The messages revealed through Hasari Pal and his conflicts in Dominique Lapierre`s The City of Joy.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH
HASARI PAL AND HIS CONFLICTS
IN DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE’S
THE CITY OF JOY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
AGUSTINUS DAMAR PRIYANUGRAHA
Student Number: 084214036

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH
HASARI PAL AND HIS CONFLICTS
IN DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE’S
THE CITY OF JOY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
AGUSTINUS DAMAR PRIYANUGRAHA
Student Number: 084214036

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA
2013
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

This thesis entitled “The Messages Revealed through Hasari Pal and His
Conflicts in Dominique Lapierre’s The City of Joy” 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, March 10th 2013

Agustinus Damar Priyanugraha

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“SOMETHING
HAPPENS
FOR
A REASON”

(Anonymous)

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FOR MY BELOVED
PARENTS

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama

: Agustinus Damar Priyanugraha

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 084214036

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH
HASARI PAL AND HIS CONFLICTS
IN DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE’S
THE CITY OF JOY
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 saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 10 Maret 2013
Yang menyatakan

(Agustinus Damar Priyanugraha)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to Jesus Christ for being
the light of my life. I realize that I will not accomplish this thesis without the help
of many people who really care about me. I am fully aware that I would not be
able to complete this thesis without the help of others.
My sincere gratitude goes to my lecturer, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka,
M.Hum and Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum. for their patience during the
consultation, and to all the members of the teaching staff of the English Letters
Department of Sanata Dharma University for giving me their valuable knowledge
and lessons during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
My deepest and best gratitude goes to my parents, Fransiskus Xaverius
Sukarman and Kus Dwi Harini, for their unconditional love, support, attention and
prayers.
I thank all my friends in English Letters Department, especially Helga,
Yoyok, Andri, Tj, Demen, Dedoy, Yuga, Iaan, Sella, Arie, Rintan, Luke, Rissa,

Denty, Nopek for their spirit and endless friendship. I also thank all of my friends
from Wonosari, they are Bowo, Leo, Singgih, Rangga, Pawiro, Dewik, Lola,
Vany, and Yessie, for always giving me motivation and support.

Agustinus Damar Priyanugraha.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................ i
APPROVAL PAGE ...................................................................................... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ................................................................................. iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN ......................................................... iv
MOTTO PAGE ............................................................................................. v
DEDICATION PAGE................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. viii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. ix

ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................................ 1
B. Problem Formulation ...................................................................... 3
C. Objectives of the Study ................................................................... 3
D. Definition of Terms ........................................................................ 4
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW................................................. 6
A. Review of Related Studies .............................................................. 6
B. Review of Related Theories ............................................................ 7
1. Theory of Character and Characterization ................................... 7
2. Theory of Conflict....................................................................... 11
3. Theory of Message ...................................................................... 12
C. Theoretical Framework ................................................................... 13
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 15
A. Object of the Study ......................................................................... 15
B. Approach of the Study .................................................................... 16
C. Method of the Study ....................................................................... 17
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 18
A. The Characteristics of Hasari Pal .................................................... 18
B. The Conflicts Faced by Hasari Pal .................................................. 25

1.Hasari Pal’s Internal Conflict ....................................................... 25
2.Hasari Pal’s External Conflict ..................................................... 27
C. The Messages as Revealed by the Character and Conflicts .............. 34
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .................................................................... 40
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 42

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ABSTRACT
AGUSTINUS DAMAR PRIYANUGRAHA. The Messages Revealed through
Hasari Pal and His Conflicts in Dominique Lapierre’s The City of Joy.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma
University, 2013.
The object of this study is one of the novels by Dominique Lapierre
entitled The City of Joy. The novel was first published in 1985. The study focuses
on the possible messages which are implied from the characteristics of the
character and the conflicts faced by the character.
There are three purposes of this study. First is to explain the

