A STUDY OF CHARACTER AND PLOT TO CONVEY THE THEME AS SEEN IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

A STUDY OF CHARACTER AND PLOT TO CONVEY THE
THEME AS SEEN IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
ELISABETH INATYAS S.W
Student Number: 064214005

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2010

A STUDY OF CHARACTER AND PLOT TO CONVEY THE
THEME AS SEEN IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
ELISABETH INATYAS S.W
Student Number: 064214005

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2010

i

A Sarjana Undergraduate Thesis

A STUDY OF CHARACTER AND PLOT TO CONVEY THE THEME AS
SEEN IN AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

By
ELISABETH INATYAS S.W
Student Number: 064214005

Approved by

Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum.
Advisor

August 11th, 2010

Harris Setiajid, S.S. M.Hum
Co-Advisor

August 11th, 2010

ii

A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
A STUDY OF CHARACTER AND PLOT TO CONVEY THE THEME AS SEEN IN
AMY TAN’S THE KITCHEN GOD’S WIFE

By
Elisabeth Inatyas S.W
Student Number: 064214005
Defended before the Board of Examiners
On August 26th, 2010
And Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Name

Signature

Chairman

: Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.

Secretary

: Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum.

Member

: Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed.

Member

: Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum.

Member

: Harris Setiajid, S.S. M.Hum.

Yogyakarta, August 31th, 2010
Faculty of Letters

Sanata Dharma University
Dean

Dr. I. Praptomo Baryadi, M.Hum.
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WALKING WITH A
FRIEND IN THE DARK IS
BETTER THAN WALKING
ALONE IN THE LIGHT
-Helen Keller-

iv

This Undergraduate Thesis is dedicated to:
 My Beloved Father and Mother
 My Lovely Brothers
 All of My Friends
v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA
ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN KAMPUS

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

: Elisabeth Inatyas S.W

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 064214005

Demi kepentingan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas
Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul A Study of Character and Plot to Convey
the Theme as seein in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife beserta perangkat yang
diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas
Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain,
mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan
mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu
meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap

mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada Tanggal: 31 Agustus 2010
Yang menyatakan

(Elisabeth Inatyas S.W)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In this occasion, I would like to give my gratitude to many people around me who
have given their love, support, affection, care, advice, time, and everything for me at any
moment. I thank them for everything they did.
First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ who always
helps me and blesses me. He also gives me the strength especially when I feel down in
completing my thesis. I realize that without Him, I can do nothing. He is my savior now
and forever.
I would also like to thank all the lecturers and staff in the English Letters

Department of Sanata Dharma University for giving knowledge, experience, and guidance
during my study in this university. My biggest and deepest gratitude goes to Dewi
Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum as the advisor for giving me her patience, suggestion, and ideas,
especially during the process of finishing my undergraduate thesis and also to help me
make it from nothing to something. I thank her for her time and advice for me. I also thank
Harris Setiajid, S.S. M.Hum for helping me to correct my thesis.
Then, I would like to thank my beloved family: my lovely dad and mom, Bapak and
Ibu Christ for giving me this great opportunity to study and for the patience that is given to
me in finishing my long adventure; my two handsome brothers, Mas Ginas and Dek Louis
for always being my best brothers. I really love them. I thank them for always believing me
when no one did; for always standing beside me to give me support, so I will not be down
when I have to face my problems; for every prayer they sent to God for me. I really thank

vii

Jesus, because I have a family like this. I also want to apologize for the mistakes I did and
for every tear dropped from their eyes. I thank them for forgiving me when I did a mistake.
I also thank Lusi for being my best friend for this long time, it is very lucky for me
to know her. I thank for everything that she gives to me; advice, support, care, love, time,
and many things. It is very useful for me and I will not forget it. I really appreciate every

moment she shares with me. Remember always our song “Jangan Menyerah” from
D’massive. And for Sansan, thank for giving me jokes. It makes me laugh and happy.
Special thanks I give to all my friends in English Letters: Yuniar, Vina, Marce,
Sella (Koyor), Elok, Meme, Via, Arum, Dhika, Adit, Atom, Denal, Sanam, Ryo and many
more. I thank them for sharing our every moment and for creating “After 20 and BFI”, our
best teams.
I also want to thank for my KKN team “Eighteen Holic”: Fea, Handa, Sr. Kharita,
Sr. Ariani, Berlin, Yanti, and Rico. I thank them for giving me unforgettable moment. I
hope distance and time will not be a problem and break our friendship.

