Conflict of the Main Characters in Steel’s Silent Honor
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e-Journal of Linguistics
Available online at https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/eol/index
Vol. 16, No. 1 January 2022, pages: 59--68
Print ISSN: 2541-5514 Online ISSN: 2442-7586
https://doi.org/10.24843/e-jl.2022.v16.i01.p06
Conflict of the Main Characters in Steel’s Silent Honor
I Made Aditya Ramajaya English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University Email: [email protected]
I Wayan Mulyawan Udayana University Corresponding Author: [email protected]
I Gusti Ngurah Parthama Udayana University Email: [email protected]
Article info
Received Date: 30 Jun 2021
Accepted Date: 12 July 2021
Published Date: 31 January 2021
Keywords:*
character, conflict, psychology, motivation
Abstract*
This study aims to determine the psychological conflict "Hiroko" as the main character in Steel's Silent Honor story. The data of this study are taken from the story "Silent Honor" by Danielle Steel through the documentation method and note-taking technique. The data were analysed qualitatively by two major theories applied in this study: literary theory and psychological theory. The data are presented in a descriptive narrative according to the adapted theory to get a conclusion. The result showed that psychologically, Hiroko has the basic needs of an ordinary human. She needs kind and respectful treatment from those around him, especially from Americans. Furthermore, all aspects of motivation such as appetite, desire, emotions, feelings and attitudes make Hiroko's personality more complete. This motivational aspect is what makes her a hard worker and an independent girl.
Literature includes writings that are valued as a work of art, in which many aspects of humanity are involved. Literary works can be classified into two parts: imaginative works of art and non-imaginative works of art. A literary work is created based on the imagination of the writer, and it generally reflects the social condition, which uses the social surrounding as the foundation. Both the imaginative works of art and the non-imaginative works of art can present and describe the events in our society. According to Wellek and Waren (1962:14), imaginative works of art is a non-factual story such as poetry, drama and prose. On the contrary, the nonimaginative works of art is a factual story such as biography, history and personal letter.
In literary work, especially novels, there is various kind of problems, which take place in the daily life of human beings such as psychological conflicts as its component. The story of Silent Honor by Danielle is the object of study in this library research. The character in this story
has great pressure, which is influenced by psychological conditions, particularly in making decisions related to conflict and problems.
This story is a fascinating object of study since the story carries some moral messages that could be applied in everybody's life. Another point of interest in this story is that because the writer of the story, namely Danielle Steel, is famous. As a writer, she is quite successful in bringing up the common issue in human life. In short, this story is worth reading and analysing. The problems of the study can be formulated as the following: (a) What kind of psychological conflicts are faced by the main character in the story “Silent Honor” ? (b) How does the main character face his/her psychological conflict?
Methodology is a method and principle of doing something. It is necessary for conducting scientific research because this is a procedure that is used to comprehend the object of the discussion. This study is a descriptive qualitative research of Silent Honor novel written by Steel and published in 1996.
The method of collecting data of this study is the documentation method, which is through reading the story intensively and taking notes to know and understand the context of the story. Then, finding out the statements that belong to intrinsic elements especially related to the psychological aspect of the character. The data collected is descriptively analysed based on the theory of literature and psychology to answer the problems of the study. Sudaryanto, (1993) proposed two methods in presenting data analysis: informal and formal. The informal method means presenting the analysis data by using words and sentences, whereas the formal method uses tables and symbols. The data and analysis of this study were presented informally through words and sentences.
Character is one of the most important elements of the short story. The most significant way of presenting the characterisation of a character in a story is through his/her action. Although sometimes the characters are not human, mostly it is a human that usually could be recognised through his/her personality. Therefore fictional characters are alive while they are read (Kennedy, 1991:77). According to Kenny (1966:21), a character is the actor of the story. He also stated that a character is relevant if many people like him/her in real life.
All of us tend to think of a story in terms of problem and solution, conflict and response, tension and resolution, question and answer, as well as mystery and revelation. Warren (1962:35) states that there are some types of conflict in which he is categorised into two major classes such as internal and external conflict. Internal conflict is a kind of conflict that deals all with himself, perhaps for an idea, decision, feeling and others. On the other hand, the external conflict covers the conflict between: the character and other characters; character and society; character and environment.
According to Warren and Wellek (1966), the psychology of literature can be meant as many things, such as; the psychological study of the writer, as a type and as an individual, the study of the creative process, a subdivision of the psychology of art, the study of the psychological types and laws present within works of literature and the effects of literature upon its readers (audience psychology related to Literature and Society). Psychological aspect includes the psychological background such as attitude, feeling, and ambition. Psychology is much related to human life and analysing the chapter roles. Psychology can be defined as the scientific study of the activities of individuals.
