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THE INFLUENCE OF THE MINOR CHARACTERS TOWARD
BIGGER’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
IN WRIGHT’S NATIVE SON
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
DYAH AYU KUSUMANINGSIH
Student Number: 014214026
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
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This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to My beloved Super Mom My Dad and My Grandma ‘RIP’ Senyawaku Pratanda Nugraha Respati
De Remainers
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I praise the Lord for giving me these blesses so that I can finish what I have started. I would like to express my best gratitude to my beloved ‘Super Mom’, who never gives up in giving me support in every condition and to provide a vast heart to get me along with this thesis. I am honored to have her devoted love and I would like to thank her for always walking beside me.
I would also give my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for his great patience and advice in the process of finishing this undergraduate thesis. I thank my co advisor and also my academic advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum for the nice discussion, guidance and encouragement during these years. I also thank my academic advisor Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. for her guidance and support during my study.
I would like to express my gratitude to the family of Pdt. Djimanto Setiadi for all their supports and awareness. I give my special thank to Senyawaku Pratanda Nugraha Respati for his patience and sincerity during these last 7 years. You make me learn a lot about this life and finally ‘I paid my promise.’
My special gratitude goes to all the lecturers and staff of English Letters Department. I thank to my lecturers Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum and Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum for their kindly support and share. I gratefully thank Mbak Nik and all the staff of Sekretariat Sastra for all their kindly help and assistance during my study.
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My biggest thank goes to all my friends who never stop reminding me to finish my thesis. My special thank goes to the family of De Remainers: Sinda, Erna, Ian, Dian Kiting, Endra, Sigit, Monda, Imbik, Sandi, Bima, Wisnu, Fanky, Wawan, Fariz, Obed, Methy, Ririn, Putri, Kristy, Heni, Dita, Ikhsan and also to my friends Teki, Rina, Westri, Nyonyo, Dewi, Desty, ‘The Twin’ Ani and Ayi, Upik, Ririn, Nana, Yessi and Koyo for these beautiful friendship and support.
I would also like to thank my partners in Bambini Montessori Miss Osa, Miss Intan, Miss Wida, Miss Anita and Miss Katrin for their kindness and awareness. Last but not least I would gratefully thank the family of Rumah Pelangi Muntilan that has given me the chance to see the world from different side. My grateful gratitude is dedicated to you all and to the people who have helped me during the process of finishing this thesis whose names are not mentioned here. Thank you.
Dyah Ayu Kusumaningsih
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................. i APPROVAL PAGE ................................................................................................... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE .............................................................................................. iii LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS .................................................................. iv STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY .......................................................... v DEDICATION PAGE ................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... x ABSTRAK ................................................................................................................. xi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................................................ 1 B. Problem Formulation ...................................................................................... 4 C. Objectives of the Study .................................................................................. 4 D. Definition of Terms ........................................................................................ 5CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL REVIEW ........................................................... 7
A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................................. 7 B. Review of Related Theories ........................................................................... 81. Theory of Character and Characterization ......................................... 8
2. Theory of Personality Development ................................................... 12
C. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 14
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................... 16
A. Object of the Study ........................................................................................ 16 B. Approach of the Study ................................................................................... 17 C. Method of the Study ....................................................................................... 18CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 20
A. Characteristics of Bigger Thomas .................................................................. 20 B. The influence of the Minor Characters toward Bigger’s Personality Development .................................................................................................. 35CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 51PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
DYAH AYU KUSUMANINGSIH. The Influence of the Minor Characters
Toward Bigger’s Personality Development in Wright’s Native Son. Yogyakarta:
Departement of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2009.This thesis discusses Richard Wright’s novel entitled Native Son. The novel tells about the life of Bigger Thomas, a young black boy who lives in 1930s American society which is closely related to the issue of racism. Bigger grows as an ordinary black boy who does not have enough chance to make choices and show his existence. His life is full of fear and hate. Bigger’s personality develops under the influence of the other characters. In this study, the influence comes from the minor characters in this novel.
There are two aims of this study. The first aim is to get understanding on Bigger’s characteristics as the main character in this novel. The second aim is to analyze the influence of the minor characters toward Bigger’s personality development at the end of the story.
