The ideas of American dreams as the main characters` motive of life as seen in Lorraine Hansberry`s a raisin in the sun... - USD Repository
THE IDEAS OF AMERICAN DREAM AS
THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ MOTIVE OF LIFE AS SEEN
IN LORRAINE HANSBERRY’S A RAISIN IN THE SUN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
DANITA IRIANTI MALUTE
Student Number: 044214142
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
THE IDEAS OF AMERICAN DREAM AS
THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ MOTIVE OF LIFE AS SEEN
IN LORRAINE HANSBERRY’S A RAISIN IN THE SUN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
DANITA IRIANTI MALUTE
Student Number: 044214142
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
i
MOTTO PAGE
(Unknown)
YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT
BUT IF YOU TRY
SOMETIME
YOU JUST MIGHT FIND
YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED
(JAGGER & RICHARD)
GowiththeFlow,
EnjoyYourLifetotheFullest
iv
I dedicate this thesis to MyAlmightyCreator,JesusChrist MybelovedParent’ssilverweddinganniversary MylovelySisterandBrothers MyPrince
Mybestfriends,M.I.AgirlsandtheBROs
In the Hope of Better Future ~Danita Irianti Malute~
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, my deepest gratitude goes to my Almighty Creator, Jesus Christ to whom I lay down all my dreams and hopes. I thank Him for all the grace, miracles, and joy in my life. I am nothing without Him.
The writing process of this thesis involved many generous contributions of wonderful people. My enormous thank and award is dedicated for my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. I thank her for all her help, suggestions, and guidance during my undergraduate thesis up to the end. I also thank my academic counselor, Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A. for his precious support during my time in Sanata Dharma University. I also would like to thank Maria Ananta Tri S., S.S., M.Ed. for the suggestions and inputs as the co-advisor of my undergraduate thesis. My acknowledgement also goes to all of the lecturers and the staff of Department of English Letters and the librarians of Sanata Dharma University. I thank them for their unforgettable great role during my study in this university.
With lots of love, I would like to express my extraordinary gratefulness to my amazing family. They are my beloved Papa, Ir. Daniel Malute, M.Si., and my wonderful Mama, Monita Patayang who always care of me and taught me to be optimistic in finishing this thesis as soon as possible, and to my colorful sister and brothers, Daniela Malute, Deni Irianto Malute and Dandi Malute. I thank them for all their everlasting love, attention, financial support, prayer and suggestions in my life.
All of them become my great spirit in finishing this thesis. vi
I would like to express my special gratitude to Marchelynow Alfa Ch. Mengko for his care, patience, love, and help. I thank him for always be by my side every time I need him and always help me to solve every problem I face during the process of writing this undergraduate thesis and also to Mengko’s family who always give me love, care, support, and pray.
My gratitude also goes to Koko Fandi’s family who encourage me with love and support. A special dedication goes to my best friends, for “the BROs”, Richo A.
Robertho, Maulana Riska Irianto, Maddya Kusuma Widjaya, M. Guruh Agung, and Riolan Manik and also for all Smoensha’03 Community who do not mind sharing their support, advice, laughter, pain, and love with me. The expression of thankfulness also goes to all of my friends at English Letters’04 Sanata Dharma University and also “the M.I.A. (Missing in Action) girls”, Arini Wulandari, Elizabeth Nita Kurniasih, Bertha Yenni Firdinia, Eka Utami Ningsih, and Yuli Satyawati who have shared an unforgettable and craziness friendship in all lovely days during my study at Sanata Dharma University, and special warm thanks to all the Prenggan Sidomulyo team of KKN, and also to Ferdy’02, Gatot’02, Nico’02, Supra’02 Akakom, Adip’04 Psychology, and Dina’04 Mathematics.
Last but not least, thanks for everyone who helps me in hand and those who filled my life and my heart with love that I cannot mention here. You are all the best things I have ever had.
