The study of the main character and his conflicts to convey messages in Walter Dean Myer`s Scorpions - USD Repository
THE STUDY OF THE MAIN CHARACTER AND
HIS CONFLICTS TO CONVEY MESSAGES
IN WALTER DEAN MYERS’ SCORPIONS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
Vinsensia Harsanty
Student Number: 034214030
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE STUDY OF THE MAIN CHARACTER AND
HIS CONFLICTS TO CONVEY MESSAGES
IN WALTER DEAN MYERS’ SCORPIONS
By
VINSENSIA HARSANTY
Student Number: 034214030 Approved by
th
Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, M.A.___ January 11 , 2008 Advisor
th
GOD DOES NOT EXPECT US TO BE MORE THAN WE ARE. HE EXPECTS US TO BE ALL THAT WE ARE. JUST DO OUR BEST AND LET GOD DO THE REST.
ANONYMOUS
I dedicate this work for those who have participated in accomplishing my thesis especially MY BELOVED PARENTS and MY BROTHER.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my biggest gratitude to Jesus Christ and the Holy Mary whom I always plead for blessing, strength, and ideas, so that I am finally able to accomplish this undergraduate thesis. Thank God for answering my prayers.
My gratitude is also directed to Ms. Th. Enny Anggraini as my advisor for her time, advices, guidance, and patience. I really appreciate all things she has done in the process of writing my thesis. I would also like to say thank to Mr. Fajar as my co- advisor.
Furthermore, I deeply express my gratitude to my beloved parents for their prayers; spiritual, material, and financial support; and good advices. It is wonderful to have both of them as my parents since they can be the model for my life. They have made me proud of them and hopefully I make them proud of me now. My big and only brother, Vinsensius Hartanto, also deserves to get my gratitude, ”Thanks Bro for your help, support, and also for allowing me to spend your printer ink!” He is not only the best brother but also the best friend.
Next, my sincere gratitude belongs to Dedhy. It is because of his help, support, and understanding. He has done his best to help me while I am dealing with my study especially my thesis.
I would not forget to say thanks to my best friends in Brojodento 1 (Sandra, Achie, Nia, Veron, Meygha, Thyas, and Paula). I thank them for their helps and supports. There are many wonderful and exciting moments that we have shared together, “Thanks girl for the friendship!” I thank all my friends in class A that I can not mention one by one. It is nice to have nice friends like them Lastly but not the least, I would like to express my gratitude to my big families in Ambarawa and Boro especially Joni. All of them have helped me much from the first time I was in Yogyakarta, “I really appreciate your kindness and I am glad to have you as my families.”
Vinsensia Harsanty
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGE1. Theory of Character and Characterization .................................... 12
C. The Possible Messages Implied in the Story .................................... 60
The Main Character’s Internal Conflicts ...................................... 45 2. The Main Character’s External Conflicts ..................................... 49
2. Personality Description ................................................................ 33 B. The Main’s Character Conflicts ....................................................... 45 1.
1. Physical Description ..................................................................... 32
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 28
A. Object of the Study ........................................................................... 28 B. Approach of the Study ...................................................................... 29 C. Method of the Study.......................................................................... 30CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 32
A. The Description of the Main Character ........................................... 32D. Theoretical Framework ...................................................................... 26
C. Review on Harlem ............................................................................. 22
3. Theory of Message ....................................................................... 19
2. Theory of Conflict......................................................................... 16
B. Review of Related Theories .............................................................. 12
.......................................................................................... ii
A. Review of Related Studies ................................................................ 9
................................................... 9
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1
A. Background of the Study .................................................................. 1 B. Problem Formulation ....................................................................... 6 C. Objectives of the Study .................................................................... 6 D. Definition of Terms .......................................................................... 6 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................ x
………………………………………………….......................... ix
ABSTRACT
.................................................................................. viii
MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................ iv
DEDICATION PAGE ....................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................... iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ....................................................................... 66
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 71
ABSTRACT
VINSENSIA HARSANTY (2008). The Study of the Main Character and His
Conflicts to Convey Messages in Walter Dean Myers’ Scorpions. Yogyakarta:
Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.This undergraduate thesis deals with one of Walter Dean Myers’ novel entitled Scorpions . It is a children’s novel that tells the story of Jamal, a twelve year old boy who lives in black poverty of Harlem. It is recited in the story that
Jamal has to face problems happening to him and his family. Anyway, the content of the story points out the depiction of urban life and its complexity that encourage someone to survive and to have certain attitudes. Such these values are tried to be conveyed in this discussion by considering them as the messages that the story is going to reveal.
