AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLES OF A FATHER TO GET A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS SON AS SEEN IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S THE ROAD
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements to obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Yohana Avila Lukitaningrum Student Number: 031214072
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLES OF A FATHER TO GET A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS SON AS SEEN IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S THE ROAD
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Yohana Avila Lukitaningrum Student Number: 031214072
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
2008
A Thesis on
AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLES OF A FATHER TO GET A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS SON AS SEEN IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S THE ROAD
By
Yohana Avila Lukitaningrum Student Number: 031214072
Approved by
Major Sponsor
Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto, M.Hum. August 11, 2008
A Thesis on
AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLES OF A FATHER TO GET A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS SON AS SEEN IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S THE ROAD
By
Yohana Avila Lukitaningrum Student Number: 031214072
Defended before the Board of Examiners On August 22, 2008
and Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners
Chairperson : A. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. ……….
Secretary : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. .………
Member : Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto, M.Hum. ……….
Member : Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum. ……….
Member : A. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. ……….
Yogyakarta, August 22, 2008
Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University
Dean,
iii
iv
“When you’re out alone, you need to learn how to
make decisions for yourself. Don’t always expect
other people to understand and approve of your
choice in life.” (Fan Wu)
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I wrote, does not contain the works or parts of the
works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography, as a scientific
paper should.
Yogyakarta, August 11, 2008
The Writer
Yohana Avila Lukitaningrum
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama : YOHANA AVILA LUKITANINGRUM
Nomor Mahasiswa : 031214072
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLES OF A FATHER TO GET A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS SON AS SEEN IN CORMAC MCCARTHY’S THE ROAD
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me-ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 8 September 2008
Yang menyatakan
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my Lord, Jesus Christ.
Particularly, I thank Him for His amazing love, strength, and forgiveness during the bad
and good times in my life. I realize that I would never be able to finish my thesis without
His blessing.
My sincere gratitude goes to Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto, M.Hum., my major
sponsor, for his guidance and corrections in finishing my thesis. I would also like to
express my appreciation to all the lecturers in the English Education Study Program of
Sanata Dharma University. I thank them for the guidance during my study here. I also
thank all the secretariat staff in the English Language Education Study Program, especially
MbakDanik and MbakTari for helping me with the administrative matters.
My deepest and endless gratitude is addressed to my beloved parents, Ag. Lasimin
and M.Y. Sri Indarti.. My sincere gratitude also goes to my lovely sisters, Yosephin
Lukitasari and Y.F. Lukitaningsih. Their never ending prayers, love, support, and
encouragement really give me strength to stand firmly.
I would like to thank all my friends in the English Language Education Study
Program of Sanata Dharma University, especially, Janiati, Beta, Pipin, Upiek, Putri, Lidya,
Mbak Wida, Mbak Natalia, Arum, and other friends that I cannot mention one by one. I
thank them for their help and support. I have learnt so many things from them. My sincere
thanks go to Mas Sigit for his help, prayer, love, and support. I also thank him for being
my big bother. I sincerely thank Cc Maria and Dian for her help, love, support, and prayer.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all people who I cannot mention one by one here
for their beneficial supports.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ... i
PAGE OF APPROVAL... ii
PAGE OF ACCEPTANCE... iii
PAGE OF DEDICATION... iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS... vii
ABSTRACT... xi
ABSTRAK... xii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 4
C. Objectives of the Study... 4
D. Benefits of the Study ... 4
viii
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Theories... 7
1. Character and Characterization... 7
a. Character . ... 7
1) Definition... 7
2) Kinds of Character ... 8
b. Characterization ... 10
1) Definition... 10
2) Ways of Characterization ... 10
2. Critical Approach... 11
3. Motivation... 13
4. Struggle for Life ... 14
5. Parental Love ... 16
B. Criticisms on The Road ... 18
C. Theoretical Framework... 19
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Subject Matter... 20
B. Approach of the Study ... 21
ix
D. Sources... 22
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS A. Characteristics of the Father in The Road ... 24
1. Easygoing ... 25
2. Skilled ... 27
3. Educated ... 28
4. Sick ... 31
5. Affectionate ... 32
6. Responsible... 34
7. Wise ... 36
8. Smart... 38
9. Brave... 41
B. The Cause of the Struggle of the Father ... 42
C. The Struggles of the Father ... 47
1. Forgetting his Past ... 47
2. Finding Food and Shelter... 50
3. Fighting against his Fears of Death ... 54
x
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions... 60
B. Suggestions ... 62
1. Suggestion for Future Researchers ... 62
2. Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activity ... 63
Implementation in Teaching Speaking ... 63
BIBLIOGRAPHY... 65
LIST OF APPENDICES A. The Summary of The Road... 67
B. The Biography of Cormac McCarthy ... 69
C. Lesson Plan for Teaching Speaking ... 72
xi
ABSTRACT
Lukitaningrum, Yohana A. An Analysis of the Struggles of a Father to Get a Better Life for his Son as Seen in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discusses Cormac McCarthy’s novel entitled The Road. The novel tells about the struggles of a father to gain a better life for his son. This study discusses the main character’s characteristics, the reasons for his struggles, and the ways he struggles to overcome the appearing problems.
There are two problems to be discussed in this study related to the main character: (1) How is the main character, the father, described in the novel? (2) How does the father struggle to overcome the appearing obstacles to get a better life for his son?
This study employs a library study method. There are two kinds of data sources employed in this study: primary and secondary sources. The primary data source is the novel The Road itself which becomes the object of the study. The secondary sources are books on literature, psychology, and the Internet sources that provide information related to the study. This study makes use of theory of character, characterization, critical approach, motivation, struggle for life, and parental love to answer the problem formulation. In addition, this study applies the psychological approach because this study deals with the struggles of the main character in this novel. It deals with personality, courage, love, and human relationship.
Based on the analysis of the main character, it can be concluded that the father is an easygoing, educated and affectionate man. He is also a skilled, sick, responsible, wise, smart, and brave person. The father’s struggles are caused by his huge love for his son. He considers his son as the reason and purpose of him to keep alive and strong.
