THE AMERICAN VALUES OF WORK ETHICS
AS REVEALED
BY MR. VANDERGELDER’S CHARACTERIZATION
IN THORNTON WILDER’S
THE MATCHMAKER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
YACINTA YUYUN PRASTIWI Student Number: 024214090
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2011
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THE AMERICAN VALUES OF WORK ETHICS
AS REVEALED
BY MR. VANDERGELDER’S CHARACTERIZATION
IN THORNTON WILDER’S
THE MATCHMAKER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
YACINTA YUYUN PRASTIWI Student Number: 024214090
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
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iv
Success is a journey;
not a destination.
(Ben Sweetland)
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This Undergraduate Thesis is
dedicated to
My beloved parents
and
my late aunt
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Yacinta Yuyun Prastiwi
Nomor Mahasiswa : 024214090
Demi Pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
THE AMERICAN VALUES OF WORK ETHICS AS REVEALED BY MR. VANDERGELDER’S CHARACTERIZATION IN THORNTON WILDER’S THE MATCHMAKER
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu minta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 23 Februari 2011
Yang menyatakan
(Yacinta Yuyun Prastiwi)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amien.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Jesus my Savior for everything granted to me so that I could accomplish this thesis.
I am grateful to my beloved parents, for the support, patience, and encouragement they have given to me. Thanks for your patient and your love.
I owe a great debt to Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum., my advisor and Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum, my reader. I thank them for the advice, the knowledge, and also the guidance they have given to me during the making of the thesis. I also thank all the lecturers in the English Letters for their valuable knowledge that I got during my study in Sanata Dharma University. I do not forget to thank Mbak Ninik for her valuable information and service during my study in the campus.
I express my gratitude for my beloved aunt and uncle who always support me and make me feel confident to accomplish my thesis. For my grandma, I’m sorry that I visit you rarely.
I thank Mbak Anik, Nene, and Pendex, for your kindness to allow me to use your computer while mine was broken. Also to all genius person who have helped me to fix my computer.
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I should also like to thank Ari, Gita, Kaka’ Dika, Andien, and Dek Oyènk for releasing me from boredom. For the girls of The Angels Voice; Danik, Wulan, Ririn, Weta, Jatik, Dewik, Putri, and Gita, I’m sorry for being rude to you, girls.
I would like to thanks Bédèz, Nyimoet, Tata, Ènyènk, wawonk ‘Raiz’, Gèpènk, and Éndut for always being there when I need someone to share.
Last but not the least; I would like to say thanks for everyone, whom I cannot mention one by one, who has given me help and support during the making of this thesis. So many people have been involved by giving their advice, critique, information, and help. May God Bless you all for the help and contributions you have given to me.
Yacinta Yuyun Prastiwi
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ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………... A. Background of the Study……… B. Problem Formulations………... C. Objectives of the Study………. D. Definition of Terms………. CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW……….. A. Review of Related Studies………..
1. Arditianto S, Johanes, Thornton Wilder’s Criticism to the Middle Class People behind the Nineteenth Century Theatres in His Farce ‘The Matchmaker’,2000…………. 2. Maynard, Nicholas, The Motive of Courtship of Mrs. Levi
and Cornelius as Seen in Thornton Wilder’s ‘The Matchmaker’, 2008……….. B. Review of Related Theories………
1. Theory of Character and Characterization 2. Theory of Value
C. Theoretical Framework………
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………... A. Object of the Study……….. B. Approach of the Study……….
C. Method of the Study………
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS……… A. The Characteristics of Mr. Vandergelder……… B. The American Values of Work Ethics as Revealed by Mr.
x ABSTRACT
YACINTA YUYUN PRASTIWI. The Study of American Values of Work Ethics as Revealed by Mr. Vandergelder’s Characterization in Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of English Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011.
The American Dreams of success including the ownership of status, material goods, and social acceptance are shown in The Matchmaker. It is a farce written by Thornton Wilder in 1954 and published as the revised edition of The Merchant of Yonkers (1938). Each of the characters has different dreams and their own way to achieve their dreams.
This study discusses two problems. The first is discussing about the characterization of male character in the play, Mr. Vandergelder. He is the main focus in the analysis. The second point is to find out Mr. Vandergelder’s character that reveals the American Values of Work Ethics.
In this thesis, the writer uses moral-philosophical approach. This approach emphasizes the function of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. The writer finds that this approach fits the purpose of this thesis, which is to reveal the moral value through the study of character’s characterization. Since value is part of the moral itself, therefore it is reasonable to use moral-philosophical approach.
The answer for the first problem can be seen from other characters’ response and opinion toward the analyzed character. Moreover, the character’s own action and thought also helps the writer to reveals his character. From these ways the writer finds that Mr. Vandergelder is sixty years old man. He is an important and influential person. He is capitalist, individualist, practical and rational, and straight-forward one. Moreover, he is ambitious, choleric, vain and sly. Meanwhile, the second problem is answered after the writer observes the way the character performs himself as a hard worker and how it influences the way he treated others. In this case, the values of work ethics revealed by the character of Mr. Vandergelder are hard work through thrifty against waste and extravagance and equal opportunity to get the higher economy level.
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xi ABSTRAK
YACINTA YUYUN PRASTIWI. The Study of American Values of Work Ethics as Revealed by Mr. Vandergelder’s Characterization in Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2011.
“Impian Amerika” dalam hal kesuksesan meliputi kepemilikan status, harta benda, dan penerimaan masyarakat ditunjukkan dalam The Matchmaker. Objek ini merupakan sebuah drama komedi karangan Thornton Wilder pada tahun 1954 dan diterbitkan sebagai edisi revisi dari The Merchant of Yonkers pada tahun 1938. Masing-masing karakter mempunyai impian yang berbeda dan masing-masing mempunyai cara yang berbeda dalam mencapai mimpi-mimpinya.
Tesis ini membahas dua permasalahan. Masalah yang pertama membahas penokohan salah satu karakter pria dalam drama ini, yakni tuan Vandergelder. Dia menjadi fokus utama dalam pembahasan. Masalah yang kedua adalah menemukan karakter tuan Vandergelder yang menampakkan nilai-nilai Amerika khususnya dalam hal etika kerja.
Dalam tesis ini, penulis menggunakan pendekatan filosofi-moral. Pendekatan ini menekankan bahwa fungsi karya sastra adalah untuk mengajar moralitas dan menyelidiki hal – hal filosofis. Penulis menemukan bahwa pendekatan ini sangat cocok dengan tujuan dari tesis ini, yakni untuk mengungkap nilai moral dengan mempelajari penokohan karakter. Karena nilai adalah bagian dari moral itu sendiri, oleh karena itu sangatlah tepat untuk menggunakan pendekatan filosofi-moral dalam tesis ini.