In analyzing the thesis, the writer uses library research method, in other words, the writer uses books as the references. The research applies some theories to answer the problems stated in the problem formulation. Those theories are theories of character and characterization and theories of personality development. The writer also uses the psychological approach since the focus of this study is analyzing the psychological aspects of the major character.
The result of the analysis shows that the existence of the minor characters influence Bigger personality development. They change Bigger’s point of view and way of thinking. At the beginning of the story Bigger always avoids having any deals with the whites. On the other hand, Bigger turning point of life arises through the murder of the daughter of his white employer. Bigger is sentenced to death because of the murder he is committed. But then Bigger comes to realize there is still a place for him. When Bigger has to pay for his deed with his life, Bigger accepts it as his destiny. Bigger finally believes on himself. The treatments of the minor characters lead Bigger to get his self-determination.
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ABSTRAK
DYAH AYU KUSUMANINGSIH. The Influence of the Minor Characters
Toward Bigger’s Personality Development in Wright’s Native Son. Yogyakarta:
Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009.Tesis ini membahas tentang novel Richard Wright yang berjudul Native Son. Novel ini bercerita tentang kehidupan Bigger Thomas, seorang pemuda kulit hitam yang hidup di tengah masyarakat Amerika tahun 1930an yang masih sangat lekat dengan masalah rasisme. Bigger tumbuh seperti pemuda kulit hitam pada umumnya.yang tidak punya cukup kesempatan untuk memilih dan menunjukkan keberadaannya. Hidupnya dipenuhi dengan ketakutan dan kebencian. Kepribadian Bigger berkembang karena pengaruh dari tokoh-tokoh lain. Dalam studi ini, pengaruh terhadap Bigger berasal dari tokoh-tokoh minor dalam novel ini.
Ada dua tujuan pokok dalam studi ini. Tujuan pertama adalah mendapatkan pemahaman tentang penokohan Bigger sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel ini. Tujuan kedua adalah menganalisa pengaruh dari tokoh-tokoh minor terhadap perkembangan kepribadian Bigger di akhir cerita.
Dalam pembuatan tesis ini, penulis menggunakan metode penelitian pustaka, dengan kata lain penulis menggunakan buku-buku sebagai referensi. Penelitian ini menerapkan beberapa teori yang digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang dikemukakan dalam perumusan masalah. Teori tersebut adalah teori tokoh dan penokohan serta teori perkembangan kepribadian. Penulis juga menggunakan pendekatan psikologi karena fokus penelitian ini adalah pembahasan tentang aspek psikologi dari tokoh utamanya.
Hasil dari analisis menunjukkan bahwa keberadaan tokoh-tokoh minor memepengaruhi perkembangan kepribadian Bigger. Tokoh-tokoh ini merubah cara pandang dan pola pikir Bigger. Pada awal cerita Bigger selalu menghindar untuk berurusan dengan orang-orang kulit putih. Tapi di sisi lain, titik balik dalam hidup Bigger muncul setelah pembunuhan anak perempuan majikan kulit putihnya. Bigger divonis hukuman mati karena pembunuhan yang sudah dia lakukan. Tapi kemudian Bigger menyadari bahwa masih ada tempat untuk dia. Ketika Bigger harus membayar perbuatannya dengan hidupnya, Bigger menerima itu sebagai takdirnya. Pada akhirnya Bigger percaya pada dirinya sendiri. Perlakuan tokoh-tokoh minor menuntun Bigger untuk mendapatkan pengakuan atas dirinya sendiri.
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature is familiar to common people. It represents human life into a form
of writing such as novel, drama, poem, and short story. It is a reflection of human life. Therefore, literature and human life are two elements that are closely connected.
Hudson in his book An Introduction to the Study of Literature stated that literature is the expression of life which uses language as the medium. It can be considered as a significant aspect since it contains human real life, people’s thought and their feeling about life (1963: 10).
Literature and human life is closely related therefore through literature we can learn about life. The description of life in literary work such as the characters, the condition, the conflict and the problem faced by the character in the story may represent what happened in the real life. The way a character overcomes and solves the problem may also be a model of human life that can be learned. Any decision which is taken by a character in literary work shows to the reader what is in inside the character’s mind. Through the decision that is made by a character, the reader can understand the character’s way of thinking. It can be an inspiration for the reader to overcome the problems that happen in the real life. But, we cannot say that the facts in literature are completely similar with the fact in a real life since the author
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becomes more dramatic and interesting (Langland, 1984: 19). Some literary works are similar with the real life but some others are imaginative.
