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ABSTRACT
Dalam skripsi ini, saya menganalisis teknik narasi dari dua novel. Novel pertama ditulis oleh Mark Haddon dengan judul The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time dan novel kedua ditulis oleh Cammie McGovern dengan judul Eye Contact. Kedua novel tersebut merupakan novel misteri yang melibatkan tokoh pengidap autisme. Saya akan menganalisis elemen-elemen teknik narasi yang terdiri dari: point of view, style, time and tempo, dan distance.
Dalam The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon menyampaikan ceritanya melalui sudut pandang tokoh utamanya, yaitu Christopher Boone. Novel tersebut ditulis dalam bentuk jurnal yang menceritakan misteri yang dialami oleh tokoh utama dan bagaimana ia memecahkannya. Dalam novel Eye Contact, Cammie McGovern menggunakan sudut pandang omniscient yang menarasikan beberapa tokoh. Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang anak laki-laki, Adam, yang menyaksikan teman sekelasnya dibunuh. Beberapa tokoh yang dinarasikan berperan penting dalam penyampaian cerita tersebut.
iii Maranatha Christian University Adapun perbedaan yang didapat dari kedua novel adalah dalam hal point of view, style, dan tempo.
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CHAPTER TWO: THEORY OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE ……….…………...6
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME ……….…...10
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN EYE CONTACT ………26
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ……….39
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……….44
APPENDICES Synopsis of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time ………...46
Synopsis of Eye Contact ………...……….……….47
Biography of Mark Haddon ………....48
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APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
This novel revolves around Christopher Boone, a fifteen-year-old boy who has an Asperger syndrome yet excels in Mathematics. Christopher lives with his father since his mother moves away. However, his father tells him that his mother has died of heart attack. The story begins when Christopher finds the dead body of Wellington, a big poodle of his neighbor Mrs. Shears. He later decides to track down who has killed Wellington and puts it into a journal.
Despite his father’s strong disapproval of his decision to track down the killer,
Christopher insists on doing so. On investigating one of his neighbors, Mrs. Alexander, he is informed about the affairs that his mother has had with Mr. Shears. One day, his father finds his journal and keeps it. Christopher, who is persistent in
continuing his spy, looks for his journal in his father’s closet where he also finds
letters addressed to him from his mother, who is actually still alive.
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Shocked and scared, Christopher decides to run away to his mother in London before both of them finally return to Swindon, where Christopher takes his almost delayed A-level Mathematics examination and gets the perfect score. His relationship with his father also gets better after his father apologizes to him and buys him a little poodle which he later names Sandy. In the end, he lives with his mother in the same city, separated from his father.
Synopsis of Eye Contact
One afternoon, Adam, a nine-year-old autistic boy, is reported missing during school hours. A few hours later, the police find him with a fellow student in the woods behind the school. It is a surprising fact since Cara, his mother, knows that Adam does not have friends as he has never talked about any friends before. The student Adam is with is Amelia Best, but she is found dead on the location. Adam, who surely becomes the key of the investigation in locating the murderer, has pulled himself back because he is shocked.
The murder involves Kevin, a man in Cara’s past who turns out to be Adam’s
father. He is suspected of the murder since it is proven that he is in the woods when the kids are missing.
Cara agrees when Adam’s school teachers suggest getting him an older company from school, Morgan, to be Adam’s aid as Morgan’s punishment for his
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Morgan, who is obsessed to find out who the murderer is, lists the people of whom he is suspicious. One of them is Chris, his friend. Even though he is not the murderer, Chris is involved in the murder.
That afternoon, Chris takes his friend, Hare, to the woods to take some revenge because he is often bullied by Hare. Chris hides his knife in the woods and unfortunately it is found by Amelia. At that time, Amelia and Adam are in the woods
waiting for Kevin, who is actually Adam’s father. Hare, who suddenly loses his
temper, stabs Amelia with the knife.
Finally, Hare is arrested while Cara re-builds her relationship with Kevin.
Biography of Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon is an English author, poet, painter, illustrator, and cartoonist. He was born in Northampton on 26 September 1962. He took various jobs dealing with children and adults with mental and physical disabilities.
Gilbert’s Gobstopper, his first children book, was published in 1987, followed
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Haddon also published his book of poetry The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, which has been put into the short-list of Arvon Foundation International Poetry Competition. His latest novel, A Spot of Bother (2006), was nominated for the 2006 Costa Novel Award. Mark Haddon has also written plays for Radio Four and won two BAFTAs for Microsoap, a children’s television drama.