Further, the analysis shows that there are four actions conducted by the father in order to survive. The first is forgetting his past. The second is finding food and shelter. The third is fighting against his fears of death, and the fourth is protecting his son from cannibals. In resolving the appearing problems the father uses his skill and experiences.
This thesis also provides some suggestions for future researchers related to other possible studies on The Road. Future researchers may analyze the character of the father concerning with his personality development and his son’s views about his father’s struggles. In addition, the study also provides a lesson plan using some parts of the novel in teaching English especially in speaking class.
xii ABSTRAK
Lukitaningrum, Yohana A. An Analysis of the Struggles of a Father to Get a Better Life for his Son as Seen in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas novel Cormac McCarthy berjudul The Road. Novel tersebut bercerita tentang perjuangan seorang ayah untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik bagi putranya. Studi ini membahas karakteristik tokoh utama, alasan tokoh utama berjuang, dan cara tokoh utama berjuang menghadapi masalah-masalah yang muncul.
Ada dua masalah yang dibahas dalam studi ini yang berhubungan dengan tokoh utama: (1) Bagaimana tokoh utama, sang ayah, digambarkan? (2) Bagaimana sang ayah menyelesaikan persoalan-persoalan yang muncul untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik bagi putranya?
Studi ini menggunakan studi pustaka. Ada dua sumber data yang digunakan dalam studi ini: sumber utama dan sumber kedua. Sumber utamanya adalah novel The Road. Sumber keduanya adalah buku-buku sastra, buku-buku psikologi, dan beberapa situs internet yang menyediakan informasi yang berhubungan dengan studi ini. Studi ini mengunakan teori tokoh, penokohan, pendekatan kritis, motivasi, perjuangan hidup, dan cinta orang tua untuk menjawab pertanyaan. Sebagai tambahan, studi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologis karena berkaitan dengan masalah-masalah batin tokoh utama. Hal itu berkaitan dengan kepribadian manusia, keberanian, cinta,dan hubungan manusia.
Berdasarkan analisis terhadap tokoh utama, dapat disimpulkan bahwa sang ayah adalah pria yang bersikap tenang, terpelajar, dan penuh cinta. Ia juga seorang pribadi yang terampil, sakit, bertanggung jawab, bijaksana, pintar dan berani. Perjuangan sang ayah disebabkan cintanya yang sangat besar bagi putranya. Ia menjadikan putranya sebagai alasan dan tujuan untuk tetap hidup dan kuat.
Selanjutnya analisis juga menunjukkan bahwa terdapat empat tindakan yang dilakukan sang ayah untuk bertahan hidup. Tindakan pertama adalah melupakan masa lalunya. Tindakan kedua adalah menemukan makanan dan tempat berlindung. Tindakan ketiga adalah melawan ketakutan-ketakutannya akan kematian, dan tindakan keempat adalah melindungi putranya dari para kanibal. Dalam menyelesaikan masalah-masalah yang muncul, sang ayah menggunakan keahlian dan pengalamannya
Skripsi in juga memberikan beberapa saran untuk peneliti-peneliti yang akan datang mengenai kemungkinan penelitian lainnya terhadap The Road. Peneliti yang akan datang dapat menganalisis karakter sang ayah yang berkaitan dengan perkembangan kepribadiannya dan pandangan putranya mengenai perjuangan sang ayah. Sebagai tambahan, studi ini juga menyediakan rencana pembelajaran menggunakan novel dalam mengajar bahasa Inggris terutama kelas berbicara.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five parts: background of the study, problem formulation,
objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The background of
the study explains the reasons for choosing the novel The Road as the subject of the study
and the importance of discussing the topic of the study. The problem formulation deals
with the problems discussed in this study. The objectives of the study point out the
purposes of conducting the study. The benefits of the study present the advantages that
may be attained through this study and the definition of terms explains some important
terms used in this study.
A. Background of the Study
If we think about life, we also think about struggling to survive. According to
McKechnie (1410) struggle is “a task or goal requiring much effort to accomplish or
achieve”. In other words, people need to show their brave hearts, endurance and strength to
withstand all the opposing and disturbing influences to gain their goals. Meanwhile, in
daily life people deal with complex problems that have to be accomplished with various
strategies. In this case, people are demanded to work hard to manage their life struggles. In
addition, Brockovich and Eliot (177) say that people have an inner power that consists of
strength, conviction, and moral empowerment to be who they really are. This power will
force and enable them to struggle with themselves, others, and against circumstances to
overcome their problems.
Besides, in struggling to overcome problems people have their own underlying
motivations that provoke their efforts. Later, these motivations lead them to a bigger desire
to manage problems that is so-called ambition. This ambition may enable people to find
many ideas and ways to struggle. While courage is needed in order to put this ambition
into actions. According to Furey (4), courage is “a force, a force that puts our consciences
and our values into action”. Courage does not imply an absence of fear but it insists people
do what they believe is right in spite of their fears.
However, people sometimes cannot differentiate their sanities and insanities
behavior because they are overwhelmed with their ambitions. They may do everything in
order to succeed without giving attention whether it is right or wrong. Further, every
movement they take will give influences to their character and emotion. They may become
frustrated, irritated, motivated, diligent, tough, and smart. Therefore, through the process of
struggle, people experience many different kinds of feelings and something new and
different which are useful for their own lives.
Life struggle that is a part of social issues in human life can also be found in a work
of literature, such as novel. Hudson (10) says, “Literature is the expression of life through
the medium of language. It can be regarded as something essential since it contains about
real life, people, thought, and feeling about life”. In short, by reading literary works, we
learn the reflection of human life experience that is described in a written form. We can
also broaden, deepen, and sharpen our awareness of life by reading novels (Perrine 3). It is
because through a novel, the author is aware of the situation around him and then expresses
his experiences of life in a meaningful of way that can be understood by the readers.
The Road, a novel written by Cormac McCarthy, an American writer, presents a
life struggle of a father to get a better life for his son. The story tells about a father and his
young son who travel together southwards across an unnamed road to escape from the
unforgiving winter that will undoubtedly kill them. In order to survive they have to
broken houses, supermarkets, and gas stations to find food, clothes, and oil to burn wood
and turn on their lamp. They just have a little stuff that is put in a supermarket cart and
knapsacks.