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Everyone has a dream. Wealth, position, prosperity, and honors are the dreams people willing to have. However, social aspect is also a determiner towards someone’s success. In other words, someone is considered successful if her/his achievement is acknowledged in society.
America offers liberty and equality for its people to improve their fate. In A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Guerin also say that “There is a hope in creating a second paradise, and it is believed that America is the place as a land with unlimited opportunity where people that are poor, corrupt, and suffering could have a second chance” (1999: 186).
This is the basis of the American consciousness to achieve better life. Through the Declaration of Independence, American people believe that they are equal in the sense that they are capable of higher education, better jobs, better salary, and better life.
The idea that everyone can have success in America is called “American Dream”. It is a national ethos of the United States of America in which democratic ideals are perceived as a promise of prosperity for its people.
In his book, The Record of America, James Truslow Adams states “They wanted to find and build a country in which they could be looked upon for what they were and what they could make of themselves. They wanted the country in
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which the prizes and a good life would go to who could win them and not just to be given to those who happened to be born rich or titled or otherwise privileged” (1935: 4).
In shorts, American believes that someone’s success does not come because she/he inherits money from her/his family but because she/he puts a lot of efforts and energy to attain it, known as “hard work”. Thus, if someone is not success, he does not work hard. This is logical and acceptable because hard work is the means to be success. It is proper.
The American Dream probably has a different meaning to every American. For some, it is the dream of freedom and equality, for others it is the dream of a fulfilled life or even the dream of fame and wealth.
Traditionally, Americans has sought to realize the American dreams of success, fame, and wealth through thrift and hard work. It is known as a protestant work ethic. It is a strong belief that the ideal person is a “hard worker”. It taught that it is a good thing to achieve; to work hard, acquire more material badges of their success and in the process assure a better future for themselves (Althen, 1988: 16).
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find a job. People have lost faith in the American Dream and replacing it with a philosophy of “Get rich quick”, which lead them to the easy way or instant wealth. This condition is nearly the same as the social background inside the story of The Matchmaker.
The object of the study in this thesis is Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker. It is a farce which is written in 1954 and published as the revised edition from The Merchant of Yonkers (1938). Moreover he stated that his play is about the aspirations of the young (and not only the young) for a fuller, freer participation in life (Wilder, 1964: 281). However, both of the original play and revised edition have farce basic concerns; folly, money, and love.
The action takes place in Yonkers during the 1880s. A wealthy widower and a store owner, Horace Vandergelder, refuse to let her niece marry the poor artist she loves, even though he himself plans to remarry. Dolly Levi, the matchmaker, pretends to make match for Vandergelder with a young, attractive woman (Irene Molloy), but Levi actually scheme to marry him herself for his money. Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, Vandergelder’s clerks, who are longing for excitement, complaining that he never get time off to go out and experience life, without permission he close the store and take off to New York planning to have an adventure. There he meets Irene Molloy, the woman of his dream. The story ends with marriages of three happy couples.
The 1880s were a time of high unemployment as well as the beginning of a great wave of immigration. They came to America with little money and the used to lived as a farmer. Unskilled workers filled the growing number of factory
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jobs. Therefore, they were undergoing substantial economic changes; from self-employed agricultural workers into wage earners working for large industry.
It was also the time of extreme wealth and poverty. It was agricultural era; when the principal source of wealth in America supplied from agriculture, but that was about to change. There was a shift from agricultural to an industrial era.
The prices were very high at that time and that made difficult for every worker to save money. Jobless people were even more miserable. They found it hard to survive the days, as they had no money to buy things. The American economy was expanding rapidly and the standard of living was rising. The people of the swing generation realize that they have been experiencing different way of life.
As the result, the traditional road to the Dreams has been dashed. The peoples are highly materialistic. Americans are so concerned with the acquiring of possession. They tent to define people by their jobs they have as well as the level of the income. A person is “success” in life, often measured by the amount of money he has acquired. However, for them materialism is natural and proper (Althen, 1988: 16).
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The Matchmaker shows the different conditions of life, members of different social classes views the world in many different ways. This allows them to develop different “conceptions of social reality, different aspiration, hopes and fears, different conceptions of the desirable. The way of middle classes in society view wealthy is vary.
It tells about the relation among the characters; the relationship among the middle class. It tells about how those characters do and act in order to get rich quickly. It is clearly depicted on the two women characters in the play; Mrs. Levi and Mrs. Molloy. The money was a key motivation for them to marry with someone. It is abundantly clear that they willing to achieve the American Dream through the quickie marriage.
Prudence with money was habitual. People always play safety toward money. They would be very likely to put their money in the bank rather than to spend the money they have. One of the characters in The Matchmaker also cautious with his money, he is Mr. Vandergelder. He appears as a conservative person and his theory of success that represents the traditional American hopes. His success gave him optimism about the future. He believe that everybody will success if they work hard.
There are broad values, and there are many constraints on achieving them. The values being emphasized in this play is the values of work ethics. However, in this thesis the writer focused on the work ethics of the characters, especially Mr. Vandergelder.
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After studying play, it is clear that the character of Mr. Vandergelder represents the American Value of Work Ethics; the old generation who gains his dreams in traditional way; through hard work, disciplines, and self-sacrifice. On the contrary, the young characters (Cornelius, Molloy, Levi) prefer to use the instant way in order to achieve the American Dream.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study above, two research problems have been formulated in the analysis:
1. How is Mr. Vandergelder characterized in The Matchmaker?
2. How do the characteristics of Mr. Vandergelder reveal the American Value of work ethics in the play?
C. Objectives of the Study
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D. Definition of Terms
Certain terms appear in this thesis. Their meanings are made clear in the discussion. It is mean to enables readers to locate the terms and what it signifies in the more general discussion. There are several terms that the researcher wants to explain in this section.
A character is a figure in a literary works and personality which are the mental and moral qualities of the figure itself (Barner, Berman & Burto, 1988:71). This thesis is mainly focuses on one character, especially the character of Mr. Vandergelder who is more like the antagonist in the story. He is describes as the portrait of the traditional American civilization. The way he thinks and acts toward the other characters reflect the traditional value, which is something he holds on.
Values is about criterion or standards of preference about the qualities that of the greatest interest and importance for explaining human behavior (Althen, 1988:3). American Value is the value which is adapted and become the characteristics of the Americans.
