ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis novel Fallen Angels yang ditulis oleh Walter Dean Myers. Dalam menganalisis tema novel ini, saya menggunakan pendekatan intrinsik, yaitu melalui konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh utama, Richie Perry.
Tema karya ini adalah kedewasaan seseorang bisa terbentuk oleh keterlibatan dirinya dalam perang. Dalam Fallen Angels dikisahkan bahwa Richie, seorang pemuda yang baru lulus Sekolah Tingkat Atas, bergabung dengan tentara untuk mengikuti perang di Vietnam. Ia mengalami konflik-konflik batin dan sosial yang dapat menumbuhkan rasa kedewasaan dalam dirinya. Ia sering berpikir positif dalam menghadapi masalah batin, bisa mengatur diri dalam lingkungan dan situasi yang baru, dan menjadi seorang patriot yang rela mengorbankan nyawa untuk negaranya.
Setelah membaca novel ini secara seksama, saya berkesimpulan bahwa konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh tokoh utama dalam novel ini dapat membantu mengungkapkan tema novel ini.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS... ii
ABSTRACT……….. iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study……… 1
Statement of the Problem………... 3
Purpose of the Study……….. 3
Method of Research………... 3
Organization of the Thesis………. 4
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME IN FALLEN ANGELS……….. 5
CHAPTER THREE : CONCLUSION……….. 15
BIBLIOGRAPHY... 18
APPENDICES : Synopsis of Fallen Angels... 19
APPENDICES
SYNOPSIS OF FALLEN ANGELS
Uncertain of his future goals, seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, a black high school graduate from Harlem, travels to Vietnam to fight in the United States Army. When Richie leaves basic training for Vietnam, he harbors a host of illusions about the war and the army. He confidently believes that the medical profile he has received for a knee injury will be properly processed and will prevent him from engaging in combat.
BIOGRAPHY OF WALTER DEAN MYERS
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Novel is a form of literature that is widely used by writers to express their feelings and thoughts. I decide to discuss novel as I find that novel is the most
interesting genre compared to the two others; drama and poetry. According to
Harry Shaw in his book, Dictionary of Literary Terms, a novel is “… a lengthy
fictitious prose narrative portraying characters and presenting an organized series
of events and setting … every novel is an account of life, every novel involves
character, action, setting , plot, and theme” (Shaw, 1972 : 257 ). In a novel, a
writer can give a more detailed description of the events, characters, plot, setting,
and also other elements of the novel than in other genres. Most of the time, novel
is an easier genre to be understood and absorbed compared to drama and poetry
in its language and story. I personally find that novel is much easier and much
more enjoyable to read when compared to drama and poetry. Those are some
reasons why I decide to discuss novel.
I would like to discuss Walter Dean Myers’ Fallen Angels. Myers is an African-American writer who has won many awards in the literary world; he is
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and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Fallen Angels itself is the
award-winning novel of American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and
Correct Scott King Award. Fallen Angels is about a group of young men
experiencing the Vietnam War. Richie Perry, the protagonist and narrator of the
novel, joins the army to escape from his problems, his alcoholic mother, and even
his future. This novel is mostly filled with conflicts.
The reason why I choose Fallen Angels for my analysis is mainly because
there is praise for it. “… In conclusion it was an excellent and one of the best. I
would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys very realistic war novels. This
book has an excellent plot, but it also has a fair amount of realistic and
descriptive gore. This book too has a good amount of cussing”. ‘All in this entire
book is one that should not be passed over because of its historical relevance and
brilliant writing by Walter Dean Myers’. ‘Overall it is a great book. It is not just
another war story. It has a message and a lot of meaning too.’ (Taken from
www.amazon.com/gp-products/customersreview/html. ) In addition, I choose this
novel because the story has a realistic view about the Vietnam War.
I would like to discuss the theme as theme is one of the most prominent
elements in the novel. “ Theme is the central idea and dominating idea in a
literary work and the message or moral implicit in any work of art” ( Shaw, 1972:
378 ). For my analysis, I try to reveal the theme through conflicts, because the
conflicts in this novel give a lot of contribution in revealing the theme.
Conflict is a very important element in any novel. In Dictionary of
Literary Terms, Harry Shaw states that conflict is “the opposition of persons or
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Furthermore, Shaw identifies three types of conflicts: social conflict, internal or
psychological conflict and physical conflict. The first one, physical conflict, is a
conflict of man versus forces of nature. The second one is social conflict; a
struggle between man and man or it can also be a struggle between man and
society. The last one, the internal or psychological conflict, is a struggle between
desires within man himself (Shaw1972: 92).
In this thesis, I discuss the theme through inner and social conflicts as I
find that these two conflicts seem to be presented very strongly in this novel,
which helps to reveal the theme.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. What is the theme of the novel?
2. How do the conflicts help reveal the theme?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To show the theme of the novel.
