Analysis of Theme Through Inner and Social Conflicts in 'The Last Days of Dogtown'.
ABSTRACT
Dalam tesis ini, pertama-tama saya akan membahas beberapa konflik yang
dialami oleh sejumlah tokoh yang ada di dalam sebuah novel yang berjudul The
Last Days of Dogtown karya Anita Diamant. Berdasarkan konflik yang saya
bahas, saya akan mengangkat tema dari cerita novel ini.
Konflik yang dibahas dalam tugas akhir ini menyangkut karakter-karakter
berikut: Judy Rhines, seorang wanita kulit putih; Cornelius Finson, seorang pria
kulit hitam; Oliver Younger, seorang anak muda yang mendapat perlakuan kasar
dari bibinya sendiri; dan Ruth, seorang wanita kulit hitam yang bekerja sebagai
tukang batu. Masalah utama yang menjadi pemicu terjadinya konflik di antara
mereka adalah perbedaan-perbedaan fisik dan sosial yang tidak dapat dielakkan.
Masing-masing tokoh mendapat perlakuan yang tidak adil hanya karena
mereka dianggap tidak punya dan tidak pantas untuk mendapatkan apa yang
seharusnya mereka peroleh, yaitu hak-hak mereka untuk hidup seperti manusia
pada umumnya.
Akhirnya, saya menarik kesimpulan bahwa tema novel ini adalah
“diskriminasi dapat terjadi akibat dari perbedaan warna kulit, usia dan status
sosial.”
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………..……………………….……i
TABLE OF CONTENTS..……………….………………….………….……. ii
ABSTRACT....…………………….…………………..……………….…….. iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study……………….………………………….….1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………….…..2
Purpose of the Study…………………………………………..….…...3
Method of Research…………………………………….......................3
Organization of the Thesis……………….…………………….……....3
CHAPTER TWO:
ANALYSIS OF THEME THROUGH INNER AND SOCIAL
CONFLICTS IN ANITA DIAMANT’S THE LAST DAYS OF
DOGTOWN..........................................................................................4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION………………………………..….….15
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………….19
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Last Days of Dogtown……………………..………20
Biography of Anita Diamant………………………………..….…….22
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Last Days of Dogtown
The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant is a novel about a dying
village called Dogtown. It begins with the death of an old man of the village,
Abraham Wharf. All the residents of Dogtown come to mourn for him. Judy
Rhines, a white woman, comes first to Easter Carter’s tavern, which is the biggest
house in the Commons Settlement, the real name of Dogtown. Then there comes
Oliver Younger, a twelve-year-old boy, accompanied by his aunt Tammy
Younger, who has the habit of torturing him. The next comer is Black Ruth, who
works as a stonemason. She does not talk much. After Ruth, there comes
Cornelius Finson, a freed black man, whose love to Judy is denied because of
their different skin colours. Others in the company are Mrs. Stanley and her
grandson, Sammy, and the other residents of Dogtown.
Each of them has their own secrets which become issues among others.
Oliver Younger has a miserable childhood after his parents die and so he lives
with his only family, Tammy Younger. Black Ruth comes to Dogtown as she
wants to find out the mystery of her mother’s death. Cornelius Finson, who is no
longer a slave after his master sets him free, falls in love with Judy. Judy Rhines
has a bad experience in her past life and is in love with Cornelius.
20
Maranatha Christian University
At the end of the story, Oliver Younger finally leaves his aunt to start a
new life of his own, gets married, and has kids. Tammy later dies because of her
old age. Black Ruth finally knows the truth behind her mother’s death. Cornelius
Finson’s love is still kept until his death, which still makes a problem for the
community of Dogtown because of his skin colour. And Judy Rhines finally
leaves Dogtown because there is nothing left for her to run a living in that town.
21
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant was born on June 27, 1951, in New York City. She is an
American author of fiction and non-fiction books. She spent her childhood in
Newark, New Jersey and then moved to Denver, Colorado when she was 12 years
old. She attended the University of Colorado for two years but she did not finish
her studies there. She was transferred to the Washington University in Missouri,
where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature in 1973. She
received her Master’s degree in English from Birmingham University in1975.
