Analysis of Portrayal of The Protagonist in 'A Battle Within'.

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ABSTRACT

Dalam tugas akhir ini, penulis menganalisis karakteristik tokoh utama dalam sebuah novel yang berjudul A Battle Within, yang mengisahkan tentang seorang tokoh bernama Olivia yang mengidap penyakit Schizophrenia. Penyakit Schizophrenia yg dideritanya mempengaruhi pola pikir dan karakteristiknya yang cenderung berubah ke arah negatif.

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APPENDICES

SYNOPSIS OF A BATTLE WITHIN

A Battle Within is a story about married woman, named Olivia. She lives with her two children, Paul and Bridget and a husband, Luke. One day, Olivia decides to leave her husband without any apparent reason; she separates Paul and Bridget from her father. Olivia becomes an antisocial person because she keeps bitterness from her past life and brings it to her future. When Olivia was a child, she was threatened badly by her friends, she was isolated and no one wanted to be her friend so that she lacked confidence. Olivia’s past life and the rejection from the society change her characteristic and she becomes a schizophrenic. She sometimes feels that she hates herself because she thinks that there is something else inside her which is not her real characteristics.

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they support one other. She realizes that it is hard for her and perhaps she often overreacts but she must accept the reality, pray and think about it, so she will be stronger.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR

Barbara Macfarlane, known as Barbara Jean Macfarlane, is an Australian and also a mother of two children. At the age of 39, Macfarlane was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. She had to spend some time in the psychiatric hospital and undergoes some medical treatments. Macfarlane is also a writer, so during her illness, she passed her time by writing. Most of her writings are about fiction and children stories, such as Jenny on Canvas, The Mouse Keeper and The Birds and Hetty. But one of her writings, entitled A Battle Within, is inspired by her own story. In the novel, Macfarlane shares about her ups and downs when she has to fight against her illness. A Battle Within is a semi-biographical novel, which tells about a woman who suffers from Schizophrenia; besides, it is her only non-fiction work.

After recovering from Schizophrenia, Macfarlane becomes a member of Lutheran church, based on Steeple church in Dundee city centre in England. She works there as a parish nurse who focuses on serving health needs for church and community.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

I. Background of the Study

Barbara Macfarlane is a twentieth century Australian writer. She writes children stories, such as Zop, King of The Fireflitters, Jenny on Canvas, The Mouse Keeper, and Queen Agapanthus. Although she writes mostly for children, Macfarlane once writes a biographical novel, entitled A Battle Within, which is based on her own true story. A Battle Within is a story about the journey of a woman who suffers from Schizophrenia and she tries to fight against her illness and to recover from it.

The definition of Schizophrenia is “a severe mental disorder characterized

by delusions, hallucinations, incoherence and physical agitation; it is classified as

a „thought‟ disorder.” (“Bipolar Disorder”). Schizophrenia might be caused by

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2 Maranatha Christian University I choose to discuss A Battle Within in my thesis because I think the issue of this novel is interesting; besides, it empowers and encourages the readers to struggle against many problems in life. “Life is not all black, not even only a

battle, though it may seems that way at times. There are beauties still.”

(Macfarlane 125).

In my thesis, I focus on analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist, Olivia. The definition of the protagonist itself is “the main character in a story, novel, drama, or other literary work, the character that the reader or audience empathizes

with” (“Fiction Writing”). I am interested in knowing more about the female experienced and how she has overcome her hopelessness in life when she realizes that she suffers Schizophrenia.

II. Statement of the Problem

The statement of the problem is:

1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the novel?

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3 Maranatha Christian University III. Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is:

1. to show how the protagonist is portrayed in the novel.

2. to show the purpose of the author in creating such a character.

IV. Method of Research

I use library research to analyze A Battle Within. First, I read the novel. Secondly, I look for the references related to the topic and I search the Internet. Thirdly, after getting some supporting information, I do my analysis. Finally, I draw some conclusions from what I have analyzed.

V. Organization of the Thesis

I will divide my thesis into three chapters. The first chapter is the Introduction including the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. The second chapter is the Portrayal of the Protagonist in Barbara

Macfarlane‟s A Battle Within. In the third chapter, I write the Conclusion of my

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

After analyzing the characteristics of the protagonist, Olivia, in this chapter I would like to draw a conclusion.