The father and his son do everything to survive. They call themselves the good
guys because they do not eat people. They also try to help other people whenever they can
do. Further, the struggles of the father to protect and to get a better life for his son are so
hard. Before the story begins, it is told briefly that his wife has already committed suicide,
overwhelmed by the horror of cannibalism and the misery affected by their existence. In
consequence, he has to bring up his son by himself and his son’s life thoroughly depends
on him because he is still very young.
The struggles of a father to protect his son in The Road is interesting to analyze
because it shows how hard a human being builds his hopes among harsh hopelessness in a
world where murders and cannibalisms have replaced care and community. It is also a
reflection of parents’ love and responsibility for taking care of their children. Besides,
there are some reasons that make the novel worth discussed. Firstly, the interesting thing
found in The Road is the author does not give proper name nor the clear profession of the
character. It may indicate that all people regardless of his/her name, profession, and status
in the society can make a better life if they have a strong motivation to struggle and wants
to learn from their own and others’ experiences.
Secondly, the way the author depicts the hard struggles of a father, which may
portray his big responsibility for raising his young child in reality. The way the author
created the conflicts, solved the problems, and gave the logical explanation to the main
character and his son to overcome the appearing obstacles in the story is so fascinating. It
seems that he puts all his conflicts and experiences of fathering a young son into his novel.
his son. It is expected by analyzing the struggles of a father in the novel, I may have a
better perspective of how hard people survive in overcoming the appearing conflicts and
learn how love is given by a parent for his child. The aim of this study is analyzing the
struggles of a father, as seen in The Road, to get a better life for his son including the
reasons why.
B. Problem Formulation
The problems are formulated to help me understand the novel and make the
discussion more focused. Based on the background above, there are two problems
formulated in this study. They are:
1. How is the main character, the father, described in this novel?
2. How does the father struggle to overcome the appearing obstacles to get a better life for
his son?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation stated previously, the study in The Road has two
objectives. The first objective is intended to describe the characteristics of the father in The
Road. The second objective is to find out the ways the father struggles to overcome the
appearing obstacles in order to get a better life for his son including the reason he conducts
his struggles.
D. Benefits of the Study
The study of this literary work will hopefully give some benefits to me as well as
the readers. Firstly, through this study, I can learn a lot about the value of life and get
survive. Secondly, the expecting aim of this study is to make the readers familiar with a
novel written by Cormac McCarthy and to bring up some help in understanding the story
of The Road.
By reading this thesis, the readers in general and the English Language Education
Study Program students in Sanata Dharma University may get better understanding about
the characteristics of the father as the main character analyzed in this study. The readers
can also see the great efforts and motivation when discussing character in this study. These
may influence us to struggle and face our problems in our daily life. Besides, for students
who want to analyze the novel, hopefully this study can be a helpful source to know
McCarthy’s novel and can be a reference in writing thesis on literature concerning life
struggle.
Thirdly, English teachers may use some texts in the novel to teach English. The
texts can be used to teach reading or speaking for Senior High School students. The
students can learn the values and the meaning of life such as being optimistic and strong
regardless of the condition they face.
E. Definition of Terms
To avoid misunderstanding and to help the readers understand the study, there are
several terms that have to be clarified.
1. Struggle
According to McKechnie (1410), “struggle is a task or goal requiring much effort
to accomplish or achieve”. While Abate (1514) says that struggle means make a violent or
determine effort under difficulties. In this study, struggle means the efforts made by the
2. Character
According to Abrams (20), a character is person who is presented in a dramatic
narrative work. The person is interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral and
dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue- and by what they
do- the actions. Character here means both person and his traits.
3. Parental Love
Moore (8) defines that parental love is love a parent feels for his or her children.
Parental love consists of maternal love or motherly love and paternal love or fatherly love.
4. Motivation
Murray (8) defines motivation as a desire that has a certain goal to obtain. While
Huffman (364) says that motivation refers to the process of activating, maintaining, and
directing behavior toward a particular goal. In this study, motivation means a strong desire
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of three parts. They are review of related theories, criticisms, and
theoretical framework. First, review of related theories presents some theories used in the
analysis. Second, criticisms concern with some criticisms upon the novel analyzed in the
study by other writers and critics. Third, theoretical framework discusses how the theories
reviewed are applied in the analysis.
A. Review of Related Theories
The review of related theories presents theory of character, theory of
characterization, theory of critical approach, and theory of psychology. The explanations of
the theories are as follows.
1. Character and Characterization a. Character
1) Definition
It is important to know characters presented in the story in order to analyze literary
works, such as novels, play, and drama. Through the characters in the story, the reader can
understand the story and even the messages. According to Abrams (20) a character is “The
person presented in a dramatic or narrative work who is interpreted by the reader as being
endowed with a moral disposition qualities, that are expressed in what they say- the
dialogues- and by what they do- the actions.”. It means that a character can be seen through
what the character says and does in the story.
A character seems to exist as life like. The reason why they behave like human
beings is that they are the reflection of human experiences. Inside the characters, imbedded
the idea of the moral constitution of human personality, the presence of human
uprightness, and simpler notion of creature (Holman and Harmon 82).
Each character of the story plays different roles. Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (26)
define that a character is a person involved in a story that acts out, in particular time and
place, and some kinds of conflict in a pattern of event. The actions of all characters will
give impacts to the content of the story from the beginning to the end of story. In
conclusion, character can mean persons or traits that act out different roles in the story.
Understanding character is needed to describe and categorize the characters, especially the
main character in this study.
2) Kinds of Character
In order to understand that the character in the story remains stable or changes,
character should be categorized. There are some theories related to the classification of the
fictional characters into several categories.
According to Henkle (88) character can be divided into two parts namely major
characters and secondary characters. A major character is the most significant and complex
in a novel. A major character can be identified through the complexity of his or her
characterization. More attention is given to him or her either by the other characters or by
the reader for the sake of understanding the focal experiences of the novel. A major
character is also completely needed the reader’s fullest attention because he or she
performs a structural key function in a story.
