AN ANALYSIS OF AMOS MCCRACKEN’S REACTIONS TOWARD THE REALITY OF HIS LIFE
AS SEEN IN WILLIAM GOLDMAN’S FATHER’S DAY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Antonius Djatmiko Student Number: 021214090
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
AN ANALYSIS OF AMOS MCCRACKEN’S REACTIONS TOWARD THE REALITY OF HIS LIFE
AS SEEN IN WILLIAM GOLDMAN’S FATHER’S DAY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Antonius Djatmiko Student Number: 021214090
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
Free will is the ability to do gladly that which I must do
C. G. Jung
I CAN DO ALL THE THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO
STRENGTHENS ME
PHILLIPIANS 4:13
I dedicate this thesis to
Father, Mother, Tini Nanny, Silo, and Ndoetz
v
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I wrote, does not contain the work or
parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, 21 October 2008
The writer,
Antonius Djatmiko
021214090
vi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Antonius Djatmiko
Nomor Mahasiswa : 021214090
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
AN ANALYSIS OF AMOS MCCRACKEN’S REACTIONS TOWARD THE REALITY OF HIS LIFE
AS SEEN IN WILLIAM GOLDMAN’S FATHER’S DAY
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 dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 21 Oktober 2008
Yang menyatakan,
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I praise the Lord Jesus Christ as I have accomplished my undergraduate
thesis. I thank Him for His endless blessing and for all that I have in my life. I
thank Him for any help and support of others, which I believe God has sent to
show His love to me.
I would like to express my gratitude to my major sponsor Drs. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A., Ph.D. for his guidance, advice and assistance in completing this thesis. My gratitude also goes to Drs. Concilianus Laos Mbato, M.A., my cosponsor, for his critical correction, and all of the lecturers and staff of English
Language Education Study Program for their aids during my study in Sanata
Dharma University.
I would like to express my gratitude to my beloved family: my father, Yakobus Gunarso Soehardi, and my mother, Agustina Is Subardinah for their love, support and patience. I understand it takes a lot not to give up on me. I also
especially thank my sisters: Emirenciana Nyantyasningsih, Susana Rosalia Nyantyasningsih, and Agustina Yulianingsih for their support and patience. I thank my family for loving me just the way I am. I sincerely express my special
thanks to my girlfriend; Maria Bernadette Betaningdyas who always supports me and helps me when I have a problem. The happiness, sadness, and problem we
had faced brought us to be more understanding and mature.
viii
and support in everything that I do. I thank them for their understanding and for
loving me just the way I am. I am also grateful to other friends in English
Language Education Study Program and other faculties that I could not mention
one by one.
ix
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ix
LIST OF APPENDICES... xi
ABSTRACT ...xii
ABSTRAK ……… xiii
x
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY...22
3.1 Object of the Study ...22
3.2 Approach of the Study...23
3.3 Method of the Study...23
3.4 Organization of the Study...24
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS...26
4.1 The Description of Amos McCracken’s Characteristic ...26
4.2 The Reactions of Amos McCracken towards the Reality of his Life ...32
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ...44
5.1 Conclusions ...44
5.2 Suggestions...46
5.2.1 Suggestion to Future Researchers ...46
5.2.2 Suggestion for Teaching Learning Activities...47
REFERENCES ...50
xi
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page
Appendix 1: Summary of the Novel...53
Appendix 2: Cover of the Novel...55
Appendix 3: Biography of William Goldman...56
Appendix 4: Picture of William Goldman ...58
Appendix 5: Lesson Plan of Teaching Extensive Reading II...59
xii ABSTRACT
Djatmiko, Antonius. 2008. An Analysis of Amos McCracken’s Reactions toward the Reality of His Life as Seen in William Goldman’s Father’s Day. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis analyses a novel written by William Goldman in 1971 entitled Father’s Day. The main analysis of this novel is about Amos McCracken’s reactions revealed in the novel Father’s Day. It is interesting to discuss one’s reactions since the factors influencing people’s reaction are unpredictable.
There are two main questions that are going to be discussed in this study, namely (1) how the character of Amos McCracken is described in the novel, and (2) how Amos McCracken reacts towards the reality of his life.
The data gathering method used was library research. The data was collected from the novel itself as the primary source and other sources related to the novel as the secondary data. The theory of character and characterization are used to find out Amos McCracken’s characteristics. The psychological approach is used in this study as it discusses the reactions of Amos McCracken. Theories of psychology used are the theory of motivation and the theory of psychoanalysis. These theories are used to answer the second question in the problem formulation. The result of this study shows that Amos McCracken is a smart, talented and wellknown song writer who loves his daughter. He is also described as a daydreamer and a possessive man. As a divorced man, he decides to stay with his mistress in a hotel room to get sense of companionship and sex. However, he cannot hold his relationship with Betsy since he still cannot accept the fact that he has divorced from Lila. Moreover, his possessiveness towards Lila still remains and makes him get involved in a fight with Lila’s boyfriend, Frederick A. Hunter. Afterwards, he focuses his attention on his daughter as the only one who belongs to him by joining with his daughter for Abraham Lincoln Day Party. However, after the accident happens to his daughter in the park, his exwife threatens him that she will not let him see his daughter again. Then he tries to run away with his wounded daughter. As a result, his reactions end up with the rejection of other characters in the story. In other words, Amos’ reactions are driven by his desires to have relationships with others and avoid unpleasant feelings. Furthermore, his desire leads him to do irrational and possessive reactions. As a result, he fails to satisfy his need of love and belongingness as well as safety need.
xiii yang menarik untuk dibicarakan karena faktorfaktor yang mempengaruhi seseorang untuk bereaksi tidak dapat ditebak.