Ethics is a recognized principle of ethics that is always our duty to do what after proper consideration we think we ought to do, but suppose we are mistaken, then we by this principle ought to do something which is wrong and which therefore we ought not to do (Garrett, 1986: 144). Ethics is concerned with two main kinds of question. First, with deciding the general principles on which ethnical terms, such as good, bad, duty; are to be applied to anything. Secondly, with deciding precisely what these terms mean.
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In short, work ethics is concerned primarily with the relationship of goals and methods or techniques to achieve the goals. While American Value of work ethics is value of success through thrift and hard work (Graham, 1957: 132). That is also the essence of American dream for many foreigners. That is to say if you want to be success, hard work is requested. Since the values on work ethics influences a character (especially the character of Mr. Vandergelder), therefore the term work ethics in this thesis is wider; not only refers to the relation between an employer and employee (Mr. Vandergelder and his clerks), but also the relation and attitudes towards the other character.
9 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
1. Arditianto S, Johanes, Thornton Wilder’s Criticism to the Middle Class People behind the Nineteenth Century Theatres in His Farce ‘The Matchmaker’,2000.
The thesis is about the conflict between the generations; Mr. Vandergelder resembles the old generation, while the other characters resembles the young generation. There are three problems formulated; 1) how is the conflict presented? 2) What are the solutions of the conflict? 3) What is Wilder’s criticism to the middle class people behind the nineteenth century theatres?
In the story, there are two different generation. It is told that Mr. Vandergelder resembles the old generation, while the others resembles the young. Conflicts happen among characters, especially between Mr. Vandergelder and the other character. In conclusion, based on this thesis, Mr. Vandergelder is a controversial character.
2. Maynard, Nicholas, The Motive of Courtship of Mrs. Levi and Cornelius as Seen in Thornton Wilder’s ‘The Matchmaker’, 2008.
The aim of this study is to know the motives behind courtship. There are three problems formulated in the thesis; 1) how are Levi and Cornelius characterized in Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker? 2) How do Levi and
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Cornelius behave in their courtship as seen in Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker? 3) What are Levi and Cornelius motives of courtship as seen in Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker?
In the study, it is known that the motives of their courtship are money, power to control, and protection. Mrs. Levi wants to be rich, gain power and secure. While Cornelius needs protection and secure in his life.
In conclusion, everyone has individual reason in doing things. In other words everybody has different motive. One’s might be different from another. It might be good for himself, but it is bad for others. In The Matchmaker has different courtship and each has different way in order to attain it. There is someone who uses fare play, and the others use tricks.
Related to this analysis, the two studies above use the same object study. It is a play written by Thornton Wilder entitled The Matchmaker. However, each has different focus. Arditianto in his study focuses on the Thornton Wilder’s criticism to the middle class people behind the 19th century theatres. Maynard focuses on the motive of courtship of Mrs. Levi and Cornelius. Whereas the writer of this thesis focuses on the American values of work ethics as revealed by Mr. Vandergelder’s characterization.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
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Berman & Burto, 1988:71). Character is also defined as an identifiable type of person. (Baldick, 1990: 34).
On the basis of importance, character can be distinguish into two types; main or major character and minor character. Major character is the most important character in the story. Basically, major characters become the focus in the story. However, he can not stand on his own; he needs other characters to make the story more convincing and lifelike. While the minor characters are characters of less important than those of the main.
According to Holman and Harmon, characterization is the creation of the imaginary persons so that they exist for the reader as lifelike. Authors reveal what characters are like in two general ways: directly or indirectly. In the direct-method, the author simply tells the reader what the character is like, through direct exposition, either in an introductory block. In direct presentation, the author tells the readers straight out, by mentioning in the text (1986: 81).
When the method of revealing characters is indirect, however, the author shows us, rather than tells us, what the characters are like through what they say about one another, through the external detail (the author’s description of the characters’ physical appearance such as clothing, gesture, physique, or face expression), and through their thoughts, speech, and deeds.
Furthermore, a complete description of the characters can be analyzed by considering these points:
1. What character say and think
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One way of revealing what people are like is to show what they say. For instance, if a person says “your singing is awful!!” rather than “your singing is unique”. From the sentence, it is clear that the person is a kind of person who is very frankly in a conversation. Besides, the writer may also reveal the character by showing what they think.
2. What the character does
Stories show characters in action. Therefore, the most obvious method for revealing character is through what a person does. For instance, if there is a person who likes to drink milk, while the other person is like to drink coffee. These two different habits may refer to the fact that the man who likes to drink milk is not a smoker and less aggressive.
3. What the other characters say about the character
Much can be shown about a character by the way others react to him, or by what they say about him. Direct comments give the more obvious example: the clerks, Barnaby and Cornelius, refer to Mr. Vandergelder as “wolftrap”.
4. What the author says about the character
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2. Theory of Value
Values need to be learnt. This means that they are developed through some kind of experience; pain and pleasure, success and failure, love and hate. Value is about criterion or standards of preference about the qualities that of the greatest interest and importance for explaining human behavior. As Gary Althen definition, “values are ideas about right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper and improper (1988:3).
In his book American Culture, Graham notes about values as follows: Values are preferences for certain lines of action, involve an intellectual element, and are reinforced by emotional attachments. They are not the individual goals or individual activities which are undertaken by a people. Rather they are the rules by which goals are selected and activities chosen. Values are the highest level of culture. They are the tops, directing what individual goals shall be sought in a society. At a lesser level are the norms for activity, which are directed at the accomplishment of these goals. Finally, there are the activities themselves. Values are not necessarily mutually consistent. A good many values, which contradict one another, may exist in a society, the means of following its dictates may not (1957:124-125).
Value is a concept which grows in a social life. People are continually regarding things as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, beautiful or ugly, appropriate or inappropriate, true or false. Therefore, values become criteria for judgment, preference and choice.
In addition, Ralph H. Gabriel stated that values are beliefs that idealized ways of living and acting are the best ways for society (1890: 148). Social values stem directly from the dominant beliefs of a culture; they are the generally accepted ideas about what is best for the society. A culture generally respect for tradition as important social values. Social values thus expressed as individual
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virtues are cultural definitions of “ideal” behavior. They give force to social norms by influencing the individual in the formulation of his personal desires and ambition.
A society may place great emphasis on values such as thrift, hard work, and material possessions. On the contrary, large groups within the society may be devoted to the leisurely enjoyment of accumulated wealth.
