Theme revealed from the characters and plot in Cormac McCarthy`s The Road.
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THEME REVEALED FROM THE CHARACTERS AND PLOT
IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S THE ROAD
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MICHAEL RIGEL DIAZ
Student Number: 084214044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013
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THEME REVEALED FROM THE CHARACTERS AND PLOT
IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S THE ROAD
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MICHAEL RIGEL DIAZ
Student Number: 084214044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Michael Rigel Diaz
NomorMahasiswa
: 084214044
Demi kepentingan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Theme Revealed from the Characters and Plot
in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan
dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media
lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun
memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai
penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta,
Pada tanggal: 29 Agustus 2013
Yang menyatakan,
(Michael Rigel Diaz)
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This thesis entitled “Theme Revealed from the Characters and Plot in Cormac
McCarthy’s The Road” is purely made by the thesis writer. In other words, all ideas
all phrases, and all sentences, unless otherwise stated, are ideas, phrases, and
sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including
degree cancelation if he took somebody else’s ideas, phrases, or sentences without
proper references.
Yogyakarta, 29 Agustus 2013
Michael Rigel Diaz
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“Do not pray for easy lives,
pray to be stronger men and women,
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers,
pray for powers equal to your tasks.”
-Philip Brooks
Remember the good times,
be strong during the difficult times,
love always, laugh often, and thank God every day.
-Anonymous-
There is no end.
There is no beginning.
There is only the passion of life.
-Federico Fellinivi
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I dedicate this undergraduate thesis to
my beloved parents, brothers, and sister.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very grateful for having Jesus Christ in my life and I can never thank
Him enough for blessing me in every situation I faced in finishing this
undergraduate thesis. His love is proved by giving me the following people to
help me to accomplish this study. Therefore, I would like to dedicate my gratitude
to particular names below.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dewi
Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum for her willingness to guide and to give me advice
during this process even in her busy time. I also would like to give my gratitude to
my co-advisor for correcting my thesis and for the suggestion to revise this
writing, and for all the lecturers and secretariat staff of English Letters
Department.
My special gratitude is addressed to my beloved parents, Mundi Diaz and
Lusia Gimaonah for their prayer and support. I also thank my brothers, Yohanes
Canis Minoris Diaz and Stefanus Renggan Diaz, and my little sister Regina
Agustin Diaz who always give their supports in everything.
I would like to give my greatest thank to my beloved Fransisca Desi
Nathalia Aryanti for giving me advice, support, solution and for every single time
to share and discuss. Finally, I thank to my friends Lando, Marcel, Ari, Stanis,
Tanto, Fery, Rio, Radit, Roy, Nanang, Dion, Minggus, Pera, Gabriel, Yosef,
Yorik, Kebot and all members in English Letters Department 2008.
Michael Rigel Diaz
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE………………………………………………………………
APPROVAL PAGE………………………………………………………..
ACCEPTANCE PAGE……………………………………………………
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI……………
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY………………………………………
MOTTO PAGE…………………………………………………………….
DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………….
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………….
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………….....
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………..
ABSTRAK……………………………………………………………….....
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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………
A. Background of the Study…………………………………………….
B. Problem Formulation………………………………………………..
C. Objectives of the Study……………………………………………...
D. Definition of Terms………………………………………………….
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CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW……………………………...
A. Review of Related Studies………………………………………......
B. Review of Related Theories…………………………………………
1. Theories of Character and Characterization …………………….
2. Theories of Plot …………………………………………………
3. Theories of Theme ……………………………………………...
4. The Relationship between the Character, Plot, and Theme….....
C. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………......
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CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………………………………………
A. Object of the Study …………………………………………………
B. Approach of the Study ……………………………………………...
C. Method of the Study ………………………………………………...
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CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS……………………………………………….
A. Characterization in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road………………...
1. The Father ………………………………………………………
2. The Son …………………………………………………………
B. The Description of Plot ……………………………………………..
1. Beginning ………………………………………………………
2. Complication …………………………………………………...
3. Climax ………………………………………………………….
4. Denouement …………………………………………………….
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C. The Contribution of Character and Plot to Reveal the Theme……....
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CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION……………………………………………
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………..
APPENDIX………………………………………………………………….
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ABSTRACT
MICHAEL
RIGEL
DIAZ.THEME
REVEALED
FROM
THE
CHARACTERS AND PLOT IN CORMAC McCARTHY’STHE ROAD.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma
University, 2013.
A literary work is a kind of reflection of the real life. It gives some lessons
about human life, such as in the social life, cultural, moral, and religion. The Road
that is written by Cormac McCarthy gives a lesson to the readers of how love
becomes the strong foundation in a relationship, especially between a father and a
s on.
There are three problems analyzed in this research. The three problems are
(1) how are the characters described in the novel? (2) how is the plot described in
the novel? (3) how do the characteristics and plot reveal the theme of the novel?
This research uses New Criticism approach since the discussion talks
about intrinsic elements of the story. The theories applied are concerned with
theory of character and characterization, theory of plot, theory of theme following
by explanation of the relation between character, plot, and theme. The method that
is used in this research is library research. This study uses written sources from
some books, journals, and articles. Besides, this study also uses online sources
from the internet that are related to the topic in this study.
Based on the analysis, characters and plot are related each other. The
analysis of characters is used to find the characteristics of the main characters in
the novel. From the analysis of the main characters, it is found that The Man is a
very responsible father, while The Son is a boy who is compassionate and coward.
Although they have many conflicts along their journey, they never try to escape
from their problems. Their purpose is to get a better life in south. The analysis of
the plot is used to find the structure of the story in the beginning, the middle, and
the end. From the analysis of the plot, it can be seen how the main characters face
their problems along their journey to a safe place. By analyzing the characters and
the plot, the writer finds the theme of the story is “True love is shown with
someone’s struggle and sacrifice”.
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ABSTRAK
MICHAEL RIGEL DIAZ. THEME REVEALED FROM THE
CHARACTERS AND PLOT IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S THE ROAD.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma,
2013.
Sebuah karya sastra merupakan refleksi dari kehidupan nyata. Karya sastra
memberikan beberapa pelajaran mengenai kehidupan manusia seperti dalam
kehidupan bersosial, berbudaya, bermoral, dan beragama. The Road ditulis oleh
Cormac McCarthy memberikan pembelajaran kepada pembaca mengenai
bagaimana cinta menjadi pondasi kokoh dalam sebuah hubungan, terutama
hubungan antara seorang ayah dan seorang anak.
Terdapat tiga permasalahan yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Ketiga
permasalahan tersebut adalah: (1) Bagaimana tokoh utama dalam novel
digambarkan, (2) Bagaimana alur cerita dalam novel digambarkan, (3) Bagaimana
tokoh utama dan alur cerita dapat menarik kesimpulan sebuah tema.
Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan New Criticism karena membahas
tentang unsur-unsur intrinsik dalam cerita. Teori yang digunakan yaitu teori
karakter dan penokohan, teori alur cerita, teori tema yang disertai dengan
penjelasan mengenai hubungan antara karakter, alur cerita, dan tema. Metode
yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode studi pustaka. Studi ini
menggunakan beberapa sumber tertulis dari buku, jurnal, dan artikel. Selain itu,
studi ini juga menggunakan sumber-sumber online dari internet yang berhubungan
dengan topic dalam studi ini.
Berdasarkan analisis, karakter dan alur cerita saling berkaitan. Analisis
karakter digunakan untuk mengetahui penokohan karakter utama dalam novel.
Dari analisis karakter, ditemukan bahwa The Man adalah seorang ayah yang
sangat bertanggung jawab, sedangkan The Son adalah seorang anak yang berbelas
kasih dan penakut. Meskipun mereka memiliki banyak masalah selama
perjalanan, mereka tidak pernah mencoba untuk melarikan diri dari masalah
tersebut. Tujuan mereka adalah untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik di
selatan. Analisis alur cerita digunakan untuk mengetahui susunan cerita dari awal,
tengah, dan akhir. Dari analisis alur cerita, dapat dilihat bagaimana tokoh utama
menghadapi permasalahan sepanjang perjalanannya menuju ke tempat yang lebih
aman. Dengan melakukan analisis karakter dan alur cerita, penulis menemukan
sebuah tema yaitu “Sebuah cinta sejati ditunjukan oleh perjuangan dan
pengorbanan seseorang”.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
A literary work can move human’s feeling and emotion. A literary work
gives more lessons through the aspects in human life such as social, cultural,
moral and religious aspects, which is generally based on the fact and experience
that already happened in the past or the dreams in the future.