Ada dua permasalahan mendasar yang akan dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu (1) bagaimana karakter Amos McCracken dideskripsikan didalam novel, dan (2) bagaimana Amos McCracken bereaksi terhadap realita kehidupannya.
Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Data dikumpulkan dari novel itu sendiri sebagai sumber utama dan beberapa sumber lainnya. Teori karakter dan karakteristik digunakan untuk mencari tahu karakteristik Amos McCracken. Pendekatan psikologis digunakan dalam studi ini karena mendiskusikan reaksi dari Amos McCracken. Teori psikologi yang digunakan adalah teori motivasi dan teori psikoanalisis. Teori – teori tersebut digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua pada rumusan masalah.
Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa Amos McCracken adalah seorang penulis lagu yang pintar, berbakat dan terkenal yang sangat mencintai anak perempuannya. Dia digambarkan juga sebagai seorang yang posesif dan sering melamun. Sebagai seorang pria yang telah bercerai, dia memutuskan untuk tinggal dengan kekasih barunya di sebuah kamar hotel untuk mendapatkan rasa pertemanan dan seks. Tetapi dia tidak bisa mempertahankan hubungannya dengan Betsy karena belum bisa menerima kenyataan bahwa dia telah bercerai dari Lila. Apalagi rasa posesif Amos terhadap Lila masih tersisa dan membuatnya terlibat dalam perkelahian dengan Frederick A. Hunter yang merupakan kekasih Lila. Setelah itu dia memfokuskan perhatiannya ke anak perempuannya sebagai satu – satunya miliknya dengan bergabung dengan anak perempuannya dalam pesta hari Abraham Lincoln. Akan tetapi setelah kecelakaan yang terjadi pada anak perempuannya di taman, mantan isterinya mengancam tidak akan membolehkan dia untuk menemui anak perempuannya lagi. Kemudian dia mencoba untuk melarikan diri dengan anak perempuannya yang terluka. Sebagai hasil, reaksinya berakhir dengan penolakan dari tokohtokoh lain dalam cerita. Dengan kata lain, reaksi – reaksi Amos McCracken digerakkan oleh hasratnya untuk berhubungan dengan orang lain dan menghindari perasaan tidak menyenangkan. Hasratnya juga menggerakkan dia untuk melakukan reaksireaksi yang tidak masuk akal dan posesif. Akibatnya, dia gagal untuk memenuhi kebutuhannya akan cinta dan kepemilikan serta kebutuhannya akan rasa aman.
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents five parts, namely the background of the study, the
objectives of the study, the problem formulation, the definition of terms, and
benefits of the study. The background of the study contains some reasons which
serve as a basis for writing this study. The objectives of the study explain the aims
of the study. The problem formulation states the problems of this study. Benefits
of the study, the writer states some benefits that can be obtained by the readers of
this study. In the last section, the definition of terms clarifies some significant
terms used in this study in order to avoid misunderstanding.
1.1 Background of the Study
Reading literary works is a good activity. By reading literary works,
people can find some benefits such as knowledge and pleasure. Literary work is a
performance in words which is enjoyable, offering a unique delight or satisfaction
and also giving a beneficial effect on readers. According to Walker (612), literary
works can be divided into three major genres: dramas, poems, and novels.
Furthermore, he added that among others, novel is fairly easier to understand
since it is enjoyable to read. There are many valuable things in the novel that can
be obtained by readers. As one of valuable things in novel, knowledge can be
practiced in the way people lives and make them wiser when they face several
mistakes because people will be able to choose the right choices and make the
right decision.
Stanton (1965: 44) states that the particular strength of the novel is its
ability to build a complex subject fully, to create a complete world through the
presentation of the characters, a large complex of social situation, and a complex
relationship among few characters. From Stanton’s statement, it is clear that novel
is a reflection of life. It reveals people’s experiences in their daily life and the
problems that may emerge. A novel, whether it is fiction or nonfiction, contains
the condition of people’s real life, values, thought, and feelings about life through
the presentation of characters.
A character is an important role for forming the plot in the novel.
Characters in the novel are various and interesting. Through a character, the
author can convey his or her messages to the readers. From the characters, people
can learn about real human beings’ characteristics because the author will write
the natures of the characters based on real life’s experiences. Human natures are
diverse with no boundary. One person can never have exactly the same nature
with the others, though people might say that two people have the same nature,
they are never the same.
Human natures influence the way people react toward the reality of life.
Since the human natures are various, people’s reactions toward the reality of his
or her life also differ. People’s reactions can be beneficial for them in finding out
an effective or efficient way to solve the problems. However, it also can be
harmful and inefficient for them if the way to solve the problem that they have
Furthermore, there are a lot of factors influencing people’s reaction that
would be the fundamental reasons of doing it. Mostly, the factors themselves and the way people react are unpredictable. Therefore, it is interesting to find out how
one react toward the reality of his or her life and what underlies him or her to do certain reactions. Such an interesting fact as mentioned above is the main reason why this study is conducted
As seen in Amos McCracken, the main character of William Goldman’s Father’s Day. He is described in the novel as a smart and famous song writer
facing the reality that he has divorced and has no custody of his only daughter.