Danita Irianti Malute vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………………….. i…………………………………………………………… ii
APPROVAL PAGE
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……………………………………………………….. iii
……………………………………………………………….. iv
MOTTO PAGE
DEDICATION PAGE ………………………………………………………… v
ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS …………………………………………………... vi
……………………………………………………... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………. x
……………………………………………………………………... xi
ABSTRAK CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................
1 A. Background of the Study……………...............……………………..
1 B. Problem Formulation………………………………………………...
5 C. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………
6 D. Definition of Terms………………………………………………….
6 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW …………………………………..
9 A. Review of Related Studies…………………………………………...
9 B. Review of Related Theories…………………………………………
13 1. Character……………………………………………………..
14 2. Characterization……………..……………………………….
15 3. The Relation between Literature and Psychology…………...
18
4. Motive and Motivation………………………………………
18 5. The American Dream………………………………………..
22 C. Theoretical Framework……………………………………………...
24 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………..
26 A. Object of the Study………………………………………………….
26 B. Approach of the Study………………………………………………
27 C. Method of the Study………………………………………………...
28 …………………………………………………...
31 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS
A. The Characterization of the Main Characters.………………………
31
1. Lena Younger (Mama).…………………………………...…
32
2. Walter Lee.………………………..…………………………
36 3. Baneatha (Bennie)…………………..……………………….
39 4. Ruth…………………..……………..……………………….
45 viii
B. The Ideas of American Dream as the Main Characters’ Motive in Life as Seen in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun….……………….
49 1. Prosperity…………………………………………………...
50 2. Equality and Opportunity…………………………………...
56 3. Liberty………………………………………........................
65 ………………………………………………
67 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………….
71 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………
74 APPENDIX The Summary of A Raisin in the Sun……...…………………………...
74 ix
ABSTRACT
DANITA IRIANTI MALUTE (2008). The Ideas of American Dream as the Main
Characters’ Motive of Life as Seen in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.This thesis discusses the play by Lorraine Hansberry entitled A Raisin in the
Sun , which was written in 1958. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun tells about
the life of an Afro-American family in Chicago, South of America. This thesis discusses the ideas of American Dream as the main characters’ motive of life in the play A Raisin in the Sun.
To achieve more about the ideas of American Dream that are revealed as the main characters’ motive of life in the play, two questions are formulated to guide the analysis. They are (1) How are the main characters’ characterizations portrayed in the play A Raisin in the Sun? (2) In what way are the ideas of American Dream revealed as the main characters’ motive of life in the play A Raisin in the Sun?
The method applied in this study is library research. The approach used in this study is psychological approach. The sources that are needed to support this study are taken from the play A Raisin in the Sun and sources that contain the theories of literature, theory of psychology, and theory of American Dream in terms of books and internet.
Based on the analysis, the results of the study are as follows. Firstly, it can be concluded that there are four main characters in the play A Raisin in the Sun. They are Lena (Mama), Walter, Beneatha, and Ruth. Mama as one of the main characters is described as a religious woman who is strong, wise, and really loves her family. Having a better house in the comfortable place is one of her dream that becomes her motivation of life. Walter as another main character is an uneducated man who has an ambition to be a rich man. His focus of life is money. Another main character is Beneatha or Bennie. Bennie is describes as an Afro-American girl who is smart and independent. She really loves challenges to express herself. The last main character is Ruth. Ruth is Walter’s wife who is described as a patient and hard working woman who really loves her family. Secondly, the ideas of American Dream that are revealed as the main characters’ motive of life in the play A Raisin in the Sun are Prosperity, Equality and Opportunity, and Liberty. The characters believe that they shall have a freedom to do what they want to do, to make their own decision, to have their own ideas. They also believe that everyone has the same position, the same rights and the same opportunities to express their own ideas or dreams. x
ABSTRAK
DANITA IRIANTI MALUTE (2008). The Ideas of American Dream as the Main
Characters’ Motive of Life as seen in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.Skripsi ini membahas sebuah drama yang ditulis pada tahun 1958, sebuah drama karya Lorraine Hansberry yang berjudul A Raisin in the Sun. Drama tersebut adalah sebuah drama yang mengisahkan tentang kehidupan sebuah keluarga Afro- Amerika di Chicago, Amerika Selatan. Skripsi ini mendiskusikan tentang ide-ide Impian Amerika sebagai motivasi hidup dari para tokoh utama dalam drama A Raisin
in the Sun .
Untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang ide-ide Impian Amerika yang menjadi motivasi hidup tokoh-tokoh utama di dalam drama tersebut, diformulasikanlah dua pertanyaan untuk memandu proses menganalisa, yaitu: (1) Bagaimana penokohan para tokoh utama dalam drama A Raisin in the Sun? (2) Dalam hal-hal apa ide-ide Impian Amerika menjadi motivasi hidup tokoh-tokoh utama dalam drama A Raisin in
the Sun ?
Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah studi pustaka. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan psikologi. Data-data yang diperlukan untuk mendukung studi ini diambil dari drama A Raisin in the Sun dan sumber-sumber yang memuat teori sastra dan teori psikologi dalam bentuk buku-buku maupun data-data dari internet.
Berdasarkan analisis yang dilakukan, hasil temuan studi ini adalah sebagai berikut. Pertama, dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada empat tokoh utama di dalam drama A
Raisin in the Sun. Mereka adalah Lena (Mama), Walter, Beneatha, dan Ruth. Mama
sebagai salah satu pemeran sentral digambarkan sebagai sosok seorang wanita religius yang tegar, bijaksana, and sangat mencintai keluarganya. Memiliki rumah baru di lingkungan yang lebih nyaman adalah salah satu impian yang menjadi motivasi hidupnya. Walter yang juga menjadi salah satu tokoh utama adalah pria yang tidak berpendidikan yang berambisi untuk menjadi kaya. Fokus hidup walter adalah uang. Tokoh utama lainnya adalah Beneatha atau Bennie. Bennie digambarkan sebagai seorang gadis Afro-Amerika yang cerdas dan mandiri. Dia sangat menyukai tantangan untuk mengekspresikan dirinya. Tokoh utama yang terakhir adalah Ruth. Ruth yang merupakan istri dari Walter yang digambarkan sebagai sosok seorang wanita pekerja keras yang sabar dan sangat mencintai keluarganya. Kedua, ide-ide Impian Amerika yang menjadi motivasi hidup tokoh-tokoh utama di dalam drama A
Raisin in the Sun
adalah kemakmuran atau kesejahteraan, kesetaraan hak dan kesempatan, dan kebebasan. Para tokoh percaya mereka memiliki kesempatan dan kebebasan yang sama untuk melakukan apa yang ingin mereka lakukan, kebebasan untuk memutuskan apa yang ingin mereka putuskan, dan kebebasan untuk memiliki pemikiran-pemikiran sendiri. Setiap orang memiliki kedudukan yang sama, hak-hak yang sama dan kesempatan yang sama untuk mengekspresikan pemikiran-pemikiran atau impian-impian mereka. xi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Most popular literary works are the reflection of human life. It means that
literary works are the portraits of human’s life and what is pictured in literary works is based on the facts and experiences which ever happened in the past or dreams about future that the author has. Many literary works present the phenomena of real life that happen in the world seen from the author’s point of view. Hudson says in An
Introduction to Study of Literature,
Literature is the expression of life through the medium of language; it can be regarded as something essential since it contains about real life, people, thought, and their feeling about life (1958: 10). That quotation shows that literature contains an essential idea about human’s life. That is why some opinions say literary works can reveal actions, sadness, dreams, motives, happiness, depression, anxiety, even love that happened in human’s life. An author tries to share his/her feelings, inspirations, emotions, even his/her creative imaginations through the literary works. On the other side, through literary works, the readers can get something new and learn lots of things about life. It can also be said that literary works do not only give the readers understanding, new perception, satisfaction, and enjoyment but also enrich their knowledge as an individual and society.
1
2 As Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs (1987: 2) state in their book Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing.
Literature helps us to grow, both personally and intellectually; it provides an objective base for our knowledge and understanding…. It enables us to recognize human dreams and struggles in different societies that we would never otherwise get to know; it helps us to develop mature sensibility and compassion for the condition of all living things.
