Motives behind characters` decision making in choosing good and evil deed in J.R.R. Tolkien`s The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring - USD Repository

  MOTIVES BEHIND CHARACTERS ’ DECISION MAKING IN CHOOSING GOOD AND EVIL DEED

  IN J.R.R TOLKIEN’S

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE

RING

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  

By

Anggi Georgie Christiansent

  

Student Number: 054214111

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

  

2012

  MOTIVES BEHIND CHARACTERS ’ DECISION MAKING IN CHOOSING GOOD AND EVIL DEEDS

  IN J.R.R TOLKIEN’S

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

Anggi Georgie Christiansent

  

Student Number: 054214111

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

  

2012

  i

  v

  

Man is fully responsible for his nature

and his choices

(Sartre)

No great thing is created

suddenly

(Epictetus)

  

The man with the

greatest soul will always

face the greatest war

with the low minded

persons

(Anonymous) vi

  TO MY BELOVED FAMILY

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to thank for Jesus Christ whose name I mention in my heart every time I need to remember the existence of a bigger power above myself. Thank for always being in my mind.

  Very much thank I have to say to my advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. and my co-advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum. who does not only care about my thesis but motivates me a lot as well.

  The greatest thanks are for my family, to my father, Ir. Jansen Lihart, I thank you for your advice so that I can be who I am now. To my mother, Ir. Selvia Mettaria Silaban, for always supporting me with love and care. I admit that sometimes I do not hear her, but my heart always belongs to her. Also, to my little brother, Basar Brasilio Zwagery, for always being a good enemy at home. I know that he loves me as his big brother. I thank for every supports that all of you give to me. It will be the precious treasure for the rest of my life.

  Big thanks are also presented to Jonathan, Irene Sartika Dewi, S.S. as the one who always bothers with every question that she has in her mind, and as somebody to share with in every situation. To my friends in Media Sastra, thanks for being my friends since 2007. It has been fabulous time spent with you all. I would also thank the members of Jl. Dian Nusantara 1/76 for their support in my deadline.

  Anggi Georgie Christiansent vii

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

  i ………………………………………………………………

APPROVAL PAGE

  ii ………………………………………………………..

  

LEMBAR PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI iii

……………………………….

ACCEPTANCE PAGE

  iv …………………………………………................

MOTTO PAGE

  v …………………………………………………………….

DEDICATION PAGE

  vi ………………………………………………….... .

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  vii ………………………………………………

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  viii …………………………………………….……

  ABSTRACT

  x ………………………………………………………………..

  ABSTRAK

  xi …………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

  1 ………………………………………… A.

  1 Background of the Study ……………………………………….

  B.

  4 Problems Formulation …………………………………………..

  C.

  5 Objectives of the Study ………………………………………… D.

  5 Definition of Terms …………………………………..................

  CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL REVIEW

  6 …………………………......

  A.

  6 Review of Related Studies ……………………………………… 1. 6 “Symbolism of the Ring: The Embodiment of Evil” ……….

  2.

  “The Treachery of Saruman: A Symbol of Human

  7 Selfishness” ………………………………………………..

3. Fabrizio’s conflicts and their influences to his final decision in

  8 Stendhal’s The Charterhouse of Parma ………………… 4. The Relationship between the Member of the Fellowship

  8 of the Ring in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings …

  5. The Value of Heroism as seen in the Main Character of Frodo in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship

  of the Ring

  9 ………………………………………………… 6.

  The Significance of the Dominant Symbol to the Revelation of the Message in J.R.R Tolkien’s the Lord

  Of The Rings

  10 ………………………………………………..

  B.

  11 Review of Related Theories …………………………………….

  1.

  11 Theory of Conflict …………………………………………..

  2.

  12 Theory of Motives …………………………………………..

  3.

  14 Psychological Theory on Conflict …………………….…… C.

  16 Theoretical Framework ……………………………………..….. viii

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

  46 C. How Their Motives Influence Their Actions into a Good deed or

  38 2. Saruman’s and Gandalf’s Motive whether Join or not Join Sauron …………………………………….………

  39 3. Gandalf’s Motive to Have the Ring Destroyed ……………..

  41 4. Frodo’s Motive to Leave the Shire ………………………….