On the contrary, a secondary character is character who serves functions that are
more restricted. His performances and response to the experience are more limited than the
major one. A secondary character is less sophisticated; therefore, his response to
In addition, major and secondary characters are also determined by the character
appearance frequency in the story (Milligan 155). Major characters are those who appear
more often than the other characters. Secondary characters are those who appear less in the
story. Further, major characters can be divided into two, protagonist and antagonist
(Altenbern and Lewis 59). The protagonist refers to the ideal one and becomes a
manifestation of readers’ admiration. The readers often give sympathy and empathy to
protagonist characters. Conversely, an antagonist character is a character that causes
conflicts.
Perrine (71) classifies fictional characters into two types, static and dynamic
characters. Static characters are characters that change little or even do not undergo any
changes in their outlook or personalities during the course of the story. They remain stable
and become the same sort of persons from the beginning up to the end of story. They are
described without many details and they are not changes by circumstances. Dynamic
characters are persons or characters that undergo changes in some aspects of their
characters, personalities, or outlook from the beginning up to the end of the story. The
changes could be for better or for worse and maybe a significant or a less significant one,
but it is something important and basic, and more than a minor change in opinion.
Forster (18) divides characters into two, flat and round characters. Flat characters
are characters, which are built around single idea or quality and presented in outline
without much individualizing detail. It can fairly be described in single phrase or sentence.
However, round characters are complex in temperament and motivation. They are
represented with a subtle particularly. Therefore, it is difficult to describe them with any
b. Characterization 1) Definition
In order to communicate and guide the readers in interpreting and understanding
more about the characters in the story, an author needs employing appropriate ways to
convey the characters. The way in which an author conveys the characters in the story
understandable to and come alive for his readers is called characterization (Murphy 161).
In addition, Holman and Harmon (81-82) state characterization is the process of creating
an unreal person who exists for readers as life like. In other words, the character can appear
in the mind of the readers because he or she represents people’s character in real life.
2) Ways of Characterization
Murphy (161-73) his book Understanding Unseen mentions nine ways in which an
author conveys the characters’ personalities and traits in a story to the readers. They are
personal description, characters as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of
others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerisms.
The first is personal description. In presenting a character in a story, the author
draws the details of the character’s physical appearance. The author may describe whether
the character is tall, beautiful, thin, with curly or blonde hair, and bad looking. The author
may also describe the clothes worn by the character. This can show the character’s
economic status in society.
The second is characters as seen by another. The author describes a character
through the eyes and opinion of another character. The reader may get a reflected image
and better understanding about the characteristics of a character.
The third is speech. The author gives the reader an insight into the character in a
character’ personality through the way the character says and puts forward an opinion to
other characters.
The fourth is past life. The author reveals the characteristics of a character from his
or her life past. The reader may know the clues from the direct comment by the author,
through the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another
person.
The fifth is conversation of others. The characteristics of a character in a story can
be seen through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him or her.
The sixth is reaction. The author shows the readers how a character reacts to
various situations and events. This is related to a character’s emotion that triggers actions.
For example, when a character is happy, he or she may laugh, sing a song, and hug
somebody else.
The seventh is direct comment. The author describes or comments on a person
character directly. It means that the author speaks about his or her personal comment or
description of a character directly in a story.
The eighth is thoughts. The author describes a character’s personality and position
through what the character is thinking about in his or her mind. The ninth is mannerisms.
The author helps the reader understand a character by illustrating a person’s mannerisms,
habit, or modes of behavior in dealing with something or someone in a story.
2. Critical Approach
Literature, as one of works of art, contains of esthetic value. The readers’
evaluative judgment is given to it as an esthetic response. In order to have a reasonable
judgment, a means called a critical approach is needed (Rohrberger and Woods Jr. 3). A
positive values. Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (6-13) mentions there are five approaches to
analyze literary works.
The first approach is the formalist approach. This approach deals with the total
integrity of literary works. The involvement of each esthetic part to the whole is seen as a
harmony to the complete work. Thus, the beauty of the literary works lies on the author’s
works such as novels, dramas, or play.
The second approach is the biographical approach. The proponents of this approach
believe that by knowing the author’s personal life, the readers are led to a better
understanding and appreciation of the author’s works.
The third approach is the sociocultural-historical approach. This approach concerns
with the social, cultural, and historical environment in the literary work. The proponents of
this approach say that literary works can not be separated from its society, culture, and
time.
The fourth approach is the mythopeoic approach. This approach is used to find out
certain universally recurrent patterns of human thoughts in literary works. The recurrent
pattern is related to the certain belief of the certain people mind. The recurrent pattern can
be found in ancient myths, folk rites, and theological aspects of some doctrines that
basically have meaning for all people.
The fifth approach is the psychological approach. This approach is used to identify
any psychological aspects lies on a certain element of a literary work. The proponents of
this approach come up with an idea that each character’s behavior may refer to the
psychology of human being. Therefore, this approach can be used to analyze the
3. Motivation
In doing their actions, people must have underlying motivation. In general,
motivation refers to the reason that underlies a given behavior. Further, according to Beck
(24) motivation broadly concerns with the contemporary determinants of choice
(direction), persistence, and vigor of goal-directed behavior. The reason why motivation is
assumed to be a choice (direction) is that motivation becomes a stimulus that gives energy
to the behaviors relevant to the situation the individual at the moment. While, motivation
involves the persistence of behavior is aimed to enable the sustained efforts occur even if
the obstacles occur. Motivation should apt to goal-directed behavior in order to create
energy that activates the individual to a level that enables the performance of the
appropriate behaviors.
Furthermore, Maslow states that motivation is based on human needs. These needs
should be fulfilled in order to get satisfaction and to grow up as a mature human being.
Maslow also says, “People seldom gain a state of complete satisfaction except for a short
time. As one desire is satisfied, another pops up to take its place.” (Aiken 113). Thus,
people always require and desire something and their needs are interrelated, as one need is
satisfied then move to gain the next higher needs.