The values in a society is about what goals individuals work for and what ideas they discuss, what attracts and holds their attention, what they respect and reject, whom they reward and whom they punish. It refers to beliefs that are maintain long time. When someone values something highly, he is strongly motivated by it. For instance, if he places a high value on money or new cars or grades, he will be strongly motivated to gain these goals.
It should be noted, by the way of qualification, that few societies are tightly integrated around one system of belief and closely correlated set of social values. The term “values” also used variously to refer to interest, pleasure, likes, preferences, duties, moral obligations, desires, wants, goals, needs, aversions and attraction. (Rokeach, 1979: 16)
a. The Development of American Values
Again, Graham notes in his book, American Culture:
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country with one another. Equally important, the land was undeveloped in any of the ways to which Europeans were accustomed. This was because Indians inhabited the country, a people on slightly lower plane of culture, lower in sense that they had not been able to borrow gunpowder and similar technological advantages from other societies, as had the Europeans. Thus, to the Europeans, the land was undeveloped. It had not been exploited agriculturally. The social situation of colonizing a land populated by societies of inferior culture was important in the development of American Values. (1957: 128)
All the potential and characteristics possessed by American societies were undeveloped until the immigrants came and bring the new ethics toward Americans. Many people, from the world over, have migrated to America, in search of employment and have a better life. It is the dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, and fuller for every man with opportunities for each according to his abilities and achievement. It simply means that America is the country where you can turn your dreams into reality.
Americans are willing to grow rich instantly. Fortunately, it has also been the dream which inspired those who have come from foreign lands. They came and brought with them habits and ways of looking things. As the colonist grew in wealth and population, the poorer Americans began to feel themselves pushed out from the old settlement.
This condition emerges as the root of the Declaration of Independence. It was the time of the Americans consciousness about their equal opportunity to live a better life in every day.
As noted above, values develop gradually and are influenced by some factors. The first factor is the characteristics of the people who migrated. They were tough and had rugged personalities because at that time they face frontier
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condition, which rewarded those who hard workers and broke those who were not. It shows the migrants helped to create values which still exist in America: one of them is value of hard work.
The second is the circumstances under which the early settler left their homeland. This factor creates the value of freedom and independence. The early migrants came over in group as colonizers organized by sponsorship of companies. The government controlled these companies by granting charters in order to exploit the colonies. The exploitation, then, caused the spirit of rebellion, which sparked the revolution to get their freedom and independence back.
The last factor is the ideological equipment, which the colonizer brought with them. Protestants were the dominant group in early colonies whose values are still held today in America, namely independence of individual, hard work, materialism, and competition.
According to Graham, American held some major values, namely freedom, individualism, equality, competition, progress of the group, hard work, materialism, and the rational approach (1957: 132). Those are the values which emerge in America. Those values are adapted and become the characteristics of the Americans.
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According to Crandall, most Americans believe that they must be self-reliant in order to keep their freedom. If they rely too much on the support of their families or someone else, they may lose their freedom to do what they want. The need of self-reliance encourages Americans to the spirit of inventiveness. The early settlers provide most of their daily essentials by themselves. They often face new problems and situations that demanded new solution (1997: 69).
Privacy is also important to Americans. The notion of individual privacy may make it difficult to make friends. Because Americans respect one's privacy, they may not go much beyond a friendly "hello." Ironically, it is usually the foreigner who must be more assertive if a friendship is to develop.
Americans believe that every person has equal chance to make every effort to be successful. They pride themselves in having been born poor and, through their own sacrifice and hard work, having climbed the difficult ladder of success to whatever level they have achieved—all by themselves. The American social system has, of course, made it possible for Americans to move, relatively easily, up the social ladder. Americans also believe that everyone has the same opportunity to manage his own life. The concept of an individual's having control over his/her own destiny.
The next value is competition. It means that each individual will be able to compete with others. Crandall said that Americans see much of life as a rare of success. Therefore, a person must run the race in order to success by competition and regards others as rival. If every person has an equal chance to succeed in United States, then it is every person’s duty to try. Americans match their energy
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and intelligence against that of others in a competitive contest for success. People, who like to compete and are more successful than others, are honored by being called winners. Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual. They assert that it challenges or forces each person to produce the very best that is humanly possible (1997: 26).
Americans are materialistic. According to Crandall, placing a high value on material possession is called materialism (1997: 27). Americans tend to measure a person’s success in life by referring the amount of money that person has achieved. In other words, they believe that the material wealth is important to measure of worth. Americans have paid a price for their material wealth, namely hard work.
Foreigners generally consider Americans much more materialistic than Americans are likely to consider themselves. Americans would like to think that their material objects are just the natural benefits that always result from hard work and serious intent as a reward.
b. American Values in the 1880s
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It was also the time of high unemployment as well as the beginning of a great wave of immigration. They came to America with little money and the used to lived as a farmer. Unskilled workers filled the growing number of factory jobs. Therefore, they were undergoing substantial economic changes; from self-employed agricultural workers into wage earners working for large industry.
The prices were very high at that time and that made difficult for every worker to save money. Jobless people were even more miserable. They found it hard to survive the days, as they had no money to buy things. Everyone was trying to find a job in order to be able to support their families and themselves. Those who already had a job were trying to find themselves a better one.
c. Values of Work Ethics
Ethics is not the study of morals, whether this word is used to designate the conformity to conventional social rules or the existing moral judgments of human beings. Ethics is the science of judging specifically human ends and the relationship of means to those ends (Garrett, 1986: 2). From this point of view, ethics involves the use of any human knowledge about the relations between people. Thus, ethics should be involved in all human activities. Ethics is a recognized principle of ethics that is always our duty to do what after proper consideration we think we ought to do, but suppose we are mistaken, then we by this principle ought to do something which is wrong and which therefore we ought not to do (Garrett, 1986: 144).
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It is sometimes used to signify merely the best means to take to a given end irrespective of whether the end is good or bad. The action that we ought to do is also called our “duty”. Another equivalent of “the action we ought to do” is “the right action”. Ethics is concerned with two main kinds of question. First, with deciding the general principles on which ethnical terms, such as good, bad, duty; are to be applied to anything. Secondly, with deciding precisely what these terms mean. In short, work ethics is concerned primarily with the relationship of goals and methods or techniques to achieve the goals.
During the 1880s, at the start of that particular economic slowdown; businesses closed their doors. On the other hand, everyone is willing to have what they think they equally deserve. They want to move to the higher level of economy ladder. They believe that everyone has the same opportunity to achieve the wealth as long as they work hard.
The immigrants bringing the gospel work which is also known as Protestant Work Ethics. Later, this gospel became rooted in economic reality for all classes. It provided opportunities for men to rise from a lower to a higher economic and social status. It was the time when success was measured in terms of material prosperity.
