ISSN: 2302-920X

Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud

Vol 16.2 Agustus 2016: 216-222

POLITENESS STRATEGIES USED BY THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE

MOVIE “THE GREAT GATSBY”

Nyoman Agus Trimandala1*, I Nyoman Udayana2, Yana Qomariana3 [123]English Department Faculty Of Arts Udayana University 1[trimandalaagus@yahoo.co.id] 2[nyomanudayana@yahoo.com] 3[yqomariana@gmail.com]

*

Corresponding Author

Abstrak

Penelitian ini berjudul “Politeness Strategies Used by The Main Characters in The Movie The Great Gatsby” yang difokuskan pada analisis stereotip gender dan kesopanan dalam bahasa , terutama pada jenis-jenis nya dan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi hal-hal tersebut. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui berbagai macam jenis kesopanan dalam berbahasa dan stereotip gender yang menjelaskan sifat karakter utama dalam film ini kemudian yang dilanjutkan dengan mengetahui faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi karakter tersebut dalam film berjudul "The Great Gatsby".

Analisis jenis kesopanan berbahasa dalam penelitian ini didasarkan pada teori Brown dan Levinson (1978) dalam bukunya yang berjudul kesopanan dalam penggunaan bahasa dan teori Rosenkrantz di Brannon (1996, 1974 ) yang terkait dengan stereotip gender (Brannon, Linda 1996. Jenis Kelamin: Perspektif Psikologis Boston: Allyn dan Bacon.).

Analisis dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat tiga jenis strategi kesopanan dalam bahasa yang ditemukan dalam data yaitu kesopanan dalam positif, kesopanan dalam negatif, dan catatan strategi waktu. Dan antara tokoh satu dengan yang lainnya memiliki watak yang berbeda-beda. Kemudian beberapa faktor pun berpengaruh terhadap hal tersebut yaitu hasil yang dalam, keadaan, integrasi penilaian     hasil dan     bobot risiko     dalam     pilihan     strategi.

Keyword: Kesopanan dalam berbahasa, Ekspresi wajah yang menggambarkan tindak ancaman , Stereotip Gender,

  • 1.    Background

Language is something that is important in society, because it is a tool that serves to convey the things that we want to say. Language can be used to get someone to do what the speaker wants in various ways, either politely or impolitely, depending on the context. Besides, politeness is one of the most important aspects in communication, that is, to decide whether or not the communication keep going.

Politeness can be determined by various factors and one of which is gender. This stereotyped connection between gender and politeness leads to certain expectations by members of communities of practice about what linguistic behavior they expect of women and men to perform.

The film entitled The Great Gatsby is a good example in which the politeness strategy based on the concept of gender stereotypes are applied within the conversations among the main characters in Great Gatsby. There are four main characters in film Great Gatsby; they are Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan. Since a film also reflects a reality, the conversations between characters also represent the phenomena in a real society of the time when the film was released.

This study is very important because by analyzing the politeness that is closely related to gender stereotypes, how polite language behaviour should be performed is clearly described. By being able to produce a polite language, the speaker will also get the respect from the hearer so both sides will as much as possible avoid any action of face threatening act.(FTA)

  • 2    Problems

  • 1)    What kinds of politeness strategies are employed by the characters in the film entitled “The Great Gatsby”?

  • 2)    What factors cause the characters to employ such strategies?

  • 3    Aims

  • 1)    To find out the kinds of politeness strategies and gender stereotypes employed by the characters in the film entitled “The Great Gatsby”.

  • 2)    To identify the factors that cause the characters to employ such strategies

  • 4    Research Method

    4.1    Data Source

The data of this study are mainly spoken data. In writing this study the writer collected the data from the conversations the movie The Great Gatsby movie. This

movie was chosen because it contains many conversations between females and males either in formal and informal situations, applying politeness.

  • 4.2    Method and Techniques of Collecting Data

The method used in collecting data was documentation method through which the data taken from the film were documented. First, the characters in the movie were watched and listened to; second, the relevant parts of the movie which contain the conversations showing politeness strategies were noted down.

  • 4.3    Method and Techniques of Analyzing Data

The collected data were qualitatively and descriptively analyzed based on the theory of politeness strategy proposed by Brown and Levinson (1978) and gender stereotypes proposed by Rosenkrantz in Brannon (1996, 1974). The analysis started with the first problem, that is, the types of politeness strategies, then the gender stereotypes and finally the factors contributing to such politeness strategies.

  • 5.    Result and Descision

There are four politeness strategies, namely bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. In this film, such three strategies are applied by portrayed characters although not all the strategies were covered. In this analysis the theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1978) combined with the theory proposed by Rosenkrantz in Brannon (1996: 1974) about Gender stereotypes were used.

DATA 3

TOM:       Shakespeare! How’s the great American novel

coming?

