Chapter II

Plot and Characterization

2.1 Novel

Novel is one of literary works which is popular because it has strong

influence to interest society. Novel is written based on our society daily a life and

it is also written based on our imagination. Novel has complex story because it

has long written story different from short stories. Novel is usually written with

narration and description. Alterbend and Lewis in Nurgiyantoro (1966 : 14) state

that fiction can be interpreted as imaginative narative prose, but the story does

commonly make sense and contains the truth which dramatizes humans

interactions.

Novel consist of two elements. That are intrinsic and extrinsict element

Intrinsic elements are the ones that build up the story inside directly, some of

them are theme, plot, character, setting, point of views, language, or figure of

speech, etc.

According to Abrams (1999:136), instrinsic value is one of theory use for

analyzing the literary work based on the intrinsic value of literary work or the

elements of literary work.

 According to Nurgiantoro (2010:23):

Unsur intrinsik adalah unsur-unsur yang membangun karya sastra itu

sendiri. Unsur-unsur inilah yang menyebabkan karya sastra hadir sebagai
karya sastra. Unsur-unsur yang dimaksud adalah tema, plot, penokohan,
latar, sudut pandang penceritaan, bahasa atau gaya bahasa, dan lain-
lain. (Intrinsic elements are the elements that build the literature itself.
these elements caused why literature presents as a literary work. The
elements are the theme, plot, character, setting, storytelling point of views,
language, or figure of speech, and others).

Extrinsic elements are the elements found outside of the story itself, but it is

indirectly influence the structure of the literary works. part of which includes

extrinsic elements are circumstances of individual subjectivity authors,

psychological state, author of circumstances (economic, social, and political),

view of life of a nation, the various works of art, religion, and so forth (Wellek &

Warren 1956).

2.2. Definition of Plot

Plot is one of intrinsic elements that has important role towards the story

in the novel because without plot there is no story to be told. Plot is story that

contains of sequence of events as Nurgiyantoro said (2000:113) Plot adalah cerita

yang berisi urutan kejadian, namun tiap kejadian itu hanya dihubungkan secara

sebab akibat, yaitu peristiwa yang satu disebabkan atau menyebabkan terjadinya

peristiwa lain. (Plot is story that contains of sequence of events. However in every

events just connected by cause and effect in which an event is caused or causing

another event to happen). According to Abrams (1999:224) plot it constituted by

its events and actions, as there rendered and ordered toward achieving particular

artistic and emotional effects.

There are several definitions of plot advanced by the expert literature:

According to Aminudin (1991:126) Plot adalah rangkaian cerita yang

dibentuk oleh tahapan-tahapan peristiwa sehingga menjalin sebuah cerita
yang dihadirkan oleh para pelaku dalam sebuah cerita. (Plot is sequence
of stories that is formed by stages of events, thus it twines a story which is
presented by the character in a story).

According to Tarigan (1991:126) Plot adalah struktur penceritaan dalam

prosa fiksi yang didalamnya berisi rangkaian hukum akibat serta logis.
(Plot is the structure of story in fiction prose that contains sequence of law
and logic).

According to Rusyana (1987:67) Alur bukan sekedar urutan cerita dari A

sampai Z melainkan merupakan hubungan sebab akibat peristiwa yang
satu dengan peristiwa yang lain di dalam cerita. (Plot is not only an
arranged story from A to Z but also a cause effect relation among the
events in a story).

According to Freytag (1984), a German writer, plot is divided into several

parts. Those are Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and

Denouement.

 Exposition

The first phase in freytag’s pyramid is the exposition, which introduces the

character, especially the main character. It shows how the character relate

to another, their goals and motivations.

 Rising Action

Rising action is the second phase in Freytag’s five-phase structures. it

starts with a conflict. In this phase, the protagonist understands his or her

goal and begins to work toward it.

 Climax

The climax is the highest point of the story. The protagonist make the

single big decision that defines not only the outcome of the story, but also

who they are as a person. Freytag (1984) defines the climax as the third of

the five dramatic phases which occupies the middle of the story.

 Falling Action

According to Freytag (1984), the falling action phase consist of events that

lead to the ending. The conflict of the story is getting diminished in this

part or the main character gets solution to solve his problem.

 Denouement

In this phase the protagonist and antagonist have solved their

problems and either the protagonist or antagonist wins the conflict.

The conflict officially ends, some stories show what happens to the

character after the conflict ends, and they show what happens to

the characters in the future.

2.3 Character

Character is a part of intrinsic elements in a literary work, and of course

can also initiate events. According to Abrams in Nurgiyantoro people who’s

shown in a narrative work, or the drama which is translated by the reader who had

quality moral and the willingness to concern like the expressive in pronunciation

and what have to do in the action.

Character have two categories those are antagonist and protagonist

character. The antagonist is known as a person who makes conflict with

protagonist. According to Pierre in “Literature,Structure,Sound,and Sense”.

Statement (1984:90) characters are the people in the text: there is part of the

ordinary life that meets when the readers read.

According Birkert in “Literature the involving canon” statement (1993:47)

character is an imagined person in story whom we know from the work we read

on the page.

Gill in “Mastering English Literature”. Statement (1997:105) Character is

a person in a literary work, whereas characterization is the way in which a

character is created. Characters are all the product of characterization. That is to

say they have been made a particular way.

