THE INFLUENCE OF JONATHAN’S CHARACTER ON RESOLVING
HIS PERSONAL CONFLICT IN RICHARD BACH’S
JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By
Wuri Krisharyanti Student Number: 051214082
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
THE INFLUENCE OF JONATHAN’S CHARACTER ON RESOLVING
HIS PERSONAL CONFLICT IN RICHARD BACH’S
JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Wuri Krisharyanti Student Number: 051214082
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, June 23, 2010 The Writer
v
DEDICATION PAGE
And exercise yourself toward godliness.
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is
profitable for all things, having promise of the life that
now is and of that which is to come.
I Timothy 4: 7b-8
This thesis is particularly dedicated to:
Jesus Christ
My beloved parents,Drs. Rino Suharyanto and Parinem
My beloved brothers:
Wahyu Kristiono
Wisnu Krisharyanto
Widhiatma Krisnugroho
And to all my friends…….
Dear God we give you thanks for the gift of life and for the times
you have been with us help us….
To live with gratitude and celebration, to live deeply, with purpose
To live freely, with detachment,
To live wisely, with humility, to live justly, with compassion,
To live mindfully, with awareness,
To live gratefully, with generosity,
To live fully, with enthusiasm,
Help us……..
That we may become ever more one with you
Amen
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LEMBARAN PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama : Wuri Krisharyanti
Nomor Mahasiswa : 051214082
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: THE INFLUENCE OF JONATHAN’S CHARACTER ON RESOLVING HIS PERSONAL CONFLICT IN RICHARD BACH’S JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan ke dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 23 Juni 2010
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ABSTRACT
Wuri Krisharyanti. (2010). The Influence of Jonathan’s Character on Resolving His Personal Conflict in Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Yogyakarta: Teachers Training and Education Faculty, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyses Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a novelette written by Richard Bach. The novelette tells about life experience as its main issue. The story is about the character of Jonathan, a seagull that gets a punishment from his leader of the flock because he breaks the rule among seagulls. The problems arise when Jonathan is trying to learn perfection of flying. Jonathan gets bored with the routine activity as a seagull. Then, he learns to fly better than the flock because he believes that there is still another way to live besides finding some food with the simplest way of flying. Until one day, he is outcast. After that accident, Jonathan lives alone. He learns everyday about flying until he met other seagull in his new place. All were outcast.
The goal of conducting this study was to know more deeply about the influence of Jonathan’s character on resolving his personal conflict. To attain the goal, this study focused on three questions. The first question is about the character of Jonathan. The second question is about Jonathan’s personal conflicts, both intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. The third question is the influence of Jonathan’s character on resolving his personal conflicts.
The method which was applied to this study was library research study. The primary source was the novelette itself, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The secondary sources were obtained from several books on literature. The researcher combined some theories of character, characterization, theory of conflicts, conflict resolutions, and managing conflicts.
This thesis applied psychological approach which was aimed to describe Jonathan’s character, to comprehend the patterns of human personality and behavior.
From the analysis, the researcher found that Jonathan was the main character. He is characterized as a young seagull, hardworking, smart, curious, brave and stubborn. Since Jonathan is a young seagull, he always hard work, curious, brave and stubborn. These characters create conflict among Jonathan, his parents, the flock and his instructor, Sullivan. These conflicts were categorized as ego conflict. Jonathan’s characters that are smart and hardworking helped him in solving his conflict.
viii ABSTRAK
Krisharyanti, Wuri. (2010). The Influence of Jonathan’s character on Resolving His Personal Conflict in Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisa novelet, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, yang ditulis oleh Richard Bach. Novelet ini mengangkat tema Pengalaman hidup yang menceritakan karakter Jonathan, seekor burung yang dijatuhi hukuman pengasingan karen melanggar aturan. Permasalahan muncul ketika Jonathan berusaha mempelajari kesempurnaan dalam terbang. Jonathan merasa bosan dengan kegiatan rutinnya sebagai seekor burung camar. Kemudian dia belajar terbang agar lebih baik dari kawanannya karena dia meyakini bahwa masih ada cara lain untuk hidup selain hanya untuk mencari makanan dengan kemampuan terbang yang paling sederhana. Sampai suatu hari ia di asingkan. Setelah kejadian itu Jonathan hidup sendirian. Dia belajar setiap harinya, hingga suatu hari dia bertemu dengan burung-burung camar lainnya di tempat ia tinggal sekarang. Semuanya adalah burung-burung yang di asingkan.
Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk mengetahui lebih jauh mengenai pengaruh karakter Jonathan dalam menyelesaikan konflik pribadi yang dia alami. Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, skripsi ini menitikberatkan pada tiga pertanyaan. Pertanyaan pertama tentang karakter Jonathan. Pertanyaan kedua tentang konflik pribadi yang di alami baik dari dalam maupun dari luar diri Jonathan. Pertanyaan ketiga tentang pengaruh karakter Jonathan dalam menyelasaikan konflik pribadinya. Untuk mencapai tujuan-tujuan tersebut, metode yang diterapkan adalah studi pustaka. Sumber utama dalam skripsi ini adalah novelet itu sendiri, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Sumber-sumber lain yang juga digunakan oleh peneliti dalam skripsi ini diperoleh melalui buku-buku tentang karya sastra. Penulis juga menggunakan beberapa teori karakter, pengkarakteran, konflik, resolusi konflik dam manajemen konflik.
Skripsi ini menerapkan pendekatan psikologi yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan karakter Jonathan, mengartikan bentuk kepribadian dan perilaku manusia.
Berdasarkan analisa, peneliti menemukan bahwa Jonathan adalah tokoh utama. Dia dikarakterkan sebagai seekor burung camar muda yang bekerja keras, pintar, selalu ingin tahu, pemberani dan keras kepala. Karakter-karakter inilah yang menimbulkan konflik antara Jonathan, orang tuanya, kawanannya dan instrukturnya, Sullivan. Karakter Jonathan yang pintar dan bekerja keras membantunya dalam menyelasikan konflik tersebut.
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ who always gives me His love and blessing. He never leaves me alone during the hardest time I had. He guides, gives me spirit and strength so that I can finish my thesis.
Secondly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my sponsor, Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto, M. Hum., for his guidance, kindness and suggestions during my thesis writing process. I really thank him for his patience, support and time in reading, correcting and helping me to finish my thesis. I would also like to thank all PBI lecturers for their lecturing, support and help during my study in Sanata Dharma University. I also thank to PBI’s secretariat staff Mbak Dani and Mbak Tari for their kindness and always being very nice.
