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THE MYTH OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM REFLECTED IN
THE NOVEL
“THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA”
THESIS
Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Sarjana Degree in English Department Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University
Written by:
YUNINDAR RETNO PUTRI C 0304059
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
SURAKARTA
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PRONOUNCEMENT
Name
: Yunindar Retno Putri
Student Number : C 0304059
I declare that the thesis entitled
“The Myth
of Individual
Freedom Reflected I
n The Novel “The Devil Wears Prada”
is my
own work. It is not the result of plagiarism.
I accept willingly any academic consequences including the
withdrawal of the academic title when the declaration is proved
incorrect.
Surakarta, 1 April 2011
The researcher,commit to user
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MOTTO
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the
proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
(Galatians 6:9)
It’s done be good for you to
finish something once in
your life
, don’t give up!
(The movie “Julie and Julia”)
Family got first
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this thesis to:
My father alm.Yohanes Chrisostomus Suratno
My mother Fransisca Erna Dwi Hastuti
My beloved sister Elisabet Erdina Irawati
Myself
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First of all, I would like to thank God Almighty, Jesus Christ and Mother Mary for the guidance and blessing so that I can finish the thesis.
I thank Drs. Sudarno, M.A., Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, and Dr. Djatmika, M.A., Head of English Department for the motivations and all of English Department lecturers for helping me enrich my knowledge in speaking, listening,
reading and writing in English, giving me a lot of knowledge and understanding of
western culture especially American Studies.
I am heartily thankful to the thesis advisor, Fitria Akhmerti Primasita, S.S, M.A.,
whose encouragement, help and support enable me to get a further understanding of the
subject and finally finish the thesis. Thank you for being a very patient advisor. Thank
you for all of the knowledge and advices have been given.
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I thank to Indah, Beta and Mbak Iah for their genuine and sincere friendship. Roos and Andre thanks for the question that always remind me to finish the thesis. Gentlemen, mission accomplished!
My sincere gratitude to The Tumpulz: Uus, Fitra, Fikri, Yunus, Rudy, Itok, Tantra, Tory for their support and especially thanks to Elin for the correction of my grammatical error and all of the helps.
Thanks to the guys and the girls in American Studies Class of 2004, Afida, Ning,
Tutut, Ulil, Ika, Dhanang, Dony, etc. It is great working together with all of you. Thanks
to my friends from the class of 2004 of English Letters, Lidya, Tatan, Ficka, Maria, Fata,
Marta, Reny, Hilda, Rina, Natalia, Yuli, Nina T, Nina S, and the other great friends who I
can not mention one by one. It is so nice being a part of all of you.
Thanks to Mbak Dion for the support, to Novena for sharing the same experience
and feeling in doing my thesis and your TA.
Last but not least, I thank to everyone who has given great contribution to this thesis whose name cannot mention here. This thesis cannot finish without all of them. Thank you a lot.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE……… i
APPROVAL OF THE ADVISOR………... ii
APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS……….. iii
PRONOUNCEMENT……… iv
MOTTO………... v
DEDICATION………... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……….. ix
ABSTRACT……….. xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………... A. Research Background……… 1
B. Scope of Study………... 5
C. Research Question………. 5
D. Objectives of the Study………. 5
E. Benefits of the Study………. 6
F. Research Methodology……….. 6
G. Thesis Organization………... 10
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x
B. American Social Condition in the end of 20th Century and early of 21st Century ……...
15
C. The American Myth of Individual Freedom ……… 21 CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS………..
How The Myth of Individual Freedom Reflected In The Novel
“The Devil Wears Prada”……….
29
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION………... A. Conclusion………. 71 B. Recommendation………... 73
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ABSTRACT
Yunindar Retno Putri. C 034059. The Myth of Individual Freedom Reflected In The Novel The Devil Wears Prada. Thesis. English Department of Faculty
of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University.
The research was mainly aimed to answer how the novel The Devil Wears
Prada reflects the myth of individual freedom. The research was descriptive
qualitative research of which the source of main data was the novel The Devil
Wears Prada written by Lauren Weisberger. The main data of the research were
dialogues, narration, comments, expressions, opinions, and characterizations of one main character; Andrea Sachs and one supporting character; Lily Goodwin and other characters which supported the analysis. The supporting data were taken from books and internet articles related to the novel which supported in answering the research question.
The research was in the scope of American studies which is an interdisciplinary study. In answering the research question, the researcher used sociological and cultural approach. The research also provided the historical background of the myth of individual freedom and the theory of structure of the novel.
After conducting the analysis, it is found that the characters reflecting the myth of individual freedom in the novel The Devil Wears Prada experience transformation in their life. Andrea Sachs, who in the middle is portrayed to challenge the mainstream society by becoming a career woman and ignoring her family finally realizes that she is not the same as Miranda, her boss. She defends her spirit of individual freedom and makes a choice in her life which tends to go
along with the mainstream society’s values. She ignores her life career in Runway
THE MYTH OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM REFLECTED IN
The research was mainly aimed to answer how the novel The Devil
Wears Prada reflects the myth of individual freedom. The research was descriptive qualitative research of which the source of main
data was the novel The Devil Wears Prada written by Lauren
Weisberger. The main data of the research were dialogues, narration, comments, expressions, opinions, and characterizations of one main character; Andrea Sachs and one supporting character; Lily Goodwin and other characters which supported the analysis. The supporting data were taken from books and internet articles related to the novel which supported in answering the research question.
The research was in the scope of American studies which is an interdisciplinary study. In answering the research question, the researcher used sociological and cultural approach. The research also provided the historical background of the myth of individual freedom and the theory of structure of the novel.
