The influences of gossips toward the conflicts in Cecily Von Ziegesar`s Gossip Girl.

THE INFLUENCES OF GOSSIPS TOWARD THE CONFLICTS

IN CECILY VON ZIEGESAR’S

GOSSIP GIRL

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

KRISTINA NIMAS WIJAYANTI

Student Number: 094214093

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2013

i

THE INFLUENCES OF GOSSIPS TOWARD THE CONFLICTS

IN CECILY VON ZIEGESAR’S

GOSSIP GIRL

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

KRISTINA NIMAS WIJAYANTI

Student Number: 094214093

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2013

vi

Maybe it’s not about the happy ending,

Maybe it’s about the story.

-Anonymous-

vii

This undergraduate thesis

is dedicated to

The endless learners

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My first gratitude goes to my Savior Lord Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. Their everlasting blessings bring me to a belief that nothing is impossible. Their bestowal on me is praiseworthy. I would also like to address my deepest gratitude to my parents; Thomas Sukardi and Supari Astuti Veronica for their prays and trust, my sister; Irena Sri Rejeki for her inspirations, my twin sister; Kristina Nimas Wijayani for her supports and enthusiasm toward my writing.

Due to the process of this undergraduate thesis making, I deeply thank to my advisor, Maria Ananta T. S., S.S., M.Ed., for her precious guidance in accordance with my writing, and my co-advisor, Harris H. Setiajid, S.S., M.Hum., for his correction and suggestions. I also thank to all lecturer and staff in English Letters Department for giving ideas and helps for the last four years.

Gratitude must also be given to the people who give me contributions in various ways during the accomplishment of this writing. Many thanks to my best friends who are always around, friends in English Letters, partners in All Plus – Purikids, girls in Podang 9, members of English Mass Community, colleagues in Culture and Tourism Office of Sleman, and other names that I cannot mention all here. Your contributions are priceless.

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE……… APPROVAL PAGE……….. ACCEPTANCE PAGE………. LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI……….

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN ORISINALITAS ………...

MOTTO PAGE………. DEDICATION PAGE………..

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……….

TABLE OF CONTENTS……….

LIST OF TABLES ………... ABSTRACT………...

ABSTRAK……….

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ………

A. Background of the Study ………. B. Problem Formulation ………... C. Objectives of the Study ……… D. Definition of Terms ……….

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ………... A. Review of Related Studies ………... B. Review of Related Theories ………. 1. Theory of Conflict ……….. 2. Theory of Gossip ……… C. Review of Gossip among American Teenagers ………... D. Theoretical Framework ………

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ………

A. Object of the Study ……….. B. Approach of the Study ………. C. Method of the Study ………

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ……….

A. The Gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl …..………… 1. Gossips among Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and

Mrs. Archibald ………...

2. Gossips among Chuck Bass, Kati Farkas, and

Isabel Coates ………... 3. Gossips among Rain Hoffstetter, Kati Farkas, and

Isabel Coates ………..

4. Gossips among Chuck Bass, Roger Paine, and Jeffrey

Prescott ………...

5. Gossips among Nate Archibald, Jeremy Scott

Tompkinson, Anthony Avuldsen, and Charlie Dern ………. 6. Gossips in GossipGirl.net ……….. B. The Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl in Relation

with the Gossips………

1. Internal Conflicts ………...

i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix xi xii xiii 1 1 5 5 6 7 7 10 10 11 14 14 17 17 18 19 21 21 22 24 25 26 28 29 33 34

x

2. External conflicts ………... C. The Influences of Gossips toward the Conflicts in Cecily von

Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl………..………

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ……… BIBLIOGRAPHY ……… APPENDIX ………...

38 42 54 57 59

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl ………. Table 2. Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl in Relation with

the Gossips ………..

Table 3. The Influence of Gossips toward the Conflicts in Cecily von

Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl ……….

32

41

xii

ABSTRACT

Kristina Nimas Wijayanti, 2013. The Influences of Gossips toward the Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl. Yogyakarta: Department of

English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl tells about a girl who is gossiped by other characters. The characters who gossip in the story are not only the girls, but also the boys. The gossips are mostly about Serena’s return.Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl is appropriate to be analyzed because it also contains some conflicts had by the characters who are mostly teenagers. As attention seekers, teenagers, specifically American teenagers, often emerge conflicts through many ways including gossiping.

There are three objectives in this research. The first one is aimed to find out the gossips in the story. The second one is to get the conflicts in relation with the gossips in the story. The last one is to see how the gossips influence the conflicts in the story.

Applying a library research, this research uses some particular books as the main sources to answer three questions formulated. To support analyzing the story, some theories are used, such as theory of conflict and theory of gossip. The review of gossip among American teenager is also needed because it is mostly teenagers who deal with the gossips in the story. Meanwhile, an approach which is used to accomplish this analysis is a psychological approach. A psychological

perspective is suitable to help understanding the story, because it is human’s mind

and behavior which arises conflicts and gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl.

At last, the gossips are figured out in the analysis through the theory of gossip. The gossips found in the story are classified through the gossipee’s and the

gossipers’ point of view. The second is the finding of the conflicts in relation with the gossips. They are classified into internal and external conflicts. Some external conflicts are also classified into direct or indirect conflict. From the findings from the previous analysis, the influences can be found. The differences point of view of the gossips takes a prominent role in influencing particular conflicts. Only the conflicts which are closely related to the content of the gossip, the gosipee, and the gossipers get influenced. The influences are not limited by the way they solve a conflict, but also the way they start, rise, and end.

xiii

ABSTRAK

Kristina Nimas Wijayanti, 2013. The Influences of Gossips toward the Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl. Yogyakarta: Program Studi

Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Gossip Girl oleh Cecily von Ziegesar bercerita tentang seorang gadis yang digosipkan oleh karakter-karakter lainnya. Karakter yang bergosip di dalam cerita tidak hanya wanita, tetapi juga pria. Kebanyakan gosip yaitu tentang kembalinya Serena. Gossip Girl oleh Cecily von Ziegesar pantas untuk dianalisis karena juga berisi beberapa konflik yang dimiliki oleh para karakter yang kebanyakan adalah para remaja. Sebagai pencari perhatian, para remaja, remaja Amerika khususnya, sering memunculkan konflik melalui banyak cara termasuk bergosip.

Ada tiga tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan yang pertama adalah untuk menemukan gosip-gosip yang diceritakan didalam cerita. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk mendapatkan konflik-konflik yang berhubungan dengan gosip didalam cerita. Tujuan yang terakhir adalah untuk melihat bagaimana pengaruh gosip terhadap konflik didalam cerita.

Mengaplikasikan sebuah studi pustaka, penelitian ini menggunakan beberapa buku sebagai sumber utama untuk menjawab tiga pertanyaan yang diformulasikan. Untuk mendukung dalam menganalisis cerita, beberapa teori digunakan, seperti teori konflik dan teori gosip. Resensi mengenai gosip diantara remaja Amerika juga dibutuhkan karena para remajalah yang kebanyakan berhadapan dengan gosip didalam cerita. Sementara itu, pendekatan yang digunakan untuk mengerjakan analisis ini adalah pendekatan psikologis. Sebuah perspektif psikologis tepat untuk membantu memahami cerita karena tingkah laku dan pikiran manusialah yang menimbulkan konflik dan gosip didalam cerita Gossip Girl.

Pada akhirnya, gosip gosip ditemukan di dalam analisis melalui teori konflik. Gosip gosip yang ditemukan didalam cerita diklasifikasikan melalui perspektif yang digosipkan dan yang bergosip. Yang kedua adalah temuan konflik konflik yang berhubungan dengan gosip. Mereka diklasifikasikan menjadi konflik internal dan eksternal. Beberapa konflik eksternal juga diklasifikasikan menjadi konflik langsung ataupun tak langsung. Dari temuan-temuan pada analisis sebelumnya, pengaruh dapat ditemukan. Perbedaan perspektif dari gosip memegang peranan penting dalam mempengaruhi konflik. Hanya konflik yang berhubungan dekat dengan isi gosip, orang yang digosipkan, dan orang yang bergosip yang mendapat pengaruh. Pengaruh itu tidak dibatasi oleh bagaimana konflik terselesaikan, tetapi juga bagaimana konflik itu dimulai, berkembang dan berakhir.

