ISSN: 2302-920X

Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud

Vol 19.1 Mei 2017: 244-251

A Psychological Analysis of Main Character in Mastrosimone’s Bang Bang You’re Dead

Ida Ayu Indah Pradnya Pramita1*, I Komang Sumaryana Putra2, I Nyoman Tri Ediwan3

[123]English Department Faculty of Arts – Udayana University 1[email: dayuindahpradnya@gmail.com] 2[email: komangsumaryana@gmail.com] 3[email:tri_ediwan@hotmail.com]

*Coressponding Author

Abstrak

Skripsi ini berjudul Analisis Psikologi pada tokoh utama di dalam drama Bang Bang You’re Dead” oleh William Mastrosimone. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menganalisis aspek psikologi dan metode karakterisasi dari tokoh utama. Data dianalisis menggunakan metoda deskriptif kwalitatif berdasarkan teori Bernhardt (1953) dan William Kenney (1966). Sumber data penelitian ini diambil dari naskah drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead”

Di dalam penelitian ini, ada dua permasalahan yang di bahas yaitu psikologi dari tokoh utama dan metode karakterisasinya. Terdapat tiga aspek dari psikologi tokoh utama yaitu perilaku, perasaan dan emosi, dan dorongan manusia.

Kata kunci: tokoh utama, aspek psikologi, metode karakterisasi

  • 1.    Background of the study

Literature is the individual expression of human being which emphasizes on feeling, thought ideas, spirit, faith and also contains many value of life. Literary work can be divided into two elements such as non-fiction and fiction literary works.In drama as the fiction literary work, there are two elements needed to build a story, they are intrinsic and extrinsic elements. Character as one aspect of intrinsic element has an important role in building up the story, which is very interesting to analyze because it can guide us to the author’s thought and feeling expressed through their words.Mostly the stories as made by the writers are based on the writer life or those mostly as imitation of human being. That is why as an element of the story, character is very important and very interesting to analyze. Though it is only a story usually the characteristics and the acts of the characters in the story are presented as those of real human beings. This study was analyzed more deeply about the main character in the drama “Bang Bang you’re Dead”by William Mastrosimone. The reason to analyze the

main character is because the main character takes an important part in the story and appears continually form beginning until the end of the story.

  • 2.    Problems of the study

The problem based on what has been described in the background section. In this research, can be formulated as follows:

  • 1.    What are the psychological aspects of the main character in the drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead”?

  • 2.    What kinds of methods of characterization are used to describe the main character in the drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead”?

  • 3.    Aims of the study

In writing this paper, there are two specific aims to be achieved.

  • 1.    To find out the psychological aspects of the main character in the drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead”.

  • 2.    To find out the methods of characterization are used to describe the main character in the drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead”.

  • 4.    Research method

The data in this study were taken from the drama script “Bang Bang You’re Dead”. The collecting data was done by watching the drama to understand the script of drama, identifying and classifying the dialogues, and then note taking the dialogues that are related to the topic. The data was analyzed by using descriptive technique. There are two steps in analyzing the data. The first step started from classifying the collected data into certain categories. Second step is analyzing the data using the theory of psychology proposed by Bernhardt (1953) and methods of characterization proposed by William Kenney (1966). This study would be done with the conclusion of the analysis and become the answer of the problem being mention above.

  • 5.    Findings and discussions

The discussions of psychological and methods of characterization were describing in dialogues. The analysis and descriptions are presented below.

  • 1.    Attitude

SCENE 1

(ABSOLUTE DARKNESS. A voice in the dark. After a moment, a flashlight explores the stage, moves along the bottom length, then up, finding Josh asleep on the jail bed. Josh jumps to his feet.)

JOSH

Who's there? Who is it? Who's there?

MICHAEL

Why me?

JOSH

What is this? What is this?

MICHAEL

We played ball together. You were awesome on the field. You were unstoppable.

