THE INFLUENCE
S OF DAWSON’S FIRST LOVE ON HIS
LIFE AS SEEN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’
THE BEST OF ME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Blasius Yoga Puspa Krisanta Student Number: 121214029
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
ABSTRACT
Krisanta, Blasius Yoga Puspa, 2016. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Life as Seen in Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me. Yogyakarta: Department of
Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses a novel entitled The Best of Me, a literary work written by an American novelist, Nicholas Sparks. It tells about a unique love story experienced by Dawson Cole who endlessly loves his first love, Amanda Collier. Dawson’s first love is also a person who gives him influences on Dawson’s personality and life.
The purpose of this study is to reveal the influences of Dawson’s first love on his life. Therefore, the writer formulates three research questions in order to answer the following topic, namely: (1) “How is Dawson portrayed?” (2) “How is the development of Dawson’s love in the story?” and (3) “What are the influences of Dawson’s first love on his life?”
The writer uses psychological approach in this study. This approach is required in order to analyze the changing personality of the main character in the novel. Besides, this approach is needed to make clear that the analysis is based on psychological point of view.
There are three findings in this study. The first finding is the portrayal of Dawson Cole. Dawson is described as a forty-two years’ old man who tends to be alone. Besides, Dawson is also described as a loving, loyal, and kindhearted man. The second finding elaborates the development of Dawson’s love on Amanda, which are divided into three phases. They are infatuated love, romance love, and consummate love. The third finding is about the influences of Dawson’s first love on his past and current life. The first finding is the finding of the influences of Dawson’s first love on his past life that makes Dawson is able to plan his own future and he is able to share his feeling and give his care, love, and kindness to his first love. The second finding is the finding of the influences of Dawson’s first love on his current life that makes Dawson is able to assure himself that loving his first love is the most precious thing. It makes him realizes that his love should be able to bring happiness to his beloved one, and it is able to make Dawson sacrifices his ego for others.
The study provides a suggestion for future researches. The suggestion is about an analysis of the motivation of Tuck Hostetler, Dawson’s surrogate father and friend, on uniting Dawson with his first love upon his final request.
ABSTRAK
Krisanta, Blasius Yoga Puspa, 2016. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Life as Seen in Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Bahasa dan
Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini membahas novel yang berjudul The Best of Me karya seorang novelis asal Amerika, Nicholas Sparks. Novel ini menceritakan sebuah kisah cinta unik yang dialami oleh Dawson Cole yang jatuh cinta kepada cinta pertamanya, Amanda Collier. Cinta pertama Dawson adalah seseorang yang mampu memberikan pengaruh terhadap kehidupannya.
Tujuan dari pada penelitian ini guna mengungkap pengaruh-pengaruh yang diberikan oleh cinta pertama Dawson terhadap kehidupannya. Oleh karena itu, penulis merumuskan tiga permasalahan, antara lain: (1) “Bagaimana tokoh Dawson digambarkan di dalam novel?”, (2) Bagaimana cinta Dawson berkembang seiring berjalannya waktu?” dan (3) “Pengaruh apa saja yang diberikan oleh cinta pertama Dawson terhadap kehidupannya?”
Dalam penelitian ini, penulis mengaplikasikan pendeketan psikologis. Pendekatan ini diperlukan guna menganilisa perubahan kepribadian dari tokoh utama dalam novel. Disamping itu, pendekatan ini diperlukan untuk memperjelas bahwa analisa yang dibuat berdasarkan pandangan psikologis.
Dalam penelitian ini, terdapat tiga hasil analisa. Hasil analisa yang pertama adalah gambaran tokoh Dawson Cole. Dawson digambarkan sebagai seorang pria yang berumur empat puluh dua tahun yang senang menyendiri. Disamping itu, Dawson juga memiliki sifat penyayang, setia dan baik hati. Hasil analisa yang kedua mengungkap perkembangan cinta Dawson kepada cinta pertamanya seiring berjalannya waktu yang terbagi menjadi tiga tahap, antara lain: cinta pada pandangan pertama, cinta yang berdasarkan perasaan, dan cinta sejati. Hasil analisa yang ketiga mengungkap pengaruh-pengaruh yang diberikan cinta pertama Dawson terhadap kehidupan masa lalu dan kehidupan masa kininya. Pada kehidupan masa lalunya, pengaruh-pengaruh yang diberikan oleh cinta pertama Dawson mampu membuat dia merencanakan masa depannya dan membagikan kepedulian, cinta, dan kebaikannya kepada cinta pertamanya. Pada kehidupan masa kininya, Dawson mampu menegaskan bahwa mencintai cinta pertamanya merupakan hal yang sangat berharga bagi dirinya, sedangkan cintanya harus mampu memberikan kebahagiaan terhadap orang yang dicintainya, dan hal itu membuat Dawson menjadi seseorang yang bersedia mengorbankan ego untuk orang lain.
Penelitian ini memberikan anjuran kepada peneliti-peniliti selanjutnya. Anjuran pada penelitian ini adalah mengenai analisa yang berdasarkan motif Tuck Hostetler, ayah angkat maupun teman Dawson, terhadap keinginannya untuk mempertemukan Dawson dengan cinta pertamanya dalam surat wasiatnya.
THE INFLUENCE
S OF DAWSON’S FIRST LOVE ON HIS
LIFE AS SEEN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’
THE BEST OF ME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Blasius Yoga Puspa Krisanta Student Number: 121214029
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
THE INFLUENCE
S OF DAWSON’S FIRST
LOVE ON HIS
LIFE AS SEEN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’
THE BEST OF ME
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Blasius Yoga Puspa Krisanta Student Number: 121214029
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
Dedicated with love and gratitude to:
Jesus Chirst
My father, Antonius Windu Wantoro
My mother, Digna Endah Kurniawati
My younger sister, Fransisca Romana Lalita Komala
Hapsari
My beloved friends
vii ABSTRACT
Krisanta, Blasius Yoga Puspa, 2016. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Life as Seen in Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me. Yogyakarta: Department of
Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses a novel entitled The Best of Me, a literary work written by an American novelist, Nicholas Sparks. It tells about a unique love story experienced by Dawson Cole who endlessly loves his first love, Amanda Collier. Dawson’s first love is also a person who gives him influences on Dawson’s personality and life.
