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Portrayal of The Protagonist in John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'and Stephen Crane's 'Maggie: A Girl of The Streets'.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

...i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

...ii

ABSTRACT

...iii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study ...1-3 Statement of the Problem ...4

Purpose of the Study ...5

Method of Research ...5

CHAPTER THREE: PORTRAYAL OF THE

PROTAGONIST IN STEPHEN CRANE’S

MAGGIE: A GIRL OF THE STREETS

T H R O U G H

PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH

...17-27

CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION

...28-31

BIBLIOGRAPHY

...32-33

APPENDICES:

Synopsis of Of Mice And Men ...34

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ABSTRACT

Di dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis penggambaran tokoh protagonis dua buah novel yang berjudul Of Mice And Men oleh John Steinbeck dan Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, sebuah karya Stephen Crane.

Saya menganalisis aspek Naturalisme yang melekat kuat dalam diri sang protagonis beserta kekuatan (aspek Naturalisme) dari luar yang mengontrol kehidupan mereka.

Lennie, protagonis dalam novel Of Mice And Men, digambarkan sebagai orang bodoh berbadan besar yang sangat kuat; sedangkan tokoh protagonis dalam novel kedua adalah Maggie, seorang gadis miskin yang cantik namun polos.

Kehidupan Lennie dikendalikan oleh masyarakat dan pemikiran stereotip yang berkembang pada masa itu; sedangkan kehidupan Maggie dikendalikan oleh lingkungan dan realitas kehidupannya yang serba kekurangan.

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APPENDICES

SYNOPSIS OF OF MICE AND MEN

There are two men, namely George and Lennie. They come to a ranch in order to work. George is a small, dark man while Lennie, his companion, is a huge man who loves soft things. Lennie has a mild mental disability, so then he is very dependent upon George for protection and guidance. Even though George always complains that his life will be easier without Lennie around him, but, in fact, he loves him. Lennie sometimes makes mistakes and easily gets into problems. Therefore, both of them make an agreement that if either of them gets into trouble, he has to wait for the other in a pool of the Salinas River. They dream of having a farm of their own and they think nobody else should know about their plan. In the ranch, they meet some men, namely Candy, Curley (their boss’ son), Slim, and Crooks; and a flirtatious woman, that is Curley’s wife. George prohibits Lennie to befriend her and asks Lennie to stay away from her.

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SYNOPSIS OF MAGGIE: A GIRL OF THE STREETS

The Johnsons live in an area which is inhabited by the poor and the drunken. It is an area where even the moon is hell. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have three children: Maggie, Jimmie, and Tom. As time goes by, both Father and Tom die. Maggie and Jimmie are now growing mature and older, and they have to work in order to fulfill their family’s daily needs.

One day, Jimmie’s friend named Pete comes to the house and then he meets Maggie. They begin dating and Maggie puts all her hopes in him, for she sees in him the promise of a wealthy life, as an escape from her miserable life.

There comes a day when Maggie’s mother accuses her of disgracing her family and then rejects her. Hopeless, Maggie comes to Pete and lives together without the process of marriage. Their life seems far from problems until a woman named Nellie appears and Pete falls in love with her. Since then, Pete has changed.

One day, Maggie asks for Pete’s responsibilities, but he rejects her. Then, she comes back to her house but, again, her family rejects her. Desperate, sad, and having no money; Maggie becomes a prostitute. In the end, she dies.

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John Steinbeck (1902-1968), born in Salinas, California, came from a family of moderate means. He worked his way through college at Stanford University but never graduated. In 1925 he went to New York, where he tried for a few years to establish himself as a free-lance writer, but he failed and returned to California. After publishing some novels and short stories, Steinbeck first became widely known with Tortilla Flat (1935), a series of humorous stories about Monterey paisanos. Steinbeck's novels can all be classified as social novels dealing with the economic problems of rural labor, but there is also a streak of worship of the soil in his books, which does not always agree with his matter-of-fact sociological approach. After the rough and earthy humor of Tortilla Flat, he moved on to more serious fiction, often aggressive in its social criticism, to In Dubious Battle (1936), which deals with the strikes of the migratory fruit pickers on California plantations. This was followed by Of Mice and Men (1937), the story of the imbecile giant Lennie, and a series of admirable short stories collected in the volume The Long Valley (1938). In 1939 he published what is considered his best work, The Grapes of Wrath. Among his later works should be mentioned East of Eden (1952), The Winter of Our Discontent (1961) and Travels with Charley (1962), a travelogue in which Steinbeck wrote about his impressions during a three-month tour in a truck that led him through forty American states. He died in New York City on December 20, 1968.

Source: Frenz, Horst. Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1969.

BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN CRANE

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Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey, the fourteenth child of a Methodist minister. His father died in 1880 and Crane was raised by his devout mother, who died in 1890. Crane studied at Lafayette College and Syracuse University, but attained degrees from neither. After his mother's death in 1890, Crane moved to New York City, where he lived a bohemian life and worked as a free-lance writer as well as journalist. Crane used his unsparing observations of the life of the Bowery poor in short stories and his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893), is a milestone in realism and the early development of literary naturalism. He published the book with money borrowed from his brother and released it under the pseudonym "Johnston Smith". The Red Badge of Courage (1895) introduced Crane's innovative writing style. It received intense international acclaim. His short story masterpiece, The Open Boat (1898), is based on his personal experience. Crane met Cora Stewart-Taylor (July 12, 1865 – Sep 4, 1910) and they married in 1897 or 1898. Taylor was also a writer and she and Crane worked together as war correspondents during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. This experience was the basis for his novel Active Service (1899). Crane produced not only short stories but also poems. His first collection of poetry entitled The Black Rider and Other Lines (1895). After a fruitless attempt to improve his health in Greece, Crane died of tuberculosis in Badenweiler, Germany, on June 5, 1900.

Source: “Stephen Crane”

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

I choose John Steinbeck and Stephen Crane because both of them are good novelists. John Steinbeck remains one of America's most significant twentieth-century writers, whose popularity spans the world, whose range is impressive; whose output was prodigious (Shillinglaw).

While about Stephen Crane, I choose him because of his contribution to the world of literature, specifically the American Literature. Stephen Crane starts the beginning of modern American Naturalism. He is well-known for his naturalistic style. His works have had a popular success with a wide range of readers, and his styles and subject matter have influenced numerous subsequent writers, including Ernest Hemingway and the free verse “Imagist” poets, such as Amy Lowell, in the early twentieth century (Vanouse).

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worth reading. John Steinbeck’s works are always amazing and have underlying meaning throughout the story. His Of Mice And Men is one of the most

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known novels in the world, in which it tells about Naturalism. Blastiose once states that:

Of Mice and Men is a work that is different from a large number of so-called classics because of its brevity and universal appeal. It utilizes simplicity and linearity for the sake of writing a good, not great, novel. Despite any fault one might find, Of Mice And Men is nevertheless a decent offering from one of America's most respected authors of the twentieth century. (Blastiose).

I am going to analyze Stephen Crane’s work, namely Maggie: A Girl of the Streets because this novel is often regarded as the first American specimen of literary naturalism. On a cursory reading, the novel may appear to dramatize the naturalistic precept that human beings are inexorably molded by environmental and biological forces (Sloan). Besides, this novel offers an accurate, detailed, straightforward portrayal of life in a nuance of naturalism (Richards).

I am interested in analyzing the characters, particularly the protagonist, because I want to go deeper, find any motive and the reasons of the author creating his characters in such a way; since we know that to analyze characters is not easy, for character is much more complex, variable, and ambiguous (Perrine).

I also pay attention to naturalism because I figure out that fate is already determined, and our life is controlled by nature. The universe has its own natural law, which is one can either accept the laws determining social order or become their victim. Naturalism deals with human beings, for they are creatures who are controlled by influences beyond their power (Richards).

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I choose the Philosophical approach, particularly naturalism, because after reading both of the novels and try to portray the protagonist in each of the book, I come to a conclusion that both of the novels deal with naturalism of the Philosophical approach. It is widely known that Crane’s novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets is a naturalistic novel; while Steinbeck is a writer who has experimented with and uses naturalism in his works. The definition of Naturalism in literature is:

The term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Unlike realism, which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies a philosophical position: for naturalistic writers, since human beings are, in Emile Zola's phrase, "human beasts," characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings (Campbell).

Naturalistic work deals with these conditions:

The naturalist populates his novel primarily from the lower middle class or the lower class.

The second tension involves the theme of the naturalistic novel. The naturalist often describes his characters as though they are conditioned and controlled by environment, heredity, instinct, or chance.

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Setting. Frequently an urban setting.

The forces of heredity and environment as they affect--and afflict--individual lives.

An indifferent, deterministic universe. Naturalistic texts often describe the futile attempts of human beings to exercise free will, often ironically presented, in this universe that reveals free will as an illusion (Campbell).

After reading both of the novels, I find out that both of these books fulfill the condition of a naturalistic work. These two books are suitable to be analyzed using this criticism. Thus, I choose the Philosophical approach, particularly naturalism for analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men and Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problems are stated as follows:

1. How do John Steinbeck and Stephen Crane portray the protagonists in both of the novels?

2. How do the authors portray the protagonists in relation to the Naturalism?

III. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Based on the statement of the problems above this study is done:

1. To show how John Steinbeck and Stephen Crane portray the protagonists in both of the novels.

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2. To show how the authors portray the protagonists in relation to the Naturalism.

IV. METHOD OF RESEARCH

I start the research for this thesis by library research, by first reading Of Mice And Men and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets as the primary texts. I also read and compile some texts that are taken from the Internet.

V. ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

After analyzing the novel by John Steinbeck entitled Of Mice And Men and that of Stephen Crane entitled Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, I finally come to a conclusion that the protagonist’s life in the first novel is controlled by heredity, fate and the stereotypical thinking; while the latter protagonist’s life is controlled by fate, chance and the environment she lives in. Here, I would like to discuss these factors in relation to their life.

The protagonist in John Steinbeck’s novel is a man named Lennie. His life is controlled by heredity, fate, and the stereotypical thinking at that time. In my opinion, these aspects control his life. The first aspect, heredity, is the main aspect that controls his life. He has hereditary features of having a big body as well as mentally retarded. This features cannot be changed; therefore, Lennie has to accept these facts even though he does not like it. In addition, he is not able to choose not to be someone with such imperfection.

Lennie’s hereditary features are having a big body as well as mentally retarded. The first feature of him makes the society hates him; while the latter results in the society does not want to accept and recognize his existence. In my

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opinion, it is his fate to be hated by the society besides to be unaccepted and not recognized by the society he is in.

Lennie is fated to be hated by the society. Personally, the society’s hatred towards Lennie is caused by Lennie is big. The fact that he has a big body results in his being hated by the society, in this respect, the people where he works. Lennie is hated simply because he is big; therefore, perhaps if Lennie is a small man, the society will love him instead of hating him. Yet, the real condition is totally different. Because of his having a big body, the society hates him even though he does not do anything bad. In my opinion,. this is not rational to hate Lennie just because of his physical features. Lennie is not wrong because he does not ask to be born with big body. Furthermore, it is not his mistake to be born big. If he can choose, of course he wants to have a small body rather than a big one so that he will not be hated by other people. Nevertheless, he has no power to do that, to change his big body into a small one.

Besides being hated by the society, Lennie is also fated to be unaccepted in the society he is in. I think this can happen because Lennie is a mentally retarded person. This fact makes the society does not want to accept him; furthermore, they do not recognize his existence because the society thinks that they are normal whereas Lennie is not. Thus, I think it is his fate to be not appaling to the society. If he can choose, of course he wants to be a ‘normal’ person instead of being a person who is mentally retarded.

The society’s hatred towards Lennie is caused by not only it is Lennie’s fate but also it comes as a result of the stereotypical thinking which develops in the society at that time. Lennie’s hereditary feature of having a big body makes people hate him because they are already stuck to the stereotypical

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thinking at that time which says that ‘a big person is a bad person’. I think this kind of principle also controls Lennie’s life because if such principle does not exists, I am sure that he will not hated by the society even though he is big. However, since they are already believed in that stereotypical thinking, they just hate him no matter how good and kind Lennie is.

The protagonist in the second novel is a girl named Maggie. Her life is controlled by the fate, chance and the environment she lives in. Maggie is fated to be a girl who has a bitter life and to face poverty. Every body wants to have a good life and to be rich. The same is also happen to Maggie. However, she has no power to choose her life since it has already determined. Therefore, she has to accept the reality even though she does not like it.

Maggie is also fated to become a street prostitute because she has no other choice. In other words, she is given no chance to be a better person. Because of being born poor, she needs money. She has no other choices but to be a prostitute since she lives in a needy condition. If she is given a choice to be a worker with good salary, of course she will not have to become a prostitute. However, she has no choice and she is also given none.

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In conclusion, Lennie’s life is controlled by heredity, fate, and the stereotypical thinking at that time; while Maggie’s life is controlled by fate, chance and the environment she lives in.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

o Primary Texts:

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice And Men. England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1983. Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. New York: Penguin Group,

1991.

o Biography of John Steinbeck:

Frenz, Horst. Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1969.

o Biography of Stephen Crane:

“Stephen Crane”. 7 December 2007. 8 December 2007.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Crane>.

o References:

Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. 6th

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o Internet Sources:

Blastiose. “Of Mice And Men – Reflection”. 8 July 2005. 29 March 2007. <http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=27258>

Campbell, Donna M. “Naturalism in American Literature”. Literary Movement. 7 November 2007. 7 December 2007.

<http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/natural.htm>

Richards, Dwayne. “The Laws of Naturalism”. 8 July 2005. 29 March 2007. <http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/maggie/essay1.html>

Shillinglaw, Susan Dr. “John Steinbeck, American Writer”. The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies.

18 January 2004. 5 December 2007. <http://www.steinbeck.sjsu.edu/biography/briefbiography.jsp>

Sloan, Gary. “Stephen Crane: The Black Badge of Unbelief”. Summer/Fall 2004. 6 December 2007.

<http://absinthe-literary-review.com/archives/sloan7.htm>

Vanouse, Donald. State University of New York at Oswego. “Stephen Crane.” The Literary Encyclopedia. 16 April 2004. The Literary Dictionary Company. 6 December 2007.

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