REVEALING MORAL MESSAGES THROUGH THE
CHARACTER OF LITTLE BEE IN CHRIS CLEAVE’S
THE OTHER HAND
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI
Student Number: 064214051
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
REVEALING MORAL MESSAGES THROUGH THE
CHARACTER OF LITTLE BEE IN CHRIS CLEAVE’S
THE OTHER HAND
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI
Student Number: 064214051
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2010
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Walking with a friend in the dark is
better than walking alone in the light.
By: Helen Keller
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This Undergraduate Thesis is dedicated to:
My Lord, Jesus Crist
My Beloved Parents, Iswantoro & Felisitas Tri Lestari
My Brother, Ampi Sendu Jatmiko
My Beloved Fiancé, Kurniawan Handoyoseputro, S.Hut.,
and
My Lovely Friends.
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTIGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Pawestri Sukmajati
Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214051
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Revealing Moral Messages through the Character of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpusatakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelola dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 04 Oktober 2010
Yang menyatakan
(Pawestri Sukmajati)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, my gratitude goes to my beloved God, Jesus Christ. He has already given all the best for me and I have experienced it. All the tears I have dropped change into happiness now. I know that He always be with me and His miracle is real. Thank you, Jesus! Without You, I am nothing.
My deep gratitude goes to my advisor, Ibu Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum. for her patience, helps and inspirations. It is my pleasure to have her as my advisor during this writing process. My gratitude also goes to Ibu Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. for her correction and suggestion.
I also give my gratefulness to my beloved parents, Iswantoro and Felisitas Tri Lestari, for their loves, prayers and supports. I thank my brother, Ampi Sendu Jatmiko, for taking care of me whenever I am sick.
I thank all my friends for their supports to finish this undergraduate thesis. First thanks goes to my choir coach, Mas Mbong, for his patience to teach me how to sing better and for all his mystical and interesting stories, I love it! I thank all my friends in PSM Cantus Firmus, especially Nana, Andre, Ade, Norma, Nora, Elsa and many more, who cannot be mentioned all, for giving me unforgettable moments. They always make me laugh and they can release my stress. Thank you for all the lovely experiences we have ever had, you are such a blessing for me. The next, thanks to all my friends in campus, especially Achied, Gentur, Gaby, Tere, Ketut, Wulan, Rika, Pipit, Cica, Riska, Elis, Media and Jully for all the memories we had. My gratitude also goes to everyone in Sanata Dharma
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University, my big family in Yogyakarta, and my family in Madiun who cannot be mentioned one by one here.
The last, my special gratitude goes to my beloved fiancé, Kurniawan Handoyoseputro, S.Hut., for the love, patience, laughs, tears, strength and care he has given to me. Thank you for giving me supports whenever I am down.
Pawestri Sukmajati.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iii
MOTTO PAGE ... iv
DEDICATION PAGE ... v
STATEMENT PAGE ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ix
ABSTRACT ... xi
ABSTRAK ... xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 3
C. Objectives of the Study ... 3
D. Definition of Terms ... 4
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 5
A. Review of Related Studies ... 5
B. Review of Related Theories ... 10
1. Theory of Character ... 10
2. Theory of Characterization ... 12
3. Theory of Message ... 15
4. Theory of Moral ... 16
5. The Relation between Literature and Moral ... 18
C. Theoretical Framework ... 19
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 21
A. Object of the Study ... 21
B. Approach of the Study ... 22
C. Method of the Study ... 23
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 25
A. The Characterization of Little Bee ... 25
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1. Persistent ... 26
a. Escaping from the Bad Men ... 26
b. Learning English ... 28
c. To Meet Sarah ... 30
2. Brave ... 32
3. Smart and Tricky ... 35
4. Caring but Selfish ... 40
5. Insincere ... 45
B. The Moral Messages Revealed through the Character of Little Bee ... 49
1. The Importance of Not Giving Up Easily ... 50
2. The Importance of being Brave ... 52
3. The Importance of Making Smart Tricks ... 53
4. The Importance of being Care ... 55
5. The Importance of being Sincere ... 57
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 59
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ABSTRACT
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI. Revealing Moral Messages through the Character of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand. Yogyakarta: Department of
English Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010.
The writer is interested in revealing the moral messages through the character of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand. The novel tells about the struggle of an African young woman to survive for her life. She has experienced many bad experiences that force her to do many difficult things to survive. The writer is interested to analyze the moral messages through the character of Little Bee and hoping that the readers can learn positive values through the character.
There are two problems that are formulated to analyze the moral messages of the character, Little Bee. The first is to find out how the characterization of the character, Little Bee is. The second, to reveal the moral messages that is reflected from the character of Little Bee.
This study uses moral-philosophical approach. To analyze the objectives, the writer did several steps. The first was reading the novel for several times in order to understand the detail of the story. The writer tried to focus on the main character, Little Bee. Then, the writer applied the theories to analyze the characterization of Little Bee. After that, the writer revealed the moral messages that are gained through the character of Little Bee. The last step was drawing conclusion about this study.
The study finds that Little Bee is a persistent person and a brave person. She is shown as a smart and tricky person. She cares about the others but she can be selfish when she faces difficult situations. Bee is also shown as insincere person. The character of Little Bee reflects her struggles to survive. There are some moral messages that can be gained through the character of Little Bee: one should not give up easily to get what he/ she wants. One should be brave to do anything he/ she is considered to be right. One ought to use his/ her smartness to make smart tricks. One ought to care and help the others who are in difficulty. It is better if one not only thinks about his/herself first but also thinks about the others. One ought to be sincere toward the others.
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ABSTRAK
PAWESTRI SUKMAJATI. Revealing Moral Messages through the Character of Little Bee in Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra
Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2010.
Penulis tertarik untuk mengungkap pesan-pesan moral melalui karakter dari dari Little Bee dalam novel milik Chris Cleave, The Other Hand. Novel ini menceritakan tentang perjuangan seorang wanita muda dari Afrika untuk bertahan demi hidupnya. Dia telah mengalami banyak pengalaman buruk yang memaksanya untuk melakukan banyak hal sulit untuk bertahan hidup. Penulis tertarik untuk menganalisis pesan-pesan moral melalui karakter dari Little Bee dan berharap agar para pembaca dapat mempelajari nilai-nilai positif dari karakter tersebut.