characteristics of the character that plays or gives important role and contribution
to the messages of the story. Second is to explain the conflicts which are faced by
the character. Third is to show the messages that are revealed by the
characteristics of the character and the way he faces the conflicts.
The writer used the library research method to answer the questions stated
in problem formulation. The writer collected the data from many references to
strengthen the theories in analyzing this novel. Besides, the writer also took some
sources from the internet to support this analysis. Objective criticism approach is
applied to analyze the novel.
From the analysis, the writer concludes that this novel can reveal the
messages from the way the character faces his conflicts in the story. Hasari has the
characteristics as a rational, tough, and loving person. Because of those
characteristics, he is able to survive when he deals with his conflicts. The conflicts
in this story are divided into internal and external conflicts. The internal conflict is
when Hasari faces a dilemma, whether he will sell his bones or not. For the
external conflicts, the writer divides the conflicts into against nature and against
his circumstances. When Hasari faces the condition against nature he has to face
the fact that their field cannot be farm anymore. Hasari also has some
circumstances that lead another problem happened. The first circumstance is that
Hasari is jobless when he first moves to Calcutta, it makes him and his family

suffer. The second circumstance is Hasari’s health problem which is getting
worse. By this condition, he still has to struggle to collect some money to get her
daughter married. The messages that are revealed through the character and the
conflicts are: never giving up with the situation, sacrificing for someone whom we
love, and facing the problem rationally.

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ABSTRAK
AGUSTINUS DAMAR PRIYANUGRAHA. The Messages Revealed through
Hasari Pal and His Conflicts in Dominique Lapierre’s The City of Joy.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma,
2013.
Objek dari studi ini adalah salah satu novel karya Dominique Lapierre
berjudul Kota Bahagia. Novel tersebut pertama kali diterbitkan pada tahun 1985.
Studi ini berfokus pada pesan-pesan yang secara implisit dimunculkan dari
karakter tokoh dalam novel dan konflik-konflik yang dihadapi oleh tokoh tersebut.
Studi ini memiliki tiga tujuan. Tujuan yang pertama adalah untuk
menjelaskan karakter tokoh dalam novel yang berperan penting dan memberikan
kontribusi dalam pesan-pesan yang terdapat dalam cerita. Tujuan yang kedua
adalah untuk menjelaskan konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh. Tujuan yang
ketiga adalah untuk memunculkan pesan-pesan yang didapat dari karakter tokoh
and cara tokoh tersebut menghadapi konflik-konflik.
Metode yang digunakan oleh penulis untuk menjawab rumusan masalah
adalah studi pustaka. Penulis mengumpulkan data dari berbagai referensi yang
mampu menunjang teori yang digunakan untuk menganalisis novel ini. Selain itu,
penulis juga menggunakan sumber dari internet untuk mendukung analisis ini.
Pendekatan Kritik Obyektif diterapkan untuk menganalisis novel ini.
Dari analisis tersebut, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa novel ini dapat
memunculkan pesan-pesan melalui cara tokoh menghadapi konflik-konflik di
dalam cerita. Hasari mempunyai karakter sebagai orang yang rasional, tangguh
dan penyayang. Karena semua karakter itu, dia dapat bertahan menghadapi semua
konfliknya. Konflik-konflik di dalam cerita dibagi menjadi dua, yaitu konflik
internal dan konflik eksternal. Konflik internal terjadi ketika Hasari mengalami
dilemma, apakah dia akan menjual tulangnya atau tidak. Untuk konflik eksternal,
penulis membaginya menjadi konflik melawan alam dan konflik melawan
keadaan. Ketika Hasari berjuang melawan alam, dia harus menghadapi fakta
bahwa lahan mereka tidak bisa diolah lagi. Hasari juga mempunyai beberapa
keadaan yang memicu masalah lainnya. Keadaan pertama, Hasari adalah
pengangguran ketika dia pertama kali pindah ke Kalkuta sehingga Hasari dan
keluarganya menderita. Keadaan kedua, adalah ketika kesehatannya semakin
memburuk. Dengan kondisi ini, dia masih harus berjuang untuk mengumpulkan
uang guna menikahkan anak perempuannya. Pesan-pesan yang terungkap melalui
karakter-karakter dan konflik-konflik adalah: jangan menyerah dengan keadaan,
berkorbanlah demi orang yang kita cintai, dan hadapilah masalah dengan rasional.