According to Maslow in Psychology: A Concise Introduction as quoted by
Pettijohn (216), there are five basic needs. They are physiological needs, safety needs,
belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization. The first deals with the
physiological needs, which include motives such as hunger, thirst, sex, exercise, and rest. It
means that the physiological needs focus on needs for physical survival. Maslow (216)
believes that higher needs in the hierarchy can become stronger when physiological needs
The second are the safety needs. The motives that may include are security,
stability, dependency, protection, freedom from fear and anxiety, and need for structure
and order. The dominant forces such as security, protection, and safety affect a person’s
life until they can be satisfied. As people grow up, the safety needs are largely met. When
they feel secure and safe, they will develop to the next higher needs.
The third are the belongingness and love needs. The motives covered are love and
affection. People have the strong desire of having contact with friends, family, and society
when these needs dominate. As human beings, people need to give and receive love. They
can make it through marriage, work, or social activities. If the belongingness and love
needs are not satisfied, psychological problems may develop.
The fourth are the esteem needs. The motives include a high evaluation of oneself,
self-respect, achievement, and recognition by others. In society, people need to gain
competence to get others’ respect. People will also feel confident and important if they
earn recognition, attention, and status. Thus, the lack of satisfying esteem needs causes the
feeling of inferiority and helplessness.
The fifth is the self-actualization. After satisfying the physiological needs, safety,
love, and esteem needs, people move to the highest level, self-actualization. This may refer
to the identification of the psychological need for growth, development, and the attainment
of the individual’s special potential. This need is also considered the desire to become
more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.
Self-actualization is highly individualized because of the difference of people’s capability.
4. Struggle for Life
People in this world always face many problems in their lives. Whether the
survive, they need to struggle wisely and carefully. McKechnie (1410) says that struggle is
“a task or goal requiring many efforts to accomplish or achieve”. The good implementation
of that goal or task is the reflection of human’s hard work. According to Huffman, et al
(410), our goals in life provide the source of our motivation. It means that the source of
people’s struggle is their goals and the reason why people struggle is that they have wants
that motivate them. For example, a parent that loves his or her children and wants to make
them happy has tasks or goals for taking care of them, giving good education in order to
prepare them for their independent lives, and communicating with them well to show that
their parent loves them.
Moreover, a person’s struggles may cover his strategies in solving his life
problems. The appropriate strategy is that people need to apply adjustment after they are
attacked by stress to cope their problems (Weiner 64). According to Pettijohn (282)
adjustment is the way people adequately give response to the demands of stress in their
lives. Thus, adjustment can lead people into the forms of coping problems.
According to Huffman, et al (453) there is three forms of coping problem. The first
is an emotion-focused form of coping dealing with emotional-cognitive strategies that
change people’s view of stressful situation. In the other words, this is related to people
acceptance of situation and controlling the symptoms of stress. The second are defense
mechanisms, which concern with unconscious strategies that protect ego and avoid anxiety
by distorting reality. One of defense mechanism types is repression. According to Pettijohn
(293) based on Freud’s idea about the types of defense mechanism, repression is an
unconscious activity that is done conveniently by a person in order to forget or repress
painful memories and unacceptable motives. The person conducts it because he or she does
not want to deal with this anymore. Repression can only work for a short run because
While the third is a problem-focused form of coping that reveals the strategies
dealing directly with the stressful strategies by applying problem-solving techniques to
decrease it. Further, Brockovich and Eliot (180) add that problem-solving skills may
include isolating the problem, identifying the route to its obstacle, figuring out a way to get
round it, and fixing the problems.
5. Parental Love
Moore (8) defines that parental love is a parent feels for his or her children. This
love is followed by a huge sacrifice of time, energy, expense and upset, as parent does
everything in their power to promote their children’s happiness. Even when problems arise
in the relationship, as they inevitably do, the caring usually continues undiminished
because of the powerful ties built up over so many years.
Parental love consists of two kinds: father’s love called paternal love and mother‘s
love called maternal love. Even though, paternal and maternal loves shares different
characteristics and even on the contrary of each other, both of them play a crucial role and
should be practiced in balance (Fromm 36). This matter is considered very important
because it determines their children’s psychological development. In this case, parents as
the closest companions have big responsibilities for making the children secure in life,
guiding the children to cope with their problems, teaching them and becoming a good
figure in order the children can imitate their behaviors. This is supposed to prepare the
children, as they grow older, to manage their needs and situation themselves.
According to Fromm (36), the aspects of love consisting of knowing,
understanding, and respecting become the influential factors that affect their children’s
personalities. These aspects are supposed to lead children to be mature. Further, children
by their misunderstandings or the lack of parents’ attention to them. At this point, the good
quality of communication between parents and children, as the manifestation of parental
love, should be maintained to keep the intimacy and harmony of the relationship.
Moreover, a good family communication beginning with openness in which
children can disclose their feelings and attitude to the parents is effective to make them
comfortable and cared in the present of the parents (Noller and Fitzpatrick 17). Later, in
order to sustain the created intimacy in family parents can give the children their
supportive messages including such behaviors as praising, approving, encouraging,
displaying affection, helping, and cooperating with children (Noller and Fitzpatrick 201).
The huge patience, hard work, reasonable boundaries which are based on love is needed
the most in this case. In fact, the existence of reasonable boundaries helps to guide
children’s behaviors, making them feel more secure, and preventing them from becoming
too spoiled.
Besides, if parental love is applied well, it may give good impacts on both the
children and the parents. For the children, they can live happily, grow up mature, and
establish their self-esteem and trust. While for the parents, they will feel joyful, proud, and
relieved because they bring love as a gift from God for their children that is not merely
talked about but also demonstrated. Further, as love is shared enjoyment that builds the
strongest bonds with children, the parent who excels in this particular area will always be
very much loved. By taking the opportunity to be kind and loving, they earn the obvious
and genuine affection of their children, the most satisfying result possible for any parent.
