The motivation in commiting revenge as revealed in Dantes` Three characters seen in Alexander Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo - USD Repository
THE MOTIVATION IN COMMITING REVENGE AS
REVEALED IN DANTES’ THREE CHARACTERS SEEN IN
ALEXANDER DUMAS’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTOAN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
KRISTOFORUS HANDRIANUS SANAM
Student Number: 064214014
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERSTHE MOTIVATION IN COMMITING REVENGE AS
REVEALED IN DANTES’ THREE CHARACTERS SEEN IN
ALEXANDER DUMAS’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTOAN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
KRISTOFORUS HANDRIANUS SANAM
Student Number: 064214014
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
“I slept and dreamed that life was joy”
Rabindranath Tagore“Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.
Do not be disturbed because of your imperfections, and
always rise up bravely from a fall. Daily make a new
beginning; there is no better means of progress in the
spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh, and
never to think that we have done enough”
St. Francis de Sales Dedicated to my beloved parents, my three charming sisters, my two adopted sisters and my cute niece,..
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Kristoforus Handrianus Sanam
Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214014 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharna karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE MOTIVATION IN COMMITING REVENGE AS REVEALED
IN DANTES’ THREE CHARACTERS SEEN IN ALEXANDER DUMAS’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. 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 royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 1 Mei 2011 Yang Menyatakan Kristoforus Handrianus Sanam
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to my God, Jesus Christ who has given me the strength, courage and patience during this thesis writing. I realize that His eternal blessing is a miracle in my life.
My deepest gratitude goes to my whole family, both my mother side and my father side, usi-son, nao-feto, ole-tata. Especially I thank my beloved parents, my three lovely sisters, my two adopted sisters and my little niece. They have supported me with prayer and attention days and nights.
I give my thanks from the bottom of my heart to Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum., my advisor who has guided me patiently. His advice and suggestions are truly helpful in finishing this thesis writing. My thanks also goes to Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., my co-advisor, who has given a good advice. I give my thanks to all of the lecturers and staff of the Department of English Letters. They have taught me many things.
I express my thanks to my brothers and sisters who study in Jogja, John Manhitu, Djuniuk Laka, Esri Laka, Fin, Rilus, Chiko, Mia, Sari. I give my thanks to all of my friends, everywhere they are, my friends of English Letter ’06, my friends of After 20 football team, my friends who work as teachers in BEC, all GANDROENGERS (Gandroeng Choir), my KKN mates and PML mates. Thank you for the nice time we shared together. I could not mention their names but I owe them gratitude. Their presence is a gift from which I learnt many things about
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ...........................................................................................i
APPROVAL PAGE ................................................................................. ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ............................................................................ iiiMOTTO PAGE ........................................................................................ iv
DEDICATION PAGE .............................................................................. vPUBLICATION PAGE ........................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................... viii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................. x ABSTRAK .................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .............................................................1 A.
1 Background of the Study ............................................................
B.
5 Problem Formulation ..................................................................
C.
6 Objectives of the Study ...............................................................
D.
6 Definition of Terms .....................................................................
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ............................................
8 A.
8 Review of Related Studies ...........................................................
B.
12 Review of Related Theories .........................................................
1.
12 Theory of Character and Characterization ............................
2.
16 Theory of Motivation ............................................................
3.
18 Review of Revenge and Punishment ....................................
4.
20 Theory of Justice ...................................................................
C.
22 Theoretical Framework ................................................................
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ........................................................
23 A.
23 Object of the Study ......................................................................
B.
24 Approach of the Study .................................................................
C.
25 Method of the Study ......................................................................
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS .....................................................................
27 A.
27 The Characterization of Edmond Dantes .....................................
1. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes before the Accusation ............................................................................
27 2. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes after the Accusation ............................................................................
35 B.
41
3.
46 The Count of Monte Cristo ...................................................
C.
Dantes’ Motivation in Committing Revenge Revealed in His Three Disguising Characters ........................................................
49 1.
50 Abbe Busoni .........................................................................
2.
53 Lord Wilmore .......................................................................
3.
54 The Count of Monte Cristo ...................................................
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ................................................................
64 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................
68 APPENDIX ...............................................................................................
71 The Summary of Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo .............
71
ABSTRACT
KRISTOFORUS HANDRIANUS SANAM (2011). The Motivation in
Committing Revenge as Revealed in Dantes’ Three Characters Seen in
Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discusses the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The focus of discussion is on the motivation of Edmond Dantes as the main character in committing revenge. His motivation is revealed through his three disguising characters. Dantes’ disguising characters are Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore and The Count of Monte Cristo.