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature is a creative work based on the experience of human’s life that
usually contains specific issues at specific time. Literature can be used to gain
knowledge. Novel is one of the literary genres which contains story that is written
with specific purpose. Wellek and Warren in Theory of Literature described
literature as drawing of human life.
Literature is the reflection of human feeling toward his life. It is closely
related to human experience through which we can learn the image of
human beings that is expressed in the written way. It can also be defined as
the work of arts which represents human life (1956:94).
From the quotation above, it can be said that knowledge about life can be
gained through literature. According to Hudson, “Literature is a vital record of
men have seen in life, what they have experienced in life, what they thought and
have left about life through the medium of language”(1958:10). In other words,
the authors produce literary work based on what they have experienced in their
life, what they have seen, and what they have left, through creative writing.
In the book entitled Reading the Novel, Henkle stated that “Many of the
best novelist insist that should be first of all, a good story that keeps the reader’s
interest”(1977:2). That quotation means that many novelists will try to create a
very creative and very interesting story to make people interested to read it.
According to Hudson and Henkle’s quotations above, the writer can conclude that

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based on their own experience of life, the novelist might get the inspiration to get
a very creative and very interesting story that is written in a form of novel.
Sometimes there are some implied meanings from the acts of the
character in the novel. By reading a novel, people do not only can gain pleasures,
but also the messages that are possibly given by the author. The author may give
the readers the messages that he or she wants to deliver indirectly through the
character. Henkle said, “It would enrich our appreciation of the novel if we could
put its message clearer perspective” (1977:2-3). That quotation means that every
novel may consist of some valuable messages which can enrich the readers’
appreciation if they are able to use their perspective in putting those messages.
In this thesis the writer wants to analyze the novel which is written by
Dominique Lapierre entitled The City of Joy. The character of the story is Hasari
Pal. He is a peasant from a small village called Bengali. He is 32 years old. Hasari
and his family have to migrate to Calcutta to find a better life because his field in
Bengali cannot be farm anymore. When Hasari comes to Calcutta, he has to find a
job to get some money. This is because he does not only to afford his own
family’s needs but also his parents and his brothers’ family’s needs.
The City of Joy is a novel which tells about people who live in a slum area
called Anand Nagar. Anand Nagar is located in the capital city of West Bengal,
Calcutta. People in Anand Nagar are newcomers from villages near Calcutta.
Although they come from different places, they have the same hope that is to

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make a better life. After they come to Calcutta, life is also not easy for them
because once again they have to face the poverty.
From the character and the story of the novel, the writer chooses this novel
as the object of this thesis because there is something valuable more than the work
of literature itself that the writer can get and learn, that is the possible messages
appear in the story. Another reason why the writer chooses Dominique Lapierre’s
The City of Joy is because the story presents the realities of human life that can
influence the writer’s mind toward the human’s life.

B. Problem Formulation
The writer formulates three problems to be analyzed in this thesis. The
problems are:
1. How is Hasari Pal characterized?

2. What are the conflicts faced by Hasari Pal?
3. What are the messages revealed through the character and the conflicts?

C. Objectives of the Study
The objective of this novel is to reveal how the characteristics of the
character and the conflicts which are faced by the character can reveal the
messages. The first objective is to find out the characteristics of the character,
Hasari Pal. The second objective is to find out the conflicts that are faced by
Hasari Pal. The third objective is to find out the possible messages which can be

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revealed through the characteristics of the character and the way the character
faces the conflicts.
D. Definition of Terms
To understand the study of revealing the messages through the character
and the conflicts, it is important to give a clarification of the terms used in the
discussion. The writer gives some literary meanings to help the reader to
understand certain terms in order to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding about
the meaning of the terms as well as to obtain a clear understanding on the study.
1. Character.
Character is the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work that are
interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral and dispositional
qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue and what they
do – the actions. It means that the character in a story should have moral
and natural qualities of mind and it can be found out in their dialogue and
action (Abrams, 1981: 20).
The characters will have particular personalities and physical attributes
that distinguish them from other characters. The events that appear in the story
always involve him. He is a figure who is relevant to an event in the story.
2. Conflict
In A Handbook to Literature, Holman and Harmon defined conflict as the
struggle that grows out of the interplay of the two opposing forces in the plot.
Conflict may be an argument between opposing forces, like man against man,
nature, fate, society or perhaps the internal one between the two opposing parts of
man’s personality (1986: 107).

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3. Message
Every work of literature consists of and offers message, especially novels.
Sometimes a work of literature may have more than one message. The type of
message occurs in literary work depends on the author’s belief, wish, and interest.
According to Beaty and Hunter, in his book New Worlds of Literature, a
message is defined as the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be
simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989:899). In other words,
message is the main essence that can cover the whole idea of the work of art, in
this case, a literary work.

