Determinism As Seen Through the Main Character and the Setting in Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
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DETERMINISM AS SEEN THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE SETTING IN SISTER CARRIE BY THEODORE DREISER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By CLAUDIA NATALIA SUHIDRO Student Number: 134214096
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2017
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
DETERMINISM AS SEEN THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE SETTING IN SISTER CARRIE BY THEODORE DREISER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By CLAUDIA NATALIA SUHIDRO Student Number: 134214096
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2017
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A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
DETERMINISM AS SEEN THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE SETTING IN SISTER CARRIE BY THEODORE DREISER
By CLAUDIA NATALIA SUHIDRO Student Number: 134214096
Approved by
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum June 4, 2017 Advisor
Elisa [£t, SS., M.Hum. June 4, 2017 Co-Advisor
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A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
DETERMINISM AS SEEN THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE SETTING IN SISTER CARRIE BY THEODORE DREISER
By CLAUDIA NATALIA SUHIDRO Student Number: 134214096
Defended before the Board ofExaminers on July 21,2017 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name
Chairperson : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum
Secretary ,: Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum.
Member 1 : Tatang Iskama, S.S., M.Hum.
Member 2 : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Bum
Member 3 : Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum.
Dr. P. Ari Subagyo, M.Hum
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award ofany degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text ofthe undergraduate thesis
Yogyakarta, June 2, 2017 fj. Claudia Natalia Suhidro
.. '
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma
Nama Claudia Nataha Suhidro Nomor Mahasiswa 134214096
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
DETERMINISM AS SEEN THROUGH THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE SETTING IN SISTER CARRIE BY THEODORE DREISER
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dham1a hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan, dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya elalam bentuk pangkalan elata, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, elan mempublikasikannya eli intemet atau meelia lain untuk kepentingan akaelemis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepaela saya maupun memberikan royalty kepaela saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pemyataan ini saya buat elengan sebenamya.
Dibuat eli Yogyakatia Paelatanggal2Juni2017
Yang menyatakan, H Claudia atalia Suhidro
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This Undergraduate thesis is dedicated to:
The Lord Jesus Christ,
My Beloved Family,
And Everyone I love…
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my Lord, Jesus Christ for His unconditional blessing in my life. I am so thankful that He never failed me at anything. I know that He always accompanies and guides me in every situation so that I can finish this thesis.
Also, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Drs. Hirmawan
Wijanarka, M.Hum. for giving me a lot of guidance, advices, suggestions, and patience to help me to finish this thesis. I also like to thank my co-advisor, Elisa
Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. for giving me her patience and her time to read and also correct this undergraduate thesis to make it better.
I dedicate this thesis for my beloved parents, my dearest sister and brother, and my beloved grandma. I thank them for always praying for me, giving me supports, endless love, and a great care even though I often make them disappointed. Without their continuous supports, I would have never been able to finish this thesis. I really grateful to have them in my life. Thank you for being my family.
My gratitude is also given to my special one, B.Giordano, for loving me genuinely, supporting me and encouraging me to finish this thesis. Thank you for always being there for me, thank you for your patience, thank you for accepting me in all ways. Words can’t describe how lucky am I to have you in my life.
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I also want to thank my second family, komsel Victory, who is also my spiritual family. Thank you for always praying for me, helping me in difficulties in life, encouraging me when I almost give up in my thesis. I’m so happy in the right community which I can call them as family. Thank you so much for everything.
Last but not least, I give thanks to all my friends who filling my days with laughter and happiness. They are especially from Bergelantungan group, Bu
Bagyo Family, Manis Manja group, and Sanquidlaudya group. Thank you for our unforgettable memories together and thank you for our togetherness. I hope our friendship will last long. I love you all.
Claudia Natalia Suhidro
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………...... ii APPROVAL PAGE………………………………………………………...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE…………………………………………………...... iv LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH.. v STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY……………………………………….... vi DEDICATION PAGE……………………………………………………...... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………….... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………. x ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………...... xi ABSTRAK…………………………………………………………….………. xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………. 1 A. Background of the Study…………………………………………….. 1 B. Problem Formulation……………………………………………….... 5 C. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………. 5 D. Definition of the Terms……………………………………………… 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE………………………………. 9 A. Review of Related Studies…………………………………………… 9 B. Review of Related Theories…………………………………………. 13 1. Theories on Character and Characterization……………...... 13 2. Theories on Naturalism…………………………………...... 14 3. Theories on Determinism………………………………...... 17 4. Theories on Setting…………………………………………… 18 C. Theoretical Framework……………………………………………... 19
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……………………………………… 20 A. Object of the Study…………………………………………………. 20 B. Approach of the Study……………………………………………… 21 C. Method of the Study………………………………………………... 21
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS……………………………………………… 23 A. The Main Character Described in the Story……………………….. 23 B. The Idea of Determinism in Carrie’s Character……………………. 35 1. Internal Forces……………………………………………….. 35 2. External Forces………………………………………………. 39
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION …………………………………………. 44
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………... 48
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ABSTRACT
Claudia Natalia. Determinism as Seen through the Main Character and the Setting in Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2017.
Sister Carrie is the first work of Theodore Dreiser. Sister Carrie is a novel about the main character, Carrie Meeber, who comes from small town Wisconsin. In order to get a better life and pursue her happiness, she decides to move to big city, in Chicago. The cruelty of social environment in modern American society influences Carrie’s understanding of happiness. At the end, she’s trapped by her endless desires for luxurious material and wealth. There are two objectives related to the study. The first objectives is to find out how is the main character, Sister Carrie, is described in the story. The second objective is how the main character, Sister Carrie, reveals the idea of determinism. In answering the problems, theory of determinism is needed. Determinism is all events in the universe are determined by the conditions that produced them. It is related the philosophy of certainty and every events can be the result of causes that determine them. The writer applied moral-philosophical approach to analyze the study. This approach is used to investigate the philosophical issues in the novel since the focus on the study is to analyze the idea of determinism through the main character. The result of the study shows that Sister Carrie has several characteristic which are described through the story. Those characteristics are inexperienced, timid, unconscious, desireful, insecure, dependent, materialistic, easily tempted, and gloomy. The idea of determinism can be seen through the main character is internal forces (hereditary, instinct, and passion) and external forces (society, environment, and chance).
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ABSTRAK
Claudia Natalia. Determinism as Seen through the Main Character and the Setting in Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2017.
Sister Carrie adalah karya pertama Theodore Dresier. Sister Carrie adalah novel tentang karakter utama, Carrie Meeber, yang berasal dari kota kecil di Wisconsin. Untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik dan mengejar kebahagiaannya, ia memutuskan untuk pindah ke kota besar, di Chicago. Kekejaman dari lingkungan sosial di masyarakat modern Amerika mempengaruhi pemahaman Carrie tentang arti kebahagiaan. Pada akhirnya, dia terjebak oleh keinginannya yang tak berujung untuk mengejar kekayaan dan harta benda mewah. Ada dua pokok permasalah yang berkaitan dengan studi ini. Pokok permasalahan pertama adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana karakter dari tokoh utama utama, Sister Carrie, yang dijelaskan dalam cerita. Pokok permasalahan kedua adalah bagaimana karakter dari tokoh utama, Sister Carrie, mengungkapkan gagasan determinisme sebagai aspek naturalisme. Dalam menjawab pokok permasalahan tersebut, teori determinisme sangat diperlukan dalam studi. Determinisme adalah segala peristiwa yang terjadi di alam semesta ditentukan oleh hasil keadaan. Hal ini terkait filosofi kepastian dan setiap kejadian bisa menjadi akibat dari sebab-sebab yang menentukannya. Penulis menerapkan pendekatan moral-philosophical untuk menganalisa penelitian. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk mengajarkan sastra sebagai metode untuk menyelidiki isu-isu filosofis yang terdapat di dalam novel karena fokus dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis gagasan determinisme melalui character tokoh utama. Hasil pembahasan masalah menunjukan bahwa tokoh Sister Carrie memiliki beberapa karakteristik yang terdapat di dalam cerita. Beberapa karakteristik tersebut ialah kurangnya pengalaman, sifat takut-takut, tidak berakal sehat atau jernih dalam mengambil keputusan, berambisi, selalu gelisah, tidak mandiri/bergantung kepada orang lain, materialistis, mudah tergoda, dan suram. Gagasan determinisme dapat dicerminkan melalui tokoh utama, Sister Carrie, melalui faktor internal (keturunan, naluri, dan gairah) dan faktor eksternal (masyarakat, lingkungan, dan peluang).