ELISABETH INATYAS S.W

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………………i
APPROVAL PAGE ..........................................................................................ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE.....................................................................................iii
MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................. iv

DEDICATION PAGE ……………………………………………………….. v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI……………....vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………….. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………..... ix
ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………...xi
ABSTRAK ……………………………………………………………………. xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………… 1
A. Background of the Study………………………………………........1
B. Problem Formulation………………………………......................... 4
C. Objective of the Study…………………………………………....... 4
D. Definition of Terms…………………………………………………5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW………………………………… 7
A. Review of Related Studies ……………………………………….... 7
B. Review of Related Theories…………………………………….......10
1. Character and Characterization………………………………....10
2. Plot……………………………………………………………... 13
3. Theme………………………………………………………….. 16
4. The Relationship between the Characters, Plot, and Theme…... 18
C. Theoretical Framework……………………………………………..19

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………………………………………….20
A. Object of the Study………………………………………………… 20
B. Approach…………………………………………………………....21
C. Method of the Study………………………………………………...22
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS………………………………………………….. 24
A. Characterization of the Main Character…………………………….24
B. Description of Plot of The Kitchen God’s Wife……………………. 33
1. Beginning……………………………………………………….34
2. The Middle……………………………………………………...37
a. Complication………………………………………………..37
b. Climax………………………………………………………41
3. Ending………………………………………………………….. 44
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C. The Contribution of Character and Plot to Reveal the Theme……...45
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION……………………………………………….. 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………….. 53
APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………….55

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ABSTRACT
ELISABETH INATYAS S.W (2010). A Study of Character and Plot to Convey the
Theme as Seen in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan was written in 1991. The novel tells about the
woman named Winnie Louie with her struggle in her life. The Kitchen God’s Wife mostly
describes about Winnie’s past life and how she can survive to continue her miserable life.
This thesis has three objectives. The first is to find out the description of the
character, Winnie Louie. The second is to know how the plot described in the story. And
the third is to know the contribution of character and plot to convey the theme of the story.
This thesis is a library research. The main source was taken from the novel, The
Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan. The additional sources were taken from books and other
sources related to the study. The writer conducted the New Criticism Approach in
analyzing this novel because this approach examines a literary work through its intrinsic
element without taking notice on extrinsic element. To help analyze this thesis, the writer
needs some theories. The theories that are needed are the theory of character and
characterization, theory of plot, and theory of theme. This study also includes some stages.
They are the primary data collection, close reading, supporting data collection, problem
formulations finding, analysis making, and conclusion drawing.
After analyzing the character and plot, it can be concluded that the analysis has
contributed to reveal the theme of the story. The character analysis is done to know the
characterization of the character. From the analysis of the character, the writer finds Winnie
Louie is a woman who is really patient and tough. Although she has many problems, she
does not try to run away. Winnie tries to get her happiness. And the plot in the novel has a
function to show the structure of the story. The plot is divided into three parts, the
beginning, the middle, and the end. From the plot, it can be seen how Winnie faces her
problems that come to her life. By analyzing the character and the plot, the writer finds the
theme of the story is “Patience and persistence will bring someone into happiness”

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ABSTRAK

ELISABETH INATYAS S.W (2010). A Study of Character and Plot to Convey the
Theme as seen in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Novel karya Amy Tan ditulis pada tahun 1991. Novel tersebut menceritakan
seorang wanita bernama Winnie Louie dengan segala bentuk perjuangan di hidupnya.
Novel ini banyak menceritakan tentang masa lalu Winnie dan bagaimana dia dapat bertahan
serta melanjutkan kehidupannya yang bisa dikatakan cukup menyedihkan.
Skripsi ini mempunyai tiga tujuan. Yang pertama adalah untuk menemukan
penggambaran dari tokoh, Winnie Louie. Kedua untuk mengetahui bagaimana plot
digambarkan. Dan yang ketiga adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana tokoh dan plot
menyampaikan tema.
Skripsi ini merupakan penelitian kepustakaan. Sumber utama dari skripsi ini
diambil dari novel The Kitchen God’s Wife karya Amy Tan. Sumber-sumber tambahan
lainnya diperoleh dari buku-buku dan berbagai sumber yang berhubungan dengan
penelitian. Penulis menggunakan pendekatan New Criticism karena pendekatan ini menguji
suatu karya sastra melalui unsur-unsur yang ada di dalam karya sastra tersebut tanpa
memperhatikan unsur-unsur di luar karya. Untuk menganalisis skripsi ini, penulis
membutuhkan beberapa teori. Di antaranya teori karakter, plot, dan tema. Beberapa langkah
yang dilakukan dalam studi ini yaitu pengumpulan data utama, pembacaan mendalam,
pengumpulan data pendukung, perumusan masalah, analisis, dan pengambilan keputusan.
Setelah menganalisis karakter dan plot, dapat disimpulkan bahwa hasil analisis tadi
mendukung serta membantu dalam menentukan tema cerita. Analisis tokoh digunakan
untuk mengetahui penokohan dari tokoh dalam cerita. Dan analisis plot memiliki fungsi
untuk menunjukkan alur cerita. Plot dibagi menjadi tiga bagian, yaitu bagian
awal/pembuka, tengah, dan akhir. Dari analisis plot, dapat dilihat bagaimana Winnie
menghadapi semua permasalahan dalam hidupnya. Dengan melakukan analisis tokoh dan
alur cerita, penulis menemukan tema cerita yaitu “Kesabaran dan kegigihan akan
membawa seseorang pada kebahagiaan”.

