A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERS IN
GAYLE FORMAN NOVEL “JUST ONE DAY”
A PAPER
BY
M REZKI SIREGAR
REG.NO. 112202026
DIPLOMA III ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM
FACULTY OF CULTURE STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATERA
MEDAN
It has been proved by Supervisor,
Drs. Umar Mono, Dip. Tran., M.Hum. NIP: 19600122198601 1 001
Submitted to Faculty of Cultural Study, University of Sumatera Utara in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Diploma-III in English Study Program
Approved by
Head of English Diploma Study Program,
Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A. NIP: 19521126198112 1 001
Approved by the Diploma-III of English Study Program Faculty of Cultural
Study, University of Sumatera Utara as a Paper for the Diploma-III Examination.
Accepted by the Board of Examiner in partial of the requirements for the D-III
Examination of the Diploma-III of English Study Program, Faculty of Culture
The Examination is held on June 2014
Faculty of Cultural Study University of Sumatera Utara
Dean,
Dr. Syahron Lubis, MA NIP: 19511013197603 1 001
Board of Examiners:
1. Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A. __________
2. Drs. Umar Mono, Dip. Tran., M.Hum __________
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION
I, M. REZKI SIREGAR, declare that I am the sole author of this paper. Except
where the reference is made in the text of this paper, this paper contains no
material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a paper by
which I have qualified for or awarded another degree.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main
text of this paper. This paper has not been submitted for the award of another
degree in any tertiary education.
Signed :
COPYRIGHT DECLARATION
Name : M. REZKI SIREGAR
Title of paper : A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERS IN
GAYLE FORMAN’S NOVEL “JUST ONE DAY” Qualification : D-III/ Ahli Madya
Study Program : English
I am willing that my paper should be available for reproduction at the
reproduction at the discretion of the Librarian of the Diploma III English Faculty
of Culture University of North Sumatera the understanding that users are made
aware of their obligation under law of the Republic of Indonesia.
Signed :
ABSTRACT
The title of this paper is “A Brief Description of Characters in Gayle Forman’s novel just one day” discuss about the main characters which exist in the novel. Those main characters have kind of different characteristics and also have different behavior. The library research is used that is by reading some books that relevant to this title or as a source to get some information that can support this title and also by searching on internet. From the description, there are three main characters in the novel. They are Allyson Healey, Melanie and Willem. Allyson Healey is a good girl and she is very obedient to her parents. Melanie is an arrogant girl in her campus and also she is clever to tell lies in front of her friend. Willem is a blond man from Netherlands who likes to adventure and also he’s
ABSTRAK
Kertas karya yang berjudul “A Brief Description of Chracters in Gayle Forman’s novel just one day” ini membahas tentang tokoh-tokoh utama yang terdapat di dalam novel tersebut. Tokoh-tokoh utama tersebut memiliki ciri-ciri yang berbeda dan memiliki sifat yang berbeda juga. Dalam penyusunan kertas karya ini digunakan dengan metode penelitian kepustakaan yakni (library research)
ACKNOWLEDMENTS
Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim, first of all, I would like to thank and praise to
The Almighty Allah SWT, for blessing and giving health, strength and ease to
accomplish this paper as one of the requirements to get the Diploma III Certificate
from English Study Program Faculty of Cultural Study, University of Sumatera
Utara.
I would like to express a deep gratitude, love, appreciation and thanks to
my lovely parents, Panjang Siregar and Ratna Erli Pane S.Pd. Thank you for all your support, advice, prayers, and loves. I present this paper for you.
I would like to thank Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A. as the head of Diploma-III English Study Program, who gives me a lot of knowledge.
I would like to thank Drs. Umar Mono, Dip.Tran., M.Hum. as my supervisor. Thank you for the valuable time in giving me the correction and
constructive critics in completing this paper. You are my inspiration.
I would like to thank Dr. Syahron Lubis, M.A. as the Dean of Faculty of Culture Studies, University of Sumatera Utara.
I would like to thank for all lecturer in Diploma-III English Study Program
for giving me valuable knowledge.
I would like to thank to my juniors in SOLIDAS 2013, Vivi, Dinda, Maria, Vio, and Marys for nice friendship during my last year in University of Sumatera Utara.
I would like to thank to all my friends in SOLIDAS 2011 and alumnus in SOLIDAS for your kindness to me, I’m going to miss you all.
