MAGIC LAWS AND THE FUNCTIONS OF FANTASY IN A FANTASY NOVEL.

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Gavra Cindy Anelis, 2013

Magic Laws And The Functions Of Fantasy In A Fantasy Novel

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu|perpustakaan.upi.edu

MAGIC LAWS AND THE FUNCTIONS OF

FANTASY IN A FANTASY NOVEL

A Research Paper

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Sarjana Sastra Degree

GAVRA CINDY AMELIS 0703765

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

THE FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

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MAGIC LAWS AND THE FUNCTIONS

OF FANTASY IN A FANTASY NOVEL

Oleh

Gavra Cindy Amelis

Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana pada Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra

April 2013

Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.

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Magic Laws and the Functions of Fantasy in a Fantasy Novel

by

Gavra Cindy Amelis 0703765

Approved by

Main Supervisor

Dr. Bachrudin Musthafa, MA NIP. 195703101987031001

Co-Supervisor

Budi Hermawan, S.Pd., M.PC. NIP. 197308072002121002

Head of English Department Faculty of Language and Arts Education

Indonesia University of Education

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ABSTRACT

This present research is entitled “Magic Laws and the Functions of Fantasy in a Fantasy Novel”. It aims to investigate the kinds of magic laws, the functions of the fantasy, and how these elements work to construct the story in The Lightning Thief, a fantasy novel written by Rick Riordan (2005).

The present research uses a descriptive qualitative method. The collected data in the form of words, phrases, and sentences were categorized into the kind of magic laws used in The Lightning Thief, the functions of the fantasy as evidenced in the novel, and how these elements work to construct the story. Textual analysis is used to reveal the answers to the research questions. Magic Law theory as proposed by Nikolajeva (1988) and Tolkien’s function of fantasy (1966) are used as the framework theory of this research.

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ABSTRAK

Penelitian ini berjudul “Magic Laws and the Functions of Fantasy in a

Fantasy Novel”. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah meneliti jenis-jenis hukum sihir, fungsi-fungsi fantasi, dan bagaimana elemen-elemen ini bekerja untuk membangun cerita dalam novel fantasi The Lightning Thief yang ditulis oleh Rick Riordan (2005).

Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Data yang dikumpulkan dalam bentuk kata, frasa, dan kalimat dikategorisasikan kedalam jenis hukum sihir yang digunakan dalam novel The Lightning Thief, fungsi fantasi yang ditunjukkan dalam novel, dan bagaimana elemen-elemen ini bekerja untuk membangun cerita. Analisis tekstual digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian. Teori Hukum Sihir yang dikemukakan Nikolajeva (1988) dan Fungsi Fantasi yang dikemukakan Tolkien (1966) merupakan kerangka teori dari penelitian ini.

Penelitian ini mengungkapkan bahwa jenis Hukum Sihir yang digunakan dalam novel The Lightning Thief adalah limitation, konsep bahwa sihir harus dibatasi, dan consistency, bahwa dunia fantasi harus didirikan secara logis dengan menciptakan dan mematuhi peraturan-peraturan yang ada di dalamnya. Selain itu, ada dua fungsi fantasi yang disajikan dalam novel ini, yaitu recovery yang berarti memperoleh kembali sebuah pandangan yang jelas, dan escape yang berkaitan dengan keinginan atas beberapa kualitas tertentu dan pelarian dari dunia moderen. Hukum dan fungsi fantasi ini membangun cerita yang menarik, dapat dipercaya, dan berkaitan dengan kehidupan manusia dengan menciptakan elemen keajaiban, menciptakan elemen kejutan, menjaga keseimbangan “dunia primer” dan “dunia

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attention. One of them is Harry Potter film series, which was adapted into a film and was very successful. Abramowitz (2009), through her writing for Los Angeles Times, said that the first five Potter films have generated $4.4 billion in global box-office. Searching for another 'Harry Potter'-like success, Hollywood studios adapted other fantasy novels into films. One of them was Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief film, which was released in 2009. The film was

adapted from the first novel of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which was written by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief. According to Nielsen Bookscan, the first four books in the series have sold nearly 1.5 million copies (Rich, 2008).

