the influence of the absence of the father figure on

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THE INFLUENCE OF THE ABSENCE OF THE FATHER
FIGURE ON RONNIE’S BEHAVIOR AS SEEN IN
NICHOLAS SPARKS’ THE LAST SONG
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
FEBE OLIVIA YOWANDRA DITA SUTANTO
Student Number: 114214019
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
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THE INFLUENCE OF THE ABSENCE OF THE FATHER
FIGURE ON RONNIE’S BEHAVIOR AS SEEN IN
NICHOLAS SPARKS’ THE LAST SONG
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
FEBE OLIVIA YOWANDRA DITA SUTANTO
Student Number: 114214019
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
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P.U.S.H
Pray Until Something
Happens
With God all things
are possible
Matthew 19:26
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Dedicated
To
The Almighty God, Jesus Christ
The Name above all names
To
My Beloved Family
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My first gratitude is for Jesus Christ who has given a wonderful life for me.
It has been His grace for me to finish the study, especially the undergraduate
thesis.
I would like to thank my advisor, Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A., Ph. D. and
my co-advisor, Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S, M.Ed., for helping me to
write this undergraduate thesis. I thank their patience, guidance, and ideas in
developing my undergraduate thesis.
My gratitude also goes to all the lecturers and the staff of English Letters
Department. I thank them for all their knowledge, wonderful experience, and their
guidance. I will not forget these valuable moments.
My deepest gratitude goes to my family, Iwan Sutanto, Indrayanti, and
Yeremia Yudha Setia Graha Sutanto, who always support me with prayers and
love.
The last, I want to thank my best friends, Novita Carolina, Nadia Puri,
Lydia Rosiana, Ema. They also always support me and give me much advice.
All in all, I thank everyone who has supported me. All of them are
meaningful.
Febe Olivia Yowandra
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DAFTAR ISI
TITLE PAGE ...................................................................................................... ii
APPROVAL PAGE ........................................................................................... iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ....................................................................................... iv
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY .................................................................. v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH . vi
MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................... vii
DEDICATION PAGE ......................................................................................... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... x
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xi
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... xii
ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................... xiii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1
A. Background of the Study ........................................................................ 1
B. Problem Formulation .............................................................................. 4
C. Objectives of the Study ........................................................................... 4
D. Definitions of Terms ............................................................................... 5
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................. 6
A. Review of Related Studies ...................................................................... 6
B. Review of Related Theories .................................................................... 9
1. Theory of Character and Characterization........................................ 9
2. Theory of Behavior ........................................................................... 13
3. Theory of Parent‟s Role in Child Development ............................... 14
4. Theory of Adolescence ..................................................................... 16
5. Theory of Repression in Psychoanalysis .......................................... 20
C. Theoretical Framework ........................................................................... 21
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 23
A. Object of the Study ................................................................................. 23
B. Approach of the Study ............................................................................ 25
C. Method of the Study................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 27
A. Analysis of the Characteristics of Ronnie and Steve .............................. 27
1. The Characteristics of Ronnie .......................................................... 27
a. Ronnie‟s Characteristic when there is a father‟s figure ........ 28
i. Caring ................................................................... 28
ii. Nice ...................................................................... 30
iii. Religious .............................................................. 32
b. Ronnie‟s Characteristics when she loses her father figure ... 33
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i. Angry .................................................................... 34
ii. Rude ..................................................................... 35
iii. Rebellious ............................................................. 36
2. The Characteristics of Steve ............................................................. 38
a. Religious ............................................................................... 38
b. Wise ...................................................................................... 40
c. Kind ...................................................................................... 42
d. Loving................................................................................... 43
B. The Influence of the Absence of the Father Figure on Ronnie‟s Behavior
..................................................................................................................... 44
1. She has negative feelings towards her father.................................... 45
2. She does not get along with Kim, her mother .................................. 47
3. She becomes cynical about whole things ......................................... 48
4. She becomes rebellious girl .............................................................. 49
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 52
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 55
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ABSTRACT
SUTANTO, FEBE OLIVIA YOWANDRA DITA. THE INFLUENCE OF THE
ABSENCE OF THE FATHER FIGURE ON RONNIE’S BEHAVIOR AS
SEEN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’ THE LAST SONG. Yogyakarta: Department
of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks is a novel about Ronnie, a teenager who
experiences parental divorce. Ronnie is a seventeen years old. In her adolescence
life, she must face the fact that her parents, Steve and Kim divorced. After the
divorce, Steve moves to North Carolina and does not live with his family
anymore. As the consequence, Ronnie lost her father figure. The absence of father
figure influence Ronnie‟s behavior.
The objective of the study is to know the influence of father figure absence
on Ronnie‟s behavior. There are two questions formulated in problem
formulation. The first is to find out Ronnie and Steve‟s characteristics in the
novel. The second is to know how father figure absence influences Ronnie‟s
behavior.
This study uses library research. The main source of this study is the
original copy of The Last Song novel. Theory of character and characterization is
used to answer the first question in problem formulation and psychoanalytic
approach is used in this thesis to answer the second question of problem
formulation.
This study finds out the characteristics of Ronnie when there is her father
figure in her life as caring, nice and religious. Whereas, Ronnie is described as
angry, rude and rebellious when she lost her father figure. This study also finds
out the characteristics of Ronnie‟s father. Steve is described as religious, wise,
kind and loving. Ronnie‟s changes into a worse person when she lost her father
figure. Ronnie‟s behavior is influenced by her father‟s absence. After she lost her
father figure, Ronnie has negative feeling towards her father, she does not get
along with her mother, she becomes cynical about whole things and she becomes
rebellious girl.
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ABSTRAK
SUTANTO, FEBE OLIVIA YOWANDRA DITA. THE INFLUENCE OF THE
ABSENCE OF THE FATHER FIGURE ON RONNIE’S BEHAVIOR AS
SEEN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’ THE LAST SONG. Yogyakarta: Program
Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.
The Last Song oleh Nicholas Sparks adalah sebuah novel yang bercerita
tentang Ronnie, seorang remaja yang mengalami perceraian orang tuanya. Ronnie
berusia tujuh belas tahun. Dalam kehidupan remajanya, dia harus menghadapi
kenyataan bahwaorangtuanya, Steve dan Kim bercerai. Setelah bercerai, Steve
pindah ke North Carolina dan tidak tinggal bersama keluarganya lagi. Sebagai
akibatnya, Ronnie kehilangan sosok ayahnya. Tidak adanya figur ayah
mempengaruhi perilaku Ronnie.
Tujuan dari tesis ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh tidak hadirnya
figur ayah pada perilaku Ronnie. Ada dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan dalam
rumusan masalah. Yang pertama adalah untuk mengetahui karakteristik Ronnie
dan Steve dalam novel. Yang kedua adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana
ketidakhadiran figur ayah mempengaruhi perilaku Ronnie.
Penelitian ini menggunakan riset pustaka. Sumber utama dari penelitian ini
adalah salinan asli novel The Last Song. Teori karakter dan karakterisasi
digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama dalam rumusan masalah dan
pendekatan psikoanalitik digunakan dalam tesis ini untuk menjawab pertanyaan
kedua.
