A study of Tommy Wilhelms failures in his careers as portrayed in Saul Bellows Seize The Day.

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A STUDY OF TOMMY WILHELM’S FAILURES IN HIS CAREERS AS PORTRAYED IN SAUL BELLOW’S SEIZE THE DAY

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

Alexsander Irfan Bramasto Student Number: 061214062

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2011

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I praise Jesus Christ for His mercy and blessing. He has always given me

strength to cope with my hard days. Finally, after few months I could finish this

thesis. I do realize that I would have never been able to finish this thesis without the

help of others. Here, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Drs. L.

Bambang Hendarto Y., M.Hum. who has guided me in completing this thesis and

has given good advice in order to make this thesis better. I would like to thank all

the lecturers of ELESP for their guidance, patience, and time. I also thank all the

staff of Sanata Dharma University for helping me in the administrative matters.

I would like to thank my parents for their supports, love, and prayer. My

deepest thankfulness goes to my beloved mother for always strengthening me to

finish my thesis and for each prayer she sends to Jesus Christ for me. My

thankfulness is also for my beloved brother and sister who always support me.

I would like to express my special gratitude to my beloved girlfriend, Maria

Putri Sari Utami, who has encouraged me to finish this thesis. She has changed me

in a way I cannot forget. I do love her now and forever.

My grateful also goes to Satrio, Anneis, Tata, Ria and Oda for being

delightful friends in these few months. Last but not least, I thank my friends at Jalan

Legi no.11, Mutiara Futsal, mbah Ro, UKM Tarung Derajat, Kanjeng Sinuwun

Band and ELESP 2006 for the time they spent with me.

Finally, I thank those whose names cannot be mentioned one by one, for

their help and support.

Alexsander Irfan Bramasto

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE………... i

PAGES OF APPROVAL………... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY………... iv

PAGE OF DEDICATION ………... v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS……… vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS………... viii

ABSTRACT………... xi

ABSTRAK……….………... xii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ………….………... 1

1.1. Background of the Study ……..………... 1

1.2. Problem Formulation ………... 4

1.3. Objectives of the Study ………... 4

1.4. Benefits of the Study ………... 4

1.5. Definition of Terms ………... 5

1.5.1. Failure ………..………… 5

1.5.2. Motivation ………..………. 5

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE …..………….. 6

2.1. Theoretical Review ………... 6

2.1.1.Critical Approach ………... 6

2.1.2. Character ………...………... 7

2.1.3. Characterization ……….………... 9

2.1.4. Motivation ...………... 11

2.1.5. Goals in Somebody Life ..……... 13

2.1.6. Career ..……... 13

2.1.7. Failure ..……... 14

2.2. Theoretical Framework ... 16

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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ... 18

3.1. Object of the Study ..………... 18

3.2. Approaches of the Study ….………... 19

3.3. Method of the Study …..……..………... 20

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS…..………... 22

4.1. The Description of Wilhelm’s Character ..………... 23

4.1.1. Attractive ..…………... 23

4.1.2. Stubborn ..………... 24

4.1.3. Dishonest ..………... 25

4.1.4. Lonely ..………... 27

4.1.5. Cowardly ..………... 28

4.2. The Characteristics of a Failed Person Reflected in Wilhelm…………... 29

4.2.1. A Failure in Wilhelm’s Careers …….………... 29

4.2.1.1 As an Actor …….……….………... 30

4.2.1.2 As an Employee ….……….………... 32

4.2.1.3 As an Investor ….………... 35

4.2.2. The Characteristics of a Failed Person Found in Wilhelm ... 36

4.2.2.1 Avoiding a Loss In Self-Estimate ……….……… 37

4.2.2.2 The Defense Against Punishment ……….……… 38

4.2.2.3 The Defense Against a Loss in a Social Value ………..……… 39

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 42

5.1. Conclusions ………... 41

5.2. Suggestions ………... 44

5.2.1 Suggestions for Future Researchers ……… 44

5.2.2 Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activities ……...………..… 44

REFERENCES ………... 46

APPENDICES………... 48

APPENDIX 1 Summary of the Novel .………... 49

APPENDIX 2 Biography of Saul Bellow .………... 51

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APPENDIX 3 Picture of Saul Bellow ………..……. 54 APPENDIX 4 Lesson Plan …... 55 APPENDIX 5 Answer Key …... 60

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xi ABSTRACT

Bramasto, Alexsander Irfan. 2011. A Study of Tommy Wilhelm’s Failures in His Careers as Portrayed in Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis analyses Saul Bellow’s novel entitled Seize the Day. The novel tells about the life of Tommy Wilhelm, the major character of the novel, who has to deal with failures in his life. One of the major issues described in the novel is

Wilhelm’s failures in his careers. His failures in his careers are the root of other

failures in his life. This study analyses the major character’s characteristics and the failures he faces in his careers.

There are two main problems which are formulated in this study related to the major character: (1) How is Tommy Wilhelm as the main character described in the novel? (2) How are the characteristics of a failed person reflected in Tommy Wilhelm?

The method employed in this study was a library study. There were two kinds of data sources used in this study namely primary and secondary source. The primary source was the novel itself, Seize the Day. The secondary sources were some books and some sources from the internet which provided information related to the study. This thesis applied the psychological approach to describe the characteristics of Wilhelm, to find out the failures in Wilhelm’s careers, and to find out the characteristics of failed person in Wilhelm’s personality.

From the analysis, it can be concluded that Wilhelm is characterized as a handsome, stubborn, dishonest, lonely and cowardly man. Further, the analysis shows that Wilhelm tries to make his career at his early age. He wants to prove to other people that he can be a successful person without help from his father. He wants to be an independent person. However, his plan does not go well. He faces failures in his careers. He fails in every job he gets. First, he fails to be an actor. He fails to be an actor due to his lack of acting skill. Second, he fails to be an employee. He is kicked out from his job because he has an affair with his workmate. Third, he fails to be an investor. He takes a short way to change his condition by investing his last dollars. He gives his money to Dr. Tamkin, a person who persuades Wilhelm to invest his money. However, what Dr. Tamkin predicts before is not accurate. Wilhelm loses all of his money. Now, Wilhelm totally runs out of money and jobless. From the analysis, it is also revealed that there are characteristics of failed

person in Wilhelm’s personality namely avoiding a loss in self-estimate, the defense against punishment, and the defense against a loss in social value.

This thesis also provides some suggestions for future researchers who will conduct studies on other topics in Seize the Day. This thesis also provides suggestions for English teaching-learning activities. In addition, this thesis provides lesson plan in teaching vocabulary using literary work.

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xii ABSTRAK

Bramasto, Alexsander Irfan. 2011. A Study of Tommy Wilhelm’s Failures in His Careers as Portrayed in Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini menganalisa Seize the Day, novel yang ditulis oleh Saul Bellow. Novel ini menceritakan tentang kehidupan Tommy Wilhelm, tokoh utama dalam novel ini, yang harus berhadapan dengan kegagalan di sepanjang hidupnya. Salah satu tema utama dalam novel ini adalah kegagalan Wilhelm dalam karirnya. Kegagalannya dalam karir adalah penyebab dari semua kegagalan dalam hidupnya. Skripsi ini menganalisa karakteristik tokoh utama, Wilhelm, dan kegagalan-kegagalan yang dia alami dalam karirnya.