The purpose of this study is to reveal the influences of Dawson’s first love on his life. Therefore, the writer formulates three research questions in order to answer the following topic, namely: (1) “How is Dawson portrayed?” (2) “How is the development of Dawson’s love in the story?” and (3) “What are the influences of Dawson’s first love on his life?”
The writer uses psychological approach in this study. This approach is required in order to analyze the changing personality of the main character in the novel. Besides, this approach is needed to make clear that the analysis is based on psychological point of view.
There are three findings in this study. The first finding is the portrayal of Dawson Cole. Dawson is described as a forty-two years’ old man who tends to be alone. Besides, Dawson is also described as a loving, loyal, and kindhearted man. The second finding elaborates the development of Dawson’s love on Amanda, which are divided into three phases. They are infatuated love, romance love, and consummate love. The third finding is about the influences of Dawson’s first love on his past and current life. The first finding is the finding of the influences of Dawson’s first love on his past life that makes Dawson is able to plan his own future and he is able to share his feeling and give his care, love, and kindness to his first love. The second finding is the finding of the influences of Dawson’s first love on his current life that makes Dawson is able to assure himself that loving his first love is the most precious thing. It makes him realizes that his love should be able to bring happiness to his beloved one, and it is able to make Dawson sacrifices his ego for others.
The study provides a suggestion for future researches. The suggestion is about an analysis of the motivation of Tuck Hostetler, Dawson’s surrogate father and friend, on uniting Dawson with his first love upon his final request.
viii ABSTRAK
Krisanta, Blasius Yoga Puspa, 2016. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Life as Seen in Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Bahasa dan
Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini membahas novel yang berjudul The Best of Me karya seorang novelis asal Amerika, Nicholas Sparks. Novel ini menceritakan sebuah kisah cinta unik yang dialami oleh Dawson Cole yang jatuh cinta kepada cinta pertamanya, Amanda Collier. Cinta pertama Dawson adalah seseorang yang mampu memberikan pengaruh terhadap kehidupannya.
Tujuan dari pada penelitian ini guna mengungkap pengaruh-pengaruh yang diberikan oleh cinta pertama Dawson terhadap kehidupannya. Oleh karena itu, penulis merumuskan tiga permasalahan, antara lain: (1) “Bagaimana tokoh Dawson
digambarkan di dalam novel?”, (2) Bagaimana cinta Dawson berkembang seiring
berjalannya waktu?” dan (3) “Pengaruh apa saja yang diberikan oleh cinta pertama Dawson terhadap kehidupannya?”
Dalam penelitian ini, penulis mengaplikasikan pendeketan psikologis. Pendekatan ini diperlukan guna menganilisa perubahan kepribadian dari tokoh utama dalam novel. Disamping itu, pendekatan ini diperlukan untuk memperjelas bahwa analisa yang dibuat berdasarkan pandangan psikologis.
Dalam penelitian ini, terdapat tiga hasil analisa. Hasil analisa yang pertama adalah gambaran tokoh Dawson Cole. Dawson digambarkan sebagai seorang pria yang berumur empat puluh dua tahun yang senang menyendiri. Disamping itu, Dawson juga memiliki sifat penyayang, setia dan baik hati. Hasil analisa yang kedua mengungkap perkembangan cinta Dawson kepada cinta pertamanya seiring berjalannya waktu yang terbagi menjadi tiga tahap, antara lain: cinta pada pandangan pertama, cinta yang berdasarkan perasaan, dan cinta sejati. Hasil analisa yang ketiga mengungkap pengaruh-pengaruh yang diberikan cinta pertama Dawson terhadap kehidupan masa lalu dan kehidupan masa kininya. Pada kehidupan masa lalunya, pengaruh-pengaruh yang diberikan oleh cinta pertama Dawson mampu membuat dia merencanakan masa depannya dan membagikan kepedulian, cinta, dan kebaikannya kepada cinta pertamanya. Pada kehidupan masa kininya, Dawson mampu menegaskan bahwa mencintai cinta pertamanya merupakan hal yang sangat berharga bagi dirinya, sedangkan cintanya harus mampu memberikan kebahagiaan terhadap orang yang dicintainya, dan hal itu membuat Dawson menjadi seseorang yang bersedia mengorbankan ego untuk orang lain.
Penelitian ini memberikan anjuran kepada peneliti-peniliti selanjutnya. Anjuran pada penelitian ini adalah mengenai analisa yang berdasarkan motif Tuck Hostetler, ayah angkat maupun teman Dawson, terhadap keinginannya untuk mempertemukan Dawson dengan cinta pertamanya dalam surat wasiatnya.
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my biggest gratitude for those who have supported, encouraged, and guided me in working in the thesis. First and foremost, I would like to bestow my dearest gratitude to Jesus Christ, who always gives me courage, blessing, and guidance. He has strengthened me to finish this thesis. My biggest gratitude also goes to my beloved parents, Antonius Windu Wantoro and Digna Endah Kurniawati for their support, patience, and prayer all this time. From both of them, I learned the meaning of a true love and the influences that they give on my life through their affection, passion, and care. It is also my sister, Fransisca Romana Lalita Komala Hapsari, who has given me encouragement and support when I feel unmotivated.
I present my greatest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Retno Muljani, M.Pd., who has patiently guided and taught me, so that this thesis can be finished. I also present my greatest gratitude to Maria Vincentia Eka Multasih, S.S., M.A. for her willingness to help and guide me to finish this thesis. My gratitude also goes to the all PBI lecturers, who have shared their knowledge and experiences during my study. I also thank the University for the opportunity to study, so that I learned invaluable experiences and knowledge.
x
Finally, yet importantly, I would like to thank all of my friends in my class, “The A Team” and all PBI friends for every precious and invaluable moments
and experiences.
xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
DEDICATION PAGE ... iv
STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... vi
ABSTRACT ... vii
ABSTRAK ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xiii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of The Study ... 1
B. Research Questions ... 4
C. Significance of The Study ... 4
D. Definitions of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Related Theories ... 7
1. Theory of Character ... 7
2. Theory of Characterization ... 9
3. Theory of Love ... 11
4. Theory of Personality Development ... 16
xii CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY
A. Object of The Study ... 23
B. Approach of The Study ... 24
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS A. The Portrayal of Dawson ... 26
B. The Development of Dawson’s Love ... 35
C. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Life ... 42
1. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Past Life ... 42
2. The Influences of Dawson’s First Love on His Current Life ... 46
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions ... 50
B. Implications ... 52
C. Suggestions ... 52
REFERENCES ... 54
xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page Appendices
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
There are four parts in this chapter. They are the background of the study, research questions, significance of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study elaborates the reasons that serve as a basis for writing this study. The research questions states the problems discussed in this study. The significance of the study elaborates the importance of the study to the readers. The definition of terms elaborates the key words of this study to avoid misunderstanding or interpretation.
