RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB
IN PAULO COELHO’S
THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DIYAN KRISNAWATI
Student Number: 104124008
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB
IN PAULO COELHO’S
THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DIYAN KRISNAWATI
Student Number: 104124008
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB
IN PAULO COELHO’S
THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM
By
DIYAN KRISNAWATI Student Number: 104214008
Approved by
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. Advisor
July 14, 2014
Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A., Ph.D. Co- Advisor
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB
IN PAULO COELHO’S
THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM
By
DIYAN KRISNAWATI Student Number: 104214008
Defended before the Board of Examiners On July 21, 2014
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairperson : Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. ________________
Secretary : Dra. A.B. Sri Mulyani, M.A. ________________
Member 1 : M. Ananta Tri Suryandari S.S., M.Ed. ________________
Member 2 : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ________________
Member 3 : Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A., Ph. D. ________________
Yogyakarta, July 25, 2014 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya Mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma
Nama : Diyan Krisnawati Nomor Mahasiswa : 104214008
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB
IN PAULO COELHO’S
THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan 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 kepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencatumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 25 Juli 2014
Yang menyatakan,
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been
previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that,
to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material
previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the
text of the undergraduate thesis.
Yogyakarta, July 10, 2014
I am a type of person… if you ask a question, and I don’t know the answer…I’m
gonna tell you that I don’t know. But I bet you what. I know how to find the
answer, and I will find the answer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am writing this page to show my gratitude for everyone who has supported
me to finish my study. I would like to say thank to Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.
Hum., for the guidance and spirit so I can accomplish my study punctually, Paulus
Sarwoto, S.S., M.A., Ph.D., for giving me criticism and advices to strengthen my
study. I also thank for my ‘very important person’ in my life: Gregorius Budi
Subanar Sj, Baskara T. Wardaya, SJ, Mr. Bega, Mr. Jati, for giving me support,
time, and little discussion toward my study. Thank you so much.
This study means nothing without support of my friends in 10’ English
Letters including the staff. I am thankful to be your friend and partner. I also want
to thank my friends in my boarding house, the owners, my lovely bicycle: senja, Peer Partner, for all mothers and fathers in my surroundings who help me to
provide my needs for my study, and everyone else that cannot be mentioned here
one by one. Thank you for a good time and a bad time, to make me to be what I
am now, to keep in touch even though it seems hard somehow.
Last but not least, no words can express my deepest gratitude for my family,
thank you for your trust, support and pray my beloved mother, Martini, father,
Sugeng, my lovely sister Winda Oktavia, and my brother, Bagus Sapto Nugroho.
My greatest Savior Jesus Christ, thank you for not leaving me. No matter what I
have done and decided. Thank you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... ii
APPROVAL PAGE ... iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ... v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... vi 1. Theory of Character and Characterization ... 10
2. Theory of Setting... 12
ABSTRACT
KRISNAWATI, DIYAN. RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB IN
PAULO COELHO’S THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2014.
It is familiar for us hearing a term ‘myth’. Some people assume that myth is a kind of a story or a legend. The rest believe that myth is a story to keep people behaves according to the norm. Nevertheless, myth is more than a story. It is a type of speech. Roland Barthes says that myth is not only a type of speech but also a motivated and stolen language. It is used to reach a certain aim of certain people. The problem happens when most of people accepting the myth improperly. It causes people live in chaos and fear. Thus, it is important to understand myth rationally. That is what Paulo Coelho did. Through The Devil and Miss Prym he makes a ‘re-visionary’ work by relating it with the story in the Bible, Ahab and Naboth’s Vineyard. The Devil and Miss Prym is his way to re-vision some characters in the Bible and re-create them with a new re-vision. Re-vision has close understanding with the term re-imagine or re-write. Re- imagine is when we see a chair as a chair. In the other hand, re-vision is when we see a chair from anything which moves round the chair.
This study has two problem formulations as guidance for the writer to make her stay on focus with the topic. First is how The Devil and Miss Prym re-vision the myth of King Ahab in the Bible. It analyzes and explains the process of re-vision which Coelho did. Second is what the results of the re-re-vision are. It covers: the table of re-vision’s process, the factors which cause to conduct re-vision, and the function of re-vision.
The method which is used in this study was a library research. The primary source of this study is a book from Paulo Coelho entitled The Devil and Miss Prym. The secondary data are some books about myth, character and characterization, re-vision, and also some information from the internet sites. The approach that the writer applies in this work is structuralism. It studies a certain object which has meaning but that meaning or essence is in the outside. It also concerns with the study of the text intrinsically and extrinsically.
The results of this study are: (1) The Devil and Miss Prym can be concluded as the re-vision of King Ahab myth since the characters in the novel substitute the characters in the Bible and they appear distinctively in their characterization (2) The novel is written based on the fact that our life cannot be separated from myth since myth may appear, reach, even corrupt everything ( language, meaning) (3)
ABSTRAK
KRISNAWATI, DIYAN. RE-VISIONING THE MYTH OF KING AHAB IN
PAULO COELHO’S THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2014.
Tentu tidak asing lagi bagi kita mendengar istilah mitos. Beberapa orang beranggapan bahwa mitos adalah sebuah legenda atau cerita rakyat. Sebagian lagi percaya bahwa mitos adalah cerita yang mampu membuat kita mematuhi norma- norma yang ada. Namun, mitos ternyata lebih dari sekedar sebuah cerita. Mitos adalah cara berkomunikasi. Tidak hanya itu, menurut Roland Barthes mitos juga dapat disebut bahasa curian dan bahasa yang memiliki motivasi tertentu. Permasalahan yang sering terjadi adalah ketika orang- orang tidak tepat dalam menalar sebuah mitos. Hal itu menyebabkan manusia hidup dalam kekacuan dan ketakutan. Maka dari itu, penting untuk mengerti mitos dengan baik. Hal inilah yang Paulo Coelho lakukan. Melalui The Devil and Miss Prym ia membuat
sebuah karya ‘re-visionary’ dengan menghubungkan itu pada sebuah cerita di Alkitab, Ahab dan Kebun Anggur Naboth. The Devil and Miss Prym adalah cara yang ia gunakan untuk me-re-vision beberapa karakter di Alkitab dan membuat ulang mereka dengan sudut pandang yang berbeda. Pengertian re-vision hampir sama dengan istilah re-imagine atau re-write. Re- imagine adalah saat kita melihat sebuah kursi sebagai kursi sedangkan re- vision adalah cara kita melihat kursi dari hal apapun yang mengelilingi kursi tersebut.