JOSH

Survival of the fittest, baby.

MICHAEL

And you were only a freshman. You could've been team captain in your senior year. Why'd you kill me? I never hurt you.

JOSH

It was more fun than droppin' dudes in a video game.

(Michael's flashlight goes out. Katie holds her flashlight under her chin.)

KATIE

Why me, Josh?

JOSH

Why not? World's overpopulated. I wanted to do my part.

KATIE

You liked me.

JOSH

Once upon a time.

KATIE

Why'd you have to kill me?

JOSH

Felt like it, okay? Happy now?

In scene 1, the drama opens in Josh's jail cell after he has killed his parents and five classmates. The ghosts of those classmates demand to know why he killed them. The dialogue above describes Josh has a cynical attitude, because he didn’t like when his friends mock him.It is showed when he said that the world is overpopulated and he had done his part after he killed his friends. He feel he has a power to kill somebody. However he didn’t realize that God creates many people in the world.

  • 2.    Feeling and Emotion

SCENE 28

(Lights on Katie writing in a notebook. Enter Josh.)

JOSH

Hey, Katie.

KATIE

Hi.

JOSH

Writing your thing for speech class? (she goes back to her work) Guess what I wrote about. (hands her the snapshot) The buck I killed last weekend. Man, it was so cool. What's yours on?

KATIE

How to dump somebody.

JOSH

How's it go?

KATIE

Say for example your boyfriend says he's gonna meet you at the mall and take you to a movie but instead he goes hunting.

JOSH

C'mon, Katie. We could go out this coming weekend.

KATIE

I don't think we should see each other anymore.

JOSH

Can't you give me another chance?

KATIE

I like somebody else now.

JOSH

Who?

KATIE

What's it matter?

JOSH

Just tell me who.

KATIE

Doesn't matter.

JOSH

Matters to me.

The feeling and emotion was started when Katie got angry with Josh, because he has broken a promise. Josh had made an appointment with Katie to take her to a movie, but instead he goes hunting with his grandfather. He asked Katie to give him another chance. However, Katie loves somebody else. Josh felt jealous and curious who actually sneak around with his girlfriend.

  • 3. Human Motivation

SCENE 29

KATIE

Believe it or not there are some people who don't take me for granted.

(Enter Michael.)

MICHAEL

Sorry I'm late. Hey, Josh.

JOSH

Him? It's him? I thought we're friends?

MICHAEL

We are.

JOSH

Some friend who sneaks around with my girl.

KATIE

I'm not yours.

MICHAEL

Nobody's sneaking around, Josh.

KATIE

Can we just go please?

(Josh pushes Michael who pushes him back and knocks Josh to the ground. HUGE LAUGH FROM THE RUMORS. Exit Katie and Michael hand in hand. Lights on Josh. Voices in the dark. Constant rhythm from the drum under all rumors.)

ACTOR 1/RUMOR


Hear about Josh?


ACTOR 2/RUMOR No, what about him?

ACTOR 3/RUMOR Killed a buck.

ACTOR 4/RUMOR No wonder he walks around all big and bad.

ACTOR 5/RUMOR Not anymore.

ACTOR 1/RUMOR What happened?

ACTOR 2/RUMOR Katie dumped him for Michael.

ACTOR 3/RUMOR


Whoa! How'd Josh take it?

In scene 29, feeling and attitudes of Josh could be shown when Michael come to meet Katie and Josh just realized that Michael was sneaked around his girlfriend, Katie. Josh got angry at Michael and pushed him away.

  • 4.    Dramatic Method

SCENE 2

(Katie's flashlight goes out. Matt holds his flashlight under his chin.)

MATT    Why me?

JOSH       What is this?

MATT      Why me? I don't even know you.

JOSH       You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

(Matt's flashlight goes out. Jessie holds her flashlight under her chin.)

JESSIE     Why me?

JOSH        Why not you? Everybody's gotta die sometime. Might as well get it over

with.