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Therefore if a young man followed the injunctions to work hard, to avoid extravagance, and to use his savings thriftily, he would be successful. Economic success would be achieved to those whom are diligent as a blessing of God. These puritans virtues are suitable for material prosperity in a land where opportunity was great, labor scarce, land plentiful, and the rewards ample.
The immigrants believe that everyone has a chance to succeed in America. However, their hopes and dreams were fulfilled; the lower social class rise to higher class position. Many had found that they did have a better chance to succeed in America. Therefore, Americans came to believe in equality of opportunity. As the consequences, there would be competition; if every person has an equal chance to succeed in America, then it is every person’s duty to try, a person must compete with others.
The majority of them were eventually able to improve upon their former standard of living; the opportunity of a better life. They achieve material succeed; they became very attached to material things. Material wealth had traditionally been a widely accepted measure of social status in America. However, there is a prize to be paid for their possession on material wealth, it is a hard work. It had been both necessary a rewarding for most Americans. Because of this, they came to see material possessions as the natural reward for their hard work.
Values shape behavior in many ways. The individual who places a high value on earning money will behave differently from the person who places a high value on being of service to other man.” (Kalish, 1973: 342) Since the value itself is belief and desires that guide or motivate attitudes and actions, therefore, it is
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reasonable that if there were difference on their way or thinking, especially for employee and employers.
The situation and the environment has influence the immigrants and also has become the characteristic of America. These values also influence the character of the individual itself especially on the way he acts toward others and thinks.
C. Theoretical Framework
There are some theories used and related to this analysis. They are theories of characterization by Holman and Harmon and Roberts and Jacobs, theories of related studies of The Matchmaker, and the theory of American Values of work ethics.
Theory of characterization by Holman and Harmon and Roberts and Jacobs is used to answer the first question of the problem formulation. Those concepts of characterization are the base in which the character analyzes Mr Vandergelder’s characterization described in The Matchmaker. The first answer for the first problem as seen by another character, conversation by another, action, and thought or directly from the author’s explanation as in the introductory block. From the ways, the writer finds the characteristics of Mr. Vandergelder.
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concept of meaning of value itself. Here the writer uses the theory of American values by Crandall which are includes in the theoretical review. The theory of values, especially in work ethics which persist in America in the early 1880s will be helpful to answer the second question of the problem which had been formulated. The knowledge of social condition of America in the early 1880s is also important to represent the society at that time.
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24 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a play written by Thornton Wilder entitled The Matchmaker. It is a farce which is written in 1954 and published as the revised edition from The Merchant of Yonkers (1938).
In general, the play tells about a matchmaker, Dolly Levi, who is a manipulator, made up stories and made things happened as her wish. As being a matchmaker, she likes to order things to happen, including finding someone a perfect match. Until she felt boring with her life, and find Mr. Vandergelder, one of her client. She made him as her own match.
B. Approach of the Study
Critical approach is a study of a literary work from a single perspective. In order to gain a basic understanding of a literary work, the writer needs a certain approach that fits the purpose of this thesis, which is to reveal the values of work ethics through the study of character’s characterization.
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philosophical critic believes, they will listen to reason when it is spoken; and they will reject evil and embrace the good.
This study is dealing with the character of Mr. Vandergelder and his relation to other character in order to study his characterization as the representation of the old generation who still believe in thrift and hard work to be success. His character reveals the American values of work ethics.
This approach emphasized that the function of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. According to Guerin, moral-philosophical approach is an approach which insists on finding out and stating what is exposed and taught (1999: 39).
This means that a literary work can be analyzed through philosophical thought in the search of moral value. In addition, the moral philosophical approach achieves the moral quality through what is seen and learnt from a character inside the story or literary work (Guerin, 1979: 126). Since value is part of the moral itself, therefore it is reasonable to use moral-philosophical approach in this thesis.
C. Method of the Study
Working on the chosen topic, the writer applied a library research. There are two kinds of data used in the study. They were primary and secondary data. The primary data was the play script of The Matchmaker written by Thornton Wilder. The secondary data were several comments and critics on the play and the author in books and online articles that closely related to it and believed to be
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reliable. Books and literary theory or literary studies were also used in the study, such as A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, The Introduction to Literary Theories, The Literary Theories, Writing Essays about Literary.
The writer also needs to take some referential books such as American Civilization, American Society, American Ways, Understanding Human Values. The writer reads these books in order to achieve the additional knowledge.
There were several steps taken in the analysis. The steps were meant to lead the writer to a certain direction, which was the purpose of the study itself.
The first step was reading the play script in detail and thoroughly for several times in order to identify the main character’s characteristic, who is the main focus in this thesis became. At this stage, theories of character and characterization were firstly applied because the first thing to analyze was how Mr. Vandergelder’s character characterized in the play. Through the way he acts, the way he thinks, the way other character acts and thinks toward him, as well as the author explanation, the writer of this thesis would find the answer of the problem formulated in the first chapter.
The second step is the analysis of the values revealed from the characteristics of Mr. Vandergelder. After finding Mr. Vandergelder’s characteristics, the writer analyzed the American Values of work ethics based on the theory in chapter II.
27 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
Chapter four aims to answer the problem formulated in the first chapter. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section is dealing with the analysis of the character of Mr. Vandergelder, using direct and indirect method. The second section is the analysis of the traditional American value of work ethics revealed from the character of Mr. Vandergelder.
A. The Character of Mr. Vandergelder
When the method of revealing characters is indirect, however, the author shows us, rather than tells us, what the characters are like through what they say about one another, through the external detail (the author’s description of the characters’ physical appearance such as clothing, gesture, physique, or face expression), and through their thoughts, speech, and deeds.
Therefore, there are four points to analyze a character. By indirect methods, a character can be identified from what the character say and think, what the character does, what the other characters say about the character, while using direct method, a character can be identified from what the author says about the character.
One way of revealing what people are like is to show what they say and thinks. In speech or dialogue; including what he says and how he says, a character revealed.
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Mr. Vandergelder is a kind of person who lives under the principle of practical and rational. He tries to avoid being too sentimental in making decisions. He judges every situation "on its merits." For Mr. Vandergelder, love is not the most important value in a marriage. He denies having ever heard of such a thing as a broken heart (Wilder, 1957: 148). He fools himself into thinking that he is interested in women for all sorts of reasons that are not love.
He is a person, who sees marriages from the commercial aspect,
VANDERGELDER: “I hope….hm….that she has some means, Mrs. Levi. I have a large household to run.”
