SUBEKTI, ANDREW NANTIO. The Character Development of Jonas in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This thesis examines the main character of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, named Jonas. Jonas lives in a certain society, where it is almost perfect place to live. The character of Jonas is described as a good and smart boy, who has high curiosity. Like all citizens, Jonas is always obedient to the rules in his society in the beginning. His character develops since he is selected as the new Receiver of Memory.
There are three problems formulated in this undergraduate thesis that the writer wants to analyze. The first problem is about what are the descriptions of Jonas’ character in the novel. The second problem is about what were the issues that Jonas faced in the society. The third problem is about what is the influence of the society toward Jonas’ character development.
The method used in this study is library research. The books about literary theories were used to understand the theory that is relevant with the topic of the discussion, especially in this case, the theory of character and characterization is used to reveal Jonas’ characters. Another supporting theory is theory of personality and personality development that leads into a further discussion of the topic. The approach that is used in this study is psychoanalytic approach, since it is important to identify the relation between mind and behavior that underlies the character development of Jonas.
SUBEKTI, ANDREW NANTIO. The Character Development of Jonas in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Skripsi ini meneliti karakter tokoh utama Jonas dalam novel karya Lois Lowry berjudul The Giver. Jonas tinggal di suatu tempat yang hampir sempurna untuk ditinggali. Karakter Jonas digambarkan sebagai anak yang baik dan cerdas, yang punya rasa keingintahuan yang tinggi. Seperti penduduk kebanyakan, Jonas selalu patuh akan peraturan yang ada di masyarakat pada awalnya. Karakternya berubah setelah dia dipilih menjadi “Receiver of Memory” yang baru.
Ada tiga pokok permasalahan dalam skripsi ini yang akan diteliti oleh penulis. Permasalahan pertama adalah apa deskipsi karakter Jonas di dalam novel. Permasalahan kedua adalah tentang isu-isu apa yang Jonas hadapi di dalam masyarakat. Permasalahan ketiga adalah bagaimana pengaruh masyarakat terhadap perkembangan karakter Jonas.
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kepustakaan, yaitu dengan mempelajari buku-buku yang memiliki kaitan dengan topik yang akan dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Oleh Karena itu, metode yang digunakan adalah metode kepustakaan. Buku-buku tentang teori kesusastraan digunakan untuk membantu memahami teori-teori yang relevan dengan topic pembahasan, dalam hal ini khusunya, teori karakter dan karakterisasi digunakan untuk meneliti karakter Jonas. Selain teori karakter, teori lain yang mendukung penelitian ini adalah teori kepribadian dan perkembangan kepribadian yang akan menjadi topik pembahasan lebih dalam. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan psikoanalitik, karena penting untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan antara pikiran dan perilaku yang mendasari pengembangan karakter Jonas.
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ANDREEW NANTIO Student Number: 104214036
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ANDREEW NANTIO Student Number: 104214036
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ANDREEW NANTIO Student Number: 104214036
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
“WHAT GETS US INTO TROUBLE
IS NOT WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
IT’S WHAT WE KNOW FOR SURE
THAT JUST AIN’T SO”
TWAIN-For
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ, my Savior,
who always helps and strengthens me, so that I can accomplish this thesis. I could not
imagine how I could be without His blessings.
I express my gratitude to my Advisor, A.B Sri Mulyani, M.A., Ph.D, for her time,
guidance, and support in finishing this thesis. I also would like to express my gratitude to my
co-advisor, Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, M.A., Ph.D. for reading my thesis and for the
suggestions and corrections to improve my thesis.
I thank all lecturers of English Letters Department, especially my academic advisor,
Anna Fitriati S.Pd.,M.Hum, for her guidance along my study this past few years in English
Letters Department. I also thank mba Ninik at the secretariat.
After that I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my father Nanang Subekti, who
had passed away and my mother Tatiek Gerhaningsih for their loves and prayers. Also my
sister Indri Deniyanthi and my nephew Arthur Kaisar Efraim.
To all my beloved friends in A class, such as Laksono, Rama, Matheus, Rizky,
Martin, Michael, Danis, Hans, Anto, etc, thank you for the friendship. I have found new
family in here. I have so many memorable memories while I study in here. We have been
through so much together and I wish you all to be successful, amen.
Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this undergraduate thesis to my beautiful
APPROVAL PAGE………. B. The Issues that Jonas Faced in the Society………………
SUBEKTI, ANDREW NANTIO. The Character Development of Jonas in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This thesis examines the main character of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, named Jonas. Jonas lives in a certain society, where it is almost perfect place to live. The character of Jonas is described as a good and smart boy, who has high curiosity. Like all citizens, Jonas is always obedient to the rules in his society in the beginning. His character develops since he is selected as the new Receiver of Memory.
There are three problems formulated in this undergraduate thesis that the writer wants to analyze. The first problem is about what are the descriptions of Jonas’ character in the novel. The second problem is about what were the issues that Jonas faced in the society. The third problem is about what is the influence of the society toward Jonas’ character development.
The method used in this study is library research. The books about literary theories were used to understand the theory that is relevant with the topic of the discussion, especially in this case, the theory of character and characterization is used to reveal Jonas’ characters. Another supporting theory is theory of personality and personality development that leads into a further discussion of the topic. The approach that is used in this study is psychoanalytic approach, since it is important to identify the relation between mind and behavior that underlies the character development of Jonas.
SUBEKTI, ANDREW NANTIO. The Character Development of Jonas in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Skripsi ini meneliti karakter tokoh utama Jonas dalam novel karya Lois Lowry berjudul The Giver. Jonas tinggal di suatu tempat yang hampir sempurna untuk ditinggali. Karakter Jonas digambarkan sebagai anak yang baik dan cerdas, yang punya rasa keingintahuan yang tinggi. Seperti penduduk kebanyakan, Jonas selalu patuh akan peraturan yang ada di masyarakat pada awalnya. Karakternya berubah setelah dia dipilih menjadi “Receiver of Memory” yang baru.
