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Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Dalam skripsi ini, saya membahas dua buah novel yang berjudul Sister
Carrie karya Theodore Dreiser dan McTeague karya Frank Norris. Dalam
pembahasan kedua novel tersebut, saya menggunakan pendekatan naturalisme;
sebuah pendekatan yang menitikberatkan ketidakmampuan manusia dalam
mengendalikan hidupnya sendiri. Dalam naturalisme dipercaya bahwa hidup
manusia dikendalikan oleh alam, yang muncul dalam bentuk dorongan-dorongan
yang berasal dari luar dan dari dalam diri manusia itu sendiri.
Adapun topik yang saya angkat dalam Skripsi ini adalah mengenai konflik
sosial dan batin yang dialami oleh tokoh utama dalam kedua novel tersebut.
Melalui pembahasan konflik, saya dapat melihat dengan jelas bagaimana
dorongan-dorongan tersebut mampu mengarahkan manusia untuk bertindak sesuai
dengan apa yang diinginkan oleh alam, yang tentunya bertentangan dengan
keinginan tokoh utama dalam kedua novel tersebut.
Setelah melakukan analisis tersebut, saya menarik kesimpulan bahwa
manusia akan selalu gagal dalam mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan.
Manusia akan dan selalu dikontrol oleh alam, dan inilah yang menjadi perhatian
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CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND INNER CONFLICTS
IN THEODORE DREISER’S SISTER CARRIE . . .
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND INNER
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Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Naturalism is a popular movement in American literature from the 1890s
to the 1920s. Naturalism is the outgrowth of realism; the literary movement that
tries to portray life as the way it is by stressing more on the humans’ struggle to
make ethical choices which are accepted by the environment. In contrast with
realism, in naturalism, it is believed that humans have no choices as they are the
product of nature (“American Realism, Naturalism and Regionalism 1865-1914”);
their lives have been decided by fate and they have no power to change it.
Naturalistic writers believe that:
individual human beings are at the mercy of uncontrollable larger forces
that originate both within and outside them. These forces might include
some of our more “animal” drives, such as the need for food, sex, shelter,
social dominance, etc. Or, in a more “external” vein, these forces might
include the natural environment, the man-made environment, or finance,
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Maranatha Christian University and controlling the lives of lowly individual humans in naturalist works
(doCarmo).
Based on the theory above, in brief, there are two particular forces that
determine one’s life; the force that comes within and outside an individual. In my
analysis, I will use the term internal force for the force that comes within an
individual and external force for the force that comes from the outside.
Furthermore, among American naturalistic writers, two notable ones are
Theodore Dreiser and Frank Norris. Both of them have written many naturalistic
books which became famous in their time. Theodore Dreiser “. . . view[s] people
as helpless victims of indifferent natural forces” (Riggio), as many naturalistic
writers do. In his novels, his protagonists are completely helpless toward the
natural forces. They are dragged to a certain unfortunate life which the natural
forces design. The protagonists are usually ended with a pathetic life, and not able
to change anything about their life. Moreover, many famous writers praise
Theodore Dreiser for dealing with such a topic, such as Sherwood Anderson, H.
L. Mencken, and Randolph Bourne, who “were also seeking to cast Dreiser in the
symbolic role of the trailblazer whose willingness to challenge the conventional
beliefs and genteel codes of American life has opened a way for others” (Pizer).
Furthermore, his several novels are successfully adapted to film, and gain equal
success for both the novel and the movie. These include Sister Carrie and An
American Tragedy.
Frank Norris (1870-1902) is also a famous naturalistic writer. “He is
among the important exponents of American literary naturalism at the end of the
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very qualified by the critics. Because of his stunning writing quality, he is called
“the American Zola” (Hanson); Emile Zola is a French writer who is known as the
pioneer of the naturalism school. Zola is extremely popular for his dedication to
naturalism; perhaps Zola is also the most distinctive naturalistic writer.
In this thesis, I have chosen to analyze Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie
and Frank Norris’ McTeague. Sister Carrie is commercially successful when it is
adapted to a movie. This novel is extremely famous for its “. . . ‘extraordinary
power’ and that its story ‘has all the interest of fact, and the terrible inevitableness
of fact’ . . .” (Pizer). The element of naturalism is clearly seen through the way
Theodore Dreiser describes the conflicts which happen in Carrie’s attempt to
survive in big cities. There are so many conflicts which indirectly force Carrie to
fling herself to the men of fortune, Drouet and Hurstwood.
