THE MESSAGES OF HUMANITY REVEALED THROUGH
ELIOT’S VIEW ON HU
MANITY AS SEEN IN KURT
VONNEGUT,
JR’S
GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER, OR
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Muhammad Yanuariska Fajar Permana
Student Number: 124214125
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
THE MESSAGES OF HUMANITY REVEALED THROUGH
ELIOT
’S VIEW ON HUM
ANITY AS SEEN IN KURT
VONNEGUT,
JR’S
GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER, OR
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Muhammad Yanuariska Fajar Permana
Student Number: 124214125
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
vii
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW SLOW
YOU GO AS LONG AS YOU DON’T
STOP
-
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to send my greatest gratitude and praise to Allah
SWT and Prophet Muhammad SAW who give me strength, health, and guidance,
so I can finish my thesis. I would like to thank the following people: Drs.
Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for the time to assist and guide me to complete
this thesis with his ideas and suggestions, and Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum.as
my co-advisor for reviewing this thesis regarding the content of this thesis and
recommending some revisions. Besides, I also thank all lecturers of the English
Letters Study Program for giving me valuable knowledge during my study in
English Letters.
My deep gratitude also goes to my beloved family: my beloved father,
Alm. Soegiyono Sjakbani, may Allah SWT give you a peaceful rest, and my
mother, Siti Latifah, for giving me endless support and love. To my brother and
sister, I thank for the support so that I can finish this undergraduate thesis.
I would also give a ton of thanks to Oka, Rakha, Arsvin, Ali Faisal, Donny
Janu, Ajie Wibowo, Randy Wardhana, Hanif Isfahani, Kurniawan Agung, Rellyo
Hersoma, Dwigo, Christo, Gatot, Ikhsan, Noven, Anthony, Satrio, Dryan,
Gusnanputra, Kevin John, Asmara, Alex, Ino, Satya, Niko, Wisnu, Andi Malolo,
Hadrian, Amos, Dyda, Shuko, Ega, Hanif, Vicky, Diantama, Arif Purnomo Aji,
Umar Haen, Aziz, and Agum Saputro for always being by my side in good or bad
ix
Also I deliver personal thanks to Rozalina Heriansyah, Angeline Rebecca,
Pradina Fitryannisa, Sitoresmi Kriswardani, Julyan Adhitama, and Thesalonica
Gita for supporting me to write and finish this thesis since forever.
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... ii
APPROVAL PAGE ... iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... vi
a. Theories of Character and Characterization ... 8
b. Theory of Humanity ... 12
A. Eliot’s Character Characterized Based on His View on Humanity ... 21
B. The Messages Revealed through Eliot’s View on Humanity ... 36
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 44
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 46
xi ABSTRACT
PERMANA, MUHAMMAD YANUARISKA FAJAR. The Messages of
Humanity Revealed through Eliot's View on Humanity as Seen in Kurt Vonnegut, JR's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2017.
This study discusses the message that was revealed by the main character in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls before Swine, a novel which was published in 1965 written by an American writer named Kurt Vonnegut.
Two research problems are formulated in this study. The first is to find the characteristics of Eliot as the main character based on his view on humanity. the second is to find the message that is revealed from the way of Eliot views on humanity.
This study uses new criticism as the approach in analyzing the text content of the work. This approach emphasizes the intrinsic elements of the work. The
primary source of this study is a novel titled God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or
Pearls Before Swine by Kurt Vonnegut. The secondary source of this research consists of books, journals, and articles discussing theories or reviews about new criticism approach, character and characterization, humanity, and messages. Then, the researcher applies these theories to answer all the formulated problems.
The results of this analysis are as follows. The main character in the story of Eliot Rosewater is described as a sympathetic person. In the past, he accidentally killed three unarmed men, therefore he was feeling guilty. Later, because of his own feeling guilty in the past, he wants to atone by helping each
other people who are less fortunate. Eliot’s sympathetic also described as a
xii ABSTRAK
PERMANA, MUHAMMAD YANUARISKA FAJAR. The Messages of
Humanity Revealed through Eliot's View on Humanity as Seen in Kurt Vonnegut, JR's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2017.
Studi ini membahas pesan yang terungkap dari karakter utama dalam God
Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine, sebuah novel yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1965 karya penulis Amerika bernama Kurt Vonnegut.
Dua masalah telah dirumuskan dalam penelitian ini. Pertama adalah menemukan karakteristik dari Eliot sebagai tokoh utama yang menggambarkan cara pandang dia dalam kemanusiaan. Kedua adalah menemukan pesan yang terungkap dari cara Eliot memandang kemanusiaan.
Penelitian ini menggunakan kritik sastra baru sebagai metode pendekatan dalam menganalisis isi teks karya tersebut. Pendekatan ini menekankan pada elemen intrinsik dari karya tersebut. Sumber utama penelitian ini adalah novel
berjudul God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine oleh Kurt
Vonnegut. Sumber sekunder dari penelitian ini adalah buku, jurnal, dan artikel yang membahas teori atau ulasan mengenai pendekatan kritik sastra baru, tokoh dan penokohan, kemanusiaan, dan pesan. Penulis lalu mengaplikasikan teori-teori tersebut untuk menjawab semua rumusan masalah.
1
express his/her feeling whether to criticize, appreciate, or just express a personal
experience that happen from time to time. The authors express their feelings or
imagination through the literary works such as poems, drama, and novels.
One of the literary works that is worth to analyze is a novel. The novel is
imaginative literature which has been invented by the author’s imagination.
Abrams states that
the term "novel" is now applied to a great variety of writings that have in
common only the attribute of being extended works of fiction written in
prose. As an extended narrative, the novel is distinguished from the short
story and from the work of middle length called the novelette; its magnitude permits a greater variety of characters, greater complication of plot (or plots), ampler development of milieu, and more sustained exploration of character and motives than do the shorter, more concentrated modes (1999: 190).
The representation of human beings found in novel contains several
important messages related to humanity. Through the novel the reader can
understand the problems that exist in the society today. The novel also can enrich
the reader values of the human being. Furthermore, Barry explains that
In this thesis, the researcher wants to analyze one of the novels by the
author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., God Bless You, Mr.Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine.
