CHILDREN’S INDEPENDENCE AND ADULTS’ ROLES IN ENID BLYTON’S THE SIX BAD BOYS, THE NAUGHTIEST GIRL AGAIN, AND NAUGHTY AMELIA JANE.

CHILDREN’S INDEPENDENCE AND ADULTS’ ROLES IN ENID BLYTON’S THE SIX BAD BOYS, THE NAUGHTIEST GIRL AGAIN, AND

NAUGHTY AMELIA JANE

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Attainment of Sarjana Sastra in English Literature

by Zidnie Ilma 11211144010

ENGLISH LITERATURE DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY 2016

v MOTTOS

If it’s not meant to be, it would never come to you, no matter how hard you’ve tried.

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my everlasting professors and heroes: BAPAK and IBUK

Unceasingly thankful for your unconditional and endless love.

For those concerning on the world of children’s literature.

For one nerdy being I LOVE and HATE: Zidnie Ilma.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Wordless praise is for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala for the countless blessings. I will never be able to accomplish one ultimate mission to finish my thesis without Allah’s guidance. For me, this is a grand learning process to cope with any pebbles or rocks I find during the journey. The most important thing is to deal with patience. Sometimes the journey does not run smoothly. There will always be the bumpy road challenging our endurance. I realize that doing this undergraduate thesis is not like chasing pavements.

This thesis would not be much better without my supervisors’ guidance, Dr. Widyastuti Purbani, M.A. and Eko Rujito Dwi Atmojo, M.Hum. I thank them for advising, supervising, spending some of their time, and showing mistakes in my writing thus I could learn so much in thesis writing process.

I thank my parents, Nahru Rahmad and Sri Jauharin Alfiyah, for being great professors for their children, for living up th elife struggles, for being patient and understanding so much until I really finish my thesis off. I know their worry start to ascend day by day as I seem to be too faithful with my undergraduate study.

My partner in crime, Rony Kurniawan Pratama has been so diligent in “striking terror” into me thus I do not get trapped too deep and long in boredom and laziness during thesis writing process. I thank him for always being there through the ups and downs, calm and storm, high and low, dry and snow.

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I am. We remind one another with positive messages and gossip at the same time. Praise the Lord for sending me unique and crazy buddies who color my college life so much. Never did I imagine I could be in the same class with critical friends in Sasing G: Joan, Difara, Agnes, Atat, Lut, etc. I have filled my college life with remarkable “numero uno” team, PIPH EDSA 2013: Devi, Ucik, Nafis, Endah, Fajar, Ika, Joan, and Mel.

Dear my travel mates: Ika, Happy, Fajar, Biyla, Ari, Sinta Curug, let’s explore other hidden gems in Indonesia! I really appreciate to have wonderful families in SAFEL and English Debating Society (EDS): Sapta, Astika, Mas Zyah, Mbak Tika, Mbak Pipit, Mas Rasman, Mas Arif, Mbak Roro, etc. Even though I do not contribute much for EDS, I never forget their generosity in teaching many things and giving me experiences.

Sinta Bu RT, one great figure with whom I share the same big dreams and everything in between. I am so grateful to work with another awesome funny team, SE 2014. It was really enjoyable to work with them in June 2015. Though it was pretty hard, it was a golden learning process. For those mentioned and unmentioned in these two sheets of paper, I learn so much from all of them.

Yogyakarta, January 2016 Zidnie Ilma

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE ... i

APPROVAL SHEET ... ii

RATIFICATION ... iii

PERNYATAAN ... iv

MOTTO ... v

DEDICATIONS ... vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ix

LIST OF FIGURE ... xii

LIST OF TABLES ... xiii

ABSTRACT ... xiv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Research Background ... 1

B. Research Focus ... 8

C. Research Questions ... 9

D. Research Objectives ... 10

E. Research Significance ... 10

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ... 11

A. Children’s Literature ... 11

1. The Nature of Children’s Literature ... 11

2. Children in Children’s Literature ... 18

a. Children as the Character ... 18

b. Children as the Reader ... 21

3. The Hidden Adults ... 23

B. Children’s Independence ... 25

1. Cognitive Independence ... 27

2. Communication Independence ... 30

C. Adults’ Roles ... 31

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2. By Speech ... 38

3. By Appearance ... 38

4. By Other’s Comment ... 38

5. By Author’s Comment ... 38

E. Previous Research Findings ... 39

F. Conceptual Framework ... 42

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ... 43

A. Research Design ... 43

B. The Data Sources ... 44

C. The Research Instrument ... 45

D. The Technique of Data Collection ... 46

E. The Data Analysis ... 48

F. The Data Trustworthiness ... 49

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ... 51

A. Research Findings ... 51

1. The Kinds of Children’s Independence ... 51

a. Cognitive Independence ... 52

1) Initiating actions ... 52

2) Giving suggestions ... 57

3) Defending opinions ... 60

b. Social Independence ... 63

1) Showing gratitude ... 64

2) Asking for apology ... 66

3) Providing help ... 67

c. Psychological Independence ... 69

1) Defining self-happiness ... 70

2) Being courageous ... 72

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2. Adults’ Roles ... 75

a. As Reminders ... 77

b. As Partners in Discussions ... 78

c. As Supporters ... 80

3. Children’s Independence Reflected in Characterization ... 84

a. By Actions ... 85

b. By Speech ... 88

c. By Other’s Comment ... 90

d. By Author’s Comment ... 91

B. Discussion ... 92

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS ... 97

REFERENCES ... 99

APPENDICES The Summary of The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Naughty Amelia Jane ... 102

The Data ... 105

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xiii

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 The Kinds of Children’s Independence ……… 47 2 Adults’Roles ……….. 47 3 Children’s Independence Reflected in Characterization ………... 47

xiv Zidnie Ilma 11211144010

Abstract

This is a study of Enid Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Naughty Amelia Jane. It aims to examine the kinds of children’s independence when they find problems, to explain adults’ roles in giving responds toward children’s problems, and to analyze the author’s ways to reflect children’s independence in characterization. Theories on children’s literature and psychological child development are used to facilitate the objectives of the research.

A qualitative research method was employed to conduct the research. The data sources were taken from Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys (2012), The Naughtiest Girl Again (1993), and Naughty Amelia Jane (1989). The data are sentences regarding the kinds of children’s independence and adults’ roles found from the novels. The novels were read and reread carefully to gain the reliable data. To analyze the data, taking notes and making categorizations were conducted. The validity and credibility of the findings were tested through triangulation procedure.

The findings of the research are as follows: (1) the kinds of children’s independence are divided into three categorizations: cognitive, social, and psychological independence. Cognitive independence has three sub-points: initiating actions, giving suggestions, and defending opinions. Social independence has three sub-categories, including expressing thankfulness, asking for apology, and providing help. Psychological independence contains three divisions: defining self-happiness, being courageous, and controlling the emotion; (2) adults’ roles are described through their actions as reminders, partners in discussions, and supporters; and (3) the author reflects children’s independence in characterization through four ways: by actions, speech, other’s comments, and author’s comments.