A. Background of The Study
There are several aspects in human life, such as feelings, thoughts, imaginations, and experiences. Those aspects can be described in several ways. A literary work is one of several ways to describe those aspects. A literary work is defined as an imaginative and creative writing which purpose is to express and tell some aspects in human life. According to Robert and Jacob (1989), literary work is described as “written (and spoken) compositions designed to tell stories, dramatize situations, and reveal thoughts and emotions, and more importantly, to interest, entertain stimulate, broaden, and ennoble readers” (p. 2).
moral value of related literary work that the readers have read. Therefore, the readers are able to take the usefulness or advantages from a literary work.
A novel is one of literary works that has been acknowledged in public. It also has high accessibility, which means that a novel is easy to read and understand, especially for inexperienced people in literature. It is because a novel tells a story that has characters, plots, and twists that make the story interesting to read. Besides, a novel is usually based on author’s imaginations or experiences, so that the stories
are varied or different from one story to another. Those are the reasons why a novel is quite different from other literary works. Therefore, due to its high accessibility and its varieties, those things are what have assured the writer in conducting research based on a novel for the study.
This study uses a romance-based fiction novel authored by Nicholas Sparks. The title of the novel is The Best of Me. Nicholas Charles Sparks is an American screenwriter and novelist. He is born in Omaha, Nebraska on 31 December 1965. He has published about seventeen novels whose the main themes are about romance, relationships, and love. Those novels tell about unique love-relationship, including The Best of Me, which means that there is uncommon love story such as a coincidental meeting of two persons who are finally in love to each other when suddenly there is a moment when they have to end their relationship. However, there will always be chances of unpredictable twists that come alongside the progression of the story.
that the story of The Best of Me has an unpredictable and touching story. There are many surprises, twists, and unpredictable sequences in the story. It is able to amaze and make the writer curious enough to continue reading the story. Moreover, characters in the story are the biggest role of why the novel has an unpredictable and touching story. The characters are able to make changing and unpredictable emotions, so that the story flows more dynamically and it means that some twists of the story often appear because they are able to create various atmospheres and emotions in each sequences of the story.
The second reason is that The Best of Me has a unique and uncommon love story among other Nicholas Sparks’ novels. The story tells the writer how a feeling of love can freely appear in certain conditions and influence a person’s life. These influences are shown through the development of personality of the main character in the story, Dawson Cole. Dawson falls in love with Amanda in the first sight and it makes her as Dawson’s first and true love. The feeling of Dawson’s love also
influences him in making decisions in his life. Moreover, the story, which carries out a love story as the main theme, is not an ordinary story. It is because the story has its own unpredictable twists related to the plot of story and the characters who make dynamic progress in the story.
The third reason is that the writer was interested in one of the main characters in the story whose name is Dawson Cole. As mentioned in the story, Dawson meets Amanda, his first love, in a coincidental occasion that causes some changes into Dawson’s life. In result, there are many changes shown through
meets her, he simply cannot define his own future because he is born as a Cole, a family who lives in Oriental. Coles’ professions are robbers, thieves, and those
kinds of jobs that are related to crimes. After Amanda enters Dawson’s life, he is
able to think about his future and about what he wants to be. In other words, Amanda is the reason for Dawson to create a future to his life. In addition, Amanda’s presence in Dawson’s past and current life also causes some influences
on Dawson’s personality. Therefore, the writer wants to see how the influences of Dawson’s first love change Dawson’s past and current life.
B. Research Questions
The problems that will be discussed are systematically formulated as follows:
1. How is Dawson portrayed in Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me?
2. How is the development of Dawson’s love in Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me?
3. What are the influences of Dawson’s first love on his life in Nicholas Sparks’
The Best of Me?
C. The Significance of The Study
shows his loyalty to love Amanda, his first love, even though it means that Dawson cannot be together with her. Through this study, the writer also learns that a feeling love or affection is able to give influences to one’s personality.
D. Definition of Term
In this part, the writer elaborates the terms used in this study. There are two terms, namely love and life. The first term is love, which is described as a strong feeling of affection that has a purpose to show a feeling to someone because he or she is sexually attracted. According to Hauck (1983), love is that powerful feeling one has for persons, animals, or things that has satisfied, is satisfying, or will satisfy our deepest desires and needs (p. 16). Therefore, love means a powerful feeling possessed by one person and it is showed to others in order to get satisfaction or to satisfy others’ needs and desires.
Furthermore, the definition of love related to this novel refers to a feeling shown by actions of loving. The actions cover some expressions such as care, sacrifice, and being selfless to someone. In the novel, Dawson shows his feeling of love through those actions to his first love. Moreover, according to Firestone (2006), love is described as follows.
Actions that fit the description of loving relationship are expression of affection, both physical and emotional; a wish to offer pleasure and satisfaction to one’s mate; tenderness, compassion, and sensitivity to the needs of the other; a desire for shared activities and pursuits; an ongoing, honest exchange of personal feelings the process of offering concern, comfort, and outward assistance for the love object’s aspirations (p. 31).
persons who express and or receive the feeling of love. Moreover, following that love is also defined as a sensitive expression; an act of loving is related to a need shared from one person to another.
Therefore, love means a feeling that is possessed by persons and it is expressed through some acts of loving such as giving pleasure, desire, satisfaction, care, and affection. Love is considered as a powerful feeling because once the needs or desires to love are fulfilled, it will give a satisfaction. In this study, this term is related to some particular feelings such as affection, desire, and care.
The second term is life. The term life is referred to Dawson’s love life in the story of The Best of Me. Dawson’s life begins to change when Amanda, Dawson’s first love, enters his world. It is stated that “…and Dawson couldn’t
7
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter is divided into two parts. They are review of related theory and theoretical framework. Review of related theory elaborates theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of love, and theory of personality development. The theories are required to help the writer answers the formulated problems. Theoretical framework describes the application of the theories that are used to analyze Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me.