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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies
In this study, the writer will discuss Dominique Lapierre’s City of Joy and
reveal the author’s messages through one of the characters. This novel has been
analyzed and criticized by some people who are interested in this story. For this
part, the writer quoted the criticism from several sources. The first criticism
comes from Wahyu Perwitasari. She delivered the concern of the novel about
karma which exists among the people in India.
Karma influenced Hindus because they believe that every human action
had consequences. Therefore in their struggle for survival, poor Hindu
people still did their duties as human to gain good karma. Poor people’s
belief toward karma motivated them not to give up in their struggle to
survive. Karma made poor people to be loyal to their parents and their
family. Besides, karma also caused poor people to be willing to suffer and
sacrifice, to do many good deeds to others and to avoid doing sinful
behaviors (2007: xii).
The City of Joy is a novel which also contains India’s belief on karma. She
explained that karma is the consequence of human actions. In India, people make
good actions in order to get a good karma. It motivates them to never give up
struggling and be loyal to their relatives.
Another study comes from an undergraduate thesis entitled The Struggle
of Hasari Pal to Support His Family as Reflected in Dominique Lapierre’s The
City of Joy: A Sociological Approach written by Dianita Hadiningsih. In her
thesis, she described about the social background in India in which the setting of
the novel took time.
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“The second, the social background of India during the second half of the
twentieth century are all caused by the bad economy. The influences from
economic condition are caused by; catastrophes, the diseases, and crime”
(2007: xi).
The City of Joy is the novel which takes the setting in India during the
second half of the twentieth century. During that time, India has the bad economy
social background. This social background gives an implementation to the
situation in India in which catastrophes, diseases, and crime are clearly happened.
This study tries to see whether the novel is truly full of valuable values or
not. It can be said that the position of this study is to search the values, as the
message that wants to be conveyed. This study wants to describe Hasari Pal’s
characterization and the way he faced his conflicts on the story to get the message.
The writer does not put the concern on whether Hasari Pal solves his conflicts or
not, but on the way he develops his mind when he faced his conflicts are the
message that the writer wants to convey. Furthermore, this analysis will attempt to
reveal the messages that can be gained through the character of Hasari Pal by
By reviewing undergraduate theses by Wahyu Perwitasari and Dianita
Hadiningsih, the writer of this study will not continue those reviews deeper. The
writer places this study only to reveal the messages which can be discovered,
through the conflicts of the main character.

B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization

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Character is one of the intrinsic elements of a story. One of the most wellknown definitions of character comes from Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary
Terms. There, Abrams defined character in literary works as the quotation below.
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who
are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral and
dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the diaologue
– and by what they do – the action. The grounds in a character’s
temperament and moral nature for his speech and actions constitute his
motivation (1981:20).
That quotation means that characters in a literary work are like human
beings in the real world: they posses certain quality of moral, dispositional, and
emotional, which can be seen through their dialogue and action.
According to Holman and Harmon in his book A Handbook to Literature,
character means a complicated term that includes the idea of the novel
constitution of the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness and the
simpler notion of the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of
sort or another (1986:81).
After some types of character are identified, the characterization will
become the next discussion. To have a clear explanation, there are some theories
about characterization. According to M.J Murphy in his book Understanding the
Unseen (1972:161-173), there are nine kinds of characterization:
a. Personal description
The author can describe a character’s appearance like the face, body, or
the outfits of the character. The personal description is very important because
each character has specific appearance in the novel or play.

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b. Character as seen by another
The author can describe a character through another person’s eyes and
opinions. What people in the story think about certain people will help the reader
to understand more about the character.
c. Speech
The author can give some clues or insight to the characters through what
the character says. Whenever the character is in conversation with another
character and gives an opinion, the author is giving us some clues about the
characteristic of the character.
d. Past life
By permitting the readers learn something about people past life, the
author can give some clues to the events that will help the readers to understand
the character better.
e. Conversation of others
The author can also give the reader some clues to person’s character
through what other character say about the character in the story.
f. Reaction
The author can also give the readers some clues to a person’s character by
giving the readers the way the character react to certain situation or condition.