There are several reasons that make the researcher choose this novel for this
study. First, the literary works of Vonnegut mostly talk about love and human
being or humanity. Then, it becomes the characteristics of his style in writing a
story such as novel that he emphasizes the idea about his life experience or the
social issues. Second, it is the way of Vonnegut represent between love and
humanity through the main character in this story with some addition of sarcasm
and humor in the words chosen.
In God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine the storycenters
on the fortune of a philanthropic multi-million dollar organization, the Rosewater
Foundation with Eliot Rosewater as the main character of the novel and the
president of the foundation. At first, he spends the family fortune in donating
money to fight cancer, mental illness, race prejudice, police brutality, and
countless other miseries.
There is a clause in the Foundation stating that if the president of the
Foundation is judged insane, the control of the Foundation must be shifted to the
nearest blood relative, in this case, Fred Rosewater of Pisquontuit, Rhode Island.
From his office in Rosewater, Eliot answers phone calls and accepts visitors that
need his help, it could be financial or merely his listening ear. Eliot is simply
giving people money and sending them to their way. He listens to their problems,
hopes, and dreams. He focuses on the needs of the poor with a private and
Senator Rosewater or Eliot’s father just seems to fundamentally
misunderstand what his son is trying to accomplish in Rosewater. Eliot’s father
seems to think that Eliot's mission to bring love to the people of Rosewater is
some sort of egotistical project; he is clearly suspicious of Eliot's capacity to love
all people solely for their humanity.
In this study, the researcher chooses God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or
Pearls Before Swine because Kurt Vonnegut tends to draw the message through
the humanity. The researcher tries to explore the message through the character, the character’s idea of humanity in the novel, because the researcher wants to get
the message. Messages and characters are two of some important elements of
literary works. Messages can give moral value to the readers. Characters are also
important elements because without characters, the story will not be a complete.
Therefore the researcher limits the study focusing only on the character and
message which are closely related to new criticism.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is Eliot’s character characterized based on his view on humanity?
2. What messages are revealed through the way Eliot views humanity?
C. Objectives of the Study
By observing the problem formulation above, there are two objetives of
this study to be achieved. First, the researcher finds out Eliot’s characteristic, the
main character of Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls
Before Swine, who characterizes the view of humanity. Second, the researcher
of the characteristics of Eliot, his views on humanity, and the messages are
presented in chapter IV of this study.
D. Definition of Terms
The followings are the important terms used in this study to be clarified to
provide an accurate analysis and a clearer explanation in order to avoid confusion
and misunderstanding. The important terms used in this study are the message,
character, and humanity.
Message is one of the other elements in literary works. A message in
literary is sometimes explicit and sometimes implicit. A message often gives a
lesson to the readers as a human being which is the lesson that is exists in the
society. Barry states that literature is overwhelmingly moral; its purpose is to
teach us about life, to transmit humane values (2002: 20).
Characters are the important elements of literature because they inhabit
the story and build the reader’s interest. Abrams says that characters are the
persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the
reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and emotional
qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of
saying it—the dialogue— and from what they do—the action (1999: 32).
According to Kennedy, “character is imagined person who involved in a
story”. Kennedy also states that characters in the story can be divided into two
types, namely the major character and minor character. “The major character
Meanwhile, minor character that supports and complete the existence of the major
character” (1983: 45).
Humanity means the quality or state being kind to other people or to
animals. Debbarma states that humanity is to achieve unity among the living and
non-living creatures of the world with the preservation of historical, ethnic and
cultural differences as well as the distinctiveness of nation states and
communities. Such human unity can be driven home only by recognizing human
values such as truth, kindness, benevolence, peace, love, dignity, respect,
6 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
In this part, the researcher tries to use the review of other related studies or
article that have previously been done by other researcher.
In the beginning of review of related studies, the researcher found a paper
which is related to this study, the title of the paper is “Messages Conveyed in The
Blind Pig Related to Jackson’s View on Crime World: A New Criticism Study”
by Alstonia Epafras (2008) from Sanata Dharma University. In his study, Epafras
explains messages from the way Jon A. Jackson as the author view crime through
the characters and setting.
Epafras has two purposes in writing his thesis. First, Efapras wants to find
the idea that represent the author view on crime as revealed by analyzing the
characters and setting. Second, Efapras wants to know the message in the novel
that related to the author views on crime.
Efapras’s research insipires the researcher to apply the theory of
characterization to get the messages of the literary work. The differences of this study to Efapras’s is that this study explores theory of characterization and theory
of humanity to explain clearly about the Eliot’s characteristic that characterized
his view on humanity. In his study, Efapras wrote about messages which revealed by the author views on crime. Thus, he also mentions about the author’s
characteristics and messages that revealed on the text on the work itself without concerning the author’s biography.
The researcher finds some criticism and comments on Kurt Vonnegut’s
work. Robert T. Tally, Jr, A Postmodern Iconography: Vonnegut and the Great
American Novel said that all Vonnegut novels express an image of American life
and the idea of the humanities.
Vonnegut's novels present a sprawling image of the multiplicity of American life, expressing the human, all-too-human, condition of its varied inhabitants (2011: 164).
Another related study comes from Matthew Praxmarer untitled Kurt
Vonnegut's Early Novels: Searching for Meaning in a Meaningless World. He stated that Vonnegut’s work concerned about society's problems which face the
modern era. Through the novel Vonnegut continuously warns humankind of our
worst misbehaviors, from war and poverty to political corruption. He is
sometimes understood as nihilist, and scholars like Peter J. Reed argues that Vonnegut’s cynicism and nihilism constitute his main theme. However, Vonnegut
is working to warn humankind of our worst follies before it is too late. (2011:80). As seen in the Vonnegut’s novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls
before Swine which is Eliot Rosewater as he inheriting a fortune as a president of
the foundation that the interesting sums about 87 million dollars, he did help the
poverty and the uselessness people. As he imagine to creates a utopia country.