Mark Haddon now teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and Oxford University. He lives in Oxford with his wife Dr. Sos Eltis and their two sons.
(Holcombe, “Inside a Curious Mind”)
Biography of Cammie McGovern
Cammie McGovern is an American author. She was born on 8 September 1963. She studied at Kenyon College and took her MFA degree at the University of Michigan. She was awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University.
McGovern’s first novel, The Art of Seeing, was first published in 2002 and
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McGovern has received many prizes for her short stories such as Nelson Algren Award for Short Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines including Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, and Seventeen. She has also read
her stories on the BBC Radio World Short Stories Series and featured in Noble’s
Discover Great New Writers Series.
Cammie McGovern is one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs. She now lives in Springfield, Massachusetts, with her husband and three children, the eldest of whom is autistics like the hero of her novel entitled Eye Contact.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
“Mystery is a genre of fiction in which a detective, either an amateur or a
professional, solves a crime or a series of crime” (Wiehardt). Based on that definition, it is concluded that a novel can be called a mystery novel when its story revolves around a crime that one investigates and that person is not necessarily a professional. Thus, the investigator of the crime might be anyone. I choose to analyze a novel by Mark Haddon and another by Cammie McGovern, which both talk about murder. Besides its genre, another similarity between these two novels is that they involve children who suffer from autism syndrome.
Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is
undoubtedly considered a breath-taking novel. Appearing as a journal of Christopher, a fifteen-year-old boy with Asperger syndrome who deals with murder mystery, this novel has won no less than twelve prizes and awards, making it the most outstanding work of Haddon’s so far. This novel has interested many children and adults, “People
2 Maranatha Christian University of autism” (Craig). Another thing that makes this novel interesting is the way
Christopher delivers his story which turns this novel into an “emotional roller -coaster” (Weich), despite his own incapability in understanding human feelings and
emotions.
Mark Haddon is an English author, poet, painter, illustrator, and cartoonist. Since 1987, he has published many children’s books and also novels which have gained him many prestigious awards and prizes. His works have contributed many fresh injections to the literary world, such as his poem collection and children’s books, not to mention his phenomenal novels. It is stated in contemporarywriters.com that “Haddon’s achievement is to have created something entirely new” (Holcombe).
A story of a murder investigation involving a boy with autism can also be found in Eye Contact, written by Cammie McGovern. This novel amuses the reader with a murder story involving a nine-year-old autistic Adam, who becomes the key witness. The reader will find it thrilling to follow the investigation of the murder and be touched by the family drama in the characters’ lives. It is stated in “Eye Contact Review” that “Eye Contact is a beautifully written, page-turning novel that will appeal to both mystery lovers and those who favor family dramas” (McQuay).
3 Maranatha Christian University her work, “Cammie McGovern is going to give Jodi Picoult a run for her money” (“Eye Contact”).
I choose to analyze the narrative technique of the two novels, because I find it interesting to discuss. Although both are mystery novels, the success of the story does not merely depend on the plot, but also on the narrative technique used. The authors use different narrative techniques in writing their mystery novels. Narrative technique is a way chosen by a writer to tell a story for the purpose of giving the reader certain effects the writer wants them to reach (Eastman 31). There are four elements of narrative technique: point of view, time and tempo, style, and distance (Eastman 31-56). The complete theory of narrative technique will be explained in Chapter Two.
Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is worth
analyzing since “The hook, the plot - is significantly better than good, but it's the irresistible voice of Mark Haddon's young narrator, Christopher Boone, that elevates this literary debut to fantastic heights” (Weich). The narrative technique used in Cammie McGovern’s Eye Contact is also worth analyzing since the author not only
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Statement of the Problem
1. What are the narrative techniques the authors use in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Eye Contact?
2. What are the effects of each narrative technique used on the readers?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the statements of the problem that have been mentioned, the purposes of the study are:
1. to show the narrative technique used in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Eye Contact.
2. to show the effects achieved through the use of each narrative technique.
Method of Research
I use library research for my thesis. First I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Eye Contact as the primary texts. Second, I also read a couple of books and compile some data from the Internet so as to support my analysis of the narrative technique used in the novels. Finally, I draw some conclusions from my analysis.
Organization of the Thesis
5 Maranatha Christian University Research, and Organization of the Thesis. The second chapter contains the theory on narrative technique. Then, the third chapter is the analysis of the narrative technique in Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The fourth
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CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-time and Cammie McGovern’s Eye Contact, I conclude that both of the novels are successful mystery novels even though the authors deliver them by using different narrative technique. There are some similarities and differences in the narrative technique used in the two novels.