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

“Anyone can gossip. People like to do so because they thus achieve an effortless illusion of understanding.” (1985: 17). The statement written by Patricia Meyer Spacks in her book Gossip is indeed true. It does exist in our everyday’s life. Gossip mostly occurs between two or more people having conversation. Trying to count how many people do gossiping in each day is actually very subjective. It depends on how people define what gossip is. Emler in Erik K. Foster in his Research on Gossip (2004: 78) reported that “about 70% of conversation time involved gossip”. This percentage shows that gossip is everywhere in everyday’s conversation. People might have gossip to place themselves in certain place or condition. The fact that gossip is in every people’s conversation is actually too judging. However, people can hardly deny that at last.

To define what gossip is is also subjective. There are basically some

characteristics on how an “idle talk” or “chit-chat” is called as gossip. There are three factors to define the construct of gossip (2004: 80). The first is third parties not present, the second is evaluative content, and the last is situational factors. The exchange of information about absent third parties is enough to justify the gossip. Nevertheless, people might have a belief that gossip always contains a negative evaluation made by the gossipers. In fact, both positive and negative evaluations in gossip’s content are considered one of the constructions within. Lastly, not only

do the third parties and the content have important roles in constructing gossip, but the situation also has. The need for the proper condition and the right atmosphere cannot be separated from the first two (Foster, 2004: 81-83).

Apart from the construction of gossip that mostly people are able to acknowledge the idea with ease, they might not be well aware toward the existence of gossip in literature. It is an ordinary thing that gossip is talked about among spoken practices. It can be done among students in the school, mothers in the market, or even fathers in the office. In fact, it also emerges in literary works including novels. In the past, gossip is the friend of novel. The importance of gossip for an emerging feminist consciousness is one of the histories of the novel (Schantz, 2008: 10). Gossip used to be the weapon in literary works, especially novel, to criticize things such as feminism and gender equality. Novels such as Emma by Jane Austen and Chance by Joseph Conrad are the examples of the employing of gossip by the novelists within the story. The relation between gossip and novel is not merely that far. Nowadays, novelists mostly use gossip as substance to emphasize message and characters or influence the conflicts.

Due to the employment of gossip by novelists, there are two roles of gossip as written by Spacks. Both are gossip as thematic device and gossip as characterizing speech. (1985: 8-10). As a result, gossip in literary works is no longer defined as weapon to criticize only, but it also gives benefits to the novelists to reveal intrinsic things within. Firstly, as thematic device, gossip can

ambiguities of facticity and of interpretation—useful stuff for the novelist—and to the crucial importance and complexity of context” (1985: 8-9).

While in gossip as characterizing speech, gossip can illustrate the human revelation well including in tone and substance. It can convey fictional personality, even the dimensions of close relationship (1985: 10).

Knowing the relation between gossip and literature, it is very important to turn back to the literature itself. Literary works are well known as the representative of human life in a written form. All the objects in real life such as characters, plot, setting, and even conflict can easily be found in literary works. This is stated by Marlies L. Danziger and W. Stacy Johnson in An Introduction to Literary Criticism:

This defines literature in relation to life, seeing it as a way of reproducing or recreating the experiences of life in words, just as painting reproduces or recreated certain figures or scenes of life in outline and color (1961: 8). Each figure in literary work is designed differently by the author. However, the way they do and the way they say also result in different perceptions regarding to each point of view of the reader. Conflict, the one that always exists in every story, is one of the things that a character should deal with. No one can neglect every conflict that they have. Many factors can influence conflict. It can be hedonism in a society, disorder habit, or even gossip. Conflict can be whether better or worse, it depends on how certain factor influences it. Gossip, an unpredictable speaking habit, will be a great factor in influencing the conflicts. No one can predict how people do gossip about others; no one also can decide whether the gossip will influence a conflict in a good or a bad way.

In this research, the writer is interested in discussing gossip and conflict in certain novel. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar is the main object to analyze. Gossip Girl is actually a series consisting of thirteen novels. The first novel Gossip Girl was released in 2002. The uniqueness of the story and reality of

teenager’s habit presented here make this book quite appropriate to be used in this

research. Moreover, this is also the reason why Gossip Girl becomes best seller as New York Times states. Crissy Calhoun in her book Spotted: Your One and Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl strengthens the statement above. “The combination of no-holds-barred honesty about what teenagers can, and do, ... has made the Gossip Girl books best seller, with over 5.6 million copies sold as of August 2008” (2009: 6).

Gossip Girl can be easily classified as an American pop novel. It really represents the ideas of American teenagers at this time. The existence of friendship, love, and life style through gossip are raised in the novel. The complexity of the conflicts in the novel is also one of the reasons why the writer in this research uses it. This makes analyzing the topic of this research through this novel applicable.

Although there are total thirteen novels written by Cecily von Ziegesar as series, the first novel is much more interesting to the writer of this research since the writer of this research wants to find the initial idea of the author, Cecily von Ziegesar toward her intention through the series of this novel. Everything is nothing without any good beginning. The first novel of Gossip Girl is expected to

be out of box, extraordinary. So, the readers are eager to read more the other series.

Gossip Girl can never be separated with the attractive writing style by the author. There is a thing which is very iconic in this novel. That is described as a website called GossipGirl.net. That website is like the eyes of every character there. Gossips about anything and anyone are always uploaded and this make other characters can pretend that they know everything about the gossip. The characters in the story, like to gossip and make their speculation about anything especially which is presented in the website. These gossips are the prominent factors in influencing the conflicts. This is what the writer in this research tries to figure out, how gossips influence the conflicts in the story.

B. Problem Formulation

In this research, there are two questions have been formulated to be analyzed by the writer in the discussion:

1. How are the gossips described in the story?

2. How are the conflicts described in the story in relation with the gossip? 3. How do the gossips influence the conflicts in the story?

C. Objectives of the Study

The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of gossip toward the conflicts in the first novel of the series Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. The discussion is mainly about to answer the three problem formulations as mentioned

above. Firstly, the writer tries to find out the gossips described within the story. Secondly, the writer is eager to figure out the conflicts described in the story related to the gossips mentioned above. The last, the writer tries to observe how the gossips influence the conflicts within the story as questioned in the previous one.

D. Definition of Terms

There are several terms which are needed to be defined to avoid misunderstanding in this research.

The first term is gossip. According to Sarah R. Wert in a journal Review of General Psychology, it is states that Gossip happens within conversation and it is often very subtle especially for those who are outside observers, such as

researchers. “Gossip is every person’s behaviour, egalitarian in practice and in allure” (2004: 76).

The second one is conflict. According to Perrine, conflict is a struggle within a person or a struggle which involves a character and other things outside the character (1966: 54-59).

The last term that needs to be defined is influence. Influence, according to Drever, means any past or present condition, experienced as or actually playing a part in determining one behavior, or course of thought in the present (1958:134).

7

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

In this chapter, there would be divided into three parts. The first part will review several studies which had been done by other researchers related to the topic and the object of this research. The second goes to the review of certain theories which is used in this research, such as theory of conflict and theory of gossip. Last but not least, the last part explains how the theories mentioned in the previous part are applied in this research.

A. Review of Related Studies

In doing a research, reviewing some related studies is indeed prominent. The first part of this subchapter reviews a study about gossip itself. Ned Schantz wrote in his Gossip, Letters, Phones about the existence of gossip in Jane

Austen’s last novel, Persuasion. Schantz argued that Austen used gossip to counter the abuses of unscrupulous men through the way Mrs. Smith, a lonely widow fallen on hard times, talked to Anna about the cruelty of Mr. Elliot due to his intention in marrying Anna (2008: 11). Schantz classified this gossip as a

feminist revelation. Persuading a young lady to reject a wealthy man’s proposal is

a brave action done by a widow through gossip that she knew and she was quite sure that it was a fact not a merely gossip.

The fact that Anne later admits to herself that she might in fact have

succumbed to Mr. Elliot does little to redeem Mrs. Smith’s act, for the

saving force of gossip becomes in hindsight merely providential, exceeding the intentions of any individual. Since it is not a principled act, it remains gossip in its diminished state. And yet the fact remains that Providence in this case takes the form of a female network, thus showing

the way for more assertive women who might want to make a little Providence of their own. (Schantz, 2008: 11)

The second part of this subchapter discusses an article entitled Commodities in Literature, Literature as Commodity: A Close Look at the Gossip Girl Series by Amy Pattee. She tries to elaborate the strength of writing style by Cecily von Ziegesar and its television series which is being so incredible famous

among teenagers. She argues that Cecily von Ziegesar’s series was created on

purpose in order to feed into a television or movie franchise. (2006: 163). The good thing from the revelation of the novel through its television series is that the awareness for the audiences of the power of self-display. This awareness can place them on a track running parallel to that of the series characters which is preceded appropriate purchases and attitude (2006: 166-167).