After conducting the analysis, it is found that the characters reflecting the myth of individual freedom in the novel The Devil Wears Prada experience transformation in their life. Andrea Sachs, who in the middle is portrayed to challenge the mainstream society by becoming a career woman and ignoring her family finally realizes that she is not the same as Miranda, her boss. She defends
1
Mahasiswa Jurusan Sastra Inggris dengan NIM C0304059 2
Dosen Pembimbing
which tends to go along with the mainstream society’s values. She
ignores her life career in Runway and goes back to her family. Lily
Goodwin is also portrayed to challenge the mainstream society in defending her spirit of individual freedom. As an alcoholic her
attitude is in contrast to the society’s values. However, in the end
of the novel she is portrayed following the mainstream society’s values, by having alcohol counseling and rearranging her study. The myth of individual freedom encourages American people to be
free in doing anything to pursue their dreams. However, the
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
Each nation has its own characteristics. The certain characteristics are usually used to generalize a typical of society in a nation. For example, Indonesians are known for their hospitality, Japanese are known as a highly sophisticated society, and Americans are known for their optimism. Besides, Americans are also known for their characteristic which values individualism quite highly (Stevenson, 1996: 126).
The spirit of individual freedom in American can be found since the very beginning of the history of America up to now. The immigrants who came to America have the same goal: freedom. The pilgrims came to America to get freedom in religious belief. Others came to American to escape tyranny from their nation, and they searched for freedom in aspects of their life which were not fulfilled by their nation. They all came to America, the land of opportunity, to achieve freedom and to have better life. Another example was the war between 13 colonies against British army. They fought for freedom from the oppression of the British. The battle brought them independence, declared them as a free state, a new nation. This event is the root that shapes the individual freedom characterization in United States. Americans believe and keep the spirit of individual freedom for many centuries. The concept of individual freedom that has settled in the mindset of the Americans always encourages them to be free
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from control. They want to control their own life without preference from anything or anyone such as government or society. American myth of individual freedom states that everybody has to get freedom form all tights and pressure to choose his or her own happiness. Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause in Popular Culture: An Introdctory Text (1992) stated:
Americans have an innate right to personal freedom- the right to choose their own destines, pursue their dreams, act in any way they
see fit of short of harming others of interfering with others’
freedom. (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 94)
The condition is much reflected in many American movies, popular magazines, or literary works. In American popular culture they are called as products of popular culture. The products of popular culture reflect the myths, beliefs and values of American society. One of the products of popular culture, in the form of literary work is a novel entitled “The Devil Wears Prada” (TDWP, 2003). The novel much reflects the American myth of individual freedom. The
Devil Wears Prada (2003) is a chick lit novel; a genre of fiction targeted to and
written by or about young and sophistichated women (www.msn.com/dictionary_chicklit). It was written by Lauren Weisberger. It was a best selling novel and it was very successfully spending six months on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been published in 27 countries. The novel also
becomes the basis for a successful eponymous film with the same title “Devil
Wears Prada” starred by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt.
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one of its main characters, Andrea Sachs, but also in one of its supporting characters, Lily Goodwin. Andrea’s embodiments of the myth can be seen in her young life, the period when she worked at Runway, her relationship with her roommates, Shanti and Kendra, her relationship with her best friend, Lily, her relationship with her boyfriend, Alex and her relationship with her family. While
Lily’s embodiment of the myth, can be seen in her relationship with best friend,
Andrea, her style, her lifestyle and her relationship with her study.
These two young women came to New York to pursue their dreams. Andrea wanted to be a journalist in The New Yorker and Lily wanted to get Ph.D title in Russian literature. Andrea Sachs started her career working at Runway,
fashion magazine. After graduating from college, she was hired as a personal assistant of Miranda Priestley, an editor of a powerful Runway. Andrea was told repeatedly that millions of girls would die for her job and if she can manage to work well for Miranda for a year she can choose any jobs within the magazine industry. It means that if she can survive in Runway for a year she will have a path to work in The New Yorker. She works hard to fulfill Miranda’s needs and be
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The conflict got peaking when Andrea joined Miranda at Paris fashion show. She was told that Lily was in comma because of an accident and Miranda asked her to renew her twin daughter’s expired passport. Andrea’s family and her boyfriend kept questioning her when she would be back. Thinking about her bestfriend’s condition and how she could accommodate her boss’ impossible demand made her very frustrated. The twin’s passport incident then made her realize that it was enough for Miranda to always plan what she wanted to do. Andrea realized that working as Miranda’s assistants made her lose her freedom as an individual. She could not do something for her own happiness; she always did something for the sake of Miranda’s want. Finally she realized that her family and friends were much more important than her job. Andrea decided to come
home. She ignored Miranda’s command and swore her publicly. She was fired but
one thing made she feel better was that she was coming home. After being fired from her previous job, Andrea worked on short fiction and finally Seventeen, a teenage magazine bought one of her stories. Andrea felt happy, though it was not
The New Yorker but it was a good first step for her career. Beside her career going fine, her relationship with Lily also went well. Lily decided to stay in
Andrea’s home to recover her habit of drinking while thinking to continue her
study (www.curledup.com/prada.htm).
Lauren Weisberger once worked as an assistant to Anna Wintour at Vogue
magazine. Many people think that Anna Wintour is the inspiration for the character Miranda Priestley in TDWP, but she denies it. However, the novelTDWP
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make a choice of life without pressure from anyone. Such as movie that reflects the social phenomenon of life, beliefs and values of a society, through a literary work we can also learn about a society since a literary work is an expression and hopes of the author toward his or her society. Since the novel The Devil Wears
Prada reflects the American myth of individual freedom, the researcher was
interested in analyzing it.
B. Scope of Study
To limit the discussion of the research, the researcher emphasized and focused on describing and analyzing the American myth of individual freedom in the novel The Devil Wears Prada (2003). The researcher also focused on one main character, Andrea Sachs and one supporting character, Lily Goodwin without ignoring other characters that support the analysis.
C. Research Question
How is American myth of individual freedom reflected in the novel The Devil Wears Prada?
D. The Objective of Study
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E. The Benefits of the Research
This research was done to give a contribution to the readers, especially the American studies students, in achieving a better understanding about American society which values individualism quiet highly.
F. The Research Methodology 1. The Type of the Research
The type of the research was descriptive qualitative research, which means answering the research question by describing and analyzing the answer.
