ABSTRACT
Prasetya, Ria. (2007) Mark Twain’s Criticism on the English Nobles’ Life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis deals with Mark Twain’s criticism on the nobles’ life in the 16th century in Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper. Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper tells the adventure of the two young boys, Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty, who exchange their position. This novel describes the social life of the common people in England in the 16th century, and reveals the nobles’ life in the 16th century.
In this thesis, there are two problems formulated that are going to be discussed related to the topic of this thesis. First is how Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life are described in the novel. Second is how Mark Twain criticizes the English Nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
Based on the two problems above, this study uses a library research to find out data. There are two kinds of sources in order to get the data used in this study; the primary data is the novel, The Prince and The Pauper, and the secondary data are from some books related to the theories and the internet. The books used as the secondary sources are books on theories of literature and books on history of England. While from the internet, the data are related to the biography of the writer and the history of England in the 16th century.
The socio-historical approach is used in this study, in order to gain the information about the society life of England in the 16th century. The theories of character and characterization are also used in this thesis to reveal the character traits of Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty. The theory of setting is used to reveal the setting of the story where the two main characters experience in.
Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor are two people born on the same day who are looked alike in physical appearance and they have similar character traits also. The two main characters who have a contrasting life backgrounds are experiencing a different life in their adventure, which reveals the English social life. Mark Twain criticizes the English nobles’ life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
Mark Twain criticizes nobles’ life style, nobles’ manner, nobles’ cruelty and nobles’ ways of governing. He uses some ways to convey his criticism. First, Mark Twain conveys his criticism on the nobles’ life through Prince Edward Tudor. Mark Twain uses four ways in delivering his criticism through Prince Edward Tudor. He conveys his criticism through Prince Edward’s manner, Prince Edward’s opinion and speech, Prince Edward’s adventure outside palace and by describing the Reign of Edward VI. Second, Mark Twain conveys his criticism on the nobles’ life through Tom Canty. Mark Twain uses three ways in delivering his criticism through Tom Canty. He conveys his criticism through Tom Canty’s poor life, Tom Canty’s opinion and speech and Tom Canty’s adventure in the palace.
In the last part of this thesis, there are two suggestions. The first is the suggestion for the next researcher(s) who will work on The Prince and The Pauper. The second is the suggestion for the teaching of Reading II using literary works.
ABSTRAK
Prasetya, Ria. (2007) Mark Twain’s Criticism on the English Nobles’ Life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini berhubungan dengan kritikan-kritikan Mark Twain pada kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris di abad 16 seperti yang tertuang dalam salah satu novel karya Mark Twain yaitu The Prince and The Pauper. Novel karyanya ini, The Prince and The Pauper, menceritakan kisah tentang petualangan dua anak laki-laki, Pangeran Edward Tudor dan Tom Canty, yang bertukar posisi satu sama lain. Novel ini menggambarkan keadaan kehidupan sosial rakyat jelata di Inggris pada abad XVI, dan mengungkapkan kehidupan para bangsawan pada abad tersebut.
Dalam skripsi ini ada dua pertanyaan yang akan menjadi bahan diskusi berhubungan dengan topic skripsi ini. Pertama mengenai bagaimana kehidupan Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor digambarkan dalam novel. Yang kedua mengenai bagaimana Mark Twain mengkritik kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris melalui Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor.
Berdasarkan dua pertanyaan tersebut, pembahasan dalam skripsi ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka dalam pencarian data-data. Terdapat dua macam sumber yang dipakai untuk mendapatkan data yang dipakai dalam skripsi ini; sumber utama yaitu novel The Prince and The Pauper, dan sumber penunjang yaitu dari beberapa buku mengenai teori-teori dan dari internet. Buku-buku yang digunakan sebagai penunjang merupakan buku-buku mengenai teori-teori literature dan buku-buku mengenai sejarah Inggris. Sedangkan data-data yang berasal dari internet berhubungan dengan biografi pengarang dan sejarah Inggris pada abad 16.
Metode pendekatan sosial dan sejarah digunakan dalam studi ini dengan tujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai kehidupan sosial Inggris pada abad 16. Teori karakter dan karakterisasi juga digunakan dalam skripsi ini untuk membantu mengungkap sifat-sifat dari tokoh Pangeran Edward Tudor dan Tom Canty. Teori seting digunakan untuk mengungkap seting cerita dimana kedua tokoh utama mengalaminya.
Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor adalah dua orang yang lahir di hari yang sama yang mempunyai keadaan fisik dan juga sifat-sifat yang sangat mirip. Kedua tokoh utama yang sesungguhnya mempunyai latar belakang kehidupan yang sangat berbeda mengalami kehidupan satu dengan yang lain dalam petualangan mereka, yang mengungkapkan kehidupan sosial di Inggris pada abad XVI. Kedua, Mark Twain mengkritik kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris di abad 16 seperti yang tertuang dalam The Prince and The Pauper melalui tokoh Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor.
Mark Twain mengkritik para bangsawan antara lain gaya hidup mereka, sikap maupun tingkah laku mereka, kekejaman mereka, dan pemerintahan dari para bangsawan. Pertama, dia menggunakan tokoh Pangeran Edward Tudor. Mark Twain menggunakan empat cara dalam menyampaikan kritikannya melalui Pangeran Edward Tudor. Dia menyampaikannya melalui tingkah laku, pendapat
Pangeran Edward Tudor. Dia menyampaikannya melalui tingkah laku, pendapat dan perkataan, dan petualangan pangeran Edward Tudor diluar istana, serta dengan mengungkapkan keadaan pemerintahan dimasa Edward VI. Kedua, Mark Twain menggunakan tokoh Tom Canty. Dia menggunakan tiga cara dalam menyampaikan kritikannya melalui Tom Canty. Dia menyampaikannya melalui kehidupan miskin Tom Canty, pendapat dan perkataan Tom Canty, dan melalui petualangan Tom Canty didalam istana.
Pada bagian akhir dari skripsi ini, terdapat dua saran. Saran yang pertama diperuntukan bagi (para) peniliti selanjutnya yang akan menganalisa novel yang sama. Saran yang selanjutnya diperuntukan bagi pengajaran Reading II dengan menggunakan karya sastra.