Ada dua pertanyaan yang dibuat dalam skripsi ini yang berhubungan dengan tokoh utama: (1) Bagaimana Tommy Wilhelm sebagai tokoh utama digambarkan dalam novel? (2) Bagaimana karakteristik orang yang gagal tercermin di dalam diri Tommy Wilhelm?

Metode yang digunakan dalam penulisan skripsi ini adalah studi pustaka. Ada dua sumber data yang digunakan dalam penulisan skripsi ini yaitu sumber utama dan sumber lain-lain. Sumber utama dalam skripsi ini adalah novel itu sendiri,

Seize the Day. Sumber-sumber lain yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini diperoleh dari buku-buku dan dari internet yang mengandung informasi yang berhubungan dengan penulisan skripsi ini.

Skripsi ini menerapkan pendekatan psikologis untuk menggambarkan karakter Wilhelm, untuk menemukan kegagalan-kegagalan Wilhelm dalam karirnya, dan untuk menemukan sifat-sifat orang gagal yang ada dalam diri Wilhelm.

Berdasarkan analisis, dapat disimpulkan bahwa Wilhelm digambarkan sebagai seorang yang rupawan, keras kepala, tidak jujur, kesepian dan pengecut. Wilhelm ingin membuktikan kepada orang-orang disekitarnya bahwa dia dapat menjadi orang yang berhasil, tanpa bantuan dari ayahnya. Tetapi, apa yang dia rencanakan tidak sesuai dengan kenyataan. Dia selalu gagal disetiap pekerjaan yang dia dapatkan. Pertama, dia gagal menjadi seorang aktor karena dia tidak memiliki kemampuan berakting. Kedua, dia gagal menjadi seorang pekerja. Dia dikeluarkan dari pekerjaannya karena ketahuan berselingkuh dengan rekan kerjanya. Terakhir, Wilhelm juga gagal sebagai seorang pemasok modal. Dia tertarik dengan rayuan Dr. Tamkin yang mengatakan bahwa Wilhelm dapat keluar dari semua masalahnya bila ia mau menginvestasikan uangnya. Ternyata, apa yang diprediksikan Dr. Tamkin salah. Wilhelm kehilangan semua uangnya. Sekarang, dia pengangguran dan tidak punya uang sama sekali. Dalam analisis juga dipaparkan bahwa ciri-ciri orang gagal juga ditemukan dalam diri Wilhelm seperti menghindari kehilangan harga diri, menghindari hukuman dan menghindari pengucilan dari masyarakat.

Skripsi ini juga memberikan saran bagi peneliti di masa yang akan datang yang menggunakan novel Seize the Day sebagai bahan skripsi. Selain itu, skripsi ini juga memberikan saran bagi kegiatan belajar-mengajar kelas Vocabulary I menggunakan karya sastra.

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1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of background of the study, problem formulation,

objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The

background of the study gives the explanation about the topic of this study. The

objectives of the study state the purpose of the writer in writing this thesis. The

problem formulation describes the problems that will be analyzed. The benefits of

the study give the explanation of who may get benefits from the study. The

definition of terms gives some explanations about several terms that are related to

the study to avoid misunderstanding about it.

1.1 Background of the Study

Everybody in this world experiences failure. No body can say that he has

never tasted failure in his life. Failure in one‟s life happens in many kinds of aspects. For the example, a student experiences failure when he cannot pass the exam, an

adult experiences a failure when he cannot get a job to support his life, and a parent

experiences failure when he cannot educate his children.

Someone who quits when facing failure, he has allowed failure to dominate

him. But, when someone who learns from failure and gets stronger, he has used

failure to refine himself. Failure may be a fear that a person should overcome to be

motivated to learn new things. Actually, failure is not a bad thing if a person always

keeps trying after they fail. It can be a guidance for a person to discover something

new. In order to discover something new and learn from failure, a person should

have a motivation within him. A person tries to struggle for something new when his

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goals/needs are not achieved. He will motivate himself to do and try harder to

achieve his goals. According to Petri (3), motivation is the concept we use when we

describe the forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior.

The concept of motivation is also used to explain differences in the intensity of

behavior. In the other word, motivation makes someone wants to do something.

They become a reason for doing something or behaving in a certain way.

Works of literature may portray human life experiences as described above.

Literature is said to have a close relationship with human‟s life. One of literature work like novel reflects human life and it contains many messages about every

aspect of human life namely failure, love, ideal, and so on. According to Bressler

(10), a novel as a work of literature is a text whose certain qualities contain some

elements, such as plot, character, tone, symbol, conflict, that often represents the

author‟s life and has major action to teach good values and clearly to entertain the readers.

Seize the Day is one example of work of literature that portrays the issues

about the internal life of human being, especially about failure that may happen in

someone‟s life. Seize the Day tells about the life of an American man named Tommy Wilhelm who finds himself of being stuck in depressing situations. He feels so tired

because he has to deal with failure in whole of his life.

Wilhelm‟s first failure happens when he discontinues his study at the college and chooses to start his career as an actor. Wilhelm meets with Maurice Venice, a

person who works as a talent seeker for Kaskaskia films. Maurice tells Wilhelm that

he sees a talent in Wilhelm and asks him to take casting as a prerequisite to be an

actor. Maurice tells that there is a big chance for Wilhelm to be a big actor someday.

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Sometimes he told people, “I was too mature for college. I was a big boy, you see. Well, I thought, when do you start to become a man?” After he had driven a panted flivver and had won a yellow slicker with slogan on it, and played illegal poker, and gone out on Coke dates, he had had college. He wanted to try something new and quarreled with his parents about his career. And then a letter came from Maurice Venice. (Bellow 19)

Wilhelm tells his parents about his plans to move to California, trying to realize his

dream of being an actor. But, his plan is rejected by his parents because at that time

Wilhelm is still a student. Wilhelm prefers to drop out from his college education

and moves to California, against his parent warning. His decision makes his parents

disappointed. From that time, Wilhelm has a strain relationship with his parents,

especially with his father.

In California, Wilhelm finds nothing but a failure. Maurice rejects Wilhelm

because Maurice thinks that Wilhelm does not have talent in acting. It forces

Wilhelm to find another job. After he takes decision to stop acting, Wilhelm

continues his life by doing different jobs. But, anytime he gets a new job, soon he

decides to leave it. Finally, Wilhelm has a steady job at Rojax Corporation as a sales

representative. But, his success in his career at Rojax Corporation is followed by

another interruption. Wilhelm has to share his position with the son-in-law of the

owner of the company. It makes Wilhelm upset and takes a decision to quit from his

job.

His decision to leave his job at Rojax Company is one of mistakes he makes

in his career. Wilhelm finds himself jobless and gets a financial problem since he

has to support his children and wife. Then, Wilhelm meets with Dr. Tamkin, a

person who lives in the same hotel with him. Dr. Tamkin persuades him to invest his

last dollar. Tamkin told Wilhelm about his optimistic expectation that Wilhelm will

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be rich. But, the fact is Wilhelm lose all of his last money. Dr. Tamkin disappears,

leaving Wilhelm alone when he knows that Wilhelm has lost all of his money. Here,

Wilhelm‟s failure in his career is the root of his others failure.

