Christopher Boone`s personality development as an autistic in Haddon`s The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHRISTOPHER BOONE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
AS AN AUTISTIC IN HADDON’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF
THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
Student Number: 051214108
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2012
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHRISTOPHER BOONE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
AS AN AUTISTIC IN HADDON’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF
THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
Student Number: 051214108
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
2012
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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that the thesis, which I have written, 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, 18 July 2012
The writer
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
051214108
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswi Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama
: Melati Sunarsari Suryani
Nomor Mahasiswa
: 051214108
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dhaarma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: CHRISTOPHER
BONE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AS AN AUTISTIC BOY IN
HADDON’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya
memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk
menyimpan, mengalihkan ke dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk
pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di
internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa meminta ijin dari saya
maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya
sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 18 Juli 2012
Yang menyatakan:
(Melati Sunarsari Suryani)
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DEDICATION PAGE
This thesis is dedicated to my lovely parents and my cute sister.
The thing always happens that you really believe in
and the belief in a thing makes it happen.
Frank Loyd Wright
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ABSTRACT
Suryani, Melati Sunarsari. (2012). Christopher Boone’s Personality Development
as an Autistic in Haddon’s The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time.
Yogyakarta: Teachers Training and Education Faculty, Department of Language
and Arts Education, English Language Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses Christopher Boone’s personality development as an
autistic. This study focuses on three problems. The first problem is about the
personality of Christopher Boone’s as an autistic in the beginning. The second
problem is about Christopher Boone’s life experiences that may change his
personality. The third problem is Christopher Boone’s personality development
after undergoing some experiences.
This thesis was finished by applying library research study. This thesis
applied psychological approach to comprehend the patterns of human personality
and behavior. Besides using psychological approach, this thesis also applied theory
of characterization, personality and autism. Theory of characterization was used to
analyze the character of Christopher Boone. Theory personality and autism were
used to analyze Christopher Boone’s personality in the beginning Christopher
Boone’s personality development after he faced some experiences.
The first result of the study was about Christopher Boone’s personality as an
autistic child. On the first problem, we can see Christopher Boone’s special
personality and behavior which are different from normal people. He likes hitting
people and smashing things when he is upset. He cannot communicate with other
people, he likes doing strange actions. The second problem is about the way
Christopher Boone changes his personality. He changes his personality by facing
some experiences when he tries to find out Wellington’s murderer and his mother.
The ways he tries to face his difficulty toward society affects his personality. The
third problem formulation is the result of the way Christopher Boone changes his
strange behaviors and thinking on his personality. On the third problem
formulation, we can see that Christopher Boone’s personalities are changed after
undergoing some experiences not because of therapy.
Finally, the researcher would like to propose two suggestions. The first
suggestion is for the future researcher(s) on Christopher Boone in the next years.
The second suggestion is for readers. They can learn about an autistic child’s
personality and how to handle them on appropriate way.
Keywords: personality, personality development, autism, autistic
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ABSTRAK
Suryani, Melati Sunarsari (2012). Christopher Boone’s Personality Development as
an autistic in Haddon’s The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time.
Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni,
Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas perkembangan kepribadian Cristopher Boone sebagai
anak autis. Skripsi ini memfokuskan pada tiga masalah. Masalah pertama adalah
tentang karakter Christopher Boone sebagai anak autis. Masalah kedua adalah
tentang pengalaman hidup Christopher boone yang dapat mengubah kepribadian
dia. Masalah ketiga adalah perkembangan kepribadian Chritopher Boone setelah
menjalani beberapa pengalaman.
Skripsi ini diselesaikan dengan menerapkan metode studi pustaka. Skripsi
ini menggunakan teori psikologi untuk mengartikan bentuk kepribadian dan
perilaku manusia. Selain menggunakan teori psikologi, skripsi ini menerapkan teori
karakterisasi, kepribadian dan autism. Teori karakterisasi digunakan untuk
menganalisa karakter dari Christopher Boone. Teori kepribadian dan autism
digunakan untuk menganalisa kepribadian Christopher Boone di awal dan
perkembangan kepribadian dia setelah menghadapi beberapa pengalaman.
Hasil pertama dari skripsi ini mengenai kepribadian Christopher Boone
sebagai anak autis. Dalam masalah pertama, kita dapat melihat kepribadian an
tingkah laku khusus Christopher Boone yang berbeda dari orang normal. Dia suka
memukul orang dan membanting barang-barang saat dia sedih. Dia tidak bisa
berkomunikasi dengan orang lain dan dia suka melakukan tindakan aneh. Dia
mengubah kepribadiannya dengan menghadapi beberapa pengalaman saat dia
mencoba mencari tahu pembunuh Welllington dan ibunya. Cara dia mengahadapi
kesulitannya terhadap lingkungan mempengaruhi kepribadiannya. Masalah ketiga
adalah hasil dari cara Christopher Boone merubah tingkah lakunya dan pola piker
dia yang aneh dalam kepribadiannya. Dalam masalah ke tiga, kita dapat melihat
kepribadian Christopher Boone berubah setelah mengalami beberapa pengalaman
bukan karena terapi.
Akhirnya, peneliti memberi dua saran. Saran pertama untuk peneliti
selanjutnya tentang Christopher Boone di tahun-tahun berikutnya. Saran kedua
untuk para pembaca. Mereka dapat belajar kepribadian anak autis dan bagaimana
menangani anak autis dengan cara yang tepat.
Kata kunci: personality, personality development, autism, autistic
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Allah SWT, who
always gives support and blessing. Allah is never tired to guide me, give me spirit
and strength so that I can finish this thesis and never give up anymore. I give all my
best to finish this thesis.
Secondly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, V.
Triprihatmini, M.Hum., M.A., for her guidance, suggestions and patience during
my thesis writing process. I also thank all PBI lecturers for sharing their
knowledge, teaching me with their kindness and patience and helping me with my
study problems during my study in Sanata Dharma University. I also thank to PBI’s
secretariat staff, Dani and Tari for their kindness and help.
Thirdly, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my lovely parents,
Mr. Wimpie Sunartho and Mrs. Sekar Gondosuli. They always motivate me to
finish this thesis. They always support me with their love and their spirit. For my
cute sister, Uky Upik, thank being a great sister. I really love you, uky upik. I also
thank my aunt Anis. She always asks me about my thesis and reminds me to finish
my study as soon as possible.
My deepest gratitude goes to all of my best friends. First of all is for my
besfriends They are Ria Agatha, Wuri Kuncis, Bunga, Wury Sancrut, Ari Cecep,
Emak Gempita, Citra, Astri Us-Us, Ika, Boz Nana, Dhanik, Wulan, Silvy, Chimi,
Intan, Anggie, Djinonk, Delfine, Yaya, Jose. I am blessed to have them in my life.
Thanks for supporting me to finish this thesis and never giving up to remind me and
text me to work on my thesis every day. Their love, kindness and support make me
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tough, happy and think that I can finish the thesis. I will miss the moments we share
together. We share our story of life, love, jobs, study, gossips and even something
we call it’s time go mad! My deepest gratitude is dedicated to Nova, Sancrut and
Didiek who always support and remind to finish my study. Thanks for always
walking beside me when I gave up and got lazy doing my thesis. Second, I would
like to thank to Andre, Ruma, Indro, Kia, Koko, Denny, Shodiq, Leo, Panda, Sano
and Agung . Thank for your laugh, craziness, support and time. You are always in
my heart.
The next dedication goes to grandparents who always inspire me to do my
best. Thanks for accompanying me to face all problems although all of you just stay
in my mind and my heart. Finally, for all my friends whose names cannot be
mentioned one by one I thank them for time and every moment we have shared
together. God bless them now and forever.
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TITLE PAGE....................................................................................................
i
APPROVAL PAGES ……………………….................................................
ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……………………...……....
iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI …….......................................
v
DEDICATION PAGE ...……… ……………………..……………………… vi
ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................
vii
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………. ...............................................................
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................
xi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1
A. Background of the Study .................................................................
1
B. Problem Formulation .......................................................................
5
C. Objectives of the Study …………………………………………....
5
D. Benefits of the Study .........................................................................
5
E. Definition of Terms ........................................................................... 6
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF REALTED LITERATURE
8
A. Review of Related Theories …..........................................................
8
1. Critical Approaches ………………………………………..........
8
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2. Character ………………………………………………………... 9
a. Definition ……………………………………………….
9
b. Kinds of Character ……………………………………… 9
3. Characterization ……………………...…………………………. 10
a. Definition ……………………………………………….. 10
b. Method of Characterization ……………………………..