MARK TWAIN’S CRITICISM ON
THE ENGLISH NOBLES’ LIFE IN THE 16
THCENTURY IN
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Ria Prasetya
Student Number: 03 1214 104
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
Statement of Work’s Originality
I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or part
of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography,
as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, August 13th, 2007
The writer
Ria Prasetya
“Is life worth living? This is a question for an
embryo, not a man.”
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) British writer, painter, and musician
“Lif
e
is
n
ot a burden that makes us feel that
we have to struggle because of it. But, Life is a
bless
i
ng
that
we have to struggle for it.”
Pras
I dedicated this thesis to everybody who
struggles in search of truth for their life and others.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my Lord Jesus Christ
for His great blessing, His guidance, His protection and His will, all the things that
I need in my life so that I can pass every moment of my life nicely. He has given
me love, strength and spirit through the people surrounds me. He also has given
me strength and spirit so I can finish my thesis. Without His blessing I could
never have finished my thesis.
I would like to express my great gratitude to my lovely parents, my father
Yohanes Gatot Prasetya Kuntjara and my mother Maria Mimin Mujiwiyani, for
their love, attention, trust and understanding, and support to me. I also would like
to thank them for giving me a chance to know the beauty of the world; it means a
lot for me. My special thanks go to my two little brothers, Andre and Fran, who
have made my life more colorful with their presence and love. I also would like to
thank my wonderful friend, Niken, for her love, understanding, patience and spirit,
including the spirit that helps me finish my thesis.
I would like to express my special gratitude to my major-sponsor Henny
Herawati, S. Pd., M. Hum., and my co-sponsor Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto Y., M.
Hum., for their patience, attention and time, guidance, suggestion, corrections and
encouragement that helps me much in finishing my thesis. I also would like to
thank all my lectures in English Education Study Program for the knowledge and
skills of English, and also the lesson of life that they gave to me.
I would like to thank the people that support me much, my closest friends
in Mudika such as mas Haryo for the lesson to be a patience man, Ardian, Wahyu,
Sonny, and Robert for their amazing friendship during my life in Yogyakarta, my
best friends in campus Haryo, Vendi, Febri, Galih, An, and Dudi for their support,
and their help they have given to me during my study, my play-mates Mas Danis,
Mas Dewan, and Anton for the good time in Yogyakarta. I also would like to
thank the late pak Muryono who allowed me to live in this comfortable boarding
house.
Finally, I would like to thank everybody who I cannot mention one by one
for their help in my life in Yogyakarta and for their help in my study and
especially in finishing my thesis. Everything that they gave to me means so much
to me. May all His blessing, His guidance, and His protection be with them.
Pras
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY iv
PAGE OF DEDICATION v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
ABSTRACT xii
ABSTRAK xiv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study 1
B. Problem Formulation 4
C. Objectives of the Study 4
D. Benefits of the Study 4
E. Definition of the Terms 5
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Theories 7
1. Critical Approaches 7
2. Setting 8
3. Character and Characterization 9 B. Review of England in the 16th Century 11
1. The Society Systems 11
a. The Government 11
1) King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) 12 2) King Edward Tudor VI(1537 - 53) 14 3) Queen Mary I (1516 - 1558) 15
b. The Law 16
c. The Society 16
2. The Nobles 18
a. The Clothing 18
b. The Housing 20
c. The Food 20
d. The Life 21
3. The Common People 22
a. The Clothing 22
b. The Housing 23
c. The Food 23
d. The Life 25
4. Social Values 26
a. Monarchy 26
b. The English Poor Laws 28
C. Theoretical Framework 29
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY
A. Subject Matter 31
B. Approach of the Study 31
C. Method of the Study 32
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS
A. Tom Canty’s Life and Prince Edward Tudor’s
Life 35
1. Tom Canty’s Life 37
a. In the Offal Court 37
b. In the Palace 43
2. Prince Edward Tudor’s Life 51
a. In the Palace 52
b. Outside the Palace 55
B. Mark Twain’s Criticism on the Nobles’ life in the 16th Century through Prince Edward Tudor and
Tom Canty 64
1. Nobles’ Life Style 65
a. The Clothing 66
b. The Housing 67
c. The Food 68
2. Nobles’ Manner 69
a. Rude 69
b. Arbitrary and Tyrannous 70
c. Greedy and Cunning 73
d. Arrogant 75
3. Nobles’ Cruelty 76
a. Torturing Innocent People 76
b. Violating Humanity 79
4. Nobles’ Ways of Governing 80 a. Ignoring the Common People’s Needs and
Rights 81
b. Interfering the Church 85 CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions 87
B. Suggestions 89
1. Suggestion for Future Researcher (s) 89 2. Suggestion for the Teaching Reading II Using
Literary Work 89
BIBLIOGRAPHY 94
APPENDICES 97
ABSTRACT
Prasetya, Ria. (2007) Mark Twain’s Criticism on the English Nobles’ Life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis deals with Mark Twain’s criticism on the nobles’ life in the 16th century in Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper. Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper tells the adventure of the two young boys, Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty, who exchange their position. This novel describes the social life of the common people in England in the 16th century, and reveals the nobles’ life in the 16th century.
In this thesis, there are two problems formulated that are going to be discussed related to the topic of this thesis. First is how Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life are described in the novel. Second is how Mark Twain criticizes the English Nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
Based on the two problems above, this study uses a library research to find out data. There are two kinds of sources in order to get the data used in this study; the primary data is the novel, The Prince and The Pauper, and the secondary data are from some books related to the theories and the internet. The books used as the secondary sources are books on theories of literature and books on history of England. While from the internet, the data are related to the biography of the writer and the history of England in the 16th century.
The socio-historical approach is used in this study, in order to gain the information about the society life of England in the 16th century. The theories of character and characterization are also used in this thesis to reveal the character traits of Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty. The theory of setting is used to reveal the setting of the story where the two main characters experience in.
Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor are two people born on the same day who are looked alike in physical appearance and they have similar character traits also. The two main characters who have a contrasting life backgrounds are experiencing a different life in their adventure, which reveals the English social life. Mark Twain criticizes the English nobles’ life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
Mark Twain criticizes nobles’ life style, nobles’ manner, nobles’ cruelty and nobles’ ways of governing. He uses some ways to convey his criticism. First, Mark Twain conveys his criticism on the nobles’ life through Prince Edward Tudor. Mark Twain uses four ways in delivering his criticism through Prince Edward Tudor. He conveys his criticism through Prince Edward’s manner, Prince Edward’s opinion and speech, Prince Edward’s adventure outside palace and by describing the Reign of Edward VI. Second, Mark Twain conveys his criticism on the nobles’ life through Tom Canty. Mark Twain uses three ways in delivering his criticism through Tom Canty. He conveys his criticism through Tom Canty’s poor life, Tom Canty’s opinion and speech and Tom Canty’s adventure in the palace.