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study
Literary work is a portrait of human’s life. What is pictured there is generally based
on the fact and experience that happened in the past or dreams about the future. The story
that is told in the works of literature, such as novels, plays, and poems can tell about many
things since they cannot be separated from human life. In other words, literature and human
life are related to each other. Literature can describe sadness, happiness, tragedy, and many
more.
Literary work can be a representation of life, because it can describe human being’s
life and their problems. In An Introduction to the Study of Literature, Hudson states
Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have
experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which
have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally
an expression of life through the medium of language. It is important to understand,
to begin with, that literature lives by virtue of the life which it embodies (1963: 10).
From that quotation above, the writer can conclude that literature presents many
complex problems in people’s life, and how they face and solve their problems. By reading
a literary work, we can learn something. For example we can get some experiences,
knowledge, and understanding about life itself. It can enrich human’s view to face the
reality.

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Among the literary works, there is a novel that is classified as a fiction. A novel can
be defined as a work or literature or a composition that imitates life and human activities.
As Courtney states that reading a literary piece such a novel does not merely give us
pleasure, but also deepens and broadens our vision and experience of living (1965: 100). A
novel usually has a close relationship to real life of human because the element in a novel,
characters, setting, plot, and theme are the same as the aspects in real life of human. Some
people say reading a novel is an interesting activity.
Reading literature is enjoyable. It offers satisfaction and pleasure to people who like
to read literary works. Literature is not only a matter of fun but it also gives many values
that can be learned for improvement. Most of the greatest literary works in the world can be
seen as a place of human reflection. In the literary work, the author can present his vision of
life, which expresses his experiences, obsessions or observations of life.
The elements of the story can be divided in character, setting, and plot. They can
help us understand the story in detail and also get the main idea of the novel from some
aspects, which support each others. From the elements that have been mentioned above, the
writer will discuss how the character and plot can reveal the theme of the story.
Considering the facts above, the writer is interested to examine the relation between
character and the plot. The writer wants to know how the character and the plot can convey
the theme of the story. In this thesis, the writer will analyze the character and the plot
through Amy Tan’s novel entitled The Kitchen God’s Wife as the subject of the analysis.
Amy Tan is an author graduated from High School in Montreux, Switzerland and received
her master’s degree from San Jose State University. She was born in 1952 in Oakland,

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California. She has written at least six books. The Kitchen God’s Wife is the second novel
after The Joy Luck Club. (http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/amytan/)
The writer is interested in reading a novel entitled The Kitchen God’s Wife because
it is one of the best literary works in the world. It has a good story. The character of the
story, Winnie is really strong. While reading this novel, the writer is interested with the plot
of the story. What happens in Winnie’s life makes the writer wants to analyze the theme.
Most of the story tells about Winnie’s past life. The Kitchen God’s Wife tells how women
have no position in her marriage. They must obey what men say and they must do what
their husbands ask them, including Winnie. When Winnie stays and lives in China, her
husband, Wen Fu always treats her badly. Wen Fu considers Winnie not better than a
prostitute, who he can use her like a doll. When he likes, he will do everything to Winnie.
When he does not want her, he kicks and hits her. Winnie wants to leave her husband. But
she knows as a woman she does not have the right to divorce her husband, because only a
husband can divorce his wife. The novel also mentions how Winnie can survive to continue
her life although she knows it is not easy. She tries to find a way to be free from her
husband’s prison. Winnie wants to get her true life, so she can feel happy anytime. She
always tries until she meets her true love which can make her life happier. Winnie believes
that there is a miracle inside the problem.
The novel describes Winnie’s desire to live happily, after she has children. Winnie
really loves her children, she will do anything to protect her children. Actually the novel
also tells about the relationship between mother and daughter, Winnie and Pearl Louie. The

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writer chooses to focus on Winnie’s life, because it can represent the whole of the story.
Her past life is really touching and she is a wonderful woman.
Having noticed the description of the story, the writer is interested in finding the
theme of the story. The writer will find the theme through the analysis of the characters and
the plot, because Winnie Louie as the main character has to face a difficult situation in her
life. The writer wants to know how Winnie can solve all her obstacles.