Keywords: children’s independence, adults’ roles, children’s literature, hidden adults, Enid Blyton

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Research Background

Independence in children’s literature is an important thing. Even in reading literary works, the independence will be ruined when children are not allowed to read books with various themes, for example themes about death, sadness, abandonment, hard life, and even divorce. These themes are often considered heavy for children because the problems in these stories are perceived to be too complex to read. Instead of letting them to read, parents will take the books from them. Then, they will pick lighter stories that are often about super nice and sweet children who always do good things and never do bad things.

There are still some stories that do not yet reflect children’s independence. In Indonesia, for instance, stories such as Cerita Anak Sholeh, Kisah Putri Malu dan Cermin Ajaib, Kisah Teladan, and 101 Cerita Anak Nusantara reflect clear dictate. These stories provide values that are taught to children instead of letting them find the values themselves. For example in 101 Cerita Anak Nusantara, the moral values are clearly stated in a separated column. This feature makes young readers are easy to take the messages yet it does not enrich their self-exploration in reading experiences.

Independence in children happens when children’s positions are as the readers and the characters in the text. Since reading is important to be introduced from the earlier age, it should be directly experienced by children. They need to

discover new things themselves when they read without getting interrupted by adults. When they deliver questions, this is when the roles of adults are needed to guide them to understand more. Besides the direct children’s experience as young readers, the character’s experience also plays an important role. The character’s actions in facing and finding the problems solving are the reflections of independence in children’s literature.

Literature is powerful to influence one’s emotion and thought. This is how an author draws in a canvas called paper. The paintbrush is their hands and the colors are their ideas. Some parents think if their children read complex stories at young age, these stories can influence their mind. It worries them because they are afraid that their children will not be good. That is why they provide children’s books with moral values, so they think that the moral values are able to give positive impacts to their children and shape their character.

There are many ways to learn about life and one of them is by using literature. Life is reflected through literature. It contains many things inside the stories related to the culture, habits, or customs found in the setting of the stories. This setting is managed based on the era when the author wrote the stories. Thus, human could be dragged into another world that is probably not yet experienced in the real life. Sometimes this real experience might take long time to come so literature is the right means to collect the fragments of life (Harrison, 1981:253). Harrison also stated that literature is not the substitution for life. Life has its own

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living side that could be very much different than which is found in literature. However, literature could help human learn through certain truths reflected from life.

In paintings, some people enjoy realistic stream. They will learn nothing if they enjoy only one stream without trying to enjoy surrealistic painting. They will not know the characteristic and the complexity of surrealistic painting if they are stuck with realistic one only. The same is true in literature contextualization. Those who read only light children’s books which emphasize only on moral value will not get wider understanding about children’s world. For young readers, if they are not introduced to stories with complex problems, they will hardly get wider understanding and pleasure in seeing various life phenomena. The power that provides deeper understanding to children is presented well in children’s literature.

Children’s literature is literature written for and/or by children and adults to give pleasure and understanding. The readers can get pleasure and understanding without always having to directly feel the experience by reading the literature (Lukens, 1999:9). How readers define pleasure and understanding is very broad because each reader may have different perspective. The more they get drowned in the ocean of words, the wider pleasure and understanding they can achieve because the blanks in the stories can be slowly filled up.

Parents should introduce complex children’s stories for their children. Even when their children cannot read yet, parents might still do it by storytelling. Children also have the same need to know the kinds of life phenomena by reading more books, like adults, but they have different portion (Lukens,1999:9). If adults have the need to

read complex stories, so do children. Children need lighter packaging so they can absorb something from the story meanwhile the adults are fine to get heavier packaging since they already have basic understanding before.

Complex stories have complex problems faced by the characters. These stories show how children survive and struggle to deal with problems instead of waiting for the adults’ help. This is in-line with the aim of children’s literature which is to prepare children before they enter the real adults’ life, which is perceived harder. Children’s stories with complex problems can give new pleasure for them because they experience new phenomena which are not yet encountered in the real life. The pleasure is perceived because the stories are packed in children’s point of view.

Learning about children’s independence in literature is important because adults will be able to know how child characters try to solve problems on their own. Children will learn from the characters’ ups and downs while adults learn how to build trust for children. People should read children’s literature because reading is an effective way to feel the essence of children’s independence. There are many children’s books showing how children act independently. Many authors have been very popular in composing great children’s stories, such as Hans Christian Andersen, Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowling, Katherine Paterson, and Enid Blyton. This research specifies on Enid Blyton’s works.

Enid Mary Blyton is an English author who is very well-known with her works about children’s world. She has written 700 books which include novels, articles, short stories, poems, and magazines (Bensoussane,

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www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk). The works of Enid Blyton concern on the encouragement for children to act independently by giving freedom for child characters to solve their problems without adult’s help (Lodge in Saxby, 1987:157). The Famous Five series are very popular adventure-themed stories among children all over the world. The series also portray children’s independence in conducting adventures by themselves with the absence of parents’ role. In this study, the researcher chooses The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Naughty Amelia Jane to be analyzed. The child characters in these stories face complex problems, such as death, bickering parents, and deep sadness. However, they are able to deal with their problems. Besides, they are not only portrayed as well-mannered characters but also as characters with flaws related to their temper or misbehavior.

The novels being studied portray the struggles of the child characters in dealing with many problems. Their struggles can be analyzed through literary elements. These elements help the readers to interpret and analyze deeper. The elements consist of artistic features found in any literary works. They make literary works special and different than non-literary ones so the works will be more beautiful. The readers will gain better understanding about struggles of child characters through the use of literary elements. There are eight features of intrinsic elements: characterization, setting, plot, theme, tone, points of view, figurative languages, and conflicts. The analysis uses characterization to find how the independence is reflected in the stories.

The researcher chooses three different novels because she wants to achieve the broader data about children’s independence. Besides, she also wants to examine the data related to the roles of adults in these stories. It is because children’s literature cannot be easily separated from the presence of adult characters. However, this presence is not expected to dictate the child characters. Unlike The Naughtiest Girl Again, The Six Bad Boys and Naughty Amelia Jane are not series and not as popular as other Blyton’s novels yet they have many phenomena to learn about children’s world.

By reading The Six Bad Boys, children and adults can find the usual phenomena in children, such as craving for parents’ attention, juvenile delinquency, and playing in a group. It is important to read the novel because it portrays clearly the struggles of Robert Kent or Bob in facing his problems with his mother and finding the way out. There are probably other stories from other authors which also talk about children’s independence. However, The Six Bad Boys contains more complex problems but they are still in children’s portion.

The Naughtiest Girl Again is the second series out of ten The Naughtiest Girl books set. This is a story about a girl, Elizabeth Allen, who tries to be a well-behaved student in Whyteleafe School after the last term she did awful things. Then, she was considered as a Bold Bad Girl. Her high bad temper makes her trapped in a trouble. It makes her get enemies again. She slaps and pulls off Robert’s hair, her classmate, after seeing him playing trick on his junior. In another scene, she tells her dislike upon her classmate, Kathleen, because she attacks Elizabeth’s best friend, Julie. As

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the plot flows, she finally turns out to realize her attitude and apologize to Robert and Kathleen. This action comes naturally from her conscience.

The last novel being studied is Naughty Amelia Jane. This is a story about a young doll named Amelia Jane who once lived in a house and was moved into a nursery. As she had lived in a house before, she was not taught about how to act properly. As the result, she loves to bully and play tricks on her new friends (who are also dolls). However, every time she does something bad to her friends, she gets the impacts on what she has done. She sends her apology to her friends but she does tricks again in the next opportunities. Something happens in the story that makes her try to be a well-mannered doll.

