Portrayal of Adam and Eve in Mark Twain's 'The Diary of Adam and Eve'.

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ABSTRACT

Dalam penulisan tugas akhir ini, saya memilih untuk menganalisis salah satu novel yang ditulis oleh Mark Twain dengan judul The Diary of Adam and Eve.

Mark Twain adalah salah satu penulis besar yang berasal dari Amerika. Kehebatannya dalam menulis cerita diiringi dengan kemampuannya dalam menyisipi unsur humor dan sindiran dalam banyak karyanya. Banyak karya-karya Twain yang telah dibaca dan diakui oleh dunia.

Novel The Diary of Adam and Eve ini sendiri ditulis Twain ketika hidupnya mulai mengalami kemunduran. Novel ini menampilkan Adam dan Hawa sebagai karakternya. Diceritakan bahwa Adam dan Hawa, dalam imajinasi Twain, memiliki sifat-sifat layaknya manusia biasa. Sifat-sifat Adam dan Hawa tersebut tidak dapat kita lihat dalam penggambaran Adam dan Hawa dalam dua kitab suci yang mempercayai bahwa Adam dan Hawa adalah dua manusia pertama yang menghuni dunia, yaitu Alkitab dan Al-Qur’an. Yang menarik adalah sifat-sifat yang dimiliki Adam dan Hawa ini bertolak belakang satu sama lain, sehingga tidak mudah bagi mereka untuk menyesuaikan diri masing-masing.

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Dalam novel ini, Adam ditampilkan sebagai seorang pria yang penyendiri. Adam sangat menikmati kesendiriannya, sehingga ketika Hawa diciptakan sebagai pendampingnya, Adam merasa sangat terganggu. Disisi lain, Hawa ditampilkan sebagai wanita yang aktif; ia memiliki inisiatif untuk bertindak. Ketika Adam yang penyendiri menjauhinya, ia tetap berinisiatif untuk mengenal Adam. Selain itu, Adam ditampilkan sebagai pribadi yang rasional. Dia mengandalkan pikirannya untuk menjawab apapun yang menjadi pertanyaan baginya. Sifat ini berbeda dengan Hawa yang juga mengandalkan perasaannya dalam bertindak. Adam juga ditampilkan sebagai pria yang tidak sensitif terhadap sekitarnya, dia tidak menaruh perhatian terhadap Hawa, anaknya, maupun alam. Sifat Adam ini sangat kontras dengan sifat yang ditampilkan oleh Hawa. Hawa adalah seorang wanita yang penyayang. Ia menyayangi Adam, anaknya, hewan maupun alam.

Penggambaran karakter Adam dan Hawa yang sangat manusiawi, saya simpulkan sebagai tujuan penulis dalam menyampaikan bahwa perbedaan sifat yang dimiliki manusia sebenarnya dapat dijadikan bagian yang saling melengkapi. Penggambaran Adam sebagai pria yang individualistis diseimbangi dengan kehadiran Hawa sebagai wanita sosial. Begitu pula sebaliknya, sifat sosial Hawa diseimbangi dengan sifat individualistis Adam, sehingga dalam realisasinya pria dan wanita dapat saling melengkapi kehadiran masing-masing dengan apa yang menjadi kekurangan maupun kelebihannya.

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APPENDICES

Synopsis

Adam and Eve are believed to be the first two human beings on earth. God creates Adam first and then God creates Eve as a companion to Adam. God commands them to take care of the Garden of Eden and be united with each other.

When Adam and Eve finally meet, Adam objects to the presence of Eve. Adam is a man who enjoys his own company, when Eve shows up for the first time, he remains to keep a distance from her. Adam ignores Eve when she introduces herself, and he even puts her out in the rain to show his discomfort of the presence of Eve. On the other hand, Eve keeps trying to get acquainted to Adam. Eve’s love to Adam is so great that she still tries to get close to Adam even though Adam treats her indifferently.

As an active woman, Eve is the one who has initiative to act and she also loves to talk. It bothers Adam very much that Eve talks too much. It also bothers Adam to find Eve’s initiative to name everything that comes along for Adam thinks that it is his role. Eve thinks that by being initiative and naming all things, she relieves Adam from a heavy job and she can be useful for him; on the contrary, Adam feels annoyed. Being a curios woman, when God commands them not to eat the fruit

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of good and evil, Eve is eager to know what the meanings of good and evil are. Eve’s curiosity of those words leads her to eat the forbidden fruit.

The next year since their fall, Eve gives birth to their first son, Cain. Being insensitive man, Adam thinks that Cain is a kind of animal. On the other hand, Eve develops her love to Cain. When Adam puts Cain to water to answer whether Cain is a kind of fish or not, Eve protects Cain. She patiently guards Cain to make sure her son is safe.