Diamant starts her writing career as a freelance journalist and has won
some awards. Her articles have been published in the Boston Globe Magazine and
Parenting Magazines, New England Monthly, and Yankee. She branched out into
books with the release of her non-fiction book The New Jewish Wedding in 1985.
She started her debut as a novelist in 1997 with The Red Tent, which becomes a
best-seller and was awarded Book Sense Book of the Year Award 2001. She then
published her second novel Good Harbor, which was not as famous as her first
one. The last novel she published is The Last Days of Dogtown. Her other nonfiction books are The New Jewish Baby Book, Living a Jewish Life, and Pitching
My Tent.
Diamant is currently married, has one child and lives in Boston.
Source: “Biography of Anita Diamant”
22
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Anita Diamant is a twentieth century American author, who first started her
writing career as a freelance journalist. Most of her articles have been published
in local magazines and newspapers such as The Boston Globe, Parenting
Magazine and some others (“Biography of Anita Diamant”). The Red Tent is her
first novel, which becomes best-seller and for which she got Book of the Year
Award in 2001 called Book Sense (“Biography of Anita Diamant”). Her job as a
journalist has affected most of her works, which present topics about humanity.
One of her novels, The Last Days of Dogtown, tells about the past life of
American people in a place called Dogtown, which is located in Cape Anne,
Massachusetts. It presents a “tiny community rejected by the rest of the world”
(Heilke 5). This novel is interesting to be discussed because of the way she tells
about the reality of life in past time. She creates such interesting characters in the
novel, the topic of which concerns discrimination, which is “the practice of
treating one particular group in society in an unfair way” (Longman 384).
1
Maranatha Christian University
After reading the novel, I am attracted to analyze the theme of The Last
Days of Dogtown. According to Perrine, “The theme of a piece of fiction is its
controlling idea or its central inside. It is unifying generalization about life stated
or implied by the story” (112). The analysis is conducted through discussing the
conflicts in the novel. Shaw defines conflict as “the opposition of persons or
forces, the action of which depends in drama and fiction” (91). There are three
types of conflict: (a) elemental or physical conflict, which is about a struggle
between man and the physical world; (b) social conflict, which is about a struggle
between a man and a man and (c) internal or inner or psychological conflict,
which is about a struggle between desires within a person (Shaw 91-92).
I agree that the theme of The Last Days of Dogtown is “discrimination can
be caused by skin colour, age and social status.” I analyze the theme through the
inner and social conflicts among some of the characters in the story, namely Judy
Rhines, Cornelius Finson, Black Ruth and Oliver Younger.
After reading the discussion in the thesis, the readers are expected to realize
that the conflicts experienced by the characters in this novel play an important role
in conveying the idea of the story. That is why I intend to discuss the theme of
The Last Days of Dogtown through the characters’ conflicts.
Statement of the Problem
Based on the background of the study presented previously, the problem in this
literary study are formulated as follows:
1. What is the theme of the novel?
2. How do the inner and social conflicts in the novel help reveal the theme?
2
Maranatha Christian University
Purpose of the Study
The stated problems lead to the purposes of the study, which are
1. to show the theme of the novel.
2. to show how the inner and social conflicts in the novel help reveal the theme.
Method of Research
In writing this thesis, the method of research I use is library research. First, I
read The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant as my primary text. From
books and the Internet, I also read and search some other sources and texts which
can support my analysis. Then, I analyze the novel and draw some concluding
remarks of the result of my analysis.
The Organization of the Thesis
In my thesis, there are four chapters that are preceded by the Abstract, the
Acknowledgements and the Table of Contents. Chapter One is the Introduction,
which consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis.
Chapter Two is the discussion of theme through inner and social conflicts in Anita
Diamant’s The Last Days of Dogtown. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. This last
chapter is followed by the Bibliography and the Appendices, which contain the
synopsis of The Last Days of Dogtown and the biography of Anita Diamant.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I am going to draw a conclusion from the analysis in the
previous chapter. In this novel, there are various conflicts which are faced by
Oliver Younger, a young man that has been very frequently tortured by his own
aunt; Cornelius Finson, a freed black man; Judy Rhines, a white woman; and
Black Ruth, a black woman who works as a stonemason. These people reveal one
thing to me that all of them face similar conflicts as they are the victims of the
people who have power and privilege. The victims are living in the society where
others are treating them unfairly. Treating other people unfairly can also be
considered as discrimination. Discrimination here does not only happen to the
black people but it also happens to the minority in the society like people of the
lower class and children with no power.