 2.4 Definition of Characterization

Characterization is the process of conveying information about characters

in a fictional work. The information may be such as personality, appearance, age,

gender, social status, sexual orientation, beliefs, motivation, etc. Through the

characterization, the reader can understand each character and therefore be able to

understand the whole story. According to Martin in “An Introductory Guide to

English Literature”. Statement (1994:95) Characterization means how the writer

tells the readers about the physical and non-physical characteristics of the person

in the story.

Koesmobroto (1988:67) in ”The Anatomy of Prose Fiction”

distinguished two types of character, main or major character and minor

character. Major character is the most important character in the story.

Basically, a story is about this character, but he cannot stand on his own; he

needs other characters to make the story more convincing and lifelike. Minor

characters are of less important than those of the main. The main characters in

fiction or in a play is called protagonist. In traditional fiction the protagonist is

also the hero or heroine, an admirable character that embodies widely

accepted strength and virtues, who is morally good. The antagonist is

unsavory enough the world villain or villainess is used. It has often been
assumed that characters in a literary work can be judged from four levels of

characterization.

Character is distinguished from characterization. Character is any person,

personal, identity, or entity that exists and plays role in the story. In the other side,

characterization is the process of conveying information about the character itself.

A character in a novel may be entirely fictional or based on real life; it also can be

human, supernatural creature, animal, etc. However, in the way of describing it,

Brooks and Warren (1959:168) stated that every character in fiction must

resemble ourselves; it must be recognized as human as even as we are as human.

Based on its importance and role level, character can be divided into two

categories, namely main character or supporting character.

 Main character refers to the character that has important role in the story. The

main character can be identified by finding out the character that is mostly

mentioned in the story.

 Supporting character, in contrary, refers to the character that has less important

role in the story. Supporting character is supposed to be supporting, helping,

and completing the main character.

There are generally two types of characterization, explicit (direct) and

implicit (indirect) characterization: Explicit characterization a kind of

characterization takes a direct approach towards building the character, it uses

another character, narrator or the protagonist themselves to tell the readers or

audience about the subject. Implicit characterization is a more subtle way of

introducing the character to the audience.

Characterization has four levels are helpful for us to see the very basic

description of characters. The four levels of characterization are:

A. Physical: physical level supplies such basic facts, as sex, age, and

size. It is level simplest level of characterization because it reveals

external traits only.

B. Social: social level of characterization includes economic status,

profession, religion, family, and social relationship all those factors

which place a character in his environment.

C. Psychological: this level reveals habitual responses, attitudes,

desires, motivation, likes, and dislikes – the inner workings of the

mind, both emotional and intellectual which lead to action. Since

feeling, thought, behavior, define a character more fully than physical

and social traits and since a literary work usually arises from desires in

conflict, the psychological level is the most essential parts of

characterized.

D. Moral: moral decisions more clearly differentiate characters than any

other level of characterization. This level refers to what the character is

 willing to do to get what he or she wants. How far will this person go,

murder, stealing, lying, cheating. What are you character’s values and

beliefs. Do they match yours or are they far from what believe. When they

are pressed to take action, do they stick by those beliefs and values or do

they abandon them in a flash. Another way to think about his is: What is

this character’s true nature. We all show one face to the world but who are

we in private when no one is watching. Thinking about this for you

character can really give that person depth and make them come to life on

the page.

2.5 The Choice

The choice is a novel written by Nicholas Sparks, it was published on

September 24, 2007. The Choice novel also was adapted into film in 2016.

Most of Nicholas Sparks’s works has same plot but in this novel has different

plot and present something new about love, this story tells about one man who

has anything in this life. He has a good job and loyal friends, and one day he

found one woman and changed his life. The Choice tells about triangle love

between Gaby, Travis, and Kevin. This story only focus on Gaby and Travis,

and it also focus on Gaby’s internal conflict. Nicholas Sparks also has

speciality to make a simple story in his works.

2.6 The Synopsis of the Novel

Travis Parker has everything in his life. He has a good job, loyal

friends. He also has a house that located near the waterfront in small town in

North California. Travis is an energic and attractive person. He loves

adventures. He has some hobbies as diving, parasailing he also visited seven

countries, he has spirit adventure. He has different side from the others, he

wants someone who has same characters and hobbies like him. It makes him

still remain single.

Until one day, he meets with someone who will change his life. The

person who changes his life is a woman and becomes his neighbor. Her name

is Gaby Holland. She is someone who can changes Travis’s thought about life.

2.7 Biography of Nicholas Sparks

Author Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31th 1965. He is

writer, screenwriter, and producer from American. Nicholas has difficult

situation for early career, his works has been rejected, and many of jobs that

he did, but he never give up, and finally can get the result from his struggle.

Nicholas Sparks novels always give romantic story who make the readers

involved in this story. He success mix a love from any aspect, and his works

always make the readers impressed.

 Titles of those novels from Nicholas Sparks are : The Notebook

(1996), Massage in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue

(2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Night in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian

(2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005), At First Sight (2005),

Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008) and many more.

Nicholas works can be easily enjoyed by finding his books and by reading

his interested plot story. He got so many rewards and his life started to change

because of his works. Some of his novels are adapted into some films.