There are four issues that can be analyzed in these three novels. First, it talks about children’s independence in finding the problem solving and taking actions. Second, the juvenile delinquency is normal to happen as children are in still in the journey of their personal developments. This is why these three main characters from different novels have the same problem with their temper. Third, the case of bullying or delinquency has the relation with problems in the family. Bob has a problem with his mother, Robert (Elizabeth’s friend who was once a bully) feels envy because their parents pay more attention to his newborn brother, and Amelia Jane is naughty because she was not taught about manners in her previous family or owner. The last one is children’s development when they have to face the problems.

Among the issues, the researcher chooses the first issue because this is an urgent discussion in children’s literature. Children’s independence needs to be

discussed because every child will sooner learn and experience it. At the same time, the guidance from adults is still needed but they should not dictate children to absorb what moral values they can achieve from reading the stories. Adults should let children fill the gaps of the stories by themselves. Hence, they need to let children read and explore children’s literature so children will independently learn many things from the characters and the stories.

B. Research Focus

Before the research is focused on one main topic to discuss, the researcher finds four topics that can be alternatives in doing the analysis. There are: (1) children’s independence to take actions to solve the problems, (2) juvenile delinquency on the novels, (3) relation between peer bullying and problems in a family, and (4) children’s psychological development when they experience the problems.

The main focus of this research is children’s independence represented by any child characters in three Enid Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Amelia Jane in Naughty Amelia Jane. This research will point out the struggles of these characters in facing their problems. In facing and struggling their ups and downs, they do it all themselves, including realizing their mistakes and making decisions. Although they are perceived to be immature because they are still very young, they do it on purpose with his way of thinking as a child. Adults’ roles in

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these novels are very limited in helping them finding the problem solving. Their roles are shown through minor actions in the novels.

From the title of this research, “Children’s Independence and Adults’ Roles in Enid Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Naughty Amelia Jane,” the keywords are children’s independence and adults’ roles. To analyze both points, the researcher uses supporting books, journals, and articles from several experts in children’s literature and psychological child development. Children might be younger by age than the adults but it does not mean they cannot understand things they find and read. As Lukens (1999:9) stated that children and adult have the same need to understand the phenomena in life, either the good or bad ones. The difference is on the portion or the degree of the text itself. It should be in the level that is understood by children.

C. Research Questions

Based on the problem that has been previously delivered, there are two questions formulated:

1. What kinds of children’s independence are portrayed in Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Naughty Amelia Jane?

2. What roles of adults appear in these novels?

3. How does the author reflect children’s independence in characterization in the novels?

D. Research Objectives

Based on the formulation of the problems, the researcher has two aims to achieve from conducting this research:

1. To examine the kinds of children’s independence when they find problems. 2. To explain adults’ rolesin giving responds toward children’s problems.

3. To analyze the author’s ways in reflecting children’s independence in characterization in the novels.

E. Research Significance

1. Theoretically: by doing this research, the researcher expects that the result of the study can enrich the exploration and appreciation of children’s literature. Besides, hopefully the study can broaden the perspective of the readers upon more complex children’s literature. Children also deserve to get the same need as adults. The difference is the degree or portion based on children’s understanding.

2. Practically: The researcher wishes that this study can assist readers to have deeper understanding about introducing various children’s stories. Adult readers need to provide more books, not only telling about simple stories but also those which contain more complex storylines, such as sorrow, death, and even parents’ divorce. Besides, it is hoped that it can give better understanding about giving guidance for children in reading books but still letting them to enjoy.

11 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

The aims of this research are to examine children’s independence when they face problems, to explain the roles of adults in giving responds toward the problems, and to analyze the author’s ways in reflecting children’s independence in characterization. To support the findings, this chapter provides theories being used and the background information as foundation. This chapter is divided into six parts. The basic information about children’s literature will be discussed first. To broaden the information about children’s independence, the researcher collects the information about it through children’s literature and psychological point of view. Next, the roles of adults are discussed also through two glasses: children’s literature and psychology. As children’s independence is the main focus of this research, thus the author’s ways to reflect it will also be the topic in this chapter. There are two previous research findings from the writers discussing about the similar topic in children’s literature to strengthen the current research. In the last section of this chapter, the conceptual framework is visualized based on the structure of thinking to conduct this research.

A. Children’s Literature

1. The Nature of Children’s Literature

The long journey of children’s literature has been started since more than one century ago. The mid-eighteenth century became an important moment for

children’s literature because it was the first the time for children’s books to be written and published. It was claimed as a new era for children’s books since the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll in 1865. His work became prominent as it was the first children’s book that showed the independence and courage of a child, Alice, in exploring her journeys. As the time passed by, there appear more children’s books published until this time. Then, it creates a question about the existence or definition of children’s literature.

There is no single definition about children’s literature. Children’s books provided in children’s literature get various general understanding and interpretation about what actually children’s literature is. Karin Lesnic-Oberstein in Jessica Rising stated that the definition of children’s literature depends on whose hands have the relationship with the particular children’s books (2013:5). It shows that to define children’s literature is to give the authority to every individual in interpreting its existence. Those who have roles regarding this literature, such as writers, editors, researchers, and even parents, have their own interpretation about the definition of children’s literature. It is because they have their own experience, values, and interest. In the hands of Lukens (1999), she defines children’s literature as literature through children’s books that are made by and for children and adults as well.

The term “children’s” in children’s literature goes beyond a mere word. It shows ownership so in another word Heins in Harrison (1981:243) concluded that it has a specific meaning. Children’s literature can be said as literature presented for children thus it is more accessible to them. It gives its own benefit for children

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because it has its own ability to closely and personally speak to them (Guttery, 1941:208). It happens because children’s literature is on the same level with its audiences, related to their age which is close or even the same with the child characters in the story. Besides, children’s literature also has simpler words than other kinds of literature yet in the same time it does not neglect the ideas and experiences of childhood embodied in the texts. The experiences are not necessarily already faced in the real life yet they are possible and logical.

Children’s literature is created for different implied audiences, which are children. Since it is technically composed for them, it needs to have more tricky ways to make it more interesting. Walsh in Hunt (1991:45) mentioned that books for children are actually technically more complicated because everything needs to be presented simple in utterances but it should not deny other things in it. It includes the pleasure of reading more various themes and the spirit of optimism. Although children’s literature looks simple and easy to read, it actually has more challenging and complex problems and experiences embodied in it. Thus, it should be created as what children naturally are instead of as adults when they were still children.

There are various genres in the world of literature and this is undeniable that children’s literature is one of them. In current time, there are some adults who still lack of awareness of the existence of children’s literature as an important entity in literature. Children’s literature becomes important because it has uniqueness that this is the only genre in literature which discusses about the world of children entirely and proper reading for children. To make it proper reading, children’s literary works

should not be taken for granted only to teach children. Those adults who think that children’s literature is simply a didactic reading is because they want to take control on what children read (Nodelman, 2008:134). By controlling children’s reading, they expect that children are easy to shape from mere children’s literature.

