SIMILE IN THE NOVEL THE KITE RUNNER BY KHALED HOSSENI
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SIMILE IN THE NOVEL THE KITE RUNNER
BY KHALED HOSSENI
I Putu Troy Marzyana Putra
Non Regular Program English Department Faculty of Letters and Culture Udayana University.
Abstract
The study entitled “Simile in the Novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini” is focused on: (1) the kinds of simile terms of function, and (2) the meaning of simile found in The Kite Runner.
The data were taken from a novel entitled The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The data were collected by reading the novel intensively and taking note of the similes found in the novel page by page. The collected data were analyzed using qualitative method based on the theory of figurative language, particularly simile.
In the analysis, the kinds of simile in terms of function, and the meaning of each simile were presented. The main theory used in the analysis of the kinds of simile is the theses proposed by ”Zhang Xiu Guo” in a book under the title English Rhetoric, while the analysis of the meaning is based on the theory proposed by Leech in a book under the title Semantics. Based on the result of the analysis three kinds of simile in terms of function, namely descriptive, illuminative, and illustrative. The descriptive similes were found the most. The meanings of similes tend to be positive or negative based on the context in which similes were used.
Keywords: figurative language, simile, kinds of simile, meaning.
Simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to something else which uses the words like or as (William A. McCall et.al, 1980:1). For example, “he is like bison”. When we hear this sentence, there emerges a question why the boy or man is compared as bison, why not to a girl or woman. To know why the boy or man can be described as bison,
we must find the features or characteristics of bison first. After that, we can know the features or characteristics of the boy or man. Bison is animal. It is known as strong animal. So “he is like bison” can mean that the boy or man is a strong person. It also means that every strong person can be compared to a bison. Most people usually compare a boy or man as a strong bison, and people rarely say that a girl or woman is like bison. It is because bison is the symbol of masculinity or symbol of strength.
Based on the background above, there are two problems in this study which need to be discussed. The problems are as follows:
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1. What function of simile were found in The Kite Runner novel?
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2. What the meanings of simile were found in The Kite Runner novel?
Every scientific study should have aims in order to achieve significant point from what the writer wants to establish. Based on those problems, there are two aims of this study, as follows:
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1. To identify the function of simile found in The Kite Runner novel.
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2. To analyze the meaning of simile found in The Kite Runner novel.
To obtain a scientific and systematic research, a research method is an important and fundamental procedure. This research is qualitative research, where all data were collected directly from the source and emphasized on the descriptive explanation because the data were in qualitative research customarily in the form of words rather than numbers of quantity. The data were collected using documentation method. In completing the process of collecting data, taking note technique was applied.
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5. Analysis
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> The Analysis of Simile in the novel the kite runner
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❖ One afghan, the other a grinning Russian, face like a bulldog’s. (chapter 10:106)
The sentence above applied figure of speech simile which is marked by connective like. If it is viewed from structure the tenor is face and the vehicle is bulldog. In this sentence the tenor is located in the function of object. The sentence above contained in the context sentence “Boot heels clicked on asphalt. Someone flung open the tarpaulin hanging over the back of the truck, and three faces peered in. one was Karim, the other two were soldiers, one Afghan, the other grinning Russian, face like a bulldog’s, cigarette dangling from the side of his mouth”. In order to be able to get the picture about the bulldog then the description about the characteristics of bulldog need to be searched in a dictionary or in the Google that the reader can get the clear picture about the bulldog. The characteristic of Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English bulldog, bulldog is a muscular, heavy dog with wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed in nose. Therefore the tenor (face) has similarities with the features of the vehicle (bulldog).
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❖ But with each defeated kite, hope grew in my heart, like snow collecting on wall. (chapter7:61)
The sentence above applied figure of speech simile which is marked by connective like. If it is viewed from structure the tenor is hope grew and the vehicle is snow collecting on the wall. In this sentence the tenor is located in the function of predicate. The sentence above contained in the context sentence “The spectators on the roofs bundled up in scarves and thick coats. We were down to a half dozen and I was still flying. My legs ached and my neck was stiff. But with each defeated kite, hope grew in my heart, like snow collecting on wall.” In order to be able to get the picture about the snow collecting on wall then the description about the snow collecting on wall need to be searched the meaning that the reader can get the
clear description about the snow collecting on wall. The characteristic of snow is a small, soft, white, pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky in cold weather. When snow collecting on wall it has collect one flake at a time. Therefore the tenor (hope grew) has similarities with the features of the vehicle (snow collecting on wall).
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❖ His face is like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood. (chapter 2:3)
The sentence above applied figure of speech simile which is marked by connective like. If it is viewed from structure the tenor is his face and the vehicle is Chinese doll. In this sentence the tenor is located in the function of subject. The sentence above contained in the context sentence “ I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, his face is like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire”. In order to be able to get the picture about the Chinese doll then the description about the characteristics of Chinese doll need to be searched in a dictionary or in the Google that the reader can get the clear picture about the Chinese doll. The characteristic of Chinese doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of glazed porcelain. And it is a cute doll that is considered to have white skin, broad nose and slanting, and narrow eyes. Therefore the tenor (his face) has similarities with the features of the vehicle (Chinese doll).
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1. One afghan, the other a grinning Russian, face like a bulldog’s. (chapter 10:106)
The characteristic of Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English bulldog, bulldog is a muscular, heavy dog with wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed in nose. Bulldog has an ugly face. It can mean that Russian people have an ugly face and disgusting. This simile gives meaning about the appearance.
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2. But with each defeated kite, hope grew in my heart, like snow collecting on wall. (chapter 7:61)
The characteristic of snow is a small, soft, white, pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky in cold weather. When snow collecting on wall it has collect one flake at a time. It can mean that the hope of winning suddenly appears when defeated by each kite. This simile gives meaning about feeling.
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3. His face is like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood. (chapter 2:3)
The characteristic of Chinese doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of glazed porcelain. And it is a cute doll that is considered white skin, broad nose and slanting, and narrow eyes. In the novel his face is Hassan’s face. It can mean that Hassan’s face is cute because his face is flat, have a broad nose and narrowing eyes. This simile gives meaning about the appearance.
Based on the analysis, there were twenty four simile found in all chapters. In analyzing those twenty four similes, it was found that three kinds of the simile in term of function of function, namely descriptive, illuminative, and illustrative, the illustrative similes were found the most. A simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to something else which introduced by the words like or as and the purpose to attract attention and build good impression in the mind of reader through comparison. However not all sentences contain the word like or as are similes. It must be checked first whether the two things compared are different thing or not. This is because a simile merely compares different or unlike things.
1. Bibliography
Cahayani, Putri. 2012. Loss and Gain of Information in Translation of Figurative meaning in the Novel Special Delivery into Anugerah Istimewa. Denpasar: English Department, Faculty of Letters, Udayana University.
Hosseni, Khaled. 2003. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books
Kusuma, Tezaar A. 2011. Figurative Language in Sheldon’s The Sky is Falling. Denpasar: English Department, Faculty of Letters, Udayana University.
Leech, Geoffrey. 1979. Semantics. Auckland: Penguin Books.
McCall, William A et al. 1980. Test Lesson in Reading Figurative Language.
New York: Teacher Collage Press.
Sutarni, Ni Wayan. 2004. Figurative Language in William Blake’s The Tiger. Denpasar: English Department, Faculty of Letters, Udayana University.
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