The moral messages revealed through the main character`s experience in Frances Burnett`s A Little Princess.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE MORAL MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH
THE MAIN CHARACTER’S EXPERIENCE IN FRANCES
BURNETT’S A LITTLE PRINCESS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Satra
in English Letters

By
CAECILIA RANIA PRAYASTIANTI
Student Number: 084214024

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE MORAL MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH
THE MAIN CHARACTER’S EXPERIENCE IN FRANCES
BURNETT’S A LITTLE PRINCESS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Satra
in English Letters

By
CAECILIA RANIA PRAYASTIANTI
Student Number: 084214024

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013

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Each Tear

In each tear
There's a lesson,
Makes you wiser than before
Makes you stronger than you
know
In each tear

Brings you closer to your dreams
No mistake, no heartbreak
Can take away what you're meant
to be
(Mary J. Blige)

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I dedicated this work to:
My family and my future
and
Children who live in misery and
suffering.
“There’s a hope in every bad
experience.”

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswi Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama

: Caecilia Rania Prayastianti

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 084214024

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universita Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE MORAL MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH THE MAIN
CHARACTER’S EXPERIENCED IN FRANCES BURNETT’S A LITTLE
PRINCESS
Beserta perangkat yang digunakan (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 saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Yogyakarta, 1 Februari 2013
Yang menyatakan

CAECILIA RANIA PRAYASTIANTI

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN ORISINALITAS

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

: Caecilia Rania Prayastianti

Nomor Induk Mahasiswa

: 084214024

menyatakan bahwa sebagai penyusun karya ilmiah yang berjudul :

THE MORAL MESSAGE REVEALED THROUGH
THE MAIN CHARACTER’S EXPERIENCE IN FRANCES
BURNETT’S A LITTLE PRINCESS
saya bertanggung jawab penuh atas keaslian gagasan-gagasan yang tertuang
dalam bentuk kata, kalimat, dan paragraph dalam karya ilmiah ini. Segala ide
yang bukan berasal dari hasil pemikiran saya sendiri telah saya rujuk pada sumber
atau referensi terkait.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Yogyakarta, 31 Januari 2013
Yang menyatakan

CAECILIA RANIA PRAYASTIANTI

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My deep gratitude goes to my advisor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S.,
M.Hum.. I thank for her patience, her suggestion and advice to make my thesis
better. I also thank Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M. Hum for the guidance along the
process before the thesis defence.
My next deep gratitude goes also to my mom and dad. Their love,
patience, advice, and understanding have made me tough and not easily give up. I
also want to thank Paulus Noven Lando Utama for his patience to listen to my
story and accompany me whenever I need him.
I would also thank my best friends, Meilisa, Yaya, and Sissy for their
support. Although all of them are not in this city, I can always feel their support. I
also want to thank Pucat and Acen for being my partners in crime, Save, Gisa,
Deni, Rinrin, Evi, Aulia, Diana, Momon, and Yeyen. I will not forget every
moment we have spent together.

Finally, I also thank all the Sanata Dharma University and English Letters
Department staffs. I really thank them for their support and advice.

Caecilia Rania Prayastianti

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................
APPROVAL PAGE ..............................................................................
ACCEPTANCE PAGE .........................................................................
MOTTO PAGE .....................................................................................
DEDICATION PAGE ...........................................................................
LEMBAR PENGESAHAN PUBLIKASI ILMIAH ...............................
LEMBAR PENGESAHAN ORISINALITAS ……………………………
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS
...................................................................

ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................
ABSTRAK .............................................................................................

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ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
ix
x
xi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................
A. Background of the Study ..............................................................
B. Problem Formulations ..................................................................
C. Objectives of the Study ................................................................
D. Definition of Terms ......................................................................

1
1
4
4
5

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ........................................
A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................
B. Review of Related Theory ............................................................
C. Theoretical Framework ................................................................

6
6
9
15

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ....................................................
A. Object of the Study .......................................................................
B. Approach of the Study ..................................................................

C. Method of the Study .....................................................................

16
16
17
18

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .................................................................
A. Description of Sara Crewe ............................................................
1. Mature ....................................................................................
2. Polite and Well-Mannered ......................................................
3. Caring ....................................................................................
4. Optimistic ...............................................................................
B. The Moral Message Revealed Through Sara’s Responses ..............
1. The Importance of Being Tough in Difficulties ........................
2. The Importance of Caring ........................................................
3. The Importance of Self-Esteem ..............................................

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20
21
23
26
30
32
34
36
39

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...........................................................

42

BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................