The discussion is focused on how Amos McCracken reacts toward the reality of
his life. In order to do so, the theory of motivation and the theory of
psychoanalysis are applied. The theory of motivation proposed by Abraham
Maslow is applied to explain the need that motivates Amos McCracken attitudes
as written in the novel (1981: 302308). Then, the theory of psychoanalysis
proposed by Sigmund Freud (1975: 404408) is applied to explore the
unconscious drives that determine him to do his actions.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The aim of this study is to find out one’s reactions toward his or her bitter
reality as seen in Amos McCracken, the main character of William Goldman’s
Father’s Day, who is divorced and has no custody of his daughter.
1.3 Problem Formulation
In this part, I would like to present two questions as the problems to
1. How is Amos McCracken, the main character of the novel, described?
2. How does Amos McCracken react to the reality of his life?
1.4 Benefits of the Study
This study is expected to give benefits for the writer who analyzes this study, the readers, and the students of English Language Study Program. Through this study, the writer understands more about one’s reactions toward the reality of his or her life, which give moral values of admitting that human nature are vary.
Through the study of this novel, the writer wants to show the values that this novel gives to the reader that might be useful in the real life. By understanding Amos McCracken’s character in Father’s Day, it is expected that the readers can learn from the character’s experience. It is expected that this study might help the readers to understand further how to counter with the unpleasant reality of their life with more acceptable ways in their society.
For the students of English Language Education Study Program, this study is useful to enrich their knowledge about literature. They can also use this study for a reference or as a comparative study to conduct studies on this novel. There is also suggestion in implementing Father’s Day to teach Extensive reading.
1.5 Definition of Terms
There are some terms used in this study. Those terms need to be defined to avoid misunderstanding. The definitions of those terms are:
1. Character
are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositions qualities that are expressed in what they say –the dialogue – and by what they do the action (Abram, 1981: 20). The second is the character related to the psychological study that is according to Webster’s Dictionary, character is a description of the traits of qualities of a person or type; character sketch. A character is also a person in a play, story, novel, etc (1972: 304). In this study, character refers to a person in a literary work who has tendency to speak and act in a particular way.
2. Personality
Kalish (1973: 5152) states that, the word personality is defined as “the dynamic organization characteristics attributes leading to behavior and distinguishing one individual from other individuals and it refers to the total individual and includes needs, motives, and method of adjusting, temperament, qualities, self concept, role behaviors, attitudes, values and abilities. In this study, personality refers to one’s action toward his or her life.
3. Influence
Hornby (1995: 611) states that influence is the power to affect somebody. In this study influence means the ability of the situations to affect Amos McCraken’s personality.
4. Custody
Hornby (1995: 103) states that, custody is the right or duty of caring for or
guarding of his or her child. In this study, custody refers one’s right or duty of
5. Reaction
Hornby (1995: 343) states that reaction has two definitions. Those are:
1. Respond emotionally: to respond to something by showing the feelings or
thoughts it arouses.
2. Respond by taking action: to respond to something by taking action.
In this study, reaction refers to one’s responds toward the reality of his or her life
7 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
To answer the questions stated in the problem formulation, it is necessary
to include some theories, which later will be connected to find the appropriate
answer to the problems stated in the previous chapter. Therefore, this chapter is
divided into five sections. The first part is theoretical review, which consists of
theory of character, theory of characterization, and critical approach in the literary
study. The second part is theory of psychology, which consists of theory of
psychoanalysis and theory of motivation. The third part is criticism of the novel.
The fourth part is the context of the novel, while the last part is theoretical
framework.
2.1 Theoretical Review
To discuss a work of literature, some theories of literature are needed.
There are theory of character, theory of characterization and theory of critical
approach.
2.1.1 Theory of Character
Characters are important elements of a fiction. The author makes the
reader understands the story and the development of the story to introduce
characters. Thus, it is important to know the theory of character. According to
Abrams (1981) in A Glossary of Literary Terms, characters are persons presented
dispositional and emotional qualities through their action and their dialogues in
the story. The grounds in the character temperament, desires and moral nature of
their speech and actions are called their motivation.
According to E. M. Forster (1927: 46) in Aspects of The Novel, there are
two categories of characters. The first is round character, which is capable to
surprise the reader. A round character has complex temperament and motivation
and represented with subtle peculiarity. A round character is difficult to describe
with any adequacy as the people in real life. The second classification is flat
character. This type of character is built around a single idea or quality. It is
represented in outline and without much individuality details as in round
character. Thus, this type of character can be described in a single phrase or
sentence. E. Van De Laar and N. Schoonderwoerd (1969: 170) in An Approach to
English Literature also say that the most perfect way for novelist to represent his
characters is by representing his characters in their wholeness and in all their
different aspects. Such characters are called round characters. In the other hand,
when a character represented only mainly in one aspect is called flat character.
While based on the amount of attention given to the characters, Henkle
(1977: 8897) divides characters into major and secondary or minor characters. He
also considers a major character as a protagonist. Major characters are characters
observed most often in the novel and whose appearances are frequent. By
understanding them, the readers will understand the focal experiences of the
novel. Henkle points out that the effectiveness of most novels depends upon the
ability of the major characters to express and dramatize the human issues of the
perform more limited functions. They are generally less complex, or less intense,
and drawn in shallower relief, present what is often only one side of the
experience.