10
4. Theory of Personality …………….……………………………..
11
a. Definition ……………………………………………….. 11
b. Factors Influencing Someone’s Personality …………….
13
5. Theory of Autism ………………………………….……………. 14
B. Theoretical Framework ……………….............................................
20
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................
22
A. Object of the Study ..........................................................................
22
B. Approach of the Study .....................................................................
23
C. Method of the Study ......................................................................... 25
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS
27
A. Christopher Boone in the Beginning ................................................ 27
B. Christophe Boone’s Life Experiences .............................................. 43
C. Christopher Boone’s Behavior after Undergoing the Experiences ...
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CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
59
A. Conclusions ……………..................................................................
59
B. Suggestions .....................................................................................
62
1. Suggestions for the Future Researcher ……………….........
62
2. Suggestions for Teaching Implementation ……..……….....
63
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................
65
APPENDICES ................................................................................................
67
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five main parts, namely the background of the
study, the problem formulation, the objectives of the study, and the benefits of the
study and the definition of terms. The problem formulation contains three basic
questions which describe the problems that will be analyzed in this study. The
objectives of the study state the purposes of writing the study. The benefits of the
study provide the explanation of those who can obtain the benefits of the study. The
last part is definition of the terms. In this section, the explanations of the several
terms that are related to the study are explained to avoid any misunderstanding
about them.
A. Background of the Study
People usually have same and different ways in facing some situations and
problems. They have differences in perspective, thinking and behavior. Because of
their differences, it can be said that they have their own characteristics. They have
their unique personality. This personality can also be changed and not always same
as the time goes by. It develops over time and situation. The changes and the
development of people’s personality influence their uniqueness. Everybody is not
static. His/her personality will develop consciously and unconsciously. The
personality changes may lead him/her either to be a better or worse person. These
differences in perspective, thinking and personality not just happened on normal
people. It also happened on unique people as seen in autistic people. They have
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their own way of thinking, giving perspective and doing their behavior. In this
study, the researcher analyzes an autistic boy. It is because the researcher has an
autistic student. The researcher is interested in the way her student thinks, gives
perspective about something and behaves. The author’s student’s actions are strange
and abnormal for others but interested to be observed. Another aspect that makes
researcher interested is in the development process Christopher Boone, a character
in novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time written by Mark
Haddon, develops his personalities. Christopher Boone develops his personality by
dealing with some experiences. This fact makes the researcher wants to know more
about autistic boy and how an autistic boy’s personality can be changed without
doing some therapies.
The autistic child as seen in this study has different personality with normal
people. He suffers from his abnormalities. He usually shows significant
abnormalities in social interaction and language. He has his own life and does not
care about their surroundings. This autistic disorder also can be seen in Christopher
Boone’s character in novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
written by Mark Haddon.
Some people may not know deeper about autism and feel strange about
autistic children. Autistic children will withdraw from the society. In fact, we need
to give autistic children attention as we do with normal children. They need normal
activities and lovely understanding to make them comfortable.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a novel that gives us a
better understanding in autistic child as seen in Christopher Boone’s personality.
The story in the novel is told and written by the protagonist of the novel, a fifteen-
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year-old boy, named Christopher John Francis Boone, who is known for his good
memory. Christopher Boone is an autistic boy who has super intelligence. He likes
playing with numbers and games. Christopher here is characterized as a boy suffers
from Asperger Syndrome. Asperger Syndrome is high functioning autism. He tries
to write a detective novel based on his perspective and his perspective based on the
logic of his mind.
The story of the novel starts when Wellington, Christopher neighbor’s dog
has been killed in a night. Christopher has found Wellington’s death body on his
neighbor yard. He is very upset. It is because he loves Wellington much. Then,
Christopher starts his detective mission to investigate the mysterious murder. He
acts like Sherlock Holmes. Taking place in Swindon and London, the conflict raises
when Christopher starts his detective mission. Christopher faces some problems that
deal with his behaviors. He should fights against his strange behaviors to gain some
information from his neighbors. He also should fights against his strange feeling
towards the society. He tries to change his behaviors in order to get information.
Although his behaviors still looks strange for normal people, Christopher does not
think that it is a problem. Christopher then finds some interesting facts about his
parents’ separation. He finally knows that his mother is still alive and she lives in
London with Mr. Shears. This fact also makes Christopher has bad point of view of
his father.
Haddon takes an unusual theme for his novel that is autism children
behavior. He deals with Christopher’s unique personalities as an autistic boy. He
draws this boy as an autistic boy who unable to understand human’s emotions. He
also gives information that Christopher Boone cannot comprehend metaphor and
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jokes, and also cannot be touched physically. In some way, Haddon wants to tell us
that Christopher is a very logical boy, who likes solving mathematic problems,
finding the formula for mortality, and drawing graphic for animal’s population. He
loves to play with numbers and play some difficult mathematics theories when he is
not feeling comfortable with the situation. He cannot tell lies and he loves to solve
puzzles and mysteries, including Wellington’s death.
By the normal human’s standard, his inability of telling lies is unusual.
Moreover this is not because he loves to say nothing but the truth, but because his
own logical thinking. He does not like guessing something that is not based on fact.
He thinks that when people say something based on fact and they do not tell lies, it
means that they are good people. Some of Christopher’s irregular actions on his
social behavior towards others cannot be understood by normal human beings.
Christopher’s strange behaviors towards society raise some problems. Some people
still cannot accept Christopher’s behaviors. It can be seen through the way
Christopher Boone, as the detective, writes his novel about a detective novel.
Christopher’s adventure in finding the dog’s murderer takes him into the
real facts of his life. The facts are about where exactly his Mother is, what she is
doing, his parents’ relationship and the actual dog’s murderer himself. The novel of
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time itself is Christopher’s
assignment at school which written by himself. Christopher’s mentor, Siobhan asks
him to write a diary of his daily life. By doing this writing activity, Siobhan
believes as a kind of autism’s treatment. Christopher can learn to control his
emotion through writing activity. This activity also makes Christopher is able to
express his feeling, behavior, and way of thinking.
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is Christopher’s daily
journal of life. He writes his daily activity combined with the scientific facts he is
interested in. For example, when he writes about his mother, he may surprisingly
add information about the frog mortality formula, and how it works. Readers can
clearly see the vivid point of view of an autistic through Christopher’s writing.
The development of the character of an autistic, Christopher Boone, the
main character of The Curious Incident of The dog in the Night-Time written by
Mark Haddon in this paper, is analyzed by the researcher using the theory of
personality and autism in the course of psychology.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is Christopher Boone characterized in the beginning of the novel?
2. How does Christopher Boone’s as an autistic develop his personality?
3. What are the significant changes of the Christopher Boone’s personality
after undergoing his life experiences?
C. Objectives of The Study
The objectives of this study are to know how the character of the novel’s
protagonist, Christopher Boone, develops. Moreover, this study intends to analyze
the changes in Christopher’s personality after he deals with some experiences.
D. Benefits of The Study
There are some benefits of the study. First, the benefit of the study is for
students of English Education Study Program. The researcher expects that this study
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will contribute to their study especially for their knowledge when they have autistic
children as their students. The researcher hopes that it will give knowledge in
understanding the autistic children better.
Second, it is for the future researchers who will study about the same novel
or topic, the present researcher hopes that this study can be supporting resource in
completing their study. Finally for readers, the researcher hopes that this study can
give more perspective on autistic children.
E. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misinterpretations, the researcher defines important terms
that are used throughout this study.
1. Based on Gregory J. Feist (2006), Personality is a pattern of relatively
permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and
individuality to person’s behavior. In this study, personality is an effort to
organize human thinking, feelings, and behavior that will help human
understands why some they are alike in some way and different in
others.(p.45)
2. Robledo and Ham-Kucharski (2005) say that autism is a neurological
disorder that usually manifests itself early in the toddlers years. It hampers a
child ability to learn how to communicate, interact with others socially, and
indulge in imaginative play.
3. Based on Schiambang and Smith (1982), development refers to the changes
happening to the human being during their lifetime (p.5). Hornby (1995)
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also states that development is the action or process of developing or being
developed (p.318). In this study, development means the main character’s
personality that is developing along the time and situation in life.
4. Hurlock (1973) says that personality development means the way
personality changes and develops based on the factors that are responsible
for changes that will affect someone’s life (p.463). It means that the
personality development is the changes of someone’s characteristics to the
worse or the better ones.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two parts. They are review of related theories and
theoretical framework. The first part, presents critical approaches, character, and
characterization include definition and methods and characterization. The second part
presents theoretical framework. Here, the writer will describe the contribution of the
theories in solving the problems of the study.