Humanity must be empowered; life must be raised (2011: 59).
Then, the researcher also finds and reads an undergraduate thesis, which
Characters in Yasunari Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness by Indarsih from Sanata
Dharma University. In her study, Indarsih draws some messages from the way the
characters view love in the novel. Indarsih’s study has three purposes in writing
her undergraduate thesis. Firstly, Linangkung wants to find the character and
characterization in the novel. Secondly, she wants to describe the way the
characters in the story view love. Thirdly, Indarsih wants to know the message
which is revealed by the way the characters views love. She describes all the
characters in the novel that have different characteristics and different views on
love, but they are related to one another.
This undergraduate thesis has some similarity to Indarsih’s undergraduate
thesis in terms of message through the characters and the way the characters view.
It reflects messages based on the characters, the way the characters view
something such as love. This thesis describes the main character’s characteristic.
However, the focus of this study has a different perspective from Indarsih’s thesis,
which is viewing the humanity shown by Eliot Rosewater, and then drawing some
messages from it.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theories of Character and Characterization
A character in a literary work is very important because a character is the one that inhabits the plot of the story and the one that brings the reader’s
interpretation to understand the story itself. Green and LeBihan explain what a
character means. Characters are engaged in a conventional arrangement, which
attempting interpersonal dialogue in order to keep the communication channels
between them open (2001: 31).
To talk about characters, Bennett and Royles define characters as real
people and they explain that there are three requirements of a character to be
called like real people.
The first requirement for such a character is to have a plausible name and to say and do things that seem convincingly like the kinds of things people
say and do in so-called ‘real life’. The second requirement is a certain
complexity. Without this complexity, a character appears merely ‘one -dimensional’, cardboard or (in E.M. Forster’s terms) ‘flat’ (Forster 1976, 73). To be life-like, a fictional character should have a number of different
traits – traits or qualities which may be conflicting or contradictory: he or
she should be, to some extent, unpredictable, his or her words and actions should appear to originate in multiple impulses. Thirdly, however, these tensions, contradictions, multiplicities should cohere in a single identity (2004: 62).
On the other hand, characters in the novel is divided into two categories.
They are a major character and minor character. A major character mostly appears
in the story. A major character according to Henkle, becomes the focus of the
story because major character inhabits the story itself and brings the reader’s
interpretation. The events of the story always involve him or her whether directly
or indirectly. Meanwhile, the role of the minor character is as the supporting
character from the major character. The major character has played on an
important role in a story because he or she takes a part in most of the story (1977:
88). A minor character, according to Kennedy is supports and completes the
existence of the major character (1983: 45). In accordance with Kennedy’s
explanation, Abrams seems to agree with that explanation. The roles of the minor
developed characters and his or her roles in a story is just to support the
development of the major character (1999: 20).
In the intrinsic elements, characters are the actors involved in the plot of
the story, including their moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities. Abrams got
new terms to distinguish the kind of character in a story. He introduced flat and
round characters.
A flat character is a character of a single idea or quality and does not have much individualizing detail. A round character is a character of complex ideas in temperament and motivation and this character can surprise us just like the person in a real life (Abrams, 1999: 33).
Charactes are closely related with characterization. Characterization
discusses the presence of people in the story in which it portrays on the character’s action, speech, or physical appearance. One character can be
differentiated with another character because they have their own personality and
physical attributes.
Murphy (1972: 161-173) explains some details of the way how to
characterize a character in a novel. He explains through the nine ways in order to
make the reader aware in characterizing the character’s personality.
a. Personal Description
The author can describe a character’s appearance like the face, body, cloth
of the character. The personal description is very important because it can give
clues to the character.
b. Character as Seen by Another
Instead of describing a character directly the author can depict him
c. Speech
The author can give some clues or insight to the character through what
the character says. Whenever the character is having a conversation with another,
he or she indirectly gives a clue for the readers to interpret what their
characteristic is.
d. Past Life
By permitting the readers learn something about people past life, the
author can give some clues to the events that have helped to shape a person
character.
e. Conversation of others
The author can also give the reader some clues to person’s character
through the conversation of other people and the thing they say about him.
f. Reaction
The author can also give the readers some clues to a person’s character by
permitting us know how that person reacts to various situation and events.
g. Direct Comment
The author can give the readers direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about what is the person’s mind and he feels reflect on his character.
h. Thoughts
The author gives the reader direct knowledge of what a person is thinking
i. Mannerism
The character’s mannerism and habits in his or her life can describe the
character’s personality.
2. Theory of Humanity
Based on the Webster’s New Explorer Encyclopedic Dictionary, humanity
means the quality or state of being kind to other people or to animals (2006: 980).
That definition is being agreed by Debbarma in his journal.
It is believed that various global and national problems may be solved through the practical application of human values in every society. In order to fulfil this, goal humanity is to be considered as the highest value in the global human society. For, the test for humanity is to achieve unity among the living and non-living creatures of the world with the preservation of historical, ethnic and cultural differences as well as the distinctiveness of nation states and communities. Such human unity can be driven home only by recognizing human values such as truth, kindness, benevolence, peace, love, dignity, respect, forgiveness, etc (2014: 2). According to Dean, humanity must be treated as an inwardly goal. From
another point of view the principle of humanity must be understood as a necessity
of creating an efficient policy whose final goal is to reach the submission of the
human rights. In the principle of humanity vision all human beings who suffer
must be helped, wherever they are (2006: 79).
Moreover, Vanier (2007: 19) states that there are five principles of
humanity. As follow:
a. All humans are sacred, whatever their culture, race, religion, whatever
their capacities and incapacities, whatever their strengths and weaknesses may be.
All of us need help in order to become all that we may be. For example, if we are
find ourselves. We are all sacred and shouldn’t be treated differently for anything
about us.
b. Our world and our individual lives are in the process of evolving, how
we think about the way we looked at things in the past, and learning about how
those things in the past live in the future. Things like peace, love, unity, and
especially the necessity of forgiveness.
c. Maturity comes through working with others. We have to belong and
find each other.
d. Humans need to be encouraged to make choices. We need to become
responsible for ourselves and for the lives of others as well.
e. In order to make choices, we need to reflect and to seek truth and
meaning. We need to stay connected to our reality and what’s going on in our
world. We need to accept ourselves and others as we and they are.
