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NARRATIVE AND CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES IN SUE MONK KIDD’S NOVEL THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (AN ANALYSIS WITH NARRATOLOGICAL APPROACH)
A Research Paper
Submitted to the English Education Department of the Faculty of Language and Arts Education of the Indonesia University of Education as
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Sarjana Sastra Degree
By
ANYA PRITAFANIA 0902401
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
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2014
Narrative and Characterization Techniques in
Sue Monk Kidd’s Novel
The Secret Life of Bees
(An Analysis with Narratological Approach)
Oleh Anya Pritafania
Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana pada Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni
© Anya Pritafania 2014 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Juni 2014
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Skripsi ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhya atau sebagian, dengan dicetak ulang, difoto kopi, atau cara lainnya tanpa ijin dari penulis.
PAGE OF APPROVAL
NARRATIVE AND CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES IN SUE MONK KIDD’S NOVEL THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
By
Anya Pritafania 0902401
Approved by
Main Supervisor,
Bachrudin Musthafa, M.A., Ph.D. NIP. 195703101987031001
Co-Supervisor,
Budi Hermawan, S.Pd., M.P.C. NIP. 197308072002121002
Head of English Education Department Faculty of Language and Arts Education
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Prof. Dr. Didi Suherdi, M.Ed.
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ABSTRACT
This research analyzes narrative techniques in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret
Life of Bees (2002) by using Barry’s version (2002) of Genette’s Narratology
theory (1980). The purpose of the research is to identify how the story is narrated and how the story constructs the main character as evidenced in the novel. By applying the theory, this research attempts to gain insights into how the narrative is presented to the reader in the form of first person mode. This research employs a descriptive qualitative method. This research finds that the story The Secret Life
of Bees is narrated through six narrative categorizations: narrative level, narrative
time, narrative voice, focalization, narrative of words, and narrative mode. Moreover, the story constructs the main character through four methods of characterizations: physical description, dialogue and actions, thoughts and feelings, and what other characters’ say about the main character. This research implies that the story The Secret Life of Bees is well organized. The use of first person narrative and the presence of child character who is also the narrator have made the story interesting and easy to follow. Furthermore, the development of
the main character also plays a crucial role in giving the clue to the story’s
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ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini menganalisa teknik narasi di dalam novel The Secret Life of Bees karya Sue Monk Kidd (2002) dengan menggunakan teori Naratologi yang diusulkan oleh Peter Barry (2002) dengan berbasis kepada teori Naratologi Gerard Genette (1980). Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi bagaimana cerita The Secret Life of Bees dinarasikan dan bagaimana cerita tersebut membangun karakter utamanya di dalam novel. Dengan menerapkan teori Naratologi, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan pemahaman serta wawasan mengenai bagaimana suatu cerita disajikan kepada pembaca dalam sudut pandang orang pertama. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa cerita The Secret Life of
Bees dinarasikan melalui enam kategori narasi: narrative level, narrative time, narrative voice, focalization, narrative of words, and narrative mode. Selain itu,
karakter utama di dalam cerita The Secret Life of Bees dibentuk melalui empat metode karakterisasi: deskripsi fisik, percakapan dan tindakan, pikiran dan perasaan, serta opini karakter lainnya terhadap karakter utama. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa cerita The Secret Life of Bees telah tersusun dengan baik. Penggunaan narasi sudut pandang orang pertama dan keberadaan karakter anak yang juga berperan sebagai narator (pencerita) membuat cerita The Secret Life of
Bees semakin menarik dan alurnya pun mudah untuk diikuti. Selain itu,
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION ... ii
PREFACE ... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... iv
ABSTRACT ... v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vi
LIST OF TABLES ... viii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1Background of the Study ... 1
1.2Research Questions ... 3
1.3Aims of the Study ... 3
1.4Scope of the Study ... 3
1.5Research Methodology ... 3
1.5.1 Data Collection ... 4
1.5.2 Data Analysis ... 4
1.6Clarification of Terms ... 4
1.7 The Organization of the Paper ... 5
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FOUNDATION ... 7
