THE MESSAGES REVEALED THROUGH THE WAY THE
MAIN CHARACTERS FACE THE CONFLICTS IN DAVID
HENRY HWANG’S FAMILY DEVOTIONS
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
ANDRY GANI WIDJAJA
Student Number: 06 4214 071
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2013
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Above all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ and Mother Mary for
blessing and guiding me in writing this undergraduate thesis. You will always be
my guidance for now and forever.
I would also like to thank Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum., my
advisor, for her guidance, suggestions, and time during the writing of this
undergraduate thesis, and to Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum., my
co-advisor, for reading, correcting, and giving me essential inputs in order to make
this undergraduate thesis better. And I would also like to thank all my lecturers in
English Letters Department for fulfilling me with knowledges.
My deepest gratitude goes to my Dad whose way of teaching me to be a
strong man can make me who I am today. To my Mom, who always says my
name in her prayers, your spirit makes me stronger. To my two beloved sisters,
Lucy Gani and Linda V Budiman, I thank you for your unseen support that can
push me to finish this undergraduate thesis as soon as possible. I love you all.
Finally lots of gratitude go to all my friends in English Letters, especially
Damay, Juleha, Lusi, Chatter Box Groups, and all my 2006 friends for their
spirits to finish this undergraduate thesis, thank you from my deepest my heart.
Andry Gani Widjaja
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iii
MOTTO PAGE ... iv
DEDICATION PAGE ... v
STATEMENT PAGE ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii
ABSTRACT ... x
ABSTRAK ... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 5
C. Objectives of the Study ... 5
D. Definition of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 8
A. Review of Related Studies ... 8
B. Review of Related Theories ... 11
1. Theory on Character and Characterization ... 11
2. Theory of Conflict ... 13
3. Theory of Message ... 15
C. Theoretical Framework ... 16
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 18
A. Object of the Study ... 18
B. Approach of the Study ... 20
C. Method of the Study ... 21
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 25
A. The Characteristics of the Main Characters in Family Devotions ... 25
1. The Characteristics of Ama ... 25
2. The Characteristics of Popo ... 29
3. The Characteristics of Di-Gou ... 31
B. The Conflicts Revealed in Ama, Popo, dan Di-Gou ... 38
1. The Main Characters External Conflict ... 39
2. The Main Characters Internal Conflict ... 46
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 54
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 56
ix
ABSTRACT
ANDRY GANI WIDJAJA. The Messages Revealed through the Way the Main Characters Face the Conflicts in David Henry Hwang's Family Devotion.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
The object of this study is a drama by David Henry Hwang entitled Family Devotions. The drama was first published in 1989. The purposes of this study are first, explaining the main characters, Ama, Popo, and Di - Gou; second, explaining the conflicts revealed by Ama, Popo, and Di - Gou; and third, showing the messages as revealed by the main characters and their conflicts.
This study applies the formalistic criticism as the approach to analyze this novel. This approach emphasizes literature that is seeing it from the intrinsic elements. This study analyzes the messages that can be taken from the intrinsic elements are the main characters and the conflicts. The dominant theory that was used in analyzing this study is theory of character and characterization, because by knowing the characteristics of the character, it will be easier to find out the conflicts and the message inside the story.
xi ABSTRAK
ANDRY GANI WIDJAJA. The Messages Revealed through the Way the Main Characters Face the Conflicts in David Henry Hwang's Family Devotion.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2013.
Objek dari studi ini adalah drama karya David Henry Hwang berjudul
Family Devotion. Drama ini pertama kali diterbitkan pada tahun 1989. Tujuan dari studi ini adalah pertama, menjelaskan karakter tokoh utama, Ama, Popo, dan Di-Gou; kedua, menjelaskan konflik-konflik yang ditampakkan dalam diri tokoh utama, dan; ketiga, menunjukkan pesan-pesan yang dinyatakan dari karakter dan konflik-konflik tokoh utama.
Studi ini menerapkan kritik objektif sebagai pendekatan untuk menganalisa novel ini yang menekankan pada karya sastra itu sendiri, yaitu dari unsur-unsur intrinsik. Studi ini menganalisa pesan-pesan yang dapat diambil dari unsur-unsur intrinsik yaitu tokoh utama dan konflik-konflik. Teori yang dominan digunakan dalam menganalisis studi ini adalah teori sifat dan pelukisan watak, karena dengan mengetahui sifat dari karakter tokoh, akan memudahkan untuk menemukan konflik dan pesan di dalam cerita.
Temuan analisis adalah sebagai berikut. Ada tiga karakter utama dari cerita yang ditulis oleh David Henry Hwang. Mereka adalah Ama, kakak pertama, Popo, kakak kedua, dan Di - Gou, adik bungsu. Ama dan Popo, wanita Cina, yang beremigrasi ke Filipina, kemudian ke Amerika, dan adik mereka Di-Gou yang merupakan penduduk dari Republik Rakyat Cina. Para keluarga besar dari Ama dan Popo sedang menunggu kedatangan Di-Gou yang sudah selama tiga puluh tahun mereka tidak saling bertemu. Mereka ingin mendengar kesaksian Di-Gou dan pengakuan mukjizat yang dilakukan oleh penginjil See-goh-poo. Sayangnya, ketika ia tiba, ia membantah pernah menjadi Kristen dan itu membuat saudara-saudara perempuannya menjadi kecewa dan marah. Oleh karena itu, konflik mulai muncul dalam keluarga ini. Lalu, Di-Gou mengatakan saudaranya kebenaran tentang penginjil See-goh-poo, kemudian dengan mendengar berita itu, Ama dan Popo akhirnya jatuh dan mati karena mengalami shock berat. Dengan menganalisis drama, penulis dapat menemukan beberapa pesan, pertama, segala sesuatu yang berlebihan itu tidak baik dan yang kedua, fanatisme dapat membawa kejatuhan sebuah keluarga
.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is divided into four parts of discussion that are very useful to
understand this study. The first part is the background of the study, which
discusses the reason of writing this study. The second part is the problem
formulation that contains three problems that are discussed in the analysis and it
can also lead the writer to find the objective of the study. The third part is
objective of the study that conveys the goals of the study that the writerwishes to
obtain here. The last part is the definition of terms. It will be very helpful because
it includes some definitions of related studies that contain the meaning and several
important terms used in this study.