All of this is represented through the elements of the story. The intrinsic elements in a novel are the elements that directly contribute to the story. The intrinsic elements are the theme, setting, character, plot, point of view, style and tone, and structure and technique.
In literature, the theme of work is seldom stated directly. It is an abstract concept indirectly expressed through recurrent images, actions, character and symbols. The theme is the comment, observation, or insight about the subject of the story. Kenney (1966: 38) states that setting refers to the point in time and space at which the events of the plot occur. Settings are important. It symbolises the emotional state of character.
According to Kenney (1966:24-25), the character is expected to be natural or life alike. A human being can live freely, but the fictional character is never entirely free because it is a part of an artistic whole and must always serve the needs of that whole. In other words, character are the imaginary people that the writer creates, sometimes identifying with them, sometimes judging them. Character in the novel or any kind of literature can be recognised through connections or clues of their function and significance in the story. It is governed and limited by the plot.
Di Yanni (1994: 2) states that plot is the sequence of events in the story which the author artistically arranges. An effective plot must include the sequence of an incident that correlates with each other. It simply means that one thing happens because of the result of something else. The plot makes us aware of events, not merely as elements in temporal series but also as a complex shape of cause and effect (Kenney, 1966: 13-14).
The elements of plot structure are divided into beginning, middle, and end. It begins with an exposition, the opening portion that sets the scene to introduce the main character, tell about what happened before the story opened, and provide any other background information that is needed in order to understand and care about the events to follow. These plots develop series of complication that leads to the moment of great tension. The conflict may reach climax, and then the action falls into the resolution. Alternatively, in short, we can describe the plot structure in terms of beginning takes us from exposition to the initial statement of conflict; the middle, from conflict through complication to climax; and the end from climax to resolution. In forming the particular plot of a story, the writer may be expected to follow certain laws (Keeney, 1966: 19).
Point of view is sometimes called narrative perspective. There are two general narrative points of view, first-person (I) and third person (he, she, they). When the story is told from the inside, it means a story is told by one of the participants, and it is called the first-person narration as the narrator naturally uses the first personal pronoun "I" in referring to himself. When the story is told from the outside, and usually nameless narrator, who is the author of the fiction work, it is called a third-person narration (Kenney, 1966: 48 ). Every literary work possesses the quality of style and tone. Style is the verbal texture of literature. In short, everything the author does with a word, including his way of arranging words into such larger units as sentences. For simplification purposes, consider this topic under three headings: diction, imagery, and syntax (Kenney, 1966: 60). Diction is the author's choice of words: imagery is the pictorial quality of a literary work achieved through a collection of images; the syntax is the arrangement and grammatical relation of words, phrases, clauses and sentences. According to Kenney (1966: 69), the tone is the expression of attitudes. In spoken language, the intonation of voice can reveal the tone and suggest the attitude. In written language, including the language of fiction, the tone is that quality, primarily a quality of style that reveals the attitudes of the author toward his subject and toward his audience.
There are three elements of structure and technique in writing fiction: description, narrative technique, and dialogue (Kenney, 1966: 74-75). The description refers to the direct presentation of the qualities of the person, place, or thing. The effective description is not merely a matter of the writer's including all he can think of. Instead, the writer must select those details most
appropriate to his purpose and arrange this detail to ensure that his purpose is fulfilled. The narrative technique is the way of telling a story. There is a panoramic and scenic technique. The scenic resembles in its manner of presenting a scene from a play or movie. The essence of the scenic is its presentation of the moment by moment action, often involving dialogue. Dialogue is a means of satisfying the reader demand for concreteness. Although description can tell us a great deal about how a character and sounds, the best way to find out how a character sounds is to listen to him talk. This technique can be an important means of revealing character, emotional tension, and conveying information to the reader.
Intrinsically, psychology is related to the psychological background of the character in the story. Moreover, extrinsically it is related to the authorship factors and the creative process. According to Wellek and Warren (1973:81), the psychology of literature is considered the study of the creative process and the study of the psychological type and laws present within work of literature or the effects of literature upon its readers that we call audience psychology.
Many factors can cause the changing and development of personality. Carson in Pratiwi (2006:17) states that more than any other human characteristic, a mental capacity unites is influenced by heredity and environment in a most intimate and detailed way. Then he adds that almost every action and behaviour pattern in an adult is environmentally specified in the sense that experiences with the environment play a role in determining it. Nevertheless, if the instrument on which the recording was made distorted the original experience, future action concerning previous experience may be curious, unpredictably confused, fearful, and antisocial.