Tesis ini menemukan karakteristik Ronnie ketika ada sosok ayah dalam
hidupnya sebagai seorang yang peduli, baik dan taat beragama. Sedangkan,
Ronnie digambarkan sebagai pemarah, kasar dan pemberontak ketika ia
kehilangan sosok ayahnya. Penelitian ini juga menemukan karakteristik ayah
Ronnie. Steve digambarkan sebagai seorang yang taat pada agama, bijaksana,
baik dan penuh kasih. Perubahan Ronnie menjadi orang yang lebih buruk ketika
dia kehilangan sosok ayahnya. Perilaku Ronnie dipengaruhi oleh kehadiran
ayahnya. Setelah dia kehilangan sosok ayahnya, Ronnie memiliki perasaan negatif
terhadap ayahnya, dia menjadi tidak akur dengan ibunya, dia menjadi seseorang
yang sinis dan dia menjadi gadis pemberontak.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.
Background of the Study
There are many ways to express the feelings, ideas and experiences.
Literature is one of the ways to express the feelings, ideas and experiences.
Literature uses words to show, not to tell something. The author of literary works
can use words to show what they want to the reader of their literary work. Colwell
states that:
Literature, in particular, usually means much more than it says, and does
more than just make statements. Literature presents life. If I told you what
life is, that would be literature; but if I showed it to you, using words, that
would be literature. (1968:vii)
Writing literary works such as novel is one of many ways to express the
writer‟s feelings, ideas and experiences. Novel is one example of literary works.
Reading novel gives different atmosphere for the readers in comparison with the
other literary works, for example short story. Short story is fictional work of prose
that is shorter in length than a novel. Through literary works, the author can tell a
story to the readers. They can make the readers feel the same feeling with them.
In this research, the writer will focus on one of Nicholas Sparks‟ bestseller
novel, The Last Song. The flowing of the story in the novel is very easy to
understand because we can find the situations of the novel in the real life. People
can experience many events or meet many characters in the real world. When
people read the novel, at first they will think the story of the novel is about a
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couple‟s love. But, the reader will realize it is about the relationship of father and
daughter.
Nowadays many parents are divorced. “Divorce is typically part of larger
problem in psychological and emotional health” (Greetman and Dunne, 1990:9).
Parents who choose to divorce assume that they are no longer suitable as a couple.
They think divorce is the best way for them. After the divorce, they will live
separately. They are not aware that their children will be a victim of the divorce.
The children will lose one of the important figures in their life.
Bereavement definitely gives impact on someone‟s life. Just like children
who become the victim in a divorce. They will lose their mother or their father.
Women decide to be a single parent for their children. They think that they can
handle the role of the father for the character development of their children. “For
the first quarter of child‟s life, the father and mother provide the environment and
many of the experiences from which he will learn most of what he will need in
order to live a satisfying, productive, life” (Joseph and Bird, 1972:28-29).
Women think that they can substitute the role of father to their children; in fact,
the role of father cannot be replaced by someone else. Mother, stepfather,
mother‟s boyfriend or the other person cannot become father for someone.
Children need their father figure in their life.
If the father is present, emotionally as well as physically, he fills a parental
role equal in responsibility to, but distinct from, that of his wife and,
furthermore, if he shows evident satisfaction in his life, his sons will seek to
emulate him and identity with him. (Joseph and Bird, 1972:44)
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“Finally, parents are important affective influence” (Ryan and Lickona 1992:201).
The absence of father figure in his children, especially daughter can give many
influences to them. Family is very important in human‟s life.
The Last Song is a 2009 novel by Nicholas Sparks. Nicholas Sparks is one
of the world‟s most beloved story tellers. He is famous with romance novel. The
Last Song outsold all other novel in its first week. This novel is announced in
2009 in the short tour. In its short tour, The Last Song got the first place in the
chart of Publisher Weekly and New York Times in the category hardback fiction.
In The Last Song, Sparks tells the reader about love between Ronnie and Will as a
couple. In the other side, Ronnie also experiences many problems in her family.
Her parent, Steve and Kim divorced.
Veronica “Ronnie” Miller loses her father because of the divorce of her
parent. She must live with her mother and her younger brother, Jonah. She was
fourteen years old when her parents divorced. In her adolescence, she must face
the absence of father figure. Adolescence is the period after the childhood and
before the adulthood. They are too young to think mature and too old to act like a
little kid. When something happens in their life, they will think that they can
handle it. Anna Freud, Freud‟s daughter, explained that adolescence is egoistic,
regarding themselves as the sole object of interest and the center of the universe
(Rice, 1996:32). Adolescence will react directly to the problem. “Adolescence
children often change their attitudes towards their parents after a divorce, and they
may express great anger about it” (Greeteman, 1990:101). Ronnie experiences
many bad events because of the divorce. “They found that almost all young
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people experience divorce of their parents as a painful and traumatic events”
(Kimmel and Weiner, 1985:262). She loses her father figure. She also knows that
her mother has a new boyfriend and they will marry. She becomes angry with her
parents especially her father. She does not speak with him since the divorce until
her mother asks her and her brother to live with her father during the holiday.
During the holiday, Ronnie gets her father figure again.
The writer will reveal how Ronnie‟s characteristics when there is a father‟s
figure and when she lost her father‟s figure. Then, the writer will also reveal how
the characteristics of her father as the important figure for Ronnie.
B.
Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study presented above, the problems of the
study are formulated as follows:
1. How are Ronnie and Steve characterized in Nicholas Sparks‟ The Last Song?
2. How does the absence of father figure influence Ronnie‟s negative behavior?
C.
Objective of the Study
There are two objectives to achieve. Firstly, the writer wants to reveal the
characteristics of Ronnie and her father, Steve. Secondly, the writer wants to
know how the absence of father figure can influence Ronnie‟s behavior as seen in
Nicholas Sparks‟ The Last Song.
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D.
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Definitions of Terms
It is necessary to clarify some important terms in order to provide an
accurate analysis and clearer explanations to answer formulated problems. These
terms are:
1.
Influence
Based on A Dictionary of Psychology, the definition of influence is any past
or present condition, experienced as or actually playing a part in determining
one‟s behavior, or course of thought, in the present; a common type of delusion.
(Drever, 1959:134)
2.
Behavior
The definition of behavior according to A Dictionary of Psychology is the
total response, motor and glandular, which an organism makes to any situation
with which it is faced (Drever, 1959:27).
Based on APA (American Psychological Association) Dictionary of
Psychology, the definition of behavior is an organism‟s activities in response to
external or internal stimuli, including objectively observable activities,
introspectively observable activities, and unconscious processes. (VandenBos,
2007: 107)
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A.
Review of Related Studies
In this part, the writer is going to explain the studies which are related to
this research. The function of finding and analyzing the other researches which
have the similarity with this research is to have another perspective of the study.
The writer does not find any studies which discussed about The Last Song.
A study based on the same author of the novel is taken from a thesis made
by Puput Trisanti Arini, who is one of alumni of Sanata Dharma University,
entitled The Influence of Jamie Sullivan’s on Landon Carter’s Personality
Development Seen in Nicholas Sparks’ a Walk to Remember. This study discussed
about how one character‟s personality in that novel can influence the other
character‟s personality. In the beginning, Landon Carter is a bad person. He
changes his personality after he follows a drama and acts in that drama with Jamie
Sullivan. He falls in love with Jamie. Jamie makes Landon‟s character become
better.
This thesis discussed about the relationship between man and woman. The
woman‟s personality can influence and change the man‟s personality. Whereas
my research concerns about the relationship between father and his daughter.
