i
OPAL’S UNHAPPY-CHILDHOOD STEMMED FROM ASPERGER’S SYNDROME AS SEEN THROUGH THE PERSONIFICATIONS IN JANE BOULTON’S THE JOURNAL
OF AN UNDERSTANDING HEART
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DONI AGUNG SETIAWAN Student Number : 054214025
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
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Tomorrow is coming today
Lies between the space of every single breath
Do you mind to stop dreaming and calling yesterday?
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This is the most tighten home assignment that I can finish during my study in Sanata Dharma University. Nothing is perfect, of course, but in this long work, I try to do to make it better.
There are many supports and helps in doing this work, therefore I would like to express gratitude to my beloved parents, mbak Endah, and mas Koko. I also would like to say thanks to my brothers, Agaton, Fred, Tj, and Gedhek for the entertainment in this pressure, I thanks to the big family of Teater Seriboe Djendela for the greatest work we’ve done together, to my unique friends; Bayu and Antok, Natan, Grek, Wahmuji for the interesting ideas, and all of my beloved friends for the nice friendship in this long study.
I would like to thanks Ibu Elisa Dwi Wardani, S. S., M. Hum. and Bapak Tatang Iskarna, S. S., M. Hum. for the guidance, ideas, support, and the patience during the writing process of this work. The last, I would like to give my special thanks to Anna Palute, for the colorful life she paints on me.
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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ………. 1
A. Background ………... 1
B. Problem Formulations ………... 5
C. Objectives of the Study ………. 6
D. Definition of Terms ………... 6
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ……… 9
A. Review of Related Studies ……… 9
1. Steve Mcquiddy’s The Fantastic Tales of Opal Whiteley…….. 9
2. Stephen H. Williamson’s Mental Health Report on Opal Whiteley. 11 B. Review of Related Theories………... 14
1. Theory of Personification………... 14
2. Theory of Asperger’s syndrome in Girl………... 14
3. Loneliness and Unhappiness in Young Girl……… 17
C. Theoretical Framework ………. 20
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ………. 22
A. Object of the Study ………... 22
B. Approach of the Study ……….. 24
C. Method of the Study ……….. 25
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ……….. 27
A. The Examination of Personification in The Journal of An Understanding Heart………. 27 B. Opal’s Unhappy-Childhood Seen Through the Personification in The
Journal of An Understanding Heart………. 69 a. The Intensity of the Interaction between Opal and the
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b. Opal’s Behavior Disorder………. 85
c. Opal’s loneliness……….. 104
d. Opal’s Unhappy-Childhood………. 108
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ……… 115
x ABSTRACT
DONI AGUNG SETIAWAN. Opal’s Unhappy-Childhood Stemmed from Asperger’s Syndrome As Seen through the Personifications in Jane Boulton’s
The Journal of An Understanding Heart. Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011.
Opal Whiteley, a lonely girl who is adopted by Whiteley family after losing her true parents in the age of four, has amazed many people after her childhood diary is published in her age of twenty. The diary records Opal’s daily life including her interaction with animals, plants, and the nature surrounding her. The interaction between Opal and those objects is interesting because she treats them as human being. In the scope of poetry, however, the endowment of human attributes addressed to those objects is stated as personification. The personifications written in some stanzas in The Journal of An Understanding Heart show Opal’s Unhappy-childhood.
There are two objectives to be attained in this study. The first objective is to show the personifications in The Journal of An Understanding Heart. The second objective is to see Opal’s unhappy-childhood through the personifications.
The writer used library research in this study to get most necessary references, while the approach applied here is psychological approach. The analyses are sequenced into, first, examining the personifications and, second, examining the interaction between Opal and the personified objects to see Opal’s unhappy-childhood.
xi ABSTRAK
DONI AGUNG SETIAWAN. Opal’s Unhappy-Childhood Stemmed from Asperger’s Syndrome As Seen through the Personifications in Jane Boulton’s
The Journal of An Understanding Heart. Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011.
Opal Whiteley, gadis kecil kesepian yang telah diadopsi oleh keluarga Whiteley setelah ia kehilangan kedua orang tua aslinya ketika ia berumur empat tahun, telah membuat banyak orang terkesan setelah buku harian masa kecilnya diterbitkan di usianya yang ke dua puluh. Buku harian tersebut merekam kehidupan Opal sehari-hari, yang meliputi interaksinya dengan banyak binatang, tumbuhan, dan alam di sekelilingnya. Interaksi antara Opal dengan obyek-obyek tersebut menjadi hal yang menarik karena dia memperlakukan obyek-obyek tersebut seperti halnya manusia. Dalam ruang lingkup puisi, penambahan atribut ke-manusia-an kepada obyek-obyek tersebut merupakan personifikasi. Personifikasi-personifikasi yang tertulis dalam bait-bait di buku The Journal of An Understanding Heart menunjukkan masa kecil Opal yang tidak bahagia.
Ada dua tujuan yang akan dicapai dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk menunjukan personifikasi-personifikasi yang ada dalam The Journal of An Understanding Heart. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk melihat masa kecil Opal yang tidak bahagia melalui personifikasi-personifikasi tersebut.
Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian pustaka yang mengambil beberapa sumber dari buku dan dokument-dokumen dari jaringan internet, sedangkan pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan psikologis. Urutan pembahasan dalam penelitian ini adalah, pertama, meneliti personifikasi-personifikasi dan, kedua, menunjukkan masa kecil Opal yang tidak bahagia melalui interaksi antara Opal dengan obyek-obyek yang terpersonifikasi.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Rene Wellek and Austin Warren say in his book that the natural and sensible
starting point for work in literary scholarship is the interpretation and analysis of
the work it self. After all, only the work itself justifies the interest in seeing the
life of an author (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 139). It is, indeed, also happened in
the study of poetry. True poetry, Guerin quotes Crane’s statement, is always a
direct outpouring of personal feeling; that its values are determined by the nature
of the emotion which it expresses (Crane in Guerin’s, 1999: 25). Thus, David
Daiches explains that poetry differs from science both in its objective to
perpetuate and communicate a valuable kind of psychological adjustment, and in
the kind of meaning it attributes to words, which is emotive rather than scientific
or referential (Daiches, 1981: 134).
The phenomenal one who writes a poetical diary is Opal Whiteley, a lonely
girl who is adopted by Whiteley family after losing her true parents in the age of
four, has amazed many people after her childhood diary is published in her age of
twenty. The diary that records Opal’s unique experience during her childhood is
controversial; some people hesitate of the originality of the writing process as it
seems impossible to be written by a girl around fifth-sixth. Because of the
2
Stephen H. Williamson is the one who shows the fact that the diary is written
during Opal childhood. Williamson is also the one who refuse the claim that Opal
has schizophrenia, he shows that Opal has Asperger’s syndrome as the reasonable
fact that can explain the peculiar characteristic of Opal. Williamson said that
People with Asperger’s syndrome often excel at one intellectual activity, but can
have poor social skills. They may be near genius IQ’s, and lack common sense.