Ada tiga pokok permasalahan dalam skripsi ini yang akan diteliti oleh penulis. Permasalahan pertama adalah apa deskipsi karakter Jonas di dalam novel. Permasalahan kedua adalah tentang isu-isu apa yang Jonas hadapi di dalam masyarakat. Permasalahan ketiga adalah bagaimana pengaruh masyarakat terhadap perkembangan karakter Jonas.
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kepustakaan, yaitu dengan mempelajari buku-buku yang memiliki kaitan dengan topik yang akan dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Oleh Karena itu, metode yang digunakan adalah metode kepustakaan. Buku-buku tentang teori kesusastraan digunakan untuk membantu memahami teori-teori yang relevan dengan topic pembahasan, dalam hal ini khusunya, teori karakter dan karakterisasi digunakan untuk meneliti karakter Jonas. Selain teori karakter, teori lain yang mendukung penelitian ini adalah teori kepribadian dan perkembangan kepribadian yang akan menjadi topik pembahasan lebih dalam. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan psikoanalitik, karena penting untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan antara pikiran dan perilaku yang mendasari pengembangan karakter Jonas.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
There are many ways for people to communicate with other people nowadays.
The communication can take forms of conversation, sign, music, and literature.
People can freely express their feelings through many ways. Literature is one of
the ways to communicate and to express our thoughts or feelings.
According to Hudson in An Introduction to the Study of Literature,“Literature
is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced of it,
what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most
immediate and enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an
expression of life through the medium of language” (Hudson, 1910:10).
We can say that literature is the portrait of human life. It comes from what
they have seen, what they have experienced and what they have thought and felt
of all aspects in life. People can learn and take the value of life through literature.
In literature we can feel things such as love, pain, joyful, fear and so on.
In addition, Wellek and Warren in Theory of Literature state, Literature
‘imitates’ ‘life’; and ‘life’ is, in large measure, a social reality, even though the
natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual have also been
objects of literary ‘imitation’ (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 89).
It means that literature is the ‘imitation’ of human life. Many of literary works
are based on what really happens in human life. Literature cannot be apart from
people are dealing with in real life, whether it is about culture, society, gender,
race, or anything. Also, literary works present some aspects of human life.
Sometimes what people see and what they feel can be represented in the literary
works. Therefore, throughout literature people can get not only pleasure and
enjoyment, but also enrich our knowledge and learning something from it.
There are many great works of art that have been written through literature.
Poetry, short story, play, drama, and novel are types of literary work. One kind of
literary works that have been read by many people is novel. According to Murphy
in Understanding Unseen, novel is the most widely practiced and most widely
read form of literature in the world today (Murphy, 1972: 127). It means that
novel is one of literary works that has been read by many people from children
until adult.
In addition, Abrams says in Glossary of Literary Terms-fourth edition, “Novel
is characterized as the fictional attempt to give the effect of Realism, by
representing complex characters with mixed motives who are rooted in a social
class, operate in a highly developed social structure, interact with many other
characters, and undergo plausible and everyday modes of experiences”
(1981:120).
In other words, novel is a work of fiction written in narrative style, which is
longer than short story, has more complex characters and motives, and contain
with human experience in its story. The story of novel commonly deals with
There are two elements in literature, intrinsic elements and extrinsic elements.
The intrinsic elements are setting, plot, theme, and character. If we talk about
novel, we cannot separate it with character. Because character is one of the
aspects in the novel that is very influential.
In novel, the role of a character is very important. According to Abrams in
Glossary of Literary Terms-fourth edition, “Characters are the persons presented
in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being
endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they
say-the dialogue- and by what they do-the action” (1981: 20).
Characters are very important because they are the medium where the reader
can understand the whole story and they are responsible for the thoughts and
actions in the story. In literature, characters guide readers through their stories,
helping them to understand plots and themes. The reader can grasp the idea that
the writer gave through character itself.Without character, the story will be flat and
there is no conflict in it.
Because character is an important aspect in novel, it becomes the focus of this
study. Therefore, in this study the writer wants to analyze the character
development of Jonas in Lois Lowry’The Giver. The writer choses Lois Lowry’
The Giver as the subject of analysis because the story of the novel gives great
impression to the writer and it has good moral values for the readers.
The story tells about a certain society that contains some issues which are
gain reader’s attention, especially how Jonas deals with the issues in the
community. It seems that it has something to offer to the reader.
Lois Lowry is American writer who has already written more than thirty
children’s literature and autobiography. Several of her books have been rewarded
awards. Lois Lowry’The Giver is one of her great novels which has been widely
read and studied. It means that The Giver is very well-known novel and it can be
read easily by children and adult.
The setting of the novel takes place in a community where all the people lives
in almost perfect world or many people say utopian society. There were no
conflicts, crime, inequality, injustice, poverty, unemployment, divorce. It seems
an ideal world to live. Everything is well provided and well organized. All citizens
in the community are determined what should they do, who is their partners, and
even every parents must adopt children, one boy and one girl. It has been carefully
chosen by the Committee of Elders. The people lived in a sameness and in
regularity. Every people in the community have to speak and act in the right
manners. The community is very strict and monotonous. Life in this community is
not colorful. There is no freedom in the community.
The main character, Jonas, an eleven years old boy who lives with his parents
and his seven years old sister Lily. He was nervous of his upcoming ceremony of
twelve. Every child in the community celebrates the increase of age in December.
At the age of 12, children are assigned their jobs, which they are going to train for
capable of and what they are interested in. Before the child are assigned a job,
they have plenty of training hours to accomplish.