Like Sister Carrie, McTeague is also a successful naturalistic novel. In
McTeague, it is clearly seen through the conflicts that humans are fully controlled
by nature. In particular, a good character, McTeague, turns into a bad one when
his life is ruined by the natural forces. The natural forces come in the form of his
ex-best friend and miserly wife, as well as the animal instincts inside him;
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Maranatha Christian University animal instincts break through his outwardly civilized wrapper, with dramatic and
devastating results” (“The American Novel”).
Based on the stories of Carrie and McTeague, I see that there are many
confrontations between what the characters expect to happen and reality. For this
reason, the literary element I will analyze is conflict. According to Shaw, conflict
is “the opposition of persons or forces upon which the action depends in drama
and fiction” (91). Moreover, “dramatic conflict is the struggle which grows out of
the interplay of opposing forces (ideas, interests, wills) in a plot; conflict may be
termed the material from which a plot is constructed” (91). Basically, there are
three types of conflict in literature: inner, social, and physical conflict. However,
in this thesis, I will only discuss inner and social conflicts. Furthermore, inner
conflict is “a struggle between desires within a person. External forces may be
important and other characters may appear in the narrative, but the focus is upon
the protagonist’s inner turmoil” (92). On the other hand, social conflict is “a
struggle between man and man” (91).
Statement of the Problem In this thesis, I will analyze:
1. What social and inner conflicts are experienced by the protagonists in
Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Frank Norris’ McTeague?
2. What are the causes of the social and inner conflicts in these novels?
3. What are the resolutions of the social and inner conflicts in these novels in
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Maranatha Christian University Purpose of the Study
The aims of analyzing this novel are:
1. To analyze the social and inner conflicts that happen to the protagonists in
Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Frank Norris’ McTeague.
2. To analyze the causes of the social and inner conflicts in these novels.
3. To analyze the resolution of the social and inner conflicts in these novels in
relation to naturalism.
Method of Research
I use the library research, in which I first read the primary texts, Theodore
Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Frank Norris’ McTeague. In addition, I get some data
from the Internet. I also use the theory of naturalism to analyze the inner and
social conflicts in the novels. Finally, I draw some conclusions from my analysis.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction, which
consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.
In Chapter Two, there will be the analysis of the inner and social conflicts in
Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie. In Chapter Three, there will be the analysis of
inner and social conflicts in Frank Norris’ McTeague. Chapter Four is the
Conclusion, followed by the Bibliography and Appendices, which consist of the
summary of Sister Carrie and McTeague, and the biography of Theodore Dreiser
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Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the conflicts in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and
Frank Norris’ McTeague, I would like to draw some conclusions in this chapter.
First of all, from all the conflicts happen in both of these novels, it is seen clearly
how the characters are helpless against some forces which control their lives. Both
novels reveal that humans are unable to control and make decisions for their own
lives.
In the first novel, Sister Carrie, there are four social conflicts. In the first
three social conflicts, Hurstwood is the external force that controls Carrie’s life. In
the first social conflict that happens between Carrie and Drouet, Hurstwood
deceives Carrie and takes her away from Drouet. This action makes her unable to
reconcile with Drouet. In the second social conflict, Carrie is forced to run away
with Hurstwood. His action of moving her to New York, a place where she has no
acquaintance at all, has closed her opportunity to gain help from others.
Therefore, Carrie has no option but to lean on him for her needs. Furthermore, in
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Maranatha Christian University take any job available. While in the fourth social conflict, Carrie is forced by her
internal force, her greed, which always drives her to pursue more wealth and
success. However, this internal force leads Carrie to her unhappiness as she is
wrecked alone in her life.
Besides the social conflicts, Carrie also experiences an inner conflict. In
the inner conflict, Carrie faces some dilemmas about whether she should accept a
loan from Drouet or not. However, she finally accepts the money as she needs it
and she has no other choice.
In the second novel, McTeague, there are six social conflicts. In the first
social conflict, between Marcus and McTeague, McTeague is fails to reconcile
with Marcus as he cannot give him the money that he wants. It might happen
simply because it is not his money. For that reason, Marcus hates McTeague
severely and he becomes the external force that leads McTeague to his downfall.
In the second, third, and fourth social conflicts, McTeague is suppressed by an
external force, which is Trina. She controls his life by refusing to help him
financially. It makes him not be able to achieve what he wants. In the fifth social
conflict, McTeague is controlled by the internal force, which is his need of social
dominance to kill Trina. In the last social conflict that happens between him and
Marcus, McTeague is controlled by the external force; Marcus, to end dead in the
remote desert as he is cuffed with the dead body of Marcus. Though, he has
successfully beats him down, McTeague cannot run away from his fate of ended
pathetically.
