AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DEWI RACHMAWATI Student Number: 044214095
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DEWI RACHMAWATI Student Number: 044214095
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
“IT IS BETTER TO WANT WHAT YOU
HAVE THAN TO HAVE WHAT YOU WANT”
(Somerset Maugham)
I dedicate this thesis to
My beloved father
My beloved mother
First of all, I would like to express my ultimate gratitude to God, Allah SWT, for
His help and His guidance. Without Him, I cannot be what I am meant to be. He always
gives me what is the best for me. He fills me with His strength and guidance, so I can
finally finish writing this thesis.
My deepest gratitude also goes to my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum,
my co- advisor, J. Harris Hermansyah S., S.S.,M.Hum, and my examiner, Tatang Iskarna,
S.S., M.Hum, who have been willing to guide me to finish this thesis. I really thank them
for their help, guidance, suggestion, support, time and energy spent to read, correct, and
criticize my thesis. Because of them, I can complete my thesis.
Besides, I also thank to my dearest father Gatot Midihardja and loveliest mother
Sekarteky for their work hard, trust and prayer. Without them, I do not have opportunity
to study in Sanata Dharma University. Then, I also thank to my sister, Titien Noorfidiana,
who becomes my biggest motivation to finish my study as soon as possible.
In addition, there are also many persons that support me to complete my thesis. I
thank to my best friend, Muhammad Nur Addin, for his patience and attention. Then, I
also thank to my friends Tata, Intan, Cimot, Master Erwin, Rita, and Ririn who always
disturb, support and make me laugh when I will do this thesis. Next, to my KKN
Wonodoro friends group 11 Mita, Indri, Tato, Dima, Andrew, Lia, Ndaru, Joko, and
Amel and her charming boyfriend. I thank for the sweetest memory given. I will never
forget it guys. The last gratitude is for persons who have contribution and are not
DEWI RACHMAWATI. The Influence of Setting of Place towards the Major Characters as Seen in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
This thesis analyzes a novel written by Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children. The writer talks about the influence of setting that happens toward the major characters, Mother, Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis in the novel. They become major characters because they have big part in this novel and their characteristics change after they move in the new environment, Three Chimneys.
In order to analyze this novel, three problems are formulated. The first problem is about the characteristics and characterization of the major characters. The second problem deals with the setting of the novel. The setting in this novel is the setting place that causes changes on the major characters’ behavior. The last problem is about how the setting of place in the novel influences the major characters’ behaviors.
To accomplish this study, the writer employs the New Criticism approach. Library research method is used to collect the data from the books and other references. Theories of character and characterization, theory on setting, and theory on characters development are used to answer the three problems formulated of this thesis.
ABSTRAK
DEWI RACHMAWATI. The Influence of Setting of Place towards the Major Characters as Seen in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma 2008.
Skripsi ini menganalisis novel yang ditulis oleh Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children. Penulis membahas tentang pengaruh latar yang terjadi pada tokoh- tokoh utama dalam novel yaitu Mother, Roberta, Peter, dan Phyllis. Mereka menjadi tokoh utama karena mereka mempunyai peranan yang besar dalam novel ini dan watak mereka berubah setelah mereka pindah ke lingkungan mereka yang baru yaitu Three Chimneys.
Ada tiga masalah yang dirumuskan untuk menganalisis novel ini. Permasalahan pertama tentang watak dan perwatakan tokoh utama. Permasalahan kedua berkaitan dengan latar novel. Latar dalam novel adalah tempat yang menyebabkan perubahan-perubahan pada tingkah laku tokoh-tokoh utama. Permasalahan terakhir tentang bagaimana latar tempat dalam novel mempengaruhi tingkah laku tokoh- tokoh utama.
Dalam skripsi ini penulis menggunakan pendekatan kritik baru. Metode kepustakaan digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data dari buku- buku dan sumber- sumber lain. Teori watak dan perwatakan, teori latar, dan teori perkembangan karakter digunakan untuk menjawab tiga masalah yand dirumuskan pada skripsi ini.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
A novel is a kind of literary work that we often meet in our daily life. It consists of some elements, such as plot, characters, setting, and theme. In addition, those elements relate to each other and sometimes can influence one another, too. One of interesting things in analyzing a literary work is by relating one element to another element in the literary works. Besides interesting, it is also very useful to give deeper understanding for the readers about the content of a novel. For example, what the writer is going to do in this thesis is by relating the setting and the characters in the novel. The setting and the characters in the novel have close relationship, so the characters’ behaviors are sometimes influenced by the setting, such as setting of time, setting of place and setting of society. The characters can have different characteristics in a different setting. It depends on when and where the characters live, and the society that live around them. By doing that kind of analysis, the readers will understand why the characters’ behavior changed when they live in a different setting.
lies beside a railway track. It is clear that the setting of place influences their behavior.
In addition, the writer is going to analyze a novel written by Edith Nesbit because of some reasons. First, it is because Edith Nesbit is one of the popular novelists. Her works are also very popular and some of them appeared in Sunday
Magazine. The works of Edith Nesbit are The Treasure Seekers that was
published under pseudonym “Edith Mortimer” in 1904, The Book of Dragon (1900), The Would-be-Goods (1901), Five Children and It (!902), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904) that is the sequel of Five Children and It. Then, two years later, The Story of the Amulet completed the trilogy. In addition, The Railway Children were published on 1904 and followed by one of her most haunting stories, The Enchanted Castle. Her other books are The House of Arden (1908), Harding’s Luck (1909), and Wet Magic (1913).
Besides the author and her works, the story of this novel is also very interesting. This novel tells about a family life and also the adventures of three children. Their life changes when their father left home mysteriously and suddenly. Then, the children and the mother move from London to a cottage in the country named “Three Chimneys” that lies beside a railway track. In addition, their behavior changes in this place, especially the children as we can see in the quotation below.
‘So I’ve caught you at last, have I, you young thief?’ said the Station Master.
