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AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letter
By
PRICILLIA NOVIANI Student Number: 06 4214 052
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
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LURLENE MCDANIEL’S
TO LIVE AGAIN
By
PRICILLIA NOVIANI Student Number: 06 4214 052
Approved by
Adventina Putranti, S. S., M. Hum September 16, 2010 Advisor
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LURLENE MCDANIEL’S
TO LIVE AGAIN
By
PRICILLIA NOVIANI Student Number: 06 4214 052
Defended before the Board of Examiners On September 29th, 2010
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M. Pd., M. A. Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum Member : Dr. F. X. Siswadi, M. A.
Member : Adventina Rosiandani, S. S., M. Hum Member : Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S. S., M. Hum
Yogyakarta, October 4th, 2010 Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University
Dean
Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22: 37-38
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you the rest. Matthew 11: 28
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7: 7
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For my wonderful parents
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this undergraduate thesis. I also thank Him for sending me wonderful parents for their unconditional love. They never give up teaching me about good and bad things, to always push me to be ‘someone’ for my future, until I become a person who is independent. I may not be ‘someone’ yet, but I hope I can make them proud of me for my graduation. I also thank my sisters and little brother, Lusia, Kassandra, and Antony for their support and love. They are places to share my feeling, to hang out with, and to joke with. I love my family so much.
I would like to thank God for sending me the great people; Adventina Putranti, S.S., M. Hum., my wise advisor who always help me with her advice, suggestion, attention, and motivation. Her support and guidance enable me to complete my work successfully. I really appreciate every single time that she spends for me beyond her busy time. I would like to express my gratitude to my co- advisor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S. S., M. Hum for her valuable correction and suggestion to improve this thesis. I also thank Mrs. Anna for her guidance in my study in Sanata Dharma University. She is such a kind lecturer for me. I am sorry if I often make her upset because of my naughtiness. My lecturers, Mrs. Ria, Miss Linda, Mrs. Dewi, Mrs. Tata, Mr. Harris and many nice lecturers that I cannot mention one by one. I really thank for their time and knowledge that they teach me during my study. I also thank Sanata Dharma University’s librarians and English Literature's secretariat staffs and for their help in writing the thesis.
Moreover, my sincere thank goes to my friends. My C+ Event Organizer friends who make me busy with our jobs. It is nice to remember our happy moments. My friends in Bumblebee English course, especially Miss Suzi. I thank her for lending me her books and giving me advice. My best friends in Chatter Box; Damay, Sela, Mimi, Tzin, and Andry. It is a name given by Mrs. Ria because she loves us so much. I love this four years time that we spend together in Sanata Dharma University. The last is my university friends that I cannot mention one by one. I thank them for giving me happy time in the university. It is nice to know all of them.
I would also like to thank Moviebox Jogjakarta for giving me space and free room so I can concentrate in doing my undergraduate thesis. It has already become my second home.
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A. Background of the Study ………... 1
B. Problem Formulation .………..………. 4
C. Objectives of the Study ………..…... 4
D. Definition of Terms ……….…... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW………..……… 7
A. Review of Related Studies ……… 7
B. Review of Related Theories ……….……. 11
1. Theory of Character ……….. 11
2. Theory of Characterization..………... 12
3. Theory of Interaction between Genetic and Environmental Factors Prior to Adolescence ……….… 13
4. Teori Psikologi Remaja ………..……….. 14
a. Family environment ………..…….. 14
b. Social environment ……….… 15
c. Geographical environment ...……….………... 15
d. Food ……….……… 16
e. Learning stimulation ……….…….….……. 16
5. Theory of Personality ..………..…….………….. 16
a. Changes in Personality ……….... 17
i. Better versus worse ………...……… 18
ii. Quantitative versus qualitative ...………...……… 19
iii. Slow versus rapid ……..……….………...…… 19
6. Theory of Intimate Relationship ..………...………..… 20
a. Honesty ………...……. 21
B. Approach of the Study .………..…... 26
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1. Family Environment ……….… 41
a. Dawn’s parents ...……….…… 41
b. Rob .……….……… 42
c. Katie ………...………. 42
2. Social Environment ………..……… 43
a. Rhonda ………..…….. 44
b. Jake ………..……… 44
c. Tasha ………... 45
d. Brad ………. 46
e. Sandy ………... 46
f. The Therapists ………. 47
C. The Influence of the Environmental Factors ……….... 48
1. Honesty ……….……… 49
2. Supportiveness ………..……… 52
3. Meaningfulness ………. 54
4. Selflessness ………... 58
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION………..………... 61
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Again. Yogyakarta: English Letters Study Programme, Departement of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This study intends to examine the influence of the external factors in developng Dawn Rochelle’s personality in Lurlene McDaniel’s To Live Again. This novel tells us about an adolescent named Dawn Rochelle who suffers from stroke. There are many actions and interaction between Dawn and the people in her life that can influence her personality development.
There are three problems formulated in this study. The first problem is how the main character in the novel, Dawn Rochelle develops. The second problem is what the environmental factors in Dawn Rochelle’s life are. The third problem is what the influence of the environmental factors is on the development of her personality.
The writer applies the psychological approach to be employed in the study because this study is focusing on the psychological aspects of Dawn. Furthermore, the theories are used here are the theory of character and characterization, theory of interaction between genetic and environmental factors prior to adolescence, theory of adolescent psychology, theory of personality, and theory of intimate relationship. The method of this study is library research. There are two sources used in this study. The primary source is the novel itself that isTo Live Again. The secondary sources are some books and essays about the primary source, and also some references for additional information, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias.
The conclusion of the study shows that Dawn is characterized as timid, childish, and pessimistic at first. At the end of the story, she develops into a confident, mature, and optimistic girl. Dawn’s personality can develop because of some influences which come from the environmental factors of Dawn, which are Dawn’s family environment, which consists of Dawn’s parents, Rob, and Katie, and her social environment, which consists of Rhonda, Jake, Tasha, Brad, Sandy, and her therapists. They give influence to Dawn through good relationship, communication, and interaction between them. They teach Dawn about positive life values like honesty, supportiveness, meaningfulness, and selflessness, which finally can make her personality develops.
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Again. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meneliti pengaruh dari faktor- faktor lingkungan dalam perkembangan kepribadian Dawn Rochelle dalam novel To Live Again yang ditulis oleh Lurlene McDaniel. Novel ini menceritakan tentang seorang remaja yang bernama Dawn Rochelle yang menderita stroke. Terdapat banyak tindakan dan interaksi di antara Dawn dan orang- orang dalam hidupnya yang dapat mempengaruhi perkembangan kepribadian Dawn.