Without their children, many would feel a great emptiness in the very core of their
B. Criticisms on The Road
There are some criticisms that arise toward Cormac McCarthy and his work, The
Road. Criticisms are used to help the readers understand the novel so that they can get a
better insight about the analyzed novel. McCarthy, one of the greatest American science
fiction authors, has written ten rich and often brutal novels, including the bestselling No
Country for Old Men, and The Road. In his interview with The New York Times,
McCarthy reveals that he prefers literature works that deal with issues of life and death,
(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DA163EF93AA25757C0A96495
8260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 accessed on 28 June 2007 at 9.44 am).
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was published in 2006. The novel was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007 and was chosen as an Oprah Book Club Selection. In The
Road, McCarthy presents a post-apocalyptic American tale of survival and unfailing hope
as a man and his son journey through the ruins of utter devastation. This novel is about the
strong spirit of human beings in solving their life problems. According to New Stateman, a
United Kingdom current affair magazine, in the introduction page of The Road, the novel
is very dazzling and interesting.
A gripping, heart-rending human story, which explores the depths of despair and
savagery beside the heights of love, tenderness and self-sacrifice. McCarthy has
delivered a master stroke: this tale is beautiful, hypnotic, and terrifying real.
While Oprah Winfrey said that the novel is both gripping and inspiring because it
explores the severe destructiveness, desperate tenacity and tremendous tenderness capable
within human civilization. It can grab the readers from the first sentence
(http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ap/story.asp?AP_ID=D8PIRE4G0 accessed on 9 June
2007 at 12.07 pm). In an interview with her, McCarthy said that the inspiration of writing
might look like in the future; his mind pictured chaos on earth and thoughts about his son.
He only wrote initial notes but did not develop that idea until several years later. McCarthy
eventually finished The Road, that he dedicated it to his son, John Francis McCarthy.
C. Theoretical Framework
In conducting this study, there are some theories applied to analyze the novel. The
first theories applied in this study are theories of character and characterization. The
theories of character proposed by Henkle, Perrine and Forster are used to differentiate the
types of characters. It means that they are used to determine the major and minor
characters in the story. While theory of characterization proposed by Murphy is needed to
find out the depiction of main character by the author in the story and to discover the
characteristics of the main character in the novel. Therefore, in this study, theory of
characterization is used to find out what kind of person the character of the father in The
Road is.
The second theory is theory of psychology. Theory of psychology consists of
theory of motivation, struggle for life, and parental love. Theories of motivation proposed
by Beck and Maslow are emphasized on searching and explaining the motives underlying
the character’s action to get the better life for his son. Then, theory of struggle for life is
needed to answer question related to character’s struggle. This may describe the meaning,
the ways the main character conducts life struggle and what the results of his struggles.
The last is theory of parental love which in this study is needed to understand the
manifestation of the main character’s love to his son that actually becomes his motive to
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter covers four parts. The first part is the subject matter that explains
about the novel analyzed in this study. The second part is the approach of the study that
clarifies the type of approach used to analyze the novel. The third part is the method of the
study that emphasizes the steps taken in doing this study, and the fourth part deals with the
sources used in this study.
A. Subject Matter
The novel analyzed in this study is entitled The Road written by Cormac McCarthy,
an American science fiction writer. This novel consists of 307 pages. The first edition was
published in 2006 as Borzoi Book by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
in New York and the first book publication in Great Britain was by Picador. Further,
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road became the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007.
The story of The Road is not only considered brutal and full of horror but also full
of hope, love, and sacrifice. The unique thing found in the story is there is no proper name
of the main character, character backgrounds and historical contexts in the story. Basically,
the story tells about a father and his son plodding on the unnamed road southwards to
avoid the cold of the winter. They walk across devastating area, which has been destroyed
by huge calamity. They bring their limited belongings in a supermarket cart and knapsacks.
Both of them also wear masks to protect from the ashes blowing through the air blended
with the cold ice. All plants, animals and civilization are dead; nothing left, except the
survivors who compete among others to get food and safety. Most of them become
cannibals that are called blood cults, road agents, and marauders in this novel.
The father as the main character in the story is a strong man but he suffers from a
disease. He often coughs and spits out blood from his mouth. He realizes that there is a big
responsibility waiting for him to bring his son’s life into a better place. This can be
imagined how hard a father has to bring up a son without the existence of his wife right
next to him. He has to depend on his struggles to find the safe place to stay for a while
before continuing the journey, to avoid crossing a path with other survivors, to sleep less in
order to keep eye on his son, to find enough food and drink, and to teach his young son to
figure out the appearing obstacles in that situation so that he can learn to stand on his feet.
B. Approach of the Study
In order to get better understandings about the character in the analyzed novel I
apply the psychological approach proposed by Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (3-5). The
psychology approach deals with certain character’s behaviors that refer to the psychology
of human beings. By using this approach the character’s mind and behaviors can be
analyzed deeply. In this study, the psychological approach is used to comprehend the
father’s personality in The Road and the ways he reacts to the bad situation and solves his
problems in the story.
In dealing with the struggles of the father to get a better life for his son in the novel,
the psychological approach is applied to answer the formulated problems in this study. In
other words, it is used to find out and comprehend the underlying motive of the main
character in conducting his struggles and to reveal the ways the main character struggles.
C. Method of the Study
In analyzing the novel, I used library study. I took some several steps that made me
read the novel several times to understand the content of the story. Then, I reread the novel
to get the description of the main character and the points showing the motivation and the
struggle of the main character.
I also gathered the information about the description of the main character by
applying the ways listed on the theory of characterization proposed by Murphy. I found out
the description of the main character from the character’s direct comment, his character as
seen by other characters, his past life, thoughts, speech, and his reaction towards the
situation in the story. Thus, this step helped me to answer the first problem in this study.
Furthermore, I highlighted and took notes the quotation of the points and aspects
written in the novel showing the motivation and the struggles of the main character. This
step helped me to answer the second problem in this study. Then, in writing chapter two of
this study I searched, collected, and noted some theories that were in accordance with the
necessities and for the sake of the study from books and Internet sources. I applied
psychology approach in my study that was proved by the theories I used to analyze the
novel. In analyzing the character of the father in the novel I used theory of character and
characterization. While for the second problem of this study I used theory of psychology
such as motivation, struggle for life, and parental love.
