THE CONTRIBUTION OF FIGURE OF SPEECH TO CHARACTER ANALYSIS IN J.K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
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THE CONTRIBUTION OF FIGURE OF SPEECH TO CHARACTER
ANALYSIS IN J.K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF
THE PHOENIX
Arya Pratama Dwiputra
Jurusan Sastra Inggris Fakultas Sastra Unud
ABSTRAK
Gaya bahasa merupakan suatu ungkapan yang berupa perbandingan atau hubungan yang dapat diartikan secara imajinatif dibandingkan secara harfiah. Makna dalam gaya bahasa dapat diartikan melalui konteks yang mengelilingi ungkapan tersebut. Data diambil dari novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan dan menggambarkan kontribusi gaya bahasa dalam menganalisis tokoh di dalam novel. Tokoh merupakan unsur terpenting dalam mendukung cerita. Tokoh adalah figur yang memiliki peranan dalam cerita dan segala hal yang berhubungan dengan sifat dan ciri khas yang membuat seorang atau sekelompok individu memiliki perbedaan dengan yang lainnya. Ada banyak cara dan metode untuk menganalisis tokoh; salah satunya adalah metode menganalisis tokoh melalui gaya bahasa. Teori untuk metode menganalisis tokoh melalui gaya bahasa dikemukakan oleh Minderop (2005) dengan empat gaya bahasa seperti simile, metafor, personifikasi, dan simbol. Gaya bahasa memiliki peran dan kontribusi untuk menyampaikan perbandingan sifat alami tokoh dengan hal-hal lainnya yang dapat digunakan untuk menganalisis tokoh berdasarkan perbandingan tersebut.
Kata Kunci: gaya bahasa, novel, tokoh
Figurative language is much required in making literature, such as poetry, drama, and prose. It is a language that contains figures of speech, that is an expression that makes comparisons or associations meant to be interpreted imaginatively rather than literally (Morner and Rausch, 1998: 83) by the context that surrounds the phrase. There are many kinds of figures of speech; they are simile, metaphor, personification, synecdoche, metonymy, hyperbole, irony, paradox, allusion, dead metaphor, and symbol.
Literary works can be defined as the individual expressions of human beings which come from experiences, feelings, thoughts, ideas, spirits, and faiths in the form
of concrete description which arouses beauty by using language. One of the forms of literary works is novel. Novel is a lengthy fictional narrative in prose dealing with characters, incidents and settings that imitate those found in real life. Character is the most important element to support the story. Character can be referred to all the qualities and features that make a person, groups of people, and places different from others (Hornby, 1973: 246). There are many ways of analyzing character; one of them is the method of analyzing character through figure of speech (Minderop, 2005: 3).
This study analyzes the use of figure of speech in the novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. The data source was applicable for the theory because it is full of figures of speech to be analyzed. This study is focused on analyzing the figure of speech used because it is important to know and understand the use and meaning of every figure of speech written in the novel. Furthermore, this study also analyzes the contribution of some figures of speech in analyzing the characters.
Based on the background of the study, the problem of this study can be taken as what is the contribution of figure of speech in analyzing characters in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling?
Every study in scientific writing has its aim or the expected result that has to be achieved. In connection with the problem written, the aim of this study is to describe the contribution of figures of speech in analyzing the characters in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.
In this study, the research method deals with three sections, namely: data source, method and technique of collecting data, and method and technique of analyzing data.
The data were taken from the novel Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. The data source was chosen because it contains a lot of
figures of speech and their contribution to the analysis of characters which can be analyzed. It is the fifth book in J. K. Rowling's seven Harry Potter book series. It is also the largest and longest book in the series that contains thirty eight chapters and seven hundred and sixty six pages. It was first published on June 21st, 2003 in London, United Kingdom by the publisher Bloomsbury. The novel is a success and it has been developed into various adaptations based on the novel.