On the other side, Kenney (1988: 5) on his book How to Analyze Fiction state that, To analyze a literary work is to identify the separate parts that make it up (this corresponds roughly to the nation of treating it to process), to determine the relationship among parts, and to discover the relation of the parts to the whole.
Kenney’s idea has shown that every part in literary work is a unity. It means one element in the literary work has a relation with other elements. As the example, the character always has relations with other intrinsic elements; even it can have a relation with the era or the society that is described in the literary work. In some literary works, an era and society bring a big influence toward the main character’s dreams or hopes that can become his motive in life. As Jung (1978: 4) says, if we talk about motive, we talk about causes or reasons underlying behavior. Therefore, someone’s behavior is a response to other’s behavior or situation, because someone will always respond to something in order to adapt or to be against or to show his feeling toward it.
In this study, I choose one of Lorraine Hansberry’s greatest plays A Raisin in
the Sun
. This study concerns with a play that is based on the real events that
3 happened in the 1950s in the middle of American society and the main topic that will be discussed is about the ideas of American Dream as the main character’s motive of life as seen in A Raisin in the Sun. One thing that makes A Raisin in the Sun interesting to be discussed is the way Lorraine Hansberry’s, the author, uses the African-American Younger family as the characters to represent a struggle of a family to pursue the idea of American Dream in the middle of American society.
Dream of a better life becomes their motive in life in the middle of society around them. As state in the Sparknotes webpage, A Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives (www.sparknotes.com). It shows A Raisin in the Sun is interesting since it is colored by dreams as the characters’ motive of life.
The idea of “dream comes true” is based on the story of success that has become an obsession and motivation for everyone in this world. What comes into our mind when we hear the words motive and motivation? Most of people know that motive and motivation deals much with human beings and their effort in gaining something in life. As long as human being is alive he or she will always have goals to achieve and dreams to realize to make a better life.
If we analyze more about motive, we will find that there are lots of factors that influence the motive such as past life, types of personality, and society around us.
Those factors can give a lot of contribution toward human motivation in doing something. The process of how the society influenced the motivation of human being
4 can be seen in Raisin in the Sun where the main characters’ motive influenced by the surrounding society. In Raisin in the Sun, the idea of success in American dream influenced the main characters’ motive of life.
It is related to Ralph Barton Perry’s opinion. (1949: 10) in his book
Characteristically American “Success is thought of as the fruit of marriage between
circumstance and action”. It means that success is a combination of action, effort, and society. A Raisin in the Sun examines a family’s dreams, human motivation, and social prejudice.
In A Raisin in the Sun, Youngers are African-Americans who lived in America because they think that America is a promising land to get a better future, in fact their opinion is not true. The flow of the play shows that “life is like a game”. People have problems, and problems in life are things that come and go as if they were endless.
Sometimes people think it is hard, but it is sometimes easy to face. Problems always exist in everyone’s life, and everyone makes the decision, in which it could effect on the happening situation forward, whether it is good or bad.
As the example, the struggle to rise from economic adversity as the most problem of the family was present in the protagonist in the play. It was described by Walter Younger’s character. He had dreams of achieving economic success, as the central issue in this play. The ideas of American Dream brought lots of motivation for him to open a liquor store and reap from the profits. However, this could not be accomplished unless his Mama gave him the money from a $10,000 insurance check
5 that she received from her husband’s death. The other characters that can show the ideas of American dream are Mama, Beneatha, and Ruth characters.
The setting, the flow, the dynamical emotion of getting involved in this play, the sense, and the scope of understanding the play are the things that can be reached more in this play. The writer also admits that this play is considered to be really touchable in revealing it with the real life. Yet, what the writer means “real” is something that constructs certain senses and mind sight blended into one portrait of such condition. Considering the term non-fiction in categorizing this play, we can precisely guess that the way the story goes by the main characters’ experiences of fording such condition through life must be something that we can consider to happen mostly in the real life. The life which is described in the play shows a process in which the characters want to have dreams of changing positions, from the ordinary life into the extraordinary one or into a better future. That is why “THE IDEAS OF AMERICAN DREAM AS THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ MOTIVE OF LIFE AS SEEN IN LORRAINE HANSBERRY’S A RAISIN IN THE SUN” is chosen as the title of this thesis.