In the last part of this thesis, there are two suggestions. The first is the suggestion for the next researcher(s) who will work on The Prince and The Pauper. The second is the suggestion for the teaching of Reading II using literary works.
ABSTRAK
Prasetya, Ria. (2007) Mark Twain’s Criticism on the English Nobles’ Life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini berhubungan dengan kritikan-kritikan Mark Twain pada kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris di abad 16 seperti yang tertuang dalam salah satu novel karya Mark Twain yaitu The Prince and The Pauper. Novel karyanya ini, The Prince and The Pauper, menceritakan kisah tentang petualangan dua anak laki-laki, Pangeran Edward Tudor dan Tom Canty, yang bertukar posisi satu sama lain. Novel ini menggambarkan keadaan kehidupan sosial rakyat jelata di Inggris pada abad XVI, dan mengungkapkan kehidupan para bangsawan pada abad tersebut.
Dalam skripsi ini ada dua pertanyaan yang akan menjadi bahan diskusi berhubungan dengan topic skripsi ini. Pertama mengenai bagaimana kehidupan Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor digambarkan dalam novel. Yang kedua mengenai bagaimana Mark Twain mengkritik kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris melalui Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor.
Berdasarkan dua pertanyaan tersebut, pembahasan dalam skripsi ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka dalam pencarian data-data. Terdapat dua macam sumber yang dipakai untuk mendapatkan data yang dipakai dalam skripsi ini; sumber utama yaitu novel The Prince and The Pauper, dan sumber penunjang yaitu dari beberapa buku mengenai teori-teori dan dari internet. Buku-buku yang digunakan sebagai penunjang merupakan buku-buku mengenai teori-teori literature dan buku-buku mengenai sejarah Inggris. Sedangkan data-data yang berasal dari internet berhubungan dengan biografi pengarang dan sejarah Inggris pada abad 16.
Metode pendekatan sosial dan sejarah digunakan dalam studi ini dengan tujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai kehidupan sosial Inggris pada abad 16. Teori karakter dan karakterisasi juga digunakan dalam skripsi ini untuk membantu mengungkap sifat-sifat dari tokoh Pangeran Edward Tudor dan Tom Canty. Teori seting digunakan untuk mengungkap seting cerita dimana kedua tokoh utama mengalaminya.
Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor adalah dua orang yang lahir di hari yang sama yang mempunyai keadaan fisik dan juga sifat-sifat yang sangat mirip. Kedua tokoh utama yang sesungguhnya mempunyai latar belakang kehidupan yang sangat berbeda mengalami kehidupan satu dengan yang lain dalam petualangan mereka, yang mengungkapkan kehidupan sosial di Inggris pada abad XVI. Kedua, Mark Twain mengkritik kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris di abad 16 seperti yang tertuang dalam The Prince and The Pauper melalui tokoh Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor.
Mark Twain mengkritik para bangsawan antara lain gaya hidup mereka, sikap maupun tingkah laku mereka, kekejaman mereka, dan pemerintahan dari para bangsawan. Pertama, dia menggunakan tokoh Pangeran Edward Tudor. Mark Twain menggunakan empat cara dalam menyampaikan kritikannya melalui Pangeran Edward Tudor. Dia menyampaikannya melalui tingkah laku, pendapat
Pangeran Edward Tudor. Dia menyampaikannya melalui tingkah laku, pendapat dan perkataan, dan petualangan pangeran Edward Tudor diluar istana, serta dengan mengungkapkan keadaan pemerintahan dimasa Edward VI. Kedua, Mark Twain menggunakan tokoh Tom Canty. Dia menggunakan tiga cara dalam menyampaikan kritikannya melalui Tom Canty. Dia menyampaikannya melalui kehidupan miskin Tom Canty, pendapat dan perkataan Tom Canty, dan melalui petualangan Tom Canty didalam istana.
Pada bagian akhir dari skripsi ini, terdapat dua saran. Saran yang pertama diperuntukan bagi (para) peniliti selanjutnya yang akan menganalisa novel yang sama. Saran yang selanjutnya diperuntukan bagi pengajaran Reading II dengan menggunakan karya sastra.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
In this chapter I would like to provide the background information of the
study. This chapter includes background of the study, problem formulation,
objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of the terms.
A. Background of the Study
Literature with its development already has produced a large number of
literary works. There are so many kinds of literary works, such as poems, short
stories, and longer stories which are usually called novels. The development of
literature cannot be separated from the development of social life. Social life gives
great contribution to the development of literature. That is why most of the
literary works are affected by the social life.
One of the literary works which is affected by social life is Novel. In the
nineteenth century, in some countries where the famous authors could be found,
like in America, England, France, and others, the popular themes of most novels at
that time were about royal families. The themes were influenced by the social
background at that time, which mostly still dominated or had some inheritance of
the life of royal families.
The history of England became one of the most popular themes in the
literary works because the writers were aware of the wealth of the history of
England. England and its history had inspired some writers to write their literary
works. They used the theme because they were interested in criticizing the social
life at that time. The stories were about the kings, the princes and the knights who
lived in the palace, and also the life of the common people itself.
In the 16th Century, the English Nobles lived in luxurious surroundings,
had great authority, different from the life of the common people who did not have
the luxury and authority. Therefore, the stories were about the life of the royal
families and the life of the common people. Mostly the writers criticized the life
of the royal families or the nobles’ life, because at that time the nobles often did
the wrong things and lived inappropriately (Carter 61).
The nobles used their authority to fulfil their ambition to have a bigger
territory and authority. They used all possible ways to achieve their goals, for
example by oppressing the poor, slandering the rivals, and others. Therefore, it is
reasonable that there were so many writers who were encouraged to criticize the
nobles’ life. Earl of Warwick (John Dudley) is one of the nobles who lived in the
reign of Edward VI. This nobleman represented the actual behavior of the nobles
in the real life. Warwick attempted to increase his position by persuading Edward
VI to create him as Duke of Northumberland. He also slandered Duke of Somerset
to get higher position as Lord Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King's
Person. Duke of Somerset, Edward’s uncle, was in that position (Black 119).