Medan, July 2014
The writer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION……..………... i
COPYRIGHT DECLARATION ………. ii
ABSTRACT……… iii
1.6 Reason for Choosing the Topic………….……… 3
2. REVIEW OF RELATED THE LITERATURE 2.1 Novel……….………. 4
2.2 Plot………….……….………... 5
2.3 Character……… 6
2.3.1 Major and Minor Character………….……… 7
2.3.1.1 Major Character………….……….. 8
2.3.1.2 Minor Character………….……….. 8
2.3.2 Protagonist and Antagonist………….……… 8
2.3.2.1 Protagonist ………...……….... 9
2.3.2.2 Antagonist……… 9
2.3.3 Round and Flat Character……… 10
2.3.3.1 Round Character……….……….. 10
2.3.3.2 Flat Character…………..………. 11
2.4 Theme……… 11
2.5 Setting……….………... 13
3. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTERS 3.1 Allyson Healey…………..………..……….. 16
3.2 Melanie………..……… 20
4. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION
4.1 Conclusions………... 24 4.2 Suggestions……… 25
BIBLIOGRAPHY……….……….. 26 APPENDICES
A. Biography of Gayle Forman’s………..……… 27
B. Summary of the Novel………..……… 30
ABSTRACT
The title of this paper is “A Brief Description of Characters in Gayle Forman’s novel just one day” discuss about the main characters which exist in the novel. Those main characters have kind of different characteristics and also have different behavior. The library research is used that is by reading some books that relevant to this title or as a source to get some information that can support this title and also by searching on internet. From the description, there are three main characters in the novel. They are Allyson Healey, Melanie and Willem. Allyson Healey is a good girl and she is very obedient to her parents. Melanie is an arrogant girl in her campus and also she is clever to tell lies in front of her friend. Willem is a blond man from Netherlands who likes to adventure and also he’s
ABSTRAK
Kertas karya yang berjudul “A Brief Description of Chracters in Gayle Forman’s novel just one day” ini membahas tentang tokoh-tokoh utama yang terdapat di dalam novel tersebut. Tokoh-tokoh utama tersebut memiliki ciri-ciri yang berbeda dan memiliki sifat yang berbeda juga. Dalam penyusunan kertas karya ini digunakan dengan metode penelitian kepustakaan yakni (library research)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of Study
Literature is a body of written and valued as works of art. Literature may be classified according to a variety of systems, including language, national
origin, historical period, genre and subject matter. Rees (1997:9) says that Literature is writing which express and communicates through feelings and
attitude towards life.
Roberts and Jacobs in book Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing (1995:2) Literature arerefers to compositions that tell stories, dramatize situations, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas. Before the invention
of writing, literary works, were necessarily spoken or sung and were detained only
as long as living people performed them. Literature may be classified into four
categories or genres: (1) prose fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, and (4) nonfiction
prose. From the various types of imaginative literature, my choose falls on
nonfiction prose, exactly on novel, which is a nonfiction prose narrative of
considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and presenting an
organized sequence of events and scenes.
Peck and Coyle (19884:102) say, “The novel reflects a move away from
an essentially religious view of life towards a new interest in the complexities of
everyday experience. Most novels are concerned with ordinary people and their
problems in the societies in which they find themselves”. Rees (1973:106) says,
nonfictional prose literature here designates writing intended to instruct, to
persuade, to convert or to convey experience.
Novel is human literature creations. Novel does not, however, present a
documentary picture of life. Kennedy (1991:203) says that novel is a book length
story in prose, whose author try to create sense while we read, we experience
actual life. The novel is a picture of real life and manner time when it was written.
Some of them are fiction (unreal) and some of nonfiction (real). In nonfiction
novel, the author’s present actual people and events. In fiction novel, the readers
will know about characters are categorized as a main character and peripheral
characters. Character makes the story become real and interesting. We can
understand about the way of story in a novel. Without character, the novel is
nothing. The readers can get meaning and many messages of life from the
character in a story. To understand a novel, we must be able to know the elements
of prose, such as setting, plot, theme, characterization etc. And we need the ability
to identify the element of novel if we want to analyze a novel.
The writer chooses “Just One Day” novel written by Gayle Forman in
2013 because the Writer is interested in that. She is one of wonderful author of the
New York Times bestsellers If I Stay and Where She Went. Most people in all over the world have read it, or heard a radio version of it. The author is really creative
in composing the novel so that messages of the story can be sent to the readers.
This novel tells about love, friendship and the travel. The writer would like to
describe The Characters in Gayle Forman Novel: Just One Day, because the writer
1.2 Problem of the Study
Based on the background of the analysis, the problem of the study may be
recognized as follows, how are the characters depicted in the novel? 1.3 The scope of Writing
There are many aspects can be discussed in this novel, nevertheless the
writer is focus on The Main Characters in Just One Day by Gayle Forman. Based on the problem, this study is focused on the main characters in the novel.
1.4 Purpose of the Study
In this paper, the purpose of the study is to describe about the Character
depicted in the Gayle Forman’s novel “Just One Day”. 1.5 Method of the Study
In this paper, the writer uses the work of the library method. Wellek and
Warren (1994:24) which is the approach taken the data from text itself and also
use library method (Library Research ) that is by collecting data from books in the library and also search the information from internet, such as data are
collected, sorted, and summarized.
1.6 Reason for Choosing the Topic
The writer has chosen Gayle Forman’s novel Just One Day as the subject of this paper, because the writer is interested in the main characters in this novel,
2.
Review of Related Literature
2.1 Novel
Novel is a narrative text which tells about human of life. A novel is literary
work has been appreciated by many people because it entertains and teaches.
Entertaining means, it gives feeling to the readers and teaching means it has some
values to imitate by the readers.
Rees (1973:106) says that novel is a fictitious prose narrative of
considerable length in which characters and actions representative of real life are
portrayed in a plot of more or less complexity. In other words a novel is a story
longer, more realistic and more complicated. The novel is now the most widely
read of all kinds of literature, and one is surprised to find (as its name suggest)
that it is fairly new.
Peck and Coyle (1984:102) say that the novel reflects a move away from
an essentially religious view of life towards a new interest in the complexities of
everyday experience. Most novels are concerned with ordinary people and their
problems in the societies in which they find themselves. In fact, novels tend to tell
the same few stories time and time again. Novelist frequently focuses on the
tensions between individuals and the society in which they live, presenting
characters that are at odds with that society. Novels, however, are long works with
a great amount of detail on every page. They thus present all the complicating
facts that need to be taken into account before we can reach any sort of judgment.
The effect of this detail is that we come recognize the complex reality of a
complications the novelist creates within the familiar pattern of characters at odds
with their society that enable us to gain a vivid sense of what is like for particular
individuals to be caught in certain events. A productive critical method for
achieving a sense of a novel’s complexity is to look closely at sense which you
found interesting or memorable, seeing how to details create a vivid and
distinctive impression of an individual and society conflict. The novelist an tell a
more adventurous story which clearly goes beyond everyday experience.
2.2 Plot
Plot is what the character(s) did, said, and thought. It is the Action Proper
given unity by the Enveloping Action, the Universal Action, and the Archetypal
Action. As Aristotle said, what gives a story unity is not as the masses believe that
it is about one person but that it is about one action. Plot, or storyline, is often
listed as one of the fundamental elements of fiction. It is the rendering and
ordering of the events and actions of a story. On a micro level, plot consists of
action and reaction, also referred to as stimulus and response. On a macro level,
plot has a beginning, middle, and an ending. Plot is often depicted as an arc with a
zigzag line to represent the rise and fall of action. Plot also has a mid-level
structure: scene and summary.
Roberts and Jacobs (1995:88) say that plot is stories are made up mostly of
actions or incidents that follow each other sequentially. Finding a sequential or
narrative order, however, is only the first step toward the more important
In a well done story, all the actions or incidents, speeches, thoughts and
observations are linked together to make up an entirety, sometimes called an
organic unity. The essence of this unity is the development and resolution of a
conflict-or conflicts-in which the protagonist, or central character, is engaged. The
pattern in which the protagonist meets and resolves the conflict is called the plot,
which has been compared to the story’s map, scheme, or blueprint. The plot is based on the interactions of causes and effects as they develop sequentially or
chronologically. That is, the story actions follow one another in time as the
protagonist meets and tries to overcome the forces of opposition.
Plot is a literary term defined as the events that make up a story,
particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause
and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence. A plot
"insures that you get your character from point A to point Z" according to author
Jenna Blum. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events
accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect. An intricate, complicated plot is
called an imbroglio, but even the simplest statements of plot may include multiple inferences, as in traditional ballads.
2.3 Character
Roberts and Jacobs (1995:4) say that character may be defined as a verbal
representation of a human being. Through action. Speech, description, and
commentary, author portray characters who is worth caring about, rooting for, and
even loving, although there are also characters you may laugh at, dislike, or even
speech, no matter how small, is part of a total presentation of that complex
combination of both the inner and outer self that constitutes a human being. Types
of character are round characters and flat characters. The round characters usually
the main figure in a story profits from experience and undergoes a change or
alteration, which may be shown in an action or actions, the realization of the new
strength and therefore the affirmation of previous decisions, the acceptance of a
new condition, or the discovery of unrecognized truths. The flat character does not
grow. They remain the same because they may be stupid or intensive or lacking in
knowledge or insight. They end where they begin and are static not dynamic. But
flat characters are not therefore worthless, for they usually highlight the
development of the round characters.
Peck and Coyle (1984:105) say that character is the people in a novel are
referred to as character. We assess them on them on the basis of what the author
tells us about them and on the basis of what they do say. The characters are part of
a border pattern: they are members of society, and the author’s distinctive view
how people related to society will be reflected in the presentation of every
character.
2.3.1 Major Character and Minor Character
There is a character which is grouped as important and forward
continuously that is thought to determine the large part of story, and on the other
hand there is character which is only put forward one several times in story and
perhaps it is relatively in short portion of story. The character mentioned first is
2.3.1.1 Major Character
We usually face several that are appeared in story. Nevertheless, each
character has different role. Based on the role and level of importance, there are
essential characters being appeared continuously and it is called major character.
A major character is a character that is emphasized to tell the story. The
major character always appears in most of the story, either as subject or as object.
This character decides the development of the plot and story. A major character is
also a complex one, and some adjectives will be needed to describe it. Therefore,
it takes the important role in a story.
2.3.1.2 Minor Character
On the other hand, there are characters that appear once or sometimes,
and maybe relatively in short portion, it is call minor character. Different from the
major character, minor characters take a small role in a story. It only appears
when there is direct or indirect parallelism with the major character in the story.
2.3.2 Protagonist and Antagonist
From the function of performance character, it can be distinguished to
protagonist character and antagonist character. When read a novel, the readers
always identify themselves with the certain character. Give sympathy or empathy;
2.3.2.1 Protagonist
Protagonist is a character who is loved by the audience. He or she likes a
hero and the audience always gives sympathy emphasis. The term “hero” does
not mean someone who is brave or noble, heroes’ maybe good or evil, low or
highborn.
Altenbern and Lewis (Nurgiyantoro, 1998:170) say that Protagonist is
character who is admired by the readers or watchers, popularly or she called as a
hero because he or she always does ideal role and follows the rules and values in
society.
A protagonist is the main character in the story. The protagonist presents
something that is adjusted with our perception and expectation and that is why we
will recognize him or her because he or she has similarity with us. In short words,
everything felt, thought and done by the character represents us. The
self-identification toward the character is an empathy given by the readers or watchers.
A fiction must have a conflict and a pressure had by the protagonist.
2.3.2.2 Antagonist
Antagonist is a character that always makes a conflict. The antagonist
can be said as opposite of the protagonist directly or indirectly. But the conflict
which is always had by the protagonist is not only caused by the antagonist. It can
be caused by the other factors outside someone individually, such as disasters,
accidents, neighborhood and the others higher power. The cause of conflict that is
Foster (1990:101) says that an antagonist is the character who opposes to
the protagonist; the person that helps cause conflict for the protagonist. The
protagonist may be another person, an animal, the environment, and the
self-internal.
2.3.3 Round and Flat Character
Two main categories of characters in literature are round and flat. Round
characters in a story, play, or novel are simply characters that are most like real
people and Flat character, one who can be fully described in a single sentence.
2.3.3.1 Round Character
Round character is a character that shows many different facts; often
presented in depth and with detail. The basic of trait of round character are that
they recognized, change with, or adjust to circumstances.
Robert (2003:133) says that the round character “usually the main figure
in a story” profits from experience and undergoes a change or alteration, which
may be shown in an action or actions, the realization of new strength and therefore
the affirmation of previous decisions, the acceptance of a new condition, or the
discovery of unrecognized truths.
They usually play a major role in a story. Round characters are often
called the hero or heroine. Many main characters are anything but heroic,
however, and it is therefore preferable to use the more neutral word protagonist.
The protagonist is central to the action, moves against an antagonist, and exhibits
both individual and sometimes unpredictable, and because they undergo change or
growth, they are dynamic.
2.3.3.2 Flat character
Flat character is a character that usually has only one outstanding trait or
feature. In contrast, flat characters do not grow. They remain the same because
they may be stupid, insensitive, or lacking in knowledge or insight. They end
where they begin and are static, not dynamic. However, flat characters are not
therefore worthless, for they usually highlight the development of the round
characters.
Sometimes flat characters are prominent in certain types of literature,
such as cowboys, police, and detective stories, where the focus is less on character
than performance. Such character might be lively engaging, even though they do
not develop or change. They must be strong, tough, and clever enough to perform
recurring tasks like solving a crime, overcoming a villain, or a finding a treasure.
The term stock character refers to characters in these to the degree that stock
characters have many common traits; they are representative of their class, or
group. Such characters with variations in names, ages, and sexes, have been
constant in literature since the ancient Greek.
2.4 Theme
Theme is what the author is trying to tell the reader. For example, the
beliefs in the ultimate good in people or those things are not always what they
seem. This is often referred to as the "moral of the story." Some fiction contains
theme, or a very shallow one. Culler (1977:59) says that theme is something
which becomes the authors thought. It means explain about view of life or the
author’s image and how they consider the case. A novel has message and theme
from the author to the readers.
To understand the theme requires a lot of guesswork by asking what a
particular story is about, a question which usually leads to a great deal of
speculation. The whole process should not course be a matter of hit or miss,
unless we assume as at time we might that the author was confused by the
creation.
It is important not to confuse a theme of a literary work with its subject.
Subject is a topic which acts as a foundation for a literary work while a theme is
an opinion expressed on the subject. For example, a writer may choose a subject
of war for his story and the theme of a story may be writer’s personal opinion that
war is a curse for humanity. Usually, it is up to the readers to explore a theme of a
literary work by analyzing characters, plot and other literary devices.
A writer presents themes in a literary work through several ways. A writer
may express a theme through the feelings of his main character about the subject
he has chosen to write about. Similarly, themes are presented through thoughts
and conversations of different characters. Moreover, the experiences of the main
character in the course of a literary work give us an idea about its theme. Finally,
the actions and events taking place in a narrative are consequential in determining
generate emotional twists and turns in a narrative and can lead to a variety of
endings: happy, sad or bittersweet.
Theme is an element of a story that binds together various other essential
elements of a narrative. It is a truth that exhibits universality and stands true for
people of all cultures. Theme gives readers better understanding of the main
character’s conflicts, experiences, discoveries and emotions as they are derived
from them. Through themes, a writer tries to give his readers an insight into how
the world works or how he or she views human life.
2.5 Setting
Roberts and Jacobs (1995:230) say that setting is the natural,
manufactured, political, cultural, and temporal environment, including everything
that characters know and own. Characters may be either helped or hurt by their
surroundings, and they may fight about possession and goals. Further, as
characters speak with each other, they reveal the degree to which they share the
customs and ideas of their times.
Setting in literary work is important because it may stir the reader’s
imagination as well as reveal the significance of the action. The element of setting
can be differentiated into three principle element: setting of places, setting of time,
and setting of society. Although each of these elements offer situations but
actually they are close influence each other.
In works of narrative especially fictional, the literary element setting
includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story
been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may include
culture, historical period, geography, and hour. Along with the plot, character,
theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of
fiction.
Setting is a critical component for assisting the story, as in man vs. nature
or man vs. society stories. In some stories the setting becomes a character itself.
The term "setting" is often used to refer to the social milieu in which the events of
a novel occur. Novelist and novel-writing instructor Donna Levin has described
how this social milieu shapes the characters’ values. For young readers in the US,
the setting is often established as the "setting". As children advance, the elements
of the story setting are expanded to include the passage of time which might be
static in some stories or dynamic in others (e.g. changing seasons, day-and-night,
etc.). The passage of time as an element of the setting helps direct the child's
attention to recognize setting elements in more complex stories. Setting is another
way of identifying where a story takes place.
Fictional locations are places that exist only in fiction and not in reality,
such as the Negaverse, Planet X, or Skyrim. Writers may create and describe such
places to serve as backdrop for their fictional works. Fictional locations are also
created for use as settings in role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. They may also be used for technical reasons in actual reality for use in the
development of specifications, such as the fictional country of Bookland, which is
assigned to books, and code 977 to be assigned for use for ISSN numbers on
magazines and other periodicals.
Fictional locations vary greatly in their size. Very small places like a
single room are kept out of the umbrella of fictional locations by convention, as
are most single buildings. A fictional location can be the size of a university (H.P.
Lovecraft's Miskatonic University), a town (Stephen King's Salem's Lot), a county
(Raintree Country), a state (Winnemac in various Sinclair Lewis stories), a large
section of continent (as in north-western Middle-earth, which supposedly
represents Europe), a whole planet (Anne McCaffrey's Pern), a whole galaxy
(Isaac Asimov's Foundation books), even a multiverse (His Dark Materials). In a larger scale, occasionally the term alternate reality is used, but only if it is
considered a variant of Earth rather than an original world. Austin Tappan
3. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTERS
3.1 Allyson Healey
Allyson is the main character in the novel. She is 18 years old. Allyson
recently has completed her senior high school and continues her studying in
medical major in Boston, USA. She lives in the dormitory. When she graduates
from school, her parents gave her a gift that is Study Tour but she was reluctant to
go. As written below,
“When my parents gave me this trip as a big high-school graduation present, I was a little reluctant to go. But Mom had reassured me that she’d done her research. Teen tours! Was very well regarded, noted for its high-quality educational component, as well as the care that was taken of its students. I would be well locked after. “You’ll never be alone,” my parents had promised me. And, of course, Melanie was coming too.” (Forman 2013:5)
Allyson is a good girl and very obedient to her parents. When some
members of the tour took her to a night out to the local bars, Allyson refuses to
follow them, although most of them are legally old enough to drink alcohol in
Europe. As written as follow,
“I don’t go to the bars. I usually just go back to the hotel rooms Melanie and I share and watch TV. You can almost always find American movies, the same kinds of movies which, back at home, Melanie and I often watched together on weekends, in one of our rooms, with lots of popcorn. (Forman 2013:5)
While Allyson and Melanie walk around the town, they are visited by a
man with blond hair and give them a brochure. The man says that they will play a
drama near the canal not far from their hotel. And then they receive an invitation
from the man. So they come and watch the whole drama until the end. The next
the sound of his voice that is not far from her, after hearing the voice, Allyson
instantly recognizes it, but Allyson is just relax when she sees him. It can be seen
in the following statement,
“I should be surprised, but somehow, I’m not. I do have to bite my lip to keep from grinning.”(Forman 2013:20)
When they meet in the station and get acquainted, and it turns out his
name is Willem. When Allyson is speaking, Willem notices, and then Willem
says that she relates to Louise Brook because his hair model is very similar to
Louise Brooks. As written below,
“No.” He peers at me with those eyes of his. They’d looked so dark yesterday, but now that I’m up close, I can see that they have all kinds of colors in them –gray, brown, even gold dancing in the darkness. Allyson said.” “You know who you look like? Louise Brooks.” “She was huge star in nineteen twenties. American amazing Actress. Willem said.”
Afterwards Willem calls her Lulu, which is shortened from the name of
Louise Brook. When they arrive at the next station, the three of them feel down
simultaneously, she has just finished the tour to the big Europe cities: Rome,
Vienna, Budaphest and now back to London. Allyson feels upset for not going to
Paris after Rome for several reasons. As written below,
“Oh, come on. You’re not still moping about that?” Melanie turns to Willem. “We were supposed to go to Paris after Rome, but the air traffic controllers went on strike and all the flights got cancelled, and it was too far to go to on the bus. She’s still bummed out about it” (Forman 2013:27)
Seeing the situation, Willem immediately invites Allyson to visit Paris for
a day. Then Allyson is shocked when she hears Willem’s invitation to visit Paris.
“My heart starts doing the most ridiculous flippy things, but my ever-rational mind continues to click off all the reasons this won’t work.” “It’s totally crazy. I don’t even know him. And I could get caught. And how much of Paris can you see in just one day.”(Forman 2013:28)
Finally they go to Paris. After an hour, they arrive in Paris. When exiting
the station Allyson sees the entire of Paris. Allyson feels her happiness is in this
city. Allyson is happy when she has arrived in Paris. It can be seen in the
following statement,
“It’s official,” I declare. “I love Paris!” “It’s just become my favorite city in the whole world.” “I should add that there wasn’t much competition, seeing as I didn’t actually enjoy most of the places on the tour.” (Forman 2013:46)
Soon she transforms into Lulu. Lulu is different with Allyson, who is
always obedient according to her parents and also her friends. Lulu is not
submissive girl and full rules. As written below,
"Lulu is not Allyson who lives in rooms without doors or windows." "Lulu is an adventurous girl who is free, brave, and free to do like the water flowing."
After that Willem takes her to his friend’s place. Willem finally meets his
friend named Celine, they tell stories and they kiss the left cheek and right cheek
kiss before parting and Lulu sees them kissing and it makes her jealous. As
written as below,
“When they do that cheek-cheek-kiss-kiss thing, I feel so much of the excitement from earlier dwindle. (Forman 2013:57)
When they are on the way, they meet with some skinhead who tries to
disturb the two of them. Willem told Lulu to save themselves but Lulu does not
want to leave Willem. Willem then takes blurry Lulu. The skinheads throw broken
turns out to be blood. Willem is angry because Lulu does not want to hear him. He
told to Lulu, that Willem will return her to London. Lulu feels sad, when Willem
says that he will send her back to England. As written below,
“Still, seeing this new Paris, it brings tears to my eyes that turn all the lights into a big red scar. I wipe my face with my dampening cardigan, my returned watch still grasped in my hand.”(Forman2013:113)
However, Lulu feels that she really falls in love with Willem, but Lulu still
annoys with Willem behavior lately to her. As written below,
“Willem looks at me for a long moment. But he does oblige with a refill and then that lazy half smile. In one day, I’ve come to love that smile. And now I want to murder it.” (Forman 2013:117)
Allyson is curious to him. Why Willem want to invite Allyson to Paris just
one day and what can be done in one day in Paris, Allyson is still confused and do
not know anything about Willem. It can be seen in the statement below,
“What did you bring me here for?”“Because he never answered that.” “Never said why he asked me to come to Paris with him for the day.” (Forman 2013:119-120)
The next day, Lulu wakes up without any Willem on her side. Lulu is
panic. Lulu is back to Allyson. Allyson is paranoid, panic, irregular, sad, and
begins to lose direction. As written below,
“My hearts starts to pound. Panic is coming, breathless with fear. I hug my knees, shivering in the damp morning. My tears make me hard to see. I take some deep breaths, swallow my sobs.” “I’m too scared, too numb to be hurt. That will come later.” (Forman 2013:136)
But with the assistance from Ms. Foley, tour leader traveling around
3.2 Melanie
Melanie is a close friend of Allyson. She is 18 years old. Melanie is
characterized by her blonde hair and her camisole. Melanie and Allyson have been
best friends since the family moves to Allyson’s house in the summer before
second grade elementary school. Just like Allyson, Melanie also continues her
studies in New York.
Melanie has often spent time with Allyson, to the extent that they almost
have a sign language or a private joke gaze. For Allyson, Melanie is a friend who
captious and really like commenting on other people. As written below,
“Geez, the Brits do love to line up. Or queue. Or whatever. They should take a lesson from Italians, who just mob. Or maybe the Italians should take a lesson from the Brits.” (Forman)
While Melanie has a conversation with him, arrogantly Melanie says that
she is more beautiful than other women on campus. As written below,
“No one at college will know that we were AP automatons. I mean, we’re too pretty to just be brainiacs, and at college, everyone will be smart. So we can be cool and smart. Those two things will no longer be mutually exclusive.”(Forman 2013:6)
Not only that. Melanie is also clever to tell lies in front of her friends,
when she wants to watch Twelfth Night drama. Melanie tries to deceive tour guide
by means pretending to be ill, so that Melanie does not watch the drama Hamlet
that she has ever wanted to watch before. It can be seen in the following
statement,
puke.” Melanie pushes on.”I would hate to do that inside the Swan Theater.”
Finally they are successful deceive her tour guide, and then they go to the
drama place. Melanie and Allyson are successful go to a drama place and watch
the drama until it is finished. After the drama is finished, Melanie invites Allyson
to join the drama group, however Allyson rejects it. Melanie feels offend when
Allyson disobeys. It can be seen in the following dialogue,
“Maybe we should go find them. Go hang out with them or something.”Melanie said. “I shake my head.”I doubt they want to hang out with stupid American teenagers.” Allyson said. “We’re not stupid, and most of them didn’t seem that much older than teenagers themselves.” Melanie said. “No, we should get back to the room.” Allyson said. “Why do you always do this?” Melanie said. “Do what?” Allyson said. “Say no to everything. It’s like you’re averse to adventure.” Melanie said. “I don’t always say no.” Allyson said. “Nine times out of ten. We’re about to start college. Let’s live a little.” (Forman 2013:15)
After returning to the U.S. for college, Melanie becomes the smartest
student in the class by getting better grades than Allyson. As written below,
3.3 Willem
Willem is a blond man from the Netherlands. He is 20 years old whose
height is 190 cm, weight 75 kg and has a scar on his leg. Willem is the actor in the
drama Twelfth Night as Sebastian is on show at the State-upon-Avon in England. At first Willem wants to return to his hometown in the Netherlands after
traveling from the UK, but when he sees Allyson who wants to visit the city of
Paris but she cannot because she does not have a timetable for her tour to Paris. With good intentions finally Willem invites Allyson Healey to visit the city of
Paris for one day only. It can be seen in the following dialogue,
“So go,” Willem said. “Go where?” Allyson said. “To Paris.” Willem said. “I can’t. It go canceled.” Allyson said. “So go now.” “The tour’s is over. And anyhow, they’re probably still striking.” “We can go by train. It takes two hours from London to Paris.” He looks at the big clock on the wall. “You could be in Paris by lunchtime. Willem said. “But, but, I don’t speak French.” Allyson said. “I know Paris.” Willem said.(Forman 2013: 28)
Actually Willem is a traveler who’s recently completed a traveling in the
UK when Allyson tries to ask Willem, who he really is. It can be seen in the
following dialogue,
“How long have you been traveling?” Allyson said. “Two years.” “You have the talent for traveling.” “Traveling is not something you’re good at. It’s something you do like breathing.” “You thought too hard. Same with travel. You can’t work too much at it, or it feels like work. You have to surrender yourself to the chaos. To the accidents.” Willem said.” (Forman 2013:47)
After that, Willem walks to the bar, where his friend works. They reach
the bar. Willem then meets with Celine, Willem just wants to leave his luggage
and then say goodbye to Celine. Allyson can say to Willem about Celine. Willem
“Well, how did you meet?” “I get it,” “You guys were an item,” Allyson said. “No, that’s not it.” “We just fell in love once,” Willem said. “Once?” “And now?” Allyson said. “We are good friends. As you saw,” Willem said. “So you’re not in love with her anymore?” Allyson said. “I never said I was in love with her,” Willem said. “You just said you fell in love with her once,” Allyson said. “And I did.” “There is a world of difference, Lulu, between falling in love and being in love.” “You have to fall in love, but falling in love isn’t the same as being in love,” Willem said. (Forman 2013:62)
Willem is angry with Allyson who wants to help fight the skinheads. Her
neck is bleeding because the shards of glass bottles that are thrown by skinheads
to Allyson. It can be seen in the following dialogue,
“They threw a broken bottle at you.” Willem’s voice is pure fury.” “It’s okay,” “I’m okay,” Allyson said. “What were you thinking?” Willem interrupt’s, his voice icy as a stranger’s. “They were going to hurt you,” Allyson said. (Forman 2013:110)
As Willem’s previous promise, they travel in Paris for just one day. But,
4. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
4.1 Conclusions
Novel is one of the literature creations that have realistic quality. Some
novels are fictitious and some are based on true stories. In general, novel is the
author’s conception about social sphere. Besides that, reading a novel is
influential for the reader’s life, because we can understand as well as realize the
real condition and life of the story in the novel.
Characters in a novel are the persons of presented in works of narrative
who convey their personal qualities through dialogues and action by which the
reader or audience understand their through, feelings, intentions, and motives.
Characters can affect the reader and give positive or negative impacts.
They may learn and be better from the experience or may miss the point and be
unchanged.
From the discussion in the previous chapter, the writer would like to
conclude the description of the character in the novel just one day by Gayle Forman is only about the main character.
There are three main characters described in the novel. They are Allyson
Healey, Melanie and Willem. Allyson Healey is a good girl and she is very
obedient to her parents, Melanie is an arrogant girl in her campus and also she is
clever to tell lies in front of her friend, Willem is a blond man from Netherlands
4.2 SUGGESTIONS
At the end of this paper, the writer hopes that this paper will make the
readers understand more about characters in just one day novel by Gayle Forman and will be interested in reading it.
This paper can give a clear explanation about characterization to the
readers. This paper also can be used as guidance to the other students in
describing novel, especially the main characters. The writer hopes that other
students also can study other elements of literary works: Theme, Plot, Point of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrams, M.H.1981. A Glossary of Literary Term. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Kennedy, William H. 1949. How to Analyze Fiction, London: Macmillan Education, Ltd.
Kennedy, X.J. 1991. Literature: An Introduction of Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
New York: Harper Coolins Publishers Inc.
Levin, Donna (1992). Get That Novel Started. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books.
Nurgiyantoro, Burhan. 1998. Teori Pengkajian Fiksi.
Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada University Press.
Obstfeld, Raymond (2002). Fiction First Aid: Instant Remedies for Novels, Stories and Scripts. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books
Peck John & Martin Coyle. 1984. How to Study Literature : Literature Terms and Criticism London : Macmillan Education Limited.
Roberts, V. Edgar and Henry E. Jacobs. 1995. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. New Jersey : Prentice – Hall, Inc.
Roes, R.J. 1973. English Literature: An Introduction for Foreign Readers.
London: Macmillan Press Limited.
Sembiring, Matius C.A, 2014. Kompilasi Bahan Kuliah.
Medan: Sumatera Utara University, Faculty of Culture Study.
APPENDICES
Biography of the Author
Gayle Forman was born June 5, 1970 is an American young adult author.