This novel is chosen because it tells about burdens of a modern man. It tells a

great lesson about internal life of human being, especially about failure in someone‟s career. The reader can melt into the character of Wilhelm and feel the problems he

had in his life. Wilhelm‟s problems are the reflection of problems which can happen in our daily life.

1.2 Problem Formulation

There are two major problems formulated in the study. They are as follows:

1. How is Tommy Wilhelm as the main character described in the novel?

2. How are the characteristics of a failed person reflected in Tommy Wilhelm?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The study has two objectives. The first objective is to analyze how the author

characterizes Tommy Wilhelm as the main character. The second objective is to find

out how the characteristics of a failed person are reflected in Tommy Wilhelm

1.4 Benefits of the Study

There are some benefits which can be taken by all of the readers who are

interested in literary works through this study. The first benefit is to introduce the

reader to one of Saul Bellow‟s best novel Seize the Day which can inspire the reader to know and understand deeper about life, especially about failure in life. This study

will give the reader a better understanding of that novel from the psychological point

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of view. The second benefit is the novel that represents human experiences can be

the reference if the readers face the same circumstances. The last benefit is those

who use novel for teaching and learning can use the novel as the resource of

language teaching.

1.5 Definition of Terms

This part provides the definition of some significant terms frequently used in

this study in order to avoid misunderstanding. There are two terms clarified in this

part. Those terms are failure and motivation. The explanations are as follows:

1.5.1 Failure

Pettijohn, in his book Psychology: A Concise Introduction. Third Edition

states that failure frustrates people. Sometimes they fail in achieving something. For

example, they fail to pass an exam, to get a good job, or to maintain a good

relationship with family. Sometimes, they feel as though they have failed, even

when they do better than expected, because they have such high expectation for

themselves. Then, their failure may produce guilt (286). In this study, failure means

Wilhelm‟s failure in his career and wrong decisions he made in his life.

1.5.2 Motivation

According to Murray (7), motivation is related to behaviour because it

involves in all kinds of behaviours such as learning, performing, perceiving,

attending, remembering, forgetting, thinking, creating and feeling. It affects

someone‟s behaviour because motivation may function as incentive for someone to behave in a certain manner. In this study, motivation means Wilhelm‟s reasons for doing something in his life or behaving in a particular way.

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6 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents a review of related literature. It is divided into review

of related theories and theoretical framework. The first part, review of related

theories, consists of critical approaches, the theory of character, the theory of

characterization, the theory of motivation, the theory of goals in somebody life,

theory of career and the theory of failure.

2.1Theoretical Review

This part discusses about the theories that are used to answer the problems,

those are: critical approaches, theory of character and characterization, motivation,

goals in somebody life, career and failure.

2.1.1 Critical Approach

According to Rohrberger and Woods Jr, there are five approaches which can

be used to analyse a work of literature. They are the formalistic approach, the

biographical approach, the socio-cultural historical approach, the mythopoeic

approach, and the psychological approach (6-15).

The first approach is formalistic approach. This approach concentrates on the

total integrity of the literary works. The harmonious involvement of all the parts to

the whole is seen as a complete harmony to the complete work. This approach does

not concern with the facts of the author‟s life, the genre of the literary work, and the social background.

The second approach is the biographical approach. This approach aims to

consider the author‟s life, personality, and ideas for a deep understanding to his

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writings. The readers could collect facts about the author‟s personality and life. It can help the readers to appreciate the author‟s literary work.

The third is the socio-cultural historical approach. There are two factors which

are presented in this approach. Firstly, accuracy in the presentation of historical facts

is of value to the historian, but not necessarily to the author. Secondly, a work of

literature might have historical significance, but not necessarily literary significance.

The fourth approach is the mythopoeic approach. The mythopoeic approach is

used when a critic is attempted to find particular recurrent pattern of human thought

which are consider sharing the same universal belief to certain community mind.

The last is the psychological approach. This approach involves theory of

psychology to explain the characters personality in the story. This approach tries to

locate and demonstrate the recurrent human‟s patterns by using his imagination and creation. In this approach, character is the element of literary work. This approach is

applied to discover the character‟s personality, which can be found in symbolic words, thoughts, and actions.

This study takes the psychological approach as the most appropriate approach

in interpreting the novel and analysing the problems of the study. Through this

approach, the character of Wilhelm can be observed from his psychological

development. In addition, this approach is used to explain human motivation,

personality and behavior patterns written in a literary work.

2.1.2 Character

Abrams (20) provides definition of character. He clarifies that characters are

the person presented in a work of literature that are interpreted by the readers as being

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endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say

and do.

In addition, Holman and Harmon (81) state that character is the person that

reflects people in real life who are described by the author in his literary work. They

define characters as descriptive sketch of person‟s type. The person‟s character is not described as individual personality, but as an example of vice or virtue.

According to Forster in his book Aspect of the Novel, character is divided into

two types. They are flat or static characters and round or dynamic characters. “A flat character is built around „a single idea or quality‟ and is presented in outline and without much individualizing detail and it can be so fairly adequately described in a

single phrase or sentence. A flat character is characterized by one or two traits

because we see only one side of him. There are two advantages of a flat character.

The first advantage of a flat character is that he is recognized easily whenever he

comes. He is recognized not only by visual eye which merely notes the recurrence of

a proper name, but also by the reader‟s emotional eye. It means that by seeing a part of a person‟s character, the readers can get the description of the whole character. The second advantage is that the readers easily remember a flat character. It is because

from the very beginning of the story till the end of it, the character can be summed up

into one or two word.

A round character often changes-learns or becomes enlightened, grows or

deteriorates. This is the most perfect way for authors to present the characters since

the author are able to represent them in their wholeness and in their different aspects.

Meaning that the authors present the characters complete from one side to other and

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how the characters react differently towards different situation and/or persons

encountered. (46-51).

Further, Holman and Harmon (82) categorize character into two types namely

major character and minor character. Major character is the character that plays the

most important role in a story. A major character becomes the focus of the story. He

or she is the most frequently appearing character in the story from the beginning until

the end. Minor character is the character that takes a less important role in the story.

He or she does not always appear in the story.

2.1.3 Characterization

According to Murphy (161-173), there are nine ways of how the author may

reveal the character‟s personalities and traits to the readers. Those are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others,

reaction, direct comments, thoughts, and mannerism. The explanation for each way

will be given as follows.

The first method is personal description. It is related with physical appearance

for which the author gives knowledge to the readers in understanding the character in

a story through his or her facial expression and what clothes he or she wears.

The second method is character as seen by another. It means that a certain

person‟s character can be drawn from another character‟s point of view and opinion. The author describes the character through the eyes and opinion of others instead of

describing the character directly. He represents the character‟s performance and personality by letting other character in the story convey to their readers what they are

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like based on the character that they encounter. The readers may gain the description

as a reflected image.