In order to focus on the study, there are three objectives of the study to discuss. Firstly, the writer describes the characterization of Edmond Dantes before and after the accusation. Secondly, the discussion deals with the characterization of Dantes’s three disguising characters. Lastly, the study reveals the motivation of Edmond Dantes and his three disguising characters in committing revenge. His character changes, both physiques and behaviors during his disguise, help him to plot the series of revenge.
This study is conducted using library research method. It means that the sources are taken from books, journals and written sources from the internet. These sources are aimed to provide basic study on the novel and the author. They also provide theories for this research. Psychological approach is used to support this study because Edmond Dantes’ behavior changes relates to psychological matter.
There are three main conclusions based on the analysis. Firstly, before the accusation, Dantes is described as a young man with an ideal and perfect posture. He is also described as a good man with good manner. He respects everyone and hates no one. After the accusation, Dantes’ behavior slowly changes. In the prison, he easily gets angry. He loses hope, self-confidence and even wants to commit suicide. Dantes’ behavior changes continue when he escaped from the prison. He is full of revenge and thinks nothing except to punish his enemies. Dantes disguises in three different characters namely Abbe Busoni, as a Priest, Lord Wilmore, as the English noble man, and The Count, as an Italian nobleman. Abbe Busoni and Lord Wilmore are aimed to find and gather information about the enemies. These characters also reveal justice, the truth of his case. The Count is the character who executes them. He does not kill them directly, but he made them suffer deeply. So, the motivations of his disguising are to find Justice and to punish his enemies. He wants them to feel the same pain of loses and live in misery as he did.
ABSTRAK
KRISTOFORUS HANDRIANUS SANAM (2011). The Motivation in
Committing Revenge as Revealed in Dantes’ Three Characters Seen in
Alexander Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Skripsi ini membahas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. Pokok pembahasan adalah motivasi Edmond Dantes sebagai tokoh utama dalam melakukan balas dendam. Motivasinya tersingkap lewat tiga tokoh penyamarannya. Tokoh-tokoh tersebut adalah Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore dan The Count of Monte Cristo.
Agar tetap fokus pada pembahasan, ada tiga rumusan masalah yang akan dikaji. Pertama, penulis secara khusus menggambarkan penokohan Edmond Dantes sebelum dan sesudah tuduhan. Kedua, pembahasan berkaitan dengan penokohan tiga tokoh penyamaran Dantes. Terakhir pembahasan menyingkap motivasi Dantes dan tiga tokoh penyamarannya dalam melakukan balas dendam. Perubahan karakternya baik fisik maupun perilaku selama penyamarannya membantu dia dalam melakukan balas dendam.
Studi ini dibahas dengan menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Maksudnya bahwa sumber-sumber diambil dari buku, journal dan berbagai sumber tertulis dari internet. Sumber-sumber ini dimaksudkan untuk mendapatkan kajian pokok tentang novel dan penulisnya. Sumber-sumber ini juga manyajikan teori-teori untuk studi ini. Pendekatan psikologi digunakan untuk mendukung studi ini karena perubahan perilaku Edmond Dantes berkaitan dengan masalah psikologi.
Ada tiga kesimpulan utama berdasarkan hasil analisis. Pertama, sebelum tuduhan, Dantes digambarkan sebagai anak muda dengan postur yang ideal dan sempurna. Dia juga digambarkan sebagai orang baik yang memiliki sikap yang baik. Dia menghargai siapa saja dan tidak membenci orang lain. Setelah tuduhan, perilaku Dantes berubah perlahan-lahan. Di penjara, dia mudah marah. Dantes hilang harapan dan rasa percaya diri bahkan dia berniat untuk bunuh diri. Perubahan perilakunya berlanjut ketika dia melarikan diri dari penjara. Dantes dipenuhi oleh rasa balas dendam. Dia tidak memikirkan yang lain kecuali ingin menghukum musuh-musuhnya. Dantes menyamar menjadi tiga tokoh yakni Abbe Busoni sebagai Imam, Lord Wilmore sebagai bangsawan Inggris dan The Count of Monte Cristo sebagai bangsawan Italia. Abbe Busoni dan Lord Wilmore dimaksudkan untuk mencari dan mengumpulkan informasi tentang musuh- musuhnya. Tokoh-tokoh ini juga menyingkap keadilan, yakni kebenaran tentang masalahnya. The Count adalah orang yang menghukum mereka. Dia tidak membunuh mereka secara langsung tetapi dia membuat mereka sangat menderita. Jadi motivasi penyamarannya untuk mencari keadilan dan menghukum musuhnya.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study A statement about literature comes from Wellek and Warren in their
book Theory of Literature (1985: 10). They state, “Literature is not philosophical knowledge translated into imagery and verse, but literature expresses a general attitude toward life.” Furthermore, they say, “Literature represent life and life is a large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner of subjective word of individual have also been object of literary imitation” (1985: 56).
