ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS... iii
ABSTRACT... iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ... 1
Statement of the Problem... 3
Purpose of the Study... 3
Method of Research... 3
Organization of the Thesis... 4
CHAPTER TWO: PORTRAYAL OF THE PROTAGONIST IN JAMES BALDWIN’S GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN... 5
CHAPTER THREE: PORTRAYAL OF THE PROTAGONIST IN WILLIAM FAULKNER’S INTRUDER IN THE DUST... 17
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION... 27
BIBLIOGRAPHY... 30
APPENDICES Synopsis of Go Tell It on the Mountain ... 32
Synopsis of Intruder in the Dust ... 34
Biography of James Baldwin ... 35
Dalam penulisan tugas akhir ini saya menganalisa penggambaran protagonist dalam Go Tell It on the Mountain karya James Baldwin dan Intruder in the Dust karya William Faulkner.
Protagonist dalam Go Tell It on the Mountain adalah John Grimes yang bimbang dan mengalami krisis identitas. Dalam pencarian identitas dirinya, dia menjadi anak yang berimajinasi tinggi dan pemberontak. Walaupun demikian, dia adalah seorang anak yang pintar di sekolahnya. Tujuan Baldwin dalam menciptakan protagonist ini adalah untuk mengkritik orang-orang kulit hitam yang melakukan diskriminasi terhadap ras mereka sendiri.
Protagonist dalam Intruder in the Dust adalah Lucas Beauchamp yang penyendiri, tidak perduli terhadap pandangan orang akan dirinya, berprinsip tinggi, dan juga berani untuk bertindak menurut apa yang dia anggap benar. Dia ingin diakui sebagai seorang manusia tanpa dilibatkan dengan ras apapun. Tujuan Faulkner dalam menciptakan protagonist ini adalah untuk mengakhiri perbedaan ras yang ada dengan menciptakan tokoh yang tidak memilih ras apapun.
Dari kedua novel ini, kita dapat mengetahui bahwa setiap orang bisa
APPENDICES
SYNOPSIS OF GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
The story begins on the morning of John Grimes' fourteenth birthday, a
Saturday in March 1935. On this day, he starts to ask about his true identity. He
lives in a religious society in which they always depend their lives on God. His
father is a head deacon in the church near their house, The Temple of the Fire
Baptized, so that his father always teaches his family with religious norms strictly.
John’s society always tells him that he will be like his father, a preacher, in
future, he will be saved by God if the time has come. John does not feel like that,
he starts to hate his skin color. He tries to escape from his world, his society, his
father’s house, and he does not want to become like them. He wants to deny his
identity as a black person because he never gets an appreciation, especially from
his family. They never satisfy with what John has done.
In fact, he studies in a white society school and he excels in school. His
principle tells him that one day he will be the leader of his people, a thing he has
no interest in doing. He feels his society is a hypocrite and dirty society because
they always say that white people are evil and that God will send them to the hell.
By using his intelligence, he feels he can escape from his father’s world and find a
better life outside. He has an ambivalent feeling on the way of searching his true
identity. However in the end, he receives salvation and this ends all his struggle
SYNOPSIS OF INTRUDER IN THE DUST
Lucas Beauchamp is an old man who lives in Southern white society. The
story begins when he helps Chick, a white boy who has fallen into an icy stream.
When Chick wants to give him money as an acceptance, Lucas refuses it. He is
different from other black people, he does not want to be like those black people
who accept money from white people. He has his own pride.
He is an independent black person who refuses to act like black people. He
considers himself better than both white and black men. In fact, he is considered
as an impure white person because he has white blood from his grandfather.
Based on those facts, he acts like his old grandfather, wearing a hat like his white
grandfather, carrying a gold toothpick, a gold watch chain, and the pistol, which is
purchased from his grandfather.
He has not only a problem of identity, but also another problem with the
white society. He is accused of murdering a white man simply because of his skin
color. No one believes that he is innocent especially the white lawyer, Gavin
Stevens. He believes that Lucas is guilty so he does not want to help him. By
having his own pride, Lucas does not want to beg to the lawyer. He is smart in
using words in persuading Chick to help him and creating a strategy to prove that
he is innocent.
In the end, he is proven that he is not guilty due to the fact that the bullet
that killed the white man is not the same bullet which Lucas uses. By proving he
is not the murderer, he feels he will get the acknowledgement that he is a human
BIOGRAPHY OF JAMES BALDWIN
James Baldwin, the oldest of nine children, was born in Harlem in 1924.