The third method is a speech. Through person‟s way of talking to other people or the way he or she conveys the opinion toward something, we can know the

characteristic of that person. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he or she in a

conversation with others, whenever he or she puts forward an opinion, the person is

giving us some clues to his or her character.

The fourth method is past life. The readers can find out the character‟s past life by the author‟s direct explanation, conversation with others and also by the others‟ opinion toward the character past life. The author gives some events that have helped to shape a person‟s character by learning something from someone‟s past life in the story.

The fifth method is conversation of others. By paying attention to the

conversation of other characters about him or her, we can know a person‟s character in the novel. People often talk about other people. And the matter of the conversation

can give us reference to the person‟s character.

The sixth method is reactions. It is the way to understand a person‟s character by seeing at his or her reaction if confronted with various situations and events in his

or her life. Each reaction toward the problems shows the character‟s tendency and this tendency give the readers a description about the character‟s personality.

The seventh method is direct comment. It is the author who gives his or her

personal reception or comment on a person‟s characteristics directly.

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The eighth method is thought. The author can give direct knowledge of what a

person is thinking about. Knowing a person‟s mind is one way to know the character of that person.

The last method is mannerisms. The author can describe a person‟s mannerisms, habits which may also tell us something about his personality.

2.1.4 Motivation

Morris (408) states that motivations is a specific need, desire, or want such as

hunger, thirst, or achievement, that energizes and direct goal-oriented behavior.

According to Kalish (30), motivation can be strong enough to activate goal-seeking

behavior that begins with curious feelings and ended with behavior that satisfied his

need. It means that motivation is seen as something which activates an act to achieve

a certain goal.

Beck (144) divides motivation into two types namely intrinsic motivation and

extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes from within based on personal

interests, desires, and need for fulfilment. Extrinsic motivation comes from external

factors outside of the performer, such as rewards or punishment. Extrinsic motivation

drives the performer to do things for rewards or pressures, rather than the fun of doing

it.

Murray (7) defines motivation as a desire. Motivation is related to behavior

because it involves in all kinds of behaviors such as learning, performing, perceiving,

attending, remembering, forgetting, thinking, creating and feeling. It affects

someone‟s behavior because motivation may function as incentive for someone to behave in a certain manner. Maslow (qtd in Landy 370) classifies motivation into a

hierarchy of needs. They are described as follows:

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2.1.4.1Physiological needs

Physiological needs are the very basic needs, they are the primary

requirements for human survival, such as air, water, sleep food and sexual activity.

For the example, when a person lacks of food, self-esteem and love, he is going to

demand food first. He will ignore the other needs until the need of food is fulfilled.

2.1.4.2Safety needs

In this level, human is looking for stability and security. It includes personal

security, financial security, health and wellbeing and safety against accident or

illness. These needs occur after psychological needs may be fully satisfied.

2.1.4.3Love needs

Love needs are on the third level. They relate with acceptance, affection,

giving, and receiving love. Humans have a desire to belong to group such as clubs,

work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. People need to be loved, accepted,

and to be needed by others.

2.1.4.4Esteem needs

Esteem need presents human desire to be respected and valued by others.

There are two distinctions of esteem needs, a lower and a higher one. A lower one is

the needs for gaining status, fame, prestige, and recognition by others. The higher one

is the needs for self-esteem, self-confidence, independence and freedom.

2.1.4.5Self-actualization

The needs for self-actualization are considered the final needs. It may occur

when the lower level of needs have been satisfied. These needs are the identification

of the psychological need for growth, development, and utilization of potential.

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2.1.5 Goals in Somebody Life

The purpose of life represents a truth-seeking question. Yaseen states that

there are a lot of answers we will get if we ask about goals in somebody life. People

are confused, they do not know what they actually want to achieve in this life. These

confusions can be seen through questions such as why are we born? What is the

object of our existence? What is the wisdom behind the creation of man and this

tremendous universe? People always try to find out the answer of those questions

(www.sultan.org/articles/purposeoflife.htm). In order to answer those questions,

people make guidance about what they will do in their life. This guidance is

commonly called “goals in life”. Goals in somebody life are different between one and others.

Jess and Gregory (499) state that high personal standards and goals can lead to

achievements and self-satisfaction. However, when people set their goals too high,

they are likely to fail. Failure frequently leads to depression, and depressed people

often undervalue their own accomplishment.

Having goals in life is very important. It makes our words, attitude and deed

on the right track. Goals in life will help somebody use their time and chance as best

as possible because they already know what they will do. Without goals in life,

somebody tend to waste their time and chance.

2.1.6 Career

According to Arthur and Lawrence (qtd in Baruch 3), career is an evolving

sequence of a person‟s work experience over time. It means that someone‟s career is achieved through several steps. Further, Baruch (3) states that career takes place in

specified social environment and in particular in organizations. Career involves a

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process of progress and development of individuals, which is sometimes described as

the life stories of people.

Baruch (43-44) states that career can be distinguished into three types, namely

internal, external and organizational careers. Internal career is the person self

perceptions about his or her own career. This perception involves creating his own

goals and evaluating his own achievements. This type of carrier is subjective.

Therefore, the success or failure depends on the feelings and values of the person.

External career concerns how people and organizations perceive a person

career. It means that the success or failure of the career depends on other people

assessments. It is more objectives than internal career.

Organizational career is evaluated by a person achievement in terms of their

positions and roles they fill during their working life in an organization or company.

Career progress can be objective and measurable.

2.1.7 Failure

According to Pettijohn (286), failure is a state or condition which frustrates

people. Sometimes they fail in achieving something. For example, they fail to pass an

exam, to get a good job, or to maintain a good relationship with family. Sometimes,

they feel as though they have failed, even when they do better than expected, because

they have such high expectation for themselves. Then, their failure may produce guilt.

Very often, failure leads someone to be unmotivated to sustain his or her life.

However, some people consider failure is the bridge to gain success in their life.

Birney et al (210-222) explain about the characteristics of a failed person.

They are described as follows:

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2.1.7.1Avoiding a Loss in Self Estimate

Birney states that one of the characteristics of a failed person is that there is a

strong need to find out how good we are, but an opposing desire not to find how poor

we are. It means that someone who has the characteristic of a failed person avoids

himself to be evaluated thoroughly in fear of knowing his own weaknesses. This kind

of person usually prefers to do the easiest or the most difficult assignment. Doing the

easiest task means that it can be accomplished easily, while doing the most difficult

task means that if the person fails to finish the task, no one will blame him because of

the difficulty level of the task. The person may convince himself that the task is

beyond anyone‟s ability to finish. Therefore, it is not his weaknesses that he cannot finish the task.

2.1.7.2The Defense Against Punishment

Birney states that a failed person avoids the punishment. It concerns two types

of task. If the person is given a task which provides a chance to be accomplished

successfully, the most direct way of avoiding the punishment is through increasing

the chances of success through practice and effort. The second type concerns with

really difficult task. In this condition, such person usually gives up in order to save

the energy of trying because he already that he cannot accomplish the task given.