In the ceremony of twelve, where all the people in the community gathered,
every twelve has been chosen a job. Surprisingly Jonas has been selected as the
next Receiver of Memory by the chief elder. This task is very important in the
community because there is only one receiver in the community and he has to
receive all the memories from the past. It means he has great responsibility in his
shoulder. This memories have been kept from society because they did not want
to suffer from the memories itself. It brought pain to them. Jonas had no idea of
what task of a new Receiver is about.
He had given some privileges which others cannot get, in order to complete
the training. As the time goes by and he had done the training, the character of
Jonas changed. He received memories and feelings that he never felt before. From
the training he knew the feeling of happiness, joyful, sadness, and hatred. He felt
more ‘human’ by receiving the memory.
From the plot above, it is important to know how Jonas’s characteristic
developed since he is selected by the chief elder as the next receiver of memory.
Henceforth this study aims to know why his character changed from the
perspective of psychology.
In order to analyze the topic of this thesis, the writer concludes three problem
formulations. First, how the character of Jonas described. Second, what the issues
that Jonas faces in the society are. Third, what the influence of the society toward
B. Problem Formulation
From the background of the study that the writer has described above, the
writer concluded three problem formulations, which are:
1. What are the descriptions of Jonas’ character?
2. What were the issues that Jonas faced in the society?
3. Whatis the influence of the society toward Jonas’s character development?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on problem formulations above, there are three objectives of the study
which must be found out in the thesis in order to answer the problem formulation.
First of all, it tries to see how the character of Jonas described in the novel. The
second is to examine the issues of the society in the novel. The third is to find out
Jonas’s character development due to the experience that he faces.
D. Definition of Terms
To understand more about the topic, the writer gives some explanations on
several important terms mainly used and closely related to the topic.
1. Character
In Glossary of Literary Terms-fourth edition, it is stated that “Characters are
reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed
in what they say-the dialogue- and by what they do-the action” (1981: 20).
2. Characterization
According to Sylvan Barnet, Morton Berman, and William Burto in an
Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, Drama I, characterization is defined
by what the characters do (stage direction), by what they say, by what others say
about them, and by the setting in which they move. From what the character say
in the context of the story, the readers can see their characterizations. From what
the character does in the story, the readers can easily recognize the character’s
action in the story. Other people’s actions in the story may also help to indicate
the characterization of the character.
3. Personality
Jess Feist and Gregory J. Feist in Theories of Personality discussed that
personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics
that gave both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior (2006: 196).
4. Development
In An Introduction to Theories of Human Development, development is
explained as a series of changes that is moving forward in a measurable pattern as
a result of the interaction between biological and environmental factors (Salkind,
Lemme defines development in Development in Adulthood, as systematic
changes in behavior overtime that result from interaction between the individual
and the internal and external environment (1995: 8).
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter consists of three parts: Review of Related Studies, Review of
Related Theories, and Theoretical Framework. In the Review of Related Studies,
the writer gives a brief explanation on certain studies that have been done that
have similar topic with the writer’s study. In the Review of Related Theories, the
writer explains about the theories that are going to be used which are relevant for
analyzing the topic of the writer’s study. In Theoretical Framework, the writer
explains how the theories are applied in the writer’s study.
A. Review of Related Studies
This discussion is not the only one that discusees Louis Lowry’s The Giver.
The topic of the study is different, but there are other people who have done the
same topic in the previous years.The writer finds some related studies that discuss
the same work but in different topic. Those related studies help the writer to
understand more about the issue in the novel that the writer wants to reveal.
Importance of Memory Relating to Jonas’ Self-Actualization through Jonas’
Characteristics in Lois Lowry’sThe Giver”by Yoseph Hary Wibowo
Yoseph focuses on how the character of Jonas deals with all the memories and
how the tracks of memory become the way Jonas actualizes himself. He said in
his undergraduate thesis:
“Lives generally need memory. The community needs a receiver of
memory to give them wisdom of life. Jonas decide to escape the community
forever in order to unleash all memories that have been kept from the citizens for
so long. This kind of struggle is considered as self-actualization” (2008: ix).
Therefore, the roles of memory are very important that can lead to Jonas’
self-actualization. In his thesis, Yoseph wants to analyze Jonas’ self-actualization
through the way Jonas faces the experiences to deal with all the memories. From
memories, people get many experiences of life. From experiences itself, they can
learn something about life and take the value from it.
“With his characteristics, Jonas is able to experience life meaningfully that
is full of memories. Later, the importance of memory can be perceived since
received memories have given him wisdom of life” (2008:ix).
Yoseph uses psychological approach in his undergraduate thesis, since the
concept of memory and self-actualization are the significant theories in
psychology. The topic that the writer chose is different from Yoseph, but using
the same approach. The writer wants to analyze the character development of
Other related study that use the same work is Pranathalia Bondan
Prasnorirni’s undergraduate thesis entitled “Revealing the Theme through
Characters and Settings: A Formalistic Study of Louis Lowry’s The Giver”.
Pranathalia explores the descriptions on characters and settings to reveal the
theme (the main idea) of the novel. “All characters in the novel are pictured as
good persons. They live with strict rules, etiquettes and habits that help to shape
their personalities. The setting in the novel is described as unemployment,
peaceful, safe and comfortable society” (2004: x).
As Pranathalia mentioned above, she explains how the settings (place and
time) can influence people’s characteristics in the novel. She explains the
descriptions on characters and settings one by one in details using formalistic
approach to reveal the theme of the novel. Yet here the writer uses different
approach from Pranathalia’s undergraduate thesis.
Since the focuses in the thesis is the character development of Jonas in The
Giver, the writer adds another related study that use the same approach. This
study is taken from Nicki Astrianingsih’ undergraduate thesis entitled “A
Psychological Study of the Character Development of Maud in Sarah Water’s
Fingersmith”. Although the literary work that Nicki analyzed is different from the
writer, it uses the same approach, which is psychological approach to understand
the character development of the main character in the novel.