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Naturalism is about human being who belongs to entirely in order of nature. A person inherits personal traits and a compulsive instinct, especially hunger, the accumulative drive, and sex, and is then subject to the social economic forces in the family, the class, and environment into which that person is born. Naturalism is held that human being doesn’t have soul nor any mode of participating in a religious or spiritual world beyond the nature (Abrams, 1988: 175). It means that human being exists because of nature. The existence of human being must follow the nature’s rules. How the nature only relates with the reality human condition, with no god or other religious beliefs in charge. The social condition, and environment also has inevitable force in shaping human character. The characters of people can be known through identifying their relationship to their surroundings.
A naturalistic approach to and interpretation of life concentrated on depicting the social environment and dwelt particularly on its deficiencies and on the shortcomings of human beings (Cuddon, 2013: 462). It proves that naturalism describes the accurate picture of life which the character of human beings are influenced by their environment or social conditions.
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In literature, naturalism develops determinism as an aspect of naturalism. It is supported by the statement of Edward Quinn, who said that determinism is the view that all events in the universe, including those human history, are determined by the conditions that produced them. In literary studies, determinism played a key role in the formulation of Naturalism since the 19th century (2006: 115).
Moreover, according to Newlin, the knowledge of philosophical naturalism is more than helpful supplement to critical analysis, for misunderstanding of its ideas has seriously undermined literary study. The discussion of determinism is needed and cannot be ignored/avoided (2011:124). Thus, this research is going to discuss about the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism.
Determinism refers to the philosophy of certainty and every events can be the result of a consequence of a natural world. According to Holman, determinism is the belief that acts of the will are actually the result of causes that determine them.
Determinism has the potential determining forces, such as fate, necessity, will of
God, the scientific law, and economic forces (1980:138).
Since this study is going to discuss the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism, the moral philosophical approach is needed to analyze the study.
According to Aristotle’s theory, moral philosophy has the purpose as neither speculation about the nature of goodness, nor analysis of the language of obligation, but rather the practical task of making people good. The method leads to a concrete discussion concerning the conditions and causes of human goodness within his own particular circumstances (Celano, 2015: 12). This statement
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supports the idea of moral philosophy as a branch of philosophy concerns on human’s nature. Human’s nature is related to human’s rules in life, which containing the right and wrong act based on the circumstances which they live.
Therefore, this approach is appropriate to examine on how the character of life depends on the circumstances or environment.
In the story of Sister Carrie, the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism portraits Carrie’s characterization as the main character who struggle with other forces in the story. The portrayal of Carrie’s character is protagonist which tries to survive in the urban society, including becomes a mistress to men.
The author of the novel is Theodore Dreiser. He is one of well-known
American naturalist writer. He was born in August 27, 1871 in Terre Haute,
Indiana, US. In 1889, he worked as the journalist in Chicago for Chicago newspaper and several articles on writers. After living for two years in Chicago,
Dreiser became disgusted with the social condition in Chicago, which related on the treatment toward the lower class living condition of less privileged. He published his first book, entitled Sister Carrie in 1900 which caused a lot of controversy. It is because the story of Sister Carrie itself portrayed the moral and social condition the Victorian American era, which Dreiser determined to expose the cruelty of social environment in modern American society, and also because the book never mentioned God or other religious beliefs there.
The theme of the story in Sister Carrie is about poverty which related to the great difference treatment between the rich and the poor, prostitution, and money-
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oriented world. Through the story of Sister Carrie, Dreiser develops the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism. He classifies Carrie’s character, and how her personality can develop by her surroundings, her relationship with others, and the circumstances which she lives in.
From explanation above, environment plays important role that can affect the character. Thus, in this research, the writer is going to study the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism as seen in the main character of Sister
Carrie by Theodore Dreiser.
There are some reasons why the Sister Carrie is a novel that is worth studying. The first is the writer is attracted to study naturalism which is related to character of human being with their surrounding and the environment. The novel is interesting to be studied as determinism idea is reflected in the novel. It can be found in the characterization and action of Sister Carrie to survive in the urban society.
The second is the topic is worth to be studied as the writer wants to show to the readers the idea of determinism that reflected in the novel and how big its influence to change human character.
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A. Problem Formulation
Based on the background above, two problems are discussed in this study. The two problems are
1. How is the main character, Sister Carrie, and the settings described in the
story?
2. How does the main character, Sister Carrie, and the setting reveal the idea of
determinism through her characteristics?
B. Objectives of the Study
There are several objectives of the study which are the questions that stated in the problem formulation. There are two objectives related to problem formulation.
The first is to observe how the main character revealed through the story. The main character plays important thing in the novel in order to identify the study further more. The study is to find out the characterization of main character that represented in the novel in order to answer the second question related to the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism through the main character.
The second is to observe the main character reveal the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism. It is related how the character could change and reveal the idea of determinism. How the main character could be influenced by the environment. The study is to identify the power of environment or the concept of the idea of determinism that applied through the main character’s life in the novel.
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C. Definition of Terms
In order to clarify the discussion, the writer defining the terms that applied in the thesis. There are three terms that are needed to be clarified. The terms are determinism, naturalism, and character.
The first term is Determinism. According to C. Hugh Holman, determinism is the belief that all apparent acts of the will are actually the result of causes which determine them. When used as a term to describe a doctrine in a literary work, determinism has a wide range of philosophical possibilities. The possible determining forces are many. In classical literature it may be fated (1980: 124).
According to Timothy O’Connor at
In addition, according to Carl Hoefer at
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argued that determinism implies that everything in the future can be, in principle, predicted, and that events in the past are, in principle, explainable.
The second term is Naturalism. According to Harmon and Holman, naturalism is a term for a literary movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The definition of naturalism is about everything that exists in nature, conceived as the world of objects, actions, and forces that yield their secrets to objective scientific inquiry. The naturalistic view of human beings is that of animals in the natural world, responding to environmental forces, and internal stresses and drives, none of which they can control or understand (2003: 329).
Related to naturalism, according to Harmon and Holman, naturalism tends to differ from Realism. In naturalism, the author is selecting the view of human life as a representative of life. The author used the structure that reveal the pattern of ideas—in this case, scientific theory—to form the picture of life based on the author’s view of life (2003: 330).
Meanwhile, the second definition comes from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary in 2002, it defines naturalism as an action, or thought based only on natural desires and instincts. It also states that naturalism is a theory denying that an event or object has a supernatural influences. The theory is a kind of a theory in literature emphasizing scientific observation of life and describing the picture of human life as it is (Frederick, 2002: 772).