The data of this study were collected through library research by the method of documenting data and the technique of close reading and note taking. The data were taken from the data source by reading the data source. The technique of collecting data was divided into three steps: Firstly, the novel was read repeatedly and intensively, besides to understand the content of the story, it is also to get the important points that are needed related to the topic. Then, the figures of speech elements that include in the novel were found out by note taking. Finally, the data were sorted out based on the problem of the study.
The collected data were descriptively analyzed by using qualitative method based on the theoretical basis for characterization in connection with the analysis of the figure of speech in a novel. The data were analyzed based on the theory of character analysis proposed by Minderop (2005) entitled Metode Karakterisasi Telaah Fiksi (Characterization Methods in Studying Fictions). The technique of analyzing data was started from the identification and description of the figure of speech found in the novel, and then, the role of figure of speech to the analysis of characters.
The analysis was conducted by explaining of the meaning of every figure of speech found in the novel. After that, it was connected with the context that underlies the meaning from the story. It is continued to its contribution on character analysis.
Method of characterization is not only limited to the telling method, showing method, point of view method, and stream of consciousness method, another method that can be used in analyzing character is through figure of speech.
According to Minderop (2005: 58), analyzing character through figure of speech may use some figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, personification, and the last is the analysis using symbol. From the novel, some examples of simile, metaphor, personification and symbol were found. And those figures of speech can be used to analyze some of the characters in the novel.
Not all characters can be analyzed through figures of speech, because not all of them use figures of speech when they were talking and there were only several characters that were described by the writer by using figure of speech. Other characters might be observed using other methods, such as the telling method, showing method, point of view method and stream of consciousness method.
This study analyzed the kinds of figure of speech in the novel; therefore this study was focused on the discussion about the relationship and the contribution of figure of speech in analyzing the characters in the novel.
Simile can convey the nature of a character which is compared to another thing that has a similarity by using the word “like” or “as”. Therefore, by analyzing simile, the representation of the nature of a character in form of comparison can be found. The following examples are the use of simile in analyzing some characters in the novel:
And there he was, at a table right behind Harry. Harry stared. Snape-the-teenager had a stringy, pallid look about him, like a plant kept in the dark. (Rowling, 2003: 573)
The character Severus Snape is described in the story as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length,
greasy black hair which framed his face in curtains. Severus Snape is depicted as being cold, calculating, cynical, rigid, malicious, bitter and sarcastic.
In the novel, Harry is brought into Snape’s memories accidentally. He sees the teenage version of Snape. The word like is used in the sentence above to compare Snape’s stringy, pallid look with a plant kept in the dark. The meaning of a plant kept in the dark in the sentence above is “pale”. When Harry sees him, he is on his fifteen years old. He is often bullied by Harry’s father and his friends because they do not like Snape who looks like a freak.
The statement above is a real simile by using the word like. The contribution of simile in the example above is to convey the comparison between Snape’s stringy, pallid look with a plant kept in the dark, so that the nature of Snape can be analyzed based on the simile. It is stated that Snape’s look was like a plant kept in the dark, it means that he has a face which looked very pale because, in the story, he knows that he will be intimidated by Harry’s father and his friends and it makes him worried. However, although he is not worried, he is still pale in his look. It describes the nature of Snape that is also cold-blooded, flat and almost not showing any expressions and emotions in his daily life.
The use of metaphor is mostly to describe the nature of the characters referring to plants, animals, and invisible objects directly without using the word “like” or “as”.
‘Poisonous toadstools don’t change their spots,’ said Ron sagely. (Rowling, 2003: 207)
This statement is uttered by Ron to Harry. The metaphor poisonous toadstools refers to Severus Snape. Poisonous toadstool is a fungus with a round flat or curved head and a short stem. It is known as highly poisonous. The nature of poisonous toadstool is compared to Snape because almost all of his sayings are hurting and cynical. It is stated that poisonous toadstools don’t change their spots means that it remains “unchanged”.
