Analysis of Suspense, Surprise and Artistic Unity of Tom Clancy's 'Net Force'.
ABSTRACT
Dalam tugas akhir ini saya membahas sebuah novel berjudul Net Force yang
ditulis oleh Tom Clancy. Net Force adalah sebuah novel yang bergenre crime fiction.
Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang komandan baru Net Force bernama Alex
Michaels yang berusaha mengungkap misteri kematian sahabat baiknya, komandan
lama Steve Day, yang dibunuh secara sadis, dan menangkap dalang dibalik
pembunuhan tersebut.
Setelah membaca buku ini saya menemukan bahwa unsur yang penting dalam
novel ini adalah plot, dengan unsur-unsurnya suspense, surprise dan artistic unity.
Saya memutuskan untuk membuat analisis tentang hubungan antara suspense, dan
surprise, serta menunjukkan bagaimana keduanya terhubung sehingga membentuk
sebuah artistic unity yang masuk akal dan dapat diterima serta dipercaya oleh
pembaca. Selain itu, Tom Clancy menyajikan novel ini dengan cerita yang menarik,
yang membuat pembaca selalu penasaran dan bertanya-tanya bagaimana akhir cerita
dari novel ini.
Saya berkesimpulan bahwa novel ini berhasil karena perkembangan plot-nya
yang luar biasa, khususnya unsur suspense-nya. Ketegangan yang muncul pada tiap
adegan dalam novel ini memandu pembaca untuk semakin penasaran dan terus
iii
Maranatha Christian University
membaca sampai akhir cerita. Selain itu, topik dari novel ini sangat menarik, yaitu
tentang kebaikan melawan kejahatan.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study..............................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................3
Method of Research .....................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis ...........................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF SUSPENSE, SURPRISE AND ARTISTIC
UNITY OF TOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE...........................................5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ................................................................17
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................21
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Net Force ................................................................................22
Biography of Tom Clancy..........................................................................23
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Net Force
The story begins when the Commander of Net Force named Steve Day is
assassinated by someone unknown. Net Force is a cyber security system that
controls all public resources in United States of America; it is associated with the
military. Commander Steve Day is a close friend of Deputy Commander Alex
Michaels. The next day, the Chief of FBI, Walter S. Carver, holds a meeting with
Alex Michaels and appoints him the new Commander of Net Force and Toni
Fiorella the new Deputy Commander of Net Force.
Alex Michaels's first day as Commander of the Net Force is used to look
for some evidence that might help him to find out the assassin and the purpose of
the assassination. In doing the investigation, Commander Alex Michaels is
assisted by his deputy Tony Fiorella, Colonel John Howard, and a computer
programmer of Net Force named Jay Gridley. There is someone who is suspected
as the assassin. He is Ray Genaloni, the leader of New York City Five Families
mafia.
In another place, a computer hacker from Russia named Vladimir
Plekhanov, assisted by his loyal enforcer Mikhayl Ruzhyo, is planning to make a
disaster by using computers. He plans to sabotage the Net Force computer system,
which he believes will lead to a civil war and from which he can gain money. He
22
plans to buy governments with the money that he will gain. It will make him a
rich and powerful man.
After doing some investigations to several people that might be involved
in the assassination, Net Force crime unit led by Commander Alex Michaels along
with Jay Gridley, Colonel John Howard and Sergeant Julio Fernandez, manages to
catch the assassin of Commander Steve Day. He is Vladimir Plekhanov, who is
arrested when he is preparing his mission to start a civil war in the United States
of America.
Biography of Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy is a great American contemporary novelist. His full name is
Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr. He is best-known for his ability in writing crime fiction.
He was born on 12 April, 1947 in Baltimore County, Maryland. He studied at
Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland and graduated in 1965. He continued to
study English Literature at Loyola College in Baltimore and graduated in 1969.