  42 5. Boromir’s Motives to Agree with the Plan to destroy the Ring and Frodo’s Motives to be the Ring Bearer……….

  44 6. Boromir’s Motives to go West and Take the

  Ring From Frodo and Frodo’s Motive to go East and Continue his Journey…………………………………………

  Evil Deed ……………………………………………………………… 47

  38 1. Gandalf’s Motives in Refusing Frodo’s Offer to

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

  52 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………..

  54 APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………

  56 APPENDIX 1: Synopsis of the Story ………………………………

  56 APPENDIX 2: Biography of the Author ……………………….….

  58

  Take the Ring ………………………………………….……

  ix

  ………………………………………

  23 2. Saruman’s and Gandalf’s Conflict whether to Join or not to Join Sauron

  17 A. Object of the Study ………………………………………….….

  17 B. Approach of the Study ………………………….…………..…..

  18 C. Method of the Study ……………………………………….……

  19 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ……………………………………………….

  21 A. The Conflicts which the Four Characters Face in the Story…….

  21 1. Gandalf Refusing Frodo’s offer to take the One Ring………

  ……………………………………………….

  Gandalf, Boromir, and Frodo) when facing the Conflicts in the Story

  25 3. Gandalf’s Conflict to Have the Ring Destroyed ……………

  28 4. Frodo’s Conflict to Leave the Shire ………………………….

  30 5. Boromir’s Conflict to Agree with the Plan to destroy the Ring and Frodo’s Conflict to be the Ring Bearer …………….

  31 6. Boromir’s Conflict to go West and Take the Ring From

  Frodo and Frodo’s Conflict to go East and Continue his Journey

  ………………………………………………………

  34 B. The Motives of the Four Characters in Making decisions (Saruman,

  ……………………………………………………………

  ABSTRACT ANGGI GEORGIE CHRISTIANSENT. MOTIVES BEHIND CHARACTERS’

DECISION MAKING IN CHOOSING GOOD AND EVIL DEED IN J.R.R

TOLKIEN’S THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE

RING. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters. Sanata

Dharma University, 2012.

  One of the kinds of literary work may take form in a fantasy story. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his masterpiece fantasy stories in a trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. This is the story about the conflicts between good and evil. In everyday life, making a decision is a common thing, such as getting up in the morning, having breakfast, and going to work. However, someone does not deal with trivial things all the time. Sometimes, a person has to deal with a more serious thing that c oncerns with other’s necessity. In this case, he has to make a right decision since many human lives depend on his decision. Therefore, knowing one’s motives is important to understand th e decision one’s makes. This undergraduate thesis is intended to examine the characters’ motives in making decision in the novel The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the

  

Ring . By considering the motives of the four characters, how the motives

  influence their actions into a good deed or evil deed will be figured out. Two problems are formulated as follows; first is what are the motives of the four characters in making decisions (Saruman, Gandalf, Boromir, and Frodo) when facing the conflicts in the story, and the second is how do their motives influence their actions into a good deed or evil deed.

  I analyze the conflicts due to this problem to find out their motives behind their decisions. Then I find out how these motives show their good and evil decisions. The methodology applied in this thesis is library research. Using the psychological approach, this thesis is written to analyze the motives of the characters when facing the conflict. There are four theories applied in this thesis; the theory of motives, theory of conflict, psychological theory on conflict and the last is ethical theory of good and evil to classify the action.

  There are six main conflicts that each character faces within the stories, from the conflicts that occur in the story we can find out that Gandalf has love, loyalty, wisdom, and hope as his motive. Meanwhile Saruman’s motives are greediness, cunningness, and wickedness. Frodo has responsibility to save the habitants as his motives while Boromir has glory and obedience. From the analysis based on the ethical theories of good and evil, I find out that Saruman’s and Boromir’s actions can be categorized as evil. Meanwhile, Gandalf’s and Frodo’s actions are categorized as good.

  ABSTRAK

  ANGGI GEORGIE CHRISTIANSENT. MOTIVES BEHIND C

  HARACTERS’

DECISION MAKING IN CHOOSING GOOD AND EVIL DEED IN J.R.R

TOLKIEN’S THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE

RING. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra. Universitas Sanata

Dharma, 2012.