According to Berenhardt (1953: 32), all development on both heredity and environment, some features of this development depend directly on heredity factors then environment. The colour of the eyes and the degree of general intelligence of the individual are determined largely by heredity. In short, we say that heredity influence the psychological aspects of persons. However, personality, character and temperament, or psychological aspects are more than the result of environmental influence. Meanwhile, Sartain et al. (1958) propose that all behaviours, the social, psychological, and physical, are the product of the interaction of heredity and environment in the elaboration of character and influence in our behaviour, growth, and life process except the genes.
The composition of our environment can be divided into three parts: external environment, internal environment, and social environment. According to Berenhardt (1958: 45), there is a reason for everything that we do. All human activity has some causes. It is often difficult to find this cause or decide which of the thousands of possible influences determine any particular action. Our knowledge of human activity will have to advance considerably before the aim of psychology is attained to predict what particular response wh follow a particular motivation. At present, we can do this only in general terms. To be able to predict what success an individual will achieve in life or m occupation, we need to understand his abilities, his past experiences, and his motivation. To predict what a person will do in any given situation, we need to understand his habits, his natural condition, and what happened at that time. It is very necessary to know something about the kind of influences that affect and direct human activity.
Human beings have few ready-made forms of behaviour and few instincts. Instead, we find that almost all human activities are flexible to any modification or change during the lifetime of the individual. All human activities are the subject of learning. This learning itself has a cause or is motivated by something. Such factors are as appetites, wants, emotion etc., seems to be the driving motives.
Kenny (1966: 19) states, “The conflicts with which fictions concern itself are of many kinds. A story may deal with a conflict within a single woman, a conflict between man and
nature”. Furthermore, Kenney (1966:19) proposed that the conflicts that fiction concerns involve many kinds of conflict. The incidents of conflict that happen in the real world and are narrated in a fictional story are classified into some kinds: the conflicts based on the kinds of their origins from which they come and on the kinds of the dimensions of the human’s conflicts.
Conflict is also determined as any struggle between any opposing forces of the character. It usually happens with the main character is struggling with any other forces. This conflict, then, becomes the one that runs a story and forms the storyline. It is also to make readers get involved in the story as the reader feels the struggle faced by the main character. Without conflict, a story would be meaningless and without purpose. The main character who faced a conflict in a story may find that he would deal with a single man, between man, between man and society, and between man and nature or environment (Kenney, 1966: 21).
Characters in the story are expected to be more natural or life-like. Human beings are free, but the plot and artistic value limit characters in a short story. It can give a psychological impression to the readers, as it can be taken as of our consciousness in our real life. This story describes how a girl shows her respect to her parents and her great efforts to keep maintaining her honour and dignity in a foreign land. The analysis of the main character "Hiroko" is supported by analysing the other characters included in the story: Masao Takashimaya, Hidemi, Yuji, Takeo, Reiko, Peter Jenkins, Sally, Tami, Tadashi, Anne Spencer, and Sharon William.
In this story, Hiroko faces a dilemma in her life. She feels in love with an American, but she is afraid that her family disagree with their relationship. It can be seen from the dialogue below:
"I want you near me all the time. I want to take care of you...I'll go back to
Japan with you, if I have to" said Peter.
"Oh, Peter" Hiroko said, overwhelmed by what he was saying. She could only begin to imagine what her mother would say. She would be appalled at Hiroko's behavior. And even her cousin would be shocked, but Peter read her mind as he took her hand in his and kissed it.
(Danielle Steel, 1997 : 117)
"What are we going to do Peter-san ?" Hiroko asked him then, looking deeply trouble. She didn't want to hurt anyone, or betray her ancestry. She had not come to America to disgrace her family, or damage their honor. Yet a part of her told her that she had come here to find him, and she could no longer turn away from what had happened.
"What do you think your father will say?" Peter asked, looking anxious.
"I don't know Peter-san, she said honestly." It will be great shock to him.
(Danielle Steel, 1997: 122)
The above dialogue shows that Hiroko is afraid her family disagrees about her relationship with Peter. She has no desire to hurt anyone or defy her family. She just wants to be together with her boyfriend and hopes that everyone will come to understand it.
In this story, Hiroko faces many conflicts or problems with her friend at St Andrew's College. It can be seen from the expression below:
"What are you doing in this school?" Anne asked, sitting down on her bed in total frustration.