People with Asperger’s syndrome can have brilliant imaginations and can be very
difficult to talk out of a fixed belief (Williamson,2010). Williamson explains that
people with Asperger’s syndrome are brilliant in something that becomes the
interest. Opal Whiteley is good in writing as she has superior rote memory that
turns her to have a lot of vocabulary.
Dr. Tony Atwood, a leading expert on Asperger’s Syndrome, explains that
girls with Asperger’s syndrome are more like ‘little philosopher’ who are expert
one subject, commonly, the focus is in animals or classic literature (Atwood,
1999).
However, that Opal has Asperger’s syndrome can be proven through the diary
and the claim that she has Asperger’s syndrome makes many people believe that
the diary is originally written during Opal’s childhood.
As the diary is controversial, the question that probably appears as the
response of people toward the diary is that what is the interesting thing in that
diary? The most common reviews say that it is a fantastic diary that records her
3
befriended animals, plants, and nature surrounding her, as like as the story of
Alice in Wonderland, Opal seems to have the ability to communicate with them.
It is true that in the diary, Opal often talks to her animal friends and sometimes
she can hear and understand what the plants are saying.
The diary of Opal Whiteley inspires many people such us musicians, movie
makers, and writers. Robert Nassif Lindsey creates a musical called “a rare
achievement” by the New York Times, Lindsey’s musical premiered
off-broadway and won the Richard Rodgers Production Award in 1992 from a
committee chaired by Stephen Sondheim. Cathy Kaemmerlan writes a
one-woman play sponsored by Young Audiences of America, a nonprofit group out of
Atlanta, Georgia, Kaemmerlan puts on shows for elementary school around the
country. Another musical are created by Robert Adams in Santa Barbara,
California, and musical selection for voice and piano by Gary Smart. There is also
a serene forest setting created near Opal’s childhood home in Cottage Grove,
Oregon.
The poem writer who is inspired by Opal diary is Jane Boulton, the author of
the modern edition of The Journal of An Understanding Heart. Bruce Brown, a
researcher investigates Opal diary and biography writes:
The only modern edition of The Journal of an Understanding Heart is
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In this study, the writer chooses Jane Boulton’s adaptation work as the object
of the study. Under the title The Journal of An Understanding Heart, Boulton
changes the form of the diary into poetry form and also corrects the misspelling of
Opal’s words. The reason of choosing Jane Boulton’s work is because the diary of
Opal finally belongs to the genre of poetry in which in the analysis, the work is
examined as poem; a long poem-diary or, as Kennedy said, the style of this poem
is included as narrative poem.
Since the work is stated as a poem, however, it has the intrinsic element of
poem such as imagery, tone, figurative language, symbol, atmosphere, rhyme,
rhythm, meter, etc. One of the intrinsic elements in the poem that is examined in
this study is personification that Kennedy and Gioia describe as a figurative
language in which a thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with human
characteristic. Personification allows an author to dramatize nonhuman world in
tangibly human terms (Kennedy and Gioia, 2002: 676).
The reason in doing the research on personifications is due to the fact that the
personifications in the poem have clear evidence implying Opal’s
unhappy-childhood. The interesting thing that can be seen through the personifications is
Opal’s behavior disorder. It can be seen in the way Opal treats some animals and
plants differently; she gives some names of the classic figures to some of her
animals friend such as Peter Paul Rubens (The pig), Solomon Grundy (the piggy),
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Porsena (the crow), Edmund Spenser, Oliver Goldsmith, Sir Francis Bacon, and
John Fletcher (the little chickens), and also to her beloved tree she names Michael
Raphael.
However, in the scope of poetry, those objects are personified in such a way
Opal treats them as human being as the endowment of human attributes addressed
to them. The interaction between Opal and those personified objects shows Opal’s
behavior disorder as Williamson states as Asperger’s Syndrome. That interaction
also shows Opal’s loneliness. She is alone as her syndrome makes her difficult to
make a relationship with other people, and as the result of her loneliness, she
continuously interacts with her non-human friend. This case makes her more and
more difficulty to interact with others; she is being separated with other people,
especially children around her age. The consequence of her loneliness is that she
often feels unhappy. Opal does not get her right to be treated differently as she
has Asperger’s syndrome.
Thus, in this study, the writer tries to examine Opal’s unhappy-childhood by
examining the interaction between Opal and the personified objects, seeing her
behavior disorder, and the last, showing her unhappy-childhood as her having
lack of attention of other people.
B. Problem formulation
In this study, there are two problem formulation to be examined. The first
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next problem is purposed to examine the extrinsic element of the poem-diary.
Here the two problem formulation are:
1. What are the personifications found in The Journal of An Understanding
Heart?
2. How is Opal’s unhappy childhood seen through the personifications in The
Journal of An Understanding Heart?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study, based on the problem formulation, has two objectives. The first
problem formulation is to find the personification and to find the personified
objects on some stanza in The Journal of An Understanding Heart. The
examination of the personifications in The Journal of An Understanding Heart is
purposed to explain the endowment of human attribute addressed to the
personified objects.
The next problem formulation is to examine the intensity of the interaction
between Opal and the personified objects. Examining the intensity of the
interaction between Opal and the personified objects, the study tries to explain
Opal’s behavior disorder to proof Opal’s unhappy childhood.
D. Definition of Terms
There are some terminologies listed to be clarified to avoid misunderstanding
in this study. The definitions of those terminologies are taken from Kennedy’s
and Gioia’s book titled An Introduction to Poetry, tenth edition, and Longman
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compares some of the definitions that are taken from the dictionary with
necessary meaning to be meant in this study. Here the terminologies are:
1. Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger’s syndrome, based on Tony Atwood, is a term which is taken from
the name of the founder, Hans Asperger. The term is used to describe someone
who thinks and perceive the world differently than normal people. The most
common characteristic of people with Asperger’s syndrome is that they has
difficulty to interact with other people as like autism. But people with Asperger’s
syndrome may have brilliant imagination and very genius in something that
becomes the interest. Boys with this syndrome usually excellent in science and
girls with this syndrome is good in classic literature and writing (Atwood, 1999).
2. Loneliness
Loneliness in this study, as the term is refers to Opal’s condition, based on
Janiss R. Bullock, is a significant problem that predisposes negative consequences
such as being sad and alone as a result of having no body to play with (Bullock,
1998).
3. Personification
Kennedy and Gioia describe personification as a figure of speech in which a
thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with human characteristic.
Personification allows an author to dramatize nonhuman world in tangibly human
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4. Unhappy-childhood
In this study the term unhappy is related with sadness, in which it indicates
the human condition of far away from being happy. Based on Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English, the term unhappy is described as not happy;
feeling worried or annoyed because of the happening situation (Longman, 1995).