One of the writers who was interested in the life in England and inspired by
the life in England in the age of kings is Mark Twain. Mark Twain used the theme
to criticize the social life, especially on the nobles’ life in the sixteenth century.
One of his novels, entitled The Prince and the Pauper (1882), tells the life of
The Prince and the Pauper is one of Twain’s most strong thematic novels. Thematically, Mark Twain was particularly interested in contrasting the life of the
rich with the life of the poor, the life of the nobility with the life of the lower
classes. The title of the novel “The Prince and the Pauper” itself shows a strong
contrasting background of the two major characters, Edward Tudor and Tom
Canty. The first chapter of the novel describes the births of the Prince and the
Pauper:
…, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of this fuss, not knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him-and not caring either. But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor rags, except among the family of the paupers whom he had just come to trouble with his presence (2).
Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor are the main characters who are used
by Mark Twain to criticize the English nobles. Edward Tudor is a prince, whose
life has been extremely guarded and luxurious, while Tom Canty is a pauper, who
comes from the lowest ranks of society and whose life has been very hard.
The setting of this novel is in England in the 16th century, in the reign of
King Henry VIII. At that time, there was a big gap of the life of the nobles and the
common people. In this novel, Mark Twain really wants to show the gap between
the two major characters. Mark Twain presents the story of the prince and the
pauper alternately. For example after he tells the story of the prince in a chapter or
more then in the next chapter he switches to the story of the pauper and then back
to the story of the prince again and so on. He describes how hard the condition of
England in the novel where the nobles are also taking a part in that hard condition
his criticism on the nobles’ life that causes a hard condition in England through the
characters of Tom Canty and Edward Tudor.
B. Problem Formulation
The problem discussed in this study can be formulated in the two questions
stated as follows:
1. How are Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life described in the
novel?
2. How does Mark Twain criticize the English Nobles’ life through the
characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor?
C. Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are to answer the two questions which are
stated in the problem formulation. The first objective is to describe how Tom
Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life in The Prince and the Pauper are. To
find the answer of this question, the analysis will focus on the two major
characters, Tom Canty and Prince Edward.
The second objective is to reveal how Mark Twain criticizes the English
nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor. To
find the answer this study will focus on the Tom Canty’s and Prince Edward’s life.
D. Benefits of the Study
This study attempts to find out the meaningful value of life presented in
them to have a better understanding of the story while reading this novel by
considering the socio-historical background of the story. Therefore it can lead the
readers to a better appreciation on the literary works.
For other readers or researchers who conduct a study on the same novel,
this study can be used as a reference. So, other researchers who will conduct a
literary study can use the result of this study as a consideration in the future works
in literature.
This study is also expected to be useful for the English students. Through
this study, the students may have a better understanding about the story and the
values of life that can be portrayed. This study also can help them in learning the
English culture, so that the students can increase their comprehension about the
English culture.
This study also gives benefits to me as the thesis writer; this study gives me
meaningful values of life and new knowledge of the English culture and its
history. Therefore that new knowledge helps me to have better understanding on
this novel and better appreciation of the literary works.
E. Definition of the Terms
In this part I would like to clarify some important terms, to avoid
misunderstanding. I would like to clarify two terms. The first is criticism and the
second is nobles.
1. Criticism
The first term is criticism. Wikipedia’s critic defines “Criticism in general
intended purposes, as opposed to the authoritarian command, which is
meant as an absolute realization of the authority's will, thus not open for
debate”. In other words, criticism is the activity of informed interpretation
and almost exclusively refers to disagreement. However, in a literary
context the term criticism usually refers to a judgement which attempts to
understand the aesthetic object in depth.
2. Nobles
The second term is Nobles. Noble means a class of hereditary who acquired their rank through holding a high state office (Encyclopaedia
Britannica Inc.). In other words, noble means a class of high rank people
who hold a high state they acquired their rank by inheritance since their
birth or by their services to the King or their country.
According to Tregidgo (73), “The government of Britain has for many
centuries been shared by three supreme authorities: the Monarch (i.e. the
King or Queen), the Lords (i.e. the hereditary nobility), and the Common
(i.e. ordinary people)”. In this context, the nobles are the people who are
described by Tregidgo in the first and the second social classes; they are
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this chapter I would like to discuss all theories that will be the basis of
analyzing the novel. This chapter covers review of related theories, review on
England in the 16th Century, and theoretical framework.
A. Review of Related Theories 1. Critical Approaches
In exploring certain literary works and having a better appreciation to the
works, Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (6-15) offer five approaches. They are the
formalist approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural-historical
approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach.
The formalist approach concentrates on the importance to comprehend the
total integrity of the literary object. Esthetic value is the main concern. The critics
try to demonstrate the harmonious involvement of all the parts to the whole by
pointing out how meaning is derived from structure and how matters of technique
determine structure. The biographical approach is used when an appreciation of
the idea and personality of the author is intended to an understanding the literary
work. Therefore, when we are using biographical approach we are expected to
learn as much as possible the life of the author and to apply this knowledge to
understand the writing. The sociocultural-historical approach insist that the only
way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization as the attitudes and
actions of a specific group of people and point out that literature takes these
attitudes and actions as its subject matter. The mythopoeic approach is used to
discover certain universally recurrent patterns of human thought, which they
believe that they find some expression insignificant works of art. The
psychological approach involves effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent
patterns. This approach leads to the exploration of the unconscious area of the
human mind, which led to the conclusion that it was this area that was the
wellspring of man rich imagination, his capacity for creation and the complexity of
his thought, behavior, and that the contents of his region of the mind found
expression in symbolic words, thoughts, and actions.
2. Setting
According to Robert and Jacob (191) setting refers to “the natural and
artificial scenery or environment in which characters in literature live and move”.
In studying the setting of story, according to Robert and Jacobs (191), our first
concern should be to discover all the details that conceivably form a part of setting,
and then to determine how the author has used these details. Robert and Jacobs
propose the six uses of setting: The first concerns setting and credibility, which
lead to realism or verisimilitude to make the action credible. The second concerns
setting and statement, in which the author makes statements much as a painter uses
certain images as ideas in a painting. The third concerns setting and character,
which are designed to help to shape readers’ ideas of characters. The fourth
concerns setting and organization of which the goal is to move a character from
one setting to another. The fifth concerns setting and atmosphere, which are
present as an element of concurrence, agreement, reinforcement, and strengthening
of character and theme. In other words, the setting may create an environment that
is the opposite of what actually occurs in the story.
