Analysis of the Portrayal of the Protagonist in Zona Gale's Miss Lulu Bett.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam tugas akhir ini, penulis akan menganalisis ponokohan dari tokoh

utama dalam sebuah novel karya seorang penulis berkebangsaan Amerika, Zona

Gale, yang berjudul Miss Lulu Bett. Melalui karakter utamanya, Zona Gale mencoba menggambarkan kehidupan wanita Amerika di tahun 1920an. Lulu Bett,

sang tokoh utama, digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang berumur

tigapuluhan dan belum menikah. Dia tinggal di rumah keluarga adik

perempuannya dan bergantung secara ekonomi kepada adik iparnya. Lulu

menggantungkan seluruh hidupnya pada keluarga adik perempuannya. Ia

mendapat perlakuan yang kurang baik dari keluarga tersebut yang membuatnya

menjadi seorang yang pasif dan tidak percaya diri.

Karakteristik dari tokoh utama dalam novel ini mengalami perubahan

setelah saudara laki-laki adik iparnya mengakui keberadaannya dan

menghormatinya sebagai seorang wanita. Ia berubah menjadi seorang yang lebih

percaya diri, gigih, dan menjadi seorang yang mandiri. Melalui tokoh utama, Zona

Gale menunjukan bahwa pengakuan akan keberadaan wanita menjadi isu penting

di zaman tersebut. Zona Gale menunjukan pengakuan akan keberadaan wanita di

masyarakat akan membuat wanita dapat menghargai dirinya dan mengembangkan

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Zona Gale is an American woman writer who writes novels, short-stories,

and plays. She is also an advocate for women's right (Barbara H. Salomon, Eileen

Panetta xxii) and "successfully campaigns for passage of Wisconsin Equal Rights

Law” (xxii). Gale works in journalism but it turns out that she prefers to be a

novelist. In the literary world Zona Gale has contributed 13 novels, 10

short-stories, and 7 plays. Some of her plays are adaption from her novels. Her

experience as a counsellor who deals with women's problems encourages her in

her writing. One of her encouragements starts when she finds out that women in

1920s are mostly frustrated by their lack of opportunities (“Women’s Role

1920s”). The opportunities refer to independent life, work outside the house, and a

great opportunity for women in 1920s to get their acknowledgement.

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over-whelming commercial success (Barbara H. Salomon, Eileen Panetta xxiii),

and this novel has been adapted into a play and a film (xxiii). Her play, Miss Lulu Bett, makes her become the first woman who got the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1921 ("Gale, Zona 1874-1938"). Many people consider Miss Lulu Bett a brilliant and successful work of Gale. Heywood Broun, a journalist of The New York Times, proclaims: "of all American novels received in the last six months, Zona Gale's Miss Lulu Bett seems at the top of the list" (ix). Gale's Miss Lulu Bett

becomes one of the two bestselling novels of the year, and less than a year later

(xxii).

American women got Voting Rights in 1920 where at the same year Miss Lulu Bett was published. The 1920s becomes a time of widespread change of women as they fight for the rights to vote, to become educated, to support

themselves, and to live independent lives (Brian Murphy, 31). Besides, women try

to get an acknowledgement for what they have done, an acknowledgement that

they no longer depend on family, and that they exist in the society. Furthermore,

according to Murphy, through her Miss Lulu Bett, Zona Gale “prominently depicts the entrapment of women in confining domestic roles (largely a consequence of

women’s financial dependence on men) and document changing social mores as

women moved into the workplace and began to cast their votes” (33).

Lulu Bett depicts a mid-thirties woman who is enslaved by her family. The

family consider Lulu someone who is not strong enough to work outside; they

treat her like a slave at that house. At first, Lulu Bett is portrayed as a dependent,

passive, and self-conscious person. Getting the acknowledgement and fair

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confident, persistent, and independent. The acknowledgement and fair treatments

which are given to Lulu lead her to be a better person.

I choose to analyze the protagonist of the novel, because I find it interesting

to discuss; moreover, it really has inspiring characteristics. Protagonist is the

central character on whom the plot turns (Eastman 9). According to Perrine's

Story and Structure, a story can be successful only when the characters are dramatized (Perrine 69).

Statement of the Problem

The problems I would like to discuss are as follows:

1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the novel?

2. Why is the protagonist portrayed in such a way?

Purpose of the Study

Based on the statement of the problems, the purposes of the study are as

follows:

1. To show how the protagonist is portrayed in the novel.

2. To reveal why the protagonist is portrayed in such a way.

Method of Research

I use library research for my analysis. First I read Miss Lulu Bett as the primary text. Second, I also read a couple of books and compile some data from

the Internet to support my analysis of the portrayal of the protagonist. Finally, I

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Organization of the Thesis

This thesis consists of three chapters, preceded by the Acknowledgements,

the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which

consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the

Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.