The third term is character. Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral,
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dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say—the dialogue, and by what they do—the action (Abrams, 1988: 24). The character could change or remains stable. It depends on how person’s emotional or action developed from the start until the end of the story.
According to J Gideon Sarantino in his screen writing on August 18, 2014 at
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
In this study, the writer finds some reviews to avoid reduplication. There are two studies that the writer chooses. The first study is about the same theory related to the writer’s topic. The second study is about the other criticism in the same novel and author that the writer uses to study.
The first study has been done by Renny Amit from Sanata Dharma University in 2007, entitled “Naturalism as Seen in Natsume Soseki’s Botchan.” In her study, the writer is studying how the idea of naturalism influenced not only in the
European literature but also the Japanese literature. This study is about how the idea of Naturalism reflected in the story by using Determinism theory to analyze the main character in Natsume Soseki’s Botchan.
Botchan who is the main character of the story. Botchan believes he has no free will because he is strongly influenced by the heredity, chances, and the environment. His way thought reflects the idea of naturalism (Amit, 2007: 57).
She studies how the naturalism is reflected through the main character in the story, Botchan. He is described as he has no free will and being controlled by environment. The idea of naturalism is reflected through Botchan as the main character.
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The first study is related from the present study as the writer uses the same theory, which is Determinism theory to analyze the main character through novel.
What makes the present studies is difference from the previous studies is different book is used to analyze the reveal the idea of naturalism through the main character.
The study is done by Sondang Maduma Simanjuntak from Sanata Dharma
University in 2011, entitled “The Portrait of American Urban Life in the Late 19th
Century as Seen through Dreiser’s Sister Carrie.” In her study, the writer was analyzing the setting inside the novel. She studied Sister Carrie as the novel which portrays American urban life in the late nineteenth century especially in
Chicago. The thesis is elaborate the setting of the novel and analyze it to reveal the portrait of the real society in Chicago such their habits, the occupations, and the lifestyle of the society. The narrator described the area by describing Minnie’s flat and her surroundings.
Minnie’s flat as the one-floor resident apartments were then being called, was in a part of West Van Buren street inhabited by families of laborers and clerks, men who had come, and were still coming, with the rush of population pouring in at the rate 50.000 a year. It was on the third floor, the front windows looking down into the street, where, at night, the lights of grocery stores were shining and children were playing (Maduma, 2011:24).
The statement above represents the environment and the society which live as the residents of Minnie’s apartment. They are working class society who work at the factories. From the statement, it is also described that their population in
Chicago grows rapidly. Those are shown that through the setting that described through the novel, the portrayal of American urban life in the late 1800s such as
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the condition of America, the society who live there, and the environment could be found.
The second study is related with from the present study as the writer uses the same novel, Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser to study. In the previous study,
Sociocultural Historical Approach and theory of setting are used to analyze the literature work. Whereas, in the present study, the writer uses different theory and approach as the writer uses Determinism theory and moral-philosophical approach to analyze the present study.
Roy W. Meyer in his article entitled “Naturalism in American Farm Fiction” explained about the definition of naturalism.
The definition of naturalism as “pessimistic realism” characterized by objectivity, frankness, amorality, and a bias in the selection of characters, with emphasis on those of strong physical drives and little intelligence and those at the mercy of their neuroses (Meyer, 1961 : 27).
According to Meyer, naturalism is related with pessimistic realism which means that its pessimism is expressed through melodramatic situation. Pessimistic realism is also strongly influenced by the character of human beings as there is powerful effect because of character which in way they influence the naturalism aspect. So, there is a belief to see the characters as helpless victims of circum- stance.
The next study is from Donna M. Campbell in her journal, entitled “Bitter
Tastes: Recognizing American Women’s Naturalism”. She explained about the naturalist writers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century.
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Writers in the first group, consisting primarily of Crane, Dreiser, Norris, and London, were called “naturalists.” It is their work that set the limits of what we know as American naturalism: the late nineteenth and early twentieth- century period in which it was written; its practitioners, who were by and large white, male, and young; its settings, typically urban jungles or an unforgiving wilderness; its characters, often poor and ill- educated, victims of primal forces that they could neither control nor understand; and its deterministic philosophy of heredity and environment (Campbell, 2014: 648).
Campbell stated that the naturalist writers at that time typically focused on its settings, characters, such their characters are often poor and ill-educated. The writers usually describe those character as they are part of the naturalism’s characters which are influenced by primal forces.
After looking at some researches related to the present study, this present study will develop the idea of naturalism theory from the related studies as the purpose of the research. The writer decides to take the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism that applied to the novel in the smaller scope as the writer only identifies the main character of the story and how does the main character revealed the idea of determinism as the focus of the study. So, in this study, the focus is to find out the main character female and the idea of determinism through the main character in the novel.
A. Review of Related Theories
1. Theories on Character and Characterization
The theory of characters is stated by Abrams in his book.
Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral,
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intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it—the dialogue— and from what they do—the action ( Abrams, 1988: 33).
According to Abram, motivation is the ground of people’s character for their speech and actions, such character’s temperament, desires, and moral nature. So, the character could be “stable” or unchanged from the beginning until the end of the work.
From the previous statement, it is clear that the study of characters are important element in the narrative. However, the study of characters is limited to general observation about characteristics of characters in the story. Therefore, to analyze the broad descriptions of characters traits, the theory of characterization is needed
According to Abram, characterization is a broad distinction which is frequently made between alternative methods for “characterizing” the person in a narrative: showing and telling. In showing, the author merely presents his characters behind what they say and do. In telling, the author himself intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and often to evaluate, the motives and dispositional qualities of his characters. For example, in the fine opening chapter of Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen first show us Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as they talk to one another about the young man who has just rented Netherfield Park, then tells us about them, and so confirms and expands the inferences and judgments that reader has begun to make from what he has been shown.
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Meanwhile, according to Jens Eder, characterization is the process of character building or construction of characters to make the story progresses. It provide the detail and clear about the character’s personality through the way character expresses his inner states or opinions through conversation with another character in the story. The details are not only create the impression of character’s personality, but they will create the broader themes of the fictional world or novel.
The statement is supported by Jens Eder in his book.
Characterization essentially involves the manifestation of inner states, desires, motives, intentions, beliefs, through action, including speech acts. We can ask why a speaker said what he did and propose an intentional description as an answer (Eder, 2010: 187).
Speech acts, as the mention above, embody speakers’ intention, emphasize that comprehends of narratives attempt to understand why actions, events and states occur in the text, because that understanding contributes to a kind of higher, level coherence, a deeper understanding.
2. Theories of Naturalism
According to Cuddon in his book, naturalism relates to a naturalistic approach to and interpretation of life concentrated on depicting the social environment and dwelt particularly on its deficiencies and on the shortcomings of human beings
(Cuddon, 2013: 462). It proves that naturalism describes the accurate picture of life which the character of human beings are influenced by their environment or social conditions.
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The second definition comes from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary in 2002, it defines naturalism as an action, or thought based only on natural desires and instincts. It also states that naturalism is a theory denying that an event or object has a supernatural influences. Therefore, there is no religious issues or belief that is addressed at all. The theory is a theory in literature emphasizing scientific observation of life as it is (Frederick, 2002: 772).
Another theory is coming from John Peck and Martin Coyle. They said that the realistic mode is appealing because it is as varied as life itself, but we should usually be able to identify a basic pattern of a convincing examination of the experiences of characters caught in problematic situations. At the end of the nineteenth century a cruder form of realism, called naturalism, appeared. In naturalism a more documentary-like approach is in evidence, with a great stress on how environment and heredity shape people.