After answering the formulated problems I checked my analysis with the theories to
make sure that they met. Afterwards, I made a conclusion of my study. The last step was
making suggestions for the future researchers and for the teaching learning activity.
D. Sources
There are two kinds of data sources that were used in this study. They are the
was The Road written by Cormac McCarthy. The secondary data sources were some
sources on the related topics from books on literature, psychology and the Internet sources.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter is aimed to answer the problem formulated in the problem
formulation. This chapter consists of two parts. The first part reveals the characteristics of
the father as the main character in the story. The second part explains the motive
underlying his struggles and the struggles of the father in overcoming the appearing
obstacles to get a better life for his son.
A. The characteristics of the Father in The Road
Based on the theory of character proposed by Henkle (88), the father in The Road is
considered as the main character in the story which is identified through the complexity of
his characterization. The author gives him more attention for the sake of understanding the
focal experiences in the novel. It can be seen through his more appearance compared to
other characters in the story. The father is also classified as the major character because he
performs the structural key function in order to determine the theme of the novel.
Besides, the father in the novel is also categorized as the dynamic and round
character referring to theories proposed by Perrine (71) and Forster (18). He undergoes
changes in some aspects of his character, personality and outlook from the beginning up to
the end of the story. Therefore, he has many realistic traits and fully developed character.
His characteristics are complex and they are described in many details.
Related to analyzing a character in the story there are several ways in which the
author uses to make his or her characters understandable and come alive for his or her
readers. According to Murphy (161-172) there are nine ways. They are personal
description, characters as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others,
reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerisms. This study includes the application
of all ways proposed by Murphy in revealing the characteristics of the father in The Road.
Here are the characteristics of the father as the major character in the story:
1. Easygoing
In The Road, the personal description of the father as the main character is not
described in details. The author does not tell his name, age, and complexion to the readers.
The readers may know that he is emaciated and pale because he lacks food and sparingly
eats. The father and his son need to ransack many places they pass to get food. In order to
save their lives, they eat whatever they can find.
In a pantry they came upon part of a sack of cornmeal that rats had been at in the
long time ago. He sifted the meal through a section of windowscreen and collected
a small handful of dried turds and they built a fire on the concrete perch of the
house and made cakes and cooked them over a piece of tin. Then they ate them
slowly one by one. He wrapped the few remaining in a paper and put them in the
knapsack (88).
He also looks filthy and messed up. He never takes a bath, washes his clothes, cuts his hair
and shaves his beard until he gets an opportunity to do it.
He cut his own hair it didn’t come out so good. He trimmed his beard with the
scissors while a pan of water heated and then he shaved himself with a plastic
safety razor. The boy watched, When he was done he regarded himself in the
mirror. He seemed to have no chin (161).
Besides, the readers may know that the father is insufficient from the clothes he
wears and the stuff he brings during his journey with his son. The author tells that the
The father only has a pair of shoes. He always worries about his shoes for being ruined and
his feet for being wet, cold, and numb because of the snow and the falling rain. Meanwhile,
his clothes are getting outworn and filthy because he wears them everyday. He also uses
the hood of his parka to bring food such as morel found near the waterfall and hard, brown
and shriveled apples which are found in the orchard he passes by.
He went row by row till he’d a puzzle in the grass. He’d more apples than he could
carry. He felt out the spaces about the trunks and filled his pockets full and he piled
in the hood of his parka behind his head and carried apples stacked along his
forearm against his chest (128).
Further, in order to carry his stuff, he pushes a grocery cart and slings his knapsack
over his shoulder. Both of them contain some essentials. There are stinking blankets, a
plastic tarpaulin, a lamp, tinned food, tools, eating utensils, threadbare clothes, some toys,
storybooks, and binoculars. He also brings a pistol with two bullets hanging on his belt.
He sat in the sand and inventories the contents of the knapsack. The binoculars. A
half pint bottle of gasoline almost full. The bottle of water. A pair of pliers. Two
spoons. He set everything out in arrow. There were five small tins of food and he
chose a can of sausages and one of corn and he opened these with the little army
can opener and set them at the edge of the fire and they sat watching the labels char
and curl (76).
Based on direct comment, personal description, and mannerism, it is clear that the
father is easygoing. He eats whatever he can eat and brings his stuff that is getting unworn
2. Skilled
From his actions the readers can learn that the father is a person who is skilled in
fixing the broken things and creative in making something new that is useful for his
journey. There are some hints can be found in the novel. For instance, during the journey,
the father and his son bring their stuff in a grocery cart that certainly cannot be kept for a
long time. The wheels get easily damaged when they force to run on a bumpy road.
Therefore, the father finds some tools from the cart and starts working on the wheels.
He pulled the bolt and bored out the collet with a hand drill and resleeved it with a
section of pipe he’d cut to length with a hacksaw. Then he bolted it all back
together and stood the cart upright and wheeled it around the floor. It ran fairly true
(15).
Further, the father not only can repair the damaged wheels but also modify the
grocery cart. He takes a chrome motorcycle mirror and clamps it to the handle of the cart in
order to watch the road behind them (4). With his creativity he also makes sweeps from
two old brooms he finds and wires them to the cart to clear the limbs from the road in front
of the wheels (18)
Moreover, the father is skilled in using guns. He has a pistol with two bullets
hanging on his belt. By using the pistol he kills the man who holds his son as a hostage
with a knife pointing to his son’s throat.
The man had already dropped to the ground and he swung with him and leveled the
pistol and fired from two-handed position balanced on both knees at distance of six
feet. The man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his
forehead (68).
The father also shows his skill in working with a flare pistol founded in a boat. He
He cocked the gun and aimed it out over the bay and pulled the trigger. The flare
arced up into the murk with a long whoosh and broke somewhere out over the
water in a clouded light and hung there. The hot tendril of magnesium drifted
slowly down the dark and the pale foreshore tide started in the glare and slowly
faded. He looked down at the boy’s upturned face (262-263).