Tom Clancy’s goal was to join the United States military army, but he was
rejected because he failed in a required eye exam in the Reserve Officers Training
Corps. Before making his literary debut in 1984 with his first best seller novel The
Hunt for Red October, he spent some time running an independent insurance
agency. Tom Clancy and his first wife's marriage lasted nearly thirty years and
they have four children. Tom Clancy’s first wife filed for divorce in 1996 after it
was revealed that her husband had an extramarital affair. The affair involved
Katherine Huang who worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York. On
June 26, 1999, Tom Clancy married a freelance journalist Alexandra Marie
23
Llewellyn, who is the first cousin of Colin Powell, the 65 th United States
Secretary of State.
Tom Clancy is one of two authors who have sold two million copies on a
first printing in the 1990’s. His novel Clear and Present Danger in 1989 sold
1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it a bestselling novel of the 1990’s. The other
author is John Grisham. Tom Clancy also received the Alfred Thayer Mahan
Award for Literary Achievement from the Navy League of the United States in
1990.
Beside Net Force (1998), there are several of Tom Clancy’s best novels
such as The Hunt for Red October (1984), Red Storm Rising (1986), Patriot
Games (1987), Clear and Present Danger (1989), The Sum of All Fears (1991),
Op-Center (1995), and SSN: Strategies for Submarine Warfare (1996).
Source: “Tom Clancy Biography and Notes.”
24
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Tom Clancy is a great American contemporary novelist who writes crime
fiction. It is said that “Thomas Leo Clancy Jr, who writes under the name of Tom
Clancy, is an American author of bestselling political thrillers, best-known for his
technically detailed espionage and military science storylines during the Cold
War” (“Tom Clancy Biography and Notes”).
Tom Clancy is best-known for his ability in writing crime fiction. Crime
fiction is “the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals,
and their motives. Most - though not all - crime novels share a common structure.
First there is the crime, usually a murder; then there is the investigation; and
finally the outcome or judgement, often in the shape of the criminal's arrest or
death” (“Definition of the Crime Fiction Genre”). Tom Clancy is “one of only two
authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing in the 1990s. His 1989
novel Clear and Present Danger, sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it the
#1 bestselling novel of the 1980s. The other author is John Grisham.
1
Maranatha Christian University
Tom Clancy also received the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary
Achievement from the Navy League of the United States in 1990” (“Tom Clancy
Biography and Notes”).
The novel that I will analyse in my thesis is Tom Clancy’s crime fiction
Net Force. He wrote this bestselling novel in 1998. Because of its success, Tom
Clancy’s Net Force was adapted into a movie in 1999. This novel has a good
storyline and it tells about an investigation in uncovering the mystery of the
assassination of a Commander of the FBI’s Net Force.
In Tom Clancy’s Net Force, I notice that the most essential literary
element is plot. The plot of the novel is filled with actions and investigations. The
story in the novel is about an assassination of Commander of the FBI’s Net Force
named Steve Day by someone unknown. The actions and investigations in the
storyline will give the readers the feeling of suspense and surprise. So in my
thesis, I am going to analyse the three elements of the laws of plot, namely
suspense, surprise and artistic unity of the novel, by using formalism approach.
This approach is based on the information taken from the novel.
In Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, suspense is “a quality of tension
in a plot which sustains interest and makes readers ask ‘what happens next?’”
(Shaw 365). In Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, surprise is
“proportional to the unexpectedness of what happens” (Arp 111). In other words,
surprise means the element of reader’s unexpectedness about the plot. The
definition of artistic unity is “that condition of a successful literary work whereby
all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose”
(“Literary Terms”).
2
Maranatha Christian University
This study is significant because the result will tell the readers how the
author has successfully created a crime story through presenting good suspense,
surprise and artistic unity.