Qualitative data consist of detailed descriptions of situations, events, people, interactions, and observed behaviours; direct quotations from people about their experiences, attitudes, belief, and thoughts; and excerpts or entire passages from documents, correspondences, records, and case histories. (Patton, 1984: 22)
Qualitative research involves the data that has been mentioned above. Qualitative research is not only about collecting and composing the data that are related to the research question but also analyzing and interpreting the data so that the description can be more comprehensive.
2. Data and Source of Data a. Source of Data
The main source of data used in this research was the novel The
Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. The novel was published by Anchor
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b. Data
The main data used in this research were dialogues, narration, comments, expressions, opinions, and characterizations of one main character; Andrea Sachs and one supporting character; Lily Goodwin and other characters which supported the analysis. The supporting data used in this research were in the form of information, comments, and opinions that supported the analysis.
3. Technique of Collecting Data and Analyzing Data
The researcher gained the data by doing a close reading activity to the novel The Devil Wears Prada (2003) by Lauren Weisberger as the source of main data and other sources as the sources of supporting data. Both data that were related to the subject of the research were collected. Then the data were analyzed by using some theories. The last step was drawing conclusion.
4. Theoretical Approach
The research was conducted within the boundary of American studies which used interdisciplinary approach. Therefore this study employed some approaches that were suitable to the subject matter to answer the research question. In this research the researcher employed sociological approach and cultural approach.
a. Sociological Approach
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of life. Besides transferring the society’s condition, an author also tries to
transform her society by adding her imagination into her work. As Rene Wellek and Austin Warren stated:
Literature is a social institution, using as its medium language, a social creation. Such traditional literary devices as symbolism and metre are social in their very nature. They are conventions and norms which could have arisen only in society. But furthermore,
literature ‗represents’ life and ‗life’ is, in large measure, a social
reality, even tough the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual also been objects of literary imitation (Wellek and Warren, 1977: 94).
Applying the sociological approach helped the researcher to explain about the American social condition described in the novel and finally could help the researcher in answering the research question.
b. Cultural Approach
Culture refers to all the things in our daily life. The object of study in cultural studies is not culture defined in the narrow sense, as the object of aesthetic excellence but culture understood as texts and practices of everyday life. Popular culture is one of the objects of discussion in cultural studies (Storey, 1996: 2). Popular culture refers to the product of human work and thought. It
surrounds us and it reflects as well as shapes the society’s beliefs and values. The
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Popular culture tells us what we are now, what we have been in the past and where the two overlap to define what we may always be. Popular culture can become the key to formulating definitions of a spirit of era (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 4-5). When a product of popular culture is popular at a certain time, it also reflects what happens in the society. Literary work is one of the products of popular culture. Through the product of popular culture we may study about the beliefs and values of society. As the formula of popular culture, the more popular a product of popular culture, the more it reflects the myth, belief and values of society (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 5).
In the house of popular culture, myth lies on the basement. It becomes the base where everything starts. It has the characteristics of strong, stable, significant and longstanding. Myth reflects the beliefs and values and it forms the cultural
mindset. “Myth says nothing about ‗truth’ or ‗falsity’ of any belief or value; it says that the belief or value is significant and long lasting-vital to mindset of the culture, which holds it-and that is widely accepted as being true (Nachbar and
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Since the research used literary work as source of data, structural point of view cannot be omitted in this analysis. Structural point of view was used in this analysis only as a way to get a deeper comprehension about what the literary work tells about; not in the case to find the aesthetic value of the novel.
Historical background was applied in this research. The novel reflects the characteristics of Americans and the social condition in United States. What have shaped the characteristics of Americans and what happens in the society at the present time always relates to the events happened in the past. As stated by Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause, all of the American myths have grown out of very real historical events (1992; 85). The American myth of individual freedom stems from the struggling of the 13 colonies fought against British army to reach their independence. The myth has settled in the mindset of the Americans and they have believed it up to now. It is certain that what happens at the present time always relates to the events happened in the past. Thus to understand the condition at the present time we need to have knowledge of the past. Exploring the history of certain events might help the researcher to understand the beliefs and values reflected in the novel and eventually helped the researcher to answer the research question.
G. Thesis Organization
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objective of the research, the benefits of the research, the research methodology and thesis organization
Chapter II is Literature Review. In this chapter, the researcher discusses the structure of novel, the social condition of American society in the late of twentieth century, and the American myth of individual freedom.
Chapter III consists of the analysis of the data and the answer to the research question.
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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Structure of Novel
Literary work is an imitation of life, in which the authors put their ideas and their view into it. The authors usually portray certain moral value of society, social life condition, critics and hopes toward a social condition of a society in their work; it can be in the form of novel, poetry and play. Besides receiving knowledge, a reader may get amusement in reading a literary work. As William Kenney states that enjoyment is what most of the readers seek in reading fiction, and in order to get the fullest possible measure of enjoyment an analysis of fiction is needed. Analyzing a literary work means identifying the separate parts that make it up, determining the relationship among the parts, and discovering the relation of the parts to the whole. The aim of the analysis is to get the understanding of the literary work as a unified and complex whole (Kenney, 1966: 5-6). A literary work consists of many internal elements such as plot, characters, setting, point of view, style and tone, structure and technique, and theme. This structure of literary work should reveal the theme. According to Goldman in Faruk the focus in revealing the theme is the relation between the characters and what surrounds them (Faruk, 2003: 17). This thesis focuses on describing the myth of individual freedom reflected in the one main character and one supporting character in the novel The Devil Wears Prada. Therefore the internal elements of literary work that is emphasized in this thesis are characters, plot, setting and theme.
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1. PLOT
Plot is the sequence of events which have cause and effect relationship.
“By plot in fiction, then, we mean not simply the events recounted in the story but
the author’s arrangement of those events according to their causal relationship”
(Kenney, 1966: 14). From the plot the reader may know how the story goes from the beginning until the end. Through plot an author organizes the raw of material of experience. The meaning of experience is closely related to the readers’ understanding of what causes what, and plot must clarify causal relationship. An understanding of plot is the most important factor in the understanding of fiction; it helps the readers to recognize the meaning of the story (Kenney, 1966: 23).