“Maud’s personality changes are affected by several conditions. Maud’s
house, and in Lant Street. Social factor must be Maud’s factor to develop her
character. Social factor includes people surround her and her family” (2011: xii).
In her undergraduate thesis, she analyzes the factors that make the
character of Maud change. There are two factors that cause the characteristic of a
person to develop, namely internal and external factors. In her thesis, Maud’s
personality development is supported by the external factors. The external factors
are the environment that she lives and her experiences that she gets.
From those related studies that the writer mentioned before, there are some
similarities and differences. The first and the second related studies used the same
literary work, The Giver. In the first related study conducted by Yoseph Hary
Wibowo, he focuses his study on the importance of the memory and the
self-actualization of Jonas. He uses psychological approach since the concept of
memory and self-actualization are the significant theories in psychology. While
the second related study focused on revealing the theme of the novel through
characters and settings using formalistic approach by Pranathalia Bondan
Prasnorirni.
From this point, the writer found new topic that is discussed the character
development of Jonas. The writer tries to analyze how the character of Jonas
developed and what are the factors that cause it develops. To enrich knowledge
about the character development using psychological approach, therefore, the
writer adds another related study from Nicki Astrianingsih’s undergraduate thesis.
There are some theories that are used by the writer in conducting the study.
These theories give the writer valuable information which is very helpful in
analyzing the novel. The theories used are theory of character, theory of
characterization, theory of character development.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
M.H Abrams defines character as the person presented in a dramatic or
narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral
and disposition qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue- and by
what they do- the action (1981: 20-21).
Another definition of character is given by Roberts and Jacobs in their book
Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. They define that a character is
an extended verbal representation of human being, the inner self that determines
thoughts, speech, and behavior (1989: 143).
Based on theories of character above, the writer defines that character is a
person in a dramatic or narrative work, which is the representative of human
being. They can be described as a smart and fine young man or clumsy and
reckless teenager. It depends on how authors characterize the characters in their
work.
According to Henkle in Reading the Novel, there are two kinds of characters
identified through the complexity of their characterization, the attention given
certain figures, and the personal intensity that a character seems to transmit. The
reader will pay more attention to major character rather than minor character. In
the other hand, minor character has less important point in the story than major
character. Although the role of minor character is not as significant as major
character, minor character has a role as a supporter in the development of major
charter.
Abrams stated in A Glossary of Literary Terms 4thedition, there are two types
of characters: flat and round characters.
Flat character is built around “a single idea or quality” and is presented without
much individualizing detail and can be described in a single phrase or sentence. While a round character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularity; thus he is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life, and like most people, he is capable of surprising us.
From the quotation above, flat character may have the same (static)
characteristic from beginning to end of a work. Flat character is usually the minor
character, although not all the minor characters are flat. Round character is
relatively fully developed by the author. Round character is considered as
dynamic as they possess many individual and unpredictable human traits. Round
character is usually the major character because it has complex characteristics and
play central role to the plot.
Characterization is the creation of imaginary persons so that they exist for the
readers as a lifelike (Holman and Harmon, 1985: 81). There are three fundamental
a. The explicit presentation by the author of the character to direct exposition,
either in introductory block or more over piecemeal throughout the work,
illustrated by the action.
b. The presentation of the character in action with little or no explicit comment
by the author, in the expectation that the reader will be able to deduce the
attribute of the actor from the actions.
c. The presentation from within character, without comment on the character by
the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self,
with the expectation that the reader will come to clear understanding of the
attributes of the character. (1985: 81)
In addition, there are some ways in which an author can make his/her
character understandable to read and come alive for his/her reader. According to
Murphy in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the
English Novel for Overseas Students there are nine ways of how an author
describes the character’s personalities and traits to the reader. They are as follows:
a. Personal Description
The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes.
b. Character as Seen by Another
Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him through
the eyes and opinion of another.
c. Speech
he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is
giving us some clue to his character.
d. Past Life
By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can
give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character.
e. Conversation of Others
The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the
conversation of other people and the things they say about him.
f. Reactions
The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know
how that person reacts to various situations and events.
g. Direct Comment
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h. Thoughts
The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
He can tell us what different people are thinking.
i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies
which may also tell us something about his character (Murphy, 1972:
Those nine ways can help the reader to understand about how the character is
described in literary works.
2. Theory of Personalities and Personality Development
Talkingabout personalities, it must be something related to human’s behavior.
“Personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics
that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior” (Jess and
Feist, 2006:4). Personalities can be observed by understanding human’s
characteristics when they deal with problems in their life. That is why every
theorist of personality has different point of view about its theory since people
have different perspectives and way of thinking. “Each personality theory reflects
the individual personality of its creator, and each creator has a unique
philosophical orientation, shaped in part by early childhood experiences, birth
order, gender, training, education, and pattern of interpersonal relationship”
(2009:12). In Theories of Personality by Jess Feist and Gregory J.Feist, it is
explained that
“Personality theories differ on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity.
Each personality theory ‘reflects its author’s assumptions about humanity. These
assumptions rest on several broad dimensions that separate the various personality
theorists. We use six of these dimensions as a framework for viewing each
Therefore, the writer wants to apply the six dimensions, especially in
analyzing the main character of the work. Those six dimensions of personality
theories that are stated by Feist (2009:11-12) include
a) Determinism versus free choice
Are people’s behaviors determined by forces over which they have no control,
or can people choose to be what they wish to be?
b) Pessimism versus optimism
Are people doomed to live miserable, conflicted, and troubled lives, or can
they change and grow into psychologically healthy, happy, fully functioning
human beings?
c) Causality versus teleology
Do people act as they do because of what has happened to them in the past, or
do they act as they do because they have certain expectations of what will
happen in the future?
d) Conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior
Are people ordinarily aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it?
e) Biological versus social influences on personality
Are people mostly creatures of biology, or are their personalities shaped
largely by their social relationship?