Statement of the Problem
The problems that are going to be analysed in this thesis are:
1. What suspense is revealed in the novel?
2. What surprise is revealed in the novel?
3. How is the artistic unity presented in the novel?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the above statement of the problem, this study is conducted with
the following purposes:
1. To show what suspense is revealed in the novel.
2. To show what surprise is revealed in the novel.
3. To show how the artistic unity is presented in the novel.
Method of Research
I used library research in writing my thesis. First, I read Tom Clancy’s Net
Force as the primary text. Then, I also read some sources as well as compiled
some information from the Internet to support my analysis of suspense, surprise
and artistic unity of the novel. Finally, I made some conclusion of my analysis.
3
Maranatha Christian University
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of three chapters that are preceded by the
Acknowledgements, the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the
Introduction, which consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the
Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization
of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the analysis of suspense, surprise and artistic unity
in Tom Clancy’s Net Force. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. Finally, the thesis
ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consists the Synopsis of
the Novel and the Biography of the Author.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After I have finished reading and analyzing the novel, I conclude that Tom
Clancy is very skillful in creating such a good story. He creates the story full of
actions and investigations. This makes the story have a good element of plot.
The first suspense is about the assassination of the commander of the
FBI’s Net Force named Steve Day and the assassin is a professional as he leaves
no clues on the murder scene. This suspense makes the readers thrilled by the
incident and start asking who the cold-blooded assassin is. They also wonder if
the FBI can succeed in solving the case. The suspense is answered by a surprise
when the FBI get some information from Carver, one of Day’s men in the unit, to
start the investigation. As the commander of Net Force, Steve Day has succeeded
in catching and putting the New York City Five Families’s members in jail. It
seems that Ray Genaloni wants to take revenge on Steve Day for putting some of
his members in jail, which becomes a strong motive for him to kill Steve Day.
From the reasoning above, the first suspense and surprise become acceptable and
believable.
17
Maranatha Christian University
The second suspense shows when the FBI and the President of the United
States are discussing Day’s case. They suspect Ray Genaloni as the one who is
responsible for Day’s murder case. This suspense makes the readers curious to
know whether Genaloni is really involved in Day’s assassination. The suspense is
answered by a surprise when the FBI find that Ray Genaloni is assassinated by a
professional assassin. It seems that the assassin has a personal mission that needs
to be completed. The readers become more curious about the story. From the
analysis above, the second suspense and surprise can be acceptable and
believable.
The third suspense happens when a professional assassin tries to
assassinate Alex Michaels. This suspense makes the readers expect to know
whether the assassin will succeed in assassinating Alex Michaels. The suspense is
answered by a surprise when Alex Michaels can survive from the assassination
that the assassin will do to him. When Alex hears a little dog bark after seeing a
cat passing, he turns to see it and finds out that there is an old lady coming from
behind with a baseball bat ready to swing it to smash him. Fortunately, he can
reach the alarm button and press the firing stud, which makes the assassin run.
From the explanation above, the third suspense and surprise become acceptable
and believable.
The fourth suspense shows when the FBI try to catch Mora Sullivan, a
professional assassin who is believed to be responsible for Steve Day’s
assassination. This suspense makes the readers curious whether the professional
assassin, Mora Sullivan, is the real assassin of Steve Day. The suspense is
answered by a surprise when Alex Michaels and Toni Fiorella catch Mora
18
Maranatha Christian University
Sullivan. When they do the interrogation, Mora Sullivan confesses that she kills
Ray Genaloni but not Steve Day. She wants to remove her tracks as one of
Genaloni’s left-hand by murdering Ray Genaloni. Mora Sullivan has no
relationship with Steve Day’s assassination. It raises the readers’ tension to know
the real assassin of Steve Day. From the sentences above, the fourth suspense and
surprise are proven to be acceptable and believable.