The first similarity of both novels is that they are mystery novels which involve autistic characters who are essential to the story. In the first novel, the protagonist is Christopher Boone, a fifteen-year-old boy who suffers from Asperger syndrome. The novel is actually his journal about his investigation of the death of
Wellington, his neighbor’s dog. The murder leads him to another mystery to solve.
The second novel, Eye Contact, involves a seven-year-old autistic boy named Adam. He is essential to the story because he is the key witness of the murder of his classmate Amelia which happens in the woods.
40 Maranatha Christian University the Dog in the Night-time, the tempo slows down whenever the narrator is talking about his favorite subjects, such as Mathematics and Science. Whereas, the tempo speeds up whenever he is telling about certain situations which happen to him. In the second novel, Eye Contact, the tempo speeds up when the narrator reveals the flashback about Adam, the key witness of the murder. The readers get the information about what actually happens piece by piece. Meanwhile, the tempo slows down when the narrator reveals a certain time through two characters. It gives the readers a complete picture of the situation seen from both characters at that time and place. The tempo also slows down when the narrator reveals the flashback about the
characters except about Adam. The characters’ flashbacks are often given in long and
detailed narration. The use of slangs and idioms gives the readers a chance to be close to the characters and to get information about the mystery.
The last similarity of the two novels is the language style. Even though there are some differences in the style of the novels, both of them use informal language. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, there are slangs and idioms used to indicate informality. They make the story feel natural. The informal language is also used in the second novel, Eye Contact. Even though the story is closely connected to formal matter, such as judicial process, it does not involve any formal terms. The informal language in both novels makes the readers feel closer to the characters. It also helps the readers to understand the story and the mystery better.
41 Maranatha Christian University The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, there are many pictures which give more explanation about what the narrator is talking about. It also involves many conversations repeated by the narrator himself. The pictures are closely related to the point of view used and the fact that the mystery is written in a journal form, which enables the narrator to write anything he wants. In the second novel, Eye Contact, the story is delivered using an ordinary narration without any pictures. However, it does not give any negative effect to the readers because the story is well-delivered and the readers can understand it.
42 Maranatha Christian University though he does not want to talk since he witnesses the murder as he suffers from autism and trauma.
The other difference between the novels is in the element of time. Since The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is written in the form of journal, the time treatment is chronological. Therefore, there is no flashback in this novel. The
information of the narrator’s past life is retold by the narrator himself. On the
contrary, there are many flashbacks in the second novel, Eye Contact. The readers are given many flashbacks about the characters that are very useful for them and which are related to the mystery.
Despite the differences between the two novels, both authors have successfully managed to create a close distance between the readers and the story. They are also successful in delivering their mystery novels through the different narrative techniques they use. The readers can understand the plot well. The readers can also feel the tension and the curiosity when reading the story so that the readers will get the surprise, which is important regarding the genre. Since both novels are mystery, the authors have successfully led the readers to follow and understand the mystery.
43 Maranatha Christian University though each of the authors uses different narrative techniques, both have skillfully delivered the mystery. The mysteries become interesting because both authors have used the appropriate narrative techniques which enable them to reach their purposes.
The narrative technique used in each novel gives the readers enjoyment in reading them. However, I personally find more enjoyment in reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time because of the style used by the author. The journal form adds more tension and curiosity to the mystery because it is delivered by the character who makes the investigation. I also find the pictures very enjoyable and
they help me to understand what is in the narrator’s mind despite his inability to
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary texts:
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. New York: Vintage Books, 2003. Print.
McGovern, Cammie. Eye Contact. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
References:
“Asperger’s Syndrome”. WebMD, 2011. Web. 30 Sept 2011.
Craig, Amanda. “Mark Haddon”, 2004. Web. 6 Apr 2011.
Eastman, Richard. A Guide to the Novel. California: Chandler Publishing Company, 1965. Print.
“Eye Contact”. Cammie McGovern, 2010. Web. 2 Apr 2011.
“Facts About ASDs”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010. Web. 2 Apr
2011.
Holcombe, Garan. “Mark Haddon”. Contemporary Writers, 2004. Web. 18 Mar
2011.
45 Maranatha Christian University Mahoney, Kevin. “So you'd like to... find out more about Cammie McGovern”.
Amazon. 2011. Web. 2 Apr 2011.
McQuay, Angela. “Eye Contact Review”. Curled Up, 2006. Web. 2 Apr 2011.
“Meet Cammie”, n.d. Web. 18 Mar 2011.
Weich, David. Powells. “The Curiously Irresistible Literary Debut of Mark Haddon”,
2003. Web. 2 Apr 2011.