Ada dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan untuk menganalisis pesan-pesan moral dari karakter Little Bee. Pertama, untuk mengetahui penokohan karakter Little Bee. Kedua, untuk mengungkap pesan-pesan moral yang nampak dari karakter Little Bee.
Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan filosofi moral. Untuk menganalisis pertanyaan, penulis membuat beberapa langkah. Pertama, membaca novel tersebut beberapa kali untuk memahami cerita secara mendalam. Penulis mencoba fokus pada karakter utama yaitu Little Bee. Selanjutnya, penulis menerapkan teori-teori untuk menganalisis penokohan dari Little Bee. Setelah itu, penulis mengungkap pesan-pesan moral yang diperoleh dari karakter Little Bee. Langkah yang terakhir adalah menarik kesimpulan dari penelitian ini.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature is creative work based on the experiences of human’s life that usually contains specific issues at specific time. Wellek and Warren in Theory of Literature describe literature as drawing human life.
Literature is the reflection of human feeling toward his life. It is closely related to human experience through which we can learn the image of human beings that is expressed in the written way. It can also be defined as the work of arts which represents human life (1956: 94).
From the quotation above, it can be said that knowledge about life can be gained through literature. According to Hudson, “Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced in life, what they thought and have left about life through the medium of language” (1958: 10). In other word, the authors produce literary works based on what they have experienced in life; what they have seen and what they have felt through creative writings. Novel, comedy, short story, and creative nonfiction are the most general genres in literature. They can all be in the genres prose or poetry and they are written through creative writings. Novel is one of literary genres contains of story that is written with specific purposes. Henkle stated that “Many of the best novelists insist that a book should be, first of all, a good story that keeps the reader’s interest” (1977:2). It means that many novelists try to create a very creative and interesting story to interest the people to read it. The experiences of life might inspire the novelists to write a novel.
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One thing that can be gained by reading a novel is through the messages given by the author. Sometimes there are implied meanings in the acts of the characters in a novel. The author may send us the messages he or she wants to tell indirectly through the characters. Henkle said, “It would enrich our appreciation of the novel if we could put its messages into clearer perspective” (1977:2). Something valuable can be learnt by understanding the messages of a novel.
In this thesis, the writer wants to analyze the second novel of Chris Cleave, The Other Hand. Cleave had visited a detention centre for illegal immigrants and he met three of them. The experience supports Cleave to create the novel, The Other Hand. He creates a story about a Nigerian young woman who becomes an illegal immigrant in England. What make this novel interesting is the way the author shows the experiences of the Nigerian young woman, Little Bee, to fulfill her longing to keep alive and the ways she struggles to survive in her life. Flashbacks are used in the novel and the narration is written into two different perspectives, and those make the novel different from the others. This novel is also interesting because the reader can see both tragedy and humor in the novel.
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who will endanger her life in England. Bee is a young woman who never gives up to get what she wants. Whatever she does in this novel is nothing but survival. She has experienced bad experiences, and for her, life is survival.
The author tends to draw some moral messages through Little Bee and her life. That is why, in this analysis, the writer is interested to discover the moral messages can be gained through Little Bee’s character. It is related to the ways she acts for survival. Hopefully, positive values can be learnt through this analysis. In addition, based on Henkle’s statement, the messages in the novel can make the readers appreciate this literary work better. The writer also hopes that this study will contribute some knowledge to the readers.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the topic, these two problems are used as guidance to analyze the novel.
1. How is Little Bee characterized?
2. What moral messages are revealed through the character of Little Bee?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the two problems formulated above, the writer can gain the object of the study. The first is to discover how the characterization of the main character, Little Bee, is described. After discovering it, the writer tries to identify the moral messages that are revealed through the character of Little Bee as seen through the behaviors and the dialogues of Little Bee in the novel.
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D. Definition of Terms
The writer gives some literary meaning to help the reader to understand certain terms in order to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding about the meaning of the terms.
1. Messages
According to Beaty and Hunter in New World of Literature, message is the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989: 899).
2. Moral
According to Hinman in Ethics, A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, moral is a set of rules, and the rules tend to show about what you ought to do or should do (1998:5). Moral issues are a matter of what we see and how we see it (1998:15-16). Moral help us to understand how to live a good life and it also provides knowledge and insights that will be useful if we decide to live a moral life (1998:27-28).
3. Moral Message
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave was first published in 2008. In the United States and Canada, The Other Hand is published under the title Little Bee. Since the novel is quite new, related studies in printed media are very rare. As a solution, the writer has to find another criticisms or comments on Cleave’s from the Internet. The writer believes that those will help her in analyzing this thesis. The positive or negative criticism or comments from public toward the Cleave’s The Other Hand will be showed in this part.
Some critics give their criticisms and comments on the intrinsic elements of the novel being analyzed, The Other Hand. There are positive and negative criticisms and comments put here and those show that the novel is controversy. In an article “A beach Vacation Goes Horribly Awry”, Sarah L. Courteau states that Little Bee is a young woman who has horrible past experience and she has to struggle for her life.
Little Bee is a young woman with a past so damaging that it seems to negate the possibility of a future, but her tensile stubbornness keeps her going. Her very name is a mechanism for survival
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022403232.html).
The quotation above is supported by Lee Thomas’ comment: “The young Nigerian refugee renamed herself on the traumatic day that lies at the heart of the book, and now answers only to Little Bee”
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(http://fictionwritersreview.com/reviews/little-bee-by-chris-cleave). Little Bee is not the real name of the young Nigerian woman; it is just a way to survive.
According to Courteau, Little Bee, her older sister and their family are unlucky to live in Nigeria, in a place where valuable oil can be mined. Their family pays a deadly price. Then, on a beach in Nigeria where Sarah and her husband, Andrew, have walked, they are confronted in a difficult choice: “Save the girls at great personal cost or ignore them”. Courteau says that Cleave “Has carved two indelible characters whose choices in even the most straitened circumstances permit them dignity – if they are willing to sacrifice for it”. She also states that The Other Hand or Little Bee is “The best kind of political novel” and the reader might “Unaware of its politics because the book doesn’t deal in abstractions but in human beings” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022403232.html).
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progresses”(http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/suffolkmagazine/lifestyle/stayi ng-in). McIntosh feels that the novel filled with humanity, and with flashes of humor and the novel provides happiness and sadness. It is supported by Jason Austin, he says that The Other Hand is a novel of a great drama and humor that links the domestic, sometimes frivolous life of the modern UK with the plight of its asylum seekers (http://www.readings.com.au/review/the-other-hand-chris-cleave).