Therefore, conveying the implied messages in the story is the objective of this study. It will be gained through analyzing the main character’s qualities, Jamal, and the conflict he owns. Considering this, the discussion will be focused on the description of the main character, the explanation of the main character’s conflicts, and finally the messages found in the main character’s description and his conflicts.
In this discussion, the writer conducted library research in which there are two types of sources that are primary and secondary sources. The primary source is the novel Scorpions itself, while the secondary sources are the reference books and the sites from internet. Meanwhile, the theories applied are concerned with the theory character and characterization, the theory of conflict, and the theory of message. Since this study is about the intrinsic elements of the novel, the writer employs formalistic approach.
The result of this study mentions that Jamal is a young black man who is brave and tough, nice, fast in comprehending something, mature, and a dreamer. In the other side, Jamal is also an introvert, an inconsistent, and a sensitive. These qualities provoke him to undergo internal and external conflicts. The internal conflicts refer to his confusion to be a Scorpion, desire to own the gun, and his dislike about schooling. The external conflicts refer to Jamal’s conflicts with other characters (the Scorpions, Dwayne, Randy and Jevon Hicks, Tito, and Sassy) and God. After analyzing these points, the writer figures out some messages that author is probably going to deliver through his writing. The story reveals that one has to survive in dealing with any problems, that one needs to communicate his or her difficulties, and that one should not commit crime to overcome the poverty since it is not the last choice.
ABSTRAK
VINSENSIA HARSANTY (2008). The Study of the Main Character and His
Conflicts to Convey Me ssages in Walter Dean Myers’ Scorpions. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Tesis ini berhubungan dengan salah satu novel Walter Dean Myers yang berjudul Scorpions. Novel ini adalah novel anak-anak yang bercerita tentang Jamal, seorang bocah berumur dua belas tahun yang tinggal di Harlem yaitu kawasan orang kulit hitam yang miskin. Dikisahkan di dalam cerita tesebut bahwa Jamal harus menghadapi masalah-masalah yang terjadi padanya dan keluarganya. Isi cerita tersebut menunjukkan penggambaran tentang kehidupan urban dan kerumitannya yang menganjurkan seseorang untuk bertahan dan mampu menyikapinya.
Oleh karena itu, penyampaian pesan-pesan yang terkandung pada cerita merupakan tujuan studi ini. Hal ini dicapai melalui penganalisaan sifat-sifat karakter utama, Jamal, dan masalah-masalah yang dimilikinya. Atas pertimbangan ini, pembahasan akan difokuskan pada pendeskripsian karakter utama, penjelasan tentang konflik-konflik karakter utama, dan akhirnya pada pesan-pesan yang ditemukan dalam pendeskripsian karakter utama dan konflik-konfliknya.
Pada pembahasan ini, penulis melakukan penelitian pustaka di mana terdapat dua macam sumber, sumber utama dan tambahan. Sumber utamanya adalah novel itu sendiri, sedangkan sumber tambahannya adalah buku-buku referensi dan situs-situs. Sementara itu, teori yang diterapkan berkenaan dengan teori karakter dan karakterisasi, teori konflik, dan teori pesan. Karena studi ini mengenai elemen-elemen intrinsik pada novel, penulis menggunakan pendekatan formalistik.