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g. Direct comment
The author can give the readers direct knowledge of what a person is
thinking about what is the person’s mind and he feels reflect on his character.
h. Thought
The author gives the readers direct knowledge of what a person is thinking
about. He is able to tell the readers the various thoughts that are experienced by
different people. In other words, the author gives the reader privilege to know the
inmost thoughts of the character in the novel.
i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerism, or habits which is may also
tell us something about the character. The habits or the attitude that the persons
has are also the clue in observing the character closely.
M.H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, stated that there are two
methods of characterization, namely showing and telling. In showing method, the
author only presents his character’s conversation and action and leaves the reader
to infer what motives and dispositions lay behind what they say and what they do.
In telling method, the author himself becomes a land of narrator in order to
describe and evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities of the character.
(1981:21).
From those descriptions, we can see the difference between character and
characterization. Character is a figure or individual that always appears in a story
and has an importance role to develop the story. Meanwhile, characterization is

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related to character’s disposition in the story that can be seen from character’s
speech, behavior, thought and reactions in a story.
2. Theory of Conflict
Conflict always appears in people’s life. Everyone will experience a
conflict in their life because each person has a different view of thinking that can
lead a conflict.
M.H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, mentions that many plots
deal with conflict. In addition to the conflict between individual, there may be 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 of own mind (1981: 128).
According to Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature, conflict is
the struggle that grows out of the interplay of the two opposing focus in the plot
(1986: 107). They also state that conflicts may occur in various situations as
described below.
a. A struggle against nature
It presents the character’s struggle when they deal with the natural forces such
as hurricane, flood, storm, earthquake, tornado, landslide and etc.
b. A struggle against another person
It presents the character’s struggle when they deal with another character.
c. A struggle against society
It presents the character’s struggle when they deal with a society’s value
systems.

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d. A struggle against fate or destiny
It presents the character’s struggle when they deal with their creator, God. It
shows the struggling of the character when they try to change their own fate or
destiny.
Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction divides conflict into two, internal and
external conflict. The description of those conflicts can be seen below.
a. Internal Conflict
This kind of conflict is identified by term Man vs. Himself. It takes place
inside the protagonist, meaning that he/she is arguing with himself/ herself. He
spends the entire story arguing with himself about what to do before something
finally happens that forces him to make decision.
b. External Conflict
This conflict is happens when the protagonist has trouble and conflicts
against the others characters. The protagonist is opposed by another character.
Frequently he fights with a single person or more than one (1965: 16).
3. Theory of Messages
Message is an element that can be found in any work of art, such as
literature, whether consciously or unconsciously. Henry Hudson in his book “An
Introduction to the Study of Literature” stated that a good message is a message
that discloses new a large possibility they do not realize, most writers would try to
tell and to show those possibilities by using their work. In fact, he even tries to
create those possibilities themselves. A good messages does not tend to follow

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general pattern or norm but it creates new pattern based on human values
(1958:23)
According to Beaty and Hunter, in his book New Worlds of Literature, a
message is defined as the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be
simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989:899). In other words,
message is the main essence that can cover the whole idea of the work of art, in
this case, a literary work.
Message in a story is intended as suggestion related to practical lesson that
can be taken by the readers through the story. They are closely related to the
problems in life, such as attitude, and behavior. The readers can find them in a
real life, in the same manners as they are reflected on the story through its
characters.
The message is distributed through those various ways. By contrast, if the
readers want to understand or interpret the message, they should do it based on the
story and the character’s life.
C. Theoretical Framework
This part will elaborate the theories that are used by the writer to analyze
this study. The writer uses theory of character and characterization, theory of
conflict, and theory of message to answer the questions stated in problem
formulation. The theory of character and characterization can be used to analyze
Hasari Pal’s attitude and behavior from the beginning to the end of the story and
to understand how Hasari Pal’s character, it can be seen that his character bring
messages for the readers.