The second related study is taken from a thesis made by Setjadiningrat. The
title is An Analysis of the Influences of Parent’s Divorce on Lydia’s,
Christopher’s, and Natalie’s Behavior as Seen in Anne Fine’s Alias Madame
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Doubtfire. In this thesis, Setjadiningrat explains the influences of divorce to three
characters, Lydia, Christopher and Natalie. The writer took Setjadiningrat‟s
statement from the undergraduate thesis
Lydia is characterized as a strong, responsible, brave and impatient girl. As
the eldest children in the Hilliard family she must be strong to face that
reality that separation happened in her family. After her parents‟ divorce
Lydia has a new responsibility to take care both her brother and her little
sister. (Setjadiningrat 2007:68)
Firstly, Setjadiningrat explains how Lydia‟s character describes before her
parents‟ divorce.
She is not afraid of her father and mother gets angry. Sometimes her parents
act like children especially her father when they start argues about children
Lydia will impatiently stop them. Therefore, Lydia becomes a rebellious
child. (Setjadiningrat 2007:68)
Lydia becomes a rebellious child. The divorce of her family influences her
becoming a worse person than before. She is not afraid that her attitude can make
her parents angry or not. The second child is Christopher. Setjadiningrat stated
that Christopher is a sensitive boy. He is also a dependent boy. He is afraid to say
what he wants; he always asks his sister to strengthen his opinion. And the third
child is Natalie. She is an innocent girl. Her innocent can touch her parents‟ heart,
especially her father. The divorce gives some bad influence for children. The
influences are different between Lydia, Christopher and Natalie. It depends on
their age and gender.
This thesis discussed the influence of the parents‟ divorce to their children.
My research discusses the influence of absence of father on his daughter‟s
behavior.
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The other related study is taken from a thesis made by one of alumni Sanata
Dharma University, Desy Suryoningrum. The title of the study is The Effects of
The Absence of a Father on His Daughter’s Personality as Experienced by
Courtney Farrell, The Main Character of Pamela Moore’s Chocolate for
Breakfast. Suryoningrum explains that what happens to Courtney Farell is not
merely caused by her father‟s absence, but because of herself who cannot take the
reality. “Finally, it can be said that the absence of a father in a child‟s life does not
necessarily mean producing those of negative things, which are not beneficial”
(Suryoningrum, 2005:85).
The consclusion of this thesis is the absence of father in child‟s life does not
necessarily mean producing those of negative things, which are not beneficial,
while the writer research the absence of father gives significant influences to the
daughter‟s behavior.
The forth study that will be used by the writer is a journal written by Zafer
Mohamad Darkouchi, entitled The Father and Daughter Relationship in
Shakespeare’ Plays: Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. Darkouchi explains the
different father and daughter relationship in Shakespeare‟s plays: Hamlet and The
Merchant of Venice. The relationship between Ophelia and Polonius in Hamlet
and the relationship between Jessica and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.
Ophelia is an obedient and weak girl, whereas the other one reflects how
Jessica is rebellious and strong. Ophelia relationship with her father is full
of love and respect, whereas Jessica does not like her father and thinks he is
rude (2014: 358).
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This study explains the father and daughter relationship in different
situation. Ophelia and Jessica are characterized as young daughters who suffer
from the control of their fathers. Ophelia is an obedient girl. She always obey her
father‟s words and agree with everything her father ask her to do. Whereas
Jessica, she is a rebellious one who rejects her father‟s words and intructions. She
thinks her house is a hell because of her father.
This study discussed about two types of father and daughter relationship. It
explain about the relationship between Ophelia, Jessica and their father. Their
fathers have power and authority towards them. Whereas my study discuss the
influence of the absence of father figure on his daughter‟s behavior.
B.
Review of Related Theories
In this part, the writer will explain about several theories that used in this
research.
1.
Theory of Character and Characterization
There are many examples of character, for examples arrogant, stubborn,
brave, and selfish. The character is a significant element of literature work. It can
make the work more alive. “Character is a person who act out in a particular time
and place some kind of conflict in a patterns of events” (Rohrberger and Woods,
1971:20). Character can change and develop.
There are two types of character, flat and round character. “Flat character
has only one outstanding trait or feature, or at most a few distinguish marks”
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(Kennedy and Gioia, 2005:78). Flat character is easy to understand or to
remember because they have steady character from the beginning until the end of
the story. Therefore, some critics called as static character. Flat character is
usually a minor character, although not all minor character in the story is flat. The
second type of character is round character. Round character is also called
dynamic character.
To the degree that round characters have many individual and unpredictable
human traits, and because they undergo change or growth as a result of their
experiences, they may considered dynamic (Roberts and Jacob, 1989: 145).
Round character is more complex than flat character. The character in a
story or novel can change because of their experiences in their life. It can change
or develop. “Round character, however, present us with more facets-that is, their
authors portray them in greater depth and in more generous detail” (Kennedy and
Gioia, 2005:78).
The process by which an author creates a character is called characterization
(Rohrberger and Woods, 1971:20). Authors present their character either directly
or indirectly. In direct presentation, they tell us straight out, by exposition or
analysis, what the characters are like, or they have another character in the story
that describes them. For example the authors describe the physical appearance of
the character and how the character looks like. In indirect presentation, the author
shows us the characters through their actions, the readers will determine what
characters are like by what they are do or say.
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According to Murphy in Understanding Unseens (1972), there are nine ways
this is used by the author to make their character understandable by the reader:
a.
Personal description
In this way, the author uses a person‟s appearance and clothes to describe
their character. For example: the author describes how their character looks like,
the color of their hair, clothes, skin, and eyes.
b.
Characters as seen by another
The author of the novel may use a character to describe the other character
in the story. The author does not need to describe the character directly, they can
describe them from the eyes and opinions from other character.
c.
Speech
“The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in
the book through what the person says” (Murphy, 1972:164). The other character
describes the character directly. If the character is a kind person, the other
character will say that he is a kind person directly.
d.
Past life
By letting the readers learn something about a person‟s past life, the author
can give them a clue to the event that has shaped a person‟s personality. This can
be done by direct comment by the author, through the person‟s thoughts, the
conversation or the medium of another person (Murphy, 1972:166).
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Conversation of others
The author can also give us clues to a person‟s character through the
conversations of other people and the things they say about him. People do talk
about other people and the things they say often give as a clue to the character of
the person spoken about (Murphy, 1972:167).
f.
Reactions
The author can also use how a person reacts to the certain situations or
experiences to describe a person‟s character.
g.
Direct comment
The author can describe or comment on a person‟s character directly
(Murphy, 1972:170).
h.
Thoughts
The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
In this respect he is able to do what people cannot do in real life. He can tell us
what different people are thinking. In the novel people accept this. The reader then
is in a privileged position; he has, as it were, a secret listening device plugged in
to the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel (Murphy, 1972:171).
i.
Mannerisms
The author can describe a person‟s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies
which may also tell us something about his character (Murphy, 1972:173).
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2.
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Theory of Behavior
According to Schwartz, behavior is something which can be readily
observed and measured (1978:4). “People are reasoning, thoughtful, remembering
creatures. They are changed as a result of their experiences in a way that falling
stones, for example, are not. People carry in part as a result of those experiences”
(Schwartz, 1978:3). People‟s change is the result of their experiences.
“Experience certainly changes people” (Schwartz, 1978:3). It means that if people
experiences good events, their behavior can change to the better. But if they
experience bad events, their behavior is also worse than before. “Behavior theory
emphasizes environmental events as playing the key role in determining human
behavior. The source of action lies not inside the person, but in the environment”
(Schwartz, 1978:4). Environments really influence someone‟s behavior. For
example, if a student has a friend in school. Her/his friend is a diligent and smart
student, naturally that student will try to be the same as his/her friend. They will
start to study hard too. “More specifically, behavior theorist expect that the major
burden of explanation of human action will be carried by a small set of
environmental events, events which we typically call rewards and punishment”
(Schwartz, 1978:5). Rewards and punishments are common things in human life.