Tim Teeman states that Chris Cleave does love to court controversy, both in his first and his second novel, The Other Hand. Cleave’s technique is “hammer squashes nut”, which allows explanations and no room for something implied, and it works for those who love Cleave’s work. Teeman gives criticism to The Other Hand:
You will have to love Sarah – but she just seems batty, bizarre and inconsistent, and despite the tragedy she has suffered, unsympathetic. Her final trip to Kenya with Little Bee makes no sense. Sarah also has a son who dressed up as Batman, and whose concerted cuteness and endless squeaking about justice and heroes almost makes you wish, twistedly, that the denouement wasn’t as happy as it turns out to be (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_enetrtainment/books/f iction/article4442648.ece).
The characterization of Sarah is dissatisfied to Teeman. According to him, Cleave is not consistent and not too insightful in creating Sarah. The story, how Sarah and Little Bee meet and about Sarah’s son who always wears Batman costume is unnatural.
Teeman states that “The characters are clearly characters. Their words are
clearly the invention of a
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writer’s”(http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_enetrtainment/books /fiction/article4442648.ece). Furthermore, Anne Brooke says that Cleave has failed to make the characters naturally. “The trouble we have here is an author who can write well and poetically when he puts his mind to it, but who has no real
notion of how to handle character”
(http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/the-other-hand-by-chris-cleave-but-on-the-other-hand/). Brooke gives comment to one of the main characters, Sarah.
I must admit I started off prepared to like Sarah – she’s a strong-minded individualist who takes no prisoners, and what’s not to like about that? It is strange therefore how quickly Sarah becomes selfish and unlikeable within the story, and her attitude to both her husband and her lover never seems entirely consistent – one moment she’s swearing undying love to one or the other of them in rather purple prose (no matter that her husband is dead) and the next she’s all but forgotten their existence. (http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/the-other-hand-by-chris-cleave-but-on-the-other-hand/)
Brooke thinks that the character, Sarah, might seem more realistic when she starts thinking Sarah as a man. Brooke also states Cleave is one of male writers who cannot write English woman. Philip Marchand states the content of the story in the novel does not work well, and in the last part of his article, he states that the number of really good novelists is so small
(http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/afterword/archieve/2009/02/21/philip-marchand-little-bee-can-t-quite-keep-up-with-its-buzz.aspx). Meaning to say, Cleave is not quite good in creating a novel.
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surprised that the author of The Other Hand is “Chris”, and it is not the short of “Christina”.
Cleave manages to capture the voices of his main female characters with remarkable insight. There are few male writers who voice a woman’s thoughts so flawlessly it is hard not to be stunned (http://modern-british-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_other_hand).
In her article, “A Review of One This Year’s Best Kept Secrets”, Beresford gives comments on the technique and style on Cleave’s:
The narration is shared between the two women, a good idea, for the characters come from such very different worlds that one could hardly speak for the other. Written from the perspective of a young girl who has lived a life most of us would be incapable of imagining, the tone is both innocent and wise to the point of being heart-breaking. Unlike in many other books in which this technique is overused, Cleave does not let this become trite and the reader may hope for another moment (http://modern-british-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_other_hand).
Furthermore, Thomas says that Little Bee takes one side of the narrative, and the other takes by Sarah O’Rourke. Through this “split-screen”, Cleave undertakes the multiple perspectives innate in any story: someone always put outside. And according to Thomas, both the girl (Little Bee) and the book reflect the “Spirit of survival”. He gives compliment to wonderful story written by Cleave. Through Little Bee’s eyes, we can understand other world a little better (http://fictionwritersreview.com/reviews/little-bee-by-chris-cleave).
According to Beresford, both the way the characters are written and how the plot is allowed to develop is original. She also says that the flashback used in the novel is a good effect. The end of the book seems to be unsatisfactory ending because the end of the story depends on the reader, or it might be fun for the
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reader to state what will happen next (http://modern-british-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_other_hand).
The criticisms and comments above, more or less discuss the intrinsic elements on The Other Hand. There are two main characters in the novel, Little Bee and Sarah, but they tend to discuss only in the characterization of Sarah. As stated above, Thomas says that Little Bee and the book reflect the spirit of survival so the character of Little Bee must be interesting to be discussed. The writer tries to explore moral issues. Furthermore, this analysis will attempt to reveal the moral messages can be gained through the character of Little Bee.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character
Character is one of the intrinsic elements in the literary work, such as novel. The writer will analyze the main character in the novel The Other Hand, Little Bee. In the second edition of Mastering English Literature, Richard Gill states that a character is a person emerged in a literary work that has some sort of identity or characteristics, an identity which is created by appearance, conversation, action, name, and thoughts existing in the head. Characters are literary creation appears in books and they have all sort of links with the people in real life, but we only meet them in books (1995:127).
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kind of conflict in a pattern of events (1971:20). Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms describes character as the persons appear in narrative work.
Character are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue- and by what they do- the action (1981:20).
In other words, characters in a literary work are just a human being who appears in the story and they also have qualities that can be seen through the dialogue and action.
Stanton states that in most stories there is a central character who is relevant to every events in the story and the events can create some change either in him or in our attitude toward him. Moreover, what makes a character has a reason for behaving as he does is his motivation. Stanton differs the motivation into two; specific motivation and basic motivation. Specific motivation is the character’s immediate reason, perhaps unconscious, for any particular speech or act. While basic motivation is an aspect of his general character: it is the ongoing desire that governs him throughout the story, the direction toward which almost all his specific motivations tend (1965:17).
Holman and Harmon in A Handbook of Literature says that character is a complicated term that contains the idea of the moral constitution of the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness and the simpler notion of the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of one sort or another (1986:81).
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Roger B. Henkle in Reading the novel, the character can be described as major and minor. Major characters as the most important and complex characters can be identified as such through the complexity of their characterization, the attention given to them, and the personal intensity that they seem to transmit (1977: 87-97).
2. Theory of Characterization
Gill gives statement on characterization, “Characterization is a method and character the product”. He says that characters have been created in an exacting method, and they are the product of characterization. The words used by the author are to give details about the character and give clues who he or she is. Their conversations, their appearances, their attitude and so on are methods chosen by the author to characterize the characters (1995:127).