The fifth suspense shows when the FBI’s Net Force computer programmer
named Jay Gridley gives information that Vladimir Plekhanov, a computer hacker
from Russia, is trying to sabotage the Net Force’s main system, which may lead to
a civil war. This suspense makes the readers curious whether the Russian hacker,
Vladimir Plekhanov, is involved in sabotaging the Net Force's main system. The
suspense is answered by a surprise; when the FBI interrogate him, it turns out that
he does not only want to sabotage Net Force’s main system, but he is also the one
who is responsible for Steve Day’s death. Plekhanov wants to sabotage Net
Force’s main system and start a civil war in the United States of America.
However, he needs the key to get into it. The key is only owned by Commander
Steve Day. Plekhanov has to kill the Commander to get the key so that he can
have an access into the system. From the clarification above, the fifth suspense
and surprise are considered to be acceptable and believable.
In my opinion, Tom Clancy’s success in writing this novel has come from
the interesting subject of the novel and the good development of the plot,
especially the suspense. Tom Clancy can write such a story, in which the solution
of the case is held back in order to raise the readers’ tension. He can lead the
19
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readers to a point where they will always wonder what will happen next to the
story.
Based on my analysis above, I can say that Net Force is a good novel. It
tells about an investigation to uncover the mystery of the assassination of the
Commander of the FBI’s Net Force. The actions and investigations in the
storyline give the readers the feeling of suspense and surprise. The suspense is
answered by a good surprise. In reading the suspense we will find that it is
logically answered by the surprise; as a result, the readers will find that the
suspenses and surprises in the artistic unity are acceptable and believable. It
makes the novel worth to read. Because of its success, Tom Clancy’s Net Force
was adapted into a movie in 1999.
20
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Clancy, Tom. Net Force. New York: Berkley Books, Inc., 1998. Print.
References:
Arp Thomas, R. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. New York:
Hartcourt Brace & Company, 2002. Print.
“Definition of the Crime Fiction Genre.” Findmeanauthor. 2011. Web. 28 Aug.
2011.
“Literary Terms.” Humanitiesweb. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
Shaw, Harry. Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw – Hill,
1976: 365. Print.
“Tom Clancy Biography and Notes.” Biblio. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2010.
21
Maranatha Christian University
Dalam tugas akhir ini saya membahas sebuah novel berjudul Net Force yang
ditulis oleh Tom Clancy. Net Force adalah sebuah novel yang bergenre crime fiction.
Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang komandan baru Net Force bernama Alex
Michaels yang berusaha mengungkap misteri kematian sahabat baiknya, komandan
lama Steve Day, yang dibunuh secara sadis, dan menangkap dalang dibalik
pembunuhan tersebut.
Setelah membaca buku ini saya menemukan bahwa unsur yang penting dalam
novel ini adalah plot, dengan unsur-unsurnya suspense, surprise dan artistic unity.
Saya memutuskan untuk membuat analisis tentang hubungan antara suspense, dan
surprise, serta menunjukkan bagaimana keduanya terhubung sehingga membentuk
sebuah artistic unity yang masuk akal dan dapat diterima serta dipercaya oleh
pembaca. Selain itu, Tom Clancy menyajikan novel ini dengan cerita yang menarik,
yang membuat pembaca selalu penasaran dan bertanya-tanya bagaimana akhir cerita
dari novel ini.
Saya berkesimpulan bahwa novel ini berhasil karena perkembangan plot-nya
yang luar biasa, khususnya unsur suspense-nya. Ketegangan yang muncul pada tiap
adegan dalam novel ini memandu pembaca untuk semakin penasaran dan terus
iii
Maranatha Christian University
membaca sampai akhir cerita. Selain itu, topik dari novel ini sangat menarik, yaitu
tentang kebaikan melawan kejahatan.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study..............................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................3
Method of Research .....................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis ...........................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF SUSPENSE, SURPRISE AND ARTISTIC
UNITY OF TOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE...........................................5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ................................................................17
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................21
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Net Force ................................................................................22
Biography of Tom Clancy..........................................................................23
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Net Force
The story begins when the Commander of Net Force named Steve Day is
assassinated by someone unknown. Net Force is a cyber security system that
controls all public resources in United States of America; it is associated with the
military. Commander Steve Day is a close friend of Deputy Commander Alex
Michaels. The next day, the Chief of FBI, Walter S. Carver, holds a meeting with
Alex Michaels and appoints him the new Commander of Net Force and Toni
Fiorella the new Deputy Commander of Net Force.