2. To show that the conflicts help to reveal the theme.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
In analyzing my thesis, I use the formalist approach which requires a
thorough analysis of the novel. In addition, I employ the library research. First, I
read Fallen Angels as the primary text, and then I read several reference books
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get some relevant information for my thesis. Last but not least, I analyze the
theme of the novel which is revealed through conflicts.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
The thesis starts with the Abstract, which contains a brief explanation of the thesis in Indonesian. In Chapter One, I present the Introduction, which
consists of the 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 the theme analysis through conflicts. I conclude my analysis in Chapter
Three. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist
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CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
Having analyzed the theme of Fallen Angels, I would like to draw some
conclusions in this chapter. I find that the inner and social conflicts in this novel
help reveal the theme. It has been stated in the previous chapter that the theme of
the novel is one’s maturity may develop through involvement in war.
In analyzing the conflicts, I am of the opinion that Richie’s conflicts are
related to his maturity or his quality of behaving in a sensible way like an adult
because of his involvement in war. All Richie’s conflicts make him manage to
grow more mature, his personality or his behavior changes from indifference to
concern about everything around him; he can make decisions and think positively
through his experience in war, while before going to war he is just a childish boy
who often runs away from problems. He does not actually solve the problems that
plague him when he leaves, but he has grown from his experiences and starts on
the path to manhood and maturity; he can be positive in his thinking and in his
attitude. The sensibility, positive state of mind, sensitivity and decisiveness he did
not have before are learnt and obtained from his experiences in war.
Richie’s first inner conflict, whether he should go to college or get
himself involved in war, helps him to grow mature. He grows more mature when
he has positive thoughts about war and his ability to answer unsettling questions
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has also shown his maturity through his decisiveness and consideration, which is
a circumstance because of war.
On the resolution of the second inner conflict, whether he should write a
letter to his mother or not, Richie grows more mature. He realizes that his mother
is the only precious relative and wants to start a better relationship with her. His
mercy to forgive his mother and his willingness and motivation to repair the
relationship with her represent his sensitivity in the importance of family
relationship in times of hardship due to war.
The third inner conflict, whether to write a letter to his brother or not, also
shows his maturity through his pride of patriotism. His positive belief and
sensibility about being a good soldier and a good person also represent his
maturity which develops because of his involvement in war. Richie’s capability
to manage the situation has proven his maturity again which can only be obtained
from his involvement in the war squad. His sensibility and understanding the
condition and circumstances of the different of races and their cultures, especially
in a squad where everyone is crude and straight in comment, has also proven his
maturity in managing such diversity in the squad for he sees that the importance
of unity in war is shown in his experiences in war.
The resolution of the first social conflict in different perceptions between
the whites and the Vietnamese also has shown Richie’s maturity. T he
replacement of Richie’s indifference to his surrounding with a sensible way,
attentiveness and caring attitude also represents his maturity which he learns from
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I find that all Richie’s experiences and his conflicts make him more
mature than before. This leads me to the theme of the novel that one’s maturity
may develop through involvement in war.
The conflicts that Richie experiences deal with the conflicts within
himself and his society. I find that the way Richie takes is something that takes a
lot of courage and will for a person to make a decision to get involved in war for
it takes a great risk of life along with the stress that might come along in the
battle. His decision shows that Richie is a person who wants to reach his desire. If
a person has a strong will and effort, then he might reach his desire.
In my opinion, Walter Dean Myers portrays Richie as someone who
experiences many problems and doubts about his future. The character of Richie
makes the novel become suspenseful, fascinating and at the same time
heartbreaking. I also find that in the story, Richie’s conflicts make him grow
more mature than before and he has grown from his experiences and starts on the
path to manhood and maturity, which makes him positive in his thinking and in
his attitude. The sensibility, positive state of mind, sensitivity and decisiveness he
did not have before are learnt and obtained from his experiences in war.
I finally conclude that Walter Dean Myers is undoubtedly an excellent
novelist who describes the life of soldiers in the war, all the daily routines, the
fears, and thoughts in a brilliant way. All the information is taken from true
stories, information, and war tactics. He is skillful in delivering his messages to
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference
Cuddon, J. A. Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. London:
Penguin Books, 1991.
Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1972.
Internet Sites
♣
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0590409433/Sr=8-1/qid=1139996873/ref=sr1 1/102-7582469-8224904?%5Fencoding=utf8
(15th February 2006)
♣ www.sparksnotes.com/hlite.mpl?words=myers,angels,fallen&pd=0&page
=context.html&nfs=08guide=%2flit%2fallenangels (15th February
2006)
♣ www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/myers.html (15th February 2006)
♣ www.teenreads.com/authors/au-myers-walterdean.asp (15th February
2006)
♣ www.classzone.com/novelguides/litcons/fallen/guide.cfm (15th February
2006)
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