Kenney (41) divides setting into two types. The first is neutral setting,
which refers to nothing but the setting itself and it does not influence the
characters and the plot of the story. The second is spiritual setting which has
special characteristics that differ from other settings. According to Kenney,
spiritual setting includes “the value embodied in or implied by physical setting”.
This kind of setting is not only a physical setting but also its custom, tradition,
faith and value. Therefore in this study the second type of setting is applied
because it includes the custom, tradition that can affect the character.
3. Character and Characterization
Character, according to Abrams (20), means “an imagined person who
inhabits a story and it shows a distinctive type of person”. The second meaning is
“all the mental or behavior traits of a person; the sum of psychological traits”
English (83). While according to Stanton (17), the term of character may refer to
two meanings. The first meaning of character is the individual who appears in the
story. The second meaning of character is the description of attitude, interest,
desires, emotion, and moral principle of individuals.
Henkle (88-100) divides the character into two kinds of characters, the
major and the secondary or minor character, in order to distinguish between those
of prominence in the novel. The major character not only deserves the fullest
meaning that build the expectation and desires, which in modification shift the
values upon the major character. On the other hand, the minor character performs
more limited functions less complex than the major character, and presents what is
only one side of the experience. The minor character function is as foils to support
the major character.
Van Spruiell and Abend’s Theory of Character states that character
represents “the regularities in one person's behavior as observed by another, a
pattern of related activities”. It thus represents “the singularity or uniqueness of a
person, and hence his predictability”. In another sense character represents “a type
of person, hence the placement of an individual in a group of supposedly like
individuals”. In both senses, character arises in the mind of the observer.
While characterization, according to Baldick (34), is the presentation of
persons in narrative and dramatic works. This may include direct methods like the
attribution of qualities in description or commentary, and indirect (or dramatic)
methods that invite readers to infer qualities from characters’ action, speech or
appearance.
Robert and Jacob (56) have four different ways to convey the information
about the characters in fiction. First is what the characters themselves say and
think. In this method the author expresses the character traits through what she/he
says, whenever she/he speaks, whenever she/he is in conversation with another
character, and whenever she/he gives opinions and ideas. Second is what the
character does. Here, the author gives readers an insight into the character through
the action of the character in the story. The third is what other character says about
the eyes and opinion of another. The last is what the author says about them. In
using this way the author speaks as a storyteller or an observer. The author
describes the characters directly.
B. Review of England in the 16th Century
It is important to review the historical background of The Prince and the
Pauper in analyzing this novel in order to have a better understanding of the novel. It is related to the socio-historical context of England in the reign of King Henry
VIII in the 16th century. This part contains of the society systems, the nobles, the
common people and the social values.
1. The Society Systems a. The Government
Chrimes (11) states that the Government of England officially and legally
is His Majesty’s Government (the king and the crown). Therefore, Tregidgo (73)
describes that the government of Britain had for many centuries been shared by
three supreme authorities: the Monarch (i.e. the King or Queen), the Lords (i.e. the
hereditary nobility), and the Common (i.e. ordinary people). The monarch,
according to the hierarchy, consisted of the king, the queen and the prince. The
title of prince belonged to the king's eldest son, who was called Prince of Wales.
The king's younger sons were called after their names, like Lord Henry or Lord
Edward.
While the Lords, according to the hierarchy, consisted of the dukes, the
the monarch or come to that honour by being the eldest sons or highest in
succession to their parents. For the eldest son of a duke during his father's life was
an earl, the eldest son of an earl was a baron, or sometimes a viscount. The
monarch got their original donation and condition of the honour for good service
done by the first ancestor.
The nobles have great influence to the government. According to
Wikipedia’s Nobility, in many countries the nobility dominated great social and
political importance. Therefore it also happened in England, that the English
Government was dominated by the nobles until the twentieth century, with no
exception it also happened in the 16th century. In the 16th century, the nobles not
only have influence in political and social aspects, but also in the religion aspect.
There were a lot of noblemen who tried to influence the government’s policy.
Carrie’s England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century states about the Duke of
Northumberland’s policy which arranged to move English policy in a more
Protestant direction. In the reign of Edward Tudor VI, John Dudley (Earl of
Warwick) represents the actual behavior of the nobles in the real life. Jeremy
Black in A New History of England states:
The Crucial new figure was John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who became Lord President of the Council 1550-1553, and Duke of Northumberland in 1551. A member of Henry VIII’s service nobility, he was representative of general aristocratic views on economic regulation and social policy, in being uninterested in either (119).
Duke of Northumberland tried to influence the government policy not only
1) King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547)
Henry VIII, the second monarch of the House of Tudor, ruled England
from 1509 until his death. Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York. Many significant pieces of legislation were made during Henry
VIII's reign, including the several Acts which separated the Church of England
from the Roman Catholic Church (Morgan 240-7).
Henry and Parliament finally threw off England’s allegiance to Rome in an unsurpassed burst of revolutionary statute-marking: the Act of Annates (1532), the Act of Appeals (1533), the Act of Supremacy (1534), the First Act of Succession (1534), the Treasons Act (1534), and the Act against the Pope’s Authority (1536). The act of Appeals proclaimed Henry VIII’s new imperial status—all English jurisdiction, both secular and religious, now sprang from the king—and abolished the pope’s right to decide English ecclesiastical cases. The Act of Supremacy declared that the king of England was supreme head of the Ecclesia Anglicana, or Church of England—not the pope (Morgan 246-7).
There were a lot of people who disagreed towards the Act of Supremacy,
which established related to the Roman Catholic Church law about his divorce,
and those people were cruelly executed. “The victims of the act, who were in
reality martyrs to Henry’s vindictive egoism, were cruelly executed in the summer
of 1535” (Morgan 247). Henry forced the clergy to admit his position in the
English church.
Henry were described as a king who was very autocratic in temper and
high-handed in methods, and were not shy, on occasions, of straining and even
perverting the law in order to get his own objectives (Chrimes 120). Kent
McCroskey’s English Occupation states that he was a king who is infamous for his
cruelty. Henry, the greatest nobleman in his reign, liked to spend his time for his
own pleasure. “During the first years of his reign, Henry VIII seemed willing to
devote himself to enjoyment, spending freely the hard-won treasure of his father.