Through my analysis, I can make a conclusion that each of the characters
experiences conflicts regarding an unfair treatment. Some of them, such as
Abraham and Oliver，struggle and defend their living and also fight for their
rights to be treated fairly as a human. Some others, such as Black Ruth and Judy,
15
Maranatha Christian University
are defending those whom they think are getting an unfair treatment in the society.
They havegot discriminated because of their skin colour, age, and social status.
Except Oliver Younger was experiencing unfairly treatment directly
because of his aunt, Tammy Younger, he experiences both inner and social
conflicts. He gets unfair treatments from his aunt and its causes him to be a weak
person. But in the end, he can manage himself and leaves Tammy. Oliver is
portrayed as a member of the minority people who is controlled by his own aunt,
who represents the majority or the one who holds the power. Oliver is oppressed
and he gets unfair treatments by his own aunt, Tammy, who wants to have what
belongs to him. Oliver is deprived from his right because of his young age.
The inner and social conflicts are also faced by Cornelius Finson. The
conflicts are caused by Abraham Wharf, a man who dislikes black people very
much. He acts like the superior or the one who has power and privilege because
he is white. He oppresses Cornelius, who is the inferior because he is a black man.
Ideally, everyone should have his or her right in any condition or situation,
regardless their skin colour and social status. The rights should also given to
Cornelius, since he is a freed black man, who is no longer a slave. As the
resolution, Cornelius race still denies him to get what he wants.
Judy Rhines faces a social conflict because she wants to defend Cornelius’
right as a human being. He is treated as the unworthy because he is a black man.
Even after he is dead, the clergyman still denies him a fair treatment like what the
whites have. That is why Judy wants Cornelius to have what he should get, which
is a proper burial.
16
Maranatha Christian University
Black Ruth’s conflict with Henry Briemfield Jr. is related to her beloved
mother. Ruth wants to know the truth about her mother’s death. She is killed by
her own master just because she is carrying his child. This reveals that her mother
gets an unfair treatment from her master, who is a white man, because her master
wants to keep his reputation. Black Ruth’s mother gets an unfair treatment as a
human just because of her social status which is only a slave and also a black.
The conflicts that happen in this novel are triggered by the issue of unfair
treatments, which are suffered by those who do not have any power or privilege to
fight or even survive. They cannot manage to develop themselves because of the
existing boundaries which are causing some problems to themselves and even
people around them.
Many things can cause discrimination in the society. The different social
status or background, disability, ethnicity, age, religious belief and even gender
can make us being discriminated. There are several examples about this matter. A
master may discriminate his worker because of his/her social status, which is of a
lower class. For another example, Indonesian employees working in foreign
companies have very little oppotunities to reach the top positions, however
capable they are. The companies would prefer to have western people for those
positions. Discrimination also happens to junior workers in a company. They are
considered not have the same abilities as their seniors. Young adolescents below
17 years old are frequently considered to be immature; in fact, they could manage
what they want and be responsible for themselves like adults. However, they are
often considered to be incapable by society.
17
Maranatha Christian University
Having read and analyzed The Last Days of Dogtown, I have come to a
conclusion that through the conflicts that the characters’ face, Anita Diamant has
skillfully revealed her ideas about the life of the people who are being
discriminated.
18
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Diamant, Anita. The Last Days of Dogtown. New York: Scribner, 2005.
Internet Websites:
“Biography of Anita Diamant”. 18 Aug. 2009.
“Biography of Anita Diamant”. Wikipedia. 26 Aug. 2010.
Heilke, Natalia. “Anita Diamant’s Tale of a Dying Hamlet”. Book review:
The Last Days of Dogtown. 2008. 18 Aug. 2009.
References:
Longman, Dictionary of Contemporary English. Edinburgh Gate, Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited, 1978.
Perrine, Laurence. Literature Structure, Sound and Sense. New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1974.
Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc,
1972.
19
Maranatha Christian University
Dalam tesis ini, pertama-tama saya akan membahas beberapa konflik yang
dialami oleh sejumlah tokoh yang ada di dalam sebuah novel yang berjudul The
Last Days of Dogtown karya Anita Diamant. Berdasarkan konflik yang saya
bahas, saya akan mengangkat tema dari cerita novel ini.
Konflik yang dibahas dalam tugas akhir ini menyangkut karakter-karakter
berikut: Judy Rhines, seorang wanita kulit putih; Cornelius Finson, seorang pria
kulit hitam; Oliver Younger, seorang anak muda yang mendapat perlakuan kasar
dari bibinya sendiri; dan Ruth, seorang wanita kulit hitam yang bekerja sebagai
tukang batu. Masalah utama yang menjadi pemicu terjadinya konflik di antara
mereka adalah perbedaan-perbedaan fisik dan sosial yang tidak dapat dielakkan.
Masing-masing tokoh mendapat perlakuan yang tidak adil hanya karena
mereka dianggap tidak punya dan tidak pantas untuk mendapatkan apa yang
seharusnya mereka peroleh, yaitu hak-hak mereka untuk hidup seperti manusia
pada umumnya.
Akhirnya, saya menarik kesimpulan bahwa tema novel ini adalah
“diskriminasi dapat terjadi akibat dari perbedaan warna kulit, usia dan status
sosial.”
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………..……………………….……i
TABLE OF CONTENTS..……………….………………….………….……. ii
ABSTRACT....…………………….…………………..……………….…….. iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study……………….………………………….….1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………….…..2
Purpose of the Study…………………………………………..….…...3
Method of Research…………………………………….......................3
Organization of the Thesis……………….…………………….……....3
CHAPTER TWO:
ANALYSIS OF THEME THROUGH INNER AND SOCIAL
CONFLICTS IN ANITA DIAMANT’S THE LAST DAYS OF
DOGTOWN..........................................................................................4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION………………………………..….….15
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………….19
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Last Days of Dogtown……………………..………20
Biography of Anita Diamant………………………………..….…….22
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Last Days of Dogtown
The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant is a novel about a dying
village called Dogtown. It begins with the death of an old man of the village,
Abraham Wharf. All the residents of Dogtown come to mourn for him. Judy
Rhines, a white woman, comes first to Easter Carter’s tavern, which is the biggest
house in the Commons Settlement, the real name of Dogtown. Then there comes
Oliver Younger, a twelve-year-old boy, accompanied by his aunt Tammy
Younger, who has the habit of torturing him. The next comer is Black Ruth, who
works as a stonemason. She does not talk much. After Ruth, there comes
Cornelius Finson, a freed black man, whose love to Judy is denied because of
their different skin colours. Others in the company are Mrs. Stanley and her
grandson, Sammy, and the other residents of Dogtown.
Each of them has their own secrets which become issues among others.
Oliver Younger has a miserable childhood after his parents die and so he lives
with his only family, Tammy Younger. Black Ruth comes to Dogtown as she
wants to find out the mystery of her mother’s death. Cornelius Finson, who is no
longer a slave after his master sets him free, falls in love with Judy. Judy Rhines
has a bad experience in her past life and is in love with Cornelius.
20
Maranatha Christian University
At the end of the story, Oliver Younger finally leaves his aunt to start a
new life of his own, gets married, and has kids. Tammy later dies because of her
old age. Black Ruth finally knows the truth behind her mother’s death. Cornelius
Finson’s love is still kept until his death, which still makes a problem for the
community of Dogtown because of his skin colour. And Judy Rhines finally
leaves Dogtown because there is nothing left for her to run a living in that town.
21
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant was born on June 27, 1951, in New York City. She is an
American author of fiction and non-fiction books. She spent her childhood in
Newark, New Jersey and then moved to Denver, Colorado when she was 12 years
old. She attended the University of Colorado for two years but she did not finish
her studies there. She was transferred to the Washington University in Missouri,
where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature in 1973. She
received her Master’s degree in English from Birmingham University in1975.