‘I’m not a thief,’said Peter, as firmly as he could. ‘I’m a coal-miner.’ …………
The quotation above shows that Peter’s behavior changes. He tries to steal coal in the station, whereas he never did that before. He did that because his mother did not permit him to have a fire when the day was very cold. His mother did that because coal was very expensive, so they had to be thrift and saved the coal for the winter. Besides, he knew that there were many coals in the station and he decided to steal coals from the station. In addition, the setting of place here has an important role in shaping the characteristics of Peter. Peter and his family live in the station that is a place where there are many coals that is very needed by Peter. Therefore, he was determined to steal some coal from the station because of necessity. It is one of the examples that the setting of place has important roles in this novel.
place gives influence toward the characters and forms the characters’ behavior that is different from their previous behavior when they are in the different setting.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to analyze the influence of setting of place towards major characters in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children, the writer formulates three problems listed as follows.
1. How are the major characters depicted in the novel? 2. How is the setting of place described in the novel?
3. How does the setting of place influence characters’ development?
C. Objectives of Study
D. Definition of Terms
In order to analyze the novel, there are some terms that need to be clarified in order to give clear explanation and make the same perception about the terms used in this analysis. The terms are:
1. Character
Abrams, in his A Glossary of Literary Terms, defines characters are “ the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who interrupt the readers as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue- and by what they do- the action”(1981: 20). It means that the personality of characters can be judged from their action and dialogue that they have in drama or narrative.
2. Characterization
Rohrberger and Woods, in their book named Reading and Writing about Literature state that:
Characters have particular personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them from other characters. The process by which and author creates a character is called CHARACTERIZATION (1971: 22)
2. Setting
In the literary works, there must be setting. The setting in the literary work has important roles such as influence the character’s behavior, give description about certain society in the certain time, etc. Abrams, in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms, states that
the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of a single episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place (1981: 175).
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies
Review of related studies is a study that was done previously and used as references in the next study. In the thesis, the writer has four related studies. The writer is going to use two undergraduate theses, essays on the author’s life, and an analysis about The Railway Children but with different topics as the related studies for this thesis. As the first related study, the writer will use study of Vicki Palmquist. In her essay, she tells about the life of Edith Nesbit. She tells that Edith Nesbit was trailblazer because she wrote in the midst of the Victorian conventions of preaching to children through her books.
Instead of preaching, E. Nesbit wrote to children as her equals because, "When I was a little child I used to pray fervently, tearfully, that when I should be grown up I might never forget what I thought, felt, and suffered then."
(http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/08aug/8-15nesbit.html)
Widiyanti titled The Influence of Setting to Dr.Manette’s Characterisation in Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities. In her thesis, Natalia talks about Dr. Manette, a responsible and kind doctor that is sent to jail because he tries to help the poor people against injustice that often happens at that time. It gives bad influence to Dr. Manette’s characteristic. He is isolated in a small and lonely place that makes him cannot communicate with others and practice his profession as a good doctor. He has studious habit that always spends his time to produce something useful, so that when he is in the jail, he makes shoes to spend his time and produce something useful. However, his life in the jail influences his life in the present time. After he releases from the jail, he becomes a person who prefers to live in the quiet place as he used to do when in jail. It seems that he has his own world. He feels that by being a shoemaker he can erase his pain. It shows that the setting influence Dr. Manette’s characterization (Widiyanti, 2000: 54-55).
happened to him during winter like the death of his father and mother, his marriage with Zeena. That kind of condition makes him fail to realize any of his desire, especially to be an engineer, because he has to be responsible to his family.(Budiyanti, 2002: 51-53). It shows that the setting can influence the character in the novel.
Next, the fourth related study is a short analysis about The Railway Children that was compiled by Allie Spencer, Lisa Pashouros, and Trina Haldar. In their analysis, they analyze about the characters in The Railway Children and also the setting of the novel. However, they do not only analyze the setting of the novel, but also the setting when Edith Nesbit wrote The Railway Children. Then, they relate the setting in the reality with the setting in the novel. They also tell that The Railway Children is a kind of reflection from Edith Nesbit about the condition that happened around her. The condition and what happened through the character in The Railway Children is almost the same as the condition in the reality at that time (Spencer, Allie, Lisa Pashouros, and Trina Haldar, 2004. http://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/files/The%20Railway%20Children.pdf)
Those related studies are very helpful to give a description about the topic and the object that the writer is going to analyze. The writer can get the description of the characters in the novel and the theory that is usually used to analyze about the influence of setting toward the characters in the novel. Besides, from those related studies, the writer can see some reasons why the characters in the novel can change their behavior when they live in the other setting.
major characters because the characters whose behaviors change are not only one character but all the major characters.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
The first theory that the writer uses is theory of character and characterization. The writer uses that theory in order to analyze the characteristics of the characters in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. In A Glossary of Literary Terms, Abrams defines characters as
the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who interrupt the readers as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what way they say- the dialogue- and by what they do- the action (1981: 20).
The quotation above means that personality of the characters can be judged from their action and dialogue that they have in drama or narrative works.
In addition, according to Ian Milligan in The Novel in English (1983: 155), characters can be distinguished based on their role in the story. Those characters are major and minor characters. Major characters are characters that become the focus of the story from the beginning to the end, while minor characters are characters that only appear in certain setting, and only become the background of major characters and have less important role.
In addition, Barnet says that there are some important factors when the readers want to see the characters (1998: 712). Those factors are:
2. What the characters do. What the characters do in some different situations can show the readers their characteristics.
3. What other characters say about the character. It is very helpful for the readers to evaluate the characteristics of characters in the novel more deeply.
4. What others do. It is important in order to know the characters because the characters will say and do something. They interact with the others to show what they want, what they need and what they do. From that, we can see the responses of the others and the characters. Then, we can see the characters better.
places that character in the situation in which people hate her/ him because of her or his bad attitude, so that makes her or him seem a bad person.
2. Theory on Setting
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms give definition about setting of narrative or dramatic work as follows:
the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of a single episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place (1981: 175).
Holman and Harmon in their A Handbook to Literature mention that there are four elements forming a setting, namely:
(1) the actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room; (2) the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters; (3) the time or period in which the action takes places, for example, epoch in history or season of the year; (4) the general environment of the characters, for example, religious, mental, moral, social, and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move (1986: 465).