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ABSTRACT
Caecilia Rania Prayastianti. THE MORAL MESSAGES REVEALED
THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER’S EXPERIENCE IN FRANCES
BURNETT’S A LITTLE PRINCESS Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
A Little Princess is a children’s literature written by Frances Hodgson
Burnett. At first this novel was titled Sara Crewe or, What happened at Miss
Minchin's boarding school and published in a magazine. Burnett also made a play
from the story of Sara Crewe. Although this novel had some revisions, the main
character and the point of the story are the same: it tells about Sara Crewe, the
rich little girl who becomes poor and tells how she survives in her suffering as a
maid. This undergraduate thesis aims to examine the moral messages revealed
through the main character’s experience.
Two problems are formulated to guide and limit the discussion in this
study. The first problem questions the description of the main character. The
second problem questions the moral messages as revealed through the main
character’s experience.
The writing of this undergraduate thesis requires library research to
conduct. The source data are collected through books, journals, theses, and webbased articles. This study applies formalistic approach, because it analyzes the
literary work based on its intrinsic element.
The analysis shows that Sara Crewe, the main character in Burnett’s A
Little Princess, has several dominant attitude and behavior: she is mature that she
knows how to get herself in a certain situation like an adult, and polite and wellmannered that she persists to be like that in her difficulties, caring that she is
ready to help others no matter what, and optimistic that makes her feel better and
tough. Those attitude and behavior are shown throughout the novel through Sara’s
thoughts, mannerism, reactions, Sara as seen by another, her speech and
conversation of others. Some moral messages that can be gained through the main
character are that it is essential to be tough in difficulties, it is essential to be
caring especially to the weak, and that one must be sure and has confidence with
his or her own ability and value.

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ABSTRAK
Caecilia Rania Prayastianti. THE MORAL MESSAGES REVEALED
THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER’S EXPERIENCE IN FRANCES
BURNETT’S A LITTLE PRINCESS Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris,
Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2013.
A Little Princess adalah sastra anak-anak yang di tulis oleh Frances
Hodgson Burnett. Pada awalnya, novel ini berjudul Sara Crewe atau What
happened at Miss Minchin’s boarding school, dan karya itu dipublikasikan di
dalam sebuah majalah. Burnett juga membuat sebuah drama tentang bercerita
Sara Crewe. Walaupun novel ini telah mengalami banyak revisi, pemain utama
dan inti seritanya tidak berubah: novel ini bercerita tentang Sara Crewe, seorang
anak kecil kaya yang jatuh miskin dan bagaimana dia bertahan dalam
penderitaannya sebagai pembantu. Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk meneliti pesan
moral yang diungkapkan melalui pengalaman tokoh utama
Ada dua masalah yang dirumuskan untuk membahas topik ini. Pertanyaan
pertama berkenaan dengan penggambaran sifat dan perilaku sang tokoh utama.
Pertanyaan kedua berkenaan dengan pesan moral yang diungkapkan lewat
pengalaman tokoh utama.
Penulisan skripsi ini menerapkan studi pustaka. Sumber data yang
dikumpulkan adalah dari buku-buku, tesis-tesis, dan artikel-artikel internet.
Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan formalistik, karena penelitian ini
menganalisis karya sastra berdasarkan unsur intrinsiknya.
Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa Sara Crewe, tokoh utama dalam novel
A Little Princess karangan Frances Hodgson Burnett, memiliki sejumlah sifat dan
perilaku dominan: dia itu dewasa karena dia tahu bagaimana menempatkan
dirinya dalam kondisi tertentu seperti orang dewasa, juga sopan dan berkelakuan
baik bahkan dia tetap seperti itu walaupun statusnya menjadi pembantu rendahan,
peduli; dia siap membantusiapapun yang kesulitan apa pun yang terjadi, dan
optimis membuatnya merasa lebih baik dan tegar. Sifat-sifat tersebut ditampilkan
di sepanjang novel melalui pikiran Sara, perilakunya, reaksinya, opini orang lain
tentangnya, cara bicaranya, dan percakapan tokoh lain tentangnya. Beberapa
pesan moral yang dapat diambil dari tanggapan-tanggapan tokoh utama adalah
bahwa sangatlah penting untuk tegar di dalam situasi sulit, sangatlah penting
untuk peduli terutama kepada yang lemah, dan bahwa kita harus yakin dan
percaya dengan kemampuan dan nilai yang seseorang miliki.

