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THE THEME REVEALED THROUGH THE CONFLICTS
IN LAURA ESQUIVEL’S SWIFT AS DESIRE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By ANTONINA NAWANG ANDRIASTUTI
Student number: 984214136 Students Registration Number: 960051120111130086
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2007
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE THEME REVEALED THROUGH THE CONFLICTS
By
Antonina Nawang Andriastuti
Student number: 984214136
Students Registration Number: 960051120111130086
Defended before the Board of Examiners
Name Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.
Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka M. Hum Member : Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka M. Hum Member : Adventina Putranti, S. S, M. Hum
Yogyakarta, July 31, 2007 O,Letters Sanata Dharma University ff i
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to say thanks to Jesus Christ for his blessing, guidance and love, so I finally can finish my study. It was a very long and tiring process before I reached this stage.
I dedicate my deepest gratitude to my sponsor Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka M. Hum. I realize that I could never complete my thesis without the help of him, who gave his time and thought to read and correct my thesis.
I dedicate my deepest thankfulness to my co-sponsor Adventina Putranti, S. S, M. Hum. Who has provided further correction for my thesis. I also dedicate my gratitude to Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum as my examiner, Mbak Niek, all the lecturers ,staffs of English Department and all of the librarians who have helped me finding sources for my thesis and for the guidance and understanding during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
I would like to express my greatest thank to my parents, Bapak “BABE” Basuki Santoso and Ibu “MOMI” A.A. Sri Komuni Astuti S.E. for their love, blessing, support, understanding, and prayer given to me. Thanks also to my beloved brother, Nicholas N. Angga Respati, for being the star in my life. I love you. I am thankful to all my family in semarang, tante “Sexy” Elly, and om “Sehat” Dwi, also my family in Weert, M’ Ning and M’ Retno.
I am thankful to Nina Megawati dan Arita Dewi Effendi for her patience, understanding and care. I thank her for being my best friends and for a very wonderful friendship. I would like to say great thanks to Nanda, Aix, Sita and Ndari for the friendship. I wish also thank the 99’ers, Luky, Nia and others that I can not mention one by one At least, but not least, I am also grateful to Luigi Rossignolo for his attention and his love. Thank you for gave me a big support in finishing my thesis, shared me in facing good and bad times and for being himself for me. You have completed my life. Thank you very much “BABY GENDUT SAYANG“!!..
Antonina Nawang Andriastuti
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE OF TITLE .......................................................................................... i
PAGE OF APPROVAL ............................................................................... ii
PAGE OF EXAMINERS ........................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................... vi
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................. viii
ABSTRAK .................................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of The Study ............................................................... 1 B. Problem Formulation ..................................................................... 6 C. Objectives of The Study ................................................................ 6 D. Definition of Terms ........................................................................ 7 CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................. 8 B. Review of Related Theories ......................................................... 10
1. Theory of Literature ................................................................. 11
a. Theory of Character and Characterization ......................... 11
b. Theories of Plot .................................................................. 13
c. Theory of Conflict .............................................................. 17
d. Theory of Theme ................................................................ 18
2. Theory of Hierarchy of Needs .................................................. 21 C. Theoretical Framework ............................................................... 23
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of The Study ..................................................................... 25 B. Approaches of The Study ............................................................. 26 C. Method of The Study .................................................................... 27 CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
A. The Characterization and Personality Needs of Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria .................................................................................... 28
1. Jubilo Chi’s Character and Personality Needs ......................... 29
2. Luz Maria Lascurain’s Character and Personality Needs ........ 37 B. The Development of Conflicts Revealed in The Story ................ 47
1. Plot of The Story ...................................................................... 47
2. The Conflict Development from the Story ............................... 51
3. The Development of the Conflict ............................................. 56 C. The Theme Seen from the Conflict ............................................. 58
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION ................................................................. 61
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 65 APPENDIXSUMMARY OF THE PLAY .................................................................... 67
ABSTRACT
Antonina Nawang (2007): The Theme Revealed Through The Conflicts
in Laura Esquivel’s Swift as Desire. Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.This thesis is about the theme revealed through the conflicts in Laura Esquivel’s Swift as Desire. The story is interesting, it has a love story with full of desire and passion in the beginning, after that this story is changed with many conflicts. A unique and strange love story that is aimed to finds happiness and pleasure.
Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria are the main characters in this novel. Jubilo chi is a sensitive person. luz maria is modern woman. All the characters are created by their family background. The different characters of both get many problems.
In the analysis, the writer views the theme revealed through the conflicts that created by the characters. The analysis contains three basic questions to be answered. The first question to mention the characters personalities in the story, the second is to find the conflicts that created by the characters, and the third one is to find the theme revealed through the conflicts in the story.
The thesis uses the psychology approach proposed by Rohreberger and Woods, Jr. The method of the analysis is by doing some research, re- reading the book itself, collecting the data from library and internet that can support the analysis.
The analysis finds some conflicts in the characters described in the story, that are shown in the plot. From that we can find the theme of the story. In this story, there is many trial and sacrifice in this relationship needs many compromise – in this case is tendency in valuing relationship more than individual emotional.
ABSTRAK
Antonina Nawang (2007): The Theme Revealed Through The Conflicts
in Laura Esquivel’s Swift as Desire. Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.Analisa ini tentang tema yangThis thesis is about the theme revealed through the conflicts in Laura Esquivel’s Swift as Desire. The story is interesting, it has a love story with full of desire and passion in the beginning, after that this story is changed with many conflicts. A unique and strange love story that is aimed to finds happiness and pleasure.
Jubilo Chi dan Luz Maria adalah tokoh utama di dalam novel ini. Jubilo chi adalah seserong yang sifatnya sensitive. luz maria adalah wanita moderen. Semua karakter terbentuk dari lingkungan keluarganya.
Perbedaan karakter masing-masing mendapatkan banyak permasalahan ketika mereka harus bersama.
Dalam analisanya, penulis merujuk tema dilihat dari permasalahan yang ditimbulkan oleh karakter. Di dalam analisa ini, terdapat tiga permasalahan mendasar. Permasalahan pertama untuk mendiskripsikan personality karakter, pertanyaan kedua untuk menemukan permasalahan yng ditimbulkan oleh karakter, dan pertanyaan yang ke tiga untuk menemukan tema dari cerita dilihat dari permasalahan yang timbul.di dalam cerita.
Dalam analisanya, penulis menggunakan pendekatan psikologi yang diusulkan oleh Rohreberger dan Woods, Jr. metode yang diterapkan pada analisa ini adalah dengan melakukan beberapa penelitian, memahami isi buku itu sendiri, mengumpulkan data dari perpustakaan dan mencari dari internet yang dapat membantu menganalisa novel ini.
Di dalam analisa ini ditemukan beberapa permasalahan yang di jelaskan oleh karakter didalam cerita, yang ditunjukkan di dalam plot. Dari situ kita dapat menemukan tema dari cerita. Di dalam cerita ini, terdapat banyak cobaan dan pengorbanan di dalam sebuah hubunganyang membutuhkan banyak kompromi – di dalam masalah ini menuju pada nilai hubungan lebih dari emosi individu.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of The Study After reading the work of literature, we find that the literary work and
reality have one similarity. Both of them convey the story of human life. In real life, we live to learn how to develop, to solve problems and to experience the gloomy side of life. It becomes a place for us to struggle for a better condition and to survive from the harsh of life. Here, we often deal with conflicts or problem, which are the result of our relationship and interaction with others. A well known proverb says,” The experience of life is the best teacher for all of us”. It suggests that we can get many important lessons from our past life experience. Life is a learning experience that comes from resolving conflicts.
The experience constructs our characteristics. It means that the experience of resolving conflicts in the process of maturity is a useful element in the personality development, whether as an individual or social being. People get important lessons from their past mistakes and avoid doing the same mistake again in the future. It is the way of learning life in order to be a better person.