Plot is divided into three parts; they are the beginning, the middle, and the end. In the beginning the readers are provided with a certain amount of information such as characters, setting, and rising of problems. The middle provides conflict of the characters, complication, and climax. Complication is the movement from the initial statement of conflict to the climax. The climax is reached when the complication attains its highest point of intensity. The end consists of everything from the climax to the denouement, or outcome of the story. It shows how the problems of the characters are solved (Kenney, 1966: 14-19).
2. CHARACTER
As well as plot, characters in a fiction are also artificial. They are made by the author in relation to the story as a whole. Besides that the characters made in a
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kita membaca sebuah novel, bagian paling penting yang harus dilakukan ialah usaha untuk mencari nilai yang disuguhkan pengarang pada setiap
tokoh”(Rahmanto, 1988: 71).
Character and characterization are very important in a novel. The author’s
creativity in making characters and characterization becomes the appeal of a novel. In characterization, the author gives description about the characters in a novel. Through the characterization, the readers are shown with various type of characters and theirs problem.
Sebuah novel tanpa perwatakan nyaris mustahil. Daya tarik sebuah novel terpancar lewat imajinasi kreatif si pengarang. Lewat imajinasi pengarang itulah, pembaca dapat berkenalan dengan sejumlah variasi tipe manusia berikut masalahnya (Rahmanto, 1988: 71).
The readers of novel are usually interested in understanding the description of characterizations made by the author. The characterizations are usually portrayed into two opposite type; the good one and the bad one. The categorization which is based on the level of the goodness and the badness is the
author’s way to show to the readers that nobody is perfect ( ibid).
3. SETTING
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bahkan kadang-kadang lingkungan politik atau latar belakang tempat kisah itu
berlangsung” (ibid).
4. THEME
Theme is the meaning of a story, in which the readers usually find the moral teaching of the story. Through the process of reading, a reader eventually will find out the theme of the story. Finding the theme of a novel is the top in learning a fiction. The theme can be concrete or abstract. The readers must understand the plot, the characters, and the setting first, before they get to something which is more abstract (Rahmanto, 1988: 75).
B. American Social Condition in the End of 20th Century and Early of 21st Century
A label for United States as a super power nation has been known since the end of 20th century. Its military and economic powers throughout the world are the two main factors why this nation is called so. United States did not suddenly attain its power. It improves from time to time. Through some historical events United States got some experiences which finally built them as a strong nation.
According to Thomas and Witts in Caroline Bird, John Cary and Julius
Weinberg’s The Social Fabric : American Life from the Civil War at the Present,
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productivity; in the variety of consumer goods manufactured, advertising, sale, and distribution of the products. Americans had the ability to buy the products thus they could enjoy a better standard of living. In 1920s, economists called this
era as “prosperity decade” (1984: 225).
Unfortunately the prosperity was unequally spread. It was only the well educated people who could enjoy the benefits of the economic growth, while the unskilled workers, farmers, miners and women could not. The unevenness of distributing the prosperity and the inability of the consumers to buy the industrial products led to Great Depression of 1930s. The Great Depression gave a very bad impact to the US economy and its people. Unemployment increased sharply and it became the most serious problem, and poverty was unavoidable (ibid).
In this decade, millions of Americans shared the same experiences; hunger and want, an unemployed father, and a constant fear of what their economic future
might be as stated by Caroline Bird in John Cary and Julius Weinberg’s The
Social Fabric : American Life from the Civil War at the Present. Poverty was all
around America and was easily found there. The condition influenced young American women to delay their marriage, they knew there was no job for men and could not imagine themselves as breadwinners (1984: 200).
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the president in that era launched New Deal in
1933. The new deal program was to promote recovery and reform the nation’s
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even women could work outside their homes. Politically, the war gave a greater sense to the national existence. US victory over Nazi Germany and imperial Japan showed the strength of US as a powerful nation in the world. Demographically, the war brought marriage to young couples and increased the number of children per family or called as “baby boom’. The most important change in postwar era was the high development of education. Many American went to study at university. More educated people at university made US became the leader of the world in research and technology (Lingeman in Bird, Cary and Weinberg, 1984: 243-280).
The advance achieved in many sectors of the American life in postwar era bought America people to enter the period of prosperity. As Andrew Hacker stated, US entered a period of prosperity in longer duration than any other experienced by this nation. Buildings were built upon the technologies, industrial plants and human resources developed. America industry provided the nation with a standard of living; many American people could enjoy a middle class income that became the envy of the rest of the world (in Bird, Cary and Weinberg, 1984: 299).
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better education. It also trains them to live individually and dependently. Most teenagers like to live in this way, they become separated from their parents, and they can do everything they want without any forbidden from their parents. Town also becomes their destination to seek for job. Some varieties of jobs are available there. They could choose many kinds of jobs that are suitable with their skill and education.
At present time, both men and women definitely could go working. This phenomenon is closely related with one of influential book The Feminine
Mystique by Betty Friedan in 1963. It gave a very significant influence for the
women to against the ideology of domesticity. It brought women to have the equal opportunity in working, childcare and house working. Work field became a competition between men and women to earn money.
People living at town or known as urban society are commonly recognized as individual society. They have less social interaction with their neighborhood. They get so busy with their own work, and their own business. They want to reach the goal of their life. Many variety of jobs are available in town, one of them is the fashion industry, in which more women work in this field than men do.
Everyone deals with fashion everyday. They, who say do not care about fashion, actually do care about fashion. Since every time we choose what clothes that we are going to wear, the clothes say a lot about our personalities. Fashion is a state of mind that can be shown through the clothes we wear everyday or even the accessories we put on our body. One important thing in the fashion world is change. Movies, music, books and television give big impact on what become
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influenced by the uniform look of the World War II. Trend is sometimes world-wide. In 1950s, teenagers everywhere dressed like Elvis Presley (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/fashion/whatisfashion.html).