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study
Literary work is not only a medium to express idea and to show
experience, but it can also lead people into the world and humanity. When we
read a literary work, we also look at human beings and living creatures, so we
look at life. Literature is created from the reality or life. People should care about
literature, because they can learn many things from a literary work. Literary works
reflect series of happening of human’s life such conflicts and how to struggle with
the conflicts, behaviors, and attitudes of human beings. That was what William
Henry Hudson talked about in An Introduction to the Study of Literature that
We care for literature primarily on account of its deep and lasting human
significance. A great book grows directly out of life; in reading it, we are
brought into large, close, and fresh relations with life; and in that fact lies
the final explanation of its power (1958: 10).
Drama and novel always present life and the problems of life in a direct
way. Novel makes people who read it take apart in the characters’ life, because
the characters’ life is not far from the reality of human beings even though
sometimes the story is fiction. Readers explore the role of the characters through
what narrator is saying, the plot, settings, characterization, and conversation
between characters.
Moody in The Teaching of Literature says that a literary work always
offers moral messages connected with human’s noble behaviors, struggle for the
right and dignity of human being (1971:48). Good literature contains moral

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messages. All literary works may convey one or more messages. Readers observe
a literary work subjectively, because it depends on their own experience,
knowledge, background, and so forth. Different readers may get different
messages from a literary work.
There are a lot of genres of literature; one of them is children’s literature.
Children’s literature always be an interesting reading for children and adults, even
though children are different from adults. The story is not as complicated as
literary works for adult, but it has many things to learn. Rebecca J. Lukens in A
Critical Handbook of Children’s Literature says that
Literature for children can and should provide the same enjoyment and
understanding as does literature for adults. Children also seek pleasure
from a story, but the sources of their pleasure are more limited, so that
they may not understand the same complexity ideas (1992: 7).
Children’s literature has a purpose which similar to the other literature; to
entertain, to give pleasure from the story. Even though children’s literature has the
same purpose as adult’s, children’s literature has to be easier to be understood,
because children’s experiences and ideas are more limited than adult. Although
the story is for children, the story can also open adult reader’s mind and heart to
learn the reality happening in the world. Lynch-Brown and Tomlinson in
Essentials of Children’s Literature say
Children’s books are about the experiences of childhood, both good and
bad… When stories show children as a victim of natural and human-made
disasters, the stories should emphasize the hope for a better future rather
than the hopelessness and utter despair of the moment (1999: 2)
Children’s literature should show some experiences which teach children
to have a hope by delivering some moral values. Lynch-Brown and Tomlinson

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also say that “the best children’s books offer readers enjoyment as well as
memorable characters and situations and valuable insights into human condition”
(1999: 3). That is the reason that children’s literature gives moral message,
because they have valuable insights into human condition.
One of authors of children’s literature is Frances Burnett Hodgson. In
1879 Frances Burnett Hodgson had the first of many stories published in St.
Nicholas Magazine, the same publication some of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s
poems appeared in the early 1900s. Burnett wrote a lot of famous children’s
literary works such as Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, Haworth, A
Lady of Quality, etc. A Little Princess is one of her works too. A Little Princess
was first published in 1883 with the title Sara Crewe or What Happened at Miss
Minchin’s. Burnett then turned the novel into a three-act play in 1902 with title A
Little Un-Fairy Princess. In 1905 the novel was revised into a full present to be A
Little Princess (www.online-literature.com/burnett/ on February 10th 2012).
In this study, the writer analyzes A Little Princess, which is suitable for
children over an age of seven years old. The writer believes the story contains
moral message that can be revealed through the main character’s behavior and
attitude. This novel tells about a-seven-years-old-girl named Sara Crewe. She
comes from India, and her father sends her to school at Miss Minchin Seminary.
Sara has a rich father, lives in luxury, and she has everything she wants. Miss
Minchin dislikes her, but pretends to like her because she is rich, and it can make
her seminary more famous. Although she is rich, she is very humble and kind to

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everyone. Sara Crewe’s responses through difficulties begins when her father
died, and Miss Minchin threats her as if she is her maid.
A Little Princess tells about how to struggle and how to be strong in a
difficult life. There are many mistreatments toward Sara, especially from Miss
Minchin, but she does not take a revenge on her. The main character faces those
mistreatments in a mature way. The writer finds out that Sara Crewe’s attitude and
behavior in her experience can give some moral messages to readers. It is
important to analyze this novel to show that it has the reflection of human
experience that can be learned from the image of human beings which is
expressed in the written way. The moral messages can be found along the story
through the experience of the main character, Sara Crewe.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study, there are two problems that can be
formulated as follows.
1. How is Sara Crewe described?
2. What moral messages are revealed through the main character’s attitude and
behavior?
C. Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is absolutely to answer those two problems. From
those questions, it is expected that the moral message of Sara’s life can be found
out through the analysis of character’s characteristics including her attitude or
behavior. First, it is to explain not only the characteristics, but also attitude and

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behavior in the main character’s life, Sara Crewe. The last, it is to discover the
moral messages expressed and revealed through Sara Crewe’s responses.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid misinterpretation, a term will be defined to guide the readers in
understanding this research.