Ada tiga masalah yang dirumuskan dalam penelitian ini. Masalah pertama adalah bagaimana karakter utama di dalam novel, Dawn Rochelle, berkembang. Masalah kedua adalah apa sajakah yang termasuk dalam faktor- faktor lingkungan dalam hidup Dawn Rochelle. Masalah yang ketiga adalah apa pengaruh dari faktor- faktor lingkungan tersebut dalam perkembangan kepribadiannya.
Penulis menerapkan pendekatan psikologis dalam penelitian ini karena fokus dari penelitian ini adalah aspek psikologis dari Dawn. Teori- teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah teori karakter dan penokohan, teori interaksi antara faktor genetis dan faktor lingkungan remaja, teori psikologi remaja, teori kepribadian, dan teori hubungan yang akrab. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah studi pustaka. Ada dua sumber yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Sumber utama adalah novel To Live Again itu sendiri. Sumber-sumber pendukungnya adalah buku- buku dan esai- esai yang berhubungan dengan sumber utama, dan juga beberapa referensi sebagai informasi tambahan, seperti kamus dan ensiklopedia.
Kesimpulan dari studi ini menunjukan bahwa karakter Dawn pada awalnya adalah pemalu, kekanak- kanakan, and pesimis. Pada akhir cerita, dia berkembang menjadi seorang gadis yang percaya diri, dewasa, dan optimis. Kepribadian Dawn bisa berkembang disebabkan oleh beberapa pengaruh yang berasal dari faktor-faktor lingkungan dari Dawn, seperti lingkungan keluarga, terdiri dari orangtua Dawn, Rob, dan Katie, dan lingkungan sosial, terdiri dari Rhonda, Jake, Tasha, Brad, Sandy, dan para ahli terapi Dawn. Mereka memberikan pengaruh ke Dawn melalui hubungan, komunikasi, dan interaksi yang baik diantara mereka. Mereka mengajarkan Dawn tentang nilai- nilai kehidupan yang positif seperti kejujuran, dukungan, pengalaman yang berarti, dan rasa tidak mementingkan diri sendiri, yang pada akhirnya bisa membuat kepribadiannya berkembang.
1 A. Background of the Study
Literary works cannot be separated from human life. Abram’s Theory of Mimesis says that a work of art is the imitation of nature (Abrams, 1985: 36). It means that literary work is a work that represents the form of life. Literary works may have many similarities to the real life itself. The characters, situation, and conflicts in literary works usually are the reflection of human life with all of its complicated aspects. The author who makes the literary works may be interfered by the condition of his era, the influence of the religion, culture and issues that happens in the real life and then expressed into a literary work.
Literary works are written to be understood and enjoyed. Whenever someone reads a literary work, he or she certainly wants to get something. It can be pleasure, experience, or knowledge. Therefore, through reading a literary work, we can find some values of human life. Furthermore, it may open our mind to a new life lesson through the analyzing of the characters.
By analyzing the characters in the novel, the readers can understand how the conflict appear, how its development is, what the climax is, and how it can affect or being affected by the characters in the novel. Analyzing the characters in the novel can be deeply done by the usage of the psychological approach, in which we can see the characters as the reflection of human being psychology, so we can consider their action, thought, motivation, and also the reason in doing something in the novel. By doing so, we will get two advantages. We will not only see the literary work, especially novel as a beautiful work of art or just for our aesthetic experience, or pleasure, but again we can gain some life knowledge in that. From those aspects, the writer will focus the study on the psychological aspect of the character in a novel titledTo Live Againby Lurlene McDaniel.
mentality; they give her positive experiences and lesson in life so that Dawn will develop into a better person. This idea is supported by Alfred Adler as follow,
“An individual’s personality is an aggregate conglomeration of decisions we’ve made throughout our lives. There are inherent natural and environmental factors that contribute to the development of our personality. According to process of socialization, “personality also colors our values, beliefs, and expectations.” (Adler, 1993: 104)
It can be inferred from the quotation above that personality development of oneself is contributed from two very related factors which are the basic characteristic of the person itself and also the social environmental factors of the person’s life.
The theory above by Alfred Adler is also emphasized by Haber and Runyon’s statement,
“The lasting effects of early social relationships and the development of the concept of self so much depend on the environment and the quality of experiences. If these experiences are largely negative, the concept of self will be negative. To develop a positive self- image, we all need warmth, acceptance, and positive self- regard from others.” (Haber and Runyon, 1984: 59)
The quotation above emphasizes that the environment has influence in developing one’s personality. If the environment gives negative influences, then it will cause the personality of someone becomes negative too. If the environment gives positive influences, it may alter someone’s personality becomes positive too.
This novel can teach the reader about the values in a relationship. Furthermore, it also shows how people close to us can give a great influence toward one’s personality. The influence can alter a person becomes better or worse.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to have deep analyzes on the personality development on the main character, the study tries to answer these following questions:
1. How does the main character develop?
2. What are the environmental factors in Dawn Rochelle’s life that influence her personality?
3. What is the influence of the environmental factors on the development of her personality?
C. Objectives of the Study
D. Definition of Terms
There are several terms that used in this study, and have to be understood firstly in order to avoid misunderstanding in reading this thesis. The terms are personality and personality development.
1. Personality
Kalish (1973: 52) states that personality is the dynamic organization of characteristics. It also refers to the total individual and includes needs, motivates, methods of adjusting, temperament qualities, self-concept, role behavior, attitude, and abilities. He also states that in order to work, there must be an organization of each part into a whole personality. Furthermore, character relates to behavior in personality. How the person consistently behaves can be said his character because such behavior is more typical of him.
Jersild in his book states that,
“An adolescent’s personality is the sum of his attributes and quatlities as a person as well as the way these are integrated into the total way of his life. The adolescent’s personality includes all of his measureable traits and abilities, his temperament, and his disposition. It includes all the emotional tendencies and behavior pattern that mark him as a well-adjusted or malwell-adjusted person as measured by the standards of the society in which he lives. It includes the obvious and the hidden motives that govern his way of life.” (Jersild, 1964: 393)
2. Personality Development
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter consists of three parts. They are Review of the Related Studies, Review of the Related Theories, and also the Theoretical Framework. In the first part, the writer takes two related studies which have similar topic with this study. In the second part, the writer discusses the theories that are used for the analysis. In the third part, the writer proposes the relation of those related theories in analyzing the study.