While in the literary works, many authors compose their stories on what they have seen and experienced in real life. The inspiration of the composition is from their significant life experience that has a big contribution to the author’s personality development. Thus, the theme of their books reveals stories of how people overcome and solve their conflicts or problems in their life, such as conflicts in war, marriage, revolution, society, friendship, etc. Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in their book, Theory of Literature (1956) also suggest that the work of literature portrays life as reality. They also mention that literature looks like a real-life portrait. It is an illustration of human lives because the literary works present the reality of human situations, problems, feelings and relationships (1956:96). From the explanation above, we can say that both reality of life and the literary work consist of the stories of how people struggle to overcome their conflicts or problems with others.
Hudson also shows the relationship between literature and the reality of in his book, An Introduction to the study of Literature (1958): “ literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced , what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest of all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language.”(Hudson, 1958:10)
Hudson mentions that literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life. The record is known as the literary work. We know several forms of literary work, such as poem, drama, and novel or fiction. The writer of this thesis takes fiction or novel as the subject of the study. If we compare fiction with others, it explores its intrinsic elements, such as plot, setting, and characters more in details.
One intrinsic element in fiction is plot. According to M.J. Murphy in
Understanding Unseen (1972), plot is defined as,
“A carefully thought-out plan in which all the events, all the actions and reactions of the characters, contribute towards the forward with it up and over a series of crests until the climax of the story is reached and everything is resolved, generally to the reader’s satisfaction”(1972-134). Murphy states that there is a close relationship between character and plot in the story. We find that all the actions and the reactions of the characters have big contribution toward the forward movement of the plot. (1972:134). Meanwhile, De Laar and Schoorderwoerd describe how plot and characters need one another. They mention,”…plot is what happens to the characters. Plot and characters cannot be really separated. Plot is nothing without characters; characters are nothing without plot.”(1963: 167). If we talk about plot, we cannot forget the element that constructs plot that is conflicts. Robert Stanton in
An Introduction to Fiction (1965) mentions that conflicts is the core of the
story’s structure, the generating centre out of which the plot grows. A story may contain more than one conflict of forces, but only the central conflict fully accounts for the events of the plot. (1965: 16). Rohrberger and Woods in
Reading and Writing about Literature , also show the relationship between plot,
conflicts, and characters in the novel. They point out, “it is difficult to separate single elements-to talk, for example, about character without talking at the same time about plot or setting or conflict, because character often determine plot, setting helps to define characters, and conflict results from placing of characters in situation.
Considering all the fact above, the writer is interested to examine the relation between plot, conflict and characters. So after find the relation between plot, conflict and character, the writer can find the significance of conflict in revealing the theme to the main character “Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria”. The writer is challenged to know more about relation, specially, the contribution of conflicts to the main characters’ development. Therefore, the writer will analyze the relationship between plot, conflicts and characters throughout Laura Esquivel’s novel entitled Swift as Desire (2001) as the subject of the analysis.
Laura Esquivel's Swift as Desire, an enchanting and sensuous romance, reflects upon an undying love and the will to overcome an unspeakable tragedy.
As in her bestselling novel Like Water for Chocolate, Swift as Desire is rich with metaphor, coated with magic, and very much about the power of desire.
Júbilo, a telegraph operator blessed (or cursed) with the ability to hear what people feel, radiates joy from his birth. He spends his life mediating for others and salvaging their relationships, until disaster strikes his own life and causes him to question, even loathe, his supernatural gift.
As the millions of fans of Like Water for Chocolate know, Laura Esquivel is a romanticist whose novels explore the power of love and the truths of the human heart. She returns to those themes in Swift as Desire, the story of a loving and passionate man who has the gift of bringing happiness to everyone except his own wife.