2.1.2 Theory of Characterization
In the theory of characterization it is said that a character has particular
personalities and physical attitude that distinguish him or her from other
characters. Characterization is the process by which an author creates the
characters. According to Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods Jr. (1971: 20) in
Reading and Writing about Literature, there are two ways of characterization. The
first is by direct means. It is used to describe the character’s physical appearance
and intellectual, moral and the degree of sensitivity. The second way is by
dramatic means used to put the character in situation to show the character
through the character’s way of behaving and speaking.
It seems that Abrams has the same opinion with Rohrberger and Woods on
how to characterize. While Abrams (1981: 21) in his book A Glossary of Literary
Terms says that there are two different methods in characterizing the person in a
narrative, which are showing or dramatic method and telling method. In showing,
the author just writes about what the characters say and do and lets the readers
conclude by themselves what motives and dispositions lie behind the characters’
words and acts. Furthermore, in telling, the author gives the description, and often
evaluation, about the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters.
Meanwhile, Murphy (1972: 61173) in his book Understanding Unseen
understandable to and come alive for the readers. They are personal description,
character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions,
direct comment, thoughts, and mannerism. Here, the writer will explain briefly
about those characterizations.
The first one is personal description. It deals with physical appearances.
The author can describe a person’s appearance by using facial expression and
clothes that they wear in the story. A well dressed person can be identified as a
rich and intelligent man. A man with scars on his face can show that he is a
criminal.
The second is character as seen by another. Instead of describing a
character directly, the author describes him through the eyes and opinions of
another character. Therefore the readers can get a reflected image of one’s
character.
The third characterization is speech. It is an important way that we can use
to describe a character. The author gives us a description of the characteristic of
one person in the novel through what the person says and the style of his or her
speech. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he or she is in conversation with
others, whenever he or she puts forward an opinion, he or she is giving us some
clues to his or her character.
The fourth one is past life. A person’s character is influenced by their past
life. This is the reason why the author often gives hints to certain events in the
characters past life in literary work.
The fifth characterization is conversation of others. We can take clues of a
they say about him or her. People talk about other people and the things they say
often give as a clue to the character of the person spoken about.
The sixth characterization is reactions. Different characters will react
differently if they are faced with problems. Each reaction toward the problems
shows the character’s tendency and his or her tendency gives the readers a clue
about the character’s personality.
The next characterization is direct comment. The description by direct
comment is different from the personal description. In the direct comment
description, the author directly gives his or her personal reception and comment to
the character that he or she creates.
The eight is thoughts. By knowing one’s thought, the author can give us
direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. That way, we can know the
character of that person simply by knowing what is in his or her mind.
The last one is mannerism. The author can also describe a person’s
mannerism, habits, or idiosyncrasies in his or her fictional life can also describe
the character’s personality.
2.1.3 Theory of Critical Approaches
According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 315), there are five critical
approaches. They are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the
socioculturalhistorical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological
approach.
The formalist approach demonstrates the harmonious involvement of all
structure and how matters of technique determine of structure. Then, the
biographical approach considers the author’s background to appreciate his or her
work of literature and the socioculturalhistorical approach considers the
socioculturalhistorical background, when the work was written, to understand the
work. Meanwhile, the mythopoeic approach tries to observe the universally
repeated structures of the human thought, which they perceive that it can give an
important meaning to the work of literature. The psychological approach is an
approach that involves the effort to discover and illustrate this approach certain
repetitive patterns. Theories of psychology explain the character’s motivation and
behavior pattern in a story.
To do the analysis on the novel, the study uses the psychological approach
that focuses on psychological aspects of human. This approach looks either at the
psychological motivations of the characters or the authors themselves.
2.2 Theory of Psychology
The theory of psychology consists of theory of psychoanalysis and theory
of motivation. Theory of psychoanalysis helps to explore the unconscious drives
that determine one to do his or her actions. Whereas theory of motivation analyses
the basic needs that motivate one to do something in his or her life.
2.2.1 Theory of Psychoanalysis
Baron (1995: 462) states that Sigmund Freud is clearly a main figure in the
history of psychology. His theory of personality has an intense effect on
36) in Theories of Personality, Freud explores the unconscious by the method of
free association and developed what is generally regarded as the first
comprehensive theory of personality. He works pretty much alone developing the
ideas which are to form the foundation of psychoanalytic theory and which
culminate in the publications of his great work, The Interpretation of Dreams
(1900).
Moreover, according to Jay Braun’s (1975: 404408) in Psychology
Today, Sigmund Freud (18561939) theorizes the existence of an unconscious
element of personality, unknown to the mind of the subject. The concept of the
unconscious is undoubtedly Freud’s major contribution to the understanding of
human behavior and personality. The unconscious, which is a process, not a thing,
resides in universal instinctual drives and infantile goals, hopes, wishes, and needs
that have been repressed, concealed from conscious awareness, because they
cause internal conflict. Freud mentions the term psychoanalysis to describe the
process by which he attempted to bring material from the unconscious into the
conscious mind of the patient where it could be examined rationally. He divides
personality into three separate but interacting agencies: the id, the ego, and the
superego. They are the names which are given to certain motivational forces
whose existence is inferred from the way people behave. As the result of Freud’s
literary style, they sometimes seem to be more places or entities than abstract
forces.