A. Review of Related Studies
The topic of this study is the personality development, so the writer tries to find out other studies related with the topic. Two related studies that she has found are a thesis titled The Influence of Geoff on Ed’s Personality Development as Reflected in Edward Canfor-Dumas’ The Budha, Geoff, and Me which is written in 2009 by Palupi Kusuma Wardhani., and a thesis titled The influence of Minor Characters on Jessie’s Personality Development in Sue Monk Kidd’s The
Mermaid Chairwhich is written in 2008 by Rantika Praditya.
The first thesis above proposed by Palupi is about the influence of Geoff to the development of Ed’s personality. Palupi tries to find out, how the Geoff personality can influence the character of Ed. So she starts her analysis with the
description of Ed and Geoff personality, and then continues with the influence of Geoff toward Ed’s personality. (Palupi, 2009: 2-5)
It is stated in Palupi’s work that Geoff and Ed are new friends. They meet in a pub unintentionally, when Ed is looking for a job and Geoff tries to help him. After that they become best friends, they go everywhere to look for jobs together. In their journey, Ed learns many things from Geoff, he adores him, and afterwards he starts to imitate Geoff. Palupi also states that the personality changes or development can occur because of admiration toward someone. When someone admires someone else, it is not impossible that he will change his personality and try to imitate the person that he admires. In other words, someone who is adored may influence one’s personality a lot (Palupi, 2009: 39-50). Her study is supported by Hurlock that,
“in identification, an individual tries to duplicate in his own life the ideas, attitudes, and behavior of the person he is imitating. When young children identify themselves with parents, they use in their make-believe play the same kinds of behavior that their parents use in similar real-life situation.” (Hurlock, 1898: 96)
For her analysis, Palupi applies the theory of character and characterization proposed by Hurlock to describe the characteristics of Geoff and Ed, and the psychological approach proposed by Rohrberger and Wood to reveal Ed’s personality development (Palupi, 2009: 18).
because of his admiration toward Geoff so he changes his own personality, the factor of the changing is internal. While the recent writer sees the development of the main character not only because of the willingness of the main character but also because there are influences of the family and companion as the environmental factors that really help in developing the characteristic of her.
The other writer, Rantika Praditya sees the development of the main character, Jessie, is because of the influence of the minor characters. Rantika wants to explain how the minor characters can influence the personality development of Jessie. She starts her analysis with the description of the minor characters’ personalities, and then continues with the description of Jessie’s personality development (Rantika, 2008: 3-5).
Rantika states in her work that Jessie, a middle age woman, has a problem in her happy marriage. She realizes that the problems come from inside her. In facing the problems, Jessie is influenced by Nelle, Hugh, and Whit. These people are considered as the minor characters that influence her personality. Her study is supported by Hurlock (1974: 19) that personality development is a product of learning during the course of social relationship with the people both within and outside his home. It is also stated in the story by Rantika that Jessie develops her personality along with her relation with people who close to her (Rantika, 2008: 3-5).
characterization proposed by Holman and Harmon is used to describe the characteristics of Jessie and the minor characters. The last, theories of psychology proposed by Floyd L. Ruch and personality development proposed by Hurlock and Murray to reveal Jessie’s personality development (Rantika, 2008: 8-19).
The topic of the above writer and the recent writer is almost the same, about the personality development of the main character which is influenced by the characters around the main character. Rantika states in her work that the personality development of the main character, Jessie occurs after she meets certain people in her life or the minor characters. The people here are those who have a strong influence to her personality, which are her mother, Nelle; her husband, Hugh; and a monk, Whit. While the recent writer states in her analysis that the personality development of the main character occurs because of great influence from the environmental factors of her, in this case are the characters around her.
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theory of Character
A character is the most important element in a novel. Abrams (1985: 23) defines a character as a person in a dramatic or narrative work, who is interpreted by the reader as having particular characteristics, natural qualities of a human being, and emotional qualities that are expressed through his dialogue and action. It can be inferred that a character is not just a person in a story, but he also has human characteristics, feelings, and moral value, which are shown through his words and his attitude as in real life.
Holman and Harmon (1986: 82) categorize a character into two types, major character and minor character. A major character is the character that plays the most important role in a story. He becomes the focus of the story and appears frequently in the story from the beginning until the end. Usually this character changes at the end of the story, but not always. On the other hand, a minor character is less important than a major character. He does not always appear in the story.
2. Theory of Characterization
There are nine ways proposed by Murphy (1972: 161-173) in analyzing the characters. They are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation with others, reactions, direct comment, thought, and mannerism.
In personal description, the author describes a person’s appearance and clothes, for example he gives the details of a person such as: the face, skin, eyes, clothes, etc. Character as seen by another means a character is described by the author through the eyes on opinion of another. It means that the readers get a reflected image of a character through the expression of other characters. While in speech, the author gives the readers an insight into the characterization of one of the persons in the book through what that person says.
Through thought, the readers understand a character through the character’s thought. In mannerism, the author describes a character’s mannerism, or habit, which may also tell the readers something related to his character. Murphy (1972: 173) emphasized that the author will not use exclusively any of these characterizations, but the author will choose or combine them skillfully together.
Characterization according to Perrine (1974: 68) is a representation of character in a story. It is of course different from character because the characterization is the way in which the character is represented. Therefore, character is the result, while characterization is the process. Additionally, according to Holman and Harmon (1986: 81), characterization is the creation of imaginary person. It means that the character has to be so real in order to present more alive story through characters, which are provided.
3. Theory of Interaction between Genetic and Environmental Factors Prior to Adolescence.
By the time youngsters reach adolescence, his ideas and attitudes regarding himself influence and are influenced by his response to everything that happens during adolescence that is covered in his concept of self. The adolescent’s self is the essense of his existence. The self includes all the ideas and feelings a person has regarding the properties of his body, the qualities of his mind, and his personal characteristic. It includes his beliefs, values, and convictions. It embodies the conception he has of his past, of his background, and of his future prospects. The componments of the self range from neutral details of self- perception to attitudes that are charged with feeling, such as pride or shame, inferiority, self esteem.
4. Theory of Adolescent Psychology
Dr. Singgih D. Gunarsa (1979: 35-46) states in his book that environmental factors are factors which come from outside the individual and influence the individual developmental process. Environmental factors consist of many environment components such as family environment, social environment, geographic environment, and also facilities which are available in environment like foods and chance or learning stimulation.
In adolescent period, environmental factors take great role, because the characteristic of adolescence itself which is still labile. The environmental factors are divided into some category:
negative. An individual will be well developed if he gets positive support and morality stimulus from his family. Well established adolescent development also depends on the optimal chance from the family toward the individual.