(Jessie's flashlight goes out. Josh lays back on the bed. Emily leans over him, holds her flashlight under her chin. Josh springs up, surprised.)

EMILY     Why me, Josh? We live on the same street. We used to make mud pies

together when we were little kids. I taught you how to blow bubbles with chewing gum. I came to your birthdays, you came to mine. When we

were eleven you let me play war with you and the other boys because you liked how I died.

EMILY (LYING ON FLOOR)

Hope I didn't disappoint you in the cafeteria this morning. Hope I died just right for you, Josh.

JOSH        You didn't have to fall on me and get me all bloody.

In scene 2, Emily is Josh's best childhood friend and next door neighbor. We can see from her utterance. “We live on the same street. We used to make mud pies together when we were little kids. I taught you how to blow bubbles with chewing gum. I came to your birthdays, you came to mine. When we were eleven you let me play war with you and the other boys because you liked how I died.” The author employed dramatic method to present this relationship as a best friend.

  • 5.    Character on Other Character Method SCENE 14

    MATT

    We want the truth.

    JESSIE

    The whole truth.

    EMILY

    And nothing but the truth.

    JOSH

    As the cop said, I have the right to remain silent. Anything I say can be held against me in a court of law.

(Quick drum rhythm. The deceased up-end the box converting it to a judge's bench by opening the lid so that it's up vertically. Actor 2 stands behind box and bangs the gavel. [Because the courtroom scene is just a fantasy, it should be played speeded up, without pause, so that Josh's nightmare trial is over in a matter of seconds.])

ACTOR 2 (AS JUDGE)

ACTOR 4 (AS PROSECUTOR)

ACTOR 2 (AS JUDGE)


The court will hear the prosecutor's opening statement.

Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury: seven dead bodies. Dozens of witnesses. What's to think about?

The court will now hear from the public

defender.

ACTOR 1 (AS PUBLIC DEFENDER)Josh was a good student, a popular student, a

good son. There's only one explanation— temporary insanity.

ACTOR 4 (AS PROSECUTOR)

I call witnesses for the prosecution!

ACTOR 3 (AS WITNESS)

Josh pulled the wings off a butterfly when he was five and he plagiarized on a paper for English class.

ACTOR 2 (AS JUDGE)

The court will now hear closing statements.

ACTOR 4 (AS PROSECUTOR)

As I see it, you the jury have a very difficult choice between the electric chair and lethal injection.

In scene 14, we could observe that the author used the character on other character method to describe Josh’s childhood. Public defender noticed him as a good student and the witness noted him as a naughty student. This is one source of information about the character.

  • 6.    Conclusion

Based on the problems that has been described in the first chapter and the analysis in the third chapter, some points can be taken as conclusion, those points are:

There were found three psychological aspects in Josh’s character in the drama, they are: Attitude, Feeling and Emotion and Human Motivation. Based on the discussion of the psychological dimension of the main character of the drama “Bang Bang You’re Dead”, the author used a mixing method to present the main character. They are dramatic method and character on other characters method. The author employed those methods in order to develop the main character of the drama.

  • 7.    Bibliography

Anonymous.BangBangYou’reDead:http://www.hak1wels.at/projekte/2005EnglischesTh

eater/BANG%20BANG%20Text.doc(Accessed, 20 October 2016)

Bernhardt, Karl S. 1953. Practical Psychology. Canada: Mc Graw –Hill Book Inc.

Hornby, A.S. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Fifth Edition. London: Oxford University Press.

Kenney, William. 1966. How to Analyze Fiction. New York: Monarch Press.

Semi, Attar.M.1988. Anatomi Sastra. Padang: Angkasa Raya Padang

Sukada, I Made.1987. Beberapa Aspek Tentang Sastra. Denpasar: Kayumas & Yayasan Ilmu dan Seni Lesiba.

Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren.1955. Theory of Literature. London: Jonathan Cape.

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