As stated in Hall and Lindzey’s (1966: 2971) in Theories of Personality,
the id is the original system of the personality. Meanwhile, according to Jay Braun
the German word for id is es, which means “it”, implying an alien force, something in a person that is not recognized as part of the self. Freud characterizes
the id as a reservoir of psychic energy that can be neither increased nor decreased.
According to Freud, it may be seen as a pool of instinctual biological drives
present in every individual at birth. The instinct which is Freud defined as the
psychological expression of a biologically, based on physical need. In response to
the needs of food, sex, elimination of waste, or any other bodily requirement, the
human being develops “wishes”. The “wishes” motivate and direct one’s behavior
to satisfy the specific need that has been aroused. Thus the id is the energy source
for the ego and the superego, which develop later in childhood. The tendency of
the id to devote itself to immediate reduction tension is called pleasure principle.
In addition, the actions based on the id are basic human instinct such as instinct of
sexuality (life – instinct), aggression (death – instinct), and immediate
gratification. Consequently, if the id is the only part of personality, one might seek
pleasure and avoid unpleasant in immediate impulsive manner.
The ego is the second psychic component. Freud calls it as Ich, which means “I”. It is the part of the personality that is recognized and accepted as oneself. The ego takes for itself part of the energy of the id and proceeds to serve as the mediator between the id and reality. It is also conscious. Through remembering, reasoning, and evaluating on the basis of the child’s prior contacts with reality, it tries to satisfy the desires of the id, to anticipate the consequences of a particular means of gratification and sometimes to delay gratification in order to achieve longrange goals.
The superego is the third psychic component. The German word that
moral component that is imposed on the self by society. Approximately equivalent
to what we call “conscience,” the superego is part of the personality that
represents the moral standards of the society as conveyed to the child by the
parents. It takes no more account of reality than the id does. Instead of considering
what is realistic or possible, the superego embraces an ego ideal, an abstract moral
ideal that constantly commands the individual to stifle the sexual and aggressive
impulses of the id and to pursue moral goals instead.
2.2.2 Theory of Motivation
Motivation and behavior are two things that cannot be separated since someone’s behavior must be based on his or her motivation of behaving so. Motivation seems to provide the “why” of behavior. Murray (1964: 13) states that Motivation is an internal process that influences the direction, persistence, and vigour of goal directed behavior. Motivation makes human beings keep their effort on the right path in order to prevent them losing their way to achieve their goal. Motivation also makes human beings behave in a certain behavior that supports them in achieving their goal. Therefore, motivation always influences someone’s act or behavior.
Herbert L. Petri (1981: 302308) in Motivation and Research also clarifies
motivation in relation with human needs. He states that there are five factors or
five needs that motivate human activities. These factors are stated in the hierarchy
of needs. The hierarchy which is proposed by Abraham Maslow running from
physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, esteem needs, and
selfactualization needs. To make it clear, the writer will explain about the needs
The first is physiological needs. These refer to the most basic, most
powerful, and most obvious of all man’s needs for physical survival. One needs
food, liquid, shelter, sex, sleep and oxygen. A person, who is lacking food, self
esteem, and love, will demand food first. One will ignore all other needs until this
need of food is satisfied. When the physiological needs are wellsatisfied, other
higher needs will emerge. And when these needs in turn are satisfied, again the
higher needs emerge, and so on. This is what meant by saying that the basic
human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative prepotency.
Since the physiological needs are satisfied, safety needs will emerge.
Insecure person behaves as if a great catastrophe is almost always impending. One
usually responds as if to an emergency. The insecure has an over need for order
and stability, and tries hard to avoid the strange and the unexpected. The healthy
person also seeks order and stability, but it is not the life or death necessity. The
mature individual also has an interest in the new and the mysterious. Higher
needs become unimportant when one’s life is endangered, and our behavior
reflects our attempts to remain secure. Safety needs dominate our behavior
primarily in times of emergency. Maslow, however, feels that working of the
safety needs can also be seen in people’s preference for familiar surroundings,
secure jobs, savings account, and insurance. Maslow also believes that the safety
needs of most adults in society are usually adequately met. These needs do not,
therefore, normally dominate behavior. However, sometimes one seeks for
comfort and avoids pain to fulfill this need.
When the safety needs have been adequately met, they become
emerge. The person will seek for affectionate relations with people in general, and
will strive to achieve this goal. These needs involve a hunger for affectionate
relationships with others, a need to feel part of a group, or a feeling that one
“belongs.” The live needs require both the receiving and giving of love love from
another and someone to love. Maslow indicates that the failure to satisfy the needs
for security and relationship with others will result on the psychological problem.
The psychological problems are related to spiritual disorders, to loss of meaning,
to doubts about the goals of life, to grief and anger over a lost love, to seeing life
in different way, to loss of courage or of hope, to despair over the future, to dislike
for oneself, to recognition that one’s life is being wasted, or that there is no
possibility of joy or love. People with psychological problems see the world as a
bad place because they see it as dangerous, threatening, selfish, humiliating, and
cold. People with psychological problems feel insecure but tend to behave in a
way which makes their insecurity worse. That is, they behave in a way which
make people dislike and reject them, which makes them more insecure, which
make their behavior still more insecure. It is developing a vicious circle.