M. J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English for Overseas Students (1972:161-173) puts nine ways in which an author attempts to make his characters in a novel easy to understand and become alive for the readers. The ways are:
a. Personal description
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b. Character as seen by another
Instead of describing a character directly, the author can portray him through the eyes and opinions of another.
c. Speech
The author can give insight to the characters through what the character says. Whenever the character is conversing, he is giving a clue for the readers about the character.
d. Past life
By letting the readers learn something about a character’s past life, the author makes the readers be able to shape a person’s character.
e. Conversation of others
The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him.
f. Reactions
The author can give us clues about a person’s character by seeing how the character reacts to different situations.
g. Direct comment
The author can describe a character by giving direct comment.
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h. Thoughts
The author gives us direct knowledge of what is the person thinking about and it reflects his personality.
i. Mannerism
The character’s mannerism and habits in his life can describe the character’s personality.
Another opinion toward characterization comes from Perrine, in his book Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense:
Characterization must follow three principles in order to be convincing. Firstly, the characters in the story must have consistency in the way they behave. This consistency might be broken if only there is a sufficient reason to explain this change of behavior. Secondly, whatever the characters do, they must have clear motivation especially when they break the consistency of their behaviors. Finally, the characters must appear life like or plausible (1974:69).
Abrams states that there are two methods of characterization, namely showing and telling. In showing method, the author presents the conversations and the actions of the character and let the reader to infer what motives and disposition lay behind what they say and do. In telling method, the author gives his view and description toward the motives and dispositional qualities of the character (1981:21).
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readers as life like. It is how the author presents his or her characters in the story (1986:81-82). Holman adds that there are three ways of characterization:
1. The explicit presentation; the author gives explicit presentation through direct exposition and it is illustrated by action.
2. The presentation of the characters through actions without or with little explicit comment by the author. It is expected that the readers will be able to deduce the attributes of the actor from the action.
3. The representation from within a character. Without comment on the character by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions of the character’s inner self, with the expectation that the reader will come to a clear understanding of the attributes of the character.
3. Theory of Message
Message is also one of the intrinsic elements in a literary works, especially novel. Novel may have more than message, it may consist moral message. The author’s belief, wish, and interest and the reader’s interpretations may occur moral message.
According to Beaty, “Message is the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art” (1989: 899). In short it can be said that message is a conclusion that can be found in literary work.
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In An Introduction to the Study of Literature, Henry Hudson states that a good message is a message that reveals a new and bigger possibility that they do not realize. Most writers would try to tell and to show those possibilities by using their work. In fact, he even tries to create those possibilities themselves. A good message does not tend to follow general pattern or norm but it creates new pattern based on human values (1958:23). Kenney in his book How to Analyze Fiction states when one talk about message, he/ she also discusses moral. It can be said briefly that generally moral means teaching of good and bad (1966:89).
4. Theory of Moral
We cannot avoid moral problems in our life, because moral related with the ways we act in our life. In life, we cannot avoid such choices that hurt or help other people, choices that might infringe on their rights or violate their dignity or use them as tools to get to our aims. Those are the examples of making decision about morality. Morality is about living, as long as we continue living, or we choose to stop living is a moral issue (Hinman, 1998:2).
Moral is a clue how to act in right. Hinman said that moral is a set of rules, and the rules tend to show about what you ought to do or should do (1998:5).
Someone must have a reason of doing something and the way he or she acts related with morality. In The Elements of Moral Philosophy, Rachels gives the minimum conception in brief about morality:
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It means that morality gives us a depiction of what it means conscientious moral agent. The conscientious moral agent is someone who sees everyone’s conduct equitably; who carefully sifts facts and examines their implications; who accepts principles of conduct only after examining his or her reason even when it means that his or her convictions may have to be revised; and who, finally, is willing to act on the results of this deliberation (1999:19).
According to Hinman in Ethics, A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, moral contents of a particular type such as: duties, right, human welfare and suffering, and so on. Moral can be approached from a particular point of view like impartial, caring, and so on. Moral issues are a matter of what we see and how we see it (1998:15-16). Moral also help us to understand how to live a good life and it also provides knowledge and insights that will be useful if we decide to live a moral life (1998:27-28).
Theory of moral is needed in this analysis because it associated with someone’s act. Hinman in Ethics, A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory states about moral theories:
They help us to understand the ways in which people structure their lives, the ways in which their diverse actions fit together into a coherent whole. These theories are primarily descriptive in character, that is, they focus on describing how people actually act and thus on understanding the underlying coherence of their actions (1998:25).
It means that moral theories help us to understand how things actually work, in this case related to someone’s actions. The theories “can only provide knowledge and insights that will be useful if we decide to live a moral life” (1998:28). It can
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be said that moral can help us to do the right things. It is clear that moral theories give knowledge how to live a good life.
Bourke in Ethics states that “the most general concept which may be grasped by any man as leading to action, is the concept of the good” (1961:174-175). It is a speculative principle and becomes practical principle that: The good should be done; the evil should not be done (1961:175).
Other examples of such primary rules of the natural moral law are: it is good for being to act in conformity with its nature; it good for a reasonable being to act reasonably; it is good for a being to act in conformity with its end; it is good to be prudent, temperate, brave, and just; it is bad to injure anyone unjustly; it is bad to tell a lie; it is bad to commit murder (1961:176).
5. The Relation between Literature and Moral
As stated in the introduction, according to Wellek in Theory of Literature, literature is a reflection of human life (1956:94). The focus of studying literature is more than studying about the form or figurative language of the literary work. The study can be more than that. Since literature contains about human life, the reader can learn many things through literature, including learning about morality.
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something from those experiences. A piece of literary work containing moral lesson providing value and rouse trustworthy feeling about the best and the worst in human action. The readers also can get the lesson by understanding the content of literary work that is very meaningful for human being (1978:19).
In other words, the writer may say that literature and moral have strong relation because when we talk about literature, we also talk about the reflection of human life. Human life have bond with someone’s behavior and of course behavior connects with moral.
C. Theoretical Framework
To help the writer in analyzing the problem formulation, there are some theories used in this analysis. The theory of character and characterization will help the writer to identify the characteristics of the main character.