The term unhappy-childhood refers to Opal’s unhappy condition during her life in
the childhood time.
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
1. Steve McQuiddy’s The Fantastic Tale of Opal Whiteley
Steve McQuiddy is one who did the investigation through Opal’s live. In his
writing about Opal, he has observed the data by interviewing some people and
also did analysis through some critics’ work. Based on McQuiddy’s investigation,
as he interviews Opal’s grandmother, Opal is said as a queer girl; “When she
wasn’t chattering or asking question, or reading or writing, she would be looking
at nothing with big eyes, in what some people call a ‘brown study’, but what I call
inattention and absentmindedness” (McQuiddy, 1996: 4). According to her
grandmother, Opal would not respond to the punishment, “Switching didn’t seem
to make her any different. She would climb up in a big evergreen over the pigpen,
and get to studying about something, and drop out of the tree into the mud. Lizzie
would spank her or switch her, or if Lizzie wasn’t feeling up to it, I would”
(McQuiddy, 1996: 4).
McQuiddy says that Opal is the one who likes nature. By Opal’s diary,
McQuiddy explains Opal’s adventure into the wood with her beloved friends;
Brave Horatius the shepherd dog and her other animal friends to illustrate that
Opal seemed to have a special way with wild creatures. It is like what Opal’s
10
Opal says that birds and butterflies would sit in her hand. Quoting Opal’s diary,
McQuiddy states that for Opal, all nature was alive, and all beings of the natural
world members of o grand chorus of the earth; “Earth-voices are glad voices, and
earth-songs come up from the ground through the plants, and in their flowering,
and in the days before these days are come, they do tell the earth-song to the
wind. And the wind in her going does whisper them to folks to print for other
folks, so other folks do have knowings earth’s songs. When I grow up, I’m going
to write for children—and grownups that haven’t grown up too much—all the
earth-song I now do hear” (McQuiddy, 1996: 4-5).
Opal is genius in her own way. According to McQuiddy’s investigation, by
having joined the local chapter of Junior Christian Endeavour, a religious
organization for rural children, Opal translated her knowledge into lectures on the
scientific and spiritual wonder of nature. Parents would bring their children to
hear her speak, and find them selves enchanted as well. McQuiddy quotes Hoff
research on a relation in The Singing Creek; the words of a woman who had
known Opal in Junior Endeavour: “She told stories. I remember the one time the
lesson was about the resurrection, and she told us about how, just as a person is
buried, a seed is buried, and how from the seed there comes later a beautiful
flower, and how death is not really death but being born into a new environment”
(McQuiddy, 1996: 5).
Based on McQuiddy’s investigation, it can be seen that Opal’s childhood is
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nature. She spent most of the time by exploring her world mostly by animals and
plants, talking and playing with them as if they were human. Opal was genius in
her way that she was able to write and tell her experiences. Her lesson to children
is one of her genius that she could understand the world of nature and also she has
such method to retelling to others.
Reviewing this study, the writer wants to show that this study is different with
McQuiddy’s investigation. McQuiddy deals with the biography of Opal Whiteley,
while this study focus in examining Opal’s unhappy-childhood through the
personifications in Jane Boulton’s adaptation, The Journal of An Understanding
Heart.
2. Stephen H. Williamson’s Mental Health Report on Opal Whiteley
Stephen Williamson is the one who disagree on some experts claims that Opal
had schizophrenia. Following his idea, it is said that people with schizophrenia
may have hallucinations and fixed ideas that seem very strange to others. Such as
many homeless people who have schizophrenia, they have great difficulty
organizing their lives. And that condition, the hallucinations and delusions
interfere with people’s ability to process information in which they are often
unable to care for themselves (Williamson, 1994)
Williamson believes that Opal did not have hallucinations. Due to Opal
believe that she was related to the French family, William, based on his
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that the fairies, in which some experts claim as Opal’s hallucinations, refers to
dragonfly insects. William says that Opal never talked to anything that was not
real; Opal also used the word ‘fairy’ to mean the spirit or soul. William writes:
At the beginning of the last century many people still believed in "fairies". Opal often writes about seeing "fairies" and "little people". In folklore a "fairy" is a small creature, generally with a human form. Fairies are also said to live in the everyday world such as trees, streams, flowers and hills. Opal believes the fairies bring her pencils and paper to write with. Opal believed that all things had a living spirit - it's "fairy". In her childhood diary she writes that yellow jackets are fairies too. In her 1918 book, The Fairyland Around Us, Opal writes that her grandmother and her uncle taught her about fairies. It is important to note that Opal NEVER writes about imaginary creatures that do not exist. Often when she uses the word "fairy" she is writing about the soul within a living animal or plant. This is much closer to the Native American and Celtic belief system. She is not hallucinating and seeing things that are not there. Many researchers have made this mistake. I had to read many different texts she wrote to notice the difference (Williamson,1994).
Refusing the idea that Opal did not have schizophrenia, Williamson shows that
Opal had Asperger’s syndrome. Opal presented a complex mix of psychiatric
symptom; a condition in which Opal’s behavior is often like a person who has
obsessive compulsive disorder. Williamson writes:
She also shows signs of OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Opal is always counting things like rocks, trees and the number of steps she takes. Opal's had few close relationships. She may have been briefly married, but that is in dispute. While she could develop strong bonds with older adults and younger children Opal had great difficulty making friends among people her own age. This seems to have been the pattern throughout her life. Her male relationship were almost exclusively with men old enough to be her father or grandfather and her women friends tended to be grandmotherly types as well (Williamson, 1994).
Thus, based on Williamson explanation, people with Asperger’s tend to have
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can learn these to an almost genius level. Some can learn and absorb subjects they
are interested in faster than normal people. People with Asperger’s often have
superior memory skills. Williamson says that Opal had a very formal way of
speaking and using word at her young age is characterized as Asperger’s
syndrome. Most people with Asperger’s have normal or slightly above normal
intelligence. Opal was clearly genius in her nature studies and writing
(Williamson, 1994)
Williamson makes diagnostic criteria for Aspherger’s that fit Opal.
Williamson states that Opal has difficulty developing peer relationship (children
with Asperher’s syndrome may be more comfortable with adult rather than other
children), Opal is fascinated with map, globe, and routes, Opal has superior route
memory, preoccupation with a particular subject to the exclusion of all others; she
amasses many related facts, sensitivity to the environment, loud noises, clothing
and food textures, and odors, Opal is pedantic as she has formal style of speaking;
often called “ little professor”, verbose (well documented in Cottage Grove), Opal
is socially and emotionally inappropriate responses, Opal has extensive
vocabulary as she has Read commences at an early age (hyperlexia), and she has
Difficulty with “give and take” of conversation (Williamson, 1994).