It can be concluded from many cases that family environment which is not giving the optimal chance, like the broken home family, and no communication, has negative influence toward an individual developmental process. Many failed teenagers are caused by the uncontrolled family environmental factor. That’s why family environment cannot be neglected because it has great role in building the developmental process.
ii. Social environment: environment outside the family environment. It may be friends around the house, friends in school, or anywhere the adolescent often be or gather. The influence of the broad social environment can be seen from the way the individual dresses, the use of language, the way the individual thinks, and his actions.
If the social environment gives good contribution by giving good examples to be imitated, then the social environment will not hamper or harm the developmental process of the adolescent. Social environment or society is very influential to the development.
Infertile area will give ‘special pattern’ of personality development. Adolescence from infertile area will have strong and determine personality because those characteristics are used to defend his life.
Those who live in good climate or soil area do not need to struggle hard to earn life expenses that cause the characteristics be smoother, compared to those from minus area.
iv. Food: Food also influences adolescent personality indirectly. It influences physical development and appearance, especially to adolescent in which the need of food is increasing along with the growth of the body. The other’s opinion and judgment to an adolescent’s physical appearance will make the adolescent build description about himself.
v. Learning stimulation: learning can also influence an adolescent’s development. Learning as a factor from the environment depends on the experience and chance. If an adolescent gets broader experience and chance, he will have lots things to learn, and it will improve the developmental result. Adolescent period is a broad learning time that covers the intelligence field, social, or everything else that is related with personality.
4. Theory of Personality
isolated from any other element and nothing operates independently. In other words, each element of personality forms a unity. Personality is not a single entity but an organization as of a “whole”. It means that in order to work, there must be an organization of each part into a whole personality. Furthermore, character relates to behavior in personality. How a person consistently behaves can be said it is his or her character because such behavior is more typical of him or her.
Hurlock (1974: 119-122) in his book also states that personality can change or develop. It can happen when someone is not satisfied with his personality, so he has desire to change it. Personality can also change because of the condition in a person’s life.
a. Changes in Personality
It is very rare to find someone who is very satisfied with his own personality, so that he has no desire to change it. Every human must have a desire to change his personality, most of them for the better, or to improve it. It can happen for example in a child who started to be aware of his surroundings. Whenever his teachers or friends dislike some of his behavior, he will have fewer playmates. He will learn that in order to win approval or being accepted, he must change his personality. The changes of personality show the adjustment that a person makes during his life.
i. Better versus worse
The changes of the individual’s personality for the better or for the worse depend on how he deals with his life situations. As Hurlock (1974: 120) says that, “personality changes for the better or for the worse reflect the kind of life adjustments that the individual are making at the time.” It can be inferred that an individual can change his personality for the better if he can adjust himself well to his life situation and accept it positively. On the other hand, the personality changed for the worse if he cannot adjust himself to his life situation. Moreover, Hurlock states that it usually occurs at puberty and middle-age. The adolescent usually feels disappointed. In addition, he is discouraged because he realized that he is not outgrowing his undesirable physical and personality characteristics. ii. Quantitative versus Qualitative
In quantitative, Hurlock (1974: 121) states that the characteristics which have already presented are reinforced to be strengthened or weakened. For example, a person who is shy and self-conscious in social situations may be less so in the presence of intimate friends than in the presence of strangers or those whom he regards as his superior. Even though like that, his behavior is consistent. He does not change from being self-conscious to being boastful, even though he might like to do so in the hope to win some social approval. He still thinks himself as inadequate person.
Further, Hurlock (1974: 121) also explains that, “in qualitative changes, the characteristics are replaced by the desirable one or vice versa”. That means in qualitative changes, a person changes so radically because of some factors. Hurlock (1974: 121) gives an example, “if a kind and loving father turns into a sadistic brute, it is logical to conclude that he is suffering from some form of mental illness”. From Hurlock example, it can be inferred that the previous characteristic disappears and it is replaced by a new characteristic that is very different from the previous characteristic because of some influencing factor. iii. Slow versus Rapid
Hurlock (1974: 121-122) points out that in normal condition, personality changes are slow and gradual, because every change happens in personality involves the violation of the previous habit and the learning of a new habit to replace it.
5. Theory of Intimate Relationship
Haber and Runyon (1984: 270-275) state that the real personal growth depends in large part on the quality of the individual’s interactions with others. Through good relationships and communications, we learn much about ourselves and we are provided the opportunities to express some of our finest characteristics, such as trust, love, and commitment.
Haber and Runyon (1984: 276-281) also point out that the effective interpersonal relationships are not static, but they are characterized by continued growth and development in honesty, supportiveness, meaningfulness, and selflessness. Those social values can help in developing close relationships with others.
a. Honesty
Haber and Runyon in their book state that,
“To varying degrees, all of us display a public self that differs from the private self that we know in our innermost thoughts and impulses. The public self is on display and consists of the parts we act out on the stage of everyday living.” (Haber and Runyon, 1984: 276)
b. Supportiveness
Being supportive does not mean humbling yourself at the other person’s feet. It means to put away negative judgments, accepting the person for what he or she is, and not hoping the person to be like you want to.
c. Meaningfulness
Meaningful relationships can change us, because it makes us different from what we would otherwise have been. It is an interaction that enables us to learn and sense the care and love from the people in our environment through some happening and also makes us realize our self from different perception. d. Selflessness
Haber and Runyon also point out in their book that,
“The relationship between people provides opportunities for both parties to grow and develop. The relationship is the opposite of exploitation and selfishness. Each party accepts the other and rejoices in the other’s accomplishments and triumphs.” (Haber and Runyon, 1984: 281)
C. Theoretical Framework
This part provides the foundations to answer the three problems in the Chapter I. From the theoretical framework, the writer tries to define on how the related study and theories are applied to analyze the object of the study.
As stated in the previous subchapter, the theories that are used are the theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of interaction between genetic and environmental factors prior to adolescence, theory of adolescent psychology, theory of personality; this also includes the personality changes, and also the theory of intimate relationship. Those theories are used to analyzing the data and to answer the problem formulation.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter is divided into three parts; the object of the study, the approach of the study, and the method of the study. The first part, object of the study, describes the novel titled To Live Againby Lurlene McDaniel as the focus of the study. The second part explains the approach applied in this study. Furthermore, the methodology conducts the steps that are taken in this research.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is To Live Again written by Lurlene McDaniel. This novel is published in 2001 in New York by Random House, Inc. It has 151 pages and is divided into twenty chapters.
Lurlene McDaniel is a famous inspirational novelist who has written over 40 novels about kids who face life-threatening illness, but sometimes she draws them not survives. She always writes powerful, meaningful, and inspirational stories about courage, love, and strength in the face of overwhelming trauma.