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2 Lightning Thief and the first two Harry Potter films, finds the similarities between

the story of Harry Potter and the story of Percy Jackson. Through an exclusive interview conducted by Spelling in 2010, Columbus argued that the comparisons were inevitable in novels or films under the same fantasy genre. It is not astonishing that the two stories share similarities as they are adapted from fantasy fiction.

The same argument was stated by Rick Riordan, the author of The Lightning Thief. In his personal website, rickriordan.com, Riordan said that the

comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable for any new children’s fantasy. Commenting on the issue of similarities between Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, Riordan argued that these two stories are similar because they use folklore and mythology as their sources. Although these two novels share similarities, Rick Riordan considered Percy Jackson and Harry Potter as different boys, with different backgrounds, in different worlds.

The success of Harry Potter film series followed the success of the novel series, which is written by J.K. Rowling and came to public first in 1997. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling has become bestseller by selling more than 325 million copies around the world. It “has become one of the most successful

book publishing sensations of all time” (Pooley, 2007).

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and presents some rules, operation, and system which exist in real world, such as in colonial context (Husain, 2009) and government context (Barton, 2006)

Another study, Harry Potter and the Fundamentals of Fantasy written by Martin (2007), also discusses about Harry Potter novel. Martin (2007) argues that it is the limited power of magic which brings tension to the story. Limited power can be a component that makes a story work, as Harry Potter story does.

Some studies have been conducted to discuss the limitation of magic in Harry Potter series. One of them is a study which was conducted by Watts in 2006. Using the idea of Magic Law offered by Maria Nikolajeva and Gote Klingberg, Watts (2006) finds that Rowling has built a magic world which is fulfilled with rules about how magic is supposed to be used and in which ways magic are allowed to be used. In Harry Potter series, Rowling limits the magic by creating its rules in such a way that the problems on the story are not easily solved by just a spell or wand. However, Watts (2006) also finds some inconsistencies in the rules of Harry Potter world which have impacts on the story.

This research investigates what kinds of magic laws are used in The Lightning Thief, the functions of fantasy as evidenced in the novel, and how these

elements construct the story.

1.2 Statements of Problem

This research is geared towards answering the following research questions:

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4 2. What functions does the fantasy serve as evidenced in the text? 3. How do these elements work to construct the story?

1.3 Aims of Research

The research is aimed:

1. To reveal the kinds of magic laws in The Lightning Thief 2. To reveal the functions of fantasy as evidenced in the novel

3. To reveal how magic laws and the functions of fantasy work to construct the story.

1.4 Research Methodology

The research uses a descriptive qualitative method. The research investigates the kinds of magic laws used in The Lightning Thief, the functions of the fantasy as evidenced in the novel, and how these elements work to construct the story. Textual analysis is used to critically select and examine the textual evidence which serve as the answers to the research questions.

The data for this research were in the form of words, phrases, and sentences which were intentionally selected and examined from the novel to answer the research questions. The data were collected by critically selecting and examining the words, phrases, and sentences which answer the research questions.

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Nikolajeva (1988) and Tolkien’s function of fantasy (1966) are used as the

framework theory to analyze the data.

1.5 Clarification of Terms

The following is the clarification of terms used in this research:

1. Fantasy is the work of fiction which is usually novel length and involves the supernatural or some other unreal elements (The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature, 1984, as cited in Nikolajeva, 1988). In addition,

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a creation of the imaginative faculty whether expressed or merely conceived”. This resembles the

notion of “the marvellous” suggested by Swinfen (1984), as cited in

Nikolajeva (1988), which is regarded as “anything outside the normal space-time continuum of the everyday world”.

2. Magic Law is the laws and rules that operate in fantasy literature. According to Nikolajeva (1988), magic law is divided into limitation and consistency

3. Limitation is the law that magic must be limited (Nikolajeva, 1988) 4. Consistency means that secondary world must be constructed logically, by

creating and then obeying its rules (Nikolajeva, 1988)

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6 6. Primary world is the textual world which is resembling the human’s

world.

7. Functions of fantasy, according to Tolkien (1966), as cited in Sammons (2010), are the three advantages of fantasy which are identified in Tolkien’s essay, On Fairy Stories. The advantages are recovery, escape,

and consolation.

8. Recovery is the regaining of a clear view (Tolkien, 1966). By reading fantasy, the readers are able to rediscover reality, see things more clearly (Sammons, 2010), and change the view of real world (Lewis, 1982, as cited in Sammons, 2010).