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Theory of conflict is considered important since the writer takes the
messages in the story based on the conflicts and experiences that happens in the
story. This story gives a lot of conflict that makes it more interesting. The main
character has the conflict with him and with the other.
Another theory that is needed to analyze this novel is theory of message.
This theory is needed to reveal the message through the character of Hasari Pal.
Through Hasari’s action, the writer sees that Hasari did what he had to do or what
he had not to do. He has done the right things or not. From this point the writer is
able to see the lesson given by Hasari Pal to become the messages of the novel.
All of the theories are important and have their own important role. By
relating those theories, the writer can find a relevant answer for those problem
formulations.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study
In this study, the writer analyzes the novel The City of Joy, which was
written by Dominique Lapierre. The title The City of Joy itself is taken from the
name of the main setting in the novel, Anand Nagar. It means the city of joy if it is
translated in English. The City of Joy consists of 528 pages. It was first published
in 1985.
Dominique Lapierre, son of a diplomat, was born in La Rochelle, France
in 1931. At the age of seventeen, he left Paris with US$ 30 to The United State.
Lapierre’s first best-selling work, A Dollar for Thousands Miles was written based
on his adventure during his journey from Paris to the United State. Since then, he
has continuously searched for new messages and stories. He achieved a full bright
scholarship in the University of Lafayette, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the
university in 1952 (http://www.cityofjoy.org/bio_lapierre.html).
The City of Joy tells about poverty in a slum called Anand Nagar, Calcutta.
It is a story about how people learn to survive, to share and to love although there
are many difficulties in their life. Dominique Lapierre shows their brave, spirit
and hope of people in Calcutta for facing the misfortune.
Hasari Pal represents the native who is trapped in the cycle of poverty. He
is a peasant from Bengali who has to migrate to Calcutta to find a better life. He
does not only have to afford his own family, but he also has to afford his parents

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and his brothers’ family’s needs. Several times he lived in a pavement because he
could not rent a house. Fortunately in that wild city, he could get a job as a
rickshaw driver and got a small house in a slum called Anand Nagar. Although he
had already got a job, his suffer did not end. He still had to face other problems.
B. Approach of the Study
Analyzing a literary work is important to obtain a deep and better
understanding about literary text itself. In analyzing this work, the writer needs a
certain approach. The writer chooses the objective criticism to analyze the novel
Dominique Lapierre’s City of Joy. The reason why the writer chooses this
approach is based on the idea about the approach itself.
The objective criticism approaches the work as something which stands
free from poet, audience, and the environing world. It examines the
literary work based on the work itself, without connecting it to the other
aspects outside the work including the historical and social background, or
the biography of the author. The objective criticism focuses on the literary
work from the intrinsic elements such as setting (place and time), theme,
character, plot, which build the work (Abrams, 1981: 37).
In other words, the objective criticism regards a literary object as a work
which consists of some internal parts without any reference to other external parts.
The objective criticism criticizes a work as something that is standing on the work
itself that is to be analyzed and judged by the intrinsic criteria.
The writer believes that the objective criticism is really suitable for
analyzing this study which intends to analyze two of the intrinsic elements of the
novel: those are characters and conflict, to reveal the message.

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Concerning by the subject, this study focuses its analysis on the character
and the conflicts. This study needs no other aspects outside the work for the
analysis.
C. Method of the Study
The method that is used in analyzing this study is library research. The
primary source of this study is the novel City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre. The
secondary sources are taken from some articles, books, internet and journals.
Several studies on the novels and internet references are also used to provide
additional data.
In analyzing this work of literature, the writer applied three steps. The first
step was reading the novel The City of Joy. By reading the novel, the writer would
be able to achieve a good understanding toward the novel. The second step was
the writer decided what the topic that was going to be analyzed and formulated the
problem formulation which were related with the topic
The third step was the writer decided the appropriate approach for the
study. The fourth step was collecting sources from many references to support the
evidences or arguments which were found out in analyzing the novel.
The fifth step was answering the problem formulation by analyzing the
character in the novel using theory of character and characterization. Then, the
writer analyzed the conflicts which were faced by the character. After that the
writer analyzed the possible messages through the character and the conflicts. The
last step was drawing the conclusion based on the whole analysis.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter consists of the analysis of the literary work and the answer of
the problem formulation. The first analysis deals with the characterization of
Hasari Pal. The second analysis is dealing with Hasari Pal’s conflicts. The third
analysis is to reveal the messages through Hasari Pal’s characterization and
conflicts. In other words, in the last part of the analysis, the writer tries to show
the messages that are revealed through the way Hasari Pal faced the conflicts.
Theories that were presented in chapter two will be used to answer the formulated
problems.
A. The Characteristics of Hasari Pal
Hasari Pal is one of the characters in the story. He is 32 years old. He is a
Hindu. Based on the description on the novel, the author stated that Hasari looks
like a Mogul Warrior. He has thick shock of curly hair, sideburns which met the
dropping curve of his mustache, a strong, stocky torso, long muscular arms and
slightly bowed legs.
Hasari has a wife whose name is Kamla. Kamla gives him three children.
The eldest is Amrita, she is twelve-years-old. The other two are Manoj, a tenyears-old child, and Shambu, a six-years-old child. When he was in Bengali, he
worked as a farmer.
1. Rational
In the story, Hasari is described as a rational person. Hasari is a peasant
who is proud of himself and what he does for living. However, he can reduce his