In this 21st century western fashion especially American fashion gives much influence toward fashion in the world, moreover western fashion became international fashion since the western musicians, movie stars and media have penetrated all parts of the world. Media reports about what kind of dress that will be worn by some artists. Even politicians have always been waited by the public, for example media and the society itself were waited and they were curious about the dress that would be worn by the first lady, Mitchell Obama on her husband inauguration ceremony as the president of United States. They believed that the dress worn by the first lady would be the next trend of fashion. Musicians, movie stars and even political figures have strong influence in dictating what will be the trend of fashion in certain period of time.
Fashion always develop and change. Various styles in fashion separate people into groups where they belong. Hip hopers show their identity with the hip hop fashion in large cut clothes. High school students classify the nerd group
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Fashion is a big business. Many American people count on their dreams in the fashion industry. New York City is often referred as the center of New York fashion. More than 200 thousand people come to New York City to pursue a better future, either to begin their career after graduation or to get higher education.
Working in the fashion industry especially fashion magazine company may give us many benefits. We can get a lot of free stuffs that designers send over to the company and goodie bags. We can also get free tickets to some fashion events. The fabulous lifestyle offered in the fashion industry attracts some American people to come to New York and try to get a better life. Freedom also becomes other reason why people come there. Frank Sinatra’s song about New York tells that how someone must work hard in this city to make her/his dreams
come true, it says “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”. New York
is a city with abundance of opportunity for those who want to express themselves in reaching their goal of life. Everyone comes to this city and they bring their own goals of life. The goals are not easily attained; we must put our best effort to realize it. Then we can have a better life. (http://www.39thanbroadway.com/tales-fashion-industry-transplants/).
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examples people can show their ideas and expression freely. They can show their feeling and personalities through the clothes they wear. Life is all about choices and in fashion we are free to choose the clothes which show who we are.
C. The American Myth of Individual Freedom
For some people “myth” is generally known as Greek god and goddesses’
story or mistake or error which has somehow come to be accepted as true (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 84). However in the case of the study of popular culture, myth here refers to the bedrock of cultural beliefs which provide the
foundation of mindset. It says nothing about the “truth” or “falsity” of any belief
or value; it says that the belief or value is significant and long lasting- vital to the mindset of the culture which holds it – and that it is widely accepted as being true. The point is that myth is believed and that people make choices and action based upon the belief in myth (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 84).
According to Slotkin in Nachbar and Lause myth has close connection with history, and popular beliefs and values do not develop in some short timeless vacuum of cultural contemplation and musing (1992: 85). The existence of American myths, beliefs and values has grown out of very real historical events. They are rooted from the history of the very first time the America people came to the America continent.
One of the very important myths in America is myth of individual
freedom. The myth rooted from the struggle of the 13 colonies’ fight against the
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and build a new nation which can decide their own actions and choices. As stated by Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause in in Popular Culture: An Introductory Text
(1992) “America was born out of a rebellion against all those who would place
restrictions upon the inherent right of individual to determine their own choices
and actions” (1992: 46-47)
This myth makes all Americans free to do any kinds of effort to reach their American dream. There are no boundaries for them to be successful, but they
must not disturb other people’s life freedom.
The myth has lived long lasting in every aspects of Americans’ life, from the very beginning of the construction of this country to the condition at present. The myth had rooted in the history of America. The manifestation of the myth can be seen in several construction of the nation. One of the manifestations of the myth can be seen in how the separated 13 colonies finally be united under one nation; America. The colonies shared the same experiences, they were the Sons of Liberty, they wanted to be free from the English authority, and they wanted to build a new nation. In 4th July 1776 America finally declared its independence day. And in their declaration of Independence it had proclaimed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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disorder. Then constitutional conventions began in Philadelphia in 1787 which aimed to build a stronger nation that would able to protect “life, liberty, and
property”. American political system is not only a democratic system, but also a
constitutional one. The founders believed that the democratic system did not only concern about goals as liberty and equality, but also saw it as the best way to govern the complex society, while the constitutions were made focusing on the process of realizing the goals. (Burns and Macgregor, 1989: 1-4)
The democratic system that the founders of America had believed to govern the complex society has some basic premises which acknowledge the importance of individual in a society.
First, democrats recognize the fundamental and importance of the individual.
Second, democrats recognize the right of each individual to be treated as a unique and inviolable human being. They do not insist that all are equal in talents or virtues; they do insist
that one person’s claim to life, liberty, and property must be recognized as much as another’s.
Third, democrats are convinced that freedom is good in itself. Liberty or freedom (used interchangeably here) means that all individuals must have the opportunity to realize their own goals. The core of liberty is self-determination. Liberty is not simply the absence of external restraint on a person; it is the
individual’s power to act positively to reach his or her goals.
Moreover, both history and reason suggest that individual
liberty is the key to social progress. The greater people’s
freedom, the greater the chance of discovering better ways of life. (Burns and Macgregor, 1989: 4)
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system since it values higher the importance of individual freedom in a society. Here we can see also how the myth of American individual freedom was manifested in the making of the nation.
Besides American political system which values the importance of individual rights in a society, one important document that shows how America highly values the importance of individual right is Bill of Rights. It was a document resulted from the great intense debate for 4 years between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The delegates from 13 colonies convened in Philadelphia in 1787 and drafted constitution of the United States. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary. The Constitution was remarkable, but it still flawed. It did not include the Bill of rights. The constitution only stated what the government should do and it did not include what the government could not do. Due to this, some people were afraid that the government would interfere the rights of the people. The absence of Bill of Rights turned out to be an obstacle to the Constitution to be ratified by the states. It also caused a great debate between the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist, and took 4
years of intense debates before the new government’s form resolved
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over the states. Meanwhile, the Federalists urged the Constitution to be ratified. They thought Bill of Rights was not included because listing all the rights was impossible. It was too complicated. And they favored a strong federal government that would unite the states as one large continental nation.