From the quotation above, we can see that the setting is the environment of the events in the story and the immediate world in which they occur. There are many things that can be included into setting and those have important roles in the story. The setting can influence the behaviors and the mindset of the characters in the novel. The characters can have bad or good behaviors and mature or childish thinking based on the environment where they live. For example people who have bad attitude live in the environment that consists of good people, it may change their bad attitude into good attitude.
personalities, action and way of thinking of the characters (1972: 41). According to him there are four kind of setting of time as stated below
a. Present time
Murphy explains that an author may write a story about his or her own time, the things that are happening around him or her, or the events about them.
b. Past time
An author may choose to go backwards in time and write about historical events in order to light up the past to readers. Some imagination may be used to go back to past historical times.
c. Future time
An author may also take readers to the future through his imagination. The story may deal with the condition of the world free from any economic-social-political pressure (totalitarian tyranny, anarchy, capitalism), or with the development of human civilization exploring other planets in the universe or dealing with robots.
d. No specific time
An author has the right to give the readers no indication of the time in which the story takes place. The story is something like the old fairy stories; they happen ‘once upon a time’ (1972: 143-144).
Britain. The second place is an unfamiliar place that is likely to be unfamiliar to many of the readers of the author’s own nation. Then, the third is imaginary place. It is a place which is not familiar to anyone at all may be used as well by the author to be the setting of his or her work of literature. However, in this thesis, the writer will only focus on the setting of place including the society who live in it.
3. Theory on Characters Development
Setting and characters in the novel are two important things that influence one to another. The setting itself is not only where the action happened but also when and in what condition the action happened. The characters cannot exist without setting and vice versa. In his book, M.J. Murphy states that the setting of the novel has a great effect upon the personalities, action and way of thinking of the characters. The setting “where” and “when” they live in or at determine the characters in the novel (1972: 41).
because novel and drama are almost the same. They are literary works that have characters and setting as their important elements.
Perrine in Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense states that there are some conditions that make the characters change. First, it must be within the possibilities of the characters that make it. It means that the characters should change step by step. Second, it must be sufficiently motivated by the circumstances in which the characters find themselves. The characters usually have certain reason to change their characteristics. Third, it must be allowed sufficient time for a change of its magnitude believably to take place. It means that the characters need a period of time to change their characteristics (1974: 71)
In addition, according to Abrams, the characters express their moral and disposition qualities through what they say and what they do. It can also reveal their motivation. However, a character may remain stable in his view and dispositions from the beginning to the end, but they may also unstable or have gradual development as the result of an extreme crisis (1981: 20-21).
Based on the explanations above, the writer can see that the characters in the novel can develop their characteristics if there are change conditions in their life or the settings changing around them. They have to adapt and overcome problems that happen in their new environment.
C. Theoretical Framework
personalities of the characters in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. The writer will analyze the characters from their dialogue in the novel. In addition, the main reason the writer uses this theory is because by using this theory, the writer will be able to analyze the characters in The Railway Children. The theory of characters gives description how to judge the characters, so we can get clear description about the personalities of the characters in the novel.
Then, in this thesis, the writer will also use theory of characterization as one of theories in this thesis because from this theory, the writer is able to analyze how the characters are described in the novel. Therefore, the writer can analyze how the characters are described in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children and how their characteristics develop.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
In this thesis, the object that the writer will analyze is a novel. It is a
famous novel. It is a novel entitled The Railway Children written by Edith Nesbit, a famous novelist. It is one of Edith Nesbit’s most fondly remembered stories. In the
introduction of this novel, it is mentioned that this novel was firstly published on
1906. Then, this novel was published again by Penguin Popular Classics in 1995.
Then, the novel that the writer will use for this thesis is the sixth edition. Besides, this
is also the sixth novel of Edith Nesbit after The Story of the Amulet. In addition, in this edition, this novel consists of 212 pages and is divided into 14 chapters. Besides,
this novel contains the biography of the author, table of contents, Edith Nesbit’s
acknowledgment to her dear son, Paul Bland that had given her knowledge about the
railways, the story, book list that is and will be published by Penguin Popular
Classics, and list of poems that is and will be published by Penguin Popular Poetry.
In addition, in the beginning of this novel, there is the biography of Edith
Nesbit that tells about her life and works that were produced during her life. Every
chapter in this novel has titled that depicts the content of the story in each chapter. As
Grandfather, and the last is The End. Besides, this novel was also made into a famous film. That film was adapted by Lionel Jeffries in 1972. In the recent day, this
novel is also made into TV series. (Nesbit, 1995).
The Railway Children is a novel that tells about family life and adventures of three children, Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis. They are forced to move from their
comfortable house in London into a cottage in a country named Three Chimneys.
They move to Three Chimneys because their father is suddenly and mysteriously was
forced to leave home. They live in Three Chimneys with their beloved mother. Their
life experiences big changes. They have to be thriftier and live in a simpler way. They
have to deal with many changes, so they also have to change the way they live,
especially for the children. Their mother’s behaviour changes since they move in
Three Chimneys. She prefers to stay in her room for writing rather than to gather with
her children. She also becomes stricter to her children in order to make them thriftier.
Besides, the situation at Three Chimneys is not as nice as in London. In Three
Chimneys, they only see railway. Because of that, they have to adapt with their new
environment. Fortunately, they can adapt with their environment and get new
experiences from their new environment. They do many activities such as write down
the number of trains’ platform, give names for trains in order to deal with their
boredom. They also make acquaintance with many people in station. Those kinds of
situations and environment influence the behaviours of the children. They are spoilt
children when they are in London but when they move to the Three Chimneys, they
become stronger and brave. They also know how to socialize with other people and
B. Approach of the Study
In order to analyze a piece of literary work, we need to use a certain approach
that appropriate with the topic that we analyze. Then, in this thesis the writer uses the
new criticism approach that is taken from a book written by Charles E.Bressler
entitled An Introduction to Theory and Practice. This approach is used if we want to analyze the intrinsic elements of a literary work without relating it with the extrinsic
elements such as the biography of the author, historical background of the society in
the real life, and etc. This approach considers that poem itself (used as a synonym in
New Criticism for any literary work) has all important information to find out its
meaning without seeing the extrinsic elements of the poem.