  Salah satu bentuk dari karya sastra adalah cerita fantasi. J.R.R Tolkien menulis karya besar cerita fantasinya dalam trilogi The Lord of the Rings. Novel ini berisi cerita tentang konflik antara baik dan jahat. Dalam kehidupan sehari hari, membuat suatu keputusan adalah hal yang umum. Bagaimanapun juga, seseorang tidak selamanya berurusan dengan hal yang sepele. Kadang seseorang harus berurusan dengan hal yang lebih serius yang berkaitan dengan kepentingan orang lain. Dalam kasus ini, orang tersebut harus membuat keputusan yang tepat dikarenakan banyak nyawa manusia bergantung pada keputusan tersebut. Untuk hal itu, mengetahui motif seseorang merupakan hal penting untuk mengerti keputusan yang diambil oleh orang tersebut.

  Skripsi ini dimaksudkan untuk memeriksa motif-motif dalam pengambilan keputusan yang dilakukan oleh para karakter dalam novel the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dengan mempertimbangkan motif-motif dari empat karakter, akan kelihatan bagaimana motif-motif tersebut mempengaruhi tindakan- tindakan mereka dalam berbuat baik atau jahat. Ada dua permasalahan yang dimunculkan dalm analisa ini; yang pertama adalah apa motif dari keempat karakter dalam pengambilan keputusan ketika menghadapi konflik yang terjadi, sedangkan yang kedua adalah bagaimana motif-motif tersebut mempengaruhi tindakan mereka dalam berbuat baik atau jahat?

  Dalam hal ini, saya menganalisis konflik yang terjadi untuk mengetahui motif dibalik keputusan keempat karakter. Lalu menyelidiki bagaimana motif tersebut menunjukkan sifat baik dan jahat mereka. Metodologi yang saya pakai dalam penulisan skripsi ini adalah kajian pustaka. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan psikologi. Ada empat teori yang diaplikasikan dalam skripsi ini, teori motif, teori konflik, teori psikologi dalam konflik dan yang terakhir adalah teori etika jahat dan baik yang akan digunakan untuk mengklasifikasi tindakan yang terjadi.

  Ada enam konflik utama yang dihadapi oleh masing-masing karakter dalam novel ini, dari konflik yang terjadi kita dapat mengetahui bahwa motif yang dimiliki Gandalf adalah cinta, kesetiaan, kebijaksanaan, dan harapan. Sementara Saruman adalah keserakahan, kelicikan, dan kejahatan. Motif yang dimiliki Frodo adalah tanggung jawab untuk menyelamatkan sesama dan motif dari Boromir adalah kejayaan dan kepatuhan. Dari analisa berdasrkan teori etika, saya mengklasifikasikan tindakan oleh Saruman dan Boromir adalah jahat. Sedangkan Gandalf dan Frodo adalah baik.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study A piece of literary work, in this case a prose fiction, tells us about a “story

  based on imaginary things that are created by the author” (Roberts and Jacobs, 1986: 123). In the other words, it tells about an imaginative story. Using the imagination, an author is free to create or to say anything that is unreal or impossible in the real world.

  A fantasy story is “a work that takes places in a nonexistent and unreal world, such as a fairyland, or concerns with incredible and unreal character s”

  (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 198). It takes the reader to the dreamland, a land in the imagination where lots of fantastic creatures dwell.

  It is obvious that the words dwarf and elf offer fantasy pictures to the readers. „During the twentieth century, this kind of literary work was dominant in United Kingdom after the first world war and the second world war and are often thought as characteristic ally English‟ (Hunt, 2001: 270) and one of the famous

  English writer at this period is John Reuel Tolkien. Related to this fact, I choose him as the author that I want to study.

  Bleiler in his book Supernatural Fiction Writers categorizes Tolkien, who is considered as a famous 70‟s writer, as a supernatural fiction writer (Bleiler, 1985: 675-681) due to his fondness on fantasy matter. Tolkien, using his fantasy to create supernatural things as Gods, myths, creatures, and a complete whole new mythical world called middle-earth in his story. Tolkien even created languages for the characters he made. However, some responses from the readers toward his works were not all positive. „Tolkien‟s fiction dismayed most of the fellow schol ar at Oxford‟. (Magill, 1983: 2653). Furthermore, some of the negatives critics even „insisted that the work had no right to an audience because it was a

  “failure”, and therefore must soon prove unpopular as they wished to be‟ (Bleiler, 1985: 676). Neverth eless, facts prove the otherwise. Tolkien‟s works „delighted most of his general readers…due to his hard work and skill in linguistic talent, which underlay both his professional achievements and his mythical universe‟ (Magill, 1983: 2653).