According to Daniel Robinson in his book, he said that:
Aristotle's universe, therefore, while material and efficient causes play their part in it, is shot through with final causation.They are immanent and form an essential element of Nature herself. They are not presented as the work of a Creator. For Aristotle there is no Creator. The Cosmos is eternal. But Nature herself especially living Nature is full of unconscious, immanent purposes which steadily guide the lines of development which we find (Robinson, 1939: 29).
According to Shipley, naturalism is characterized by the idea of determinism which human life is controlled by internal and external forces. External forces are society, environment, and chances, while internal forces are heredity, instinct, and passion. Those factors control human’s life (1960: 278).
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In addition, Abrams states in his book that:
Naturalism is about human being belongs to entirely in order of nature. A person inherits personal traits and a compulsive instinct, especially hunger, the accumulative drive, and sex, and is then subject to the social economic forces in the family, the class, and environment into which that person is born. Naturalism is held that human being doesn’t have soul nor any mode of participating in a religious or spiritual world beyond the nature (Abrams, 1988: 175).
According to Abram, naturalism is characterized by characters who exhibit strong animal drives such as greed and sexual desire, and who are helpless victims both of glandular secretions within and of sociological pressures without. The end of the naturalistic novel is usually "tragic," but not, as in classical and Elizabethan tragedy, because of a heroic but losing struggle of the individual mind and will against gods, enemies, and circumstances. Instead the protagonist of the naturalistic plot, a pawn to multiple compulsions, usually disintegrates, or is wiped out (Abrams, 1988: 262).
According to Morina, another characteristic of Naturalism is the impartiality and detachment from the story. Naturalist writer tries to create a certain tone, which he considered as objective. At the same time, this author tries to appear as neutral, creating the nameless characters. This requires the author to focus on what happens in the course of events and the character of the subject and not primarily on the character. Another characteristic of Naturalism is determinism.
Determinism is largely against the notion of free will (Morina, 2015: 233).
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3. Theories on Determinism
Since this study is concerning on the idea of naturalism, the theory of
Determinism is needed in the study. In literature, determinism cannot be separated with the idea of naturalism in order to avoid misunderstanding of the idea of naturalism. Therefore, the discussion of determinism is needed and cannot be ignored/ avoided. The statement is supported by the statement of Keith Newlin in his book.
The knowledge of philosophical naturalism is more than a helpful supplement to critical analysis, for misunderstanding of its ideas has seriously undermined literary study. Thus, good intentions notwithstanding, discussion of determinism cannot be justifiably ignored or avoided without leaving intact the misunderstandings that lead to claims of naturalism’s inconsistency (Newlin, 2011: 124).
Another theories which state that determinism as a character of naturalism are from Oxford Handbook of American Literary Naturalism. It stated the knowledge of philosophical naturalism is more than helpful supplement to critical analysis, for misunderstanding of its ideas has seriously undermined literary study. The discussion of determinism is needed and cannot be ignored/avoided (Newlin,
2011:124).
Determinism refers to the philosophy of certainty and every events can be the result of a consequence of a natural world. According to Holman, determinism is the belief that acts of the will are actually the result of causes that determine them.
Determinism has the potential determining forces, such as fate, necessity, will of
God, the scientific law, and economic forces (1986:138).
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In addition, according to
It is sometimes argued that determinism implies that everything in the future can be, in principle, predicted, and that events in the past are, in principle, explainable.
4. Theories on Setting
Abrams states that setting of a narrative or dramatic work is related to the place, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs in a book; the setting of a single episode or scene within such a work is the particular physical location or area in which it takes place (1998:284).
According to Kennedy & Gioia setting can help us to understand what happens in the novel. It can make things happen by prompting character to act, bring them to realizations, or cause them to reveal their inmost natures. It is related to time and place. The time of the story includes hour, year, or century.
For example, when we read a historical novel in the 19th century, we are soon aware that we are reading about life in the 1990s. Besides the setting include the time of the story, the idea of setting may crucially involve the physical
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environment of a story: a house, street, a city, a landscape, a region. We have to recognize its locale, where the writer sets the stories in one geographic area. For example, a writer, often a native of the places, tries to bring the story to the readers who live elsewhere (2012: 92-93)
C. Theoretical Framework
This study aims to reveal the idea of determinism as reflected in the main character and the setting in Theodore Dreiser’s novel, Sister Carrie. In order to find out the idea of determinism in the main character, the writer needs some theories to study. The theories that are needed to analyze the main character are theories on character and characterization, theories on determinism, theories on naturalism, and theories on setting. The theory on character and characterization is applied in the study to answer the first problem formulation. The first problem of the study is related to how the main female character is described. Therefore, the theory of character and characterization is important to the study as the writer analyses the main character in the story. After answering the first problem formulation, the writer needs theories on determinism, naturalism, and setting to answer the second problem formulation. The second problem of the study is related to how the main female character reveals the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism. Therefore, theories on determinism, naturalism, and setting are needed in the study.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study in this thesis is a novel entitled Sister Carrie. The novel was written by Theodore Dreiser. He was one of well-known American naturalist writers in twentieth century. One of his famous novels was also his first novel, entitled Sister Carrie. The novel was published in November 1900. The novel is translated by Pennsylvania and sixth edition. It was marred by this editorial interference and censorship and has been the basis of American editions and foreign translations until the present (Dreiser, 1981: ix).
Sister Carrie is a novel about a character, Carrie Meeber, who comes from
Columbia city in Wisconsin. In the novel, she is described as an eighteenth years old young girl who has beautiful appearance but is poor. In order to get better life, she decides to move to Chicago to find a job. At the beginning of the story, she is described as inexperienced, timid, and full of illusion. As the time goes by, how
Carrie loses those illusions is presented at the end of the story.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, moral-philosophical approach is used to analyze the study.
Moral-philosophical approach is related to the basic position of such critics which
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is related to the larger function of literature to teach morality and to investigate thoroughly philosophical issues. It would interpret literature with a context of the philosophy thought of a period or group (Guerin and Labor, 2005: 29-30).
The approach insists on ascertaining and stating what is taught, such the meaning and morality. However, since the focus on the study is to analyze the idea of determinism which related to philosophical issue, the approach is not used to teach literature as a good way to teach morality, but to investigate the philosophical issues in the novel.
B. Method of the Study
The method which is used to analyze this study is the library research method.
There are some sources that are needed in this study. The primary source is the novel, entitled Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. The other sources are from the books, e-books, and sites on the internet about the similar discussion of the study.
There were several steps which were used to conduct the study. The first step was doing the close reading to the primary source in order to understand the novel thoroughly. The second step was deciding the topic and theory of literature to apply in the study, after the topic and theory are decided, problems formulations were formulated related to the novel. The third step was determining an approach which was appropriate related to the problem formulations. The fourth step was performing analysis through discussions to answer the problems formulation.
There will be two discussions related to problems formulation. The first is
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discussing the Carrie’s characters and characteristics using the theory of character and characterization to answer the first problem. The second is discussing how the aspects of determinism as an aspect of naturalism are reflected through main character by applying the theory of determinism and naturalism to answer the second problem. The last step was making the conclusion based on the analysis.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
The purpose of the study is to reveal the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism which reflected through the main character of the story as the character could change because of environment. In this analysis part, the problems would be divided into two parts; the first, the analysis of the main character in the story; the second, the analysis of how the main character reflected the idea of determinism as an aspect of naturalism.
A. The Characteristics of Main Character in the Story
The main character is the most important aspect to the study. The character could change or remains stable. It depends on how person’s emotional or action developed from the start until the end of the story. Therefore, in this part, the writer will analyze the main character that described through the novel.
There are several characteristic of the main character, Caroline Meeber, which are described through the story.