“This interpretive model begins with close analysis of the poem’s individual words, including both denotative and connotative meanings, and then moves to a discussion of possible allusions within the text.
…….
…the critic searches for any patterns developed through individual words, phrases, sentences, figures of speech, and allusions. The critic’s sharp eye also notes any symbols, either public or private, used by the poet. Other elements for analysis include point of view, tone, and any other poetic device that will help the reader understand the dramatic situation (1999: 37)
From the quotation above, it can be seen that in the new criticism approach, a
literary work can be analyzed by using only its intrinsic elements, such as individual
words, phrases, sentences, figures of speech, allusions, point of view, tone, setting,
and characters. Then, by using those intrinsic elements the readers can get the content
of a literary work.
The quotation above also tells that in order to analyze a piece of literary work,
the readers do not need to do some research to look for about the author’s life and the
time when the author lived. This approach already gives the reader the method to
make a correct interpretation about a literary work only using the text itself. Besides,
this approach also tells that new criticism considers literary work as its object of
concern and begins by defining it. It also considers that literary work must not be
related with its author’s feeling or stated or implied intentions.
Besides, in the new criticism, there are some terminologies to call some wrong
assumption in new criticism. First, Intentional Fallacy means belief that considers
poem’s meaning is nothing more than an expression of personal experience or
purpose of the author is to do wrong interpretation. The second, Affective Fallacy is
to discover literary work’s meaning, we have to emphasis on the author, the social
context, or text’s historical situation and consider the reader’s emotional response is
important and not equivalent to its interpretation. The last, Heresy of Paraphrase
means that it cannot be imagined that the meaning of poem or literary work is the
same with only paraphrased version of the text (Bressler, 1999: 41- 44)
This approach is appropriate for this thesis because in this thesis, the writer
only analyzes the two intrinsic elements of this novel those are characters and setting.
Although Edith Nesbit’s novel was influenced by extrinsic elements also, the writer
will not talk about those extrinsic elements in this thesis. The writer just wants to
analyze how the setting can influence, even change the behaviors of the characters in
C. Method of the Study
In this study, the writer applied library research as the method of the study.
Besides, the writer also used two kinds of data those are primary data and secondary
data. As the primary data, the writer used the novel itself that is The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit, while as the secondary data used the undergraduate thesis, book
about theories in literature and some articles from website.
In this study, the writer did some steps. First, the writer read the novel several
times and tried to find what important thing to reveal from this novel is and used it as
the topic. What made the writer interested was the influence of setting of place
toward the characters in the novel. Then, the writer decided to analyze the influence
of setting of place toward the character in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. Next, the writer searched for other studies that related with the object that the writer
analyzed, had the same topic, or the same author. Since this novel is seldom analyzed
the writer did not only search the related studies in the library, but also searched in
internet. As the related studies the writer used four related studies, those are an essay
by Vicki Palmquist about Edith Nesbit that talked about why Edith Nesbit wrote
novel for children, two undergraduate theses that have same topic with this thesis
description about the situation when Edith Nesbit wrote The Railway Children and related the condition at that time to the condition in the novel.
Beside related studies, the writer also searched theories related to the topic
and can help in analysing the work. In addition, in this thesis, the writer used the
theory of character and characterization in Ian Milligan’s The Novel in English and Rohberger and Woods’s Reading and Writing about Literature, theory on setting in Holman and Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature and Muphy’s Understanding Unseens, and theory on character development. In the theory on character development, the writer used some theories that are M.J. Murphy in his book
Understanding Unseen, Reaske’s How to Analyze Drama, Perrine in Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, Barnet’s An Introduction to Literature, and Abram’s Glossary of Literary Terms. Then, in the analysis the writer will combine those theories to analyze the influence of the setting toward the major characters in The Railway Children. Next, the writer also used an approach that is The New Criticism approach that is taken from a book titled An Introduction to Theory and Practice written by Charles E. Bressler. The last, the writer analysed the work by using the
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
A. Descriptions of the Major Characters in The Railway Children
Novel is a kind of literary work that consists of some elements that one related to
each other. Characters and setting are the example of the elements that have relation
which cannot be separated. In this novel, the characters have important role towards the
story.
According to Abrams, characters are “the person presented in a dramatic or
narrative work, who interrupt the readers as being endowed with moral and dispositional
qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue- and by what the do- the
action”(1981: 20). By seeing the action and the dialogue, we can see the characteristics of
the characters.
Then, in the theory of characters by Ian Milligan in The Novel in English, characters can be categorized into major character and minor character. Their role can be
distinguished based on their role in the story. The characters that become the focus of the
story are called major character, while characters that appear only in certain setting and
have less important role are called minor characters.
In this analysis, the writer will apply the theory of characters by Ian Milligan that
is by categorizing the characters in The Railway Children into major and minor characters. The writer will categorize the characters by seeing their action and their
dialogue in the novel. However, in this thesis, the writer will only analyze the major
they move in the different setting that is very different from the previous setting. Besides,
the writer will also apply theory of characterization written by Rohberger and Woods that
characterize the character by using two ways that are direct and dramatic
characterization. Direct characterization is characterizing the characters by describing
physical appearances and intellectual, moral and the degree of sensitivity such as the age,
shape of the body, hair, and etc and dramatic characterization is characterizing by placing
the character in a situation to show what the character is by the way the character behaves
or speaks.
1. Major Characters a. Roberta or Bobbie
Roberta is considered as one of major characters because she has important roles
in this novel and she always appears in all chapters or setting in this novel. Roberta is the
oldest child of three children. People around her call her Bobbie because her behaviors
are similar to a boy’s. In this novel, she is described by using dramatic characterization.
Her characteristics are not described directly but through the way she behaves and
speaks. She is a stubborn girl. She often quarrels especially with Peter, her little brother.
However, after her father was suddenly and mysteriously forced to leave home
and she and her family have to move to Three Chimneys, her characteristics change. In
this sub chapter, the writer will only explain the characteristics changes shortly. Then, as
the further discussion about her characteristics changing will be explained in the last sub
In Three Chimneys, Roberta is an attentive child especially to her mother. She
always cares about her mother. Actually, she also cares about her mother when still in
London, but she gives more attention to her mother since moving to Three Chimneys.