Thirdly, I give my special gratitude to Sanata Dharma University library staff for being very nice to me. The staff members have been very helpful and supportive. During my study in Sanata Dharma University I enjoyed my study very much.
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My next gratitude goes to all of my best friends in English Language Education of 2005. They are Ria Agatha (Molen), Wuri (Kuncis), Bunga (Bunca), Melati (Imelz ndutz), Ari Wisudawati, Dhae, Andre haha, Ruma (mama), Indro, Koko, Panda. I would like to thank them very much for giving me support and friendship since I began my study in this university so I can finish my duty. They are my great friends. My deepest gratitude goes to Christina Rindang Kurniasari and Demitrius Rosano who have helped me a lot in writing my thesis by reading and giving feedback to my thesis, and to members of Pondok Unyil (Lili, Manda, Ani, Atik, Lia and Yohana).
The next gratitude goes to Ibu Damai, my friend and my second mother. She has taught many things about life and given me a chance of being one of her teaching staff in ABBI for more over two years. Finally, to all my friends whose names cannot be mentioned one by one I thank them for time and every moment we have shared together. May God bless them now and forever.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv
ABSTRACT ... vii
ABSTRAK ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 4
C. Objectives of the Study ... 5
D. Benefits of the Study ... 5
E. Definition of Terms ... 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Review ... 8
1. Critical Approaches ... 8
2. Character ... 9
a. Definition ... 9
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3. Characterization ... 9
a. Definition ... 9
b. Method and Characterization ... 10
4. Conflict ... 11
a. Definition ... 11
b. Types of Conflict ... 11
c. Causes of Conflict ... 13
d. Conflict Resolutions ... 14
e. Conflict Managements ... 18
B. Review of Related Studies ……… 19
C. Theoretical Framework ... 20
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study ... 21
B. Approach of the Study ... 22
C. Method of the Study ... 23
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Characterization of Jonathan in Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull ... 25
1. Hardworking ... 26
2. Smart ... 30
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4. Brave ... 34
5. Stubborn ... 36
B. The Personal Conflicts Faced by Jonathan ... 37
1. The Intrapersonal Conflict ... 38
a. Learning to Fly ... 38
b. Flying at night ... 41
2. The Interpersonal Conflict ... 44
a. Jonathan against his parents ... 44
b. Jonathan against his flock ... 47
c. Jonathan against Sullivan ... 49
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions ... 53
B. Suggestions ... 55
a. Suggestions for Future Researchers ... 56
b. Suggestions for Teaching Implementations ... 56
REFERENCES ... 69
APPENDICES ... 61
Appendix 1 Syllabus of Paragraph Writing ... 62
Appendix 2 Lesson Plan for Teaching Paragraph Writing ... 64
Appendix 3 Teaching Material ... 66
Appendix 4 Summary of Jonathan Livingston Seagull ... 77
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
There are five parts in this chapter. They are background of the study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study and definition of terms. The first part describes background of the study. The second part formulates the problem to solve. The third part is objectives of the study. It states the purpose of writing this thesis. The fourth part explains the benefits of the study that explain the significance of this study. The last part in this chapter is definition of terms. It explains the important terms in the title to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpreting.
A. Background of the Study
People always deal with conflicts in their daily life. Conflicts or problems can direct people into unhappiness or happiness. Sometimes conflicts may create crisis in someone’s relationship with other. For example, a son screams to his parents, and then his father slaps him. The father thinks that his son is impolite to the parents. Yet, the son gets angry to his father. This situation creates conflict between the son and his father. In this case, the son feels unhappy because he is scolded by his father. On the other hand, the father also feels unhappy because he knows that his son is impolite.
incompatible action (460). While Noller and Fitzpatrict state that conflicts happen when the family members disagree about the events or situation in their lives (99). Conflicts happen when people try to defend their own opinion, idea and thought toward other people. When conflict happens, it disturbs someone’s relationship with others especially when conflicts happen in a family.
Worchel and Cooper categorize conflicts into two (460-462). Those are intrapersonal conflict and interpersonal conflict. The first conflict, the intrapersonal conflict, is a conflict within an individual when he or she makes a decision between two or more alternatives while other people do not behave as what the individual expects them to do. The second conflict is interpersonal conflict. It is a conflict that happens between two or more people when they are involved in achieving a contrary goal.
Facing conflicts and resolving them are very important because people will improve their knowledge about conflicts and the conflicts resolution. Conflicts can destroy everything, yet it does not mean that people cannot resolve or handle the conflict. There are some steps of resolving the conflict. First is concerning of how to face the conflict, think wisely, and resolve the conflict. Second is avoiding the conflict. People usually tend to avoid conflicts or sometimes ignore them when they think they cannot have a good resolution for the conflict.
work is not only the language but also the human experiences in a complex situation that is created by the novelist. It means we can find a character of a human with his/her responsibility, image, thought, belief, feeling, problems or conflicts in a novel.
The chosen novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, is an example of novel that portrays conflicts because the novel talks about a seagull’s experience that represents a human’s life. In this novel, a seagull named Jonathan, lives with his flock. As a representation of a human, the seagulls in this novel represent as a human, Jonathan faces a conflict within himself, with his parents, his flock, and Sullivan. The conflicts begin when Jonathan is thinking about perfection. Jonathan is really eager for being able to reach a perfection of flying and yet his parents do not agree with his thought. His parents say that a seagull does not deserve to reach a level of perfection to fly. Considering his parents’ statement, he stops learning to fly and then join his flocks to find food. During a week with the flock, Jonathan still does not find happiness. His want to reach the perfection of flying cannot be stopped. Therefore, he decides to go and learn to fly again.
an outcast. As a result, Jonathan must go out and leave his flocks and live alone in his life. It is not easy for him, because leaving his flocks means he has to live apart with his parents. It becomes another conflict for him.
Jonathan life experience represents human life. When a person has his/her willingness to be different and he/she tries something new that totally contradicts with the society he/she lives, then the society will outcast the person since he/she is different. People always judge other people and then drive him/her away when this person has different thought, idea, or opinion. The author portrayed human’s life/problem and the real condition of a society through Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
This novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, is a fable. The novel tells about life experience of Jonathan, a seagull that gets a punishment from his leader of the flocks because he breaks the rule among seagulls. Jonathan is trying to learn perfection of flying because he gets bored with the routine activity as a seagull. He wants something new and believes that there is still another way to live besides finding some food with the simplest way of flying. He thinks that he can fly like an eagle, flying so high, fast, and being perfect. This novel is interesting to analyze since the author, Richard Bach, describes human life through the experience life of a seagull. From the main character, Jonathan, people can learn how conflicts can appear and how to face the conflicts then resolve them. That is what the study is about.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is Jonathan characterized in the novel? 2. What are the personal conflicts faced by Jonathan?