Rewards and punishments are used to induce people to act in certain ways.
“Though we may not recognized it, individuals and institutions have always
depended upon the use of reward and punishment to manipulate our behavior”
(Schwartz, 1978:11). For example, teacher always induce students to do their
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works. Teacher will give rewards if student do their work and gives punishment if
they do not do it.
3.
Theory of Parent’s Role in Child Development
Family is a group of people who are related to each other. Father, mother
and children is always connected each other. “Functional definitions of families
focus on what people do together, and especially on what they do support to each
other” (Cheal, 2002:7). The function of family is to support each other. Parents
are an important effective influence.
Martin and Stendler state that:
Child‟s parents are his first socializing agents. In countless interactions with
their children each day, the parents teach him their own interpretation of
how a child should behave: in learning the parental version of cultural
behavior, children develop his unique personality (1959:305).
“For the first quarter of child‟s life, the father and mother provide the
environment and many of the experiences from which he will learn most of what
he will need in order to live a satisfying, productive, life” (Joseph and Lois Bird,
1972:28-29). Child also needs both of them, father and mother. Parents play their
roles themselves. “What is important is that the child is able to recognize that both
father and mother assume responsibilities and authority, and that both are very
much involved in their roles as spouses and parents” (Joseph and Lois Bird,
1972:45).
Children who have both parents must be different with a child who has only
one parent. “Father absence resulting from divorce is more likely to have negative
effects than the father‟s dying” (Kimmel and Weiner, 1985:258).
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“To the growing girl, the father serves as reinforce of her feminity. Thus he
teaches her what it means to be a woman” (Martin and Stendler, 1959:370). The
adolescent girls without fathers because of the divorce will behave differently
from girls without father because of the father‟s dying. Girls without fathers
because of the father‟s dying tend to be shy, timid and socially inhibited around
males. In contrast to girls without father because of the divorce, they are
noticeably forward with males and tent to seek their attention.
As distressing as a father‟s death may be, it constitutes unavoidable and
understandable reason for his absence. When a father is gone because of a
divorce, however, his absence may signify rejection and abandonment of the
family. This can expose children to painful self questioning and disturbing
comments from their friends and teacher... (Kimmel and Weiner, 1985:258).
The father absence in a family because of death is more understandable than
the father absence because of divorce. The death is something that cannot be
avoided. People will not ask about the absence of a father figure in this kind of
family. Otherwise, if the absence of father figure because of a divorce, it can gives
more effects to the daughter. Daughter can think that her father rejects her and
leaves the family. It can give painful feeling to the daughter itself. People also will
ask why the divorce happens in that family.
Absence of the father or rejection by the father may create unsatisfied need
in the girl. Martin and Stendler state that:
Fatherless children may develop a number of problems. Sometimes they
become excessively dependent upon the mother; sometimes they grown
rebellious and defiant, difficult for the mother to control. Antisocial
behavior in the form of stealing may also break out the following the loss of
father (1957:331).
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Mother may become breadwinner and homemaker in the family to substitute
the father figure in the family. But the absence of such a figure has certain effect
to the children.
4.
Theory of Adolescence
The writer applies the theory of adolescence to analyze the main character
of this novel, Ronnie. The writer uses this theory because Ronnie‟s age is
seventeen. “The word adolescence comes from Latin verb adolescence, which
means “to grow” or “to grow to maturity” (Rice, 1996:3). Adolescence is the
period after the childhood and before the adulthood. Based on Freud in the book
The Adolescent Development, Relationships and Culture, the definition of
adolescence is a period of sexual excitement, anxiety, and sometimes personality
disturbance (Rice, 1996:31). While, according Anna Freud, Freud‟s daughter,
adolescence is a period of internal conflict, physic disequilibrium, and erratic
behavior (Rice, 1996:32). It means that adolescence is egoistic, regarding
themselves as the sole object of interest and the center of the universe, on the
other hand also capable of self sacrifice and devotion.
“A growing number of mental health practitioners view these divorces as
major, negative events that stimulate insecurity, confusion and painful emotions”
(Rice, 1996: 119). Divorce also becomes a major problem for adolescent. The
divorce makes their family break. Before the divorce, they had a complete parent,
father and mother. When the divorce happened, they must realize that one of the
figures of parent has lost. “Divorce is typically part of larger problem in
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psychological and emotional health” (Greetman and Dunne, 1990:9). Divorce also
affects the psychological and emotional health of a person. If a child usually gets
affection from their both parent and live together, after the divorce happened, they
will no longer live with their parent and get affection as same as before the
divorce. “Anger and hostility are common emotional reactions among
adolescents, especially toward the parent they blame for the divorce” (Rice,
1996:120). Adolescent who cannot receive the reality that divorce happened in
their family, they will be angry with their parent. They will give some negative
reactions.
Young children, because of their limited capacity to understand what is
happening, are especially prone to unrealistic feeling of anger and guilt, and
they often revert to whinning, clinging, infantile behaviour that they had
previously outgrown (Kimmel and Weiner, 1985:262).
They will hostile with their parent generally. It can be hostility with mother
or father and also can be hostility with parent, father and mother. “After
separation occurs, adolescents have to adjust to the absence of one parent, often
one on whom they have depended deeply for affection and help” (Rice,
1996:120). Divorce is also followed by a period of mourning and grief especially
if divorce makes an adolescent lose one figure that is very close to them. After the
divorce, some mothers or fathers begins to date with other person. It will affect
their children too. “If parent begin to date again and get involved with another
person, adolescents may become jealous and resentful because they have to share
their parent with another adult” (Rice, 1996:120). The presence of someone in
adolescent‟s life can affect them especially if that person presents to substitute one
figure in their life. If the mother or the father begins to date with someone else
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that has children also, adolescent must learn to receive it. They must share their
single parent with other person and receive someone who will become their
stepmother or stepfather.
Divorce has many effects on adolescent. Many effects of divorce on
adolescent according to Rice will be stated as follows:
a.
Psychological Health
There is some consensus among experts that the loss of parent in childhood
is associated with a higher incidence of emotional and personality problems, high
rates of psychiatric consultation, increased suicidal ideation and behavior, higher
levels of alcohol and drug use, lower self esteem or self image, lower levels of
perceived competence in school work and negative evaluation of parent that those
from intact families (Rice, 1996:124).
b.
The Development of Masculinity-Femininity
The effect of father‟s absence to boys is different from girls.
The common assumption has been that boys who lack an effective father
figure and who are raised by their mothers are more likely to score lower on
measures of masculinity, to have unmasculine self-concepts and sex-role
orientations, and to be more dependent, less aggressive, and less competent
in peer relationship than those whose fathers are present (Rice, 1996:124125).
The effect of father absence to the boy does no longer exist when he got
older. The boy who does not have a father tends to seek attention from the other
older males. “Young father-absence male children seek the attention of older
males and are strongly motivated to imitate and please potential father figure”
(Rice, 1996:125). Other older males become the important thing that can
substitute father figure.
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The effect of father figure absence on girls seems to be just the opposite.
“Daughters are affected less when young but more during adolescence” (Rice,
1996:125). Adolescence is a period after the childhood and before the adulthood.
The girl without father tends to have the problem of interaction with males.