He grew up in poverty, and he also developed a troubled relationship with his
strict and religious father. As he recalled, “I knew I was black, of course, but I
also knew I was smart. I didn’t know how I would use my mind, or even if I
could, but that was the only thing I had to use” (James Baldwin-About the
Author). When he was fourteen, he usually spent his time much in libraries and
finally found his passion in writing.
He left Paris in 1948. There, he found enough distance and freedom from
the American society he grew up in to express it in his works. Because of living
abroad, Baldwin had finally found a perspective on his life and a solitary freedom
to pursue his craft. “Once you find yourself in another civilization,” he notes,
“you’re forced to examine your own” (James Baldwin-About the Author).
Baldwin finally decided to take a part in the civil rights movement in the early
1960s.
James Baldwin created literary works which are beautiful and rich that will
remain essential parts of the American canon which could be found in Go Tell It
on the Mountain to The Evidence of Things Not Seen (1985). He was died in 1987 as the most important and vocal advocate for equality.
BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM FAULKNER
William Faulkner (1897-1962) grew up in Oxford, Mississippi from an old
Southern family. When he was young, he first joined the Canadian, and then the
Royal Air Force in Britain during the First World War. He was an university
student in University of Mississippi, and he took a part-time job in New York
bookstore and a New Orleans Newspaper. Besides taking some trips to Europe
and Asia, he also takes a few brief stays in Hollywood as a scriptwriter. Here, he
stayed on a farm in Oxford to write his novels and short stories.
Faulkner has invented a character that is the decadence of the South just
to create a saga of his own. Faulkner’s novels are then built on the model of the
actual and historical drama which is about the human drama. Those novels which
are known for almost a century contribute to the construction of a whole place,
which are the imaginary Yoknapatawpha County and its inhabitants. His works
usually contain theme about the decay of the old South. The Sound and the Fury
(1929) is usually known for its theme and technique because of the mixing of the
distortion of time and the use of the inner monologue. The minds of several
characters can be seen through the downfall of the Compson family. Another
works of Faulkner, Intruder In the Dust (1948), tells about moral evaluation of the
relationship and the problems between blacks and whites.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is said that people with lighter skin are better than people with darker
skin (“Go Tell It on the Mountain”). Because of the skin color, black people were
regarded as the most violent race (“Not Proud of Being White”). Moreover, they
have problems in relation to social interactions with white society, simply because
of their skin color. “The ignorance white people had towards black people were
shown very well” (Porsha).
Based on these facts, the condition in which black people are treated based
on their skin color makes black people feel inferior to white people (“Not Proud
of Being White”). They are not proud of their own identity; they feel that to be
successful and beautiful, they must be white just to be given the opportunities. By
being black, they also feel that they do not have chance in the society. Such
condition makes them feel depressed and results in denial of their identity (Maud
In American Literature, there are many black writers who write and are
concerned about their status of identity. Identity is the sense of uniqueness as a
person and distinctiveness from others. It is equivalent to answering the question
“Who am I?” (Dyk & Witkin 214). One of the most important writers in the 20th
century is James Baldwin who writes bravely about race relations and identity in
United States (“James Baldwin Wrote about Race and Identity in America”). The
theme of his works is usually about the search for identity (Rusciano).
Another important writer who writes about racial identity is William
Faulkner. Most of his earlier works are influenced in themes about identity
(Duvall). Faulkner creates characters who deal with the problem of establishing
true identities and Faulkner comes to recognize and deal with the confusion of
identity (Heller). He is one of the American authors who won the Nobel Prize in
1949.
There are many literary works in America about black people, especially
about self-identity. One of Baldwin’s works on identity is Go Tell It on the
Mountain. This novel illustrates how psychological and social forces can impede
the protagonist in searching his true identity (Perkins). It is his first novel
published in 1953 (Zabowroska), similar with Intruder in the Dust, published in
1948, which also tells about self-identity. This novel gains a huge success and was
adapted into a movie by MGM Films in 1949 (“Intruder in the Dust”).
Having encountered all these facts, I decide to analyze both novels,
especially the portrayal of the characters more thoroughly, because both
same problem, which is the search of true identity. Moreover, analyzing
characters is not easy, as they are much more complex, variable, and ambiguous
(Perrine 67). At the end of my analysis, I will conclude how the protagonists in
both novels convey their self-identity.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. How are the male protagonists portrayed in the novel?
2. What is the purpose of the author in creating such characters in the novel?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To show how the male protagonists are portrayed in the novel.