LEVI: “Erestina? She’ll bring you five thousand dollars a year.” VANDERGELDER: “Eh! Eh!”
LEVE: “Listen to me, Mr. Vandergelder. You’re a man of sense, I hope. A man that can recon. In the first place, she’s an orphan. She’s been brought up with a great savings of food. What does she eat herself? Apples and lettuce. It’s what she’s been used to eat and what she likes best. She saves you two thousand a year right there. Secondly, she makes her own clothes – out of tablecloths and window curtains. And she’s the best-dressed woman in Brooklyn this minute. She saves you a thousand dollars right there. Thirdly, her health is of iron.”
VANDERGELDER: “But, Mrs. Levi, that’s not money in the pocket.”
LEVI: “we’re talking about marriage, aren’t we, Mr. Vandergelder? The money she saves while she’s in Brooklyn is none of your affair – but if she were your wife that would be money. Yes, sir, that’s money.”
(Wilder, 1957: 159-154)
The quotation above shows how Mr. Vandergelder sees the woman who is going to be his future wife. As soon as he hears from Mrs. Levi that Erestina Simple could save a lot of money, he immediately postpones his idea to propose Mrs. Molloy.
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(Wilder, 1957: 159-154) it shows that his appeal toward Molloy is so fragile that he easily changes his mind and postpones his proposal.
The way he sees marriage from the commercial aspect also can be seen from his response toward Ermengarde and Ambrose Kemper. Therefore it is understandable why Mr. Vandergelder disapprove the relationship between them. He thinks that his niece, Ermengarde deserves to marry someone who can support her. He only let her marry to someone who has good prospect in the future, and according to Mr. Vandergelder, an artist like Mr. Kemper is an unreliable person.
He disapproves Ambrose to marry his niece because he thinks that Ambrose has unsteady income, and the old man is too practical to consider either love or promise of future earnings as significant reasons to change his mind. His objection to Ambrose is based solely on Ambrose’s poor financial prospects and nothing to do with the young man’s character. Addressing to Ambrose Kemper, the young artist who intends to marry his niece, he says,
VANDERGELDER: “Ermengarde is not for you, nor for anybody else who can’t support her.”
AMBROSE: “I tell you I can support her. I make a very good living.”
VANDERGELDER: “No, Sir! A living is made, Mr. Kemper, by selling something that everybody needs at least once a year. Yes, Sir! And a million is made by producing something that everybody needs everyday. You artists produce something that nobody needs at any time. You may sell a picture once in a while, but you’ll make no living.”
AMBROSE: “Not only can I support her now, but I have considerable expectations.”
VANDERGELDER: “Expectations! We merchants don’t do business with them. I don’t keep accounts with people who promise somehow to pay something someday, and I don’t allow my niece to marry such people.” (Wilder, 1957: 144)
Mr. Vandergelder is characterized as a capitalist. Therefore as a merchant he always thinks of the benefit in making decision. He does not want to suffer
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from any loss, more over if it is dealing with his business. As it is showed in the third act, Mr. Vandergelder gives some advice to Mrs. Molloy dealing with her millinery business,
VANDERGELDER: “In the first place, the aim of business is to make profit. You pay those girls of yours too much. You pay them as much as men girls like that enjoy their work. Wages, Mrs. Molloy, are paid to make people do work they don’t want to do.”
LEVI: “Mr. Vandergelder thinks so ably. And that’s exactly the way his business is run up in Yonkers.”
(Wilder, 1957: 179)
Mr. Vandergelder is described as an arrogant person. It is showed from his impolite behavior towards others. He says unpleasing words to Gertrude, an eighty woman who is deaf and half blind. It shows how impolite he is. His arrogance is directed to everyone he meets without exception. Addressing to Gertrude he says,
VANDERGELDER: “Hold your tongue!”
VANDERGELDER: “Hell and damnation! Didn’t I tell you it was a secret?” “Deaf! And blind! At least you can give me a favor of being dumb!”
(Wilder, 1957: 145)
Mr. Vandergelder’s arrogance is also showed from his bad-tempered. Malachi Stack, the new apprentice, is someone who is truly new for Mr. Vandergelder, and yet he has said something rude toward Malachi. It is only because Malachi misinterprets his saying, he easily get mad. He always talks in conceited way. His statement gives emphasized how arrogant he is. He calls Malachi idiot, as it is showed in the following quotation,
VANDERGELDER: “Do you drink?
MALACHI: “No, thanks. I’ve just had my breakfast.”
VANDERGELDER: “I didn’t ask you whether__Idiot! I asked you if you were a drunkard.”
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His arrogance is also showed from the way he underestimates others. He hardly trusts other people. He thinks nobody can manage a plan as good as his. Even if those people are hired or being paid. Therefore, he likes to underestimates other people’s work as in the following quotation,
VANDERGELDER: “Everything’s wrong. You can’t even manage a thing like that…………”
(Wilder, 1957: 199)
Another example of his arrogance is also showed in the following,
VANDERGELDER: “You’ve managed tings very badly. When I plan a thing it takes place.”
(Wilder, 1957: 203)
The previous quotation also shows that Mr. Vandergelder is a perfectionist. He thinks that everything should be done perfectly. Therefore, he expects others to manage everything perfectly as well. Mr. Vandergelder thinks after he hired or pays someone, he will get everything he wants perfectly but it seems that he never satisfied with what others work. Moreover he thinks someone is never being good in doing things even if being hired. He thinks nobody can do better than him.
Mr. Vandergelder comes up from the standpoint of conventional social values; he follows the way that he has been done for a long time, for he has worked hard, and been cautious. He, then, likes one who works hard and he dislike the one who work indiscipline,
VANDERGELDER: “Now hear what I say! This is the first time I’ve been away from the store over night. When I come back I want to hear that you’ve run the place perfectly in my absence. If I hear of any foolishness, I’ll discharge you!”
(Wilder, 1957: 162-163)
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In the quotation above Mr. Vandergelder told his clerks to do their jobs perfectly in the store, while he is away.
Mr. Vandergelder is described as an arrogant person, therefore he has high prestige. His prestige is much more important to ask other people to pay his dinner. Different from Mrs. Levi who always finds her way to get what she wants, including asking a favor; in this case, lends some money from others. Therefore when he lost his purse, he does not know what to do, as it is shown in the quotation bellow,
VANDERGELDER: Reaches for his purse “so, here’s the money to pay the dinner.
Searching another pocket “ here’s the money for the……”
Going through all his pockets “here’s the money………I’ve lost my purse!!” LEVI: “Impossible! I can’t imagine you without your purse.”