“During adolescence, girls of divorced parent who live with their mothers may be
inappropriately assertive, seductive, and sometimes sexually promiscuous” (Rice,
1996: 125). The girl without father tends to have ambivalent feeling about men. It
is caused by their negative memories about their fathers. “They begin dating early
and are likely to engage in sexual intercourse at an early age” (Rice, 1996:125).
The girl without father because of the divorce tends to seek more attention toward
men. They will be more aggressive than the girl without father because of their
father has passed away or the girl who has father.
c.
Association with Delinquency
Adolescent from father absent homes has a higher case of delinquency than
adolescent from intact families.“For one thing, children from father absent
families who get into trouble are more likely to be arrested and institutionalized
when arrested than are those from intact families” (Rice, 1996:125). Even though
delinquency of adolescent is not always caused by father absent, but father absent
can become one factor that cause delinquency.
Divorce or separation brings with it loss of environmental control. Mothers
report being less able to discipline or influence their children after divorce,
partly because the children are upset, partly because they put a lot of the
blame for the absence of their father on the mother... (Rice, 1996:126)
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If the adolescent lives with their mother and think that their mother is the
cause the divorce, they tend to become a rebel. They will not listen to their mother
anymore. They will blame their mother.
d.
Attitudes towards Self and Parent
Adolescents from separated or divorced homes are more often engaged in
health risk behavior (smoking, not fastening seat belts, and intemperate drinking)
than those from intact families. Two major explanations were offered: (1) the
health risk behavior is an effort to improve self esteem by adopting more daring
attitudes, or (2) the adolescents are less controlled by parents after parental break
up. Adolescents from father absent homes have more problems with alcohol,
marijuana, and sexual activity than those from intact homes (Rice, 1996:127).
5.
Theory of Repression in Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is one of the theories in literature. This theory is form of
literary criticism which uses some techniques of psychoanalytic. In Beginning
Theory, Barry explains that psychoanalysis has a technique which uses in therapy.
A technique which uses in this therapy is by investigating interaction
between conscious and unconscious element in human‟s mind. In that
therapy patient talk freely, all conflicts and fears which are causing the
problems repressed and brought into the conscious mind rather than
remaining „buried‟ in the unconsciousness. (2002:96)
Sigmund Freud from Austria develops this theory. “All of Freud‟s work
depends upon the notion of the unconscious, which is the part of the mind beyond
consciousness which nevertheless has a strong influence upon our actions”
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(2002:96). Unconsciousness holds important roles in our life; our action is based
on our unconsciousness. Barry states that:
Repression is the “forgetting” or “ignoring” of unsolved conflicts,
unadmitted desires, or traumatic past events, so that they are forced out of
conscious awareness and into the realm of unconsciousness. (2002:97)
The repression is a normal process which we use every day. Whenever
people divert people attention in order to concentrate to another subject, people
have to suppress the former content of unconsciousness. “Anything you forget,
anything from which you divert your attention until it is forgotten becomes
unconscious” (Jung, 1948:362). If people cannot lose sight of them, people cannot
change the subject.
If all traumatic past events, unsolved conflicts, unadmitted desires bring into
unconsciousness then the unconscious brain can no longer accommodate all of
that, then the anxiety will come to the surface in the form of over action.
C.
Theoretical Framework
The review of related studies and related theories are compiled in this part
as the supporting data to answer two problem formulations of this research. The
writer has been stated some theories that will be used to analyze the influence of
the absence of father figure on Ronnie‟s behavior as seen in the novel The Last
Song. Those theories are divided into five; there are theories of character and
characterization, theory of behavior, theory of parents‟ role in child development,
theory of adolescence, and theory of repression in psychoanalytic. Those theories
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are needed to help the writer analyzing the novel and answering two questions in
problem formulation.
At first, the writer will use theory of character and characterization to
identify how Ronnie‟s character is described in that novel and to analyze the
changing of Ronnie‟s characteristics when there is father‟s figure and when
father‟s figure lose.
The other theories are theory of behavior, theory of parents‟ role in child
development, and theory of adolescence. These theories are needed to see how
Ronnie‟s behaviors faces the absences of father figure in her certain life.
The writer will use theory of repression in psychoanalytic to analyze how
Ronnie‟s behavior can change. Theory of repression is ignoring or forgetting the
unsolved problem, unadmitted desires or traumatic past events, so that they are
forced from the conscious and brought into the unconsciousness. Ronnie
experiences traumatic or bad past event which is the divorce of her parents. In that
case, Ronnie ignores the past events and brings it into her unconsciousness. It
causes
Ronnie‟s
behavior
changed
and
becomes
worse
than
before.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A.
Object of the Study
The object of this research is a novel The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks,
number one New York best seller author. The novel was published in 2009 by
Grand Central Publishing; New York. The Last Song is Sparks' fourteenth
published novel (fifteenth published book). The Last Song was announced on July
11, 2009. In its short tour, The Last Song debuted at number one on weekly
bestsellers charts.
In 2010, this novel was adapted into a box office movie using the same title
as the title in the novel. The film version of The Last Song was released in the
U.S. on March 31, 2010. Nicholas Sparks also wrote the script of the film. He
called his friend, Jeff Van Wie to help him in writing the film‟s script. This movie
is starring Miley Cyrus as Ronnie, Liam Hemsworth as Will Blakelee, Greg
Kinnear as Steve, Kelly Preston as Kim, and Bobby Coleman as Jonah.
Before reading the entire story of this novel, readers must have thought it
just a novel about love between teenagers, Ronnie and Will. But after reading the
whole story of the novel, The Last Song is not only about the relationship between
those two persons, but also about the relationship in the family. Ronnie and her
little brother, Jonah must face the divorce of their parents. Kim and Steve decide
to separate from each other. Ronnie is angry with that divorce and her father.
After the divorce, her father leaves their house and lives in the Wrightsville
23
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Beach, North Carolina. Ronnie does not speak to her father for almost three years.
Three months before her birthday, her mother tells her and her brother to spend
the summer holiday with their father in Wrightsville Beach, the small beach town
in Georgia. She cannot refuse her mother because at that time, her age is still
seventeen years old. If her age is eighteen years old, she can refuse it because she
may decide her life herself. During the summer holiday, Ronnie experiences many
events in her life. She meets Will Blakelee, a handsome boy. She knows that her
father is sick. Her father has stomach cancer and does not have much time to live.
Because of her parental divorce, Ronnie stops playing piano. She and her father
have the same hobby, playing piano. Her father is her first piano teacher. When
the holiday is over, Kim picks up her children but Ronnie chooses to stay with her
father. She takes care of her father in the last moment of his life. At that time,
Ronnie reads all of letters that her father had send to her. Ronnie knows the truth
why her parent divorced. They divorce because Kim cheats with another man.
Whereas Ronnie thinks that her father has an affair with someone else. Steve
makes Ronnie believe that he has cheated with someone else. He did it because he
thinks that Ronnie and her brother will live with Kim. If the children knows that
Kim who cheated, they will hate her. Ronnie also knows that her father is making
a song for her. Her father wants Ronnie playing piano again. At the end of her
father‟s life, Ronnie finishes her father‟s last song and playing piano in front of
him. When Ronnie is playing her father‟s song, her father passes away.
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B.
25
Approach of the Study
In this research, the writer will apply psychoanalytic approach. This
research focuses on the influence of the absence of father on Ronnie‟s behavior.
“Psychoanalytic criticism is a form of literary criticism which uses some of the
techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature” (Barry, 2002:69).
The influence of the absence of father on Ronnie‟s behavior can be revealed by
this approach.
There is theory of repression which can help to understand why Ronnie‟s
characteristics after her parent‟s divorce can be different from her behavior before
the divorce. From this theory, the writer knows how bad experience of someone
can affect their behavior.