3. Theory of Message
Message is one of elements of any work art that can be found intentionally
or unintentionally. According to Beaty and Hunter a message is defined as the real
meaning or some essay conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside
work of art (1989: 899). It means that message is the main basic that can cover the
whole idea of a certain work of art. It gives the illusion for the reader that certain
literary work exist to attempt the readers to get the real meaning of life through
According to Hudson, message is good when made by literary work itself.
The good message is not about follow the rule or pattern about norm in society.
But, a good message makes new pattern based on human values (1958: 23). A
good message gives different perspective and understanding to people based on
human values.
Every work of literature offers a message, and there are many messages
conveyed. The kind of message that occurs in a literary work depends on the author’s belief, wish, and interest that want to be delivered to the readers. The
messages are closely related to the problems in our daily life, such as attitude and
behavior. The readers can find them in real life, in the same manner as they are
reflected in the story through the characters.
C. Theoretical Framework
This is the part of the explanation on how the theories which have been
mentioned before are applied in this study. Since the focus of this study is on the
analysis of revealing the messages through the main character, Eliot Rosewater, in Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine. So, the
researcher uses some books that consist of many theories to help in analyzing the
story.
To analyze the first problem that is to find the main character in the novel,
the researcher uses the theories from Abrams, Andre Bennett and Nicholas
Royles, and Keith Green and Jill LeBihan. Their theory will help the researcher to
researcher to differentiate the character into two categories, the major character
and minor character.
Abrams’s theory about character is also helpful to distinguish the
complexity of the nature of the character, in which he introduces a flat and a
round character. By using that theory, the researcher can analyze what kind of
character Eliot Rosewater is and can also determine whether Eliot Rosewater is
flat or round character.
To analyze the main character, the researcher need the knowledge on how
to reveal the characteristics. Therefore, some theories of characterization are
needed in the analysis to characterize the main character. The theories of
characterization from Abrams and Murphy give various method characterization.
Abrams explaines that the method of characterizing the main character is by
showing and telling. The theory from Murphy is also used to gain the methods of
characterization in which he explains the detail of how the character fiction is
portrayed in nine ways.
Then, the theory of humanity is to show how the main character, Eliot
Rosewater, views humanity. So, by analyzing the main character’s view on
humanity, the researcher can draw some messages by applying the theory of
message provided by Beaty, Hunter, and Hudson. Theresore, the researcher can
16 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The literary work that the researcher analyzes in this study is Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine. The novel
itself was first published in 1965 by Dial Press Trade Paperback. This novel
consists of 288 pages and is divided into 14 chapters. God Bless You,
Mr.Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine was written by an American author Kurt
Vonnegut.
Kurt Vonnegut in full Kurt Vonnegut, Jr was born in Indianapolis,
November 11, 1922. As a teenager, Vonnegut wrote for his high school
newspaper, and he continued the activity at Cornell University in Ithaca, New
York, where he majored in biochemistry. He was later employed as a public
relations writer in New York, but his reservations about what he considered the
deceitfulness of the profession led him to pursue fiction writing full-time. He was
once a volunteer fireman in Alpaus, New York-Badge 155. He writes books,
magazine pieces, and book reviews. The work of Kurt Vonnegut was known for
his satirical novels that frequently used postmodern techniques as well as
elements of fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of
20th-century civilization. Much of Vonnegut’s work is marked by an essentially
(http://www.biography.com/people/kurt-vonnegut-9520329#later-years. January
23, 2017).
In God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine the story no ony
centers on the title character, an eccentric philanthropist, but also introduces the
writer Kilgore Trout, a fictional alter ego of Vonnegut who appears throughout his
work. Furthermore, the story of the novel is a satirical story of a millionaire Eliot
Rosewater, the president of a fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, who suffers
from total love for all humanity. He decides to go his own way and moves with
his money to Rosewater, Indiana. There he becomes a volunteer fireman (one of
his obsessions) and opens an office where he helps all people who need help
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/books/12vonnegut.html. December 12,
2016).
In this study, the researcher focuses on the character and searches for the
message of the novel so that the reader understands the messages can get.
Therefore, by the explanation about the novel above, the researcher intends to
focus on the main characters’ thoughts and acts towards humanity to reveal the
message.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the researcher uses a new criticism approach because it is
appropriate for this study, as the analysis of this study deals intrinsic elements of a
literary work such as characters and messages. Harmon and Holman state that
Green and LeBihan state that new criticism rejects the claims of the author
and focuses on ‘the words on the page’. The ‘meaning’ of a text is to be found in
the arrangement of the words of the text and not in other factors such as the reader’s psychology, the author’s intention or the historical context (2001: 186).
Furthermore, Selden, Widdowson, and Brooker give their opinion about new
criticism. They explain that issue as follows:
But whatever the socio-cultural explanations for its provenance, New Criticism is clearly characterized in premise and practice: it is not
concerned with context – historical, biographical, intellectual and so on; it
is not interested in the ‘fallacies’ of ‘intention’ or ‘affect’; it is concerned solely with the ‘text in itself’, with its language and organization; it does not seek a text’s ‘meaning’, but how it ‘speaks itself’ (2005: 19).
The researcher chooses the new criticism approach because messages,
characters and characterization are parts of the intrinsic elements. The researcher
does not deal with extrinsic elements such as the social-historical backgrounds of
the literary work or the life of the author.
C. Method of the Study
There were many steps in analyzing this novel. In order to complete the
analysis, the researcher used access from the internet and the library. There were
two kinds of resources used in this study, the primary source and the secondary
source.
The primary source of this study was the novel God Bless You, Mr.
Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine by Kurt Vonnegut. Meanwhile, the secondary
source of this study was obtained from books and the internet related to the theory
and theory of formalism. For example, Introduction to Literature, Criticism, and
Theory by Bennett and Royle, Critical Theory and Practice: A Coursebook by
Green and LeBihan, A Glossary of Literary Terms by Abrams, Aspects of the
Novel by Forster, Understanding Unseen by Murphy, New World of Literature by
Beaty and Hunter, The Value of Humanity in Kant’s Moral Theory by Dean, and
etc.
Furthermore, this study also provided the data from the internet in order to
enrich the knowledge in analyzing the novel. The researcher searched for the data
by browsing in the internet. There were many of the data that can be found in
some websites in order to support this study.
There were some steps that the researcher had done in order to complete
this study. The first step, the researcher read the novel many times to get more
feel about the novel and easily understand the plot since this study applied the
close reading. The researcher observed the characters of the novel since this study
dealt with characters. The researcher found the main character of the novel, Eliot
Rosewater.
The second step, the researcher took a note from each chapter to keep the
important information and obtained a clear description of the characteristics of
Eliot Rosewater. It was done because the researcher wanted to reveal the moral
messages by Eliot’s view on humanity. The researcher needed to understand
Eliot’s view on humanity from his act, attitude, or manner.
The final step after knowing the characteristics of Eliot Rosewater and
revealed by Eliot Rosewater. Then, the researcher wrote an analysis to answer the
problem formulation in the previous chapter. In analyzing the particular problem
formulation, the researcher used some books and the data from the internet to
support the analysis.
Finally, the researcher drew some conclusion. In drawing conclusion, the
researcher concluded from all analyses, starting with the description of the main
character in the novel, how the main character views humanity, and what
messages are revealed from the analysis in problem formulation number one and
21 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter aims to answer the formulated problems that have been stated
in chapter I. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part describes Eliot Rosewater’s characteristics as the major character in Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless
You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine based on his view on humanity.
Meanwhile, the second part analyzes the messages are revealed through the way
Eliot views on humanity.
A. Eliot’s Character Characterized Based on His View on Humanity
This section deals with the characteristics of Eliot Rosewater as the main character in Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before
Swine. According to Henkle, major character has fullness of details and becomes
the focus of the story (1977: 88). Eliot is the main character since he dominates
the story and he appears from the beginning until the end of the story.
The story begins when Eliot inherits the Rosewater Foundation with worth
$87,472,033.61. Eliot Rosewater is a member of a rich family and the son of a
Republican senator. After serving in the Second World War, Eliot is hospitalized
for war tiredness in Paris, where he meets Sylvia who becomes his wife.
Eliot drinks heavily, but he is able to hold his liquor, and for five or six years lives
respectably with Sylvia in a New York townhouse and runs the Foundation from
an upscale office. However, his drinking gets out of hand, and his mental health
he remains sober and acts in a normal way, but then the psychiatrist tells Sylvia
that Eliot is too well-defended to be treatable. Soon after, Eliot disappears and
goes to his family's home, Rosewater County in Indiana, where he gives small
sums of money to poor people when they ask for help. Sylvia joins him for a
while and helps him in his work. However, she leaves afterwards and, for a while,
becomes hard and unfeeling.
Eliot is also considered as a round character in the story because he
changes at the end of the story.. In God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls
Before Swine, Eliot is described as a drunken, fat, and untidy person but loves
helping people who cannot help themselves. He is preparing to go to meet Sylvia.
His father visits and is angry with him. After the Senator leaves, Eliot finishes
dressing and goes to catch his Greyhound bus. He does not even recognize a
Rosewater Foundation client whom he have been talking to and comforting,
almost every day. It is some months later before he comes to himself again. Eliot’s father is surprised as his son has his athletic body back. His father is there
very happy because he believes his son is cured although at first Eliot is does not
want to be treated or to go to a psychiatrist.
In order to analyze the characteristics of Eliot Rosewater, the researcher
uses the theory of characterization proposed by Murphy. According to Murphy
there are nine ways to find out the description of a certain character in the novel.
Those are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life,
order to determine the characteristics of Eliot, several ways of Murphy’s theory
are applied in this study.
1. Sympathetic
Murphy states that past life gives information to the readers in order to obtain a clue or information about events which help to shape a person’s character
(1972: 166). Eliot used to be a fireman during the World War Two, and then there
was a smoke-filled in a clarinet factory infested by S.S. troops. At that time, Eliot
led a platoon of the firemen in an assault, but he went in with a riffle and fixed
bayonet because of the danger of shooting one of his own men in the smoke
(Vonnegut, 1965: 76). Even though he had never stuck a bayonet before. Eliot
accidently kills three unarmed firemen. At first, Eliot thinks that they are the
Germans because of the level of the smoke in his eyes so that he cannot see them.
It was true: Eliot had killed three unarmed firemen. They were ordinary villages, engaged in the brave and uncontroversial business of trying to keep a building from combining with oxygen.
When the medics got the masks of the three Eliot had killed, they proved to be two old men and a boy. The boy was the one Eliot had bayoneted. He didn’t look more than fourteen (Vonnegut, 1965: 77).
Eliot looks so stiff and rigid after knowing the three men that he had killed, and one of those was a boy around fourteen. “They found out Eliot was
stiff, so rigid. He stayed like that for twelve hours, and would not speak or eat”
(Vonnegut, 1965: 77). It is described as what Murphy states that the way a person
reacts to various situations and events gives the readers information about a person’s character (1972: 168). In this case, Eliot seems to look guilty for killing
shape Eliot’s character as a sympathetic person. He would take care and spreads
love and peace for people in order to atone the memory of past events of his own
guilt feelings.
Eliot’s character as a sympathetic person can be seen from his speech.
According to Murphy, one’s character can be seen when a character speaks, has
conversation with others, and puts forward an opinion (1972: 164). In this case, it
can be seen from the telephone conversation between Eliot and his wife, Sylvia.
Eliot shows that he has a desire to help the people in Rosewater Country.
“I look at these people, these Americans,” Eliot went on, “and I realize that they can’t even care about themselves anymore—because they have
no use. The factory, the farms, the mines across the river—they’re almost
completely automatic now. And Americans doesn’t even need these
people for war—not anymore. Sylvia—I’m going to be an artist.”