3. How does Jonathan’s character influence him in resolving his personal conflicts?
C. Objectives of the Study
There are three aims that can be achieved from this study. First, this study attempts to describe the character of Jonathan in the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Second, this study attempts to find out the personal conflicts faced by Jonathan. Third, this study attempts to analyze the influence of Jonathan’s character in resolving his personal conflicts.
D. Benefits of the Study
There some benefits of this study. In this study, the writer as a researcher expects to get a better understanding about Jonathan’s characters and his personal conflicts. The writer also expects the readers of this thesis, especially for those who are interested in Jonathan Livingston Seagull and willing to have a study of Jonathan; it will help them to study the literary work itself. This thesis also gives them some additional information in understanding the novel and helps them in analyzing the characters of Jonathan in Jonathan Livingston Seagull. They also can learn how to solve the problems. In general, this study can give beneficial information of personal conflicts and how to solve the conflicts.
E. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation, the researcher defines some important terms that are used in the study.
Influence
Drever proposes that the word ‘influence’ means any past or present condition, experienced as or actually playing a part in determining one’behaviour, or course of thought in the present (134). While in this study, influence means the power of somebody’s character to affect his or her way of thinking in resolving his or her personal conflict.
Character
Abrams states that ‘characters’ are the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – dialogue – and what they do – in action (23). Another opinion related to character also given by Stanton in An Introduction to a Literature. In this book, Stanton states that “character” is commonly used in two ways; it designates the individuals who appear in the story and it refers to the mixture of interest, desires, emotions, and moral principle that make up each of the individuals (17). In this study “character” means not only a person who can act as the main character in a dramatic story or novel but also the characteristics of the character itself.
3. Resolve
4. Resolution
Drever says that resolution is a decision regarding a line of product to be pursued; a firm adherence to a decision that has been taken; a character trait, marked by firmness of purpose in persisting in a course of action decided on (244). In this study the word resolution is to solve or settle problems.
5. Conflict
Jones and Gerard as cited in Worchel and Cooper, state that conflict is a state that requires the person when he is motivated to make two or more mutual incompatible action (460). Hocker and Willmot, also stated their definition about “conflict” as cited in Isenhart and Spangle. Based on their definition, “conflict” is an expressed struggle between at least two independent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goal (3). They also divide a conflict into two types. First, interpersonal conflict and second is intrapersonal conflict.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two parts. They are review of related theories and theoretical framework. The first part presents critical approaches, character, and characterization include definition and methods and characterization. The second part presents theoretical framework. Here, the writer will describe the contribution of the theories in solving the problems of the study.
A. Theoretical Review
1. Critical Approaches
In analyzing a novel, a researcher needs critical approaches. It is needed to avoid the subjectivity of the researcher in his/her study. Rohberger and Woods state that there are five approaches that can be used to analyze a novel (6-15). First is the formalist approach. It concentrates on the total integrity of the literary work. Second is the biographical approach. This approach focuses on the importance of the author’s ideas and personal life.
Third is the sociocultural-historical approach. This approach describes the social, cultural and historical background as the references. The next approach is the mythopoeic approach. It attempts to discover particular patterns of human thought that shared a same universal belief to certain community mind. The last is the psychological approach. This approach is also used to analyze the pattern of human personality and behavior. Throughout the psychological approach, the researcher can analyze the character’s thought, personality and behavior deeply.
a. Definition
Characters play an important role in a story of a novel. According to Abram, characters are the persons that presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – dialogue – and what they do – in action (23). It means that, the readers can interpret a character in a story through their conversation, and their activity. Through their conversation and act in the story, the readers know the emotional, dispositional and moral of the characters.
b. Kinds of Character
Foster states that there are two kinds of characters in a novel; flat and round character (51). A flat character is static and does not develop, while a round character is complex and represents many traits and qualities.
Henkle says that characters can also be divided based on the prominence and function: major and secondary characters. Henkle (87-100) explains that major characters deserve the attention from the readers and other characters. The secondary characters perform more limited functions. He also says the characters can be protagonist and antagonist. Holman and Harmon state that the antagonist is the one who directly opposes the protagonist (27). According to Holman and Harmon (400) that protagonist is the leading figure both in terms of importance in the play and ability to enlist the readers’ interest and sympathy.
3. Characterization
a. Definition
states that characterization is the way of an author to convey the characters and the personalities naturally so that the reader gets to know and understand the characters. Characterization in a literary work is needed by the author since it helps the author to convey the story by the characters and the reader will understand the story easier. Furthermore, the author uses the characterization to guide the reader to understand and use their own interpretation to interpret the story that they read in a novel. Holman and Harmon (81-82) state that characterization is a process of creating an unreal person.
b. Methods and Characterization
Murphy (161-172) states that there are nine ways to make characters understandable and come alive for the readers. First is personal description. Here, the author may draw details about the characters’ appearance, for example how the characters are built, his or her skin color, hair, hand, eyes and so on. Second is character as seen by another. It means that the author can describe through the eyes and opinions of another character. The readers notice the different opinion and judgment on the character. The readers may know the personality by the characters opinion or statement is the third way in understanding the character in a story.
is thought. The author expresses the character’s thought in the story. By knowing the character’s thought, the readers can analyze what goes in his or her mind. The last is mannerism. The author can illustrate a person’s mannerism, habit or modes of behavior which may also tell the readers something about the character.
4. Conflict
One of the experiences that men have concerns facing the conflict and how to solve them. Facing the conflict and resolving the conflict they have are one of the examples from experience that men have. There are three points will be discussed in this section namely definition of conflict, the kinds of conflict, and the conflict resolution.
a. Definition
Conflict is a condition when a person cannot complete the mutual action together or in the same time. Jones and Gerard as cited in Worchel and Cooper (460), state that conflict is a state that requires a person when he is motivated to make two or more mutual incompatible actions. However, Hocker and Willmot as cited in Isenhart and Spangle (3) state that conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two independent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare resources and interference from the other party in achieving their goal.
b. Types of conflict
the individual expects them to do. Worchel and Cooper also say that intrapersonal conflict consists of four kinds (460-464). Those are approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, approach-avoidance-avoidance, and double approach-avoidance conflicts.