If the love needs have been adequately met, they slip into the background
in relation to guiding behavior, and the esteem needs become dominant. These are needs for a positive, high evaluation of oneself. Maslow finds that people have
two categories of esteem needs. There are selfesteem needs and a need for esteem
from others or respect from other people. Selfesteem includes such needs as
desire for confidence, competence, mastery, adequacy, achievement,
independence and freedom. Respect includes such concepts as prestige,
who has adequate selfesteem is more confident, capable, and productive.
However, when the selfesteem is inadequate, the individual has feelings of
inferiority and helplessness, which may result in discouragement and possible bad
behavior.
The last is self actualization needs. It is the identification of the
psychological need for growth, development, and utilization of potential. This
need is also describe as the desire to become more and more what one is, to
become everything that one is capable of becoming. The need self actualization
generally emerges after a reasonable satisfaction of the love and esteem needs.
In addition, Reaske (1996) in How to Analyze Drama, states that
motivation is defined as the character’s reason for doing something. Most plays
and literary works have central motive and in general, these are giant human
emotion, which motivate most people in real life. A few of the most common
motives are explained in the following paragraphs.
The first is hope for reward. A major character desires to bring happiness and prosperity to him or her or to those whom he or she loves. All of his or her actions are planned to hasten the advent prosperity. For example: someone who wants to work hard in order to buy his or her parents a house.
The second is love. It is an extension of the hope for reward. A character is
motivated to do certain action because of the love which he or she has, the love
which he or she wants or the love which someone has for him or her. For
example: a mother who is willing to endure pain on her child’s birth just because
she loves her child.
Next is fear of failure. This is an inversion of the hope for reward. A
does not. For example: a student does the homework because he is afraid of the
punishment that the teacher will give if he does not.
The fourth is religious feeling. Occasionally, but not frequently, we
discover a character who is motivated by religious faith. The character acts with
deep feelings and convictions that he acts as God’s commandments. The example
is taken from the bible: Moses was willing to guide his nation into the Promised
Land because he wanted to obey God’ commandment.
The last is revenge. Both minor and major characters are motivated by the
desire to avenge the death of the loved ones. The characters usually are willing to
lose their own life if necessary, as long as they are able to murder or hurt someone
who has hurt them or the one they love.
2.3 Criticism
As one of the famous novel written by William Goldman, Father’s Day
has been analyzed and criticized by those who are interested in this amazing story.
Their criticisms provide useful input for this study. The aim if presenting them is
to obtain further understanding of William Goldman’s Father’s Day. Some of the
criticisms are taken from the novel Father’s day.
Chicago Sun Times (Father’s Day, 1971) states that the author has written
an exceptionally good novel, confident and funny, true to the American idiom and
even, miraculously, peopled by real life characters.
The Times (Father’s Day, 1971) states that it is a real terrific novel;
extremely funny, cracking with Broadway wit, yet touching depths and reaching
Sunday Telegraph (Father’s Day, 1971) states that it is a highly
accomplished novel by William Goldman.
Simon Bach, a reader from New York says that the author of the best
selling novel Boys and Girls Together , the controversial critique of Broadway
The Season, tells in this novel of a day of joy and terror for a father and his little
girl is really great in portraying people’s actual daily life. (
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/goldmanwilliam/osbobasi.html, accessed on
November 24, 2007)
2.4 Context of the Novel
This section presents the actual condition in which the setting of the novel
happens in order to obtain deeper understanding of the novel. The setting of
Father’s Day happens in New York during 1970’s; therefore it is important to
know the New York condition during that time.
In the early 1970 until 1979, New York has been through great changes in
almost all aspects. In 1970, Nelson A. Rockefeller became the Governor of New
York. Through his leadership, New York slowly began to rise from its economical
and social crisis (www.ency.encarta.com/newyork/1970s, accessed on December
4, 2007). He allows people to show their creativity through legalize a lot of show
business.
As show business rapidly grows in New York, many screen play writers,
song writers, and novelists are involved in a tight competition to win contracts
with major show business companies. They help New York to get out from
This condition is quite in line with the story of the novel which tells the
life of song writer in New York. This condition motivates William Goldman in
writing a novel entitled Father’s Day. The story of the novel describes the daily
life experience of a song writer behind his popularity and prosperity. Therefore,
the novel draws a song writer attitude toward the problems of his life.
2.5 Theoretical Framework
There are four theories employed in this study. They are theory of
character, theory of characterization, theory of psychoanalysis, and theory of
motivation. To find the approach which is appropriate to this study, the theory of
critical approaches by Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 13) is applied.
To answer the first problem, the theory of character by Henkle (1977: 88)
is employed along with the theory of characterization by Murphy (1972: 161
173). These theories are employed to give a clear description of the major
character in the novel, Amos McCracken. Besides, these theories also explain
about the personalities and physical attitude that distinguish him from other
characters.
The psychological approach is applied to answer the second problem, that
is the understanding how the author describes Amos McCracken’s reactions
toward his bitter reality; being divorced and has no custody of his daughter.
Moreover, the theory of psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud (1975: 404408) and
the theory of motivation (1981: 302308) by Abraham Maslow are employed to
22 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter contains of four parts, which are used in analyzing Father’s
Day. The first part is the object of the study; the next part describes the approach
of the study; the third part is the method of the study and the last part is the
organization of the study.