A. Theoretical Description
1. Critical Approaches
In analyzing a novel, a researcher needs critical approaches. It is needed to
avoid the subjectivity of the researcher in her study. Rohberger and Woods state that
there are five approaches that can be used to analyze a novel (6-15). First is the
formalist approach. It concentrates on the total integrity of the literary work. Second is
the biographical approach. This approach focuses on the importance of the author’s
ideas and personal life. Third is the sociocultural-historical approach. This approach
describes the social, cultural and historical background as the references. The next
approach is the mythopoeic approach. It attempts to discover particular patterns of
human thought that shared a same universal belief to certain community mind. The last
is the psychological approach. This approach is also used to analyze the pattern of
human personality and behavior. Throughout the psychological approach, the
researcher can analyze the character’s thought, personality and behavior deeply.
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9
2. Character
a. Definition
Characters play an important role in a story of a novel. When we talk about
characters, we cannot only say about character’s physical appearance, but also the
personality that reveals the figure. This According to Abram (1981), characters are the
persons that presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the
reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are
expressed in what they say – dialogue – and what they do – in action (p.23). It means
that, the readers can interpret a character in a story through their conversation, and their
activity. Through their conversation and act in the story, the readers know the
emotional, dispositional and moral of the characters.
b. Kinds of Character
Foster (1974) states that there are two kinds of characters in a novel, they are
flat and round character (p.51). A flat character is static and does not develop, while a
round character is complex and represents many traits and qualities.
Henkle (1977) says that characters can also be divided based on the prominence
and function: major and secondary characters (p.87-100). He explains that major
characters deserve the attention from the readers and other characters. The secondary
characters perform more limited functions. He also says the characters can be
protagonist and antagonist. Holman and Harmon (1986) state that the antagonist is the
one who directly opposes the protagonist (p.27). They also say that protagonist is the
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leading figure both in terms of importance in the play and ability to enlist the readers’
interest and sympathy (p.400).
3. Characterization
a. Definition
Rohberger and Woods (1971) state that characterization is the process by which
an author creates the character, a particular type of person (p.180). Murphy (1972)
states that characterization is the way of an author to convey the characters and the
personalities naturally so that the reader gets to know and understand the characters.
Characterization in a literary work is needed by the author since it helps the author to
convey the story by the characters and the reader will understand the story easier
(p.161). Furthermore, the author uses the characterization to guide the reader to
understand and use their own interpretation to interpret the story that they read in a
novel. Holman and Harmon (1986) state that characterization is a process of creating an
unreal person (p.81-82).
b. Methods and Characterization
Murphy (1972) states that there are nine ways to make characters
understandable and come alive for the readers (p.161-172). First is personal
description. Here, the author may draw details about the characters’ appearance, for
example how the characters are built, his or her skin color, hair, hand, eyes and so on.
Second is character as seen by another. It means that the author can be described
through the eyes and opinions of another character. The readers notice the different
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opinion and judgment on the character. The readers may know the personality by the
characters opinion or statement is the third way in understanding the character in a
story. The fourth way is past life. In past life, the author may give direct or indirect
comment through the person’s thought. The fifth is conversation of others. The
characters can be analyzed by what people think or say about him or her. Sixth is
reaction. The author shares a clue to a person’s character by letting the reader know
how that person reacts to various situation and events. Next is direct comment. Here the
author gives his or her personal comment or description of the character directly in the
story. Next step is thought. The author expresses the character’s thought in the story.
By knowing the character’s thought, the readers can analyze what goes in his or her
mind. The last is mannerism. The author can illustrate a person’s mannerism, habit or
modes of behavior which may also tell the readers something about the character.
4. Theory of Personality
a. Definition
Every single human is unique. He or she has his or her own personality. It is
because both of them have different characteristic thought, feeling and behavior. These
characteristic thought, feeling and behavior make a dynamic psychology pattern called
personality. Human’s personality is dynamic organization of psychology system that
determines characteristic, behavior and thought. Hurlock (1973) states that personality
comes from a Latin word ‘persona’ which refers to mask. Among the Greek actor used
a mask to hide their identity on stage. This dramatic technique was later adopted by the
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Romans as one appears to others not as one actually is (p.462).
Kagan and Havemann (1972), an expert in psychology, gives the definition of
personality theory in his book Psychology: An Introduction. He states that personality
theory is an attempt to organize the great variety of human thinkings, feelings, and
behaviors around some general principles that will help human understands why people
are alike in some ways and very different in others. This theory attemps to explain
which personality characteristics are the most important, the most likely patterns of
relationships among characteristics, the way in which these patterns are established,
and (at least by implication) the way they can be changed (p.403). Another pychologist,
Lawrence A. Pervin (2001) assumes that “personality represents those characteristics of
the person that account for consistent patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving” (p.4).
Personality is not static but it always exists. It changes over time and situation.
It will be different over time and situation. Based on this fact, Horney in Morris
believes that there are two important factors in shaping human’s Personality, namely
environmental and social factor. She states that the most important point of these two
factors is human relationship in which the child grows up (p.450). In addition, Morris
also states that personality is more complex than the entire admirable traits.
Pervin and Oliver (2001) say that there are five areas that a complete theory of
personality should cover. They are structure (the basic unit of personality), process (the
dynamic aspect of personality, growth and development (how a person develop into the
unique person, psychopathology (the nature and causes disordered personality) and
change (how people change and why they are unable to change) (p.5). This study is
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mainly focused on the growth and development and the change of a personality.
b. Factors Influencing Somenone’s Personality
However, there are two deteminants that are affecting the growth and
development of a person. Pervin and Oliver (2001) say that the two determinants
factors are genetic and environmetal determinants. Genetic factors play a major role in
determining personality, particulary in relation to what is unique in an individual. They
are generally more important in such characteristics as intelligence and temperament,
and less important in regard to values, ideals, and beliefs (p.10). Furthermore, there are
four areas in environmental determinants which are stated by Pervin and Oliver (2001).
First factor is culture. Each culture has its own institutionalized and sanctioned patterns
of learned behaviors, rituals, beliefs. This means that most members of a culture will
have certain personality characteristics in common. The second one is social class.
social class factors help determine the status of individuals, the roles they perform, the
duties they are bound by, and the privileges they enjoy. Social factors influence the
ways people define situations and how they respond to them.
The third factor is family. Each pattern of parental behavior affects the
personality development of a child. Parents influence their children’s behavior in at
least three important ways: elicit behavior in children, identification of one’s behavior,
and reward behaviors. Parental bonds are importatnt for early development. Finally, the
last factor is peers. Peer involvement is important for more lasting personality
development (p.14).
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The other theory of personality development is explained by Jung (1972), who
believes that personality develops through a series of stages that culminate in
individuation, or self-realization. Jung groups the stages of life into four general
periods. The first period is childhood. There are three substages in this period. They are
anarchic, monarchic, and the dualistic. Anarchic phase is characterized by chaotic and
sporadic consciousness. The monarchic phase of childhood is characterized by the
development of the ego and by the beginning of logical and verbal thinking, where
children see themselves objectively. The dualistic phase of childhood is when the ego is
divided into the objective and subjective. Children at this phase can see themselves as
the first person and are aware of their existence as separate individuals.
The second period is youth. This is the period from the puberty until middle life
of a man. According to Jung (1972), youth is, or should be a period of increased
activity maturing sexuality, growing consciousness, and recognition that the problemfree era of childhood is gone forever. The next period is middle life. This phase begins
at approximately age 35 or 40, signed by the increasing anxiety, middle life is also a
period of tremendous potential. This phase is often involves a mature religious
orientation, especially belief in some sort of life after death. Finally, we come to the
last period which called old age. This phase mainly involves unconscious attitudes
towards death and finding a meaningful philosophy of life (p.121).
5. Theory of Autism
Autism is a kind of mental delay disease in a human, affecting in his lack of
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communication, behavioral and social (personal) skills. Autism is a kind of sickness
causing brain damage, which makes the sufferer lack in some communication abilities.
The sufferer (called autistic) might not show and indicate a physical degradation. On
the other hand they might be a person with a superior intelligence. Autistic usually
builds their own world in their mind, which is called aloneness. However, autistics
usually show their strange attitude when they are placed in an inconvenient condition,
such as: in a crowded, a noisy, or a new place. Autistic does not have any difficulty in
their motoric sense, but they are unable to control them if they are angry. For example,
an autistic may stroke someone who makes him disappointed, and it can happen for
several times. There are some explanations about autism and its theory, as written by
Kearney (2006) in his book Casebook in Child Behavior Disorders 3rd edition:
The essential feature of mental retardation, according to the DSM-IV-TR is
“significantly sub average general intellectual functioning that is accompanied
by significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following
skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills,
use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work,
leisure, health, and safety.” Mental retardation generally involves deficits in
many if not most areas of functioning whereas autism involves deficits in some
areas (e.g. social, communicative, but not others (e.g. physical development,
motor skills) (p.139).