Wellek and Warren say that a literary work is a medium where the writer can express and explore his idea (1977:134). Here, the writer has his own space to reveal his idea and explore it in a form of writing. In writing a literary work, the writer composes some elements together to make a good story. Those elements cannot stand alone because those are related to each other. As Rohberger and Wood stated clearly in his book Reading and Writing about Literature:
Successful prose fiction combines all the elements in such a way that there is a complex interaction among them. For this reason, it is difficult to separate single element – to talk, for example about character without talking at the same time about plot or setting or conflict, because characters often determine plot, setting helps to define the characters, and conflict results from the placing of characters in situation (1971:20).
One of the interesting ways in analyzing a literary work, especially a novel is connecting one element to another. By connecting those elements both the writer and the reader can have a new experience and improve their knowledge in understanding a story. This thesis will discuss characters as one of the intrinsic elements in a novel.
This thesis will further explore how the other characters play a significant role in the personality development of the major character. The writer chooses this topic because there is a close relationship between those elements. A character in the novel must live in an environment which includes many aspects on it. The relationship and the socialization with other characters, geographical, moral values, local wisdom, authority, conflict among the characters are aspects that have a great deal of
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contribution in the development of a character’s personality. Those aspects are automatically produced by the environment. In other words, the characterization of a character is the representation of their environment. As Murphy stated in his book
Understanding Unseen that the setting can be concerned with the place and time in
which the characters live. It gives a great effect on the character’s personality, action and their way of thinking (1972: 141).
In this thesis the writer chooses one of Richard Wright’s works which portrays the life of the black people in 1920s American society, Native Son. The topic chosen by the writer is “The Influence of the Other Characters toward Bigger’s
Personality Development in Wright’s Native Son”. The writer is interested in Native
Son since it becomes the first novel by an African-American which is marked as the
main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. It gives such curiosity to the writer to be acquainted with the novel.
The interaction of characters in a story has a contribution in the character’s personality development. This is the essential evidence the writer analyze the character’s personality development. As stated in The Anatomy of the Novel,
The greatest created characters have roundness complexity and multiplicity; they develop, they give the impression that they had a real; past, have a real future. One of the most important aspects is the interaction of characters. Contrasts are important. Such contrast makes both figures more real. But the characters also act on one another and developed as a result of these interactions, which are often, most of what a mainstream novel is about (Boulton, 1975: 78).
The writer chooses that topic because the writer learns that Bigger’s
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story since he is the only character that is considerably changing. In the beginning of the story Bigger is only a twenty-year-old black man restricted in a South Side who is afraid of the whites and does not have self determination. As the story flow, the writer finds out that Bigger’s characteristics are interesting. He changes gradually from a poor unconfident black man who does not have any courage to prove his existence among the whites society into a man who finally finds his confession although it should be paid by his life.
B. Problem Formulation The problems of this study are formulated as follows.
1. What are the characteristics of Bigger depicted in the story?
2. How are the influences of the minor characters toward Bigger’s personality development?
C. Objectives of the Study The aim of this study is to answer the questions stated in problem formulation.
The first aim is to reveal the characters of Bigger in the story. The writer will go deeper to discuss and reveal how Bigger’s characteristics described in the story. And the second aim is to observe how the minor characters support and contribute the personality development of Bigger. The contribution of the minor characters is essential to accomplish the development of personality. The events that occur in the
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story may cause conflicts and it will describe how the character influenced and deal with the conflict.
In other words, the writer limits the analysis into two matters; focusing the analysis on Bigger’s characteristics and the minor characters which pay a significant contribution toward Bigger’s personality development. The problem formulation will reveal what is the significance of minor characters in a story and its contribution toward Bigger’s personality development.
D. Definition of Terms
In analyzing a novel, it is important to understand the terms since the terms essentially related to the problem discussed. There are some terms used related to the topic that will be discussed in this thesis. Those terms are influence, character and personality.
Influence according to Webster Encyclopedia is the capacity of power had by
a man to produce affects on others indirectly (1989: 730). This definition means that a person may affect another person without the use of direct interaction. As similarly defines by Longman Dictionary of English language and Cultures, influence is as an effect on someone or something without the use of direct force or command (Summers, 1992: 674).