“They kissed her and went. Roberta lingered to give Mother an extra hug and to whisper:
‘it wasn’t bad news, Mammy, was it? Is anyone dead -or-‘
‘Nobody’s dead- no,’ said Mother, and she almost seemed to push Roberta away. ‘ I can’t tell you anything tonight, my pet. Go, dear, go now.’
So Roberta went.” (1995: 7)
It shows Roberta’s attention towards her mother. She is a daughter that always
cares about mother.
“As she turned away Roberta saw her face. She never forgot it.
‘Oh, Mother,’ she whispered all to her self as she got into bed, ‘how brave you are! How I love you! Fancy being brave enough to laugh when you’re feeling like that!’ (1995: 9)
It is also evidence that Roberta always cares about her mother. She always pays
attention to her mother’s behavior and feels the sadness of her mother although Mother
does not tell her what is going on. Besides, she also amazes her mother because she
considers her mother as a brave mother who can face her problems alone and keep the
secret about Father because she does not want to make her children sad.
Besides care about her mother, Roberta also cares about her siblings. It is shown
when she worries about Peter when he decides to take coal from the station.
‘What do you mean by spying on a fellow like this?’ said Peter, angrily.
‘Time someone did spy on you, I think,’ said the Station Master. ‘Come along to the station.’
‘Oh, don’t!’ said Bobbie. ‘Can’t you decide now what you’ll do to us? It’s our fault just as much as Peter’s.
That quotation shows that Roberta not only cares about her mother but also cares
about her siblings in this case is Peter. She worries about Peter when Peter tells about his
plan to take coals from the station alone. Then, she decides to spy him with Phyllis.
When the Station Master asks Peter to come to the station, Roberta also tries to plead
Peter by asking the Station Master to decide what kind of punishment that they should get
and tell him that the fault is not only Peter’s, but also theirs because they came with Peter
and helped him to carry the coals away. It is also because she feels responsible towards
her mother in taking care of her little brother and sister as the oldest child.
Besides being an attentive daughter, Roberta is also a mature daughter. It does not
usually happen to children in her age. She wants to help her mother and teach her siblings
to be more independent because it may help their mother.
“Wake up! wake up!’ said Roberta. ‘We’re in the new house—don’t you remember? No servants or anything. Let’s get up and begin to be useful. We’ll just creep down mouse-quietly, and have everything beautiful before Mother gets up. I’ve woken Peter. He’ll be dressed as soon as we are.’ (1995: 20)
It is proof of the maturity of Roberta. However, it does not happen to her little
brother and sister, so they do not know what to do in their new environment even to help
their mother. Because of that, she has to teach her little brother and sister in order to be
more mature and know what to do for helping Mother.
The other characteristic of Roberta is brave. One of her bravery is shown when
she tries to save a train from an accident with Peter and Phyllis.
‘Stand firm,’ said Peter, ‘and wave like mad! When it gets to that big furze bush step back, but go on waving!
Don’t stand on the line, Bobbie!’
The train came rattling along very, very fast.
‘They don’t see us! They won’t see us! It’s all no good!’ cried Bobbie.
on the line. Bobbie jumped forward and caught it up, and waved it; her hands did not tremble now. (1995: 92)
That passage does not tell that Roberta is brave directly, but from the action that is
done by Roberta, the writer can see that actually Roberta is a brave girl. She does not care
about herself anymore when she tries to save the train and the passengers in it from the
accident. She keeps waving the red flags on the train line although the train comes faster
and nearer. When one of the flags fall on the line, she jumps and takes that flag and
waved again. She insists on Peter’s command that asks her to keep off the line because
the train comes faster and nearer. She just wants to save the train although it can
endanger herself.
b. Peter
In this novel, Peter is also considered as the major character because he also has
important roles in this story besides Roberta. He also appears almost in all settings in this
novel. He is characterized by using dramatic characterization. He is a ten-year-old boy.
He is also the only son in his family. He is actually a spoiled boy, but he does not want to
show it to the others.
…..the Engine suddenly went off with a bang. …….
The others said he cried over it—but of course boys of ten do not cry, however terrible tragedies may be which darken their lot. He said that his eyes were red because he had cold. This turned out to be true,….
………
‘I hate gruel—I hate barley water—I hate bread and milk. I want to get up and have something real to eat.’
‘What would you like?’ Mother asked.
‘A pigeon-pie,’ said Peter, eagerly, ‘a large pigeon-pie. A very large one.’
From the action that Peter does in the quotation above, the writer can see that
Peter is actually a dishonest child. It is shown when his birthday present, the Engine,
broke down without any clear reasons. Then, his eyes are red because he cries over it, but
he does not want to tell his mother about it and says that his eyes are red because he gets
a cold. Unfortunately, this becomes true and he really gets cold. This action shows
Peter’s dishonesty. He does not tell his mother the truth and finally gets the consequence.
Besides, the quotation above also shows that Peter is a spoiled boy. He is angry to his
mother when he is sick. He says that he hates some foods. In addition, he asks a very
large pigeon pie to his mother. He wants to get much care from his mother.
However, after his family and he move to Three Chimneys, he starts to show his
characteristics changing. Then, the writer will discuss further about that changing in the
last sub chapter of this chapter.
In addition, in the new place, Peter is a mature boy, although not as mature as
Roberta. His maturity is shown when he decides to steal coals from the station.
‘The only reason why I won’t tell you my idea that I’m going to do is because it may be wrong and I don’t want to drag you into it.’
…………
……And if Mother asks where I am, say I’m playing at mines.’
‘Then why did you?’ The Station Master’s voice was so much kinder now that Peter replied:
‘You know that wet day? Well, Mother said we were too poor to have a fire. We always had fires when it was cold at our other house, and –‘ (1995: 32- 33)
It does not tell directly that Peter is a mature boy. However, from the action that
Peter does, the writer can see that he is a mature boy after his father has gone. Actually,
Peter knows that stealing is wrong, but he decides to do it because he wants to make a
sacrifice for his family. He feels as the only son in his family, he has responsibility and
forced to leave home. He decides to steal coals from the station because he wants to keep
his family warm, although it can endanger himself. From the quotation above, the writer
can also see that he is dishonest. In addition, his dishonesty is because he does not want
to get involved with his sisters in the problem he made and make his mother worry about
him. Those actions show the maturity of Peter.
