CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Definition of Novel
According to Reeve (1975:26) novel is a picture of real and manners and of
the time in which it was written. Taylor (1981: 62) says that novel is a prose work of
quiet some length and complexity which attempts to reflect and express something of
the quality or value of human experience or conduct.
A novel according to the encyclopedia of American International is:
“Novel tells of even within the range of ordinary of experience and avoids
supernaturalism and their stories are original, not traditional or mythic. Novel plots
involve numerous character, who usually are not grad or heroic figures often quit the
opposite. Most novels use language close to that of the colloquialism of normal daily
speech. “
2.2 Definition of Characters
Character is one of the important parts of novel. The people in a novel are
referred to as characters. Characters are representative of real life, such as human life,
hope, sadness, happy, and others which deal with real life. According to Reader and
“ The characters in a good novel are interesting, exciting, convincing, complex and realistic. If the author has created a particularly genius or individualistic character, than we, as readers, will find that character interesting regardless of whether or not we sympathize with him or her.”
Character is very important in real-made creation of literary works such as novel,
drama or even some of poems. The nature of character presentation gives a positive
impact for readers to find out what is going on and what is it for. According to
the
of
character not to denote a fictional person, but the quality of the person acting in the
story and reacting to its situations. And he also writes:
“But the most important of these is the structure of the incidents. For tragedy is a representation not of human beings but of action and life. Happiness and unhappiness lie in action, and the end (of life) is a sort of action, not a quality; people are of a certain sort according to their characters, but happy or the opposite according to their actions. So (the actors) do not act in order to represent the characters, but they include the characters for the sake of their actions".
In literature, characters guide readers through their stories, helping them to
understand plots and ponder themes. The art of creating characters, as practiced by
actors or writers, has been called
an analysis of its relations with all of the other characters in the work. The relation
in society and its ideas about human
The main character is called the protagonist and the villain is called the
antagonist. The terms protagonist and main character are variously defined and,
depending on the source, may denote different concepts. In fiction, the story of the
protagonist may be told from the perspective of a different character. An example
would be a narrator who relates the fate of several protagonists, perhaps as prominent
figures recalled in a biographical perspective, the protagonist in a
same person as the
intrigue alone is what the audience feels toward a focal character, while a sense of
empathy about the character's objectives and emotions is what the audience feels
toward the protagonist. Although the protagonist is often referred to as the "good
guy", it is entirely possible for a story's protagonist to be the clear villain, or
of the piece. The antagonist may be the story's hero; for example, where the
protagonist is a criminal, the antagonist could be a law enforcement agent that tries to
capture him. In this thesis the protagonist character is Mary ‘Jacky’ Faber as the main
character.
In this thesis, I would like to analysis characters portrayal which has
• a word picture of a person's appearance and character
• acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the
character by speech and action and gesture
• a representation by picture or portraiture
• any likeness of a person
• representation by drawing or painting
2.2.1 Main Character
In reading the novel, the author usually presents several characters for the
reader that will appear in the novel when the reader read the entire story of the novel.
Main character also called protagonist its leading actor, therefore, there could be only
one in a novel. All the characters that the author of the novel present to the reader has
different function and role to each characters that the author created in a story. The
characters whose appearance is the most frequently appear in the story usually hold
the most important part of the story in the novel, and their traits as the center the
action and the theme of the story. These characters are called as the main characters.
2.2.2 Minor Character
Minor characters as the supporting characters of the main characters that their
function is to illuminate the main characters. Role of the main characters are also not
too important as the role of the main characters, although the minor characters
flat or two dimensional characters. They have only one or two striking qualities; their
predominant quality is not balanced by an opposite quality. They are usually all good
or all bad; such characters can be interesting or amusing in their own right.
Sometimes referred to as static characters because they do not change in the course of
the story. The appearance of minor characters is usually infrequently, it is so much
different from the appearance of the main characters in the story who always
dominate for the entire story.