Characters are the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work in which
through their action and dialogue the reader may interpret their moral, dispositional
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character, Stanton in his book An Introduction to Fiction says that character is commonly used in two ways. The character is the design of the individual who appears in the story and refers to the mixture of their emotional qualities, interest, desires and moral principles (1965: 17).
Personality as stated by Pervin and John in their book Personality: Research
and Method represents the characteristic of the person that account for consistent
patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving (1996: 4). Kalish in his book The
Psychology of Human Behavior sates that personality is an organization of
characteristics that differentiate one individual from other individual.Personality is defined as the dynamic organization of characteristics attitudes leading to behavior and distinguishing one individual from other individual. it refers the total individual and includes needs, motives, methods of adjusting, temperament qualities, self concept, role behavior, attitudes, values, and abilities (1971: 52).
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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies The novel Native Son consists of three parts, they are Book One: Fear, Book Two: Flight, and Book Three: Fate. Book One reveals Bigger’s life from the beginning until his acquainted with the Daltons and ended with Mary’s murdering. Book Two describes Bigger’s life after murdering the Daltons daughter, Mary and his
girlfriend Bessie until his capture. Book Three tells about Bigger’s struggle with his feeling to his self-consideration as a human being.
Kazin in his book On Native Ground stated that Native Son which reveals the social significance happened in the American society began to be accepted as an important matter that can be concerned by the middle class society. Native Son is able to make people who read it feel a deep compassion or even solidarity toward the Negro oppression, but it does not happen in the reality.
He vogue of such a novel as Richard Wright’s Native Son may suggest that the novel of social significance had at last entered into the thinking of the middle class, that the people who read it with bated breath or applauded it on the stage felt a deep compassion for, and even some solidarity with, the oppressed Negro masses; but that is an illusion (1982: 386). Walter Allen in his book Modern Novels states that Wright brought to violence consciousness the Negro assertion of himself, his refusal of any longer to be what the white man had cast him to be; and Native Son remains as the most powerful
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novel both of Negro assertion and of radical protest. For Wright -and much of the book’s power comes from this – they were different sides of the one coin (1964: 156).
Another perception stated by Hughes that Native Son is a psychological novel of purpose. It protests against the conditions in which the Whites treat Negroes as a second class citizen and the racial discriminations which occur in the American society that force the Negro to struggle harder for their live (1953: 51).
There is a research done by the previous researcher Deasy Setia Mayasari that discuss the character of Bigger Thomas. Mayasari discusses Bigger’s characters influenced by the author’s life. The analysis focuses on the autobiographical background of the author and the socio-historical background of the novel. Here, the writer also discusses the character but the difference is about the focus of the analysis. The writer focuses the analysis on the characteristic and the personality development of Bigger which is influenced by the minor characters in the story.
B. Review of Related Theories
There are some theories that are used by the writer to analyze the novel. They are theory of character and characterization and theory of personality development.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Character is an element of literary works that plays a significant role in building a story. Character describes a person with certain types and certain qualities.
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the character and characterization in dramatic or narrative work. The way characters speak, think and act show their emotional, person’s qualities of mind and moral qualities (1981: 23).
According to Bracket in his book The Theatre: An Introduction, there are four
levels of characterization. The first level of characterization is the physical
appearance. It deals with the basic facts such as age, sex, size, and color. An author
can choose and decide any characters for his work. He may choose a man or a woman
with certain physical appearance such as height, weight, age and skin color. The
second level of characterization is the social status. It includes character’s economic
status profession or trade, religion and family relationship. The third level of
characterization is the psychological. It reveals a character’s habitual responses,
attitudes, likes and dislikes, desire, motivations, the inner working of mind, both
emotional and intellectual which precedes action. And the forth level of
characterization is the moral values the characters hold (1974: 39-40).Besides Bracket, in his book Literature for Composition, Barnet states some
points in understanding character. The first understanding can be obtained through
the character’s statement. What the character says or comments through the dialogue
among the characters may show his or her characteristic. The next point is through
the character’s deed. It means that the action done by the character may also indicate
his or her characteristic. The role of the other character is also significant in
understanding a character. The other character’s statement about the character is also
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what the other characters do. The action of the other character may give a clue in
indicating an action that might be done by a character but he or she does not do. Here
the reader may observe what kind of person the character is (2005: 712).Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen classifies the way on how an author reveals the personalities of a character into nine ways (1972: 161-172).