“An Artist?”
“I’m going to love these discarded Americans, even though they’re useless and unattractive.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 47).
Through the Eliot’s conversation with Sylvia depicts that Eliot has a desire
to help each other because he thinks people becoming useless as they are losing
their job cause by the condition of the factory, farms, or mines are automatically
be done by a machines. Besides, Eliot is a chief of the Rosewater Foundation with
a big sum of money so that with his power and money, Eliot is able to help the
people.
Eliot’s desire to help each other can also be seen from what other
characters say about Eliot. Murphy explains that a person’s character can be
described through the opinions of other characters (1972: 162). In this case, Diana
Moon Glampers comments on how Eliot takes care of everybody, and gives a
“You gave up everything a man is supposed to want, just to help the little people, and the little people know it. God bless you, Mr. Rosewater. Good night.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 74).
The other description that shows Eliot’s sympathetic can also be seen
when helping baptizing Mary Moody’s children. Eliot helps baptizing because
there is nobody that would do the baptism. The following is proof of Eliot as a
sympathetic person.
“Congratulate Mary Moody on her twins.” “I will. I’ll be baptizing them tomorrow.”
“I—I didn’t know you—you did things like that,” said Sylva carefully “I couldn’t get out of it,” said Eliot. “She insisted on it, and nobody else would do it.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 109).
The quotation above gives a clue that Eliot is a sympathetic person. He
feels sympathy because there is nobody that would do the baptizing. Therefore he
helps to baptize the twins of Mary Moody. There is a consequence that it wouldn’t
be counted in Heaven as Eliot realizes that he is not a religious person. Still, he
would like to help the baptizing.
Eliot’s sympathetic can also be seen from how he reacts to various
situations. According to Muprhy, the way a person reacts to various situations and events also gives the readers information about a person’s character (1972: 168).
Eliot’s desire for helping the people is not only for who those ask him for help
but also whenever he sees that the people need help without asking him. The
following is an example of how Eliot reacts to a certain situations. It is when he is
on his way to Indianapolis, specifically at the Saw City Kandy Kitchen. There is a
girl, Tawny Wainwright, who gets pregnant by her stepfather, meanwhile, her
Eliot arrived at the Saw City Kandy Kitchen without further incident. Only the proprietor and one customer were inside. The customer was a fourteen-year-old nymphet, pregnant by her stepfather, which stepfather was in prison now. The foundation was paying for her medical care. It had also reported the stepfather’s crime to the police, had subsequently hired him the best Indiana lawyer that money could buy (Vonnegut, 1965: 195-196).
From the explanation above, Eliot feels sympathy for what happens to that
girl. Therefore, Eliot helps her by paying her medical care for the surgery and for
the baby birth and hires the best lawyer so that her stepfather can get out of the
prison. When the child is born, he or she would be grown up with a father figure
which can teach him how to be a man or woman.
There is also another description which shows that Eliot is a sympathetic
person. When Eliot helps Noyes to get paroled from the prison. As follow:
In 1934, Noyes strangled his sixteen-year-old wife for notorious infidelity, went to prison for life. Now he was paroled, thanks to Eliot. He was fifty-one. He had no friends, no relatives. Eliot found out about his being prison by accident, while leafing through old copies of The Rosewater Country Clarion Call, made it his business to get him paroled.
Noyes was quiet, cynical, resentful man. He has never thanked Eliot for anything. Eliot was neither hurt nor startled (Vonnegut, 1965: 186-187).
From the explanation above, it shows that Eliot is a sympathetic person.
He helps Noyes Finnerty, who goes to prison for killing his wife. Noyes does not
have any friends nor relatives. Eliot thinks that Noyes goes into prison by
accident. So, that is why Eliot is trying to help Noyes to get out of prison.
Meanwhile, Noyes has never thanked Eliot for helping him before, but Eliot never
hurt or startled.
Sympathetic is feeling or showing concern about someone who is in a bad
something (Webster, 2006:1390). In the novel, the researcher knows that Eliot is a
sympathetic person because there are some people that in bad situations such as
lack of money, he regards them with giving money. It can be seen when Eliot
receives a phone call from a man who is about to commit suicide, Sherman
Wesley.
“Sherman Wesley Little,” wrote Eliot. “Indy, Su-TDM-LO-V2-W3K3-K2CP-RF $300.” Decoded, this meant that Little was from Indianapolis, was a suicidal-tool and-die maker who had been laid off, a veteran of the Second World War with a wife and three children, the second child suffering from cerebral palsy. Eliot had awarded him a Rosewater Fellowship of $300 (Vonnegut, 1965: 93).
From the explanation above, it can be identified that Eliot is a sympathetic
person because he feels sympathy for Sherman Wesley for trying to kill himself as
he has three children, one of which suffers a brain disease. So, Eliot credits him a
check with a $300 value to prevent from suicide and Eliot thinks that with the
$300 check, it could help him to do a surgery for his child. There is also another
part of the story which shows that characteristic of Eliot is a sympathetic person
as follows.
The old man wasn’t a drunk or a pervert or anything. He was simply old, and a widower, and shot full of cancer, and his son in the Strategic Air Command never wrote, and his personality wasn’t much. Booze upset him. The Rosewater Foundation had given him a grant for morphine, which his doctor prescribed (Vonnegut, 1965: 191-192).
From the quotation above, the researcher can identify Eliot’s characteristic
from his reaction. The author gives a clue by describing how a person reacts to
various situations. The narration above gives the researcher a clue how Eliot
reacts when he feels sympathy for what happens to that old man. So, Eliot helps
Eliot’s sympathetic is because he feels sympathy for the condition that
afflicts in the Rosewater Country. He is sympathy because of the condition that
almost the factory is run automatically by machines, not only the factory but also
the farms and the mines. Within that condition, it presumes that most of all the
people in the Rosewater Country lose their job and it affects their economic
conditions. Therefore, becoming a chief of a foundation, ELiot is willing to help
the little people.