B. Problem Formulation
In the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife there are some problems related with the
character and plot of her life to reveal the theme of the story. The writer formulates three
questions as follows:
1. How is the character described in the novel?
2. How is the plot described in the novel?
3. How do the character and the plot convey the theme of the story?

C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation above, this study aims to reveal the theme
through the character and the plot.
In the first part of the analysis, the writer will answer the first problem formulation
on how the main character is described and as the matter of discussion, the main character
discussed is Winnie Louie. This part will analyze how the main character is described in the
novel. For the second part, the writer tries to analyze the plot. Here, the plot is divided into

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three parts. The last part of the analysis is answering the third problem formulation on how
the character and the plot convey the theme of the story.

D. Definition of Terms
In analyzing the novel, there are some terms which are important to be clarified in
order to avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the topic. The terms are used to
provide an accurate and clear explanation and analysis to answer the formulated problems
above.
1. Character
In A Glossary Literary Terms, Abrams states that a character is a person presented
in a dramatic or narrative work, which is interpreted by the reader as being endowed with
moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what he says, the dialogue, and what
he does, the action (1981: 20). He explains that to understand the characters, we must
interpret from what the person says in dialogue and what he does in action.
2. Plot
In A Glossary Literary Terms, Abrams states that plot in a dramatic or narrative
work is the structure of its own action as these are ordered and rendered toward achieving
particular emotional and artistic (1981: 127). In the exposition, Abrams wants to explain
that the structure of action happen in a narrative work which aims and result a particular
emotional to the reader is called as plot of the story.

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3. Theme
In his book Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, Perrine defines the theme of a
piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the unifying generalization
about life or implied in the story. He said that to derive a theme of a story we must ask what
its central purpose is, what the view of life it supports or what insight into life it reveals
(Perrine, 1974: 137).

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies
Reading a work of literature may arouse some comments from the readers. Many
people can give comments, suggestions, or even criticism of the literary work itself.
Amy Tan is one of the Chinese-American writers. She has written many novels, and
The Kitchen God’s Wife is Tan’s second novel. Most of her novels tell about the mother
daughter relationship, such as The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God’s Wife.
The writer has found some reviews about the work and the author. The first related
studies taken from internet. In this essay, Jandy states that
Tan once again brings the female Chinese culture to life. Winnie is a strong minded
woman, not the obsequious female always walking a few paces behind her husband
and meekly accepting his dictates. Yet she is still completely ruled by him; the
culture of the country will allow nothing else. This story is straight-forward, in
chronological order once Winnie starts telling Pearl her history
(http://www.jandysbooks.com/genfic/ktchngod.htm).
From Jandy’s essay, the writer knows that Amy Tan is an author who always writes a story
that is related to Chinese culture. The Kitchen God’s Wife tells a story about Chinese and
American culture, because Tan is a Chinese American author. The writer also knows that
Tan makes a novel with a woman as the main character, who always suffers and tries to
free herself from her problems.

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Amy Tan always writes a book based on her experience. The relation between the
story of her novel and her life are really close. In his review “Amy Tan blends life and
fiction in novels”, Geeta Sharma-Jensen states
When Amy Tan's second novel, "The Kitchen God's Wife," came out in 1991, one of
her relatives berated her for revealing in the book that her grandmother had been
raped, forced to become a concubine, and then committed suicide. But Tan's mother
cheered her on: Tell the world, tell the world what happened, she said, explaining
that she had carried that shame for so many years and that her mother had suffered
because she could not tell anybody. Tan has taken her mother's words as manna for
her fiction. Grafting the real tales of her family's losses, griefs and relationships
onto the fictional worlds of her characters is a way of making sense of a disordered
world, a way to keep memory alive, keep her family's history alive, and help make it
whole.
(http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-121188949/amy-tan-blendslife.html)
Once again, the quotation above explains that the events that happen in the story
indirectly are a reflection of real life. This means that most of the story or actions in The
Kitchen God’s Wife are based on Tan’s family experience. We can see from the quotation
above, “Tan has taken her mother’s words as manna for her fiction”. It clearly shows that
after she hears her mother’s words, she decides to write a novel based on her family story.
The setting and the characters that are used in the novel are the same with the reality of her
family. Here we can see that Jensen studies about the relation between Amy Tan’s reality
and the novel. She finds out that there is close relation between them. Jensen also wants to
know the reason why Tan writes this story.
Tim Woods in his book Who’s Who of Twentieth- Century Novelists states:
The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991) which continued her exploration of mother and
daughter relationships, examining the position of women in pre-Revolutionary
China (2001: 328).