After discussing about the correlation of Gossip Girl and its television series, the writer in this research goes to an article written by Lauren Mechling in A Nice Girl’s Guide to Misbehaving. She mainly talks about the teen life of Cecily von Ziegesar which is eventually known as being the source to her story in Gossip Girl. Mechling quotes that Ziegesar writes only about she knows. Her experiences might be out of date; nevertheless Ziegesar is sure that the girls still do exactly the same thing as she did.

School days are close to von Ziegesar’s heart. The 32-year-old New Yorker has channelled her inner 16-year-old into a series of saucy novels,

revolving around Manhattan’s junior set, which have become a literary phenomenon in America. (http://www.arlindo-correia.com/120103.html) Last but not least, an undergraduate thesis done by Yuniar Eka Risti is the one which fills the last part of this subchapter. Entitled The Influence of Hedonism

in Socialite Community toward the Main Character Jenny Humprey, this study

uses the same novel as this research uses which is Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl. Nevertheless, she used hedonism in socialite community as the main topic,

and related it into the character’s personality changing. Jenny Humphrey, one of the main characters, is totally different from the character’s stereotype of this

novel. She is sweet, kind, innocent girl, yet not a socialite. Surrounded by many socialites friends makes her want to be like them, including being hedonistic. Her appearance, lifestyle and trait change after she meets the socialites.

Everything is done to be like her socialites friends, to be like Serena, Blair although it is impossible because she has no family name, no popularity, no wealth. She becomes an unrealistic person. And the socialite life is not suitable at Jenny characteristics and lifestyle. (Risti, 2010: 55-56)

From the four studies explained above, the writer of this research hereby states that they differ from what this research tries to figure out. In one hand,

Schantz discusses gossip as feminist revelation in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. This study is used to acknowledge how to trace a literary work through gossip. On the other hand Pattee discusses the Gossip Girl series and Mechling writes about an argument that Gossip Girl is basically about Cecily von Ziegesar’s teen life. Those are needed to support this research in doing the analysis. Meanwhile, the writer of this research also discusses the last study mentioned because it has used Gossip Girl previously as the object of the study for an undergraduate thesis. The four studies are presented to strengthen that the idea of this research is purely original from the writer and to be an endorsing studies in analyzing the problems on the next fourth chapter.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Conflict

Conflict is one of the intrinsic elements in a literary work that always exits in everyday life. It can bring the satisfaction of the reader in reading a literary work. Every writer should concern how to make a story keep moving. This movement is commonly come up with the resolution of conflict. Conflict can

occur when there is “a clash between characters, between a character and his

environment, within himself, a clash of forces in the universe, even a struggle for meaning on the part of the reader” (Beaty, 1973: 604). Conflict grabs readers’ interests to take a part of the story.

Hugh Holman and William Harmon in A Handbook to Literature (1986: 107-108) state that conflict is a struggle within a plot which grows out of the interplay of the two opposing forces. A struggle against another person, a struggle against society, a struggle against nature, a struggle for mastery by two elements with the person, and the struggle against fate or destiny are 4 different classifications of conflict and one additional possibility of conflict. Not only does conflict imply the struggle between a protagonist against someone or something, but also it implies the existence of some motivation for the conflict or some aims to be achieved thereby.

Robert Stanton in his An Introduction to Fiction (1964: 16) states that every conflict in a literary work can be distinguished into two: internal conflict and external conflict. Both conflicts can be in turn subordinate to the central conflict. It is indeed always between fundamental and contrasting qualities or

forces, such as honesty and hypocrisy, innocence and experience, individuality and the pressure to conform.

There are two other fundamental types of conflict stated by Maciver and Charles H. Page in Society: An Introductory Analysis: direct and indirect conflict. Conflict which occurs when individual or groups thwart or impede or restrain or injure or destroy one another in the effort to obtain some goals is classified as direct conflict. On the other hand, conflict which occurs when individuals or groups do not actually impede the efforts of one another but nevertheless seek to obtain their ends in ways which obstruct the attainment of the same ends by others belongs to indirect conflict. (1950: 64)

2. Theory of Gossip

The anthropologist Gary Fine argues that gossip is a “form of discourse between persons discussing the behaviour, character, situation, or attributes of

absent others” (1997: 422). The absence of others gives more possibility for

people to talk about them rather than the one who is presence.

In Gossip and Scandal, as quoted by Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern in Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rummors, and Gossip (2004: 30-35), Max Gluckman states that gossip contributes to the unity of the group. It can control

“aspiring individuals and make possible the selection of leaders without

embarrassment. “Nevertheless, gossip somewhat can be manipulated by the powerful against others. A bit different from Gluckman, Robert Paine in An Alternative Hypothesis sees gossip as being made by individuals to forward and

protect their interests. Gossip within groups having rival interests is likely to be competitive and hostile.

Apart from the definition of gossip explained above, there are three classifications of gossip stated by Patricia Meyer Spacks in her Gossip: destructiveness, avoidance and competition, and intimacy. Rather than defining those as goals, Spacks prefers to define the classification in terms of real:

The classification that I have just offered differentiated most importantly in terms of real rather than announced goals: destructiveness at one extreme, avoidance and competition in cocktail party gossip, intimacy and

moral investigation at the “serious” end of the spectrum. (1985: 6)

Destructive gossip plays with reputation, dealing with truths and half-truths and falsehood about the activities, somehow about the motives and feelings, of others. It often produces serious purposes for the gossipers by damaging competitors or enemies, or diminishing another. This kind of gossip can affect incalculable harm. (1985: 4)

The second classification of gossip argued by Spacks is apparently the most common one. A competitive gossip constitutes moral avoidance. This kind

of gossip can solidify a group’s sense of itself. People might measure who is up or who is down to compete each other to reveal complacencies of groups in power. (1985: 5)

On the contrary, there lies a gossip which exists only as a function of intimacy, mostly taking place in private. Gossipers talk about others “to reflect about themselves, to express wonder and uncertainty and locate certainties, to

Foster on his Research on Gossip divides social functions of gossip into 4 varieties. They are gossip functioning as information, entertainment, friendship, and influence (2004: 83-86).

a. Information

Gossip is widely functioned as media to gather or disseminate information in an efficient way. Nevertheless, no matter how salient or scandalous the information is, it will not be counted as gossip unless the participants know enough about the people involved to experience the thrill of revelation;

b. Entertainment

Gossip as entertainment actually depends on the sensitivity of the gossipee in receiving the information being passed. The entertainment value of gossips occurs outside the actual change. It can exist solely for the entertainment value of the gossipers;

c. Friendship

When gossip brings group together through the sharing norms, establishing boundaries to distinguish insiders from outsiders, this is then one function of gossip as friendship;

d. Influence

People somehow can learn how to behave – what to do and what not to do

– from listening to gossip. Gossip is acknowledged to be an efficient social mechanism. (Foster, 2004: 83-86)

C. Review of Gossip among American Teenagers

Based on Alice Marwick and Danah Boyd in The Drama! (2011: 1),

today’s gossip, jokes, and arguments that bring conflict for teenagers are nothing new. Through gossip, teens try to define the boundaries of acceptability, allowing them to construct and refine their own morality and sense of social norms. Many teens ask their friends whether they already know about the newest gossip or not to place themselves in a group. It allows teens to both make certain they are mutually aware of a particular event and signal their own attitude towards it. (2011: 10)

“While teen conflict will never go away, networked public have changed

how it operates.” (Marwick, 2011: 23). Gossips also circulate on networked

publics. As attention seekers, teens perform gossip for everyone. Both the performative and attention-seeking aspects of gossip grab teenagers into popularity.

This review is really suitable with the novel being used in this research which is Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. The existence of a website called gossipgirl.net containing lots of gossip obtains the participation of the characters which are teenagers to read and state opinions. It deals with their eagerness to seek attention from others.

D. Theoretical Framework

This research reveals the influence of gossips toward the conflict in Cecily

answered. Thereby, there are some theories presented to help the writer in answering the questions. The theory of gossip by Patricia Mayer Spacks and Erik K. Foster are used to figure out and classify the gossips found in the story. After that, the theory of conflict by Robert Stanton and Maciver and Charles H. Page are used to find out the conflicts happening in the story in relation with the gossip. There are some conflicts between characters and conflict within character. Lastly, there are also some studies using whether the same topic or the same novel which is needed to deepen the analysis of this research. The review of gossip among American teenager is also used to help the writer to comprehend the way American teenagers behave.

