An analysis of Amos McCracken`s reactions toward the reality of his life as seen in William Goldman`s Father`s Day - USD Repository
AN ANALYSIS OF AMOS MCCRACKEN’S REACTIONS
TOWARD THE REALITY OF HIS LIFE
AS SEEN IN WILLIAM GOLDMAN’S FATHER’S DAY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Antonius Djatmiko
Student Number: 021214090
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
AN ANALYSIS OF AMOS MCCRACKEN’S REACTIONS
TOWARD THE REALITY OF HIS LIFE
AS SEEN IN WILLIAM GOLDMAN’S FATHER’S DAY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Antonius Djatmiko
Student Number: 021214090
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
Free will is the ability to do gladly that which I must do
C. G. Jung
I CAN DO ALL THE THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO
STRENGTHENS ME
PHILLIPIANS 4:13
I dedicate this thesis to Father, Mother, Tini Nanny, Silo, and Ndoetz With Love and gratitude
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I wrote, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, 21 October 2008 The writer,
Antonius Djatmiko 021214090
\
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Antonius Djatmiko Nomor Mahasiswa : 021214090 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
AN ANALYSIS OF AMOS MCCRACKEN’S REACTIONS TOWARD THE REALITY OF HIS LIFE
AS SEEN IN WILLIAM GOLDMAN’S FATHER’S DAY 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 royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 21 Oktober 2008 Yang menyatakan, Antonius Djatmiko
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I praise the Lord Jesus Christ as I have accomplished my undergraduate thesis. I thank Him for His endless blessing and for all that I have in my life. I thank Him for any help and support of others, which I believe God has sent to show His love to me.
I would like to express my gratitude to my major sponsor Drs. Antonius
Herujiyanto, M.A., Ph.D. for his guidance, advice and assistance in completing
this thesis. My gratitude also goes to Drs. Concilianus Laos Mbato, M.A., my cosponsor, for his critical correction, and all of the lecturers and staff of English Language Education Study Program for their aids during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
I would like to express my gratitude to my beloved family: my father,
Yakobus Gunarso Soehardi, and my mother, Agustina Is Subardinah for their
love, support and patience. I understand it takes a lot not to give up on me. I also especially thank my sisters: Emirenciana Nyantyasningsih, Susana Rosalia
Nyantyasningsih, and Agustina Yulianingsih for their support and patience. I
thank my family for loving me just the way I am. I sincerely express my special thanks to my girlfriend; Maria Bernadette Betaningdyas who always supports me and helps me when I have a problem. The happiness, sadness, and problem we had faced brought us to be more understanding and mature.
I am grateful to my best friends: Adhie Febriadie (Alm), Udjo’, Galih,
Deddy, Genjik, Andre, Miko, Xna, Rendy, Metty, Regina, Echi, Mawar and
Vivie that have shared experiences with me. I thank them for their friendship, trust and support in everything that I do. I thank them for their understanding and for loving me just the way I am. I am also grateful to other friends in English Language Education Study Program and other faculties that I could not mention one by one.
Antonius Djatmiko
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page TITLE PAGE..................................................................................................... i APPROVAL PAGES ........................................................................................ ii DEDICATION PAGE ....................................................................................... iv STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY .................................................. v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI .................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. ix LIST OF APPENDICES.................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................xii
ABSTRAK ……………………………………………………………………… xiii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................... ... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ...................................................... 1 1.2 Objective of the Study .......................................................... 3 1.3 Problem Formulation ............................................................ 3 1.4 Benefits of the Study ............................................................ 4 1.5 Definition of Terms............................................................... 4
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .............................7
2.1 Theoretical Review ............................................................7 2.1.1 Theory of Character ........................................................7 2.1.2 Theory of Characterization..............................................9 2.1.3 Theory of Critical Approaches ........................................11 2.2 Theory of Psychology ........................................................12 2.2.1 Theory of Psychoanalysis ...............................................12 2.2.2 Theory of Motivation ......................................................15 2.3 Criticism ............................................................................19 2.4 Context of the Novel ..........................................................20 2.5 Theoretical Framework ......................................................21
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY................................................................22
3.1 Object of the Study ............................................................22 3.2 Approach of the Study........................................................23 3.3 Method of the Study...........................................................23 3.4 Organization of the Study...................................................24
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS.............................................................................26
4.1 The Description of Amos McCracken’s Characteristic .......26 4.2 The Reactions of Amos McCracken towards the Reality of his Life ....................................................................................32
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ..............................44
5.1 Conclusions ............................................................................44
5.2 Suggestions..............................................................................46 5.2.1 Suggestion to Future Researchers .........................................46 5.2.2 Suggestion for Teaching Learning Activities.........................47
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................50
APPENDICES .................................................................................................52
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page Appendix 1: Summary of the Novel...................................................................53 Appendix 2: Cover of the Novel.........................................................................55 Appendix 3: Biography of William Goldman.....................................................56 Appendix 4: Picture of William Goldman ..........................................................58 Appendix 5: Lesson Plan of Teaching Extensive Reading II...............................59 Appendix 6: Teaching Materials ........................................................................60
ABSTRACT
Djatmiko, Antonius. 2008. An Analysis of Amos McCracken’s Reactions toward
the Reality of His Life as Seen in William Goldman’s Father’s Day. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis analyses a novel written by William Goldman in 1971 entitled Father’s Day. The main analysis of this novel is about Amos McCracken’s reactions revealed in the novel Father’s Day. It is interesting to discuss one’s reactions since the factors influencing people’s reaction are unpredictable.