After many conflicts and as the time goes by, they gradually realize that they are completed by the presence of the each other. Eve realizes Adam being a rational man is useful to present a great contribution to science. The law that water runs down not up comes from Adam’s rational thought. He cannot explain things just by using feeling like Eve does. Adam realizes that Eve is an essential part of his being for she shows the greatness of her heart and makes him learn to love. As Adam states at Eve’s grave: ‘Wheresoever she was, there was Eden’.

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Biography

Mark Twain, is pseudonym of Samuel Longhorn Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida. He spent his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, where he developed a strong tie to the Mississippi River. His first job was a printer for a newspaper. The young Clemens was looking for new adventures; therefore, in 1857 he headed to New Orleans and spent the next two years as a steamboat pilot. In 1861, his brother, Orion, who had been appointed as a secretary of Nevada, chose Twain to be his secretary. In Nevada he was interested in making his fortune by mining. But, he never succeeded in it. To support his income he contributed humorous letters to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise and became the reporter for the paper. He began signing his articles with the pseudonym Mark Twain in 1863, a Mississippi River phrase meaning “two fathoms deep”. Twain’s short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog in Calaveras Country became a national sensation and within months he was known around the country.

He was married to Olivia Langdon in 1870 and she gave him three children. Much of Twain’s best work was written in 1870s and 1880s; Roughing It, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) is considered as Twain’ masterpiece. In the same year Huck Finn was released, Charles L. Webster & Company, the company which published Twain’s and other writer’s works, went bankrupt and left Twain in considerable debt. Before he could handle his financial trouble, his eldest daughter was dead followed by his wife and his youngest daughter. So great was the effect of his family’s death and his

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financial trouble as to make the latter part of his life very pessimistic and bitter. During the final years of his life Twain’s most notable writings were Extract From Adam’s Diary, Eve’s Diary, Chapters From My Autobiography, and Letters From the Earth. Owing to his grieving, Twain vowed to never write again. On April 21, 1910 he sank into a coma and his heart failed to survive. Until nowadays Twain is considered as one of American’s great writers, whose best work is respected throughout the world.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The story of Adam and Eve is a story which is related to religion. Christianity and Islam are the two religions that believe Adam and Eve are the first two human beings on earth. They believe that God created Adam first and then God created Eve as a companion and helper to Adam. However, both the Bible, the Christian holy book, and the Koran, the Moslem holy book, do not describe the portrayal of Adam and Eve in detail. They have certain characteristics, yet not in detail. Thus, now the possibility of creating the first two human beings on earth is open.

Inspired by the story of Adam and Eve, Mark Twain takes the same subject in his work entitled The Diary of Adam and Eve. Yet, Twain portrays Adam and Eve through his own interpretation. I am interested in Mark Twain because Twain is known as one of America’s great writers:

Whose best work is characterized by broad, often irreverent humor or biting social satire. He was known and respected throughout the world as a humorist during his life, and since

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his death, his reputation has only grown. Today, Mark Twain is known as a great writer as well as a humorist as well as American icon.’

(http.//mark-twain.classic-literature.co.uk/mark-twain-biography.aspwain,).

Twain wrote a lot of great and interesting books; however, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered to be Twain’s greatest novel.

I choose to analyze the characters in this book owing to the fact that a character is one of the important things in the work of literature. According to Robert, a character is a verbal representation of human being as presented to us by authors through the depiction of actions, conversations, descriptions, reactions, inner thoughts and reflections, and also through the author’s own interpretive commentary. Authors can create the image of the characters in his book as they want it to be. The characters in this book, Adam and Eve, are presented to have characteristics in detail. In analyzing the characters in this book, I look into the characterization techniques that the author uses. According to Murphy, characterization technique is:

How an author conveys to the reader the characters and the personalities of the people he writes about; in other words how he convey to the readers what sort of people they are, how he makes the readers get to know and understand them. Characterization technique consist of personal description, character as seen by another, thoughts, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, and mannerism.

(Murphy, 1972:161-173)

I will focus on the characterization techniques used by the author in this novel, so that I can have a better understanding about the characters. I found that the most dominant techniques in revealing the characteristics are thought, reactions, and character as seen by another.

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Based on my reasons above, my discussion will focus on portraying the characteristics of Adam and Eve. Afterwards, I will try to find the author’s purpose in creating such characters.

Statement of the Problem

I would like to discuss the following problems:

1. What are the characteristics of Adam and Eve in Mark Twain’s The Diary of Adam and Eve?

2. What is the purpose of the author in creating such characters?

Purpose of the Study

Based on the statement of the problem above, I would like to show:

1. The characteristics of Adam and Eve in Mark Twain’s The Diary of Adam and Eve.

2. The purpose of the author in creating such characters.

Method of Research

In analyzing my thesis, I use intrinsic approach. I also apply library research. First, I read The Diary of Adam and Eve as the primary text. Then I read some reference books and explore some internet sites that are relevant to and support my thesis. Finally, I analyze the primary text and draw a conclusion.