2.1 The Concept of Barry’s Version of Genette’s Narratology Theory ... 7
2.2 Character and Characterization ... 11
2.2.1 Character ... 11
2.2.2 Characterization ... 12
2.3The Novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ... 13
2.3.1 About the Author ... 13
2.3.2 The Synopsis of The Secret Life of Bees ... 14
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 17
3.1Research Questions ... 17
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3.3Research Procedure ... 17
3.4Data Collection ... 17
3.5Data Analysis ... 18
3.6Data Presentation ... 18
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ... 31
4.1Narrative Categories and How the Story is Narrated ... 31
4.1.1 Narrative Level ... 31
4.1.2 Narrative Time ... 34
4.1.3 Narrative Voice ... 37
4.1.4 Focalization ... 39
4.1.5 Narrative of Words ... 41
4.1.6 Narrative Mode ... 42
4.2Methods of Characterization of Lily Melissa Owens ... 44
4.2.1 Physical Description ... 44
4.2.2 Dialogues and Actions ... 46
4.2.3 Thoughts and Feelings ... 50
4.2.4 What Other Characters’ Say about the Main Character... 52
4.3Discussions ... 54
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 58
5.1Conclusions ... 58
5.2Suggestions ... 60
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the introduction of the research which covers the
background of the study, research questions, the aims of the study, the scope of
the study, the research methodology, the clarification of terms, and the
organization of the paper.
1.1 Background of the Study
Narrative involves an action or an event to be told. People in general often
associate narrative with literary types, like novels, short stories, fairy tales, sagas
or folk tales. As a widespread activity which is closely related to the acts of telling
and re-telling, narrative can have numerous variety of structures that produce
different kinds of effects and responses. In specific, narrative can be found in a
text, such as literary text. In relation to this, Thwaites, Davis, and Mules
(1994:114), state that narrative structure complements texts in three ways: it
depicts the sequences of events or ideas in a story by foregrounding their
movement through the passing of time, emphasizes a network of social meanings
by transforming events into actions performed by characters, and offers the kinds
of pleasure and enjoyment to the readers.
The study of narrative is commonly called narratology. According to
Barry (2002: 145), narratology is not the reading and interpretation of individual
stories, but rather the attempt to study the structure of narration or the way stories
are told. Of many different narratology theories, Barry believes that Genette‟s
theory of narratology (1980) is considered as one of the most valuable theories,
because the work has as its focus, not the story itself, but rather the process of
telling the story itself (Barry, 2002: 151). Concerning Genette‟s theory, Barry
provides six basic questions which possibly cover the main areas discussed by
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story? Third, who is telling the story? Fourth, how is the narrative focalised?
Fifth, how are speech and thought represented? And sixth, is the basic narrative
mode „mimetic‟ or „diegetic‟?
Research on the use of narratology includes Barry‟s analysis of Edgar
Allan Poe‟s The Oval Portrait (2002) which outlines four fundamental areas in narrative theory, which are plot/story distinction, Aristotle‟s theory of functional relation between character and action, Propp‟s theory of narrative functions, and Genette‟s theory. Fludernik (2006) analyzes the development of the character who
is also the first person narrator, Philip Pirrip (Pip) in both Charles Dickens‟ novel
Great Expectations (1861) and Llyod Jones‟s novel Mister Pip (2006)─a
rewriting of Dickens‟ text. Fludernik (2006: 104-108) states that some narratologists have made significant contributions to narrative terminology for
example Ansgar Nünning (2001) who succeeds in giving some useful typologies
of historical novels, the functions of narrator, and various kinds of
metanarrativity, Mieke Bal (1997) who reconstitutes Genette‟s types of
focalization, and Seymour Chatman (1990) who offers a narratology of film.
Other research on narratology, for example, Henrik Skov Nielsen in
Postclassical Narratology (2010: 20) discusses what is called as hybrid narrative
texts. Nielsen looks at two types of texts which cannot easily be classified as
either fiction or non-fiction. He uses the term “underdetermined texts” to refer to a
text which is presented as neither fiction nor non-fiction, and the term
“overdetermined texts” to describe a text which is presented as both fiction and
non-fiction. Marcus (2006) analyzes Albert Camus‟ novel The Fall and focuses on
the triangular relation, narrator-narratee-reader. Marcus believes that there is a
significant change of focus in the interrelations between “unreliable narrator” and
“reliable reader”. Mildorf‟s analysis (2006) merges narratological approaches and
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“focalization” and “double deixes” can be helpful for a more systematic
investigation of particular narratives features of oral stories.