Studi ini memilik dua pertanyaan sebagai bahan acuan agar penulis tetap fokus pada topik. Pertama, bagaimana The Devil and Miss Prym menilik kembali mitos King Ahab di Alkitab. Poin ini menganalisa dan menjelaskan proses dari re-vision tersebut. Kedua, apa saja hasil dari re-vision. Bagian ini meliputi: tabel proses re- vision, faktor-faktor penyebab perlunya melakukan re-vision, dan fungsi dari re-vision itu sendiri.
Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah riset perpustakaan. Sumber utama pada studi ini adalah sebuah novel karya Paulo Coelho berjudul The Devil and Miss Prym. Sumber kedua yaitu beberapa buku tentang mitos, karakter dan karakterisasi, re-vision, dan juga beberapa informasi dari internet. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan strukturalisme. Pendekatan ini mempelajari sebuah objek yang memiliki makna namun makna tersebut berasal dari luar objek. Strukturalisme juga menitik beratkan pada studi sebuah teks baik secara intrinsik maupun ekstrinsik.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.Background of the Study
It must be familiar to us hearing a term of myth especially in a very
traditional society. Some people assume that myth is a legend or a folktale which
is usually tells about a special creature or character. The rest argues that myth is a
history that keeps people to behave in accordance with the norm. Nevertheless, to
divine myth is not a practical thing since myth is almost the same with a legend.
Eliade, the thinker of myth, he started the definition of myth as an
expression of the sacred in words:
it reports realities and events from the origin of the world that remain and events from the origin of the world that remain valid for the basis and purpose of all there is. Consequently, a myth functions as a model for human activity, society, wisdom, and knowledge. Typically, the myth presents itself as telling its listeners of a time altogether different from the
time of our experience (“In the beginning…”), whereas the typical fairy tale,
no matter how wonderful its events, begins “Once upon a time…”, that is to say, a time like ours (Eliade, 1987: 263-264).
Regarding to the Eliade‟s perspective of myth it is logical why myth is
always linked to the story or legend or something that had happened in the past. It
is because myth has been born to understand and to tell the process of the
universe, the beginning of something in the world that cannot be simply
understood. It has its own time where man has not been existed yet.
However, if we see myth more closely (especially myth as a modern
science), it is more than a story or a legend. It is “the way of speech” with its
concept that used to reach a certain aim. It is what Barthes means that “myth is a
motivated speech”. As Susan Sontag has mentioned in her book, A Barthes Reader, Barthes emphasizes that motivation in myth is unavoidable. “It is
nonetheless very fragmentary. It is not “natural”: it is history which supplies its
analogies to the form (Sontag, 1986:113)”.
When considering the importance of myth in this analysis, the writer
supports the idea of myth by Richard Ellmann, he examines myth as:
the realms of nature, of cultural history, and of unconscious thought. The modern return to mythical forms is in part an attempt to reconstitute the value-laden natural environment that physical science has tended to discredit. Myths are public and communicable, but they express subliminal mental patterns that come close to the compulsive drives of the unconscious (Elmann, 1965: 617).
Thus, it is not surprising that many people have been hindered in
understanding myth. For instance, after watching Cinderella many people especially children believe that a step mother is a terrifying person. It is a myth
and of course it contains an ideology which is “a step mother is must be a frightful
person”. Somehow, myth can be so easily accepted by people without think it
first, whether it is true or not.
This case motivates the writer to study the power of myth. Fortunately, the
writer finds the portrait of the circumstance where people tend to be the victim of
myth (since they understand myth improperly) in The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho. The writer chooses it as the primary source of her study since this
novel issuing the significance of myth, which is the myth of King Ahab.
One of the stories in the Bible, titled Ahab and Naboth’s Vineyard it
to evil including his wife, Jezeebel. He killed Naboth in order to take the
possession of Naboth‟s vineyard. Then, God sends Elia to confront Ahab and give
him punishment. Before God gives His punishment, Ahab has already repented
his sin. Nevertheless, in the following day he commits sin until the end of his life.
Consequently, the idea of this story causes people think Ahab is identically with a
bad character and always be bad character. It grows as a myth that King Ahab is
the wickedest king and as a king he can do anything he wants.
Meanwhile, King Ahab in The Devil and Miss Prym emerges distinctively. It is started with the story about a remote village named Viscos. In the past,
Viscos was the place where people so easily committing a sin. Under Ahab‟s
government, murder, robbery, and prostitute are legal to be done. Until one day,
Ahab was blessed by St. Savin and made Ahab realized that he could become a
good person. He changes Viscos into the place of a small paradise where the good
people live. Ahab even is known as a person who brings peace to Viscos. After
the death of Ahab, he becomes a myth in the heart of people in Viscos. It keeps
the society to behave as good as possible. They obey the norm and keep Viscos
like they keep themselves.
The story has not finished yet. This holy place later is horrified by the
arrival of evil. He comes and dresses as a pilgrim. His name is Carlos but Coelho
calls him as a Stranger. He challenges Chantal Prym to take his wager. In one
week this village must kill somebody and as a reward Viscos will get eleven gold
Now, Viscos is in a difficult situation. They have to choose between the
eleven gold bars or killing somebody. They decide to kill Berta, the oldest woman
in Viscos. Chantal comes and convinces people that gold means nothing than one
soul, Berta. She tells the myth of Ahab and Saint Savin to the stranger who seems
unsatisfied with her story. Finally, there is no one killing Berta including the
stranger.
From those two stories, the writer finds a strong relation between the story
Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard and The Devil and Miss Prym. This relation is
playing with the characters for the most. The Devil and Miss Prym comes up with a new character and characterization in which associating the characters in Ahab and Naboth’s Vineyard.