A. Background of the Study
Literary works often become an expression of reality that happens in
human life because they have some similarities to the real life. Its characters,
settings, and conflicts are the reflection of life showing the realities of human’s
conditions, problems, feelings, and relationships. Abram states that “a work of art is the imitation of nature” (1985:36).
Reading literature gives us amusement and utility. Wellek in his book
Theory of Literature (1962:31)noted that literature is useful because it contains an aesthetic seriousness of perception. Moreover, it also gives us knowledge. It
2
Thibant in his book An Approach to Literature (1931:1) emphasized that literature really helps us to connect ourselves to the cultural context that we have never
known. It enables us to struggle in a different society. As the result, our cross
cultural understanding will be improved.
The existence of a literary work cannot be separated from the author
because a literary work is a reflection of the author’s opinion about life. Through
his work, an author tries to make the readers get the feeling of its characters.
There are many things, including pleasure and lesson, which the readers can get
by reading drama.
Drama itself means a literary text that depicts action through dialogues of
its acting characters and authorial notes. For example a description of physical
action of actors, place and time circumstances, etc (Závodský, 1966:4).
Drama also can be designed as a type of an artistic literature that depicts
action and conflicts (i.e. actions that encounter resistance). Unlike a poet who
states his emotions naturally, the author of a theatre play expresses his intentions
via acting characters. A novel includes depictions of nature and ways of life as
well as socially – psychological conflicts. A drama, on the other hand, develops
the action in the form of dialogues of the characters and notes, describing the
actions and events. As a piece of art work, drama describes society and has certain
goals, conveying a message of society’s values, shows the social and political
condition of society when the dramas or plays are made, and shows the
background and the thought of the author. Dramatic dialogue is thus a bridge
between two actions; it is a result of one action and cause of another (Volkenštejn, 1963, p.3).
In order to make the story become interesting and seem lively, there are
many aspects needed to set up the story. One of them that become the important
aspects is character. It is important because it is the main part of the story. The
characters generally express the actions and the dialogue from the beginning of
the story until the ending parts.
By this thesis, the writer wants to discuss the character of the story in the
drama or play titled Family Devotions by David Henry Hwang. It is a 1981 play and Hwang's third play which depicts the clash of West and East within three
generations of an Americanized Chinese family living in a Los Angeles suburb.
The discussion emphasizes on the description of the main characters through their
dialogues and their conflicts to reveal the message.
There are three main characters in the story written by David Henry
Hwang, they are Ama, Popo, and Di-Gou. They are brothers and sisters who were
born in China and first generations immigrants to America. Ama, is the eldest, and
the second is Popo, and the last one is Di-Gou. They are the first-generation
Chinese Americans in the story. Ama is a very religious, family bound, emotional,
and stubborn person. Popo is just almost the same with Ama, but wiser than her
sister. Other than his sisters, Di-Gou is a person who love his family especially his
sisters, wise man, respect to his cultures, and he prefers not to believe to God, but
4
Ama and Popo are awaiting the arrival of Di-Gou whom they have not
seen for thirty years. As they wait, the women discuss the atrocities of the
Communists that affected their little brother. The family descended from the great
Chinese Christian evangelist See-goh-poo and they anticipate hearing Di-Gou
repeat his fervent testimony. However, when Di-Gou arrives, he disavows ever
being Christian. He confides to Popo’s grandson, Chester, that to establish a true
American identity, he must believe the stories “written on his face” and these
stories reflect many generations.
Ama and Popo organize a family devotional and invite him to witness for
Christ, but then the family argument appear. They physically force him to believe
in God again. The scene changes something like the Chinese opera where Di-Gou
rises up speaking in tongues, the gas grill bursts into flame, and Chester, Di-Gou’s
nephew, interprets the revelation.
From the main characters of the story and its content, the writer chooses
Family Devotions as the object of his thesis because the writer can get and learn something valuable more than the work itself that is, by the possible messages
appear in the story. The second reason for choosing David Henry Hwang’s Family
Devotions is the story offers the realities of human beings, the value of a family
such as we have to remember and take a good care our own family. Therefore,
this story can open the writer’s mind toward world and life.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background above, the writer formulates three problems
presented in this study that lead to the further discussion of the topic. Dealing with
the characters of the story, the problems can be formulated as follows:
1. How are the main characters described?
2. What are the conflicts faced by the main characters?
3. What are the messages revealed through the way the characters face the
conflicts?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study is intended to answer the questions stated in the problems
formulation. Related to the questions, the aims must be stated as follows:
First, it is to explain how the main characters are described - Ama, Popo, and
Di-Gou. Second, to find and explain the conflicts that faced by the main
characters. And the last, it is to discover the messages revealed through the way
the characters face to conflicts.
D. Definition of Terms
To understand the study of revealing the possible messages through the main
characters and the way they face their conflicts, it is important to give a
clarification of the terms used in the discussion. The clarification is needed to
avoid misunderstanding and ambiguity and to obtain a clear understanding on the
6
1. Character.
According to Abrams, in A Glossary of Literary Term, the character is the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work that are interpreted by the
readers as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed
in what they say – the dialogue and what they do – the actions (Abrams, 1981:
20). It means that the character in a story should have moral and natural qualities
of mind and it can be found out in their dialogue and action. The characters will
have particular personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them from
other characters.
2. Conflict
In A Handbook to Literature, Holman and Harmon define conflict as: “The struggle that grows out of the interplay of the two opposing forces in the plot. Conflict may be an argument between opposing forces, like man against man, nature, fate, society or perhaps the internal one between the two opposing parts of man’s personality” (1986: 107).
It can be said that conflict is a state of discomfort cause by someone’s
ideas, desires, wishes, or will that are incompatible between individuals, society,
or someone’s external and internal demands. The situation can happen because of
someone’s hope that are incapable of existing together in agreement or harmony
with a person or a society.
3. Message
Message is defined as an idea that someone tries to communicate to
people. It is also the meaning, thought, or idea that is intended to express
(Sinclair, 1956 : 490).
Kenny (1966:89) says that message can be seen as one form of the theme
in simple form, but not all themes are considered a message. Message becomes
one of the elements that makes or form a theme. The example of message can be
informed of valuable of words, advice, and God’s commandment as guidance to
give advice and the like.
Another definition of message comes from Beaty and Hunter in New World of Literature as they said that message is the real meaning or some easy conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art
(1989:889). In this study the author thinks that the second opinion of messages
8 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
In this chapter the writer focuses on various studies and theories related
to the literary work discussed. It includes the reviews from many critics and
theory of character and characterization, theory of conflict, and theory of message.
