Analysis of The Elements of Plot of Wilkie Collins' 'The Moonstone'.

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ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya membahas tentang sebuah novel misteri yang

berjudul The Moonstone karya Wilkie Collins. Novel ini mengisahkan tentang

sebuah batu berlian kuning yang dianggap suci oleh bangsa India yang sekarang

menjadi milik Rachel Verinder. Setelah batu ini tiba di rumah Rachel, terjadilah

kekacauan yang seakan-akan disebabkan oleh kedatangan batu bulan tersebut.

Dalam novel ini terdapat 8 suspense dan 8 surprise. Ketegangan pertama

kali terjadi ketika secara tiba-tiba muncul 3 orang India yang terus mengikuti ke

mana batu bulan itu pergi. Lalu disusul menghilangnya batu bulan tersebut dari

kamar Rachel. Ketegangan demi ketegangan terjadi sampai akhirnya diketahui

bahwa Godfrey, sepupu Rachel, adalah orang yang membawa pergi batu bulan

tersebut dan menggadaikannya kepada Luker untuk dapat melunasi utangnya.

Novel detektif ini memiliki plot yang menarik dan menegangkan. Melalui

suspense pembaca bisa merasakan ketegangan cerita, melalui surprise pembaca

dibuat terkejut dengan kenyataan yang berbeda dari ekspekstasi. Hubungan antara

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

Wilkie Collins is a very famous writer of the Victorian period. He is

known as a talented detective writer. He wrote mostly detective novels. The

Moonstone, which I have chosen to analyze in my thesis, is one of his popular

works.

T.S. Eliot, a famous essayist, author and poet, in his response to the The

Moonstone (1868), says that for him The Moonstone can be considered to be the

first, longest, and best detective novel in England (Eliot 615). It tells about the

mystery of the missing diamond which is called the Moonstone. There is also an

issue about the diamond itself. At the beginning of the story it is said that the

diamond is being cursed and will bring misery to anyone who has the diamond.

Rachel, the latest owner of the moonstone, loses the diamond. Then Rachel’s

family try to hire a detective, Sergeant Cuff, whom they think can help to find the

culprit. After a long investigation, the detective finds several clues that lead to the

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Maranatha Christian University

In revealing the crime the author presents a lot of suspenses and surprises, which

makes the novel interesting to read.

As a detective novel, the outstanding literary element in The Moonstone is

obviously the plot. That is why in this thesis I will analyse the elements of plot:

suspense, surprise and artistic unity. Suspense is “the quality in a story that makes

the reader ask ‘what’s going to happen next?’ or ‘how will this turn out?’ and

impels him to read on to find the answers to these questions” (Perrine 45). The

tension in the readers grows further because of the curiosity about what will

happen next. While surprise is “proportional to the unexpectedness of what

happens; it becomes pronounced when the story departs radically from our

expectation” (47). Surprise will become the answer to the suspense. Sometimes

the reader has different expectations to a surprise. And the third aspect in the

elements of plot is the artistic unity. The artistic unity is

. . . that condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements

work together for the achievement of its central purpose. In an artistically

unified work nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central purpose,

nothing is omitted that is essential to it, and the parts are arranged in the

most effective order for the achievement of that purpose. (“Artistic

Unity”)

Statement of the Problem

The problems I am going to discuss in my thesis are:

1. What are the suspenses of the novel?

2. What are the surprises of the novel?

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3 Purpose of the Study

Based on the above problems, the purposes of the study are:

1. To show the suspenses in the novel.

2. To show the surprises in the novel.

3. To show how the artistic unity is presented in the novel.

Method of Research

I use the library research in writing the analysis of the novel. I read The

Moonstone as a primary text. Then, I take some data from the Internet sites and

reference books to support my analysis of suspense, surprise and artistic unity of

the novel. In the end, I draw some conclusion.