This present research aims to investigate how narrative makes meaning of
a story. The subject of this research is Sue Monk Kidd‟s novel The Secret Life of
Bees. Since its publication in 2002, The Secret Life of Bees has sold more than six
million copies and spent over one hundred weeks on the New York Times
bestseller list (Amazon.com). The first person mode used in the novel The Secret
Life of Bees became one of its interesting aspects. Thus, by applying Barry‟s
version of Genette‟s narratology theory, this research attempts to analyze the
narrative technique of the story to know how the narrative is presented to the
reader in the form of first person mode.
1.2 Research Questions
This research is geared toward answering the following questions:
1. How is the story narrated as evidenced in the novel?
2. How does the narrative construct the main character?
1.3 Aims of the Study
Based on the research, this research is aimed:
1. To identify how the story is narrated in the novel
2. To identify how the narrative constructs the main character
1.4 Scope of the Study
This research is limited only to analyze the way the story is narrated in the
novel and the way the narrative constructs the main character.
1.5 Research Methodology
This research employs a descriptive qualitative method in nature. Fraenkel
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identify and provide a picture of an event, condition, or situation by using data in
the form of words rather than numbers. Therefore, this method is appropriate for
describing the current research which deals with the analysis of narrative
technique in Sue Monk Kidd‟s novel The Secret Life of Bees (2002).
1.5.1 Data Collection
The data of the research are critically selected from the novel The Secret
Life of Bees (2002). The data were taken by reading the novel thoroughly, then
selecting the parts which serve as textual evidence.
1.5.2 Data Analysis
The collected data are then categorized into narrative categories and
methods of characterization. The data are then analyzed using the framework of
Barry‟s version of Genette‟s narratology theory. In conducting the research, the following steps have been taken:
1. Reading the novel thoroughly,
2. Classifying the textual evidence,
3. Analyzing the data by applying relevant theories,
4. Interpreting the data,
5. Making conclusion based on the findings.
1.6 Clarification of Terms
To avoid misunderstanding, the following is the clarification of the terms
used:
1. Characterization: The figures in a literary text can either be
characterized as types or individuals (Klarer, 1998: 133).
2. Diegesis vs. mimemis: Traditionally, this oppositional pair is used to
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the discussion of the representation of speech and thought (Fludernik,
2006: 151).
3. First person narration: Point of view in which one of the characters
who is part of the plot tells the story, referring to her- or himself in the
first-person singular (Klarer, 1998: 137).
4. Focalization: The position or quality of consciousness through which
we „see‟ events in the narrative (Abbott, 2008: 233).
5. Mode: According to Genette, the way in which focalization is treated,
defined in the category of voice as „Who sees?‟(mode) vs. „Who speaks?‟ (voice) (Fludernik, 2006: 156).
6. Narrative: Narrative is a way of organizing and depicting any kind of
events or ideas in a story by foregrounding the movement of time
(Thwaites, 1994: 112).
7. Narrative Events: The basic units of a story, a dynamic part of the
story which changes a situation. Events then combine into sequences
to build up the story (Thwaites, 1994: 123).
8. Narratology: Narratology is a branch of literary structuralism. It is not
only focuses on the structure of narration but also on the way stories
are told. The main goal of narratology itself then be conceived as an
attempt to discover the general model of narration, so that we know
some possible ways in which the stories can be told (Bertens, 2001:
71).
9. Narrator: In stories that are written down, in other words in written
texts, the term narrator refers to both first-person narrator and
third-person narrator (Fludernik, 2006: 158).
10.Voice: The sensibility through which we hear the narrative, even when
we are reading silently. Voice is very closely associated with
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events in the story, and sometimes hard to distinguish from it (Abbott,
2008: 243).