One of the literature genres is a novel. It can be defined as a work of
literature or a composition that imitates life and human activities. Reading
literature is enjoyable. It offers satisfaction and pleasure to people who like to
read literary works. Literature is not only a matter of fun but it also gives many
values that can be learned for improvement. Most of the greatest literary works in
the world can be seen as the reflection in human life. In a literary work, the author
can present his vision of life, which expresses his experiences, obsessions, and
observations in his life. Rohrberger and Woods state that a novel is a work of art
in so far as it introduces a living world. Novel is an imitation of life. The novel is
the reflection of human life. The stories that happen in a novel also happen in real
life (1971: 163).
Literature is composed of those books, and of those books only, which in
the first place, by reason of their subject matter and their mode of treating
it, are of general human interest; and in which, in the second place, the
element of from and the pleasure which from gives are to be regarded as
essential (Hudson, 1958: 10).
Based on the definition above, literature has a good point and become one
of media for learning. Literature is considered as a written experience and
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imagination of what people have in mind, which is to explore ideas and things in
life.
We care for literature primarily on account of its deep and lasting human
significance. A great book grows directly out of life; in reading it, we are
brought into large, close, and fresh relations with life; and in that fact lies
the final explanation of its power. Literature is a vital record of what men
have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have taught
and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and
enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life
through the medium of language (Hudson, 1958: 10).
Concerning to the above explanation, the writer can learn that literature
presents many complex problems in people’s life and how they can solve their
problems. Literature is an art of written and a mirror of real life that is considered
as the reflection through human imagination. The author builds or imagines their
story by using their life experience. In general, literature is the life experience
uttered in words to become a beautiful writing which gives many values that can
be learned for improvement.
One of literary works that is interesting to be analyzed is a novel. In a
novel, people can learn about life because it depicts segments of life. According
to Murphy, a novel does not only give us pleasure, but also an understanding and
lesson of life.
….. just as life is a mixture of joy, disappointment, hope, sorrow, humor,
suffering, and success, so the greatest novels reflect life and are
compounded similarly of many elements (1972: 133).
A literary work takes sources from life experiences. The life experiences
can be the life of author himself or another person. Rene Wellek and Austin
Warren (1956: 96), in their book Theory of Literature explain that the work of
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literature represents life as a reality. They state that the work of literature contains
the reality of human situations, problems, feelings, and relationships.
A literary work consists of some intrinsic elements. One of them is
character. Character is an important element in a story. Character is a person who
acts in the story, the author creates the characters from the aspects of the ordinary
people that portray the personalities of human beings, and then develops these
aspects and puts them together in a story. The characters have important role in
creating the conflicts in a story. The author tells the characters qualities through
the narrator’s description, the character’s actions, and the other characters’
reactions.
Plot is one of other intrinsic elements. Plot is a kind of plan which consists
of the action done by the characters and events happening to them (Kenney, 1966:
95). It is important to analyze the plot of this novel, especially the influence of the
plot towards The Man and The son as the main characters. The plot and the
character have a close relationship. The plot arranges the action done by the
characters and the characters perform the actions as requested by the plot.
Therefore, when the readers know the plot well, the readers will understand the
characters in details.
The theme is the last focus in this study. The theme is the “central
meaning idea” (Stanton, 1965: 4). The theme is the main idea that the author
wants the readers to discover. The theme of this novel is revealed from the
character of The Man and The son as the main characters and the plot in this story.
It is well known that the theme of the story can be found by analyzing the main
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characters, “as a major element in fiction, character is obviously of major
importance for theme” (Kenney, 1966: 94-95). The theme is chosen to be
discussed because it is important to discover the whole meaning of the story. It
means nothing when the readers read the novel without knowing the story well.
One of McCarthy’s interesting novels is The Road released in 2006.
Through The Road, Cormac McCarthy introduces the reader how to achieve
happiness and a better life by keeping the relationship between a father and a son
to always love each other. McCarthy describes the situation faced by The Man
and The Son along their journey to the south to get safe. The Man teaches his son
some ways to survive. The Man’s love to his son can be seen when they are in
their journey. The Man can do anything for his son. He does not care about
anything that might happen to himself, because the most important thing in his life
is happiness for his son. He has responsibility to be a good father for his son.
There is no one can guarantee his son’s life except himself. Through McCarthy’s
main characters that are unnamed, McCarthy tells the reader about a man who has
a big love for his son and he never gives up with any condition or situation
outside. The main reason of choosing this novel to be analyzed is because the love
shown from the relationship between a father and a son is interesting to be
discussed.
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B. Problem Formulation
In this study there are three problems formulation in order to focus on the
analysis. The writer has formulated the problems as follows.
1. How are the characters described in the novel?
2. How is the plot described in the novel?
3. How do the characteristics and plot reveal the theme of the novel?
C. Objectives of the Study
The analysis is done to answer the questions that the writer has already
mentioned above. This study has three objectives. The first objective is to find out
depiction of The Man and The Son as the main characters in The Road. The writer
analyzes their personalities, characteristics of appearances, behavior, and manner.
The second objective is to show the readers how the plot is described and how it
develops. The last objective is to find out the theme of the story which is revealed
from the relation between the characters and the plot.
D. Definition of Terms
It is important to clarify the meaning of certain words related to the topic
to avoid misunderstanding. There are some terms to be defined as below.
1. Character
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, M.H. Abrams states that characters are
the person in literary works both in a dramatic or narrative whose characteristics
are reflected through the dialogue or the action (1981: 20-21). He shows that to
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understand the characters, we must interpret from what the character says in
dialogue and what they do in action.
2. Plot
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms (1981: 127), states that “the plot
in a dramatic or narrative work is the structure of its own action as these are
ordered and rendered toward achieving particular emotional and artistic”. He
explains that the structure of action happen in narrative work which aims and
result a particular emotional to the reader is called as plot of the story.
3. Theme
According to Perrine, theme of a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or
its central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life or implied in the
story (1974: 137). He shows that the literary work is designed to persuade the
reader to find the meaning of the work itself and the purpose of the author.
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part is review of related
studies, which contains the other studies previously done by other researches that
still related to this study. The second part is review of related theories, which
contains some theories that were used to analyze the data. The last part is
theoretical framework that concerns with the contribution of the theories and the
way they were applied to answer the problems in this study.
A. Review of Related Studies
Reading a work of literature may arouse some comments from the
readers. People have their right to give suggestions, comments, and even criticism
to the literary work. It is very important to perceive criticisms on the literary
works. The criticisms provide the readers a better comprehension on the literary
works.
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written
many novels and The Road is McCarthy’s tenth novel. This novel sets in
catastrophe time, telling a journey of a father and his son across a landscape
blasted by an unspecified disaster.
The study in Cormac McCarty’s The Road also done by other researches.
The first related study is taken from a journal. It is the analysis from Erik J.
Wielendberg who states,
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Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road is, among other things, a meditation
on morality, what makes human life meaningful, and the relationship
between these things and God. While the novel is rife with religious
imagery and ideas, it suggests a conception of morality and meaning that
is secular in nature (2010: 1).
The above quotation shows that the existence of God remains ambiguous
throughout the novel. The Road contains both a clear moral code and a view about
what makes life meaningful. He describes the moral code and examines its
connection with life.
Cormac McCarthy’s novel has a lot of point of views. It is possible that
The Road talks about anything aspect in the world. Chris Walsh states in his
journal that
Cormac McCarthy’s most recent novel makes another significant
contribution to his imaginative construction of the South. His work has
always had a complex relationship with the foundational cornerstones of
Southern literature, such as his interest in myth, history and community,
his attachment to (and depiction of) place, which is such a pronounced
theme of the region’s literature, and so on (2007: 1).
From the above quotation, he shows that Cormac McCarthy’s major
strengths as a writer is his ability to describe natural landscapes and to draw
simple analogies between the features of those environments and some of his
characters’ psychic qualities.