The hero of this novel is Júbilo Chi, a telegraph operator who was born with the ability to “hear” people’s true feelings and respond to their most intimate, unspoken desires. His life changes forever the day he falls deeply and irrevocably in love with Luz Maria or Lucha, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy family. She believes money is necessary to insure happiness, while for Júbilo, who is poor, love and desire are more important than possessions. But their passion for each other enables them to build a happy life together until their idyll was shatter by a terrible event that drives them bitterly apart. Only years later, as Júbilo lies dying, is his daughter able to unravel the mystery behind her parents’ long estrangement and bring about a surprising reconciliation. (www.amazon/swiftasdesire.com)
The full romance between Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria from the first time they met. We know that something happens to cause a rift. The young Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria never knew about the troubles that split them influence the main characters relationships.
A conflict can be a problem when the inside of personal feeling has a contradiction that cannot be accepted in his heart. Conflict exists because the contradiction of someone’s need is different from others; and it needs a solution to solve the conflict. It can be seen that the conflict influences character and their relationships.
The theme revealed through the conflicts in this novel is the point that the writer tries to analyze how conflicts as the main point to find the theme in Laura Esquivel in Swift as Desire. The writer is interested in analyzing the theme revealed through the conflicts.
B. Problem Formulation
In analyzing the theme revealed through the conflicts in Laura Esquivel’s Swift as Desire, the writer limits the analysis into three problems formulated as follows:
1. How are Jubilo Chi’s character and Luz Maria’s character described in Laura Esquivel in Swift as Desire?
2. How do the conflicts of the story develop between the main characters?
3. What is the theme of the story seen from the conflict between the main characters?
C. Objectives of The Study
Considering the problems stated in the previous part, the writer focuses on three objectives of the study. First, the writer tries to find out the character of Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria in order to understand all their characters and their development. Second, the writer wants to know how the author develops the conflict in the novel. It is important since the conflict occurs in the plot. After that the thesis will try to identity changes happen on each major character. The writer will first depict the main characters’ traits. Then he will reveal the transformations to know changes happen on each major character. The third one is to find out the theme seen from the conflicts. After understanding the conflicts in the plot and the main characters, the writer will try to figure out the significance of the conflicts in revealing the theme in Laura Esquivel in Swift as Desire .
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misinterpretation about the terms used and to have the better understanding of the thesis, the writer will give explanations about the definition of character, plot, conflict and theme.
1. Conflict The conflict according to Abrams deals with plot. In addition to the conflict between individuals, there maybe the conflict of a protagonist against fate, or against the circumstances that stands between opposing desires or values in a character’s own mind. (1971:128)
2. Theme The theme according Perrine in his book “Literature: Structure, Sound,
and Sense ”, mentions that the theme of a piece of fiction is its controlling idea
or its central insight. Theme is the unifying generalization about life that is stated or implied by the story (1974:102). It implies that theme will be the central idea of the story which is given by the author and it might be worth exploring for the readers.
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is the review of related
studies the second part is review of related theories and the last is the theoretical framework. Review of related studies is to review the related studies, the review from the other reader and critiques that help the writer to find out the point of view. Second, the review of related theories consists of the theory of literature, and the Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs. The theory of literature use to describe the character of the main characters. Theory of plot use to organizes the story. After that the writer uses theory of conflict to find the answer from problem formulation. The theory of character and characterization is used to find out the description of the main character in the story. The theory hierarchy of needs is used to find out the conflicts of Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria. And the theory of theme uses to find the theme seen in conflicts, to answer the third question in the problem formulation.
The last is theoretical framework, this part uses to show the main supporting idea with deals to the theory in analyze the problem formulation.