A. Review of Related Studies
The first study comes from In Marta Nelly’s minor thesis, “Symbols that Reflect the Main Character Named Coco in Wei Hui’s Shanghai Baby”. In her thesis, Nelly tries to analyze the symbols that reflect the main character, Coco, in
Wei Hui’s Shanghai Baby. There are three objectives of this study, namely to
describe how Coco is described as the main character in the novel, to describe
how a cat, Coco’s novel, and the yin yang are depicted in the novel, and to
identify how the cat, the novel, and the yin yang symbolize Coco.
In the analysis, she finds out that Coco is described with five main
characteristics, namely strong, having both good and wild sides, independent,
romantically active, and strongly connected to her loved ones. These descriptions
are shown in her life since she was in university until now. As the answer to the
last problem formulation, the cat, the novel, and the Yin Yang are depicted as
symbols that reveal Coco as the main character.
The cat is the only animal mentioned constantly, both as a pet cat kept by
Tian Tian, Coco's boyfriend, and in Coco's dreams. It symbolizes Coco, because
they are both depicted as strong, found unexpectedly by Tian Tian, having a
combination of good and wild sides, and independent.
Novel is an important part of this story because Coco, the main character,
is a novel writer. Coco starts writing her novel in the beginning of the story and
finishes her novel in the end of the story. The novel symbolizes Coco’s romance
life. Coco is not yet satisfied with her previous novel and her previous romance
life; Coco writes her novel and lives her romance life with great love and
dedication; both Coco’s novel and her romance life contain some problems and
obstacles, and both Coco’s novel and her romance life are finally finished at the
end of the story.
Yin and Yang are depicted as black and white or dark and light images in
Shanghai in the evening, in some characters’ eyes, in Tian Tian’s pet cat’s fur, in
Coco’s dream, and in Shamir's movie. Yin and Yang symbolize Coco’s
relationship with her loved ones, namely her family and boyfriend. The
contrasting characteristics of Yin and Yang resemble the contrasting
characteristics of Coco and her loved ones; both the Yin and Yang as well as
Coco and her loved ones are strongly connected and cannot be separated; both the
Yin and Yang as well as Coco and her loved ones must be balanced. If they are
not balanced, it will result in some problems.
From Nelly’s study, the writer knows that their studies are related as both
10
explained the symbols as the reflection of the main character in the story, while
the writer uses the main character to see the conflicts and the message revealed
through them. However, both the studies are viewed through the formalistic
approach. Since Nelly’s study used the intrinsice elements of the story to support
her analysis, her study helps the writer become more understand about the
formalism. Her study is related and important to help the writer analyze and
complete his work.
The second related study is based on a study written by Rendy Yoewono
titled “The Messages Revealed through the Main Character’s Ways to Survive in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi”. In his thesis, Yoewono aims to examine the messages that are revealed through the main character’s ways to survive in his struggle for
life.
Life of Pi is a novel which depicts the topic of struggle for life and against
death in an emergency situation. It tells about the struggle of an Indian boy who
spent 227 days with a fierce tiger in the Pacific Ocean as the sole survivor in a
shipwreck that killed his family. There are three problems formulation in this
study. The first one is about the description of the main character, Pi Patel, in the
novel. The second problem examines the ways through which Pi Patel manages to
survive. And then the third problem examines the messages revealed through Pi
Patel’s ways to survive.
The analysis of the study shows that Pi Patel has some dominant
characteristics: he is intelligent, open-minded, spritual and has srtong
determination. Those characteristics are shown throughout the novel through Pi’s
past life, speech, thoughts, mannerism, and reactions to the situation arround him.
Pi manages to survive through several ways: by recognising and using his
strength, which is made possible by his intelligence; by being realistic about the
situation which is facilitated by his spirituality and strong determination. The
messages that are revealed through Pi’s ways to survive are that the mind is
human’s greatest strength that it is essential to adapt to the current situation and
that one must not give up easily.
Since this second study tries to examine the messages that are revealed
through the main characters, the writer used this study to help him to develop and
enrich his study. If Yoewono examined only the characterization of the main
character of the story, the writer will be further explain about the conflicts of the
main characters of the play in order to find the message revealed through them.
The characterization and message issues and some detail significances of
formalistic approach appeared in Yoewono’s study that is why this study is very
related with the current study.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Character and characterization are related and cannot be separated from
each other. In the real life, human sense of character varies with their ability of
preception and understanding. Character is one of the important elements of a
story. It can be considered as a person who has a role in a story. The reader
12
their roles that are expressed by what they say or their dialogue and what they do
or their action (Abrams, 1981: 20).
According to A Handbook to Literature by Holman and Harmon (1986: 81), character means a complicated term that includes the idea of the novel
constitution of the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness and the
simpler notion of the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of
sort or another.
Sylvan Barnet in his book Literature for Composition: Essay, Fiction, Poetry and Drama (1988: 712) explains that there are some ways to understand the characteristic of a character, it is through:
a. What the character/figure says
How the character says will help the readers interpret her/his
characteristics.
b. What the character does/acts
The readers can learn the attitudes or behaviors of a character and they
may guess how actually the author creates the character.
c. What other characters say about the character
A character interacts with other characters. They share their opinion and
gives comments about that character. Such opinion and comment may reflect the
characteristics of the character drawn.
In Reading and Writing about Literature by Mary Rohberger and Samuel Woods, when a protagonist is involved in a conflict with other character, the other
character is called antagonist. Whereas, conflict is not confined to a struggle
between people. The protagonist maybe in conflict with fate or the environment,
or his struggle may be an inner one whereby he battles with a part of himself or
with conflicting value system or desires, or his inner conflict may be objectified in
a conflict with someone or something outside himself (1971: 20-21).
There are two methods of characterization, they are showing and telling.
In showing method, the author only presents his character’s conversation and
action and leaves the reader to infer what motives and dispositions lay behind
what they say and do. In telling method, the author himself becomes a land of
narrator in order to describe and evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities
of the character (Abrams, 1981: 21). Perrine in his book Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense says:
“Characterization must follow three principles in order to be convincing. Firstly, the characters in the story must have consistency in the way they behave. This consistency might be broken if only there is a sufficient reason to explain this change of behavior. Secondly, whatever the characters do, they must have clear motivation especially when they break the consistency of their behaviors. Finally, the characters must appear life like or plausible” (1974: 69).
