THE DISHARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR AT THE VICTORIAN ERA IN CHARLES DICKENS’ A
CHRISTMAS CAROL
A THESIS
By: Ricka Adriani
Student Number : 03.80.0015
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM FACULTY OF LETTERS
SOEGIJAPRANATA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SEMARANG
THE DISHARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR AT THE VICTORIAN ERA IN CHARLES DICKENS’ A
CHRISTMAS CAROL
A Thesis Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Sastra Degree in the English Letters Study Program
By: Ricka Adriani
03.80.0015
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM FACULTY OF LETTERS
SOEGIJAPRANATA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SEMARANG
A thesis defended in front of the Board of Examiners
on January 25, 2008 and declared acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Chairperson : Dra. RM. Sri Suryaningsih, MA ...
Secretary : GM Adyanggono, SS, MA ...
Member : Angelika Riyandari, SS, MA ...
Semarang, January 25, 2008
Faculty of Letters
Soegijapranata Catholic University
Heny Hartono, SS, M.Pd.
A Thesis on
THE DISHARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR AT THE VICTORIAN ERA IN CHARLES DICKENS’ A
CHRISTMAS CAROL
By:
RICKA ADRIANI 03.80.0015
Approved by,
Dra. RM. Sri Suryaningsih, MA 20 February 2008 Major Sponsor
GM. Adyanggono, SS. MA 20 February 2008
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of foremost, I would like to thank to Jesus Christ who always helps
and guides me to accomplish this thesis from the beginning to the end. I would
like to express my sincerest gratitude to those who have helped me in finishing
this thesis:
1. My lovely Soegijapranata Catholic University, the place that I can study and
get a lot of lessons for my life and also has good socializing with others.
2. My Dean, Mrs. Henny Hartono, SS, MPd. and Faculty of Letters’ Lectures.
Thanks for the dedication to the students until now.
3. My Major Sponsor Mrs. RM. Sri Suryaningsih, MA and Mr. GM
Adyanggono, SS. MA who has always sincerely guided me and encouraged
me with her patience and advice in finishing this thesis. Thank you so much.
4. My beloved family. My father and mother, my brother Ricky and Ricko,
Thanks for your support, attention, prayers and love. I love you all. I hope all
of you really proud of me.
5. My beloved man, Ronny and his family. Thanks for the support, attention and
love for me. You are so precious.
6. My favorite girl friends, Debby and Ignatia, both of you, you are best of the
best friends in the world I ever had. Thank for you all for all the good
memories I ever know, feel although at the good and bad times. I dedicated
this thesis for you girls. Without you, I can not survive and finish my study
TABLE OF CONTENT
PAGE OF TITLE . . . i
PAGE OF APPROVAL . . . ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . iii
TABLE OF CONTENT . . . iv
ABSTRACT . . . vi
ABSTRAK . . . vii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……… 1
1.1. Background of the Study ……… 1
1.2. Scope of the Study ……….. 5
1.3. Problem Formulation ……….. 5
1.4. Objectives of the Study ……….. 5
1.5. Significance of the Study ………... 5
1.6. Definition of Terms ……… 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1. The Victorian Era …...……… 7
2.2. Sociological Criticism ...………12
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………. 20
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ………. 22
4.1. The Life of the Rich ….……… 22
4.2. The Life of the Poor …………...……….. 30
4.3. The Disharmony between the Rich and the Poor . 35 4.3.1. The Rich’s Attitudes toward the Poor ….. 35
4.3.2. The Poor’s Reaction against the Rich ….. 39
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ……….. 44
ABSTRAK
Hari Natal diyakini oleh masyarakat Kristen sebagai masa untuk berbagi kasih dan kebahagiaan dengan sesama. Namun, melalui A Christmas Carol,
Charles Dickens memanfaatkan perayaan Natal sebagai sarana untuk menggambarkan kondisi masyarakat Inggris pada jaman Victoria dimana banyak sekali terjadi masalah sosial dimana orang-orang yang berkuasa memanfaatkan kesempatan untuk menekan kaum miskin demi keuntungannya sendiri. Sungguh menarik mengingat cerita anak-anak yang berlatar belakang malam Natal ini memiliki pesan sosial yang penting. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini dilakukan dalam upaya mencari tahu bagaimana kehidupan masyarakat Inggris pada jaman Victoria melalui kisah ini.
Penelitian ini bertujuan mengungkapkan kehidupan orang-orang kaya yang diwakili oleh Ebenezer Scrooge serta bagaimana reaksi orang-orang miskin terhadap dirinya yang terdapat di dalam novel.
Dalam melaksanakan penelitian, penulis menggunakan pendekatan Marxisme mengingat perbedaan yang tajam antara si kaya dan si miskin dalam stratifikasi sosial masyarakat Inggris kala itu. Pendekatan Marxisme merupakan suatu pendekatan sosiologis terhadap karya sastra yang memandang karya atau seni sebagai hasil kekuatan sejarah yang dapat dianalisa dengan melihat kondisi materi yang menjadi tempat terbentuknya.
ABSTRACT
Christmas is believed by the Christians as a moment to share love and joy to each other. However, through A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens uses
Christmas celebration as a means to describe the conditions of British society at the Victorian Era in which there are so many social problems where the powerful people using the opportunity to oppress the poor for their own benefits. It is interesting to consider that this children story of Christmas Eve possesses an important socail message. Therefore, this study is conducted to in the efforts to search how the life of British people at the Victorian Era through this story.
This study is meant for revealing the life of the rich represented by Ebenezer Scrooge as well as how the poor reacts for him reflected in the novel.
In proceeding the study, the writer uses Marxist criticism considering the contrast between the rich and the poor in British social stratification of that time. Marxist criticism is a sociological apprach to literature that viewed workds or art as the products of historical forces that can be analyzed by looking at the material conditions in which they were formed.