Harmon and Holman say that the influence of the Bible on English
Literature can merely be suggested not closely traced (Harmon and Holman,
2009:63). It means that Bible is only used for the benchmark to create a new
story. While, the existence of King Ahab which is found in the novel cannot be
regarded as a kind of a perfect coincidence but it is made by purpose. What is the
purpose?
The writer finds it is an interesting topic to be analyzed since Coelho comes
up with his idea that is the re-vision of King Ahab‟s myth through The Devil and Miss Prym. “Re- vision is when the author makes a story and put it another way, it
is a way of „defamiliarising‟, of; making strange‟, the naturalised or habitualised
world of conventional perceptual reality, of „seeing things as they really are”
Regarding the theory of re-vision above it encourages the writer to put a
question why Coelho did re-vision of King Ahab. Why he allows the presence of
Ahab‟s myth in his novel. Why he chooses the figure of King Ahab. Is there
something wrong with the Bible or in the people‟s way in interpreting or
understanding the myths? Does myth actually have a massive impact toward
human life?
Like what Elmann has mentioned above that “myth is communicable but it
tends to be accepted without any deeper analysis” (Elmann, 1986, 113). In The Devil And Miss Prym, it can be seen that the myth of Ahab was successful to
communicate with the people in Viscos to be a good person. In other word, myth can be regarded as an applicable tool in the society to teach them how to be a
well- behaved person.
However, that myth also has weakness. It influences the people in Viscos to
attempt as long as possible to be a perfect man. It eventually creates the society
who is afraid of change, the society who lives in a fake happiness.
According to Northrop Frye as cited in Graham Good‟s article, Northrop Frye And Liberal Humanism, myth is divided into two: they are the myth of concern and the myth of freedom.
The myth of concern is what holds a group, community, or society together. It has a strong desire to transform the university into a society of concern, like church or political party. The myth of freedom is what sees truth as correspondence to reality as verified by the individual. It appeals to such self-validating criteria as ―logicality of argument or (usually a later stage) impersonal evidence and verification. It is inherently liberal, helping to develop and honouring such values as objectivity, detachment, suspension of judgment, tolerance and respect for the individual
Both the myth of concern and freedom can be found in a society obviously
including in a society like Viscos. However, to know whether The Devil and Miss Prym is the myth of concern or freedom it needs an approach to answer that. In this study, the writer applies structural analysis. Structural analysis enables the
writer to identify the reason why Coelho makes re-vision of King Ahab‟s myth,
how it elaborates, and what the function of the re-vision itself; it leads to the
conclusion whether The Devil and Miss Prym is the myth of concern or the myth of freedom.
B. Problem Formulation
Identifying the re-vision of myth in the story requires a comprehensive
analysis. Therefore, it is a must for the writer to make some problem formulations.
There are two problems have been formulated:
1. How does The Devil and Miss Prym re-vision the myth of King Ahab in the Bible?
2. What is the result of the re-vision?
C. Objectives of the Study
The first objective of this study is to analyze and elaborate the re-vision of
King Ahab‟s myth as depicted in the novel. The second is indentifying the result
D. Definition of Terms
Since each person may have their own interpretation of some terms, it is
important to define some terms to avoid misconception. The terms that must be
defined can be seen below:
1. Myth
According to Campbell, myth is an organized of stories (i.e., “myths”) by
which we explain our beliefs and our history. Beneath the story- lines, myths
usually confront major issues such as the origin of humanity and its traditions, and
the way in which the natural and human worlds functions on a profound, universal
level (http://mythsdreamssymbols.com/campbell.html, April 13, 2014). Roland
Barthes gives an idea of myth as a type of speech. It is a system of
communication, that it is a message. This allows one to perceive that myth cannot
be possibly be an object, a concept, or an idea; it is a mode of signification, a form
(Sontag, 1986: 93).
2. Re-vision
Peter Widdowson points on his book, Literature he argues that re- vision is to see in another light; to re- envision or perceive differently; and thus to recast and re-evaluate the „original‟. (1999:164-165). Besides, Rich defines re- vision as
the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a
new critical direction- is for us more than a chapter in cultural history: it is an act
of survival. Until we can understand the assumptions in which we are drenched
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A.Review of Related Studies
The Devil and Miss Prym was written in 2000 by Paulo Coelho. The novel in which temptation becomes the prominent topic has attracted some people to
study the story. The first study has done by Agnes Yudita Larasatingrum (English
Letters Department of Sanata Dharma University, 2001) entitled Deviant Character Of Chantal Prym In Paulo Coelho‟s The Devil and Miss Prym. She studied the significance of Chantal Prym who was regarded as a deviant character
by the society. Using sociological approach she analyzed the society behavior and
treatment toward Chantal Prym. Her analysis has some results. They are: Chantal
regrets her being as a part of Viscos society. This regret leads her to be labeled by
the society as a deviant character. According to her analysis Chantal can be
considered as a pure deviant since she tries to fight and struggle to reach what she
really wants (Larasatingrum, 2008: 55).
The second study was conducted by Sheme Mary P U, Phd student, research
and PG Department of English, St Thomas‟s College, Thrissur, Kerala, India. The
title of her study is Relocating The Soul in Paulo Coelho‟s Novel The Devil and Miss Prym. Mary involves the theory of Sigmund Freud about id, ego, and super ego in analyzing the characters. One example, when Chantal decides to run away from Viscos and bring the gold bar with her Mary indicates it is what Freud calls
The result of her study is she states that Chantal Prym as a person who is
able to regenerate the goodness in the minds of the people and the social
construction was shattered by the interference of an individual soul firmly adhered
to the morality principle (superego). She was successful to transform id into
superego to the society replacing the common interest restoring the moral code (Mary, 2013: 45).
The last is the study from Jeena Ann Joseph entitled The Way of Salvation: Paulo Coelho‟s The Devil and Miss Prym. Joseph acknowledges Coelho as is a
brilliant writer. It can be seen from her statement she says that:
Though he makes no distinction among religious, his catholic inclinations are very much visible in the texts. It is not because Catholicism is the best religion, but religion close to his heart. He felt he needed something more than atheism in his life and he chose Catholicism as a way of communicating with the mystery. Each and every book can be given a religious outlook; He seem to evolve a unique by combining the religious fictional and revitalizing elements together (Jeena, 2011: 63).