2. Theory of Conflict
Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature, explain that conflict is the struggle that occurs between the protagonist and antagonist,
fate or environment, or within the protagonist or with the conflicting value
system. It is also called complication. The existence of difficult choices within an
individual’s mind may also be presented as conflict (1971: 180).
14
(Holman and Harmon, 1986: 108). Moreover, this conflict also implies a theme
that the author wants to convey. Conflict may also help the readers to know the
central idea or the theme of the story.
To analyze the conflict, certain basic human relationship which is
important in the playwright is needed to explore as stated in the book How to Analyze Drama, some of the common themes are the man and nature, man and society, universal theme of an abstract nature, and family relationship.
Internal conflict refers to a struggle that happens inside the heart and
mind of the protagonist (Redman, 1962: 363). This conflict usually does not show
any physical struggle.
According to Redman in his book A Second Book of Plays, conflict has an important role in literary work because it always deals with the plot. Conflict
appears from central character’s action in dealing with other forces. Central
character or protagonist has a responsibility to bring the conflict to the end.
Conflict is resolved when protagonist succeeds or fails in overcoming the other
forces. Sometimes the protagonist gives up when the struggle is too difficult or
worthless (1964: 363).
Abrams also mentions that many plots deal with conflict. In addition to
the conflict between individual, there may be the conflict of a protagonist against
fate, or against the circumstances that stand between him and a goal he has set
himself, and in some works, the conflict is between opposing desires or values in
a character’s of own mind (1981: 128).
Holman and Harmon desribes conflict as the struggle that grows out of
the interplay of the two opposing focus in the plot. They also state that conflicts
may occur in the struggle against nature, against another person, against society,
and the struggle for mystery. Conflicts may be an argument between opposing
forces, like man against man, man against nature, man against fate or perhaps an
internal one between the two opposing parts of man’s personality (1986: 107).
3. Theory of Message
Beaty and Hunter in New World of Literature states that message is “the real meaning or some easy conclusion” that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989: 899). It brings to simplification and gives the illusion
that a work of literature exist for its statement that tempts the readers through the
story, drama, poem, etc. to get the real meaning.
Message can also be defined as an idea that someone tries to communicate
to people. For example in a play, speech, or the meaning, the thought or idea that
is intended to express ( Sinclair, 1988 : 490)
The form of literary communication is the author implies a message that
the readers receive or the author see a great truth that he teaches the readers by
example. Message in a work of art usually reflects the way of related author. He
wants to convey his opinion about the values of truth.
Message in a story is considered as a suggestion related to practical moral
lesson that can be taken through the story. They are also having a close relation to
16
the real life, in the same manner as they are reflected in the story through its
characters.
C. Theoretical Framework
The topic that the writer wants to discuss and expose by this thesis is the
messages that are reflected in characters and conflicts in Family Devotions. To find out or discover the messages, the writer used some theories that considered
important to the topic, such as theories on character, theories on characterization,
theories on conflict, and theories on messages.
The writer used the theories on character and characterization because they
are essential to help the writer understand the character in the play before we learn
more deeply about the messages. Through the characters, the writer wants to say
something, such as wisdom, honesty, patiently, knowledge, forgiveness and
understanding others, sympathetic, etc.
Theories on conflict are considered important since the writer takes the
messages in the story based on the conflicts and experiences that happens in the
story. This story gives a lot of conflict that makes it more interesting. The main
characters have the conflict with their little brother.
To reveal the messages, the writer applies theories on message. Through
the dialogue, the description of the characters, including what the character’s
experience and conflicts are, what the characters do, say, and respond, are taken
as examples or suggestion that are reflected in the messages of the story. Theory
of message is used by the writer to obtain better understanding of the messages
that the author wants to rise and say.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
In this study the writer analyzes a drama by David Henry Hwang entitled
Family Devotions. David Henry Hwang was born in Los Angeles, California in
1957. He is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the
preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S. He was educated at the Yale
School of Drama and Stanford University. His first play was produced at the
Okada House dormitory at Stanford and he studied playwriting with Sam Shepard
and María Irene Fornés.
Hwang's early plays concerned the role of the Chinese American and
Asian American in the modern day world. His first play, the Obie Award-winning
FOB, depicts the contrasts and conflicts between established Asian Americans and "Fresh off the Boat" newcomer immigrants. The play was developed by the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and
premiered in 1980 Off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Papp went
on to produce four more of Hwang's plays, including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated
drama “The Dance and the Railroad”, which tells the story of a former Chinese
opera star working as a coolie laborer in the nineteenth century, and “Family
Devotions”, a darkly comic take on the effects of Western religion on a Chinese
18
family. Those three plays added up to a "Trilogy of Chinese America" as the
author described.
Hwang’s third drama Family Devotions was first published in 1989 by Penguin Books Canada Ltd, Canada. This book consists of 51 pages and built of 2
acts. The analysis of the study will be focused on the character development. The
analysis searches for the message from the author so that the readers could grasp
the meaning of them. The summary of the study is given as follows.
It is about the main characters Ama and Popo, Chinese women, who
emigrated to Philiphines, then to America, and their little brother Di-Gou who is a
resident of the People’s Republic of China. The play is set in an idealized house
with an enclosed patio and tennis court, representing a shallow, materialistic
American Dream. The extended families of Ama and Popo are waiting the arrival
of Gou whom they have not seen for thirty years. They really want to hear
Di-Gou’s testimony and confession of miracles done by evangelist See-goh-poo.
Unfortunately, when he arrives he disavows ever being Christian and it makes his
sisters be dissapointed and furious. Hence, the conflict begins to appear in this
family.
The reason of choosing this play as the object of the study because there
are some moral reason (message) that can be found inside. The writer decides to
focus only on the main character’s description, by their act or attitudes, dialogue,
20
B. Approach of the Study
In this research, the writer uses the formalistic approach to analyze the
work. The approach would focus on the formal patterns and technical devices of
literature (Abrams, 1981: 102). The approach also views literary language as
“self-focused”, which functions to “offer the reader a special mode of experience
by drawing attention to its own ‘formal’ features—that is, to the qualities and
internal relations of the linguistic signs themselves” (1981: 103).