Another study about The Road also done by Darcie Frederick from
University of British Columbia, who states
The way McCarthy deliberately avoids commenting on the causes leading
up to the catastrophe or the nature of the catastrophe itself emerges out of
a culture that has become used to the idea of potential worldwide
destruction. Our capacity for environmental damage is by now common
knowledge to the point where a novel will not surprise us by showing the
possibilities of global devastation (2008: 15).
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From the above quotation, this novel emerges from a perspective that the
world is heading down a road that can only end in something catastrophic. The
characters must hold out from some situations and conditions along their journey
to safe place. In their journey, they face some conflicts including the damage and
dangerous situations. The important thing for the characters is how to stay alive.
After seeing the main idea of the novel from other studies perspective, it is
important to find the learning point from this novel. The previous perspectives
only talk about the common meaning of certain object, such as humanity,
historical context, and how the characters can survive without anybody can help
them from the bad situation. Therefore, in this study the writer analyzes the
intrinsic elements of The Road, the characters and the plot, in order to reveal the
theme of the novel. The perspectives from the previous studies can strengthen this
study because it increases the knowledge about the story.
B. Review of Related Theories
In this part, the writer presents several related theories that are applied to
do the analysis in this research. They are theory of character and characterization,
theory of plot, theory of theme, and some explanations about the relationship
between character, plot, and theme.
1. Theories of Character and Characterization
Rohrberger and Woods (1971:20) in their book Reading and Writing
about Literature, define the word ‘characterization’ as the process by which the
author creates a character. Characterization in a novel is not merely related to the
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selection of personality but the way it is described to facilitate the whole
understanding of a story. As each character has particular personality and physical
attributes that distinguish them from the other characters, it is important to know
how the author makes the readers understand their characteristics and
personalities.
Besides, Perrine in Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense also states that
character in a story can be presented through direct presentation (1974: 68-69). In
direct presentation, the author simply tells the readers about the character of the
story. He tells the qualities of the characters in exposition and analysis, or he has
someone else in the story who tells about the characters. In direct presentation, the
personality of the characters can be seen from their speaking and action.
Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature state that
the characters play an important role in a story, as they help the reader to
participate vicariously in the experience or the story by sharing imaginatively the
feeling or the activities of the characters in the story (1971: 19).
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams states that basically, based on
the importance, the character can be divided into two categories that are major
character and minor character. The major character usually appears in the whole
of the story; he becomes the focus of the story. The events that appear in the story
always involve him directly or indirectly. On the other hand, minor character is
often said as the supporting character. The roles are less important than the main
characters, because they are not fully developed characters and their roles in a
story are just to support the development of the major character (1981: 20).
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In addition, Baldick states that character is also sketched briefly describing
some recognizable type of person (1991: 33-34). It means that a character shows
to the reader what kind of person the character is. Baldick’s opinion helps the
reader to get an advantage in understanding and figuring the appearance of the
character in the literary work. The reader may recognize many types of person,
such as good, bad, kind, loveable, an evil etc.
To present characters in a literary work, the author may use the ways to
establish the characters which is known as characterization. In Understanding
Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas
Students (1972: 161-173), M.J. Murphy states that there are nine ways to present
the characterization of the characters in a literary work as below.
a. Personal Description
The author describes from the details of physical appearance and outfit of
the character, such as strong or weak, fat or thin, beautiful or bad, tall or short, big
or small, with curly hair or blonde, and white or black skin.
b. Character as Seen by Another
An author describes the characters through another’s point of view. The
other characters in the story give his opinions, by giving explanation a character is
like. In these details, the readers can also use their own point of view to analyze a
certain character.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers an insight into the character in the work
through what a person says. It can be seen whenever a person speaks in a
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conversation with other character. The writer also can see his character from his
opinion that he gives.
d. Past Life
The author can provide a clue to events that help to shape a person’s
characteristics by giving the character’s past life. This is quite helpful to analyze
the present life of the character.
e. Conversations to Others
The readers must have to pay attention through the conversation of other
people and the things they say about the character, because an author sometimes
gives a clue to understand the character’s personality from other’s conversation
and their opinion about him. By searching it, it will help the readers to get more
information about the characteristics of the character.
f. Reaction
The author gives the reaction of the clue to what characteristics a character
has, by describing how the person reacts and responds to various situation and
condition or event.
g. Direct Comment
The author gives the readers direct comment and description on the
character. In this way there is a medium for the author to use to characterize the
character.
h. Thoughts
The author gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
Whenever the author gives a direct description of the characters mind, what he is
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thinking about, person is led to a deep analysis through the thought inside the
characters’ mind.
i. Mannerism
A person’s character can be described to his habit and mannerism. It can
tell that us something more about the character. Furthermore, the meaning of the
characterization in the literary work as an individual is the process of presenting
and developing a character by an author.
2. Theories of Plot
Plot is the idea that determines how the story flows. As well as character,
plot also plays a significant role in the story. It is because plot serves the structure
of actions or incidents. Plot exists for the importance of the understanding of the
story. When readers understand the incidents happen to the character, it means
that they understand the plot of the story which later leads them to understand the
whole story.
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms mentions that plot is “the
structure of the narrative work action, which is ordered and rendered toward
achieving particular emotional and artistic effect” (1981: 159). Plot provides the
structural events and organizes that narration in a story so it can be more easily
understood by the readers in reading a novel.
According to Stanton in his book An Introduction to Fiction (1965: 1415), the plot of the story is its entire sequence of events and it is the backbone of a
story. It has its own laws, which means that a plot must have a true beginning,
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middle, and end. The plot movement comes mainly from its ability to arouse
hope, curiosity, and fear. The movement of the plot from the beginning to the end
should be plausible, rational, and logical.
According to Murphy (1972: 134), what is meant by a ‘plot’ is a carefully
thought-out plan in which all the events, all the actions and reactions of the
characters, contribute towards the forward movement of the story. The plot brings
the readers to a series of crests until the climax of the story is reached and
everything is resolved. The plot has a function to give and to show the structure of
story. The following part is the formula of plot which consists of
exposition/beginning, complication, climax, and resolution/denouement/ending
(Abrams, 1981: 161).
a. Exposition (Beginning)
The first thing that is necessary for the readers in reading a story are to
know and to understand clearly enough the situation in the beginning of an action.
A plot mostly begins with the exposition, which commonly provides the
introduction of the characters, the sketch of background, and the description of the
situation (Abrams, 1981: 161).
Robert and Jacobs in their book Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and
Writing state that exposition is the layout, the putting forth of the material in the
work, the main characters, their background, and characterization, basic
assumption about life, goal, limitation, and potentials (1987: 101). It presents
everything that is important in the story.
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b. Complications
The exposition then moves to the rising action or the complication, Robert
and Jacobs state that the complication marks the beginning of the main conflict in
the story or the onset of the plot. The participants are all the characters in the story
whether they are protagonist or antagonist, ideas or value those characters
represent, such as childhood and age, love and hate, good and evil, freedom and
slavery, and the like (1987: 101).
Besides, this section usually provides the rising of the problems and the
introduction of some difficulties faced by the characters. The situation keeps on
increasing with complexity and tensions of the problems and the difficulties until
it reaches the climax (Abrams, 1981: 161).
c. Climax
Robert and Jacobs state that the climax is the high point in the action or
the point of greatest expectancy and the cumulative effect of the previous
incidents. In the section the conflicts and the following tension are brought to the
fullest extent. Climax is the point that is inevitable and no return where all the rest
of the action becomes firmly set (1987: 101).
d. Denouement
According to Robert and Jacobs, the resolution or denouement is the last
section of plot which brings the story to its conclusion. The resolution usually
directed as quickly as possible of the conflicts are over. On the other hand, once
the main conflict is resolved, a brief action of this sort emphasizes the note of
finality (1987: 102).
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3. Theories of Theme
Arp and Johnson state that theme in a fiction is its controlling idea or its
central insight (2009: 191). Based on that definition, theme is an important part in
a literary work. It is the controlling idea of literary work. The controlling idea
means the main topic in the literary work. It also can be stated that the theme of a
literary work is something to limit the story. The theme controls the whole story,
so the story will not tells something outside the topic which has no relation. The
definition above shows that a theme is a central insight of a story. It means the
theme is the center of the whole story.