Hasil studi ini menyebutkan bahwa Jamal adalah seorang bocah lelaki yang berani dan tangguh, baik, cepat memahami sesuatu, dewasa, dan seorang pemimpi. Di sisi lain, Jamal juga seorang yang tertutup, tidak konsisten, dan sensitive. Sifat-sifat ini mengakibatkannya mengalami konflik-konflik internal dan eksternal. Konflik-konflik internal mengacu pada kebingungannya untuk menjadi anggota geng Scorpion, keinginannya memiliki senjata, dan ketidaksukaannya bersekolah. Konflik-konflik eksternal mengacu pada konflik- konflik antara Jamal dan karakter-karakter lain (anggota geng Scorpion, Dwayne, Randy dan Jevon Hicks, Tito, dan Sassy) dan Tuhan. Setelah menganalisa poin- poin tesebut, penulis menemukan beberapa pesan yang mungkin coba disampaikan pengarang melalui tulisannya. Cerita tesebut mengungkapkan pesan bahwa seseorang harus bertahan dalam menghadapi masalah-masalah apapun, bahwa perlu mengutarakan kesulitan-kesulitannya, dan bahwa seseorang tidak perlu melakukan tindak kriminal untuk mengatasi kemiskinan karena itu bukan
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study There is no single definition can satisfy everyone to answer what literature
is. Once a definition has been made, the limits make it inadequate to call other writings as literature. Robert and Jacobs in Fiction: An Introduction to Reading state that technically literature can be defined as anything spoken or
and Writing
written. This definition is clarified then in order to specify kind of writings that can be called as literature. Therefore, Roberts and Jacobs continue their explanation by arguing that literature is any writings that invite our emotional and intellectual involvement and response (1989:1). This argument disallows us to categorize writing such as shopping list as literature then.
In discussing literature, we also look at the kinds of literature. There are two main divisions of it discussed by Connolly as mentioned by Drs. Sunaryono Basuki Koesnosoebroto, i.e., the literature of knowledge and the literature of imagination. Both kinds of literature differ in function, according to the purpose of the writer. The literature of knowledge is to present or interpret things such as facts, ideas, happenings, a description of a person or a place, the explanation of scientific process, the account of war, or the discussion of political issues. Autobiography and personal narrative, biography and history, and various form of the essay are included into this type of literature. Meanwhile, the literature of events. Here, the author is not concerned with the actual truth of particular events (1988:2-3).
About the literature of imagination, Roberts and Jacobs say: “ Imaginative literature, which we call simply literature, refers to written (and also spoken) compositions designed to tell stories, dramatize situations, and reveal thoughts and emotions, and also to interest, entertain, stimulate, broaden, and ennoble readers (1989: 1).”
They also add that imaginative literature may be based upon situations that never have and never may occur. It does not mean that literature is not truthful, but rather that the truth of literature is true to life and human nature, not necessarily to the world of historical and scientific facts (1989:3). The same thing is conveyed by Drs. Sunaryo Basuki Koesnosoebroto by saying “It is only necessary to underline that prose fiction has its own standard of truth, which can be only judged using all the information contained in the fiction itself (1988: 9).”
Imaginative literature itself can be classified then into three genres. Those are prose fiction, poetry, and drama. All these genres are dramatic and imaginative in varying degrees (1989:3). Since the discussion is to analyze a novel, let us take a look first that novel is classified into prose fiction. Prose fiction is a kind of literary work that focuses on one or few major characters that undergo some kind of changes as they meet other characters or deal with problems or difficulties in their lives (Roberts and Jacobs, 1989:3).
As a form of literature, a novel also pleases its reader by imitating life, or more precisely, by displaying its writers’ visions of life as it is or as the writers reader, who will be satisfied by reading stories which contain exciting image of the world or some flattering image of himself, but rather to be the mature reader.
Unlike the immature reader, the mature reader is more aware and critical with the issues in the story he reads (Koesnosoebroto, 1988:3-4).
This study, therefore, is made by the writer since she would like to point out one of the issues she is aware in the novel she read that is Scorpions. It is a teen or children novel which tells the story of a young black man named Jamal. Like the most of Myers’ novel, this novel also gets influence from his experience especially his childhood <www.northern.Edu/hastingw/myers.Html > (8 March 2007). Myers, in this novel, draws an excellent picture of life in urban city.