“In time, almost all men and women will become worthless as producers of goods, food, services, and more machines, as sources of practical ideas
in the areas of economics, engineering, and probably medicine, too. So—if
we can’t find reasons and methods for treasuring human beings because they are human beings, then we might as well, as has so often been suggested, rub them out.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 210).
He started talking to some idlers there about how the government ought to divide up the wealth of the country equally, instead of some people having more than they could ever use, and others having nothing. (Vonnegut, 1965: 43).
From the explanation above, the researcher can conclude that Eliot is a
sympathetic person. He feels sympathy, however, he thinks that the government
should be equally divided up the wealth of the people, and he thinks that it is
unfair in the way how could be someone born as a rich and some other are born as
a poor.
To support how sympathetic Eliot is with the people in Rosewater
Country, it can be seen from the conversation between Eliot and his father.
Through that conversation, Eliot tells that if a government divides things up fairly
people a little hope not to worry about money or anything else because life is
already hard enough.
“I think it’s terrible the way people don’t share things in this country. I
think it’s a heartless government that will let one baby be born owning a
big piece of the country, the way I was born, and let another baby be born without owning anything. The least a government could do, it seems to me, is to divide things up fairly among the babies. Life is hard enough, without people having to worry themselves sick about money, too. There’s a plenty for everybody in this country, if we’ll only share more.”
“And just what do you think that would do to incentive?”
“You mean fright about not getting enough to eat, about not being able to pay the doctor, about not being able to give your family nice clothes, a safe, cheerful, comfortable place to live, a decent education, and a few
good times” (Vonnegut, 1965: 104).
From what he says, it can be identified that he feels sympathy about the
poor people which do not have enough for living, such as not having enough
money to eat when they are hungry, being unable to pay the doctor when they are
sick, or even being unable to pay for the education. Also, in that conversation,
there is a tension between Eliot and his father. Eliot does not like the way the
government or the rich people treat the little people that are less fortune.
Moreover, the the factory, farms, or mines in Rosewater Country are mostly being
done automatically by machines so that it makes the people that used to work in
that factories, farms, or mines are lose their job and useless. It affects their
economic condition. Now they are difficult to find their earnings and worry to not
having any money. Because of his sympathetic feelings, he wants to concern with
the way that the rich people are not willing to share some of their earnings with
those people who are in need. Also, because of his feeling of sympathy and the
big sum of money of the foundation so that he wants to help the little people who
All the explanation above also supports the idea of how Eliot views
humanity. He feels that if he share a little more of his fortune, it would give them
a little hope. So, that those people do not have to worry themselves about money,
especially not to worry about being able to get enough to eat, to pay the doctor, to
pay the education, and so on. It is appropriate with the Dean’s and Vanier’s
statements, which is in the principle of humanity vision all human beings who
suffer must be helped, wherever they are. In this case, Eliot seems to concern with
the societal condition in the Rosewater Country in which some of the people are
born rich and some others are born poor. It makes him feel sympathy with that
condition. In addition, most people lose their job because almost all of the
factories, farms, or mines use machines to finish their work. So, his nature is
moved to help sharing more of the foundation earnings with those people who are
in need.
It is also can be seen when Eliot is trying to help the people, whoever he
sees and whenever they need help. His characteristic is being sympathetic not out
of his feeling guilty in the past life by killing unarmed men, but he is trying to
atone his own guilt by being kind and helping each other people. It is accordance with the Vanier’s second principle of humanity, which is our world and our
individual lives are in the process of evolving, how we think about the way we
looked at things in the past, and learning about how those things in the past live in
the future. Things like peace, love, unity, and especially the necessity of
learning that as a human being people should bringing peace and love, instead of
making a war.
Furthermore, Debbarma states that such humanity can be driven home
only by recognizing human values such as truth, kindness, benevolence, peace,
love, dignity, respect, forgiveness, etc. (2014:2). In this case, there is such as a
person who is being ungrateful gets helped by Eliot, for example Noyes Finnerty.
Eliot shows him forgiveness for being ungrateful by not take it personally. Also,
he still has the desire to help other people, and people as human beings are
supposed to help each others, which is considered as human nature.
Eliot’s sympathic also can be seen from the way he becomes attentive.
Eliot’s attentive is being a good listener by listening to those people’s problem
tirelessly. From his office in Rosewater, Eliot answers phone calls and accepts
visitors that need his help, it could be financial or merely his listening ear. The
office has signs in the windows and in the door proclaiming "ROSEWATER
FOUNDATION HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?" (Vonnegut, 1965: 62). Besides that, there is also a sticker with the sign ‘Don’t Kill Yourself. Call the Rosewater
Foundation’ in every phone booth and in the back windows of the cars and trucks
of firemen including the foundation’s number in it (Vonnegut, 1965: 90).
“There’s this big black and yellow sticker in the phone booth. Says, ‘Don’t Kill Yourself. Call the Rosewater Foundation,’ and it got your number.” Such stickers were in every phone booth in the country, and in the back windows of the cars and trucks of most of the volunteer firemen, too (Vonnegut, 1965: 90).
In other words, Eliot focuses on the needs of the poor with more private,
donating large sums of money to various causes. The example is when Eliot
receives a phone call from a fretful man, Sherman Wesley.
“Mr. Rosewater—“ said a fretful man, “you don’t know me.” “Did someone tell you that mattered?”
“I’m nothing, Mr. Rosewater. I’m worse than nothing.” “Then God made a pretty bad mistake, didn’t he?”
“Maybe you brought your complaint to the right place.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 90).
The conversation above shows that Wesley has brought his complaint to
the right place. It shows that Eliot is ready to be the ear to Wesley’s problems.
Along with the conversation, he asks too many questions. Some of the questions
are making-sense and some others are nonsense, but Eliot still answers his
question clearly. Later, Eliot finds out that he is about to commit suicide.
“Maybe you think it’s funny to put up signs about people who want to commit suicide.”
“Are you about to?” “And what if I was?”
“I wouldn’t tell you the gorgeous reasons I have discovered for going on living.”
“What would you do?”
“I’d ask you to name the rock-bottom price you’d charger to go on living for just one more week.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 91).