Psychologists and experts have done some research in the field of autism
sickness that they are able to build some theories and steps to prevent it. They classify
autism symptoms in some stages, and wrapped them as the basic theory of autism.
Other theories explain autism in its special characterization. Autistics are lack in some
skills, such as: communication, stable motoric, and socialization. The major
characteristics of this syndrome as described by Kanner and his colleagues. They are as
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follow:
1. A profound withdrawal of contact from other people (“aloneness”);
2. Failure to use language for communication;
3. Obsessive maintenance of the status quo—“sameness”—in the environment;
4. Skill in fine motor movements, especially with regard to objects; as opposed to
inability to deal with people;
5. Very high cognitive potential as manifested by “islets” of performance.
As written above, autistics suffer from their communication degradation. Their
communication skills are born slower than those of normal human’s. It is because they
have a disruption in their brain. Autistics commonly express their feelings through a
very descriptive way. They explain a thing directly by its color, smell, shape, and even
position. Normal human usually find it strange, but it is the common way for autistics
in communicating their ideas. Working with a group of people and speak in a normal
language (way of speaking) are not easy for children with autism.
There is also a scientific measurement of autism characteristic, as written by
Kearney (2006) in his book Casebook in Child Behavior Disorders 3rd edition:
“Measures that are more specific to autism have also been designed, including the
Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning (Krugg, Akrick, &Almond,
1995) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Scopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988).
Sample sub items from the latter include
1.
Relating to people: The child is consistently aloof or unaware of what the adult
is doing. He or she almost never responds or initiates contact with the adult.
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Only the most persistent attempts to get the child’s attention have any effect.
2.
Body use: Behaviors that are clearly strange or unusual for a child of this age
may include strange finger movements, peculiar finger or body posturing,
starting or picking at the body, self-directed aggression, rocking, spinning,
finger-wiggling, or toe-walking.
3.
Adaptation to change: The child shows severe reactions to change. If a change
is forced, he or she may become extremely angry or uncooperative and respond
with tantrums.
4.
Verbal communication: Meaningful speech is not used. The child may make
infantile squeals, weird or animal-like sounds, complex noises approximating
speech, or may show persistent, bizarre use or some recognizable words or
phrases.
5.
Nonverbal communication: The child only uses bizarre or peculiar gestures
which have no apparent meaning, and shows no awareness of the meanings
associated with the gestures or facial expressions of others” (p.140).
According to Kearney (2006), children with autism usually show some
indications in their behavioral problems, that may be self-injury, hyper aggression
towards others, and so on. Their behavior can be easily recognized especially if they
are placed in a crowd. Autistics are not able to mingle in society and do activity in a
group. Their anxiety with some objects is sometimes shown in public, and it is
disturbing for normal people. Autistics usually like to do strange things such as
moaning, groaning, screaming, and even eating anything when they are upset or happy
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about something. Nowadays, psychologists find that autism is a common sickness that
can be cured as other sickness, and then they make a brand new way for autism cure.
Special schools for autistic are now built in town and cities to reduce and treat this
mental sickness. Teachers with psychology basic education are sent to help children
with autism. Eventually, teachers need a good cooperation with parents to develop this
program.
“Treatment for children with autism and or mental retardation tends to focus on
(1) deficits of language, social skills, and adaptive behavior skills, and (2)
excess behaviors that are maladaptive in nature, such as aggression, self-injury,
and self stimulation. Treatment may follow one or two philosophies. First,
autism may be treated as a global disorder by using medication, as in
depression. Second, autism may be divided into separate problems (e.g.
language, social) that are addressed individually with behavior therapy”(p.145).
Kearney (2006) explains in his book, Casebook in Child Behavior Disorders
that the therapy for children with autism is focused in two aspects. They are behavior
and communication skills. Autistics’ self-injury, hyper-aggression towards others are
classified as behavioral problem. On the other hand, the problem of speaking is called
communication problem. If those two problems can be treated and healed, autistics may
be called a normal person then. Kearney (2006) also states that the best way to treat
autism is by a good training. An autistic has to be accustomed with certain social skills,
such as working in a group, speaking in front of a group of people, expressing their
feelings through diary, and so on. Psychologists believe that those activities can
stimulate the broken part of the brain to work normally.“Therapy at present can only be
said to be ameliorative rather than curative—training the children to acquire language
and certain social skills and to cease other undesirable (even dangerous self-mutilating)
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behaviors”(p.216).
Actually, autistics can finally have their normal life in the society. Autistics
may not be a hundred percent recovered, but they might show a significant
improvement behavioral when they are healed. When autistics are able to work with a
group of people using a normal language, decrease their abnormal behavior in public,
and interact normally, they may be closed to heal. If those improvements last for a long
time, an autistic is classified as recovered. This improvement is stated by Kearney
(2006) in his book:
“The first pattern, which accounts for 90% of cases, is marked by moderate to
severe impairment across the life span. Most people in this group show steady
but slow improvement in some of the core symptoms of autism, including (1) a
greater “warming” to other people and some social interactions, (2) the
development of some, albeit abnormal, language, and (3) less over activity and
eccentric behavior. This improvement usually starts after age four years old.
The second developmental pattern, which accounts for almost all remaining
cases of autism, is marked by relatively normal functioning by adulthood. Third
developmental patterns, which is rare, is marked by a gradual deterioration in
functioning, sometimes as a result of long-term institutionalization” (p.144).
Christopher Boone is an autistic boy that disables to communicate normally in
the society. He cannot communicate with other people in society because of he thinks
that those people is stranger. Although he has strange behaviors, he has very intelligent
mind. His brainpower is over the average. He can do mindsweeper game in few
seconds and for normal people, it is great. However, he has a difficulty in explaining
what he wants and feels. He also likes ignoring other people’s feelings. He does not
like the colors yellow and brown and does not like when sorts of food are touching
each other, simply because they look like dirt. On the other hand, he was normally born
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20
with a very great intelligence. He cannot understand human feelings, for example when
his father cries because of Christopher’s bad attitude, his mother gets stress when
Christopher cannot understand his mother’s feeling about her past life and her future
life. He describes it as ‘tears coming out from his eyes’. As the time goes by,
Christopher faces new condition, where he must be able to communicate with others.
He tries to communicate with others because he wants to get information. Here, autism
cure for Christopher is not only by a scientific way but also by a life experience in the
society.
In the story, Christopher’s personality is developed by the society. His life
condition forces him to be able to communicate with others. His surroundings teach
him to be able to follow the society’s rules. The first step begins by a short
conversation between Christopher Boone and Mrs. Alexander. This conversation
continues in a more intensive chat in the garden. Furthermore, Christopher tries to
builds some conversations with other people in order to gain some information about
Wellington’s murderer. Christopher’s journey from Swindon to London also makes
Christopher tries hard to fight against his strange feeling and behaviors. After facing
some experiences, Christopher finally is able to mingle in society and tries to
understand people’s feeling. From Christopher Boone’s different behaviors, the
researcher analyzes that he improve his behavior to be better. Relating to those facts,
theory of autism above plays a significant role as a foundation in analyzing Christopher
Boone’s behavior in this field of study.
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B. Theoretical Framework
The analysis explains some theories to answer problems proposed in the
problem formulation. They are theory of character and characterization, theory of
personality and theory of autism. The researcher brings together the theories of
character, characterization, personality and autism as the background knowlegdes and
applied the theories.
First, the researcher uses theory to character and characterization, personality,
and autism to answer the first problem formulation. The theories are used to analyze
deeper about Christopher’s character as an autistic.
Second, the researcher uses the theory personality to answer the second problem
formulation. The researcher combines these two types of theory personality from Jung
and Pervin in order to produce the deeper analysis of Christopher Boone’s personality.
Next, the researcher uses the theory of autism as a foundation in analyzing
Christopher Boone’s behavior in this field of study. This theory is used to answer the
third problem.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. They are subject matter, approach of the study
and research procedure. The subject matter deals with the subject of the study.
Then, the approach of the study covers the literature approach used to analyze the
novels. The last is research procedure which consists of some stages and sources
used in completing the study.