A. Review of Related Theories
In this part, the writer provides the theories related to the topic of this study. The theories are theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of love, and theory of personality development. Later on, these theories are used to analyze the answers of the formulated problems.
1. Theory of Character
(2009) in his book titled A Glossary of Literary Terms, character is described as follows.
Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as possessing particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying the dialogue and from what they do which is called the action (pp. 42-43).
From the definition of character above, a character is a person in a narrative work, who is interpreted by the readers as the persons who has special and unique qualities from the dialogues he or she says or the actions done through the story. Moreover, the interpretation of characters can be done by two ways. Abrams (2009) says that a character has two ways of how they are interpreted. The first one is showing and the second is telling. In showing, the author simply shows a character through the character’s dialogues and actions. In telling, the author directly
describes how the portrayal of a character and even evaluates the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters, mostly in some statements.
Moreover, according to Robert and Jacob (1989), a character can be divided into two, namely round character and flat character. Dawson as the main character in the story is classified into a dynamic character because his personality changes and develops throughout the progression of the story. Robert and Jacob (1989) elaborate their theory related to dynamic or round character as follows.
Round characters have many realistic traits and are relatively fully developed. To the degree that round characters have many individual and unpredictable human traits, and because they undergo or growth as a result of their experiences, they may be considered dynamic. As contrasted with round character, the flat character is undistinguishable from other persons in a particular group or class. Because they do not change or grow, they are static, not dynamic like round characters (p. 145).
As mentioned by Robert and Jacob (1989), a round character is relatively fully developed because it has realistic traits that change over time. It also makes the dynamic character unpredictable. Moreover, Dawson is also considered as a round character who mostly develops in the story because of the influences of his first love.
2. Theory of Characterization
Theory of characterization elaborates the ways of characters in a novel are described or portrayed. Theory of characterization is related to theory of character because both theories talks about how the authors describes the characters in their novels. The definition of characterization itself is not similar to the definition of character because it refers to the acts of describing qualities of a person. According to Murphy (1972: pp. 161-173) in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to
English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students, there are nine ways in
a. Personal description
The author describes the appearances and clothes of the person. The description may contain how the person looks like physically and how the person dresses in every day routines in the story.
b. Character as seen by another
Instead of describing a character directly, the author also can describe a person’s character through the opinions of another character in the story. In this description, the character who is described by another character may be stated directly in the statements as an observation to that person told by another character. c. Speech
The author using what a person says can describe a person’s character. It
will give a prediction or insight into the character in the story. d. Past life
By letting the readers learn something about a character’s past life, the
author can give a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character.
Therefore, in a novel there are some events related to past life of a person that contains the description of that person.
e. Conversation of others
The author can also give clues to a person’s character through the
f. Reactions
The person’s character can also be described through the reactions the
person makes to various situations and events. From the reactions, there should be some clues to the character.
g. Direct Comment or Knowledge of the Author
The author describes or comments on a person’s character directly.
h. Thoughts
The author can give direct knowledge to the character through what the person is thinking. Therefore, the characterization will be mostly based on the thoughts of the person.
i. Mannerisms
The author can describe a person’s character as seen in the person’s
mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies. The description of the person’s character will be focused on the ways the person behaves and the routines that the person usually does.
In short, the nine ways of describing a character in a novel provides different points of view of how a character is described. It also helps the writer makes the analysis of Dawson’s character more detailed and rich using this theory. Therefore, theory of characterization will be helpful in order to analyze how Dawson is portrayed in the story.
3. Theory of Love
because the analysis of the topic is related to the development of Dawson’s love to his first love.
Love is a feeling of affection and desire to do particular things to satisfy the needs of the feeling. In a book entitled The Art of Loving, Fromm (1963) describes love as follows.
Love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a “standing in,” not a “falling for.” On the most general way, the active character of love can be described by stating that love is primarily, giving, not receiving. In addition, love is the active concern for the life and the growth of that which we love (pp. 18-22).
From the definition stated by Fromm (1963), love is an active action and affect which the characters represent. The way of describing that love is an active action and affect can be seen in form of giving affection and doing some actions of loving. Furthermore, love also develops as the life and personality of one we love grows.
In addition, love that is defined by Firestone (2006) in his book entitled Sex
and Love in Intimate Relationship can be described as follows.
Actions that fit the description of loving relationship are expression of affection, both physical and emotional; a wish to offer pleasure and satisfaction to one’s mate; tenderness, compassion, and sensitivity to the needs of the other; a desire for shared activities and pursuits; an ongoing, honest exchange of personal feelings the process of offering concern, comfort, and outward assistance for the love object’s aspirations (p. 31).
Referring to Firestone (2006), love means actions expressed in both physical and emotional. Love is also expressions related to feelings such as affection, care, possession, and desire. Besides, love is able to bring and or offer several aspects. Those aspects are tenderness, compassion, and sensitivity to the needs of other.
Hauck (1983) also states definition of love in his book entitled How to Love
animals or things that has satisfied, is satisfying, or will satisfy our deepest desires and needs” (p. 16). Love is a powerful feeling, which is owned by human being that is able to bring a feeling of satisfaction to the deepest desires and needs. In addition, it simply shows how a person falls in love in order to satisfy his or her needs and desires or it simply expresses the feeling of affection and or care.
Furthermore, love is not only defined as a feeling of affection and tenderness in general or universal feeling. However, love can be classified into specifics components. There are three components of love according to Sternberg in his theory A Triangular of Love Theory (1986: p. 119) as follows.
a) Intimacy
The intimacy component refers to feelings of closeness, connectedness, and boundedness in loving relationships. It thus includes within its purview those feelings that give rise, essentially, to the experience of warmth in a loving relationship.
b) Passion
The passion component refers to the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation, and related phenomena in loving relationships. The passion component thus includes its purview those sources of motivational and other forms of arousal that lead to the experience of passion in a loving relationships.
c) Decision or Commitment
maintain that love. The decision/commitment component thus includes within its purview the cognitive elements that are involved in decision making about the existence of and potential long-term commitment to a loving relationship.