An approach-approach conflict is a conflict in which a person can only choose one action toward two positive goals. This conflict is the simplest conflict because the person has to choose and make a decision between two attractive alternatives.
Approach-approach conflict is rather different with an avoidance-avoidance conflict because in avoidance-avoidance conflict a person has two equally unattractive alternatives and the person has to make decision between the two unattractive alternatives.
Approach- avoidance is a conflict when a person must choose one goal which has both attractive and unattractive qualities. The person is trapped in this conflict because he/ she is afraid and doubt to choose the goal.
Last is a double approach-avoidance conflict. This is the most common conflict situation and it contains two goals which both have positive and negative sides. In choosing the goal, a person influences by some factors. Those factors are the kind of the goal, how close a person is to the goal, and the amount of the goal.
soon and run away, yet the taxi driver catch him. In the next seconds, the taxi driver hit him then put him into the police office.
Beebe and Redmon (297-300) state that the interpersonal conflict can be divided into three types. They are pseudo conflict, simple conflict, ego conflict. Pseudo conflict is a conflict caused by the lack of understanding between the individual and parties. Simple conflict happens because of the differences on definition, goal, ideas, and perceptions. For example there are two students learn pronunciation. Yet their pronunciation is different. Because of that, they argue each other. The last is ego conflict. It happens when the personal defenses attached to each individual in a group.
c. Causes of Conflicts
Conflicts arise because there is different idea, thought, needs and attitude. People believe that conflicts happen when a person or parties cannot reach the same goal because the different idea thought, needs, attitudes and behavior appears among them. Isenhart and Spangle (14-15) state that there are seven sources of conflict. First is data. People often have differences of opinion about the best source, reliability, or interpretation of data. Second is interest. It means that conflict specifically happens when two or more parties have different interest. Third is procedure. Here, parties will not involve in a discussion if they do not agree with the procedure in solving the problem.
communication. Conflict frequently results from how something is said and not interprets among people.
d. Conflict Resolutions
Everybody has their opinion, idea, and thought that may lead to a conflict with others. Worchel and Cooper propose some ways in resolving conflict. They also state that people must be careful with their intrapersonal conflict. Hence, Worchel and Cooper (460-464) suggest several solutions to handle intrapersonal conflicts. First is approach-approach type. By this type, people can solve their conflict by defining the motivation to achieve the goal. For example a person who get two nice jobs but he has to go to one. He has to choose one of two jobs offered to him. The first job is far away from his town, he has to leave his parents, yet the salary is high. The second job is near from his house, he has not need to leave his parents, and yet the salary is low. These jobs have an equal positive side. Therefore, the person has to choose which one is the most benefit for him. Theoretically this type of conflict should be easy to resolve.
Second is avoidance-avoidance approach. In this type a person tends to leave the conflict. When someone decides to avoid the conflicts and then leaves it. It means the conflicts are so difficult to solve. The example is a person having tooth ache and hating to go to the dentist. Here, he has to choose one of the unattractive alternatives. He continues with the pain that is horrifying for him or going to the dentists, who he also hates. This person is stuck in between two difficult choices he does not like but ends up doing either.
even a stranger offers him/her favorite candy. She/he wants to take the candy but she/he knows that she/he cannot take the candy from the unknown person. This child is afraid to do that because she/he remembers about the previous training from her/his parents. From the example given, the resolution for this conflict is by avoiding the approach given by other person.
Fourth is double approach-avoidance. This approach tends to approach and avoid the goals because people have to choose between two or more goals, each of which has its own consequences. For example, couples who just merit want to buy a house to live in. they are confused whether choosing a house in a country or city. Choosing a house in the country means they will get fresh air, relax, room to live, and peace. Live in the country also means need hours to get the office and long distance from city. Choosing a house in the city also has to face the both problem and advantages of city life.
There are two sub-types of conflict resolution. The first sub-type is determining one goal and as a consequence giving up the other option. The second sub-type depends on the value of each goal. When the positive aspects of goal are higher than the negative, the goal can be reached.
Win – lose solution is when there are two persons are facing the conflict, then there is only one person who can reach the goal and the other person does not reach his or her goal. It makes one party feels disappointed. Second is lose – lose solution. Nobody feels satisfied with the decision in solving the problem. Yet, many conflicts occur in this manner. Third is win – win solution. Either of these two sides feel satisfied with the decision which is taken in this manner. Win – win solution gives the best decision for both sides and does not try to find a mistake. It is good when people can find the right answer of his or her problem without blaming others.
Isenhart and Spangle (45-152), state that there are five alternatives to resolve the conflicts; they are negotiation, mediation, facilitation, arbitration, and judicial process. Negotiation is as much about a state of mind as it is a strategic choice for managing problem. In having an effective negotiation, people have to be able to share a lot of information in the discussion about the needs, issues, and interest. There are two types of negotiation. The first one is integrative. It is a constructive and problem solving process. Between two persons or parties exchange the information and analyze the problem while protecting their relationship and interests. The second one is distributive. In this type, both sides said their goals and advantages in achieving the goals. Both parties are forcing their demands and threats.
Success of mediation depends on the disputant’s willingness to accept the mediator’s role as a process expert for resolving differences, as well as disputant’s willingness to share information that might lead to mutual beneficial agreement (Isenhart and Spangle 72).
Through mediation, the disputants feel comfortable since in mediation the disputants feel protected because the mediation setting serves as a safe context for sharing information that might not otherwise be shared. Mediation also changes the focus of discussion. The mediator changes positional statements become interest topics to discuss that express needs, concerns, and fears. Mediation is good for the disputants who cannot reach the same goal. Since the third person or the neutral party who is emotionally uninvolved with the dispute is able to identify and clarify the central of underlying issues of a complex situation.
The next alternative is facilitation. According to Frey as cited in Isenhart and Spangle (107) facilitation is any meeting technique, procedure, or practice that makes it easier for groups to interact and/or accomplish their goal. Isenhart and Spangle (107) state that he third party is needed as a facilitator who accommodates the discussion process. Usually, facilitation applies in a large or complex conflict.
Facilitation is the role of a person who serves as an impartial or neutral discussion leader, who guides a group through a specified set of procedures for the purpose of accomplishing a purpose or goal, and who enforces ground rules that manage verbal interactions between group members (Isenhart and Spangle 107).
social norms, and legal laws in the process of conflict resolution. A court functions as a third party.
e. Conflict Managements
Considering the ability of the individual in controlling the conflicts Beebe and Redmon (314-326) propose four kinds of conflict management. Those are managing emotions, managing information, managing goals, and managing the problem.