It is recited in the novel that Jamal, who is living in Harlem, is struggling to handle the responsibilities of becoming a man within the conflicting environment of home, school, and now membership in a gang, the Scorpions. His friendship with Tito is jeopardized by the circumstances surrounding his being forced to take a place with the Scorpions and the resultant possession of a gun and involvement with drugs. However for Jamal there is the question of the bail money for his brother, his mother’s anguish, his father’s wish to be a ‘man’.
Reading this novel, the reader is able to see that the story is really close to the reality. The conflicts that are undergone by Jamal are more or less also experienced by the other children or people in this real life especially by those who live in urban city. The conflict with family, friends, neighborhood, are common things to meet in the urban city. Criminality is the product of such this is in order to keep them alive and survive. To commit crime is a chosen, in fact, only a small part of them who is able to survive without committing crime.
What Myers depicts in his novel Scorpions is a portray of the urban city and the life inside it then. The children living in an urban city, like Jamal, has accustomed with the hard condition of their surrounding. Each of them has to be able to defense their own self in order not to be influenced by the bad things happen surround them. Meanwhile, the parents are too busy to work or find any kinds of job outside their house to fulfill their needs therefore they can not totally watch their children. The same thing happens to Jamal. He lives only with her mother, who has to work for a whole day, and his only little sister. He is the only male in their home since his mother left his father and his big brother is charged for killing a store owner. By considering this condition, Jamal realizes that he is indirectly demanded to take the responsibility. He has tried to do his best for the family especially his beloved mother. Still, many problems and difficulties happen to him and his families force him to face many conflicts from inside and outside his self. His hesitation to hang around with the gang, Scorpions, is one of the conflicts that come from inside his self. The other conflicts that come from outside his self are the conflict with his father, his best friend, and the gang for instance.
Jamal’s figure as a brave and tough young man is created by the author to be able to deal with many kinds of conflicts that is undergone by the other children living in the urban area. It seems that he is a portray of one of the children living in the urban city who is able to survive. Here, the reader admires writer notices that Jamal’s weaknesses lead him into more difficult condition. It means to say that it is Jamal himself that creates his own conflicts sometimes. The reader probably does not aware with this. The writer, therefore, is provoked to reveal that there is relation between one’s characters and his conflicts since someone sometimes does not realize that he himself who makes the situation and condition difficult for himself.
Talking further about Jamal’s personality and his conflicts, there are possible messages the writer tries to reach. By conveying the messages, the readers are expected not only to become aware with the issues revealed in the story but also understand and learn something from this literary work. The literary work, therefore, is not only to entertain its readers then but also to help them grow as Roberts and Jacobs say in their book Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and
Writing :
“Literature helps us grow, both personally and intellectually; it provides an objective base for our knowledge and understanding; it helps us to connect ourselves to the cultural context of which we are a part; it enables us to recognize human dreams and struggles in different societies that we would never otherwise get to know; it helps us to develop mature sensibility and compassion for the condition of all living things- human, animal, and vegetable (198
9:2).” Actually there are other ways that can be employed to reveal the message of the story; however, the writer tries to offer this kind of analysis as one of the alternative ways. The writer determines that the title The Study of the Main
Character and His Conflicts to Convey Messages in Walter Dean Myer’s
will be appropriate to represent the idea of this study.
Scorpions
B. Problem Formulation
The writer limits the focus of this study on the main character, the conflicts, and the messages revealed after analyzing the main character and his conflicts.
Therefore, in this part, the writer formulates the problems as follows:
1. What are the qualities of the main character in the novel Scorpions, Jamal?
2. What conflicts are undergone by the main character?
3. What messages are possible to be conveyed after analyzing the main character and his conflicts?
C. Objectives of the Study
Below are the objectives of this study that are drawn by considering the background and the problem formulation mentioned in the previous part:
1. to describe the main character’s physical characteristics and personalities 2. to reveal the main character’s conflicts, both the conflicts that come from inside and outside his self
3. to convey and explain the possible messages that can be drawn from the previous analysis about the main character and his conflicts
D. Definition of Terms
The writer would like to write the definitions of the key terms related to the title of this undergraduate thesis. They are given in order to satisfy the need of this writing.