Alex Michaels's first day as Commander of the Net Force is used to look
for some evidence that might help him to find out the assassin and the purpose of
the assassination. In doing the investigation, Commander Alex Michaels is
assisted by his deputy Tony Fiorella, Colonel John Howard, and a computer
programmer of Net Force named Jay Gridley. There is someone who is suspected
as the assassin. He is Ray Genaloni, the leader of New York City Five Families
mafia.
In another place, a computer hacker from Russia named Vladimir
Plekhanov, assisted by his loyal enforcer Mikhayl Ruzhyo, is planning to make a
disaster by using computers. He plans to sabotage the Net Force computer system,
which he believes will lead to a civil war and from which he can gain money. He
22
plans to buy governments with the money that he will gain. It will make him a
rich and powerful man.
After doing some investigations to several people that might be involved
in the assassination, Net Force crime unit led by Commander Alex Michaels along
with Jay Gridley, Colonel John Howard and Sergeant Julio Fernandez, manages to
catch the assassin of Commander Steve Day. He is Vladimir Plekhanov, who is
arrested when he is preparing his mission to start a civil war in the United States
of America.
Biography of Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy is a great American contemporary novelist. His full name is
Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr. He is best-known for his ability in writing crime fiction.
He was born on 12 April, 1947 in Baltimore County, Maryland. He studied at
Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland and graduated in 1965. He continued to
study English Literature at Loyola College in Baltimore and graduated in 1969.
Tom Clancy’s goal was to join the United States military army, but he was
rejected because he failed in a required eye exam in the Reserve Officers Training
Corps. Before making his literary debut in 1984 with his first best seller novel The
Hunt for Red October, he spent some time running an independent insurance
agency. Tom Clancy and his first wife's marriage lasted nearly thirty years and
they have four children. Tom Clancy’s first wife filed for divorce in 1996 after it
was revealed that her husband had an extramarital affair. The affair involved
Katherine Huang who worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York. On
June 26, 1999, Tom Clancy married a freelance journalist Alexandra Marie
23
Llewellyn, who is the first cousin of Colin Powell, the 65 th United States
Secretary of State.
Tom Clancy is one of two authors who have sold two million copies on a
first printing in the 1990’s. His novel Clear and Present Danger in 1989 sold
1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it a bestselling novel of the 1990’s. The other
author is John Grisham. Tom Clancy also received the Alfred Thayer Mahan
Award for Literary Achievement from the Navy League of the United States in
1990.
Beside Net Force (1998), there are several of Tom Clancy’s best novels
such as The Hunt for Red October (1984), Red Storm Rising (1986), Patriot
Games (1987), Clear and Present Danger (1989), The Sum of All Fears (1991),
Op-Center (1995), and SSN: Strategies for Submarine Warfare (1996).
Source: “Tom Clancy Biography and Notes.”
24
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Tom Clancy is a great American contemporary novelist who writes crime
fiction. It is said that “Thomas Leo Clancy Jr, who writes under the name of Tom
Clancy, is an American author of bestselling political thrillers, best-known for his
technically detailed espionage and military science storylines during the Cold
War” (“Tom Clancy Biography and Notes”).
Tom Clancy is best-known for his ability in writing crime fiction. Crime
fiction is “the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals,
and their motives. Most - though not all - crime novels share a common structure.