Another theory that is used by the writer is Perrine’s Literature: Structure,
Sound, and Sense Tenth Edition (2009: 195-197), Thomas R. Arp and Greg
Johnson define the theme of the piece of a fiction is its controlling idea or its
central insight. To derive the theme of a story, it is important to know the central
purpose of the story itself and the view of life that is bring inside the story. Theme
only exists when the author has seriously attempted to record life accurately or to
reveal some truths about it.
Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson also state that the theme can be
understood clearly with the following principles.
1. Theme should be expressible in the form of statement with a subject and a
predicate.
2. The theme should be stated as a generalization about life.
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3. We must be careful not to make generalization larger than is justified by the
terms of the story. The use of terms like some and sometimes are more
preferable that terms like every, all, and always.
4. Theme is the central and unifying concept of a story. So the theme must be
related to something that exists inside the story.
5. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
6. We should avoid any statement that reduces the theme to some familiar saying
that we have heard all our lives, because it will make the essential meaning of
the story not conveyed (2009: 195-197).
Those principles lead to find the theme in a literary work. Theme is the
main idea or focus of the discussion that is implied in a story. Through the theme,
readers will understand the purpose of the author why he creates the story or what
the author wants to show through his novel. The theme can affect the readers
because sometimes the theme shows value of life. Kenney in How to Analyze
Fiction, states that the theme is the total meaning discovered by the writer in the
process of writing and by the reader in the process of reading (1966: 497).
4. The Relationship between the Character, Plot, and Theme
As the central idea of the story, theme unifies the elements of the story.
Theme is closely related to other elements including character and plot. The
actions and reactions of the characters influence the movement of the story,
Murphy states,
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What is meant by a ‘plot’ is a carefully thought-out plan in which all the
events, all the actions and reactions of the characters, contribute towards
the forward movement of the story (1972: 134).
So, it is clear that character and its actions are inseparable. The plot shows
the movement of the events in the story that are done by the characters. The
combination between the character and every action that is taken by the characters
create a plot of the story. The writer pays attention to the intrinsic elements of the
story to find the theme.
Stanton states that theme is the central idea which gives the story focus or
unified, and it is relevant to every event, every detail described in the story (1965:
19). It means that theme is relevant to plot, in which it is closely related to the
characters. Therefore, characters and plot are relevant to find the theme. The
description of the main characters and the incidents happen in the story can reveal
the illustrated major idea or theme.
C. Theoretical Framework
This study provides some theories in order to support in analyzing and
answering the questions in the problems formulation mentioned in the previous
chapter. The theories that were applied in this thesis are the theory of character
and characterization, theory of plot, and theory of theme.
The theories of character and characterization are used to analyze the
characteristic of the main character in the novel. In analyzing the characteristic of
the main character, the writer focuses on the way the main character behave and
act in every event and how their reaction to that events.
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The theories of plot are used to find the flow and the sequence of the story
and to analyze the plot that exists in the story. It deepens the understanding about
the plot in The Road.
After knowing the character and plot in the story, this writer found out the
theme of the story. That is the reason why the theory of theme is needed. This
theory is helpful to find the real meaning of the theme. Those theories above are
presented as the guidance for the writer to get closer and easier to analysis and to
find the answer of the problems in this study.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This part consists of three main parts. The first part is object of the study
which focuses on the work of literature that is used in this study. The second part
is approach of the study which explains the approach that is used in this study
(New Criticism approach) which discusses intrinsic elements. The last is method
of the study that describes the steps in doing the analysis of this study.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this research is the novel entitled The Road. This novel is
written by Cormac McCarthy, an American novelist and playwright, who was
born on 20th July 1933. The Road was published in 2006 by Vintage International
A Division of Random House Inc. This novel consists of 287 pages. The Road
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for
fiction. This novel has been adapted for the screen in 2009.
The story sets in catastrophe time with unnamed place. The condition at
that time is really hard. There are so many rotten corpses on the road and the
landscapes are destroyed by fire. The Road tells about the journey of a man and
his son, who is mentioned as The Man and The Son in the novel. They take a
journey to the south because they believe that there will be a better life there.
They have to face murder and cannibalism along their journey. The Man and The
Son struggle to survive in the harsh weather with little food supplies and shelter.
Despite their hardships, The Man and The Son try to always be good guys who do
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not harm others. However, The Man’s health worsens along the journey and by
the time they reach the ocean in south, he is near his dead. He continually coughs
up blood and then finally he dies in the woods lying next to his son in the middle
of the night. The boy stays by his side for several days after his death until he
meets a kind family who invite him to join them and continue the journey to the
south.
B. Approach of the Study
This study deals with intrinsic elements, which are character and plot.
Therefore, New Criticism is the most appropriate and relevant approach to be used
in this study. According to Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to
Literature,
The New Critics sought precision and structural tightness in the literary
work; they favored a style and tone that tended toward irony; they insisted
on the presence within to work of everything necessary for its analysis;
and they called for an end to a concern by critics and teachers of English
with matters outside the work itself-the life of the author, the history of his
time, or the social and economic implication of the literary work (2011:
79).
The above quotation means that New Criticism puts away all the extrinsic
elements, such as the psychological conditions of the author and the social
background. This approach only focuses on textual peculiarly. It means that by
using New Criticism as the approach, this study only deals with the elements
inside the story.
In An Introduction to Literary Studies, Klarer states that “a central term
often used synonymously with the new criticism is close reading” (1999: 68). It
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means that the critics should have read a literary work as much as possible in
order to get deeper understanding of the content inside the work. It is important to
know well about the work in detail.
From the above explanation, New Criticism is used to help the writer to
analyze the characters and the plot in the story. Since character and plot are
including to intrinsic elements, the relation between those two elements leads the
writer to reveal the theme of the story.
C. Method of Study
The writer used library research in order to collect the data. The data were
divided into two, primary and secondary data. The primary data were taken from
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. The secondary data were taken from some books,
journals, and online sources related to the topic in this analysis. Those written and
internet sources were used to support and to complete the data.
There were some steps taken by the writer to do the analysis. The first step
was the writer read and reread the novel for several time in order to get deeper
understanding and detail. The writer focused on the two intrinsic elements,
character and plot. The second step was the writer read some reference books and
journals to find the appropriate theory and approach to be used. The third step, the
writer collected some other studies and references to the same work, topic, and
author of the novel in order to give a new discussion in this study. The next step
was the writer formulated the problems and applied the suitable theory and
approach and then started to analyze the characters and the plot in the story to
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reveal the theme. Finally, the writer drew a conclusion based on the analysis at the
three problems in the previous chapter.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
The analysis in this chapter is divided into three parts based on the
problems that are formulated in the first chapter. In the first part, the writer will
analyze about the characteristic of the major characters that can help the writer to
find out the theme of the novel. The second part is the description of the plot in
order to arrange the important events. And the last part is the study about the
theme that is revealed by the main characters and the plot.
A.
Characterization in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, there are many characters that are involved
in the story. Cormac McCarthy provides two major characters and the writer will
focus on the main characters, The Man and The Son. To start analyzing it, the
writer looks back to what M.J. Murphy states in his book Understanding Unseen:
An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students
that there are nine ways that an author can apply to present the characterization of
the characters in a literary work. They are personal description, character as seen
by another, speech, past life, conversations to others, reaction, direct comment,
thoughts, mannerism.
1.