1. Main Character In general, character may be defined as a descriptive analyzes of a human virtue or vice or of a general type of human character (Kuiper.ed, 1985:229).
Related to the literature, Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms specifies this definition. He says: “Characters are persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue- and by what they do- the action (1985: 23).” According to Stanton, the term “character” can be used in two ways. First, character refers to the individuals who appear in the story. Second, character also refers to moral principles that make up each of the individuals (1965:17). Hence, major or main character refers to those who become the main focus in the story from the beginning to the end (Milligan, 1983:55).
2. Conflict The first definition of conflict is taken from Literature for Composition: by Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and
Essays, Fiction, Poetry, and Drama
William E. Cain. It is mentioned there that conflict is a struggle between a character and some obstacle (for example, another character or fate) or between internal forces, such as divided loyalties (2005: 1375).
Another definition is given by Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter in their book New Worlds of Literature. There, they define conflict as the struggle systems- that provides the central action and interest in any literary plot (1989:1162).
3. Message Message is any communication sent from one person to another, an errand, an official communication of president, governor, etc, to a legislature or council; the teaching that a poet, sage, prophet, has to communicate to the world (Davidson, G.W., M.A. Seaton, J.Simpson, 1994: 604).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies This is the section to review other related studies that are previously done
by other writers on the same topic. Here, the writer is going to see what those other writers have said about the work under study in discussing the same topic.
Besides, at the end of this section, the writer would like to show how the undergraduate thesis is different from the other study.
Doing the library research, the writer points to two undergraduate thesis done by the students of Sanata Dharma that are Juli Purnami’s The Possible
Messages Seen from the Main Character and the Conflicts in Robert Louis
Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Helena Patricia
Dahat’s The Revelation of Message through the Main Characters and the
Conflicts of Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. Although both the studies talks
about the same idea and intrinsic elements of the stories that are the character, the conflicts, and the messages, the writers do not always be parallel in doing the analysis. The similarity takes place on the problems they formulate and the theories they apply. First, the problem refers to the description of the main character. Second, the problem refers to the revelation of the conflicts the main character owns. Third, the problem refers to the messages obtained after analyzing the previous problems. While, there are three theories Purnami and Dahat employ in doing the discussion i.e. the theory of character and characterization, the theory of conflict, and the theory of message.
Purnami’s study on Stevenson’s novel entitled The Strange Case of Dr. that talks about the duality aspects of human nature focuses
Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde
on the figures of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde as the main character. The study purely concern with the content of the story itself without employing any external aspects such as the society, the author’s biography as its reference. The writer, therefore, applies the objective criticism as the approach since this approach emphasizes on the work it self.
The two names mentioned above actually refer to the same person in that Dr. Jeckyll represents the good side, while Mr. Hyde represents the evil side.
Purnami then tries to reveal three conflicts the main character own by having the double life. The first conflict is the main’s character internal conflict in that he feels guilty and suffers from the things he has done. The conflict between Dr. Jeckyll and another person is the second conflict. Dr. Jeckyll lies to Mr. Utterson, his old friend, about his secret therefore Mr. Utterson gets angry at him. The third conflict is the conflict between Dr. Jeckyll and God. He regrets doing his experiment that has opposed what God has determined. He finally feels depressed and asks help from God to release him from his suffering.
As the result of her analysis toward the main character and his conflicts, the writer then states the message of Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll
. The message mentioned by the writer is that there are always two
and Mr. Hyde
The next review will be on Dahat’s work in revealing the messages of Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. It is the tragic story of Jude, a working-class man who aspires to be a clergy but is thwarted by the social system and his entanglement with woman and also about his love affair with his own cousin that causes trouble and misery due to the social disapproval. This study is different from Purnami’s in which it applies the sociocultural-historical approach since the study deals with the sociocultural-historical context of the novel that was written during the Victorian age. Therefore, Dahat also gives the review on Victorian society in her undergraduate thesis.