A. Review of Related Studies
According to M. H. Bayliss "Book Queen", this book is not like "Like
Water for Chocolate ", but then why would we (the reader and the writer) expect
it to be. This book was wonderful, the writer could not put it down. This book has it all, a little mysticism, some humor, and love and passion. Read between the lines and we will not be disappointed. It tells about how Jubilo is born, how much his grandmother loves him, a little about the culture of Mayan and Spanish. Jubilo falls in love with Luz Maria, the daughter of a wealthy Mexican family. Luz Maria loves Jubilo also. Their passion goes on for years from when Luz Maria is 13 until they marry. Luz Maria is feeling such passion for Jubilo that she decides to marry him so they can fulfill their desire. But married life is not what she expected. They go through many trials and tribulations. Their passion never seems to die. Jubilo works as a telegraph operators, he changes the messages of his customers to help them communicate what they hope to. Luz Maria is upset that her life is not fulfilled enough like when she was a little girl living with her parents and had everything she wanted. They have children and somewhere along the storyline, things are not communicated and life is not as it seems. And the passion seems to die. The story goes back and forth from the present to the past. Telling how Jubilo's daughter is trying to help him to communicate again since he has Parkinson's and is blind. With the help of his friends and her daughter, they do this. The fact that many times we marry young and do not realized what we are getting into. That many times we make assumptions of what the other spouse is thinking, when it is not that way at all. Those if we just accepted life as it were. The writer believes that as human being, Jubilo still can fell happy, long for, and suffer for love thought the one that he loves is a beautiful woman his wife. He has great feeling of love.
(www.amazon/swiftasdesire.com)
In this thesis, the writer wants to find out what actually the main characters looks for their happiness. The writer wants to state the disagreements about their conflict in revealing the theme. Every character in this story is only searching for happiness, meanwhile in love there is sadness as well. It means that love does not only go direct to one object (happiness) but also goes to the sadness. And all of this must be faced logically if someone is falling in love. They never think that they are different: Jubilo Chi is poor and Luz Maria is a little girl from the wealthy family.
Looking at the character, the writer notices that it changes from a status to a real lover. Jubilo comes to the new place with the motivation to get different life. And this is called as character development or a round character.
Kenney says that a round character is more lifelike than simple character because in life people are simply embodiments of single attitudes. It is not surprising, therefore, that many of the most admired characters in fiction are complex characters. (Kenney, 1988:28)
B. Review of Related Theories
This study uses the theory of literature, Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, theory of marriage and theory of love. The theory of literature consists of four parts. They are the theory of character and characterization, theory of plot, theory of conflict and theory of theme. For deeply analyze about the characters, the writer use Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs. These theories are important to be applying because they are relate to the discussion in this study, to find out the character of the main characters and the problem of the main character’s the conflict that influences the separation between two people and how it can disturb their relationships.
1. Theory of Literature
Here the writer would like to apply some theories of literature. They are the theory of character and characterization.
a. Theory of Character and Characterization
Like us, who exist in this world, there are characters that ‘live’ and ‘act’ in the novel. According to Abrams(1981:20), characters are ”the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral and disposition qualities that are expressed in what they say (the dialogues) and by what they do (the actions)”. This quotation implies that there is a relation between the presentations of a character as well as his personality traits and what the readers get from his presentation. That is why the characters must be credible, or in other words, the reader must accept them as believable people.
According to M.J. Murphy (1972:161-173) there are nine ways in which an author attempts to make his characters understandable to, and come alive for, his readers, those are:
1. Personal description The author can describe a character’s physical appearance like the face, body and clothes of the characters (1972: 161-162).
2. Character as seen by another
The author can describe a character through the eyes and opinions of another instead of describing a character directly (1972:162-164).
3. Speech The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what that person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clues to his character (1972:166-167).
4. Past life The author guides the readers to learn something about the person’s past life. The author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, trough the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or trough the medium of another person (1972:166-167).
5. Conversation of others The authors can also give us clue to a person’s character through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him (1972:167-168).
6. Reactions The author can give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events (1972:168-170).
7. Direct comment The author can describe or comments on a person’s character directly (1972:170-171).
8. Thoughts The author can give us direct knowledge of what person is thinking about (1972:171-172).
9. Mannerisms The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies, which tell us something about his character (1972:173)
Character is one of internal aspects in a novel. The term character is used in two ways: (1) it designated the individual who appear in the story and (2) it refers to the mixture of interests, desires, emotions, and principle that makes up each of these individuals (Stanton, 1965:17). It is similar to what Barnet says that the terms character refers to: (1) figure in literary works, figure here refers to the story performer such as in Swift as Desire, Jubilo, Luz Maria, etc; and (2) personality, that is, the mental and moral qualities of a figure, as one says that A’s character is strong, weak, or immoral, or whatever (1988:71).
b. Theories of Plot
Critics have different opinions toward plot as another important element in fiction. Actually, plot is the basic elements of literary work and has relation with other intrinsic element, such as character and conflict. Certainly, the character’s development depends on his function in plot.