In this study, the writer is in agreement with Williamson’s statement that Opal
has Asperger’s syndrome. However, the writer would like to support
Williamson’s idea by showing the facts to indicates Opal’s Asperger’s syndrome
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B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Personification
Based on Kennedy and Gioia, they described personification as a figure of
speech in which a thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with human
characteristic. Personification allows an author to dramatize nonhuman world in
tangibly human terms (Kennedy, Gioia, 2002: 676). The same idea is written in
Barnet’s book; it is said that personification is the attribution of human feelings or
characteristic or abstraction or to inanimate objects (Barnet, 1993: 461). By using
this theory, the writer in this study tries to find out the whole personification in
the poem-diary of Opal Whiteley that is adapted by Jean Boulton, then the writes
tries to do the analysis to find Opal’s activities through those personifications in
which those will be used to show Opal’s unhappy childhood.
2. The Diagnostic Assessment of Girls with Asperger’s Syndrome
This part is a review on Dr. Tony Atwood papers that the titles are Diagnosis
of Asperger Syndrome and The Pattern of Abilities and Development of Girls with
Asperger’s Syndrome. Dr. Tony Atwood is a leading expert of Asperger’s
syndrome who completes the diagnose of this syndrome that is first found by Dr.
Hans Asperger. In 1944, Hans Asperger identified the syndrome as a set of
15
noticed that although these boys had normal intelligence and language
development, they had severely impaired social skills, were unable to
communicate effectively with others, and had poor coordination. Atwood, in his
paper, explains that the simplest way to understand the syndrome is that it
describes someone who thinks and perceives the world differently from other
people. Atwood says that the term ‘Asperger’s syndrome’ is used based on the
perspective description of the first founder, Hans Asperger (Atwood, 2011).
Based on Atwood’s research, the majority of children referred for a diagnostic
assessment are boys. A recent analysis of over one thousand referrals to the clinic
over twelve years, established a ratio of males to females of 4 to 1. Atwood notes
that girls with Asperger’s syndrome may be more difficult to recognise and
diagnose due to coping and camouflaging mechanisms, which can also be used by
some boys. Atwood writes:
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Commonly, Girls with Asperger’s syndrome have problems with social
understanding, Atwood considers it as a failure to develop peer relationship. In
his paper, Atwood writes that:
Social ability and friendship skills are highly valued by peers and adults and not being successful in these areas can lead some children with Asperger’s syndrome to internalise their thoughts and feelings by being overly apologetic, self-critical and increasingly socially withdrawn. The child, sometimes as young as six or seven years old, may develop a clinical depression as result of insight into being different and perceiving him- or herself as socially defective. Intellectually, the child has the ability to recognise his or her social isolation, but lacks social skills in comparison to intellectual and age peers, and does not know intuitively what to do to achieve social success. Brave attempts by the child to improve social integration with other children may be ridiculed and the child deliberately shunned. Teachers and parents may not be providing the necessary level of guidance and especially encouragement. The child desperately wants to be included and to have friends but does not know what to do (Atwood, 2011).
The consequence of that condition, girls with Asperger’s syndrome may
escape their depression in imagination. Atwood explains that they would develop
vivid and complex imaginary world, sometimes with make-believe friends. Some
girls with Asperger’s syndrome can develop the ability to use imaginary friends,
characters and worlds to write quite remarkable fiction. This could lead to success
as an author of fiction, or as a travel journalist (Atwood, 2011). In his other paper,
Atwood writes:
17
there can be several qualitative differences. They often lack reciprocity in their natural social play and can be too controlling when playing with their peers (Atwood, 1999).
The most popular special interests of boys with Asperger’s Syndrome are
types of transport, specialist areas of science and electronics, particularly
computers. Girls with Asperger’s Syndrome can be interested in the same topics
but clinical experience suggests their special interest can be animals and classic
literature. Atwood explains that these interests are not typically associated with
boys with Asperger’s Syndrome. The interest in animals can be focused on horses
or native animals and this characteristic dismissed as simply typical of young
girls. Girls with Asperger’s Syndrome can also develop a fascination with classic
literature such as the plays of Shakespeare and poetry. Both have an intrinsic
rhythm that they find entrancing and some develop their writing skills and
fascination with words to become a successful author, poet or academic in
English literature (Atwood, 1999)
3. Loneliness in Young Girls
Kendra Cherry writes an article that the title is Loneliness; Causes, Effects,
and Treatment for Loneliness. In the article, she quotes Robert Churchil’s
statement that loneliness is a universal human emotion, yet it is both complex and
unique to each individual. Loneliness has no single common cause, so the
preventions and treatments for this damaging state of mind vary dramatically. A
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lonely elderly man whose wife has recently died. In order to understand
loneliness, it is important to take a closer look at exactly what we mean by the
term "lonely" as well as the various causes, health consequences, symptoms and
potential treatments for loneliness (Loneliness; Causes, Effects, and Treatment for
Loneliness, 2011).
There are some factors causing loneliness. Cherry quotes the idea of John
Cacioppo’s, a University of Chicago psychologist and one of the top loneliness
experts, loneliness is strongly connected to genetics. Other contributing factors
include situational variables, such as physical isolation, moving to a new location
and divorce. The death of someone significant in a person's life can also lead to
feelings of loneliness. Loneliness can also be a symptom of a psychological
disorder such as depression. Cherry also says that Loneliness can also be
attributed to internal factors such as low self-esteem. People who lack confidence
in themselves often believe that they are unworthy of the attention or regard of
other people. This can lead to isolation and chronic loneliness (Loneliness;
Causes, Effects, and Treatment for Loneliness, 2011).
Another idea concerning loneliness, Janis R. Bullock writes the article that the
title is Loneliness in Young Children. According to Bullock, loneliness can be a
significant problem for young children. She writes:
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example, kindergarten and first-grade children responded appropriately to a series of questions regarding what loneliness is ("being sad and alone"), where it comes from ("nobody to play with"), and what one might do to overcome feelings of loneliness ("find a friend") (Cassidy & Asher, 1992). In a more recent study (Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1996), kindergarten children's loneliness in school was reliably measured with a series of questions such as, "Are you lonely in school?"; "Is school a lonely place for you?"; and "Are you sad and alone in school?" These studies suggest that young children's concepts of loneliness have meaning to them and are similar to those shared by older children and adults. This Digest presents an overview of loneliness with suggestions for practitioners on how they can apply the research in early childhood settings (Bullock, 1998).