VANDERGELDER: “It’s been stolen.” Searching overcoat. “or I left it in the cab. What am I going to do? I’m new at the hotel; they don’t know me. I’ve never been here before……. Stop eating that chicken, I can’t pay for it!” LEVI: Laughing gaily “Horace, I’ll be able to find some money. Sit down and calm yourself.”
VANDERGELDER: “dolly Gallagher, I gave you twenty-five dollars this morning.”
LEVI: “I haven’t a cent. I gave it to my lawyer. We can borrow it from Ambrose Kemper, upstairs.”
VANDERGELDER: “I wouldn’t take it.” LEVI: “Cornelius Hackl will lend it to us.” VANDERGELDER: “He’s in Yonkers – waiter!” (Wilder, 1957: 208)
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LEVI: “ Horace, you were a good dancer then. Don’t confess me that you’re too old to dance.”
VANDERGELDER: “I’m not too old. I just don’t want to dance.” (Wilder, 1957: 209)
Since he is characterized as a straight-forward person, he likes to give direct comments. As the result, he considers anything other than the most direct and opens approach to be dishonest and insincere. Moreover, he will quickly lose confidence in and distrust anyone who hints at what is intended rather than saying it outright. They will also be considered manipulative and untrustworthy. As it is shown in the following quotation,
LEVI:”At your age you ought to enjoy hearing the honest truth.
VANDERGELDER:”My age! May age! You’re always talking about my age. (Wilder, 1957: 206)
In fact, in the quotation above, Levi is meant to tell many things about Mr. Vandergelder. It includes about his life and what happened behind his back. It is about the things happened without his knowing, for instances, about Ermengarde’s plan to elope and about his clerks who always call him ‘wolftrap’.
He is characterized as a rigorous elderly. He may old in years but he is young in spirit. He thinks that he is not too old of being sixty. Moreover, he is the first person in Yonkers and wealthy, therefore being sixty is not an obstacle to do anything he wants, including to marry someone who is a third of his age. He has intention to break his engagement with Mrs. Molloy and change to another girl of twenty years old. Her name is Erestina Simple (Wilder, 1957: 109).
He is a kind of sly person. He tells people not to discussing about his plan to marry again, and yet he himself tells Barnaby, Cornelius and Joe Scanlon about his marriage plan. One of the human’s character, the more he forbids to do
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something, the more he wants to do it. Therefore, he makes use of it, as it is showed in the quotation bellow,
VANDERGELDER: “Hold your horses, I say, Joe! I’m going to tell you a secret. But I don’t want you telling it to that riff raff down to the barber shop what I’m going to tell you now.”
(Wilder, 1957: 147)
The next quotation also shows about Mr. Vandergelder’s behavior of being a sly person. Not only to Joe, his barber, but he also tells Barnaby and Cornelius the same things about his marriage plan,
VANDERGELDER: “this afternoon I’m going to New York. When I come back, there are going to be some changes in the house here. I’ll tell you what the change is, but I don’t want you discussing it amongst yourselves: you’re going to have a mistress.”
(Wilder, 1957: 162)
It is also showed when he plans to marry again, he explains to the audience in a soliloquy. It is an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud, especially in a play when a character does this without another character being present on stage (Perrine, 1974: 33). He says that a woman who marries into a household will keep better than one who is hired to do so. In other words, he may explain his theory of marriage as a way to get a decent housekeeper,
VANDERGELDER: “I like my house run with order, comfort and economy. That’s a woman’s work; but even a woman can’t do it well if she’s merely being paid for it. In order to run a house well, a woman must have the feeling that she owns it. Marriage is a bribe to make a housekeeper think she’s a householder.”
(Wilder, 1957: 151)
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Levi’s idealized portrait of a woman who is a great cook, wealthy, infatuated with him, and a third of his age.
In short, it is clear from the way Mr. Vandergelder talks and thinks that he is characterized as a person who is arrogant which is showed from his bad temper, high prestige, he always thinks as a capitalist who sees marriage from the commercial aspect, he lives under the principle of practical and rational, and sly.
Stories show characters in action. Therefore, the most obvious method for revealing character is through what a person does. It includes the way he treats the other characters.
He shows his arrogance not only with his words but also with gestures. He often uses his stick to strike or hits the things around him, such as table, chair, sofa, or screen (Wilder, 1954: 198).
Mr. Vandergelder is characterized as a tyrant. As he disapproves Ambrose to marry his niece, Ermengarde, he takes a step to keep Ermengarde away from Ambrose Kemper. He sends his niece, Ermengarde to New York; to an old friend of her mother. His niece, Ermengarde has already 24 years old (Wilder, 1957: 190). As an adult, she has a right to decide and choose her future husband. On the contrary, Mr. Vandergalder still puts his hands on this,
VANDERGERLDER: “Never heard of it. Mrs. Levi is coming in a moment to take you to New York. You are going to stay two or three weeks with Miss Van Huysen, an old friend of your mother’s. You are not to receive any letters except from me. I’m coming to New York myself today and I’ll call on you tomorrow.”
(Wilder, 1957: 148)
He is a strict person who likes to treat his employees with discipline. He has worked hard and discipline and that is what makes he is now; being a
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successful person. He wants his clerks work fifteen hours a day, six days a week. He is not allowing his clerks to have an evening free. Therefore, when Cornelius ask an evening free he answers,
CORNELIUS: “Mr. Vandergelder---er----Mr. Vandergelder, does the chief clerk get one evening off every week?”
VANDERGELDER: ”So that’s the way you begin being chief clerk, isn’t it? When I was your age I got up at five; I didn’t close the shop until ten at night, and then I put in a good hour at the account books. The world’s going to pieces. You elegant ladies lie in bed until six and at nine o’clock at night you rush to close the door so fast the line of customers bark their noses. No, sir----you’ll attend to the store as usual, and on Friday and Saturday nights you;ll remain open until ten---now hear what I say! This is the first time I’ve been away from the store over night. When I come back I want to hear that you’ve run the place perfectly in my absence. If I hear of any foolishness, I’ll discharge you. An evening free! Do you suppose that I had evenings free?”. “If I’d had an evening free I wouldn’t be what I am now!”