Besides mature, Peter also cares about his two sisters. It is shown when he wants
to save the train from an accident with Roberta and Phyllis.
It seemed that the train came on as fast as ever. It was very near now. ‘Keep off the line, you silly cuckoo!’ said Peter, fiercely.
‘It’s no good, Bobbie said again.
‘Stand back!’ cried Peter, suddenly, and he dragged Phyllis by the arm. (1995: 93)
From that passage, it can be seen that actually Peter cares about his two sisters,
although he often quarrels with them especially Roberta. They often have different
opinions that finally make them quarrel. However, at that time, he knew that the train
came nearer and faster while Roberta stood on the train line waving the two red flags.
She wants to save the train, so she waves those flags by standing on the train line in order
that the red flags will be seen by the Engineer. Then, Peter asks Roberta to keep off the
line. He does not want Roberta to get hurt and he also feels responsible towards his
sisters included Roberta.
He also has the same characteristic as Roberta that is brave. His bravery is shown
when he will do a lone adventure that is to steal coals from the station alone.
It is evidence that Peter is a brave boy. He wants to do a lone adventure bravely,
although it can endanger himself. He also knows that it is wrong and the consequences
that he will get if he is caught. His strong will to keep his family warm and feeling that he
has to be the man about his family after his father has gone raise his bravery. It shows
that he will do everything for his family and love them.
c. Phyllis
Phyllis is the youngest child. She is also major character in this novel. In addition,
in this novel, she is characterized by using dramatic characterization. Her characteristics
are not described directly, but described through her actions and dialogues.
Phyllis is described as a spoiled girl and often clash with her brother and sister. As
the youngest child and still too young, she does not really understand about the problem
that is faced by her family. Therefore, her brother and sister have to teach her and give
understanding to her. However, after she gets understanding from her siblings, she can
little bit understand about her family’s problem, although sometimes she still complains
about it.
‘It’s more than we can afford, chickeny-love,’ said Mother, cheerfully. ‘Now run away, there’s darlings—I’m madly busy!’
‘Mother’s always busy now,’said Phyllis, in a whisper to Peter. Peter did not answer. He shrugged his shoulders. He was thinking.’(1995: 27)
It shows spoiled characteristic of Phyllis. She wants to be cared about by her
mother. She feels that her mother has less time after they move to Three Chimneys. She
is different from her brother and sister that can understand the problem that is faced by
Mother. However, that quotation also shows that after move to Three Chimneys, she
sometimes complain about it. In addition, it is normal because she is still too young, so
she needs more attention especially from her mother.
Besides, Phyllis is also a spontaneous child. She tells what she wants to tell
without caring about the feeling of the people that she talks to, whether they will be sad
or happy.
‘Then Phyllis said, ‘Mother, didn’t you ever walk on the railway lines when you were little?’
Mother was an honest and honourable Mother, so she had to say, ‘Yes’ ‘Well, then,’ said Phyllis.
‘But, darlings, you don’t know how fond I am of you. What should I do if you got hurt?’
‘Are you fonder of us than Granny was of you when you were little?’ Phyllis asked. Bobbie made signs to her to stop, but Phyllis never did see signs, no matter how plain they might be.
Mother did not answer for a minute. She got up to put more water in the teapot. ‘No one,’ she said at last, ‘ever loved anyone more than my mother loved me.’(1995:43)
The quotation above does not tell the spontaneous characteristic of Phyllis
directly. However, the writer can see the characteristic from Phyllis’s action in that
quotation. That action happens when Mother forbids her children to walk on the train
lines because Mother does not want her children to get hurt. Then, Phyllis cannot accept
what Mother says and asks her about how the grandmother loved her when she was a
child. She wants to compare Mother’s love to her and grandmother’s love to Mother. She
does not know that it may make her mother sad, although Roberta already gives her signs
not to talk about that to Mother. It may be because she cannot really understand and is
still too young to understand about the other’s feeling.
Besides spontaneous, Phyllis is also an attentive child. It happens when she moves
However, Phyllis’ care can be seen from her action when she and Roberta help
Peter when he is caught by the Station Master.
‘But the girls were too glad to have Peter between them, safe and free, and on the way to Three Chimneys and not to the Police Station, to mind much what he said.’(1995: 33)
Phyllis feels happy when Peter does not get punishment from the Station Master
and they can go home together to Three Chimneys. She feels happy about that, although
usually she quarrels with Peter. It shows that actually Phyllis is an attentive child. She
cares about her brother and sister, although they usually have different opinion.
Besides Peter, she also cares about Roberta. Her attention is shown at Roberta’s
birthday. She gives Roberta a green and red needle-book as a birthday present. She makes
it herself in the secret moment (1995: 59). Although Phyllis is still too young, she can
care about the other especially her family.
d. Mother
Mother is also the major character in this novel. Besides, her characteristics are
described by using dramatic characterization that is through her dialogue and behaviors.
When in London, she is a mother that cares about her children. She loves her
children very much. She always tries to give what her children want and is available for
her children. She is always ready to play with her children and read short story or poem
for them after tea time (1995: 1).
‘I hate gruel—I hate barley water—I hate bread and milk. I want to get up and have something real to eat.’
‘What would you like?’ Mother asked.
‘A pigeon-pie,’ said Peter, eagerly, ‘a large pigeon-pie. A very large one.’
while the pie was being made. It began by saying what an unfortunate but worthy boy Peter was….’ (1995: 3).
It is proof that Mother loves her children. She always gives what her children
want and has time for them. She is always ready to cheer them up when they feel sad.
However, when in Three Chimneys, she experiences great development.
‘The house was like a furniture warehouse. I think the children enjoyed it very much. Mother was very busy, but not too busy now to talk to them, and read to them, and even to make a bit of poetry for Phyllis to cheer her up when she fell down with a screwdriver and ran it into her hand.’ (1995: 12)
It can be seen that Mother is an attentive mother. She always cares about her
family especially her children. The quotation above shows her attention towards Phyllis.