Lurlene McDaniel’s novels are very meaningful, some also involve sarcasm, and realistic, but they always give the readers inspiration and hope. Her books have received acclaim from readers, teachers, parents, and reviewers. Her recent novel, To Live Again, has been national bestseller and is included in a literary time capsule at the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C.
This novel is the last sequel after the quintet of Dawn Rochelle. Those four novels are combined into an omni titled Dawn Rochelle, Four Novels. These novels tell about the life of an ordinary girl named Dawn Rochelle. In To Live Again, Rochelle is drawn as a girl who suddenly suffers from stroke. She gets shock to hear that at first, she does not imagine at all that she will get stroke in very young age; she is also haunted by the previous heavy medical disease. She starts to feel down. She thinks that her life will be stopped here. She has no effort and confidence at all to continue her own life. Despite her pessimistic, her family, friends, a boy whom she has a crush to, the therapists, and the teacher never give up to encourage her, calm her down in all bad situations, and motivate her to be better. They always say that nothing will get to be worse than this. They always try to build a good relationship and communication with her.
B. Approach of the Study
Because this study deals with the psychology of the characters, so the writer uses the psychological approach to be employed in this study. As stated in Introduction to Psychology, Atkinson and Hilgard state that,
“Psychological approach is the literary criticism that study about the psychological critics view works through the lens of psychology. They look either in method, concept, theory or form, influenced by the psychological motivations of the characters or of the authors themselves”. (Atkinson and Hilgard, 1981: 97)
The psychological approach can help us understanding works in which characters have psychological issues. Knowing something about a character’s psychology can give us feeling into the work, because it takes us to the psychological point of view of the character to analyze the novel. It may include human thought, behavior, and other psychological aspects that give the influence to the literary works.
C. Method of the Study
The study is done through reading and analyzing the main source, which is the novel itself. This thesis is a library research because all materials or sources that used are taken from the library, not through questionnaire or laboratory research. There are two important sources used in this thesis; the primary source and the secondary source.
essays about the primary source, and also some references for additional information, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias.
This study uses some procedures or steps in order to conduct the answer of the problem. The first step is reading the whole story for several times. It is done in order to make the writer has deep understanding of the story. Some necessary notes are also taken to make it clearer about the important points of the development of the characters.
The second step is reading some theories and related references about the personality development, and also noticing the factors that can influence it. Furthermore, finding the criticism about another related study or topic is also taken.
The third step is finding out the character development. This includes Rochelle’s appearance, attitude, and also trait. The theory of characterization and the theory of personality are used here, because this step is focused on the Rochelle’s character development.
The last step is observing the influence of the family environment and the social environment to Dawn Rochelle’s personality development. The theory of intimate relationship is used in this part.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter covers the discussion to answer the problem formulated in the chapter I. It consists of three parts. The first part is the description of Dawn’s characterization and also her development. The second part deals with the environmental factors in Dawn’s life that cause the development. The last or third part is about the influence of those factors toward her personality development. The writer will use the theories presented in chapter two in order to answer the formulated problems.
A. The Development of Dawn Rochelle’s Character
In analyzing Dawn Rochelle’s character development, the writer applies the theory of characterization proposed by Murphy and also the theory of personality by Hurlock. In Murphy’s theory, there are nine ways to describe the characteristic of oneself, they are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation with others, reaction, direct comment, thought, and mannerism (161-173). While in the theory of personality by Hurlock (1974: 119-122), it is stated that the characteristic of oneself can change or develop. From the theories above, the development of Dawn Rochelle can be classified as follow:
1. Timid - Confident
In the beginning of the story, Rochelle is characterized as a timid girl as the effect of her stroke to her appearance. She seems to give up with her condition, and her therapist says that she will not be sent home unless she makes progression. Rochelle tells her that it is better for her to be there, but her therapist refuses the idea and says that she cannot stay in the hospital forever. It can be seen from Rochelle’s thought when she is in therapy session with her therapist below:
Dawn knew that was true, but still the thought of going home unnerved her. What would she do if her friends stopped by to see her? She wasn’t ready to face them. While she was in the hospital, she could keep them out. At home she has no such control. Nor was she ready to return to school. She’d already had nightmares about staggering down the halls, people making way of her, stepping aside in horror, pointing and staring.” (47)
quotation, “She’d already had nightmares about staggering down the halls, people making way of her, stepping aside in horror, pointing and staring” (47). It shows that she is afraid and shy of being noticed different. She cannot accept her new condition yet.
Her characteristic is also shown from her conversation with others. Rochelle and her therapist take Rochelle’s field trip, as the part of her therapy session. They walk around in a mall. Her characteristic can be seen from the conversation below:
Dawn dipped her head, heard laughter, and looked up in time to see a group of girls from her school with their backs to her. She froze. What were they doing here? Why weren’t they in class?
“What’s wrong?” Haley asked. “C-Can we sit down?”
“You all right?”
“Yes, I just need to go…some other…way.”
Dawn’s mind fogged. She struggled to turn around, pleading silently for the girls not to see her.
“You know those girls?”
“Yes…don’t want…them to see…me.” (58)
At the end of the story, finally Rochelle gets her self- esteem. Her previous characteristic develops, and she turns into aconfidentgirl. She can deal with her situation successfully, not to be ashamed again like she used to be. It is inferred from the direct comment of the author below:
As Dawn got out of the car, she felt nervous, but she wasn’t scared and she wasn’t ashamed. She held her head high, ignoring the glances kids gave her and her cane, and made her way to the brick wall along the steps to stand out of the flow of foot traffic. (145)
Rochelle can hold her head high in her graduation day in the school. She is not scared or ashamed like she used to be. It means that she develops from being a very timid person to a confident person. She gets her self esteem to go forward in her life, even though the effect of the paralysis is still there.
In another direct comment of the author, we know that Rochelle develops into a confident girl. At the end of the story, Mrs. Gagliano, her principal asks Rochelle to come up to the podium inside the auditorium in where Hardy High holds its gradual ceremony to give her achievement. It is showed in the following quotation:
She’d done it. She’d made it. There was no need to feel embarrassed about being recognized because of it. She firmly shook the principal’s hand, turned to face the crowd, and raised the packet high over her head in victory. Applause crashed around her like thunder, and Dawn Rochelle knew that her long journey back was over and her future was straight ahead. (151)
woman to overcome enormous obstacles in her life high in victory. “There was no need to feel embarrassed about being recognized because of it” (151) shows that Rochelle is confident enough to come up to stage in which all the graduated students and the participants can see her. She is not ashamed like she used to be anymore. She finally can accept, realize her condition, and deal with it, like to take the packet from her principal with her good hand would mean giving the principal a left-handshake. So, she extends her left hand, wraps her fingers around the package, and she firmly shakes the principal’s hand. Rochelle can make up her mind toward her condition.