A. Object of the Study
In this study, the researcher uses a novel titled The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night Time written by Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night-time is a co
CHRISTOPHER BOONE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
AS AN AUTISTIC IN HADDON’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF
THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
Student Number: 051214108
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2012
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CHRISTOPHER BOONE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
AS AN AUTISTIC IN HADDON’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF
THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
Student Number: 051214108
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
2012
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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that the thesis, which I have written, 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, 18 July 2012
The writer
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
051214108
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswi Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama
: Melati Sunarsari Suryani
Nomor Mahasiswa
: 051214108
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dhaarma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: CHRISTOPHER
BONE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AS AN AUTISTIC BOY IN
HADDON’S THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya
memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk
menyimpan, mengalihkan ke dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk
pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di
internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa meminta ijin dari saya
maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya
sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 18 Juli 2012
Yang menyatakan:
(Melati Sunarsari Suryani)
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DEDICATION PAGE
This thesis is dedicated to my lovely parents and my cute sister.
The thing always happens that you really believe in
and the belief in a thing makes it happen.
Frank Loyd Wright
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ABSTRACT
Suryani, Melati Sunarsari. (2012). Christopher Boone’s Personality Development
as an Autistic in Haddon’s The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time.
Yogyakarta: Teachers Training and Education Faculty, Department of Language
and Arts Education, English Language Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses Christopher Boone’s personality development as an
autistic. This study focuses on three problems. The first problem is about the
personality of Christopher Boone’s as an autistic in the beginning. The second
problem is about Christopher Boone’s life experiences that may change his
personality. The third problem is Christopher Boone’s personality development
after undergoing some experiences.
This thesis was finished by applying library research study. This thesis
applied psychological approach to comprehend the patterns of human personality
and behavior. Besides using psychological approach, this thesis also applied theory
of characterization, personality and autism. Theory of characterization was used to
analyze the character of Christopher Boone. Theory personality and autism were
used to analyze Christopher Boone’s personality in the beginning Christopher
Boone’s personality development after he faced some experiences.
The first result of the study was about Christopher Boone’s personality as an
autistic child. On the first problem, we can see Christopher Boone’s special
personality and behavior which are different from normal people. He likes hitting
people and smashing things when he is upset. He cannot communicate with other
people, he likes doing strange actions. The second problem is about the way
Christopher Boone changes his personality. He changes his personality by facing
some experiences when he tries to find out Wellington’s murderer and his mother.
The ways he tries to face his difficulty toward society affects his personality. The
third problem formulation is the result of the way Christopher Boone changes his
strange behaviors and thinking on his personality. On the third problem
formulation, we can see that Christopher Boone’s personalities are changed after
undergoing some experiences not because of therapy.
Finally, the researcher would like to propose two suggestions. The first
suggestion is for the future researcher(s) on Christopher Boone in the next years.
The second suggestion is for readers. They can learn about an autistic child’s
personality and how to handle them on appropriate way.
Keywords: personality, personality development, autism, autistic
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ABSTRAK
Suryani, Melati Sunarsari (2012). Christopher Boone’s Personality Development as
an autistic in Haddon’s The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time.
Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni,
Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas perkembangan kepribadian Cristopher Boone sebagai
anak autis. Skripsi ini memfokuskan pada tiga masalah. Masalah pertama adalah
tentang karakter Christopher Boone sebagai anak autis. Masalah kedua adalah
tentang pengalaman hidup Christopher boone yang dapat mengubah kepribadian
dia. Masalah ketiga adalah perkembangan kepribadian Chritopher Boone setelah
menjalani beberapa pengalaman.
Skripsi ini diselesaikan dengan menerapkan metode studi pustaka. Skripsi
ini menggunakan teori psikologi untuk mengartikan bentuk kepribadian dan
perilaku manusia. Selain menggunakan teori psikologi, skripsi ini menerapkan teori
karakterisasi, kepribadian dan autism. Teori karakterisasi digunakan untuk
menganalisa karakter dari Christopher Boone. Teori kepribadian dan autism
digunakan untuk menganalisa kepribadian Christopher Boone di awal dan
perkembangan kepribadian dia setelah menghadapi beberapa pengalaman.
Hasil pertama dari skripsi ini mengenai kepribadian Christopher Boone
sebagai anak autis. Dalam masalah pertama, kita dapat melihat kepribadian an
tingkah laku khusus Christopher Boone yang berbeda dari orang normal. Dia suka
memukul orang dan membanting barang-barang saat dia sedih. Dia tidak bisa
berkomunikasi dengan orang lain dan dia suka melakukan tindakan aneh. Dia
mengubah kepribadiannya dengan menghadapi beberapa pengalaman saat dia
mencoba mencari tahu pembunuh Welllington dan ibunya. Cara dia mengahadapi
kesulitannya terhadap lingkungan mempengaruhi kepribadiannya. Masalah ketiga
adalah hasil dari cara Christopher Boone merubah tingkah lakunya dan pola piker
dia yang aneh dalam kepribadiannya. Dalam masalah ke tiga, kita dapat melihat
kepribadian Christopher Boone berubah setelah mengalami beberapa pengalaman
bukan karena terapi.
Akhirnya, peneliti memberi dua saran. Saran pertama untuk peneliti
selanjutnya tentang Christopher Boone di tahun-tahun berikutnya. Saran kedua
untuk para pembaca. Mereka dapat belajar kepribadian anak autis dan bagaimana
menangani anak autis dengan cara yang tepat.
Kata kunci: personality, personality development, autism, autistic
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Allah SWT, who
always gives support and blessing. Allah is never tired to guide me, give me spirit
and strength so that I can finish this thesis and never give up anymore. I give all my
best to finish this thesis.
Secondly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, V.
Triprihatmini, M.Hum., M.A., for her guidance, suggestions and patience during
my thesis writing process. I also thank all PBI lecturers for sharing their
knowledge, teaching me with their kindness and patience and helping me with my
study problems during my study in Sanata Dharma University. I also thank to PBI’s
secretariat staff, Dani and Tari for their kindness and help.
Thirdly, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my lovely parents,
Mr. Wimpie Sunartho and Mrs. Sekar Gondosuli. They always motivate me to
finish this thesis. They always support me with their love and their spirit. For my
cute sister, Uky Upik, thank being a great sister. I really love you, uky upik. I also
thank my aunt Anis. She always asks me about my thesis and reminds me to finish
my study as soon as possible.
My deepest gratitude goes to all of my best friends. First of all is for my
besfriends They are Ria Agatha, Wuri Kuncis, Bunga, Wury Sancrut, Ari Cecep,
Emak Gempita, Citra, Astri Us-Us, Ika, Boz Nana, Dhanik, Wulan, Silvy, Chimi,
Intan, Anggie, Djinonk, Delfine, Yaya, Jose. I am blessed to have them in my life.
Thanks for supporting me to finish this thesis and never giving up to remind me and
text me to work on my thesis every day. Their love, kindness and support make me
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tough, happy and think that I can finish the thesis. I will miss the moments we share
together. We share our story of life, love, jobs, study, gossips and even something
we call it’s time go mad! My deepest gratitude is dedicated to Nova, Sancrut and
Didiek who always support and remind to finish my study. Thanks for always
walking beside me when I gave up and got lazy doing my thesis. Second, I would
like to thank to Andre, Ruma, Indro, Kia, Koko, Denny, Shodiq, Leo, Panda, Sano
and Agung . Thank for your laugh, craziness, support and time. You are always in
my heart.
The next dedication goes to grandparents who always inspire me to do my
best. Thanks for accompanying me to face all problems although all of you just stay
in my mind and my heart. Finally, for all my friends whose names cannot be
mentioned one by one I thank them for time and every moment we have shared
together. God bless them now and forever.
Melati Sunarsari Suryani
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TITLE PAGE....................................................................................................
i
APPROVAL PAGES ……………………….................................................
ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……………………...……....
iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI …….......................................
v
DEDICATION PAGE ...……… ……………………..……………………… vi
ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................
vii
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………. ...............................................................
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................
xi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1
A. Background of the Study .................................................................
1
B. Problem Formulation .......................................................................
5
C. Objectives of the Study …………………………………………....
5
D. Benefits of the Study .........................................................................
5
E. Definition of Terms ........................................................................... 6
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF REALTED LITERATURE
8
A. Review of Related Theories …..........................................................
8
1. Critical Approaches ………………………………………..........
8
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2. Character ………………………………………………………... 9
a. Definition ……………………………………………….
9
b. Kinds of Character ……………………………………… 9
3. Characterization ……………………...…………………………. 10
a. Definition ……………………………………………….. 10
b. Method of Characterization ……………………………..