The first analysis about the main character’s description show that Jude Fawley is actually honest, compassionate, honorable, hard working, persistent, and ambitious. He undergoes internal and external conflicts. His internal conflicts lay on his personalities as a conventional, religious, and traditional Victorian that leads him to his ambition to be a clergy. However, he immediately turns to be skeptical and embittered about his conviction by the influence of Sue Bridehead. In the other words, the internal conflict of the main character is the collision between Jude’s intellectual and emotional sides. Meanwhile, the external conflicts are shown through his conflict with the society that disapproves his love affair with his cousin. It means that it is the conflict between individual and society.
The analysis of the main character and his internal and external conflicts recited in the story enable Dahat to reveal the message. According to her, it is revealed that Hardy’s Jude the Obscure tries to suggest a refinement of Victorian democratic and liberal one. Besides, the novel can be seen as a criticism toward the snobbery, rigidity, orthodoxy, hypocrisy and prudery of Victorian social system.
Learning about the two review studies above, the writer then states that this undergraduate thesis will not be totally similar to the previous studies. Unlike both the reviews that convey only one message, this undergraduate thesis will try to convey any possible messages revealed through the analysis of the main character and his conflicts in the novel under study. Another thing that distinguishes this study with the other two is the type of the novel. Both the previous studies deployed the adult novel, while this study deploys children novel to be analyzed. The writer, therefore, tries to reveal messages that are not only appropriate for adult but also children.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization Characters are usually the key to a writing and become the simplest place to start a story. It should be noticed at first that characters are not the same as people. People are in life, while characters are in fiction. However, characters are very ‘life-like’ so that when you read about them, you will feel that you know them like a person in life (Grenville, 1998: 35-36).
An author has provided the characters with motivation which can be defined as sufficient reason to behave as they do. The readers then are asked to distinguished into two: specific motivation and basic motivation. Specific motivation is his or her immediate reason, perhaps unconscious, for any particular speech or act, whereas, basic motivation is an aspect of his or her general character (Stanton, 1965:17).
Characters can be categorized into vary types. Roger B. Henkle, for instance, in his book Reading the Novel (1981:82) differs characters into major and minor character. Major character (main character) is the most important in the story. His role is significant so that the story is about this character who appears from the beginning to the end of the story. This character draws our fullest attention because he or she performs a key of structural function; with whom we build expectations and desires. While, minor character only performs a more limited function in the story. This character may be less sophisticated so that his or her responses to the experience are less common complex and interesting.
Other types of characters are introduced by E.M. Forster in his book
Aspects of the Novel as quoted by Roberts and Jacobs in Fiction: An Introduction
(1989: 120-122). It is mentioned that there are two types
to Reading and Writing
of characters those are round and flat character. Round characters are usually the major figure in a story. They have many realistic traits and are relatively fully developed by the author. They are often called hero or heroine. Round characters posses many individual and unpredictable human traits. Since they demonstrate their capacity to change and grow, they may be considered as dynamic. Therefore, a round character stands out and totally identifiable within the class, occupation, usually minor characters although not all minor characters are flat. They are undistinguishable from their class or group. We understand little about their traits and lives. Unlike the round characters who are dynamic, this type of character is static since they are not developed and do not change or grow.
The term stock characters is also found in this theory to show the type of character who performs in the repeating situations and have many common or outstanding traits (for examples are the clown, the revenger, the foolish boss, the macho male, etc). They are given the label stereotype because they all seem to be cast in the same mold.
Authors use many different ways to convey information about characters in fiction through the methods of characterizing which is often called characterization. Grenville states:
“Characterization is all the things writers do to build up the characters they want. Characterization is the process that transforms real- life people into characters in fiction (1998: 36).” M. J. Murphy’s Understanding Unseens (1972: 161-173) includes the theory of characterization and he proposes nine methods to disclose the characters.