C.
Method of the Study
The writer of this research used library research. The definition of library
research is the source that is used in this research is taken from printed materials,
such as books or journal in the internet. The primary source of this research is a
novel from Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song.
The secondary sources are literature theories. Among others are An
Introduction to Fiction by X J Kennedy and Dana Gioia, Reading and Writing
about Literature by Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods, Psychology of
Learning and Behavior by Barry Schwartz, Understanding Unseens by M J
Murphy, Family in Transition: Rethinking Marriage, Sexuality, Children Rearing
and Family Organization by Arlene Skolnick and Jerome H. Skolnick,
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Adolescence, A Developmental Transition, When Divorce Happens and many
more.
There are some steps to analyze this novel. The first step, the writer read the
whole story of the novel. Then, the writer read again the novel to go deeper in
understanding the story of the novel. The second step, the writer tried to find the
most appropriate approach to this research. The writer chose psychoanalytic
approach because this research discusses about human‟s behavior. The third step,
the writer tried to find several studies that are related to this research. In addition,
the writer tried to find some theories. In this research, the writer used six theories.
The writer used theory of character and characterization, theory of behavior,
theory of parent‟s role in child development, theory of adolescence and theory of
repression in psychoanalytic. The last step to write this research was the writer
collected the data. The data is consisted many data from novel, related studies,
related theories, and the approach. By using all the data, the writer could analyze
the novel and made conclusion of the research.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this part, the whole discussion in this research will be presented; the
analysis is to discuss the theory and the evidence in the novel The Last Song to
answer two questions in the problem formulation. In the first part of the analysis,
the writer will explain characteristics of Ronnie and Steve as the answer of the
first problem formulation. Therefore, the writer need the theory of character and
characterization to explain about how Ronnie‟s characteristic when there is her
father‟s figure and when her father‟s figure loses. The writer also needs that
theory to explain Steve‟s characteristics. In the second part of the analysis, the
writer will answer the second problem formulation. The writer will reveal the
influence of the absence of father figure on Ronnie‟s negative behavior. To
answer this question in the problem formulation, the writer will use
psychoanalytic approach and many other theories that have been provided in the
previous chapter.
A.
Analysis of the characteristics of Ronnie and Steve
In this part, the writer will explain characteristics of Ronnie and Steve.
1.
The Characteristics of Ronnie
Ronnie is a seventeen years old girl. First, she lived happily with her family
before the divorce happened. After the divorce, Ronnie loses her father figure
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because she lives with her mother and her little brother. The lost of father‟s figure
makes Ronnie‟s characteristic changed.
The explanations of Ronnie‟s
characteristics when there is her father‟s figure and when her father‟s figure lost
will be stated as follows:
a.
Ronnie’s characteristics when there is a father’s figure
Ronnie had intact families three years ago, before the parental divorce. She
lived with her father, mother and little brother, Jonah. Kim and Steve was kind
parent for their children. The divorce happens and breaks Ronnie‟s family. Her
father, Steve leaves their house and moves to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
While Ronnie lives with her mother and Jonah in New York. During three years
after the divorce, Ronnie has lost her father figure in her life. She only has her
mother figure. When Ronnie‟s age is seventeen years old, her mother tells her and
her brother to spend the holiday with Steve in North Carolina. After the divorce,
Ronnie hates her father. She thinks that her father has an affair with someone else,
therefore he chooses to divorce Kim and leaves his family. She has been angry
with him since her parental divorce. She loses her father figure in that certain
time. There are three Ronnie‟s characteristics when there is a father figure:
i.
Caring
During the holiday, she and her brother live with their father again. Ronnie
who has not met her father for three years meets him again. She spends her time
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with her father, after three years she never wants to meet her father. She gets her
father figure again during the holiday.
After she spent time with her father everyday and got her father figure
again, she changes into a kind person anymore. She changes into a girl like three
years ago before the divorce happened.
One day, Ronnie visits a funfair which is being held in Wrightsville Beach.
She meets Will, a volley ball player who already spilled his drink into Ronnie‟s
clothes before. She sees Will and his friend, Scott involves in a fight with Marcus
and his friends. It makes a fray in the funfair. The situation in the funfair becomes
chaotic. Ronnie also sees Blaze, her new friend. Blaze is Marcus‟s girlfriend. In
the middle of the fight, Ronnie realizes there is a toddler. The toddler is crying.
Ronnie shouts and tells them to finish their fight. She pushes away Marcus and
Scott, then she walks into that toddler.
“The fight‟s over! There is no fight! Can you see this kid is hurt?”
Challenging them to contradict her, she pushed her way between Scott and
Marcus and stopped to the cry toddler, who had been knocked over in the
commotion. He was three or four, and his shirt was pumpkin orange. When
the girl spoke to him, her voice was soft, her smile reassuring.
“Are you okay, sweetie? Where‟s your mom? Let‟s go find her, okay?”
(Sparks, 2009:60-61)
Ronnie takes care of the toddler and until the toddler‟s mother comes and
takes him away from Ronnie. Ronnie does not let that toddler cries and helps him
to find his mother. According to Murphy, the author tells about Ronnie‟s
characteristic through mannerism (1972:173). The reader of the novel can know
Ronnie‟s characteristics through her manners.
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Ronnie has one little brother. His name is Jonah. Jonah is a very talkative
boy.
There are times she‟s still as sweet as ever. Like with Jonah. Even though
they fight like cats and dogs, she still brings him to the park every weekend.
And when he was having trouble in math, she tutored him every night.
(Sparks, 2009:23)
Jonah and Ronnie often fight. They do not always get along. Kim, their
mother says that Ronnie and Jonah fight like cats and dogs. But, Ronnie is still a
good sister for Jonah. Sometimes, she brings Jonah to the park every weekend.
When Jonah gets trouble in math, Ronnie also helps him. She tutors her brother.
From Kim‟s words above, the author of the novel implies that Ronnie is very
attentive to Jonah. According to Murphy, the author of the novel uses a character
to describe the other character in the story (1972:164). Sparks uses Kim to
describe Ronnie‟s characteristics. She cares a lot about her brother.
ii.
Nice
Ronnie also has a friend in North Carolina. Her name is Galadriel, but her
nickname is Blaze. Blaze also comes from a broken home. She leaves her home
because she does not like her mother‟s new boyfriend. She is a nomadic. She just
lives in a car with her boyfriend, Marcus. Marcus is not a good guy and he does
not like Blaze. Blaze knows it, but she cannot do anything. She only has Marcus
after she leaves her home. When Ronnie and Blaze meet Marcus and his friends,
Marcus always does whatever he wants to do. When he will eat Blaze‟s french
fries, Ronnie forbids Marcus because that french fries is Blaze‟s, but Marcus does
not hear her (Sparks, 2009:86). Unfortunately, Blaze is jealous with Ronnie. Blaze
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thinks that Marcus likes her. When Blaze and Ronnie meet in a shop, Blaze puts
things in Ronnie‟s tote bag.
...the man removed two CDs and half a dozen of the signed 45s from her
tote bag that she realized she‟d been right about Blaze expecting Ronnie to
find her. The CDs were the ones that Blaze had been holding, and Blaze had
taken down the 45s from the wall. In shock, she began to understand that
Blaze had planned it all along (Sparks, 2009:111).
Blaze puts that thing in Ronnie‟s tote bag deliberately. Because of that
Ronnie is arrested and taken to the police station. Ronnie knows that Blaze does it
to her, but she does not revenge to Blaze.