1. Inexperienced
At the beginning of the story, Caroline Meeber or also called Sister Carrie as
the given name by his parents, is described as an 18-year-old girl who travels
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alone from Columbia city to Chicago. She is described as young as it is stated below:
She was eighteen years of age, bright, timid, and full of the illusions of ignorance and youth. She gazed at the green landscape, now passing in swift review, until her swifter thoughts replaced its impression with vague conjectures of what Chicago might be (Dreiser, 1900:3).
The narration above shows how Carrie‟s youth which always full of hope and illusion about her future in Chicago but she‟s inexperienced since she‟s still young. The narrative shows how she doesn‟t have idea about what the condition of urban society as she only lived in her hometown. Her hometown is described as a countryside whereas the environment is the contrary of urban society, such the most people in her hometown are not money oriented, while in the urban society most of people have to be money-oriented to make a living.
Carrie‟s youth character is shown as she lacks of experience of urban society life. She‟s never leave her hometown before so that she has no idea about the reality or condition of urban society really is.
Carrie said nothing, but bent over her work. She felt as though she could hardly endure such a life. Her idea of work had been so entirely different. All during the long afternoon she thought of the city outside and its imposing show, crowds, and fine buildings. Columbia City and the better side of herhome life came back (Dreiser, 1900:38).
She‟s only imagines what urban society be like. Her characteristic which is inexperienced makes Carrie realizes that the big city is beyond her imagination. In the narrative above, it is shown how Carrie‟s idea of work in urban society changes after she experiences the hardship of working life.
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2. Timid
Carrie is just an eighteenth years old girl who leaving her hometown for the first time to live in big city. At this point, Carrie is feeling timid as she faces new situation in big city by herself. While on the way to the town, Carrie meets Drouet on the train. Carrie feels timid to talk to Drouet as he‟s only a stranger to her. The conversation below shows how Carrie feels timid to the stranger who wants to talk with her.
"Oh, yes, I am," answered Carrie. "That is, I live at Columbia City. I have never been through here, though." "And so this is your first visit to Chicago," he observed. All the time she was conscious of certain features out of the side of her eye. Flush, colorful cheeks, a light moustache, a grey fedora hat. She now turned and looked upon him in full, the instincts of self-protection and coquetry mingling confusedly in her brain (Dreiser, 1900:5).
Carrie feels like it‟s not right to talk so much about her situation and condition to the people who she‟s just meet, especially to talk about her own identity and problem to unfamiliar people. The conversation above shows how Carrie feels timid as she has the instinct of self-protection.
It was with weak knees and a slight catch in her breathing that she came up to the great shoe company at Adams and Fifth Avenue and entered the elevator. When she stepped out on the fourth floor there was no one at hand, only great aisles of boxes piled to the ceiling. She stood, very much frightened, awaiting someone (Dreiser, 1900:33).
The quotation above shows Carrie‟s timidity when she hardly finding a job in the company. She is described as she‟s too frightened to wait for someone in the company. This occurs because she‟s in the new situation where she doesn‟t recognize people around her. She‟s becoming frighten to do anything she wants in
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order to avoid some negative reaction from people, such humiliated, criticized, rejection, etc. The result, she is becoming lack of comfort or timid.
3. Unconscious
Carrie‟s unconsciousness is shown through her conversation with Drouet on the train. She, suddenly, feels afraid after she‟s leaving her hometown alone. She finally realizes what she has done so far, such as leaving her hometown to a big city without anyone accompanying her, after she has the conversation with Drouet on the train. It‟s like she‟s unconscious after she has a little conversation with
Drouet. She wasn‟t aware of what she has done or her decision to leaving her hometown beyond her consciousness.
She did not hear this very well. Her heart was troubled by a kind of terror. The fact that she was alone, away from home, rushing into a great sea of life and endeavour, began to tell. She could not help but feel a little choked for breath—a little sick as her heart beat so fast. She half closed her eyes and tried to think it was nothing, that Columbia City was only a little way off (Dreiser, 1900:10).
Carrie‟s unconsciousness is related to her inner self or mind which affects her behavior and emotions. When Carrie decides to leave her sister to follow Drouet, she has unconscious desire to live together with Drouet so that she can be happy and live in easier way. She doesn‟t aware about what she has done. She leaves her only relative in Chicago, Minnie, and cuts the relationship with her sister after she falls on Drouet‟s seductive to be her mistress.
Carrie‟s unconsciousness can also be seen in the sentences below.
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Carrie had no excellent home principles fixed upon her. If she had, she would have been more consciously distressed. Now the lunch went off with considerable warmth. Under the influence of the varied occurrences, the fine, invisible passion which was emanating from Drouet, the food, the still unusual luxury, she relaxed and heard with open ears. She was again the victim of the city's hypnotic influence (Dreiser, 1900:74-75).
In the narrative, Carrie is described as a girl who had not guided by her family as she had no excellent home principles upon her. She missed the guidance and affection from her family. Therefore, Carrie is senseless. She falls on Drouet‟s seduction because she thinks that Drouet and Hurstwood can give Carrie affection which she has never had before. She lives in luxurious way like the upper-class society do because of Drouet. She got expensive clothes, foods which she‟s never got before.
A blare of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counsellor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear! Unrecognised for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the simpler human perceptions (Dreiser, 1900:4).
In the narrative, she symbolizes people‟s voice as the music, which is beauty and relaxes to hear. Statement above shows how Carrie acts senseless because she lost the presence of counsellor, who can be her father, as she‟s never got attention and guidance from her father. Because she lost the presence of her “counsellor”, she acts without guidance and she takes people‟s voice as her guidance to act.
Therefore, she seeks for men to replace her presence of her father to fulfill her needs. As the result, she is always concern to fulfill what she lacked at her hometown.
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Carrie‟s unconsciousness is also showed when she thinks that the voice of people is the voice of God. Because of her family was lacking to guide and direct
Carrie, she becomes senseless as she reconsiders that the voice of people which is like the voice of God to her.
It was no just and sapient counsellor in its last analysis. It was only an average little conscience, a thing which represented the world, her past environment, habit, convention, in a confused way. With it, the voice of the people was truly the voice of God. "Oh, thou failure!" said the voice (Dreiser, 1900:87).
4. Desireful
Carrie leaves her hometown because she is desirable. She feels dissatisfied to live in her hometown, and comes to Chicago with her imagery dream that in
Chicago, she will get a new home, such living together with her sister, Minnie, and she will get a job which leads her to success. She thinks that everything will beautiful as she expected.
After living for a while in Chicago, she decides to leave her sister, Minnie, to live with Drouet because she thinks that only Drouet who will satisfy all she needs. She is the mistress of Drouet, and she wants to be a wife to secure her position. She wants a marriage, but Drouet doesn‟t pay attention to Carrie‟s desire.
After she met Hurstwood, Drouet‟s friend, who is wealthier than Drouet.
Carrie‟s desire to marriage moves to Hurstwood. Her desire increases for the lust of material things, so that she decides to leave Drouet and be Hurstwood‟s
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mistress. Here, Carrie‟s desire to marriage is reflected in the conversation between
Carrie and Hurstwood below.
"You'll stay with me, won't you?" he asked. "Yes," she said, nodding her head. He gathered her to himself, imprinting kisses upon her lips and cheeks. "You must marry me, though," she said (Dreiser, 1900:260).
5. Insecure
Carrie couldn‟t stand of being poor anymore. Carrie is always insecure because of her position. She feels insecure that her position as mistress will not safe enough to live. She thinks that Drouet can leave her whenever he wants because they are not legally bound by. Carrie is afraid of losing Drouet as the only one who can get Carrie out of poverty and satisfy Carrie‟s needs. Therefore, marriage to Carrie is the only way to secure her “position” as being wife to someone who will guarantee her life, then, she will live without worry about life at all.