B. Problem Formulation
As a guide for the writer in referring to the particular elements to discuss, these questions below will direct the writer’s writing on the certain scope of the analysis. They are stated to be the problems, as well as the basic construction of the thesis.
6
1. How are the main characters’ characterizations portrayed in the play A Raisin in
the Sun ?
2. In what way are the ideas of American Dream revealed as the main characters’ motive of life in the play A Raisin in the Sun?
C. Objectives of the Study
Studying the topic proves that literature has a relation with the real life and the social condition, related to the time of the author’s work. The aim of the study is to answer the two formulated problems above as clearly as possible. Firstly, the writer tries to find how Lorraine Hansberry describes the main characters’ characterizations in the play A Raisin in the Sun. Second, this study aims to explain in what way the ideas of American Dream are revealed as the main characters’ motive of life.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid any misinterpretations in the title, this thesis will provide some explanation on an important term mainly used and closely related to the topic. The writer tries to explain them by borrowing mainly from the media, particularly from some books.
1. Character
Character is one of the elements of play or novel that has significant role to show the qualities of the novel or play. According to Abrams (1981: 20) in A
7 Glossary of Literary Terms , character is the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work who naturally possesses moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that all reflected in the dialogue and action among the person.
2. Characterization The process by which an author creates a character is called characterization.
Murphy in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the
English Novel for Overseas Students (1972: 161-173) describes characterization as
the way in which an author attempts to make his characters understandable and come alive for his readers.
3. Motive and Motivation
According to Frank J. Burno in Dictionary of Keywords in Psychology (1986: 140) the definition of motive is hypothetical state in an organism used to explain its choices and goal-oriented behavior. Furthermore, in Psychology and Life the definition of motivation is the process of starting, directing and maintaining physical and psychological activities toward a certain goal (Gerring and Zimbardo, 2002: 364).
4. American Dream
According to Random House Webster’s College Dictionary (2001: 43), “American Dreams is the ideal of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American”. In the book “The American Dream” by
8 Robert H. Fossum and John K. Roth (1981: 6), they said that the term American
Dream was firstly used by a historian namely James Truslow Adams in his book The
Epic of America which was written in 1931. He states that “The American Dream is
dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement”.
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies The existence of a literary work always invites criticism from some critics. The criticism can be an agreement or disagreement toward the play or the story. There are some criticisms directed to A Raisin in the Sun and those criticisms are needed to support the analysis of this study. One of the criticisms is from Martin Luther King, Jr. He said that
“Hansberry’s commitment of spirit, her creative ability and her profound grasp of the deep social issues confronting the world today will remain an inspiration to generations yet unborn” (http://www.raisinonbroadway.com/news.html). Furthermore, Brenda Bell says that in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family is faced with several issues. The setting of the story takes place in the 1950's when African American families had to deal with blatant issues of poverty, segregation and culture. A reflection of Hansberry's personal experience can be seen in A Raisin in the Sun (http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/raisin).
Kuiper in Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature (1995: 513) states “A Raisin in the Sun is an insightful study of the stresses that both divide and unite a working-class black family when it is presented with a chance for a better life”. An idea by David D. Cooper (in Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman and Willingham,
9
10 1979: 1585) states that “A Raisin in the Sun is a play about distress, futility, and tragedy, but also about hope and pride and what kind of conviction and commitment it takes to bring hope out of hopelessness, courage out of fear, and idealism out of fatalism”. Those statements refer to The Youngers, especially Walter and Mama who has motivation to bring a bright future for the family’s life, their effort can be clearly seen when they try to fulfill all family’s needs.