On another occasion, the father can kill his attacker by using his pistol. It happens
when he and his son are passing some buildings on the main road. They are attacked with a
darted arrow. The father hears the dull twang of the bowstring and feels sharp pain in his
leg. He looks up the building near him and sees his attacker is stepping back into the frame
of the second story window to draw the bow again. Before everything goes worst, the
father quickly shoots the attacker and strikes him
He clawed the blankets to one side and lunged and grabbed the flaregun and raised
up and cocked it and rested his arm on the side of the cart. The boy was clinging to
him. When the man stepped back into the frame of the window to draw the bow
again he fired. The flare went rocketing up toward the window in a long white arc
and then they could hear the man screaming (281-282).
Based on direct comment and mannerism, the father can be considered skilled. He
is good at machinery and gun. He can repair broken tools and shoot well.
3. Educated
In the story, the father’s profession is not told but from his past the readers may
conclude that he is literate and educated. Once, he decides to visit his family house. He
tells to his son that when he was a kid, the house is a place where he and his family spend
This is where we used to have Christmas when I was a boy. He turned and looked
out at the waste of the yard. A tangle of dead lilac. The shape of a hedge. On cold
winter nights when electricity was out in a storm we would sit here, me and my
sisters, doing our homework (26).
Besides, there are also some clues from the direct comment of the author and the
character’s conversation with others that show the father is literate. From the story it is told
that the father brings storybooks for his son. He often reads the stories to his son and
teaches him to be able to read. He also reads newspapers when he has time to do it.
He sat by a gray window in the gray light in abandoned house in the late afternoon
and read old newspapers while the boy slept. The curious news. The quaint
concerns. At eight the primrose closes. He watched the boy sleeping. Can you do
it? When the time comes? (28).
He banked the fire against the seam of rock where he’d built it and he strung the
tarp behind them to reflect the heat and they sat warm in their refuge while he told
the boy stories. Old stories of courage and justice as he remembered them until the
boy was asleep in his blanket… (42).
The father also shows that he is educated when confronting and threatening a cannibal to
release his son, he is able to list several obscure portions of the brain, at which the cannibal
asks him if he is a doctor.
Because the bullet travels faster than sound. It will be in your brain before you can
hear it. To hear it you will need a frontal lobe and things with names like colliculus
and temporal gyrus and you wont have them any more. They’ll just be soup.
Are you a doctor?
Further, the father concerns about his son’s health. He always worries that his son
needs Vitamin D so that he will not get rickets. He also knows that dark volcanic rock
called obsidian that is usually used to make glass can kill people quickly because it is very
sharp. When his wife decides to commit suicide because she has lost all hope for the
cannibals’ meager existence, he tells her to do it with a flake of obsidian. He says that the
flake is sharper than steel (60). It possibly means that she slits her wrists with sharp flints
her husband has taught her how to use for that purpose.
In addition, during his conversation with his son, he reveals some knowledge he
has. Through what he says, the father wants to tell his son what he knows so that his son
can learn something useful for his life. He explains many things such as the function of a
dam, a kind of mushroom named morel is consumable, and a bird cannot fly to the out
space because of the coldness.
What is that, Papa?
It’s a dam
What’s it for?
It made the lake. Before they built the dam that was just a river down there. The
dam used the water that ran through it to turn big fans called turbines that would
generate electricity.
To make lights.
Yes to make lights (19).
Based on past life, direct comment, speech, and thought, it is obvious that the father
is educated. He is literate and is able to explain some knowledge related to human body,
health, plant and the rest is common knowledge taught in school.
4. Sick
The father has a problem with his health. He always coughs up blood. The author
does not give clues about the causes of his blood coughing. Day by day his coughing is
getting worst and his body becomes weak. Actually, the man has anticipated the bad effect
of the ashes in the air for his respiration. He usually wears a cotton mask when walking
down the roads but the ashes may perpetually get in his lungs that precipitate his hacking
cough.
Already it was hard going and he stopped often to rest. Slogging to the edge of the
road with his back to the child where he stood bent his hands on his knees,
coughing. He raised up and stood with weeping eyes. On the gray snow a fine mist
of blood (30).
Later he walked up the beach, his long shadow reaching over the sands before him,
sawing about him the wind in the fire. Coughing. Coughing. He bent over, holding
his knees. Taste of blood. The slow surf crawled and seethed in the dark and he
thought about his life but there was no life to think about and after a while he
walked back (254).
Meanwhile, the father has to grapple with his blood coughing. He has to be able to
restrain his coughing when he and his son are hiding from the cannibals who want to catch
them. He works hard to make sure there is no sound that can make the cannibals know his
hideaway.
They lay in the leaves and the ash with their hearts pounding. He was going to start
coughing. He’d have put his hand over his mouth but the boy was holding on to it
and would not let go and in the other hand he was holding the pistol. He had to
Based on the direct comment and mannerism, it is obvious that the father is sick.
He coughs up blood and there is nothing he can do to cure it. He also has to grapple with
stifling his coughing in order to avoid the cannibals find his hideaway.
5. Affectionate
The father is a parent who loves his son so much. He always consoles his son when
he is sad and afraid. For a child the moment when getting a new experience is strange and
frightening, he will feel terrified and find someone that can comfort him. In this case, the
son feels secure when the father tells him that everything is going to be all right.
Papa? The boy said. Papa?
Shh. It’s okay.
What is it, Papa?
It neared, growing louder. Everything trembling. Then it passed beneath them like
an underground train and drew away into the night and was gone. The boy clung to
him crying, his head buried against his chest. Shh. It’s all right.
I’m so scared.
I know. It’s all right. It’s gone.
What was it, Papa?
It was an earthquake. It’s gone. We’re all right. Shh (27-28).
In the middle of the night, his son wakes up and he looks very attentive. He tells his father
that he has just had a bad dream. His father listens to his explanation about his dream
carefully. The father tells him that it is just a dream and he admits that he has no clues why
his son dreams it. However, he convinces that nothing bad will happen to him.
He woke whimpering in the night and the man held him Shh, he said. Shh. It’s