17

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

This study analyzes a novel of Cecily von Ziegesar entitled Gossip Girl. Published by Little, Brown and Company at 2002, this novel contains 199 pages. Stated as the first bestselling novel by New York Times, this success of Gossip Girl leads it into several following series. They are You Know You Love Me (2002), All I Want Is Everything (2003), Because I’m Worth It (2003), I Like It Like That (2004), You’re The One That I Want (2004), Nobody Does It Better (2005), Nothing Can Keep Us Together (2005), Only in Your Dreams (2006), Would I Lie To You (2006), Don’t You Forget About Me (2007), It Had To Be You (2007), and I Will Always Love You (2009).

Just like any other novels, Gossip Girl also has several subchapters to emphasize its plot and conflict. The first thing that people notice about this novel is that the presence of a website with no name administrator. This uniqueness makes this novel interesting to read. This website is like the link to other characters. Gossip Girl surely reflects the reality among teenagers. The development of technology conquers them unconsciously. Without any other information obtained, people will easily guess what this novel about through the title. Gossip Girl, as the title suggested, is about groups of people who like to gossip. Gossip is then the one that grabs the characters into the conflicts.

Gossip Girl is actually mostly about a controversy which happens because of the coming back of the most adorable girl in town, Serena. Some characters are busy to guess the reason why she goes back, while others are on their own way to reject the coming of Serena to maintain their popularity among others. On the other hand, the love triangle between Serena, Blair, and Nate also makes their own conflict. The love life, divorcement scandal, and friendship are also presented in a real logic within the story.

B. Approach of the Study

In every research, an approach is needed to attain a different way of looking at literature. Dealing with human’s mind and behaviour, the following analysis is explained. Hence, in this research, the writer chooses psychological approach to analyze the object of this research in accordance with psychological way. Using this approach, the writer can gain better understanding of human behaviour since psychology studies human behaviour.

Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. in Reading and Writing about Literature (1971, 13-15) argues that psychological approach is an “approach to literature which involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain pattern”. It is applied to study a man’s life together with his mind and behaviour. In a literary work, there exists a set of symbols which are common to all men and which can be interpreted as the individual’s experience. A set of symbols covers the expression of men’s mind and behaviour through words, thoughts, and actions.

This psychological approach is suitable to this research since it is human who does the gossips and conflicts. Instead of focusing only on the text, the writer in this research deepens the analysis into the other dimension in this text which is beyond the characters’ mind and behavior.

In this research, elements that are analyzed are conflict and gossip. These two things are really connected to someone’s mind. Therefore, psychological approach is considered as the most proper approach to be used to analyze Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl.

C. Method of the Study

Using the novel Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar as the primary source led the writer in this research to use library research method in conducting the analysis. As the secondary sources, the writer chose several suitable books due to the need in solving the problem formulation presented in the first chapter. Some data on the website which were found in the internet were used as the secondary sources as well.

After reading the primary source, Gossip Girl, for several times, the writer in this research figured out several topics based on the main issues within the story. The topics were sorted carefully so that eventually the writer used the most applicable topic which was about the influence of gossips toward the conflicts. Those parts were followed by making problem formulation to be answered in the analysis. After finding some theories which were suitable to answer the problems, some data were collected as the secondary sources to support the study.

In answering the first problem formulation, the writer used the theory of conflict which were taken from Hugh Holman and William Harmon in A Handbook to Literature, Robert Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction, and Maciver and Charles H. Page in Society: An Introductory Analysis. In answering the second problem formulation, the theory of gossip was the one that was needed. The data were taken from Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern in Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rummors, and Gossip, Patricia Meyer Spacks in Gossip, and a journal from Erik K. Foster entitled Research on Gossip. After having enough data to read, the writer in this research started doing the analysis.

21

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

In this chapter, the writer answers the questions formulated in chapter I. The writer of this research analyzes the problems with sufficient understanding into three parts. The first part discusses about the gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar‘s Gossip Girl which is questioned in the first problem formulation. The second part shows the conflicts in the story in relation with the gossips. The results are compiled to figure out the answer for the third question. Hence, the third part in this chapter discusses about the influences of gossips toward the conflicts which have been mentioned previously.

A. Gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl

In Cecily von Ziegesar‘s Gossip Girl, gossips play a quite prominent role in bringing the reader to understand the plot. Based on psychology science, gossip is every person‘s behavior, egalitarian in practice and in allure (Wert, 2004: 76). It is a ―form of discourse between persons discussing the behavior, character, situation, or attributes of absent others‖ (Fine, 1997: 422).

Gossips itself cannot be judged as something that is always bad. Therefore, the writer in this research distinguishes them through their function. It is important to differentiate the functions from the two different points of views; the gossipee and the gossipers. Spacks (1985: 6) herself differentiates gossips into three characteristics; destructiveness, avoidance and competition, and intimacy. It is then developed by Foster (2004: 83-86) trying to differ gossips into four

functions. They are gossip functioning as information, entertainment, friendship and influence. In this part, the writer of this research analyzes the gossips based on the gossipee‘s and the gossiper‘s point of view through the classification that has mentioned before in a psychological perspective.

1. Gossips among Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and Mrs. Archibald

The first gossips emerging early in the story are about Mr. Waldorf‘s changing and Cyrus Rose‘s ugliness. Mrs. Waldorf, who was depressed because of her infamous divorce, eventually procures her confidence since she met Cyrus Rose. The changing of her appearances contributes a topic for her friends to talk about. The fact that Mrs. Waldorf changes a lot grabs her friends‘ eagerness to have a gossip. The gossips are spread out among Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and Mrs. Archibald:

―She does look thinner,‖ Blair heard Mrs. Bass whisper to Mrs. Coates. ―But I‘ll bet she‘s had a chin tuck.‖

―I bet you‘re right. She‘s grown her hair out—that‘s the tell-tale sign. It hides the scars,‖ Mrs. Coates whispered back. (p. 11),

The content of the gossips among them are not destructive for the gossipee, Mrs. Waldorf. It is a common thing for someone to discuss about other who changes a lot. They try to speculate what Mrs. Waldorf has done to change herself through gossip. Instead of denigrating the one that being talked about (Stewart, 2004: 37), for Spacks, they merely do that for avoidance and competition, as many gossipers do in a cocktail party gossip (1985: 6). Measuring who is up and who is down to reveal complacencies is the goal. Mrs. Waldorf who was widely known to be depressed has recovered though her physical changing. Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and Mrs. Archibald do not show any intention

to destroy Mrs. Waldorf‘s reputation. They talk each other as everyone will have in a party to start a conversation among friends to compete who gets better who does not.

The second gossip is about Cyrus Rose‘s ugliness. The following gossips among Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and Mrs. Archibald are not the continuity of the previous one. This time, they gossip about Eleanor Waldorf‘s new boyfriend, Cyrus Rose. The same as the previous one, this gossip is not destructive for the gossipee, Cyrus Rose. Both contents do not show any falsehood about the gossipees. This is an avoidance and competition gossip. Since the party is intentionally held by Waldorf to introduce Rose, it is psychologically acceptable to talk about the upcoming guest. Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and Mrs. Archibald gossip each other about the ugliness of Mrs. Waldorf‘s new boyfriend.

―I smell Old Spice,‖ Mrs. Coates whispered to Mrs. Archibald. ―Do you think he‘s actually wearing Old Spice?‖

That would be the male equivalent of wearing Impulse body spray, which everyone knows is the female equivalent of nasty.

―I‘m not sure,‖ Mrs. Archibald whispered back. ―But I think he might be.‖ She snatched a cod-and-caper spring roll off Esther‘s platter, popped it into her mouth, and chewed it vigorously, refusing to say anything more. She couldn‘t bear for Eleanor Waldorf to overhear them. Gossip and idle chat were amusing, but not at the expense of an old friend‘s feelings. (p. 12),

Based on Foster‘s classification (2004: 85), this gossip is more suitable to function as friendship if it is looked from the gossipers‘ point of view. Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, Mrs. Archibald, and Mrs. Waldorf are friends. Psychologically, as friends, the three of them do not have intention to harm Mrs. Waldorf; on the contrary, this gossip brings them together through the sharing norms, establishing boundaries to distinguish insiders from outsiders. Cyrus Rose, a new comer, can

be considered an outsider among them. The party is a time for Eleanor Waldorf to bring Rose to the insiders, the Upper East Siders.