Joseph finds that this is an amazing story of Coelho because it draws the
eternal fight between the angels and devils for the soul of mankind is out into the
form an intriguing allegorical story (Joseph, 2011: 68). She is also arguing that the
way Coelho creates his work can be a model of self-salvation. In other words,
after reading this story the readers can light their life and to be closer with God.
(Joseph, 2011:66).
If they pay close attention to the Chantal and Carlos as the battle between
good and bad, in this study the writer focuses on different point of view which is
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
a. Character
One of the intrinsic elements of the story is character. It often appears as a
human character. It has a name to be called, it has physically appearance, and it
has emotion. Baldick explains character as a personage in a narrative or dramatic
work; also a kind of prose sketch briefly describing some recognizable type of
person (Baldick, 1990: 33).
Abrams as he points in his book, A Glossary Of Literary Terms defines characters are the person presented in dramatic or narrative work, who are
interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities
that are expressed in what the say-the dialogue-and by they do-the action
(Abrams, 1993:23).
Richard Gill comes up with the idea of character that someone in a literary
work has some sort of identity, an identity which made up by appearance,
conversation, action, name and (possibly) thoughts going on in the head (Gill,
1995: 127).
For clearer understanding of this theory, E. M. Forster argues that characters
are the actors that the author makes in his delirious excitement and their nature is
conditioned by what he guesses about other people, and about himself, and is
b. Characterization
Characterization can be assumed as a method that the author chooses in
describing the character. It comes up with the questions what the characters do
and what their contributions to the whole story. It is a decisive part of the story
whether the story will be plausible or not.
Baldick concludes characterization as the representation of persons in
narrative and dramatic works. It can be direct method by means it looked from the
attributions of qualities in description or commentary. It can be indirect method
when we see the character from his action, speech, or even his appearance
(Baldick, 1990: 34).
Abrams says that characterization is when the author presents the acting and
speaking of the characters and leaves the reader to infer what motives and
dispositions lie behind what they say and do (Abrams: 1993:24).
Meanwhile, Richard Gill examines characterization as a method or the way
in which the character is created. He divides it into two methods telling and
showing. In telling, the reader informs directly the reader about the character;
whereas in showing, the reader is left together what the character is like from what
he or she sees.
In addition, Gill emphasizes that characterization will be taken for granted
in a good deal of what we say and attention will be taken by what characters are
like. It can be taken from the way characters speak and think. And then, it is also
This point is closely related to the dress. Clothes have several functions in
novels. First, clothes as an expression of personality. Second, clothes are
sometimes used to indicate social status. Clothes can also help to create the
atmosphere of a book. Clothes can sometimes be an essential element in the
development of the plot (Gill, 1995: 139- 144).
Furthermore, the characterization in the novel can be done when we see the
social standing of characters, the name of the character (is there any significant
about the character‟s name?), the company of characters it may come to the
question in what company characters appears. The last is from what the character
does along with the plot (Gill, 1995: 139- 144).
2. Theory of Setting
As mentioned in A Glossary of Literary Terms by M.H. Abrams, setting is: The general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of single episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place (Abrams, 1993:192).
Furthermore, Watson emphasizes that setting is more than when and where.
It is what he calls an integral setting:
Exerts a great deal of influence upon the values, speech, and actions of characters, the movement of plot, and the presentation of theme and mood; integral setting can also serve as a symbol. A setting defined as integral means that a careful and full description of the setting is provided in concrete terms, characters move through the setting, not simply over it (Watson, 1999: 638).
To catch the readers‟ eye of course setting must be interesting and
„beautiful‟. It is created smoothly so the reader may feel the atmosphere and
adventure that characters have. In this study the setting covers the society in two
3. Theory of Symbol
Kennedy and Giogia say that symbol is always trying to say about
something else. It is a thing that suggests more than its literal meaning.
Symbols generally do not “stand for” one meaning, nor for anything absolutely definite; they point, they hint, or, as Henry James put it, they cast long shadows (Kennedy and Giogia, 1999: 217).
Like other elements of the story, symbol has its function importantly. It
helps reader to make a picture in mind so that the reader may get the whole
meaning of the story. Chris Baldick adds symbol is an object that represents for
something else.
A symbol is a specially evocative kind of image (see imagery); that is, a word or phrase referring to a concrete object, scene, or action which also has some further significance associated with it: mountains, birds, and voyage have all been used as common literary symbol (Baldick, 1990: 218-219).
In this work, the symbols that we are focus on are the presence of vineyard
in the Bible and the presence of eleven gold bars in The Devil and Miss Prym. 4. Theory of Myth
To start the significance of myth, it is important to look back what myth in a
very basic understanding is. Basically, myth can be concluded a story in which
tells about the process of forming of the world like what Eliade and Campbell
have explained. Myth has some functions. First, myth grants continuity and
stability to a culture. Second, myth presents guidelines for living. Third, myth
justifies a culture‟s activity. Four, myth gives the meaning of life. Five, myth
explain the unexplainable. Myth helps us to understand world, for example, they
may state that a drought caused by angry deity. The last, myth offers role models
In the other hand, myth has been observed further and it conducts a
developed understanding that myth is not only a legend but also a system of
communication. As cited in Susan Sontag‟s book, Roland Barthes mentioned his
theory titled, Myth Today. He classifies the definition of myth into some major definitions. The first one is myth as a type of speech. Myth is a system of
communication that it is a message. Because of that everything can be a myth
provided it is conveyed by a discourse. Since myth as a type of speech, it can only
be analyzed when it is applied or used. “Myth is laden with literary self-
indulgence, revolt, images, in short with a type of social usage which is added to
pure matter” (1986:93-95).
Myth is when we see beyond a particular object whether it written or
pictorial and it hides a hidden motivation of individual. For instance, the candidate
of president uses batik during his campaign. We have had the ideology that batik
is symbolized Javanese culture. What he means by wearing batik in the campaign instead of using another type of cloth, is because batik will support him to show
off to the audience, that he has a power as what batik has.