Should the study of personality concentrate on those traits that make people
alike, or should it look at those traits that make people different?
In addition, according to Hurlock in Personality Development, the changes of
personality can be divided into three major categories. The first category is the
changes for the better or the worse. It reflects the kind of life adjustment that the
individual is making that time. The second category is the changes on quantitative
or qualitative. Quantitative means characteristics that already presents are
reinforced, strengthened, or even weakened. While qualitative means a complete
replacement of a desirable trait by undesirable one or vice versa. The third
category is the changes occur slow or rapid. Changes are regarded slowly if they
are barely perceptible while rapid changes are readily apparent to all. Normally,
personality changes are slow and gradual (1974: 120-122).
In order to analyze the personality of Jonas, the theory on personality
development is used by the writer to explain how the personality development of
the main character is described. Based on Hurlock’s Personality Development
states that human life consists of two aspects, which are individual and social
aspect, and those have different concern.
Human life consists of two aspects, which are individual and social aspects. For the individual aspect, it is concern with physical changes and humans personality development. Human personality development itself is influenced by two factors. First is human’s experience within family. The second factor is
From the quotation above, it is stated that the personality development also
influenced by two factors, which are human’s experience in their family and the
environment factor. Those are the aspect that can shape someone’s personality.
3. Theory of Society
According to Young in Personality and Problems of Adjustment, a society is
the broadest association of people who possess a certain common set of habits,
attitudes, and ideas, sufficient to hold them together, who live in a definite
territory, and who are often set off from other societies by attitudes and habits of
difference or antagonism (Young, 1945:125). In addition, Young also said in his
book that human personalities developed because of the influence of society and
culture.
The individual is always born into a group (or a society made up of various smaller groups) which has a culture. In this sense society and culture are always antecedent to any particular individual. All the references of psychologists to Robinson Crusoe and to feral man to the contrary, actually we know of no human personalities which have developed outside the matrix of society and culture (1945:124).
From the statement above both society and culture have influence to shape
someone’s personality. Thus, wherever it is, the environment always shapes and
influence someone’s life.
C. Relation Between Psychology and Literature
In analyzing the characters and their personality development in a novel, the
learning about human’s character. Related to the novel that the writer wants to
analyze, it is portrayed that the issues that Jonas faces, eventually influence
Jonas’s personality. To build the character in the novel, the author has to create
the imagination of how the character is described and how they become. In other
words, the representation of a character in literary works cannot be apart from the
author’s creation of mind. Like what is stated that “In the narrative writer, we
think of his creation of characters and his ‘invention’ of stories” (Wellek &
Warren, 1956:89).
D. Theoretical Frameworks
To support the analysis, the writer applies several theories in this
undergraduate thesis. There are theory of character, theory of characterization,
and theory of personality development. First, the writer uses theory of character
by Abrams and Henkle to find out how the main character, Jonas and other
characters are described in the novel. Abrams states that there are two types of
characters: flat and round characters, while Henkle states there are two kinds of
character based on the importance: major and minor character. These theories are
applied to answer how the character of Jonas is described. Theory of
characterization is also applied to analyze how the characters are presented and
characterized by the author. The writer uses Holman and Harmon and Murphy
Second, theory of society is applied to analyze the society where Jonas lives
and what is the issue in that society. The writer uses theory of society by Young to
find out what is the main issue in the society.
Last, the writer uses theory of personality development to reveal Jonas’s
character development. The writer wants to analyze how the character of Jonas
develops, the factor of Jonas to leave the community, and the impact in Jonas’ life
and society. Therefore theory of personality development is applied to answer the
questions.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the writer discusses the methodology that is used in this study.
Study, and Method of the Study. The first part, object of the study, describes a
brief description of the novel. The second part is approach of the study, the writer
explains the approach that is applied in the study. The third is in the method of the
study, the researcher explains some steps of analyzing the data.
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study in this analysis is The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is
published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in Boston in 1993. The novel consists of
225 pages, and divided into 23 chapters. The Giver achieved the Newbery Medal
and the William Allen White Award, and it is assigned reading in thousands of
schools. The Giver is not the only book written by Lowry. She has written more
than 40 books for kids and young adults, ranging from a historical novel about the
Holocaust (Number the Stars) to a rollicking series about a suburban preteen and
her family (the Anastasia Krupnik books) to a fictionalized account of her sister's
passing (A Summer to Die). Many have been wildly popular, but The Giver has
been Lowry's greatest success. It is sold more than 12 million copies and has been
adapted into a play, a musical and an opera
( http://www.npr.org/2014/08/16/340170478/lois-lowry-says-the-giver-was-inspired-by-her-fathers-memory-loss).
The Giver is an interesting novel about a young boy called Jonas who lives in
almost perfect society (utopian society) which are free of crime and sadness. At
stands apart from the community when he is chosen to become the new Receiver
of Memory.
The society lives without memories of past life. The memories and
experiences cause pain and terrible discomfort for the community. Since Jonas has
been transmitted the memories from the giver, Jonas realized that lives needs
memories. Since he knew the meaning of a ‘release’ for children and elders, Jonas
plans to escape from the community forever with his brother, Gabriel. In the end
of the novel, he saw the first memory on the top of the hill and the ending is not
clear whether Jonas and Gabriel died or found a new place. The ending of the
novel is up to the reader’s interpretation.
B. Approach of the Study
The writer uses the psychoanalytic approach in analyzing the character
development of Jonas. According to Lois Tyson in Using Critical Theory: How to
Read and Write About Literature, Life is filled with emotional ups and downs,
and our hard times as well as our happy times play an important role in our
personal growth. As psychoanalytic theory tells us, we all encounter life-events,
as we grow up, that shape our psychological development, and these early
experiences tend to play out in our adult lives (Tyson, 2011:81).