2. Gossips among Chuck Bass, Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates

The unexpected coming of Serena van der Woodsen at Eleanor Waldorf‘s party contrives another gossip. Nobody knows why she is back. Chuck, Kati, and Isabel gossip to guess the fact instead. What the exact reason why Serena is back is still a question. Without Serena knows, they gossip each other about what Serena has done at her former boarding school:

―A thousand bucks says she got kicked out,‖ Chuck told them. ―And doesn‘t she lookfucked? I think she‘s been thoroughly fucked. Maybe she had some sort of prostitution ring going up there. The Merry Madam of Hanover Academy,‖ he added, laughing at his own stupid joke.

―I think she looks kind of spaced out, too,‖ Kati said. ―Maybe she‘s on heroin.‖

―Or some prescription drug,‖ Isabel said. ―You know like, Valium or Prozac. Maybe she‗s gone totally nuts.‖

―She could‘ve been making her own E,‖ Kati agreed. ―She was always good at science.‖

―I heard she joined some kind of cult,‖ Chuck offered. ―Like, she‘s been brainwashed and now all she thinks about is sex and she like, has to do it all the time.‖ (p. 21),

What Chuck, Kati, and Isabel have said is apparently rude. The way they speculate the reason why Serena is back is a falsehood. It both denigrates and harms Serena. This gossip is manipulated to resist Serena. (Gluckman, 1963: 308) According to Spacks (1985: 4), the writer in this research counts this is as a destructive gossip. It endangers Serena‘s reputation. While from the gossipee‘s point of view, their gossip is destructive, from the gossipers‘ point of view, theirs has function as friendship (Foster, 2004: 82). It brings them together through the sharing norms, establishing boundaries to distinguish insiders from outsiders.

Although Serena also lives in Upper East Side, she is a new comer for them who keep being friends for years when Serena has left. Considering Serena as the outsider is basically because Serena has gone several years ago and she is out of Chuck‘s, Kati‘s, and Isabel‘s circumstances.

3. Gossips among Rain Hoffstetter, Kati Farkas, and Isabel Coates

Rain Hoffstetter, Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates are in the same school as Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen go, Constance. They, except Serena, gather in their first day school to have a welcoming ceremonial. Serena‘s return has become the most updated news in school. It is human‘s nature that people will not stop talking about newest news; it makes them look well-associated with others. The girls also do not have anything to talk about, except the gossip about Serena. Almost the same as in gossips among Chuck, Kati, and Isabel, Blair is also presence there within Rain, Kati, and Isabel‘s gossips. Nevertheless, again, Blair prefers not to say a word. She lets her friends gossiping about her rival, Serena:

―I heard she‘s selling these pills with the letter S stamped on them. She‘s completely addicted to them,‖ Kati told Rain.

―Wait till you see her,‖ Isabel said. ―She‘s a total mess.‖

―Yeah,‖ Rain whispered back. ―I heard she‘d started some kind of voodoo cult up in New Hampshire.‖

Kati giggled. ―I wonder if she‘ll ask us to join.‖ (p. 40),

From the previous gossip that has been mentioned, the two gossips presented above are alike. The point is that they still guess the reason why Serena is back and what Serena has done before. Without considering the truth, they keep spreading the gossip which is quite attractive to discuss about, for teenagers apparently. From the gossipee‘s point of view, it is clear that their gossip

endangers Serena‘s reputation. The gossip is their miscomprehension about Serena. They do not think that their gossip is harmful for the one that is being talked about, Serena. That is why this gossip can be classified as a destructive gossip (Spacks, 1985: 4).

―Look, see how Serena‘s resting her hands on her stomach? She‘s probably pregnant,‖ Isabel Coates whispered to Rain Hoffstetter. ―You only do that when you‘re pregnant.‖

―She could have had an abortion this morning. Maybe that‘s why she‘s late,‖ Rain whispered back.

―My father gives money to Phoenix House,‖ Kati told Laura Salmon. ―I‘m going to find out if Serena‘s been there. I bet that‘s why she came back halfway through term. She‘s been in rehab.‖ (p. 43),

The reason why they do not seem to think that it harms Serena‘s prestige is because their gossip is also considered as friendship‘s function (Foster, 2004: 82). Again, similar to the previous gossips, this one also brings Rain, Kati, and Isabel keep being together to talk about Serena. Instead of gossiping with other people, they share each other what they know about the gossips while they are in school. From the gossipers‘ point of view, they gossip to distinguish them from Serena as the outsider. Serena used to be Constance‘s student, but now she is a new student. They do not gossip to other people that they rarely know, the way they tell each other strengthen their friendship unconsciously.

4. Gossips among Chuck Bass, Roger Paine, and Jeffrey Prescott

This time, the gossip takes place on the corner if Seventy-seventh Street and West End Avenue. Chuck Bass with his seniors: Roger Paine and Jeffrey Prescott have a gossip about Serena‘s return; the same gossip as the last two has been explained. They school in Riverside Preps altogether with Daniel Humphrey. In this Gossip Girl, Ziegesar narrates the way the characters gossip similar to each

other. While in the previous explanation it is Blair who does not actually get involved within the gossips, in this part, Dan is put in the same situation as Blair has. Here, although Daniel Humphrey does not join their conversation, he intentionally hears them gossiping because they talk about his idol, Serena. Chuck, Roger, and Jeffrey speak to each other about Serena‘s return:

―And she (Serena) was all over me. She‘s like, the sluttiest girl I‘ve ever met.‖ Chuck took another toke on his smoke.

―Really?‖ Jeffrey said.

―Yes, really. First of all, I just found out that she‘s been fucking Nate Archibald since tenth grade. And she‘s definitely gotten an education at boarding school, if you know what I mean. They had to get rid of her, she‘s so slutty.‖

―No way,‖ Roger said. ―Come on, dude, you don‘t get kicked out for being a slut.‖

―You do if you keep a record of every boy you slept with and get them hooked on the same drugs you‘re doing. Her parents had to go up there and get her. She was, like, taking over the school!‖ Chuck was getting really worked up. His face was turning red and he was spitting as he talked.

―I heard she‘s got diseases, too,‖ he added. ―Like, STDs. Someone saw her going into a clinic in the East Village. She was wearing a wig.‖ (p. 51), From the quotation above, it is explicit that Chuck is the one that try to convince his friends to believe his gossips about Serena. Chuck‘s words are overly foul. This gossip is destructive (Spacks, 1985: 4). Serena‘s reputation is in jeopardy. Chuck, the gossiper, damages the gossipee through what he knows which is a falsehood. Nevertheless, although that gossip is destructive for the one that being talked about, the gosipee, Serena, it can be classified differently from Chuck‘s point of view. As Foster (2004: 85) developed, that kind of gossip belongs to function as influence. Considering the fact that Roger and Jeffrey are Chuck‘s seniors, it seems prominent for Chuck to get their appreciation. As attention seeker, Chuck the teenager, feels the need to gather their attention to

maintain his existence among their friendship. Psychologically, it is common for juniors to attract their senior due to the importance of their presence. His influence leads them what to do and what not to do toward Serena. This is very efficient to be social mechanism. In addition, here is another quotation that strengthens the statement that Chuck is very confident about himself to influence other‘s attention. This happens when Chuck tries to convince Serena that she needs him. ――Well, I‘m all booked up for this month, but I can put you on the waiting list,‖ Chuck said huffily, trying to regain his composure.‖ (p.19).

5. Gossips among Nate Archibald, Jeremy Scott Tompkinson, Anthony

Avuldsen, and Charlie Dern

Apart from Riverside Prep, there is another school called St. Jude‘s School for Boys where Nate Archibald, Jeremy Scott Tompkinson, Anthony Avuldsen, and Charlie Dern go. The next gossip occurs in a private when they play a ball. The gossip is actually started by Nate‘s friends, Jeremy, Anthony, and Charlie, who are curious about Serena‘s return. Almost the same as Blair, Nate who belongs within the conversation remains silent. His feeling toward Serena is the reason why he does not reply his friends‘ gossip about her. It is Jeremy, Anthony, and Charlie who keeps gossiping although Nate does not show any responds.