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The quotation above shows that Amy Tan in her second novel wants to describe a
mother-daughter relationship which becomes Tan’s characteristic in writing a novel.
Woods also explain how Tan emphasizes women as the main character in her novel. Here
in his book, Woods describes how women have position at that time when patriarchy still
happens in China.
Moniqa Friesta de Wanna in her thesis entitled The Influence of Cultural
Backgrounds on Mother and Daughter Relationship in Amy Tan’s “The Kitchen God’s
Wife” asserts that mother and daughter relationship between Winnie and Pearl can be
influenced by their different cultural background. In her thesis Moniqa states that the story
shows the readers the differences between a mother and her daughter in the way they live.
The cultural backgrounds mainly affect their differences. Winnie’s past life represents most
Chinese people ways of living at that time though the old customs and traditions are still
done nowadays (2008: 42-43).
From the quotation above, the writer thinks that Moniqa wants to emphasize about
mother and daughter relationship and how their different background can influence it.
There are many things that disturb their relationship, although they actually love each other.
Those criticisms above mainly analyze the novel from the extrinsic elements. Some
criticisms focus on how Amy Tan writes a novel based on her mother’s experience during
her life in China, which means the novel has a close relation with her mother’s experiences.
Some critics also discuss mother-daughter relationship and how the background of two
cultures can influence it.

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Therefore, in this thesis, the writer will analyze the intrinsic elements of The
Kitchen God’s Wife in order to reveal the theme of the story. The intrinsic elements that
will be used are character and plot.

B. Review of Related Theories
To answer the questions stated in the problem formulation, and to analyze them, the
writer uses some theories to be the basic guidance in answering the questions as clearly as
possible.
1. Theories of Character and Characterization
In understanding the character, Perrine mentions that character in a story can be
presented through direct presentation and indirect presentation (1974: 68-69). In direct
presentation, the author simply tells the reader about the character of the story. He tells the
qualities of the characters in exposition and analysis, or he has someone else in the story
who tells us what they like are. In indirect presentation, the personality of the character can
be convincing, as it is shown by speaking and action he or she teaches.
In addition to the opinion, Baldick states that the character is also sketched briefly
describing some recognizable type of person (1991: 33-34). It means that a character shows
to the reader what kind of person the characters are. Baldick’s opinion helps to reveal that
the reader gets an advantage in understanding and figure out from the appearance of the
character in the literary work, that is, the reader will recognize many types of person, such
as good, bad, kind, loveable, and evil.

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Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature say that the
characters play an important role in a story, as they help the reader to participate vicariously
in the experience or the story by sharing imaginatively the feelings or the activities of the
characters in the story (1971: 19).
Discussing the character more is as important as discussing the characterization.
Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature state that the characterization is the
creation of playwright’s imagination about character as real human being, and they exist for
the audience or reader as lifelike (1986: 81). The reader often imagine the character as well
as they think about the real human, so in creating a character, the author usually uses real
human, completed with his behavior and attitudes as a mirror to form and characterize the
character.
In Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel
for Overseas Students (1972: 161-173), M.J. Murphy mentions there are nine ways that an
author can apply to present the characterization of characters in a literary work:
a. Personal Description
The author describes from the details of physical appearance and outfit of the
character, like strong or weak, fat or thin, beautiful or bad, tall or short, big or small, with
curly hair or blonde, white or black skin, etc.

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b. Character as Seen by Another
An author describes the character through another’s point of view. The other
characters in the story give her or his opinions, by giving explanation a character is like. In
these details, the readers also can use their own point of view to analyze a certain character.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers an insight into the character in the work through what a
person says. It can be seen whenever a person speaks in conversation with other character.
We also can see his character from his opinion that he gives.
d. Past Life
The author can provide a clue to events that help to shape a person’s characteristics
by giving the character’s past life. This is quite helpful to analyze the present life of the
character.
e. Conversation to Others
The readers have to pay attention through the conversation of other people and the
things they say about the character, because an author sometimes gives a clue to understand
the character’s personality from other’s conversation and their opinion about him. By
searching it, it will help the readers to get more information about the characteristics of the
character.
f. Reaction
The author gives the reaction a clue to what characteristics a character has, by
describing how the person reacts and responds to various situation or event.