Chapter Two is the Analysis of the Portrayal of the Protagonist of Zona Gale's

Miss Lulu Bett. Chapter Three is the Conclusion, followed by the Bibliography and the Appendices, which contain the Synopsis of the Novel and the Biography

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having analysed the novel Miss Lulu Bett, I come to a conclusion that Zona Gale has presented the story interestingly. She presents real-life

characteristics of American women in the 1920s, who were seeking for their

acknowledgement of their existence, through her protagonist, Lulu Bett. American

women’s condition in 1920s was not easy, most of them never left the house; they

stayed at home and did domestic chores like cooking, cleaning the house, and

taking care of kids (“Women’s Role 1920s”). Gale presents such condition

through the portrayal of Lulu Bett.

Zona Gale portrays Lulu Bett as a dependent person. She is portrayed as

financially dependent on her brother-in-law. Besides that she is also perceived by

her family as a woman who is not strong enough to work outside the house and

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house and does all the house work. She is completely dependent on her

brother-in-law’s family.

Moreover, Lulu is portrayed as a passive and self-conscious person. Her

being passive makes her do nothing to oppose the family’s unfair treatment. To

make matters worse, she does not have the acknowledgement about her existence

at that house but she gets bad treatment from the family, especially from her

dominating and controlling brother-in-law, Dwight Deacon who often teases Lulu

about her status of being unmarried and regards her as an insignificant person and

makes her always feel nervous and embarrassed about herself.

Later in the novel, Lulu Bett’s characteristics develop especially with the

coming of Ninian, Dwight Deacon’s brother. Ninian treats Lulu positively. The

way he treats Lulu is totally different from Dwight’s treatment towards her.

Ninian’s acknowledgement about Lulu’s existence has affected Lulu’s

personality. Lulu Bett becomes a confident person. Lulu is confident in doing the

things that she believes in; and she can reveal her thought towards others.

Furthermore, despite her separation from Ninian, Lulu is portrayed to be

persistent and independent. Her being persistent is shown when she repeatedly

asks Dwight Deacon to clarify her status after her separation from Ninian. Her

being independent can be seen at the end of the novel when she decides to support

her life by applying for a job. Besides, she independently decides to marry

Cornish and leaves Dwight Deacon’s house.

From the discussion above, I believe that Gale’s purpose in portraying Lulu

Bett is to show that the acknowledgement of women’s existence was an important

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acknowledgements from Ninian. Through the protagonist of the novel, Lulu Bett,

Zona Gale gives a clear picture of American women in the 1920s. American

women’s condition in the 1920s where most of them were frustrated due to lack of

opportunities (“Women’s Role 1920s”) finally became better after they were

given fair treatment and acknowledgement through the Voting Right. They were

then more confident to do things and tended to continue doing what they believed

in. Moreover, most of them became independent in their life which means that

they were no longer dependent on other people (“Women in the 1920s”). The

Voting Rights was a proof that they have already got fair treatment and

acknowledgement about their existence in the society which makes them to be a

better person.

Zona Gale’s purpose is also applicable to women’s present condition. I

myself believe that the acknowledgement of women’s existence is an important

thing nowadays. Women need the acknowledgement for their existence and for

what they have done for themselves or for the society. Moreover, I also believe

that the acknowledgement can help women develop their potential and personality

in life. In my opinion, being acknowledged means that women will be more

respected as human being and as they really are in the society.

Through the analysis above, I can conclude that Zona Gale is a great

novelist due to the fact that she succeeds not only in making realistic story but

also in creating such a character that make the story become relevant and exciting

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary text:

Gale, Zona, Miss Lulu Bett and Selected Stories. Eds. Barbara H. Salomon, Eileen Panetta. New York: Anchor Books, 2005. Print.

References:

“Confident.” Oxford Language matters Online Dictionary. Oxford Online, Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

“Dependent.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary online, Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

Eastman, Richard. A Guide to the Novel. California: Chandler Publishing Company, 1965. Print.

“Gale, Zona 1874-1938.” Winconsin History.org. N.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

Hurley, Erin. The Cambridge Companion to American Women Playwrights. Ed. Brenda Murphy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Print.

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“Passive.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 6th ed. 2000. Print.

Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1974. Print.

“Persistent.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Meriam-Webster Online, Web. 5 Dec. 2014

“Self-Conscious.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Meriam-Webster Online, Web. 10 Feb. 2014