"I came here from Japan because my father wished it," Hiroko said simply, still unclear as to why Anne was so angry that they were roommates.
"So did I, but I don't think he had any idea who I'd be going to school with," Anne said meanly. She was a pretty girl, but she was spoiled, and she had all the prejudices of her class, and against all oriental. In her mind, "Japs" were all servants, and far beneath her.
(Danielle Steel, 1997: 91 )
"I guess," Sharon said as she lit a cigarette. They were strictly forbidden to smoke anywhere on campus, but she didn't care.
"You must not do that, "Hiroko warned. You could smell the smoke easily, and they would both get in trouble.
And half an hour later, when another girl walked in to talk to Sharon and saw the butts, she went to the monitor and told them that Hiroko had been smoking. Sharon didn't confess or tell them it wasn't Hiroko. There was nothing Hiroko felt she could do except take the blame herself, which seemed the honorable thing to do, and she sat in her room and cried afterward at the disgrace of being on probation.
(Danielle Steel, 1997: 126)
From the above expression, we can see that people at school did not like Hiroko. All of them were against her just because she is Japanese. It is a sad lesson for Hiroko, but she faces it patiently.
It is stated in chapter two that this type of conflict involved a conflict between a character with law or culture. In this story, Hiroko is presented as a Japanese girl that is naturally old-fashioned, but when she is in California, she must be changed her Japanese custom. It is hard for her to make herself like an American. It can be seen from the expression below:
Hiroko came slowly downstairs in a dark grey kimono, with a serious air, and she looked sadder than he had ever seen her, in the somber color. She bowed to Peter, as she always hand this time, her cousin reached out a hand and touched her shoulder.
"Hiroko, don't do that anymore. Right now, it's important that you don’t stand out anywhere. Even here, itť's better if you stop bowing."
Hiroko looked shocked by what he had said. She couldn't afford to be different anymore. Everything was changing.
(Danielle Steel, 1997: 142)
And the main task Hiroko seemed to have set herself was to become as American as she could. Takeo hadn't seen her in a kimono in almost two months, she never bowed or called him " san " anymore, and she had seriously begun to improve her.
(Danielle Steel, 1997 : 178 )
The above expression shows that Hiroko has listened carefully to all of her cousin's warnings. No kimonos, no bowing, and no speaking Japanese in public. She has to make an effort not to be different from an American.
Concerning the aspect of appetites, Hiroko also has a want. “Wants" are the thing people would like to have but do not absolutely need to survive. Want is one aspect of human motivation
that influenced Hiroko's character. Hiroko wants to have many friends at St Andrew's College. It can be seen from the expression below:
"It's their loss, Hiroko. You'll make friends there eventually. Just be patient. Reiko said to Hiroko.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 94 )
"It is very difficult to be from another place, " Hiroko said sadly. I did not know in California, it would be like this." She had expected to like school, and to make friends.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 :98 )
On Sunday morning, Hiroko went to play tennis with three girls who had signed up. They were polite and pleasant to her, although one of the girls seemed to hesitate when she arrived. But after a few minutes, she didn't seem to have any objection to playing with Hiroko. Hiroko and her partner won the doubles game, and the girls had lemonade in the cafeteria, and chatted amiably about the game.
They told Hiroko they'd like to play with her again, and for the first time in three months she felt as though she'd made some friends.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 129 )
The above expression shows that Hiroko tries to make friends, but it is difficult for her to find friends because she is Japanese. Hiroko is a kind-hearted and cool-minded girl. Although in a terrible time, she always tries to control her emotion. These can be seen from the dialogue below:
"What do you want ?" Anne Spencer snapped at her, still furious that they had refused to move her.
"Nothing, Anne-san," Hiroko apologised, bowing before she thought of stopping herself. “ I am very sorry if I disturbed you.
"I just can't believe that they'd put us in the same room." Anne stood glaring at her, unaware of how rude she was.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 91 )
"What do I care about Christmas ? " Sally had spat at her lying on her bed when Hiroko had asked her to go with her and Tadashi. “ and why are you taking him anyway ? if he's so crazy about you, why don't' you get married ? "I don't think that's any of your business, " Hiroko said coldly. She was tired of her. Sally was rude to everyone
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 337 )
Sally made a comment about some girls going from one man to the other. "What does that mean “ Hiroko asked her bluntly, hurt by what she’d said, and the obvious implication.
"You know what I mean, “ Sally said, looking angry, and sounding surly.
"Perhaps I do, “ Hiroko admitted to her, “ but I do not like it. I do not go from one man to any other man.