1.7 The Organization of the Paper
This research consists of five chapters. It is organized as follows:
Chapter I: Introduction
This chapter presents the background of the study, research questions, the
aims of the study, the scope of the study, the research methodology, the
clarification of terms, and the organization of the paper.
Chapter II: Theoretical Foundation
This chapter consists of the theoretical frameworks and the literature
reviews as the foundation of the research.
Chapter III: Research Methodology
This chapter discusses the research methodology describing the techniques
and procedures of the data collection and data analysis.
Chapter IV: Finding and Discussion
This chapter presents the elaboration of findings and discussion of the
research.
Chapter V: Conclusion and Suggestions
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the method in conducting the research. It contains
the research questions, the research subject, research procedure, the data
collection, data analysis, and data presentation.
3.1 Research Questions
This research is geared toward answering the following questions:
1. How is the story narrated as evidenced in the novel?
2. How does the narrative construct the main character?
3.2 The Research Subject
The subject of the research is The Secret Life of Bees, a novel written by
Sue Monk Kidd. The novel was first published by Viking Books in 2002. The
novel was downloaded from www.libgen.org in the pdf format on October 3,
2013. The novel is written in English and consists of 14 chapters and 223 pages.
3.3 Research Procedure
This research employs a descriptive qualitative method. The novel was
read thoroughly and notes were taken in order to mark the parts which best answer
the research questions. This research is limited only to analyze the way the story
is narrated in the novel and the way the narrative constructs the main character
(Lily Melissa Owens) by using the framework of Barry‟s version (2002) of
Genette‟s narratology theory (1980).
3.4 Data Collection
The data are in the form of words, clauses, comments and dialogues of the
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Bees (2002). The data were collected by reading the novel thoroughly, then
selecting the parts which serve as textual evidence.
3.5 Data Analysis
The collected data are then categorized into narrative categories (how the
story is narrated) and methods of characterization (how the narrative contructs the
main character). The data are then analyzed using Barry‟s version (2002) of
Genette‟s narratology theory (1980). In conducting the research, the following steps have been taken:
1. Reading the novel thoroughly,
2. Classifying the textual evidence,
3. Analyzing the data,
4. Interpreting the data,
5. Making conclusion based on the findings.
3.6 Data Presentation
The analyzed data are then presented in the form of tables below:
Table 3.1
How the Story is Narrated in the Novel
No
Chapter /
Page
Narrative Category Textual Evidence Brief Explanation
1 5/67 Narrative Level „A long time ago,
across the world in
Germany, there was a
young nun named
Beatrix who loved
The story consists of
several embedded
narratives which
means that one of
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6/79
„One day,‟ August said, „a slave named Obadiah
was loading bricks onto
a boat that would sail
down the Ashley River,
when he saw something
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2
sliver of something, like
her tucking me into
bed, reading the
adventures of Uncle
Wiggly, or hanging my
underclothes near the
space heater on ice-cold
mornings. Even her
picking a switch off the
forsythia bush and
closet, dropping this
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6/84 b. Flash
would show August the
picture of my mother
and see if the moon
broke loose and fell out
of the sky.
The story uses flash
forward technique to
narrate an event
which happens in the
future.
3
2/30
Narrative Voice:
First-person narrator Suddenly I felt ice cold,
as if something
dangerous had slipped
into the room. I looked
toward the window and
felt a tremor slide along
my spine.
The story is told
from the first person
“I” who is also the
main character in the
story and the
the times she stopped to
buy peaches from me.
She was kind as she
could be, but she‟d
always looked at me
The event is narrated
from a single
character‟s point of
view. Therefore, the
narrator has a limited
access to know about
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like there was
„You‟re welcome. Now,
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not.
6
1/5
Narrative Mode:
Mimetic I slid from the covers
and dashed through the
bees for the door. I
woke him by touching
his arm with one finger,
softly at first, then
harder and harder till I
was jabbing into his
flesh, marveling at how
hard it was.
The story uses
mimetic mode or
'slow telling'. The
mode allows for the
creation of great
detail and intimacy
between the
character and the
readers, creating the
illusion as if the
readers are seeing
and hearing things
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Table 3.2
How the Narrative Constructs the Main Character
No Main
Textual Evidence Brief Explanation
1 Lily
describes herself as
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wore. I might as show off that part.