Her old father, in his flour-dusted miller's suit, sometimes returned to her in memory, revived by a face in a window. A shoemaker pegging at his last, a blastman seen through a narrow window in some basement where iron was being melted, a bench-worker seen high aloft in some window, his coat off, his sleeves rolled up; these took her back in fancy to the details of the mill. She felt, though she seldom expressed them, sad thoughts upon this score. Her sympathies were ever with that underworld of toil from which she had so recently sprung, and which she best understood (Dreiser, 1900:134).
6. Dependent
After she knows that Drouet is a salesman in Chicago city, she tries to open
out about her personal life to him, she tells Drouet about her currently living with
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Minnie, her sister who live in Chicago with her baby and her husband in small
flat where usually inhabited by families of laborers and clerks. Carrie tells Drouet
about how she feels inconvenience to live with her sister and her husband who is
unwelcome and always presses Carrie to pay rent for living in their house, while
Carrie is only a low wage worker in a shoe factory.
Carrie ends up becoming a worker in a shoe factory because she got rejected
in several companies because she has no experience of working. One day, she
gets injured in running a machine while working and she has to lose her job.
One day, after she loses her job because of the accident, she meets Drouet
again. He spoils and fulfills Carrie‟s needs, such gives her money, dines with her
in expensive restaurant, and takes her shopping. Then, Carrie thinks that Drouet
is someone who she needs in life. She can depend on him as it is shows in the
sentences below.
She conceived a true estimate of Drouet. To her, and indeed to all the world, he was a nice, good-hearted man. There was nothing evil in the fellow. He gave her the money out of a good heart—out of a realization of her want. He would not have given the same amount to a poor young man, but we must not forget that a poor young man could not, in the nature of things, have appealed to him like a poor young girl (Dreiser, 1900: 60).
After Drouet asks her to be his lover, she agrees. In another word, Carrie agrees become his mistress because Drouet doesn‟t have the intention to marry
Carrie. Because of worrying to live in poverty and working as laborer in her lifetime, she chooses to be his mistress. She decides to stay together and move in
Drouet‟s place. She believes that she can get out from the poverty and live the way Drouet live with no worry of no money in that way.
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7. Materialistic
Carrie is materialistic as she thinks that money is all she needs in life. She thinks that money is important thing and everybody needs money in order to be happy. The narrative below shows about her understanding on money.
As for Carrie, her understanding of the moral significance of money was the popular understanding, nothing more. The old definition: "Money: something everybody else has and I must get," would have expressed her understanding of it thoroughly--She felt that she was immensely better off for the having of them. It was something that was power in itself (Dreiser, 1900: 59).
In the story, after Carrie meets Drouet, she is also meet Drouet‟s friend,
Hurstwood. Hurstwood falls on Carrie‟s beauty at the first sight. He is attracted to
Carrie and he wants to make Carrie as his lover. Carrie is also attracted with
Hurstwood‟s higher position than Drouet as the manager of Fitzgerald and Moy's.
Her materialistic is also shown through her obsession on material desire.
Carrie‟s obsession of material desire is shown through her desire for nice clothes and material goods. Her desire is stated in the beginning of the story, when she meets Drouet.
A woman should some day write the complete philosophy of clothes. No matter how young, it is one of the things she wholly comprehends. There is an indescribably faint line in the matter of man's apparel which somehow divides for her those who are worth glancing at and those who are not. Once an individual has passed this faint line on the way downward he will get no glance from her. There is another line at which the dress of a man will cause her to study her own. This line the individual at her elbow now marked for Carrie. She became conscious of an inequality. Her own plain blue dress, with its black cotton tape trimmings, now seemed to her shabby. She felt the worn state of her shoes (Dreiser, 1900: 6).
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In the narrative above, it is shown that Carrie has her absolute mark to weigh up people from their clothes. How the man‟s apparel symbolize wealth of person.
From her understanding to view life, no matter how young she is, others will only attract to look upon her if she has a nice cloth on her. It is how Carrie‟s view toward Drouet‟s nice clothes. How she‟s feeling inequality and inferiority after she looks on Drouet‟s apparel because she doesn‟t have a nice cloth to wear on.
He reached down in his hip pocket and took out a fat purse. It was filled with slips of paper, some mileage books, a roll of greenbacks. It impressed her deeply. Such a purse had never been carried by any one attentive to her. Indeed, an experienced traveller, a brisk man of the world, had never come within such close range before. The purse, the shiny tan shoes, the smart new suit, and the air with which he did things, built up for her a dim world of fortune, of which he was the centre. It disposed her pleasantly toward all he might do (Dreiser, 1900: 8).
From the narrative above, it is shown how Carrie is attracted on Drouet‟s fat purse which means that he has a lot of money in his purse. Beside Drouet‟s money, Carrie is also attracted on Drouet‟s material goods, such his shiny tan shoes, and his smart new suit which those are described in story.
Another statement of Carrie‟s materialistic is shown when she‟s attracted with the way Drouet treats Carrie, such spending a lot money to buy Carrie‟s clothes, and having a fancy dinner in elegant restaurant. Here, Drouet gives pleasant things to Carrie, or in another word, he fulfills Carrie‟s material pleasure.
In the store they found that shine and rustle of new things which immediately laid hold of Carrie's heart. Under the influence of a good dinner and Drouet's radiating presence, the scheme proposed seemed feasible (Dreiser, 1900: 66).
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In Carrie‟s understanding, she thinks that money, clothes and material goods are pleasure of life, which she has to fulfill her desire in order to be happy.
8. Easily tempted
In the story, Hurstwood kidnaps Carrie to come along with him. As she knows the truth, she‟s mad to him but she is tempted by Hurstwood‟s sweet words to her as he ensures her with the hope that he will marry her and have a good life in New
York. He lures her to leave Chicago city to start a new life in New York with him.
It is shown in the conversation between Hurtswood and Carrie below.
"… I'm going to get a divorce just as soon as I can... If I can have you I won't ever think of another woman again." Carrie heard all this in a very ruffled state. It sounded sincere enough, however, despite all he had done. "When I say you wouldn't come unless I could marry you, I decided to put everything else behind me and get you to come away with me. I'm going off now to another city…We'll go and live in New York, if you say." (Dreiser, 1900: 246)
From the conversation above, it is shown how Carrie is swayed by his luring words. Carrie thinks that marriage is the way she would be rescued or she will have the „guarantee position‟ to have a good future.
9. Gloomy
At the end of the story, she becomes famous actress and rich but she still unhappy or gloomy. Carrie feels that she‟s connected with Laura‟s character when she‟s acting. The condition, is supported by the character of a girl, Laura, who is abandoned by the family and society. Laura is a character who reminds on her
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own state of life. It is shown her act of Laura, a character who always suffering and full of tears.
The part of Laura, as Carrie found out when she began to examine it, was one of suffering and tears. As delineated by Mr. Daly, it was true to the most sacred traditions of melodrama as he found it when he began his career (Dreiser, 1900: 147).
On the stage, Carrie feels desire of playing her role. She got excellence in her performance when she acts as Laura. All at once, after an exit, Carrie was frowning alone on the stage and the audience was giggling and laughing at her performance (Dreiser, 1900: 398). Carrie‟s sadness performance becomes the appeal to audiences, even in comedy genre.
Oh, the tangle of human life! How dimly as yet we see. Here was Carrie, in the beginning poor, unsophisticated, emotional; responding with desire to everything most lovely in life, yet finding herself turned as by a wall (Dreiser, 1900: 447).