E.M Foster clarifies that there is a distinction between story and plot. He says that a story is a narrative of events in their time sequence and it arouses only curiosity; while a plot is a narrative of events that emphasizes on casualty and demands intelligence and memory (Holman- Harmon, 1986:378). Besides, plot has subordinate story telling to the creation of a sense of active human presence (Berranger, 1994:57). In other words, plot has the close relation with the creation of characters in literary works.
As quoted Holman-Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature, Aristotle has his own opinion about the concept of plot. He says that plot is the imitation of an action and the arrangement of the incidents. Here, Aristotle also explains that the action imitated should be a whole and should have a beginning, a middle, and an ending. A beginning is that which does not follow anything by casual necessity, but after which something naturally as or comes to be. Middle is that which follows something as some other things follow it. Finally, an ending is that which itself follows some other thing, either by necessity, or as a rule, but has nothing following it.
Aristotle divides the plot into two parts, they are dramatic plot and epic plot (Yelland, 1953: 148-149). Dramatic plot is the conventional framework followed more or less closely by most plays and many novels and short stories. It is an artificial arrangement of incidents, the main purpose of which is to capture and hold the interest and provide and artistically satisfying conclusion.
Dramatic plot is divided into four divisions: 1) Exposition
In this part the characters are introduced, the background sketched, and the problem stated.
2) Raveling or complication Here, the interest is quickened and suspense created by the introduction of difficulties, which seem to stand in the way of satisfactory conclusion. 3) Climax
Here, is the point of greatest expectancy, and the cumulative effect of preceding incidents.
4) Denouement or unraveling Here is the part that the conclusion is finally worked out.
Epic plot is a series of incidents or adventures given more or less in chronological order and not arranged in an artificial pattern, unified by a central idea in the nature of a cause or quest of struggle in which the main characters are constantly engaged.
Graham Little in Approach to Literature says that “plot is a unit or set of units of narrative to make a single pattern of events, complete in itself” (1981:82). Little then divides the plot into 5 sections. They are: 1) Exposition
Exposition is the presentation of information necessary for the plot to get under way. It is the introduction to the characters, their relationship with one another, and the physical background in which they find themselves and so on.
2) Conflict Conflict is the essence of all stories. The exposition should set up situation in which there is conflict and from which suspense arises. The conflict may be one of man against man, or in the mind of the chief character, man against himself. The conflict may be simple or complex as when a whole tangle relationship result in a situation very difficult to be unravel.
3) Suspense Conflict sets up at least two opposing forces will win and how.
4) Climax Climax is a major crisis or turning point in the whole action of a plot.
It is the point of which the fatal step is taken, the essential decision made which result in the action including one way or other.
5) Resolution Suspense continuous from the point of climax to the end of the plot.
There may be further complication on the way. The resolution is the rounding off of the action, the conclusion, one way or the other, of the conflict (1981:83-84).
Chris Baldick in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms mentions that the plot is the pattern of events and situation in a narrative or dramatic work, as selected and arranged to emphasize relationships, usually of cause and between effects between incidents. The plot is also to elicit a particular kind of interest in the reader or audience, such as surprise or suspense (1991:170)
c. Theory of Conflict
According to Holman-Harmon, conflict is the struggle that grows out of interplay of the two opposing focuses in the plot. They also state that conflict may occur in the struggle for mastery. Conflict may be an argument between opposing focus in the plot. They also state that conflict may occur in the struggle against another person, against society, and the struggle for mastery. Conflict may be an argument between opposing forces, like man against man, man against nature, man against fate or perhaps an internal one between the two opposing part of man’s personality (1986:107).