13

g. Direct Comment
The author gives the readers direct comment and description on the character. In
this way there is a medium for the author to use to characterize the character.
h. Thoughts
The author gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. Whenever
the author gives a direct description of the character’s mind, what he is thinking about, we
are led to a deep analysis through the thought inside the character’s mind.
i. Mannerism
A person’s character can be described through his habit and mannerism. It can tell
us something more about the character. Furthermore, the meaning of the characterization in
the literary work as an individual is the process of presenting and developing a character by
an author.

2. Theories of Plot
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms mentions that plot is “the structure of the
narrative work action, which is ordered and rendered toward achieving particular emotional
and artistic effect” (1981: 159). Plot provides the structural events and an organized and
arranged narration in a story so that it can be easily understood by the readers in reading a
novel.
As Stanton says in An Introduction to Fiction, plot is the backbone of a story and it
has its own rules, which means that a plot must have a true beginning, middle, and end. The
plot movement comes mainly from its ability to arouse our curiosity, hope, and fear. The

14

movement of the plot from the beginning to the end should be reasonable, rational, and
logical (1965: 15).
Plot is the idea that determines how the story will flow. One action to another action
are related by plot which in order to make a good organization of the story and everything
is related, nothing is relevant if the plot is good. One thing happens because of another, that
is why time in the story is important.
Basically, a plot has a function to give and to show the structure of the unified and
completed dramatic action. Generally, it tends to flow a regular formula of common plot.
This

formula

consists

of

exposition

(beginning),

complication,

climax

and

resolution/ending/denouement (Abrams, 1981: 161).
a. Exposition (Beginning)
The first thing that is necessary for the readers in reading a story is to understand the
situation in the beginning of an action. A plot mostly begins with the exposition
(beginning), which commonly provides the introduction of the characters, the sketch of the
background, and the description of the situation (Abrams, 1981: 161).
According to Robert and Jacobs in Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and
Writing, “Exposition is the lay out, the putting forth of the material in the work; the main
characters, their backgrounds, characterization, basic assumption about life, goal,
limitation, and potentials (1987: 101). It presents everything that is going to be important in
the story.

15

b. Complications
The exposition then moves to the complication or the rising action. Robert and
Jacobs state that the complication marks the beginning of the main conflict in the story-the
onset of the plot. The participants are all the characters in the story, whether they are
protagonist or antagonist; and whatever ideas or values those characters represent, such as
childhood and age, love and hate, good and evil, freedom and slavery, and the like (1987:
101).
In addition, this section usually provides the rising of the problems and the
introduction of some difficulties faced by the character(s). This situation keeps on
increasing with complexity and tensions of the problems and the difficulties until it reaches
the climax (Abrams, 1981: 161).
Stanton states that there are two important elements of plot, they are conflict and
climax, and he divides the conflict into two parts.
a. Internal Conflict
Internal conflict is the conflict of two desires within a character. The conflict causes
the opposing desires or values in the characters own its mind, and he has to choose the best
choice for himself.
b. External Conflict
External conflict is the conflict between characters and the environment. The
conflict itself might be the conflict of the character against fate and the circumstances that
exist between him and a goal of himself. It also can happen because the different opinions

16

of the characters. The climax of the story is the moment at which the conflict is most
intense and at which its outcome becomes inevitable (Stanton, 1965: 16).
c. Climax
The climax is the high point in the action or the point of greatest expectancy and the
cumulative effect of the previous incidents. In this part the conflicts and the following
tension are brought to the fullest extent. Climax is the point that is inevitable and no return,
where all the rest of the action becomes firmly set (Robert and Jacobs, 1987: 101).
d. Denouement (End)
According to Robert and Jacobs, the resolution or denouement is the last section of
plot which brings the story to its conclusion. The resolution usually directed as quickly as
possible for the conflicts are over. On the other hand, once the main conflict is resolved, a
brief action of this sort emphasizes the note of finality (1987: 102).

3. Theme
In the fifth edition of A Handbook of Literature, Holman and Harmon state that the
theme is the central or dominating idea in a work. In non-fiction prose, it may be thought of
as the general topic of discussion, the subject of the discourse, the thesis. In poetry, fiction
and drama, it is the abstract concept that is made concrete through its representation in
person, action, and image in the work (1986: 502).
Another theory that is used by the writer is the theory of the theme. Perrine in his
book of Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense defines the theme of a piece of a fiction is
its controlling idea or its central insight. To derive the theme of a story, we must seek for