2.1.7.3The Defense Against Loss in a Social Value

Birney states that the fearful person cannot afford to point out his

nonattainment because of the ever-present possibility of social-value loss. A person

who is fearful of losing social value will tend to avoid uncertain achievement

situations whenever others can observe his performance, but such a person will also

have difficulty avoiding the achievement situation when it is expected that he will

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participate. Under such conditions the most common way of avoiding possible loss is

the use of excuses. The individual may point out that he is out of condition,

unpracticed, or fatigued or is not trying because the skills is not important to him.

These defensive behaviors are used to protect the self-estimate, but then the person

himself has to believe them. When the primary function of the excuses is to prevent a

loss in social value, the problem is to persuade the audience to believe them.

When someone is facing failure, it‟s easy for them to get discouraged and to give up on their goals in life. People have to learn from failure in order to gain

success in life. Rachel states that people have to find benefit in every bad experience.

Grasp the positive effects of negative incidents. Every dream that people achieve

comes from attention to a process. The process of success comes from repeated

failure (www.frumi.com/images/uploads/FailingForward2008.pdf).

2.2 Theoretical Framework

In analyzing the novel, some theories are applied. The theories are the theory

of character, the theory of characterization, the theory of motivation, the theory of

goals in somebody life, the theory of career and the theory of failure.

The theory of character is used to find out whether Wilhelm is a flat or a

round character. Meanwhile, the theory of characterization is used to analyse the

description of Wilhelm‟s character. The characteristics of Tommy Wilhelm can be identified from his speech, conversation of others, reaction, character as seen by

another, direct comments and thoughts.

The theory of motivation is used to determine the possible motivations behind

the act of the main character. Maslow gives description about hierarchy of needs that

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can be grouped in categories. These theories are used in supporting the answering of

the second question in problem formulation.

The theory of goals in life is used to describe Wilhelm‟s reason in behaving in a certain way namely following his intuition to move to California and try to make his

dream to be an actor even he has to drop out from his school and against his parent

warning.

The theory of career is used as the reference in interpreting or analyzing the

problems formulated in this study. It is used to analyze whether Wilhelm‟s character is affecting his failure in his career.

The theory of failure is used to describe Wilhelm‟s failure in his life. In the novel, Wilhelm is described as a man who is drowning. Every decision he made in his

life is always ended in regret. He is unemployed because he always fails to keep his

job wherever he works. Wilhelm also has strained relationship with his father and his

family. It can be said that Wilhelm‟s failure is a burdens of a modern man. Nevertheless, it can be happened in our daily life.

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18 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

There are three parts that are discussed in this chapter, namely: object of the

study, approach of the study, and method of the study. Object of the study gives

physical description of the novel and a brief summary on what the story is about.

Approach of the study presents the approaches employed in this study. Method of the

study describes what kind of research that is used in this study, what sources are used,

and the steps taken in analyzing the novel.

3.1 Object of the Study

The novel that is discussed in this study is entitled Seize the Day. This novel

was written by Saul Bellow in 1950 and published in 1956 by Avon Books. It

consists of seven chapters in one hundred and twenty eight pages.

Seize the Day is Bellow's fourth novel and is considered as one of the best

novels he ever wrote. Bellow, who was born in Lachine, Quebec, a suburb of

Montreal, in 1915, wrote several other novels namely Dangling Man (1944), The

Victim (1947), The Adventures of Augie March (1953), Henderson The Rain King

(1959), Herzog (1964), Mosby's Memoirs and Other Stories (1968), Mr. Sammler's

Planet (1970) and Humboldt's Gift (1975).

Seize the Day is a story about the life of an American man named Tommy

Wilhelm who finds himself of being stuck in depressing situations. He feels so tired

because he has to deal with failure in whole of his life. Wilhelm‟s first failure happens when he is still a student. Wilhelm tells his parents about his plans to move

to California, trying to realize his dream of being an actor. However, his plan is

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rejected by his parents. Wilhelm prefers to drop out from his college education and

moves to California, against his parent warning. His decision makes his parents

disappointed. In California, Wilhelm finds nothing but a failure. After he takes

decision to stop acting, Wilhelm continues his life by doing different jobs. Finally,

Wilhelm has a steady job at Rojax Corporation as a sales representative. But, his

success in career at Rojax Corporation is followed by another interruption. Wilhelm

has to share his position with the son-in-law of the owner of the company. It makes

Wilhelm upset and takes a decision to quit from his job.

His decision to leave his job at Rojax Company is one of mistakes he makes

in his career. Wilhelm finds himself jobless and gets a financial problem since he has

to support his children and wife. Then, Wilhelm meets with Dr. Tamkin, a person

who lives in the same hotel with him. Dr. Tamkin persuades him to invest his last

dollar. Tamkin told Wilhelm about his optimistic expectation that Wilhelm will be

rich. But, the fact is Wilhelm lose all of his last money. Dr. Tamkin disappears,

leaving Wilhelm alone when he knows that Wilhelm has lost all of his money. Here,

Wilhelm‟s failure in his career is the root of his others failure.

3.2 Approach of the Study

The approach used in this study is the psychological approach. The novel

arouses two problems that require a deep explanation. The first problem is the

explanation about the character of Tommy Wilhelm, as the main characters in Seize

the Day. The second problem is to find out the characteristics of a failed person

reflected in Tommy Wilhelm. In order to explain those problems, the psychological

approach is the most appropriate approach because the psychological approach uses

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various theories of psychology in order to understand and explain the character‟s personality in the novel.

Guerrin (126) states that the psychological approach is an approach that has

important limitation in its aesthetic inadequacy, different from the limitation for both

traditional and formalistic approach which limits its tendency to overlook the

structural intricacies of the work and neglecting the historical and sociological

context of an art work. It means that this approach gives more attention to the

psychological side rather than the aesthetic one, though it is still considering every

detail, such as the intrinsic elements and the correlation among its elements. This

approach is applied when the attention is focused on the psychological interpretation

for enhancing the understanding and appreciation of literature.

The writer chooses psychological approach because the writer studies the

psychological side of the character in the novel. Thus, the writer applies this approach

by using some psychological theories or concepts as the interpretative tools.

3.3 Method of the Study

The writer employed library research as the method of this study. In library

research, data were gathered from written sources such as books and journals. There

were some steps used in analyzing this novel.

The first step, the writer had to decide a novel that was going to be analyzed

in this study. The novel was very important remembering that it would be used as a

primary source of the study. After some time, the writer finally chose Seize the Day

by Saul Bellow.

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The second step was reading the book to get the understanding of the story

and the topic of the study. The writer read the novel several times to really get the

comprehension about the story. Reading the novel is also intended to find the topic

worth to discuss in the study.

The third step was collecting the data. The writer collected some data

resources and used them to analyze the questions presented in the problem

formulation. The writer did not only require the novel itself as the primary source in

writing this thesis, but also other references as the secondary sources. The primary

source of this study is the novel itself: Saul Bellow‟s Seize the Day. Meanwhile, the secondary sources were taken from some books that could be used as references. The

data were used to help analyzing the problem, allowing the writer to conduct a deep

analysis about the topic chosen in this study. In the last step, a conclusion was drawn

based on the analysis.

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22 CHAPTER 4

ANALYSIS

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part discusses the description of

Tommy Wilhelm as the main character in the novel. The second part discusses the

characteristics of a failed person reflected in Tommy Wilhelm.