Wellek and Warren underline human’s life as an important topic which is usually presented in novels or other works of literature. It means that human’s life and attitude always become good topics to be discussed deeply. Novels or other kinds of literature always arouse reader’s imagination to make interpretations and critics toward these aspects. Human’s life can cover the past life, present or imagination about the future. Human’s attitude can refer to characteristics shown in the work of literature.
Hudson says in his book An Introduction to the Study of Literature “A great book is born of the brain and heart of its author; he has put himself into its pages; they partake of his life and are instinct with his individuality” (1958: 15). Hudson states a simple understanding that the work of literature is born from a
From this simple understanding, it is certain that the works of literature come from the reflection of human’s life experiences. Therefore, the works of literature, such as novel, drama and poetry are different from many other writings either in the forms or in the contents. ‘Other writings’ refers to nonfiction books (philosophies, sciences, and culture), opinions, journals or criticisms of the works of literature. Besides, the works of literature are also different one another. Novels are distinct from poems and drama in forms and contents and vice versa. Nevertheless, they have the same characteristic as works of literature which can raise readers’ imagination.
The Count of Monte Cristo is a novel that shares many aspects related to
human’s life. It comes from a deep reflection of a French writer, Alexander Dumas. He had partaken himself into human’s experiences and tried to reflect it in a form of story. Undoubtedly, he shares many aspects which can arouse readers’ imagination.
Actually, this novel was first written as a series story and published in a French magazine named Journal des débats. This series story later was extracted into the form of novel. “The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) first serialized in the weekly Journal des débats was also a huge literary and financial success for Dumas Père” (http://www.online-literature.com/dumas/cristo/html). This quotation also shows how this story received good impression in that era. Not only did the book success but also Alex Dumas as the writer gained much impression because of this novels. He successfully gained enough financial
Dumas’ The count of Monte Cristo is an influential adventure story, and this story is of course different from his other adventure stories such as The Three
Musketeers and The man in the Iron Mask. In this novel, the author presents the
action of Edmond Dantes as the main character who develops with three disguising characters. Those characters are Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore and The Count of Monte Cristo. Each character is characterized differently although they are the same man, Edmond Dantes. There are some similarities in characteristics, but basically, there are also some differences especially in physical appearance and motive of revenge.
These three disguising characters are of course presented on purpose. Edmond Dantes uses these characters to achieve his main motivation. Gerring and Zimbardo in their book Psychology and Life state a simple understanding of motivation. “Motivation is the process of starting, directing and maintaining physical and psychological activities toward a certain goal” (2002: 364).
Gerring and Zimbardo underline that motivation is the basic, which becomes the reason to do something. They mean that to reach a certain purpose, people usually have motivation, which urges them to star and act both physically and psychologically. Undoubtedly, Edmond Dantes’ motivation using these three characters is to commit ‘revenge’. In The Count of Monte Cristo, revenge is a prominent topic which arouses readers’ mind. In this story, it seems that the author brings out revenge as an important matter revealed in the main character’s action. “The word "vengeance" of his former prison mate and a few pirates, Dantes uses his newfound fortune to eradicate his enemies” (http://www.online-literature.com/dumas/cristo/html).
Dantes’ revenge is quite strong. He thinks nothing except to make his enemies, the people who had caused his misery, feel the same pain. To achieve this aim, he disguises in three different characters which help him to achieve his revenge. He starts from seeking the information, maintaining the process until executes his enemies.
Edmond Dantes’ disguising is the process to maintain his revenge. Throughout these characters, he seeks and gathers information about his enemies as much as possible and finally he achieves his motivation of revenge. His motivation of revenge is stated in the following quotation.