The second is myth as a semiological system. “Myth is a peculiar system, in
that it is constructed from semiogical chain which existed before it: it is a second- order semilogical system (Sontag, 1986: 95-99)”. He adds that:
The signifier represents the meaning (form), signifier consist of form and meaning but they are never is any contradiction or conflict. The meaning is
always there to present the form. The signified represents concept. The signified can have several signifiers; that is why we can find many signifiers for one
signified. The correlation of the first two is the sign.
However, it is will cause the ambiguity if use the word sign again because
signifier has been formed by the signs of the language. So that, the third term of myth is the signification (Sontag, 1986: 107).
Besides as a motivated language, myth also has the signification as the
naturalization of the concept. It involves and speaks through Nature. For example,
the price fall fruit and vegetable because they are in season not because the
government has so decided. “This is why myth is experienced as innocent speech:
not because they were hidden, they could not efficacious- but they are naturalized
(Sontag, 1986:118)”.
The last is myth as a stolen language. To simply understand the myth as a
stolen language, remember that the function of the myth always to transform a
meaning into form. It means that myth takes over or colonizes the language
(concept which is already settled) to strengthen it. Barthes gives an example:
For instance, the fall in prices has started. But what fall? That due to the season or that due to the government? The signification becomes here a parasite of the article, in spite of the latter being definite (Sontag, 1986:118).
Through myth, a person is assumed can read meaning of language beyond
what it implies there. Thus, somehow myth requires a wide knowledge to
“This is why Barthes says that myth can reach everything, corrupt
everything, and even the very act of refusing oneself to it (Sontag, 1986:118)”.
As written in Graham Good‟s article, Frye categorizes myth into two types,
the myth of concern and the myth of freedom. The myth of concern is what holds a group, community, or society together.
It has a strong desire to transform the university into a society of concern, like church or political party. What is true for concern is what society does and believes in response to authority, and a belief, so far as a belief is verbalized, is a statement of willingness to participate in a myth of concern. The typical language of concern therefore tends to become the language of belief. It is inherently traditional and conservative, placing a strong emphasis on values of coherence and continuity. It originates in oral or preliterate culture and is associated with continuous verse conventions and discontinuous prose forms. And it is ―deeply attached to ritual, to coronations, weddings, funerals, parades, demonstrations, where something is publicly done that expresses an inner social identity
(http://cinema2.arts.ubc.ca/units/canlit/pdfs/articles/canlit148-Northrop(Good).pdf, March 28, 2014).
In the contrary, the myth of freedom is what sees truth as correspondence to
reality as verified by the individual.
It appeals to such self-validating criteria as ―logicality of argument or (usually a later stage) impersonal evidence and verification. It ―stresses the importance of the non-mythical elements of culture, of the truths and realities that are studied rather than created, provided by nature rather than by social vision. It originates in the mental habits which a writing culture, with its continuous prose and discontinuous verse forms, brings into society
(http://cinema2.arts.ubc.ca/units/canlit/pdfs/articles/canlit148-Northrop(Good).pdf, March 28, 2014).
One thing that makes the two categories of myth is far different. If the myth
of concern is “what holds”, the myth of freedom is “what sees”. As what has
mentioned above that the myth of concern usually is run by church or political
party or even certain norms in society, their objective is to hold a group to shape
For instance, church teaches you about Ten Commandments. Meanwhile,
the myth of freedom gives you a space to argue, to re-think, to see something that
usually as a society concern critically. It comes from self- awareness that there are
many things in society that makes you think in the box and you have to find the
way out. For example, the reason you have to study in a university after you have
graduated from senior high school, you have to be able to be good in science
rather than in language and so on.
5. Theory of Re-vision
Peter Widdowson mentions on his book, Literature that re- vision is the term deploys a strategic ambiguity between the word revise: „to examine and
correct; to make a new, improved version of; to study anew‟, and re-vision: to see
in another light; to re- envision or perceive differently; and thus to recast and re-evaluate the „original‟. (1999:164-165).
Re- vision is when the author makes a story and put it another way, it is a way of „defamiliarising‟, of; making strange‟, the naturalised or habitualised world of conventional perceptual reality, of „seeing things as they really are‟ (Widdowson, 1999: 114).
Rich defines the project thus: Re-vision- the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new critical direction- is for us
more than a chapter in cultural history: it is an act of survival. Until we can
understand the assumptions in which we are drenched we cannot know ourselves
There are some principal characteristics of „re-visionary‟ works:
1. that they tend to „re-write‟ canonic texts- those „classics‟ which have a high
profile of admiration and popularity in our literary heritage;
2. that they keep the original text in clear view, so that it is not just the „source‟
of new modern version but a constantly invoked intertext for it;
3. that, in this way, they denaturalise the original in exposing those discourses
which we no longer see in it because we have learnt to read it in restricted
and conventional ways;
4. that they not only re- write the original as a different, separate, new work,
but re-cast, and thus repossess and liberate, the original as itself a „new‟ text
to be read newly- enabling us to „see‟ a different one to what we thought we
knew as, say, Jane Eyre, Robinson Crusoe, King Lear, The Tempest or „An
Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard‟;
5. that they make us see parallels (or contrast) between the period of the
original text‟s production and that of the modern work;
6. that they invariably have a clear cultural- political thurst, especially on
behalf of those exploited, marginalized and silenced by dominant
ideologies, in demanding that the political inscription and cultural
complicity in oppression of past texts be revised and re-visioned as part the
process of restoring a voice, a history or an identity to the erstwhile
oppressed (Widdowson, 1999: 165-166).
The writer realizes that the use of the word re-vision will cause the
are more familiar to be used. However, re- vision is distinctive from the others
two. Re- imagine derives from the prefix re- and a verb imagine. It is to form
again a picture or idea of something in your mind (Oxford, 2008: 220). Re- write
derives from the prefix re- and a verb write. It is to produce something in written
form so that people can read (Oxford, 2008: 516). These two terms are stopped
only to picture and write again. In the other hand, re- vision comes up with deeper
definition which can be found in six principles above.