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„You don‟t scare
down onto my knees
on the rug. It was the
Lily thinks that she
is truly responsible
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1/9
highfalutin school to
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1/13
5/63
„Please, Lily, you are
insulting your fine place to stay. Who‟s
gonna take them in if
how Lily looks like
she is in a kind of
trouble, feeling lost
and does not have
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„It doesn‟t sound like
me and my mother
were anything alike,‟
I said.
„Oh, but you were.
She had a streak in her like you do. Suddenly she would
up and do
something other
girls wouldn‟t dream of.‟
„Like what?‟ August
stared over my
shoulder and smiled.
„One time she ran
away from home. I can‟t even remember what she was upset
about. We looked for
her long past dark.
Found her curled up
in a drainage ditch,
sound asleep.‟
(August)
„Listen to me now,‟
said August, tilting
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„That‟s a terrible,
terrible thing for you
to live with. But
you‟re not
unlovable. Even if
you did
accidentally kill her, you are still the most dear, most lovable girl I know.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter presents the conclusions of the research, which are based on
the findings and discussion in the previous chapter. This chapter also presents the
suggestions for further investigations on the study of narrative technique.
5.1 Conclusions
This research has elaborated its findings which answer the main questions
of how the story is narrated in the novel and how the narrative constructs the main
character. The previous chapter shows that The Secret Life of Bees (2002) is
narrated through six narrative categorizations, those are narrative level, narrative
time, narrative voice, focalization, narrative of words, and narrative mode. In
addition to this, the narrative constructs the main character through four methods
of characterization; physical description, dialogue and actions, thoughts and
feelings, and what other characters’ say about the main character.
Based on the findings, The Secret Life of Bees can be said as a complex
narrative text in a sense that it contains more than one narrative levels. The use of
flashback and flash forward techniques has given a significant contribution to the
order of events in the story. The research also finds that The Secret Life of Bees is
narrated through a single character’s point of view or commonly called as internal focalization which makes the narrator able to reveal only her personal thoughts
and feelings because she has a limited access to know for certain the other
characters’ minds.
In constructing the main character, the story The Secret Life of Bees uses
both the direct (“telling”) and indirect (“showing”) methods of characterization to reveal Lily Melissa Owen’s traits. The direct method occurs when Lily simply
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shown through the use of indirect method of characterizations, such as dialogues
and actions, thoughts and feelings, and what other characters’ say about the main character.
The close analysis of narrative technique and character development in
The Secret Life of Bees reveals that the story is well organized. The overall events
are narrated in a chronological order by employing both flashback and flash
forward techniques. Moreover, the research finds that the use of direct
presentation of speech plays a crucial role in the development of mimetic mode in
the novel. By using direct presentation of speech, the mimetic mode can reach its
dramatic effects and give the readers a sense of intimacy and closeness.
The presence of a child character also affects the writer’s choice of words in the novel The Secret Life of Bees. As the main character, Lily, who is a
fourteen-year-old girl, takes a great control in narrating every single event of the
story through her personal point of view. Consequently, the words used in the
novel are mostly simple rather than complex ones. Furthermore, the main
character also allows the readers to enter her inner world so that they can be the
one who understand her traits the most. Like a human being, the main character
undergoes certain changes as she learns from the problems she has experienced. In
the story, Lily faces an internal conflict which leads her to struggle with her own
soul whether she can tell her life secrets or not, and she has a great hole in her
heart since the death of her mother which has also left her with so many secrets.
Therefore, the development of Lily’s traits is the clue to the story’s meaning and
has successfully covered the major theme of the story.
The analysis of narrative technique in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees can be a starting point for a future investigation and therefore it is
expected to motivate readers to be more critical in reading narrative texts. Thus,
readers can get better understanding about how meanings are produced in
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5.2 Suggestions
In regard with the findings, the researcher suggests that the future research
investigate narrative techniques in a comprehensive way. An analysis of narrative
technique in films, for example, can be a good topic to be investigated. Therefore,
the researcher expects that such research will provide another variation in
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