nica’s opinion once and then Nica does not talk to her for several
days. Her introvert character can be seen in a part of the novel when the author tells what she thought.
The photo essay was not what Suwen had in mind; in fact, she had nothing in her mind. Her project was really a search for the perfect union of
medium and content. And she was willing to wait for what would eventually emerge. She did not want to upset and argue with Nica, her
teacher and model, again. p. 103
Suwen only thinks of how she avoids conflicts and confrontations around her. The reason is because she does not want to make herself upset because of
conflicts and confrontations.
3. Well-educated
One of Suwen’s characteristics which is seen in the novel is that she is a well-educated woman. Her mother and stepfather send her abroad to get a good
education for her. She continues her study in Durham University and she focuses on art
since she loves painting. “After her matriculation exam, she went to
28 Durham University to read English and the History of Art in the Western
World ”p. 175.
Suwen often tells some brilliant ideas about her painting to Nica and she has a good knowledge about art. Furthermore, her knowledge about history is
good since she mixes art and history in her big project. As one of Suwen’s best
friend, Nica often talks and discusses art with her. Nica sometimes forgets that Suwen gets her education abroad when they are talking about history. The reason
is because the history what Suwen explains to Nica is a little different from the fact that happens in Singapore years ago. It is because the history that Suwen
knows is explained by her lecturer in the university. According to Murphy 1972, an individual’s characters can be seen from other characters’ thought in the novel.
By using Murphy’s theory, the researcher has found a part which contains Nica’s
thought about Suwen and it tells Suwen’s character, “Nica was peeved. Suwen had studied abroad” p. 250.
Due to the fact that Suwen is a well-educated woman, she tries to control her emotion and anger in giving her reaction towards something. In the novel,
Suwen is described as a woman who never gives negative reactions towards her friends’ anger and negative arguments. She keeps calm and controls her emotion
in some situations. Her attitude as a well-educated woman is shown in her reaction towards
the betrayal of Nica and Mark. When Nica insults and mocks her, Suwen keeps calm and she does not say anything. F
urthermore, Suwen does not respond Nica’s