Either adults are conscious or not, avoiding giving control for children to read certain children’s books can give a positive impact for both adult and children. Giving more freedom to choose books by children can make them get more pleasure and richer responses. The control of adults should be substituted by guidance in literary discussion when children have experienced reading the books (Nodelman, 2008:30). Through discussion, adults can give support to see children’s responses, especially how children share their pleasure in reading the books. It should be kept in mind that reading children’s literature aims to shape children’s points of view about certain things. As Hunt (1991:51) supported that children’s literature is not created merely to amuse adults’ point of view of the existing values.

Although some adults think that children’s literature is a simple reading, it actually exists with its own uniqueness beyond what adults think. It has its own world that is not covered in other genres in literature. This is the genre that faithfully covers every experience in childhood, both from good and dark sides. Discussing children’s literature cannot be simply based on adults’ childhood experience because the way of seeing is different already. In discussing this genre, adults should look and understand from children’s way of seeing and interest. Since children’s literature purely talks

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about children through their perspective, there should be a forum that is specialized in discussing children’s literature.

When adults try to read children’s literature, they need to drag themselves to the world they have ever been. They need to read it as children they were so they need to recall their memories of their experiences when they were children (Hunt, 1991:48). It means that to really understand children’s literature, adults need to use the perspective when they were children. It aims to make them understand more that children’s literature is more about its goodness for children instead of its goodness merely because of the moral values inside it.

That children’s literature is didactic according to some adults is a misunderstood concept. Harrison (1981:244) even stated that another misunderstanding comes from the myth of childhood which is free from conundrums. Such concept emerges because adults tend to teach children to think and be ideal children. The ideal children in their perception are on how they can act and do good deeds like what adults want. Adults, especially parents, who discuss about the function children’s literature emphasize it only on the values of the works. They choose good children’s books according to them and limit the chance of their children to freely pick their own books. Nodelman (2008:134) sees this phenomenon in his book, The Hidden Adults: Defining Children’s Literature: “Parents are encouraged to “monitor what your child reads like a paranoid hawk” on the basis that “this will also significantly reduce the chance of your child being exposed to objectionable material.”” It shows that parents watch over children’s books so children not mislead

upon what they read. Parents see it as a duty to teach their children as good as they could.

The awareness of parents and other adults upon children’s literature should begin from understanding the function of literature in general. Literature still exists because it provides information beyond what readers can imagine through experiences in reading literary works (Lukens, 1999:3). The functions of literature according to Lukens are for pleasure, understanding, human motives, providing forms of experience, life’s fragments, the institution of society, vicarious experience, and meeting a writer-creator to understand. Besides, literature is able to give the education of imagination, show its artistic side, and form children’s opinions (Harrison, 1981:244).

These functions are transferred through a powerful weapon of literature which is language. Compared to scientific texts, the language in literature is shown through playing words by the author. This is the beauty of language that makes it called belles lettres or beautiful letters. Literature has an ability to drag its readers to a meeting with language in various forms. It makes the emotion of readers is stirred when they read literary works because. Their mind imagines the scenes that they read in the works. The texts embodied in literature should be used in aesthetical purpose rather than the practical one (Hunt, 1991:53). This is what makes literature special, different, and unique.

The functions of literature in general above can also be applied in children’s literature as one of the genres. These functions are needed by children to get the

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enjoyment when they read without feeling forced to read because they parents tell it as a duty or obligation. When children read books because they are forced, the very first function of literature which is pleasure will be hardly reached. They will hardly focus on reading because they are still haunted by parents’ instruction. Moreover, when children are asked or obliged to read books directed by parents, they probably read them not with their entire and sincere heart. Thus, to reach the function of children’s literature, children should enjoy their time with the books.

Defining children’s literature is somehow difficult if people want to get one single definition. The existence of children’s literature makes people have various thoughts about it. Weinreich in Nodelman (2008:136) states:

…it is “an area of research and an endless debate that is as old as research into children’s literature itself. It is both the simplest and the most complex question we can ask: What is children’s literature? The answers to this question are many and various. There are not quite as many answers as there are researchers, but it is a close call.”

The statement above means that we cannot limit one’s opinion about the definition of children’s literature. It can be stated because the role each figure of adults is different and their definition is based on their surrounding environment. The effort to define children’s literature can be reached if they try to see the connection between children’ literature and its role or position in children’s life. They need to remember that it is different with other texts like they find at school.

In addition, Rosemary Johnston in Lucy Rollin (2005:119) stated her definition about children’s literature. According to her, this is literature that has a

special ability to show children’s world. As children need to learn a lot about life and who they are, children’s literature is the only one in the world that can make their sense of belonging and identity become stronger. It is because children’s literature really represents the real world and actions of children.

2. Children in Children’s Literature a. Children as the Character

Character is an element that always exists in a literary work. The existence of a character in a story is important to catch and invite the attention and response from children as the reader. Basically, children already have their own response to characters in their real life, for example their family members. The same is true when they meet characters in stories they read. Naturally they will feel, think, and give response toward the action of the characters. Such response is the form of their understanding in reading stories. If we go back to the functions of literature, which one of them is to get understanding, the existence of characters is in line with the function of literature so this is very important.

Character is able to be the role model of its young readers. Thus, characters are created intentionally based on the intended readers (Rising, 2013:6). For example, when the character is 11 years old, the intended readers are strongly for similar age. Characters in a certain age are intended for intended readers in a certain age as well because they really represent what children naturally are. It makes the existence of characters is very fundamental because it makes the stories live as one of the literary elements.

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Character in children’s literature does not always have to be person. In many children’s literary works, such as The Ugly Duckling, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, and Charlotte’s Web, personified animals and objects are also characters. The characters in stories might experience the development as the response to actions and the complexity as living being. The duty to make such development is the writer as well. The writer has a duty or assignment to make the characters, especially the main character, more or even less important in the story. The character itself can be the element of new understanding for children toward its development and actions (Lukens, 1999:80). In the end, character has a significant job to be the role model for children since they can learn from the character.

The learning process of children from a character in a story is from its action and personality. Both of them play an important role in shaping children’s understanding. Lukens stated that the action of character is caused naturally by the personality of the character itself (1999:83). This is the writer’s duty to show how the personality of a character is formed by certain factors and to decide whether this personality will change or not. A certain personality can encourage the character to do certain actions.

Characters should be universal but at the same time they also need to be personal or individual (Saxby, 1987:12). The universality of characters in children’s literature makes characters are easy to understand by young readers. It is because its significance is limitless by time. Besides, it really represents how children naturally are in the real life. Thus, characters can be the role models for readers in any

countries and years. On the other hand, characters need to be individual because characters are unique. They need to stand as they are. Although the nature is the same and acceptable for all young readers, characters in each story can speak themselves by their own uniqueness.

Basically, characters are multi dimensions with their own complex parts within themselves. These complex parts come from how they explore to gain motivations, behavior, various choices, and even to deal with uncertainty (Wald, 1975:940). Thus, it is no wonder if the child characters seem to be inconsistent to find their problem solving or simply to behave. Despite of these multiple features, characters are comprehendible because they encounter in conditions that reflect the real human experiences.

Based on Lukens’ categorization upon characters in a story, there are two types of characters: flat and round (1999:86). Flat characters are those who do not change or develop much until the end of story. The aim of presenting such type of characters is to make children focus on the main character since the main character is made to be dynamic ones. Commonly, these flat characters are minor. This is the opposite of round characters who change and develop. The writer will arrange such actions that lead to main character’s development. This is what readers usually call as protagonist characters.