The paragraph above shows her gloomy, such being isolation in the work. She becomes the popular celebrity but she‟s still unhappy and lonely. She realizes that she‟s trapped by the illusion of happiness. Her desire to pursuit the material goods and fame is perhaps unworthiness.
Even had Hurstwood returned in his original beauty and glory, he could not now have allured her. She had learned that in his world, as in her own present state, was not happiness (Dreiser, 1900: 448).
In the paragraph above, it is shown how Carrie is gloomy. In the end, she learns that in Hurstwood‟s world, when he‟s still having a lot of money, material goods, and higher position in the job, was not happiness. Same with the state of
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Hurstwood before, she learns that in her present state, after she got a lot of money, material goods, and fame, she‟s still unhappy.
B. The Idea of Determinism Reflected in the Main Character
According to French philosopher Baron D‟Holbach, determinism is a theory related to human action which is influenced by internal and external forces. It means that human has no free will. His actions and decisions will be depended by the circumstances.
That which a man is about to do, is always a consequence of that which he has been—of that which he is—of that which he has done up to the moment of the action: His total and actual existence, considered under all its possible circumstances, contains the sum of all the motives to the action he is about to commit (1999:102).
The belief which characters do not have free will is called determinism.
According to Shipley, determinism can be seen through internal forces
(hereditary, instinct, and passion) and external forces (society, environment, and chance). Here are internal and external forces which are reflected in the main character of Carrie.
1. Internal forces
Internal forces in Carrie‟s character is divided into three factors. The first is hereditary. Hereditary is related to the physical appearance of Sister Carrie. The naturalistic aspect is reflected in Drouet‟s and Hurtswood‟s way of thinking of
Carrie as they are attracted on the physical appearance of Carrie and they want to
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make Carrie as their lover. As for them, Carrie is a young girl who has extraordinary beauty. Her beauty making men to chase her. Here is Drouet‟s statement when he successfully lures Carrie to live with him.
Good clothes, of course, were the first essential, the things without which he was nothing. A strong physical nature, actuated by a keen desire for the feminine, was the next. A mind free of any consideration of the problems or forces of the world and actuated not by greed, but an insatiable love of variable pleasure. His method was always simple. Its principal element was daring, backed, of course, by an intense desire and admiration for the sex (Dreiser, 1900: 6).
Carrie‟s beauty also determines her success to be a famous actress in the end of the story. The following statement shows Carrie‟s beauty.
Now, because Carrie was pretty, the gentlemen who made up the advance illustrations of shows about to appear for the Sunday papers selected Carrie's photo along with others to illustrate the announcement. Because she was very pretty, they gave it excellent space and drew scrolls about it. Carrie was delighted (Dreiser, 1900: 397).
Another hereditary aspect is also shown in the family relation between Carrie and her family. Carrie is described as she had no excellent home principles upon her. Carrie lost the presence of her father as she‟s never got attention and guidance from her father. Because she lost the presence of her father which also her
“counsellor”, she acts without guidance and she takes people‟s voice as her guidance to act. Therefore, she seeks for men to replace her presence of her father to fulfill her needs.
The second is instinct. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, definition of instinct is behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level. So,
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instinct is the form of unconsciousness which it happens naturally, without learning and thinking about it. In Carrie‟s character, instinct can be found through
Carrie‟s unconsciousness is related to her inner self which affects her behavior and emotions. It is shown in the quotation below.
She did not hear this very well. Her heart was troubled by a kind of terror. The fact that she was alone, away from home, rushing into a great sea of life and endeavour, began to tell. She could not help but feel a little choked for breath—a little sick as her heart beat so fast. She half closed her eyes and tried to think it was nothing, that Columbia City was only a little way off (Dreiser, 1900: 10).
She didn‟t aware about what she has done or her decision to leaving her hometown beyond her consciousness. She leaves her only relative in Chicago,
Minnie, and cuts the relationship with her sister after she falls on Drouet‟s seductive to be her mistress. Then, later on moves to be Hurstwood‟s mistress.
She was sad beyond measure, and yet uncertain, wishing, fancying. Finally, it seemed as if all her state was one of loneliness and forsakenness, and she could scarce refrain from trembling at the lip. She hummed and hummed as the moments went by, sitting in the shadow by the window, and was therein as happy, though she did not perceive it, as she ever would be (Dreiser, 1900: 107).
She unconsciously trapped in the illusion that happiness could be found on the material things. She got influenced by the urban society lifestyle to pursue her happiness. At the end of the story, even though she has everything which she hunger for, such wealthy, beauty, and fame as an artist, she‟s feeling sad and lonely.
The third is passion. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, definition of passion is a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about
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doing something. So, it is related to a strong feeling/ sexual desire which causes people to act in a dangerous way. There‟s a change in Carrie‟s character which from the beginning of the story, Carrie who is timid and doesn‟t have excitement in her previous work as a laborer, later on after she moves in New York, she finds her own excitement or enthusiasm as an actress in acting industry.
Fulfilling her part capably brought another notice in the papers that she was doing her work acceptably. This pleased her immensely. She began to think the world was taking note of her (Dreiser, 1900: 394).
In Carrie‟s character, passion can be found through her character which she pursues her dream to be an artist. While she becomes an artist in New York, she got her own salary. Meanwhile, Hurstwood is jobless and can‟t support Carrie‟s basic needs anymore, Carrie decides to break her relationship with Hurstwood and leave him alone in poverty and despair.
Timid as Carrie was, she was strong in capability. The reliance of others made her feel as if she must, and when she must she dared. Experience of the world and of necessity was in her favour. No longer the lightest word of a man made her head dizzy. She had learned that men could change and fail (Dreiser, 1900: 385).
After Carrie‟s decision to leave him, he becomes homeless, then commits suicide. Here, Carrie‟s character is changing from dependent person to be independent person. In the end, Carrie is trapped by illusion of happiness which could be found in the fame of as an artist. Even though she becomes a famous artist, she remains unhappy.
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2. External forces
External forces can be divided into three categories. The categories are society, environment, and chance. a) Society
Society in Carrie‟s hometown differs from the society in big cities, such
Chicago and New York. In the Carrie‟s hometown, which is rural area in
Wisconsin as the part of Columbia city. The area is typically an open land with few of buildings and people who live there. Most people usually work as farmers because agriculture is the main industry in the rural area. Therefore, the society there is not typical of modern industrial civilization like urban society. They usually focus on working rather than giving attention to social status, so that there‟s no division based on social status. While in the urban society, people always comparing each other based on the social status, such a social division of communities and labor. In rural communities, there is little room for job mobility rather than in the big city. There‟s also no fast mobility for social adaptation such in the urban city. People are loving nature, most of them usually believes in gods and goddesses. In the compare to the society in the big city, people are most realistic and not typically religious but instead they‟re materialistic.
In a material way, she was considerably improved. Her awkwardness had all but passed, leaving, if anything, a quaint residue which was as pleasing as perfect grace. Her little shoes now fitted her smartly and had high heels (Dreiser, 1900: 397).
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Based on the paragraph below, Carrie‟s characteristics are develop as she comes from the rural area in Wisconsin to the big city, Chicago. After living in
Chicago, her characters are develop. She learns that she has to live the way society live there in order to survive in the urban society. As time goes by, she got accustomed with luxurious life style in the urban society as she lives there.
b) Environment
It related to social conditions of the story. A story taking place in in modern
American society in Chicago such as poverty, a great difference treatment between the rich and the poor, and money-oriented world. It is shown in the quotation below.