3.1 Object of the Study
The novel chosen for this study is entitled Father’s Day. The author of this
novel is William Goldman. This novel was published in 1971 by CORGI. The
novel consists of 183 pages and 6 chapters.
This study focuses on Amos McCracken’s reactions toward the realities of
his life. He has divorced and has no custody of his only daughter. Therefore, this
study analyses potential determinants of Amos McCracken’s reactions toward
those realities.
The story begins when Amos McCracken realizes that he has forgotten to
join his only daughter, Jessica, at school for the Abraham Lincoln Day Party. His
exwife, Lila, phones to remind him about his appointment with Jessica. After Lila
phones him, his mistress, Betsy, leaves him alone in his hotel room.
Afterward, he hurries to Lila’s apartment to picks up Jessica and he finds
that Lila has already with Frederick A. Hunter as her new boyfriend. Then, Amos
McCracken joins Jessica at school for the party and spends his afternoon with
the park. Amos McCracken calls Lila to tell her what has just happened and get
surprised when Lila threatens that she will not let him to see Jessica again.
Desperately, Amos McCracken runs away with his wounded daughter as
he cannot accept Lila’s decision. He plans to go to Miami with Jessica. However,
Amos McCracken fails to execute his plan because Jessica refuses to go with him.
3.2 Approach of the Study
In this study, the psychological approach is applied. An approach “focused on psychological interpretation for entrancing the understanding and appreciation of literature” (Rohberger and Woods, 1971: 13). The study focuses on the main character’s reactions to be a mean for psychological interpretation. The psychological approach helps to interpret the psychological aspect of the main character in the novel through theories of psychology. The study explains a character that involves patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Therefore, psychological approach will be very helpful to reveal the issue of this study since it views a literary work based on psychological interpretation.
3.3 Method of the Study
In order to reach the objectives of the study, the study used library
research to collect data. The data consisted of the primary data, which was
William Goldman’s novel entitled Father’s Day. The secondary data were taken
from other sources, which were closely related to the study, such as internet, and
books.
In analyzing the novel, some steps were applied. The first step was having
which was going to be analyzed. After reading the novel for many times, the
understanding of the novel was deeper. The more the writer read the novel, the
more information could be gained. The writer could find more points that he could
not find before and become more aware about the content of the story. A thorough
reading also helped in making notes of important events, points, and also
summary of the novel which was used to find significant elements of the story.
The second step was selecting the interesting topics or the problems that
were going to be discussed in this study.
The third step was collecting the information about the related theories and
criticisms to analyze the problems, including choosing the most appropriate
approach for this thesis.
The fourth step was applying theory of character by Henkle, theory of
characterization by Murphy, the psychological approach, theory of psychoanalysis
by Freud, and theory of motivation by Maslow in order to answer the problems
formulated in this study.
The last step that had to be done was drawing a conclusion of the analysis.
The conclusion contained the statement of the findings in the analysis of this
study. Therefore, the conclusion was the answer of the problem formulation of
this study.
3.4 Organization of Study
This study consists of five chapters and six appendices. There are five
parts in chapter one. The first part describes the Background of the Study. The
Problem Formulation. The forth part contains the Benefits of the Study. The last
part contains the definition of Terms.
In chapter two, the first part describes Theoretical Review which contains
the Theories of Literature. They are Theory of Character, Theory of
Characterization and Theory of Critical Approaches. The second part contains
Theories of Psychology. They are Theory of Psychoanalysis and Theory of
Motivation. The third part covers the Criticism. The fourth part contains Context
of the Novel. The final part covers the Theoretical Framework.
Chapter three consists of four parts. The first part is the Object of the
Study; the following part discusses the Approach of the Study; the third part is the
Method of the Study; and the last part is the Organization of the Study.
Chapter four contains two parts. The first part describes the Amos
McCracken’s characteristic in the novel; the second part discusses the reactions of
Amos McCracken toward the reality of his life as analyzed from the novel
Father’s Day.
Chapter five presents the Conclusion of the analysis of Father’s Day as
described in chapter four. The following part covers Suggestions for future
researches as well as the implementation of teachinglearning activities using the
novel of Father’s Day as the teaching material.
In the appendices there are the summary of William Goldman’s Father’s
Day, cover of the novel, the biography, and the picture of William Goldman.
Furthermore, there are a lesson plan and the teaching material to teach English,
especially Extensive Reading II for the fourth semester of university students of
26 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter presents the analysis to answer the questions formulated in
the problem formulation. The discussions in this chapter are divided into two
parts. The first part is the discussion of the first question in the problem
formulation, that is, the description of Amos McCracken’s characteristic as the
main character. The second part discusses how Amos reacts to his bitter reality of
his life.
4.1 The Description of Amos McCracken’s Characteristics
A character has an essential part in a novel. Amos McCracken can be said as a character as in accordance with Abram’s definition (1981:20). He is one of the people in the novel whose disposition qualities are expressed in what he says and does. Based on the Henkle’s definition (1977:88), Amos McCracken is the major characters in the story since he has fullest attention within the story. Amos McCracken is also described as round character since his character changes within the story and the author does not describe his trait in a single phrase or sentence.