Moral Message
Austin Fagothey in Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice says
“The term moral means morally good” (1953: 102). Beaty and Hudson in New
World of Literature said, “Message is the real meaning inside that leads to
oversimplification and give the illusion that a work of literature exists for its
statement” (1989: 899).
From the abovementioned definition, moral message means an easy
conclusion or idea, which is morally good, that can be summarized inside a work
of literature. In this case, the work of literature is a novel.

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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW

In this chapter, the writer encloses some related studies. Related studies
come from critics which follow the improvement of the novel. It can be found in
theses and journals.
The writer also utilizes some theories which are useful for the writer to
analyze the novel A Little Princess. The first one is theory of character and
characterization. The second one is theory of moral message.
A. Review of Related Studies
The writer agrees that A Little Princess contains good messages not only
for children, but also for adults who read it. This children’s literature is easy to
understand, because the story is interesting especially for children.
A Little Princess is a novel about a strong character who is able to fight
successfully against new situation: poverty and the scorn of her fellows. Even
though the story was transformed again and over again, but the main contents
always the same. The statement below comes from the essay of Johanna Elizabeth
Resler from Indiana University entitled Sara’s Transformation: A Textual
Analysis of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Sara Crewe and A Little Princess
(https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/1614/ReslerThesis.pdf?seq
uence=1, 2007) 1 October 2011.

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Sara’s story began as a serial publication in a children’s magazine and was
eventually transformed for the London and New York stage, and then
finally as a novel. By studying these expanding states of authorial
intention across entire genres of literature, we learn the importance of each
state as a single written entity and how each subsequent state effects the
next retelling of Sara Crewe. (2007: 17)
From that statement, it can be said that Resler wants to discuss about how
the story about Sara was transformed. Resler’s thesis explained that Burnett had
an ability to recapture universal aspects of childhood and transform them into
realistic stories containing elements of the fantastic or fairy tales. Resler also said
that with her study, we learn how each subsequent state affects the next retelling
of Sara Crewe, the main character. It can be concluded that through Resler’s
essay, it can be seen about the influences of the first text about Sara is said having
influences to the other texts. She also said that her research can show ralation
between the author’s life, their stories, and characters (2007: 73). Meanwhile, this
undergraduate thesis does not use the influence of author’s life and background.
This undergraduate thesis only focuses on intrinsic elements.
The thesis of Dewi Sulistiana from Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang
analyzed the same object as this study. In her thesis titled An Analysis of Sara
Crewe’s Suffering (http://digilib.umm.ac.id/gdl.php?, 2005)10 September 2011.
The writer used descriptive research design because she tried to analyze
the novel descriptively by focusing on Sara Crewe’s sufferings. The
approach used was objective approach, because this study focused on the
literary product without considering author’s life, the background of the
society and the background of the work. (http://digilib.umm.ac.id) 2
Februari 2012
She analyzed Sara Crewe’s sufferings without the influence of author’s
life, the background of the society, and the background of the literary work. It

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only focuses on the texts related to Sara Crewe’s sufferings. Her thesis is closely
related to this study. The main difference between Dewi’s undergraduate thesis
and this undergraduate thesis is the object of the study. While Dewi was trying to
analyze the novel descriptively by focusing on Sara Crewe’s sufferings, this
undergraduate thesis is trying to reveal the moral messages through Sara Crewe’s
behavior and attitude.
There is also an essay that focused on the difference of Sara Crewe’s
‘queerness’ in the novel and the films. The essay comes from Vibiana Bowman
Cvetkovic, a Reference Librarian and the Web Administrator at the Paul Robeson
Library,

Rutgers

University

in

Camden,

New

Jersey

(Redfeatherjournal.org/1_1_Feb_2010/princess.pdf) 5 March 2012.
I concur that the film transformation of Sara is troubling. In the nearly
one- hundred year history of Sara on film, Burnett's heroine has become
increasingly bland and decreasingly subversive. Kirkland writes: “Let us
earnestly hope that a future filmmaker will produce a Sara Crewe who is
faithful to Burnett's own strong conception of her” (2010: 23).
The quotation is taken from Bowman’s essay which was posted on Red
Feather Journal. Her essay is entitled The Normalization of Sara: An Inversion of
Queerness in Filmed Versions of Burnett's A Little Princess. At first, she
compared Burnett’s text and stage version, and then she compared all three
versions of its films. It was found that there was a shift in the portrayal of Sara,
both in visualization and characterization. Even though audiences like all the
versions of the films, Bowman stated a statement from Kirkland’s analysis of
ALP in film. In Bowman’s essay, Kirkland said that she was troubled by how the
movie Sara differs from the text. Sara in the film presents contemporary girls with