Carrie said nothing, but bent over her work. She felt as though she could hardly endure such a life. Her idea of work had been so entirely different. All during the long afternoon she thought of the city outside and its imposing show, crowds, and fine buildings. Columbia City and the better side of her home life came back (Dreiser, 1900:38).
Chicago, here, is described as big city with fine buildings which its condition is difference with Columbia city as the village with agriculture fields. Because of her poor condition, Carrie decides to leave her hometown, Columbia, to go to the big city, Chicago to increase her dream.
After Carrie leaves her hometown, she realizes that Chicago isn‟t as beautiful big city as she expected. She has to struggle to get proper job, deal with the
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treatment of the urban society, and live in poor condition. The condition is shown below.
Carrie looked out through the window into the busy street. There it was, the admirable, great city, so fine when you are not poor. An elegant coach, with a prancing pair of bays, passed by, carrying in its upholstered depths a young lady (Dreiser, 1900:71).
Her vision to have a better life in Chicago is slowly disappear as she faces the reality and the harsh life in urban society. Here, her characters are developed because of different views on the social condition in the urban society. She becomes desireful and materialistic.
The glamour of the high life of the city had, in the few experiences afforded her by the former, seized her completely. She had been taught how to dress and where to go without having ample means to do either (Dreiser, 1900:301).
In her understanding, money is the most important thing for her in order to survive and live well in the society. In other word, she can be happy in Chicago if she has a lot of money because she can fulfill her needs and anything that she wants in Chicago. As she meets Drouet and Hurstwood, she becomes heavily dependent to them. She realizes that she needs their money to support her life in the urban society.
c) Chance
A chance is related to a set of circumstance that makes it possible to do something. It is shown in the quotation below.
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“Carrie's new state was remarkable in that she saw possibilities in it. She was no sensualist, longing to drowse sleepily in the lap of luxury. She turned about, troubled by her daring, glad of her release…” (Dreiser, 1900:71).
The conversation above shows that after Carrie agrees to be Drouet‟s mistress,
Carrie thinks that it is a chance for her to avoid poverty. A chance, here, is related to the possibility which she takes to get out of her poor living condition by becoming Drouet‟s mistress.
So, Carrie is described as becoming a dependent women to men‟s power after she has been living in Chicago. Her timid character which is described in the beginning of the story also disappears later on. It because she is getting to know
Drouet‟s power and she learns that she can get out from the poverty if she can trust and lean her life to Drouet. It is considered as her chance to live well on
Drouet‟s support and later moves to Hurstwood‟s support.
At the end of the story, Carrie also got a chance to be a famous actress in New
York City. It is stated below:
Whatever a man like Hurstwood could be in Chicago, it is very evident that he would be but an inconspicuous drop in an ocean like New York. In Chicago, whose population still ranged about 500,000, millionaires were not numerous. The rich had not become so conspicuously rich as to drown all moderate incomes in obscurity (Dreiser, 1900:263).
Carrie is attracted by the manager in acting industry and she gets promotion because of her looks. Carrie‟s beauty and her circumstance makes her possible to be a famous actress. Her circumstance, which in New York, is a great big city
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with high population in the world. The city is known for its modernity of mass distribution, factory production, and large consumption of luxuries in the city.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
In this last chapter, the conclusion of a whole discussions will be drawn in this study. The conclusion is needed to give explicit explanation and answers of two problem formulations which have been discussed in the previous chapters. The two problem formulations are: first, how the main character, Sister Carrie, described in the story; second, how the main character, Sister Carrie, reveals the idea of determinism in the story.
Firstly, the main character, Sister Carrie, becomes the object of the study.
Sister Carrie is described as a young beautiful country girl who comes from
Wisconsin to move to Chicago. Her characteristics, such inexperienced, timid, and unconscious are shown in the beginning of the story as she is born and grown up in rural area in Wisconsin, which is also her hometown.
In Carrie’s childhood, Carrie is described as a girl who had not been guided by her family as she had no excellent home principles upon her. She missed the guidance and affection from her family. Therefore, she looks for affection on men because she thinks that men can give her affection which she has never had before from her family. Carrie’s desire to men later on changes to be insecurity because she’s afraid of losing men’s affection. Those are leading Carrie to another characteristics, such are desireful and insecure. Then, after she moves to the big
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cities, such Chicago, and New York, Carrie is described as dependent, materialistic, easily tempted, and gloomy.
Carrie is a dependent girl. After she lives in Chicago, she worries to live in poverty and working as laborer in her lifetime. She decides to be a mistress to men to get out from those difficult situation. In another word, she chooses to depend on men to take care of her life.
Carrie is considered as materialistic because her obsession of material desire to men's fat purse. They fulfills Carrie’s material pleasure, such spending a lot money to buy Carrie’s clothes, and having a fancy dinner in elegant restaurant. In
Carrie’s understanding, she thinks that money, nice clothes, material goods are pleasure of life, which she has to fulfill her desire in order to be happy.
Carrie is easily tempted. Carrie is easily swayed by men’s luring words. One of the examples, she is tempted by Hurstwood’s sweet words to marry her and have a good life in New York because she thinks that marriage is the way she would be rescued or she will have the ‘guarantee position’ to have a good future.
Carrie is gloomy, shown in the end of the story. She successfully pursuit her dream, becomes famous actress and rich but she still unhappy and lonely. She realizes that she’s trapped by the illusion of happiness. Her desire to pursuit the material goods and fame is perhaps unworthiness
Determinism which reflected to the main character, Sister Carrie, can be seen through internal forces (hereditary, instinct, and passion) and external forces
(society, environment, and chance).
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Internal forces in Carrie’s character is divided into three factors. The first is hereditary. Hereditary is related to the physical appearance of Carrie and in the family relation between Carrie and her family. The second is instinct. Instinct can be found through Carrie’s unconsciousness which affects her behavior and emotions through her inner self. She didn’t aware about what she has done or her decision to leave her hometown beyond her consciousness. The third is passion.
Passion is related to a strong feeling/ sexual desire which causes people to act in a dangerous way. It is found through her character which she pursues her dream to be a famous artist and decides to break her relationship with Hurstwood to get more money.
External forces can be divided into three categories. The first is society.
Society in Carrie’s hometown differs from the society in big cities, such Chicago and New York. In the Carrie’s hometown, which is rural area in Wisconsin as the part of Columbia city. However, after living in Chicago, Carrie’s characteristics are developed as she learns that she has to live the way society live there in order to survive in the urban society. The second is environment. It related to social conditions of the story which taking place in modern American society such poverty, a great difference treatment between the rich and the poor, and money- oriented world. Those are influencing Carrie’s characteristics, such desireful and materialistic. The last is a chance. A chance is related to a set of circumstance that makes it possible to do something. Because of Carrie beauty, she got a chance to be a mistress to men. It is consider as her chance to live well on Drouet’s support and later moves to Hurstwood’s support. Because of her looks, Carrie is also
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attracted by the manager in acting industry and she gets promotion to be a famous actress in New York. Carrie’s beauty and her circumstance makes her possible to be a mistress and also a famous actress.
In the story of Sister Carrie, Determinism portraits Carrie’s characterization as the main character who struggles with other forces in the story. The portrayal of Carrie’s character is influenced by the society as she tries to survive in the urban society, including becomes a mistress to men to avoid poverty. As the time goes by, she entrances the bourgeois society, then she makes her life style is also changing to upper class society. However, the idea of Determinism reflected that
Carrie is a victim of ‘environment’ as her character and personality are controlled by her circumstances. In the end, Carrie seems fated to be unhappy and lonely even though Carrie successfully escaped from poverty.
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