Being developed along with the story does not merely make round characters perfect. They also have lack in the same time they have positive aspects. The lack of the characters could lead to the development of them, either they can change or not.

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Round characters can also be undeveloped because of their personality or responses toward certain events they encounter (Lukens, 1999:91). The development of the round characters can be the means for children to identify the actions. They can give various responses toward the decision of round characters. The development itself is actually when the characters can demonstrate new realization about their personal values through their actions. So, whether the characters may change or remain unchanged, it shows that round characters are imperfect figures.

b. Children as the Reader

The problem in children’s literature is when children as young readers have to read books from adults’ perspective. Adults’ perspective in this case is how adults control or direct children to read books chosen by adults, specifically parents, and how children’s books are composed through adult’s point of view as adults are the authors. The action of parents’ control is based on their duty to teach children and limit the freedom of children to choose their own books because they afraid that their children take wrong books (Nodelman, 2008:134). Books that are composed through adults’ way of seeing are caused because the books are designed to be didactic or to give only things related to messages or moral values. In fact, children’s literature should not be so because its function is not to educate children with conservative values but to give them precious experiences in reading literature.

When young readers hold the books and find out what is inside these books, they should get more experiences in reading. Williams in Saxby (1987:16) implied that these young readers should have more space to explore both the stories and the

reading experience. It shows that it is beyond the quantities of demanding texts for children because the exploration ability of these young readers is more important to make them more attached to the reading activity.

It is normal for adults to have an interest to make children learn by reading books but one thing that they should understand about children’s literature is that it is beyond didactic things. Most adults expect certain responses on children after reading books. The lack is on adults themselves who probably only some of them professionally involve in reading and understanding children’s literature deeper. Nodelman sees the result when adults do not professionally play a role in such activity is they tend to only look for the messages embodied in the books (2008:157). That is why the active role of adults in understanding children’s literature is very important so that they do not assume it only as a piece of cake.

Every literary work has its targeted readers. Children’s literature is the only genre in literature which projects children as its targeted readers. Targeted or implied readers are the ones expected to enjoy the books more and perceive themselves as being someone else in the stories (Nodelman, 2008:18). This is the power that only children’s literature mastering it: the power to take children out from their real life and jump into the world of imagination of the stories to be someone else they have never been before. This is how children’s literature arranges the strategy to make children understand the stories. The decision of implied readers in children’s literature makes it special and not similar to other genres in literature. The way to

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compose it is also different because the authors have to release their adult’s perspective and change it into how children perceive things.

Unfortunately, some adults tend to neglect and do not aware about how children’s literature in nature. Their interest to teach moral values to children makes them choose children’s books that are good for them not because of how children will enjoy the stories. It shows the powerlessness of children in having their freedom to pick their own books. In the end, they are also powerless in reading because what adults expect they do is how they can get the messages only.

3. The Hidden Adults

The truth about children’s texts is the simplicity of the texts. The simplicity is considered as the proper way to provide reading for children because they can get easier access in reading and absorbing what’s inside the texts. As children have the same need to read texts like adults do, they should get the degree or level of reading that fits in them. It means that the level of reading should be reachable and understandable for children. However, the simplicity of texts for children is undermined by some adults as simplicity both in content and context of the stories. This is because adults lack of awareness that the simple world of children also consists something that is complex hidden and unspoken. It reveals that the simplicity is only the surface in children’s text. Far beyond the surface, there is hidden and unspoken side that is more complex and complete. This is the shadow and unconsciousness in children’s literature.

Based on the visible simplicity and invisible complexity, it shows the binary opposition exists even in children’s literature. Simplicity is considered as childlike because children business seems to be simple and complexity is nonchildlike because the nonchildlike or adults are complex. It also means that children’s literature also possesses nonchildlike or adultlike that places beyond the scope of consciousness since it is hidden. The binary opposition takes an important role in children’s literature. As David Rudd in Perry Nodelman (2008:206) states

David Rudd draws on Derrida’s concept of différance to explain how this dichotomy affects children’s literature: “Without a recognition of what is different from, differences cannot be sustained. Hence differences is always tainted by ‘the other,’ and must always be dependent upon it. . . . Children’s literature is different, certainly, yet intimately bound to its parent literature, hence the constant slippage.”

Rudd’s statement above proves that the binary opposition has an important role to make children’s literature different by providing childlike side and the nonchildlike perspective in the same time. This binary opposition undeniably always exists to create the difference by making one part of it as ‘the other’. ‘The otherness’ in children’s literature allows the hidden adult because its position of nonchildlike or adultlike is beyond consciousness. Since adults lack of awareness about the unconscious or hidden part in children’s literature, they only use the visible element to dominate and have authority over children. They tend to see children’s literature is about what it is written about than what it is written for (Rising, 2013:6). It shows that the values in the stories are the emphasize rather than the intended readers of the stories.

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B. Children’s Independence

Independence is the state of not being helped, ruled, or influenced. Each person in the world experiences the learning of independence since the very young age. The number of stages may differ from one expert to another. The best time to educate humans by showing things they need to learn is the time when they are still children.

As children have less experiences and knowledge, they live under the control of adults. The intention of adults is to educate and teach the children so children know what to do. Teaching children new things is important but adults should realize that showing is a better way to make children learn about things rather than telling or even dictating them what to do (Lewis on Nodelman, 2008:214). By showing things to know by children, it will make them learn by themselves. They need to get accustomed to doing it regularly so they can slowly but sure learn to be independent. This independence will be owned by children if adults limit or even do not control children what they have to do.

This is not an instant thing to make children independent. It should be trained many times until children can enjoy taking initiative to do simple things, such as taking care of their toys. Literature becomes an effective way to train children independence because it contains actions and phenomena of the characters. The characters will show actions and thoughts during the stories. Temple in Nodelman (2008:214) stated that readers emphasize their attention on what characters do and

think about. It means the characters have an important function to be the role model for children.

Child characters in the story can represent children in general through stories. They are still developing and it is similar to children in the real world. Both of them also get problems and learn how to solve. The learning to find problem solving by the characters can be the sample for these young readers in doing the similar thing which is digging up their mind to find ideas. Children’s literature, through its child characters, can work effectively in making young readers learn. This is because children’s literature can speak more down to earth or closer to children by showing what’s inside the story and show many things by saying less than adult’s literature (Nodelman, 2008:216). Many people assume that children’s literature is not detail in providing the story but by saying the less detail information, it keeps a hidden world that can deliver more things to say.

It is important to show children to be independent. In the long run, they will face their own life that contains harder facts. If they do not learn about independence since early age, they could find it too hard to cope with the real world. Life is not only about something good and sweet but also something dark and suffering. They should be prepared since they are very young through reading various stories in children’s literature. They can go deep down easily through children’s literature because the child characters can represent their life. For example, a story about children fighting against poverty might represent well to the young readers living in

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poverty. They can feel and experience themselves their development after reading stories and the moment before reading stories.

Children are dynamics and therefore they develop. To understand children’s development and how the independence learning is showed, there are forms of independence that can be trained and achieved. These forms of independence have very close relation to children’s development. By the time children learn how to be independent, it shows that children can develop and broaden their skills. The forms of independence are classified into cognitive independence and communication independence.