Below are those nine methods:
a. Personal description The character is personally described by using the appearance (skin color, hair, eyes, nose, hands, and the other parts of the body) and clothes (how she or he wears the cloth and what kind of cloth she or he wears). b. Characters as seen by another By using this method, the readers are able to describe the certain character through the other’s character opinion, view, attitudes, and comments to that character.
c. Speech The conversations (even if the character do monologue) that are made by the author allow the readers to notice how the characters speak or say about something so that they give information about the characters.
d. Past life This methods invites the readers to describe the characters through their past life or experiences.
e. Conversation of other The author describes the characteristics of a character through the conversation done by others and their saying about him or her.
f. Reaction The readers are able to obtained information about the character by analyzing his or her reactions while facing some events, incidents, or cases.
g. Direct comment This method will be easier than the other since the author gives the description about the characters directly.
h. Thoughts In this case, the author describes the character of a character through his or her i. Mannerism The characters are described by the author through their mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies.
According to Abrams, however, there are two methods of characterization: showing or dramatic method and telling method. In the first method, the author presents the characters talking and acting and leaves the reader to infer what motives and dispositions lay behind what they say and do. Whereas, in the second method, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and often to evaluate, the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters (1981:21).
2. Theory of Conflict Conflict is the most significant element and the essence of plot which is also considered as a necessary element in fiction. The reason that conflict is the major ingredient in a plot is that once two forces are in opposition, there may be doubt about the outcome. The doubt, if the readers become interested and engaged with the characters, produces curiosity and also tension. The interest of a highly contested game is also generated by a conflict in a story. The conflict should be a contest, an engagement between characters or forces of approximately equal strength. The point is that unless there is doubt there is tension, and unless there is tension there is no interest (Roberts and Jacobs, 1989:99).
Further, Virgil Scott adds that conflict must be handled in certain ways in order to make it convincing and effective. Therefore, he writes in his book Studies to arouse and maintain a reader’s interest in a story. First, the conflict in a story must be significant. It means that as a result of given conflict, the character or characters involved there will never again be quite the same people as they were before the incident occurred. Second, there must be a unity of the conflict, the characters, the theme, the symbols, and the point of view, and the other literary devices. They must be interrelated, functional, and necessary to achieving the story’s basic purpose or effect. Unity, in the term of conflict, means that each development in the conflict of a story must follow logically and inevitably from the preceding development (1968:3-4).
There are various ways used by the author to arrange the events. In the narrative structure, the author will usually begin the story by giving the reader information which he must have before he can understand the conflict that follows. This part is called exposition. The section called the rising actions follows just after the exposition. Here, the author proceeds to introduce the complication or conflict. The resolution or denouement takes place after that. It is the climax that will be the turning point of the action which will lead to that section. The reader will be led to an understanding of some kind of disclosure (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971:21). Such this plot above is noted by Koesnosoebroto in his book The Anatomy of Prose Fiction as the conventional plot. This type of plot places conflict at the core of it (1988:43).
Rohrberger and Woods suggest us that conflict is not only a struggle between people. The protagonist may be in conflict with fate, the gods, desires. Another possibility is that his inner conflict may be in objectified in a conflict with someone or something outside himself.
The same idea is contributed by Koesnosoebroto by claiming that a conflict may be physical, moral, psychological, intellectual, or spiritual contest between antagonistic forces. What he means by antagonistic forces are internal conflict between aspects of the personality or external conflict between a person and external forces such as another person, society, environment, nature, the universe, and God. He then specifies his explanation by employing the types of conflict that he adopts from other writer. Below are those types of conflict:
a. a conflict of man-against-man when the main character is pitted against some other some other person or group of persons b. a conflict of man-against-environment when the main character is confronted against some external forces (physical nature, society, or fate) c. a conflict of man-against-himself (the internal conflict) when the main character is confronted against some elements in his own nature Moreover, he states: “An external conflict may be a projection of internal conflict.
Whatever, a major function of conflict is to clarify the issue or problem. At moments of great conflict, characters reveal themselves more clearly, plot moves through its most significant action, and theme arises most evidently from its context (1988:43).” The term internal and external conflicts are also deployed by Redman in categorizing conflict. Internal or inner conflict refers to a struggle within the heart and mind of the protagonist. While external conflict refers to a struggle between force usually the protagonist succeeds or fails in overcoming the opposing force. The protagonist sometimes gives up the struggle as too difficult or not worthwhile (1964:363).