2. To know what is the purpose of the author in creating such characters in
the novel.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
In order to help me in analyzing both novels, I use library research by first
reading Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain and Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust
as the primary texts. I also read and compile some texts that are taken from books
and internet to support the study of the two texts. The information and the
knowledge that have been gathered are then used to analyze the two texts. Finally,
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
The writer divides this study into four chapters. The thesis starts with the
first chapter which is Introduction, which consists of Background of the Study,
Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the discussion of Go Tell It on the
Mountain. Chapter Three is the discussion of Intruder in the Dust. The last chapter
is the Conclusion. The thesis ends with Bibliography and Appendix, which
CONCLUSION
After analysing James Baldwin’s novel entitled Go Tell It on the Mountain
and William Faulkner’s novel entitled Intruder in the Dust, I would like to draw
some conclusions. Both novels deal with the issue of self-identity and have black
persons as the protagonists. Both protagonists can not accept their identity as
black persons because of several reasons and it is resulted in their denying their
identity.
I also find that both novels have the same setting of time, which is in the
early 20th century (1930s), when racial discrimination is still very severe. Thus,
both protagonists live in an era when the white people and the black people do not
have a good and close relationship. At this time, the white people are usually
described to be superior than the black people. Each of them should know where
they stand. According to the white people, the black is portrayed as bad, ugly, and
criminal. This situation later will influence both protagonists in considering their
his own people. Therefore, he wants to be identified as a part of the white people.
Being humiliated and lacking of acceptance makes John become a highly
imaginative person. He starts to visualize himself as a man who has a rich life like
a white person and it results in his denying his identity and his desire to be a part
of the whites. Having a high imagination makes John become a rebellious person.
He does anything forbidden by his father to be a part of the whites. This desire is
supported by his intelligence which causes him to be easily accepted in the white
society.
While Lucas Beauchamp rejects his identity as a black person not because
he wants to be a part of the whites. He simply does not care about the
categorization. He is a loner and an individual. He wants to be acknowledged as a
human being, neither as a black person nor a white person. He thinks he is in the
same level with anyone. He also acts both like the whites and the blacks because
he wants to be acknowledged as a human being. He is brave when he deals with
the white people who look down on him. He is also a high-principled person who
does what he believes is true without letting himself be pressured by the society.
I also want to conclude that the ending of both novels are different. In the
first novel, John Grimes finally finds his true identity as a black person which is
symbolized by his admitting God and receiving the salvation. It is caused by his
not to be categorized. He still acts as a human being without choosing any races.
Through the portrayal of the protagonists, the authors of both novels show
their purpose in creating these novels. Considering Baldwin as a black person, he
emphasizes his purpose in creating the character of John Grimes. He wants to
criticize those black people who discriminate against his own race. He also
emphasizes the importance of black people to embrace their identity. Whereas
Faulkner as a white person creates a character of a black person, but he presents
his character as a good character in his novel. On the other hand, he emphasizes
on not identifying a person based on his/her skin colour. His purpose is more
ambitious than Baldwin’s because Faulkner intends to end the segregation
between black and white through his novel.
After analysing both novels, I think I prefer Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the
Mountain to Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust because Baldwin presents his story
and his purpose more realistic than Faulkner. As we can see in our life that black
people sometimes feel shameful of their identity and it is resulted in their denying
their identity as it is represented in John’s characteristics. While Faulkner hopes to
end segregation by creating the protagonist like Lucas and I think his purpose is
not easy to be reached because to make two different races become one unity is
References
Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2000. 2000
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. United States of America: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. 1974.
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Dyk and Witkin. 214. Digilib Petra. 15 Mar. 2009
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“Faulkner-Bio.” Nobelprize. 1 Nov. 2008.
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-bio.html>
Heller, Terry. “Racial Problems in Faulkner’s Novel and in the MGM Film Adaptation.” Public. 1997. 1 Nov. 2008
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“Intruder in the Dust.” Wikipedia. 5 Mar. 2009. Wikipedia Foundation Inc. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intruder_in_the_Dust>
“James Baldwin-About the Author.” PBS. 2009. 1 Nov. 2008. Educational Broadcasting Corporation
“Maud Martha.” Free-Termpapers. 2005. 5 Mar. 2009
<http://www.free-termpapers.com/tp/8/bgt218.shtml>
“Not Proud of Being White.” The Automatik. 2008. 16 April. 2009.
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Perkins, Wendy. “Go Tell It on the Mountain (Criticism).” Answers. 30 Sept. 2008
<http://www.answers.com/topic/go-tell-it-on-the-mountain-novel-8>
Porsha. Littletonps. 2002. 23 Sept. 2008
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Rusciano, Frank. “James Baldwin: America’s Native Son.” Academic Exchange Quarterly. 2003. 23 Sept. 2008. Rapid Intellect Group, Inc.
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Primary Text(s)
Baldwin, James. Go Tell It on the Mountain. Great Britain: Michael Joseph Ltd, 1954.