  Tolkien began to write about fantasy, which turned out to be great works, just after he was sent home with trench fever from the First World War battlefield in France. In 1917, during his recuperation in the military hospital, he began to write a story that later became The Silmarrion (1977).

  Tolkien‟s trilogy of The Lord of the Rings is the most famous work that he has done and the most delighting one compared to his other works. The trilogy consists of first, The Fellowship of the Ring, the one that will be analyzed in this thesis and also the part that tells about the beginning of the quest, where all adventures start and the characters‟ motives to make journey explained. The second is The Two Towers; and, the final is The Return of the King. The trilogy is a massive epic fantasy of more than half a million words.

  The chronology of the story is so complicated because although the adventure happens in particular times, the story itself has a connection with the history of the Middle-Earth (Hardy, 1977: 6). Furthermore, in talking about cosmogony, Tolkien inserted the story of the creation of the Middle-Earth to help the readers understand his idea of the world.

  Meanwhile, the complicated geography and nomenclature can be seen through the vast number of places and the complexity of the system of names of the characters. Another complicated thing is the languages that are used by the people in the story, such as language of the elves and the dwarves. These languages, which are merely Tolkien‟s creation, are different from human language.

  Although surrounded by mythical world, Tolkien‟s character adopts human attitudes. However, the human attitudes that they show are not precisely accordance to human physical appearance but more likely with the mental attitu des. Tolkien‟s characters are capable to experience love, joy, pity, sad, angry, hate, and jealous.

  In The Fellowship of the Ring, at least two things that show matters of good and evil, that is the theme and the other one is conflict. Evans in his Writers for the 70‟s: J. R. R Tolkien says that The Lord of the Rings “has allegorical characteristics and it simply tells about the triumph of good and evil” (Evans, 1974: 42). From the quotation, it can be inferred that there must be conflicts between good and evil in the story. In the theme about one‟s ambition to gain power and about fighting the villain and saving the world, the conflict between them can be seen even clearer (Evans, 1974). Some characters in the story The

  

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring have ambition to gain power through the Ring so that they are willing to make evil actions. On the contrary, some other characters choose to fight those who want to misuse the ring‟s power in order to save the Middle-Earth, and this can be considered as a good action. As a result there are conflicts between the two sides.

  The decisions of the characters in The Fellowship of the Ring to do actions have something to do with their motive. A motive is the reason why somebody makes a certain action. A character who decides to take the Ring or to destroy it must have motive(s) behind.

  In everyday life, making an action is a common thing, such as getting up in the morning, having breakfast, and going to work. However, someone does not deal with trivial things all the time. sometimes, a person has to deal with a more serious thing that concerns with other‟s necessity, like whether he has to use an atomic bomb in the battle to win the war or not. In this case, he has to make a right decision since many human lives depend on his decision. Therefore, knowing one‟s motives is important to understand the decision one‟s makes.

B. Problems Formulation

  The problems of this undergraduate thesis are formulated as follow: 1. What are the conflicts that the four characters (Saruman, Gandalf, Boromir, and Frodo) faced in the story?

2. What are the motives of the four characters (Saruman, Gandalf, Boromir, and

  Frodo) in making decisions when facing the conflicts in the story? 3. How do their motives influence their actions into a good deed or evil deed?

  C. Objectives of the Study

  The first objective of this study is to find out the motives of the four characters (Saruman, Gandalf, Boromir, and Frodo) in making their decisions while facing the conflicts in the story. By considering the motives of the four characters, the second objective is how the motives influence their actions will be figured out.

  D. Definition of Terms

  According to Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature, a motive is the product of the “combination of the character‟s moral value with the circumstances in which the character is placed” (1986: 314). Charles G. Morris in his book Psychology: an Introduction said that motive is a specific need, desire, or want such s hunger, thirst or achievement, that energizes and directs goal- oriented behavior (Morris, 1990: 408). I can define in conclusion that motive is desire or need in somebody‟s mind that can stimulate the person to have a certain action. Motive is s omething that „causes motion‟ or something that „causes somebody to act‟

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies There are six related studies that I read before writing this thesis, five of

  them discuss the same novel which is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of

the Ring and the other discuss the same topic about character decision making.