2. Childish - Mature
Another characteristic of Dawn Rochelle is childish. From the direct comment of the author, we can know that Rochelle is actually childish. It can be seen in the following quotation,
She had rounded a corner at school midweek and had seen Jake and Tasha Lewis having a close encounter under the stairwell. Tasha had been giving him one of her famous seductive looks, and Jake had appeared to be lapping it up. Dawn’s blood had run hot and cold as she watched them together. Dawn had adored Jake Macka since fifth grade, and during the past couple of years they’d hung around together, but now she believed that he was growing tired of her and that friends were really all they would ever be. She had avoided him all week-better than getting dumped, she’d figured. (6)
so he gets close to another girl, Tasha. And because of that, she avoids him, and she is also jealous to Tasha, even though she does not know the truth because she never asks to him. Rochelle is only an adolescent who considers her thought as the correct one.
The other evidence that shows she is childish can be seen from her thought in the quotation below:
People are worried about you, Squirt. You’ve got an amazing number of friends and people who care.”
People who are weirdly interested, Dawn thought. She could almost hear the hallway buzz at school. “Did you hear? That Dawn Rochelle girl passed out in the cafeteria yesterday and had to be taken away in an ambulance.”
“Who?”
“You know-Dawn, that cancer girl.” “Oh-her.” (31)
Rochelle develops from childish into mature girl during her life. The development of her personality can be seen from her speech below:
Dawn fiddled with her straw and thought hard about how to say what she wanted to say. “You’re my best friend. But you think that . . . just because I’ve liked Jake Macka for years, it will work out between us. Like a fairy tale.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s just that this is real life. I know that real life doesn’t usually work out the way I want it to.” (125)
The conversation happens between Rochelle and Rhonda. They are in the same class and the same age, but from Rochelle’s speech above, it can be concluded that she is a mature girl. It can be seen from the quotation, “I know that real life doesn’t usually work out the way I want it to.” (125). Even though she is just seventeen years old she has already known that the reality does not always be like she wants it to be, related to her cancer in age thirteen, in which she does not expect to suffer it. Even though she falls in love with Jake, she cannot expect that Jake will falls in love with her too. Jake has the right to choose the girl, whom he will fall in love with. Her friend cannot accept it yet. She still thinks based on her imagination. Rochelle is more mature than her friend. She can see the world from broader perspective, even though both of them are the same adolescents.
because too many people talk about it. The proof can be seen in the following quotation:
“You mean school gossip? It stinks! Rumors are flying around the place. I wish everyone would shut up about it.”
“No one’s doing it to be cruel. I think kids talk about it because it helps them deal with it.” Dawn was surprised to hear herself defending the grapevine of gossip, which she’d loathed when she had been the topic of discussion. (132)
Jake hates the school gossip talks about his best friend because he sees it from the perspective of Brad. Brad is the topic of discussion around the school because of his accident. Jake thinks that rumors are made by irresponsible people, they only guess without knowing the truth.
Rochelle is mature because she can see the problem from different perspective, not from the perspective of the person who becomes the topic of discussion. It can be seen from her speech, “No one’s doing it to be cruel. I think kids talk about it because it helps them deal with it.” (132). She sees as people are actually cared about Brad, and the way they get the information about Brad is through the school gossip. She used to hate the people when she became the topic of discussion, but now she can see that in different way. She can accept the reality wisely than before. It means that her personality has developed.
3. Pessimistic - Optimistic
Rhonda to tell her about school. When Rhonda starts talking, Rochelle realizes that she has just left behind something that used to be her world. Then, she blames her condition, and expresses it during her therapy session with her therapist in the quotation below:
“Progress can be slow. I know that’s frustrating. But I’m telling you, hard work now will pay off. Often it takes up to six months for a person to regain mobility. Stroke patients can continue to improve for up to two years.”
“What if they don’t? What if I don’t?”
“We won’t know if you stop trying, will we?”
“I’ve missed…” Words darted out of Dawn’s mind. She gritted her teeth and tried again.
“I’ve missed…a lot of school. How can I ever catch up?”
“One day at a time,” Haley told her. “One step at a time. Now, come on. You’ve got work to do. Let’s do it.”
“Later,” Dawn said, rubbing her eyes. “I’m tired. Want to go back to my…room.” (48-49)
From the conversation above, we know that Rochelle is pessimistic because she has been at the rehab hospital for a month, doing intense physical therapy which tortures her a lot, but she seems not to see any significant different of her condition. She thinks that she cannot make any progression that finally can let her to go home and school again. The quotation, “What if they don’t? What if I don’t” (48) emphasizes that she is afraid and pessimist that she will never cure and catch up with her friends again.
“It… still…s-stinks.”
Dr. Baluchia smiled. “I agree. When it happens, remember that you’ve had a lot of adjustments to make lately. But all your therapists agree that you’re making good progress. Haley’s a little concerned because she thinks you’ve backed off. She thinks you’re not trying as hard as you were in the beginning. Is that true?”
Why try? Dawn thought. She was hopelessly behind in school. How could she ever catch up? “it’s taking…forever,” she said in a halfhearted defense.
“Why not set little goals for yourself? Why not concentrate on what you can do instead of what you can’t do?”
“I…can’t do…anything.” Dawn lifted her left arm and let it plop into her lap to make her point. (50)
Rochelle is a pessimist because she has already done the hard work which takes a lot of her time in the hospital, but her body still cannot be normal or even get close to it. “It’s taking…forever,” (50) and “I…can’t do…anything” (50) show that she is pessimist with her condition. She wants to be whole normal again and she thinks what she does all the time is useless.
At the end of the story and also with the help from people around her, she develops into an optimistic person. It can be seen from Rochelle’s speech in the quotation below:
Dawn returned Rhonda’s smile. ‘You know what? Starting right now, my future is straight ahead.” (141)
friends always teach her that. She cannot control what people say, but compared to Tasha, whose brother is in a comma, Rochelle thinks that she is the luckiest girl in the world because she still can think, walk, and talk by her own. She sets a positive thinking in her mind by saying, “starting right now, my future is straight ahead.” (141). It means that she has altered her mind set toward her world to the positive side; she becomes optimist that her life will be good. She has developed. Rochelle can finally realize that there must be many obstacles in her way to cure, but she is sure and she keeps struggle hard that she will overcome it.