Diamant starts her writing career as a freelance journalist and has won
some awards. Her articles have been published in the Boston Globe Magazine and
Parenting Magazines, New England Monthly, and Yankee. She branched out into
books with the release of her non-fiction book The New Jewish Wedding in 1985.
She started her debut as a novelist in 1997 with The Red Tent, which becomes a
best-seller and was awarded Book Sense Book of the Year Award 2001. She then
published her second novel Good Harbor, which was not as famous as her first
one. The last novel she published is The Last Days of Dogtown. Her other nonfiction books are The New Jewish Baby Book, Living a Jewish Life, and Pitching
My Tent.
Diamant is currently married, has one child and lives in Boston.
Source: “Biography of Anita Diamant”
22
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Anita Diamant is a twentieth century American author, who first started her
writing career as a freelance journalist. Most of her articles have been published
in local magazines and newspapers such as The Boston Globe, Parenting
Magazine and some others (“Biography of Anita Diamant”). The Red Tent is her
first novel, which becomes best-seller and for which she got Book of the Year
Award in 2001 called Book Sense (“Biography of Anita Diamant”). Her job as a
journalist has affected most of her works, which present topics about humanity.
One of her novels, The Last Days of Dogtown, tells about the past life of
American people in a place called Dogtown, which is located in Cape Anne,
Massachusetts. It presents a “tiny community rejected by the rest of the world”
(Heilke 5). This novel is interesting to be discussed because of the way she tells
about the reality of life in past time. She creates such interesting characters in the
novel, the topic of which concerns discrimination, which is “the practice of
treating one particular group in society in an unfair way” (Longman 384).
1
Maranatha Christian University
After reading the novel, I am attracted to analyze the theme of The Last
Days of Dogtown. According to Perrine, “The theme of a piece of fiction is its
controlling idea or its central inside. It is unifying generalization about life stated
or implied by the story” (112). The analysis is conducted through discussing the
conflicts in the novel. Shaw defines conflict as “the opposition of persons or
forces, the action of which depends in drama and fiction” (91). There are three
types of conflict: (a) elemental or physical conflict, which is about a struggle
between man and the physical world; (b) social conflict, which is about a struggle
between a man and a man and (c) internal or inner or psychological conflict,
which is about a struggle between desires within a person (Shaw 91-92).
I agree that the theme of The Last Days of Dogtown is “discrimination can
be caused by skin colour, age and social status.” I analyze the theme through the
inner and social conflicts among some of the characters in the story, namely Judy
Rhines, Cornelius Finson, Black Ruth and Oliver Younger.
After reading the discussion in the thesis, the readers are expected to realize
that the conflicts experienced by the characters in this novel play an important role
in conveying the idea of the story. That is why I intend to discuss the theme of
The Last Days of Dogtown through the characters’ conflicts.
Statement of the Problem
Based on the background of the study presented previously, the problem in this
literary study are formulated as follows:
1. What is the theme of the novel?
2. How do the inner and social conflicts in the novel help reveal the theme?
2
Maranatha Christian University
Purpose of the Study
The stated problems lead to the purposes of the study, which are
1. to show the theme of the novel.
2. to show how the inner and social conflicts in the novel help reveal the theme.
Method of Research
In writing this thesis, the method of research I use is library research. First, I
read The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant as my primary text. From
books and the Internet, I also read and search some other sources and texts which
can support my analysis. Then, I analyze the novel and draw some concluding
remarks of the result of my analysis.
The Organization of the Thesis
In my thesis, there are four chapters that are preceded by the Abstract, the
Acknowledgements and the Table of Contents. Chapter One is the Introduction,
which consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis.
Chapter Two is the discussion of theme through inner and social conflicts in Anita
Diamant’s The Last Days of Dogtown. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. This last
chapter is followed by the Bibliography and the Appendices, which contain the
synopsis of The Last Days of Dogtown and the biography of Anita Diamant.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I am going to draw a conclusion from the analysis in the
previous chapter. In this novel, there are various conflicts which are faced by
Oliver Younger, a young man that has been very frequently tortured by his own
aunt; Cornelius Finson, a freed black man; Judy Rhines, a white woman; and
Black Ruth, a black woman who works as a stonemason. These people reveal one
thing to me that all of them face similar conflicts as they are the victims of the
people who have power and privilege. The victims are living in the society where
others are treating them unfairly. Treating other people unfairly can also be
considered as discrimination. Discrimination here does not only happen to the
black people but it also happens to the minority in the society like people of the
lower class and children with no power.