There are two main questions that are going to be discussed in this study, namely (1) how the character of Amos McCracken is described in the novel, and (2) how Amos McCracken reacts towards the reality of his life.
The data gathering method used was library research. The data was collected from the novel itself as the primary source and other sources related to the novel as the secondary data. The theory of character and characterization are used to find out Amos McCracken’s characteristics. The psychological approach is used in this study as it discusses the reactions of Amos McCracken. Theories of psychology used are the theory of motivation and the theory of psychoanalysis. These theories are used to answer the second question in the problem formulation.
The result of this study shows that Amos McCracken is a smart, talented and wellknown song writer who loves his daughter. He is also described as a daydreamer and a possessive man. As a divorced man, he decides to stay with his mistress in a hotel room to get sense of companionship and sex. However, he cannot hold his relationship with Betsy since he still cannot accept the fact that he has divorced from Lila. Moreover, his possessiveness towards Lila still remains and makes him get involved in a fight with Lila’s boyfriend, Frederick A. Hunter. Afterwards, he focuses his attention on his daughter as the only one who belongs to him by joining with his daughter for Abraham Lincoln Day Party. However, after the accident happens to his daughter in the park, his exwife threatens him that she will not let him see his daughter again. Then he tries to run away with his wounded daughter. As a result, his reactions end up with the rejection of other characters in the story. In other words, Amos’ reactions are driven by his desires to have relationships with others and avoid unpleasant feelings. Furthermore, his desire leads him to do irrational and possessive reactions. As a result, he fails to satisfy his need of love and belongingness as well as safety need.
It is suggested for the future researchers to use socioculturalhistorical approach to explore the character in Father’s Day. It is recommended that the novel be used to teach Extensive Reading II for fourth semester students of English Language Education Study Program.
ABSTRAK
Djatmiko, Antonius. 2008. An Analysis of Amos McCracken’s Reactions toward
the Reality of His Life as Seen in William Goldman’s Father’s Day. Yogyakarta:
Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni. Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pengetahuan. Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisis sebuah novel yang ditulis oleh William Goldman pada tahun 1971 berjudul Father’s Day. Analisis novel ini mengenai reaksi dari Amos McCracken di dalam novel Father’s Day. Reaksi seseorang adalah sesuatu yang menarik untuk dibicarakan karena faktorfaktor yang mempengaruhi seseorang untuk bereaksi tidak dapat ditebak.
Ada dua permasalahan mendasar yang akan dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu (1) bagaimana karakter Amos McCracken dideskripsikan didalam novel, dan (2) bagaimana Amos McCracken bereaksi terhadap realita kehidupannya.
Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Data dikumpulkan dari novel itu sendiri sebagai sumber utama dan beberapa sumber lainnya. Teori karakter dan karakteristik digunakan untuk mencari tahu karakteristik Amos McCracken. Pendekatan psikologis digunakan dalam studi ini karena mendiskusikan reaksi dari Amos McCracken. Teori psikologi yang digunakan adalah teori motivasi dan teori psikoanalisis. Teori – teori tersebut digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua pada rumusan masalah.
Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa Amos McCracken adalah seorang penulis lagu yang pintar, berbakat dan terkenal yang sangat mencintai anak perempuannya. Dia digambarkan juga sebagai seorang yang posesif dan sering melamun. Sebagai seorang pria yang telah bercerai, dia memutuskan untuk tinggal dengan kekasih barunya di sebuah kamar hotel untuk mendapatkan rasa pertemanan dan seks. Tetapi dia tidak bisa mempertahankan hubungannya dengan Betsy karena belum bisa menerima kenyataan bahwa dia telah bercerai dari Lila. Apalagi rasa posesif Amos terhadap Lila masih tersisa dan membuatnya terlibat dalam perkelahian dengan Frederick A. Hunter yang merupakan kekasih Lila. Setelah itu dia memfokuskan perhatiannya ke anak perempuannya sebagai satu – satunya miliknya dengan bergabung dengan anak perempuannya dalam pesta hari Abraham Lincoln. Akan tetapi setelah kecelakaan yang terjadi pada anak perempuannya di taman, mantan isterinya mengancam tidak akan membolehkan dia untuk menemui anak perempuannya lagi. Kemudian dia mencoba untuk melarikan diri dengan anak perempuannya yang terluka. Sebagai hasil, reaksinya berakhir dengan penolakan dari tokohtokoh lain dalam cerita. Dengan kata lain, reaksi – reaksi Amos McCracken digerakkan oleh hasratnya untuk berhubungan dengan orang lain dan menghindari perasaan tidak menyenangkan. Hasratnya juga menggerakkan dia untuk melakukan reaksireaksi yang tidak masuk akal dan posesif. Akibatnya, dia gagal untuk memenuhi kebutuhannya akan cinta dan kepemilikan serta kebutuhannya akan rasa aman.
Disarankan untuk para peneliti yang akan datang menggunakan pendekatan sejarah sosialbudaya untuk meneliti karakter dalam novel Father’s Day. Novel ini direkomendasikan juga untuk mengajar mata kuliah Extensive Reading II bagi mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris semester empat.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents five parts, namely the background of the study, the objectives of the study, the problem formulation, the definition of terms, and benefits of the study. The background of the study contains some reasons which serve as a basis for writing this study. The objectives of the study explain the aims of the study. The problem formulation states the problems of this study. Benefits of the study, the writer states some benefits that can be obtained by the readers of this study. In the last section, the definition of terms clarifies some significant terms used in this study in order to avoid misunderstanding.
1.1 Background of the Study
Reading literary works is a good activity. By reading literary works, people can find some benefits such as knowledge and pleasure. Literary work is a performance in words which is enjoyable, offering a unique delight or satisfaction and also giving a beneficial effect on readers. According to Walker (612), literary works can be divided into three major genres: dramas, poems, and novels. Furthermore, he added that among others, novel is fairly easier to understand since it is enjoyable to read. There are many valuable things in the novel that can be obtained by readers. As one of valuable things in novel, knowledge can be practiced in the way people lives and make them wiser when they face several problems in their lives. It is also profitable to make a step forward without making
2 mistakes because people will be able to choose the right choices and make the right decision.
Stanton (1965: 44) states that the particular strength of the novel is its ability to build a complex subject fully, to create a complete world through the presentation of the characters, a large complex of social situation, and a complex relationship among few characters. From Stanton’s statement, it is clear that novel is a reflection of life. It reveals people’s experiences in their daily life and the problems that may emerge. A novel, whether it is fiction or nonfiction, contains the condition of people’s real life, values, thought, and feelings about life through the presentation of characters.
A character is an important role for forming the plot in the novel. Characters in the novel are various and interesting. Through a character, the author can convey his or her messages to the readers. From the characters, people can learn about real human beings’ characteristics because the author will write the natures of the characters based on real life’s experiences. Human natures are diverse with no boundary. One person can never have exactly the same nature with the others, though people might say that two people have the same nature, they are never the same.
Human natures influence the way people react toward the reality of life. Since the human natures are various, people’s reactions toward the reality of his or her life also differ. People’s reactions can be beneficial for them in finding out an effective or efficient way to solve the problems. However, it also can be harmful and inefficient for them if the way to solve the problem that they have chosen is wrong.
3 Furthermore, there are a lot of factors influencing people’s reaction that would be the fundamental reasons of doing it. Mostly, the factors themselves and the way people react are unpredictable. Therefore, it is interesting to find out how one react toward the reality of his or her life and what underlies him or her to do certain reactions. Such an interesting fact as mentioned above is the main reason why this study is conducted
As seen in Amos McCracken, the main character of William Goldman’s Father’s Day. He is described in the novel as a smart and famous song writer facing the reality that he has divorced and has no custody of his only daughter. The discussion is focused on how Amos McCracken reacts toward the reality of his life. In order to do so, the theory of motivation and the theory of psychoanalysis are applied. The theory of motivation proposed by Abraham Maslow is applied to explain the need that motivates Amos McCracken attitudes as written in the novel (1981: 302308). Then, the theory of psychoanalysis proposed by Sigmund Freud (1975: 404408) is applied to explore the unconscious drives that determine him to do his actions.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The aim of this study is to find out one’s reactions toward his or her bitter reality as seen in Amos McCracken, the main character of William Goldman’s Father’s Day, who is divorced and has no custody of his daughter.