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Organization of the Thesis

This thesis consists of three chapters. In Chapter One, I present the Introduction, which consists of Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research and Organization of the Thesis. In Chapter Two, I present my discussion of the portrayal of Adam and Eve in Mark Twain’s The Diary of Adam and Eve and the purpose of the author in creating such characters. After this, I conclude my analysis in Chapter Three. The thesis ends with Bibliography and Appendices, which contain the Biography of Mark Twain and the Synopsis of The Diary of Adam and Eve.

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

After analyzing the characteristics of Adam and Eve in Mark Twain’s The Diary of Adam and Eve, I would like to conclude what the characteristics of Adam and Eve are and what the author’s purpose is in creating such characteristics.

Thus, Adam has these following characteristics: loner, rational, and ignorant. Besides, I also have the conclusion that Eve has these following characteristics: curious, active, and loving. I notice the characteristics of Adam and Eve in this novel from what they think, what they do, and what one another says.

I come to a conclusion that Adam is a loner since he enjoys his own company. I can see this when he himself states that he is not used to be companied and the presence of Eve means nothing but a disturbance to him. Adam escapes from Eve to show his discomfort of her presence.

Adam is a rational man as he tends to use his logic rather than his feeling. When Eve tells him that she is made from his rib, Adam thinks that it is impossible for he does not miss any rib. Also when his son, Cain, is born, at first he only considers his son as an animal. He treats his son as an experiment to answer what kind of animal his son is.

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I am of the opinion that Adam is an ignorant man owing to the fact that he is ignorant toward his surrounding. He has no attention to Eve, his son, and also nature. He ignores Eve’s feeling. When Eve introduces herself, Adam has no interest in her. Being ignorant, he is also not touched by the presence of his son. Adam is ignorant of the nature, as he cares for nothing except building shacks to coop himself.

On the other hand, Eve is portrayed as a curious, active and loving woman. I conclude Eve as a curious woman for she always questions something that is new to her. She is eager to know about everything because she herself considers that she is just an experiment. Eve’s curiosity is also shown when God commands Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She keeps questioning Adam about what those two words means that it leads them to eat the fruit.

Eve is an active woman for she is the one who has the initiative to act. Eve takes the first initiative to introduce herself to Adam and name the things. Her being an active woman is also shown when she is portrayed as a talkative woman and when she constructs experiments. This characteristic of Eve also presents Eve as a sociable woman.

I also believe that Eve is a loving woman on the grounds that she presents her love to everything she knows. Her love to Adam is shown when she remains to love Adam even though Adam is ignorant of her. Her love to her son can be seen when she simply develops her love to her son even at the first time she does not know what her son is and protects him. Her love to animals can be seen when she adores and treats them as pets.

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After analyzing the characteristics of Adam and Eve above, I understand the purpose of the author of creating such characteristics. I think the author tries to say that even though people have different characteristics, they can be united by understanding that their lives could be completed by the companion of others. Even though there are many differences to live with, differences are not the reasons to create a gap; on the other hand, it can be a complementary part.

The purpose of the author can be seen from the point of view of the author’s portrayal of the characteristics of Adam is in contrast with the characteristics of Eve. Adam completes Eve for things that have to be determined not only by feeling but also by logic. The author shows it when Eve desires to pet a mighty brontosaur. Eve, on the other hand, completes Adam for things that do not have to be determined by reasoning but by simply feeling it. Eve shows this when Adam is perplexed by the presence of their first son, Cain. As an ignorant man, Adam is ignorant toward his surrounding, while Eve is able to show love to others. The portrayal of Adam as an individualist is also completed by the presenting Eve as a sociable woman, and vice versa. Therefore, in reality men and women can complete the presence of the others with all their strengths and weaknesses.

I found this book is interesting simply because it is funny and also teaches the readers a lesson. It is funny as Mark Twain describes the portrayal of the first two human beings on earth in contrary toward each other. As a result, they have to deal with a lot of misunderstandings before they can understand and complete each other. I also have the perception that the author describes Adam and Eve as representation of men and women in general, such as men are rational and women are emotional.

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I think this book successfully represents Twain as a humorous author since he presents Adam and Eve’s misunderstandings toward each other as something which can tickles the readers. I am also of the opinion that Twain is an observant and skillful author owing to the fact that he is able to capture the characteristics of men and women in general and skillfully teaches the readers that beyond the differences between men and women in characteristics, they can complete each other.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

References

High, Peter B. An Outline of American Literature. United State of America: Longman Group Limited, 1986.

Robert, Edgar V. Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Prentice Hall International, 2003.

Murphy, M. J. Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students. Oxford: Alden Press, 1972.

Internet Sites

• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product. (13th November 2006)

• http://hannibal.net/twain/biography. (17th December 2005)

• http://mark-twain.classic-literature.co.uk/mark-twain-biography.aspwain,

(19th February 2006)

• http://www.marktwainhouse.org/theman/major_works.shtm/The Diary of

Adam and Eve. (19th February 2006)

Primary Text

Twain, Mark. The Diary of Adam and Eve. Hesperus Press Limited; London.2002.