  The studies related to Motives Behind Character Decision Making to their Action

  

in Choosing Good and Evil Deed in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The

Fellowship of the Ring are: 1. “Symbolism of the Ring: The Embodiment of Evil”

  In this essay by Stephan Gundy, the explanation of the evil nature of the Ring is explained separately from the Ring itself. In the physical world, the Ring becomes the reality of evil. It is said that in every way, it is the nature of evil which must be either accepted or rejected outright. Its mere presence is a personification of the opportunity for people to have and execute free will and make morally correct or incorrect decisions. The One Ring in J.R.R Tolkien‟s The Lord of the Rings is a symbol of power, the evil power.

  ” The exercise of Evil, and in essence the power of the Ring, is the exact opposite of freedom. As for the nature of evil, it has been shown that no good can possibly come from evil means, but evil results can be averted if one can acquire the evil object while resisting the evil nature of it. Also, the Ring is both real and symbolic”. Gundy,Stephan. “Symbolism of the Ring: The embodiment of Evil”, 1994. (www.writtenessays.net)

  The physical nature of the Ring is behavioral and can be physically observed. Meanwhile, the essence or power of the Ring is a concept which opposes morality. In this thesis, it is explain the differentiation of the symbolism and the presence of the Ring itself. In the conclusion, it is explained that even the Ring destroyed physically, the evil essence will remain present in some form until the end of time.

  The thesis by Stephan Gundy is related to the writer‟s thesis since Gundy analyzes about the ring in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The object of the study that Gundy use is the same object that the writer uses in this thesis even the main topic is different. The Ring is the main issue in whole story; furthermore, the ring is related to all of the conflict in the story. Thus, by understanding the main role of the ring itself, the writer can find out the motives and the psychological effect of the four characters toward the conflict.

  2. “The Treachery of Saruman: A Symbol of Human Selfishness”

  The main topic of this essay of Vladiskovic‟s is centered on Saruman the

  White, the head of the order of Istari. Saruman is the character in Tolkien‟s The

  

Lord of the Rings. In the beginning, Saruman works with the other wizard to

  defeat Sauron. Later, he betrays the Istari and allies with Sauron. This kind of characteristics make Saruman human-like, he has the real depth of human being.

  This essay analyzes Saruman‟s treachery and the reasons why he doing such kind of action.

  “The wizard is determined to have power for himself and to rule over others, and, after his downfall, seeks for revenge. Ambition, pride, but also determination and strength of will are the characteristics that make Saruman the most human of Tolkien‟s characters. Since his ambition and pride are exasperated and extremely marked, the wizard becomes in a way a symbol of human selfishness.”. Vladiskovic, Chiara. “The treachery of Saruman: A symbol of Human Selfishness”, 2012. This essay related with this thesis of the writer‟s because it discuss about

  Saruman who also being discussed in this thesis. It discussed about the characteristic of Saruman and help the writer know more about this character.

  3. Fabrizio’s Conflicts and Their Influences to His Final Decision in Stendhal’s The Charterhouse of Parma

  Vanessa‟s thesis analyzes a character named Fabrizio in Stendhal‟s The

  

Charterhouse of Parma . It analyzes a character who faces a whole series of

conflicts when he attempts to find pleasure from worldly happiness.

  “The main character, in this novel, will experience such external and internal conflicts when he tries to find his happiness. The external conflicts will show how the character faces problems when he pursuits happiness from adventure and love affairs. The internal conflicts will show how hard the character has to struggle against himself when he has to make such decision.” (P. iii)

  Christina Vanessa‟s thesis on the character final decision in Stendhal‟s The

  

Charterhouse of Parma is related to this thesis because it discusses about the

  same topic even the primary source (the novel) is different. The writer uses the thesis above to see how the chronology of the thesis runs.