Though the Anti-Federalists united in opposing to the Constitution they did not agree on what form of government made the best alternative to it. They still had different opinion in their own group. Some still believed that the Articles of Confederation could be amended in such a way that they would provide a workable confederation. Others were even ready to accept the Constitution if it was amended in such a way that the rights of citizens and states would be more fully protected. Meanwhile the Federalist focused their arguments on the inadequacies of national government under the Article of Confederation, and they argued that a strong central government would foster the commercial growth of the new country. The way these two groups viewed the American society was also different. The Anti-Federalists viewed the society made up principally of farmers, while the Federalists viewed the society as comprising many different and competing interests and groups none of which would be completely dominant in a federalist system of government. For this reason many scholars argued that the Federalists were more aware to the social and economic changes of American society. They had more reliable vision and strong arguments than the Anti-Federalists did, thus made the Anti-Federalists were more favorable to the people, and somehow they were well considered.
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and John Jay. It was published in New York newspaper and in two bound volumes distributed during the ratification debate. It communicated the central ideas of the Federalists, the benefits of a Union between the states, the importance of an energetic, effective federal government and a defense of the republicanism of the proposed Constitution. One of the most famous of its essays is The Federalist number 10, by James Madison. In it Madison addressed the issue of whether or not the republican government could protect the liberty of its citizens. Madison saw that the most destructive thing to a nation was faction. According to Madison, a faction was a number of the whole, who were united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent aggregate interests of the community.
Madison divided popular government into two types, democratic and republican. In a democracy, all citizens participate directly in the decisions of government. In a republic, representatives elected by the people make the decisions of government. In his essay he contended that republican government could best solve the problem of faction. The view of James Madison was only one of the many points that the Federalist Papers made in favor of the Constitution.
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(http://law.jrank.org/pages/5603/Constitution-United-States-FEDERALIST-VERSUS-ANTI-FEDERALIST.html).
Bill of Rights is truly a manifestation of the myth of individual freedom embraced by American people. It is a written document in which the content proves how Americans highly value the importance of individual rights and the protection towards it. The idea of individual rights is the oldest and most traditional of Americans values. The entire Bill of rights was created to protect rights the original citizens believed were naturally theirs, including: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, press, petition, and assembly
(http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/bill-rights-brief-history).
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CHAPTER III
ANALYSIS
HOW THE MYTH OF AMERICAN INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM IS
REFLECTED IN THE NOVEL “THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA”
This chapter contains the analysis related to the research question stated in
the first chapter, that is “How is the myth of American Individual freedom reflected in the novel The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger?” The
analysis uses sociological and cultural approaches, and applies historical background to answer the question how the myth of American individual freedom is reflected in the novel.
The novel conveys much about social life in a big city like Manhattan and New York, the settings of the novel. It presents two main women characters, Miranda Priestley as the boss, and Andrea Sachs as her assistant. Miranda Priestley is portrayed as a very mean boss and the title itself The Devil Wears
Prada is the representation of her. She is a chief editor of a big fashion magazine,
Runway. She is symbolized as a devil because of her cruel attitude towards her
employees.
This novel focuses much on Andrea’s life in reaching her dream. It also uses Andrea as the first point of view. She much represents what the novel wants
to tell, that is the American myth of individual freedom. Lily Goodwin, Andrea’s
best friend, one of the supporting characters, also represents the myth of
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individual freedom. Therefore these two characters are analyzed to describe how the novel The Devil Wears Prada expresses the myth of individual freedom. The manifestation of the myth in Andrea character can be seen in the life of young Andrea, the time when she worked at Runway, her relationship with her roommates Shanti and Kendra, her relationship with her friend Lily, her relationship with her boyfriend Alex and her relationship with her family. While the manifestation of the myth in Lily character can be seen in her relationship with her friend Andrea, her style, her lifestyle and her study.
Reading the novel The Devil Wears Prada we will read a lot about the
portrayal of carrier women’s life in New York City in the modern time. Big city is always known for its people who are individualistic and for becoming the centre of education, entertainment, and work field, and so is New York. New York
becomes the American’s destination to reach their dreams. This is also what
happens to Andrea Sachs and Lily Goodwin. They both came to New York to reach their goal of life. Through these two characters, the researcher analyzes how the American myth of individual freedom is reflected in the novel.
The novel The Devil Wears Prada portrays the modern life of New York; how the young people who come to this place struggle to realize their dreams. It tells a lot about carrier women and goal and choices of life. It relates to the myth that everyone has the right to choose what is best for him/herself in order to reach his/her goals of life as stated in the previous chapter.
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declared their independence, formed their government, and constructed their constitution. It shows that American always put first the importance of the individual. This makes every American value the individual freedom. The myth has already existed in their mindset and they embody it in their daily life through their way of thinking, behaviors and life experience. For some authors the beliefs and values of a certain myth can be reflected in their works. They capture what is going on in their society then they write it into their work and add with their imagination, opinions and hopes toward the society. According to the formula of popular culture stated by Nachbar and Lause, the more the product reflects the myths, beliefs and values of the society the more popular the product will be (Nachbar and Lause, 1992: 5). The more it reflects the beliefs and values of the society the more it will be accepted by the society. The novel The Devil Wears
Prada is one of the products of popular culture which is well accepted by the US
society since in the novel we can find a lot about American’s myths, beliefs, and values. One of the myths reflected in the novel is the American myth of individual freedom. Paying attention to one of the leading characters of and one of the supporting characters of the novel, we will read a lot about how they get the goal of their life; the way that they choose to make their dreams come true.
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would be better if the analysis of each character is separated. How Andrea as the main character reflects the myth of individual freedom is explained first.
By reading the novel we can read how the life of Andrea embodies the myth of individual freedom. In her adolescence, she was faced with some choices of life relating with her future and career. She was a modest, sub-urban girl who had just finished studying at Brown University. She spent her past 23 years old in a small town America, Avon Connecticut. Her social activities were only about high school sports, youth group meeting, drinking parties at nice suburban ranch homes when the parents were away. Like all the young girls in her town, she wore the simple clothes, such as sweatpants to school, jeans for Saturday night, and ruffled puffiness for semiformal dances. And going to college was a world of sophistication after high school for her. She went to Brown University where all
facilities were available for Andrea’s intellectual or creative interest that she
wanted to pursue. After graduating from her college, she did not want to get involved in a carrier life too early. So she managed to have a solo trip (TDWP, 2003: 10-11).