2.3 Character Traits
Sometimes, the traits we encounter are minor. But often a trait may be a
person’s primary characteristic which not only in fiction but also in real life.
Characters may be ambitious or lazy, aggressive or fearful, thoughtful or
inconsiderate, confident or self-doubting, kind or cruel, quiet or noisy, careful or
careless, open or secretive, visionary or practical and also humorous, respectful,
self-confident, creative, intelligent, honest, friendly, hard-working, shy, little, busy, lazy,
successful responsible, helpful, dreamer, happy, leader, gentle, loving, proud, wild,
ambitious, quiet, curious, disagreeable, arrogant, inventive, patriotic, fun-loving,
loner, joyful, lovable and still much again.
2.4 The Types of Character
There are two major types of character: they are round character and flat
2.4.1 Round character
Is a character with a complex and realistic personality; often called
"three-dimensional" or "multifaceted" characters. A round character is a character whose
changes throughout the story. Let's say at the beginning he was afraid but at the end
he faced his fears. Round characters usually play a main role in a story; round
characters are often called the hero or heroin. Many main characters are heroic, and it
is because preferable to use the more neutral word protagonist. Round characters are
both individual and sometimes unpredictable, they are dynamic. The round characters
also known as the main characters because they play a main in a story of novel.
2.4.2 Flat character
Is a minor character in a work of fiction that does not undergo substantial
change or growth in the course of a story. And also often called "one-" or
"two-dimensional" characters or static characters. Flat characters play a supporting role to
the main character that as a rule should be round. Flat characters do not grow; they
are static because they end where they begin. Usually, flat characters are minor,
although not all minor characters are necessary flat.
Flat characters sometimes are prominent in certain types of literature, such
police, detective, and cowboy stories, where the focus is less on character than on
performance. These kinds of characters might be lively and engaging, even though
their roles and exhibit conventional and unindividual traits. When the authors bring
characters into focus, however, no matter what roles they perform, they come from
flatness and move into roundness. It means that the ability to grow and develop, to be
changed by circumstances, makes characters round, without of these traits makes
characters flat.
According to Millie and Yates (1982:228), there are at least six methods by
which an author can show the characters. They are:
• By what the person say
• By what someone else says
• By his or her action
• By indicating his or her thoughts
• By the way that other people treat him or her
• By the author’s direct words
A character in a work fiction may realize in a character in a work of in a
number of ways. Character, after all, has been constructed to make out reported
actions the words they are give to say and the commentary made of on them by their
creator. Character is revealed by how a character responds to conflict, by his or
her
In analyzing this thesis, I use intrinsic and extrinsic approach. Intrinsic
approach leads to understand more about the language, style, symbols, images,
is meant to help to strengthen the understanding and to enlarge the appreciation of
work. Both intrinsic and extrinsic approaches lead me to get a deeper understanding
about novel. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different
academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research
and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding
of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. Point of qualitative
research. Data is collected from selected research participants, and providing in
narrative description.
The Way of Character Disclosed in Novel
There are five ways to present the characters in a novel. As the readers, we
must use our own knowledge and experience to make judgments’ about the qualities
of characters being revealed.
1. Actions
What character does is our best way to understand what or who they are. As
the ordinary human beings, fictional characters do not necessarily
understand how they may be changing or why they do things they do
nevertheless, their actions express their characters.
2. Descriptions
Appearance and environment reveal much about character’s social and
economic status, but they also tell us more about character traits.
Although the speeches of most characters are functional – essential to keep
the story moving along – they provide material from which we can draw
conclusions. Often, characters use speech to hide their motivate, though
we as readers should see through such a ploy.
4. Statements by other character
By studying what characters say about each other, we can enhance our
understanding of the character being discussed.
5. Statement by the author speaking as story teller or observer
What the author says about the character is usually accurate, and the authorial
voice can be accepted factually. However, when the authorial voice
interprets actions and characteristic, the author himself assumes the role of