Charlie cleared his throat and spit in the grass. ―What‘d she look like?‖ he asked. ―I heard she got into all sorts of trouble up at Hanover.‖

―Me too,‖ Anthony said, sucking on the roach. ―I heard she got kicked out for having sex with this whole group of guys in her room. Her roommate ratted her out.‖ He laughed. ―Like, couldn‘t she afford a hotel room?‖ Charlie laughed. ―I heard she has a kid. I‘m serious. She had it in France and left it there. Her parents are paying to have it rised in some fancy French convent. It‘s like a fucking movie, man.‖ (p. 78-79),

From the conversation above, it is figured out that gossip which Jeremy, Anthony, and Charlie share is what they have heard before. Clearly, it destructs the gossipee‘s credibility, Serena‘s. They endanger Serena‘s reputation because what they gossip is a lie. Therefore, the writer in this research concludes this as a destructive gossip as Spacks (1985: 4) has classified. This is the same as the last three gossips which are also about Serena. On the contrary, if it is looked from the gossipers‘ point of view, the pattern is similar to the previous gossips between Chuck, Kati, and Isabel, and Rain, Kati, and Isabel. This gossip functions as friendship (Foster, 2004: 84). Jeremy, Anthony, Charlie, and Nate are friends. As the new comer, Serena is considered as the outsider as the other characters treat her. The gossips bring them together to share what they know. A friendship keeps going because they need each other. This time, Serena‘s return brings gossips which make them altogether. This friendship gossip also functions as the boundary between the gossipers, Jeremy, Anthony, Charlie, and Nate and the gossipee, Serena. The quotation below shows other evidence, that the gossip reinforces the statement that it denigrates Serena.

―Wonder if she even knows who the daddy is,‖ Anthony said.

―I heard there was a pretty major drug thing going on, too,‖ Charlie said. ―She was dealing and got addicted to whatever it was. She was in rehab in Switzerland all summer. After the baby was born, I guess.‖ (p. 79).

6. Gossips in GossipGirl.net

In Cecily von Ziegesar‘s Gossip Girl, there is a website which the readers will not neglect called GossipGirl.net. As the website‘s name has called, the contents within the web seem to be unsure news. It seems that there is a person who watches all the occasion happens among the characters. It also uses initial

names instead of real names. Nevertheless, the Upper East Siders do not have difficulty in guessing whom it is talking about, such as S for Serena and B for Blair, because they are popular figures that the website always tells about.

As have been explained previously, it is mostly about Serena‘s return which has become the gossips among the characters. The gossips in the website are overly destructive for the gossipee, Serena. It mentions some information why Serena is back. In fact, the reasons mentioned are merely invalid. The writer in this research classifies them into two parts based on the content of the gossips.

a. Gossip about Serena van der Woodsen’s Disease

The first gossip is about the disease had by Serena. The writer of the website writes that there is someone who is like Serena goes to an STD clinic. In fact, the girl may be someone else. The writer of the website does not directly write that it is Serena van der Woodsen. She uses her initial name, S instead. However, the readers of the website may be over thinking that it is Serena van der Woodsen whom the writer talks about.

Also seen: a girl bearing striking resemblance to S, coming out of an STD clinic on the Lower East Side. She was wearing a thick black wig and big sunglasses. Some disguise. And very late last night, S was seen leaning out of her bedroom window over Fifth Avenue, looking a little lost. (p. 38), Also saw that same wigged girl going into STD clinic downtown. If that is S, she‘s definitely got a bad case of the nasties. Oh, and in case you‘re wondering why I frequent the neighbourhood of the STD clinic—I get my hair cut at a very trendy salon across the street. (p. 102),

As Spacks (1985: 4) writes, this kind of gossip is really destructive for the gossipee. In the story, S represents Serena van der Woodsen. Therefore, the gossips in GossipGirl.net destruct Serena‘s reputation because other characters mentioned in the story tend to define S as Serena. The fact that Serena loses her

best friends and she is being frustrated when she is back to Upper East Side is the evidence that Serena‘s reputation is destroyed. The reason why most of the characters avoid her is not known by Serena. In fact, it may be because of the website because the website is popular among the characters. The evidences of the previous statement are done in the last subchapter in this analysis.

b. Gossips about Serena van der Woodsen’s Baby in France

The second gossip from GossipGirl.net is about Serena‘s baby. The writer of the website narrates that S has a baby in France. This is the same as the previous gossip from the website. Even though the writer just uses S in her story, the other characters seem to define S as Serena van der Woodsen.

This time, though, Claire surprises him by asking if he‘s heard that S not only got pregnant last year, but that she gave birth in France. Her baby‘s name is Jules and he is alive and well and living in Marseilles. (p. 65), ―Also caught S at the post office, mailing a big package. Barneys baby clothes for her little French tot, maybe?‖ (p. 82). Identically the same as the previous gossip about Serena‘s disease, this gossip about Serena‘s baby is also destructive. Those gossips are falsehood. The fact that Serena has disease or a baby is not proven in the story. Telling something wrong about someone definitely endanger his/her reputation.

At last, the writer in this research presents the function of gossips in GossipGirl.net based on the gossiper‘s point of view which is the website itself. Even though all the gossips in the website are destructive, it does not impede the gossipee directly. This is because the writer of the website never mentions the real name. The characters in the story are the ones who likely decide which letters

stand for certain names. Beside its destructiveness, those also function as entertainment and information. As Foster (2004: 83-84) argues, those gossips are overly suitable as what he has classified. Those gossips in the website are widely functioned as a media to gather or disseminate information in an efficient way among the characters. The writer of the website does not need to do any effort to share what she knows. The characters who are the readers of the website can also easily acknowledge the information. It also functions as entertainment because it is quite entertaining for the readers who are mostly teenagers. Psychologically, people in this world cannot neglect the need of gossiping because it is relieving. The satisfaction of having some gossips can provide separated feeling for the gossipers. The entertainment value of gossips occurs outside the actual change. It can exist solely for the entertainment value of the gossipers. Those gossips in the website are entertaining for the characters in the story because they can share the gossips to entertain each other consciously or unconsciously.

To give a clearer analysis of the first question in the problem formulation, the writer in this research creates a table covering all the explanation above about gossips in the story.

Table 1. Gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl No. Gossips

Functions From the

Gossipee‘s Point of View

From the Gossiper‘s Point of View

1.

Gossips among Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Coates, and Mrs. Archibald

Avoidance and

Competition Friendship

2.

Gossips among Chuck Bass, Kati Farkas, and Isabel Coates

Destructive Friendship 3. Gossips among Rain Destructive Friendship

Hoffstetter, Kati Farkas, and Isabel Coates

4.

Gossips among Chuck Bass, Roger Paine, and Jeffrey Presscott

Destructive Influence

5.

Gossips among Nate Archibald, Jeremy Scott Tompkinson, Anthony Avuldsen, and Charlie Dern

Destructive Friendship

6. Gossips in GossipGirl.net Destructive Entertainment and Information

It shows that most of the gossips are destructive if it is looked from the gossipee‘s point of view. It is because the content itself, it endangers the gosipee‘s reputation. While from the gossiper‘s point of view, most of the gossip function as friendship because by gossiping they can share norm in private, distinguish insiders from outsiders.

B. Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl in Relation with the Gossips

As Beaty describes that whenever there is a clash between characters, between a character and his environment, within himself, a clash of forces in the universe, even a struggle for meaning on the part of the reader, it is counted as conflict (1973: 604). Conflict is not only able to be explained through definitions, but it can also be classified into two kinds: internal and external conflict. Stanton (1964: 16) argues that internal conflict deals with conflict between two desires within a character‘s mind, while external conflict focuses on conflict between characters, or between a character and his environment.

There are struggles between characters, within characters, or even more than that. Hereby, in answering the second question formulated, the writer differs them into whether internal or external conflict.

1. Internal Conflict

There are some internal conflicts deployed by Cecily von Ziegesar in this novel. Starting from the beginning of the story, the writer arranges this part.

a. Blair Waldorf’s Conflict

The story opens through Blair Waldorf‘s early conflict. She has two desires to get what she wants within her minds. They are her disapproval toward her mother‘s new boyfriend and her desire to see her mother happy.

Blair, as everyone calls her, has her minds mixed dealing with her mother‘s new boyfriend, Cyrus Rose. She definitely resists the presence of Cyrus for stealing her mother‘s heart, Eleanor Waldorf. However, she can do nothing for stating her disagreement in public regarding the fact that her father has left her mother the previous year for a man because there is likely an infamous divorce among Upper East Side‘s society. Blair cannot directly say what is on her mind, because she does not want to let her mother disappointed. All she wants to do is to see her mother happy.