The Father
The first main character of the novel is The Man. He becomes the first
focus and center in this analysis from the beginning until the end of the novel. In
this novel, The Man who is a father called Papa by his son takes a journey on the
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road with his beloved son. He believes that he has been appointed by God to
protect and keep his son. He can do anything, even killing another human being in
order to save his son, so it is just kind of self defensive. His son is the only source
of light in the man's life. He must push himself and his son to try hard in that bad
situation, because they must survive as long as they can. The Man makes great
sacrifices to allow his son to live on and has better future after this chaos. He
shows his son how to carry the fire, first with his help, and then, later, his son
must carry the fire without him. He should be wary of the other survivor on the
road, because he does not know whatever they are good guys or not. The Son feels
lonely along the journey. He wishes to his father that he wants a friend to join
with them, but The Man always refuses it. The Man grows sicker throughout the
novel and his illness is getti
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THEME REVEALED FROM THE CHARACTERS AND PLOT
IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S THE ROAD
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MICHAEL RIGEL DIAZ
Student Number: 084214044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013
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THEME REVEALED FROM THE CHARACTERS AND PLOT
IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S THE ROAD
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MICHAEL RIGEL DIAZ
Student Number: 084214044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Michael Rigel Diaz
NomorMahasiswa
: 084214044
Demi kepentingan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Theme Revealed from the Characters and Plot
in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan
dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media
lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun
memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai
penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta,
Pada tanggal: 29 Agustus 2013
Yang menyatakan,
(Michael Rigel Diaz)
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This thesis entitled “Theme Revealed from the Characters and Plot in Cormac
McCarthy’s The Road” is purely made by the thesis writer. In other words, all ideas
all phrases, and all sentences, unless otherwise stated, are ideas, phrases, and
sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including
degree cancelation if he took somebody else’s ideas, phrases, or sentences without
proper references.
Yogyakarta, 29 Agustus 2013
Michael Rigel Diaz
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“Do not pray for easy lives,
pray to be stronger men and women,
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers,
pray for powers equal to your tasks.”
-Philip Brooks
Remember the good times,
be strong during the difficult times,
love always, laugh often, and thank God every day.
-Anonymous-
There is no end.
There is no beginning.
There is only the passion of life.
-Federico Fellinivi
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I dedicate this undergraduate thesis to
my beloved parents, brothers, and sister.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very grateful for having Jesus Christ in my life and I can never thank
Him enough for blessing me in every situation I faced in finishing this
undergraduate thesis. His love is proved by giving me the following people to
help me to accomplish this study. Therefore, I would like to dedicate my gratitude
to particular names below.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dewi
Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum for her willingness to guide and to give me advice
during this process even in her busy time. I also would like to give my gratitude to
my co-advisor for correcting my thesis and for the suggestion to revise this
writing, and for all the lecturers and secretariat staff of English Letters
Department.
My special gratitude is addressed to my beloved parents, Mundi Diaz and
Lusia Gimaonah for their prayer and support. I also thank my brothers, Yohanes
Canis Minoris Diaz and Stefanus Renggan Diaz, and my little sister Regina
Agustin Diaz who always give their supports in everything.
I would like to give my greatest thank to my beloved Fransisca Desi
Nathalia Aryanti for giving me advice, support, solution and for every single time
to share and discuss. Finally, I thank to my friends Lando, Marcel, Ari, Stanis,
Tanto, Fery, Rio, Radit, Roy, Nanang, Dion, Minggus, Pera, Gabriel, Yosef,
Yorik, Kebot and all members in English Letters Department 2008.
Michael Rigel Diaz
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE………………………………………………………………
APPROVAL PAGE………………………………………………………..
ACCEPTANCE PAGE……………………………………………………
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI……………
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY………………………………………
MOTTO PAGE…………………………………………………………….
DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………….
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………….
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………….....
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………..
ABSTRAK……………………………………………………………….....
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
ix
xi
xi i
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………
A. Background of the Study…………………………………………….
B. Problem Formulation………………………………………………..
C. Objectives of the Study……………………………………………...
D. Definition of Terms………………………………………………….
1
1
5
5
5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW……………………………...
A. Review of Related Studies………………………………………......
B. Review of Related Theories…………………………………………
1. Theories of Character and Characterization …………………….
2. Theories of Plot …………………………………………………
3. Theories of Theme ……………………………………………...
4. The Relationship between the Character, Plot, and Theme….....
C. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………......
7
7
9
9
13
16
17
18
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………………………………………
A. Object of the Study …………………………………………………
B. Approach of the Study ……………………………………………...
C. Method of the Study ………………………………………………...
20
20
21
22
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS……………………………………………….
A. Characterization in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road………………...
1. The Father ………………………………………………………
2. The Son …………………………………………………………
B. The Description of Plot ……………………………………………..
1. Beginning ………………………………………………………
2. Complication …………………………………………………...
3. Climax ………………………………………………………….
4. Denouement …………………………………………………….
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38
41
46
47
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C. The Contribution of Character and Plot to Reveal the Theme……....
49
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION……………………………………………
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………..
APPENDIX………………………………………………………………….
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ABSTRACT
MICHAEL
RIGEL
DIAZ.THEME
REVEALED
FROM
THE
CHARACTERS AND PLOT IN CORMAC McCARTHY’STHE ROAD.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma
University, 2013.
A literary work is a kind of reflection of the real life. It gives some lessons
about human life, such as in the social life, cultural, moral, and religion. The Road
that is written by Cormac McCarthy gives a lesson to the readers of how love
becomes the strong foundation in a relationship, especially between a father and a
s on.
There are three problems analyzed in this research. The three problems are
(1) how are the characters described in the novel? (2) how is the plot described in
the novel? (3) how do the characteristics and plot reveal the theme of the novel?
This research uses New Criticism approach since the discussion talks
about intrinsic elements of the story. The theories applied are concerned with
theory of character and characterization, theory of plot, theory of theme following
by explanation of the relation between character, plot, and theme. The method that
is used in this research is library research. This study uses written sources from
some books, journals, and articles. Besides, this study also uses online sources
from the internet that are related to the topic in this study.
Based on the analysis, characters and plot are related each other. The
analysis of characters is used to find the characteristics of the main characters in
the novel. From the analysis of the main characters, it is found that The Man is a
very responsible father, while The Son is a boy who is compassionate and coward.
Although they have many conflicts along their journey, they never try to escape
from their problems. Their purpose is to get a better life in south. The analysis of
the plot is used to find the structure of the story in the beginning, the middle, and
the end. From the analysis of the plot, it can be seen how the main characters face
their problems along their journey to a safe place. By analyzing the characters and
the plot, the writer finds the theme of the story is “True love is shown with
someone’s struggle and sacrifice”.
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ABSTRAK
MICHAEL RIGEL DIAZ. THEME REVEALED FROM THE
CHARACTERS AND PLOT IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S THE ROAD.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma,
2013.
Sebuah karya sastra merupakan refleksi dari kehidupan nyata. Karya sastra
memberikan beberapa pelajaran mengenai kehidupan manusia seperti dalam
kehidupan bersosial, berbudaya, bermoral, dan beragama. The Road ditulis oleh
Cormac McCarthy memberikan pembelajaran kepada pembaca mengenai
bagaimana cinta menjadi pondasi kokoh dalam sebuah hubungan, terutama
hubungan antara seorang ayah dan seorang anak.
Terdapat tiga permasalahan yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Ketiga
permasalahan tersebut adalah: (1) Bagaimana tokoh utama dalam novel
digambarkan, (2) Bagaimana alur cerita dalam novel digambarkan, (3) Bagaimana
tokoh utama dan alur cerita dapat menarik kesimpulan sebuah tema.
Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan New Criticism karena membahas
tentang unsur-unsur intrinsik dalam cerita. Teori yang digunakan yaitu teori
karakter dan penokohan, teori alur cerita, teori tema yang disertai dengan
penjelasan mengenai hubungan antara karakter, alur cerita, dan tema. Metode
yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode studi pustaka. Studi ini
menggunakan beberapa sumber tertulis dari buku, jurnal, dan artikel. Selain itu,
studi ini juga menggunakan sumber-sumber online dari internet yang berhubungan
dengan topic dalam studi ini.
Berdasarkan analisis, karakter dan alur cerita saling berkaitan. Analisis
karakter digunakan untuk mengetahui penokohan karakter utama dalam novel.
Dari analisis karakter, ditemukan bahwa The Man adalah seorang ayah yang
sangat bertanggung jawab, sedangkan The Son adalah seorang anak yang berbelas
kasih dan penakut. Meskipun mereka memiliki banyak masalah selama
perjalanan, mereka tidak pernah mencoba untuk melarikan diri dari masalah
tersebut. Tujuan mereka adalah untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik di
selatan. Analisis alur cerita digunakan untuk mengetahui susunan cerita dari awal,
tengah, dan akhir. Dari analisis alur cerita, dapat dilihat bagaimana tokoh utama
menghadapi permasalahan sepanjang perjalanannya menuju ke tempat yang lebih
aman. Dengan melakukan analisis karakter dan alur cerita, penulis menemukan
sebuah tema yaitu “Sebuah cinta sejati ditunjukan oleh perjuangan dan
pengorbanan seseorang”.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
A literary work can move human’s feeling and emotion. A literary work
gives more lessons through the aspects in human life such as social, cultural,
moral and religious aspects, which is generally based on the fact and experience
that already happened in the past or the dreams in the future.