(Wilder, 1957: 162-163)
He is characterized as an ambitious person. It is showed from the way he spends his money. He pays his barber the same amount of fifty cent for twenty years; without raise even for a cent. However, when he has a special reason, he wants to look different and he ask Joe to do something little “extry” to him. It is because he is planning to get married again. Even he is willing to pay Joe up to fifty cents; he pays much higher than usual,
VANDERGELDER: “Fine, fine. Joe, you do a fine job you’ve done to me for twenty years. Joe…I’ve got special reasons for looking my best today…..isn’t there something a little extry you could do, something a little special? I’ll pay you right up fifty cents – see what I mean? Do some of those things you do to the young fellas. Touch me up; smarten me up a bit.”
JOE: “All I know is fifteen cents’ worth, like usual, Mr. Vandergelder; and that includes everything that’s decent to do to a man”
(Wilder, 1957: 147)
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willing to pay him three times from the usual; money is not an object for Mr. Vandergelder.
Yet, Mr. Vandergelder is willing to pay the Cabman fifteen dollars to help him keep Ermengarde and Ambrose apart. Here he uses his money as power, including to force people to do something what they do not want to do. He tells Malachi and a cabman to drive Ermengarde and Ambrose to Mrs. Van Husyen’ house and keep them there until he comes. He wants to make sure that Ambrose does not run off with his niece.
VANDERGELDER: “I want to talk to you.”
CABMAN: “I’m engaged. I’m waiting for my parties.”
VANDERGELDER: I know you are. Do you want to earn five dollars?” CABMAN: “eh?”
VANDERGELDER: “I asked you, do you want to earn five dollars?” CABMAN: “I don’t know. I never tried.”
VANDERGELDER: “When those parties of yours come downstairs, I want you to drive them to this address. Never mind what they say, drive them to this address. Ring the bell: give this letter to the lady of the house: see that they get in the door and keep them there.”
CABMAN: “I can’t make people go into a house if they don’t want to.” VANDERGELDER: “Can you for ten dollars?”
CABMAN: “Even for ten dollars, I can’t do it alone.” VANDERGELDER: “This fellow here will help you.” MALACHI: “Now I’m pushing people into houses.”
VANDERGELDER: “There’s the address: Miss flora Van Huysen. 8 Jackson Street.”
CABMAN: “Even if I get them in the door I can’t be sure they’ll be stay there.”
VANDERGELDER: “For fifteen dollars you can.” (Wilder, 1957: 191)
He also gives an amount of money to Mrs. Levi in order to arrange a meeting with Mrs. Simple, including to order extravagant dinner. He orders the meals exactly the same as Mrs. Levi asks; a chicken and wine,
LEVI: “…………..perhaps I could arrange a little dinner; I’ll see. Yes, for that lawsuit all I need is fifty dollars, and ………….”
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VANDERGELDER: “Fifty dollars!!”
LEVI: “Two whole months I’ve been ………”
VANDERGELDER: “Fifty dollars, Mrs. Levi………is no joke.” Producing purse. “I don’t know where money’s gone to those days. It’s hiding……….there’s twenty………well, there’s twenty five. I can’t spare no more, not now I can’t.”
LEVI: “Well, this will help__will help somewhat. Now let me tell you what we’ll do. I’ll bring Erestina to that restaurant on that Battery. You know it: in Harmonia Gardens. It’s good, but it’s not flashy. Now Mr. Vandergelder, I think it’d be nice if just this once you’d order a real nice dinner. I guess you can afford it.”
VANDERGELDER: “Well, just this once.” LEVI: “A chicken wouldn’t hurt.”
VANDERGELDER: “Chicken__well, just this once.” LEVI: “And a little wine.”
VANDERGELDER: “Wine? Well, just this once.” (Wilder, 1957: 160)
On the contrary, he is also characterized as a stingy person. He pays his clerks so little. While he carries a purse that is stuffed full of twenty dollar bills (Wilder, 1957: 209), his clerks only left about three dollars in their pockets (Wilder, 1957: 166). They are forced to work from six in the morning to nine at night, six days a week, and yet have to scrounge for train money. It shows how stingy he is.
CORNELIUS: “When these women come in, we’ll have to make a conversation until he’s gone away. We’ll pretend we’re buying a hat. How much money have you got now?”
BARNABY: Counting his money “Forty cents for the train—seventy cents for dinner—twenty cents to see the whale—and a dollar I lost—I have seventy cent.”
CORNELIUS: “And I have a dollar seventy-five.” (Wilder, 1957: 173)
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amount of money which is more than he usually spends, in order to get what he wants.
Mr. Vandergelder is characterized a person who has high prestige. He gives Cornelius a finger to shake (Wilder, 1954: 220). After being cheated by his clerks, he quarrels with them and discharges them. Even though they have asked an apology, and offering a hand shake.
He is characterized as an important person. He joins his lodge parade in the morning (Wilder, 1957: 188), he makes a preparation, including shaving and using his uniform. From what he wears, shows how important he is. Mr. Vandergelder is the President of the Hudson River Provision Dealers’ Recreational, Musical, and Burial Society (Wilder, 1957: 149); he becomes the first citizen of Yonkers,
VANDERGELDER takes off his dressing gown, put on his scarlet sash, his sword and his bright-colored coat. He is already wearing light blue trousers with a red stripe down the sides.
(Wilder, 1957: 151)
He is very unfashionable person. He is also described as a man who has passion, youthful spirit, and more flattering. In order to go to New York, calls for special and close attention to meet Erestina Simple, as well as to demands respect from his fellow, therefore, he wants to show his best look,
VANDERGELDER is dressed in a too-bright check suit and wears a green derby—or bowler—hat. He is carrying a large ornate box of chocolate in one hand and a cane in the other.
(Wilder, 1957: 174)
It is showed from the way he chooses color, it shows that. For a man of his age, it is better not to use too-bright color or too much color as well. However, he
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
chooses to wear it. He is still choosing colorful clothes: too-bright check suit and a green derby.
The quotation above also shows that Mr. Vandergelder is a self-conscious person. He is a kind of person who is strongly aware of what he wears. In order to has good impression from his fellow, he brings her a large ornate of chocolate and a cane.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that Mr. Vandergelder is an important person in Yonkers. His important status makes him a self-conscious person, arrogance, and tyrant. He is ambitious; therefore he is strict to his employees. He is conservative; not only in the way he dressed but also in the way he thinks.
There is more than one character in the story. Characters have to make interactions one another. Therefore a character may also be presented through the opinions of other characters. The second character must give his opinions in speech, actions, or thought.
Much can be shown about a character by the way others react to him, or by what they say about him. A direct comment gives the more obvious example: the clerks, Barnaby and Cornelius, refer to Mr. Vandergelder as “wolftrap”. Through the reactions, particularly the language used, to describe. Ambrose calls him “a wolf” who has no heart to break.