One time Ronnie meets Blaze again, she has separated from Marcus.
Blaze‟s mom kicks her out from her home. Her mother will marry with her
boyfriend, they get really big fight because she does not like her mother‟s
boyfriend. Her mother changes the locks of the house.
“I know what you want me to do,” Blaze said. “But I can‟t. And it‟s not
because I don‟t like you. I do. I think you‟re nice, and I shouldn‟t have done
what I did. But I‟m as trapped as you are. And I don‟t think Marcus is done
with you, either.”
Ronnie stiffened. “What do you mean?”
Blaze stood. “He‟s been talking about you again. And not in a good way. I‟d
stay away from me if I were you.”
Before Ronnie can respond, Blaze starts walking off.
“Hey, Blaze,” she called out.
Blaze slowly turns around.
“If you ever need something to eat or a place to stay, you know where I
live” (Sparks, 2009:294).
Ronnie also helps Blaze when Marcus throws fireballs to her. In that time,
Blaze is hit by a fireball and that fireball starts to burn her body. Ronnie and Will
help Blaze and bring her to the hospital (Sparks, 2009:335).
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After that moment, Blaze comes to Ronnie‟s house and apologizes to her.
She confesses that she had put a CD in Ronnie‟s tote bag in the shop. She signs an
affidavit that said Ronnie had no idea what was going on. Ronnie asks what will
happen to Blaze after she admitted her action. “What‟s going to happen to you?
Are they going to charge you?” (Sparks, 2009:427). From Ronnie‟s respon shows
that Ronnie cares about Blaze. Blaze says that Ronnie is a nice person.
“But you‟re a great person, Ronnie. You‟re honest, and you were nice to me
when you had no reason to be.” A tear leaked out of one eye, and she
swiped at it quickly. “I‟ll never forget the day you offered to let me stay
with you, even after all the terrible things I had done to you. I felt
such...shame. And yet I was grateful, you know? That someone still cared”
(Sparks, 2009:429).
Even though she has done a bad thing to Ronnie, Ronnie does not hate her.
Sparks tells the reader about Ronnie‟s characteristics through speech (Murphy,
172: 164). From that conversation between Ronnie and Blaze, Blaze tells that
Ronnie is a nice person directly.
“And she‟s always had a good heart” (Sparks, 2009:24). That conversation
is said by Steve. Steve always convinces that his daughter is a nice person. Ronnie
always has a good heart. Sparks describes Ronnie‟s characteristic using the other
character (Murphy, 172:164). Both Steve and Blaze say Ronnie‟s characteristics
directly.
iii.
Religious
Before the parental divorce, Ronnie and her family used to go to church
together. After the divorce, Ronnie does not always go to church. Jonah and her
mother always go to church with Brian. When Brian comes to their house, Ronnie
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locks herself in her room and does not follow them to the church together (Sparks,
2009:27).
Ronnie finds her father‟s bible when she is waiting her father in the hospital.
Ronnie‟s father has stomach cancer. Ronnie is surprised when she knows the fact
about her father‟s cancer. She reads the bible and for the first time after several
years, she prays. “...and she found herself praying for the first time in years, she
begged God for enough time to make it possible” (Sparks, 2009:380). She wants
God to heal her father. After that time, Ronnie begins to pray regularly (Sparks,
2009:410). When Steve comes to the house again, Ronnie asks about his favorite
verses in the bible. She wants Steve to share anything about bible (Sparks,
2009:412). Ronnie always prays for her father. “She prayed fiercely for a miracle,
a tiny one” (Sparks, 2009: 440). Sparks describes Ronnie as a religious person
through reactions (Murphy, 172: 168). From Ronnie‟s reactions when her father
sick, the reader can know Ronnie as a religious person.
b.
Ronnie’s characteristics when she loses her father’s figure
In this part, Ronnie‟s characteristics when she loses her father figure will be
explained. Ronnie experiences a very painful moment in her life that is her
parental divorce. She experiences parental divorce when she is fourteen years old.
After her parental divorce, she lives with her mother and her little brother. She no
longer lives with her father together. She lives in New York, whereas her father
moves to his hometown in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. She loses her
father figure.
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During three years time after the divorce happensed, Ronnie‟s characteristic
have changed. She does not speak to her father after the divorce. She hates Steve
because she thinks that Steve is the reason why that divorce happens.
i.
Angry
When Ronnie and her family are on their way to her father‟s house in North
Carolina, Ronnie involves in squabbles with her mother. “Just stop, Mom. Okay?
I‟m not in the mood” (Sparks, 2009:8). Ronnie says that words to her mother
because Kim plays Mozart‟s Sonata number 16 in C Major. It is one of the pieces
that Ronnie had performed at Carnegie Hall four years ago. Through reactions,
Sparks tells about Ronnie‟s characteristics (Murphy, 1972: 168). Like her father,
Ronnie is also a pianist. She is a very talented pianist. Even the prestigious music
school like Juilliard offers her to study in there without admission tests. Ronnie
rejects it. In fact, she does not want to play piano anymore. Something like that
happens again when Ronnie sees Steve plays piano in his home.
“I‟m old enough to make my own decisions. Don‟t you get that? You gave
up the right to tell me what to do when you walked out the door. And would
you please listen to me!”
Abruptly, her dad stopped playing.
“I don‟t like this little game you‟re playing.”
He seemed confused. “What game?”
“This! Playing the piano every minute I‟m here! I don‟t care how much you
want me to play! I‟m never going to play the piano again! Especially not for
you!” (Sparks, 2009:74)
Ronnie is angry with her father. She thinks her father plays the piano
deliberately. “Well, it makes me feel sick. Don‟t you get that? I hate the piano. I
hate that I had to play every single day! And I hate that I even have to see the
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damn thing anymore!” (Sparks, 2009:108). She even says that she will not play
the piano for her father. She hates him and the piano because her father is her first
piano teacher.
One day, Will asks Ronnie why there is a piano behind the plywood in
Steve‟s house. And Ronnie tells that Steve build plywood because she does not
want to see the piano the house.
Will blinked. “You hate the piano that much?”
“Yes,”she answered.
“Because your dad was your teacher?” (Sparks, 2009:255).
Ronnie is surprised by Will‟s question. “I felt like he hadn‟t only betrayed
the family. I felt like he‟d betrayed me personally, and I was just so angry about
all of it that I swore I‟d never play or write another song again” (Sparks, 2009:
256). Ronnie feels like her father betrayed her personally. Because of that, Ronnie
does not want to play piano and write song anymore. From her father, Ronnie
knows piano. Before the divorce, Ronnie and Steve often play the piano together.
Therefore, Ronnie is very angry to all things related to the piano.
ii.
Rude
Ronnie also does not care anything about her father. She never wants to
meet Steve when he visits her house in New York.
He cleared his throat, “Hi, sweetie. It‟s good to see you.”
When Ronnie didn‟t answer, Kim scowled at her. “Don‟t be rude. Your
father‟s talking to you. Say something.”
Ronnie crossed her arms. “All right. How about this? I‟m not going to play
the piano for you.”
“Ronnie!” Steve could hear Kim‟s exasperation.
“What?”She tossed her head. “I thought I‟d get that out of the way early.”
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Before Kim could respond, Steve shook his head. The last thing he wanted
was an argument. “It‟s okay, Kim.”
“Yeah, Mom. It‟s okay,” Ronnie said, pouncing. “I need to stretch my legs.
I‟m going for a walk.” (Sparks, 2009:20)
Ronnie meets her father for the first time after the divorce three years ago.