The first one is managing emotions. People should be able to analyze every signs such as anger, fear, frustration, and sadness which often appear. Therefore, people should manage their emotion in order to have a good decision because emotion will influence people in taking decision in logical and rational approach to solve the problems they have.
Second is managing information. Unclear information, misunderstanding and misinterpretation can create a conflict, therefore, people have to manage the information that they receive. By managing the information, people can manage the conflict. They also can avoid conflict itself because of the misunderstanding, unclear information, and misinterpretation information.
When an individual misinterprets, or misunderstand information, then there will be a conflict among individual and other parties because they will have different opinions and ideas. Consequently, it is important for an individual or parties to manage a goal. The managing goal is the third conflict management.
A.Review of Related Studies
There are two previous studies conducted on this similar novelette, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The first study was conducted by Yosafat Diazwikarta in 2008. He analyzed the novelette, Jonathan Livingston Seagull from the point of view of perfection. His study entitled The Influence of Learning in Perfection on One’s Achievement as Reflected in The Character of Jonathan Livingston Seagull in
Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. His study is about the influence of learning in perfection for Jonathan. From his analysis, the researcher knows that perfection becomes Jonathan’s higher purpose for life that is to be free, to be a creature of excellence and intelligence and skill. By learning perfection, Jonathan has strong spirit, innovative ability, courage to never give up, high desire to know and understand, and love to help others.
The second study was conducted by Yosep Rahmat Pratama in 2009. His study entitled Perceptions of Achieving A Successful Life Revealed in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife and Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. He compared between two novels and he analyzed the novels from the point of view of perceptions. He found out that perception about success was influenced by certain cultural value and philosophy. For Chinese people success is “a matter of luck” and it is more to the harmony, which is created by creating a balanced condition on the elements that exist in this life. It is influenced by the philosophy of Yin- Yang and Feng Shui while American culture sees success as perfection. It is influenced by American philosophy that “practice makes perfect”. However, both Chinese and America cultures also define success as a journey.
Jonathan both interpersonal and intrapersonal. This study entitled The Influence of Jonathan’s Character on Resolving His Personal Conflict in Richard Bach’s
Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This study is to find out the influence of Jonathan’s character on resolving his personal conflicts when he faces the conflict.
C. Theoretical Framework
There are some theories applied to answer the problems formulated in this study. The theory of critical approach is used as a tool to analyze the problems in the novel. There are five approaches and this study is applied on the psychological approach. To get a deep understanding, the researcher uses the theory of character and characterization. The theory is used to analyze the character in the novel. This theory is used to help the researcher to figure out what kinds of Jonathan’s characters in the novelette are. By understanding what character and characterization are, researcher is able to find out Jonathan’s character that is characterized in the novel and how the character influences him on resolving his personal conflict.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter covers three main parts: object of the study, the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull, approach of the study which explains the use of the approaches in analyzing the novel and method of the study which contains the steps taken in doing the analysis.
A.Object of the Study
The object of the study is a novel written by Richard Bach entitled Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This novel was published in 1970 and it became the best seller throughout the United States by the end of 1972. The novel reached the top of the New York Times Best seller list in 38 weeks. In 1973, the novel became the topped the Publisher Weekly list of best selling novels in the United States.
Richard Bach was famous with his enormous works included fiction and nonfiction such as Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970), Illusions: The Adventures of A Reluctant Messiah (1977), One (1989), Out of Mine (1999). From those works, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions became the best-seller in 1970s. The novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, was published by Macmillan Publisher. It consists of 93 pages. There are three parts in the novel.
trouble. In this study, the researcher focuses on describing the conflict faced by Jonathan.
He is a seagull which does not believe in physical limitation. He enjoys flying because he loves to fly and learns not only to fly but also to share the experience for those he cares about. Jonathan has a personal conflict that is interesting to analyze. He has his own way to solve his personal conflict. This study tries to analyze the character of Jonathan in resolving his own conflict in his life. To analyze the conflict faced by Jonathan, first of all, the researcher analyzes the character of Jonathan, then knowing his characteristic. Afterwards, the researcher states to examine the conflicts faced by Jonathan and how he solves his conflicts.
Richard Bach created Jonathan as a seagull who loves to learn about fly and life and self-perfection. The atmosphere that is created in the novel describes the conflicts faced by Jonathan as a young seagull who wants to express his ability, his willingness and his belief.
B. Approach of the Study
C.G. Jung states, “The psychological mode works with material drawn from man’s conscious life with crucial experiences, suffering passion, and the stuff of human fate in general” (89). From the statement above, the researcher knows that the psychological approach is suitable to be applied in this study to analyze the character and the conflict resolutions faced by the main character
C. Method of the Study
The method of the study used in this study was library research. Here, the researcher gathered the data by taking some important notes, reading books, and doing research in analyzing the novel. The primary sources gathered from the deep analysis of the novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Other sources such as the psychology approaches, theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of conflicts, theory of conflict resolutions and theory of managing conflicts became the secondary sources.
In conducting this study, the researcher took some steps. The first step was reading the novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, many times. Therefore, the researcher got better understanding about the story in the novel. For the first time, the researcher read the novel without any pauses. After that, the writer kept reading the novel, yet in this section the writer reread the novel and underlined some important things. The aim was to formulate the problems of the study. Next was formulating the problems in the study.
analyzing the conflict faced by the main character in the novel, Jonathan, it was an obligatory for the writer to analyze the character of Jonathan in the novel. After analyzing the character, the writer continued the study in analyzing the conflicts.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter consists of three main parts. The first part is the characterization of Jonathan’s character found in Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The second part is the description of the personal conflicts faced by Jonathan. The last part is the explanation of the influence of Jonathan’s characteristic in resolving the conflict.
A.The Characterization of Jonathan in Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Foster (51) says that there are two kinds of characters in a novel. They are flat and round character. A flat character is the simplest character in the novel, while a round character is more complex and represents many traits and qualities. Based on this theory, Jonathan’s character in Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a round character.
Jonathan is a protagonist character. His character is able to make the readers give him sympathy. Jonathan is a young seagull. Holman and Harmon state that the protagonist is the leading figure both in terms of importance in the play and ability to get the reader’s attention and sympathy (400).