One of the literature genres is a novel. It can be defined as a work of
literature or a composition that imitates life and human activities. Reading
literature is enjoyable. It offers satisfaction and pleasure to people who like to
read literary works. Literature is not only a matter of fun but it also gives many
values that can be learned for improvement. Most of the greatest literary works in
the world can be seen as the reflection in human life. In a literary work, the author
can present his vision of life, which expresses his experiences, obsessions, and
observations in his life. Rohrberger and Woods state that a novel is a work of art
in so far as it introduces a living world. Novel is an imitation of life. The novel is
the reflection of human life. The stories that happen in a novel also happen in real
life (1971: 163).
Literature is composed of those books, and of those books only, which in
the first place, by reason of their subject matter and their mode of treating
it, are of general human interest; and in which, in the second place, the
element of from and the pleasure which from gives are to be regarded as
essential (Hudson, 1958: 10).
Based on the definition above, literature has a good point and become one
of media for learning. Literature is considered as a written experience and
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imagination of what people have in mind, which is to explore ideas and things in
life.
We care for literature primarily on account of its deep and lasting human
significance. A great book grows directly out of life; in reading it, we are
brought into large, close, and fresh relations with life; and in that fact lies
the final explanation of its power. Literature is a vital record of what men
have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have taught
and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and
enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life
through the medium of language (Hudson, 1958: 10).
Concerning to the above explanation, the writer can learn that literature
presents many complex problems in people’s life and how they can solve their
problems. Literature is an art of written and a mirror of real life that is considered
as the reflection through human imagination. The author builds or imagines their
story by using their life experience. In general, literature is the life experience
uttered in words to become a beautiful writing which gives many values that can
be learned for improvement.
One of literary works that is interesting to be analyzed is a novel. In a
novel, people can learn about life because it depicts segments of life. According
to Murphy, a novel does not only give us pleasure, but also an understanding and
lesson of life.
….. just as life is a mixture of joy, disappointment, hope, sorrow, humor,
suffering, and success, so the greatest novels reflect life and are
compounded similarly of many elements (1972: 133).
A literary work takes sources from life experiences. The life experiences
can be the life of author himself or another person. Rene Wellek and Austin
Warren (1956: 96), in their book Theory of Literature explain that the work of
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literature represents life as a reality. They state that the work of literature contains
the reality of human situations, problems, feelings, and relationships.
A literary work consists of some intrinsic elements. One of them is
character. Character is an important element in a story. Character is a person who
acts in the story, the author creates the characters from the aspects of the ordinary
people that portray the personalities of human beings, and then develops these
aspects and puts them together in a story. The characters have important role in
creating the conflicts in a story. The author tells the characters qualities through
the narrator’s description, the character’s actions, and the other characters’
reactions.
Plot is one of other intrinsic elements. Plot is a kind of plan which consists
of the action done by the characters and events happening to them (Kenney, 1966:
95). It is important to analyze the plot of this novel, especially the influence of the
plot towards The Man and The son as the main characters. The plot and the
character have a close relationship. The plot arranges the action done by the
characters and the characters perform the actions as requested by the plot.
Therefore, when the readers know the plot well, the readers will understand the
characters in details.
The theme is the last focus in this study. The theme is the “central
meaning idea” (Stanton, 1965: 4). The theme is the main idea that the author
wants the readers to discover. The theme of this novel is revealed from the
character of The Man and The son as the main characters and the plot in this story.
It is well known that the theme of the story can be found by analyzing the main
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characters, “as a major element in fiction, character is obviously of major
importance for theme” (Kenney, 1966: 94-95). The theme is chosen to be
discussed because it is important to discover the whole meaning of the story. It
means nothing when the readers read the novel without knowing the story well.
One of McCarthy’s interesting novels is The Road released in 2006.
Through The Road, Cormac McCarthy introduces the reader how to achieve
happiness and a better life by keeping the relationship between a father and a son
to always love each other. McCarthy describes the situation faced by The Man
and The Son along their journey to the south to get safe. The Man teaches his son
some ways to survive. The Man’s love to his son can be seen when they are in
their journey. The Man can do anything for his son. He does not care about
anything that might happen to himself, because the most important thing in his life
is happiness for his son. He has responsibility to be a good father for his son.
There is no one can guarantee his son’s life except himself. Through McCarthy’s
main characters that are unnamed, McCarthy tells the reader about a man who has
a big love for his son and he never gives up with any condition or situation
outside. The main reason of choosing this novel to be analyzed is because the love
shown from the relationship between a father and a son is interesting to be
discussed.
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B. Problem Formulation
In this study there are three problems formulation in order to focus on the
analysis. The writer has formulated the problems as follows.
1. How are the characters described in the novel?
2. How is the plot described in the novel?
3. How do the characteristics and plot reveal the theme of the novel?
C. Objectives of the Study
The analysis is done to answer the questions that the writer has already
mentioned above. This study has three objectives. The first objective is to find out
depiction of The Man and The Son as the main characters in The Road. The writer
analyzes their personalities, characteristics of appearances, behavior, and manner.
The second objective is to show the readers how the plot is described and how it
develops. The last objective is to find out the theme of the story which is revealed
from the relation between the characters and the plot.
D. Definition of Terms
It is important to clarify the meaning of certain words related to the topic
to avoid misunderstanding. There are some terms to be defined as below.
1. Character
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, M.H. Abrams states that characters are
the person in literary works both in a dramatic or narrative whose characteristics
are reflected through the dialogue or the action (1981: 20-21). He shows that to
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understand the characters, we must interpret from what the character says in
dialogue and what they do in action.
2. Plot
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms (1981: 127), states that “the plot
in a dramatic or narrative work is the structure of its own action as these are
ordered and rendered toward achieving particular emotional and artistic”. He
explains that the structure of action happen in narrative work which aims and
result a particular emotional to the reader is called as plot of the story.
3. Theme
According to Perrine, theme of a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or
its central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life or implied in the
story (1974: 137). He shows that the literary work is designed to persuade the
reader to find the meaning of the work itself and the purpose of the author.
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part is review of related
studies, which contains the other studies previously done by other researches that
still related to this study. The second part is review of related theories, which
contains some theories that were used to analyze the data. The last part is
theoretical framework that concerns with the contribution of the theories and the
way they were applied to answer the problems in this study.
A. Review of Related Studies
Reading a work of literature may arouse some comments from the
readers. People have their right to give suggestions, comments, and even criticism
to the literary work. It is very important to perceive criticisms on the literary
works. The criticisms provide the readers a better comprehension on the literary
works.
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written
many novels and The Road is McCarthy’s tenth novel. This novel sets in
catastrophe time, telling a journey of a father and his son across a landscape
blasted by an unspecified disaster.
The study in Cormac McCarty’s The Road also done by other researches.
The first related study is taken from a journal. It is the analysis from Erik J.
Wielendberg who states,
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Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road is, among other things, a meditation
on morality, what makes human life meaningful, and the relationship
between these things and God. While the novel is rife with religious
imagery and ideas, it suggests a conception of morality and meaning that
is secular in nature (2010: 1).
The above quotation shows that the existence of God remains ambiguous
throughout the novel. The Road contains both a clear moral code and a view about
what makes life meaningful. He describes the moral code and examines its
connection with life.
Cormac McCarthy’s novel has a lot of point of views. It is possible that
The Road talks about anything aspect in the world. Chris Walsh states in his
journal that
Cormac McCarthy’s most recent novel makes another significant
contribution to his imaginative construction of the South. His work has
always had a complex relationship with the foundational cornerstones of
Southern literature, such as his interest in myth, history and community,
his attachment to (and depiction of) place, which is such a pronounced
theme of the region’s literature, and so on (2007: 1).
From the above quotation, he shows that Cormac McCarthy’s major
strengths as a writer is his ability to describe natural landscapes and to draw
simple analogies between the features of those environments and some of his
characters’ psychic qualities.