He seemed content in those early days to let others govern for him…” (England
and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century).
Wikipedia’s Lady Jane Grey describes that Henry VIII’s policies actually
were also affected by his own noblemen. No wonder, several Protestant nobles
had become wealthy when Henry VIII closed the Catholic monasteries and divided
the Church's assets among his supporters. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland,
figured prominently among the Protestant nobility.
2) King Edward Tudor VI (1537 - 53)
Edward ruled England at the age of nine from 1547 to 1553. He was the
son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. He was the third monarch of the House of
Tudor and England's first ruler who was Protestant. Edward's council was first led
by his uncle, Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset who also served as his ‘Lord
Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King's Person’ (Lockyer 107-20).
Then the Duke of Somerset was sent to prison by John Dudley, the Duke of
Northumberland, who wanted his position. “Somerset was allowed to retain his
authority. Northumberland, fearing his influence, caused him to be arrested at the
council board. He was tried, condemned, for treason, and executed” (Carter 61).
Edward VI ruled in a short time, he died on 6 July 1553 at the age of fifteen.
While the Duke of Northumberland wanted to prolong his position and his
influence in the England government. He persuaded the King in the name of God
to take Lady Jane Grey who was also a Protestant as his successor. Therefore,
actually Lady Jane Grey was ordered to marry Northumberland’s fourth son
(Lockyer 120).
3) Queen Mary I (1516 - 1558)
Mary brought to her throne in 1553 in the age of thirty- seven after the
dead of Edward VI. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife,
Catherine of Aragon. The opening of her reign was marked with the execution of
the Duke of Northumberland, Lady Jane Grey and her husband (Lockyer 121-2).
Morgan (260) states that Mary got the throne of England because of she cheated
by executing Lady Jane Grey.
Mary tried to turn England Church back to Roman Catholic Church. This
effort was carried out by force, and hundreds of people were executed, that is why
she was called ‘The Bloody Mary’.
Many of them who were executed were common people. “The list of
martyrs under Mary includes only nine who were described as gentlemen. Just
over a quarter of those burned were in holy orders; the rest came from the lower
levels of English society, and included weavers, fullers, shearman, tailors, hosiers,
cappers, husbandmen, labourers, brewers and butchers” (Lockyer.127). Some of
the gentlemen were the Protestant Leader. Queen Mary died in 1558 after she
spent long time in coma in her palace of St. James.
b. The Law
Law was tribal custom, or folkright, to which the king was subordinate in every respect, as any other member of the folk. He might, and on occasion did, find it necessary to declare, with the express or tacit assent of the ‘wise man’ of his realm (the witan), what the law was on certain points, and even to commit such declarations to writing. (Chrimes 73).
In the 16th century, the English Law strongly depended on the King.
According to Carrie’s England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century, the king
established the royal council and the Parliament. The king also could call his
council and Parliament on special occasions or according to the king's pleasure.
Then, the royal council and the parliament were in charge in determining the
policy in England, including the laws, while it was also strictly depended on the
king or by the king’s permission.
c. The Society
The English monarchy, like other contemporary monarchies, had ruled well
by a strong and capable king. King Henry VII was not only strong and capable,
but he was also a hardworking. Some surviving documents which related to his
business of administration. His chief instrument of government was the royal
council, which had in the fifteenth century been dominated by the nobles and was
consequently ineffective. But the tradition had a little bit broken down after the
end of the reign of Henry VII. The successor, King Henry VIII was a king who
seemed willing to devote himself to enjoyment, and spending the treasure of his
father. “Throughout the first half of his reign he devoted his days to hunting and
his nights to feasting and love, content to leave routine administration and the
formulation of policy to Wolsey” (Lockyer 33).
In his reign, it seemed that Henry VIII let others govern for him while he
wasted his time on pleasure (England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century).
Henry VIII only showed his desire on adventure, including on military adventure
and he was also willing to be involved in the complicated diplomatic relationships
of the Continental powers which violated the policy
On the other hand, when talking about the common people, it is clearly
understood that they were dominated by the poor. Life of the poor was very hard.
Chrimes (63) states the common people or His Majesty’s subjects possessed no
guarantees of freedom. The ‘rights of man’ were not guaranteed, nor even
mentioned anywhere in English constitutional law. Therefore, the government in
Tudor England became very concerned about the poor, because there were a lot
more than the rich. Chrimes (64) states “the secret of English liberty rests on the
fact that any subjects is entirely free to do what he likes and to say what he likes,
provided only that he does not thereby break the law as it exists at any time”. His
duty of every citizen to contribute in overcoming the disorder, if they were called
to do so by any lawfully constituted authority (Chrimes 66).
The common inhabitant lived in poverty. They were used too little food
and to saving extra bits of food. They had one set of rags that he wears until they
fall apart. They expected to take care of themselves and to do things for
themselves. They slept quite comfortably on straw, tossed in a pile on the floor.
Tudor statesmen did not have to be told about the problems caused by agrarian change. Most of them were themselves landowners, and in London itself, the seat of government, the population was swelling rapidly as the beggars came to town. The stability of the Tudor state was threatened by these hunger marchers, and the government tried to stop them moving. An Act of 1495 ordered that vagabonds were to be sent back to their native parishes, and in 1501 the Justices of the Peace were made responsible for seeing that this was carried out (Lockyer 137-138).
The poor were divided into three groups by the government. The first were
called the ‘Impotent’ Poor. These would include the old, the sick, the disabled and
children. The second group was called the Able Bodied Poor. This group would
include the people who could work and wanted to work. Each member was meant
to build a workhouse. The third group was known as Rogues and Vagabonds. This
was a group which is targeted by the government, because this group consisted of
people who could work but preferred to beg or steal (Lockyer 137-8)
2. The Nobles a. The Clothing
The noblewomen in the 16th century generally wore kind of clothes that
covered them completely. The corset or the top part of the gown was generally
was often some type of high collar. There were some ruffles in the women’s
clothes. The collar that extends to the chin and usually would ruffle at the top.
The sleeves were usually full from the shoulder to the elbow and then more tight
from the elbow to the wrist. At the wrist the sleeves would open wide into a large
ruffle. The gown usually contained a v-shaped point at the waistline and then
expanded into a sort of funnel shape reaching the ground.