The next theory used is theory of message. The theory is needed to analyze the message described through the character of Little Bee. Since the analysis discusses about the moral messages can be gained through the main character, Little Bee, theory of moral is applied. The theory is used because the writer analyzes the characterization of the main character and of course it will relate to the main character’s behavior toward others from the beginning to the end of the story. The theory applied to help the writer portraying more specific messages which is moral messages from the main character, Little Bee. Furthermore, the message, the moral value of the story can be derived. By studying the relation
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between literature and moral, the writer will be able to depict the messages revealed from the character of Little Bee.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study being analyzed is a novel entitled The Other Hand. The novel is written by Chris Cleave and The Other Hand is his second novel. The novel is first published in Great Britain in 2008 by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. It has been published in the USA and Canada under the title Little Bee. Without advertising or much marketing, suddenly in the past eight weeks, it has sold 100,000 copies. It has garnered six film offers and planned to be featured as the inaugural novel on a new nationwide breakfast book club broadcast by CBS in America. Furthermore, Nicole Kidman wants the film rights to it, and it will be adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman by Blossom Films in association with BBC Films.
The novel is 374 pages long and divided into eleven chapters. This book is unique because the narration is written in two different perspectives. Two main characters, Little Bee and Sarah, by turns in each chapter speak the narration. The technique makes the reader understand the perspective of each main character, Little Bee and Sarah. The novel provides both tragic and humor story through the main character’s characterization, Little Bee. In addition, flashbacks are also used in the novel and make the novel more interesting. Those techniques are good and the novel becomes enjoyable to read.
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Chris Cleave was born in London in 1973, brought up in Cameroon and Buckinghamshire, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford where he studied Psychology. He lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and three children when he wrote this novel.
The setting of time of The Other Hand is around 2005- 2007. The novel has two major settings of place. The first is in Nigeria the place where Little Bee lives and the place where she meets Sarah and Andrew; and in United Kingdom where Sarah and Andrew live and where Bee is imprisoned in the immigration detention centre.
Cleave put two main characters in his novel, Little Bee and Sarah. They are different person from totally different background of life. They meet in unpleasant situation that makes their life has changed. The novel shared about their life and how both Little Bee and Sarah struggle for their life.
B. Approach of the Study
The writer uses moral-philosophical approach to analyze this study. The approach is appropriate since the analysis deals with morality. It helps the writer to analyze the moral value that can be seen through the character of Little Bee.
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Guerin also states that moral-philosophical approach is approach which insists on ascertaining and stating what is taught (1979:26). The form, figurative language, and other aesthetic considerations become the secondary aspects. The vital thing is the moral or philosophical teaching (1979:26). The statement here means that the moral-philosophical approach achieve the moral value through what is seen and learnt through a character. In this situation the writer sees that literature also taught the readers some norms or values and the writer believes that literature gives the reader some knowledge.
C. Method of the Study
The method the writer used in this study was the library research method. The primary source used in this study was The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. While another sources were come from various books and journals from the internet that deal with the topic being analyzed. The books were taken in relation to the theories of literature and the theory of critical approaches of literature. The electronic sources were also used in this work which provides data about commentaries to the novel.
In analyzing this work, the writer did some steps. First, the writer read the primary source, The Other Hand, for many times in order to understand the detail of the story and the writer tried to focus on the main character, Little Bee. The second, determining the problem formulation from a certain idea that is going to be focus on. Third, the writer read the secondary sources from various books
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
Based on the question in the problem formulation, the analysis will be divided into two parts. The first is a discussion about the characterization of Little Bee as one of the major characters. It will show the character’s characteristics in the novel. The second is a discussion about the moral messages. The writer will reveal what moral messages can be depicted through the character of Little Bee seen in The Other Hand.
A. The Characterization of Little Bee
Little Bee is one of the two main characters of the novel and this section discusses the characterization of Little Bee in the novel. In order to understand Little Bee’s character, the writer uses the theory of characterization stated in chapter II.
Little Bee is an African girl who lives in a village where oil war has happened. The men from the oil company want to possess the village because the land of the village contains of worth oil. Many of the villagers are killed and some of them are running into the jungle to save their life, included Bee and her older sister, Nkiruka or Kindness. The bad event is the beginning of Little Bee’s survival. Bee is described as a young woman whose life is full of survival. The character of Little Bee in the novel shows her survival to keep her life. There are two setting of place in the novel; in Africa and in England. When she was in
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Africa, she had to survive to escape from the bad men who wanted to kill her. While in England, she has to survive because she wants to stay there and she does not want to be deported. She has to struggle hard to get what she wants.
1. Persistent
According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, persistent means “continuing to do something, although this is difficult, or other people warn you not to do it” (Quirk, 2003:1224). It can be said that Bee is a person who have strong will. Strong “will” means “Determination to do something that you have decided to do, even if this is difficult” (2003:1888). It means that she is committed to the things she does, and she is a person who does not give up easily. Whenever she has longing, she will do it no matter how difficult it is. Since the oil war that killed her family happened in her village, she tends to have strong will, especially to survive. There are some actions that show Little Bee’s strong will in order to survive; matters like escaping from bad men, learning English, and to meet Sarah, which are seen from her dialogues or her speech and her acts. The actions also show that Bee never gives up. Although the challenges are difficult, she keeps on moving and trying.
a. Escaping from the Bad Men
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the village which land contains of worth oil and kill all the people live in the village. Bee tries to escape from the bad men and save her life by running into the jungle. This part shows Bee’s strong will to escape from the bad men. It is stated in the novel that she runs into the jungle together with a group of women and girls.
We joined a group of women and girls and we ran off into the jungle one morning and we walked until it was dark and then we lay down to sleep beside the path. We did not dare to make a fire (2008:93).
“We”, as stated above refers to Bee and her sister. The men of the village want to save the women and the children by letting them run first into the jungle while they try to fight the bad men. The quotation above shows that Bee does not give up even though her parents and people she loved are killed. She chooses to keep struggle to save her life. She decides to join the group and run together into the jungle because she thinks that it will be safer for them. Going into the jungle is the only way to escape because the village is located in remote area. In fact, the situation becomes worse and it forces Bee and the others to separate and save their own life. Murphy said that we can understand the character better through the eyes and opinion of another character (1972:161). Sarah, the other character in the novel, describes how Bee has run to the jungle alone.