1. Cognitive Independence

Independence in thinking means children have an ability to think about something without anyone’s help. Basically, children already have the ability to think about a phenomenon. Their thought is limited to their existing knowledge on their brain that is influenced by the environment they live in. Loh in his article about Developing Child Independence Thinking Skills defines thinking independently as the expectation to make believe themselves that certain information and its details they get is logical or reasonable

The aim to have independent thinking ability is to make children raise their own confidence about their ability in finding solutions for any problems. Children always get excited when they learn and explore something new by their own efforts. When they find that their thought is wrong, they will find other ways to get more reasonable thought. The confidence will grow naturally in every child when they can

have the opportunities to think about alternative solutions on their own. Confidence is the result of judgments connected with one’s feeling. Children start to judge themselves based on their abilities and competencies in doing a certain activity (Berk, 2013: 461).

The ability of independent thinking cannot appear instantly. It should be passed through many stages which every child will experience. These stages are discussed in the theory of child development. Jean Piaget is a psychological expert in human cognitive development who supports and examines the independence in children. According to him, the process in shaping children’s independence can be summarized into four stages. They are sensorimotor thought (0-2 years), preoperational thought (2-7 years), concrete operational thought (7-11 years), and formal operational thought (12 years and above).

Children start to learn many things actively and reasonably when their age is above two years old which is called preoperational and concrete operational thought. Preoperational thought shows children start to use their logic and intuitive when they do something (Cook, 2005:13). According to Piaget in Cook (2005:14-17), this stage contains three ideas which are children make their new mental expressions, intuitive thought, and conversations problems. For example, they express their imagination by thinking anything on their mind. Based on their personal thought, then they independently pick any colors and scratch on a sheet of paper or on the wall.

When children have passed the preoperational stage, they face a new stage named concrete operational thought which occur during the age of 7-11 years old.

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The characteristics are when children are capable to think about more than one factor of a problem, know there is transformation on the problem, and do the reversible action of true operations (Cook, 2005:18). Their logic is more developing in this stage. For example, a child looks at what he has for his breakfast. There are three toasts, two sunny side-ups, and a bowl of vegetables. Then, he thinks about more menus and probably will ask a question, such as “Are there more toasts or sunny side -ups?”

If Piaget focuses his perspective on personal education of children, Lev Vygotsky states his perspective on sociocultural aspects in accordance with independent thinking. He puts the interaction between children and their environment as the cognitive process. He forms two methods in teaching and learning for children: reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning (Berk, 2013:271).

Reciprocal teaching is the process of adults making a group with children. They are sitting in a group and discussing the content of a passage they read. Each child has his/her own turn in leading the conversations. Adults ask them to make simple questions, summary, clarification, and prediction or guess. Cooperative learning is the process of peer discussion among children in one group. Adults guide them to reach certain goals by showing models and asking some children to have a short role play to deliver their intention (Berk, 2013:271).

In children’s literature, the child characters very often perform their ability on independent thinking. They have their own thoughts on every phenomenon they find. These thoughts are formed because of several factors, such as family condition,

peer characters, and environment. However, they also get both positive and negative responses. The responses might be the cause of these child characters to defend or change their thoughts.

2. Communication Independence

Communication is the tool for children to have interaction with other people. Through communication, children are able to have conversations, discussions, and even debates with people. Children learn to communicate since they are toddlers and start to babble. This is the simplest way to communicate by children. As they are growing and developing, they start to build their own awareness to have direct interaction with other people which parents are the closest parties. This awareness gives them new experiences in noticing the effects they get when they interact with the physical world they find (Berk, 2013:449).

Independent communication employs two kinds of used language: receptive and expressive. Denise White in her article about Child Development stated that receptive language is how children understand the spoken language while expressive language is how children are able to use the language to speak. Communication could happen through verbal and nonverbal way. The verbal way is the most common way in communicating while the nonverbal can appear through using facial expressions.

In literature, communication independence is shown through the characters by having dialogues or soliloquy. These characters show improving actions that they directly experience in the stories. They will find problems and look for the solutions. To get the solutions or understand the problems, they will communicate one another

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and argue when they have different opinions. Child characters in children’s literature shows the communication independence by understanding new concepts of terms, sharing their experiences to others, speaking in sentences, and questioning many things.

C. Adults’ Roles

No one could deny that their life can develop because there are adults around them who have taught and showed many things. Since the prenatal moment until every child becomes adults or parents, they are taken care by adults. Adults, who can be parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, are the closest parties who play great roles in a child’s life. They help raise every child from the very young age until the child is ready enough to live in the real world. Even when a child has become an adolescent, the role of these adults cannot be separated easily. Adults are still the right place to share thoughts and feeling. It shows how influential the existence of adults is.

The importance of adults in real life is brought into literature. Literature with its beautiful letters becomes a powerful weapon to share the culture, history, and ideology of a certain society represented in each literary work. The existence of adults can be found and appeared in all genres of literature. This study highlights the existence of adults in children’s literature as adults are very important to children’s growth and development.

In children’s literature, the main characters are children with their childlike actions and thoughts. Even though this is literature that seems to be designed only for children, adults can always be found with different portions in each literary work. Some works show that the adults are dominant in certain parts to share the moral values of children’s actions. For example, in Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Red Riding Hood, the main character is dictated what she has to do and she is explained what she needs to learn after being tricked by a wolf. The childlikeness of this child character seems to know less about morals so adult characters tell her exactly what she has to do.

Children’s literature believes that adult characters are needed in a better role. It means to give guidance or support through showing rather than telling. It is inline with what children’s literature wants to achieve which is to give more implications (Nodelman, 2008:216). When adults show children about a certain thing, they help children explore their own ideas. Nodelman also implied that child characters need serious adults’ involvement to help them create their own understanding upon a new thing based on the culture they live in (2008:157). Exploring children’s ideas might help them train their brain to find out things implied in the scenes. It is better than straightforwardly telling them about a certain message from their mistakes.

Using the glasses of psychology as the reflection, there are two ways of adults to take roles in children’s actions. According to Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, there are two sources of adults’ roles that can be applied on children, such as

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support from adults or scaffolding and internal potential of children or The Zone of Proximal Development.

1. Scaffolding

Support is needed by all human being because it can give encouragement for them. The same is true for children. Although they love to explore new things by themselves, they still need support from adults so they can feel encouraged and empowered. Vygotsky introduces this support for children as scaffolding. This is an action of giving support and help when children are still learning to do and finish their duty on developing their cognitive ability (Cook, 2005:28).

The cognitive ability of children can include any duties. Adults can help support them through doing a little part of children’s duty, making the problems simpler, having discussions, and reminding them about a certain thing (Cook, 2005:29). In children’s literature, child characters often get support from adults in the stories. When they do something defiant, adults often give them reminders, suggestions, advices, or clues about what they need to do. Later on, the child characters learn themselves what they catch from the reminders and decide what they will do. Although they have less knowledge than adults characters, the support they have can make them organize independently the actions they do.

The involvement of adults through support can be learned by children in guided participation. This is a method suggested by Barbara Rogoff from cultural point of view. Culture is the state where children are integrated since they were born. They will feel connected with the place they live and the environment they are

involved. The active participation of both children and adults can help form children’s new knowledge and understanding because they take roles there.