The man Blair was so upset about was Cyrus Rose, her mother‘s new boyfriend. ... He looked like someone who might help you pick out shoes at Sacks – bald, except for a small, bushy moustache, his fat stomach barely hidden in a shiny blue double-breasted suit. .... He had a loud laugh and was very sweet to Blair‘s mother. But he wasn‘t Blair‘s father. (p. 6), Blair thinks that it is unbelievable that her mother falls in love with Cyrus. He is definitely ugly. It is embarrassed for Blair to have Cyrus in her house, in the Upper East Side, an exclusive area. Again, Blair just keeps her minds by herself.

As far as Blair was concerned, Cyrus Rose was a completely annoying, fat, loser. But tonight Blair was going to have to tolerate Cyrus Rose, because the dinner party her mother was giving was in his honor, and all the Waldorfs‘ family friends were there to meet him. (p. 6),

These incompatible minds lead the writer in this research resumes that Blair has internal conflict. Instead of saying that she dislikes her mother‘s boyfriend, she decides to keep that in mind and pretends that everything is alright. The fact, that her mother gets better after she meets Cyrus, also makes Blair stops saying anything that will break Eleanor‘s heart. The party is held on purpose by her mother, she does not want to ruin that. There is nothing that can make her mother happy as good as Cyrus did, as Ziegesar writes, ―A year ago she wouldn‘t have fit into the dress, but she had lost twenty pounds since she met Cyrus. She looked fantastic.‖ (p. 11).

b. Daniel Humphrey’s Conflict

Daniel Humphrey, a pale and miserable man, is not the stereotype of the Upper East Side‘s society. Daniel loves the main character, Serena, but he tends to think that it is impossible for them to have a relationship. Daniel has two desires within his minds: his desire to say the truth that he loves Serena and his desire to stop his move to pursue Serena because he is not in the same status as Serena has. Both are mingled.

Dan, Daniel‘s nickname, deeply falls in love with Serena van der Woodsen, the main character, at the first sight when Jenny had a party in their house. Dan adores Serena so much that he stalks her all the time without having any intention to be detected. The reason why he does not show his true feeling is that they are in different status. Dan lives in Ninety-ninth and West End Avenue, on the contrary Serena lives on 994 Fifth Avenue, a ritzy, white gloving building. They both just do not match. Ziegesar narrates;

Afterwards, Jenny told him that Serena went to her school, Constance, and from then on Jenny was his little emissary, reporting everything she‘d seen Serena do, say, wear, etc., and informing Dan about any upcoming events where he might catch a glimpse of her again. Those events were rare. Not because there weren‘t a lot of them – there were – but because there weren‘t many Dan had even a chance of going to. Dan didn‘t inhabit the same world as Serena and Blair and Nate and Chuck. He wasn‘t anybody. He was just a regular kid. (p. 49),

Dan feels so hopeless about his feeling. It becomes worse when Serena leaves Constance. His minds try to trace a way, but the reality does not. The unspoken feeling disappears.

For two years Dan followed Serena, yearningly, from a distance. He never spoke to her. When she went away to boarding school, he tried to forget about her, sure that he would never see her again, unless by some act of magic they wound up at the same college. (p. 49),

The conflicts within Daniel Humphrey‘s minds are very contradictory. Even after the coming back of Serena to Constance, Dan still keeps silent and lies to himself that he completely misses Serena. The time, Jenny tells Dan about Serena‘s return, he responds a mere falsehood instead.

Serena van der Woodsen. He took a long drag on his Camel. His hands were shaking so much he almost missed his mouth.

―Dan?‖ his sister squeaked into the phone. ―Can you hear me? Did you hear what I said? Serena is back. Serena van der Woodsen.‖

Dan sucked in his breath sharply. ―Yeah, I hear you,‖ he said, feigning disinterest. ―So what?‖

―So what?‖ Jenny said incredulously. ―Oh, right, like you didn‘t just have a mini heart attack. You‘re so full of it, Dan.‖ (p. 48),

Daniel Humphrey is quite well aware of his position. This grabs him into his conflict, which goes around in his minds only. He struggles against himself with two desires on his head.

c. Nate Archibald’s Conflict

Nathaniel Archibald, well-known as Nate Archibald, is the last character who has the two desires over his mind as well. He is confronted with the two most gorgeous girls among other characters, Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf. His double desires are he loves both girls, Serena and Blair. He misses Serena, but he cannot show it since he is Blair‘s boyfriend.

Nate wants to get Serena for the second time when Serena decides to go back to Upper East Side. However, he already has Blair as his girlfriend and he does not want to make Blair disappointed. He initiates his love story with Serena at the time Blair goes away for her tennis camp. They both have their first sex, an unforgettable moment for teenagers, indeed. Nevertheless, Nate sways his mind to love Blair after Serena‘s leaving to a boarding school. It runs well for years until Serena goes back to Upper East Side. Nate cannot resist Serena‘s presence, although he is in relationship with Blair. He has to choose, a difficult choice. He seems not to have any intention to take side, but the story does not say so;

But today Nate wasn‘t even thinking of Blair. He wanted to see Serena was doing. Last night she had left message on the answering machine in his room while he was watching a Yankees game with his friends. (p. 75), Meanwhile, Nate is also worried about the truth that he does not tell to his girlfriend yet that he has had sex with their best friend, Serena. He loves Serena, but he does not want to break Blair‘s heart at the same time. Nate feels so guilty that he does not have any passion about Blair anymore. This conflict goes around within his minds.

Even though it was raining out and he was freezing his ass off, Nate was in no hurry to get to Blair‘s house. It was pretty ironic, really. Here he was, a

seventeen-year-old guy, about to have sex with his girlfriend for the first time (hers, anyway). He should have been running. (p. 129),

Conflict had by Nate Archibald is the last internal conflict, as the writer in this research has classified before, described by Cecily von Ziegesar. The three of them have two desires within their minds. Blair has difficulty in stating her disagreement toward her mother‘s new boyfriend because of his ugliness, at the opposite side Blair thinks that Cyrus is quite good for healing her mother‘s broken heart from the infamous divorce, she wants her mother happy. Next to Blair, there is Dan who is despondent over his unspoken feeling toward Serena. He loves Serena, but he does not want to state that because of their social status‘ contrast. He realizes that it is impossible for him to be in conformity with Serena. However, he keeps trying in silence. Last, Nate‘s internal conflict is presented. He loves Serena, but he does not want to tell the truth to his girlfriend, Blair. He does not want to make Blair sad. Those contradictory minds are apparently blended. Two strong desires are on fight within their heads; those are what make them named as internal conflicts.

2. External Conflict

There are more external conflicts in the story than the internal ones. The conflicts come as the plot flows. Here, the writer in this research analyzes them carefully start from the beginning up to the end, the same way has been done in the previous part. The conflicts deployed are mostly between the main character, Serena van der Woodsen and other characters, while there are also conflicts which do not include Serena within.

a. Conflict between Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf

Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen used to be best friends. They did everything altogether when they were younger. Blair feels that she has lost her best friend ever. Nevertheless, it does not take so long until Blair realizes that she is eventually very pleased with Serena‘s leaving. She gets all the things she wants in her life, being the one that everyone looks at. She has not really spoken to Serena. However, the conflict arises when Serena goes away from her boarding school. Blair is so upset that she probably will lose things she acquires so far, even her boyfriend, Nate. Blair‘s struggle against Serena is easily guessed. Though Serena rarely knows why the conflict occurs.

At first, when Serena had gone to boarding school after sophomore year, Blair had really missed her. But it soon became apparent how much easier it was to shine without Serena around. Suddenly, Blair was the prettiest, the smartest, the hippest, most happening girl in the room. She became the one everyone looked to. So Blair stopped missing Serena so much. She‘d felt a little guilty for not staying in touch, but even that had worn off when she‘s received Serena‘s flip and impersonal e-mails describing all the fun she was having at boarding school. (p. 22),

The conflict between Blair and Serena apparently starts by the time the story opens until the end. Serena wishes to reform their friendship, but not for Blair. She keeps being selfish and gives unwelcome gestures due to Serena‘s coming. Blair is averse to Serena‘s return. This clash seems to have no end.

She (Serena) waited for Blair to smile gratefully for covering for her, but all Blair did was glance at Kati and Isabel to see if they‘d noticed the slip. Blair was acting strange, and Serena fought down a rising panic. (p. 30), Her jealousy also leads Blair not to invite Serena to the Kiss on the Lips party which she organizes. Party is one of the things that Blair and Serena never

57

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beaty, Jerome. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W. W. Norton

& Company, Inc., 1973. Calhoun, Crissy. Spotted: Your One and Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl.