She had been running for six days, travelling through the fields by night and hiding in jungles and swamps when daybreak came (2008:144). Bee must be tired of walking, but she keeps struggling. The quotation above shows how she tries to escape from the bad men by keeps on running and hiding in the jungle alone. Bee thinks it will be easier for the bad men to catch them if
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she runs in a group, so she chooses to separate from the group. She keeps on silent in her escaping. The bad men will not find her if she does not make any noises. She does not talk, she does not scream although she feels the pain of the injuries. She cannot eat because she is busy to run away from the bad men. Everything she has done is not easy, but she can pass it. Supported by her strong will, she can do anything that other people cannot do.
b. Learning English
The author also shows Bee’s strong will when she learns English. Her strong will to learn English is also a kind of survival for her. She succeeds to escape from the bad men by leaving Africa using British ship loaded with tea. But her survival does not stop right there, she knows that she faces new problem. She has reached United Kingdom and she is put in immigration detention centre’s cell. The bad experience she has experienced in Africa becomes a nightmare for her. When she reaches England, she faces another nightmare. She is arrested in the detention centre that is full of people with complicated problems. She becomes depressed but finally she can set her mind back and get new spirit. “I began to eat the meals they brought me. I thought to myself, you must keep up your strength, Little Bee” (2008:70). She does not give up on the difficult situation. The immigration detention centre is the place where Bee shows her spirit and strong will to learn English.
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It shows that when she is locked in the detention centre, she does not spend her time by doing nothing. She keeps on struggling by learning English. As stated in the novel, the illegal immigrants must look good or talk better to survive in the detention centre. If they do not, they will be sent back home. Bee has learned about the situation in the detention centre. Everyone locked there tries to survive in the detention centre in their own way. Bee has already decided to learn English, she knows that it is the best way she can do to survive. However, from the quotation above, it can be seen that Bee realizes that she has much time and she does not waste the time. She uses the time to learn English.
The way she survives that also shows her strong will to learn English in the detention centre is by reading.
I read your novels. I read the newspapers you sent. In the opinion columns I underlined the grand sentences and I looked up every word in my Collins Gem (2008:71).
It shows that Bee’s aim to talk English better rides her to read a lot. She does not only read but she also tries to understand the words she does not know the meaning by opening the dictionary she possesses. Practicing English is another way to learn English better. She practices in front of the mirror how to pronounce the words correctly.
I practiced for hours in front of the mirror until I could make the big words look natural in my mouth (2008:71).
The quotation above shows Bee’s seriousness. Whenever she has longing, she will do the best to get it. She tries hard to practice how to say the words properly. Bee knows that talking English better will help her and because of that she shows
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seriousness. She believes that if she talks better, the officer of the detention centre will not deport her to Africa. As a result, Bee can talk English better than the others locked in the detention centre. Of course, the purpose of the strong will shown here is for survival.
c. To Meet Sarah
Bee’s strong will is also shown when she is looking for Sarah in England. Bee is an immigrant who leaves the detention centre illegally. One of the immigrants locked there fools the officer and finally four people are released from the detention centre without any formal paper. At first, Bee does not know about it, but then the immigrant who fools the officer tells her. She is afraid because the officer will realize it soon and he can arrest her again or even worst. She is going to find help as soon as possible. The only people she knows who live in the United Kingdom are Sarah and her husband, Andrew. She believes that Sarah will help to save her. It is not easy for an illegal immigrant like Bee to find Sarah in a very large area like England. She uses Andrew’s driving licence she found on the beach in Africa as a clue to find them. The address is written on it, but it is not easy to find the address without asking anyone. Bee is afraid of the people who will recognize her and finally put her in cell. No matter how difficult she always tries to find the address.
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She walks from the detention centre to the farm’s dormitory and she continues her walk to Kingston-upon-Thames. She does not give up although it is not easy, walking from the immigration detention centre to the town, Kingston-upon-Thames. The distance is quite far, it takes some days to reach the town by walking. As a result of her strong will, she can reach the town. She keeps on walking to find the address, especially to meet Sarah.
I walked all morning. The buildings got bigger and heavier. The streets got wider and busier. I stared at everything, and I did not mind the hunger in my stomach or the aching in my leg because I was amazed by each new wonder (2008:120).
I smiled, and I walked away down the embankment of the river, in the direction of the west. I knew that if I followed along the bank, I would get to Kingston—that is why they call it Kingston-upon-Thames. I wanted to get there as quick as I could (2008:121).
The quotations show how hard Bee has struggled to reach the town. Bee is so glad because her effort is useful. She can reach the city, a place she has not ever seen before. She has to find Kingston-upon-Thames, the location where Sarah and Andrew live as soon as possible. Sarah becomes very important for Bee because she hopes Sarah will help her and to meet with Sarah means survival for Bee. The quotations above show Bee’s strong will to reach the city and especially to meet Sarah. Walking for some days without eating is the consequence of her strong will. Bee thinks if she meets Sarah, she will be safe. She believes that Sarah will help her like she did in Africa. Her strong effort brings fortunate, she can reach Sarah’s house and meet her.
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2. Brave
Bee is described as a brave person. It means that her action, behavior, or her attitude shows courage and confidence (Quirk, 2003:175). As mentioned in the previous part, Bee is described as person who has strong will. It can be seen through her actions. Bee’s strong will to survive has motivated her to be a brave person. Something that makes Bee be brave is the circumstances. The critical situations force her to be brave. Another thing that makes Bee’s bravery emerges is her older sister. Her older sister always gives support for Bee.
Little Bee was crying now. Kindness held her hand.
‘Do not be afraid,’ she said. ‘If they kill us today we will eat bread tonight with Jesus’ (2008:163).
Bee’s sister, Kindness, gives spirit for Bee. Kindness calms Bee and asks her to be brave because she does not want Bee becomes weak to face the trouble they have. Kindness also makes Bee always feels safe by holding her tight and hugging her whenever they feel that they are in danger. When Bee’s sister was finally killed by the bad men from the oil company, Kindness still becomes Bee’s strength.
I looked over at my sister, but she had disappeared with the night. I smiled though, because I realised that she had left me with her strength. I looked around me at the beautiful sunrise and I was thinking, Yes, yes everything will be beautiful like this now. I will never be afraid again (2008:116). After her sister’s death she is afraid of nothing, because she feels that her sister always walks by her side. The feeling makes Bee brave. She has principle to keep her life, but if the death threats her life she always be ready to face it.
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The quotation shows that she is not afraid of the horror she faces because she is ready to die. Actually she is nervous whenever she faces the terrors, but she refuses to feel afraid. Bravery can defeat her afraid, and it is seen when Bee finally runs in the jungle alone. She has to separate from the group of women and her sister. The critical condition forces her to do so because it is the best way to flee.