NICK:       Oh, I’m selling bonds now Tom... with Walter Chase’s outfit-

TOM: Never heard of em.

(05 :16)

Relevance to Context of Situation

The conversation took place at Sanitarium- Doctor’s office. The participants in this conversation were Nick and Doctor, and then the conversation between Nick and Tom.

Data Interpretation and Evidence

In the conversation above, the utterance “Shakespeare! How’s the great American novel coming...?” was a kind of bald of record strategy. It is a metaphor.

Factors Causing the Characters to Employ Those Strategies

In data 3, the first factors which contribute to the strategy used are intrinsic pay off by applying off record and social distance.

DATA 10

TOM: You’ve got no right to speak her name!

MYRTLE:   Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I'll speak it whenever I want! Daisy! Dai—

(22:37)

Relevance to context of situation

The conversation above took place in Myrtle’s Apartment at night. The participants in this conversation are Tom and Myrtle

Data Interpretation and Evidence

This context “You’ve got no right to speak her name!” is a kind of negative politeness strategy used to indicate reluctance.

Factors Causing the Characters to Employ Those Strategies

Tom employs this strategy because he is influenced by some factors. The intrinsic pay off as the first factor is applied by performing negative politeness and the second factor is social distance

Gender Stereotypes

According to data, the character Tom was firm in masculinity positive and rude in masculinity negative

DATA 5

NICK:       “Daisy Buchanan, we can’t live without you!”

DAISY:      I'm p-paralyzed with happiness...!

(07:15)

Relevance to context of situation

The conversation above took place in Buchanan Mansion, late afternoon. The participants in this conversation are Nick, Daisy, and Jordan.

Data Interpretation and Evidence

It is a kind of positive politeness strategy, that is, strategy 2 which is exaggerating

Factors Causing the Characters to Employ Those Strategies

Intrinsic pay off which is followed by positive politeness is one factor that

causes Nick to apply such a strategy.

Gender Stereotypes

Based on data, the character Daisy is sensitive to femininity positive.

DATA 13

GATSBY :   Oh but it is though...! You see, I thought you ought to know

something about my life. I... I don’t want you to think I’m just some... some nobody. You see, old sport, I’m going to make a very big request of you today.

NICK :      A big request?

(38:26)

Relevance to context of situation

The conversations above took place in Gatsby’s car. The participants in this conversation are Nick and Gatsby.

Data interpretation and Evidence

This utterance “A big request?” is a kind of positive politeness strategy used to intensify interest to hearer,

Factors Causing the Characters to Employ Those Strategies

Gatsby employs this strategy because he is influenced by intrinsic pay off, followed by performing positive politeness.

Gender Stereotypes

In accordance with data, Gatsby’s characters are confident in masculinity positive and aggressive in masculinity negative

DATA 18

NICK:        Happy to do it. Jay-- I'm going to call Daisy and invite her to

tea.

GATSBY:    Oh, that’s alright. I don’t want to put you to any trouble...

(49:28)

Relevance to context of situation

The conversation above took place in Nick’s bungalow .The participants in this conversation are Nick and Gatsby.

Data interpretation and Evidence

This utterance “: Happy to do it. Jay-- I'm going to call Daisy and invite her to tea.” Is a kind of positive politeness strategy used to offer and promise.

Factors Causing the Characters to Employ Those Strategies

Nick used the intrinsic pay off factor, followed by performing positive politeness.

Gender Stereotypes

Based on the data, the character Nick is Carefree in masculinity positive.

  • 6.    Conclusion

Positive politeness strategies are used in a condition in which S tries to minimize the distance between expressing friendliness and solid interest in the hearer’s need to be respected, that is, getting closer to H. Negative politeness is used in the situation in which S has the main focus on the assumption that he may impose and intrude on H’s space. Bald off record is used to take some pressure off of the hearer. In this case, S performs an act in a vague manner that could be interpreted by the hearer as some other acts.

The character Nick is Carefree in masculinity positive, Jay Gayby is confident in masculinity positive and aggressive in masculinity negative, Daisy Buchanan is Sensitive in femininity positive, and Tom is Firm in masculinity positive and rude in masculinity negative. There are also several factors which contribute to those strategies: 1. The Intrinsic Payoffs : By performing on record, off record, positive politeness, and negative politeness

  • 2.    The circumstances : The “social distance” and The “absolute ranking”

  • 3.    The integration of assessment of payoffs and weighting of risk in choice of strategies.

  • 7.    Bibliography

Brannon, Linda. 1996. Gender: Psychological Perspectives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Brown and Levinson, Goody. 1996. Politeness: . Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Brown, P and S.C. Levinson. 1978. Universal in Language Phenomena. In Esther

N. goody (ed), Question and Politeness: Strategies in Social Interaction, pp.

56-289. Cambridge University Press

Rosenkrantz et al. (1968) as provided in Brannon (1996, 1974). a list of stereotypical traits of men and women

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