  4. The Relationship between the Member of the Fellowship of the Ring in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

  There is a fellowship whose task is to bring the One Ring into the Crack of Doom. This fellowship is consists of nine peoples from different races and characteristics. This undergraduate thesis by Widyastuti Budiningsih analyzes the relationship between the characters among the fellowship

  “…the members of the fellowship of the Rings have their own characteristics. Frodo is a brave but also weak Hobbit, Sam is loyal and wise while Merry is strong and brave, and Pippin is curious and adventurous. Gimli is a bad-tempered Dwarf but in the same time he is honest and modest. Legolas the elf is the pillar of his friends, Gandalf is wise, Aragorn is a -man of honor, and Boromir is a proud man. The relationships between each members of the fellowship of the Ring arise by their differences…” (p. vii) The undergraduate thesis by Widyastuti is related with this thesis because it analyzes the relationship of the character with the other character in the story. It helps the writer to understand more about the character‟s characteristic and the relation between them so it will help to understand more when they facing the conflict in the story.

5. The Value of Heroism as Seen in the Main Character of Frodo in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

  Frodo as the main character in the Lord of the Rings has a main duty to bring the One Ring into the Cracks of Doom. As the main protagonist in the story, Frodo is characterized as a hero who later saved the Middle-earth. This thesis by Wisnu Pujo Bayu Adi analyzes the value of heroism as seen in Frodo.

  “The study explains the reason why Frodo Baggins has been chosen as the ring Bearer and his qualities of heroism. Frodo Baggins is the only person who can be trusted to inherit the Ring from his uncle. He also loves to make adventurous journeys. He has been proven successfully brought the Ring from the Shire to R ivendell, the study reveals Frodo Baggin‟s value of heroism.” (p. x) As Wisnu‟s thesis analyzes about the main character and his value of heroism, it makes the thesis related with this thesis. Wisnu analyzes the value of heroism that reflected by

  Frodo‟s action toward the conflicts that he has in the story. In my thesis, I later analyze Frodo‟s motive before he doing some actions toward the conflicts that occur in the story.

6. The Significance of the Dominant Symbol to the Revelation of the Message in J.R.R Tolk ien’s the Lord of The Rings

  The One Ring becomes the most dominant symbol in the story. The One Ring itself becomes the main issue in the story; it becomes the center of most conflicts in the story. Himayanti‟s undergraduate thesis analyzes the One Ring as the dominant symbol related to the revelation of the message that Tolkien want to say through the story.

  “The One Ring symbolizes the dark side of human being. A message in a story is intended as a suggestion related to the problems in life that can be taken by the readers through t he story…The temptations trigger the dark side of every human being in life, human beings always faces many kind of temptations whether it is in a good or evil incarnation.” (p. ix) This thesis by Himayanti helps later in my thesis in understanding the nature of the One Ring. Thus, I can relate the problem with the conflicts related to the One Ring in my analysis. Knowing the nature of the One Ring helps me to understand more about the probably motives of the characters toward the conflicts about the One Ring.

  All of the studies reviewed above are different from my thesis because in this thesis I analyze about the motive that the characters‟ have when they facing the conflicts in the story and how their motive influence the character to do the action relating to the conflicts.

B. Review of related Theories

1. Theory of Conflict

  According to Perrine, a conflict is “a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills” (1996: 59). In other words, a conflict “involves two opposing forces” (Shipley, 1962: 75). In the story The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the

  

Ring , the clash of ideas can be seen from the differences ideas of Gandalf and

  Boromir. Gandalf thinks that the best way for the company to pass Misty Mountain is through the mine of Moria. On the other hand, Boromir thinks that it is better for them to take the way through the gap of Rohan (Tolkien, 2001: 287- 288). This difference causes a clash of ideas that lead to a conflict between them.

  Perrine classifies conflicts into three types. The first is a social conflict, a clash between a character against some person or group (Perrine, 1996: 59).

  Second is a physical conflict, a conflict between a character with some external force-physical nature, society or fate (Perrine, 1996: 59). Both of them are external conflict, the conflicts between a man and things outside himself such as one or more individuals, and/or the environment. The third is psychological conflict, in which a struggle between a man with some elements in his own nature (Perrine, 1996: 59). This kind of conflict involves several thoughts that exist in one individual and the psychological aspects of a human being. A good example of this case is Frodo‟s internal conflict when he faces the fact that his Ring brings danger to others. Frodo is confused whether to leave the Shire or not. On one hand he wants to go to save the Shire. On the other hand, he wants to stay since everything that he loves is in that beautiful place. In this situation, there is a psychological conflict within Frodo‟s mind before he makes a decision to do a certain action.