4.1 The Description of Wilhelm’s Character

A character plays important role in a novel. Holman and Harmon (82)

categorize character into two types namely major character and minor character. A

major character is a character that plays the most important role in a story.

According to this theory, in Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day, Wilhelm is categorized as the major character because he plays the most important role in a story. He becomes

the focus of the story as well.

Further, Forster (46-51) states that characters can also be classified into flat

character and round character. In the novel, Wilhelm is described as a character who

tends to develop through failures which happen in whole of his life. Therefore,

Wilhelm is categorized as a round character.

In order to understand a character fully, Murphy (161-173) states that there

are nine ways of characterization. Those are personal description, character as seen

by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reaction, direct comments,

thoughts, and mannerism. However, in this study, some of the methods are applied

in order to understand the characters of Wilhelm. Wilhelm’s characters are described

below.

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4.1.1 Attractive

Murphy (162) states that the author may portray a person’s character through

the eyes and opinions of another. In the novel, Wilhelm is described as an attractive

person. It can be seen from other’s opinion about Wilhelm. People tell him that he is as handsome as his father, Dr. Adler. Maurice, a talent seeker, also thinks that

Wilhelm is good looking. Someday, Wilhelm’s picture in the college paper is seen by Maurice. He writes Wilhelm a letter. The letter from Maurice is an offer for

Wilhelm to join casting. Maurice thinks that Wilhelm is good looking and there is a

big chance for Wilhelm to be an actor (Bellow 21). It can be seen here that Maurice

sees Wilhelm’s potential of becoming an actor. Wilhelm’s good appearance is his biggest asset to be an actor. Another evidence can be seen from Wilhelm’s conversation with Rubin, the hotel receptionist. When Wilhelm goes to lobby to

have breakfast, he meets with Rubin. There is a conversation between them. Rubin

tells him about Wilhelm’s nice appearance.

―Well, y’lookin’ pretty sharp today,‖ Rubin said.

And Wilhelm said gladly, ―Am I? Do you really think so?‖

He could not believe it. He saw his reflection in the glass cupboard full of cigar boxes, among the grand seals and paper damask and the gold-embossed portraits of famous men, Garcia, Edward the Seventh, Cyrus the Great. (Bellow 10).

Their conversation is most about fashions. Rubin and Wilhelm never talk about their

personal problems. Their conversation is just like an effort to maintain good

relationship between the people who lives at the same hotel. Rubin knows that

Wilhelm likes to wear good clothes. He often gives comments about Wilhelm’s appearance. Based on opinions of others and conversations of others, it can be

concluded that Wilhelm is an attractive person who has good appearance. Moreover,

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his appearance attracts Venice, a person who works as a talent seeker for Kaskaskia

Films.

4.1.2 Stubborn

Wilhelm is characterized as a stubborn person. It can be seen from his

reaction towards the situation he faces. Wilhelm wants to go to California, realizing

his dream of becoming an actor. But, his parents do not agree about his plan to move

to California and discontinue his college. His parents want him to finish his

education. They want him to be a doctor, just like his father, Dr. Adler. Actually,

Wilhelm always follows what his parents want. However, because he feels that his

parents underestimate him, he becomes a stubborn person. Stubbornly, Wilhelm

does not follow his parents’ advice. He goes with his first plan to move to

California, realizing his dream of becoming an actor. Even knowing that his parents

will not give him permission, Wilhelm still tries to get it from his parents. For three

months he delays his trip to California. He wants to start out with the blessings of

his family, but they are never given (Bellow 27).

Wilhelm pushes himself to achieve his goals. A chance to be a famous actor

motivates him. Through becoming an actor, Wilhelm can prove other people that he

can be more famous and richer than his father. Even though he fails in the acting

test, he still keeps on trying to make his goal comes true. It can be seen from his

willingness to try to become an artist for seven years in California.

He had put forth plenty of effort, but that was not the same as working hard, was it? And if as a young man he had got off to a bad start it was due to this very same face. Early in the nineteen-thirties, because of his striking looks, he had been very briefly considered star material, and he had gone to Hollywood. There for seven years, stubbornly, he had tried to become a screen artist. (Bellow 11).

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The quotation above shows that when Wilhelm has a desire, he will not easy to

change it. Seven years is not a short time for a person to keep focusing on one goal.

Wilhelm pushes himself to realize his goal. Based on Wilhelm’s thought and reaction toward his problem, Wilhelm can be considered as a stubborn person

because he is persistent in realizing his dream of becoming an actor in Hollywood.

4.1.3 Dishonest

It is told in the story that Wilhelm often tells lies to people near him. He is a

dishonest person. He is dishonest because he wants to cover his weaknesses in front

of people. This character is clearly stated from the direct comment that Wilhelm

often tells lies.

Wilhelm respected the truth, but he could lie and one of the things he lied often about was his education. He said he was an alumnus of Penn State; in fact he had left school before his sophomore year was finished. His sister

Catherine had a B.S degree. Wilhelm’s late mother was a graduate of Bryn

Mawr. He was the only member of the family who had no education. This was another sore point. His father was ashamed of him. (Bellow 17).

Wilhelm lies to other people about his education because he does not want other

people know that he has discontinued his study and has no degree. He does not want

people see him badly because they know the truth that Wilhelm is only a liar. People

in hotel Gloriana know that Wilhelm is a man who is educated and successful in his

years. Another reason is that he does not want his father ashamed to have a son who

is uneducated.

Concerning his jobs, Wilhelm also lies to other people that he has a high

income when he works at Rojax Corporation as a sales representative. He works at

Rojax Corporation for almost ten years. He tells that he leaves his job at Rojax

Corporation because he should share his territory with the son-in-law of the owner

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of the company. (Bellow 40). The fact is that Wilhelm loses his job at Rojax

Corporation because he has an affair with Olive, a woman who also works at the

same company. It is too embarrassing for Wilhelm to tell the truth that he has been

kicked out from Rojax Corporation because he has an affair with a woman, despite

the fact that he has already had a wife named Margaret.

Pushing aside in advance all the objections that his son would make, the

doctor said, ―Why did you lose your job with Rojax?‖ ―I didn’t, I’ve told you.‖

―You’re lying. You wouldn’t have ended the connection. You need the money too badly. But you must have got into trouble.‖ The small old man

spoke consciesly and with great strength. ―Since you have to talk and can’t let it alone, tell the truth. Was there a scandal –a woman?‖‖

Wilhelm fiercely defended himself, ―No, Dad, there wasn’t any woman. I told you how it was.‖

―Maybe it was a man, then,‖ the old man said whickedly.

Shocked, Wilhelm stared at him with burning pallor and dry lips. His skin

looked a little yellow. ―I don’t think you know what you’re talking about,‖

he answered after a moment.

―No one special? Are you sure you haven’t gotten into complications?

He had tried to unburden himself and instead, Wilhelm thought, he had to undergo an inquisition to prove himself worthy of sympathetic word. Because his father believed that he did all kinds of gross things.