First there is the crime, usually a murder; then there is the investigation; and
finally the outcome or judgement, often in the shape of the criminal's arrest or
death” (“Definition of the Crime Fiction Genre”). Tom Clancy is “one of only two
authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing in the 1990s. His 1989
novel Clear and Present Danger, sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it the
#1 bestselling novel of the 1980s. The other author is John Grisham.
1
Maranatha Christian University
Tom Clancy also received the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary
Achievement from the Navy League of the United States in 1990” (“Tom Clancy
Biography and Notes”).
The novel that I will analyse in my thesis is Tom Clancy’s crime fiction
Net Force. He wrote this bestselling novel in 1998. Because of its success, Tom
Clancy’s Net Force was adapted into a movie in 1999. This novel has a good
storyline and it tells about an investigation in uncovering the mystery of the
assassination of a Commander of the FBI’s Net Force.
In Tom Clancy’s Net Force, I notice that the most essential literary
element is plot. The plot of the novel is filled with actions and investigations. The
story in the novel is about an assassination of Commander of the FBI’s Net Force
named Steve Day by someone unknown. The actions and investigations in the
storyline will give the readers the feeling of suspense and surprise. So in my
thesis, I am going to analyse the three elements of the laws of plot, namely
suspense, surprise and artistic unity of the novel, by using formalism approach.
This approach is based on the information taken from the novel.
In Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, suspense is “a quality of tension
in a plot which sustains interest and makes readers ask ‘what happens next?’”
(Shaw 365). In Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, surprise is
“proportional to the unexpectedness of what happens” (Arp 111). In other words,
surprise means the element of reader’s unexpectedness about the plot. The
definition of artistic unity is “that condition of a successful literary work whereby
all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose”
(“Literary Terms”).
2
Maranatha Christian University
This study is significant because the result will tell the readers how the
author has successfully created a crime story through presenting good suspense,
surprise and artistic unity.
Statement of the Problem
The problems that are going to be analysed in this thesis are:
1. What suspense is revealed in the novel?
2. What surprise is revealed in the novel?
3. How is the artistic unity presented in the novel?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the above statement of the problem, this study is conducted with
the following purposes:
1. To show what suspense is revealed in the novel.
2. To show what surprise is revealed in the novel.
3. To show how the artistic unity is presented in the novel.
Method of Research
I used library research in writing my thesis. First, I read Tom Clancy’s Net
Force as the primary text. Then, I also read some sources as well as compiled
some information from the Internet to support my analysis of suspense, surprise
and artistic unity of the novel. Finally, I made some conclusion of my analysis.
3
Maranatha Christian University
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of three chapters that are preceded by the
Acknowledgements, the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the
Introduction, which consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the
Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization
of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the analysis of suspense, surprise and artistic unity
in Tom Clancy’s Net Force. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. Finally, the thesis
ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consists the Synopsis of
the Novel and the Biography of the Author.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After I have finished reading and analyzing the novel, I conclude that Tom
Clancy is very skillful in creating such a good story. He creates the story full of
actions and investigations. This makes the story have a good element of plot.
The first suspense is about the assassination of the commander of the
FBI’s Net Force named Steve Day and the assassin is a professional as he leaves
no clues on the murder scene. This suspense makes the readers thrilled by the
incident and start asking who the cold-blooded assassin is. They also wonder if
the FBI can succeed in solving the case. The suspense is answered by a surprise
when the FBI get some information from Carver, one of Day’s men in the unit, to
start the investigation. As the commander of Net Force, Steve Day has succeeded
in catching and putting the New York City Five Families’s members in jail. It
seems that Ray Genaloni wants to take revenge on Steve Day for putting some of
his members in jail, which becomes a strong motive for him to kill Steve Day.
From the reasoning above, the first suspense and surprise become acceptable and
believable.