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pride when it deals with certain situation and being rational by thinking clearly
when he faces a condition that is following his emotion or not in order to save his
family.
According to Hornby in his book Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
of Current English, it is stated that the meaning of rational is able to think clearly
and make decisions based on reason rather than emotions (2007:1251).
At the beginning of January villagers heard that food was being given out
in the district capital, about twenty miles away. At the first no one wanted
to go.”We were peasants, not beggars,” Hasari Pal was later to say. “But
for the sake of the women and children we had to resign ourselves to
accepting charity (1992:19-20).
From the quotation above, it can be seen that at the first time Hasari Pal
refused to accept that charity because of his pride of being a peasant, but when it
deals with his family life’s, Hasari changed his mind and accepted that charity for
the sake of the women and children.
Hasari’s attitude when he accepts that charity shows that he is a rational
person. Even though at the first time he has a strong feeling of respecting himself
as a peasant, instead of following his feeling or emotion, Hasari makes decision
based on his rationality.
Another fact that strengthens the idea that Hasari is a rational person is
when after several days he had go to Calcutta, but he still had no job, Hasari had
no more money left to buy some food for his family. At that time, he must be
rational by making a decision to reduce his pride as a peasant and do something
else to get some food for his family.

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After third day of searching, with no more money to buy bananas, Hasari
was reduced to an act of supreme humiliation for a proud peasant. Before
making his way back to the railway station, he picked up all the peelings
and scraps he could find (1992:26).
From the quotation above, it can be seen that the author describes his
action as a “supreme humiliation for a proud peasant”. It means that actually he
has some uncomfortable feeling about picking food on the street, in spite of his
pride of being a peasant. However, in that kind of situation he notices that nothing
else he cannot do except picking up all the peelings and scraps for his family
meal. After noticing his own situation, Hasari makes a decision to put aside his
uncomfortable feeling and picks up all the peelings and scraps he can find.
Another situation that strengthens the idea of Hasari’s depiction as a
rational person is when his wife suggested Hasari to let his daughter to go to beg
at the entrance of the station. At the first time his wife came out with that idea,
Hasari refused it. The reason why Hasari refused that idea was because he thought
that as a peasant, they should not be a beggar. However, after he realized that they
really needed money in order to cover their daily needs and the fact that he still
had no job, Hasari finally let his children go to beg.
“That evening my wife suggested that our daughter, Amrita, go to beg at
the entrance to the station. Overhelmed with shame and despair, she wept
as she spoke. We were peasant, not beggars.” The pals could not reconcile
themselves to so abhorrent an idea. For one more day and night they
waited but, as dawn broke on the following day, they sent their little girl
and her two brothers to take up their positions where the rich travelers got
out of their taxis and private cars (1992:27).
That quotation shows that he still thinks about his pride. But because his
pride has to deal with his family’s needs, finally he decided to reduce his pride.

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All those quotations strengthen the idea that Hasari is a rational person. It is
proved by the way he makes his decisions based on a reason rather than emotion.
By accepting the charity, picking up all the peelings and scraps for his family
meal and by letting his children go to beg in the railway station, Hasari is being
rational in responding that kinds of situation by deciding to do those actions and
not following his emotion in order to save his family.
2. Tough
Hasari is a tough person. His toughness is shown in the way he deals with
his problem during the story. According to Hornby in his book Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, it is stated that the meaning of tough is
strong enough to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations. In the
beginning of the story when the Pal’s family had a financial problem, his father
asked him to move from Bengali to Calcutta to look for another job opportunity to
gain some money for the Pal’s family because he is the only hope for his family of
not dying of starvation. When Hasari left Bengali, his father only gave him twelve
rupee. His father said to Hasari to use the money for his trip to Calcutta, and
hoped that Hasari could send some money whatever he could (1992:20).
In the story when Hasari came to Calcutta at the first time, he had nobody
to help him. Hasari did not know anything about Calcutta and how to get a job in
Calcutta. He was going to try and make contact with a young man from his village
whose name was Prem Kumar, who was working as a collie in the market of Bara
Bazar. Looking people in the middle of crowded like Calcutta and Bara Bazar was