―There is a woman in Roxbury that I went with. We fell in love and wanted to marry, but she got tired of waiting for my divorce. Margaret figured that. On top of which the girl was a Catolic and I had to go with her to the priest

and make an explanation.‖ (Bellow 58-59).

Based on that explanation, Wilhelm lies to people near him because he does not

want other people know about his weaknesses. He wants to hide his weaknesses in

front of people. He always wants to look good in front of people, so other people

will respect him.

Based on direct comment and Wilhelm’s thought, it can be concluded that Wilhelm is a dishonest person. He wants to cover his weaknesses in front of other

people. He does that because he wants to always look good in front of people. He

thinks that if he lies about himself, people will respect and accept him.

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4.1.4 Lonely

Wilhelm is also characterized as a lonely person. In the novel, Wilhelm is

described as a person who lacks of love from his family. Each member in his family

is busy with their own business, especially his father, who has no time for Wilhelm.

His father is a famous and successful doctor. He loves his job too much until he has

no time for his family. Wilhelm feels that he never has a real family during his life

because from his childhood, he seems to be a stranger in his family. (Bellow 18). In

his marriage, Wilhelm also feels lonely because he is separated from his wife and his

two children. Wilhelm feels lonelier when his father seems careless of him, even

they are living at the same hotel.

Why didn’t he?

What a selfish old man he was! He saw his son’s hardships; he could so

easily help him. How little it would mean to him, and how much to Wilhelm!

Where was the old man’s heart? Maybe, thought Wilhelm, I was sentimental

in the past and exaggerated his kindles—warm family life. It may never have been there. (Bellow 31)

The quotation above shows his bad relationship with his father. His father seems

ashamed to have a son like Wilhelm who is uneducated and unemployed. He never

wants to help Wilhelm because he does not want him to be a burden in his old age.

Contrary, Wilhelm always looks for his father support, both financially and

economically.

Another evidence which shows Wilhelm is a lonely is that he has no friends,

a best friend in his life. Moreover, he feels that he cannot find another person to talk

to in the city like New York (Bellow 91). Wilhelm is surrounded by a lot of people

at hotel Gloriana, but the fact is, he still feels all alone.

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Based on Wilhelm’s speech, Wilhelm can be considered as a lonely man. He thinks that there is no one who cares about him and he has no friend to talk with.

4.1.5 Cowardly

Wilhelm is a cowardly person. In the novel, Wilhelm is described as a man

who always blames other to every bad thing happens in his life. When Wilhelm sees

his strained relationship with his father, he blames his father as the cause of their bad

relationship. He says that his father is never being a friend for him when he is

young. His father is always at the office, the hospital, or lecturing. His father wants

him to look out himself but he never gives Wilhelm much thought. And now his

father looks down on him. (Bellow 18).

It seems very hard for Wilhelm to admit his mistakes. He does not realize

that his condition now is the effect of many wrong decisions he makes in his life.

Wilhelm always compares himself with his father. Every time he thinks about that,

Wilhelm feels sad because he will never be as successful as his father.

Another evidence which shows that Wilhelm is a cowardly person is when

Wilhelm invests and trusts all of his saving to Dr. Tamkin and loses all of it. Still, he

blames that it is Dr. Tamkin’s mistake and he cannot admit that he is the person who should be blame for his own failure.

―…going away?‖ he heard Rowland ask. ―what?‖

―I thought you might be going away too. Tamkin said he was going to Maine this summer for his vacation.‖

―Oh, going away?‖

Wilhelm broke off and went to look for Tamkin in the men’s toilet. Across

the corridor was the room where the machinery of the board was housed. A couple of businessmen with cigarettes in their fingers were having a conversation in the lavatory. At the top of the closet door sat a gray straw hat with a cocoa-colored band. ―Tamkin,‖ said Wilhelm. He tried to identify the

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feet below the door. ―Are you in there, Doctor Tamkin?‖ he said with stilled

anger. ―Answer me. It’s Wilhelm.‖ (Bellow 113).

Wilhelm never thinks deeper that he has trusted his last saving to person whom he

does not know well. He is too fast to believe about Dr. Tamkin’s optimistic that he will be rich through investing his last saving.

Based on Wilhelm’s speech and thoughts, it can be concluded that Wilhelm is a cowardly person. He never thinks deeper and lacks of self-reflection.

4.2 The Characteristics of a Failed Person Reflected in Wilhelm

This section analyzes about the characteristics of a failed person reflected in

Wilhelm. This section is divided into two parts. The first deals with Wilhelm’s failures in his careers and the second deals with the characteristics of a failed person

found in Wilhelm’s personality.

4.2.1 A Failure in Wilhelm’s Careers

This novel tells about Wilhelm’s personal life. Wilhelm always thinks that he lives under the shadow of his father, Dr. Adler. Therefore, he makes a goal in his life

to prove other people that he can be a successful person without supports from his

father.

Jess and Gregory (499) state that high personal standards and goals can lead

to achievements and self-satisfaction. However, when people set their goals too

high, they are likely to fail. It happens to Wilhelm. He sets his goal too high at his

early age. He takes a decision to start his career when he is still at the college just to

prove that he can be independent. Further, Arthur and Lawrence (qtd in Baruch 3)

state that someone’s career is achieved through several steps. Without having sufficient skills, it is impossible for someone to make and build his career. It

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happens to Wilhelm. He does not notice that he lacks of skills to start his career at

his early age. As a result, he always fails in every job he gets. Wilhelm’s failures in his careers are presented as follows:

4.2.1.1 As an Actor

When Wilhelm is at the college, his parents want him to be a doctor like his

father. His step mother tells him that his father, Dr. Adler, can make it easier for

Wilhelm to make career as a doctor. ―She said, ―Wilky, Dad could make it easy for

you if you wanted to go into medicine (Bellow 20).‖ However, Wilhelm feels that

his mother’s advice is underestimating him. There is a motivation within him to prove other people that he can live and make his life without his father’s support. He wants other people look at him as a man who is independent. When he is at the

college, Wilhelm meets with Maurice Venice, a person who works as a talent seeker

for Kaskaskia films. (Bellow 23). Maurice tells Wilhelm that he sees a talent in

Wilhelm and asks him to take casting as a prerequisite to be an actor. Maurice tells

that there is a big chance for Wilhelm to be a famous actor someday. Wilhelm thinks

that there is a good chance for him to prove his family and other people that he can

make his career without help by his father. From Maurice, Wilhelm finds a shortcut

to become rich and be known by a lot of people. Just in one jump, the world will

know who Wilhelm is.

―Here your chance,‖ he said. Now you’re just in college. What are you studying?‖ he snapped his fingers. ―Stuff.‖ Wilhelm himself felt this way about it. ―You may plug along fifty years before you get anywhere. This

way, in one jump, the world knows who you are. You become name like Roosevelt, Swanson. From east to west, out to China, into South America. This is no bunk. You become a lover to the whole world. The world wants it, needs it. One fellow smiles, a billion people also smile. One fellow cries, the

other billion sob with him. Listen, bud‖ (Bellow 26).