Based on theTheory of Personalityproposed by Hurlock (1974: 119-122), personality can change or develop. It can happen when someone is not satisfied with his personality, so he has desire to change it, but it can also change because of the condition in the person’s life. In To Live Again, Rochelle’s personality develops because of the condition in her life, in which she suffers from a serious illness that affects her body too. The development of her personality shows the adjustment that she makes during her life. Hurlock (1974: 119) also classifies the development in personality into three major categories. First, some changes are for the better and some are for the worse. Second, some are qualitative and some are quantitative. Third, some occur slowly and some occur rapidly.
development is also qualitative, because the previous characteristics disappear and they are replaced with the new characteristics that are very different from the previous characteristics because of some influencing factors, in this case, the minor characters as the environmental factor. The development is also slow and gradual, because every change in her personality needs time for her to adjust and to learn of the new characteristics to replace the previous characteristics. In the story, her characteristics develop to be better, and until at the end of the story, she keeps her new characteristics.
B. The Environmental Factors in Dawn Rochelle’s Life That Influence Her Personality
The second part of this chapter will discuss about the environmental factors that influence the personality of the main character, Dawn Rochelle. The writer applies theory of interaction between genetic and environmental factors prior to adolescence, theory of adolescent psychology, and theory of character presented in chapter two to reveal the environmental factors that influence Dawn Rochelle’s personality.
developing an adolescent’s personality. They are the concept of self and also the environmental factors.
The environmental factor can be explicitly explained by Dr. Singgih D. Gunarsa in his book Psychology of Adolescent (1979: 39). He states that factors outside the individual can give great influence to the development of adolescent. It is covered in the environmental factors or usually called as the external factors. The factors can be family environment, social environment, geographic environment, and also facilities which are available in environment like foods and chance or learning stimulation. In To Live Again, there are only two influential environmental factors. They are the family environment and also the social environment.
1. Family Environment
Based on Dr. Singgih D. Gunarsa (1995: 40), family environment is the closest environment around the individual that influences the developmental process. In To Live Again, some significant people are included in family environment of Dawn Rochelle. They are:
a. Rochelle’s parents
saying that, her parents also show that they always listen to her. Rochelle’s parents also always accompany and support her during her stroke.
In the story, Rochelle’s mother appears more often than Rochelle’s father. Rochelle’s mother accompanies her to stay in the hospital, help her to eat because her leg and hand are paralyzed, she also keeps the get-well cards from Rochelle’s friend and gives it to Rochelle after she can read in order to motivate her, that she still have a lot of friends who care. Rochelle’s parents show their love to Rochelle through their support, care, and actions, and they never leave her alone.
b. Rob
c. Katie
Katie is Rob’s wife, so she is Dawn Rochelle’s sister-in-law. Katie is a nurse, and she is described as a worrywart. It can be seen from the quotation, “For a nurse, your mommy is such a worrywart.”(5) Rochelle says that because Katie and Rob are going to their first real date in weeks, but before they go, they ask Rochelle to baby-sit Keegan, their son. Katie has already prepared Keegan’s needs like diapers, milk, their phone number, and she always repeats the information until Rob takes his wife’s elbow and leads her to the car.
Katie was Rochelle’s nurse in the hospital, which was where she and Rob had met. “Rochelle was crazy about her sister-in-law and thought Rob’s marriage to Katie had been one smart move.”(5) The quotation above shows that Rochelle really likes her. Katie shows her care to Rochelle through her actions. She tries to be helpful by saying that Rochelle has a good doctor. Because Katie is a nurse, she knows what the doctor will do to Rochelle, and informs her before the doctor, “They’ll be doing more tests, and you’re scheduled for an MRI at eight tonight.”(25) By doing so, she helps Rochelle to prepare her heart.
2. Social Environment
Based on Dr. Singgih D. Gunarsa (1979: 41), social environment is the environment outside the family environment. It can be friends around the house, friends in school, or anywhere the adolescent often be and gather.
In To Live Again, Dawn often gathers with her schoolmates, and the therapists in the hospital. Those people are:
a. Rhonda
Ronda is Rochelle’s best friend. She is the first person to know about Rochelle’s strange symptom. She also tells Rochelle to tell it to her parents but Rochelle ignores it. Rhonda is the first outsider who worries about Rochelle’s condition so much after she is taken to the hospital. It can be seen from Rob’s speech when he comes to Rochelle’s room. “That friend of yours –Rhonda- is really persistent. She’s called the house a dozen times and is now in the waiting room trying to finagle her way in here” (30). It shows that Rhonda cares. There is still any friend who worries about her so much. Rhonda gives influences to Rochelle. When she finally can meet Rochelle, she says, “I miss you at school” (62). She wants Rochelle to now that she is worth, no matter what she looks like now, she also says to Rochelle, “No new nothingfor me. Without you, there’s no one to really hang with” (62) and it can finally make Rochelle be strong again.
b. Jake
convince her that she is the one whom Jake loves, and the happening between them can make Rochelle finally becomes mature. Jake also always supports Rochelle in her struggle to fight against the stroke by sending the get-well cards and a teddy bear bracelet because he knows that Rochelle likes teddy bear so much, and she treasures them. He also teaches Rochelle to see life from different point of view through the accident of Brad. Jake is one of the important people that motivate Rochelle to be better again.
c. Tasha
quotation emphasizes that Tasha never considers Rochelle as her rival. She also regards her as the part of the normal world in which Tasha has left behind. Whereas Rochelle is still in her rehab time, with her cripple leg, and freak appearance which Rochelle thinks that she is not normal.
d. Brad
Brad is Tasha’s brother. He is also Jake’s best friend. Brad indirectly also influences Rochelle’s personality development through his accident. Brad’s accident makes Tasha becomes depressed because she really loves her brother, and she considers the accident as her fault because she borrows Brad’s helmet, and after that Brad gets accident and his head wounds because he does not wear his helmet. Jake is also the person who is upset because of that. He tells Rochelle that Brad is now in the condition that called ‘persistent vegetative’. It means that Brad will never be conscious again. He still can breathe with respirator and can eat with the help of a tube through his stomach. That makes Rochelle sees her own life in different way. She is glad she can breathe, think, and move by her own.
e. Sandy
because the help of her brother’s bone marrow. In To Live Again, Sandy only appears for a while when she visits Rochelle in her despair to fight against the stroke. In here, she is told as a ghost who tries to motivate Rochelle.
f. The therapist
Rochelle has so many therapists to help her to cure her body. They try to help her to rewire it. She has Haley Conroy, one of the physical therapists. She is the therapist to rebuilt Rochelle’s strength and stamina to learn to stand and walk. She seems to be in her early twenties, with shoulder length dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail. Melisa is an occupational therapist who helps Rochelle to work out her hand to keep the joint limber and muscles pliable. She helps her by doing weight bearing exercises, and how to use therapy putty. Linda is the speech therapist. She gives Rochelle a baby book to read in her first day. From all the therapists, Haley soon becomes her favorite. She encourages, cajoles, jokes, and teases Rochelle into cooperating even when Rochelle is certain she could not perform the task Haley asks of her. Those therapists, especially Haley have role in developing Rochelle’s personality. They always support her during her rehab time.