The shoes which the women wore at the beginning period were not
important because the gown usually reached down to the floor; the shoes often
were almost not seen. They were used to wear some accessories. As for jewelry,
many women in the 16th century wore large pendants or medallion of gold around
their necks. The richer or the higher of the rank also could be seen from the
accessories, as in the used of the earrings. Earrings were not very common except
among the very rich, who would wear pearls for their earrings. Many women in
this period also would choose the small jeweled caps or hat that decorated with
jewels, pearls, or lace (Fashions: Women and Men).
While the noblemen in the 16th century, according to Christmon’s.
Fashions: Women and Men, wore embroidered shirts called jerkins, which had
square shoulders and buttons down the front. The sleeves were often decorated and
not as tight as the sleeves in the women’s clothes. The sleeves would fit all the
way to the wrists. The pants were a little bit shaggy and about three to four inches
higher above the knee. They were also used the stockings in their feet.
The shoes of the men were generally made from fine leather. The shoes
were contained a small leather heel and were often decorated with slashes. The
was covered by fine fabric or feathers. Some of the more distinguished or high
rank men wore small capes with big-edged collars. The men also wore some kind
of short perfumed gloves (Fashions: Women and Men).
b. The Housing
Halsall’s Of The Manner Of Building And Furniture Of Our Houses states
the houses of the nobles usually were made from brick, hard stone and timber.
The ancient houses of the monarch were made by strong timber. The houses
would contain some large rooms which usually were made by either of brick or
hard stone, or both. The office of the nobles was usually a little bit far from their
home or their lodgings. The office and the house of the nobles were likewise
wrought with brick and hard stone, as provision may best be made. It was so
magnificent and stately as the house of a baron often matches in their days with
some honours of the monarch in old time.
There were a lot of furniture in the noblemen's houses. The common
furniture in the nobles’ house were arras, rich hangings of tapestry, silver vessels,
and so much other plate as may furnish various cupboards (Of The Manner Of
Building And Furniture Of Our Houses).
c. The Food
Christmon’s Banquets and Feasts states that food in the 16th century could
be regarded as the center of development of a society. In spite of showing the
Halsall’s Of The Food And Diet Of The English describes in the sixteenth
century, the banquets that were eaten by the nobles were so big. Generally they
employed so many servants, even for the oddest job tasks, for example the servants
were asked to get fresh bread and replace it with the old bread that had gotten stale
during the meal. Only the royal and the wealthy family in those days could afford
to have such a feast. Their food also consisted principally of beef, and such meat
as the butcher sold like mutton, veal, lamb, pork etc. In daily they also brought the
bread made of wheat to the table, whereof the first and most excellent is the
manchet, which commonly called white bread.
The beer that was used at noblemen's tables in their fixed and standing
houses commonly a year old, or peradventure of two years' tuning or more; but
this was not general. It was also brewed in March, and therefore called March
beer. Their drink, whose force and continuance was partly touched already, was
made of barley, water, and hops, sodden and mingled together, by the industry of
our brewers in a certain exact proportion. In some places of England there was a
kind of drink made of apples which they called cider or pomage, and there was a
kind of drink that made of pears which they called perry. Both were grounded and
pressed mechanically (Of The Food And Diet Of The English).
d. The Life
The Monarch and the Lords, in this study called as the nobles, lived in
luxury. They used to devote their live for their own pleasure.
They were used to fine foods and magnificent clothing. They were used to
being served on by hundreds of servants. They were used to being guarded and to
giving commands that others obeyed quickly. They were used to sleeping in soft,
comfortable beds. In the 16th century, there were some people who owned large
lands who rent them to other people, called landlords. Mostly the landlords were
the nobles. They had traditionally let the poor took care of their lands, by breeding
some animals or growing some crops.
The nobles were a small group, drawn, in the eighty years between Elizabeth accession and the civil war, from just over one hundred and fifty families. They were great landowners but, like the Crown, they had an example to set, and only those who were desperate for money resorted to rack-renting and eviction (Lockyer 142).
In the Tudor times, landlords realized that the land could be more
beneficial when they managed it well, while they could get the poor handled it.
They had the authority employed or fired the people who they wanted. Sometimes
they drove away the poor to leave their land. With nothing to do in the
countryside, many poor drifted to towns and cities to look for work. Also
landlords were moving away from growing crops like corn and turning to sheep
farming as a growing population required more clothes and good money could be
made from breeding sheep. As there were more people than jobs available in the
countryside, this caused more problems for the towns and cities as people went
from the country to the towns looking for work (Poor in Elizabethan England).
Greenberg’s Men's and Women's Work Clothing: A Portfolio of Image
describes that there were no special clothes for common people. They only had
some pieces of cloth, or even the poor commonly only had a piece of cloth. The
clothes of the common people in England, especially for the poor who were
categorized who could work, depended on what the field they work on and the
season at that time. In January the woman used front fastening gown rose wool
gown over narrow sleeved, red under gown and fur-lined. The woman who
worked in milking the cow wore an over gown, fitted to the waist, of light red/rose
with a deep v backline, over an under gown of black. The shift sleeves were
visible beneath the short sleeves of the gown, and had drawn blue over sleeves on
to protect her arms. She also wore a linen apron and head wrap.
In December when it was snowing, the woman wore a blue, long-sleeved,
lined over gown over a blue under gown. The footwear protected the feet while
two head wraps and a hat protect the head (Men's and Women's Work Clothing: A
Portfolio of Image).
b. The Housing
Generally, the common people in 16th century usually lived in wooden
houses. A little stone chimney or funnel stood in the center of the house,
providing cooking facilities and heat during the long winters. The house only had
one room for all activities. One side of the room was used for general-purpose
room where the family worked and ate. On the other side was the room where all
family worked and ate together along the rear of the house (Microsoft ® Encarta ®
Reference Library 2005).
c. The Food
Halsall’s Of The Food And Diet Of The English states that the poor lived
in a hard life which few looked back upon with contentment and satisfaction in
their face. However they were happy and well fed with any amount of bread and
bacon, and plenty of home-brewed beer. Most of them worked from rising dawn
until sunset and they only ate bread and potatoes with an occasional piece of bacon
and an apple dumpling. Therefore, it was not surprisingly if they often went to bed
hungry.