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Wilhelm thinks deeply about this chance. He considers that this chance will

not come for the second time. He tries to ask for opinion from his parents. His

parents warn Wilhelm to forget his ambition of becoming an actor because he is still

a student at the college. According to them, his chance to make good career is bigger

after he finishes his education. However, young Wilhelm has a different view about

his career. He has a motivation to make his career as soon as possible. Murray (7)

states that motivation affects someone’s behavior because motivation may function

as incentive for someone to behave in a certain manner. The feeling of being

underestimated by his parents is Wilhelm’s motivation to make career at his early age. Moreover, there is a chance to be an actor. Wilhelm wants to be an actor

because he sees that becoming an actor is the shortest way to gain success. His goal

is to prove other people that he can be a successful person without being helped by

his father. ―But Wilhelm had been eager for life to start. College was merely another

delay (Bellow 27).‖ He thinks that college no longer helps him.

This is the beginning of his failures in his careers. Wilhelm makes a big

decision to drop out from his college and start his career of becoming an artist.

Wilhelm believes that he can be a famous actor if he moves to California. For that

reason, Wilhelm drops out from his school to move to California, against his father’s warning. However, his decision to make his career at his early goes against his

plans.

Early in the nineteen thirties, because of his striking looks, Wilhelm had been very briefly considered star material, and he had gone to Hollywood. There for seven years, stubbornly, he had tried to become a screen artist. Long before that time his ambition or delusion had ended, but through pride and perhaps also through laziness he had remained in California. At last he turned to other things but those seven years of persistence and defeat had unfitted him somehow for trades and business, and then it was too late to go

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into one of the professions. He had been slow to mature, and he had lost

ground, and so he hadn’t been able to get rid of his energy and he was convinced that this energy itself had done him the greatest harm (Bellow 11).

As discussed in the previous section, Wilhelm goes to Hollywood based on

his own idea. He is too ashamed to admit that he fails in the acting test. ―In those days Wilhelm had had a speech difficulty. It was not a true stammer, it was a

thickness of speech which the sounds track exaggerated (Bellow 27).‖ As a result, he lies to his family and leaves his college to move to California, realizing his dream of

becoming an actor. ―He used to pretend that it had all been the doing of a certain talent scout named Maurice Venice. But the scout had never made him a definite

offer of a studio connection (Bellow 18-19).‖ In California, Wilhelm changes his name from Wilhelm Adler to Tommy Wilhelm. He hopes that by changing his name

and removes his family name, he can get rid of his father’s shadows. ―In California he became Tommy Wilhelm. Dr. Adler would not accept the change. Today he still

called his son Wilky, as he had done for more than forty year (Bellow 28-29).‖ It takes seven years for Wilhelm to keep on trying of becoming an actor in California.

For seven years, stubbornly, he joins casting tests, but he never get role as a main

actor in the films. He only becomes a figurant (Bellow 11). As a result, it forces

Wilhelm to find another job

4.2.1.2 As an Employee

Wilhelm continues his life by doing different jobs since he finds that there is

a little chance for him to become an actor. A fear of being judged as a failed person

motivates him to find a job to sustain his life. He gets a job as a public relation in a

big hotel in Cuba. ―Once upon a time,‖ said Wilhelm, ―I did some public relation

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Worksheet 3

Read the text carefully and try to find the meaning of underlined

words below!

“Why did you lose your job with Rojax?” “I didn’t, I’ve told you.”

“You’re lying. You wouldn’t have ended the connection. You need the money too badly. But you must have got into trouble.” The small old man spoke concisely and with great strength. “Since you have to talk and can’t let it alone, tell the truth. Was there a scandal – a woman?””

Wilhelm fiercely defended himself, “No, Dad, there wasn’t any woman. I told you how it was.”

“No one special? Are you sure you haven’t gotten into complications?

“There is a woman in Roxbury that I went with. We fell in love and wanted to marry, but she got tired of waiting for my divorce. Margaret figured that. On top of which the girl was a Catolic and I had to go with her to the priest and make an explanation.” (Bellow 58-59).

–

GOOD LUCK

–

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Worksheet 4

Make a sentence using the words below!

1. Lose

________________________________________________________ 2. Lying

________________________________________________________ 3. Connection

________________________________________________________ 4. Concisely

________________________________________________________ 5. Scandal

________________________________________________________ 6. Fiercely

________________________________________________________ 7. Inquisition

________________________________________________________ 8. Gross

__________________________________________________________ 9. Divorce

__________________________________________________________ 10. Priest

__________________________________________________________

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APPENDIX 5

ANSWER KEY 1. Worksheet 1

D W F G D G C B S E R J E R T

G A C L I M A X A D E R R W A

A N O W S E R I N A O H F E D

A T N E R T T H E M E G E X E

E T F R M U M M I L K S R C F

S O L C A S E M M U T Y T C R

Y K I E M U K T I A L P C I G

M N C D N A R R A T O R C M J

B O T U A W R U Y H U O Y B K

O W Q K A S E D R B M T M O U

L M A T X A E R F M R A L L I

D O S E P L O T A I E G O W P

Y R X W W O L F S S T O T R O

E E C E D R A G O E Y N T T V

M X P R A S W T Y R O I I I E

S E T T I N G Q W T P S N T R

C O N F L I K I C K E T G L F

S A U L B E C H A R A C T E R

W R T D E B G T A B T Y S Y E

G R E E N O F G G X S E E F C

2. Worksheet 2

1. I really like the novel entitled seize the day. 2. Wilhelm is the main character in a story. 3. What is the meaning of plot in a story? 4. That novel is interesting to read.

5. The setting is where and when the story takes place. 6. I like to read English novel.

7. Life values are portrayed in a novel. 8. I have read five novels in a month.

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3. Worksheet 3

1. Lose (v): to become unable to find something

2. Lying (v): to say something that one know is not true 3. Connection (n): a point where two things are connected 4. Concisely (adv): giving a lot of information in few words 5. Scandal (n): behavior considered to be morally or legally wrong 6. Fiercely (adv): violent and angry

7. Complications (n): a thing that makes a situation more complex or difficult 8. Gross (n): a group of 144 things

9. Divorce (v): to end one’s marriage to somebody by legal means

10. Priest (n): a person appointed to perform religious duties and ceremonies in the roman catholic

4. Worksheet 4

There can be more than one answer.

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xi ABSTRACT

This thesis analyses Saul Bellow’s novel entitled Seize the Day. The novel

tells about the life of Tommy Wilhelm, the major character of the novel, who has to deal with failures in his life. One of the major issues described in the novel is

Wilhelm’s failures in his careers. His failures in his careers are the root of other

failures in his life. This study analyses the major character’s characteristics and the

failures he faces in his careers.

person in Wilhelm’s personality namely avoiding a loss in self-estimate, the defense

against punishment, and the defense against a loss in social value.

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xii ABSTRAK

Seize the Day. Sumber-sumber lain yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini diperoleh dari buku-buku dan dari internet yang mengandung informasi yang berhubungan dengan penulisan skripsi ini.

A study of Tommy Wilhelms failures in his careers as portrayed in Saul Bellows Seize The Day.

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Worksheet 3

Read the text carefully and try to find the meaning of underlined

words below!

–

GOOD LUCK

–

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Worksheet 4

Make a sentence using the words below!

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