a. Personal Description The author describes the physical appearance of the character through the clothes, body, and face. The physical appearance can be used to specify and differentiate each character in the novel.
b. Character as seen by another The author can also describe a character through another character’s point of view. The author can give some impression such as impression of color, shape, cleanliness, firmness and smoothness through the eyes of another character.
c. Speech The author gives the reader an interpretation of one of the character in the book through what that person says. Here the author can give some clues in analyzing the character through character’s opinion and conversation.
d. Past Life The author guides the reader to a deeper understanding by giving some clues about events in the person’s past life, which helped to shape of character’s thought, behavior and action.
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The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about them (1972:167). Here, opinions or the things, which the other character says also, give some clues about the character.
f. Reaction The reader can also have understanding on a character through the character’s reaction toward various situations such as events or problems. The various situations in the novel may give the reader a media to go deeper on understanding the character through the way the character face the problem and find the resolution.
g. Direct Comment The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly
(1972:170). Here, the author can give explanation and description about the character directly and clearly.
h. Thoughts The author guides the reader to understand the character’s thought or way of thinking. It is significant since every character is specific and it can be described from the character’s thought that will lead to actions. i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms or habits, which may also tell us something about his character (1972:173). The audience can learn closely the characteristics through the manner, habitual lifestyle, speech and behavior of the
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2. Theories of Personality Development
Pervin and John state that when people want to learn individual intensively,
they will have questions on some important points. The first point is they want to
know the person’s characteristics and behavior, and it includes his relation with one
another. The second point is the determinants of a person’s personality. It explains
the process how a person becomes in certain characteristics. The third point is the
reason for their behavior (1996: 4).According to Hurlock in her book Personality Development, the changes of
personality can be divided into three major categories. The first category is the
changes for the better or the worse. It reflects the kind of life adjustments that the
individual is making that time. The second category is the changes on quantitative or
qualitative. Quantitative means characteristics that already present are reinforced,
strengthened, or even weakened. While qualitative means a complete replacement of
a desirable trait by undesirable one or vice versa. The third category is the changes
occur slow or rapid. Changes are regarded slow if they are barely perceptible while
rapid changes are readily apparent to all. Normally, personality changes are slow and
gradual (1974: 120-122).The changes of personality are affected by several conditions. The most significant conditions for personality changes are:
a. Physical changes
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A physical change does not related to the changes of the structure of the body
but from maturation and decline or from illness, organic or glandular disturbance,
injuries or some other conditions of person’s life pattern (1974: 124-125).b. Changes in the environment The changes in either the physical or the social environment may produce
changes in the person’s self concepts and it will lead to the changes of person’s
behavior. But the changes in the environment do not guarantee there will be an
improvement in one’s personality. In fact, the changes often have the opposite effect.
c. Changes in significant people When the significant people in an individual life’s change, and when he tries
to adapt his pattern of behavior and his attitudes, beliefs, values, and aspirations to
their, changes in his personality pattern are inevitable (1974: 126).d. Change in social pressures The strong social pressures such as traits of social rejection, aggressiveness,
and greediness have much possibility to encourage changes in certain aspects of
personality rather than the traits of admiration, affection, cooperativeness and
generosity.e. Changes in roles The changes of one’s role may occur because of the changes of age, economic
conditions, and affiliation with a new group. When the result of the changes put the
person into a favorable status, it will usually change the self-concept of the person in
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f. Strong motivation People generally improve their pattern in order to get greater social
acceptance and also to improve their social relationship. When the motivation to
improve the personality pattern is strong enough, changes can be affected (1974:
127).g. Changes in self concept The changes in the self-concept of one’s personality may change his entire
personality. However, the changing of self-concept is getting difficult when people
are getting older and usually the changes occur slowly and gradually.h. Psychotherapy Psychotherapy helps a person to get better insight into the reasons for his unrealistically favorable or unfavorable self-concept (1974: 129-130).
D. Theoretical Framework
Since the topic is the contribution of the minor characters toward the development of the major character’s personality, the writer has been defined the terms, which have close relationship with the theme. Those are: character, influence and personality development.