Bee’s bravery can also be seen in the part when she reaches beach. As stated in the novel, Bee can hear the sound of the bad men running with their dogs to help them finding Bee. Bee knows that the bad men come nearer toward her and she is on the edge between the jungle and the beach. There is no other way to go, if she move forward, she can only find sand and water. Bee does not give up although there is other place to hide. She shows the bravery by asking for help to the only two tourists who are on the beach, Sarah and Andrew.
‘Please, missus,’ she said, ‘take us to the hotel compound with you’ (2008:151).
‘Please,’ said Little Bee, looking directly at me. ‘Bad men are hunting us. They will kill us’ (2008:152).
The quotation shows Bee’s reaction toward the situation shows her courage. She is not afraid of the strangers she is asked for help. Pushed by her will to survive, Bee takes an initiative to ask for help. Bee dares to tell the truth that she and her older sister are hunted by the bad men who will kill them. The tourists are accompanied by a soldier with a gun who threats Bee to go away, but Bee does not move. She ignores the soldier’s threat and she keeps begging for help to the tourists. Sarah finally helps her but Andrew refuses to help Bee’s sister. Another
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part that shows Bee’s bravery asking for help to a stranger is when she goes out from her hiding place on the ship. She goes out and asks the captain of the ship.
I dug into the sacks to hide. After two days I was too weak to hide any more, so I came up of the hold. The captain of the ship, he locked me in a cabin (2008:184).
Bee is not afraid to go out because if she keeps on hiding, she will die. She still has choice to survive, she has to go out and meets the captain. Fortunately, her bravery brings luck. The captain locks her in the cabin because he wants to save her from the crew. He also gives her food and lends her a book to read.
The guard who accompanies the tourists warns Bee to leave them by pointing his gun at her.
Little Bee shrugged and tapped her chest. ‘My name is Little Bee,’ she said. ‘Here is my heart. Shoot here if you want’ (2008:153).
Bee is not afraid of the guard’s threat. If she stays there, she will be killed by the bad men. She does not have any choices except asking for help to the tourists. When the guard threats her, she does not show her fear because the only chance to survive might come from the tourists. As a result of Bee’s brave action, the tourist, Sarah, helps her by cutting one of her fingers.
Another action that shows Bee’s courage is when she tries to go out of Africa. She decides to leave Africa by ship.
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It also shows Bee’s reaction as the shape of her bravery. She is not afraid of the risks if she goes into the ship without any permission. She does not think about her fear toward the risks that might happen to her on the ship. She climbs the ship and hides in the cargo room. This is her last way to escape from the bad men who hunt for her. She chooses to go to the ship with British flag, hoping that she will leave Africa and sail to England. Another reason why she chooses the ship is because of the driving licence she found on beach belongs to the tourists she meets there. The address written on the driving licence is located in England. She leaves Africa and sails to the United Kingdom. Bee’s action may endanger herself, but she thinks that the action is the only way to go as far as possible. Her bravery supports her to survive from the bad men hunt for her. She has done the brave actions because she believes that she is doing right. She wants to keep her life.
3. Smart and Tricky
Bee is shown as a smart person. Her smartness is reflected by the fact that she always wants to know about everything and always eager to learn. She likes to listen to the radio, especially the news.
We were supposed to wind them up and listen to the World Service from the BBC, but my sister Nkiruka tuned ours in to the Port Harcourt music station instead. We used to fight over the little wind-up box because I liked to listen to the news and the current affairs (2008:191).
The news contains a lot of information that can improve Bee’s knowledge. In the immigration detention centre, Bee is the only one who can speak English better and we can see her smartness for she can write in English also.
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I was one of the only ones who could write in English, so I wrote the applications for all the others (2008:316).
The statement of one of Bee’s friends, Yevette, becomes the evidence that Bee is smart. “’Easy fo yu. Yu smart, yu talk nice. Plenty work fo a girl like yu’” (2008:105). Bee is anxious because she does not have formal paper from the detention centre when she is out from the detention centre. She is illegal and she worries that she will not get any job. Yevette believes that Bee is smart and she can get a job easily without any paper.
She is also considered as a smart person because she always has ideas to survive from the bad men chasing for her. The ideas come in any occasions, and we can see it when she is facing a current situation. First is when she was in the jungle to escape from the bad men.
I went down into the shorebreak and I made my clothes wet and I ran towards the hotel compound. I ran through the shallow water so that I would not leave any marks on the sand for the men to follow (2008:190). It can be seen that Bee knows the trick how to run from the bad men without leaving any traces. She knows that when she runs in the land she will leave footsteps or path, so she chooses walking in the water. In such difficult situation, she has a brilliant idea and it shows her absolute smartness. She is able to think brilliantly in any situations she has to deal with. The next, it is also shown when she asks for help to the tourists. Bee chooses to talk to Sarah than Andrew, like illustrated in the novel.
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‘Please,’ said Little Bee, looking directly at me. ‘Bad men are hunting us. They will kill us.’ She spoke to me as a woman, knowing I would understand (2008:152).
“Me” refers to Sarah. In her hiding place, Bee has already listened the conversations between Sarah and Andrew on the beach. From their conversations, Bee learns that Sarah is caring person. Bee knows that women are more sensitive than men and they are sometimes easily touched by tragic story. Based on that knowledge, she is rather to choose Sarah than Andrew because she hopes that Sarah will help her and it works. When the bad men come, they ask Sarah to cut one of her fingers to saves Bee’s life and Sarah does it.
She is smart because she knows the best ways to survive. When she reaches England, she is put in the immigration detention centre. She is conscious that the place is not safe for her because the men and women are locked up together in that place. The men locked there can do anything bad toward her so she decides to make herself looks unwanted.
I made myself undesirable. I decline to wash, and I let my skin grow oily. Under my clothes I wound a wide strip of cotton around my chest, to make my breasts small and flat (2008:9).
When the charity boxes full of second-hand clothes and shoes arrives, she does not interest to get pretty clothes and shoes like the other girls do. She looks for the clothes that can hide her body shape, wears heavy boots with the steel toecaps and cut her hair very short like a man. She also refuses to smile to the other immigrants. The way is used to prevent the men to come closer to her. She succeeds and she is terrified by the people locked there.