2. The Zone Proximal Development

Besides in the form of direct support from adults, the role of adults in literature can be in the form of paying attention child characters’ internal potential. Each child might have different potential to try to be independent in learning something new. It can be shown through their change after they get influenced by any instructions they accept. Changing means the dynamicity of children. To realize the change of children, adults can help study themselves what makes different between before and after the learning process of children (Kozulin, 2003:17-18).

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) brought by Lev Vygotsky is the right way to define and learn children’s performance in two ways: their independent way to solve problems and the way to find solution through adults help (Vygtosky in Cook, 2005:27). There are many complex problems for child characters to manage and solve alone in the stories. It can be figured out by giving guidance for these characters. It aims to see problems that can be solved independently by child characters and which problems that need encouragement from adults.

The phenomenon above shows that children can perform their development either by their own effort or by guidance from adults. They are given challenging matters or tasks that they need to pass. In children’s literature, the emphasis is to find the way child characters choose their solutions by themselves. Their decision is not always correct based on adults’ point of view because they do according to their

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scope of knowledge. As adults are still needed in the story, guidance from them is necessary but in limited actions in order to keep exploring what child characters will do based on their perspective.

To create Zone of Proximal Development, there is a method used named intersubjectivity. It allows the interaction between two people, who could be adults-children, and there is communication happened between them. These two parties might have different perspective and understanding upon a certain problem or phenomenon. They have discussions to reach a deal so the final understanding becomes fair for both of them (Berk, 2013:268). This discussion opens the children’s mind because they have new insights while they still defend their own understanding. Children can try to implement such way with their friends and playmates. It aims to add more new ideas and create their willingness in sharing thoughts.

Child characters are created with their own characteristics and way of thinking that is performed through their actions, other characters’ information, or the narration. They often find a chance of having discussions with other characters. Their understanding is not always the same. Therefore, the discussions during their dialogues may lead to the shared understanding.

Adults need to have the sense of “child” people. Hunt in Flynn (1997:143) defined “child” people as adults who have the ability to understand the nature of children and childhood without being biased because adults mix this understanding with their perspective as adults. To make them understand more about this ability as “child” people, they need to recall their memories and experience when they were

children. It is expected that they finally are able to speak on behalf of children and play roles more cooperatively as the best partners for children.

Lodge in Saxby (1987:158) suggested that adults need to take positive roles which are to show their gratitude and approve new ideas brought by children. In many children’s books, adult characters are portrayed as the ones who like to dictate what the child characters have to do. However, more positive and supportive roles are expected so they could inject positive spirit to younger characters although their presence in the stories might not always be intense. This is the dream of children’s literature related to its adult characters. Their presence is acceptable and undeniable to exist in the stories yet they need to take parts more supportively. These supports might appear in the stories through actions and dialogues.

D. Children’s Independence Reflected in Characterization

Children in the real life and child characters in the stories need to gain independence. Being independent is one of traits found in child characters. It is important for them to have such quality because they are role models for child readers. The base of literature, and so of children’s literature, is human experiences. Literature represents what has happened or what will probably happen in human life in a certain time. Thus, it makes “being independent”, as a trait of child characters, seems to be natural and real.

Traits are closely related to particular characteristics examined in all characters. These particular characteristics can be analyzed through characterization.

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Characterization is one of literary elements that always exists in every story. These literary elements help beautify and give deeper meaning to literary works. The elements also make literary works special to analyze because these elements make an analysis of literary works differ from other kinds of analysis. Characterization is closely related to personality and values. Each character in a story might have different personalities and values because they have different background and roles in the story. The same is true in children’s literature since child characters in the stories are made to have various family backgrounds and environment. Thus, there are various ways to represent children through characterization.

In the real life, the personalities or characters of a person always develop and change. In literature, the characters also might experience the same things through the portrayal of how they struggle when they have problems. The problems and the situations are not far from human experiences in the real life. These conditions in the stories are the ones that are constructed intentionally based on the possibility that might happen (Wald, 1975:938). Thus, the characters also have the constructed personalities or qualities. They are intentionally created with complexity to strengthen their importance in the stories.

Independence as one of qualities in child characters in children’s literature can be analyzed through several points of view. According to Lukens, there are five ways for the authors to reflect it in characterization (1999:81-82):

1. By Actions. The characters in the stories always have actions in response to many things from the beginning of a story to the end of it. Through actions, the

characters can be examined on how they make their own decisions. The readers are able to see what kind of characters or personalities that they have.

2. By Speech. Reflecting children’s independence can also use the speeches coming from the characters being studied. These speeches can imply their qualities and the recognition of their change.

3. By Appearance. The physical appearances of the characters being studied are also able to perform certain qualities or personalities. For example, if a character has a wicked personality, than s/he will be described to have sulky and scary face.

4. By Other’s Comment. The ‘other’ in here is the supporting characters. They also have important roles to show children’s independence and other characteristics of the main characters. Their responses usually come from speeches or dialogues with other characters, including main characters.

5. By Author’s Comment. The author’s duty is not only to present the story in an order s/he manages but also to be the narrator who introduces many elements in the story. The author’s comment can also be the means to reflect children’s independence by telling the readers what kinds of abilities the child characters have. It is because the author is the one who knows everything about the story and its characters.

It seems to be slightly different between author’s comment and the characters’ actions. The difference between author’s comment and the characters’ actions is on the description of the information. The author’s comment contains personal judgment or opinions about the characters. Meanwhile, characters’ actions

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contain only the sequence of actions they do. Thus, author’s comment is more explicit than the characters’ actions.

The quality of a character can be strongly identified by actions and speeches because both things are naturally influenced by the personality of the character (Lukens, 1999:83). By actions, the personality is implicitly illustrated. The readers are able to feel the journey of “coming to know” what kinds of personality the characters have, especially the main characters. By speeches, the personality is implicitly embodied in the contents of the speeches.

Becoming independent is a trait that needs processes. The analysis on the actions and speeches of the characters being studied is the way to show the characters’ independence through characterization. Besides, other characters’ and author’s comments also play important roles to help show independence in child characters. The dominant results by actions and speeches indicates that child characters have gained independence. It means that child characters are free from dictate that haunts them.

E. Previous Research Findings

To support the research in this study discussing about children’s independence and the role of adults, there were two previous research used. The first was Frances E. Dolan’s article entitled Mastery at Misselthwaite Manor: Taming Shrews in the Secret Garden published by The John Hopkins University Press in Children’s Literature journal volume 41 page 204-224 year of publication 2013. The

second one was Susan Shau Ming Tan’s Burning with Us: Sacrificing Childhood in The Hunger Games published by The John Hopkins University Press in The Lion and The Unicorn journal volume 37 number 1 page 54-73 year of publication 2013.

Frances E. Dolan stated his rejection upon didactic children’s stories. He believed that children have their own ability in understanding and interpreting books or stories they read. The interaction between children and the stories they read could emerge in children’s mind because they try themselves to engage with the texts. He believed that the hidden point in children’s stories can draw attention both children and adults (2013:206). Thus, he used The Secret Garden as the source of his research in examining the shrew character of the story. Shrew character has some characteristics, such as being defiant, curious in annoying ways, influential to other characters to be disturbing ones, and having a tendency to make a fight (Dolan, 2013:204). It shows that delinquency becomes the natural ideal of children. The shrew character conquers the unpleasant behavior by doing the restricted activities.