This statement has certain relation with the character of Jonas in the end of the
story, when he finally decided to escape from the family. Even though he realizes
Since psychoanalytic also deals with psychological side of a person, it
concerns about the psychological problems which are a natural and unavoidable
part of being human. It is important to try to identify and understand them
because, according to psychoanalytic, that’s how people can begin to heal those
problems. Thus, psychoanalytic approach is used to examine the relation between
mind and behavior that underlies the character development of Jonas, and the
reason why Jonas finally decided to leave the community.
C. Method of the Study
The study is conducted based on written source from books and articles.
Besides, the writer also gains information related to the topic of the analysis by
some articles from the internet. Therefore, the method of the study is library
research.
The main source of the study is the novel titled The Giver by Lois Lowry.
While the secondary sources are books and articles mostly about character and its
development, since the writer wants to analyze the character development of the
main character in the story. Some other theses, books or articles about the related
studies and related theories are also used by the writer to conduct a complete
analysis.
There are some steps taken in analyzing the novel. The first step is reading the
novel to examine the main character, Jonas, and to get the idea of how the
The second step is examining the issue of Jonas’ life, especially in the family
and society where Jonas lives. This will lead into another comprehension about
the character development of Jonas due to the issue that he experiences.
The third step is finding some theories that are appropriate with the topic that
the writer wants to discuss. The theory of character and characterization are used
by the writer to analyze about the character, especially the character of Jonas in
the novel in order to answer the first problem formulations. The understanding of
the issue experienced by Jonas and the reason behind is also examined by the
writer to answer the next problem formulations. Since the character development
of Jonas is really interesting to discuss, the writer wants to analyze it by using the
theory of character development.
In this chapter the writer analyzes three problem formulations that have been
formulated in the previous chapter. This chapter is divided into three parts. In the
first part, the writer discusses how the character of Jonas is depicted through his
personal description, attitudes, speech, reaction, thoughts, and other characters’
opinion. In the second part, the writer tries to reveal the character development of
Jonas as seen in the novel. In the third part, the writer analyzes what the reason for
Jonas to leave the community forever is. From those findings, the writer finds out
the changes that happen in his characteristics.
1. The Descriptions of Jonas’ Character
In this part, the writer tries to find out the answer of the first question in
problems formulation by describing the characteristics of Jonas in the beginning.
There, the writer can analyze the characteristics and later the writer can figure out
Jonas’ personality and how it is changed. In order to describe the character of
Jonas, the writer uses the theories that have been provided in the previous chapter.
As it is stated by Henkle, there are two kinds of characters based on the
importance: ‘major’ and ‘minor’ characters (Henkle, 1977: 86). Although the role
of minor character is not significant as major character in the novel, the minor
character has a role as a supporter in the development of major character. Jonas is
categorized as the main character of the novel. Jonas becomes the center of the
story and he always comes out from the beginning until the end of the story. The
Based on theory of Abrams, there are two types of characters: flat and round
character. Round character is relatively fully developed by the author. Round
character is considered as dynamic as they possess many individual and
unpredictable human traits (1981: 21). Jonas can be categorized as a round
character. He has complex characteristics and play central role to the plot.
Further, according to Murphy, there are several ways to characterize a
character in fictional works in order to make the characters life-like to readers.
Murphy proposes nine ways of characterization through which characteristics of a
character can be depicted. They are personal description, character as seen by
another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment,
thoughts, and mannerism. In revealing characteristics of Jonas, the writer applies
those nine ways.
Jonas is characterized as a good boy who will turn twelve soon. He lives with
his parents and little sister, Lily, which have no blood relation, because all babies
are born from the Birthmothers. He also lives with a new children named Gabriel,
who is being taken care by his father, because Gabe, the new child’s nickname, is
not doing well. He is not growing as fast as he should and he does not sleep
soundly, so his father as a Nurturer take him home and take care of him.
Every year in December, the community celebrate special event. All the
Twelves are going to assign a job. Each member of The Community has their
profession and partner carefully chosen for them by the Committee of Elders, and
they never make a mistake. There are no freedom to choose the Assignment and
In the beginning, Jonas is the same with another citizens in the community. He
is obedient to the rules, like other citizens. Jonas is as unconcerned as anyone else
about how he lives. He lives his life with precise language and in a same routine
activity every day. Not until he becomes the Receiver of Memory. It can be seen
on page 2:
Then all of the citizens had been ordered to go into the nearest building and stayed there. Immediately, the rasping voice through the speakers had said. LEAVE YOUR BICYCLES WHERE THEY ARE. Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on it’ side on the path behind his family’s dwelling (Lowry, 1993: 2).
From the statement above, Jonas depicted as an obedient character who
always obey the rules, whatever they are, in his community. Another prove that
shows he is an obedient boy is when his family oblige each family member to
share feelings that they experience in each day before they go to sleep. Besides,
the family members have to share their dreams in the morning after they woke up.
“It was one of the rituals, the evening telling of feelings” (6). Jonas solely does it
every day just because he wants to follow his family tradition, not his own
eagerness. “The ritual continued. ‘Jonas?’ Father asked. ‘You’re last, tonight’.
Jonas sighed. This evening he almost would have preferred to keep his feelings
hidden. But it was, ofcourse, against the rules” (12).
Another characteristic of Jonas is diligent. He is depicted as a boy who
always study and like to prepare the materials for his school. He does it regularly
every day before and after the evening meal. “And I studied hard in school, as you
prove is: “He forced himself to arrange his papers and try to study a little before
the evening meal” (32). The quotation above shows that he study hard and always
prepare his school papers in the evening every day.