(161-172). This study includes some of the ways proposed by Murphy in analyzing the character of Jonathan. Jonathan’s is characterized is:
1. Hardworking
Jonathan is a young seagull who loves to learn about flight and life. He always fails in practicing but he never gives up. He keeps trying again for many times.
A hundred feet in the sky he lowered his webbed feet, lifted his beak and strained to hold a paint full hard twisting curve through his wings. The curve meant that he would fly slowly, and now he slowed until the wind was whisper in his face, until the ocean stood still beneath him. He narrowed his eyes in fierce concentration, held his breath, forced one….single….more…inch…of…curve..Then his feathers ruffled, he stalled and fell (Bach 13).
Jonathan never stops practicing because he wants to reach his dream, his idealism that is flying faster in the sky. He encourages himself to try every single movement just to make perfection.
stopped. From ten times he fails and bursts into mess feathers and he tries again. He flies up to the sky. Now, he tries from two thousand feet. Then he rolls into his dive, he moves his beak down, and he gives full power for his wings. Finally, he can stabilize his movements and he can pass through fifty miles per hour (Bach 20).
Jonathan is not happy with his situation, as an imperfect seagull. He sees eagles flying high in the sky and he wonders why they can fly so high while he cannot. Therefore, Jonathan learns to fly. He hopes that he can come out from his situation. He does not want to trap in his situation. Jonathan wants to fly freely in the sky. His dream is he becomes an unlimited gull. In order to fly faster, Jonathan always practices every day. He fails many times but he keeps trying and practicing. After Jonathan is able to fly like an eagle, he realizes that he is an unordinary seagull and he forgets his promises that he will be a normal seagull. Having promises like that is just for an ordinary seagull.
He climbed two thousand feet above the black sea, and without a moment for thought of failure and death, he brought his forewings tightly in to his body, left only the narrow swept daggers of his wingtips extended into the wind, and fell into a vertical dive (24).
Becoming a perfect seagull is not easy for Jonathan. There is a process to be perfect. Jonathan practices every day. He works hard in every second he has. He wants to know what he can and cannot do in the sky. He wants to reach his dream, flying higher and faster in the air. Jonathan wants to be perfect so that he can make his dream come true. In processing to be perfect, Jonathan digs out all the potential he has. He knows that being perfect in flying gives him a new reason for life and flying in the sky with the high speed will help seagulls to get more food. Jonathan encourages himself to reach his dream. One day, when Jonathan joins the flock on the beach, he feels so happy. He thinks that the flock will be full of joy when they know he finds out a breakthrough.
When Jonathan Seagull joined the flock on the beach, it was full night. He was dizzy and terribly tired. Yet, in delight he flew a loop to landing, with a snap roll just before touch-down. When they hear of it, he thought, of the breakthrough, they’ll be wild with joy. How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s a reason to life! We can leave ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly! (Bach 27).
Jonathan dares to take a chance. He digs out his own potential because he knows he has power to do something. He has intelligence and skill to know what he can and cannot do. Jonathan realizes that he can express himself because he is the master of himself. Someone’s mind is the key to be perfect. If a person can control their mind and manage it well then think positively, he will be successful and be a perfect person. One day, Jonathan speaks to his students. He encourages them to practice more and realize what they can do. He says that a seagull’s body from wingtip to wingtip is nothing more than their thought. They have to think beyond their vision. They must change their mindset, so that they can be free (Bach 76-77).
When Jonathan becomes an instructor for his six students that have passion to learn about a new idea of flight and speed, he tells them there is something to understand besides the perfection of flying. He says to his students that they are created as unlimited seagulls and they are free to express their selves. “Each of us in truth an idea of the Great Gull, an unlimited idea of freedom and precision flying is a step toward expressing our real nature. Everything that limits us we have to put aside.” (Bach 76). Jonathan has a great thought about perfection and freedom. He thinks that being perfect should be free in expressing his spirit and digs out his body to see what potentials he has. Based on Murphy’s theory, it is one way from the author to characterize the character in the novel, namely from his/her thought.
perfect seagull. Based on Bach’s direct comment and Jonathan’s speech, it can be concluded that Jonathan Seagull is hard working.
2. Smart
As a smart seagull, Jonathan can think better than others. In his practicing flying he always has some questions such as how to fly faster, why he cannot fly higher, how to control the speed and how to turn. He can find the answer for his own question by practicing again and again.
Away behind the cliffs in the sea shore, Jonathan practices alone. He fails many times, but he never gives up. He keeps trying to fly faster like an eagle. Until one time, he realizes that what he needs just to make little movement and changes in flying. In his own thinking, Jonathan doubts himself. He knows that he does not have shorts wing like a falcon. It seems that it is impossible for him to fly. Yet for a moment he realizes, everything he needs to fly faster in the air is just a short wing. He just needs a falcon’s short wing. Jonathan gets the answer of his own question, how to fly faster and more perfect. All he needs just to fold most of his wings and fly on just the tips alone (Bach 24). Jonathan realizes a new way to practice and he knows the answer by himself.
birds. Most of them come very slowly. Sullivan is very proud of Jonathan because he learns many things.
“Where is everybody, Sullivan? “ He asked silently, quite at home now with the easy telepathy that these gulls used instead of screes and gracks. “Why aren’t there more of us here? Why, where I came from there were…..” “The only answer I can see, Jonathan, is that you are pretty well a one-in-million bird. Most of us came along ever so slowly. But you, Jon, learned so much at one time that you didn’t have to go through a thousand lives to reach this one.” (Bach 53-54).
After that conversation, Sullivan asks Jonathan to practice again. In the first practices Jonathan fails. Yet Sullivan gives him support to keep trying. Finally, Jonathan passes the practice. One evening, when gulls are standing together on the sand thinking, Jonathan encourages himself to come to the Elder Gull, Chiang, and asks something. He asks about home and where he lives now. He asks where they are going from this place and he wants to know another place outside of the place. Those questions always bother him. Chiang, who knows that Jonathan is a smart student, understand that Jonathan wants to become better than others.
He says to Chiang that they are not really in the heaven like he was thinking of. Hearing that, Chiang, The Elder, just smiles to Jonathan and he says to Jonathan that he is learning again. Jonathan is learning something new in his life. Jonathan does not understand. He asks to The Elder, “Well, what happens from here? Where we are going? Is there no such a place as heaven” (Bach 55).
perfection in speed. Since Jonathan is a smart seagull, he learns faster from his daily ordinary experiences. A month goes by and now Jonathan can fly very fast in the air (Bach 60).
