CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
According to Cooper (1988) a literature review uses as its
database reports of primary or original scholarship, and does not report new
primary scholarship itself. The primary reports used in the literature
may be verbal, but in the vast majority of cases reports are written documents.
The types of scholarship may be empirical, theoretical, critical/analytic, or
methodological in nature. Second a literature review seeks to describe, summarize,
evaluate, clarify and/or integrate the content of primary reports.
The review of relevant literature
is nearly always a standard chapter of a thesis or dissertation. The review
forms an important chapter in a thesis where its purpose is to provide the
background to and justification for the research undertaken (Bruce 1994).
Bruce has the topic of the literature review, has identified six elements of a
literature review. These elements comprise a list; a search; a survey; a
vehicle for learning; a research facilitator; and a report (Bruce 1994).
The
quest to discover a definition for “literature” is a road that is much
travelled, though the point of arrival, if ever reached, is seldom
satisfactory. Most attempted definitions are broad and vague, and they
inevitably change over time. In fact, the only thing that is certain
about defining literature is that the definition will change. Concepts of
what is literature change over time as well. What may be considered
ordinary and not worthy of comment in one time period may be considered
literary genius in another. Generally, most people have their own ideas of what literature is.
When enrolling in a literary course at university, you expect that everything
on the reading list will be “literature”. Similarly, you might expect
everything by a known author to be literature, even though the quality of that
author's work may vary from publication to publication. Perhaps you get
an idea just from looking at the cover design on a book whether it is
“literary” or “pulp”. Literature then, is a form of demarcation, however
fuzzy, based on the premise that all texts are not created equal. Some
have or are given more value than others.
Most forays into the question of “what is literature” go into how
literature works with the reader, rather than how the author set about writing
it. It is the reception, rather than the writing, which is the object of
enquiry. Largely, what we call “literature” is often a subjective value
judgment, and naturally, value judgments, like literary tastes, will change.
Literature
is as literature does. In exploring ideas about what literature is, it is
useful to look at some of the things that literature does. Literature is
something that reflects society, makes us think about ourselves and our
society, allows us to enjoy language and beauty, it can be didactic, and it
reflects on “the human condition”. It both reflects ideology and changes
ideology, just like it follows generic conventions as well as changing
them. It has social and political effects: just ask Salman Rushdie or Vladimir
Nabokov. Literature is the creation of another world, a world that we can
only see through reading literature.
CHAPTER
II
DISCUSSION
A. Novel
The present English (and Spanish) word for a long work of
prose fiction derives from the Italian novella for
"new", "news", or "short story of something new",
itself from the Latin novella, a singular noun
use of the neuter plural of novellus,
diminutive ofnovus, meaning "new". Most European languages have preserved
the term "romance" (as in French, Dutch, Russian, Croatian, Romanian,
Danish, Swedish and Norwegian "roman"; German "Roman";
Portuguese "romance" and Italian "romanzo") for extended
narratives. A novel is a long, fictional narrative which describes intimate
human experiences. The novel in the modern
era usually makes use of a literary prose style, and the
development of the prose novel at this time was encouraged by innovations in
printing, and the introduction of cheap paper, in the 15th century.
Novel is an invented prose narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals
imaginatively with human experience, usually through a connected sequence of
events involving a group of persons in a specific setting. Within its broad framework, the genre of the novel has encompassed an extensive range of types and
styles: picaresque, epistolary, Gothic, romantic, realist, historical to name
only some of the more important ones.
B. Synopsis of The Scarlet Letter
Inside
the jail is one Hester Prynne, an adulteress who's just about to be released
from prison so that she can be paraded through town, displaying the scarlet "A" that she's been forced
to wear as evidence of her adultery. How do we know she's an adulteress? She's
got a baby daughter, Pearl, but her husband has been away for two full years.
Even we can do the math on that one. Despite all the shaming, Hester protects
Pearl's father from punishment by refusing to give up his name. The adultery
parade (worse parade ever)
is winding through town when… Hester Prynne's long-lost husband arrives in
disguise! Once she's back in prison, he shows up and orders her to keep her
mouth shut so he can carry out his Nefarious Plan of ferreting out and seeking
revenge on her lover. For some reason, she agrees.
Hester's
husband tells the townspeople that he's a physician named Roger Chillingworth.
He's a smart fellow, so he realizes pretty quickly that the Reverend Arthur
Dimmesdale is the likely father of Hester's baby. Obviously, his next step is to stalk the minister day and night.