Therefore, there are three specific components of love. The first component is known as an intimacy that covers warmth, trust, and commitment to build relationship. The intimacy makes a person has some characteristics to make the person whom he or she loves comfortable, that person tends to spend times in order to have long conversations with the beloved person of his or hers, and even there is a desire to do physical contacts. The second component is a passion that refers to a motivational element based on sexual desire. It triggers a person’s sexual desire to hug or kiss the person whom he or she loves and even it makes a person to have sexual fantasies. The third component is a decision or commitment that is defined as a cognitive element of decision to build a relationship. The decision or commitment component is a basis for a person to bind a relationship with a person whom he or she loves.
These three components will be useful to make analysis based on the characteristics of Dawson in his love’s life, especially in order to answer the influences of his decision to have relationship with his first love.
a) Non-love
Non-love refers to the absence of the three components of love. Non-love also characterizes the majority of the personal relationships because it does not contain any components of love or it is simply as a form of casual interactions. b) Liking
Liking results when one experiences only the intimacy component of love in the absence of passion and decision/commitment. Rather, it refers to the set of feelings one experiences in relationships that can be characterized as friendships. c) Infatuated love
Infatuated love is “love at first sight.” It results from the experiencing of
passionate arousal in the absence of the intimacy and decision/commitment components of love.
d) Empty love
This kind of love emanates from the decision that one loves another and has commitment to that love in the absence of both intimacy and passion components of love. It results from the kind of stagnant relationships which has been going on for years, but they have lost its mutual emotional involvement and physical attraction.
e) Romantic love
f) Companionate love
This kind of love evolves from a combination of the intimacy and decision/commitment components of love. It is a long-term and committed friendship. In addition, companionate love is a kind of love that occurs in marriages without any physical attraction because it has faded away.
g) Fatuous love
Fatuous love results from the combination of the passion and decision or commitment component in the absence of the intimacy component. It is fatuous in the sense that a commitment is made based on passion without an involvement of intimacy component.
h) Consummate love
Consummate, or complete, love results from the full combination of the three components. Consummate love is a kind of love that many of us strive, especially in romantic relationships.
In the analysis, the writer will use this theory as one of the parts of the references, so the writer is able to make detailed explanation to the answer of the second formulated problem related to the influences of love on Dawson’s life. 4. Theory of Personality Development
The theory of personality is required in order to answer the influences of Dawson’s first love on his life. The reason why this theory is necessary to elaborate is that it is because instead of the development of Dawson’s love as seen in the way
changes throughout the story’s progression as seen in her past and current life in the story.
According to Ewen in Theories of Personality (2014), a personality is important and relatively stable aspects of behavior. A personality can be studied by originating within the individual (p. 3). In other words, a personality is similar to an original quality or feature related to behavior of an individual. Moreover, Ewen (2014) states further explanation about a personality as follows.
Personality deals with a wide range of human behavior. To most theorists, personality includes virtually everything about a person—mental, emotional, social, and physical. Some aspects of personality are
unobservable, such as thoughts, memories, and dreams, whereas others are observable, such as overt actions. Personality also includes aspects that are
concealed from yourself, or unconscious, as well as those that are conscious and well within your awareness (p. 3).
It can be concluded that a personality covers two types of personality related to human behavior. The first type is about everything related to a person-mental, emotional, social, and physical. It also includes some aspects that are unobservable, such as thoughts, memories, and dreams. The other aspect is the observable one, such as real actions in implying human’s personality. The second type includes an aspect that is unconscious or hidden within unawareness of an individual. Therefore, a personality is the combination of human’s behavior that is able to differ
an individual to another. Moreover, Ewen (2014) also states that, “personality is long lasting and important characteristics within an individual” (p. 9).
stages, there are three stages of adolescence because the character’s personality in
the novel that is identified as stages of adolescence. As cited by Erikson (1977), Schultz in Theories of Personalities (2009: 215-128) describes the three stages of adolescence as follows.
a. Identity Cohesion versus Role Confusion
In this stage, adolescent stage is newly begun because it occurs between ages 12 and 18. In this stage, people who experience this stage have to face and resolve the crisis of basic ego identity. It refers to the self-image formed during adolescence that integrates ideas of what a person is and what a person wants to be. If this process is resolved satisfactorily, the result is a consistent and congruent picture.
Moreover, people who emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self-identity are equipped to face adulthood with certainty and confidence. However, for those who fail to achieve cohesive identity – who experience an identity crisis, a stage of a failure in achieving ego identity during adolescence – will exhibit a confusion of roles. It means that they do not know about who they are, where they belong, or where they want to go.
The basic strength that should develop during adolescence in this stage is
fidelity, which emerges from a cohesive ego identity. Fidelity as described by
b. Intimacy versus Isolation
This stage is considered as young adulthood for it lasts from ages 18 until 35. During this period, young adults determine their independence and begin to function more autonomously as mature, responsible adults. It is the period when an individual who are in this stage start productive work and establish intimate relationships, such as close friendships and sexual unions.
People who are unable to establish such intimacies in young adulthood will develop feelings of isolation, such as avoiding social contacts, rejecting other people, and even becoming aggressive toward them. In result, they prefer to be alone because they fear intimacy as a threat to their ego identity.
The basic strength that emerges from intimacy of the adult years is love, which is considered as the greatest human advantage. Erikson describes love as a mutual devotion in a shared identity, the fusing of oneself with another person. c. Generativity versus Stagnation
This stage is also referred to adulthood that occurs between ages 35 to 55. It is a stage of maturity where people need to be actively involved in teaching and guiding the next generation. When middle-aged people cannot or will not seek an outlet for generativity, they may be overwhelmed by stagnation, boredom, and interpersonal impoverishment.
d. Ego Integrity versus Despair
Maturity and old age is the final stage of psychological development. During this period, people are confronted with a choice between ego integrity and despair. It is considered as a period where people examine and reflect on their life, taking its final measure. If it leads to a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, then it is considered that those people possess ego integrity, which is defined as an acceptance one’s place and one’s past.
However, those who review their life with a sense of frustration, angry about missed opportunities and regretful of mistakes that cannot be rectified, then those people will feel despair which make them disgusted with themselves, contemptuous of others, and bitter over what might have been.
The basic strength that should develop in this final development stage is
wisdom. Wisdom is expressed in a detached concern with the whole life.
In general, according to Schultz (2009), he states that, “Erikson believed
that personality is affected more by learning and experience than by heredity. Psychosocial experiences, not instinctual biological forces, are the greater determinant. Our ultimate is to develop a positive ego identity that incorporates all the basic strengths” (p. 219).
