the concept of the novel.
b. Identifying the figure of speech in Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth by Hermann Hesse.
Technique of Analyzing Data
a. Categorizing each figure of speech found in the novel Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth by Hermann Hesse according to each type of figure of speech.
b. Explaining each figure of speech according to each chapter in the novel Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth by Hermann Hesse.
c. Drawing conclusion and find the most used figure of speech found in the novel Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth by Hermann Hesse.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figure of speech
Comparison figure of speech Simile
Simile is figure of speech that explicitly comparing two things with a direct comparison word. In the committed his first sin. He lied to his friend that he had stolen a sack of
UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 41 the odd one. He cannot put Demian in any categories, such as children, adult, young, or old. He saw Demian as something beyond of his life. Demian is the one who being compared with walk together to their class. They was discussing about a story from their class. They have an argument about it and Demian tried to end their argument by saying that sentence to Emil. In that sentence Demian was comparing someone who does not want to come out from their narrow mind with a tortoise in their shell.
His hands lay before him on the bench, lifeless and still as object, like stone or fruit, pale, motionless yet not limp, but like good, strong pods sheathing a hidden, vigorous life. (pp.74)
This sentence was said when Emil Sinclair tried to describe what he saw in the same chapter. On page 75, Emil Sinclair who was so confused when he saw his friend, Demian, sat still beside him. He said, “He sat there like a statue, and I thought, proud as an idol!” Emil Sinclair compared Demian with a statue because Demian was completely motionless. Emil Sinclair even thinks that Demian is not breathing. And Emil comparing Demian with an idol because even Demian was completely motionless, Demian still look so dominant and powerful.
Metaphor
Metaphor is figure of speech that implicitly comparing two things.
Hermann Hesse, as a poet, uses a lot of metaphors in his work, including something pure like a newly hatched bird or other animals which is come from an egg. This represent the innocent of human when they just a child. It also represent about the naiveté of human when they are on their journey to find their purpose of life.
“Some never become human, remaining frog, lizard, ant.
Some are human
42 UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 Emil Sinclair give an example of the result for they who did not try to find their purpose of life. To know what the true meaning from this novel, we have to understand about the background story of this novel.
This novel is an educational novel. The main topic from this novel is to show us about the journey to find our true self as a human or as an authentic human being. Hermann Hesse as the author was inspired by Nietzsche’s works. Nietzsche was a philosopher or an existentialist.
Existentialism is a branch of philosophy which is sees everything by its existence. It is about who we really are as a human being. In Existentialism, every human have their own purpose on their life.
Animals, plants, or insects are also living beings. But they did not have to find their purpose of life.
They just simply live and never think about their existence. The word frog, lizard, and ant in that sentence represent to human who did not care about their live and just simply live their life without trying to find the meaning of their existence.
“Human above the waist, fish below” means someone who is half certain stages of life, but they did not become an authentic human being.
On page 11, Emil Sinclair said,
“We all share the same origin, our mothers; all of us come in at the same door.” This sentence was said when Emil Sinclair explain about the similarity between every human, but every human will have their own way or road to live their life. The only figure of speech in that sentence is metaphor, and that metaphor is the door.
This door is not the actual door from our house. It was quite obvious if we see the previous phrase, “We all share the same origin, our mothers;...”. So this door is represents of how human was born.
“They had their faults, of course; they had their bad moments, but these did not appear to go very deep as they did with me, whose contact with evil often grew so oppressive and painful, and to whom he rather said it as two realms. Those two realms are realms of day and night. Emil Sinclair was explaining those two realms including types of people who live in each realm. As a son from a very religious family, Emil always considers his family as the people from the realm of day or the good people. But he also explain that people from the realm of day is not sinless. As a human, it is normal if we did something wrong sometimes.
“They had their faults, of course; they had their bad moments, but these did not appear to go very deep as they did
UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 43 with me, whose contact
with evil often grew so oppressive and painful, and to whom the dark world seemed so much closer” (pp.16).
In that sentence, Emil Sinclair was comparing his sin with his family’s sin. Because his family was a good person and never had a relation with people from the realm of night, so their sin was normal comparing to his sin.
This novel uses chronological plot with first point of view. It is not start with young Emil Sinclair, but the story start with the adult Emil Sinclair who tells a story of his youth life to us, the reader, chronologically. Emil Sinclair as the main character who tells a story of found in the next sentence or even in the next paragraph.
In this sentence Emil want to tell us that in his life, he used to have a relation with people from the realms of night, with the bad guy. It was happen when he commit his first sin by telling lie to his friend. The
“contact with evil” is an illustration to describe the situation when Emil Sinclair and Franz Kromer make a deal to cover up Emil’s first sin.
Personification
Personification is figure of speech that gives human traits to an inanimate object. Hermann Hesse also uses several personifications in his novel. The first personification
can be found in the prologue, page 11.
“I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the
He was explaining about himself and to summarize his life. “...my blood whispers to me.” This phrase is a personification. Personification is a figure of speech used to give human characteristic to an inanimate object.
Blood is a body fluid in human and animals, so logically blood cannot whisper. The word blood in the sentence used to represent Emil Sinclair or himself. While whisper is used to describe that he will only listen to his heart as the source of his choices in his life.
“The sweetness of pregnant with secret.”