For the consequence of loneliness, Bullock quotes Ramsey’s idea. It is written
that:
Children who feel lonely often experience poor peer relationships and therefore express more loneliness than peers with friends. They often feel excluded—a feeling that can be damaging to their self-esteem. In addition, they may experience feelings of sadness, malaise, boredom, and alienation. Furthermore, early childhood experiences that contribute to loneliness may predict loneliness during adulthood. Consequently, lonely children may miss out on many opportunities to interact with their peers and to learn important lifelong skills. Given the importance placed on the benefits of peer interactions and friendships to children's development, this potential lack of interaction raises many concerns for teachers who work with young children. Peer relations matter to children, and lonely children place as much importance on them as do other children (Ramsey in Bullock, 1998).
There are several factors contribute to feeling of loneliness, Bullock quotes
Kochenderver’s and Ladd’s idea that is written:
20
(e.g., shyness, anxiety, and low self-esteem) that contribute to difficulties in making friends. Kindergarten children who are victimized by peers (e.g., picked on, or physically or verbally attacked or taunted) report higher levels of loneliness, distress, and negative attitudes toward school than nonvictimized children (Kochenderfer & Ladd in Bullock, 1998).
C. Theoretical Framework
As it is mentioned at the first chapter, this study has two problem formulation.
The firs problem is about the examination of personification in The Journal of An
Understanding Heart. The theory that is used to solve this problem is theory of
personification, that is, based on Kennedy’s and Gioia’s, a figure of speech in
which a thing, an animal, or abstract term is endowed with human characteristic.
This theory is needed in this study to find the personified objects in the
poem-diary and to explain the way Opal treats those objects as they are human.
The last problem in this analysis is to examine Opal’s unhappy-childhood
through the personification in the poem-diary. There are some steps to answer this
problem, first, is examining the intensity of the interaction between Opal and the
personified objects, second, is examining Opal’s behavior disorder, third, is
examining Opal’s loneliness, and the last, is examining Opal’s unhappy
childhood.
To explain Opal’s behavior disorder, the writer agrees with Williamson’s
statement that Opal has Asperger’s syndrome. Thus, this study applies Atwood
21
Asperger’s syndrome by seeing the intensity of the interaction between Opal and
the personified objects.
That Opal has Asperger’s syndrome is a clear evidence to become the cause of
Opal’s loneliness. Examining this case, Bullock’s explanation on loneliness in
young children and Cherry’s argument on the causes, effects, and treatments of
loneliness are applied to support the explanation.
By examining the intensity of the interaction between Opal and the
personified objects, Opal’s behavior disorder and loneliness, it will be seen that
22
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
This study is using Jane Boulton’s The Journal of An Understanding Heart as
the object of the study. This book is the only modern edition of Opal’s diary in
which Boulton adapted as poetry form and edited some misspelling words. Jane
Boulton’s The Journal of An Understanding Heart originally published in 1976
by Macmillan and reissued in 1984 by Tioga Publishing Company of Palo Alto,
California. The Macmillan edition, that is the subject in this study, is published in
1996 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited St Martins Tower, 31 Market
Street, Sydney by arrangement with Carol Southern Books, New York.
The original diary of Opal had inspired many people; under the title ‘Opal’,
Robert Nassif Lindsey creates a music that won the Richard Rodgers Production
Award in 1992 from a committee chaired by Stephen Sondheim. Catchy
Kaemmerlan creates a one woman play under the title In Opal Word. The work
put on shows for elementary school around the country. Other musicians are
Robert Adams with his Opal, and Garry Smart with Opal’s Diary. There is also a
park created; a serene setting near Opal’s childhood home in Cottage Grove,
Oregon. And the recent work is a film under the title Opal, written and directed
by Dina Ciraulo. The movie is released in 2010.
Opal’s diary is a record of the girl’s adventure with a whimsical retinue of
23
Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus (a woodrat), Aphrodite (the mother pig),
Shakespeare (the horse), Lars Porsena (the crow), Petter Paul Rubens (the pig that
follows her to school), and Michael Raphael (the tree), along with a fine
supporting cast of marginal lumber camp characters such as “the man who wears
grey neckties and is kind to mice”, Saddie McKibben (and old woman around
forty), and ‘the girl who has no seeing.’
The diary records Opal’s activities in her daily life where she spent most of
her time playing with her animal friends having an exploration trip in the wood
and fields in Lumber Camp, Oregon. In her childhood time, sometimes Opal had
conversation with potatoes that she told them her experiences and imaginations,
and with Michael Raphael, a tree in which Opal climb and talk with when she felt
sad inside.
In Jane Boulton’s adaptation, the diary is divided into five parts. Even this
diary is changed in the poetry form, but the words are Opal’s except the corrected
misspelling words. There is no subtitle in each part, so that the whole parst are
under the title The Journal of An Understanding Heart.
The first part is introducing the animal friends of Opal and describing the
environment where the event takes place. The second part is describing Opal’s
experiences at school and her relation with her teacher and schoolmates. In this
part also shows Opal’s conversation with the potatoes and the three. The third part
is about the winter time in the Lumber Camps. The next part is describing the
24
friends. The last part is written during the rainy season in the Lumber Camps. In
this part is colored by Opal’s sadness in which some of her animal friends died.
B. Approach of the Study
In the analysis, this study uses psychological approach; that is an approach
which involves the psychological study of a particular artist. This approach
employs psychology to understand the subject’s motivation and behavior
(Kennedy and Gioia, 2002: 641).
Psychological criticism deals with a work of literature primarily as an
expression, in fictional form, of the state of mind and the structure of personality
of the individual author. But, unfortunately, based on Guerin, the limitation in this
approach is that this approach ignores the aesthetic value of the text in favor of
psychoanalyzing author and characters (Guerin, 2011: 222). This approach
emerged in the early decades of the nineteenth century, as part of the romantic
replacement of earlier mimetic and pragmatic views by an expressive view of the
nature of literature (Abrams, 1999: 247). Abrams wrote:
25
reading a literary work specifically in order to experience the distinctive subjectivity, or consciousness, of its author (Abrams, 1999: 248).
This approach is needed in this study as the main discussion is about Opal’s
unhappy childhood that is seen through the personifications in some stanza in the
whole poem of The Journal of An Understanding Heart. In the personifications, it
will be seen the intensity of the interaction between Opal and the personified
object in which the interaction includes Opal’s motivation and behavior.. In
psychological discussion, every human being has a drive or impulse such as
hunger, fear, thirsty, lonely and so on to fulfill the need or desire. In this case,
Opal interaction with personified object in the personifications written comes
from her loneliness. Though, this study needs to use this approach to answer the
problems formulation.
C. Method of the Study
This study is a library research that the primary source is Jane Boulton’s The
Journal of An Understanding Heart. The secondary sources are printed and
on-line sources. The printed sources that are used in this study are; Kennedy’s and
Gioia’s, an Introduction to Poetry, tenth edition, Barnet Berman Burto’s, An
Imtroduction to Literature, Tenth Edition, Guerin, Wilfred L, Earle Labor, Lee
Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham, A Handbook of Critical
Approaches to Literature Sixth Edition, and M.H. Abrahm’s a Glossary of
26
are; Stephen Williamson’s The Mental Health Report of Opal Whiteley, Tony
Atwood’s Diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and The Pattern of Abilities of girl
with Asperger’s Syndrome, and Steve McQuiddy’s The Saga of Opal Whiteley.