Through my analysis, I can make a conclusion that each of the characters
experiences conflicts regarding an unfair treatment. Some of them, such as
Abraham and Oliver，struggle and defend their living and also fight for their
rights to be treated fairly as a human. Some others, such as Black Ruth and Judy,
15
Maranatha Christian University
are defending those whom they think are getting an unfair treatment in the society.
They havegot discriminated because of their skin colour, age, and social status.
Except Oliver Younger was experiencing unfairly treatment directly
because of his aunt, Tammy Younger, he experiences both inner and social
conflicts. He gets unfair treatments from his aunt and its causes him to be a weak
person. But in the end, he can manage himself and leaves Tammy. Oliver is
portrayed as a member of the minority people who is controlled by his own aunt,
who represents the majority or the one who holds the power. Oliver is oppressed
and he gets unfair treatments by his own aunt, Tammy, who wants to have what
belongs to him. Oliver is deprived from his right because of his young age.
The inner and social conflicts are also faced by Cornelius Finson. The
conflicts are caused by Abraham Wharf, a man who dislikes black people very
much. He acts like the superior or the one who has power and privilege because
he is white. He oppresses Cornelius, who is the inferior because he is a black man.
Ideally, everyone should have his or her right in any condition or situation,
regardless their skin colour and social status. The rights should also given to
Cornelius, since he is a freed black man, who is no longer a slave. As the
resolution, Cornelius race still denies him to get what he wants.
Judy Rhines faces a social conflict because she wants to defend Cornelius’
right as a human being. He is treated as the unworthy because he is a black man.
Even after he is dead, the clergyman still denies him a fair treatment like what the
whites have. That is why Judy wants Cornelius to have what he should get, which
is a proper burial.
16
Maranatha Christian University
Black Ruth’s conflict with Henry Briemfield Jr. is related to her beloved
mother. Ruth wants to know the truth about her mother’s death. She is killed by
her own master just because she is carrying his child. This reveals that her mother
gets an unfair treatment from her master, who is a white man, because her master
wants to keep his reputation. Black Ruth’s mother gets an unfair treatment as a
human just because of her social status which is only a slave and also a black.
The conflicts that happen in this novel are triggered by the issue of unfair
treatments, which are suffered by those who do not have any power or privilege to
fight or even survive. They cannot manage to develop themselves because of the
existing boundaries which are causing some problems to themselves and even
people around them.
Many things can cause discrimination in the society. The different social
status or background, disability, ethnicity, age, religious belief and even gender
can make us being discriminated. There are several examples about this matter. A
master may discriminate his worker because of his/her social status, which is of a
lower class. For another example, Indonesian employees working in foreign
companies have very little oppotunities to reach the top positions, however
capable they are. The companies would prefer to have western people for those
positions. Discrimination also happens to junior workers in a company. They are
considered not have the same abilities as their seniors. Young adolescents below
17 years old are frequently considered to be immature; in fact, they could manage
what they want and be responsible for themselves like adults. However, they are
often considered to be incapable by society.
17
Maranatha Christian University
Having read and analyzed The Last Days of Dogtown, I have come to a
conclusion that through the conflicts that the characters’ face, Anita Diamant has
skillfully revealed her ideas about the life of the people who are being
discriminated.
18
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Diamant, Anita. The Last Days of Dogtown. New York: Scribner, 2005.
Internet Websites:
“Biography of Anita Diamant”. 18 Aug. 2009.
“Biography of Anita Diamant”. Wikipedia. 26 Aug. 2010.
Heilke, Natalia. “Anita Diamant’s Tale of a Dying Hamlet”. Book review:
The Last Days of Dogtown. 2008. 18 Aug. 2009.
References:
Longman, Dictionary of Contemporary English. Edinburgh Gate, Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited, 1978.
Perrine, Laurence. Literature Structure, Sound and Sense. New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1974.
Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc,
1972.
19
Maranatha Christian University