The minister is too afraid to confess his sin publicly, but he's feeling pretty
guilty, not to mention antsy from Chillingworth's constant examination, and
also maybe in a little pain from strange red mark that's on his chest
Oh,
and this goes on for seven years.
Finally,
Hester realizes that her husband has been doing some really wack psychological
manipulation to the man she loves, and she reveals Chillingworth's true
identity to Dimmesdale. They concoct a plan to settle in England and create a
new life together. Yay, happy ending!
Or
not. Dimmesdale ultimately backs out and confesses his sin to the townspeople
on the scaffold where Hester was publicly shamed seven years earlier. He goes
out with a bang by ripping his shirt open (à la Jean Valjean) to reveal the
mark on his chest, just before dying.
That's
all very dramatic and satisfying, but it's not the end. About a year later,
Chillingworth dies and leaves all his money and property to Pearl, which means
she and her mom can finally get themselves out of that awful community and
return to England to build a new life. Yay, happy ending for sure this time!
Not
quite. Years later, Hester actually returns to the colony, resuming the scarlet letter of her own will. When she dies, she's
buried near the minister, and they share a gravestone marked with what else? the
letter "A."
C. Character and Characterization
Character in literature is defined as persons,
animal, things, or natural forces presented as persons in short stories, novel,
movie, plays, or narrative poems. Characters may be flat,
minor characters; or round,
and major. The main character in a story is generally known as the protagonist;
the character who opposes him or her is the antagonist.
Character is revealed by how a character responds to conflict, by his or her dialogue,
and through descriptions.
Abraham Lincoln (1860)
said, “Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree.” Our character
is not just what we try to display for others to see, it is who we are even
when no one is watching. Good character is doing the right thing because it is
right to do what is right. The dictionary definitions said, character is a “complex
of mental and ethical traits” and that those traits, or qualities, are “built
into an individual’s life.” It is those character
qualities, those character traits that determine a person’s response in any
given situation. For example, a person in with a strong
character quality of truthfulness is much more likely to
accurately report the facts in a given situation than a person who is not
a truthful person.
Characterization
is the art of creating characters for a narrative,
including the process of conveying information
about them. It may be employed in dramatic
works of art
or everyday conversation. Characters may be presented by means
of description, through their actions, speech, or thoughts. Characterization is
the process of establishing a character’s personality in a narrative or drama.
This can be done in a number of ways, through a character’s actions, speech,
appearance, thoughts and what the other characters in the narrative or drama
say or think about him.
Tarigan (1985) mention several
ways an author characterizes his story or behavior of each character, as
follows:
Physical description, stream of conscious thought,
reaction of events, direct author analysis, discussion environment, reaction of
author, conversation of author about character.
There
are two types of characterization: explicit characterization and implicit
characterization. Explicit characterization is when the story narrator
describes the characters himself, for instance describing in detail the color
of a character’s eyes, or directly specifying whether he is honest or
deceitful. Implicit characterization on the other hand is when the audience is
left to deduce the character’s personality through his actions, speech,
thoughts, appearance and interaction with other characters. This can be done by
describing how other characters react to his physical appearance, or how the
character reacts to certain situations.
D. Romanticism
Romanticism differs significantly
from Classicism, the period Romanticism rejected. Romanticism is more concerned
with emotion than rationality. It values the individual over society, nature
over city. It questions or attacks rules, conventions and social protocol. It
sees humanity living IN nature as morally superior to civilized humanity:
glorification of the "noble savage." It conceives of children,
essentially innocent by nature, as being corrupted by their surroundings. Many
works emphasize the emotional aspects excessively, moving the piece toward Dark
Romanticism and the Gothic.
Romantic literature places an emphasis on the individual and on the expression
of personal emotions. Literary Romanticism should not be confused with romance
literature.Romanticism was evident not only in literature, but also
in art, music and architecture.
A.
The ways of Romanticism:
1. The
American Period of Romanticism (1830-1865) was "an age of great westward
expansion, of the increasing gravity of the slavery questions, of an
intensification of the spirit of embattled sectionalism in the South, and of a
powerful impulse to reform in the North" (Harman 454). It has many
of the same characteristics as European Romanticism but had several uniquely
American aspects.
2. Conditions
that influenced American Romanticism: Frontier promised opportunity for
expansion, growth, freedom; Europe lacked this element.
Spirit of optimism invoked by the promise of an uncharted frontier.