10
4. Theory of Personality …………….……………………………..
11
a. Definition ……………………………………………….. 11
b. Factors Influencing Someone’s Personality …………….
13
5. Theory of Autism ………………………………….……………. 14
B. Theoretical Framework ……………….............................................
20
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................
22
A. Object of the Study ..........................................................................
22
B. Approach of the Study .....................................................................
23
C. Method of the Study ......................................................................... 25
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS
27
A. Christopher Boone in the Beginning ................................................ 27
B. Christophe Boone’s Life Experiences .............................................. 43
C. Christopher Boone’s Behavior after Undergoing the Experiences ...
xii
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CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
59
A. Conclusions ……………..................................................................
59
B. Suggestions .....................................................................................
62
1. Suggestions for the Future Researcher ……………….........
62
2. Suggestions for Teaching Implementation ……..……….....
63
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................
65
APPENDICES ................................................................................................
67
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five main parts, namely the background of the
study, the problem formulation, the objectives of the study, and the benefits of the
study and the definition of terms. The problem formulation contains three basic
questions which describe the problems that will be analyzed in this study. The
objectives of the study state the purposes of writing the study. The benefits of the
study provide the explanation of those who can obtain the benefits of the study. The
last part is definition of the terms. In this section, the explanations of the several
terms that are related to the study are explained to avoid any misunderstanding
about them.
A. Background of the Study
People usually have same and different ways in facing some situations and
problems. They have differences in perspective, thinking and behavior. Because of
their differences, it can be said that they have their own characteristics. They have
their unique personality. This personality can also be changed and not always same
as the time goes by. It develops over time and situation. The changes and the
development of people’s personality influence their uniqueness. Everybody is not
static. His/her personality will develop consciously and unconsciously. The
personality changes may lead him/her either to be a better or worse person. These
differences in perspective, thinking and personality not just happened on normal
people. It also happened on unique people as seen in autistic people. They have
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their own way of thinking, giving perspective and doing their behavior. In this
study, the researcher analyzes an autistic boy. It is because the researcher has an
autistic student. The researcher is interested in the way her student thinks, gives
perspective about something and behaves. The author’s student’s actions are strange
and abnormal for others but interested to be observed. Another aspect that makes
researcher interested is in the development process Christopher Boone, a character
in novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time written by Mark
Haddon, develops his personalities. Christopher Boone develops his personality by
dealing with some experiences. This fact makes the researcher wants to know more
about autistic boy and how an autistic boy’s personality can be changed without
doing some therapies.
The autistic child as seen in this study has different personality with normal
people. He suffers from his abnormalities. He usually shows significant
abnormalities in social interaction and language. He has his own life and does not
care about their surroundings. This autistic disorder also can be seen in Christopher
Boone’s character in novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
written by Mark Haddon.
Some people may not know deeper about autism and feel strange about
autistic children. Autistic children will withdraw from the society. In fact, we need
to give autistic children attention as we do with normal children. They need normal
activities and lovely understanding to make them comfortable.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a novel that gives us a
better understanding in autistic child as seen in Christopher Boone’s personality.
The story in the novel is told and written by the protagonist of the novel, a fifteen-
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year-old boy, named Christopher John Francis Boone, who is known for his good
memory. Christopher Boone is an autistic boy who has super intelligence. He likes
playing with numbers and games. Christopher here is characterized as a boy suffers
from Asperger Syndrome. Asperger Syndrome is high functioning autism. He tries
to write a detective novel based on his perspective and his perspective based on the
logic of his mind.
The story of the novel starts when Wellington, Christopher neighbor’s dog
has been killed in a night. Christopher has found Wellington’s death body on his
neighbor yard. He is very upset. It is because he loves Wellington much. Then,
Christopher starts his detective mission to investigate the mysterious murder. He
acts like Sherlock Holmes. Taking place in Swindon and London, the conflict raises
when Christopher starts his detective mission. Christopher faces some problems that
deal with his behaviors. He should fights against his strange behaviors to gain some
information from his neighbors. He also should fights against his strange feeling
towards the society. He tries to change his behaviors in order to get information.
Although his behaviors still looks strange for normal people, Christopher does not
think that it is a problem. Christopher then finds some interesting facts about his
parents’ separation. He finally knows that his mother is still alive and she lives in
London with Mr. Shears. This fact also makes Christopher has bad point of view of
his father.
Haddon takes an unusual theme for his novel that is autism children
behavior. He deals with Christopher’s unique personalities as an autistic boy. He
draws this boy as an autistic boy who unable to understand human’s emotions. He
also gives information that Christopher Boone cannot comprehend metaphor and
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jokes, and also cannot be touched physically. In some way, Haddon wants to tell us
that Christopher is a very logical boy, who likes solving mathematic problems,
finding the formula for mortality, and drawing graphic for animal’s population. He
loves to play with numbers and play some difficult mathematics theories when he is
not feeling comfortable with the situation. He cannot tell lies and he loves to solve
puzzles and mysteries, including Wellington’s death.
By the normal human’s standard, his inability of telling lies is unusual.
Moreover this is not because he loves to say nothing but the truth, but because his
own logical thinking. He does not like guessing something that is not based on fact.
He thinks that when people say something based on fact and they do not tell lies, it
means that they are good people. Some of Christopher’s irregular actions on his
social behavior towards others cannot be understood by normal human beings.
Christopher’s strange behaviors towards society raise some problems. Some people
still cannot accept Christopher’s behaviors. It can be seen through the way
Christopher Boone, as the detective, writes his novel about a detective novel.
Christopher’s adventure in finding the dog’s murderer takes him into the
real facts of his life. The facts are about where exactly his Mother is, what she is
doing, his parents’ relationship and the actual dog’s murderer himself. The novel of
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time itself is Christopher’s
assignment at school which written by himself. Christopher’s mentor, Siobhan asks
him to write a diary of his daily life. By doing this writing activity, Siobhan
believes as a kind of autism’s treatment. Christopher can learn to control his
emotion through writing activity. This activity also makes Christopher is able to
express his feeling, behavior, and way of thinking.
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is Christopher’s daily
journal of life. He writes his daily activity combined with the scientific facts he is
interested in. For example, when he writes about his mother, he may surprisingly
add information about the frog mortality formula, and how it works. Readers can
clearly see the vivid point of view of an autistic through Christopher’s writing.
The development of the character of an autistic, Christopher Boone, the
main character of The Curious Incident of The dog in the Night-Time written by
Mark Haddon in this paper, is analyzed by the researcher using the theory of
personality and autism in the course of psychology.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is Christopher Boone characterized in the beginning of the novel?
2. How does Christopher Boone’s as an autistic develop his personality?
3. What are the significant changes of the Christopher Boone’s personality
after undergoing his life experiences?
C. Objectives of The Study
The objectives of this study are to know how the character of the novel’s
protagonist, Christopher Boone, develops. Moreover, this study intends to analyze
the changes in Christopher’s personality after he deals with some experiences.
D. Benefits of The Study
There are some benefits of the study. First, the benefit of the study is for
students of English Education Study Program. The researcher expects that this study
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6
will contribute to their study especially for their knowledge when they have autistic
children as their students. The researcher hopes that it will give knowledge in
understanding the autistic children better.
Second, it is for the future researchers who will study about the same novel
or topic, the present researcher hopes that this study can be supporting resource in
completing their study. Finally for readers, the researcher hopes that this study can
give more perspective on autistic children.
E. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misinterpretations, the researcher defines important terms
that are used throughout this study.
1. Based on Gregory J. Feist (2006), Personality is a pattern of relatively
permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and
individuality to person’s behavior. In this study, personality is an effort to
organize human thinking, feelings, and behavior that will help human
understands why some they are alike in some way and different in
others.(p.45)
2. Robledo and Ham-Kucharski (2005) say that autism is a neurological
disorder that usually manifests itself early in the toddlers years. It hampers a
child ability to learn how to communicate, interact with others socially, and
indulge in imaginative play.
3. Based on Schiambang and Smith (1982), development refers to the changes
happening to the human being during their lifetime (p.5). Hornby (1995)
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also states that development is the action or process of developing or being
developed (p.318). In this study, development means the main character’s
personality that is developing along the time and situation in life.
4. Hurlock (1973) says that personality development means the way
personality changes and develops based on the factors that are responsible
for changes that will affect someone’s life (p.463). It means that the
personality development is the changes of someone’s characteristics to the
worse or the better ones.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two parts. They are review of related theories and
theoretical framework. The first part, presents critical approaches, character, and
characterization include definition and methods and characterization. The second part
presents theoretical framework. Here, the writer will describe the contribution of the
theories in solving the problems of the study.