17

what central purpose is, what view of live it supports or what insight into life it reveals.
Theme only exist when the author has seriously attempted to record life accurately or to
reveal some truths about it and when the author has mechanically introduced to some
concepts or theory of life onto it that he or she uses as a unifying element and that his
history is meant to illustrate (1974: 137).
He also says that although we can understand about the theme clearly, we should
keep the following principles. There are some principles.
1. The theme must be stated in a statement form and concern with the subject and
predicate.
2. The theme must be a generalization about life. To define the theme, the use of the
character’s name must be avoidable in order not to lead into specific statement.
3. The generalization of the theme should not be larger that is justified by the terms of
story. The use of terms like some and sometimes are more preferable than terms like
every, all, and always.
4. Theme is the central and unifying concept of the story. So the theme must be related to
something that exists inside the story.
5. There is no one way of stating the theme of the story.
6. The theme should not be expressed in familiar expression or sentences because it will
make the essential meaning of the story not conveyed (1974: 107-109).
Another theory is taken from the book An Introduction of Fiction written by
Stanton. He states that a story’s theme tells something about life in general. A theme can
take the form of life generalization, which may or may not imply a moral judgement. A

18

theme can describe or explore a single fact of human experience, such as courage,
disillusion of age, and others. The theme of story can be taken from the event of one of the
character’s personality. The readers must start with a clear of the character, the setting or
situation, and the plot (1965: 4-5).
Theme is the main idea or focus of the discussion that is implied in a story. Through
the theme, readers will understand the purpose of the author why he creates the story or
what the author wants to show through his novel. The theme can affect the readers because
sometimes theme shows value of life. Meanwhile, Kenny in How to Analyze Fiction, states
that the theme is the total meaning discovered by the writer in the process of writing and by
the reader in the process of reading (1996: 497).

4. The Relationship between the Character, Plot, and Theme
To identify the theme in a story, we must start with a clear idea of the characters and
the plot (Stanton, 1965: 21). It means we have to know and describe the character and the
plot in a story before stating the theme. The writer sees that the character and plot have a
contribution in stating the theme. The actions and reactions of the characters influence the
movement of the story. As M.J. Murphy states,
What is meant by ‘plot’ is a carefully thought-out plan in which all the events, all
the actions and reactions of the characters, contribute towards the forward
movement of the story (1972: 134).
So, it is clear that character and its action are inseparable. The plot shows the
movement of the events in the story that are done by the characters. The combination

19

between the character and every action that is taken by the characters create a plot of the
story. The writer will pay attention to the intrinsic elements of the story to state the theme.

C. Theoretical Framework
This thesis will use some theories to help analyze the novel. The theories that will
be applied in this thesis are the theory of character and characterization, theory of plot, and
theory of theme.
The theories of character and characterization are used to analyze the characteristic
of the main character in the story. In analyzing the characteristics of the main character, the
writer pays attention to the way the main character behave as well as how they act on their
reaction to some events. The use of the theories of character and characterization is needed
in order to get clear insight about the characters and how they are characterized.
The theories of plot will be helpful to find the sequence and the flow of the story
and this theory is needed to analyze the plot that exists in the story. Therefore, it will
deepen the understanding about the plot in The Kitchen God’s Wife.
After knowing the characters and plot, this thesis also aims to find out the theme of
the story. That is the reason why the theory of theme is needed. This theory will be helpful
to find the real meaning of the theme and how to find the theme in a literary work. Those
theories above are presented as the guidance for the writer to get closer to the analysis and
to find the answer of the problems that have been stated in Chapter I.

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study
The Kitchen God’s Wife (1991) is Amy Tan’s second novel after The Joy Luck Club
(1989) and both of them become bestseller novels. She has written many novels, such as
The Moon Lady (1992), The Hundred Secret Senses (1995), The Bonesetter’s Daughter
(2001), The Opposite of Fate (2003), and Saving Fish from Drowning (2005).
The Kitchen God’s Wife was published in 1991 by Ballantine Books, Random
House, Inc. It consists of 26 chapters in 532 pages and divided into three parts. The first
part tells a story from Pearl’s point of view. She explains about the relationship between her
and Winnie Louie. The second part is about Winnie’s past life in China until she moves to
America. She explains her life and experience during stays in China and why she
immigrates to America. And the third part reveals the moment when Pearl and Winnie tell
their old secrets which they hide for a long time to each others. After they reveal their
secret, their relationship becomes better.
Amy Tan puts many characters in her second novel, such as Pearl Louie Brandt,
Winnie Louie, Helen Kwong, Auntie Du, Jimmy Louie, Wen Fu, Phil Brandt, Cleo Brandt,
Tessa Brandt, Samuel Louie, Henry Kwong, Bao-nao, San Ma, New Aunt, Old Aunt, and
Peanut. But only two names that become two major characters, they are Winnie Louie and
Pearl. The other characters are presented to support the analysis.

