important to understand why the characters behave in such a way when they are facing problems. However, the theory of characterization is also needed in order
to reveal more in depth information about the characters. After understanding the characters and characterization, the conflict can be analyzed. It is also essential to
understand the theory of conflict so that the characters’ conflicts can be related to
the existentiali sts’ issue of the absurd. The existentialist theory that is used in this
research is the theory of Existentialists by Sartre and Camus.
1. Theory of Characters, Characteristic and Characterization
Character is the representation of a man in a story. It is just a representation since it is not the same as a real man. Man is in the world, alive;
while the character is only a fiction. Grenville stated that actually when somebody sees the character as “real”, the expression itself refers to the variety of characters
which are very “life-like” and how it made the reader feel as if they know “a person in real life” Greenville, 1990: 35-36. To make the characters able to
appear “life-like”, the characters should possess several unique qualities. These qualities can be inferred as their personality.
The unique personality that characters have is known as characteristic. The characteristics of the characters include: “the characters’ temperament, desires and
moral nature for their speech and actions” Abrams, 1993: 191. The ‘common ground’ of those things is described as “motivation” Abrams, 1993: 191. This
motivation then becomes the trigger for the characters to act in a particular way when they face some problems in the story.
While the qualities of characters a re known as characteristics, the author’s
method of delivering the characteristic is known as the characterization. The characterization is the process of transforming man into characters in fiction
Greenville, 1990. By characterization, the readers are able to understand the entire characteristic and feel if the characters in the fiction are life-like. Based on
Harmon 2003, there are several methods of characterization: 1 the explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct
exposition, either in an introductory block or more often piecemeal throughout the work, illustrated by action; 2 the presentation of the
character in action, with little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader can deduce the attributes of the actor from the
actions; and 3 the representation from within a character, without comment by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the
character’s inner self.” Harmon, 2003: 88 Thus, the way of describing the characteristic can be seen directly from the
narrative, from the action of the characters, or from the way the other characters think and act toward the other characters.
2. Theory of Conflict