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a diluted role model. Bowman’s essay was talking about the differences about
Sara Crewe’s queerness in the text and in the films, but this undergraduate thesis
is only trying to discuss about Sara in the novel.
Although all of the studies mentioned above have the same object, but the
issues are different. Resler’s essay discussed the transformation of Sara’s story of
Francess Burnett and how the story is influenced by Frances Burnett’s life. Dewi
Listiana discussed Sara Crewe’s sufferings without the influences of author’s life,
the background of the society, and the background of the literary work. Vibiana
Bowman’s essay discusses and compares the difference between Sara Crewe in
the text and in the films. Thus, the main issue of this undergraduate thesis is moral
messages from Sara Crewe’s attitude and behavior that deliver through the story.
B. Review of Related Theories
The answer for those questions that are stated before can be answered by
some of theories.
1. Theory on Character and Characterization
One of the intrinsic elements in the literary work is character. This
undergraduate thesis will analyze the main character in the novel A Little
Princess, Sara Crewe. According to M. H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary
Terms, character is:
The person presented in a dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted
by the readers as being endowed with moral and disposition qualities that
are expressed in what they say (dialogues) and by what they do (action)
(1981: 20).

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Based on the quotation above, it is stated that there is a presentation of
characters’ personality shown in the works by their expressions, and the readers
can read that. Stanton mentions some indications to understand characters. The
first is the sound of the name fits the character. The second is the personal
description and comment of character from the author. The third is the other
character’s attitude and comment toward the other characters. The fourth is the
character’s own dialogue and behavior (1965: 17-18). According to Lukens, there
are two types of characters; flat and round. “A flat character is less well developed
and has fewer traits. A round character has a variety of traits that make him or her
believable” (1995: 45). It means a flat character is not really developed from
different situations, but the round character is more flexible or changes as the
condition change.
Characterization is presented in two ways, according to Abrams: showing
and telling. Showing or dramatic method means the author merely presents his
character talking and acting and leaves the reader to infer what motives and
dispositions lay behind what they and do. By telling, the author himself intervenes
in order to describe and often to evaluate, the motives and dispositional qualities
of his characters (1981:21).
According to Murphy in Understanding Unseens (1972: 161-173), there
are nine ways that an author can apply to represent the characterization of the
characters in a literary work. However, the writer only uses seven methods, they
are:

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a.

Characters as seen by another
The author describes a character through the eyes and opinions of another.
The reader gets. As it were, a reflected image.

b.

Speech
The author describes a character by giving readers an insight into the
characteristics through what the character says. The readers are able to
analyze a character from clues that the character done.

c.

Conversation of others
The author can also give readers clues to a person’s characteristics through
conversations of other people and the things they say about him. Readers
will know the characteristic from what others say about the character.

d.

Reactions
The author can describe a person’s characteristics by showing readers how a
character reacts to various situations and events. The reaction may give
readers clue to find out the characteristics of a character.

e.

Direct comment
The author can describe a person’s characteristics by directly giving readers
comments on the character. It may be the best way for readers to find out
any characteristics, because they know what exactly the author wants to
reveal.

f.

Thoughts
The author gives readers direct knowledge of what a person is thinking
about. Here, the author is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can

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12

tell the readers what different people are thinking of. In the novel, it is
acceptable. The readers then are in a privileged position; they have a secret
listening device plugged in to the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel.
g.

Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies. It
may tell readers something about character’s characteristics.

2. Theory of Moral Message
Literature comes from events that happened in human’s life. According to
William Henry Hudson in An Introduction to the Study of Literature, “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” (1958: 10). It means that literature
is the expression of human’s life. In life, people need to know how to do good
things by learning from experiences; their own experiences or other people’s. That
is why they can also learn about life from literary works.
Lynch-Brown and Tomlinson say, “Certainly a well-written book may
convey a moral message, but it should also tell a good story from which the
message evolves” (1999:30). It shows that a good literature, especially for
children, has moral message. Even though moral message in children’s literature
is didactic, “children can be led to develop a sense of right and wrong without
feeling as if they are being indoctrinated” (1999: 31). “Moral values are embedded
within the fabric of a powerful story” (1999: 31), so that that it is subtly conveyed
to the reader.