There were there kinds of bread in England in the sixteenth century. The
first and most excellent was the manchet, which was commonly called white
bread. This was a kind of bread which generally was consumed by the high rank
people. The second was the cheat or wheaten bread. The actual color of this bread
was not white, because it was made from the grey or yellowish wheat. It was
being cleaned and well dressed, that was why this kind of bread was named so.
This kind of bread sometimes was used in the halls of the nobility and gentry only.
The third kind of bread which, of course, had lower quality was called brown
bread, which was appointed for servants, slaves, and the inferior kind of people
(Of The Food And Diet Of The English).
There was one characteristic of the food of the poor family. They had
bread and treacle or molasses for breakfast, and sometimes a little tea made from
potatoes and possibly dumplings. For supper they sometimes just like as what
they have in breakfast, with the occasional addition of an apple pie. Sometimes
they used vegetables as their food when they could not afford the meat. That was
why the idea of vegetables as pauper's food was still very strong at that time.
People of this time did not use the utensils that the noblemen use. They thought
that using their hands to scoop out the food was much more efficient (Food in
England).
d. The Life
The way of life common people depended on the social class that divided
them. The helpless poor included the old, the sick, the disabled and children. The
elderly and the disabled received a sum of money and possibly some food each
week. If they were unable to collect both, it would be delivered to their house. The
poor children were given apprenticeships which were paid by the parish. In this
way, the parish could expect to get benefit from the children when they had grown
up and learned a new skill. Boys were usually apprenticed until they were 24
years old. While the girls could be apprenticed until they were 21 years old, while
they would work with their mistress. People who were considered as the "aged,
poor and impotent persons" were not considered to be a burden as the government
believed that it was not their fault that they were in their position. While, some
parishes gave these people a license to beg (Lockyer 138).
Then, the poor who were included in the Able Bodied Poor usually built a
might benefit the parish. They got paid out of the Poor Rate. They would remain in
the workhouse until they found a ‘normal’ job.
The next kind of classes was the class of people which were usually hunted
by the government. They were Rogues and Vagabonds. They were people who
could work but they preferred to beg or steal. This group worried the government
as they were mostly troublesome. The government prohibited begging, and
considered it as an illegal and anybody who was found begging would be flogged
or lashed until "his back was bloody". If they were found begging outside of their
parish, they would be beaten. Those who were caught continually begging could
be sent to prison and hanged. During the reign of Edward VI, caught vagabonds
could have their tongue branded and kept as slaves for two years
In London, the rich lived in one part of the city while the poor lived
towards the east where modern-day Fleet Street is and towards the City. They had
to separate each other. If a poor person was found in the west of the city, it would
be assumed by those that made the law (the rich) that the poor was against the law
and could be punished. The poor kept themselves living with their own tribe in
London and even they had developed their own form of language. This was known
as canting. This kind of language-form occurred behind the idea that no-one else
could or would know what they were talking about. They meant it as a kind of
self-protection against the law (Poor in Elizabethan England).
Monarchy is a kind of form of government in which one person has the
hereditary right to rule as the head of state during his or her lifetime; the term is
also applied to the state which is being governed, for example British Monarch.
Chrimes (11) states “Government is officially and legally His Majesty’s
Government (the king and the crown)”. The power of the monarch changes from
absolute authority to very limited authority along changes that happens in the
society; the latter is exemplified in modern-day constitutional monarchies.
Monarchs include such rulers as kings and queens, emperors and empresses, tsars,
and Kaisers (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
According to Chrimes (12), “…the King is a natural person who possesses
a number of rights and powers (not vested in any other person), some by virtue of
royal prerogative (i.e. by common law relating to the King), some by virtue of Act
of Parliament, and the sum total of these rights and power constitutes the Crown”.
The king established the royal council, and he himself determined the number and
composition. The king also could call his council on special occasions or
according to the king's pleasure. Parliament, like the council, is also as a tool of
royal government. Parliament also was called at the king's pleasure, and he had
the right to dissolve or adjourn it at any time. Later, the royal council and the
parliament were in charge in determining the policy in England, including the
laws, while it was also strictly depended on the king or by the king’s permission
(England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century).
In the 16th century, the authority of a king was very wide. Even King
Henry VIII could continue his interference in the religion aspect. Woodward in
separated the English church from Rome and declared himself as the head of the
English church.
Through the history, it can be seen that many monarchs have wielded
absolute power, sometimes based on their presumed divinity. Then, the power
became centralized in the hands of the sovereigns. At first these rulers were
supported by the growing middle class, or bourgeoisie, in building and
maintaining the monarchs. The supporters, the bourgeoisie, benefited the rulers to
form a strong central government that maintained order and provided a stable
atmosphere, in which later could supports the development of the society,
economic and political of the monarchs.
By the 15th and 16th centuries absolute monarchs, such as King Henry VIII
of England and King Louis XIV of France, ruled the countries of Europe. Abuses
of power, as well as growing dissatisfaction among the bourgeoisie, helped bring
about the end of many absolute monarchies; revolutions in England in the 17th
century and in France in the 18th century were major landmarks in the limitation
of absolute power (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
b. The English Poor Laws
The English Poor Laws was a system which was set up by the government
of England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The general purpose was to
establish a clear public responsibility for care of the poor. It made every parish
responsible for the poor and unemployed within that parish. The landlord had to
pay taxes to The Justice of the Peace; a kind of organization which made by the
(Lockyer 139-40). The tax was called the Poor Rate. It was used to help the poor.
This had two benefits. First, it made the poor felt that something was being done
for them and made them felt less angry about the situation they were in. Secondly,
some good work could be done by the poor within the parish to help the parish
(Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
The Poor Laws made local government the primary administrator of
welfare. In order to keep welfare beneficiaries under the supervision of their
providers, the laws also discouraged the migration of the poor among
administrative regions, or parishes. From their inception, the Poor Laws generated
controversy. Opponents of the laws argued that if the poor received public
assistance, some of them might avoid work, not work hard enough, or not save any
of their earnings (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
C. Theoretical Framework
In this part I would like to describe the theories and reviews that I will
apply. I use the theory of the critical approaches which can give the knowledge
about some approaches. It helps me to decide the most appropriate approach to
explore the novel. In this case, through the critical approaches I decide to choose
the socio-historical approach, because it can help me get the information of the
social and historical background of the story.
The theory of character and characterization and theory of setting are used
in order to understand and comprehend the novel better. In answering the first