“To seek justice for the three men who so selfishly stole 14 years of his life, Edmund Dantes uses deception to emotionally and financially destroy his foes. The Count of Monte Cristo operates very much like the Russian mafia; if a wrongful act is committed, the wrong-doer's entire family and fortune is extinguished before his or her very eyes” (http://www.online-literature.com/dumas/cristo/html). His motivation is ‘to find justice and declare punishment on his enemies’. Justice he achieves is the truth of his guiltless. He proofs that he is not guilty as accused. He makes his enemies confess their faults and confess that Dantes is not guilty. During his disguising, Dantes also implicitly restores his good name as a good man with good manner. He does not only disguise to punish his enemies, but he also makes some kindness such as help Monsieur Morrel, his former boss, from bankruptcy and Bertuccio from his imprisonment. the right justice as well. He thinks that justice is only done when he can revenge his enemies who had trapped him with the false accusation. Even he said, “Human justice is sadly lacking in consolation; it can only shed blood in exchange for blood” (Dumas, 1997: 115). This quotation shows how Dantes’ vengeance is quite strong. He commits his own justice, which means blood changes to blood. When people do something wrong which causes much misery, then they must pay back what they have done.
Since Edmond Dantes plots revenge using three different characters, in which each of them has their own motive, it is close to the topic of this research ‘The Motivation In Committing Revenge as Revealed in Dantes’ Three Characters Seen in Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.’ Throughout this research, the writer will find out what motivation and jobs revealed by Dantes’ three disguising characters. The writer will provide many proofs about motivation behind his revenge.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to focus on the topic, thus the writer provides some problems to discuss deeply. The problems are stated in questions that will lead the writer directly to the main analysis. The problems are namely: 1.
How is Dantes characterized in the story? 2. How are Dantes’ three disguising characters described in the story? 3. How do Dantes’ three disguising characters reveal his motivation in
C. Objectives of the Study The aim of this study is obviously to answer the formulated problems.
The first problem guides the writer to find out Edmond Dantes’ characterization. The writer will provide evidences as well how he is described in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
The second problem formulation will cover Dantes’ three disguising characters. The writer will focus specifically to the characterization of these three characters. The third problem deals with the topic discussed in this research. In this part, the writer will provide the proofs and answers of the third problem formulation. The writer will find out the motivation of these characters, why the main character uses them differently. Besides, the writer also will give proof on how Dantes’ three characters reveal his motivation in committing revenge.
D. Definition of Terms
Since this research explicitly explores the stated problems, thus the writer will explain some terms related to the topic. It is purposed to avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations. In order to make them clear and comprehensible, the related terms will be explained based on sources. Those terms are Motivation, Revenge and Character.
1. Motivation
Gerring and Zimbardo in their book Psychology and Life describe, “Motivation is the process of starting, directing and maintaining physical
2. Revenge
Linda Ross Meyer in her review on Ayyildis and Hine’s book states, “Revenge is a necessary part of maintaining norms, and the reinterpretation of criminal wrongs as wrongs to the victim” (http://www.citeulike.org/user/puslit/article/4853048).
3. Character
M. H. Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms states, “characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue and by what they do-the action” (1993: 23).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW In this chapter, the writer will deal with the three important parts. They are review of related studies, review of related theories and theoretical framework. Firstly, review of related studies will discuss the previous analysis on the same book, Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, but on the different topic. This part also will cover the discussion on the same topic with this research,
including review on Alexander Dumas as the author of The Count of Monte
Cristo . Secondly, review of related theories discuses some related theories used in
this research. Thirdly, theoretical framework explains how the theories in this research support the analysis in Chapter IV.
A. Review of Related Studies A work of literature is said to have quality when it gets more criticisms.
It means that a criticism whether it is an agreement or disagreement can help both the authors and readers to understand more about a work of literature. Criticism can be a good discussion or information, which explicitly reveals the main ideas of the author, so that readers with no confusion can easily obtain and understand that work of literature.
There are some criticisms directed to Alexander Dumas and his novel The Count of Monte Cristo as a work of literature.
The Man in the Iron Mask . Although on the surface, much of Dumas's
writing is simple adventure; most of Dumas's works have deeper meanings. These meanings include man's relationship to God and one another, man's sinful nature and greed, and man's ability to forgive and be forgiven. Dumas will go down in history as the most famous French novelist of his era and perhaps of all time (http://www.novelguide.com/thecountofmontecristo/biography.html).