According to Murphy (161-172), there are nine ways to analyze a character in the story. Based on Jonathan’s thought, speech, the character as seen by another and direct comment, it can be concluded that Jonathan is a smart seagull.
3. Curious
As a young seagull, Jonathan is very curios of everything about flying. He always wants to know something new. He always wants to discover something hidden. In his practicing, Jonathan tries every single movement of flight in the air. He always practices every day and every time he wants. He spends his day from morning until night just to learn. One night, his curiousness is answered. He knows the key of flying high and fast like an eagle. Then, he starts practicing again. He tries to fly higher than before. In the next a few minutes, he wonders how fast he is in the air, if he flies little bit higher than before. Therefore, he starts to close his eyes. He flies in a hundred forty miles per hour. He is against the wind. Fortunately, the speed is under control. Being able to control his speed, Jonathan is eager to know his ability if he flies from five thousand feed instead of two thousand feet (Bach 25).
are just few seagulls. He thinks that heaven must be full of gulls. There must be a flock of seagulls. Suddenly he feels so tired. He does not understand why he is so tired. In his opinion, there is no tiredness in heaven.
He was flying over a sea, toward a jagged shoreline. A very few seagulls were working updrafts on the cliffs. Away of to the north, at the horizon itself, flew a few others. New sights, new thoughts, new questions. Why so few gull? Heaven should be flocked with gulls! And why am I so tired, all at once? Gulls in heaven are never supposed to be tired, or sleep (Back 52).
Here, in his new home Jonathan learns many things from his instructors, Sullivan and Chiang. His curious is answered. In this place, they use telepathy to talk to each other. In his new home, Jonathan sees how Chiang can disappear and appear again only in a flash, and even, and appears in the same millisecond at Jonathan’s shoulder. He wonders of Chiang’s performance. In that moment, Jonathan forgets about heaven to which he asks his instructor. He is very curious to know how Chiang can do that, and how far he can go (Bach 58).
Further, when Jonathan is able to fly like what Chiang does and after Chiang goes away to another place, Jonathan thinks about his past. Then he wonders if there is a gull like him, who wants to break his limits, to discover the real meaning of flying (Bach 61).
If he had known there just a tenth, just a hundredth, of what he knew here, how much more life would have meant! He stood on the sand and fell to wondering if there was a gull back there who might be struggling to break out of his limits, to see the meaning of flight beyond a way of travel to get a breadcrumb from a rowboat (Bach 61).
Based on Jonathan’s thought and his conversations with others, it can be concluded that Jonathan is curious. He always wants to know and discover something hidden that he does not know.
4. Brave
Jonathan is also characterized as a brave seagull. He is brave enough to take a challenge. Through a lot of practices, he can fly higher than other gulls do, flying at high speed. When the wind is just like a monster roaring at his head, he tries to move his wingtips into the faintest twist he has. Jonathan knows that doing such kind of movements is not easy. However, he chooses to do it because he needs to practice so that he can reach his dream. As we know flying in that high speed takes too many risks.
The wind was a monster roar at his head. Seventy miles per hour, ninety, a hundred and twenty and faster still. The wing-strain now at a hundred and forty miles per hour wasn’t nearly as hard as it had been before at seventy, and with the faintest twist of his wingtips he eased out of the dive and shot above the waves, a gray cannonball under the moon (Bach 25).
knows that he is probably killed if he cannot control the speed and his movements while he flies in the air. However, he keeps his fear off and still flies.
Once, he can reach his terminal velocity. He thinks that it is a breakthrough of a new way of life for seagulls. Then Jonathan is going to tell his flock. Unfortunately, when he comes back to his flock, he faces a big trouble. His flock assumes that Jonathan is trying to break the rule of seagull by living for flying. Even Elder in the Council Flock seagull accuses him of violating the rule. A seagull never speaks back to the Council Flock but at that time Jonathan’s voices is raised. Then, he speaks back to the Council Flock. Speaking back to the Council Flock is not allowed. As his punishment, he is sent out of the flock and becomes an outcast (Bach 35).
As an outcast, he lives in another place with his new flock. They all are outcasts. In his new place he gets many lessons from his instructor, Sullivan and the Elder Gull, Chiang. Here, they use telepathy to talk to each other. One evening, when the other gulls gather together stand on the sand, thinking of something that Jonathan does not know. Jonathan encourages himself by walking to the Elder Gull, Chiang. He asks him about flying to (Bach 54).
what he sees. Sullivan says that Jonathan shows no fear of learning compared to any gull he has seen in ten thousand years. Knowing that complement, Jonathan feels in happy (Bach 60).
Based on Jonathan’s thought, direct comment given by the author, and character seen by other, it can be concluded that Jonathan is brave.
5. Stubborn
Jonathan is a stubborn seagull. It can be seen from his reaction to the situation he is facing. When his mother reminds him of being a normal gull, by low-flying and eating Jonathan speaks back to his mother. Jonathan is very skinny because he never eats and rests like other gulls. He always spends his time on learning about flying. However, Jonathan is not worried of being skinny. He says to his mother that everything he does is just to develop his ability. What he can do or cannot do in the air (Bach 14).
nothing. According to him, he can spend all those time on learning about flying. Then he decides to leave the flock (Bach 15).
After Jonathan leaves the flock, he practices flying at some levels of speed, high and movements. He does not care whether it is day or night. Once, when he flies home across the sea and under the moonlight, he hears a voice, a strange voice. This voice reminds him of his nature as a seagull. A seagull will not fly at night, and a seagull cannot fly high. Yet, Jonathan does not care of that voice. He ignores the voice because he thinks that all the scenery he sees at night is beautiful. There, he can find the happiness and all the things there are very peaceful for him (Bach 24).
Based on Jonathan’s thought and his reaction to his mother, it can be stated that Jonathan’s character is stubborn.
B.The Personal Conflicts Faced by Jonathan in Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull
According to Worchel and Cooper (460-464) there are two kinds of conflicts. They are intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict. The intrapersonal conflict is a conflict which happens inside the character itself. In other words, the intrapersonal conflict is an internal conflict. Second is the interpersonal conflict. This is a conflict which happens between two or more people. In other words, this is an external conflict.
that happens between him, his parents and his flock. Therefore, there are two kinds of conflicts faced by Jonathan. They are intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts.