Jonas is restless of what is going to come, the ceremony of twelve. He
have slightly no idea of what job he will be assigned for. In the ceremony of
twelve, he was selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. Ceremony of twelve
is the last ceremony for children and all the twelve are assign a job which was
carefully chosen by the Committee of Elders. “The ceremony of twelve was the
last of the ceremonies. The most important” (18). It is very important for the
twelve because they will move into a new group who share the same interest, no
more playing, and they will prepare for their adult life. It is proved from Jonas’
mother statement: “After the Ceremony of Twelve, you’ll be with your
Assignment group, with those in training. No more volunteer hours. No more
recreation hours. So your friends will no longer as close” (22). It means after they
become twelve, they will receive new rules according to what the assignment are
and complete the training hours. No more volunteer hour and no more recreation
time.
There are some reasons why Jonas was selected to be the next Receiver of
Memory. Here, the writer quote the statement from the Chief Elder in the
Ceremony of Twelve:
“He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have.”
“Intelligence,” she said. “We are all aware that Jonas has been a top student throughout his school days.”
he would present himself promptly for chastisement, and he has always done so.”
“Courage,” she went on. “Only one of us here today ever undergone the
rigorous training required of a Receiver. He, of course, is the most important member of the Committee: the current Receiver. It was he who
reminded us, again and again, of the courage required.”
“The fourth essential attribute,” the Chief Elder said, “is wisdom. Jonas
has not yet acquired that. The acquisition of wisdom will come through his
training.”
“Finally, The Receiver must have one more quality, and it is one which I
can only name, but not describe. I do not understand it. You members of the community will not understand it, either. Perhaps Jonas will, because the current Receiver has told us that Jonas already has this quality. He
calls it the Capacity to See Beyond” (Lowry, 1993: 78-79).
Those are five qualities listed for Jonas to be the Receiver of Memory.
There is only one Receiver of Memory and he has been greatly honored in the
community. From the Chief Elder’s statement above, the readers know Jonas’
characteristics are smart, well behaved, brave, and he is gifted to have one special
quality which is the Capacity to See Beyond. Moreover, the writer tries to add
some proves to strengthen those five qualities that Jonas has as mentioned above.
Jonas is eager to experience something new. He spends his volunteer hours
in different places and not focus on what he likes the most, while most of all
children, especially the eleven, spend their volunteer hours in an area where they
like the most. It can be show from the statement: “The freedom to choose where
to spend those hours had always seemed a wonderful luxury to Jonas; other hours
of the daywere so carefully regulated” (33) and“Jonas was glad that he had, over
the years, chosen to do his hours in a variety of places so that he could experience
the differences” (37). Because of that, Jonas has no idea of what his Assignment
In addition, he is a well behaved citizen. He rarely makes mistake. There
are two evidences that show he is well behaved. First prove is:
There was never any comfortable way to mention or discuss one’s success without breaking the rule against bragging, even if one didn’t mean to. It
was a minor rule, rather like rudeness, punishable only by gentle chastisement. But still. Better to steer clear of an occasion governed by a rule which would be so easy to break (Lowry, 1993: 34).
The second prove is: “Jonas has, like all of us, committed minor
transgressions” (78). From this statement, Jonas rarely makes mistake and he
obeys the Community’s Rules. He knows although it is not the Community’s rule
to mention someone’s success, but still he does not do it. He is also precise in
language.
Jonas’ physical characteristic is different from other citizens in the
community. He has a light eyes. It is very rare in the community, for someone
who have that kind of eyes. Almost every citizens in the community have dark
eyes. His parents did, and Lily did too. Only Jonas, Gabriel, the Giver, and a
female five who have the different eyes. As Jonas sees Gabriel’s eyes, he realizes
something.
Now, seeing the newchild and its expression, he was reminded that the light eyes were not only a rarity but gave the one who had them a certain look---what was it? Depth, he decided; as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk
which hadn’t been discovered yet. He felt self-conscious, realizing that he, too, had that look (26).
Jonas decides that people who have the light eyes has a certain look, the
look of Depth. As they can see the in the clear water of the river and there is
something hidden in the bottom of the river. The writer sees the different as a
the Capacity to See Beyond. He has the ability to see things change in a way that
he cannot explain. For example when he is playing a simple game of catch during
recreation time with his best friend, Asher, using an apple. While they are playing,
Jonas realizes something happen to the apple. It can be prove from this statement:
But suddenly Jonas had noticed, following the path of the apple through the air with his eyes, that the piece of fruit had---well, this was the part that he couldn’t adequately understand---the apple had changed. Just for an instant. It had changed in mid-air, he remembered. Then it was in his hand, and he looked, at it carefully, but it was the same apple. Unchanged. The same size and shape: a perfect sphere. The same nondescript shade, about the same shade as his own tunic (Lowry, 1993: 30).
Jonas seems bewildered at that time. Only Jonas realizes that something
happen to the apple. It is one thing that he has, the Capacity to See Beyond, but he
does not know yet about what it is until he becomes a Receiver of Memory and
meets the Giver.
Another characteristics of Jonas is curious. He is curious about everything.
One of his curiosity is what happen if someone are release from the community?
Where do they go? Is there elsewhere besides the community? Jonas wondering
and keep looking for an answer by asking some people. He asks Larrisa, an old
woman in the House of the Old. “Jonas slowed the strokes of his hand on her back
thoughtfully. ‘Larissa’, he asked, ‘what happens when they make the actual
release? Where exactly did Roberto go?’” (41) and also he asks Asher “’Anyway’,
Jonas pointed out, ‘have you ever once known of anyone---I mean really known
for sure, Asher, not just heard a story about it---who joined another community?’”
After the Ceremony of Twelve, everything start to change. Jonas is
friendly person. He loves to be around with his friends. Since Jonas is selected to
be a Receiver of Memory, he has to do his training apart. As the time goes by, his
character developed and that development change his life and the community
forever.