Holman and Harmon also contribute four different kinds of conflict. They are a struggle against nature, a struggle against another person usually the antagonist, a struggle against society, and a struggle for mastery by two elements within the person (1986: 107).
Meanwhile, Stanton affirms that internal conflict, external conflict, or even both of them reduce to the central conflict. The central conflict is the core of the story’s structure or the generating center out of which the plots grows. It is possible to have more than one conflict or force in the story, still the central conflict that fully accounts for the events of the plot. The central conflict of a story, therefore, is intimately related to its theme. In the other words, both of them may be identical (1965:16).
3. Theory of Message One of the purposes why a literary work is written by an author is to offer kind of ideal life the author expects. It contains of moral application in the chara cter’s attitude. Through the story and the character’s attitude, the readers then are expected to be able to take lesson from the moral values that are delivered. Moral, in a literary work, can be viewed as message (Nurgiyantoro, 2007:321).
Message is something that the author would like to convey to the reader. It is the meaning of the story or the meaning that is suggested through the story.
Message is sometimes considered identical with theme since both of them are something contained in the story and can be interpreted from the story. However, message and theme do not always refer to the same thing. Theme is different from moral in that it is not only more complex than moral but also does not have meaning or direct value as suggestion for the reader. Hence, message or moral can be judged as one form of theme but in the simple way. It should be noticed then that not all theme are message (Nurgiyantoro, 2007:320).
The same concept is told by Stanton by stating that theme contains reevaluation or judgment of moral or message direct or indirectly (1965:4, 19) and message can be seen as one form of theme (1966:899). Meanwhile, Beaty and Hunter try to assert the difference between theme and message more clearly, “While message seeks to inform and convince, theme seeks to have you comprehend and empathize, so that the information or the ideas are less directly articulated, or more broadly accessible (1989:899).”
It is revealed by Roman Jacobson as quoted by Jeremy Hawthorn in A
Concise Glossary of Contemporary Literature that sending the message is the
general function of language. Therefore, it needs several requirements in order to be more operative. There are six factors that determine the effectiveness of message those are addressers who sends the message, the message itself, addressee who receives the message, context in which the message referred to, psychological connection between addresser and addressee to stay in communication.
“The addresser sends a message to the addressee. To be operative the message requires a context referred to, sizable by the addressee, and either verbal or capable of being verbalized; a code fully, or at least partially, common to the addresser and ad dressee…, and finally a
contact , a physical channel and psychological connection between the
addresser and the addressee, enabling both of them to enter and stay in communication (Hawthorn, 1992: 73- 74).”
The message or moral that is offered in the literary work, especially fiction, is always related to human’s noble characters and has universal characteristic. Its universality means that it does not only refer to individual or a group of people but also to the all human being in this universe. Therefore, the truth will be accepted universally. Furthermore, we should be aware that the message in the fiction conforms to the nature of human being characters and not to the rules or regulation which are created, determined, and judged by human being. Besides, the message of fiction is not always in accordance with the religion law since fiction indeed is not religion (Nurgiyantoro, 2007:322).
According to Nurgiyantoro, a novel can propose more than one message. Still there will be major and minor message. Kinds of messages or moral themselves may includes conflicts owned by human being i.e. the conflict between man and himself, the conflict between man and other people or nature, and the conflicts between man and God. The reader’s task is to recognize and take lesson from the messages then (Nurgiyantoro, 2007: 333-334).
Therefore, the reader needs to recognize the author’s method in delivering delivered by the author through direct and indirect form. Direct form means the message is conveyed directly and explicitly by the author. Here, the author seems to teach the reader and gives his advice straightly. This method is communicative in that the reader enable to understand and comprehend what the author intends to say easily (2007:335-336). In comparison to the previous form, indirect form means the message is implied in the story and fuse coherently with the other elements of the story. This method allows the reader to determine his own message. Unlike the direct method, the indirect method is less communicative in that the reader can not always able to reach the author’s intention. Therefore, it may cause misunderstanding (2007: 339-340).
C. Review on Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that has been long known as a major black cultural and business center. It stretches from the East River to the Hudson River. However, the history began as the first European, Hendrick de Forest, and the Dutch settlers came there in 1637.