Furthermore, re- vision is different with the word revision. Re- vision
derives from the prefix re- and vision. Beside, revision comes from a verb revise
and suffix ion-. Re- vision can be understood as re- envision since they have same understanding which is the ability to see or picture something (Oxford, 2008:
495).
Since one of six principles of re-vision is it tends to re-write so that it can be
understood that re-vision also involves the activity of re-write or re- imagine
itself. Meaning to say, re-vision cannot be separated with the act to re-write and
re- imagine. What makes it different is re- vision re-write and re- imagine a work
comprehensively; even it analyzes everything that rounds the object of analysis.
6. Theory of Structural Analysis
Eagleton emphasizes that structural analysis is first, it is an analytical not
evaluative. Second, it refuses the „obvious‟ meaning of the story and seeks
instead to isolate certain „deep‟ structures within it, which are not apparent on the
surface. The third is if one can say the particular content of narrative is
does not follow for a simple belief that you should look at things „structurally‟.
You can examine a poem as a „structure‟ while still treating each of its items as
more or less meaningful in itself (Eagleton, 1996: 82- 83).
For instance, we see the sun in the poem because its relation with (for
example; the moon) the other object within the poem not from our own mind.
Eagleton adds that the relation between the various items of the story may be ones
of parallelism, opposition, inversion, equivalence and so on; as long as this
structure of internal relations remains intact, the individual units are replaceable
(Eagleton, 1996: 83).
According to Barry structural analysis is the analysis that focuses on
studying of certain object which has meaning but that meaning or essence it in the
outside. Meaning is always an attribute of things, in literal sense that meanings are attributed to the things by human mind, not contained within them (Barry, 2002:
39). Barry makes a verbal diagram of structural analysis as we can see below:
Parallels Plot
Echoes Structure
Reflections/ repetitions in Character/ motive
Contrasts Situation/ circumstance
Patterns Language/ Imagery
We are looking in the factors listed on the left and we expect to find that
factors on the right. In this study, the writer only focus on the analysis of
parallels, echoes, reflection/ repetitions, contrast, and patterns of King Ahab in the
Bible can be found through character/ motive, setting, and symbol in The Devil and Miss Prym.
Try to recall that myth is a semiological system, so does the language as the
primary object to be analyzed for structural study. Myth only can be seen from its
utterance, which is the language. According to Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-
1913) language is a systems of signs. Each sign was to be seen as being made up
of a „signifier‟ (a sound- image, or its graphic equivalent) and the „signified‟ (the
concept of meaning)(Eagleton, 1996: 84).
For example, the three black marks c- a- t are the signifiers to the signified cat in and English mind. The relation between signifier and the signified is arbitrary. The word has a meaning only by virtue of its difference from the others. Give the example for the word cat, it has meaning not in itself but because it is not „cab‟, or „cad‟, or „bat‟ (Eagleton, 1996: 84).
Besides arbitrary, Saussure also argues that the meaning of the words are
(what we might call) relational. Meaning to say that the object is defined because
the internal relation with another. In simple understanding, it is like paired
opposite. For instance, we could have no concept of „day‟ without the linked of
concept „night‟. The last is language constitutesour world, it doesn‟t just record it
or label it. The meaning is always attributed to the object or idea by the human
mind, and constructed by and expressed through language (Barry, 2002: 41-44).
Since the study focuses on the re-vision of King Ahab‟s myth as depicted in
The Devil and Miss Prym, it is important to draw the relation among of the three concepts which have been issued in this study. They are myth, re-vision, and
interesting topic because myth is not only about the story or legend from the old
time, whereas it is a type of speech(Sontag, 1986: 93).
Besides, myth usually tends to destroy anything by naturalizing the concept
which has been settled (Barthes: 1986: 118). Therefore, the significance of myth
must be treated carefully. To analyze the true meaning of myth it is applicable to
conduct re-vision. In this context, it is the process to rethink or to re-evaluate the
„original‟. The Devil and Miss Prym is one example of re-vision that the author
done. Coelho „re-vision‟ the myth of King Ahab in the Bible by creating the story
of The Devil and Miss Prym.
To study this topic the writer chooses structural analysis as her approach. It
directs the writer to map the parallelism between the myth of King Ahab in the
Bible and in the novel. It is also applicable because structuralisms concerns in
studying myth and how myth is being re- vision within the story.
7. Review of the Story of King Ahab in the Bible
It is written in the Bible (King I 21: 1-29) that King Ahab is the wickedest
king of Israel. He has a wife named Jezebel. Jezebel is known as a bad woman
who worships to Satan. One day, Ahab asks for Naboth‟s vineyard but Naboth
refuses it because the vineyard belongs to his ancestor. Ahab comes to palace. He
looks so sullen and refuses to eat. Jezebel comes to Ahab and asking what
happens to him. Ahab tells to his wife that Naboth refuses to sell his vineyard to
Hearing that news, Jezebel encourages her husband to take the vineyard. It
is written in the seventh verse that: Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I‟ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” After that, Jezebel makes a letter falsification to kill Naboth.
Jezebel claims Naboth has rebelled the king and God.
Finally, Naboth is dead and Ahab can gain the vineyard. His deed is heard
by God, He sends Elia the prophet to convey His message to Ahab. In the verse
18- 19, God says that: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in
Samaria. He is now in Naboth‟s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of
it.19 Say to him, „This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?‟Then say to him, „This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth‟s blood, dogswill lick up your blood—yes, yours!‟.
When Elia delivers God‟s command Ahab is panic and frightened. He tore
his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around
meekly. After God heard that Ahab has regretted his sin, God cancelled to give
disaster to Ahab, He will bring the disaster in the days of Ahab‟s son.