Another study about The Road also done by Darcie Frederick from
University of British Columbia, who states
The way McCarthy deliberately avoids commenting on the causes leading
up to the catastrophe or the nature of the catastrophe itself emerges out of
a culture that has become used to the idea of potential worldwide
destruction. Our capacity for environmental damage is by now common
knowledge to the point where a novel will not surprise us by showing the
possibilities of global devastation (2008: 15).
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From the above quotation, this novel emerges from a perspective that the
world is heading down a road that can only end in something catastrophic. The
characters must hold out from some situations and conditions along their journey
to safe place. In their journey, they face some conflicts including the damage and
dangerous situations. The important thing for the characters is how to stay alive.
After seeing the main idea of the novel from other studies perspective, it is
important to find the learning point from this novel. The previous perspectives
only talk about the common meaning of certain object, such as humanity,
historical context, and how the characters can survive without anybody can help
them from the bad situation. Therefore, in this study the writer analyzes the
intrinsic elements of The Road, the characters and the plot, in order to reveal the
theme of the novel. The perspectives from the previous studies can strengthen this
study because it increases the knowledge about the story.
B. Review of Related Theories
In this part, the writer presents several related theories that are applied to
do the analysis in this research. They are theory of character and characterization,
theory of plot, theory of theme, and some explanations about the relationship
between character, plot, and theme.
1. Theories of Character and Characterization
Rohrberger and Woods (1971:20) in their book Reading and Writing
about Literature, define the word ‘characterization’ as the process by which the
author creates a character. Characterization in a novel is not merely related to the
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selection of personality but the way it is described to facilitate the whole
understanding of a story. As each character has particular personality and physical
attributes that distinguish them from the other characters, it is important to know
how the author makes the readers understand their characteristics and
personalities.
Besides, Perrine in Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense also states that
character in a story can be presented through direct presentation (1974: 68-69). In
direct presentation, the author simply tells the readers about the character of the
story. He tells the qualities of the characters in exposition and analysis, or he has
someone else in the story who tells about the characters. In direct presentation, the
personality of the characters can be seen from their speaking and action.
Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature state that
the characters play an important role in a story, as they help the reader to
participate vicariously in the experience or the story by sharing imaginatively the
feeling or the activities of the characters in the story (1971: 19).
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams states that basically, based on
the importance, the character can be divided into two categories that are major
character and minor character. The major character usually appears in the whole
of the story; he becomes the focus of the story. The events that appear in the story
always involve him directly or indirectly. On the other hand, minor character is
often said as the supporting character. The roles are less important than the main
characters, because they are not fully developed characters and their roles in a
story are just to support the development of the major character (1981: 20).
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In addition, Baldick states that character is also sketched briefly describing
some recognizable type of person (1991: 33-34). It means that a character shows
to the reader what kind of person the character is. Baldick’s opinion helps the
reader to get an advantage in understanding and figuring the appearance of the
character in the literary work. The reader may recognize many types of person,
such as good, bad, kind, loveable, an evil etc.
To present characters in a literary work, the author may use the ways to
establish the characters which is known as characterization. In Understanding
Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas
Students (1972: 161-173), M.J. Murphy states that there are nine ways to present
the characterization of the characters in a literary work as below.
a. Personal Description
The author describes from the details of physical appearance and outfit of
the character, such as strong or weak, fat or thin, beautiful or bad, tall or short, big
or small, with curly hair or blonde, and white or black skin.
b. Character as Seen by Another
An author describes the characters through another’s point of view. The
other characters in the story give his opinions, by giving explanation a character is
like. In these details, the readers can also use their own point of view to analyze a
certain character.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers an insight into the character in the work
through what a person says. It can be seen whenever a person speaks in a
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conversation with other character. The writer also can see his character from his
opinion that he gives.
d. Past Life
The author can provide a clue to events that help to shape a person’s
characteristics by giving the character’s past life. This is quite helpful to analyze
the present life of the character.
e. Conversations to Others
The readers must have to pay attention through the conversation of other
people and the things they say about the character, because an author sometimes
gives a clue to understand the character’s personality from other’s conversation
and their opinion about him. By searching it, it will help the readers to get more
information about the characteristics of the character.
f. Reaction
The author gives the reaction of the clue to what characteristics a character
has, by describing how the person reacts and responds to various situation and
condition or event.
g. Direct Comment
The author gives the readers direct comment and description on the
character. In this way there is a medium for the author to use to characterize the
character.
h. Thoughts
The author gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
Whenever the author gives a direct description of the characters mind, what he is
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thinking about, person is led to a deep analysis through the thought inside the
characters’ mind.
i. Mannerism
A person’s character can be described to his habit and mannerism. It can
tell that us something more about the character. Furthermore, the meaning of the
characterization in the literary work as an individual is the process of presenting
and developing a character by an author.
2. Theories of Plot
Plot is the idea that determines how the story flows. As well as character,
plot also plays a significant role in the story. It is because plot serves the structure
of actions or incidents. Plot exists for the importance of the understanding of the
story. When readers understand the incidents happen to the character, it means
that they understand the plot of the story which later leads them to understand the
whole story.
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms mentions that plot is “the
structure of the narrative work action, which is ordered and rendered toward
achieving particular emotional and artistic effect” (1981: 159). Plot provides the
structural events and organizes that narration in a story so it can be more easily
understood by the readers in reading a novel.
According to Stanton in his book An Introduction to Fiction (1965: 1415), the plot of the story is its entire sequence of events and it is the backbone of a
story. It has its own laws, which means that a plot must have a true beginning,
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middle, and end. The plot movement comes mainly from its ability to arouse
hope, curiosity, and fear. The movement of the plot from the beginning to the end
should be plausible, rational, and logical.
According to Murphy (1972: 134), what is meant by a ‘plot’ is a carefully
thought-out plan in which all the events, all the actions and reactions of the
characters, contribute towards the forward movement of the story. The plot brings
the readers to a series of crests until the climax of the story is reached and
everything is resolved. The plot has a function to give and to show the structure of
story. The following part is the formula of plot which consists of
exposition/beginning, complication, climax, and resolution/denouement/ending
(Abrams, 1981: 161).
a. Exposition (Beginning)
The first thing that is necessary for the readers in reading a story are to
know and to understand clearly enough the situation in the beginning of an action.
A plot mostly begins with the exposition, which commonly provides the
introduction of the characters, the sketch of background, and the description of the
situation (Abrams, 1981: 161).
Robert and Jacobs in their book Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and
Writing state that exposition is the layout, the putting forth of the material in the
work, the main characters, their background, and characterization, basic
assumption about life, goal, limitation, and potentials (1987: 101). It presents
everything that is important in the story.
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b. Complications
The exposition then moves to the rising action or the complication, Robert
and Jacobs state that the complication marks the beginning of the main conflict in
the story or the onset of the plot. The participants are all the characters in the story
whether they are protagonist or antagonist, ideas or value those characters
represent, such as childhood and age, love and hate, good and evil, freedom and
slavery, and the like (1987: 101).
Besides, this section usually provides the rising of the problems and the
introduction of some difficulties faced by the characters. The situation keeps on
increasing with complexity and tensions of the problems and the difficulties until
it reaches the climax (Abrams, 1981: 161).
c. Climax
Robert and Jacobs state that the climax is the high point in the action or
the point of greatest expectancy and the cumulative effect of the previous
incidents. In the section the conflicts and the following tension are brought to the
fullest extent. Climax is the point that is inevitable and no return where all the rest
of the action becomes firmly set (1987: 101).
d. Denouement
According to Robert and Jacobs, the resolution or denouement is the last
section of plot which brings the story to its conclusion. The resolution usually
directed as quickly as possible of the conflicts are over. On the other hand, once
the main conflict is resolved, a brief action of this sort emphasizes the note of
finality (1987: 102).
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3. Theories of Theme
Arp and Johnson state that theme in a fiction is its controlling idea or its
central insight (2009: 191). Based on that definition, theme is an important part in
a literary work. It is the controlling idea of literary work. The controlling idea
means the main topic in the literary work. It also can be stated that the theme of a
literary work is something to limit the story. The theme controls the whole story,
so the story will not tells something outside the topic which has no relation. The
definition above shows that a theme is a central insight of a story. It means the
theme is the center of the whole story.