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
22

not an easy thing. Hasari realized that fact, but he never gave up and kept looking
for that young man.
Ever watchful, he scrutinized every coolie and tradesman and questioned
all the bearers, but only miracle could help him to find his friend in such a
seething mass. Nonetheless he pursued his search until nightfall (1992:26).
Hasari faced a lot of problems when he first came to Calcutta, he had no
job and place to stay. As a father and the head of the family, he has a
responsibility to give his family a safe place to stay and give his family food to
eat. That is why Hasari really needs a job, but his condition as new comer in
Calcutta makes him difficult to find a job. Hasari never gives up, he tries
everything that he can to look for a job.
That morning, the morning of the sixth day, he left his children to forage
among the refuse while he went off once more to scour the bazaar in every
possible direction. He offered his services to dozens of traders and
transporters. Several times he even followed overloaded carts in the faint
hope that one of the coolies would eventually keel over with exhaustion
and he might takes his place (1992: 56).
After struggling every day, finally he got a job as a rickshaw driver. Hasari
could get some money from his new job. Hasari worked in Calcutta not only to
afford his family needs, but also to afford his father’s and brother’s family needs
that still lived in Bengali. Motivated by that requirement, Hasari pushed himself to
get a job. He went to Bara Bazar as a place where he could put a hope to get a job
although he possibly knew that he only replaced someone else’s place who keeled
over with exhaustion. He must save some of his money that he got as a rickshaw
driver to be sent to his family in Bengali.
He is a father who struggles for a better life for his family. Although he is
the only one who is working in the family and living in a slum area, he never loses

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23

his faith and keeps working hard, instead of giving up for the poor condition..
According to the statements above, they strengthen the idea that Hasari is a tough
person. It is proven by the way he can deal successfully and never gives up with
any difficult condition or situation that happened.
3. Loving
In the story, Hasari shows his characteristic as a loving person. He cares
and loves his family so much. Hornby in his book Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of Current English, stated that the meaning of loving is feeling or
showing love and affection for something or somebody (2007:914).
When Hasari first came to Calcutta, he had no place to stay and had no
job. He must figure out how to get some money to afford his family needs,
especially food. During that situation, to strengthen his family’s heart Hasari
always be a loving father for them. One of the situations that showed Hasari Pal
was a loving person was when he brought his family two cones of muri.
Hasari had found neither his friend nor work. He was simply bringing his
family two newspaper cones full of muri, this rice roasted in hot sand that
the poor eat in last resort to steam their hunger… “There you are. That’s
for you,” said Hasari, happily giving the remainder of his own share to his
youngest son... Among India’s poor, food was always reserved in priority
for those who could work and provide for the family’s needs. (1992:38)
Among India’s poor, food always reserved priority to those who could
work and provide for the family’s needs. As the only person in his family who
struggles a lot to find a job, Hasari deserves to get the priority of the food, but
instead of satisfying himself by eating that food, he was happily giving the
remainder of his own muri to his youngest son. Hasari does is to please his family.
He just wants to make his family happy.

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Another proof that Hasari is a loving father can be seen from the quotation
below. It tells about the situation when Hasari sacrifices himself to get some
money for his family.
Hasari stared at the stranger in astonishment and motioned that he would.
“All you have to do is to follow me. I’ll take you somewhere where they’ll
take a little of your blood and give you thirty rupees for it. That’s fifteen
for me and fifteen for you”(1992:56).
When Hasari had found neither his friend nor work, a small man with
spectacles offered him some money for selling his blood. Even though Hasari was
shocked of that kind of offer and only got a half from total payment of selling his
blood, he decided to accept that because he needed to get some money for his
family. “Struck by his logic, Hasari made an effort to get back on his feet and
followed the stranger” (1992:57). From the previous quotation, it can be seen that
Hasari will do anything to get some money even though he has to sacrifice
himself by selling his blood. It shows how much he loves his family, and because
of his love to his family, Hasari is eager to sacrifice himself to get some money
for his family.
Hasari’s love for his family can also be seen from his statement when his
health is getting worse. “He did not have to wait long for an answer. “Big brother,
I cannot die before I’ve found a husband for my daughter” (1992:427). By that
quotation, Hasari shows a characteristic as a loving person, because even when his
health is getting worse, he still thinks about his daughter’s marriage. The only
thing that he cares about is not his health condition, but his only daughter. It
shows how much he loves his family; even he loves his family more than himself.

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Another part of the story that shows his love to his family is when his
daughter, Amrita, has to get married. Hasari needs lots of money to