She always has time for her children, although she is very busy. Then, that quotation also
shows that Mother is a patient mother. She is patient in facing the behaviors of her
children that sometimes spoiled to her. She always tries to make her children happy when
they feel sad. However, Mother has not shown great development yet because it is still
the beginning she lives in Three Chimneys.
Besides, Mother is also a strong mother. She keeps the secret about her husband
from her children because she does not want to make her children sad. She just needs a
support from her children by not quarrelling when she is not at home. She just thinks how
to keep her children happy and make a living for them when her husband is staying away
for a long time.
‘Then Phyllis said, ‘Mother, didn’t you ever walk on the railway lines when you were little?’
Mother was an honest and honourable Mother, so he had to say, ‘Yes.’ ‘Well, then,’ said Phyllis.
It is depicted clearly that Mother loves her children very much. She always
worries about her children and does not want her children to get hurt. It is depicted when
her children say that they like the railway and want to walk on the railway lines. Mother
is happy if her children love the railway, but she is afraid when her children say that they
want to walk on the railway lines. She forbids her children from walking on the railways
lines. It is because she loves her children. She knows that the railway is very dangerous,
especially if the train is coming. The train is coming fast, and it can endanger them.
In addition, Mother is also a strict mother. Strict here means strict in using
something. She forbids her children to spend many things extravagantly, such as butter,
jam and coals.
‘They all went down to tea flushed and joyous as any mountain brigands. But when Phyllis was going to add jam to her bread and butter, Mother said: ‘Jam or butter, dear—not jam and butter. We can’t afford that sort of reckless luxury nowadays.’(1995: 27)
It is shown clearly in the quotation above that Mother is a strict mother. As her
husband has gone, she felt that she has to replace the position of her husband in caring
about the children and make living for her family. She feels that she is poor now. She
cannot earn money like what her husband did. Because of that, she feels that she has to be
thriftier. Then, she asks her children to be thriftier too.
‘Mother,’ said Bobbie, ‘mayn’t I light a fire? I do know how.’
And Mother said: ‘No, my ducky-love. We mustn’t have fires in June-coal is so dear. If you’re cold, go and have a good romp in the attic. That’ll warm you.’ ‘But, Mother, it only takes such a very little coal to make a fire.’
‘It’s more than we can afford, chickeny-love,’ said Mother, cheerfully.’ (1995: 27)
The strictness of Mother is proven clearly in that passage. She does not permit her
also feels that now they have to use something if it is much needed and does not use
something more than they can afford. Since her husband had gone, she felt that her
responsibility especially for her three children is bigger and harder. She has to be both a
mother and also a father for her children. Besides, she also has to make living for her
children.
“Mother, all this time, was very busy with her writing. She used to send off a good many long blue envelopes with story in them—and large envelopes of different sizes and colours used to come to her. Sometimes she would sigh when she opened them and say:
‘Another story come home to roost. Oh dear! Oh, dear!’ and then the children would be very sorry. (1995: 37)
The passage above proves that mother is a hard-worker and busy mother. She is
always busy in writing stories in order to get money to live. She makes living for her
family by writing story. Because of that, she has to work and unconsciously she becomes
too busy and gives less attention to her children. From the job that she did, it can also be
seen that Mother is an intelligent woman. She can make a living for her children by
writing story, although it is not an easy job. Because of that, she needs a lot of time and
concentration in order to write story, so that she is always busy writing in her room. The
other intelligence of Mother is her competence in speaking French when she met a
Russian stranger that is a political writer and escaped from Russia in order to search for
his family in Britain. (1995: 69- 81)
‘It’s more than we can afford, chickeny-love,’ said Mother, cheerfully. ‘Now run away, there’s darlings—I’m madly busy!’
‘Mother’s always busy now,’said Phyllis, in a whisper to Peter. Peter did not answer. He shrugged his shoulders. He was thinking.’(1995: 27)
That is also evidence that Mother is a very busy mother. She has less time for her
she is busy with her writing. She thinks that she can give a living for her children if she is
not writing story. On the other hand, from the quotation above, the writer can also see
that Mother actually feels very responsible about her children without thinking about
herself. However, the further discussion about mother’s character development will be
explained in the other sub-chapter.
B. Descriptions of the Setting of Place in The Railway Children
Besides characters, setting is also important in the novel. It can influence or even
change the behaviors of the characters in the novel. Different settings can result in
different characteristics of the characters in the novel. In The Railway Children, the characteristics of the characters change when they live in two different setting of places.
They move from one setting to another setting that is very different.
According to Abrams, setting is the general locale, historical time, and social
circumstances in which its action occurs (1981: 175). It means that setting is not only
when and where the actions occur, but also the condition of society in a certain place.
Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens states that setting of novel has great effects upon personalities, action and way of thinking of the characters (1972: 41). He
categorizes setting of time into four categories that are present time, past time, future time
and no specific time. Besides, he also categorizes setting of place into three categories
that are familiar place, unfamiliar place, and imaginary place. However, in this thesis, the
writer only analyses the setting of place in the novel.
is a place which is considered to be familiar to most of the readers, either from
experience or by close acquaintance. In addition, the place that is used in this novel is
London and Three Chimneys. Those two settings are very different. Because of that, the
settings in this novel can change the behaviors of the major characters. Besides, Edith
Nesbit may use those settings because she is a British novelist and came from England.
She also lives in England. Therefore, Edith Nesbit uses those settings because she is
familiar with those settings, so that she knows the condition of those two settings. From
the differences of those settings, we can see the behaviors of the major characters when
they move from one setting to another different setting. Then, we can also compare their
characteristics and analyze what made their characteristics change. In addition, in this
thesis the writer will analyze the settings one by one. The first setting is London where
Roberta, Phyllis, and Peter live happily with their mother and father.