In order to understand how the author describes a character, there are nine
ways suggested by Murphy (1972:161173). They are through his or her personal
description, his or her character as seen by other character, his or her speech, past
life, conversations of others, reactions, direct comments, thoughts and mannerism.
In Father’s Day, William Goldman uses seven of nine ways to characterize Amos
McCracken. They are, character as seen by another, conversation of others,
In the novel, Amos is described as a father and an exhusband of his wife.
His exwife’s name is Lila. Their single daughter’s name is Jessica. He is a Jewish man who works as a song writer (45). Amos McCracken is a smart and talented
song writer. It is clear when his partner, Donny, tells him.
Donny said then. “You remember out of town with Franci? You were worried then too and this one’s going to turn out even bigger; it’s got to and not because of fate or luck; it’s just you’re so goddamn talented, cut my tongue out, I said it you are. (23)
It is also stated in the novel when his mistress, Betsy, tells him; “I don’t really
want to go, Amos. But I’m twenty seven and you’re a fiend, and that’s just not a
“__Francie just happens to be, along with Guys and Dolls and Carousel, one of my three favorite musicals.”
“McCracken! You’re McCracken the song writer, am I right? I’m right, I know I am. What the hell are you doing in a pawnshop, Mr. McCracken? Francie’s still as big a hit as ever.” (149150)
Then the broker asks Amos to let him shows his writings. However, Amos is
running out of time and has to go back quickly
“I’d really like to know what you think of them. You’re a pro, Mr. McCracken, and there’s no point to my beating my brains out if I haven’t got it, so any honest advice coming from you, well…” He let the words hang. (150)
Further, Amos’ job as a song writer makes him daydreaming a lot of time.
idea in order to be able to write a good song. His behavior of doing daydreaming
not only makes him famous and rich, but also makes him unaware of his
surroundings; “I didn’t mean it, I was swinging, and daydreaming, I guess, and the
swing must have caught the kid on the cheek, that‘s what must happened” (127).
The utterance above comes from Amos when he calls his exwife in the hospital
to tell what really happens. He does the daydreaming when he is going to create
songs.
Someday, he has forgotten to join his beloved six year old daughter at
school for the Abraham Lincoln Day party and his exwife reminds him by phone
in the morning with a bit unpleasant tone of her voice. Amos loves his daughter
very much. On his eight anniversary marriage with Lila, Jessica performs a song
for her parents, although Amos really knows that his daughter does not like to sing
in front of a lot of people and hates large gathering “it came to Amos then that the
two terrible parodies were going to be rendered by his sixyearold, who hated
large gatherings as much as he did” (34). After the performance, Jessica goes to
her bedroom and locks herself in it. Amos follows her daughter to her bedroom
and leaves the crowd behind. From outside the door, he hears nothing and feels so
sad about it; Amos lingers a moment, and he wonders how he could explain to her
that he really cares for her “Amos lingered a moment, and he wondered how he
could explain to her that he really care for her, so much it probably wasn’t all that
healthy” (5).
Furthermore, he wants his daughter just in a good condition. It is quite
clear when Jessica loses her appetite “That child is going to starve to death on
really concerns if there is something wrong with her. He is acting to be Pierre,
He enters Jessica’s bedroom almost every night and tries to make his
daughter gets her appetite back and it takes few days for Amos to be succeed.
Jessica not always finished whatever he brought her, she in addition was downing most of what was set on her plate three meals a day, so the childhood eating problem, which had once loomed so large, was now nil. (6269)
Another evidence that shows Amos’ affection for his daughter is when he
plans to take Jessica to her favorite restaurant, Nathan’s. At the end of chapter two, when he is ready to go to the school for Abraham Lincoln’s party from his
exwife’s apartment, he wonders if Jessica knows that Nathan’s has opened its
new restaurant in town; “hey, does she know Nathan has opened a branch on
Fortythird Street?” (73).
After the Abraham Lincoln’s party, Amos takes his daughter for a walk
and teases his daughter about how fun if they can have lunch in Nathan’s. Jessica
does not know idea that her father is teasing on her because she does not know
that Nathan’s has opened a new branch which not too far from where they are
“What?”
“Some of the world’s greatest hot dogs, your favorite, Nathan’s!” “Nathan’s?” She began bobbing up and down.
“Yes, we’ll zoom out to Coney Island and have us a feast.” “Grreat. Grreat.”
“Oh,” Amos said then. He stopped suddenly as they were moving up toward Second Avenue. “We can’t.”
“Why?”
“No time, baby, see?” He showed her his watch. “It’s going on twelve thirty and it’s an hour out there easy and another hour back not to mention
to her apartment by certain time (8993). Then they have lunch together in
Nathan’s (9394).
Amos also knows things that his daughter is afraid of as well as its
sequences and its causes. When they are playing in the central park, Jessica
worried if there are sticky bugs and said “I wonder if there are any sticky bugs”
(99).
Amos sighed. Sticky bugs were her third great fear, following fire, which was first, and then, for a maddening period of months, wind. The movie of The Wizard of Oz had unraveled her, she could not forget the tornado. She hated walking in the streets, open windows, anything that might let the wind get to her. Sticky bugs made their appearance about the time of the eighth anniversary. (99)
From the passage above, it shows that Amos really understands his daughter.
Then he tries to convince his daughter that there are no sticky bugs in order to
make his daughter enjoy playing in the park.
“No sticky bugs,” Amos said. “Can’t be.”