The steps of the analysis started from the examination of personifications in
some stanza in The Journal of An Understanding Heart. The personifications
were listed per personified objects and examined by using the personification
theory. The examination included the explanation in how the personified objects
are endowed with human attributes.
The next step was the analysis on the intensity of the interaction between Opal
and the personified object, Opal’s behavior disorder, Opal’s loneliness, and
Opal’s unhappy-childhood. To explain Opal’s behavior disorder, the writer agrees
with Williamson’s statement that Opal has Asperger’s syndrome. Thus, this study
applies Atwood theory of the diagnose of Asperger’s syndrome in girls to prove
that Opal has Asperger’s syndrome by seeing the intensity of the interaction
between Opal and the personified objects.That Opal has Asperger’s syndrome is a
clear evidence to become the cause of Opal’s loneliness. Examining this case,
Bullock’s explanation on loneliness in young children and Cherry’s argument on
the causes, effects, and treatments of loneliness are applied to support the
explanation. By examining the intensity of the interaction between Opal and the
personified objects, Opal’s behavior disorder and loneliness, it will be seen that
during Opal’s childhood, she is unhappy.
27
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
1. The Examination of Personifications in The Journal of An Understanding
Heart
In The Journal of An Understanding Heart, there are some objects that are
personified by the way Opal gives the endowment human attribute to them. Those
objects are the tree (Michael Raphael), the pig (Peter Paul Rubens), the piggy
(Solomon Grundy), the hen (Minerva), the little chicken (Oliver Goldsmith, John
Fletcher, Sir Francis Bacon, Edmund Spenser), the dog (Brave Horatius), the
horse (Shakespeare), the woodrat (Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus), The crow
(Lars Porsena), and other objects such as the mouse (Felix Mendelssohn), the
toad (Virgil), caterpillars, potatoes, unions, flowers, the wind, the earth, the
leaves, the birds, the river, and also the sky.
In this part of the analysis, the way Opal Whitely’s treating the animals,
plants, and other things as well as human being is stated as personification.
According Kennedy’s and Gioia’s, personification is figure of speech in which a
thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with human characteristic
(Kennedy and Gioia, 2002: 676). Based on that theory, this part begins with the
examination of each personified object that Opal had written in The Journal of An
Understanding Heart. Those personified objects that are examined in this study
28
a. Michael Raphael (the tree)
In the poem-diary, the tree becomes one of the personified objects as seen in
some stanzas in part I, II, III, and V. The tree is personified as a man as Opal
endows some human attributes to it; Opal uses pronoun ‘He’, and possessive
pronoun ‘him’ as the replacement of pronoun ‘it’ and possessive pronoun ‘its’
which refers to the tree. Opal also has a conversation with the tree as well as she
talked with human being. Here are the stanzas that show the way the tree is
personified and also the explanations of those personifications:
Part I, stanza 26, lines 1-12, page 10
When I feel sad inside
I talks things over with my tree. I call him Michael Raphael.
It is a long jump from the barn roof into his arms. I might get my leg or my neck broken
And I’d have to keep still a long time. So I always say a little prayer
And do jump in a careful way It is such a comfort to
Nestle up to Michael Raphael. He is a grand tree.
He has an understanding soul.
At the beginning of this stanza, Opal says that when she feels sad inside, she
talk over with the tree. That statement shows that Opal considers the tree as it can
hear what Opal is talking about and understand about Opal’s sadness. It seems
that the tree is considered as human being as the endowment of human ability to
hear and understand Opal’s problem. Moreover, Opal says that the tree is a grand
29
use of pronoun ‘he’, and possessive pronoun ‘his’ to replace pronoun ‘it and
possessive pronoun ‘its’. That Opal states the tree’s ‘limb’ as ‘arm’ is also one of
the endowment of human attribute given to the tree. As the endowment of human
attribute given to the tree, therefore the tree is personified.
Similar with the previous explanation, the next stanza shows that the tree is
personified. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part I, stanza 27, lines 1-4, pages 10-11
After I talked to him and listened to his voice, I slipped down out of his arms,
But I slid off the wrong limb And landed in the pig pen
In this part, it is described that Opal is not only talking to the tree, but also has
listened to it as it has a capability to say something. The first and the second line
in this stanza also show the use of possessive pronoun ‘his’ to replace ‘its’ and the
use of the word ‘arm’ to replace the tree’s limb. Linguistically, possessive
pronoun his refers to human, and either the word ‘arms’. There replacement of
that word makes the three to be personified in which those words belong to
human attribute.
The next stanza occurs in the part II. The context of this stanza is that Opal is
having a conversation with her friend, the girl who has no seeing, to whom she
tells about the trees talking. The personified object in this stanza is the threes.
Here is the stanza and the examination:
30
One day I told her about the trees talking, then she did want to know about the voices, and now I do help her to hear them.
The first line in this stanza ‘One day I told her about the trees talking,’
signifies that Opal does not only personify one tree that she called Michael
Raphael, but also the other trees as she wrote ‘the trees talking’; the endowment
of human characteristic is seen as the trees are said to be able to speak as human,
therefore the trees are personified.
Another personification that refers to Michael Raphael is in stanza 20 in the
part III. It is about Opal conversation with the tree in which she can explore her
problem to the tree as it can understand her story. Here is the stanza and the
examination:
Part III, stanza 20, lines 1-6, page 62
From there I did go to talk with Michael Raphael. He does so understand.
All troubles that do trouble me I do talk over with him.
While I was telling him about the mistake of the angels, I did hear a little voice.
The tree is personified as Opal write: ‘I did go to talk with Michael Raphael’,
‘He does so Understand’, ‘I do talk over with him’, and ‘While I was telling him’.
From the lines that Opal wrote, those give strong illustration that the tree is
endowed with human capability to listen and understand what Opal told to it. As
the endowment of human characteristic given to the tree, therefore it is
31
The last record about the tree is in stanza 59 in part V where it shows the last
time for Opal to see the tree. This stanza shows Opal’s illustration of the pain
from the sound that she hears when the saw slaughters the tree. Here is the poem:
Part V, stanza 59, lines 1-26, pages 152-153
Some day I will write about the great tree that I love. Today I did watch and I did hear its moans as the saw went through it.
There was a queer feel in my throat and I couldn’t stand up.