9. Escape, according to Tolkien (1966), is the function of fantasy which focuses on the recollection of a desire for some qualities that can no longer be fulfilled in real world. Fantasy deals with what is fundamental and real and also escapes the modern world (Sammons, 2010).

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1.6 Organization of Research

This research is organized into five chapters.

Chapter I is Background which consists of background of research, statements of problem, aims of research, research methodology, data collection, data analysis, clarification of terms, and organization of research.

Chapter II is Theoretical Foundation, which consists of the theoretical foundation related to the research. It covers the definition and elaboration of fantasy literature, fantasy and the magic laws, the functions of fantasy, the elements of fiction, and previous study of fantasy literature.

Chapter III is Research Methodology. This chapter presents the research method and the data presentation of the research. This chapter also covers research questions, subject of the research, data collection, and data analysis.

Chapter IV is Findings and Discussion which consists of findings and discussion of this research. The findings are divided into three sections. The first section is the magic laws, the second section is the functions of fantasy, and the third section is how magic laws and functions of fantasy construct the story.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research method and the data presentation of the research. This chapter also covers research questions, subject of the research, data collection, and data analysis.

3.1 Research Questions

The research is geared towards answering the following research questions:

1. What kind of magic laws are found in The Lightning Thief? 2. What functions does the fantasy serve as evidenced in the text? 3. How do these elements work to construct the story?

3.2 Subject of the Research

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3.3. Data Collection

The data for this research are in the form of words, phrases, and sentences taken from The Lightning Thief, a novel which was written by Rick Riordan and consists of 22 chapters. The data which served as the textual evidence that answers the research questions were critically selected and examined from the novel.

3.4. Data Analysis

The present research uses a descriptive qualitative method. The collected data were categorized into the kind of magic laws used in The Lightning Thief, the functions of the fantasy as evidenced in the novel, and how these elements work to construct the story. Textual analysis is used to reveal the answers to the research questions.

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regarding the characters, settings, and objects from the fantasy novel. In addition, after being categorized into magical characters, settings, and objects, the textual evidence were categorized into two kinds of magic laws, using the Magic Laws theory offered by Nikolajeva (1988). Afterwards, the functions of fantasy of the magical characters, settings, and objects, which were categorized into two kinds

of magic laws, were determined using Tolkien’s functions of fantasy (1966).

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3.5. Data Presentation

The analyzed data are then presented in tables such as the following:

How The Magic Laws and The Functions of Fantasy in the Lightning Thief Construct the Story N

Characters Textual Evidence Comment

How They Construct The on Greek mythology function as an escape because they

mythology. The characters

depict non-rational modernity construct an interesting story by creating the element of wonder in the text. They construct a world sets in modern world but is

filled with magical

characters who are based on

Greek mythology. The

characters maintain the story to be interesting and keep the reader to be enchanted to the story as they fulfill desire to take a look at things which

are impossible under

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"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" "Of course."

Grover argues that Mrs. Dodds as one of the Furies and the Fates are not merely a myth but are real. The Furies and Fates are characters that

are based on Greek

mythology.

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108 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

This chapter presents the conclusion of the research, which are based on the findings and the discussion in the previous chapter. This chapter also presents the suggestion for further research on text analysis.

5.1. Conclusion

This research has investigated the kinds of magic laws used in The Lightning Thief, a fantasy novel written by Rick Riordan (2005), the functions of

the fantasy as evidenced in the novel, and how these elements work to construct the story.

The research reveals that the magic in The Lightning Thief are categorized into two kinds of magic laws: limitation and consistency. The analysis shows that consistency is magic law that is mostly used, followed by limitation. Both of the consistency and limitation operate to magical characters, magical settings, and magical objects.

The magical objects, settings, and characters in The Lightning Thief, which were categorized under two kinds of magic laws, shows two functions of fantasy which are recovery and escape.

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life. As the result, The Lightning Thief can be counted as a successful fantasy novel.

5.2. Suggestion

Having conducted the investigation, the research recommends the followings:

 Further research should use a bigger number of fantasy novels to arrive

at more strongly grounded findings

 Further research can use different perspective in addition to magic

laws such as the magic space, magic time, magic passage, or magic impact which are also proposed by Nikolajeva (1988)

 Further research can focus only on one element of fantasy novel, for

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