2. The Issues that Jonas Faced in the Society
After describing the characters of Jonas, the writer tries to analyze the
issues in Jonas’s society that affect Jonas’s character development. The writer
uses theory of society in order to analyze the issue that Jonas faces in the society.
It is already stated in the previous chapter that Jonas lives in almost perfect
society which eliminated pain, suffer, hunger, crime, and war. It is very safe,
serene, and well-designed community. There are four statements that show the
community is very safe. Firstly it can be seen in the first chapter of the novel
when Jonas saw jet fighters, for the first time, were flying low above the
community.
At first, he had been only fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community. Occasionally, when supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community (Lowry, 1993: 1-2).
That kind of incident make the entire citizens afraid, including Jonas, for
they have never seen that kind of planes before. Normally the cargo planes (a
squat, fat-bellied planes) always fly away from the community and land in the
house and begin their family ritual.“The evening proceeded as all evenings did in
the family unit, in the dwelling, in the community: quiet, reflective, a time for
renewal and preparation for the day to come” (32).
From the statement above it shows that it is very quiet and peaceful
community. There is no activity occur in the night outside the dwelling. All
citizens are not allow to go out from the dwelling at night. “This was probably the
most dangerous part, because it was a violation of a major rule for any citizen not
on official business to leave a dwelling at night” (Lowry, 1993: 198). This
quotation refers to Jonas’s plan to escape from the community in the night, but to
leave a dwelling in the night is prohibited.
Once there was an incident in the community, when a child named Caleb
was lost from the community. It is stated from the novel that it is very rare
incident that a child is missing from the community without notice. “The
community was extraordinarily safe, each citizen watchful and protective of all
children. But somehow the first little Caleb had wandered away unnoticed, and
had fallen into the river” (56).
Third prove is when Jonas plans his escape in the midnight and tries not to
get caught. “’I’ll leave at midnight,’ Jonas said. ‘The Food Collectors will be
finished picking up the evening-meal remains by then, and the Path-Maintenance
Crew don’t start their work that early’” (198). From the statement above, the
readers will know how comfort and safe the community is. Foods are distribute to
The last prove is when the Giver transmits the memory of snow to Jonas
and try to explain about it. It is the Giver’s job to transmit memories of the past to
Jonas. “’Simply stated,’ he said, ‘although it’s not really simple at all, my job is to
transmit to you all the memories I have within me. Memories of the past’”
(Lowry, 1993: 97). Jonas’first memory is about riding on a sled in a snow on the
top of the hill. He does not know what it is because there are no snow, sleds, and
also hills in the community. Certainly Jonas feels happy, at that time, when he
received the memory. He wonders why the community do not have it.
“But what happened to those things? Snow, and the rest of it?”
“Climate Control. Snow made growing food difficult, limited the
agricultural periods. And unpredictable weather made transportation
almost impossible at times. It wasn’t a practical thing, so it became
obsolete when we went to Sameness.
“And hills, too,” he added. “They made conveyance of goods unwieldy.
Trucks; Buses. Slowed them down. So---“He waved his hand, as if a gesture had caused hills to disappear. “Sameness,” he concluded” (106).
This statement is the most significant prove that shows how perfect the
community is. It is explained by the Giver the reasons why the community does
not have snow, sleds, and also hills. All citizens live without memories of the past.
They used to have it, long time ago, before Sameness. They choose to eliminate
snow and make Climate Control since it brings good benefits for the community.
In the society where Jonas lives, all citizens live in a very strict rules and
high level of politeness. All citizens use proper language and precision of
language is a must in a community. Children start to learn the acquisition of
correct language when they are three years old. There will be a punishment for
children if they make mistake.
The punishment used for small children was a regulated system of smacks with the discipline wand: a thin, flexible weapon that stung painfully when it was wielded. The Childcare specialists were trained very carefully in the discipline methods: a quick smack across the hands for a bit of minor misbehavior; three sharper smacks on the bare legs for a second offense (Lowry, 1993: 69).
Jonas is careful about language. Unlike Jonas, Asher always talks too fast
and mix things up, scrambling words and phrases until they are barely
recognizable and often very funny. For example, it is happened when Asher just a
Three and he misspell word “snack” instead of “smack”. Although Asher said it
unintentionally, he still got the punishment from the Childcare worker. “The
discipline wand, in the hand of the Childcare worker, whistled as it came down
across Asher’s hands. Asher whimpered, cringed, and corrected himself instantly.
“Snack,” he whispered” (69-70).
From the example above, all citizens must use precise language. It is one
of the Rules in the community. Although it is a minor rule, citizens who make
mistake will get punishment with a discipline wand. The punishment is applied
for all citizens, including small children and the old. It is also stated from what
Fiona said to Jonas.”…did you know that they use a discipline wand on the Old,
As the writer has mentioned before, all children are born from the
Birthmothers. Each family unit can only have exactly two children. It is stated
from what Jonas’ mother said to Lily. “Two children---one male, one female---to
each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules” (Lowry, 1993: 11). In
addition, the writer adds another prove to show how strict the rules are in Jonas’
society.
It is stated from what Jonas’ mother has said. She holds an important
position at the Department of Justice. “You know that there’s no third chance.
The rules say that if there’s a third transgression, he simply has to be released”
(11).
There are two kinds of release. Release which mean a punishment, and
release for the old and the new child. If the release means punishment, the
community will not celebrate it and they will feel ashamed. “For a contributing
citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible
punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure” (3). On the contrary, release
for the old and the new child is different with release which mean punishment.
”Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully
lived; and release of a newchild, which always brought a sense of
what-could-we-have-done” (10).
As it is stated in the novel, release is a final decision for someone to leave
the community forever. It is not mentioned what happen when someone is
released from the community, at first. Since ceremony of release is a private