Dumas’ novels are commonly well known as the works of adventure such as The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. These novels describe about French Revolution at that time. He also talks about the way people earn a living, which people compete to gain power and wealth even in the impolite ways. He shares about people’s relationship in society at that time, the relationship between people and government. He shares about the vertical relationship as well between God and human being.
Another comment on Dumas comes from Kuiper. Alexander Dumas is “One of the most prolific and the most popular French authors of the 19
th
century. Without ever attaining indisputable literary merit, Dumas succeeded in gaining a great reputation first as a dramatist and then as a historical novelist. He was the father of dramatist and novelist” (Kuiper, 1995: 354-355).
Kuiper expresses his admiration for Dumas as a most influential French author at 19
th
century. Firstly, Kuiper admits that Dumas produced good works of literature, which must be appreciated. Secondly, he agrees to name Dumas as a dramatist and novelist, who always related his works with history of French Revolution. Dumas explicitly described human being in their social life, which were always influenced by their natural greediness of financial needs and power.
“Alexander Dumas as prolific writer of Greek parentage, now mainly remembered for his novels, but whose dramas played an important past in French Romantic movement” (1972:151).
Fowler and Fowler, with no doubt, equalize Dumas with writers of Greek parentage. Undoubtedly, many Greek scientists were well known around the world with their ideas and inventions of sciences and many branches of philosophical studies. Therefore, Dumas was regarded with the same title as one of the influential writers who will be remembered around the world.
Dumas' books were also an influence on countless authors around the world, including Mark Twain, who emulated Dumas' brand of fiction in
The Prince and the Pauper and japed at it in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . More than 130 years after the author's death, phrases
such as "One for all and all for one" are still almost universally understood and recognized from his stories of the Musketeers (http://www.answers.com/topic/alexandre-dumas). Alex Dumas is so well known around the world. Nowadays, people are surely familiar with his influential phrases ‘One for all and all for one’. He also gained much impression from other famous writers such as Mark twain. Dumas’ adventure novels inspired Mark Twain’s novels such as The Prince and the
Pauper and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These two books of course have
the same characteristic with Dumas’ book, which share about ‘adventure’.Some criticisms are also directed to Alex Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. One criticism comes from Marc Auge which quoted by Simona Mitroiu.
One example is given by Marc Augé who analyses in this context the book The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexander Dumas. This is considered to be the book of the impossible oblivion, of the desire of
(the count of Monte-Cristo) will never return (http://international-journal- of-axiology.net/articole/nr9/art9). Mitroiu shows the idea of Marc Auge that The Count of Monte Cristo is an unforgettable memory, which will be remembered by the main character to revenge his enemies. Therefore, the comeback of the character is considered as a renewal of the past memory.
Another analysis comes from Surono in his undergraduate thesis entitle ‘Moral Lesson Reflected in Edmond Dantes’ Character Development In
Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo ’. Surono explores the moral values
seen in The Count of Monte Cristo. Throughout the character development of the main character, Edmond Dantes, Surono finally finds out that revenge is not always valued as a good reason in solving problems especially based on the Christian morality or Christian values. Therefore, at the end of his revenge, Edmond Dantes feels regret about what he had done toward his enemies (2003: 50).
The criticisms and analysis above of course discuss the same writer, Alexander Dumas and his novel The Count of Monte Cristo, but those criticisms are of course different with this research. This research will focus on the finding of the motivation of the main character’s action to plot revenge. The writer will also find out why Edmond Dantes commits revenge which he regards as justice.
B. Review of Related Theories There are some related theories, which will be reviewed in this part.
These theories are aimed to give much understanding about the topic formulated in the problem formulation.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization Character and characterization are two sides that cannot be separated.
Both of them have the relation which character refers to the role of a person in the story, while characterization refers to the description of the characters in the story.
a. Character
M.H. Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms states, “characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue and by what they do-the action” (1993: 23).
Abrams states clearly that characters in a work of literature such as dramas or novels are usually persons who are presented by the author with certain moral values, dispositions and emotions. These qualities are of course expressed throughout their dialogue and action in the story.
Holman in his book A Handbook to Literature gives the same comment about character. He says, Character is a brief descriptive sketch of personage who typifies some busybody, a glutton, a fop, bumpkin, a garrulous old man, a happy milkmaid, etc (1986: 81). Holman strengthens Abrams idea that character is a person who always has some definite qualities. Those qualities can be categorized into bad or good characters.
