CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study As a
human being, we like to see, tell and hear something happen.
Whenever we see the movies,
listen to the radio or watch television, we consider that those things can
increase our experiences of doing things in our imagination that we might never
have a change to do, otherwise, Edward H. Jones in his book Outlines of
Literature(1968) states that literature is simply another way we can experience
the world around us through our imagination.
There are some kinds of literary
works. One of them is novel; novel is a kind of literary works presenting many
kinds of view and value and giving some fun and sadness for everyone who reads.
By reading novel, the reader may find the conflict that are showed by
characters and the conflicts around the character’s life. In addition, the
reader may acquire amusement that will lead them to a keen perception of beauty
and make them sensitive to artistic work in general.
According to Jones (1968: 80) a
novel is a long story written in prose. But because it is long, it differs from
a short story in the other ways. That reason makes novel different from the
other literary works.
Conflict comes to us
unconsciously and usually we do not realize that our attitude causes a
conflict. Conflict can train us to be mature person because we will be trained
in problem solving. Yet, when the conflict is so complicated that we get
depressed, automatically it will influence our psychological condition.
Perhaps we become absent minded, confused or angry. Indeed, conflict is
not easy to solve. Whenever we face conflict in our life, we should overcome it
immediately in order to not get some trouble. It means that people can not separate
from the problem and conflict wherever and whenever they are. And also conflict
is one of the important elements to make a story interested. Meredith and Fitzegerald
say that: “Conflict can be defined as something happens and unpleasant faced by
the characters in the story. If the characters are free to choose, they will
not choose the incident befell to them” (Nurgiyantoro, 1995: 122) So, conflict
in the normal life or in the real life, can be said as negative connotation or
unpleasant. That is why people choose to avoid the conflicts and want peaceful
life. But without conflict, you do not have a story. In the real life, a person
or couples who move down a lovely, smooth path and accomplish their goals are
enviable. In fiction, they are boring. There is no story, because there have
been no obstacles to their success (http://www.simegen.com/romance/conflict.html
accessed on 24 July 2007 at 06.00) The reason why the researcher chooses Les
Misérablesbecause in the novel there are many conflicts that emerge and
influence the character’s personality that is interesting to analyze. Besides
that, it is the greatest novel of the nineteenth century, exactly in the fall
of Napoleon in 1815 and the failed revolution against King Louis Philippe in
1832 in France.
Les Misérablesis a novel that
tells about Jean Valjean; a man who is determined to survive and to do well in
the face of vengeful persecution, freed from
prison after serving hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread. Valjean initially
reverts to his old ways, stealing from a bishop who has tried to help him. But when
the bishop protects him from the law, Valjean decides to reform his ways, eventually
becoming a successful factory owner. In later years he rises socially and is a
respectable member of society; but he is not allowed to forget his past by the
sadistic policeman Javert who is determined to expose him. As Valjean struggles
to elude his enemies, he meets many other unforgettable characters: the tragically
victimized Fantine and her daughter Cossette, whom Valjean has sworn to
protect; therascally Thenardier who always take advantage from him and the quick-witted
street urchin Gavroche, one of the child who are most to be pitied, those
posses a parent but are still orphan. Each of them prepares to meet his destinies
at the barricades as the July revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Misérables#Plot_summaryaccessed
on 24 July 2007 at 06.00) Les Misérablesis a French phrase that cannot be translated
exactly into English. In French, it has two meanings. It means ‘people who live
in misery’; it also means, ‘people who live outside society in total poverty’.
Hugo’s interest in social justice and his concern for these “Miserables” is
obvious. But it is not Hugo’s desire to improve conditions for the ordinary
citizens of France that make this a great novel. Les Misérablesis a great novel
because Hugo is romantic at heart, and the book is filled with moments of great
poetry and beauty. It has a depth of vision and inner truth that makes it a
timeless classic, one of the great works
of western literature. Even today, 150 years after it was written, Les Misérablesis
a powerful story. It has been made many films and plays.
Victor Hugo will always be
remembered as oneof the world’s greatest and most important writers. He is
still considered one of the finest French poets who ever lived. The power and
beauty of his greatest novel, Les Misérableswill probably last forever.
1.2 Statement of the Problems Through
this study, the researcher wants to describe how the conflicts influence the
character development of Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. There
are three points that will be discussed. It is related to the background of the
study.
a. What is the original character
of Jean Valjean? b. What are Jean Valjean’s conflicts? c. How does conflict
influence Jean Valjean’s character? 1.3 Objectives of the Study In accordance
with the statements of the problems, the purposes of this study are: a. to
describe the original character of Jean Valjean.
b. to describe Jean Valjean’s
conflicts.
c. to describe how conflict
influences Jean Valjean’s character.
1.4 Scope and Limitation The scope of the
study is about the influence of conflict to Jean Valjean’s character
development in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The conflict is the element of the
novel that makes story interesting. And Jean Valjean as the main character will
be analyzed. This study will discuss the intrinsic element. It is focused on
the conflict as the intrinsic aspect such as physical conflict, psychological
conflict, and social conflict. The limitation of this study is that the writer
only analyzes the conflicts that influence the character in the story to answer
the research problems.
1.5 Significance of the Study The
findings of the study are supposed to give contributions on the area of literature
particularly in analyzing the influence of conflict to Jean Valjean’s character
development in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The writer hopes the findings of
this study are also supposed to give contribution to students in studying
literature. The result of this study, hopefully, will be useful as one of the examples
in studying conflict in a novel. It is also expected to give some contributions
to the reader to understand and know more about the influence of conflict to
the character development.
1.6 Definition of Key Terms Character : is the
person or characteristics of person presented by the writer in a work of
fiction.
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