Redman says that conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces, ideas, or believes which is the basis of the plot. He also states that to find out the conflict in the literature, the readers have to indicate the problem including how the characters face the problem. If the reader already sign the problem, he will clearly get the conflict that’s occurs. Therefore, the most important things are for the reader to know the end of the conflict. The solution of the conflicts happens if the opposing forces relent or the main character faces the opposing forces successfully or he or she fails in facing the forces (1964:363)
Abrams mentions that many plots deal with conflict. In addition to the conflict between individuals, there maybe the conflict of a protagonist against fate, or against the circumstances that stand between him and a goal he has set himself, and in some works, the conflict is between opposing desires or values in a character’s own mind (1971: 128).
Stanton has his own opinion. He mentions that there are two important elements of plot: conflict and climax (1965:16). He divides conflict into two parts:
1) Internal conflict Internal conflict is the conflict between two desires within a character.
Here, the conflict happened because the opposing desires or values in a character’s own mind, he has to choose the best one for him.
2) External conflict External conflict is the conflict between a character and his environment.
There maybe the conflict of character’s against fate and the circumstances that exist between him and a goal of himself. Besides, it happened because the different opinions of characters.
Stanton also says that these specific conflicts are in turn subordinate to the central conflict, which maybe internal, external, or both. He states that a central conflict is always between fundamental and contrasting qualities or forces, such as honesty and hypocrisy, innocence and experience, individuality and the pressure to conform.
d. Theory of Theme
Theme perhaps is the most obvious statement of “truth” of a work. It is the central idea of the work whether fiction, poetry, or drama. It deals with the four general areas of human experiences: the nature of humanity, the nature of society, the nature of human kind’s relationship to the world, and the nature of our ethical responsibilities.
According to Jennifer and Henley, theme is not the same as the subject or topic of a work. The subject is what the work is about, so we can state the subject in a word or phrase. In contrast, theme is what the work says about the subject. The statement of a work’s theme requires a complete sentence.
Furthermore, a work’s theme must apply to people outside the work. (www.definitionofliterature.jenifferadhenley/htm<http://www.definitionofliterat ure.jenifferadhenley/htm>)
Perrine in his book “Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense “, mentions that the theme of a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight.
Theme is the unifying generalization about life that is stated or implied by the story (1974:102). It implies that theme will be the central idea of the story which is given by the author and it might be worth exploring for the readers.
Perrine also gives six principles in making up the theme:
1. Theme must be in the form of a sentence, it must explain something about the subject.
2. Theme must draw a general statement about life.
3. Theme can be gained only from the content of the story to show the specific purposes of the author in revealing specific problems.
4. Theme must include the major details of the story to avoid partial interpretation. Meaning to say that theme can not be in contradictory with the whole content of the story. It should base on the source of the story itself.
5. Theme can be stated as long as the view of life presented in the story is fulfilled.
6. Theme must be different from familiar saying in terms of the main of its statement. Theme must provide a wider knowledge than familiar saying.
In addition to explanation above, Stanton in “An Introduction to Fiction” gives his view on how to identify a story’s theme. He said that the story itself has already guided us to the theme of a story in a sense of providing us with a lot of details that may support our interpretation. He also points out that an important point to start with is to ponder about the characters, the situation and the plot. To see everything in the story is an attempt to help us to convey the theme. Therefore, we need to go deeper and further to the elements of the story particularly characters and plot. (1965:21)
To come to a deeper understanding about theme, Stanton also gives some criteria that the theme may have: a. An adequate interpretation should account every prominent detail in the story.
b. An adequate interpretation should not be contradicted by any detail of the story. The author is trying to communicate something; he will not willingly defeat his own purpose.
c. An interpretation should not rest upon evidence not clearly stated or implied by the story. d. An interpretation should be directly suggested by the story. In other words, if the theme is courage we may expect to see some explicit appearance of or reference to courage.