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According to John Gardner in On Moral Fiction, “the traditional view that
is true is moral: it seeks to improve life, not debase it” (1933: 5). Moral aims to
improve the quality as a human to be a better person for ourselves and each other,
because moral is telling right from wrong.
Austin Fagothey in Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice says
that “the opposite of moral is properly non-moral, unmoral, or amoral,
meaning that the act has no moral significance at all, that it is simply
unrelated to morals. The term immoral means morally bad. When clearly
opposed to immoral, the term moral means morally good” (1953: 102).
The quotation from Fagothey above is to emphasize the word of moral is
only relate to good things.
Jerome Beaty and Paul Hunter in New World of Literature state that
“message makes effort to inform or convince” (1989: 899). It means that message
is a conclusion that people found which tries to inform people ideas inside a work,
in this case is a work of literature.
Fiction like novel usually has message, based on author’s thought of idea,
belief, and interest. The story that the author made comes from the way he lives,
the way he thinks, and his experienced. The readers will get the message depends
on the vision of the person who makes the story or the author’s point of view. The
readers who want to interpret the message of a literary work have to interpret it
based on the story and the life inside the story. Just like Hudson said in An
Introduction to the Study of Literature,
We take a great book, and we try to penetrate as deeply as we can into its
personal life. We listen attentively to what he has to tell us, and we do our
best to enter sympathetically into his thought and feeling. We note
carefully how he looked at life, what he found in it, what he brought away
from it. We observe how the world of experience impressed him, and how
it is interpreted through his personality (1958: 17).

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14

According to Drs. Mursal Esten in Kesusastraan: Pengantar Teori dan
Sejarah, there are two ways to reveal a message:
a.

Directly (explicitly)
In this method, the author reveals the message directly to the reader that
the author inserts as part of the story through the author’s direct
comments. The purpose of direct method is that readers get the message
easily.

b.

Indirectly (implicitly)
In this method, the author reveals the message through other elements of
the literary work, such as plot, conflicts, characters, and the character’s
attitude toward events. The readers interpret and conclude what the story
actually tells them about freely. This method gives freedom for readers to
interpret the story, with or without thinking about the author’s teaching
and opinion (1990: 22).
It is clear that in the direct method, the message is in the form of the

author’s direct comment, and in the indirectly method, the message is abstract
through other elements of the story. Another difference is the way the readers get
the message from the story. The readers can easily get message in the direct
method, while in the indirect way, the readers have to interpret the message
themselves.
All kinds of literary work consist of and offer moral message. Message
for John Sinclair in Collins Cobuild Essential Dictionary is an idea that someone
tries to communicate to people, for example in a play, speech, or the meaning, the

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15

thought of idea, that is intended, to express (1988: 490). It can be concluded that
moral message is a right idea that delivered to people as a good purpose. From a
novel of children literature, the author wants to deliver to the readers his good
ideas. Usually his good ideas based on moral value, because it is a children’s
novel.
C.

Theoretical Framework
The writer chooses some suitable theories above for the basic analysis.

The theories have their own contribution to the analysis.
The first theory that the writer used is theory character and
characterization. This theory is used to analyze Sara’s attitude and behavior along
the story. It is also to reveal how the character Sara is characterized in the story.
The second theory is moral message. It is used to identify the function and
the meaning of moral message. This theory is also the base information to reveal
moral message from the character’s description. This theory is needed to analyze
the message that described from the character’s attitude and behavior. The writer
will be able to see the lesson given by the character of Sara Crewe through her
life. The lessons become the moral messages of the story.
All the theories that the writer has explained are related to each other. One
theory supports each other and also helps the writer to find the answer of this
thesis.

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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

A.

Object of the Study
It is a study on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children literature titled A Little

Princess. This novel first published on 1904 in US by Warne. It is a revised and
expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What
happened at Miss Minchin's boarding school, which was published in St. Nicholas
Magazine. The stage play that preceded the novel, as well as an early story,
Behind the White Brick, allowing readers to see how A Little Princess evolved.
According to Burnett, she discovered that she had missed out a great deal
of things when writing the novel. She had been composing a play based on the
story when she found out a lot of characters she had missed. The publisher asked
her to publish a new, revised story of the novel, producing the novel.
The story

follows

Sara

Crewe,

a

young

girl who

is thinking mature, not like young girls in general. Her father, Captain Crewe, is a
rich man. She is her father’s only daughter and her father is everything for her.
Her father takes her to Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Girls on a
London street thousands of miles away from their home in India. Her father wants
Sara to have a proper childhood like children in common, because Sara reads
books too much. Sara becomes popular and spoiled by everyone, but she is not
arrogant and always be kind to others, especially the weak people. The prominent
of the weak people who become her friends are Becky, Ermengarde, and Lottie.