(pp.13)
This sentence was said when Emil Sinclair start to narrated his own childhood life. He was explaining the environment around his house. According to Emil’s point of view, all adults around him often to meet up in a certain rooms and share secret to each other. Adults keep talking and sharing secrets to each other in those certain rooms. As time pass by, the secret that people
44 UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 share on a certain rooms are
growing. One secret followed by another secret, and those secret stay at those certain rooms
Babies are growing inside their mother’s womb. As time pass by, babies are growing bigger and bigger. The author use a word pregnant to describe a room full of secrets. By using the phrase "rooms pregnant with secret", the author just make an inanimate thing to looks like living things.
“The narrow strip between the vaulted wall of the bridge and the lazily flowing river was covered with nothing but refuse, shards, tangled bundles of rusty wire and other rubbish.” (pp.17)
This sentence was said when Emil Sinclair describe a place where he play with his friends. Flowing river is an inanimate object, and the phrase words lazily is a human trait.
The phrase “lazily flowing river” mother’s parasol; they gave me a feeling of home and comfort, and my heart greeted them thankfully, as the Prodigal son might phrase is simply mean the feeling to be in a save place that almost erased the sorrow in his heart.
“By a very devious route, I sneaked through the little alleys of a changed town, repetition can be found on page 70.
What Demian had said abut God and the devil, about the official godly and the suppressed world as being divided into halves--the light and the dark. (pp.70)
This sentence was said by Emil Sinclair was discussing about the concept of God with Demian. The purpose of repetition is to show the importance of the events. Emil
UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 45 Sinclair repeats the phrase “my
own” because the concept of God that Demian told him was so deep and it has affected him. The second repetition can be found on page 82.
So that’s what I filthy, loathsome and callow, a vile beast where everything was cleanliness, radiance, and tenderness, I, who had loved the music of Bach and beautiful poetry. (pp.82)
This sentence was said by Emil Sinclair when he have hangover. At that moment, he was degrading himself. The repetition show how he felt so disappointed with himself.
The next repetition can be found on page 93.
That’s what my friend would look like if I ever to find one ever again. That’s what the woman I would love when he realize that the figure in his
painting is not Beatrice nor Demian, but himself. Emil Sinclair was pointed the fact to himself that the figure in his painting is him if he did not choose the wrong path in his past. The last repetition can be found on page 133.
Often he was a bother and I would dismiss him peremptorily; yet I sensed that he, too, had been sent to me, that Knauer for his life.
Polysyndeton and Asyndeton There is no polysyndeton in the novel but there are three asyndetons in the novel. The first asyndeton can be found on page 69.
The sentence was said by Demian when he tried to explain his concept of God to Emil Sinclair. Demian said, “He is all that is good, noble, fatherly, beautiful, elevated, sentimental--true!” All the word after comas in that sentence has the same meaning. Demian tried to describe the God with all the good things.
The second asyndeton can be found on page 74. The sentence was said by Emil Sinclair when he
46 UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 Sinclair eyes, Demian was not like a
human at that moment. So he mentions things that are not human to describe Demian.
The last asyndeton can be found on page 75. This sentence was said by Emil Sinclair when he describe about his feeling of his childhood. In that moment, he felt that his childhood is almost over and he felt that everything around him becomes a little bit dull.
A disenchantment falsified and blunted my usual feelings and joys: the garden lacked fragrance, the woods Sinclair’s feeling about the changes of his feeling. exaggerating a situation. In the novel
“Demian: The Story of Emil stars and books; I have begun to listen to the learning about his life. But he didn’t learn it in a traditional way. As it is him on his journey.
“Each man carries the vestiges of his birth – the slime and eggshells of his primeval past – with him to the end of his days.” (pp.11)
This sentence is hyperbole because it’s exaggerating the meaning. For example in the word
“primeval”, in this sentence, Emil Sinclair explains about what is life in his own point of view. The topic for this novel is to find the purpose of life and choosing what we want to be. In the sentence before this sentence, Emil said “Each man’s life represents a road towards himself,” their true self in the future. And from the journey to find this true self, human will be having some mistakes or regrets in the past that always be remembered until the end of our life.
Paradox
In paradox, there are two elements which is completely the opposite to each other. But those two opposite word used side by side to emphasize the situation. Hermann
UG JURNAL VOL.13 NO.8 47 Hesse use paradox in his works. It
can be found in chapter 1: Two Realms, page 25 in novel “Demian:
The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth”.
“A strange new feeling overcome me at this Emil Sinclair met his father just after he make a deal with Franz Kromer.
At that time, Emil Sinclair was in distress and he is afraid. But when he met with his father in the living room, his father scolded him about his muddy boots. And that make Emil Sinclair felt superior to his father, because his father only scolded him about his muddy boots, not because his deal with Franz Cromer.
His father didn’t know about his deal with Franz Kromer, he have a secret and somehow it make him happy. But he knows this feeling is not right, and yet he feels happy.
The only figure of speech in this sentence is paradox. Paradox is a sentence or phrase which is have an father scolds him is a sin. But that is the first time he felt superior to his father, that is the first time he have a secret, and he feels happy about it.
That is why he still find a pleasure feeling in it. When someone gets stung, it will be hurt, and it cause pain. And yet Emil Sinclair like that stung because that feeling make him felt superior to his father.
“For the first time in my life I tasted death, and death tasted bitter, for death is birth, is
fear and dread of some terrible renewal.” sentence, Emil felt that his childhood life is over. This is the death. And then he starts to enter the next stage of his life. This is the birth. It is just like process of Emil Sinclair’s life.
“And--this way totally tormentor I suffered gladly at Demian story from his class to Emil. He said,
“But now comes this sentimental little treatise about the good thief.”
Robbery is never be a good thing to do. But he said that thief as good because in the end the thief repented and back to the good path.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION