CALLIE RUFFIN’S INTRA-PERSONAL CONFLICT AS A JUROR
IN GRISHAM’S THE LAST JUROR
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Yohanes Christie
Student Number: 981214158
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
“The Journey of One Thousand Miles must Begin
with a single step
.
”
-Chinese
Proverb-A Champion is Someone who Gets up even They Can’
t
- Anonymous-Student Today Leader for Tomorrow
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Above all, my supreme gratitude goes to my JC (Jesus Christ) for His assistance and eternal love in giving me inspiration to finish my thesis. Without Him I am hopeless.
My immense gratitude and tribute go to Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum., as my previous major sponsor, for her patience, criticisms, and contributions in assisting my thesis writing. My endless thanks go toL. Sumarni, S.Pd. I thank her for criticizing my work. My thanks also go toA. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A., the head of English Language Education Study Program, for his help and encouragment to finish my thesis. I also thank him for being my “emergency” major sponsor.
I excessively will bestow my life for people I love to whom I share my thoughts in completing my study. My next deepest gratitude goes to my beloved father and mother who have looked after me. I thank for their prayer, love, patience, understanding, trust, and everything they have given to me. Thanks also to my beloved wife “Yullita Tri Rahayuningsih”, my brother “Adhams”, and his wife “Sitta”. You all are the best things I have ever had.
A friend is someone who will do anything to cheer you up. I do not only have a friend, but many friends beside me who always cheer my thesis writing days with their encouragement, smiles and laughter. I especially bestow my gratitude to the other survivor of PBI 98,Leting Kreasti. My gratitude also goes toEndah “nduts”, Painem, Kelik, Martina and also Popo, for their helpfulness and friendship for all
May God bless them all!
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated for my beloved wife, Yullita Tri Rahayuningsih, who has
been sick for six years. We have been through hard days with struggles and
tears against your diseases. Be sure that I will always be there for you to wipe
your tears whenever you cry, to cheer you up whenever you are sad, to listen
whenever you want to talk, and to hug you in your painful days.
Although I am the very last of PBI, now I prove that I am not a loser. I hope
this thesis will light up your spirit to heal.
-PAGE OF APPROVAL ... ii
PAGE OF BOARD OF EXAMINERS ... iii
STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv
MOTTO ... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vi
DEDICATION PAGE ... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ix
ABSTRACT ... xii
ABSTRAK ... xiii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study ... 1
1.2. Objectives of the Study ... 4
1.3. Problems Formulation ... 4
1.4. Benefits of the Study ... 4
1.5. Definition of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ……….. 7
2.1. Review of Literary Theories ... 7
2.1.1. Theory of Character and Characterization ... 7
2.2. Review of Psychological Theories ... 12
2.2.1. Theory of Conflict ... 13
2.2.1.1. Definitions of Conflict ... 13
2.2.1.2. Kinds of Conflict ... 14
2.2.1.3. Conflict Resolution ... 16
2.3. Theoretical Framework ... 19
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY……… 21
3.1. Subject Matter ... 21
3.2. The Approach ... 22
3.3. Procedures ... 23
CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS... 24
4.1. The Characterization of Callie Ruffin ... 24
4.1.1. Smart ... 25
4.1.2. Devout Christian ... 28
4.1.3. Fair ... 31
4.1.4. Brave ... 33
4.2. The Revelation of Callie Ruffin’s Internal Conflicts ... 38
4.2.1. Callie Ruffin’s Internal conflict on Judging Others 39 4.2.1.1. Judging Traynor’s Faith ... 39
4.2.1.2. Receiving the Jury Summons... 45
4.2.2. Swearing in the Trial ... 48
5.2. Suggestions ... 60 5.2.1. Suggestions for the Future Researchers ... 60 5.2.2. Suggestions for Teaching Writing Using
Literature ... 61 5.2.3. Suggestions for Teaching Writing through
ABSTRACT
Christie, Yohanes. (2008). Callie Ruffin’s Intra-Personal Conflict as a Juror in Grisham’sThe Last Juror. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program. Department of Language and Arts Education. Faculty of Teachers Training and Education. Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses a novel entitledThe Last Juror.The objective of writing this thesis is derived from the writer’s curiosity to find out Callie Ruffin’s intra-personal conflict as a juror in Grisham’s The Last Juror. There are two problems related to the topic of this thesis (1) How is Callie Ruffin described in the novel? (2) How do Callie Ruffin’s intra-personal conflicts emerge and its resolutions?
In order to answer the problems, the writer uses the psychological approach because this study focuses on the main character’s intra-personal conflict, which belongs to the psychological aspect. Moreover, the approach involves the psychological theories, especially theory of conflict by Hocker and Wilmot, Myers, Atkinson and Hilgard, Borisoff and Victor, Worchel, and Coleman and Broen, which supports the analysis towards the main character, Callie Ruffin. There are two sources used: primary and secondary sources. The Last Juror, the novel, is the primary source in this study. The secondary sources are obtained from books on literature and psychology.
From the application of the theory of characterization by Murphy (1971), the writer can infer that Callie Ruffin is a smart woman. She also a true believer of Jesus Christ. Callie Ruffin is also characterized as a fair woman and also brave. These characteristics are proven in her daily lives.
Education. Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini membicarakan sebuah novel berjudul The Last Juror. Tujuan dari penulisan skripsi ini berawal dari keingintahuan penulis untuk menemukan konflik batin yang dialami Callie Ruffin sebagai salah satu anggota juri dalam novel Grisham yang berjudul The Last Juror. Ada dua permasalahan yang berhubungan langsung dengan topik skripsi ini. (1) bagaimanakah Callie Ruffin digambarkan dalam novel ini? (2) Bagaimanakah konflik batin yang terjadi pada Callie Ruffin timbul dan bagaimanakah pemecahannya?
Untuk menjawab permasalahan tersebut, penulis menggunakan pendekatan psikologi karena penelitian ini memfokuskan pada konflik batin pada karakter utamanya, yang tentu saja adalah bagian dari aspek psikologi. Pendekatan yang digunakan ini juga melibatkan beberapa teori psikologi, terutama teori konflik oleh Hocker dan Wilmot, Myers, Atkinson dan Hilgard, Borrisoff dan Victor, Worchel, serta Coleman dan Broen yang kesemuanya mendukung analisis mengenai Callie Ruffin, sang karakter utama. Ada dua sumber referensi yang digunakan, sumber utama dan pendukung. Sumber utama adalah novel The Last Juror. Sedangkan sumber pendukung didapatkan dari buku-buku sastra dan psikologi.
Dari pengaplikasian teori pang-karakterisasian yang ditulis Murphy, penulis dapat menyimpulkan bahwa Callie Ruffin adalah seorang wanita cerdas. Dia juga pengikut setia Yesus Kristus. Callie Ruffin juga dikarakterisasikan sebagai seorang wanita yang adil dan pemberani. Karakter-karakter ini dibuktikan dalam kehidupan sehari-harinya.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five parts. The first part is the background of the study, which discusses the reasons of conducting this study. The second part is the objectives of the study, which explains the goals of the study. The third part is the problem formulation, which contains two questions to be discussed in the following chapters. The fourth part describes the benefits of the study, which concerns with the benefits of this study for some groups of people. The last part is the definition of terms, which gives the definition of some important terms related to this study.
1.1 Background of the Study
It is widely known that human is never satisfied with their life. They want everything to be perfect. They want everything to be done according to their expectation. They have beautiful dreams about their life. Those are human’s dreams and expectations, but they forget that dreams and expectations are not always easy. In fact, human beings frequently encounter many conflicts.
also differ mentally. Each person holds different goals, belief, values, ideas, motives, and resources. A person’s perception about a thing may be different from another person’s perception about the same thing. Therefore, we cannot find two people who are exactly the same. Those differences may lead to conflicts. Borisoff and Victor (1989: 2 - 4) state, “Different belief or value systems are likely to produce a conflict….” Hocker and Wilmot (1991: 23) strengthen this statement by defining conflict as “an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goals”. In other words, a conflict between two or more opposing parties happens when needs and goals are not suited each other. However, it does not mean that differences among people will always bring about conflicts. Differences are great things that make life colorful. By accepting the differences, human can learn about others and improve him or herself.
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have come to recognize and to acknowledge the benefit dealing with conflict affords. Thus, to conduct a conflict resolution or a conflict management has become an important question to be answered in order to reduce our problems.” Furthermore, Worchel (1979: 499) states that basically, conflict is divided into two kinds, they are intra-personal and inter-personal.
Conflicts can also be portrayed in literary works, such as a novel, because literary works are other copied versions of human reality in real life. Therefore, they portray realities of human life. Conflicts make a story become more interesting and fascinating to the readers. For example, John Grisham, in his novel
The Last Juror, has involved conflicts between the characters and within the characters to make the story more interesting. The author gives the readers an insight into the characterization of the characters in the novel.
The Last Juror is about a trial on a criminal named Danny Padgit. He is accused for capital murder of Rhoda Kasselaw in Ford County, a fictitious small town, Clanton, Mississippi. One of the jurors in the trial is Calie Ruffin, the first black people to serve on a trial and fortunately a woman. She is a true Christian and absolutely honest. The defendant threatens the jury that he will chase each one of the jury if they convict him. Ten years after the trial, the criminal is released. Starting from the day, one by one of the jurors were killed. Callie Ruffin is the first black juror and also the last juror survives after the trial.
its negative effects and the importance of the main character’s role in a story, the writer is interested in exploring the main character, her intra-personal conflicts, how the conflicts emerge, what resolution she used and how does her character affect her decision in solving her intra-personal conflicts?.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
The first objective of this study is to describe the characterization of Callie Ruffin in the novel. The second objective is to describe how the Ruffin’s intra-personal conflicts emerge, the parties that involve in, and the resolutions on it.
1.3 Problems Formulation
The writer would like to discuss these two questions in the following chapters based on the background of the study. The questions are:
1. How is Callie Ruffin described in the novel?
2. How do Callie Ruffin’s intra-personal conflicts emerge and its resolutions?
1.4 Benefits of the Study
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Second, for the researchers who will conduct a literary study on John Grisham’s novel, The Last Juror. This study will provide useful references for further study on the novel, especially on the main character such as self-concept and personality-development of the main character. Finally, this study is also hoped to give us more views and examples about how intra-personal conflicts emerge in our daily lives and how we solve those kinds of conflicts. The most important thing is that we have to be content with what we have and do what we must do. It means that we must seek for the positive values of our conflicts and learn from them, by managing our conflicts.
1.5 Definition of Terms
In this part, several important terms are presented in order to help readers avoid misunderstanding. They are as follows:
1.5.1 Conflict
According to Hocker and Wilmot, “Conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goals ” (1991: 23). Thus, conflict is a clash or intrigue between two or more parties, which is caused by differences of goals, needs and intervention from another party.
1.5.2 Intra-personal conflict.
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of review of literary theories, psychological theory, and theoretical framework. The review of literary theories covers the theory of character and characterization, and theory of critical approaches. Psychological theory consists of theory of conflict and conflict resolution. Further, theoretical framework consists of some explanations of how the theories in the review of the literary theories and psychological theory are employed to answer the questions in the problem formulation.
2.1 Review of Literary Theories
Theory of literature consists of two important parts to help the writer describe the characterization of the main character in this study. The first part consists of theory of character and characterization and the second part consists of theory of critical approaches.
2.1.1 Theory of Character and Characterization
Character is holding a main responsibility in the flow of a story. Therefore, it can make story more alive. The term character is generally used in two ways. The first, character used to mark out the person in the story, the person who appears in the story. The second, character refers to traits.
motivation in doing something (Stanton, 1965: 17). Furthermore, Abrams (1981:20) explained that “character is gifted with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say and what they do”. It means that traits are the basis of a character’s temperament and moral nature for his speech and action. In brief, traits are shaping character’s motivation. Another experts, Holman and Harmon (1986:81) defined character as “a picture of human’s moral foundation, the occurrence of moral uprightness, and the simpler concept of the creature’s presentation in art the seem to be human of another”. Furthermore, they defined character as “a brief descriptive drawing of an important person, described not as an individualized personality but as an example of some qualities, such as a garrulous man or a happy milkmaid.” (1986:81)
Character can also be divided into some categories. Character can be divided into round character and flat character. A round character is a complex character that can not be described in a single phrase. To describe round character we need much more observation. The readers can identify a round character by examining whether it is capable of surprising in convincing way. If it never surprises, it is flat. A flat character is much simpler than round character, his characterization is not changed by circumstances, he moves through circumstances. Therefore, we can express the flat character in a single sentence (Forster, 1974: 46-54)
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hand, a minor character is not the focus of the story. His characterization is less complex and necessary to become the background of the major character.
Character can also be classified into static character and dynamic character. Perrine (1974: 71) gives further explanation that the characterization of static character remains the same until the end of the story. He also explains that dynamic character is a character that undergoes some certain changes in his characterization. The changes can be some aspects of his character, personality, and outlook.
Character will useless without characterization. “Characterization is the process of how the author makes a character to exist” (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr, 1971:20). Furthermore they explain that characterization can be described by using two ways, namely direct and dramatic principles. Direct principle is describing physical appearances of the character, such as height, weight, color of skin or eyes, hair, and others. Dramatic principle is to put the character in certain situation so that the reader can understand what he is, through his way on behaving or speaking.
Abrams (1981: 21) defines characterization as process for distinguishing the person in a narrative. This process may use two techniques, they are showing and telling. In showing (the dramatic method), the author simply presents his character talking and acting. He leaves the reader to infer what motives and disposition lay behind what they say and do. In telling, the author leads the reader, by giving clues, to describe and to evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities of his characters.
Furthermore, Holman and Harmon (1986:83) define characterization as the process of creating a person in a story that resembles the actual person in a real life.
real life, so they may share the same character. These characters are built by the author to make the story appealing to the readers.(1986:83)
Characterization is used by the author to show the aspects of his characters in the story. According to Murphy (1972: 161-171), there are nine ways to make characters more alive through characterization, they are personal description, character as seen by other, speech, past life, conversation of others, reaction, direct comments, thoughts, and mannerism.
The first is personal description. Through personal description, the author shows us the character’s appearance and clothes in a story. The author describes the character in details, such as the face, eyes, skin, and the clothing to the reader.
The second is the character as seen by other. The author describes the character through another character’s opinion. In other word, we can say that the readers get a reflected image.
The third is the speech in which the author gives us an insight into the character of a person in the story through what that person says. The person gives the reader clue to his character whenever he speaks, whenever he has a conversation with another, and whenever he proposes an opinion. Next is past life. The author, sometimes, gives us a journey through the past life of the character, so that we can catch a clue to events that shape a person’s character.
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seventh is direct comment. The author can describe or give comment on a person’s character directly.
The eighth is the thoughts. With this way, the author gives us direct knowledge of what a person thinking about. He can tell us what different people are thinking. In the last, mannerism, the author describes a person’s mannerisms, habits, or peculiar behavior.
Perrine (1974:69) states there are three related principles in characterization. First, the character must be consistent in their behavior that they must not behave one way on one occasion and a different way on another unless there is a sufficient reason for the change.
Second, the character must be motivated in whatever they do, especially when there is a change in their behavior. We must be able to understand the reason for what they do. It can be found in the beginning or the end of the story.
Third, the character must be plausible or life like. It means that they are not paragons of virtue or monster of evil or impossible combination of contradictory traits.
2.1.2 Theory of Critical Approaches
“The work of literature can be appreciated by its readers in many ways. It also enables the readers to know how to read and judge a literary work. This kind of perspective is what we call critical approach” (Guerin, 1979: vii). By applying the critical approaches, we can understand how literature is shaped and what it means.
historical approach, Mythopoeic approach, and Psychological approach. First is the formalist approach. It is stressed on the whole of the literary piece. It concentrates to its esthetic values with demonstrating the harmonious involvement of all the part, and showing how meaning is derived from structure.
Second is the biographical approach. It analyzes the literary work by its relation to the author’s personal life. In this part, the readers are demanded to learn about the life and development of the author and to apply the knowledge, so they can understand about the author’s writing.
Third is the social cultural historical approach. It states the analysis of social and historical background as references to the further understanding of the story. It defines civilization as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people.
Fourth is the mythopoeia approach. It seeks to discover certain universally repetition patterns of human thought, which is believed as the expression significant works of art.
The last one is psychological approach. This approach involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns. The theories of psychology are applied in order to explain the character’s personality in the story. The proponents of this approach insist that each character’s behavior refers to the psychology of human beings.
2.2 Review of Psychological Theories
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2.2.1 Theory of Conflict
Theories of conflict consist of some important parts to help the writer answer the second question of this study. Those theories are conflict definition, types of conflict and theory of conflict resolution, which presents some ways of resolving conflict.
2.2.1.1 Definitions of Conflict
Conflict is something familiar in our daily life. Its existence is almost unavoidable. Hocker and Wilmot define conflict as an “expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goals” (1991: 23). Further, Myers (1994: 269) says, “conflict is a perceived incompatibility of actions or goals”. Those experts above are seemed to agree with each other that conflict includes incompatibility of goals, needs and actions or intervention from the other party, and different aims and necessity of the parties that are not suited each other.
The unique of each individual and the differences among individuals may cause a conflict. Atkinson and Hilgard (1983: 424) say that
“sometimes conflict arises between a person’s motive and internal standards rather than between two external goals. An individual desires may conflict with his or her standards of acceptable social behavior. Achievement motives may conflict with individual standards of helpful and cooperative; to succeed may require competing with – or even undermining colleagues and associates.”
2.2.1.2 Kinds of Conflict
Considering the causes, which are unavoidable in human life, conflict occurs in the form of inter-personal (external) and intra-personal (internal). Intra-personal conflict is defined as a conflict that an individual experiences when making a choice between two or more alternatives (Worchel, 1979: 460). This definition is proposed under the theory of cognitive dissonance, a theory that focuses on the disagreements within an individual’s mind. Therefore, intra-personal conflict is seen from and related to human cognitive process. Intra-personal or inner conflict is the conflict between aspects of personality, which may variously be moral, psychological, intellectual or spiritual within a person, while inter-personal or external conflict is the conflict between a person and an external force (another person, society, nature, the universe).
People, who are in conflict and aware of it, tend to search for the solution, conflict management or resolution, for his or her problems. “Once the nature of the conflict has been defined and clarified and the climate of the communication environment has been examined, the parties involved can begin to determine the proper approach for dealing with the problem” (Borisoff and Victor, 1989: 6). Therefore, before people determine the management or resolution for their conflicts, they need to know the classification of the conflict that they experience.
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soldier wants to kill an uncooperative allied guerilla leader, but he is afraid that it will bring a bad effect for his main mission accomplishment.
Second is double – approach conflicts. This conflict involves competition between two or more desirable goals. In other words, a person is faced with two similar goals or actions. For example, a man has to decide whether to have a special relation with a girl that he meets during his duty or keep focusing only on his main duty.
Third is double – avoidance conflict. This is something that an individual avoids from doing because he dislikes it. It seems that the person is caught in the middle of something unpleasant. That is when both of the options are not preferable. For example, a soldier has to choose whether canceling his mission concerning the enemy’s latest preparation or continuing to attack with the defeated consequences.
Conflict, in any of its form, brings impacts to individuals who experience it. Lewis R. Aiken Jr mentions that a common result of psychological stress resulting from prolonged frustration and conflict is anxiety (1969:147). Rita L. Atkinson, Richard C. Atkinson, and Ernest R. Hilgard explain about anxiety as the result of conflict (1983:431)
Conflict and other types of frustration are one source of anxiety. Threats of physical harm, threats of self-esteem, and pressure to perform beyond individual’s capabilities also produce anxiety. By anxiety, we mean the unpleasant emotion characterized by term like “worry”, “apprehension”, “dread”, and “fear” that we all experience at times in varying degrees. Since there is little agreement on a more precise definition for anxiety, we will not attempt to provide one more (p. 431)
explains that anxiety is frequently accompanied by the feeling of guilt (1969:342). Guilt is felt when the individuals either has done or imagines that he has done something wrong, and it is a frequent accompaniment of a conflict between what a person wants to do and what he knows he should not do.
From the description of conflict theory, it can be seen that conflict, stress, depression, and frustration form a kind of link in which, at the same time, each items can be both, the cause and the result to the other. For instance, stressful mind can easily bring an individual into a conflict, in whatever of its form, which automatically will develop another stressor.
2.2.1.3 Conflict Resolution
Certainly, each individual who is in conflicts, within him or herself and/or with other individuals, will seek for the solution for his or her conflicts. Everybody wants to live a happy life. Moreover, we can get advantages by managing and solving each problem and conflict that we have. Isenhart and Spangle (2000: 45 -152) propose five alternatives to achieve the resolution for the conflicts that occur in form of intra-personal and inter-personal. The five alternatives are negotiation, mediation, facilitation, arbitration and judicial processes. Unfortunately, only three of these alternative are used in this analysis; negotiation, mediation, and facilitation.
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negotiation occurs in two ways. Those are integrative negotiation and distributive negotiation.
Integrative negotiation is a constructive approach in problem solving. It approaches conflict in a joint venture relationship, an opportunity for mutual gain. The parties discuss the problems cooperatively and put respect each other. Continuing relationship and maximizing interest are the aims of this process. The parties discuss their conflict to identify their problems and conflicting interests by exchanging information.
While in distributive negotiation, we use a bargaining approach to resolving conflict. This approach is positional, rigid and insensitive to the interest of the opposing party. Each party views issues with a narrow perspective and accepts the outcome as a fixed goal. Both parties may use threat and demand to compete in order to gain an advantage in the process.
The next alternative is facilitation. Facilitation is also a conflict resolution process that requires third party help. The third party will help to end the conflict with the best possible resolution. In facilitation, the third party occurs as a facilitator who encourages both parties to find the best solution. Facilitation is applied when the conflict occurs in a high-complexity and involves bigger group of parties. Generally, facilitation is a public form.
The fourth alternative is arbitration. Arbitration also involves third party to resolve the problems. This way is applied when the parties find deadlock in resolving their conflict. In ideal condition, arbitration occurs after the conflicting parties fail to conduct mediation or facilitation. Arbitration is a formal way, although it is less formal than judicial process because the rules of evidences are not strictly applied and it is not conducted in the court. The third party in arbitration is the decision maker for the conflict, although the form of resolution (binding or not binding) depends on the conflicting parties agreement.
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2.3 Theoretical Framework
In this study, the writer analyzes intra-personal or inner conflicts of Callie Ruffin, one of the main characters of John Grisham’s The Last Juror during accomplishing her job, serving as juror in the trial of Danny Padgitt. The writer decides to reveal intra-personal (internal) conflict considering the significance which is possible to cause inter-personal (external) conflicts and since it involves human’s belief and values.
There are some theories that the writer employs to support the analysis. In this part, the writer explains the contribution of those theories to support the analysis and to answer the questions in this study.
To answer the first question, the writer needs to analyze the characterization of Callie Ruffin in brief because it is important to understand her personality which may cause conflicts. Thus, the writer employs the theories stated in the theory of character and characterization sub-chapter. Those theories help the writer to understand the character and the characterization of Callie Ruffin, the main character inThe Last Juror.
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter describes the methodology employed in this study and consists of three parts. The first part is the subject matter that describes the novel The Last Juror as the object of the study. The second part concerns with the approaches, which are used in analysing the novel. Finally, the third part states the procedures concerning the steps taken to analyse the novel.
3.1 Subject Matter
This study analyzes one of John Grisham’s novels The Last Juror. The Last Juror was initially published by Bantam Dell on 14 December 2004. It consists of 496 pages and divided into 43 chapters. This novel has not been translated into Bahasa Indonesia. John Grisham, the best storyteller that has written 18 thriller books, wroteThe Last Juroras his seventeenth’s effort.
One of the jurors threatened is Callie Ruffin. Callie Ruffin is the only black juror in the trial. Callie Ruffin is a devout Christian. She Callie Ruffin has a great family. She has eight children. All of Callie Ruffin’s children, except one, have become college professors. Like many blacks in that era, they left the South to accomplish their goals.
Callie Ruffin is selected to be the first African American to serve on a jury in Ford County. She is the last juror selected in the trial of Danny Padgitt and also the last juror survived after the trial.
3.2 The Approach
To conduct this study, the writer decides to use one approach from the five approaches proposed by Rohrberger and Woods Jr. That is psychological approach. The writer uses the approach because the writer finds it suitable to answer the two questions stated in the problem formulation.
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of conflict and conflict resolution. In this case, the writer studies the author’s ideas about the intra-personal conflicts that are showed through his main character in the novel. Furthermore, the understanding of the main character’s characterization makes the writer able to analyze the intra-personal conflicts of the main character and some possible causes for her intra-personal conflicts.
3.3 Procedures
In order to conduct this study, the writer read some required books and took note from them. There were some steps that the writer used to conduct this study.
The first step was reading the novel,The Last Juror, by John Grisham. That published by Bantam Dell on 14 December. The writer read it until the writer found some interesting points such as the elements of the novel and the essence of the novel.
The second step was looking for information related to the author, John Grisham, about the novel, The Last Juror, and about the intra-personal conflict. The writer got much information and references from books, internet and journals. All information and references above were secondary sources.
This chapter analyzes the novel to answer the two problems formulated in chapter one. First analysis deals with the characteristics of Callie Ruffin as the major character. Second analysis will find out how the conflicts emerge within Callie Ruffin and how she resolves it.
4.1 The Characterization of Callie Ruffin
According to Holman and Horman (1986: 82) character is divided into two types. They are major and minor characters. A major character is the most important character of the story because he or she becomes the center of the story, while minor character is less important than the major character. In Grisham’sThe Last Juror, Callie Ruffin is the major character because the story focuses on her. Callie Ruffin can also be said as a round character, as stated by Forster (1974: 46-54), a round character is a complex character that cannot be described in a single phrase. To describe round character we need much more observation. The readers can identify a round character by examining whether it is capable of surprising in convincing way. Callie Ruffin has those characteristics of a round character.
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4.1.1 Smart
Smart, according toOxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is “ having or showing intelligence” (Hornby, 1995: 1119). In this novel, Callie Ruffin is characterized as a smart woman because she has and shows her intelligence. She is told to read the newspaper since fifty years ago. This characterization is revealed in the conversation via telephone between Callie Ruffin and Willie Traynor. At that time Willie Traynor calls Callie Ruffin because he hears some fascinating stories about a black family who raises eight children which seven of whom have become college professors. Her ability to read newspaper reflects her smartness because it is rare that black people can read. In fact she reads everything written in the newspaper. She tells Willie Traynor that the newspaper, now, has become better with fewer mistakes and longer stories and while she talks to Willie Traynor, her words flows slowly, clearly and with precise diction. It can be seen from the following quotation:
I called the house and Mrs. Ruffin answered the phone. I explained who I was and what I wanted, and she seemed to now everything about me. She said she’d been reading theTimes for fifty years, front to back, everything including the obits and the want ads, and after a moment or two offered the opinion that the paper was in much better hands now. Longer stories. Fewer mistakes. More news. She spoke slowly, clearly, with precise diction I had not heard since I left Syracuse (p. 82)
utters her prayer with a perfect cadence and diction. She honors every consonant. comma, and period. Willie Traynor is really impressed with the way Callie Ruffin speaks. He even compares her to college student. It can be seen from the following quotation:
She prayed for rain and sun and health and humility and patience, and though I began to worry about the food getting cold I was mesmerized be her voice. Her cadence was slow, with thought given to each word. Her diction was perfect, every consonant treated equally, every comma and period honored. I had to peek to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I had never heard such speech from a Southern black, or a Southern white for that. I loved it when she talked. It allowed me to eat nonstop, which was a priority. But I was still captivated by her precise diction, her cadence, and her vocabulary, which had to be college level (p. 85, p.136)
In spite of the assumption of Willie Traynor that Callie Ruffin is as smart as college student, he is shocked with the fact that Callie Ruffin only passes the ninth grade. Willie Traynor barely knows that in Mississippi, at that time, there is no kindergarten and no mandatory school attendance law. Willie Traynor asks about the perfect speech of Callie Ruffin and also her level of education. Callie Ruffin answers that she only passes the ninth grade. It can be seen in the following quotation:
“Your speech is unusually articulate and precise. How much education did you receive?” It was a sensitive question in a society where, for many decades, education had not been stressed. It was 1970,and Mississippi still had no public kindergartens and no mandatory school attendance laws. She laughed, giving me the full benefit of those teeth. “I finished the ninth grade, Mr. Traynor.”
“The ninth grade?” (p. 90)
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often makes list of errors from the Times. The errors Miss Callie Ruffin lists are typographical errors and misspelled words. She takes it as a hobby. It can be seen from the following quotation:
Lastly, I had Miss Callie’s handwritten list of all the errors she’d found in that week’s edition of the Times. Almost all were typographical errors and misspelled words—twelve in all. Under Spot, the average had been about twenty. Now it was down to around ten. It was a lifelong habit of hers. “Some folks like crossword puzzles,” she said. “I like to look for mistakes.” (p. 96)
Callie Ruffin’s smartness is also reflected in her ability to memorize Bible. This fact is revealed when she and Willie Traynor is having lunch. In the conversation over the table, Callie Ruffin asks Traynor whether he often goes to church or not. Traynor says no and it makes Callie Ruffin worries and quotes a lot from Bible to make Traynor aware of his position in the face of God. When she knows that Traynor never goes to church, never reads Bible, and never prays, she quotes the Bible without looking at it. It seems that she memorizes the entire content of the Bible.
“Mr. Traynor, if you don’t go to church don’t read your Bible, and don’t pray, I’m not so sure you’re really a Christian child.”
She continued, “Jesus said, ‘judge not, that ye be not judged.’ It’s not my place to pass judgment on anyone’s soul, but I must confess that I’m worried about your’s
“Paul wrote in Romans, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our lord.’ Do you know what that means, Mr. Traynor?”
“I had a hunch. I nodded and took a mouthful of beef. Had she memorized the entire Bible? Was I about to hear it all?” (p.136-137)
preparing her children’s future. She promises to herself that her children will have higher education than herself. She forces her children not only to finish high school but also college degree. And now, seven of eight Callie Ruffin’s children have become college professor. The smartness can be seen in the following quotation: “ When Calia Harris was forced to drop out of school in the tenth grade, she promised herself her children would be able to finish not only high school but college as well. (p. 140). From the quotation, it is seen that she prepares her children future since she was a young girl.
From five quotations above, it is proved that Callie Ruffin is really a smart woman. She can read, make list of errors, memorizes Bible, and prepares her children’s future well.
4.1.2 Devout Christian
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a lengthy prayer and asks for forgiveness for her sins. In her prayer, Callie Ruffin always quotes from King James’ Scripture. It can be seen from the following quotation:
“It would be a lengthy prayer. She thanked the lord for everything good, including me, ‘her new friend’. She prayed for those who were sick and those who might become so. She prayed for rain and sun and health and humility and patience... . I peeked again. She was talking to her lord, and her face was perfectly content. For a few second, I actually forgot about the food. She squeezed my hands as she petitioned the Almighty with eloquence that came only from years of practice. She quoted Scripture, the king James Version for sure, and it was a bit odd to hear her use words like ‘thou’ and ‘thine’ and ‘whither’ and ‘goest’. But she knew precisely what she was doing. In the clutches of this very holy woman, I had never felt closer to God. ...Finally, she ended with a flourish, a long burst in which she manage to appeal for the forgiveness of her sins, which I presumed were few and far between and for my own, which, well, if she only knew.(p.85-86)
Callie Ruffin’s daily activities that also reflects her religiosity is her habit in quoting Bible. She often quotes from the Bible without looking at it. Callie Ruffin, in fact, always brings a small bible with her in her pocket. She always carries it to anywhere she goes. She reads it in every occasion between her activities. It seems that the Bible gives her power and spirit to her life. The most obvious proof about this can be seen when she is in the deliberating room waiting for Danny Padgit’s trial, in the court room, and when she is sick.
seen from the following quotation:
The jurors were locked away in the deliberation room, with deputies at the door as if someone might gain something by attacking them.
I thought of Miss Callie and her blood pressure. I knew she was reading the Bible and maybe this was calming her. I had called Esau early that morning. He was very upset that she had been sequestered and hauled away. (p.172-173)
In the trial process, Callie Ruffin sits in the juror’s chamber. She sits there and still bringing her small Bible. As said before that the Bible seems giving her extra spirit and power for the trial. It is really a long trial. The other jurors and spectators start to feel tired and want to take a rest, Callie Ruffin is still grinning to Willie Traynor with her full spirit. It can be seen from the following quotation:
After a ninety-minute delay, the jury was brought in. Mr. John Deere was as spiffy as ever, but the rest were beginning to look tired. It seemed like the trial had been going on for month.
Miss Callie searched me out and gave me a restrained grin, not one of her spectacular day-brighteners. She was still clutching a small New Testament (p. 200)
Callie Ruffin is also reading the Bible while she is sick. After the trial is over, Callie Ruffin is sick. She is fainted outside the courthouse after the trial. Her blood pressure is high, maybe because of the long and tiring trial that makes her tired. The doctor checks her condition and worries about a stroke. The condition is worsening by the gossips that Callie Ruffin rejects the death sentence to the defendant. After stays in the hospital for several days, Callie Ruffin is brought home. She gets a strict instruction from the doctor that she has to stay in bed for three days. Willie Traynor sees her at home and she is reading Bible.
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She had fainted as she was getting into the car outside the courthouse. Her blood pressure was dangerously high, and the doctor was worried about a stroke.
She been discharged that morning with strict instructions to stay in bed for three days and not lift a finger.
She was sitting in bed, propped up with pillows, reading the Bible (p. 231, 237)
Another fact about Callie Ruffin’s religiosity is her attention to other people’s soul. As a devout Christian, Callie Ruffin always thinks about other’s soul. She thinks that people must go to church. She assumes a person that never goes to church will not be saved by God. Therefore, she often advises Willie Traynor to go to church. It can be seen from the following quotation:
“She had once again nudged the conversation to the topic of afterlife. Miss Callie was deeply concerned about my soul. She was worried that I had not properly become a Christian; that I had not been ‘born again’ or ‘saved.’ My infant baptism, which I could not remember, was thoroughly insufficient in her view. Once a person reaches a certain age, the ‘age of accountability,’ then, in order to be ‘saved’ from everlasting damnation in hell, that person must walk down the aisle of a church (the right church was subject of eternal of eternal debate) and make a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Miss Callie carried a heavy burden because I had not done this”(p.379).
From the facts described from five quotations above, we can say that Callie Ruffin is a devout Christian. She is very fanatic, God fearing, and believing in God and also cares of other people’s soul.
4.1.3 Fair
performance. The first fact about her fairness is whenever she reads the Times.
TheTimes’ front cover writes about Danny Padgitt, the prime suspect of rape and murder of Rhoda Kassellaw. The editor and also the owner of the Times, Willie Traynor, puts a very large photo of Danny Padgitt with handcuff in his hands and blood over his head and shirt. The photograph is very controversial because the
Times’photographer, Wiley, ambushes the suspect while he is led into jail. Wiley really gets the moment. He captures the suspect in his worst condition. Beside the blood and handcuff, Wiley also gets the best image of a nasty, mean, insolent, drunk, and guilty suspect. The suspect, Danny Padgitt, is member of Padgitt family, a mafia family in Mississippi. The headline title is also printed in big letters and bolded. In brief, the news is very sensational in Clanton. It can be seen in the following quotation:
The headline could’ve been read from twenty yards down any sidewalk around the courthouse square.
Under it were two photos; one of Rhoda as a senior in high school, and one of Padgitt as he was led into the jail in handcuffs. Wiley had ambushed him all right. It was a perfect shot, with Padgitt sneering at the camera. There was blood on his forehead from the wreck, and blood on his shirt from the attack. He looked nasty, mean, insolent, drunk, and guilty as hell, and I knew the photo would cause a sensation (p. 46)
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blood on his shirt. She is questioning this matter to Willie Traynor, the editor and the owner of the newspaper. Willie Traynor is startled with her question. It can be seen from the following question:
“Do people on this side of the tracks believe Danny Padgitt raped and killed her?”
“The ones who read your newspaper certainly do.”
That stung more than she would ever know. ”We just report the facts,” I said smugly. “The boy was arrested. He’s been charged. He’s in jail awaiting trial.”
“Isn’t there a presumption of innocence?”
Another squirm on my side of the table. “Of course.”(p.92-93)
Willie Traynor is startled by the question because he does not expect a fair judgment on his newspaper about a white criminal from a black woman. He is surprised why should a black woman care for a white criminal. Her sense of fairness shocks Willie Traynor’s dignity. It can be seen from the following quotation:
“Do you think it was fair to use a photograph of him handcuffed, with blood on his shirt?” I was struck by her sense of fairness. Why would she, or any other black in ford county, care if Danny Padgitt was treated fairly? Few people had ever worried about black defendants getting decent treatment by the police or the press.
“He had blood on his shirt when he arrived at the jail. We didn’t put it there.” Neither one of us was enjoying this little debate (p. 93).
From three quotations above, it can be concluded that Callie Ruffin is a woman who has a high sense of fairness. She does not care whether the suspect is white or black people. According to her, every body should be treated fairly.
4.1.4 Brave
“showing courage” (Hornby, 1995: 133). She often breaks barriers and take high risk actions. If she thinks that what she is doing is in the right side and does not against the law, she will take the risk to do it. It can be seen from her registration in the voter list.
Ford County is dominated by white people. Black people only have percentage of 26 percent from all population. Therefore, there is no single black people sit in the local offices. It is worsened by the hesitancy of black people to register themselves in the voter list. The voter list makes black people able to choose their own representative to sit in the local offices, but since there are only a small number of black people listed in the voter list, they are not able to have their representative.
In 1970, Ford County was 26 percent black, 74 percent white, with no fraction for others or those who weren’t certain. Six years after the tumultuous summer of 1964 and its massive push to register blacks, and five years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, few bothered to sign up in Ford County. In the statewide election of 1967, almost 70 percent of the eligible whites in the county had voted, while only 12 percent of the blacks did so. Registration drives in Lowtown were met with general indifference. One reason was that the county was so white that no black could ever be elected to a local office. So why bother (p.149)
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Another reason was the historical abuse at the point of enrolling. For hundred years whites had used a variety of tricks to deny blacks proper registration. Poll taxes, literacy exams, the list was long and miserable. Yet another reason was the hesitancy by most blacks to be registered in any manner by authorities. Registration could mean more taxes, more supervision, more surveillance, more intrusions. Registration could mean serving on juries (p. 149)
Callie Ruffin and her husband are two of twelve percent of black people who listed in the voter list. They dare themselves to register their names in the voter list despite of all the difficulties that will follow it. It is a hard way for Callie Ruffin and her husband to be listed in the voter list. They have to pass the literacy exam first. They have to read the “Bill of Rights”. Unfortunately, the registration officer tries to trick them by giving them a text of “Declaration of Independence” that is written in German. The officer assumes that they are as illiterate as most Blacks in Ford County. Realizing that Ruffin can read as good as white people, then, the officer gives them the text of “The Bill of Rights”. They read it and pass the exam. They also have to pay the poll taxes; two dollars for each person.
Together, they marched into the office of the Circuit Court clerk and asked to be added to the voter rolls. The deputy clerk, as she was trained to do, handed them a laminated card with the words “Declaration of Independence” across the top. The text was written in German.
The Clerk, assuming that Mr. and Mrs. Ruffin were as illiterate as most blacks in Ford County, said, “Can you read this?”
“This is not English.” Callie said. “It’s German.”
The clerk withdrew the card and handed over another. “Can you read this?” she asked.
“I can,” Callie said. “It’s the Bill of Rights.”
Not knowing what else to do, she said, “Fair enough. The poll tax will be two dollars each.” Esau handed over the money and with that they joined the voter rolls with thirty-one other blacks, none of whom were woman (p. 150, 151)
people’s tricks in the registration office.
The bravery of Callie Ruffin is also proved whenever she is chosen as one of the juror in the Danny Padgitt’s trial. As it is stated before in the quotation that listed in the voter list can mean serving on juries. Callie Ruffin is a kind of person that never back away from trouble. It can be seen from Traynor’s thought in the following quotation.
At first I couldn’t tell if she was anxious or excited. I’m not sure she knew either. The first black female voter might now become the first black juror. She had never backed away from a challenge, but she had grave moral concerns about judging another person (p. 151)
Although Callie Ruffin is having a moral concern on judging others, she dares herself to receive the jury summons. She is the first black woman who sits on the jury pool to judge a white man. There is no black woman chosen as a jury before. She is the first black woman on history of Clanton to sit as a jury in a white criminal’s trial. She dares to receive the job because she is sure that she does the right things. The bravery and the pride of Callie Ruffin can be seen clearly from the following quotation.
During the trial, I had seen in her face a certain amount of pride. She was sitting where no black person had ever sat, shoulder to shoulder with fellow citizens, judging a white person for the first time in Ford County. I’d also had hints of the anxiety that comes with venturing into untested waters.
Now that her sons were there to watch, pride filled her face, and there was no evidence of fear. She sat a bit straighter, and though she’d missed nothing in the courtroom so far, her eyes darted everywhere, anxious to capture what was coming and finish her task (p. 223)
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schools. It means that white schools only accept white students and black people have their own school. White schools, of course, have better quality and facilities than black schools. Therefore, black people want to have same right as the white people in getting proper education. They want to desegregate the school. But the fight for it is long and miserable. Finally, their fight is successful. The law and Court, finally, order school integration in Mississippi
The most vicious vanguard is Ruffin family. They are the first family who enters the white school for the first time after the integration order. They are respected by their neighbors because the first black student who enters the white school is Sam, Ruffin’s youngest children. Based on the desegregation order, white school could not deny admission to a black student. Therefore, with bravery, Callie Ruffin brings her youngest children to a white school. Finally Sam, the youngest son of Callie Ruffin, is accepted in white school and her mother hopes that other black families will follow her step. Unfortunately, none of black families follows her step because they are still afraid that their son will be abused in white school.
Therefore, Sam becomes the only black student in a white school. He is tormented and beaten but he fights them. This is a very brave step of Callie Ruffin to feed his children into danger of being abused in order to get their right for a better education. It can be seen from the following quotation:
In sweeping ruling that left no room for doubt or delay, the Court ordered the immediate termination of the dual school system. No more stalling, no more lawsuits, no more promises. Instant integration and Clanton was as shocked as every other town in the South.
only black kid in his class, and the family paid a price for it. Now it all seemed worth it, at least to them. Sam wasn’t around to interview (p. 243, 244)
From six quotations above, it is proved that Callie Ruffin is really a brave woman. She dares to break barriers as long as she is in the right track.
4.2 The Revelation of Callie Ruffin’s Internal Conflicts
Conflict is something familiar in our daily life. The existence of conflict is almost unavoidable. It becomes an inseparable part of our life. Hocker and Wilmot define conflict as “an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goals” (1991: 23).
Further, the unique of each individual and the differences among individuals may cause a conflict. Atkinson and Hilgard (1983: 424) say that “an individual desire may conflict with his or her standards of acceptable social behavior. Achievement motives may conflict with individual standards of helpful and cooperative”. Considering the causes, which are unavoidable in human life, conflict occurs in the form of inter-personal (external) and intra-personal (internal). Intra-personal conflict is defined as a conflict that an individual experiences when making a choice between two or more alternatives. While inter-personal or external conflict, is the conflict between a person and an external force such as another person, society, nature, and the universe (Worchel, 1979: 460).
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writer thinks that the intra-personal conflict is a challenging thing to be revealed. It is interesting because it involves individual beliefs and values of human being. An intra-personal conflict can be a seed of bigger problems. This kind of conflict is difficult to be resolved and may lead to an internal conflict. Therefore, internal conflicts that Callie Ruffin faces are as follows;
4.2.1 Callie Ruffin’s Internal Conflict on Judging Others
Callie Ruffin is always facing an internal conflict whenever she talks about faith. She is really a devout Christian. She holds the God’s rules tightly and afraid to break it. Therefore, she is afraid that if she judges other, she will also be judged by God. In this novel Callie Ruffin has two kinds of internal conflict of judging others. The first is when she judges Traynor’s faith. The second conflict is whenever she receives the jury summons.
4.2.1.1 Judging Traynor’s Faith
Judging others is something that Callie Ruffin wants to avoid. But her heart, sometimes, makes her facing the conflict. The first proof about her internal conflict is about Willie Traynor’s faith to God. Callie Ruffin sees that Willie Traynor is not really a Christian man. She observes this whenever Willie Traynor comes to her house for lunch.
first before eating the meal. Callie Ruffin considers praying over the meal as an obligation from God. She thanks God for whatever she has received so far. She even prays for everybody and everything. She really expresses her thanks to God through her prayer. It can be seen from the following quotation:
“It would be a lengthy prayer. She thanked the lord for everything good, including me, ‘her new friend’. She prayed for those who were sick and those who might become so. She prayed for rain and sun and health and humility and patience
I peeked again. She was talking to her lord, and her face was perfectly content. For a few second, I actually forgot about the food. She squeezed my hands as she petitioned the Almighty with eloquence that came only from years of practice. She quoted Scripture, the king James Version for sure, and it was a bit odd to hear her use words like ‘thou’ and ‘thine’ and ‘whither’ and ‘goest’. But she knew precisely what she was doing. In the clutches of this very holy woman, I had never felt closer to God.
Finally, she ended with a flourish, a long burst in which she manage to appeal for the forgiveness of her sins, which I presumed were few and far between and for my own, which, well, if she only knew.(p.85-86)
Callie Ruffin often invites Willie Traynor to come for lunch in her house. In the third occasion, Callie Ruffin asks Willie Traynor to say the prayer. Willie Traynor rejects the request upon a reason that he has not prayed for a long time. Therefore, Callie Ruffin leads the prayer again. The rejection of Willie Traynor can be seen in the following quotation:
She asked me if I wanted to say the blessing, and I declined. Praying was not something I had done in a long time. She was more gifted. She took my hands and we closed our eyes. As she spoke to heaven the rain tapped the tin roof above our heads. (p. 134)
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take him to the church on Easter. According to Willie Traynor, a person is considered Christian if he goes to church on Easter. Callie Ruffin is not satisfied with his answer. Therefore, she asks again about the name of church that Willie Traynor often visits. The curiosity of Callie Ruffin is reflected in the following quotation:
She was preoccupied with something and finally said, “Can I ask you a question that’s somewhat personal?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“Are you a Christian child?”
“I’m sure I am. My mother used to take me to church on Easter.”
That was not satisfactory. Whatever she was looking for, that wasn’t it. “What kind of church?”
“Episcopalian. St. Luke’s in Memphis.” (p. 134)
The understanding of Christianity between Willie Traynor and Callie Ruffin is really different to each other. Willie Traynor believes that one is already a Christian if he goes to church on Easter. Whereas, Callie Ruffin’s concept about Christianity is more than that. She believes that every week, especially on Sabbath or Sunday, every Christian should go to church to worship God. She argues that Sunday is God’s day so that that day should be dedicated to God by going to church. Often that black people worship God in an extreme manner. They spend the whole Sunday at church. It can be seen in the following quotation:
I’d heard stories about how blacks worship, how the entire Sabbath was spent at church, how services ran late into the night and broke up only when the spirit was finally exhausted. I had vivid memories of suffering through Episcopal Easter service that, by law, could run no longer than sixty minutes. (p.135)
can be seen in the next quotation:
When she finished with the new sanctuary, she asked. “Do you read the Bible often?”
“No, “I said, shaking my head and chewing on a hot turnip. “Never?”
Lying never crossed my mind. “Never.”
That disappointed her again. “How often do you pray?” I paused for a second and said, “Once a week, right here.”
She slowly placed her knife and fork beside her plate and frowned at me as if something profound was about to be said. “Mr. Traynor, if you don’t go to church, don’t read your Bible, and don’t pray, I’m not so sure you’re really a Christian child (p.136).
On above quotation, it is clear that Callie Ruffin is really upset and she unconsciously judges Willie Traynor’s faith. She thinks that if someone seldom go to church, never pray, and never read bible will not be saved, and she knew that Willie Traynor seldom go to church, never pray, and never read bible. So she assumed that Willie Traynor is not a true Christian and will not be saved from eternal death. Her assumption about Willie Traynor is likely to be a judgment on Willie Traynor’s faith in Jesus. She, then, realizes her mistakes because she remembers what Bible says that if one is judging other he will be judged also. She is afraid that she will also be judged by someone else if she judges Willie Traynor. From the above quotation, Callie Ruffin is judging Willie Traynor ‘s faith. She says that Willie Traynor is not really a Christian because he never carries out the obligations as a Christian such as praying, reading Bible and going to church. she, then, admits that she worries about Willie Traynor faith.
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Callie Ruffin is really worried about Willie Traynor’s soul because she is afraid that Willie Traynor will fall into temptation and his soul will be taken by evil. Callie Ruffin believes that there is no life after death outside Christian. She believes that human can only be saved from eternal death by following Jesus. She believes that ones faith in Jesus will save him from eternal death.
From the six quotations above, it is clear that Callie Ruffin wants to save Willie Traynor’s soul by giving him understanding about faith in Jesus Christ and God. She wants to tell to Willie Traynor that he is not a true Christian child before he prays, goes to church and reads bible because she believes that by doing so, one will be saved from eternal death. On the other hands, she does not want to break what Jesus said about judging other.
This becomes conflict within Callie Ruffin. There are two parties conflicting within Callie Ruffin regarding Willie Traynor’s soul. The first party is her worries about the safety of Willie Traynor’s soul. The second party is her belief in Jesus words that do not judge other. She really cares about Willie Traynor’s soul but she can do nothing except telling what will happen to people who live outside the God’s will.
follow what Jesus said, as the second party, is significant. It is important because as a true Christian, she has to follow what she believes that is Jesus. Jesus said that do not judge other it means that His followers, including Callie Ruffin, should obey it.
In order to resolve this conflict, she makes an integrative-negotiation between her and herself. An integrative-negotiation is a constructive approach in problem solving. It approaches conflict in a joint venture relationship, an opportunity for mutual gain. Each party is positioned in a mutual-gain circumstance without any threat and demand from each party to the other. Callie Ruffin thinks and makes wise consideration for it. As the result of her negotiation within herself, she decides to tell Willie Traynor about what will happen to people who live outside the God and not force him to pray, read Bible or go to church. She tells Willie Traynor that sinful people will receive eternal death but if they follow what Jesus said, then, they will get eternal life through Jesus.
“Do you know what happens to those who live out-side the will of God?” she asked.
Nothing good, I knew that much. But I was too hungry and too frightened to answer. She was preaching now, not eating, and I was not enjoying myself.
“Paul wrote in Romans, ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Do you know what that means, Mr. Traynor?”
“Death is always physical, but a spiritual death means eternity in hell, Mr. Traynor. Do you understand this?”
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4.2.1.2 Receiving the Jury Summons
Her believes in Jesus not only brings her conflict about Willie Traynor, it also brings her a bigger conflict. As it is known that she is a brave woman and also has listed in the voter list, Callie Ruffin is, now, has to face to face with the murder directly in the trial.
Once again her believes not to judge on anyone’s mistakes brings her an internal conflict. It happens because the court has mailed her a summon letter to present in the trial of the Danny Padgitt’s case. Danny Padgitt is a criminal that has raped and killed his victim. Callie Ruffin is chosen as one of one hundred prospective jurors because she is listed in the voter list.
On Monday, June 15, amid great secrecy, the Circuit Court clerk mailed a hundred summonses for jury duty to registered voter all over Ford County. One arrived in the rather busy mailbox of Miss Callie Ruffin, and when I arrived for lunch on Thursday she showed it to me (p.148)
All the prospective jurors will be selected again by going through the rounds of questioning. The Court only needs twelve jurors to run their duty as jury in the case. Therefore, the early round of questioning will chose twelve jurors. If Callie Ruffin passes this round of questioning, she will be the first black juror in Ford County and also the first black woman to serve as the jury of a white criminal case. It can be seen from the following quotation:
Callie Ruffin does not know what to do. As a brave woman, she never runs from any challenge and she is very proud to be the first black juror but the duty becomes moral burden for her. Her characteristic as a fair woman forces her to take the duty as a jury to upright justice upon the victim of the murder but her characteristic as a devout Christian does not allow her to judge other. Therefore, she is not sure with the duty.
“At first I couldn’t tell if she was anxious or excited. I’m not sure she knew either. The first black female voter might now become the first black juror. She had never backed away from a challenge, but she had grave moral concerns about judging another person. “’Judge not, that ye be not judged,’” she said more than once, quoting Jesus. [...] She was unable to eat after that. She said her blood pressure had been up since she received the jury summons. She had already been to the doctor.(p. 151-152)