Therefore, as Dawson encounters four stages of personality’s development, it is clear to conclude that the influences of Dawson’s first love give an important
B. Theoretical Framework
In this study, the writer has already shown the related theories that are required to analyze the answers of the formulated problems. In this section, the application of the theories is elaborated to know how the theories are implemented and used to analyze the answers of the formulated problems.
The theory of character and the theory of characterization are needed in order to make an analysis to answer the first formulated problem. The first formulated problem is related to the description of the main character in The Best
of Me, Dawson Cole. The theory elaborates and expands the description of
Dawson’s characters and his characterization; therefore, the first formulated
problem is answered using the theory of character and the theory of characterization.
The theory of love is required in order to answer a question of how Dawson’s love develops through the time in the story as it is described in the second
formulated problem. The analysis is about to reveal the first time Dawson falls in love with Amanda until he considers Amanda as his first and true love. Alternatively, the analysis is about to reveal the development of Dawson’s love
through the time. Therefore, the theory of love is required to support the arguments and conclusions stated by the writer related to the influences of love on Dawson. In addition, the theory elaborates kinds of love that also show the development of Dawson’s love on his first love.
life. The analysis is about to reveal how Dawson’s first love influences Dawson’s
past and current life and the changes that are shown by Dawson. Moreover, it is necessary to use this theory as a reference because the analysis is related to the changes of Dawson’s personality throughout his past and current life. This theory
also shows how Dawson’s first love influences his life, so that her influences lead
23
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter is divided into two parts. They are the object of the study and the approach of the study. The object of the study describes the physical description of the literary works’ studies. The approach of the study elaborates the approach
related to the analysis of the Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a novel entitled The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. This novel is the latest novel of Nicholas Sparks, which was published in 2011 by Grand Central Publishing in New York. The Best of Me is the seventieth published novel from Nicholas Sparks. The Best of Me contains 215 pages and it is divided into 24 chapters including the epilog. The setting of the story takes place in the spring at Oriental, North California in 1984.
The Best of Me tells a story about a middle-aged man whose name is
Amanda Collier is his first and true love. They meet when they were senior high students. They begin to get closer to each other until Dawson commit to have a serious relationship with Amanda. The days spent by Dawson with Amanda really changes Dawson’s life. He can spend year by year with joy and happiness.
Amanda’s presence simply changes his life’s point of view. He also starts to think about creating and planning his future. However, Dawson’s relationship with
Amanda does not last long, but Dawson’s love for Amanda will always be same even though they are not together again.
The purpose of the story of The Best of Me is about to tell the readers that love is able to influence someone’s life. It is shown on how Dawson’s love to Amanda is capable to make changes into his life. Love also teaches what sacrifice is and how a person should show his or her love in a true way such as being loyal and faithful.
B. Approach of the Study
The writer uses psychological approach as the approach of the study in order to make further analysis of the topic. Rohrberger and Woods (1971) define Psychological Approach as an approach that involves human motivation, personality, and behavior pattern of a literary object (p. 14). This approach will be able to help the readers in order to understand psychological aspects in this novel, such as the characters’ certain motivations, personalities, and behaviors.
analyze the behavior and personality of the main character along with the plot of the story in the novel. Besides, by using this approach, the writer tries to understand and deepen the analysis of the psychological condition of the main character. It means that the writer tries to make further explanation about the behavior and personality of Dawson. Therefore, Psychological Approach is valuable and required in finding out the changing personality of the main character that is influenced by his first love.
Since Psychological Approach is the main approach of the study, thus it becomes a bridge to make clear the exact goal of how Dawson’s first love gives changes and influences into Dawson’s life. Besides, through this approach the
26 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter elaborates the formulated problems that have been stated in the first chapter. There are three subchapters in this chapter. The first subchapter elaborates the answer of the first problem using the theory of character and the theory of characterization. The second subchapter elaborates the answers of the second problem using the theory of love. The third subchapter elaborates the answers of the third problem that uses the theory of personality development. A. The Portrayal of Dawson
In this subchapter, the two theories, namely the theory of character and the theory of characterization are about to restate in order to find the answer of the first formulated problem in finding the character or personality of Dawson from the novel. Moreover, the analysis of Dawson’s portrayal is required because his characterization defines who he was in the past life and who he is in the current life. Therefore, this analysis is about to portray Dawson’s character in his past and
current life that will be elaborated in the second analysis.
intended to be the main focus of the story. Abrams (2009) also states that a character in a novel is described as “a person who possesses particular moral, intellectual,
and emotional qualities through the person’s ways of saying, what the person say, and the action which the person does in every events of the story” (pp. 42-43). Moreover, Murphy (1972) points out that there are nine different ways in order to characterize a character in a novel namely personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, thoughts, and mannerisms. These theories will be applied in order to make an analysis to the portrayal of Dawson.
The writer, therefore, finds out four characterizations that describe Dawson as a solitary person, a loyal person, a loving person, and a kindhearted person. Moreover, the theory of character by Abrams (2009) is applied as same as the theory of characterization by Murphy (1972) in order to elaborate the portrayal of Dawson. Therefore, the characterization of Dawson is shown as follows.
a. Solitary
Following that Dawson is single or an unmarried man, Dawson is portrayed as a person who tends to be alone. Murphy (1972) says that the direct comment of the author is able to describe a character. Therefore, this characteristic owned by Dawson can be seen through the following quotation, “It was quiet,
though, and that was really all he needed. He was a quarter mile off the main road, and the nearest neighbor was even farther away than that” (p. 6).
The statement “it was quiet, though and that was really all he needed”
person. It is also shown that the place where he spends for living is far from crowds and neighborhood. Dawson lives alone for almost fifteen years since he leaves his hometown and he is not interested to have relationships with other people, because he wants to keep his profile as low as he can. It is shown in a statement that says, “They didn’t know who he had been or what he had done, and he wanted to keep it
that way” (p. 7). People who meet Dawson will think that his life is merely boring
and so lonely, but it is because people barely know him, and it is what Dawson needs because he does not want to be exposed. Still, according to the theory of characterization by Murphy (1972), it can be proven through the knowledge of the author or the author’s direct comment that “He didn’t go to the movies or kick back
at a friend’s place while the Saints played on Sunday afternoons. He was forty-two years old and hadn’t been on a date since he was a teenager” (p. 7).