It is not only Ahab gets the punishment from God but also Jezebel. In the
verse 23 it is said that 23 “And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: „Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of [b] Jezreel.24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”
This story has come to the conclusion that it is not surprising why Ahab is
labeled as the wickedest king of Israel who allows himself to be controlled by his
The fact is Naboth is dead but the Almighty of God remains there. This
shows to the reader especially the Christians the jealousy of God. Ahab loves the
worldly things than Him. Moreover, he chooses Jezebel to be his wife. Jezebel,
Sidonian by birth, is not just a worshiper of Baal but an active propagandist for
Baal-worship and a persecutor of the followers of the lord. Her abuse of her royal
power against the innocent Naboth is, in a way, the least of the indictment against
her (Miles, 1995: 178).
The concept of punishment is also being introduced here. It is when Ahab
realizes that he has done a big sin. However, Ahab is committing sin over and
over again. Does God give the punishment again? Do we need to commit sin first
then we able to repent of our sin? Through The Devil and Miss Prym these curiosities may find the answer.
C. Theoretical Framework
Regarding to the previous studies that have been mentioned before, the
writer feels it is a challenge for her to see the novel from another point of view,
which is, The Re-vision of King Ahab „s Myth In Paulo Coelho‟s The Devil and Miss Prym. Thus, this work not only develops the previous studies but also invents something new.
To solve the first problem of this study the writer uses the theory of
character and characterization, setting and symbol by Baldick, Abrams, Madden,
To elaborate the re-vision the writer uses a structural analysis approach. The
first theory comes from Barry under the title The Beginning Theory, the second is from Saussure, and the third is from Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory- An Introduction.
It is also helped by the theory of re-vision by W. J. Harvey, Peter
Widdowson, and Adrienne Rich. Realizing the importance of myth in this study,
the writer uses the theory of Myth Today by Roland Barthes and The Importance of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Mercia Eliade, and Jack Miles‟s GOD A Biography, so that, the writer can understand myth properly.
The last, to answer the second problem formulation which is the function of
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The Devil and Miss Prym written by Paulo Coelho and first published in 2000. It has been translated into more than twenty languages and The Devil and Miss Prym is an English version of O Demonio E A Senhorita Prym, the Portuguese original edition, published by the arrangement of Sant Jordi
Asociados, Barcelona, SPAIN. This novel then translated by Amanda Hopkinson
and Nick Caistor and published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2001. The Devil And Miss Prym (205 pages) concludes the trilogy And on the Seventh Day. The first two books were: By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994) and Veronika Decides to Die (1998). Each of the three books is concerned with human daily life. We often find a matter of love, death and power in life. It is a matter of
choice and it challenges us to do our best. For him, “the challenge will not wait,
life does not look back (Coelho, 2000: x).”
This novel takes place in a fictional place named Viscos. It is a remote
village with 281 inhabitants settled there. It is a big number enough but there are
only some of them are influential in Viscos: Chantal, Berta, the hotel landlady, the
priest, the mayor, the mayor‟s wife, the blacksmith, and the owner of most of the
lands around the village. Viscos is known as a paradise; the place where goodwill
grows, far away from civilization, and a peaceful place with the fresh air.
more than a fake happiness. They do their daily routine just the same with what
they have done yesterday. Everything is under controlled and seems so flat.
Suddenly, the silence is broken up by the evil that comes and dresses as a pilgrim.
He called the „Stranger‟. He enters Viscos and sees Chantal who just sits beside
the river. He chooses Chantal Prym to tell his wager to all people. In one week
Viscos must break one of Ten Commandants that is “Thou shalt not kill”. As a
reward, Viscos will gain eleven gold bars. It is hard to be imagined that the holy
place like Viscos is now being tested by the Stranger to do the evil thing, murder.
And besides, Viscos was controlled by the story of their ancestor which is King
Ahab. He is a good figure for them, a king who blessed by St. Savin and brings
peace to Viscos. The myth of King Ahab has been growing for many years as
their controller to think and act. This is the proof that Viscos is a village with a
high honor to their ancestor. They still believe in myth and superstition.
Nevertheless, it is about the eleven gold bars. It can afford the needs in
Viscos even until their grandchild‟s generation even more. It can save Viscos
from the machine that will destroy what their ancestor has built by their sweat.
Fortunately, they decide not to kill anybody but they almost kill Berta. Berta
saved by Chantal who is brave to shout to all people that it is just a trap made by
the Stranger. It is a fool thing to believe in Stranger who asks them to kill.
It is not a new thing for Paulo Coelho inserting the story from Bible into a
novel. His strength is he is able to see the Bible as a literature text. Coelho shows
us how to understand life through his novel. As a Catholic, he has a good
another side in which sometimes we just ignore it. Which is theoretically we may
call it re-vision. The Devil and Miss Prym is one example of it. This story cannot be separated with the story in the Bible, King Ahab And Naboth’s Vineyard. It says so because both of them have a strong correlation. The writer finds out an
obvious relation within these two different stories. Ahab is associated by Chantal
and Naboth is associated by Berta. The vineyard associated by eleven gold bars
and Elia the prophet is associated by St. Savin and so on. These relations have
pushed the writer to dig up more about The Devil and Miss Prym. The writer wants to analyze whether this re-vision which seen in the novel is the myth of
concern or the myth of freedom.
B. Approach of the Study
Realizing to the fact that to criticize a literary work is not a simple thing;
therefore, the writer is equipped by approach. Since the study focuses on the myth
of King Ahab and its re-vision in The Devil and Miss Prym therefore the writer chooses the structural approach.
The story must be divided into three layers. The first layer is the myth of
King Ahab in the Bible, the second layer is the myth of Ahab in The Devil and
Miss Prym, the last is The Devil and Miss Prym as the final re-vision of the myth
of King Ahab. Regarding this complexity, it is applicable to use structural
approach since structural approach is concerned with the internal relational of the
signs to one another. So that, the writer is able to analyze the relational of the
signs among those three layers. Structuralism as what Chris Baldick has
The radical shift of focus encouraged by such works was a redirection of attention from properties of individual works or authors to the underlying
„codes‟ governing literary (and other) works in general: what mattered now
was not so much what a novel or poem might mean, but how it produced its meaning, or how readers produced meaning from it (Baldick, 1996:167). Structural is interested in how the signs within the story work. It believes
that words define one to another to gain its meaning. It is usually therefore
produces significance, coherence, and binary thematic oppositions in a literary
work (Culler, 1996:167). Therefore, it is a proper choice to apply this approach.