For the three months following graduation, I’d scrounged together
what little cash I could find and took off on a solo trip. I did Europe by train for a month, spending much more time on beaches
than in museums, and didn’t do a very good job of keeping touch
with anyone back home except Alex, my boyfriend of three years (TDWP, 2003: 11).
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A solo trip is one of the activities representing myth of individual freedom. For a month Andrea did a solo trip with no companion even no contact with anyone except Alex, her boyfriend. In doing her solo trip, she really did not get any interrupting thing from her family or friend, because she needed to be alone and free, moreover her family knew that she did need time for herself. This activity shows how much American people value individual freedom.
The major manifestations of the myth can be seen when Andrea worked at Runaway. Before Andrea got a job in Runway she already set her goal of life; finding a job in magazine publishing company. Though it sounded too high, working as a journalist in The New Yorker was the only job she dreamt of (TDWP, 2003: 12). However, the first place hiring her was Runway, a fashion magazine. The first manifestation of the myth in the character of Andrea when she worked at Runway was when she decided to take the job in Runway. The first time Andrea came to Ellias-Clark building was when she was interviewed to be Miranda’s second assistant. She was told repeatedly that working for a year for Miranda would open her opportunity to work at every magazine publishing that she wanted. This thing made her desperately want the job.
It was at this point I began to want the job desperately, in the way people yearn for things they consider unattainable. It might not be akin to getting into law school or having an essay published in a campus journal, but it was, in my starved-for-success mind, a real challenge– a challenge because I was an imposter, and not a very good one at that. I had known the minute I stepped in the Runway
floor that I didn’t belong. My clothes and hair were wrong for sure, but more glaringly out of place was my attitude. I didn’t know
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Fashion was not completely part of Andrea. But since the job was promising to her she decided to take the job. She believed that the job would be her stepping stone to The New Yorker.
Americans has innate right to personal freedom. They have opportunity to make their goals come true. Thus they believe that they are absolutely able to pursue their dreams and they can act with their own way. Working at Runway was
Andrea’s opportunity to make her goals come true. She chose to accept the
challenge and took the risk working in a fashion magazine. She believed that the challenge she took will bring her a better and brighter career. Her strong passion to work at Runway reflects the myth of individual freedom. She made her own choice by herself and took the challenge. Though she would humiliate herself since she knew that her clothes, hair style, make-up and even attitude did not belong to the place, she just went for it. One thing for sure in her mind that this
Runway job would open her career in the journalism field. Thus she committed to
herself that she really needed the job in order to pursue her dreams. She made this choice with no influence of others. Her friends and family doubted a little that she could be accepted in a fashion magazine. They knew Andrea was completely not fashionable. And it seemed like impossible for a fashion magazine like Runway to hire Andrea. Yet she ignored it and was optimistic to be accepted at Runway.
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consequence, Andrea, the modest girl, always had problems with choosing some outfit to wear everyday. No matter how hard she tried to find some fashionable clothes from her closet, her look always ended miserable.
Andrea’s standard of beauty is completely different from the standard of
beauty of the girls in Runway. The Runway girl had slim body and they all looked like model though they were not. Below is the description how she feels beautiful.
Andrea has her own definition about feeling beautiful. “There was no make up on
my face, and my jeans were dirty around the bottom from trudging through the
city slush. But at that moment, I felt beautiful “(TDWP, 2006: 34). She has no idea about fashion and how to put on make-up either. She describes her own
definition of beauty. Everyone’s definitions about the word “beautiful” are varied.
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For twelve weeks she defended her look. By this look she expressed her spirit of individual freedom about beauty. She was not influenced by the standard of beauty in Runway. And for this long too she had been mocked. She survived this as she believed that in doing her job she would not be judged from her look. It was the job which would be considered; whether she could do the job well or not was more important for her than her look. But in fact the people at Runway
always valued someone from her look. For them look was the first priority. They preferred to value someone from the look not the job. Being not able to stand in the situation that they did not appreciate her job because of her look and outfit, then Andrea decided to make over her self and started dressing better.
[…..] Hell, I’d survived three full months—if wearing a Prada turtleneck instead of one from Urban Outfitters was going to help me survive the next nine, then so be it. I decided I’d start putting together a new and improved wardrobe immediately (TDWP, 203: 147).
Dressing like the Runway girls does not mean that Andrea has surrendered her freedom, her choices in the way she dresses. But it is more concerned with her career. Here she makes her choices in the name of her priority of her life, and that is her career in a magazine publishing that makes her survive at Runway for a year. So it can be said that when she decides to dress well, it does not mean that she is under control of Runway. She is not controlled but she decides to dress better by herself. She lets her self be controlled by Runway on the way she dresses since it helps her career to survive
there longer “And so I decided at the beginning of my fourth month (only nine
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2003: 144). Moreover, by following the trend and the fashion in Runway, she now gets the benefit of it. She now knows more about fashion and the most important is she becomes more acceptable to work at Runway.
The other passage that supports how Andrea expresses the myth by deciding her look is shown when she was pointed by Miranda to come to a night’s gala affair. Everybody at Runway worked hard trying to prepare her to look appropriate at the party and to show that they had high level of taste and class. They arranged what dress and accessories she should wear. They also insisted bringing a make-up artist to her apartment. But she refused. It is shown in the passage below:
[…] I briefly wondered if I looked ridiculous wearing a floor-length Oscar de La Renta gown and Bonne Belle Lipsmackers in Fudgsicle. Probably, but I had turned down all offers of having a makeup artist come to my apartment. Everyone on staff tried to insist—and none too subtly—but I adamantly refused. Even I had limits. (TDWP, 2003: 307).