2. Theory of Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow in Globe’s the Third Force says that people conduct action to fulfill their needs. He says” man is initially motivated by a series of basic needs; as these are satisfied, he moves toward the level of the higher needs and becomes motivated by them”(1971:47). The basic needs according to Maslow are “physiological needs, the safety needs, the belonginess and love needs, the esteem needs, the elf actualization needs, the desire to know and to understand, and the aesthetic needs”(1971:38-44). The definitions of the basic needs are as follows:
a. Physiological needs The most basic and powerful of the man’s needs are the needs for physical survival. It includes the needs for food, liquid, shelter, sex, sleep, and oxygen. A person who is lacking food, self-esteem, and love will demand food first before they reach other needs. When a man is extremely hungry, no others interest in his mind but only food. “He dreams food, he remembers food, he thinks about food, and he wants only foods” (1971:38).
b. The safety needs Once the physiological needs are satisfied, the safety needs emerge
(1971:20). Everybody needs to feel secure, safe and out of danger. They always try to take away from the dangerous thing especially related to physical violence.
c. The belongingness and love needs “When the physiological needs and the safety needs are satisfied, needs for love, affection, and belongingness emerge” (1971:40). Love is different from sex. According to Maslow, “love involves a healthy, loving relationship between two people, which includes mutual trust”. Everybody needs love.
Maslow says that the evidence that we need love is of exactly the same as the evidence that we need iodine or vitamin c, the lack of love stifles the growth and the development of potential”(1971:41).
d. The esteem needs According to Maslow, the esteem needs have two terms. They are “self respect and esteem from other people” he explains those two terms as follows:
1. Self-esteem includes such needs as desire for confidence, competence, mastery, adequacy, achievement, independence, and freedom.
2. Self-respect from others includes such concepts as prestige, recognition, acceptance, attention, status reputation, and appreciation (1971:42).
A person who has self-esteem is more confident and capable and, thus, more productive. When the self-esteem is absent, the individual has feelings of inferiority and helplessness, which may result in discouragement and possible neurotic behavior (1971:42) e. The self-actualization needs “What a man can be, he must be”. Maslow states this need as” the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming”. This need emerges after “reasonable satisfaction on the love and esteem needs” (1971:42).
f. The desire to know and to understand “A character of mental health is curiosity”. Maslow also says, “This process has been phrased by some as the search for meaning. We shall then postulate a desire to understand, to systematize, to organize, to analyze, to look for relation and meaning, to construct a system values (1971:43).
g. The aesthetic needs Maslows finds in some individuals, the need for beauty is very deep, and ugliness is actually sickening to them. Maslow gives an example from his study.” The effects of ugliness is dulling and stultifying.” (1971:44) C.
Theoretical Framework
In this chapter, the writer wants to discuss the problems that are already formulated in the problem formulation in the previous chapter. Therefore, the writer needs some theories to help her in answering the problems.
Theory of character is used to know how are the character depicted by the author. In the swift as desire, the writer will find out the depiction of Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria as the major character and Don Pedro as the minor character in the writer’s discussion. Here, the theory of characterization is also needed to reveal what kinds of character are presented in the novel.
To get deeper understanding to the personality of the characters discussed, the writer applies Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs and self actualization theory. The writer wants to show how human needs may form the personality of a person. In this thesis, it’s related with the personalities of Jubilo Chi and Luz Maria.
The writer needs Maslow’s theory on hierarchy of needs, theory of plot and theory of conflict to answer the second problem formulation. Furthermore, the writer finds out that the development of the conflict influenced by the development of the character needs.
To answer the last problem formulation the writer tries to find the theme by using the conflict that found in the plot. The writer uses theory of theme and to reveal the theme seen from the conflicts.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of The Study The novel that the writer analyzes in this thesis is Laura Esquivel's Swift
as Desire , an enchanting and sensuous romance, reflects upon an undying love
and the will to overcome an unspeakable tragedy. As in her bestselling novel
Like Water for Chocolate , Swift as Desire is rich with metaphor, coated with