With the theory of character and characterization and the theory of personality
development, the writer is able to analyze the characteristics of the main character in
order to make the analysis understandable. It can be seen what kind of person the
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it is important to see the main character thoroughly, which is Bigger, in order to
shape, provide and lead her to the matter pointed in the problem formulation of this
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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The work that is analyzed in this thesis is Native Son, a novel written by Richard Wright, an African-American author who was born in Mississippi in 1908. The novel was first published by Harper & Brothers, New York in 1940. Native Son
was the first novel by an African-American to be featured as a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. This novel has 430 pages and contains three parts; Fear, Flight, and Fate with an introduction by Arnold Rampersad and closed by a note on how “Bigger” was born by the author himself. The book also includes the chronology of Richard Wright’s life.
Richard Wright had written some books, include Native Son, that describe
th
about the racism occur in the 20 century American society. Native Son is talking about the life of Bigger, a poor, uneducated, twenty-year-old black man in 1930s Chicago. He lives in the black neighborhood that surrounded by the white society which still concerns about the issues of racism. Bigger is really afraid of the whites therefore he and his gang never attempted to rob a white man. They prefer to rob the black family who owns business. One day Bigger works for a white family The Daltons. Bigger finds a different treatment from this family, especially the daughter of the Daltons, Mary. But Bigger kills Mary accidentally in the night when he tries to
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help Mary goes to her room because she is too drunk to walk. Bigger never imagined if Mary’s death will be a beginning of his new life.
B. Approach of the Study
In order to analyze the topic, the writer uses the psychological approach since it is very appropriate to be applied in finding the answer of the problem formulation stated in the first chapter. Before the writer goes further on the reason why this approach is appropriate, previously the writer needs to have a clear understanding on psychological approach.
Psychological approach deals with human being in human context as literary does. Through this approach, the writer can understand the character’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. The writer can also reveal that a character’s thought, feelings and actions are affected by other characters. The psychological approach also helps the writer to reveal not only the extrinsic meaning but also the intrinsic meaning of a story. As Guerin stated in his book A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, psychological approach is an excellent tool for ‘reading beneath the lines’ (1979: 121).
According to Wellek and Warren, psychological approach shows its existence when Sigmund Freud’s idea influenced many literary works. Psychological critics observe works through the lens of psychology. They look either at the psychological motivations of the characters or the author themselves. Literature truthfully reflects
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psychological criticism may focus on the creative process of the artist or analyze fictional character’s motivation and behavior. It is obvious that literature and psychology are two different fields thatt influenced each other. Literature covers the application of the rule of psychology in a literary work (1977: 93).
Using the psychological approach, the writer may analyze the character and his development through psychological aspects. It seems obvious that psychological traits take a significant role in making literary works life like since the psychological points of view refer to the search and analysis of the inner working of the mind such as emotions, behaviors, motivations, and desires. In other words, psychological traits always precede and color the action of a character (Benedetti, 1997: 130). Therefore the writer chose psychological approach as the appropriate approach to be applied in this thesis rather than the other approaches.
C. Method of the Study
The method of the study that was conducted by the writer was library research. In this study, the writer acquired the information and data by collecting books and sources that was related to the study. The primary source of this study was a novel written by Richard Wright Native Son. Several references on American literature, books, selected criticism, biography, articles about Richard Wright’s work
th
and the representation of the life of 20 century American society, and many other sources related to literature were also used as the secondary data. This thesis was an
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analytical study which was primarily attempt to cover up the intrinsic element of the novel, namely character.
Since the writer was going to analyze the personality development in the novel, there were some phases that taken in analyzing the novel. First of all the writer had close reading to the novel and tried to understand the detail of it. After reading and understanding the detail of the novel, the second phase was trying to find out some references related to the theory of literature which was very helpful to analyze the characters’ characteristics. The next step was analyzing the influence of the minor character toward Bigger’s personality development.
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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS In this chapter the writer will apply the theories which have been written in
the previous chapter into the problems that will be analyzed. Some theories about characters and characterization will help to reveal the characteristics of Bigger Thomas. Furthermore the theory of personality development will be used to analyze Bigger’s personality development which is influenced by the minor characters in the story.