A. Theoretical Description
1. Critical Approaches
In analyzing a novel, a researcher needs critical approaches. It is needed to
avoid the subjectivity of the researcher in her study. Rohberger and Woods state that
there are five approaches that can be used to analyze a novel (6-15). First is the
formalist approach. It concentrates on the total integrity of the literary work. Second is
the biographical approach. This approach focuses on the importance of the author’s
ideas and personal life. Third is the sociocultural-historical approach. This approach
describes the social, cultural and historical background as the references. The next
approach is the mythopoeic approach. It attempts to discover particular patterns of
human thought that shared a same universal belief to certain community mind. The last
is the psychological approach. This approach is also used to analyze the pattern of
human personality and behavior. Throughout the psychological approach, the
researcher can analyze the character’s thought, personality and behavior deeply.
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2. Character
a. Definition
Characters play an important role in a story of a novel. When we talk about
characters, we cannot only say about character’s physical appearance, but also the
personality that reveals the figure. This According to Abram (1981), characters are the
persons that presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the
reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are
expressed in what they say – dialogue – and what they do – in action (p.23). It means
that, the readers can interpret a character in a story through their conversation, and their
activity. Through their conversation and act in the story, the readers know the
emotional, dispositional and moral of the characters.
b. Kinds of Character
Foster (1974) states that there are two kinds of characters in a novel, they are
flat and round character (p.51). A flat character is static and does not develop, while a
round character is complex and represents many traits and qualities.
Henkle (1977) says that characters can also be divided based on the prominence
and function: major and secondary characters (p.87-100). He explains that major
characters deserve the attention from the readers and other characters. The secondary
characters perform more limited functions. He also says the characters can be
protagonist and antagonist. Holman and Harmon (1986) state that the antagonist is the
one who directly opposes the protagonist (p.27). They also say that protagonist is the
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leading figure both in terms of importance in the play and ability to enlist the readers’
interest and sympathy (p.400).
3. Characterization
a. Definition
Rohberger and Woods (1971) state that characterization is the process by which
an author creates the character, a particular type of person (p.180). Murphy (1972)
states that characterization is the way of an author to convey the characters and the
personalities naturally so that the reader gets to know and understand the characters.
Characterization in a literary work is needed by the author since it helps the author to
convey the story by the characters and the reader will understand the story easier
(p.161). Furthermore, the author uses the characterization to guide the reader to
understand and use their own interpretation to interpret the story that they read in a
novel. Holman and Harmon (1986) state that characterization is a process of creating an
unreal person (p.81-82).
b. Methods and Characterization
Murphy (1972) states that there are nine ways to make characters
understandable and come alive for the readers (p.161-172). First is personal
description. Here, the author may draw details about the characters’ appearance, for
example how the characters are built, his or her skin color, hair, hand, eyes and so on.
Second is character as seen by another. It means that the author can be described
through the eyes and opinions of another character. The readers notice the different
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opinion and judgment on the character. The readers may know the personality by the
characters opinion or statement is the third way in understanding the character in a
story. The fourth way is past life. In past life, the author may give direct or indirect
comment through the person’s thought. The fifth is conversation of others. The
characters can be analyzed by what people think or say about him or her. Sixth is
reaction. The author shares a clue to a person’s character by letting the reader know
how that person reacts to various situation and events. Next is direct comment. Here the
author gives his or her personal comment or description of the character directly in the
story. Next step is thought. The author expresses the character’s thought in the story.
By knowing the character’s thought, the readers can analyze what goes in his or her
mind. The last is mannerism. The author can illustrate a person’s mannerism, habit or
modes of behavior which may also tell the readers something about the character.
4. Theory of Personality
a. Definition
Every single human is unique. He or she has his or her own personality. It is
because both of them have different characteristic thought, feeling and behavior. These
characteristic thought, feeling and behavior make a dynamic psychology pattern called
personality. Human’s personality is dynamic organization of psychology system that
determines characteristic, behavior and thought. Hurlock (1973) states that personality
comes from a Latin word ‘persona’ which refers to mask. Among the Greek actor used
a mask to hide their identity on stage. This dramatic technique was later adopted by the
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Romans as one appears to others not as one actually is (p.462).
Kagan and Havemann (1972), an expert in psychology, gives the definition of
personality theory in his book Psychology: An Introduction. He states that personality
theory is an attempt to organize the great variety of human thinkings, feelings, and
behaviors around some general principles that will help human understands why people
are alike in some ways and very different in others. This theory attemps to explain
which personality characteristics are the most important, the most likely patterns of
relationships among characteristics, the way in which these patterns are established,
and (at least by implication) the way they can be changed (p.403). Another pychologist,
Lawrence A. Pervin (2001) assumes that “personality represents those characteristics of
the person that account for consistent patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving” (p.4).
Personality is not static but it always exists. It changes over time and situation.
It will be different over time and situation. Based on this fact, Horney in Morris
believes that there are two important factors in shaping human’s Personality, namely
environmental and social factor. She states that the most important point of these two
factors is human relationship in which the child grows up (p.450). In addition, Morris
also states that personality is more complex than the entire admirable traits.
Pervin and Oliver (2001) say that there are five areas that a complete theory of
personality should cover. They are structure (the basic unit of personality), process (the
dynamic aspect of personality, growth and development (how a person develop into the
unique person, psychopathology (the nature and causes disordered personality) and
change (how people change and why they are unable to change) (p.5). This study is
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mainly focused on the growth and development and the change of a personality.
b. Factors Influencing Somenone’s Personality
However, there are two deteminants that are affecting the growth and
development of a person. Pervin and Oliver (2001) say that the two determinants
factors are genetic and environmetal determinants. Genetic factors play a major role in
determining personality, particulary in relation to what is unique in an individual. They
are generally more important in such characteristics as intelligence and temperament,
and less important in regard to values, ideals, and beliefs (p.10). Furthermore, there are
four areas in environmental determinants which are stated by Pervin and Oliver (2001).
First factor is culture. Each culture has its own institutionalized and sanctioned patterns
of learned behaviors, rituals, beliefs. This means that most members of a culture will
have certain personality characteristics in common. The second one is social class.
social class factors help determine the status of individuals, the roles they perform, the
duties they are bound by, and the privileges they enjoy. Social factors influence the
ways people define situations and how they respond to them.
The third factor is family. Each pattern of parental behavior affects the
personality development of a child. Parents influence their children’s behavior in at
least three important ways: elicit behavior in children, identification of one’s behavior,
and reward behaviors. Parental bonds are importatnt for early development. Finally, the
last factor is peers. Peer involvement is important for more lasting personality
development (p.14).
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The other theory of personality development is explained by Jung (1972), who
believes that personality develops through a series of stages that culminate in
individuation, or self-realization. Jung groups the stages of life into four general
periods. The first period is childhood. There are three substages in this period. They are
anarchic, monarchic, and the dualistic. Anarchic phase is characterized by chaotic and
sporadic consciousness. The monarchic phase of childhood is characterized by the
development of the ego and by the beginning of logical and verbal thinking, where
children see themselves objectively. The dualistic phase of childhood is when the ego is
divided into the objective and subjective. Children at this phase can see themselves as
the first person and are aware of their existence as separate individuals.
The second period is youth. This is the period from the puberty until middle life
of a man. According to Jung (1972), youth is, or should be a period of increased
activity maturing sexuality, growing consciousness, and recognition that the problemfree era of childhood is gone forever. The next period is middle life. This phase begins
at approximately age 35 or 40, signed by the increasing anxiety, middle life is also a
period of tremendous potential. This phase is often involves a mature religious
orientation, especially belief in some sort of life after death. Finally, we come to the
last period which called old age. This phase mainly involves unconscious attitudes
towards death and finding a meaningful philosophy of life (p.121).
5. Theory of Autism
Autism is a kind of mental delay disease in a human, affecting in his lack of
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communication, behavioral and social (personal) skills. Autism is a kind of sickness
causing brain damage, which makes the sufferer lack in some communication abilities.
The sufferer (called autistic) might not show and indicate a physical degradation. On
the other hand they might be a person with a superior intelligence. Autistic usually
builds their own world in their mind, which is called aloneness. However, autistics
usually show their strange attitude when they are placed in an inconvenient condition,
such as: in a crowded, a noisy, or a new place. Autistic does not have any difficulty in
their motoric sense, but they are unable to control them if they are angry. For example,
an autistic may stroke someone who makes him disappointed, and it can happen for
several times. There are some explanations about autism and its theory, as written by
Kearney (2006) in his book Casebook in Child Behavior Disorders 3rd edition:
The essential feature of mental retardation, according to the DSM-IV-TR is
“significantly sub average general intellectual functioning that is accompanied
by significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following
skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills,
use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work,
leisure, health, and safety.” Mental retardation generally involves deficits in
many if not most areas of functioning whereas autism involves deficits in some
areas (e.g. social, communicative, but not others (e.g. physical development,
motor skills) (p.139).