Immigration brought new cultures and perspectives
Growth of industry in the north that further polarized the north and the agrarian south.
Search for new spiritual roots.
Spirit of optimism invoked by the promise of an uncharted frontier.
Immigration brought new cultures and perspectives
Growth of industry in the north that further polarized the north and the agrarian south.
Search for new spiritual roots.
3. Literary
Themes:
Ø Highly
imaginative and subjective
Ø Emotional
intensity
Ø Escapism
Ø Common
man as hero
Ø Nature
as refuge, source of knowledge and/or spirituality
B. The Aspects of Romanticism in The Scarlet
Novel
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter
is about a courageous woman, Hester Prynne, and her struggle to split from society in
order to live the loving life she has always wanted. By the use of symbolism,
Hawthorne is effectively able to portray the forest, which promotes
individuality, and the town, which rewards conformity. The clothes portrayed by
the Puritans, the town, are dull and plain whereas those expressed by the
Romantics, the forest, are vivid and eccentric. Also, the various events of the
novel contrast from cold and punishing with the Puritans to hopeful and
exciting with the Romantics. Finally, the characters representing the Romantics
are passionate and carefree whereas those of the Puritans are serious and
punishing. Because the Romantic
ideas incorporate an enjoyable, fulfilling life whereas the Puritan ideas
incorporate a cold and punishing life, it is evident that Hawthorne is trying
to spread the thought of individualism, a quality greatly promoted in the
Romantic lifestyle, through his novel.
Throughout the
novel, Hawthorne continues to show the clothes of the Romantics as vivid and
eccentric and the clothes of the Puritans as plain and dull in order to spread
his underlined theme of individuality. The people of the town wore very
unadorned and dull clothes, lessening their opportunity of individuality.
In order to be complete servants of God, the towns’ people wore clothes
“{of} a coarser fibre” (48).
They did this in
order to not make themselves appear like they were better than God, rather much
lower of an individual than he. By doing this, the people of the town clumped
together to form a society ruled by only one opinion. In consequence the ruling
of the society brought devastation and pain to those who tried to express their
individual ideas, eventually leading to death or public humiliation. Also,
Hester’s clothes act as a transition between the Puritan and Romantic beliefs,
for although she wears the emblem of humiliation, the scarlet letter, she
lavishes it up with extravagant detailing.
Although Hester was forced to wear the Scarlet “A” on her bosom, she used
her needlework to “add the richer and more spiritual adornment of human
ingenuity” to the once plain emblem (75).
This shows that,
although she still confides with the town to ware the mark of shame, she still
tries to break free and make the mark her own. This scene is significant for it
begins to portray Hawthorne’s universal theme of individuality. In consequence,
the people eventually replace the meaning of Hester’s scarlet letter from that
of adulterer to that of able. Finally, Pearl becomes the complete symbol For
the Romantics when she garnishes herself with ornaments of the forest. As Pearl
and Hester are on a walk,
“Pearl {takes} some eel grass” and adorns
herself with it (161).
This shows that
Pearl wears clothes of a free spirit like that that the forest represents. This
scene is significant for it portrays the true individual, one who does for
himself not what others do, in Pearl. In consequence, the reader begins to see
a transformation in Pearl, from a symbol, arguably, of the devil, to that of
the true individual. By observing Hawthorne’s depictions of the clothes used
throughout his novel, it is obvious that he is telling the reader to break from
society and become an individual. Hawthorne contrasts the events in the novel from cold and
punishing with the Puritans to hopeful and exciting with the Romantics in order
to further show that the Romantic beliefs are greater than that of the
Puritans. In the beginning of the novel, the town’s true, punishing personality
is expressed as they sentence Hester
Prynne, a young woman who has committed adultery, to public humiliation among
the scaffold.
As the members of the town
see young Hester suffering an untold of punishment, they still wish her dead
for she has “brought shame upon [them] all” (49).
Even after the town has
unfairly punished Hester, they still wish to punish her more. This signifies
the cold and unjust nature of the Puritans, who want nothing more than strict
laws and harsh punishment. In consequence, Hester refuses to show that the town
has broken her and continues to keep her pride and remain dignified. In
addition, the act when Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold to relieve himself of his
guilt, serves as a transition between the town and forest, for although he is
splitting from society, his is doing so in the confines of his own knowledge,
not making it public.
Dimmesdale’s ascend of “the guilty platform” serves as a remedy
for his suffering for prior seven years (137).