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Unfortunately, she also uses her brilliant ideas to fool Sarah. When they met in Africa, Sarah has already helped Bee by cutting her finger to save Bee’s life. Even, when Bee reaches England, Sarah gives place in her house for her to stay. But in fact, she uses tricky skill to fool Sarah. When she knocks Sarah’s door is the day of Andrew’s funeral. It means that Bee comes to Sarah’s house five days after her husband dies. But actually, Bee has already reached Sarah’s house three days before Andrew died, and she hid in the garden. She spied on Andrew, Sarah, and their son Charlie. In fact, Bee pretends to Sarah that she comes to her house just now and acts like she knows nothing about Andrew’s death. Actually she has already known that Andrew was died because she saw how Andrew dying to die and she was the cause why he died. Bee refuses to tell Sarah, she is afraid Sarah will be angry to her and she will not help Bee. She only tells Lawrence, Sarah’s lover, how she did the trick.
‘Then I walked here from the immigration detention centre. I came in two days. I hid in the garden.’ I pointed through the window. ‘There,’ I said, ‘behind that bush where the cat is. Then I waited’ (2008:271).
‘I came out when it was dark and I ate the seeds from the bird-feeder and I drank the water from the tap on the outside of the house. In the daytime I watched through the windows of the house, and I listened when they came out into the garden. I saw how Andrew talked to Sarah and Charlie. He was terrible. He was angry all the time’(2008:272).
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Bee has already died and what he had seen was a ghost of Bee. When there was no one in the house she came out from her hiding place to see Andrew. Andrew was frightened and he committed suicide. Lawrence is surprised of the fact has happened behind Andrew’s death.
Lawrence is also afraid that Bee’s attendance endangers Sarah. He asks Bee to leave the house or he will call the police. Bee is smart, she uses her tricky skill to threats Lawrence back.
I stood up. ‘I would find a way. I would find a way to tell her what you had done. And I would find a way to tell Linda too. I would break both of your lives, Lawrence. Your family and your secret life’ (2008:268).
Bee threats Lawrence that she will tell her wife, Linda, about his affairs with Sarah. Once again Lawrence says that he is going to call the police, but Bee does not lose her idea to persuade Lawrence not to tell the Police.
I started to cry. ‘Please, don’t go to the police. They will take me away. I just want to help Sarah. Don’t you want to help Sarah?’ (2008:278). She cries to invite Lawrence’s sympathy toward her. She also makes him sure that she will not hurt Sarah but she will help her. It works, he cancels his plan to call the police because he is afraid of her wife and he cannot continue his affair.
The evidences above prove that Bee is a smart girl. Her smartness is used to make some tricks and those cannot be considered as a negative behavior because her brilliant ideas are not intentionally used to harm the other people around her. The actions Bee has already done are her self defense to survive.
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4. Caring but Selfish
Bee is shown as a careful person. She cares about the people who have bad experiences like she has. But when she faces difficult situation, she tends to show selfishness toward them. Her care is shown in Andrew’s funeral. Charlie, Sarah and Andrew’s son is screaming and squirming in Sarah’s grip and finally he breaks free. He stands at the very edge of the hole and falls down.
He landed with a thump on top of Andrew’s coffin. There was a single, urgent scream from one of the other mourners.
I implored Charlie to take my hands so I could pull him back up. I don’t think he heard me at all.
I was thinking, Why doesn’t someone do something? But is hard, very hard, to be the first.
Finally, it was Little Bee who went down into the grave and held up my son for other hands to haul out (2008:61-63).
Bee cares of Sarah and what she has done is spontaneous reaction when she realizes that no one is moving to help Charlie out. She is responsive toward the situation and helping Charlie is the shape of her care toward Sarah.
Her care is also shown on the day when Little Bee will be released from the immigration detention centre. She helps the person who is confused because she does not know the name of the place.
The girl on the telephone, she finally looked at me. So I said to her, The name of this place is the Black Hill Immigration Removal Centre (2008:17).
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Actually, Bee refuses to talk even to smile to the other immigrants in the immigration detention centre. She does not want to be friendly to anyone in the detention centre. When she looks at the girl, she feels pity. The girl has already asked some people but they do not know the place where they are in because most of them locked there cannot speak or read English. In fact, when the girl looks at Bee, Bee tells the name of the place to her spontaneously. It shows Bee’s care towards the girl’s difficulties. Her action toward the girl shows that Bee cares toward the others. Although she does not know the girl, she is willing to help her. The girl’s name is Yevette, she is the immigrant who fools the detention officer. Bee and the girl, Yevette, becomes friend, both of them are released from the detention centre together with two more girls, the girl with no name and the girl in sari. They have no where to stay and a land owner lets them stay in his dormitory where his seasonal labourers sleep. In the dormitory, Yevette shares about what has happened in her life and she cries. Related to Bee’s care, suddenly she also starts crying and gives such a support for Yevette. It is shown in the quotation below. Bee is touched by Yevette’s life story because she feels that both of them faces similar problem.
‘You are not dumb, Yevette. All of us who have got this far, all of us who have survived – how can we be dumb? Dumb could not come this far, I am telling you’ (2008:105-106).
Bee starts to show her care to three of her friends. She also shows her care to the girl with no name. The girl with no name is depressed because of bad experience she has ever had. She loses everything included her beloved daughter.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
She always acts like her daughter is still alive and is there by her side, but actually no child there.
I look back at the girl with no name and I spoke to her. ‘What is your child name?’
The girl with no name smiled. Her face shone. ‘This is Aabirah. She is my youngest. Isn’t she beautiful?’
I looked at the place she was looking. ‘Yes. She is lovely.’ I looked at Yevette and made my eyes wide at her. ‘Isn’t she lovely, Yevette?’ (2008: 107).
The quotation above shows that Bee understood about the girl with no name’s problems. She knows the feeling when someone loved is gone, so she does not want to disappoint her or makes her becomes more depressed. Bee pretends that she can see her daughter and it shows that Bee cares about the girl with no name.
Unfortunately, Bee’s care can change into selfishness when she faces current situation that forces her to struggle for her life. When three of them; Bee, Yevette, and the girl in sari, are sleeping, the girl with no name commits suicide, she hangs herself. Bee is the first one who knows this and she decides to leave them quitely.
Me, I put one small kiss on the cheek of Yevette, who was still sleeping, and I walked off quietly across the fields.
Leaving Yevette, that was the hardest thing I had to do since I left my village. But if you are a refugee, when death comes you do not stay for one minute in the place it has visited. Many things arrive after death – sadness, questions, and policemen – and none of these can be answered when your papers are not in order (2008:114).
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her friend, Yevette. The quotation shows that leaving her friends is so ha