Organization of the Thesis

This thesis consists of three chapters preceded by the Table of Contents,

and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the

Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,

the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the

analysis of the elements of plot of Wilkie Collin’s The Moonstone. Chapter Three

is the Conclusion. Finally, the thesis ends with the Bibliography and the

Appendices, which consist the synopsis of the novel and the biography of the

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

After analyzing the novel, I come to a conclusion that The Moonstone has

interesting elements of plot. The author has arranged the suspenses in such a way

that the readers feel the tension along the story. The author successfully keeps the

tension up to the climax. The surprises are unpredictable and can make the readers

feel surprised. Besides, the connection between the suspenses and the surprises

also build a good artistic unity.

Collins successfully creates the suspense that makes the readers feel

curious. In the first and second suspenses, Collins involves the 3 Indians. Both of

the suspenses are directly answered by the surprises that tell the 3 Indians are

high-caste Brahmins and they follow Franklin because they want to steal the

diamond. Later they are proved innocent for the disappearance of the diamond

because they have a strong alibi. The surprises are well presented because the

readers never expect the surprise.

After the first and second suspenses are answered, Collins involves the

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become the suspects for the disappearance of the diamond. These suspenses are

not directly answered in the novel. However, the readers will feel curious while

reading this suspense.

For the next suspense, the Indian comes back to ask Mr. Bruff a question.

He asks a question to know how long it takes for someone to redeem collateral for

his debt. This suspense is directly answered by the next surprise that tells in the

end Mr. Bruff can figure out the motive of his question.

In the fourth and fifth surprises, Collins successfully makes the readers

shocked with the fact that Franklin is the thief. It turns out that the nightgown

does not belong to Rosanna but it belongs to Franklin. Rosanna hides the

nightgown so that she can cover up Franklin’s fault because she has a feeling for

him. Moreover, in the fifth surprise Rachel also mentions that she witnesses on

that night that Franklin goes to her room and takes the diamond. From this

situation, the readers can conclude that Franklin is the culprit and the mystery

seems to be solved. Both of the surprises come with an unpredictable result. The

readers never expect Franklin will turn out to be the culprit.

Again, Collins can trick the readers with the answer of the suspense. When

the sixth suspense is shown, the readers feel curious of what happens on that night

so that Franklin cannot remember and denies that he has taken the diamond. This

situation makes the readers feel curious and feel the tension wonder the answer.

This suspense is directly answered by the next surprise.

In the next surprise, the author successfully keeps the tension up into the

climax. At first the readers think that Franklin is the thief, but later at the climax

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Godfrey Ablewhite. This fact successfully makes the readers surprised. The case

seems to be solved, because finally the real thief can be found. However, the

readers still do not know where the moonstone is because when Godfrey is found,

the moonstone is not with him. This situation grows into the next suspense that

asks where the diamond is.

For the resolution, we can find it in the last suspense and surprise in the

novel. At the end of the story, the moonstone finds its way back to its original

place. Finally the high-caste Brahmin can accomplish their mission to restore the

diamond back. Besides, the connection between the suspenses and surprises is

acceptable, which builds the artistic unity of the story.

Based on the analysis about the elements of plot above, I can conclude that

the author Collins, has succeeded in making an interesting plot, including the

suspenses that build up the tension for the readers, the unpredictable surprises that

can surprise and trick the readers, and also the artistic unity which is well

presented. When Collins decides not to answer some suspenses directly, it makes

the reader feel curious and keep on reading until the suspense is answered. The

surprise which goes totally different from the readers’ expectation successfully is

presented in the novel by Collins. Moreover, the relation between the suspense

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary text:

Collins,Wilkie. The Moonstone. London: Penguin English Library. 2012. Print.

References:

“Artistic Unity.” humanitiesweb.org. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Eliot, T.S. The Moonstone. In Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone. London: Penguin

English Library. 2012. Print.

Gasson, Andrew. “Wilkie Collins.” The Literature Network. 2006. Web. 10 Nov.

2013.

Merriman, C.O. “Wilkie Collins – A Short Biography.” Wilkie – Collins.Info.

2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,