Another theory that is used by the writer is Perrine’s Literature: Structure,
Sound, and Sense Tenth Edition (2009: 195-197), Thomas R. Arp and Greg
Johnson define the theme of the piece of a fiction is its controlling idea or its
central insight. To derive the theme of a story, it is important to know the central
purpose of the story itself and the view of life that is bring inside the story. Theme
only exists when the author has seriously attempted to record life accurately or to
reveal some truths about it.
Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson also state that the theme can be
understood clearly with the following principles.
1. Theme should be expressible in the form of statement with a subject and a
predicate.
2. The theme should be stated as a generalization about life.
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3. We must be careful not to make generalization larger than is justified by the
terms of the story. The use of terms like some and sometimes are more
preferable that terms like every, all, and always.
4. Theme is the central and unifying concept of a story. So the theme must be
related to something that exists inside the story.
5. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
6. We should avoid any statement that reduces the theme to some familiar saying
that we have heard all our lives, because it will make the essential meaning of
the story not conveyed (2009: 195-197).
Those principles lead to find the theme in a literary work. Theme is the
main idea or focus of the discussion that is implied in a story. Through the theme,
readers will understand the purpose of the author why he creates the story or what
the author wants to show through his novel. The theme can affect the readers
because sometimes the theme shows value of life. Kenney in How to Analyze
Fiction, states that the theme is the total meaning discovered by the writer in the
process of writing and by the reader in the process of reading (1966: 497).
4. The Relationship between the Character, Plot, and Theme
As the central idea of the story, theme unifies the elements of the story.
Theme is closely related to other elements including character and plot. The
actions and reactions of the characters influence the movement of the story,
Murphy states,
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What is meant by a ‘plot’ is a carefully thought-out plan in which all the
events, all the actions and reactions of the characters, contribute towards
the forward movement of the story (1972: 134).
So, it is clear that character and its actions are inseparable. The plot shows
the movement of the events in the story that are done by the characters. The
combination between the character and every action that is taken by the characters
create a plot of the story. The writer pays attention to the intrinsic elements of the
story to find the theme.
Stanton states that theme is the central idea which gives the story focus or
unified, and it is relevant to every event, every detail described in the story (1965:
19). It means that theme is relevant to plot, in which it is closely related to the
characters. Therefore, characters and plot are relevant to find the theme. The
description of the main characters and the incidents happen in the story can reveal
the illustrated major idea or theme.
C. Theoretical Framework
This study provides some theories in order to support in analyzing and
answering the questions in the problems formulation mentioned in the previous
chapter. The theories that were applied in this thesis are the theory of character
and characterization, theory of plot, and theory of theme.
The theories of character and characterization are used to analyze the
characteristic of the main character in the novel. In analyzing the characteristic of
the main character, the writer focuses on the way the main character behave and
act in every event and how their reaction to that events.
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The theories of plot are used to find the flow and the sequence of the story
and to analyze the plot that exists in the story. It deepens the understanding about
the plot in The Road.
After knowing the character and plot in the story, this writer found out the
theme of the story. That is the reason why the theory of theme is needed. This
theory is helpful to find the real meaning of the theme. Those theories above are
presented as the guidance for the writer to get closer and easier to analysis and to
find the answer of the problems in this study.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This part consists of three main parts. The first part is object of the study
which focuses on the work of literature that is used in this study. The second part
is approach of the study which explains the approach that is used in this study
(New Criticism approach) which discusses intrinsic elements. The last is method
of the study that describes the steps in doing the analysis of this study.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this research is the novel entitled The Road. This novel is
written by Cormac McCarthy, an American novelist and playwright, who was
born on 20th July 1933. The Road was published in 2006 by Vintage International
A Division of Random House Inc. This novel consists of 287 pages. The Road
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for
fiction. This novel has been adapted for the screen in 2009.
The story sets in catastrophe time with unnamed place. The condition at
that time is really hard. There are so many rotten corpses on the road and the
landscapes are destroyed by fire. The Road tells about the journey of a man and
his son, who is mentioned as The Man and The Son in the novel. They take a
journey to the south because they believe that there will be a better life there.
They have to face murder and cannibalism along their journey. The Man and The
Son struggle to survive in the harsh weather with little food supplies and shelter.
Despite their hardships, The Man and The Son try to always be good guys who do
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not harm others. However, The Man’s health worsens along the journey and by
the time they reach the ocean in south, he is near his dead. He continually coughs
up blood and then finally he dies in the woods lying next to his son in the middle
of the night. The boy stays by his side for several days after his death until he
meets a kind family who invite him to join them and continue the journey to the
south.
B. Approach of the Study
This study deals with intrinsic elements, which are character and plot.
Therefore, New Criticism is the most appropriate and relevant approach to be used
in this study. According to Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to
Literature,
The New Critics sought precision and structural tightness in the literary
work; they favored a style and tone that tended toward irony; they insisted
on the presence within to work of everything necessary for its analysis;
and they called for an end to a concern by critics and teachers of English
with matters outside the work itself-the life of the author, the history of his
time, or the social and economic implication of the literary work (2011:
79).
The above quotation means that New Criticism puts away all the extrinsic
elements, such as the psychological conditions of the author and the social
background. This approach only focuses on textual peculiarly. It means that by
using New Criticism as the approach, this study only deals with the elements
inside the story.
In An Introduction to Literary Studies, Klarer states that “a central term
often used synonymously with the new criticism is close reading” (1999: 68). It
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means that the critics should have read a literary work as much as possible in
order to get deeper understanding of the content inside the work. It is important to
know well about the work in detail.
From the above explanation, New Criticism is used to help the writer to
analyze the characters and the plot in the story. Since character and plot are
including to intrinsic elements, the relation between those two elements leads the
writer to reveal the theme of the story.
C. Method of Study
The writer used library research in order to collect the data. The data were
divided into two, primary and secondary data. The primary data were taken from
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. The secondary data were taken from some books,
journals, and online sources related to the topic in this analysis. Those written and
internet sources were used to support and to complete the data.
There were some steps taken by the writer to do the analysis. The first step
was the writer read and reread the novel for several time in order to get deeper
understanding and detail. The writer focused on the two intrinsic elements,
character and plot. The second step was the writer read some reference books and
journals to find the appropriate theory and approach to be used. The third step, the
writer collected some other studies and references to the same work, topic, and
author of the novel in order to give a new discussion in this study. The next step
was the writer formulated the problems and applied the suitable theory and
approach and then started to analyze the characters and the plot in the story to
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reveal the theme. Finally, the writer drew a conclusion based on the analysis at the
three problems in the previous chapter.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
The analysis in this chapter is divided into three parts based on the
problems that are formulated in the first chapter. In the first part, the writer will
analyze about the characteristic of the major characters that can help the writer to
find out the theme of the novel. The second part is the description of the plot in
order to arrange the important events. And the last part is the study about the
theme that is revealed by the main characters and the plot.
A.
Characterization in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, there are many characters that are involved
in the story. Cormac McCarthy provides two major characters and the writer will
focus on the main characters, The Man and The Son. To start analyzing it, the
writer looks back to what M.J. Murphy states in his book Understanding Unseen:
An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students
that there are nine ways that an author can apply to present the characterization of
the characters in a literary work. They are personal description, character as seen
by another, speech, past life, conversations to others, reaction, direct comment,
thoughts, mannerism.
1.
The Father
The first main character of the novel is The Man. He becomes the first
focus and center in this analysis from the beginning until the end of the novel. In
this novel, The Man who is a father called Papa by his son takes a journey on the
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25
road with his beloved son. He believes that he has been appointed by God to
protect and keep his son. He can do anything, even killing another human being in
order to save his son, so it is just kind of self defensive. His son is the only source
of light in the man's life. He must push himself and his son to try hard in that bad
situation, because they must survive as long as they can. The Man makes great
sacrifices to allow his son to live on and has better future after this chaos. He
shows his son how to carry the fire, first with his help, and then, later, his son
must carry the fire without him. He should be wary of the other survivor on the
road, because he does not know whatever they are good guys or not. The Son feels
lonely along the journey. He wishes to his father that he wants a friend to join
with them, but The Man always refuses it. The Man grows sicker throughout the
novel and his illness is getti