Here the writer focuses on the analysis into two matters, first is about Bigger’s characteristics and the second is about the influence of the minor characters toward Bigger’s personality development. Therefore, the writer divides the analysis into two main parts. The first main part will discuss the characteristics of Bigger Thomas and the second main part will discuss the minor characters who play significant role and give influence on Bigger’s personality development.
A. The Characteristics of Bigger Thomas
The story begins with the clock rings in Bigger’s apartment in a side of Chicago. Bigger is a young black man who lives in a small apartment with his mother, sister and brother. The apartment has only one room therefore Bigger and his brother need to turn their back while his sister and mother are dressing up. Bigger
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From the personal description, the author describes Bigger Thomas as a twenty-year-old black man who lives in the black neighborhood in the south side of Chicago (p. 49). Bigger is about five feet nine inches tall, his arms are long, his shoulder are huge and muscular (p. 280). His skin is exceedingly black therefore his face was metallically black in the strong sunlight (p. 17). The theory of Abrams in 1981 said that the reader can get an interpretation of a character in the story from his physical appearance, emotional and moral qualities. Here the writer can draw the characteristics of Bigger through his physical appearance. Therefore the theory of Abrams that stated a character can be interpreted through his physical appearance is verified. The other characteristics of Bigger Thomas are characterized this way:
1. Uneducated
As ordinary black family at that time, the condition of Bigger’s family does not give him any chance to finish his study. Bigger’s family has to struggle hard for their life. They have to work very hard to fulfill their daily need therefore education is not their priority in life. That is why Bigger does not finish his study, he only reaches until the eighth grade.
“How far did you go in school?” “To the eighth grade.” (p. 74) Since Bigger does not finish his study, Bigger gets less of academic education and knowledge. It can be seen when Bigger meets Mr. Dalton for job interview in the
Daltons’ house. Mr. Dalton is interviewing Bigger when suddenly Mary interrupts. She asks whether Bigger belongs to a Union or not. Mr. Dalton does not like Mary’s
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question and asks her to talk to Bigger later. He asks Mary to leave Bigger alone. Mary insults with his father’s order and said that his father is a Capitalist. Mary tries to get Bigger into this conversation by asking whether her father is a Capitalist.
Bigger does not answer Mary’s question. It is not because Bigger is afraid but because Bigger does not know what Mary is talking about. Bigger does not know what Capitalist is.
“All right, Mr. Capitalist!” She turned again to Bigger. “Isn’t he a capitalist, Bigger?” Bigger looked at the floor and did not answer. He did not know what a capitalist was. (p. 52) Bigger’s lack of education makes him poor of knowledge therefore he can not follow their way of thinking. It happens also when Mary and Jan are having conversation about the Union, the organization where Jan is involved. Jan and Mary discuss the demonstration that the Union has just held. Bigger listens; he tries to understand what Mary and Jan are discussed. Bigger knows that they talk about Communism and he tries to get an understanding. But at the end of the conversation, Bigger still cannot understand the conversation well (p. 76).
Sometimes Bigger feels that he is fool when he cannot understand what the other characters discuss. But in fact, the writer finds that Bigger does not like to go to school. The writer finds the scene when Bigger is having a conversation with Peggy, The Daltons’ house maid. Peggy says that Mr. Dalton may send Bigger to a night school as he does to the former black boy worker. But Bigger does not seem to be
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interested in Peggy’s information. Bigger says to himself that night school is not a bad idea but he will not take that opportunity because he has another plan (p. 62).
Bigger’s response toward Mary’s question proves that Bigger is unwell educated. According to Barnet, the understanding of a character can be obtained through the character’s deed.
2. Rude
At the beginning of the story Bigger is often quarrelling with his mother. The condition happens since Bigger, as the first son of his family, has not got any job.
Therefore he cannot help his family to release from their poverty. It makes his mother blames him for this condition.
“We wouldn’t have to live in this garbage dump if you had any manhood in you,” she said. “Aw, don’t start that again.” (p. 8) Since his mother is often mad with him, Bigger often shows some rude sentences toward his mother. He hates his life because it does not give him any chance to make a choice. He grows as a rude young man who is easily insulted by people’s opinion and attitude toward him, as what he feels about his mother. It happens almost everyday when he hears his mother complaining about their family condition, and it is also because Bigger does not attempt to fix this condition.