Another writer Tammy Burris in Reuben’s article PAL: Perspectives in
American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide - An Ongoing Project
writes that “Her (Hansberry’s) writings reflected her fight for black civil rights, and her views against racism, and sexual and statutory discrimination. Due to her short life her legacy left only a few works but all with dramatic effect on all, no matter race or color, who came in touch with them” (http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/hansberry.html).
A realistic play like A Raisin in the Sun according to Stanley Hochman in the
Encyclopedia of World Drama
(1984: 444) is “a realistic portrayal of a black family struggling to maintain its pride and identity”. It is clearly seen from Walter’s characterization as an African-American in pursuing his family’s hopes to be successful and equal with the whites and also from Beneatha’s characteristics who is struggling to be a doctor in the middle of white community.
11 The same idea is also raised by Paul P. Reuben in his article PAL:
Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide - An Ongoing
Project , he notes thatHansberry’s purpose was to show ‘the many gradations in even one Negro family’, the characters suffer, hope, dream, and triumph over the enormous barriers erected by the dominant culture.
(http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/hansberry.html) That statement shows that Hansberry depicts the life of the Youngers’ character. She describes the life of African-American family who always live under the whites’ oppression as the dominant culture.
The play A Raisin in the Sun gives the portrayal of real life and also tells about moral values as Oscar G. Brockett (1995: 583) wrote in his book History of the
Theatre
, A Raisin in the Sun is “a compassionate drama about a hardworking black family in Chicago whose dreams are shattered but whose values mature in the process”. Generally, many immigrants place a great hope in America; they expect everything the best in that country. It also happens to the Youngers in the play A
Raisin in the Sun . The play wants to show that besides describing the condition of the
African-American family, Youngers whose dreams seem hard to be fulfilled; it also tells about how finally someone tries to reach his maturity. It can be seen from Walter’s character in the end of the story where his maturity leads his family into a better life.
That idea is also supported by Robert Nemiroff in The Explicator (in Guth and Gabrielle, 1997: 1587), Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is one of the plays that,
12 For at the deepest level it is not a specific situation but the human condition, human aspiration and human relationship-the persistence of dreams, of the bonds, and conflicts between men and women, parents and children, old ways and new, and the endless struggle against human oppression, whatever the forms it may take, and for individual fulfillment, recognition, and liberation-that are at the heart of such plays. Some criticisms above show that A Raisin in the Sun covers social issues and racial issues during the 1950s. Most of them tell about how the Youngers can still survive under the white oppression as the dominant culture. However, this play also covers the feminist issues at that time. As Emilie Browne said in her article,
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun challenges the stereotype of 1950's America as a country full of doting, content housewives. The women in this play, Mama, Ruth and Beneatha, represent three generations of black women who, despite their double fronted subordination, continue to dream of a better tomorrow. Although the aspirations of these women differ in subject, they all involve the furthering their roles as women, whether it be owning a house, paying for a child's education or attending Medical School. (http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/raisin/essay1.html)
That statement shows that Hansberry describes Mama (Mrs. Younger) as the representative of an ideal mother who does everything for the family. Hansberry describes how Mama’s role not only as a mother but also as a father in the family. It can be seen in how she places and functions her self as the head of the family whom always tries to improve the family standard of living. Hansberry also describes Beneatha’s struggle in reaching her dream to become a doctor. She is considered as one of the examples of modern feminist.
13 Hansberry put her thought about how women can also have high education just like men, how women can have dreams that the men have. Hansberry challenges the stereotype of American women in 1950s through the character of Beneatha. The stereotype about the women should not take high education because they should place their selves in the kitchen and do house jobs after they are married.
Those opinions, criticisms, and comments give deeper information for the reader in analyzing the play. Most of them share the same view about the issues appearing in the time when the play was written and generally focus on cultural diversity. In this thesis, the opinions from Oscar G. Brockett, David D. Cooper, and Robert Nemiroff open a way for the writer to discuss American Dream in relation with motive in human life through the struggle of the characters in the play. Another opinion from Emilie Browne shows another side of the play that focuses on the feminist issues. That opinion drives the writer to function the struggles of the women characters in the play not only as the feminist issues but also as the struggle to pursue the idea of American Dream. In this undergraduate thesis, the writer will emphasize more on how the ideas of Americans as the main character’s motive of life as seen in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. The writer hopes that this study will give something new in understanding the story of the play.