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One day, Sara has a birthday party. When Sara, her friends, and Becky enjoys the
party, Miss Minchin tells her that her father is dead without a penny, because her
father’s invest of the diamond mine with a friend of him is failed and all the
money is gone, and Sara has nothing now. Miss Minchin threats her as if she was
her maid. Sara has to survive in her difficulties. She has to live in the attic with
Becky, the scullery-maid.
The objective of this thesis is the moral messages revealed through the
main character’s responses in difficulties. This book consists of nineteen chapters
and a prologue in the beginning. Each of those parts contributes some ideas about
moral messages.
B. Approach of the Study
To conduct this study, an approach in which the focus of analysis lies on
the intrinsic elements of the work itself is needed. In this case, the intrinsic
element is the elements of character and message. Formalistic approach was
chosen as the most suitable approach. Bressler in chapter New Criticism in An
Introduction to Theory and Practice says the literary work concerns primarily
with an examination of the work itself and not historical context or biographical
elements, the New Critics belong to a broad classification of literary criticism
called formalism. “Being Formalists, the New Critics espouse what may call “the
text and text alone” approach to literary analysis” (1992: 39). According to
Guerin, applying formalistic approach means we analyze a literary work and look
for elements that contribute to the unique quality of the work, such as

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18

“structure, shape, interplay, interrelationships, denotations and
connotations, contexts, images, symbols, repeated details, climax,
denouement, balances and tensions, rhythms and rhymes that catch our
attention, sounds that do the same, the speaker’s apparent voice, a single
line –or even a word—set off all by itself” (1999: 96).
Formalists seek to be objective in their analysis, focusing on the work
itself and eschewing external considerations. Formalist approach pays attention to
literary devices used in the work and to the patterns these devices set
(http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/critical_define/crit_form.html)
25 May 2012.
C. Method of the Study
This study was written using literary research in analyzing Burnett’s A
Little Princess. Literary research is used for the primary sources. The writer also
took some data from internet in order to get complete in analyzing the novel.
The primary source of the research was of course acquired from the novel
A Little Princess by Frances Burnett Hodgson. The secondary sources were
acquired literature books and theses are related to theories of character and
characterization, moral message, and also some comments to get complete the
information and knowledge for analyzing the story. This literary study also took
some sources from internet in order to add some information in analyzing this
novel.
There were some steps taken for this thesis. The analysis focused on
obtaining the answer of two questions in the problem formulation. The first step
was reading the whole story in detail and thoroughly for several times in order to

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19

identify the characteristic of the main character and also the good message inside
it.
The second step was to collect data that described about moral message,
some criticism, and the other theories that supported the analysis. The writer also
read books and websites which have references about the novel. All of them
helped the writer in analyzing the novel. To answer the first problem, the writer
described the characteristics through Sara Crewe’s responses. The last problem
answered by identified the good messages revealed through Sara Crewe’s
characteristics and attitude. Finally, the writer wrote conclusion.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the writer tries to answer two problems stated in chapter I.
The first one is dealing with the characteristics of Sara Crewe. The second
question is to reveal moral messages through Sara Crewe’s characteristics and her
ways of living.

A. The Description of Sara Crewe
As stated in Chapter II, M.J. Murphy in Understanding Unseen state s that
there are nine ways to characterize a character in a literary work. However, this
study only uses seven methods of nine, because only seven methods which really
perfect to depict Sara Crewe. Those methods are character as seen by another,
speech, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, mannerism, and
thoughts. The theory is used to find the characters of the main character, Sara
Crewe.
In the beginning of the story, Sara Crewe is described as seven years old
girl. She lives in a beautiful bungalow in India with her rich father and many
servants who make salaams to her and calls her “Missee Sahib”. Her mother died
when she was born. Her father, Captain Crewe, is depicted as a rich father who is
willing to spend a great deal of money for his little daughter. Sara was sent to
London to study in a Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Her father wants to
prepare her to be a lady as many rich people do.

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According to Murphy’s theory, he states that a character can be
characterized through the character’s reaction to various situations and events
(1972:168). It is found that Sara Crewe is a mature person, because she knows
how get herself in a condition like an adult.
Sara shows that characteristic through her reaction when her father leaved
her in seminary. Her father is everything for her. They always shared times in love
and togetherness. However, it comes a moment when they are finally separated. It
is hard to be separated, especially in a long time. In the following quotation, Sara
shows her maturity toward her father’s leaving. Sara does not scream and nor
even kick her feet like most of kids do when their parents leave them.
When the cab drove away from the door, Sara was sitting on the floor of
her sitting room, with her hands under her chin and her eyes following it
until it had turned the corner of the square. Emily was sitting by her, and
she looked after it, too. When Miss Minchin sent her sister, Miss Amelia,
to see what the child was doing, she found she could not open the door.
"I have locked it," said a queer, polite little voice from inside. "I want to be
quite by myself, if you please" (1994: 17).
The quotation above shows us that Sara takes an action that shows
maturity. She knows that only her can feel and understand her loss, thus she locks
herself in her room. She feels sad that she will not be together with her father in a
long time, but she is able to accept that her father wants the best for her and this
description shows that she is mature. The same attitude shows when she lost her
father. Miss Amelia, Miss Minchin’s sister, is amazed of Sara’s reaction when she
tells Sara that Sara’s father died.