The statement is a real metaphor. From the very first, Snape is known as a cynical teacher who does not like Harry and his friends. He is often unfair to treat Harry. He has the impression as if Harry is the worst in potion class, even though there are other students who are worse than him. However, he treats them well. He remains unchanged even until Harry’s fifth year, Snape never treats Harry as fair as possible. The metaphor describes that the nature of Severus Snape that is sarcastic and cynical in his statements and also unchangeable. He always sticks to his principles that he considers right and cannot be easily distorted.
By using personification in analyzing character, the nature of the character referring to plants, animal characteristics, the condition and the behavior of the environment can be found.
Her grizzled grey hair was escaping from its hairnet, a clanking string shopping bag was swinging from her wrist and her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers. (Rowling, 2003: 15)
In the novel, the character Arabella Figg is described as a batty old woman with grizzled grey fly away hair. Mrs. Figg appears to be a clever woman with a bit of a temper. She can be quite sarcastic in her statements. Regardless, she is a brave woman who, despite her lack of magical ability, she always does her best to support the Order of the Phoenix.
The use of personification is clearly showed in the sentence above. Hair, a part of human body, is the substance that looks like a mass of fine threads growing especially on the head. Hair is an inanimate object; it is given the human characteristic, namely the ability to escape. The personification above has the impression that “unkempt” or “untidy”.
The sentence is a real personification. The nature of Mrs. Figg can be seen from this personification, she is described as a rather old woman, with her hair is not taken care of because it is out of its hairnet. It can also mean that she is very devoted and obedient to his duty to protect and watch over Harry that she cannot take care of herself.
Symbol in literature can be formed in written expressions, pictures, things, incidents, and nature which is commonly used to give more impression and strengthen the meaning by arranging the meaning. It can be seen that to determine that the word is a symbol or not is based on the intensity of use of the words.
The example of the use of symbol in the quotation below:
‘Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty‐three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she ‐ that is to say, I ‐ feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic.
I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her.’ (Rowling, 2003: 532)
Dolores Umbridge is described in the novel to be a short, squat woman resembling a large pale toad. Dolores Umbridge is clearly an evil woman who characterizes the worst aspects of political power. She is ruthless, cruel, brutal, corrupt and devoid of a moral or ethical center. She is depicted using any means to maintain her personal power and the political power of her superiors.
There is a symbol that often appears in the novel; it is the Educational Decrees. With the authority of the Ministry behind her, Umbridge takes to put Educational Decrees up on the announcement boards at Hogwarts. Under the control of new power, Umbridge uses the Decrees to give herself even more authority over the staffs and students. Often, the Decrees are pointless or spiteful, and they are almost always created to meet Umbridge’s immediate necessities, in spite of the school’s priorities. Every time something happens to mess up her authority, she creates a decree to stop it.
This symbol Educational Decrees describes the nature of Dolores Umbridge. It gives impression on how corrupt and power-hungry she is. Umbridge’s Educational Decrees also suggests the corruption that goes hand in hand with unchecked power.
After the explanation, it can be concluded that some figures of speech that are used in analyzing the character in the novel such as simile, metaphor, personification,
and symbol have contribution and role to convey the comparison between characters with other things that are used to analyze the nature of the characters.
There are only four figures of speech used to analyze characters because simile, metaphor, personification, and symbol have a comparison between the natures of a character with something else in the figure of speech that can be used to analyze the nature of the character itself. Meanwhile, the rest of the figures of speech do not contain a comparison, whether directly or indirectly, to represent the nature of the characters.
The contribution of figure of speech in analyzing characters in the novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is to convey the comparison of the characters’ natures with the other things in the figure of speech that represent the natures of the characters themselves so that the natures based on the comparison can be analyzed. There are four kinds of figure of speech which have the contribution to analyze the characters in the novel, such as simile, metaphor, personification, and symbol.
References
Hornby, A.S. 2005. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Minderop, Albertine. 2005. Metode Karakterisasi Telaah Fiksi. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Morner, Kathleen and Ralph Rausch. 1998. NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms. Illinois: NTC Publishing Group.
Rowling, J. K. 2003. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
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