Andrea’s statement “Even I had limits” strengthens her thought about
individual freedom. She allowed people at Runway help her with the dress but she refused to have a make-up artist came to her apartment. She even had limit showing that though she had to represent Runway in the way she looked but she still wanted to defend her freedom and had her own make-up on her face. She had her own limitation on which part she would let others control her look.
The third manifestation of the myth while Andrea worked at Runway can be seen in how Andrea chose the menu that she considered best for herself. The
menu at Runway’s cafeteria indirectly had shown the rule about what the
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own standard of body size. It also meant that they had to control and limit what they ate and they became very selective in choosing their menu. It is in contrast to Andrea. Though everyone at Runway is selective with their food menu, she defends her freedom to eat the menu which she likes. It is shown in the passage below:
I was the only one in the entire company who actually bought soup –and I’d only been three week—the higher –ups had slashed his menu to a solitary soup per day. (TDWP, 2003: 75).
The petite cashier looked first at the soup and then at
my hips when she rang me up. Or had she? I’d already grown
accustomed to being looked up and down ever time I went anywhere, and I could’ve sworn she was looking at me with
the same expression I would’ve given a five hundred-pound person with eight Big Macs arrayed in from of him: the eyes
raised just enough as if to ask, “Do you really need that?” but I
brushed my paranoia aside and reminded myself that the woman was simply a cashier in a cafeteria, not a Weight Watcher counselor. Or a fashion editor (TDWP, 2003: 75).
Andrea knew that the soup she chose contained a lot of fat that would make her fat. But she ignored this notion. She did not care that she would get fat because of the soup. She ignored how the cashier paid attention to her look and criticized her choice. She still chose soup as her favorite menu at Runway. Moreover she was the only woman in Runway who ate the soup. She was not influenced with the women at Runway who had slim body. She did not try to shape her body like them, instead she just enjoyed eating anything she wanted and liked. Even she kept it as her favorite menu as long as she was at Runway. As it is shown “—so I didn’t have my usually luxurious seven minutes to beeline to the
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women at Runway the soup was the most avoided menu since it contained a lot of fat but for her having the soup was one of her luxurious habits she ever got in
Runway.
The fourth manifestation of the myth while Andrea worked at Runway was shown in a situation when Andrea had left her office unattended because she could not stand starving for few hours more. Emily was going out for lunch and she had not come back yet for long hours.
I just couldn’t do it. So when four o’clock rolled around
and there was still no sign of Emily and no call from Miranda, I did the unthinkable: I left the office unattended (TDWP, 2003:73).
Andrea knew that she should not leave her office while Emily was not there. But it became unbearable since she felt very starving. Then she decided to break the rule and went to get some lunch. Her job was much demanding. It completely limited her in doing things. But Andrea still defends her freedom. Though she dedicates herself at Runway but if her freedom gets bothered she will not like it and sometimes break the rule as shown in the passage above. She defends her right to do something she needs, having lunch. Besides, what Emily did is unacceptable; having lunch for four hours and leaving Andrea to get starving. So she left the desk no matter what because she thought this was what she needed to do for herself.
The fifth manifestation of the myth when Andrea worked at Runway is
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delightful to get their phone ring, it will be different with Andrea. Her ringing phone was such a panic sign which meant that it was certain that Miranda was on the phone. Through the phone Miranda delivered her command to her assistants. And it was a must for the assistants to always pick up the phone. The fact that she would always be tied with the phone was very inconvenient Andrea. She hated to be tied with something and someone. It is in contrast to her value which adores the importance of freedom in her life. Below is the passage showing her hatred to cell phone:
I hated that cell phone with my entire soul. I even hated my new
Bang and Olufsen home phone by this point. I hated Lily’s phone,
commercials for phone, pictures of phones in magazines, and I even hated Alexander Graham Bell. Working for Miranda Priestley caused a number of unfortunate side effects in my day-to-day life, but the most unnatural one was my severe and all-consuming hatred of phones (TDWP, 2003: 104).
I loathed that fucking cell but could not ignore it. It kept me tied to Miranda like an umbilical cord, refusing to let me grow up or out or away from my source of suffocation. She called
constantly …Brrring-brrring. Increased heart rate. ………..
Briiiiiiiiiiing. Oh, why won’t she leave me alone, please, oh,
please, just forget I’m alive—sweat breaks out on my forehead (TDWP, 2003: 105).
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She’d called with no concern that her nine A.M. call would have
reached me at three A.M., on my most perfect weekend in
months. She’d called to drive me a little crazier, push me a little
bit harder. She’d called to dare me to defy her. She’d called to
make me hate her that much more (TDWP, 2003: 113).
Andrea is not a big fan of interruption. She has been exhausted for working in the weekdays so having a rest on the weekend is very important for her. Therefore, when the interruption came while she was sleeping on her
weekend she hated it very much. Miranda’s arbiter attitude was completely in
contrast to her freedom thus it pushed her to hate her more. Andrea ignored that it was her boss who phoned her. She perceived that whoever it was who interrupted her, she just did not like it since it disturbed her freedom.
The sixth manifestation of the myth when Andrea worked at Runway can be seen in her habit of smoking. Working as Miranda’s assistant was a hellish job. It was an unstoppable job and sometimes Andrea got overwhelmed with the jobs. Miranda always asked her to do other jobs while the previous one had not been accomplished yet. Besides, she was a new worker and still adjusted to the office condition and situation. Getting overwhelmed with the job, she usually smoked at her spare time as shown below:
[…] The light turned green just as I managed to touch the fire to
the end of the cigarette, and I was forced to leave it hanging between my lips as I negotiated the intricacies of clutch, gas, shift (neutral to first? Or first to second), release clutch, the smoke wafting in and out of my mouth with each and every breath (TDWP, 2003: 2).
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awfully traffic jam at work hours. This is what happened to Andrea in her early days at Runway. It portrays how crowded the traffic in Manhattan in the afternoon
while Andrea was trying to drive Miranda’s car to her apartment. She had not got
used to the traffic either the car. This situation gave her a very panic thought. One thing could make her feel a little bit better was cigarette to lose her panic.