Although the act does not
fully relieve him of his pain, as it should not, it gives him an excuse to keep
moving on. This event shows that Dimmesdale is a weak and cowardly man, not yet
strong enough to confess his sins, therefore forced to relieve his pain in this
cowardly fashion. This event foreshadows that when Dimmesdale finally
enlightens the town of his past adulteries, relieving him entirely of his
guilt. Lastly, their confrontation in the forest allow Hester and Dimmesdale
the freedom to express their true feelings towards each other.
As they sat next to each other, “hand clasped in hand, on the
mossy trunk of the fallen tree” Hester and Dimmesdale were finally able to
express their love and plan their escape from the horrid society of
hypocritical Puritans (176).
This event marked the
first in seven years since the couple could express their feelings and
communicate freely. This event expresses the complete Romantic ideas; sharing love,
becoming individuals, and splitting from the Puritan lifestyle. In consequence
the couple undergo the complete transformation from Puritans to Romantics,
stressing Hawthorne’s underlined message of individualism as they convert.
Because Hawthorne shows the Romantic events as loving and hopeful episodes,
whereas he illustrates the Puritan events as cold and punishing affairs, he is
further showing the importance of a Romantic lifestyle in relative to the
Puritan lifestyle. Hawthorne portrays the characters of the Romantics as
passionate and carefree whereas he portrays those of the Puritans as punishing
and serious. Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband who was
left behind in England when Hester ventured out to America, serves as an evil
antagonist in the novel, constantly tormenting pour old Dimmesdale.
As Chillingworth transforms himself from the once kind doctor
Hester had married into the evil, revengeful person now hated by all, he
effectively “transformed himself into the devil” (153).
Chillingworth is the
complete symbol of the Puritans, ruthless, punishing, and relentless. As the
devil, he serves as the relentless adversary who tortures Dimmesdale to his
death. In consequence, once Dimmesdale has died, he feels his life has no
purpose and therefore he, himself, ceases to live. The death of the minister
symbolizes the final demolition of the Puritan religion, therefore expelling the
devil. Hester Prynne serves as a
transition character between the Puritans and Romantics, for although she tries
to split from the dreary society and start a loving relationship, when caught,
she confides back with the church in fear of God’s wrath.
Although Hester tries to completely split from the Puritan code,
her most notable mark is still “[her] badge of shame” (101).
Instead of making a
complete break from the church, she still continues to wear the scarlet letter.
This signifies that she continues to confide with the church in hopes that she
will one day be able to live life as an individual in heaven. With these hopes
Hester carries out her life continuing to wear the scarlet letter until death.
Finally, because of her carefree attitude towards life, Pearl becomes the
complete character of the Romantics.
As Pearl came across the brook, it “reflected a perfect image of
her little figure, with all the brilliant picturesque of her beauty, in its
adornment of and wreathed foliage, but more refined and spiritualized than the
reality” (187).
This quote is explaining
Pearl as she walks through her kingdom, the forest. With the will to now think
freely and express her joyful attitude, Pearl now lets her imagination
overpower her as she walks among her kingdom. In consequence, we now see Pearl
as a beautiful girl who has become one with nature. Because Pearl, representing
the Romantic beliefs, has become an individual, free thinker, whereas
Chillingworth, representing the Puritan beliefs, has ceased to live, it is
evident that Hawthorne id trying to preach the ideas of Romanism and ultimately
individualism.
CHAPTER
III
CONCLUSION
1. Romanticism
symbolizes a life of enjoyment and self-pleasure whereas Puritanism symbolizes
a life of cold and punishment, it is evident that Hawthorne is trying to spread
the thought of individualism, a quality greatly promoted in the Romantic
lifestyle.
2.
The clothes portrayed by the Puritans are
dull and plain compared to the vivid and eccentric clothes worn by the
Romantics. Also, the cold and punishing events of the Puritans contrast to the
hopeful and exciting events of the Romantics.
3.
Finally, the characters representing the
Romantics are passionate and carefree whereas those of the Puritans are serious
and punishing. Without individual opinion, our society would become one ruled
strictly by one voice, eventually leading to the hypocrisy which corrupted the
Puritan civilization.
REFFERENCE
·
Bode, Dr. Carl. Highlight of American Literature. 1985, English Language Programs
Division, Educational and Cultural Affairs United States Information Agency,
Washington, D.C.
·
The
Norton Anthology of American Literature. W. W. Norton &
Company. New York. London
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