"I'll bet, “ Sally said, and left the room while Hiroko tried to control her temper.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 340 )
Hiroko is a shy girl, and also she likes to help everyone. It can be seen from the expression below;
"But I know it's not easy. We probably all seem pretty strange to you. Reiko smiled at Hiroko then, and Hiroko looked down at her lap and smiled shy.
She had scarcely the courage to look at any of them, and the moment they spoke to her, she looked down, and seemed deeply embarrassed. Hiroko was the shyest person Sally had ever seen.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 54 )
"You were a big success. “ Reiko said, and meant it. Everyone loves meeting you, Hiroko. And I’m sure it wasn't easy. “ the young girl blushed, and went on helping with the dishes in silence. Hiroko was so shy that it still surprised all of them.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 68 )
Hiroko stayed in the kitchen to help her aunt Reiko. Reiko was impressed with how quickly and competently Hiroko did everything. She was the quietest, most efficient girl Reiko had ever seen, and in spite of her obvious shyness, she knew exactly what she was doing.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 :61 )
November was slightly easier for Hiroko. Sharon started having trouble in school and Hiroko volunteered to help her with her studies. Sharon hesitated at first, but in the end she was grateful for Hiroko.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 101 )
The doctors were sure the little girl wouldn’t live the night, but Hiroko sat with her tirelessly and refused to home. Reiko watched her struggling to keep the child alive. Hiroko worked with her incessantly for three days, and the finally the fever broke, and the doctor said she would recover. Hiroko had saved the little girl, she had done what they couldn’t, without medicine. She done it with love and determination. The child’s mother thanked her, as Hiroko smiled and left the infirmary.
( Danielle Steel, 1997 : 277 )
The above expressions show that Hiroko is a shy girl and she is known as a kind person. She always helps everyone who needs her services.
Based on the foregoing discussion, some points of conclusion can be drawn. As the main character of this story, Hiroko is described as a shy girl, kind-hearted, hard worker and beautiful. In spite of her obvious shyness, she is a brave girl. In California, Hiroko has a sad experience. Since the first time she starts her study at St Andrew's College, she always faces many problems. All people at St Andrew's College do not like her because American people are against Oriental. In their mind, all Japanese are a servant and far beneath them. The worst experience for Hiroko
was when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. It is an extremely serious assault on American soil. The world is at war, and she is part of it. The most horrible of all, she is the enemy in a foreign land. That is a sad lesson for Hiroko to learn, but she faces it quietly and bravely.
Psychologically, Hiroko has a basic needs of an ordinary human. She needs freedom from her parents to make her decision, and also needs good treatment and respect from the people around her, especially from the American people. Hiroko's motivation is to get self-assertion from other people. All the aspects of motivation such as appetites, want, emotion, feeling, and attitudes make the personality of Hiroko more complete. This motivation makes Hiroko work hard and not dependent on other people.
References:
Adler, Alfred. 1956. The Individual Psychology. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
Berenhardt, Karl S. 1953. Practical Psychology. Toronto: McGraw Hill Book Company. Int.
Diyani, Robert. 2001. Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. The McGraw Hill Companies.
Honby, A.S. 2005. Oxford Advance Learner's Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press.
Kenney, William. 1966. How To Analyse Fiction. New York: Monarch Press.
Kennedy, X.J. 1991. An Introduction To Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: Longman.
Sartain, A. Quinn. 1958. Understanding Human Behaviour. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company. Inc.
Steel, Danielle. 1997. Silent Honor. Canada: Random House, Inc.
Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren. 1962. Theory of Literature. New York: Penguin Book.
Biography of Authors
I Made Aditya Ramajaya is an undergraduate student at English Department, Faculty or Arts, Udayana University. This article is made as one of the requirement to obtain Sarsaja Sastra Degree.
I Wayan Mulyawan is an associate professor in English Department, Faculty of Arts Udayana University Bali. In the last four years, he has focused his research to explore public signs in Bali. The research has covered many tourist areas in Bali, such as Kuta, Sanur, Batubulan and Ubud. The analysis covered the clusterization of outdoor signs, the impact of outdoor sign to local languages, representation of local vernacular in outdoor signs, and visual image analysis of outdoor signs.
I Gusti Ngurah Parthama, S.S., M.Hum. is one of lecturers in English Department, Faculty of Arts, Udayana University. He completed his master degree in Linguistics majoring translation studies. He teaches various subjects namely English skills, British - American Institutions, British -American Literature, and English for Journalism. His major interests in research are pragmatics, discourse analysis, translation studies, and teaching English.
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