All the woods seemed still except the pain-sound of the saw. It seemed like a little voice was calling from the cliffs. And then it was many voices. They were all little voices calling as one silver voice come together. The saw—it didn’t stop—
it went on sawing. Then I did have thinks the silver voice was calling to the soul of the big tree. The saw did stop.
There was a stillness.
There was a queer sad sound. The big tree did quiver It did sway.
It crashed to earth. Oh, Michael Raphael!
The tree is personified together with the saw and the voice as they are alive,
have feeling, and have a queer sad sound. In this part, Opal writes: ‘today I did
watch and did hear it moans as the saw went through it’. That is a clear
32
starts sawing it. While other things that are personified are written in ‘the
pain-sound of the saw’, ‘a little voice was calling from the cliffs’, ‘the silver voice was
calling to the soul of the tree’. The description in this stanza creates an illustration
that the tree and those inanimate objects are alive. Such as animate characteristic
given to those inanimate objects makes those to be personified, and the
endowment of more attribute addressed to it makes it to be personified.
b. Peter Paul Rubens (The Pig)
The interaction between Opal and the pig that she calls Peter Paul Ruben
shows Opal’s treatment as the pig is human being. Opal’s treatment finally makes
the pig to be personified as the human attribution given to it. That the pig is
personified is seen in some stanzas in part I and II. Here are the stanzas and the
explanations:
Part I, stanza 54, line 5-8, page 19
The grunts he gave were such nice ones. He stood there saying:
“I have come to your school.
What class are you going to put me in?”
Pronoun ‘he’ in this stanza refers to the pig. The personification in this stanza
occurs as the pig is personified as a man by the given pronoun ‘he’. In the second
line which followed by the third and fourth line, it is written that the pig were
saying: “I have come to your school. What class are you going to put me?” thus
33
is clearly showing the endowment of human attribute addressed to the pig,
therefore the pig is personified.
The next stanza is the continuity of the previous stanza which describes the
event in the school when the pig is disturbing the class by its grunting. The pig is
personified as Opal’s thought that her friend should be glad by the appearance of
the pig, and also Opal’s thought of the pig’s grunting could be understood by
other people. The pig is also personified when Opal brings it to pray together.
Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part I, stanza 55, line 1-12, pages 19-20
The children all turned in their seats. I’m sure they were glad he was in school— and him talking there in that dear way. I guess our teacher doesn’t have understanding of pig talk.
She came at him in a hurry with a stick. When I made interferes
she did send us both home in a quick way. On the way we dug up many little plants to plant in my cathedral.
And we had prayers and came home.
In this stanza, some lines indicate the way the pig is personified. In line 2, 3,
and six, the use of objective pronoun ‘him’ and pronoun ‘he’, as the objective
pronoun and the pronoun belong to human attribute, thus the pig is personified.
Another line that gives clear evidence in which the pig is personified is seen in
line 4 and 5: “I guess our teacher doesn’t have understanding of pig talk.” The
34
human activity, thus, the pig is personified. The last line that indicates the way the
pig is personified is line 11: “We had prayers.” The use of the word ‘prayer’
refers to human ability that if it is referred to the pig, then it personifies the pig.
The next stanza belongs to the second part of the poem-diary, in which it
describes Opal and the pig in praying. Opal thinks that the pig’s grunting means
‘amen’, therefore, it is possible if Opal thinks that the pig understands human
praying. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part II, stanza 42, lines 1-6, pages 42-43
And at eventime we did. And Peter Paul Rubens
did grunt Amen in between times. Now every way we do pray for the man that was hungry and had a kind look in his eyes
In this stanza, the clues that indicate personification occur in the third and
fourth lines as seen in the phrases ‘did grunt Amen’, and ‘every way we do pray’.
Those phrases create an illustration that the pig has ability to understand the way
human pray. As the endowment of human attribute given to the pig, therefore it
is personified.
The next stanza describes the activity between Opal and the pig when Opal
brings it to the church. Through what Opal has written in this stanza, it can be say
that for Opal, it is necessary that the pig is allowed to have a kind of activity such
as going to the church as Christian people do. Here is the stanza and the
35
Part II, stanza 54, lines 1-16, page 47
When I came near the barn I thought of Peter Paul Rubens.
Cathedral service would be good for his soul. I went inside to get his little bell
and did put it on him.
There was a time when there was no little bell. That was before one day I did say
to the man that wears grey neckties and is kind to mice,
“I do have needs of a little bell for my lovely pig to wear to church.” Now Peter Paul Rubens always knows he is going to the cathedral
when I put that little bell around his neck. It does make lovely silver tinkles
and he goes walking down the aisle.
Beside the use of pronoun ‘he’ and possessive pronoun ‘his’, the pig is
personified as Opal says: “I do have needs for a little bell for my lovely pig to
wear to church,” and she wrote in the line 12-14: Now Peter Paul Rubens always
knows/ he is going to the cathedral/ When I put the bell around his neck. The pig
is personified because it is considered to have a need to go to the church as
Christian people’s need to pray to God.
c. The piggy (Solomon Grundy)
Solomon Grundy is a piggy that is personified in such a way Opal endows
human attribute to it. In the poem-diary, the piggy appears in some stanzas in part
IV and V. Opal names the piggy Solomon Grundy which is uncommon name to
be given to animal. Opal also uses pronoun ‘he’ and objective pronoun ‘him’ that
36
The interesting point in this part is that Opal christens the piggy; thus the piggy is
strongly personified as being christened is one of human characteristics. Here are
the stanzas and the examinations:
Part IV, stanza 12, lines 1-6, page 96
We did christen Solomon Grundy. He is such a dear baby pig.
He was borned a week ago on Monday.
And this being Tuesday, we did christen him for the rhyme the grandpa does sing about
Solomon Grundy being christened on Tuesday.
That the piggy in this stanza is personified can be seen in the first line: “We
did christen Solomon Grundy.” In this line, the human attributes given to the
piggy is that being christen is only allowed by human. In the line 2 and 3; “He is
such a dear baby pig/ He was borned a week ago on Monday”, the given pronoun
‘he’ is not appropriate to replace pronoun ‘it’ that refers to the piggy because,
linguistically, pronoun he refers to the man. The next line; “And this being
Tuesday, we did christen him for”, the piggy is personified by the using objective
pronoun ‘him’ and the action of christening it. The last line; “Solomon Grundy
being christened on Tuesday”.
The next stanza is about Opal’s work to make a christening robe for the pig;
this shows that her treatment is uncommon treatment to animal as animal has no
need to have christening robes. Thus, the pig is personified. Here is the stanza and
the examination:
37
I made him a christening robe out of a new dish towel
but the aunt had no appreciations of the great need
for a christening robe.
In this stanza, it can be seen in the first line; “I made him a christening robe”,
that the use the objective pronoun ‘him’ refers to the piggy, and Opal’s action to
make a christening robe for the piggy makes it personified as animal has no need
to wear such christening robes. However, Opal supposes that the pig would wear
it for the christening process. Thus, the piggy is equalized as human being as it is
considered to follow the christening process and therefore the piggy is
personified.