“They were just ordinary suburban children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, with coloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bath-room with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and ‘every modern convenience’, as the house-agents says.”(1995: 1)
In that passage, we can see the condition of their house in London. In London,
Mother, Roberta, Phyllis, Peter, and Father live in a very comfort house. From the
quotation above, it can be seen that their life in London is very well. Their house is very
complete and extravagant. They have everything that not all people have it. Their house
is completed with bath-room with hot and cold water, so they do not need to be afraid of
cold. Besides, they also have a hall that can be used as a place to play. In short, they live
sufficient life. They always get what they need and do not need to worry about living
to leave house, so that they also have to leave their house in London and move to Three
Chimneys and have different life from their life in London.
“These three lucky children always had everything they needed: pretty clothes, good fires, a lovely nursery with heaps of toys, and a Mother Goose wall-paper. They had a kind and merry nursemaid, and a dog who was called James, and who was their very own. They also had a Father who was just perfect- never cross, never unjust, and always ready for a game-….”(1995: 2)
The quotation above also shows the life of Peter, Roberta, Phyllis and Mother in
the first setting, London. That quotation also shows that their life in London is very nice.
They always get what they needed. They have good nursemaid, enough fires, toys, nice
clothes, and etc. On the other words, their life is almost perfect because they have
everything to fulfill their needs. In addition, in this novel, the author does not mention
about the people who live around their house in London. From that, it can be seen that the
society in London is very individual. They do not care to one another. They just take care
of their own business. The children itself seldom play outside their house. The weather in
London is very cold and can make them sick. Because of that they prefer to play inside
their house. Besides, they have a hall and toys to play in their house, so they do not think
that they need to play outside. They also do not see there are interesting things outside
their house, so they feel that it is better for them to play inside the house. In the house,
they can keep their body warm because they get enough fire in it.
In addition, from the condition of the society and the way they live, it can be seen
that the society in London is individualistic society. They just care about their own
business. Then, that kind of condition can influence the characteristics of people who live
However, their life suddenly changes when their father is suddenly forced to leave
home. They have to move to Three Chimneys that lies beside a railway track. Three
Chimneys is the second setting of this novel. It is also the second setting that the writer
will analyze. In this place, the behaviors of the major characters that are Roberta, Peter,
Phyllis, and Mother change. They live in Three Chimney without their father. Because of
that, they have to survive without their father in their new house and environment that are
very different from their house and environment before. The writer thinks it is very hard
for everyone to live in the new house and environment without a father.
‘Got e’er a candle?’ said he.
‘I don’t know where anything is.’ Mother spoke rather less cheerfully than usual. He struck a match. There was a candle on the table, and he lighted it. By its thin little glimmer the children saw a large bare kitchen with a stone floor. There were no curtains, no hearth-rug. The kitchen table from home stood in the middle of the room. The chairs were in one corner, and the pots, pans, brooms, and crockery in another. There was no fire, and the black grate showed cold, dead ashes.”(1995: 15)
It describes clearly the condition of their new house in Three Chimneys. Then, it
can be seen that their life in Three Chimneys is far from their life in London. They are
poor. It is very different from their life in London that is always enough for everything. In
their new house, the floor is still made from stone and they do not have enough fire, rug,
curtains, and etc. They do not even have lamp, so they have to use candle for their
lighting. Besides, the kitchen is also bare. There is no complete kitchen set inside it. From
the condition of their house, it can also be felt that their house will be very cold especially
at night. They do not have rug to cover the stone floor that is cold and enough fire to keep
their house warm. On the other words, their house is very simple. Unfortunately, they
“….They went round the house and round the house. The yard occupied the back, and across it were stables and out buildings. On the other three sides the house stood simply in a field, without a yard of garden to divide it from the short smooth turf. And yet they had certainly seen the garden wall the night before.
It was a hilly country. Down below they could see the line of the railway, and the black yawning mouth of a tunnel. The station was out of sight. There was a great bridge with tall arches running across one of the valley.” (1995: 21)
It shows that their house lies near a railway, a place where considered as a place
for poor. Before moving to Three Chimneys, Mother said to the children that they have to
live as a poor for a bit (Nesbit, 1995: 12). It is evident that live near a railway is identical
with poor. In fact, Mother does not have enough money to support her family life. The
condition of her economy is very bad. Because of that she looks for a house near a
railway that is cheaper. However, the railway is something new for the children. They
never saw a railway in London. They only heard about railway from the story. Now, they
can see even live near the railway. Then, they also use the railway as a place to play
because they still do not find another place to play. There is only a small garden in their
house. They do not have a hall to play like in their house in London. In addition, there are
many trains pass the railway. They consider the railway as the source of their excitement.
They also know the time when the trains pass and give name the train that pass based on
when the train pass. The 9.15 up is called Green Dragon, the 10.7 down is called the
Worm of Wantley, and the midnight town express is called the Fearsome Fly-by-Night.
Besides the setting of time and place, we also need to know the setting of society
in the novel. The condition of the society in the novel has important roles especially in
influencing the behaviors of the characters. In this novel, besides see the train and play
near the railway, the children also make acquaintances with people around the railway.
when Peter was caught in the station when he wanted to steal coal from the station. Then,
they also make acquaintance with the old gentleman who traveled with the Green
Dragon. They always wave their hands when they saw the old gentleman traveled by
using the Green Dragons. After they made acquaintance with the Station Master, they
often play in the station. In the station, they meet with many people that are kind to them.
One of them is a Porter named Perks. Based on the people that the children know in
Three Chimneys, it can be seen that people who live in Three Chimneys are people from
middle class and lower class. Most of them work in the station, so that it is impossible for
them to earn a lot of money. They live in very simple life and simple house like what
happened to the children. In short, almost all people who live near the railway are poor.
They have to work very hard in order to make living or support their family.
In addition, it can also be seen that people who work in the station are men and
older than the children. They seldom meet with women in the station. It may be caused
the job in the station is blue collar job that is usually done by men. Besides older, people
who are known by the children also have their own family, so that they can be said as
mature people. Almost all the children’s time is spent to play in the station. Because of
that, they often socialize with people who are older and more mature than them. Then, it
may influence their behaviors and the way they think and the way they behave.
In Three Chimneys, the children also learn new things as they often play in the
station and railway. They often see the trains pass. Then, they began to know that the
lamps in front of engines are called head-light and the ones at the back are called
tail-lights. Besides, in their new environment, they also experience many new, interesting and