Besides the social conflicts, there are two inner conflicts in the novel
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Maranatha Christian University In the first inner conflict, McTeague is forced by his internal force, need of sex, to
sexually harass Trina, while in the second inner conflict, McTeague is forced by
his need of shelter to leave the mine.
From the resolutions of the conflicts mentioned above, it is seen clearly
how Carrie’s and McTeague’s life are controlled by certain forces that leave them
no choice but to follow those forces, thus they are at the mercy of forces lager
than they are, as what the naturalists believe. This is the first similarity between
these two novels. Second, both of the protagonists end their situations
pathetically; Carrie is unhappy despite of her success, while McTeague is haunted
by death as he is cuffed with a corpse in a remote desert.
In addition, there is another similarity between the novels. The similarity
is that both of the novels focus on the influence of the internal force to control
one’s life. In Sister Carrie, initially, it seems that the protagonist is controlled
more by the external forces; Hurstwood and Drouet are the determining factors in
the conflicts Carrie experiences. However, as I read and analyze the conflicts
further, I could see that actually, Carrie’s internal force which is her greed is the
most prominent drive that controls Carrie’s life. I see that she could be allured by
Hurstwood and Drouet simply because both of them represent what Carrie
obsesses, i.e. money. This drive drags her to cling on to these men of fortune.
Same as in Sister Carrie, in McTeague, the protagonist’s internal force, which is
lust, is the determining force in controlling the protagonist’s life. I can see that the
external forces in several conflicts are only a trigger for the internal force inside
him to emerge. As can be seen in all social conflicts, the external forces; Marcus
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Maranatha Christian University them. Even his downfall, I believe, is caused by his giving in to his lust towards
Trina which eventually leads to his trouble with Marcus.
Apart from the similarities above, there is also a difference between the
novels. The difference lies on the protagonist’s motive in possessing a lot of
money. In Sister Carrie, the protagonist, Carrie, is so infatuated with money. She
works very hard to become rich because she feels that she cannot live without
money. She believes that through money she will be able to get all things she
wants, included happiness. Money is her sole goal. In McTeague, the protagonist,
McTeague, wants to have Trina’s money simply because he loses his job. Before
losing his job, McTeague does not consider money as the most important thing in
his life. He is contented with his earning from his job as a dentist, though he does
not earn a very big income from it. His goal is simply to be happy with his
marriage life. However, his loss changes everything. Being forced by the uneasy
condition, he haunts Trina’s money as he has no money at all.
Finally, from these conflicts, I conclude that no matter how severe we try
to fight against the nature, we will always lose, as we are helpless over it. These
are many lessons to learn from what happens to Carrie and McTeague. I learn that
nature has its own design in one’s life and we just need to follow the path
provided by nature. This idea of nature’s design on one’s life, in my opinion, is
also applicable for us in contemplating about our lives. I used to wonder why
people have different situations in life, for example, not all people are rich and not
all people are successful. We cannot always achieve what others achieve though
we have tried so hard. Then, I find that it is simply because we are placed in a
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Maranatha Christian University person, and unfortunately, we are not able to have control over it. Therefore, some
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary texts
Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie. New York: New American Library, 2000.
Print.
Norris, Frank. McTeague. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. Print.
References
“American Realism, Naturalism and Regionalism 1865-1914”. North Bergen
School District. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature". Literary Movements.
Dept. of English, Washington State University. 7 May 2013. Web. 8 Sept.
2013.
doCarmo, Dr. Stephen. “Dr.doCarmo’s Notes on REALISM and
NATURALISM”. Bucks County Community College. Department of
Language and Literature Bucks County Community College. Web. 11 Jan.
2013.
“Frank Norris.” Spartacus Educational. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.
“Frank Norris (Benjamin Franklin Norris) Biography.” JRank. 2013. Web. 22
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Maranatha Christian University Hanson, Victor Davis. “Zola in San Fransisco.” The New York Times. 2006.
Web. 22 Jan. 2013.
McMillan, Peter. “Theodore Dreiser.” Spartacus Educational. Web. 17 Mar.
2012.
Pizer, Donald. “Dreiser’s Critical Reputation.” Dreiser Web Source. 2000. Web.
10 Apr. 2012.
Riggio, Thomas P. “Biography of Theodore Dreiser.” Dreiser Web House.
2000. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc, 1972.
Print.