B. Review of Related Theories
Some theories will be used in the study as the guidance in answering the problem formulation that becomes the focus of the analysis.
14
1. Theory of Character
Since this study tries to deal with the characters’ motive and their contribution in revealing the ideas of American Dream, the writer thinks that the understanding of the theories of character is needed to do the analysis because character is one of the elements of play or novel that has significant role to show the qualities of the novel or play.
In An Introduction to Fiction, Stanton (1965: 17-18) says “The term character is commonly used in two ways. It designates the individuals who appear in the story, and it refers to the mixture of interests, desires, emotions and moral principles that makes up each on these individuals”. Furthermore, he also states that “most stories contain a central characters and minor characters. A central character is a character that is relevant to every event in a story, and minor characters are characters whose attitude is very important toward central characters”.
The same theory can be found in Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams (1981: 20-21) defines characters as “the present in dramatic or narrative work, who are presented by the author as being endowed with moral and disposition qualities that can be evaluated from the dialogue and the action among person”. Abrams also stated that characters are divided into “major” and “minor” character based on their importance in the novel. He mentioned that major characters are substantially involved in the main action as well as becoming the central and the most important in a story, while minor characters are characters that appear in certain setting and they
15 are necessary to become the background for the major character. Both theories above show that the major or central character has the important role and becomes the focus of the story. Those combinations of theories of character help the writer in analyzing the main characters in this play. The character can be identified from the dialogue and the action done by the main character.
2. Theory of Characterization The process by which an author creates a character is called characterization.
Murphy in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the
English Novel for Overseas Students
(1972: 161-173) describes characterization as the way in which an author attempts to make his characters understandable and come alive for his readers. He also proposes some methods of characterization to discern how an author conveys the characters and the personalities of the people he writes about.
The first method is personal description. By using this method the author can describe a person’s appearance in terms of build, face, hands, skin-color, hair, and clothes in order to help the reader both to visualize the character and to understand his characteristics.
The second method is character as seen by another. Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him through the eyes and opinions of another. The reader gets, as it were, a reflected image. This method can give the impressions of shape, cleanliness, firmness, smoothness, color, etc. Another character
16 will give explanation about what the character is like. The third method is speech. The author can give the readers an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what the person says. The characters of a person can be seen from whenever he/she speaks, having conversation with others, and stated his/her opinion.
The fourth method is past life. By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can give the readers a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, though the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person.
The fifth method is conversation of others. By using this technique, the author can also give the readers clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him. People talk about other people and the things they say often give as a clue to the character of the person spoken about.
The sixth method is reactions. By using this method, the author can also give the readers a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events. The actions are related to his/her motives and thought.
The seventh method is direct comment. In this way, the author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly. Usually the author gives comments based on his point of view.
17 The eighth method is thoughts. In this method, the author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect, he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can tell the readers what different people are thinking. The readers then are in a privileged position; they have, as it were, a secret listening device plugged in to the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel.
The last method is mannerisms. Through this method, the author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies which may also tell the readers something about his character.
Another theory is by Brockett (in Benedetty, 1970: 129-130) as quoted in The
Art of Work that there are four levels of characterization. The first level is physical
which is concerned only with such basic facts as sex, age, size, and color. The second level is social, which includes “character’s economic status, profession or trade, religion, family relationship –all those factors place the character in his environment”. The third level is psychological which reveals “character’s habitual responses, attitudes, desires, motivations, likes and dislikes –the inner workings of the mind, both emotionally and intellectually, which precede action. The last level is
moral which explains that sometimes a moral decision causes a character to examine
his own motives and values, in the process of which his true nature is revealed both himself and to the audience. Some of the theories above will be useful to help the writer to identify and understanding characters’ attitude in the play and to do the analysis.
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3. Review on the Relation between Literature and Psychology