Another definition comes from Rohrberger and Woods in their book
Reading and Writing about Literature. “A narrative, of course, is a story, and
stories involve person, called character.” Therefore, they add, “characters must be credible, that is, readers must accept them as believable people” (1971: 20).
Rohrberger and Woods still give the same opinion about the existence of character in a story. They underline that characters are more or less can evoke readers as if they are real in the real life. More, they say, “characters have particular personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them from other characters” (1971: 20). They mean that characters must be different one another, either in behaviors or in physical appearances in which readers can easily recognize them.
It is therefore literally impossible for any dramatically imagined character to lack all determinants of human status and identity. He or she must have those minimal features – notably embodiment and gender – without which, as Parmenides might have said, a person cannot be conceived or spoken of (Blondell, 2003: 54). Blondell expresses the same opinion about the nature of character, which he or she must have a minimal feature, physic or another attitude that can be identified by readers. Without these features, characters cannot be imagined by
b. Characterization
Characterization is the way an author creates or describes characters in detail, about what they do and what they talk. Rohrberger and Woods states “The process by which an author creates a character is called characterization” (1971: 20). Holman in A Handbook to Literature conveys a statement. “In fiction, the author reveals the characters of imaginary persons. The creation of these imaginary person so that they exist for the reader as lifelike is called characterization” (1986: 81).
Since the characterization describes about what they do and what they tell, Abrams elaborates two methods about characterization. The two methods are showing and telling.
In showing (the dramatic method), the author presents the characters talking and acting and leaves the reader to infer what motives and dispositions lie behind what they say and do. In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe and often to evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters (Abrams, 1993: 24). Abrams means that in showing or dramatic method, the author shows the characters’ physical action including their conversation. In this method, the readers participate actively to find motives and dispositions of the characters in what they do and what they speak. While in telling, the author describes the characters directly and clearly. The readers need not to participate to find what behind the characters’ action and their physical appearances because the author has described them specifically.
Specifically, Murphy (1972: 161 -173) conveys nine methods in which a.
Personal Description The author describes the appearance of a character in details such as the face, the skin color, the hair, etc.
b.
Character as seen by others The author describes the character of the person through the other’s eyes and opinion. There the opinion may come from people around the person about his personality which can also determine his characteristics.
c.
Speech The author gives the readers some clue about the character through what the character says.
d.
Past Life In certain events of the character’s past life, the readers will know the characteristic of him/her. Here we learn that a character’s past experiences, particularly those which are really meaningful can cause several effects to the person’s future life even may change his character.
e.
Conversation of others Through the conversations done by other people, the readers will know what they say about the character.
f.
Reactions The readers will know what kind of person the character is by seeing how he/she reacts to various situations in the story. The readers here can conclude if a person is temperamental or patient and etc. g.
Direct Comment The author gives direct comment to the character. However, the author will not give lots of direct comment otherwise the novel will be uninteresting to deeply read.
h.
Thoughts The author directly gives what a person is thinking about. By knowing what in the character’s mind, the readers will know his characteristic. i.
Mannerism The author creates the character’s behaviors where each and every one of the behaviors will show the characteristic of the character. A person’s habits of idiosyncrasies may also tell us something about someone’s characteristic.
Murphy (1972:161) also adds that characterization is the presentation of the characters’ personalities including their attitudes, appearance, motives, and actions, which are created to be life like.
2. Theory of Motivation
Shamir states a theory of motivation as quoted by Perry “Motivation can be self-expressive. Behavior is not goal directed or purposive, but rather is expressive of feelings and self-concept” (Perry, 2000: 6). Shamir underlines motivation as a part of human’s behavior to express feeling toward a certain experience in society. In order to strengthen this theory, Perry quotes another theory from Knoke and Wright-Isack (1982) “Motivation is the process effective context” (Perry, 2000: 6). These two authors support Shamir’s theory, which emphasizes motivation as behavior to express feeling or emotional responds toward a certain situation.
Adair defines another theory of motivation in his book Leadership and
Motivation, “A man, woman or child is motivated when he or she wants to do
something. Motivation covers all the reasons which cause a person to act, including negative ones like fear along with the more positive motives, such as money, promotion or recognition” (2006: 89). Adair points out that motivation is the basic reason of people to do something or act negatively or positively.