He looked upon the character of Mary in the novel who he claimed as having shrew characteristics. Mary was tamed through the story course. She helped her friend, Colin, to seize his happiness and health by entering a garden that was prohibited by Colin’s father to go through. It was the sample of taming the shrew characteristics by doing defiant action which was entering a prohibited garden to look for happiness. It implies that children have their own to get happiness to tame their shrewdness even though by doing something that was judged by adults as an unpleasant action.

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The second research was taken from Susan Shau Ming Tan’s work. She chose The Hunger Games as the source of her research because it showed the portrayal of the threatened life of children in Panem. The burning child can mean two things. She took statements from Lacan and Jacqueline Rose about it. Lacan defined burning child as the sacrifice of childhood to get the adulthood symbolism while Jacqueline Rose defined it as the child who can be found only in adults’ mind (2013:54-55). It shows that children position in literature is often portrayed or represented through adults’ way of thinking upon how they want children to be.

Tan’s work implied that children’s life could be threatened by adults’ strict regulation. Children living in Panem have to get haunted by the fact that they have to sacrifice their lives to join the Hunger Games starting from age 12. Children are voiceless and powerless thus all they can do is to obey the regulation. In order to save a family, Katniss Everdeen volunteers herself to substitute her 12-year-old sister, Prim, from being chosen as the tribute for the game. She prefers sacrificing her own life than letting her sister be the victim of the old regulation.

To broaden the insight of the perspectives on child characters, this research discussed not only about the nature of children’s literature which is against didacticism but also to examine the kinds of children’s independence, adults’ positive roles, and author’s ways in reflecting children’s independence through characterization. These topics are new to discuss.

F. Conceptual Framework

The theories employed and discussed in this research can be summarized in a conceptual framework as performed in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework Children’s Independence Children’s

Literature

1. The nature of children’s literature 2. Children in

children’s literature 3. The hidden

adults 4. Adults’ Roles 1. Cognitive independence 2. Communication independence

Enid Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and

Naughty Amelia Jane

RQ1:

What kinds of children’s independence are portrayed in Blyton’s The Six Bad Boys, The Naughtiest Girl Again, and Naughty Amelia Jane?

RQ2:

What roles of adults portrayed in these novels?

Children’s Independence

Reflected in

Characterization

1. By Actions 2. By Speech 3. By Appearance

4. By Other’s

Comment

5. By Author’s

Comment

RQ3:

How does the author reflect children’s independence in characterization in the novels?

177 ashamed, and this has been such a

lesson to him that I’m certain he’ll never do such a thing again,” said Mr. Mackenzie. “I’d trust him as I trust my own son Donald.”

Bob is independent to take a lesson from his mistakes.

3. By Other’s Comment 64.

The Naughtiest Girl Again

31 Joan was very upset. She knew quite well that Elizabeth had made up her mind to be good and do as well as she could this term, and now here was the hot-tempered girl flying into trouble almost at once! It was just no good trying to stop her. If Elizabeth saw something unfair she would rush at it in a temper and try to put it right that way. Joan couldn’t see how this matter could be put right.

According to Joan, Elizabeth’s way to stop unfairness is by rushing in anger and trying to fix the problem right away.

65. 34 “And I know quite well that she meant to

do her very best this term,” said Harry. “I’ve heard her say so heaps of times. She lost her temper with me last term, buts he said she was sorry and has been absolutely decent to me ever since.”

Inn Harry’s opinion, Elizabeth has tried to change her behavior to a better one.

66. 132 “May I say something, William?” he

asked. “It’s this. Elizabeth is letting me play in Saturday’s match instead of her, to make up for saying wrong things about me. Well, I think that’s very decent of her, and I want the School to know about it!”

Robert tells all students in the Meeting that Elizabeth has done something decent: fixing her mistake by giving her position as a lacrosse player to him.

67. 135 The news spread round the tables, and

everyone was sorry about Peter. He really was such a good player. And then one by

Elizabeth’s courage on switching her position to Robert makes the students support her to play again in the match to

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No. Category Novel Title Page Quotation Explanation

one the children called out something: “Let Elizabeth play!”

“What about Elizabeth!”

“Can’t Elizabeth play? She gave up her place to Robert!”

replace Peter.

68. 184 “Now we have heard a great deal of

Elizabeth this term,” said William. “Some good, and some bad. But both Rita and I have noticed how well Elizabeth has tackled a big disappointment these last few weeks—and has tried to forget herself and to help her form in every way. So it is no wonder that so many people have voted for her.”

Rita and William witness Elizabeth’s struggle to deal with any disappointment and problems.

69. Naughty

Amelia Jane

33 “Lock her in the cupboard!” said the teddy bear.

“She knows how to undo it form the inside,” said the pink rabbit gloomily.

Amelia Jane is able to unlock the cupboard by herself. It’s witnessed by the pink rabbit doll.

70.

4. By Author’s Comments

The Six Bad Boys

33 Bob couldn’t help trying to be the man of the house. He had a strong, determined nature, and no father to check it. He loved his mother and wanted to look after her, and the last thing his father had told him was to play the man and run things for his mother.

This information implies Bob’s independence in taking care of his mother after his father’s death.

71. 81 As for Tom, he was like Bob. When

things went wrong he went wrong too, and was silly and rude and showed off. It was his way of trying to forget, his way of saying to the world, “You’re trying to get me down, are you? Well, I’ll show

The narrator tells Tom’s way to solve problems on his own.

179 you! I’ll get you down instead!”

72.

4. By Author’s Comment

145 By the end of the week all the money Bob had was spent on Pat. He didn’t feel guilty. He didn’t even think that he had done wrong. He thought of it as money for Pat, not for himself.

The narrator shows Bob’s sacrifice for Pat.

73. 218 Tom now—what was Tom doing? Ah,

Tom was coming home for Christmas. Tom had done well at the approved school, and had earned high praise from the headmaster. Tom had found that it was simply dreadful having to leave his home and not go back for months and months on end.

Tom learns from his mistakes so he tries to improve himself.

74.

The Naughtiest Girl Again

7 Poor Elizabeth had suffered badly at the weekly Meetings, for she had been so naughty and disobedient, and had broken every rule in the school. But now she had come to see that good behaviour was best not only for herself but for the whole school too, and she was very much looking forward to everything.

The narrator tells Elizabeth’s change from a naughty girl to a well-behaved one.

75. 133 Elizabeth tried her very hardest to be

glad that it was such a fine day. It was lucky for Robert; but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that she wasn’t playing.

The narrator tells that Elizabeth is trying so hard to pretend that she is okay for not playing in the lacrosse match.

76. 137 But Elizabeth was! She was so very

anxious to do her best in the match, to do her best for Whyteleafe School. Suppose she played badly! Suppose she

The narrator shows that Elizabeth is really eager to do her very best in the match for her school.

180

No. Category Novel Title Page Quotation Explanation

didn’t catch the ball but kept dropping it! It would be dreadful.

77. Naughty

Amelia Jane

95 But do you suppose Amelia Jane stopped? Of course not! She was enjoying herself far too much!

The narrator shows that Amelia Jane is able to be happy on her own way which is by playing tricks on her friends.