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“She is the strangest child I ever saw. She has actually made no fuss at
all…. When I told her what had happened, she just stood quite still and
looked at me without making a sound. Her eyes seemed to get bigger and
bigger, and she went quite pale. When I had finished, she still stood staring
for a few seconds, and then her chin began to shake, and she turned round
and ran out of the room and upstairs. Several of the other children began to
cry, but she did not seem to hear them or to be alive to anything but just
what I was saying. It made me feel quite queer not to be answered; and
when you tell anything sudden and strange, you expect people will say
something -- whatever it is.” (1994:69)
Sara again understands how to get herself in this hard situation. Although
she feels so sad about her father, she looked tough. She does not want to be a
troublesome child for people.
That characterization also can be found in the character’s speeches. One of
them is when she has her eleventh birthday and she gets a very bad news which
really changes her life. Captain Crewe, her father, died. The diamond mines which
Sara will inherit, has gone. There was no diamond mines. In other word, Sara
becomes destitute, because her father is bankrupt. After her father is dead, she
does not have money, she does not have a place to live, she has no relatives, and
no one take care of her. Miss Minchin wants to throw her out onto the street at
first, but Captain Crewe’s solicitor named Mr. Barrow says that "it wouldn't look
well. Unpleasant story to get about in connection with the establishment. Pupil
bundled out penniless and without friends" (1994: 65). Miss Minchin hires Sara to
work in her Seminary finally.
"The time for that sort of thing is past. You are not a princess any longer.
Your carriage and your pony will be sent away--your maid will be
dismissed. You will wear your oldest and plainest clothes--your
extravagant ones are no longer suited to your station. You are like Becky-you must work for your living."

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23

To her surprise, a faint gleam of light came into the child's eyes--a shade
of relief.
"Can I work?" she said. "If I can work it will not matter so much. What
can I do?" (1994:71).
From that quotation, Miss Minchin emphasizes that Sara Crewe is no
longer a student in the Seminary, but a worker. Sara Crewe needs to work in
Seminary, because she realizes that she has to earn money to live. Sara realizes
that she is no longer a spoiled and rich girl, since she has to work hard to survive.
Sara’s reaction in that quotation shows that she understands her situation and what
she is supposed to do to live, that is why Sara’s reaction shows her maturity.
Sara Crewe used to be in a luxurious life and has a future as the heir to the
diamond mines. Knowing that her life is no longer as had been planned, she starts
survive by adapting the situation. Actually that reaction is almost the same as in
the first quotation. Sara’s reaction shows as if she can handle it on her own. The
fact that she understands the situation and she is aware that she needs to work to
live show that she is a mature child.
Sara Crewe depicted as always polite and well-mannered like a princess,
and this description comes not only when she is in her prospered life, but also
when she becomes poor. It is found in the opinions of other character. When Sara
is ordered by Miss Minchin to buy something, she meets a little rich boy, named
Donald, on the street. Donald gives Sara a sixpence, because he considers Sara as
a beggar with poor appearance and thin face. Although Sara rejects it politely,
finally she accepts the sixpence and thanks to the little boy. She accepts the
money, because she does not want to make Donald, an honest little boy,

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24

disappointed. She also says that he is “kind little darling thing” (1994:96).
Nonetheless Donald’s sisters who sit in a carriage next to them do not believe
what they have just heard. The quotation comes from the opinion of the author or
direct comment and the conversation between Donald’s sisters, Nora and Janet.
Her voice was so unlike an ordinary street child's voice and her manner
was so like the manner of a well-bred little person… (1994:96).
"Oh, Donald," (this was Guy Clarence's name), Janet exclaimed alarmedly,
"why did you offer that little girl your sixpence? I'm sure she is not a
beggar!"
"She didn't speak like a beggar!" cried Nora. "And her face didn't really
look like a beggar's face!"
"Besides, she didn't beg," said Janet. "I was so afraid she might be angry
with you. You know, it makes people angry to be taken for beggars when
t