The above statement is strengthened by Guerin, he says in A Handbook of Critical Approach to Literature that what the author did was to make the readers see that internal relationships gradually reveal a form, a principle by
which all subordinate patterns can be accommodated and accounted for. When
all the words, phrases, metaphors, images, and symbols are examined in
terms of each other and of the whole, any literary text worth our efforts
will display its own internal logic. When that logic has been established,
the reader is very close to identifying the overall form of the work (Guerin,
2005: 95).
From the explanation above, the writer knows and understands the
characteristics of the formalistic approach. Using the formalistic approach means
to emphasize objective and literal interpretation which is in the internal elements.
The readers are not allowed to discuss the elements which are in outside, such as:
the political or the historical issue or the opinion of the novel’s author.
In other words, when we apply formalistic approach, we analyze a literary
work and look for elements that contribute to the unique quality of the work, such
as structure, shape, interplay, interrelationships, denotations and connotations,
contexts, images, symbols, repeated details, climax, denouement, balances and
tensions, rhythms and rhymes that catch our attention, sounds that do the same,
the speaker's apparent voice, a single line--or even a word--set off all by itself
(Guerin, 1999: 75-76).
According to Rohrberger and Woods, formalistic approach is an approach
that assumes “total integrity of the literary piece” and “concentrates almost
entirely on its aesthetic value” (1971: 3).
Since this study will discuss about the message and the conflict that are
revealed thorugh the main characters of the play, the formalistic approach is
chosen as the suitable approach. With this approach, the writer assumes the
autonomy of the work itself and judges it by the intrinsic elements, instead of
extrinsic elements like the author's biography, social condition at the time of its
production, or its psychological and moral effects (Wellek and Warren, 1956).
In this study, the intrinsic elements are the characters, the conflicts and the
messages which considerably make the work unique. The analysis in this study is
completely based on the text itself.
C. Method of the Study
In completing this thesis, there were some steps that the writer took. The
writer conducted library research to carry out this study. Library research means
22
literature, criticism, dictionary, encyclopedia, undergraduate theses, or other
writings that maybe helpful.
There were two kinds of sources that used in this analysis, the primary and
secondary sources. The primary source is the play itself, David Henry Hwang’s
Family Devotions, while the secondary sources are taken from relevant books,
theses, and online references. The secondary sources compromised the books that
provided criticism on the play, the approach on the work, the theory of message,
conflicts, and characterization which was important for the study, and some
critical reviews taken from certain internet sites.
There were some steps that the writer did in analyzing the novel. Firstly,
the writer read the main source that was Family Devotions, then re-read it so that the writer understood what actually the author wanted to say through the drama.
Secondly, the writer tried to figure out the interesting things in the drama, which
made the drama different from other dramas.
As it had been achieved, the writer formulated the problems that were to
analyze the character and the characterization to get the message from the main
characters. To answer the first problem, the writer analyze from the primary book,
which related to the characterization of the main characters - Ama, Popo, and
Di-Gou from the beginning to the end of the story and then analyze them one by one.
To answer the second problem formulation, the writer also analyzes from the
primary book, to see the conflicts from the main characters and then analyze one
by one.
After the first and second problems were answered, the writer tried to
answer the third question. The writer had different way to answer the third
question, because the writer answer it by making conclusion and some message
from the main characters based on the writer’s point of view. After the analysis
part had been done, finally the writer drew conclusion. In making conclusion, the
writer concluded all of the analysis; starting from how the main characters - Ama,
Popo, and Di-Gou, are described in the story, what the conflicts founded in the
drama, and lastly the messages revealed through the main characters’
characterization and their conflicts.
This study uses theories of character, characterization, conflict and
message in literary work. The theories of character were taken from Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms (1981) and Holman’s A Hand Book to Literature
(1986). The theories of characterization were taken from Murphy’s
Understanding Unseens (1972), Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense
(1974), and Little’s Approach to Literature (1981). The theories of message in literary work were taken from Beaty and Hunter’s New Worlds of Literature
(1989).
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nature and functions of literature. Wellek and Warren’s Theory of Literature
(1956) is used as a reference for both formalistic approach and literature.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter attempts to answer the problems formulated in the first
chapter. This chapter is divided into three parts. The first thing to do is to answer
the first problem which discusses the characterization of the main characters,
Ama, Popo, and Di-Gou. Then second part discusses conflicts faced by the main
characters in relation to their characteristics. Lastly, the third part identifies the
messages revealed through the conflicts.
A. The Characterization of Ama
Ama is one of the main characters in this drama. This section discusses
the characterization of Ama both from the act 1 and act 2. This part is divided into
three sub-sections based on the characteristics possessed by Ama.
1. Stubborness
Ama is described as a stubborn person. Stubborn means “imply fixity of
purpose or condition and resistance to change”, as defined by Hornby (1995:
620-621). Her stubborness is described through her past life, speech, thoughts,
mannerism, and reactions to the situation around her, which will be discussed in
detail below.
To analyse a character in the play, we can see him/her through his/her
personal description. Ama’s characteristics in this part will concentrate on her
26
In this context, the main character’s speeches can be the clues that can be used to
analyze the characteristic of the main character. Ama is around 72 years old and
stubborn person, and this story shows the evidence about the characteristics of
Ama that says:
AMA: Outside!
POPO: This is his house.
AMA: All heart must join as one- POPO: He may eat inside!
AMA: -only then, miracles can take place. (Act 1, p. 192).
By seeing the example above, we can perfectly know that the
characteristic of Ama here is stubborn. She disagrees that Wilbur, her Son in law,
has to eat inside, although in fact that is actually Wilbur’s house. From the next
conversation between Ama and Popo we know that just because Wilbur does not
like family devotions and comes from Japanese family, Ama tells Popo that
Wilbur has to eat outside. Although Popo has already explained about the
background of Wilbur, Ama still disagrees. No matter how reasonable explanation
from Popo, Ama still dislikes Wilbur.
The stubborn characteristic from Ama is shown again in the conversation
below still between her and her sister, Popo, when they are trying to gather some
chicken on the tennis court.
AMA: When he kills Chickie, then he laugh!
[They both grab the chicken; JOANNE enters, sees them.] JOANNES: Hi, Mom, Auntie. Who cleaned up the chicken? AMA: Huh? This is not Chickie?
POPO: [ToAma] Tell you things, you never listen. Gong-gong-ah! [Idiot!] (Act 1, p. 194).