Toronto: ECW Press, 2009.

Danziger, Marlies K. and W. Stacy Johnson. An Introduction to Literary Critism. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1961.

Drever, J. A Dictionary of Psychology. Harmonds Worth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1958.

Fine, Gary A. Gossip. In T. A. Green (Ed.), Folklore: An Encylopedia of Beliefs, Tales, Music, and Art. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1997.

Foster, Erik K. “Research on Gossip: Taxonomy, Methods, and Future Direction”. Review of General Psychology. Vol.8No.2 (June2004), pp.78-83.

Holman, C. Hugh and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. New York: Mac. Milan, 1986.

Maciver, R. M. and Charles H. Page. Society: An Introduction Analysis. New York: Rinehart and Company, Inc., 1950.

Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd. A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society. “The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip, and Bullying in Networked Publics.” (December 2011), pp. 1-23.

Mechling, Lauren. “A Nice Girl’s Guide to Misbehaving.” < http://www.arlindo-correria.com/120103.html> (7 May 2013)

Patee, Amy. “Commodities in Literature, Literature as Commodity: A Close Look at the Gossip Girl Series.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. 31.2 (2006), pp. 163-167

Perrine, Laurence. Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanoich Inc., 1966.

Risti, Yuniar Eka. “The Influence of Hedonism Socialite Community toward the Main Character Jenny Humphrey in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl.” Undergraduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University, 2010. Rohrberger, Mary and Samuel H. Woods, Jr. Reading and Writing about

Schantz, Ned. Gossip, Letters, Phones: The Scandal of Female Network in Film and Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Spacks, Patricia Meyer. Gossip. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.

Stanton, Robert. An Introduction to Fiction. Washington: Holt Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1964.

Stewart, Pamela J. and Andrew Strathern. Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors, and Gossip. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Wert, Sarah R. “Introduction of the Special Issue on Gossip”. Review of General Psychology. Vol.8No.2 (June2004), pp.76.

59 APPENDIX

The Summary of Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl

The story was started through the party held by Eleanor Waldorf, Blair Waldorf’s mother, to introduce her new boyfriend, Cyrus Rose. Blair was so annoyed with Cyrus and so were her mothers’ friends. The gossips spread around the hall talking about the new couple. In the middle of the party, the van der Woodsens came, including their daughter, Serena van der Woodsen who just came back from a boarding school at Hanover academy. This made Blair and her friends gossiped about the reasons why Serena was back. Blair was very upset with Serena’s return because she did not want Serena to take her popularity among her friends. In addition, Blair was also jealous because Nate, her boyfriend, looked overly pleased with the arrival of Serena.

Serena was ignored by almost all of the students in Constance because of the gossips which were spread. Those gossips are falsehood. Serena was disappointed. She tried to make up her friendships but it did not work. The worst part was when she was not invited by Blair who organized the Kiss on the Lips party, a benefit for the two peregrine falcons living in Central Park. Meanwhile, Serena was asked to join certain extracurricular to support her study at Constance. Serena did not feel interested in any extracurricular at her school, therefore she eventually enrolled Vanessa Abrams’ trial to be he cast. Even though Serena was great, Vanessa tended to reject her because Daniel, her secret idol, liked Serena.

Serena did not give up at all. Though she did not have any friends who supported her, she chose to figure out new friends. Although Serena knew there was a Kiss on the Lips party, she tended to call Vanessa to hang out together. She had fun with Vanessa and Daniel. Suddenly, Daniel was called by Jenny, his sister, to pick her up at the party. Daniel and Jenny were actually the ones that were not expected to be there. Serena and Daniel arrived the time when Chuck wanted to seduce Jenny, the same thing he wanted to do to Serena before. At the same occasion, Nate told to Serena that they could not be friends anymore because Blair asked him to do so. There, Serena also tried to confirm all the gossips had been spread through Chuck. At the end of the story, Serena eventually knew what her friends gossiped about. She seemed not to regret she had lost her old friends. She managed to keep her life going on even without her old friends.

xii ABSTRACT

Kristina Nimas Wijayanti, 2013. The Influences of Gossips toward the Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl tells about a girl who is gossiped by other characters. The characters who gossip in the story are not only the girls, but also the boys. The gossips are mostly about Serena’s return.Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl is appropriate to be analyzed because it also contains some conflicts had by the characters who are mostly teenagers. As attention seekers, teenagers, specifically American teenagers, often emerge conflicts through many ways including gossiping.

There are three objectives in this research. The first one is aimed to find out the gossips in the story. The second one is to get the conflicts in relation with the gossips in the story. The last one is to see how the gossips influence the conflicts in the story.

Applying a library research, this research uses some particular books as the main sources to answer three questions formulated. To support analyzing the story, some theories are used, such as theory of conflict and theory of gossip. The review of gossip among American teenager is also needed because it is mostly teenagers who deal with the gossips in the story. Meanwhile, an approach which is used to accomplish this analysis is a psychological approach. A psychological perspective is suitable to help understanding the story, because it is human’s mind and behavior which arises conflicts and gossips in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl.

At last, the gossips are figured out in the analysis through the theory of gossip. The gossips found in the story are classified through the gossipee’s and the gossipers’ point of view. The second is the finding of the conflicts in relation with the gossips. They are classified into internal and external conflicts. Some external conflicts are also classified into direct or indirect conflict. From the findings from the previous analysis, the influences can be found. The differences point of view of the gossips takes a prominent role in influencing particular conflicts. Only the conflicts which are closely related to the content of the gossip, the gosipee, and the gossipers get influenced. The influences are not limited by the way they solve a conflict, but also the way they start, rise, and end.

xiii

ABSTRAK

Kristina Nimas Wijayanti, 2013. The Influences of Gossips toward the Conflicts in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Gossip Girl oleh Cecily von Ziegesar bercerita tentang seorang gadis yang digosipkan oleh karakter-karakter lainnya. Karakter yang bergosip di dalam cerita tidak hanya wanita, tetapi juga pria. Kebanyakan gosip yaitu tentang kembalinya Serena. Gossip Girl oleh Cecily von Ziegesar pantas untuk dianalisis karena juga berisi beberapa konflik yang dimiliki oleh para karakter yang kebanyakan adalah para remaja. Sebagai pencari perhatian, para remaja, remaja Amerika khususnya, sering memunculkan konflik melalui banyak cara termasuk bergosip.

Ada tiga tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan yang pertama adalah untuk menemukan gosip-gosip yang diceritakan didalam cerita. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk mendapatkan konflik-konflik yang berhubungan dengan gosip didalam cerita. Tujuan yang terakhir adalah untuk melihat bagaimana pengaruh gosip terhadap konflik didalam cerita.

Mengaplikasikan sebuah studi pustaka, penelitian ini menggunakan beberapa buku sebagai sumber utama untuk menjawab tiga pertanyaan yang diformulasikan. Untuk mendukung dalam menganalisis cerita, beberapa teori digunakan, seperti teori konflik dan teori gosip. Resensi mengenai gosip diantara remaja Amerika juga dibutuhkan karena para remajalah yang kebanyakan berhadapan dengan gosip didalam cerita. Sementara itu, pendekatan yang digunakan untuk mengerjakan analisis ini adalah pendekatan psikologis. Sebuah perspektif psikologis tepat untuk membantu memahami cerita karena tingkah laku dan pikiran manusialah yang menimbulkan konflik dan gosip didalam cerita Gossip Girl.

Pada akhirnya, gosip gosip ditemukan di dalam analisis melalui teori konflik. Gosip gosip yang ditemukan didalam cerita diklasifikasikan melalui perspektif yang digosipkan dan yang bergosip. Yang kedua adalah temuan konflik konflik yang berhubungan dengan gosip. Mereka diklasifikasikan menjadi konflik internal dan eksternal. Beberapa konflik eksternal juga diklasifikasikan menjadi konflik langsung ataupun tak langsung. Dari temuan-temuan pada analisis sebelumnya, pengaruh dapat ditemukan. Perbedaan perspektif dari gosip memegang peranan penting dalam mempengaruhi konflik. Hanya konflik yang berhubungan dekat dengan isi gosip, orang yang digosipkan, dan orang yang bergosip yang mendapat pengaruh. Pengaruh itu tidak dibatasi oleh bagaimana konflik terselesaikan, tetapi juga bagaimana konflik itu dimulai, berkembang dan berakhir.