17
Maranatha Christian University
The second suspense shows when the FBI and the President of the United
States are discussing Day’s case. They suspect Ray Genaloni as the one who is
responsible for Day’s murder case. This suspense makes the readers curious to
know whether Genaloni is really involved in Day’s assassination. The suspense is
answered by a surprise when the FBI find that Ray Genaloni is assassinated by a
professional assassin. It seems that the assassin has a personal mission that needs
to be completed. The readers become more curious about the story. From the
analysis above, the second suspense and surprise can be acceptable and
believable.
The third suspense happens when a professional assassin tries to
assassinate Alex Michaels. This suspense makes the readers expect to know
whether the assassin will succeed in assassinating Alex Michaels. The suspense is
answered by a surprise when Alex Michaels can survive from the assassination
that the assassin will do to him. When Alex hears a little dog bark after seeing a
cat passing, he turns to see it and finds out that there is an old lady coming from
behind with a baseball bat ready to swing it to smash him. Fortunately, he can
reach the alarm button and press the firing stud, which makes the assassin run.
From the explanation above, the third suspense and surprise become acceptable
and believable.
The fourth suspense shows when the FBI try to catch Mora Sullivan, a
professional assassin who is believed to be responsible for Steve Day’s
assassination. This suspense makes the readers curious whether the professional
assassin, Mora Sullivan, is the real assassin of Steve Day. The suspense is
answered by a surprise when Alex Michaels and Toni Fiorella catch Mora
18
Maranatha Christian University
Sullivan. When they do the interrogation, Mora Sullivan confesses that she kills
Ray Genaloni but not Steve Day. She wants to remove her tracks as one of
Genaloni’s left-hand by murdering Ray Genaloni. Mora Sullivan has no
relationship with Steve Day’s assassination. It raises the readers’ tension to know
the real assassin of Steve Day. From the sentences above, the fourth suspense and
surprise are proven to be acceptable and believable.
The fifth suspense shows when the FBI’s Net Force computer programmer
named Jay Gridley gives information that Vladimir Plekhanov, a computer hacker
from Russia, is trying to sabotage the Net Force’s main system, which may lead to
a civil war. This suspense makes the readers curious whether the Russian hacker,
Vladimir Plekhanov, is involved in sabotaging the Net Force's main system. The
suspense is answered by a surprise; when the FBI interrogate him, it turns out that
he does not only want to sabotage Net Force’s main system, but he is also the one
who is responsible for Steve Day’s death. Plekhanov wants to sabotage Net
Force’s main system and start a civil war in the United States of America.
However, he needs the key to get into it. The key is only owned by Commander
Steve Day. Plekhanov has to kill the Commander to get the key so that he can
have an access into the system. From the clarification above, the fifth suspense
and surprise are considered to be acceptable and believable.
In my opinion, Tom Clancy’s success in writing this novel has come from
the interesting subject of the novel and the good development of the plot,
especially the suspense. Tom Clancy can write such a story, in which the solution
of the case is held back in order to raise the readers’ tension. He can lead the
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readers to a point where they will always wonder what will happen next to the
story.
Based on my analysis above, I can say that Net Force is a good novel. It
tells about an investigation to uncover the mystery of the assassination of the
Commander of the FBI’s Net Force. The actions and investigations in the
storyline give the readers the feeling of suspense and surprise. The suspense is
answered by a good surprise. In reading the suspense we will find that it is
logically answered by the surprise; as a result, the readers will find that the
suspenses and surprises in the artistic unity are acceptable and believable. It
makes the novel worth to read. Because of its success, Tom Clancy’s Net Force
was adapted into a movie in 1999.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Clancy, Tom. Net Force. New York: Berkley Books, Inc., 1998. Print.
References:
Arp Thomas, R. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. New York:
Hartcourt Brace & Company, 2002. Print.
“Definition of the Crime Fiction Genre.” Findmeanauthor. 2011. Web. 28 Aug.
2011.
“Literary Terms.” Humanitiesweb. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
Shaw, Harry. Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw – Hill,
1976: 365. Print.
“Tom Clancy Biography and Notes.” Biblio. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2010.
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