Popo has already explained to Ama that the lone burnt chicken on the
tennis court is not Chickie, but Ama is very sure it is Chickie, and she believes
Chickie killed by Wilbur. Ama shows his hatred toward Wilbur and continues to
accuse him. She is still debating with Popo right until Joanne shows up and
explains to them that the chicken is not Chickie. Even Popo as her sister admits
that she never listen to other. Popo absolutely knows her sister’s personality. She
knows that Ama does not want to listen to other people saying. She believe too
much in her own opinion. What is in her mind is the most right thing for her, no
matter how hard people try to convince her.
2. Fanatic
Besides being stubborn, Ama is also a fanatic about her religion. Her
families are all Christians, but one to another in the member of family has
different ways in trusting God. One of the examples that Ama is fanatic is shown
in the conversation below.
AMA: Do-Gou, thirty year have pass. Do you still love God? DI-GOU: Thirty-three.
AMA: Ah?
POPO: 1949 to 1982. Thirty-three. He is correct. AMA: Oh. But you do still love God? Like before? (Act 1, p. 204).
The characteristic that Ama has here is fanatic about her religion. She has
not seen Di-Gou, her brother, for thirty three years. Popo also realizes that.
Despite asking about her brother’s condition or life during all the time that has
28
The question that Ama asks to her brother shows that for her, religion is
everything and is more important than anything else. She is curious if her brother
still has his belief in God. It is the priority rather than other things. Even his
brother’s life does not matter for her. She does not ask his family in China or
other things that should be logically asked when we meet someone for the first
time after long time never seen each other.
3. Dominant
Not only a Christian martinet, Ama is also a martriarch. It means that she
is not only a good and obedient Christian but also a leader in the family,
especially in the religious aspect. Her character in this play is described as a
dominant woman. Dominant here relates to the term authority. Ama is a dominant
woman who has an authority to control over her family. Her dominant character is
seen almost in every part of her converstaions. One of example that proves her
dominant character is when she commands others member of family to see and
meet Digou no matter what they bussiness are. In page 198, act 1, Chester said
that he cannot stay because he has to finish packing before he leaves tommorow.
Nevertheless, Ama tells him that he must stay in order to see Di-Gou. She does
not care about her grandson’s businness. She just wants him to listen to her
command.
Ama’s dominant character is also shown when she leads the Family
Devotion. In the quoatation below, Ama shows her dominant character by forcing
other family members to give their testimony.
AMA: Now-Special Terstimony. Let us tell of God’s blessing!Who will have privilege? Special Testimony! Who will be first to praise? [Silence] He is in our presence! Opem His arms to us! [Silence] He is not going to wait forever-you know this! He is very busy!
[ROBERT stands up, starts to head for podium. POPO notices that ROBERTS
has risen, points to him.]
POPO: No! Not him!
AMA: [To ROBERT] He is very bored with certain people who say same thing over and over again. (Act 2, p. 215).
When no one wants to give their testimony, she insists them to do it but
when Robert wants to give his testimony, she and Popo do not want to hear it. She
does not allow them to speak their own words. She wants other family member to
obey her words. Eventually, she commands Jenny to give her testimony. Although
Jenny does not want to do it, she insists her to come and speak her words. This
shows how Ama dominates the family, even in their right to speak.
B. The Characterization of Popo
Popo’s characteristic is quite similar with Ama. She is as stubborn and
fanatic as her sister but she is a little wiser than Ama. Popo rarely accepts’s other
suggestion and criticism and she does not care of what people say. She dislikes
Japanese people and reveals it in her attitude toward her son in law, Robert. She
accuses him for losing Digou in airport although he has tried to explain that it is
not his fault and that the airport is very big and imposible to find someone that he
has never met before. Nevertheless, she still blames him and suspects him about
how he does not give a care to other people from other city besides his place,
30
POPO: [To ROBERT] See? You do not care about people from other province besides Shanghai.
ROBERT: [To POPO] Mom, I care. It’s just that-
POPO: [To ROBERT] Your father trade with Japanese during war. WILBUR: Huh?
ROBERT: Mom, let’s not start that- POPO: Not like our family. We die first! WILBUR: What’s all this about?
ROBERT: Hey, let’s not bring up all this other junk, right? POPO: [To ROBERT] You are ashamed. (Act 1, p. 201).
Not only on that conversation Popo has shown her characteristic. There are
lots of sentences that can prove her similarity with Ama, especially in the way she
asks Digou about his Christianity.
POPO: You are being difficult.
AMA: You remember when you first become Christian?
POPO: You traveled with See-goh-poh on her first evangelism tour? Before we move to Philippines and you stay in China? Remember? You speak in tounges of fire. (Act 1, p. 205)
She stands on her foot in the same way her sister does because they both
are sure that they are always right, especially in the religion matter they would
become fanatic. Popo does not realize that both she and her sister are wrong.
When Jenny tells the whole family about her testimonial, Popo and Ama
think that she really means it. Even it is clear that Jenny is only pretending to be
serious in her words but Ama and Popo believe it. Jenny implies insinuation to her
grand mothers with her words, but they do not want to accept it. They only want
to believe that their grand daughter says her feeling toward God. They are happy
because they think Jenny really put her trust in God.
JENNY: [At podium, she begins testimony.] First, I want to say that I love you all very much. I really do.
POPO: [To DI-GOU] That meaning is, she love God. JENNY: And I appreciate what you’ve done for me.
POPO: [To DI-GOU] She loves us because we show her God.
JENNY: But I guess there are certain times when even love isn’t enough. POPO: [To DI-GOU] She does not have enough love for you. You are not
Christian.
JENNY: And when you find that side, sometimes you have to leave in order to come back in a better way.
POPO: [To DI-GOU] She cannot stand to be around you.
JENNY: Please. Remember what I said, and think about it later. POPO: [To DI-GOU] You hear? Think! (Act 2, p. 216-217).
Although she is stubborn and fanatic but she is not as hard as her elder
sister. She still shows some tolerance thoughts. When Ama insists that Wilbur
cannot eat inside his own house, Popo tries to convince her (Act 1, p. 192). She
said that Wilbur perhaps can eat in kitchen, at least it is inside the house. She
knows that Ama is stuborn and will not allow Wilbur to eat together with other
family members but she still tries to persuade Ama. When it seems that Ama
cannot tolerate Wilbur because of his Japanese family background, Popo tells
Ama that they are very fortunate because their mother teached them in
Christianity, not like Wilbur’s family. Popo shows her pure opinion and positive
thinking, it is contrast to her sister who always analyzes and comments something
from the bad side.
C. The Characterization of Digou
1. Controlable
Digou is characterized as a controlable person. It means that he is able to
control his behaviour because he is different with his two sisters. He is not a
bad-tempered man and patient. It can be seen in his reaction to every words that his
32
AMA: We will begin. How many rooms in our house in Amoy? DI-GOU: Eighteen. How many bedrooms?
AMA: Ten. What year was it built?
DI-GOU: 1893. What year was the nineteenth room added? AMA: 1923
DI-GOU: On whose instruction? AMA: See-goh-poh.
DI-GOU: What year did See-goh-poh die? AMA: 1945. What desease?
DI-GOU: Malaria. How many teeth was she missing? AMA: Three. (Act 2, p. 226).
When his sisters are angry to him because they think Digou does not
speak the truth about See-goh-poh, he still explains to them with a gentle way. He
does not let his temper interfere the atmosphere and make it worse. Digou’s
controlled character is revealed when he tries to tell the truth to his sisters. He
knows that they will not listen to his explanation but he still speaks to them in the
right way in hope that they will accept the fact.
DI-GOU: You forced her to invent the stories. AMA: We demand nothing!
DI-GOU: You expected! Expected her to convert all Amoy! AMA: She did!
DI-GOU: Expected many miracles. AMA: She did! She was a great-
DI-GOU: Expected her not to have a baby.
AMA: She had no husband. She had no baby.This is demon talk. Demon talk and lie.
DI-GOU: She turned away from God.
AMA: We will never believe this! (Act 2, p. 226).
2. Obedient
Man is usually described as a central power who always leads the
situation. However, in this play, Ama and Popo control everything. Digou obeys
his sisters, even when they are arguing, he expressess his words in the right way.
When Ama leads the Family Devotion, he follows her instruction athough he does
not like it. He loves his sisters so much so that he does not fight altough he knows
he has right and strength to do it.
DI-GOU: Chester, you are in America. If you deny those who share your blood, what do you have in things country?
AMA: [From offstage] All right? Ready?
CHESTER: Your face is changing, Di-gou. Before you know it, you’ll be praying and speaking in tounges.
AMA: We begin! Family Devotions! [AMA flips a switch. A neon cross is lit up]
JENNY: [To CHESTER] Looks like a disco.
[Everyone is seated except DI-GOU. The rest of the family waits for him. He
walks over and sits down. AMA bows down to pray. Everyone bows except
CHESTER and DI-GOU, but since all other eyes are closed, no one notices their
noncompliance. AMA begins to pray.] (Act 1, p. 213).
3. Honest
Digou has the quality of being honest. He does not like to tell a lie. He
says what he knows and what he knows is true. It is not only shown in every
single word that he says in their conversation, it is also shown in his tongue
language. When Digou speaks in tongue, he does not know what he says. Chester
then interprets it for the other family members. In the interpretation, Chester tells
all about Digou’s experience with See-goh-poh starting from his evangelism tour
when he was eight years old.
It is told that Di-gou and See-goh-poh were traveling through the summer
heat to a small village in Fukien. He was sleeping in the straw next to
34
sleep. Digou then looked up and saw a fire and See-goh-poh was naked and
screamed at that time. She screamed with legs spread so far apart.
Digou tells his sisters about the fact of See-goh-poh, So far that a mouth opens up. A mouth between her legs. A mouth that is throwing up blood, spitting out blood. More and more blood” (Act 2, p. 224-225). It depicts a situation in which See-goh-poh give a birth to a baby. He even tells the detail of the story
when See-goh-poh hits the blood baby to hear the baby cries until the baby sucks
her breast. Digou tells the truth because he wants to open his sisters’s eyes in
order to make them realize that during all this time they have been lied to
themselves because See-goh-poh is not like they think. See-goh-poh was not in
the mission trip when Digou accompanies her, she hides her pregnancy instead so
that no one knows she has a baby out of marriage. At the end, he tells them about
See-goh-poh’s request before death.
DI-GOU: In her last moment, See-goh-poh wanted to be buried in Chinese soil, not Christian soil. You don’t know. You were in the Philippines. [Pause] I come to bring you back to China. Come, sisters. To the soil you’ve forsaken with ways born of memories, of stories that never happened. Come, sisters. The stories written on your face are the ones you must believe.
[AMA rises from her chair.]
AMA: We will never believe this! [She collapses back into her chair, close her eyes] (Act 2, p. 226-227)
For all this thirty two years, Digou keeps silent because he never meet
them during the time. When he visits them for the first time, he should keep silent
about the truth. He should not ruin the situation and make his sisters upset in the
first day of their meeting. However, he cannot deny that he knows the truth and he
is not able to act like he does know anything about see-goh-poh. He knows the
risk and consequences that he will face if he tells them the truth about
See-goh-poh but his courageous and wiseness help him to do it without any qualms. By
telling the truth to Ama and Popo, he will make them depressed but he insists in
doing so because he cannot deny himself. Therefore, he prefers not to tell any lies
to his family.
4. Wise
Another characteristic that is reflected throught the characteristics of
Digou in this play is his wiseness. He tells his sisters that it is wrong to praise
ancestors who were flawed and human just like common people. He asserts that
Americans of Asian origin have to realize that their ancestors has affected their
contemporary identities.
The reason why he obeys his sisters words and does not angry to them
when they accuse him for telling a lie is not because he is afraid of his sisters, but
because he is too wise to see the situation. He knows when is the right time to
speak to them about his true experience with See-goh-poh.
Another part that shows his wise characteristic is his dialogue with
Chester. There are some moments in which the playwright establishes a bond
between Di-gou and Chester. It is clear from Di-gou’s speeches that him and
Chesters should be bonded together by a shared sense of what is Chinese. In the
beginning of the play, Di-gou firstly appears as a viewer framed in the glass door.
Later he makes his entrance in the same way, first looking in on the scene through
36
When Di-gou is beaten by his sisters, Chester watches helplessly through
the same glass door. At the end of the play, Chester is framed by this glass as "his face begins to change." These moments explain the connection between Chester and Di-gou by suggesting that they are omniscient viewers as well as members of
the family, standing both outside and inside the action.
Di-gou says to Chester that "The stories written on your face are the ones you must believe" (144). It means that through objective observation one can find the truth of one's own nature and own identity. Chester should take heed of what
has come before him, that where he comes from matters, even if he has to do
some works figuring out where he came from. All those things define who he is.