1. The Intrapersonal Conflict
The intrapersonal conflicts faced by Jonathan are worthwhile to analyze. They are interesting because they involve human spirits and beliefs. In this novelette, Jonathan’s intrapersonal conflicts are as follows:
a. Learning to Fly
This conflict begins when Jonathan is learning to fly. In all his efforts, he always fails. In the beginning he empowers his body to fly higher, yet he finally stalls and falls down. Since seagulls never fly higher, therefore, Jonathan falls down. In fact, to stall in the air for a seagull is disgraced and dishonored. Jonathan does not care for being disgrace and dishonor. He keeps stretching his wings again.
Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and dishonor.
But Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed, stretching his wings again in that trembling hard curve-slowing, slowing, and stalling once more-was no ordinary bird (Bach 13).
not love to fly. However, Jonathan never thinks to be popular among seagulls in his flock. One thing for sure is that Jonathan learns to fly because not of being famous. He learns practices and does the experiment of flying because he loves it (Bach 14).
One day, he stops flying. He tries hard to be like other seagulls. He flies in low-level, together with others to get food. It is not easy to be the same like other gulls. It looks very strange for Jonathan. Until he stops being like the rest of other gulls. He thinks that it is so pointless. He prefers to learn fly than tries to fight for some bread.
For the next days he tried to behave like the other gulls; he really tried, screeching and fighting with the flock around the piers and fishing boats, diving on scraps of fish and bread. But he couldn’t make it work. It’s all so pointless, he thought, deliberately dropping a hard-won anchovy to a hungry old gull chasing him. I could be spending all this time learning to fly. There’s so much to learn! (Bach 15).
As that decision comes out from his head, Jonathan flies to the sky. He learns to fly again. There are many new single movements he can do in the air. Many times he tries to fly. Finally, he gets himself to find a breakthrough. Unfortunately, the flock does not receive it. In the centre of the flock for the shame means that he will be outcast from the flock. It shocks him so much. Jonathan feels like being hit with a board then his knees are weak. His feathers are sagged. He thinks a lot. He does not believe that he stands to the center for the shame (Bach 34).
Jonathan does not believe that he is wrong in the eyes of his flock. He must be a hero for the flock because he finds a breakthrough. After arguing by himself, Jonathan encourages himself and decides to speak back to the Council Flock.
Jonathan faces an avoidance-avoidance conflict. According to Worchel and Cooper (461), an avoidance-avoidance conflict is a conflict when a person has two equally unattractive alternatives and the person has to choose one of them. Jonathan faces a conflict where he has to choose one of the unattractive alternatives.
In order to solve this conflict, Jonathan tries to manage his conflict by managing his emotions. According to Beebe and Redmon (314-326), conflicts can be managed into four ways. Those are managing emotions, managing informations, managing goals, and managing the problems. As a smart seagull, Jonathan tries to keep his anger so that he can think clearly and solve the problem wisely. Then, he negotiates himself in the form of distributive negotiation. Isenhart and Spangle (45-152) state that distributive negotiation is a type of negotiation in which both sides said their goals and advantages in achieving the goals. Both parties are forcing their demands and threats. In other words, it is bargaining approach to solve the conflict they have. They make other party to receive their demands and interest to achieve their goals. It means that the conflict resolution process in distributive negotiation applies a win-lose solution.
important. By telling the reason Jonathan hopes that seagulls can enjoy their life. His wanting to speak back to the flock wins the negotiation process.
b. Flying at night
Another intrapersonal conflict faced by Jonathan is influenced by his character as a curious and hardworking young seagull. He wants to know what happens if he flies higher. Can he fly like eagles, fly in a high speed of perfect flying? He learns and practices every day. He practices from morning until night. He fails many times but he never gives up. He keeps trying to explore his ability. Until he thinks that he is just a limited seagull.
As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed, I’d have a falcon’s short wings, and live on mice instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness. I must fly home to the flock and be content as I am, as a poor limited seagull. (Bach 21)
Jonathan thinks that he will never reach his dream because he feels so tired with his body. He fails many times and still cannot find the answer of his question of how an eagle can fly so high.
On his way to home Jonathan still thinks all efforts he has done. Trying to fly higher every times and then fails many times. Now, he decides to stop flying. He feels better when he decides to stop flying. He flies in the dark toward the lights above the beach. Suddenly, he hears a hollow voice. This voice tells him that seagulls never fly in the dark. Yet Jonathan ignores it. The scenery at night is so beautiful for Jonathan.
Jonathan was not alert to listen. It’s pretty, he thought. The moon and the lights twinkling on the water, throwing out little beacon-trails through the night, and all so peaceful and still… (Bach 24).
Jonathan is happy seeing the scenery. He likes this night. Night gives him a new life. He can see something new that he cannot see at the day light. The more he looks at his surrounding, the more he enjoys flying.
The intrapersonal conflict becomes more intense when he hears the hollow voice again. That voice comes back and reminds him of his nature. It alerts him to stop thinking about flying and get down as soon as possible. The voice tells Jonathan that a seagull is not deserved to fly in the dark like an eagle. It asks him to get down because seagulls never fly in the dark. Seagulls do not have the eyes of an owl and do not have charts for brains. Seagulls also do not have short wings like a falcon. This voice tries to make Jonathan stop his effort (Bach 24).
Here, Jonathan thinks about the reason why seagulls cannot fly in the dark and do not have charts for brains. He thinks that the voice is right. He does not have eyes of an owl, charts for brains and falcon’s short wings. At the same time, the voice gives him inspiration, a falcon’s short wings. A falcon’s short wings are the key to fly like an eagle. By knowing the key, Jonathan decides to keep flying in the dark sky (Bach 24).
to fly in the dark because of his nature, Jonathan faces an intrapersonal conflict. He wants to be able to fly like an eagle. He also wants to keep flying in the dark night like and owl. For the first time, he does not pay attention to the voice. Therefore, he continues to fly in the dark. Suddenly, the voice cracks again in his head and force him to get down by telling his nature. A seagull is a limited creature by its nature. Since Jonathan is a hard worker he keeps flying even though he has to choose between keeping trying to fly or get down and be a normal gull.
Here, the attractive quality for Jonathan is his ability to fly in the dark night and enjoy it. Then the unattractive quality for him is his thought to stop flying in the dark night and getting down, like the rest of normal gulls. Here Jonathan thinks that he is trapped in his limitation. This problem is quite difficult to solve.
In order to solve the conflict, Jonathan uses a distributive negotiation to negotiate himself. Isenhart and Spangle (45-46) state that the distributive negotiation is a conflict resolution process where the participants bargain the approach to resolve the conflict. They negotiate each other with goals and advantages they want to achieve in their goals. Here, they are less pay attention to the relationship and interest.