C. Method of the Study
In this opportunity, the writer took a library research as a method of her
study. The library research had done by reading some books related to the topic
that the writer wanted to analyze.
Firstly, the writer read Paulo Coelho‟s novel which was The Devil and Miss Prym as the primary object of this study. Secondly, the writer tried to find out the related studies about this novel by browsing the information in the internet sites
and reading some books. There were several studies which discussed about The Devil and Miss Prym with a distinctive topic.
After comprehending it, the writer took a position what topic she analyzed.
The topic fell to the re-vision of King Ahab‟s myth that the writer found within
The Devil and Miss Prym.
Thirdly, the writer formulated some problem formulations and decided the
approach which applied in answering the problems. Two problem formulations
Myth of King Ahab in the Bible. The second is what the function of the re-vision
of King Ahab‟s myth.
The next step was answering the problems by applying the theories and
approach in analyzing the work. The theories used in this work are theory of
character and characterization, theory of setting, theory of symbol, theory of
myth, theory of re-vision, theory of structural analysis, and the review of King
Ahab in the Bible. While, the approach applied in this study was a structuralism
approach.
The last step was withdrawing a conclusion. This step was the final process
of this study. It contained to review of the previous discussion of the topic which
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
A. Re- visioning the Myth of King Ahab in The Devil and Miss Prym
The word re-vision is not a new thing in the world of literature. Like what
Widdowson has mentioned before, that re-vision is the act of „looking back with
fresh eyes‟. It means the „re-writing‟ of texts which have been constructed and
owned by another interest such as cultural, patriarchal, or imperial/ colonial power
(Widdowson, 1999:165).
This is also what Paulo Coelho does. Through his brilliant novel, The Devil and Miss Prym he conducts a re-vision which is the myth of King Ahab in the Bible from the story Ahab and Naboth’s Vineyard. He plays with the characters, setting, and symbol. It means that there are some characters, setting, and symbol
in the novel which assumed as the association of the characters, setting, and
symbol in the Bible. This phenomenon refers to the criteria of the re-vision itself
which is they not only re-write the original as a different, separate, new work, but
re-cast, and thus repossess and liberate, the original as itself a „new‟ text to be
read newly- enabling us to „see‟ different one to that we thought we knew as
(Widdowson, 1999:165).
While, one of six principals characteristic of „re-visionary” works is that
they make us see parallels (or contrasts) between the period of the original text‟s
next step to analyze the re-vision of King Ahab‟s myth is the writer must show the
parallel.
To draw the parallel, the writer is supported by the idea of Barry that, in
structural analysis instead of going straight into the content, in the liberal
humanist manner, the structuralist presents a series of pararells, echoes,
reflections, patterns, and contrasts, so that the narrative becomes highly
schematised (Barry, 2002:52).
In this study, in order to conduct a re-vision of King Ahab‟s myth the writer
focuses on the characters only. It is how parallels, echoes, reflections/ repetitions,
contrasts, and patterns in the Bible can be found through characters/ motives.
Setting, and symbol in The Devil and Miss Prym. The explanation of the parallels can be seen as follows:
B. The Description of the Parallel
1. The Myth of King Ahab in the Bible: Ahab and Naboth’s Vineyard
To do the re-vision, it is a must for the writer to know the original text first
(Bible). It is what Widdowson means in „re-visionary‟ work that they keep the
original text in clear view, so that it is not just the „source‟ of a new modern
version but a constantly invoked intertext for it (Widdowson, 1999: 165).
Therefore, in this section the writer has to analyze where King Ahab and
other characters come from for the first time in a history of literature (regarding
Bible as a literary text). They appear for the first time in the story in the Bible
Abrams as he points in his book, A Glossary Of Literary Terms defines characters are the person presented in dramatic or narrative work, who are
interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities
that are expressed in what the say-the dialogue-and by they do-the action
(Abrams, 1993:23). In this part, the characters are covering King Ahab, Jezebel,
Elijah the Prophet, Naboth, the society as a setting, and the presence of the
vineyard as a symbol.
a. King Ahab
Baldick concludes characterization as the representation of persons in
narrative and dramatic works. It can be direct method by means it looked from the
attributions of qualities in description or commentary. It can be indirect method
when we see the character from his action, speech, or even his appearance
(Baldick, 1990: 34). The first characterization of King Ahab is he is known as the
wickedest king of Israel. It can be seen from his attitude toward Naboth. As a king
he has already had everything but he still wants to possess Naboth‟s vineyard. It is
mentioned in the Bible:
21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+21%3A1-29&version=NIV, April 1st, 2014).
It can be seen his vanity as a king. He wants the vineyard because it is near
to his palace. He sees everything from money. He thinks he can get anything since
to the vineyard. Of course he has managed his vineyard to fulfill the needs. It is
possible not only for himself needs but also his family. On the contrary, Ahab
wants to replace it by vegetable. As a king Ahab does not have any respect to his
people, to honor people‟s sweat. It is what Roland Barthes calls myth as a
semiological system. It is „signified‟ represents concept and „signifier‟ represents
form (Sontag, 1986: 95). In this case the „signified‟ is the myth of king Ahab. The
„signifier‟ signifies the concept of king. The myth is: “he is a king who can do
anything he wants”.
The second, he is a kind of person who does not want to accept the truth,
which is the rejection of Naboth. Relating the statement above, the writer supports
the idea of structuralism, it is refusing the „obvious‟ meaning of the story and
seeks instead to isolate certain „deep‟ structure within it, which are not apparent
on the surface (Eagleton, 1996:83). Thus, it enables the writer to identify the
motive behind the rejection of Naboth.
The prominent point is not about Naboth who refuses giving the vineyard to
Ahab but the reason why Naboth does not want to give it. It is because Naboth is
trying to obey God‟s command. He refuses to give it to anyone since it is the
heritance of his ancestors (I King 21:3). This part eventually explains the third
characterization of King Ahab which is as an unreligious person. It says so
because Ahab allows himself to be controlled by devil. It is written in the verse 25
that:
There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife.26 He behaved in the vilest