The next stanza, the piggy is personified as a man as is the using objective and
possessive pronoun ‘him’ and ‘his’ that stands for the piggy. Here is the stanza
and the examination:
. Part IV, stanza 16, lines 4-9, page 98
After the naming of him, I did say the lord prayer softly over the head of Solomon Grundy. After I said amen, I did poke him in among all his sisters
and near unto his mother
In this stanza, the first line shows the use of objective pronoun ‘him’ which
refers to the piggy. The use of that objective pronoun makes the piggy to be
personified as a man. Another using of objective pronoun ‘him’ lies in the seventh
38
the objective and possessive pronoun ‘him’ and ‘his’ for piggy, linguistically,
refers to the man, therefore the piggy is personified.
The next stanza shows the event in which the pig is personified in such a way
Opal treats it as it seems to have human ability to understand what Opal means to
it. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part IV, stanza 22, lines 1-2, 6-10, 14-17, page 100
Solomon Grundy is grunting here beside me. I showed him the books
…
I did bow my head and ask my guardian angel to tell them there in heaven
about Solomon Grundy being christened today. Then I drew him up closer to my apron
and I patted him often. …
The more pats I gave Solomon Grundy the closer he snuggled up besides me. I will sing him a lullaby
before I take him back to his mother.
In this stanza, the use of objective pronoun ‘him’ as the replacement of
pronoun ‘it’ stands for the piggy personifies it. the use of objective pronoun ‘him’
can also be seen in the second line: “I showed him the book”, in the ninth line:
“Then I drew him up closer to my apron”, in the tenth line: “and I patted him
often”, in line sixteenth: “I will sing him a lullaby”, and in the last line: “before I
take him back to his mother”. While the use of pronoun ‘he’ as the replacement of
pronoun ‘it’ can be seen in fifteenth line: “the closer he snuggled up besides me”.
39
christened today” that being christen is only human allowed to human being and
therefore the piggy is personified.
The next stanza shows that the piggy is personified by the given pronoun
‘him’ and possessive pronoun ‘his’ to replace ‘it’ and ‘its’. That the piggy is
personified also can be seen in forth line that the piggy is said wearing the
christening robe; this makes a sense that the piggy has a need to wear the
christening robe. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part IV, stanza 23, lines 1-7, page 100-101
Today I went to visit my dear love with Solomon Grundy in one arm
and Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus in the other. Solomon Grundy wore his christening robe and he looked very sweet in it.
I gave him a nice warm bath before we did start, so as to get all the pig pen smell of.
In this stanza, the forth line shows the use of possessive pronoun ‘his’ in:
“Solomon Grundy wore his christening robe”, and in this line, structurally, the
form of the sentence is active sentence, which means that the piggy is not being
worn the christening robe, but it is wears the christening robe. It means that the
piggy has the ability as like human being wearing the clothes. Another
personification lies in the fifth and sixth line, that show the use of pronoun ‘he’
and objective pronoun ‘him’ which linguistically refers to the man. As the
endowment of human attributes addressed to the piggy, therefore it is personified.
The next stanza shows the use of pronoun ‘he’, objective pronoun ‘him’,
40
that stands for the piggy. The replacement makes the piggy to be personified as a
man. Another personification is also seen in the line 5, in when the pig grunt is
stated as a question to Opal. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part IV, stanza 25, lines 1-7, page 101
Solomon Grundy did grunt a little grunt. So I did sing to him:
“Did he smile his works to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?” He grunted a grunt with a question in it.
“Indeed he did, Solomon Grundy, indeed he did And the hairs of thy baby head—they are numbered.”
The second line in this stanza shows the use of objective pronoun ‘him’, and
continued in the fifth line: “He grunted a grunt with a question in it”, in which the
use of pronoun ‘he’ and the modified noun ‘grunt with a question in it’ makes the
piggy to be personified; the objective pronoun and the pronoun that stand for the
piggy, linguistically, replace the objective pronoun and the pronoun it that stand
for animal and the modified noun shows as if the piggy seems to have the ability
of human thought. As the endowment of human attribute addressed to the piggy,
therefore it is personified.
d. The dog (Brave Horatius)
Along her childhood, Opal is often accompanied by her dog that she calls
Brave Horatius. In some stanzas in the whole poem, it is seen that the way Opal
treats her dog is personified it. That the dog is personified is found in some
stanzas in the poem. Here are the stanzas and the examinations:
41
While I was listening to the voices of the night, Brave Horatius did catch the corner
Of my nightgown in his mouth And did pull in most hard way To go back to the house we live in.
He barks when he thinks it is going-home-time. I listen.
Sometimes I go back and he goes with me. Sometimes I go on and he goes with me. He knows most all the poetry
Beside the dog is personified by the use of pronoun ‘he’, and possessive
pronoun ‘his’ as the replacement of pronoun ‘it’ and possessive pronoun ‘its’ as
seen in line 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, and 10, the dog is personified as Opal said that the dog
understand the time to go home as it is written in line 6, and Opal says that the
dog knows most all the poetry. That lines show that the dog has the ability to
understand poetry as if it is human being, thus, as the endowment of human
attribute addressed to the dog, therefore it is personified.
The next stanza shows that Opal considers the dog understand human praying;
she says that the dog responses what she does as it is human being, thus the dog
is personified. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part IV, stanza 98, lines 1-5, page 129
When I did finish prayers Brave Horatius did bark Amen. I gave him a pat and then did say, “Blessed be pure in heart,
for they shall see God.”
In this stanza, Opal said that the dog barks amen after Opal finishes her
42
considers the dog as it can understand human praying as human being. It is also
seen in line 4-5 that the dog is considers being able to understand human praying
as Opal says: “Blessed be pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The dog is
personified is also seen in the use of objective pronoun ‘him’ to replace ‘it’ as
seen in line 3. As the given human attribute addressed to the dog, therefore it is
personified.
The next stanza shows that Opal talks with the dog as it is human being; thus
implies that Opal considers the dog understand what she told to it, therefore the
dog is personified. Here is the stanza and the examination:
Part V, stanza 97, lines 10-15, page 165
Brave Horatius put his nose by my hand. I gave him pats.
He looked at me. I told him,
“C’est la pleine lune.” (It’s the full moon) We went on to the hill where its coming was.
Besides of the use of pronoun ‘he’ as a replacement of pronoun ‘it’ that stands
for the dog, the personification occurs in which Opal tells something to the dog in
French language as seen in line 14: “C’est la pleine lune. (It’s the full moon) This
line implies that Opal considers that the dog understands what Opal says; it
involves the endowment of human ability to use human language, therefore the
dog is personified.