Schutz et al. equalize motivation with goal concept in Urdan and Karabenick’s book. They say, “ Our assumption is that human activities (e.g.
behaviors, thoughts, etc.) are intentional and directed toward something. For us,
that ‘something’ is the goals, values and beliefs that people attempt to attain and
maintain” ( Urdan and Karabenick, 2010: 44) . Schuts et al. mean that motivation is
expressed through certain behaviors and thoughts, which are directed toward the goals. Motivation also can be directed toward certain values and beliefs.
Karen Huffman et al. note an important notion that motivation refers to some factors within an individual (such as needs, desires and interests) that activate, maintain and direct behavior toward a goal. Furthermore, they state that motivation is closely related to emotion which is valued as effective responses that result from psychological arousal, thoughts and beliefs, subjective evaluation and bodily expression. Motivation energizes and directs behavior, emotion is the
3. Review of Revenge and Punishment
The word revenge can be interpreted into various meanings based on the context. In football context the word revenge can be interpret as to win back the match.
This example is of course different from the context in this research. The word revenge in this context refers to vengeance, which means ‘paying back’ miseries that someone has made to the victim. Linda Ross Meyer in her review on Ayyildis and Hine’s book states, “Revenge is a necessary part of maintaining norms, and the reinterpretation of criminal wrongs as wrongs to the victim” (http://www.citeulike.org/user/puslit/article/4853048). In the following quotation, Meyer stresses revenge as a part of norm that should be constructed in order to sentence the wrong person as the wrong one who has made a misery toward the victim.
Solomon notes his perspective that “revenge plays on three metaphors: debt, balance, and pollution. The debt metaphor requires a “paying back” of like for like, the balance metaphor a “felt need to put the world back into balance,” and the pollution metaphor a “cleansing” (Solomon, 1999: 141).
Solomon underlines the three things that can be understood from revenge. Those are debt, balance and pollution. Debt refers to paying back something that someone has made. Balance refers to normalizing the situation that has been harmed by someone. Pollution can refer to cleansing. Someone who always inhibits another person to do something is considered as pollution, which
Solomon states another idea. He emphasizes vengeance as “a socially constructed emotion that can be cultivated to contain not only its own limits but a full appreciation of the general good and the law as well” (Salomon, 1999: 144). Solomon gives a positive perception on revenge as well. He means that revenge is a part of emotion constructed normally in the social life, therefore it can be cultivated well to give the good result and law protection for the victim.
However, the word revenge commonly hints a negative perception referring to punishment. In this research, revenge can be understood as a kind of punishment from the main character’s action. But since the main character’s action is the result of emotional arousal, therefore, his action can be just as the right solution to end his troubles.
The retributivism theory notes an interesting point of view on punishment. “Retributivism generally holds that the reason to punish is desert- wrongdoing merits punishment, and punishing a wrongdoer is good, irrespective of any consequences of punishing that wrongdoer” (Barnes, 1999: 9).
Smith defines punishment as same as reward. Reward is recompensing or repaying, returning good for good received. Punishment is also recompensing or repaying, though in a different manner; it is returning evil for evil that has been done. Furthermore, he says what most immediately and directly prompts us to punish someone is resentment (2010: 36).
This statement stresses resentment as the basic influence to arouse the punishment. Resentment forces someone not only to be punished in formal particular injuries that he or she did to the victim. It means that if a person causes a misery and makes us to hate or dislike him, resentment leads us to take a malicious pleasure or rejoice on his or her misfortune and distress. Smith adds that if the resentment does not lead someone to the more tragic punishment such as killing, more or less he or she will be adequately justice to be the instrument of unintentional distress (Smith, 2010: 37).
Smith notes clearly that someone who had made miseries for someone else should be punished with the same thing he or she did for the victim.
Therefore, this kind of punishment is considered as the good solution. And for Dantes, this kind of punishment is absolutely considered as the right fairness.
“Punishment is a necessary evil, but we should inflict and support it with regret and without any sense of having embarked on a righteous moral crusade” (Murphy, 1987: 518). Murphy states another positive argument. He suggests that punishment is a necessary in human being life, but it should not be always valued as the right moral action. And therefore, people should feel regret after committing the punishment.
4. Theory of Justice
There are many concepts of justice. David Schmidtz in his review of John Rawls theory says, “It seems natural to think of the concept of justice as distinct from the various conceptions of justice and as being specified by the role which these different sets of principles, these different conceptions, have in common” (2006: 8).
This quotation means that justice can be understood from different concept or different context. John Rawls in his book A Theory of Justice (1971: 7) firstly states,