From what he says, it shows that Eliot is giving Wesley some money so
that he can go on living. Eliot thinks that by giving money to Wesley, it would
give him a hope and prevent him from committing suicide.
The description of Eliot as a attentive can be seen from his speech. It is
supported by Murphy, who states that one’s character can be seen when a
character speaks, has conversation with others, and puts forward an opinion
(1972: 164). Eliot’s characteristic as a good listener is depicted from his speech in
“The electricity is after me again, Mr. Rosewater. I had to call! I’m so scared!”
“Call anytime you want, dear. That’s whatI’m here for.” “The electricity is really gonna get me this time.”
“Oh, darn that electricity.” Eliot’s anger was sincere. “That electricity makes me so mad, the way it torments you all the time. It isn’t fair.”
“I wish it would come ahead and kill me, instead of just talk about it all the time.”
“This would be a mighty sad town, dear, if that ever happened.” (Vonnegut, 1965: 71-72).
The conversation between Eliot and Diana Moon Glampers proves that he
is a good listener. It happens when there is a thunderclap. Diana is yelling for
help, and she is scared with a thunderclap because the thunderclap has killed her mother and father at a Rosewater Lumber Company picnic in 1916. Eliot’s good
listener towards Diana is depicted by his willing to listen to all of what Diana says
about her problems. Since Eliot is with all of the people, therefore he tries to
comfort her by accompanying her talking all time to distract her trembling of a
thunderclap. Also, her kidneys hurt all the time. She is already old and also ugly,
stupid, and boring, too dumb to live. That is why she surely thinks that the
thunderclap would kill her.
“My kiddleys hurt me all day, Mr. Rosewater. They feel like a red-hot cannonball full of electricity was going through them real slow, and just turning round and round, with poisoned razorblades sticking out of it.” “That can’t be very pleasant.”
“It ain’t.”
“I do wish you’d go see a doctor about those darn kidneys, dear.”
“I did. I went to Dr. Winters today, just like you told me. He treated me like I was a cow and he was drunk veterinarian. He said my kiddleys trouble was all in my head. Oh, Mr. Rosewater, from now on you’re the only doctor for me.”
“I’m not a doctor, dear.”
From the conversation above, it can be seen that Eliot listens carefully to
what she explains about her kidneys ill. Eliot also suggests going to a doctor to
check-up her illness. In fact, she has already gone to see a doctor, but not satisfied with the doctor’s service. She says that she is being treated as a cow and her
kidneys ill is not cured. Instead, she says that Eliot is the only doctor for her. Eliot
considers that he is not a doctor, but she insists on it. She thinks that Eliot is
giving her and all of those people hope just by listening tirelessly to her problems
or their problems.
Eliot’s characteristic as a good listener following his idea about humanity.
It is also supported with the fourth principle of humanity stated by Vanier, which
human needs to be encouraged to make choices. In this case, it is shows when
Eliot encouraged Wesley to not commit suicide, and living on life by giving him
some money. Far from giving people money, however, the people sometimes not
just only need money but also they need to be loved, cared, and understood. Eliot
thinks that with being a good listener and listened tirelessly to their problems, it would give them love and hope. “Listened tirelessly to… people who… would
have been better off dead, gave them love” (Vonnegut, 1965: 53). In can be seen
from the ways Eliot encourages Diana to not afraid about the thunderclap, and
also encourages her to go to see a doctor to check her kidneys.
2. Indiscriminate
In God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine Eliot is also
Murphy gives a statement that the author can describe or comment on a person’s
character directly (1972: 169).
Eliot, particularly when he argued with his father or his bankers or his lawyers, was almost equally mistaken about who his clients were. He would argue that the people he was trying to help were the same sorts of people who, in generations past, had cleared the forest, drained the swamps, built the bridges, people whose sons formed the backbone of the
infantry in time of war—and so on (Vonnegut, 1965: 69).
From the way the author gives a description about Eliot, it can be
identified that he is an indiscriminate person. Eliot never differentiates the people
whom he is trying to help. It means that the people he is trying to help is simply
because they are human.
Eliot that is indiscriminate can also be seen from the remark of the other
character as well, that is Sylvia. Murphy states that the author can describe the
character indirectly through the eyes and opinions of the other characters (1972:
162). It can be seen through the conversation of others and the things they say
about him or her. When Sylvia is having a conversation with Eliot’s father, she
says that Eliot is about to love everybody with concern who they are or what they
do.
Eliot did to the word love what the Russians did to the word democracy. If Eliot is going to love everybody, no matter what they are, no matter what they do, then those of us who love particular people for particular reasons had better find ourselves a new word (Vonnegut, 1965: 78).
In the explanation above, it shows that Eliot has a capacity to love all
people exclusively for humanity. It can also be used as an explanation to support Eliot’s characteristic that is indiscriminate. Eliot does help and love all the people
The way of Eliot’s helping people without indiscriminate supports the idea
of humanity. According to Debbarma, he states that humanity is to achieve unity
among the living and non-living creatures of the world with the preservation of
historical, ethnic and cultural differences as well as the distinctiveness of nation
states and communities (2014: 2). Also, Vanier gives a statement about first
principle of humanity, which is all humans are sacred, whatever their culture,
race, religion, whatever their capacities and incapacities, whatever their strengths
and weaknesses may be. All of us need help in order to become all that we may be. We are all sacred and shouldn’t be treated differently for anything about us. In
this case, Eliot has never concerned the people that want to be helped, no matter
who they are or what they do. The other focus is because that most people are not caring with the useless people. “Americans have long been taught to hate all
people who will not or cannot work” (Vonnegut, 1965: 210). As a result, it
becomes the motives of Eliot’s action that is to love and care about those useless
people.
B. The Messages Revealed through Eliot’s View on Humanity
In this part, the researcher intends to reveal the messages that might be
found in this novel through the main characters view on humanity.
Firstly, the researcher wants to look back to the definition of a message. A
message in literature according to Beaty and Hunter that message is defined as the
real meaning or some essay conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized
inside work of art (1989: 899). It means that through the story, the author tries to