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21

The Kitchen God’s Wife is a story about a Chinese immigrant woman, Winnie Louie
who faces many difficulties in her life, especially in her past life. When she was a child, her
mother left her. Winnie also has worse marriage with her husband, Wen Fu. He treats
Winnie badly. She knows that she must survive and not give up easily until she finds her
happiness for herself. It is also a story about the relationship between mother and daughter,
but the writer will focus on Winnie’s past life.

B. Approach of the Study
In analyzing the works of literature, some critics have their own ways and
approaches. They may be different from one to another even though they may analyze the
same work of literature. They may have different views in learning and understanding the
literary works. This study will go deeper in analyzing the intrinsic elements of the novel
that are plot and character. Therefore, the appropriate approach that is used is New
Criticism.
As stated by Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature,
The New Critics sought precision and structural tightness in the literary work; they
favored style and tone that tended toward irony; they insisted on the presence within
the work of everything necessary for its analysis; and they called for an end to a
concern by critics and teachers of English with matters outside the work itself-the
life of the author, the history of his time, or the social and economic implication of
the literary work (1982: 81).
It means that the New Criticism puts away the extrinsic elements such as the
psychological conditions of the author, the social historical background, etc. The critics
focus solely on textual peculiarities. In other words, the study that uses New Criticism is

22

only focusing on the analysis of a text, including the elements in the text or the intrinsic
dimensions.
Klarer in An Introduction to Literary Studies states that “a central term often used
synonymously with the New Criticism is close reading” (1999: 68). It means that the critics
has to read and reread the work as many as possible until he feels he has completely
understood about the work. The critic has to master the work in details in order to make the
precious analysis.
The writer chooses to use the new criticism approach because the approach is
suitable for the study. As Guerin states above, the New Criticism approach will use only the
intrinsic element, not the extrinsic element. Here, the writer needs the work itself as the
main source. The writer will not use other elements which come from the outside, such as
the author’s life, background, or sociological.

C. Method of Study
Since the study focused on literary work, the writer tried to find the data and the
information that has relation with the novel. The writer read some sources that can support
in answering the problems formulation. The data were gathered from literary books,
criticism, or encyclopedia can help the writer to answer the problems formulation. The
writer had listed some steps in finding the answer that stated in the first chapter.
There were some steps that are conducted to find the answers of the problem that
the writer had stated in the first chapter. The first step was reading the novel carefully, so
that the writer got deeper understanding on the content of the story of the character.

23

The second step was the writer made a topic and stated the problems formulation
which appropriate with the topic of the thesis. Then the writer tried to relate between the
character, plot, and theme in the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife.
The next step was the writer used some books to get some data to support the
analysis. In this step, some references which related to the novel were used to find the data.
The references to be found were related to the theory of character, theory of plot, theory of
theme, and also new criticism approach. Those theories would be useful in finding the
answer of the problems formulation and would be applied to the analysis. Some books that
are used, for example Robert and Jacob’s Fiction: Introduction to Reading and Writing,
Murphy’s Understanding Unseen, Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms, Rohrberger’s
and Wood’s Reading and Writing about Literature, and Holman and Harmon’s A
Handbook to Literature. After collecting the reference related to the topic that gained from
some sources, the writer began the analysis.
Finally, the writer started to make an analysis to answer problems formulation
stated in the chapter one. The writer had to find the data by making signs on the important
information. Then, the writer made a conclusion of the analysis or the discussion.

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS

This chapter will answer the problem formulations of the thesis. The analysis is
divided into three parts. The first part is the analysis about the characteristics of the main
character, Winnie Louie, which shows her way of thinking, and her manner. The writer will
also analyze some other characters that can help the writer to find out the theme of the
story. The second part is the description of the plot in order to arrange the important events.
And the last part is the study about the theme that is revealed by the main character and the
plot.

A. Characterization of the Main Character
As M.J. Murphy states in his book Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to
English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students, there are nine ways that can
be applied to present the characterization of characters in a literary work. They are personal
description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation to others, reaction,
direct comment, thoughts, and mannerism. The writer will focus on the main character,
Winnie Louie.
The main character of the story is Winnie Louie. She becomes the focus and the
center in this analysis from the beginning until the end of the story. In this story, Winnie
Louie is told from the childhood period. Winnie is the daughter of the rich man in China.

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Her father has some clothes factories. When she is a child, her mother leaves her
without a reason. Winnie is very sad and must find the way to continue her life without her
mother. After she gets married with Wen Fu, she gets bad treatment from her husband.
Winnie cannot do something to reject what Wen Fu wants, because she lives in situation
where women have no power and position. Winnie has no right to fight Wen Fu. Later, we
will know how Winnie becomes tough woman and how finally she can survive from every
problem she has.
Winnie is caring and loving person. When Winnie stays with her New