  Moreover a conflict can lead to another conflict. For example, a social or physical conflict appears between a person and other person or force. Thus, clashes between ideas, desires, and wills which grow out of the interplay of those three forces may also appear among and inside the characters. (Shaw, 1972: 91).

  This means that as a result of an external conflict, a psychological conflict may appear. The clash of the three forces has caused a struggle inside the characters.

  On the other way, a psychological conflict may also resulted in an external conflict.

  By analyzing the character‟s conflict, we can see what motives behind the action that the characters take.

2. Theory of Motives A motive is something that stimulates a person to do something.

  According to Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature, a motive is the product of the “combination of the character‟s moral value with the circumstances in which the character is placed” (1986: 314). It means that a character with a certain kind of moral value will have a certain kind of motive. The character‟s motive is also influenced by the circumstances around him at the time he produces a motive before making a particular action. For example: A robber takes some money from an old lady after he empties the cashier machine in a little shop. The possible motive behind his action is greediness. He lacks the moral value that might stop him from taking the money from the old lady. Meanwhile, the greediness is not the only one factor that forms his motive. The circumstances also encourage him to do so. It is possible that at that time the old lady has just received some changes for the things she buys and she has not got a time to put it in her purse when suddenly the robber comes in and points his gun at the shopkeeper and her. It is right after the robber takes all the cash from the cashier that he seizes the money in the old lady‟s hand. He is not going to waste the opportunity to have more money. In this case, a good opportunity is also another factor that forms the robber‟s motive to take the old lady‟s money besides his greed.

  Motive is an incentive to act or a reason for doing something or anything that prompted a choice of action. Anything that arouses the individual and directs his or her behavior towards some goal is called a

  Motive or “Motive is a factor which influences to do anything because anything we do has a motive behind”.

  Motive is different from motivation, motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior. Motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, morality, or avoiding mortality.

  By applying the above theory in the analysis, I will be able to find the characters‟ motive in making some actions. Through the characteristics of the characters and the situation where they are in at the time they make the action, will find out the things that can encourage the characters to do so and it will conclude about their motives.

3. Psychological Theory on Conflict

  To analyze the internal conflict, which involves psychological matters, the help of the psychological theory of conflict is needed. “There are four kinds of conflicts in the theory of motivation according to Miller” (Beck, 1978:258). They are approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, approach-avoidance, and multiple approach-avoidance conflicts. (Beck, 1978:258)

  The approach-approach conflict happens because one has to make a choice out of two different positive or desirable alternatives (Beck, 1978:259). This conflict can be illustrated like this; a little girl goes to a shop with her mother. She sees a beautiful doll and a set of miniature cooking ware. She wants both of them.

  However, her mother tells her that she can have only one of them. In this case, the child has an “approach-approach conflict” because she has to choose only one out of two desirable alternatives.

  The avoidance-avoidance involves two different negative or aversive choices, in which one of them should be chosen although it is not desirable (Beck, 1978:259). The conflict can be described as the following example; in the story of

  

Simalakama fruit, the boy has to choose whether to eat the fruit or not. The

  alternatives are if he eats it, his father will be passed away. On the other hand, if he doesn‟t eat the fruit, his mother will be passed away. As a result he has an “avoidance-avoidance conflict” because he has to choose one of those undesirable options.

  In approach-avoidance conflict there is only one goal but it has both positive and negatives outcomes (p. 260). In this kind of conflict, an individual faces a situation where the decision that he is going to make may have two different results, the desirable and undesirable ones. For an example of this conflict when an university student is working on his presentation paper. His goal is to get a good mark and the only way to achieve it is by finishing his presentation paper and presents it in front of the lecturer and the whole class. As he about to finish the paper, he realizes that later on he has to face the whole class when presents the material and he afraid of it. Here the students face the approach-avoidance conflict. On one hand he wants to finish the presentation and get the good mark. On the other hand, he feels reluctant to do it because he hates and afraid to speak in front of many people. To achieve his goal, he must face both the desirable and undesirable results.