Forman began her career writing for Seventeen Magazine in which most of her
articles focused on young people and social concerns. Later she became a
freelance journalist for publications like Details Magazine, Jane Magazine,
Glamour Magazine, The Nation, Elle Magazine, and Cosmopolitan Magazine. In
2002, she and her husband Nick took a trip around the world. From her journeys,
she garnered a wealth of experiences and information which later served as a basis
for her first book a travelogue You Can't Get There From Here: A Year On The Fringes Of A Shrinking World. In 2007 she published her first young adult novel
In 2009, Forman released If I Stay, about a 17 year old girl named Mia who has been involved in a tragic car accident. The novel follows Mia's
experience as she lies in a coma fully aware of what is going on around her and
everything her visitors say and do. Feeling the agony of loss of those closest to her
yet aware of the abounding love of those that remain, she must make the choice to
hang on or let go. Forman won the 2009 NAIBA Book of the Year Awards and is
a 2010 Indie Choice Honor Award winner for If I Stay. The film adaptation of "If I Stay", starring Chloë Grace Moretz, is due to be released in the United States on
August 22, 2014. The sequel to "If I Stay", titled "Where She Went", was released
in 2011. Told from Adam's point of view, the novel is about Adam and Mia's
relationship after the accident.
In January 2013, Forman released "Just One Day". The novel follows
Allyson Healey, who, on the last day of a post-graduation European tour, meets a
Dutch vagabond actor named Willem. In an uncharacteristic, spur-of-the moment
decision, Allyson goes to Paris with Willem, which leads to "a day of risk and
romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life."[1]
The sequel to "Just One Day", titled "Just One Year", was released in October
2013. The novel follows the same chronological path as Allyson's story, but told
from the perspective of Willem. The final installment of Allyson and Willem's
story, titled "Just One Night", is a 50-page novella that is due to be released in
Forman's other notable literary awards include the British Fantasy Award
(2010), an ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2010),
South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2011),
TAYSHAS High School Reading List (2010), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
for Young Adult Fiction (2009), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee
(2010).
Gayle resides in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, daughter, and
adopted daughter. At the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Forman
participated in panel discussions. She was on the panel “Young Adult Fiction:
Teens and Turmoil” with Jandy Nelson, Cynthia Kadohata and moderator Sonya
Summary of the Novel
Allyson Healey. As an initial overview, Allyson is the only child. Like
most single-child, Her mother would be the one super-over-protective. Allyson
Everything in life is scheduled, arranged, organized, and designed by Mom. Even
for his ideals, must obey the wishes Allyson Mom. Rough terms, Allyson 'printed'
Mom liking.
But, all the spins in the opposite direction since the chance meeting that
occurred when Allyson was a tour around Europe. Allyson and Melanie, her best
friend, got tickets for a tour around Europe from their parents as a high school
graduation gift. And arrived in the last country of their tour, London, Allyson and
Melanie met a handsome man who distributed flyers street performance. With a
little courage and curiosity with a handsome man divider brochure earlier, Allyson
and Melanie were forced to deceive their tour guide. The results of the deceptive
Allyson and Melanie is not be watch Hamlet at the theater with the other tour
members, but they explore London at night and watch the street theater
performances.
Allyson stunned, fascinated, blushed, and touched with performances of
Twelfth Night Shakespeare's work is performed by Gerillya Will, street theater
group. Moreover the character Sebastian, a handsome man divider brochure.
Allyson really enjoy theater performances and 'Sebastian'. At the end of the show,
In the morning, before returning to America, Allyson met again with
Willem at the train station. This is where it started blooming Allyson feelings.
Sebastian or Willem, gave her a name Lulu taken from the name of the actress
Louise Brooks who popularized the bob haircut, because Allyson also have the
same hairstyle. And before their separation, Allyson will go back to America and
Willem returned to the Netherlands, Willem invite Allyson for venturing to Paris.
Allyson wanted to, because it's supposed to tour around Europe it took him to
Paris, but for some reason, be no tour group finally to Paris.
Allyson has become Lulu. And Lulu is different from Allyson. Lulu is not
submissive girl and full rules. Lulu is not Allyson who live in rooms without
doors or windows. Lulu is a girl that free adventurous, brave, and be able to say
'yes'. Thanks to whom? Thanks to Willem! Willem introduced to Lulu many
things during their trip to Paris. Starting from the works of Shakespeare, the
canals in the Netherlands, to teach Lulu difference between being in love and
falling in love.
Travelling in Paris for half a day with Willem really makes Lulu feel
traveling tour in countries with a tour group not previously is nothing. The trip
will only last for one day with Willem truly has carved many memories in the
memory and hearts of Lulu. Accident-by accident they had together. And the first
time, Allyson who has turned into Lulu The Brave feel the meaning of life,
liberty, and true happiness with Willem, strangers who had met yesterday.
And such as appointments in the previous Willem, their adventures in
Paris just one day. Just after the sun comes from the east of Paris, Willem has
gone. Lulu back to Allyson. Allyson timid, orderly, and began to lose direction.
Allyson was left in a poor state does not have the rest of the euro. And with a help
of Ms. Foley, tour guide traveling around Europe yesterday, Allyson can get back