Olivia is a woman who suffers from Schizophrenia. I think the cause of her becoming schizophrenic is her failure to fulfil what the society requires. It causes the depression and indirectly affects her mental state. The environmental factors force her to adjust herself to act according to what the dominant people believe and do. It compels her to meet their expectations although it is hard. It becomes a burden for her mind as well, so she becomes suppressed. The pressure becomes greater, especially because Olivia is a self-conscious, “The stress vulnerability model theory of schizophrenia states that every individual has a certain vulnerability to schizophrenia which is determined by a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors. A stressful or traumatic incident can sometimes trigger the symptoms of schizophrenia in particularly vulnerable people” (“Causes of Schizophrenia”).

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17 Maranatha Christian University The protagonist also becomes a pessimistic person. In my opinion, it is connected with the changes of brain that cause the disorder and imbalance in her brain. One who suffers Schizophrenia experiences some disorders in thought and emotion because the level of dopamine, “a neurotransmitter, [which the] brain uses to transmit information from one brain to cell to another”(“Psychosis”) is too high, so the brain becomes more sensitive because of the effect of dopamine itself. Automatically, it affects the protagonist’s reactions when she knows that she suffers from Schizophrenia. She becomes more sensitive about her hearing and becomes a pessimistic, thinking that she will never recover from her illness. Dopamine “is thought to play an important role in incentive motivation and acts as part of our internal reward system. Any dysfunction in the reward system could explain low motivation” (“Health Central”).

In my opinion, after Olivia undergoes some medical treatments in a psychiatric hospital and after she has been introduced to Christianity, her characteristics change in positive ways. Olivia becomes optimistic, brave and self-controlled. Olivia thinks differently after she becomes a Christian. She learns how to be grateful for her condition; besides, she thinks in an optimistic way so that she can recover from her illness. Olivia’s desire to recover can be seen when she has the bravery to ring some psychiatrists and asks for double medication in the hospital. She tries to endure the medication, although it is hard because of the effects of the medication that cause her mind to become dull so that she cannot think clearly.

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18 Maranatha Christian University she overcomes it by praying to God because she believes that God never leaves her and always gives her strength to overcome her problems.

In A Battle Within, the purpose of the author in creating such a character is because Macfarlane wants to share with her readers about what she has experienced and how she overcomes the battle within herself. The author wants to share with the readers through Olivia’s experience, so as to encourage her readers so that they would not feel

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text:

Macfarlane, Barbara. A Battle Within. Adelaide: Openbook Publisher, 1994

References:

“Causes of Schizophrenia”. NHS. 2010. 11 Nov. 2010

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Schizophrenia/Pages/Causes.aspx

“Dynamic Character”. Dictionary. 2009. 16 Oct. 2009

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dynamic%20character>

“Faith Across Frontiers”. Faith Across Frontiers. 2008. 16 Feb. 2011

Friendly, Fred.W. “Schizophrenia”. Directory. PBS. 2001. 16 Oct. 2009

http://www.pbs.org/inthebalance/archieves/whocares/awareness/dir schizophrenia.html

Kennard, Jerry. ”Low Motivation in Schizophrenia Linked to Biochemical Rewards

System”. Health Central. 15 May 2008. 11 Nov. 2010

http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/27923/schizophrenia

Macfarlane, Barbara. “Catalogue”. Catalogue National Library of Australia. 2009. 16

Oct.2009.

<http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Search/Home?lookfor=author:%22Macfarlane,% 20 Barbara%22&iknowwhatimean=1>

Macfarlane, Barbara. “Catalogue”. National Library of Australia. 2009. 16 Oct.2009.

<http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn170214>

“Psychosis”. CKS. 2010. 11 Nov. 2010

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Read, Kimberly&Maria Pursue. “Paranoid”. Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar About. 2009. 16 Oct. 2009.

<http://bipolar.about.com/od/glossary/g/g1_paranoid.htm>

Read, Kimberly & Maria Pursue. “Schizophrenia”. Bipolar About. 2009. 19 Oct.

2009

<http://bipolar.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_schizophreni.htm>

Schirmer, Helen & Linda Macqueen. “Vessels of Clay”. LCA. 1 May 2009. 16 Oct.