Dawson has become a solitary person since he was teenager because of a family’s factor that he is born as a Cole. Coles is a large number of family who inhabit Oriental, North California. Coles is different from other families in Oriental because they are a family whose profession is related to crimes, which is why it is not easy for Dawson to be a part of his family. Moreover, following the condition that he is a Cole, he chooses to have less friends than he should. Therefore, the reason that Dawson decides to have less friends has proven as he tends to be a solitary peson. The way of describing a character is proven by the statements of Abrams (2009) who states:
say and their distinctive ways of saying the dialogue and from what they do which is called the action (pp. 42-43).
Furthermore, Dawson has spent his life by living on his own since he ran off from his family to live at Tuck’s house. Even though he lives at someone’s
house, he struggles his own life by himself. The two statements describe that living without any dependency to other people has become Dawson’s habit. Moreover,
according to Murphy (1972), a way of describing character can be seen through the ways the characeter behaves and the routines that the person usually does or it is knwon as mannerisms. From the story, back to when Dawson was a teenager, he ran off from his family and ended up staying in Tuck Hostetler’s house.Therefore,
it is proven that Dawson is a loner because it is his willingness and decision to be alone.
b. Loving
Even though Dawson is portrayed as a loner and a hallucinatory person, however, Dawson has other characterization that he is portrayed as a loving person for he always shows a great amount of affection for his first love, Amanda. Although Dawson can only see Amanda few weeks since they are separated for years, Dawson still has the same feeling of love to her. Since Amanda entered Dawson’s world, he willingly devoted all of his feelings to her because Dawson knows that he only and always loves Amanda.
By the time summer end, he knew he was in love, and when the air turned crisp and autumn leaves drifted to the ground in ribbons of red and yellow, he was certain that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, as crazy as that sounded… With Amanda, it was easy for him to be himself; with Amanda, he was content for the first time in his life… Or more accurately, Amanda was all he could think about (p. 17).
Since the days Dawson spends with Amanda, he starts to realize that he is in love with her. The feeling of love felt by Dawson makes him wants to spend the rest of his life with Amanda. Moreover, having Amanda by his side makes Dawson thinks that there is no one he cares of but Amanda. It is because he is sure that he has found his true love.
The feelings of love and care to Amanda felt by Dawson are not only temporary. However, those feelings is everlasting even though they have broken up because of Amanda’s parents’ disagreement on their relationship and even though they are separated by times and distances. By the time they see each other again, Dawson still has those feelings for Amanda. Even Amanda is aware of it that, “she could sense his unspoken emotion” (p. 52). As Murphy (1972) has classified in his
method of presenting a character, direct speech from Dawson also shows that he still gives his affection for Amanda as he said that he does not believe she is right in front of her and he compliments her by saying that she looks amazing.
“I can’t believe you’re here. You look… amazing.”
“Thank you.” Despite herself, she could feel the blood in her cheeks. (p. 53)
c. Loyal
Another characterization that Dawson possesses besides being a loving person is that he is considered as a loyal person. In this situation, Dawson is loyal to Amanda as he does not stop loving her and he still shows his care and affection for her even after he breaks up with her.
Dawson’s loyalty can be seen through his willingness to love Amanda. He
even does not go to any date with someone else because the reason that he cannot replace Amanda’s position as his true love. According to Murphy (1972), there is a
way to characterize a character through direct speech between characters in the story. Therefore, Dawson’s loyalty is shown through direct speech that happens
between him and Amanda as follows.
“Even on a date?” she quizzed between bites. “I don’t really date,” he said.
“Ever?”
He began to cut his steak. “No.” “Why not?”
He could feel her studying him as she took a sip, waiting. Dawson shifted in his seat.
“It’s better that way,” he answered.
Her fork paused in midair. “It’s not because of me, is it?”
He kept his voice steady. “I’m not sure what you want me to say,” he said. “Surely you’re not suggesting…,” she began.
When Dawson said nothing, she tried again. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that you, that you haven’t dated anyone since we broke up?” (pp. 69-70)
From the conversation between Dawson and Amanda, it shows that Dawson has not changed since they broke up which means that Dawson’s feelings
Murphy (1972) states that a characteristic as seen by another are the proper way to characterize a character through the opinions of another character in the story that is done in direct statements.
He still loved her, she was certain of that now, and the realization was intoxicating. She knew it was wrong, and she tried to force the feeling away, but Dawson and their past had taken root once more, and she could no longer deny the simple truth that for the first time in years, she’d felt like she’d finally come home (p. 141).
From the statement above, it is known that Amanda herself cannot deny a truth that Dawson still loves her after years they are apart. It shows that even Amanda admits Dawson still has loyalty to her. Other than that, the reason why Dawson still loves Amanda is that he simply cannot stop loving her. He admits that, “he’d loved Amanda once and he’d never stopped loving her, and spending time
with her tonight hadn’t changed that simple truth” (p. 80).
Therefore, Dawson’s loyalty is derived from the feeling of love that he feels for Amanda. Moreover, because the reason that Dawson cannot stop loving her, he is sure that he has found his true love, thus it is what makes him loyal to Amanda for the rest of his life.
d. Kindhearted
At the beginning of the story, it is told that Dawson always sends a half of his salary to Bonners family after the accident that causes Dawson has to end up at jail for four years. In order to pay what he has done to the family, he starts to think to help out the family because he thinks that by helping Bonners, it will ease his guilty feeling. In Murphy’s (1972) theory of characterization, there is a method in
order to describe a character that can be done through direct knowledge from the author, which means that the author directly states knowledge about the character’s characterization. Therefore, the writer finds out a statement that shows that Dawson is kindhearted to Bonners.
He sometimes felt guilty about having the Bonners followed, but he had to know whether he’d been able to make even the smallest positive difference in their lives. That’s all he’d wanted since the night of the accident, and it was the reason he’d been sending checks monthly for the past two decades, almost always through anonymous offshore bank accounts. He was, after all, responsible for the greatest loss their family had experienced, and as he ran the quiet streets he knew he was willing to do whatever he could to make amends (p. 85).
Besides giving his kindness to Bonners, Dawson also willingly gives his care and love to Amanda without any return. Even, he willingly decides to not holding her up again for Amanda’s sake and her family. It happens when Amanda
“Please… don’t ask me to go with you, because if you do, I’ll go. Please don’t ask me to tell Frank about us, because I’ll do that, too. Please don’t ask me to give up my responsibilities or break up my family.”