C. The Influence of the Environmental Factors on the Development of Dawn Rochelle’s Personality
This chapter will discuss about the influence of the environmental factors on the development of Dawn Rochelle’s personality. It uses the Theory of Intimate Relationship to reveal the influence of the environment to Dawn Rochelle’s personality.
In To Live Again, Dawn Rochelle’s personality develops because of the two influential environmental factors as stated in the second part in this analysis of the study. They are family environment and social environment. They help Rochelle to develop her personality through their good relationship that is expressed in communication and interaction between them. From their relationship, they teach Rochelle some positive life values proposed in the Theory of Intimate Relationship, which are honesty, supportiveness, meaningfulness, and selflessness. Those life values can influence her and teach her to see the life in better perspective. They help her to adjust the condition of her life in positive way.
An opinion comes from Donn Byrne and Katheryn Kelley. They states in their book that,
The quotation above means that if a person is put among other characters, those characters may affect or influence the person. Dawn Rochelle is still an adolescent, she is still labile. If the environment gives positive influence to her, then psychologically Dawn Rochelle will be affected by them. In To Live Again, Rochelle’s family and social environment give her positive influence through some life values that are reflected in their relationship, communication, and interaction with her. Finally, Dawn Rochelle is affected by them, she imitates them and she tries to apply those values to help others. Those life values given by her family and social’s environment can influence Dawn Rochelle’s personality. As the result of it, her personality develops to be better.
Those life values are: 1. Honesty
The family and social environment of Rochelle help her to adjust her new condition. The way they help her is by honesty between them. It can be seen from the quotation below between the doctor and her mother, when Rochelle is brought to the hospital.
The doctor glanced at Dawn lying rigid on the bed. “Perhaps it would be best to talk in the hall.”
“No,” Dawn’s mother said. “Dawn’s been through too much for us to retreat and leave her alone just now. We don’t keep secrets from her. She’s entitled to hear what you say.”
Rochelle is taken to hospital because of the strange symptoms that she never knows before like lurched, thick tongue, heavy arm and leg. In the hospital, she is checked and taken to do some test and scan. After the doctor knows the disease, he meets Rochelle’s family in Rochelle’s hospital room, but he asks them to move to another room; in purpose that Rochelle will not hear what her disease is, in order not to shock her. Rochelle’s mother refuses the idea. She says that her family does not hide anything from Rochelle, no matter how bad it would be. The quotation, “We don’t keep secrets from her, She’s entitled to hear what you say” (21) emphasizes that they try to give Rochelle space to develop her own personality. Her mother wants to build a good relationship between her family and Rochelle by trusting each other, that there is nothing to hide between them. They appreciate Dawn and they show it by not keeping any secret from her. They have promised to Rochelle since the first she suffered from cancer and they keep that promise. Rochelle is very thankful to her mother because she still remembers her promise.
The other evidence shows the relationship of honesty can be seen from the quotation below.
“You’re depressed, Dawn. I can see that. Dr. Weinstein said it could happen.” (42)
“I’m not going to tell you not to be depressed. You have plenty to be depressed about. But you’re alive. That’s what really counts.” (43)
She knows that Rochelle is very depressed with her condition, she does not doubt that nor trying to persuade Rochelle that she will be just fine. And then she says “But you’re alive. That’s what really counts.” (43) Her mother is still thankful that Rochelle is still alive, and that is the most important thing. She tries to tell Rochelle that. Rochelle is very worth for her family, no matter what her condition is now. Her depression can be cure, but her life will never be replaceable. Her mother wants Rochelle to see her life in positive way.
The family and friends teach her about honesty. Through honesty, Rochelle is learned to trust each other. Honesty from the people that she loves makes her to see reality beyond her view. The people in Rochelle’s environment know that reality for Rochelle is hard and painful; from their speech and actions they do not doubt that. Through honesty, they share their feeling that they understand her suffering, but they also give her chance to develop her own feeling. Finally Rochelle can think broader and makes her to be mature in her life.
It can be seen when she finally can act the same thing like what she has learned from her environment and she expresses it toward Tasha who needs help as seen from her speech in the quotation below,
Rochelle can tell Tasha about honesty, without ignoring Tasha’s concerns that she is afraid that her family and she have hurt Brad by stretching his arm and leg and Brad always moans when they do that, because Brad cannot do that for himself. She learns about honesty in a positive way given by her family and friends, and then she can apply the value to others. The quotation above shows that she has developed. She can see a condition in different way. She tells Tasha about the honesty of the hard work that she used to do; she tells her the truth that it is very hurt for her, it makes her cry because she cannot stand the pain of doing that. Then, she realizes that if she does not do that painful hard work, she may be sitting in a wheelchair now. She becomesmature. She can accept the truth reason why her family and the therapist always push her to do the rehabilitation even though it tortures her a lot. She becomes wise in facing conditions. She wants to tell it to Tasha.
2. Supportiveness
“For starters, a person can have more than one kind of stroke-caused by everything from clogged arteries to arteries with thin walls. Your doc will eventually get around to figuring out what kind you had.” He shuffled through more papers. “The good news is that people recover from strokes. It can take a little time and some rehab work, but a lot of people recover completely. And I figure with you being so young and all, well, you’ve got the best chance of all for a total recovery.” (26-27) Rob tries to collect any information about Rochelle’s disease. He tries to support Rochelle and gives her spirit to fight against the disease by saying that people who suffer from stroke will recover. He emphasizes his support by saying, “And I figure with you being so young and all, well, you’ve got the best chance of all for a recovery.” (27) He wants Rochelle to know that she still has much chance to recover because she is still young and all. So that Rochelle will be more motivated to cure herself.
The supportiveness is also expressed in the conversation between Rochelle, the doctor, and her family when they talks about kind of stroke that she has. Dr. Weinstein tries to convince Rochelle that she does not have any more seizures, and she will be cured if she wants to do some hard work to her ability or body function that is damaged by the stroke. She has many chances to cure because she is still young. When Rochelle starts questioning herself about her recovery because her body refuses to obey even simple command from her brain, her brother and parents give her support as seen in the quotation below,
“It may be a long haul, Squirt, but you can do it,” she heard Rob say. “We’ll help every way we can,” her mother assured her.