1.3 Problem Formulation
In this part, I would like to present two questions as the problems to discuss in this study. Two problems could be formulated as follows:
4 1. How is Amos McCracken, the main character of the novel, described? 2. How does Amos McCracken react to the reality of his life?
1.4 Benefits of the Study
This study is expected to give benefits for the writer who analyzes this study, the readers, and the students of English Language Study Program. Through this study, the writer understands more about one’s reactions toward the reality of his or her life, which give moral values of admitting that human nature are vary.
Through the study of this novel, the writer wants to show the values that this novel gives to the reader that might be useful in the real life. By understanding Amos McCracken’s character in Father’s Day, it is expected that the readers can learn from the character’s experience. It is expected that this study might help the readers to understand further how to counter with the unpleasant reality of their life with more acceptable ways in their society.
For the students of English Language Education Study Program, this study is useful to enrich their knowledge about literature. They can also use this study for a reference or as a comparative study to conduct studies on this novel. There is also suggestion in implementing Father’s Day to teach Extensive reading.
1.5 Definition of Terms
There are some terms used in this study. Those terms need to be defined to avoid misunderstanding. The definitions of those terms are: 1. Character
This study uses two kinds of character’s definitions. The first is related to literary study, that is the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which
5 are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositions qualities that are expressed in what they say –the dialogue – and by what they do the action (Abram, 1981: 20). The second is the character related to the psychological study that is according to Webster’s Dictionary, character is a description of the traits of qualities of a person or type; character sketch. A character is also a person in a play, story, novel, etc (1972: 304). In this study, character refers to a person in a literary work who has tendency to speak and act in a particular way. 2. Personality
Kalish (1973: 5152) states that, the word personality is defined as “the dynamic organization characteristics attributes leading to behavior and distinguishing one individual from other individuals and it refers to the total individual and includes needs, motives, and method of adjusting, temperament, qualities, self concept, role behaviors, attitudes, values and abilities. In this study, personality refers to one’s action toward his or her life.
3. Influence Hornby (1995: 611) states that influence is the power to affect somebody.
In this study influence means the ability of the situations to affect Amos McCraken’s personality. 4. Custody
Hornby (1995: 103) states that, custody is the right or duty of caring for or guarding of his or her child. In this study, custody refers one’s right or duty of caring his or her daughter.
6 5. Reaction
Hornby (1995: 343) states that reaction has two definitions. Those are: 1. Respond emotionally: to respond to something by showing the feelings or thoughts it arouses. 2. Respond by taking action: to respond to something by taking action. In this study, reaction refers to one’s responds toward the reality of his or her life that is, has no custody of his or her daughter.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
To answer the questions stated in the problem formulation, it is necessary to include some theories, which later will be connected to find the appropriate answer to the problems stated in the previous chapter. Therefore, this chapter is divided into five sections. The first part is theoretical review, which consists of theory of character, theory of characterization, and critical approach in the literary study. The second part is theory of psychology, which consists of theory of psychoanalysis and theory of motivation. The third part is criticism of the novel. The fourth part is the context of the novel, while the last part is theoretical framework.
2.1 Theoretical Review
To discuss a work of literature, some theories of literature are needed. There are theory of character, theory of characterization and theory of critical approach.
2.1.1 Theory of Character
Characters are important elements of a fiction. The author makes the reader understands the story and the development of the story to introduce characters. Thus, it is important to know the theory of character. According to Abrams (1981) in A Glossary of Literary Terms, characters are persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work. The character is interpreted as having moral,
8 dispositional and emotional qualities through their action and their dialogues in the story. The grounds in the character temperament, desires and moral nature of their speech and actions are called their motivation.
According to E. M. Forster (1927: 46) in Aspects of The Novel, there are two categories of characters. The first is round character, which is capable to surprise the reader. A round character has complex temperament and motivation and represented with subtle peculiarity. A round character is difficult to describe with any adequacy as the people in real life. The second classification is flat character. This type of character is built around a single idea or quality. It is represented in outline and without much individuality details as in round character. Thus, this type of character can be described in a single phrase or sentence. E. Van De Laar and N. Schoonderwoerd (1969: 170) in An Approach to English Literature also say that the most perfect way for novelist to represent his characters is by representing his characters in their wholeness and in all their different aspects. Such characters are called round characters. In the other hand, when a character represented only mainly in one aspect is called flat character.