Psychologists and experts have done some research in the field of autism
sickness that they are able to build some theories and steps to prevent it. They classify
autism symptoms in some stages, and wrapped them as the basic theory of autism.
Other theories explain autism in its special characterization. Autistics are lack in some
skills, such as: communication, stable motoric, and socialization. The major
characteristics of this syndrome as described by Kanner and his colleagues. They are as
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follow:
1. A profound withdrawal of contact from other people (“aloneness”);
2. Failure to use language for communication;
3. Obsessive maintenance of the status quo—“sameness”—in the environment;
4. Skill in fine motor movements, especially with regard to objects; as opposed to
inability to deal with people;
5. Very high cognitive potential as manifested by “islets” of performance.
As written above, autistics suffer from their communication degradation. Their
communication skills are born slower than those of normal human’s. It is because they
have a disruption in their brain. Autistics commonly express their feelings through a
very descriptive way. They explain a thing directly by its color, smell, shape, and even
position. Normal human usually find it strange, but it is the common way for autistics
in communicating their ideas. Working with a group of people and speak in a normal
language (way of speaking) are not easy for children with autism.
There is also a scientific measurement of autism characteristic, as written by
Kearney (2006) in his book Casebook in Child Behavior Disorders 3rd edition:
“Measures that are more specific to autism have also been designed, including the
Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning (Krugg, Akrick, &Almond,
1995) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Scopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988).
Sample sub items from the latter include
1.
Relating to people: The child is consistently aloof or unaware of what the adult
is doing. He or she almost never responds or initiates contact with the adult.
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Only the most persistent attempts to get the child’s attention have any effect.
2.
Body use: Behaviors that are clearly strange or unusual for a child of this age
may include strange finger movements, peculiar finger or body posturing,
starting or picking at the body, self-directed aggression, rocking, spinning,
finger-wiggling, or toe-walking.
3.
Adaptation to change: The child shows severe reactions to change. If a change
is forced, he or she may become extremely angry or uncooperative and respond
with tantrums.
4.
Verbal communication: Meaningful speech is not used. The child may make
infantile squeals, weird or animal-like sounds, complex noises approximating
speech, or may show persistent, bizarre use or some recognizable words or
phrases.
5.
Nonverbal communication: The child only uses bizarre or peculiar gestures
which have no apparent meaning, and shows no awareness of the meanings
associated with the gestures or facial expressions of others” (p.140).
According to Kearney (2006), children with autism usually show some
indications in their behavioral problems, that may be self-injury, hyper aggression
towards others, and so on. Their behavior can be easily recognized especially if they
are placed in a crowd. Autistics are not able to mingle in society and do activity in a
group. Their anxiety with some objects is sometimes shown in public, and it is
disturbing for normal people. Autistics usually like to do strange things such as
moaning, groaning, screaming, and even eating anything when they are upset or happy
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about something. Nowadays, psychologists find that autism is a common sickness that
can be cured as other sickness, and then they make a brand new way for autism cure.
Special schools for autistic are now built in town and cities to reduce and treat this
mental sickness. Teachers with psychology basic education are sent to help children
with autism. Eventually, teachers need a good cooperation with parents to develop this
program.
“Treatment for children with autism and or mental retardation tends to focus on
(1) deficits of language, social skills, and adaptive behavior skills, and (2)
excess behaviors that are maladaptive in nature, such as aggression, self-injury,
and self stimulation. Treatment may follow one or two philosophies. First,
autism may be treated as a global disorder by using medication, as in
depression. Second, autism may be divided into separate problems (e.g.
language, social) that are addressed individually with behavior therapy”(p.145).
Kearney (2006) explains in his book, Casebook in Child Behavior Disorders
that the therapy for children with autism is focused in two aspects. They are behavior
and communication skills. Autistics’ self-injury, hyper-aggression towards others are
classified as behavioral problem. On the other hand, the problem of speaking is called
communication problem. If those two problems can be treated and healed, autistics may
be called a normal person then. Kearney (2006) also states that the best way to treat
autism is by a good training. An autistic has to be accustomed with certain social skills,
such as working in a group, speaking in front of a group of people, expressing their
feelings through diary, and so on. Psychologists believe that those activities can
stimulate the broken part of the brain to work normally.“Therapy at present can only be
said to be ameliorative rather than curative—training the children to acquire language
and certain social skills and to cease other undesirable (even dangerous self-mutilating)
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behaviors”(p.216).
Actually, autistics can finally have their normal life in the society. Autistics
may not be a hundred percent recovered, but they might show a significant
improvement behavioral when they are healed. When autistics are able to work with a
group of people using a normal language, decrease their abnormal behavior in public,
and interact normally, they may be closed to heal. If those improvements last for a long
time, an autistic is classified as recovered. This improvement is stated by Kearney
(2006) in his book:
“The first pattern, which accounts for 90% of cases, is marked by moderate to
severe impairment across the life span. Most people in this group show steady
but slow improvement in some of the core symptoms of autism, including (1) a
greater “warming” to other people and some social interactions, (2) the
development of some, albeit abnormal, language, and (3) less over activity and
eccentric behavior. This improvement usually starts after age four years old.
The second developmental pattern, which accounts for almost all remaining
cases of autism, is marked by relatively normal functioning by adulthood. Third
developmental patterns, which is rare, is marked by a gradual deterioration in
functioning, sometimes as a result of long-term institutionalization” (p.144).
Christopher Boone is an autistic boy that disables to communicate normally in
the society. He cannot communicate with other people in society because of he thinks
that those people is stranger. Although he has strange behaviors, he has very intelligent
mind. His brainpower is over the average. He can do mindsweeper game in few
seconds and for normal people, it is great. However, he has a difficulty in explaining
what he wants and feels. He also likes ignoring other people’s feelings. He does not
like the colors yellow and brown and does not like when sorts of food are touching
each other, simply because they look like dirt. On the other hand, he was normally born
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20
with a very great intelligence. He cannot understand human feelings, for example when
his father cries because of Christopher’s bad attitude, his mother gets stress when
Christopher cannot understand his mother’s feeling about her past life and her future
life. He describes it as ‘tears coming out from his eyes’. As the time goes by,
Christopher faces new condition, where he must be able to communicate with others.
He tries to communicate with others because he wants to get information. Here, autism
cure for Christopher is not only by a scientific way but also by a life experience in the
society.
In the story, Christopher’s personality is developed by the society. His life
condition forces him to be able to communicate with others. His surroundings teach
him to be able to follow the society’s rules. The first step begins by a short
conversation between Christopher Boone and Mrs. Alexander. This conversation
continues in a more intensive chat in the garden. Furthermore, Christopher tries to
builds some conversations with other people in order to gain some information about
Wellington’s murderer. Christopher’s journey from Swindon to London also makes
Christopher tries hard to fight against his strange feeling and behaviors. After facing
some experiences, Christopher finally is able to mingle in society and tries to
understand people’s feeling. From Christopher Boone’s different behaviors, the
researcher analyzes that he improve his behavior to be better. Relating to those facts,
theory of autism above plays a significant role as a foundation in analyzing Christopher
Boone’s behavior in this field of study.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
21
B. Theoretical Framework
The analysis explains some theories to answer problems proposed in the
problem formulation. They are theory of character and characterization, theory of
personality and theory of autism. The researcher brings together the theories of
character, characterization, personality and autism as the background knowlegdes and
applied the theories.
First, the researcher uses theory to character and characterization, personality,
and autism to answer the first problem formulation. The theories are used to analyze
deeper about Christopher’s character as an autistic.
Second, the researcher uses the theory personality to answer the second problem
formulation. The researcher combines these two types of theory personality from Jung
and Pervin in order to produce the deeper analysis of Christopher Boone’s personality.
Next, the researcher uses the theory of autism as a foundation in analyzing
Christopher Boone’s behavior in this field of study. This theory is used to answer the
third problem.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. They are subject matter, approach of the study
and research procedure. The subject matter deals with the subject of the study.
Then, the approach of the study covers the literature approach used to analyze the
novels. The last is research procedure which consists of some stages and sources
used in completing the study.
A. Object of the Study
In this study, the researcher uses a novel titled The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night Time written by Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night-time is a co