Digou wisely says this advice to Chester. He shares his idea of a
collective past, of roots, of family, and of their “Chinese". By saying that to
Chester, Digou wants to tell him that there are faces back further than he sees.
Faces long before the white missionaries arrived in China. Digou wants him to
understand how the faces of his own people, his families, and his roots in China.
This is a first good way to become one with his family before he can hope to live
away.
CHESTER: Well, I hope you’re not disappointed to come and see your sisters, your family, carry on like this.
DI-GOU: They are still my sisters.
CHESTER: I’m leaving here. Like you did.
DI-GOU: But, Chester, I’ve found that I cannot leave the family. Today look!-I follow them across an ocean.
CHESTER: You know, they’re gonna start bringing you to church.
DI-GOU: There are faces back further than you can see. Faces long before the white missionaries arrived in China. Here. [He holds
CHESTER’s violin so that its back is facing CHESTER, and uses it like a mirror.] Look here. At your face. Study your face and you will see-the shape of your face is the shape of faces
back many generations-across an ocean, in another soil. You must become one with your family before you can hope to live away from it. (Act 1, p. 212).
Digou also shows his wiseness when Robert asks him to live in American
style, but Digou refuses him. It shows his wiseness in responding every
conversation.
ROBERT: [To DI-GOU] Well, then, you must understand American ways. DI-GOU: It has been some time since I was in America.
ROBERT: Well, it’s improved a lot, lemme tell you. Look, I have a friend who’s an immigrant lawyer. If you want to stay here, he can arrange it. DI-GOU: Oh no. The thought never even-
ROBERT: I know, but listen. I did it. Never had any regrets. We might be able to get your family over, too.
DI-GOU: Robert, I cannot leave China.
ROBERT: Huh? Look, Di-gou, people risk their lives to come to America. If only you could talk to-to the boat people.
DI-GOU: Uh-the food here looks very nice ROBERT: Huh? Oh, help yourself/ Go ahead. DI-GOU: Thank you. I will wait
(Act 1, p. 208).
In the end of the play, Digou still shows his wisdom. After the sudden
death of his sisters, Di-Gou seems to give himself over to the materialism of
America life, exclaiming that his only desire is to drive an American car very fast
down an American freeway. It is surprising but positive because he does not show
any kind of shock and deprressed expression. He does not blame himself or
anyone in the family. He does not bring others to be involved in that bad situation.
He rather says a philosophy sentence that makes him aware of anthing that
38
He is wise in the sense that he faces his sisters’ death as a reality. He does
not force himself to be responsible at their death. By doing this, he does not only
show his wiseness but also his rational and logical characteristic. He thinks and
acts based on the reality that happens to him. His wiseness affect Chester’s way of
thinking. Through his contact with his great-uncle, Chester begins to recognize his
roots in China. In the end of the play, Chester stands where his great-uncle stood
early in the beginning of the play, and the shape of his face “begins to change”, presumably to reflect his kinship to his great-uncle from China and his new-found
ethnic connections.
B. The Conflicts of the Main Characters
In this part of the study, the writer will focus on the main characters’
conflicts, both Ama and Popo’s internal and their external conflict against their
only brother, Di-Gou. According to Perrine (1974: 44) conflict is a clash of action,
ideas, desires, or will between two individuals or among people in the society.
Conflict itself can be classified into physical, mental emotional, or moral.
Regardless to those types of conflicts, Perrine states that conflict in a
literary work may consist of one conflict that is stated clearly and the readers are
able to easily identify it (single and clear-cut conflict), and it may also consist of
multi conflicts or more than one conflicts that are difficult to be understood by the
readers. To be able to understand multi conflicts, the reader should analyze the
conflicts one by one.
By knowing the characterization of the characters and their conflicts, the
writer can find the message inside the story. The writer will discuss the external
conflict first and then the internal one. The purpose of this order is to make the
analysis understable and clear because it is easier to understand the whole conflict
by seeing the external conflict in advance.
1. Ama and Popo’s External Conflict
From the beginning of the play, the author shows the readers many
conflicts that happen between the main characters and minor characters. However,
the center of this play wants to tell us about the conflict between the three main
characters, they are Ama, Popo, and their brother, Di-Gou because their conflicts
are the most important things found in this story. Their conflict can be said as
general conflict between a Christianized Chinese-American family and a pagan
Chinese relative who comes to visit them in their California home. Their conflict can be divided into two parts, those are the fanaticism of Ama and Popo that
brings the downfall to the family and the loyalty of Di-Gou towards his sisters that
makes them ignore the truth that Di-Gou tries to reveal.
Ama and Popo are Christian fanatics, they believe in Christianity but in
the fanatic way. The two elderly and devoutly Christian Chinese sisters escaped
with their family from China before the Communist revolution. They now in Bel
Air, California, with their daughters, Joanne and Hannah, and their daughters' rich
husbands, Wilbur and Robert. Their grand children, Jenny and Chester are
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Boston Symphony Orchestra. However, their younger brother, Digou believed in
the revolution, and returned to China.
At the beginning of the play, the whole family is waiting a visit from
Di-Gou, who Ama and Popo have not seen in over thirty years. They recall him as a
child prodigy evangelist, but when he arrives it is clear that he is not the man his
sisters remember. Now Di-Gou does not believe in God anymore. He turns out to
be an elderly little stranger, neatly blue suited, who has left his childhood
Christianity behind.
Ama and Popo attempt to make Di-Gou remember about what their aunt,
See-goh-poh had done to them and then tell the story to other family members.
They do this because they respect and praise their long-deceased aunt,
See-goh-poh who was according to the familty myth, brought Christianity into the family.
They believe that See-goh-poh was like a hero for their entire family and she has
done a lot of miracles during her life. She is a kind of a true example for Ama and
Popo. Popo reminds him about their servant, Ah hong, who was helped by
See-goh-poh by casting out his opium demon.
POPO: Ah Hong tell stories how he eats opium, then he can see everything so clear, like-uh-glass. He can see even through wall, he say, and can see-ah-all the way through floor. Yes! He say he can through ground, all the way to hell. And he talk with Satan and demon who pretend to be Ah Hong’s dead uncles. You should remember. (Act 1, p. 205).
At that time, Ah hong was bothered by the Demon which pretend to be
ghost then show himself everyplace to Ah Hong. He always just sit there and
never talk, neither move, just sit. Then, See-goh-poh came, called on God, and
with only said two words: “Demon begone<