She inhaled, gulping air like someone drowning. “I love you, and if you love me, too, then you just can’t ask me to do these things. Because I don’t trust myself enough to say no.”
“All right,” he finally whispered (p. 228).
It is never easy for Dawson to admit the truth that lies behind what Amanda’s sayings for Dawson always dreams of seeing Amanda and all he needs
is that he wants to spend time together again and he wants her to choose him. However, he knows that it is not right if he follows his ego because eventually it will not make Amanda happy after all.
Furthermore, Dawson’s kindness is found at the end of the story. He knows
that he cannot be together again with Amanda. However, he ever says once that he will give her the best of him someday. It is a coincidental when Amanda’s son has
an accident as same as Dawson. The thing that Dawson does to Amanda for a proof of his love and care to her is that by having his heart transplanted into Amanda’s son who needs it to keep him alive. Murphy (1972) has classified a method of describing a character that can be done through direct knowledge from the author. The writer finds out a direct knowledge from the author that states Dawson gives his life to save Jared’s life, Amanda’s son. It is described as follows.
Moreover, there is another statement as the continuance of the previous statement. The statement strengthens the proof that Dawson finally gives Amanda the best of himself. It is described as follows.
Dawson, she knew, had saved Alan’s life, but in the end, he’d saved Jared’s as well. And for her that meant… everything. I gave you the best
of me, he’d told her once, and with every beat of her son’s heart, she knew
he’d done exactly that (p. 333).
Therefore, Dawson’s kindness is the representative of a person who does
devote the feelings of love, care, and even life itself to the beloved one and others. Moreover, it is the part of Dawson’s portrayal as being a loving person.
B. The Development of Dawson’s Love
In the story, the author talks about love’s life of the main character, Dawson Cole. There are parts that tell about how Dawson falls in love with Amanda for the first time, how Dawson manages his relationship with Amanda when they finally become lovers, and how Dawson devotes his love to Amanda when he is separated with Amanda. In other words, Dawson’s love gives some influences on himself. Therefore, before the writer analyzes the influences of Dawson’s first love
on his life, the writer elaborates the development of Dawson’s love through the time in the story. There are three kinds of love regarding to Sternberg’s (1986: pp. 123-124) theory of love as the representation of the development of Dawson’s love as
a. Infatuated Love
The first kind of love that influences Dawson for the first time he falls in love with Amanda is infatuated love. According to Sternberg (1986), infatuated love is defined as love at first sight. Infatuated love mostly concerns on the feeling of sexual love that appears for the first time.
Dawson falls in love to Amanda at first sight when he was in high school. Sternberg (1986) concludes that the first phase of Dawson’s love, which is love at
first sight, is considered as infatuated love. He states that, “infatuated love or love at first sight is the result of the experiencing of passionate arousal in the absence of the intimacy and decision or commitment components of love” (p. 124). Dawson
begins to be attracted to Amanda as almost instantaneously as he starts to adore her. At first the time Dawson adores Amanda, it is because he simply considers Amanda as a pretty girl. Moreover, she is a popular girl who always be surrounded by friends. However, Dawson does not have a real conversation with Amanda until he is paired with Amanda as lab partners in chemistry class; it changes the perspective of Dawson that he finally falls in love with Amanda.
Though he’d known of Amanda for years — there was only one high school in Pamlico County and he’d gone to school with her most of his life — it wasn’t until the spring of his junior year that they exchanged more than a few words for the first time. He always thought she was pretty, but he wasn’t alone in that. She was popular, the kind of girl who sat surrounded by friends at a table in the cafeteria while boys vied for her attention, and she was not only class president but a cheerleader as well. Throw in the fact that she was rich, and she was as inaccessible to him as an actress on television. He never said a word to her until they were finally paired as lab partners in chemistry (p. 16).
and she is a collier because it does not make any different for her. It really surprises him for Dawson is a Cole. For Dawson, Amanda is the only girl he can think about even when she is not around. He often finds himself thinking about Amanda as he works in the garage. It takes a while until Dawson has courage to confess his feeling to Amanda. Starting from that day, Dawson and Amanda find themselves become closer to each other and they begin to spend more time together.
By the time Dawson turns into seventeen years old, he realizes that he is in love with Amanda because recently all he can think about is Amanda and mostly for the moments they have spent together have made him that being with Amanda is the most important part in his life. Besides, he finally makes a decision to spend the rest of his life with Amanda. It is clear that Dawson’s love, which is described
by Sternberg (1986) as infatuated love or a feeling that appears because of a strong attraction to someone at first sight. It leads Dawson to have a relationship with Amanda. Luckily, Dawson’s love does not dissipate by the time goes by because
infatuated love is also defined as a temporary love and it does not last long. b. Romantic Love
Dawson’s love does not dissipate as cause that it is considered as infatuated love. Instead of fading away, Dawson’s love grows more intense and intimate. It happens when Dawson commit to be together with Amanda. Moreover, Dawson wants to spend most of his time with Amanda. The feeling of physical attraction which appears at the first time Dawson falls in love with Amanda is eventually combined with the presence of intimacy and passion which means that Dawson’s
According to Sternberg (1986), “the combination between three components which are physical attraction, intimacy, and passion is defined as romantic love” (p. 124). Romantic love is a kind of love where the three components
are combined, so that romantic lovers are bounded emotionally and drawn physically to each other. Romantic love is also a kind of love that occurs when there is a commitment held in a relationship. In other words, the presence of physical attraction, intimacy, and passion is influenced of the committed relationship.
Dawson has made a commitment to love Amanda after he realizes that he falls in love with her as same as Amanda herself. It makes Dawson and Amanda begin to maintain a relationship from the commitment they have made. The statement that shows the relationship between Dawson and Amanda is stated as follows.
They stayed together the following year, growing even closer and spending every possible moment together. With Amanda, it was easy for him to be himself; with Amanda, he was content for the first time in his life. Even now, that final year together was sometimes all he could think about (p. 17).
Their relationship goes smoothly for years and it is filled with memories that they have created together. Dawson used to be at Tuck’s garage working on his car; meanwhile, Amanda sits there looking at Dawson’s working. There is no other