She does not say anything to him. Kim warns Ronnie because Ronnie speaks too
rude to Steve, Ronnie still does not listen to her. Ronnie really does whatever she
wants to do. She does not want to speak with her father. According to Murphy‟s
theory about the way the author of novel explained their character, Ronnie‟s
manners explain that Ronnie is a rude person. She changes into a rude person to
everyone.
iii.
Rebellious
Besides Ronnie changes her attitudes, she also changes her appearances.
Steve is shocked with her appearances when he meets her.
He was struck by how much she‟d changed since the last photo Kim had emailed. Gone was the all-American girl he remembered, and in her place
was a young woman with a purple streak in her long brown hair, black
fingernail polish, and dark clothing. Despite the obvious signs of teenage
rebellion (Sparks, 2009:20).
Ronnie changes her appearance. She colors her brown hair into purple and
her nail, she also wears a black clothing. Steve thinks that appearances are signs
of teenage rebellion. From personal description, Sparks tries to describe about
Ronnie‟s characteristics (Murphy, 1972:162).
He paused, chastened. “You‟re right. I‟m sorry.” He reached for his glass
again. “What did the judge say about her shoplifting?”
“Just what I told you on the phone,” she said with a resigned expression. “If
she doesn‟t get into any more trouble, it‟ll be expunged from her record. If
she does it again though...”She trailed off.
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“You‟re worried about this,” he started.
Kim turned away. “It‟s not the first time, which is the problem,” she
confused. “She admitted to stealing the bracelet last year...” (Sparks,
2009:24)
Kim tells to Steve that Ronnie steals something in the shop. Ronnie also
tells to Blaze that she stole in the shop.
“I used to shoplift,”she said, subdued. “A lot. Nothing big. Just more for the
thrill of doing it.”
“Used to?”
“Not anymore. I got caught. Actually, I got caught twice, but the second
time it was an accident. I went to court, but the charges were continued for a
year. Basically, it means that if I don‟t get in trouble again, the charges will
be dismissed.”(Sparks, 2009:86)
Ronnie lives disorderly. She also breaks the curfew that her mother that has
been set by her mother. “...or the fact that Ronnie continually ignored her
curfew...” (Sparks, 2009:9). Ronnie and her mother usually fight about the
curfew. Kim thinks if she sets the curfew for Ronnie, Ronnie will obey it. But the
fact, Ronnie does not obey the curfew.
Kim has a boyfriend after she divorced with Steve. His name is Brian. Brian
often comes to Kim‟s house.
“How do the kids feel about him?”
“Jonah seems to like him, but Jonah likes everyone.”
“And Ronnie?”
“She gets along with him about as well as she gets along with you.” (Sparks,
2009: 22)
Jonah can accept Brian as her mother‟s boyfriend, but Ronnie cannot accept
it. Ronnie always hangs out if Brian comes to her house. She does not want to
meet Brian.
Steve smiled. “Are you still going to church?”He asked.
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“Yeah. But it‟s not the same one we went to. It‟s the one where Brian likes
to go. And Ronnie doesn‟t always come with us. She locks herself in her
room and refuses to come out, but as soon as we leave, she goes over to
Starbucks to hang out with her friends. It makes Mom furious.” (Sparks,
2009:27)
Jonah tells Steve that Ronnie does not always come to the church with him,
Kim and Brian especially if Brian comes to go to church together. She locks
herself in her room. She waits until her mother, Jonah and Brian go to the church.
After that, Ronnie hangs out with her friends. It makes Kim furious. Ronnie and
Kim fight every day.
2.
The Characteristics of Steve
Steve Miller is a father of two children, Ronnie and Jonah. He is forty eight
years old. He had a wife. Her name is Kim. Three years ago, he divorced with
Kim. Steve‟s personalities were very different from Kim‟s personalities. “Unlike
Kim, who‟d been outgoing and gregarious, he‟d always been more reticent and
blended into crowds” (Sparks, 2009:17). Although Steve does not really like the
crowds, but he is a good musician. Steve is also a good composer. He teach piano
in the prestigious music schools, Juilliard. There are four Steve‟s characteristics
that will be explained in this part.
a.
Religious
Three years after he divorces with Kim, Steve focuses his life to experience
the presence of God. When Ronnie at her father‟s house, she finds her father‟s
bible. “Beside her, on the bed stand, was her father‟s Bible” (Sparks, 2009:380).
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From that event, Ronnie knows that her father is a religious person. Actually
Steve is a religious person. He always keeps his Bible in his bed. “That‟s because
you were young. I kept this Bible by my bed, and I‟d read through parts of it once
or twice a week. Ask your mom. She‟ll tell you” (Sparks, 2009:412). He often
reads Bible. After his divorce, Steve gives his attention to God. He seeks the
presence of God. He often shares his experience with Pastor Harry. Pastor Harry
is a person who rent a house to Steve. Pastor Harry is a preacher in the church,
near Steve‟s house. Someday Ronnie asks her father to share anything about
Bible. Steve shares one of his favorite verses in the Bible.
“It‟s Galatians 5: 22,” he said, pressing the Bible flat in his lap. He cleared
his throat before he started. “But when The Holy Spirit controls our lives, he
will reduce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Sparks, 2009:412).
Steve has many favorites‟ verses in the Bible. He also enjoys the Psalms.
Ronnie realizes that The Holy Spirit really controls her father‟s life. “Her dad, she
saw now, had never been acting alone. The Holy Spirit had been controlling his
life all along” (Sparks, 2009:413). After Steve shares about Bible, Ronnie begins
to pray regularly. She also wants to experience the presence of God like his father.
When Ronnie and Jonah arrive in Steve‟s house, Steve asks to Jonah about
the condition of his family.
Steve smiled. “Are you still going to church?”he asked.
“Yeah. But it‟s not the same one we went to. It‟s the one where Brian likes
to go. And Ronnie doesn‟t always come with us. She locks herself in her
room and refuses to some out, but as soon as we leave, she goes over to
Starbucks to hang out with her friends...” (Sparks, 2009:27).
In the novel, Ronnie is described as a religious person like her father. Her
family always go to church together. And after the parental divorce, Ronnie does
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not always go to church with her mother, Jonah and her mother‟s new boyfriend.
She locks herself and goes out with her friends.
b.
Wise
During the holiday, Ronnie has new friends. One of them is Blaze. Blaze
has a boyfriend. His name is Marcus. Marcus does not like Blaze. After Marcus
met Ronnie, he likes her. Blaze is jealous of that condition. She trapped Ronnie,
she put something in Ronnie‟s tote bag. Because of that, Ronnie is arrested by the
police (Sparks, 2009:111). At that time, Ronnie calls her father. She wants Steve
to pick her up in the police station.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked.
It was the first time since she‟d been here that she‟d spoken to him without a
hint of anger or frustration.
“No,” he said. “Not at all.” (Sparks, 2009:119)
After Steve picks Ronnie up from the police station, he goes back to home.
Ronnie tells her father that she does not steal in that shop. She has been trapped
by Blaze. From that conversation between Ronnie and Steve, Steve says he does
not mad at Ronnie. He believes Ronnie does not do it (Sparks, 2009:118). He also
does not discuss about it with Ronnie anymore.
Someday, Will tells the truth about fire in the church to Ronnie. The person
who started the fire was Scott. Will had known it but he did not tell anything
about it to someone else. “But he‟s my friend...” (Sparks, 2009:390). Will does
not tell the truth to someone else because Scott is his friend. He protects Scott.
“Pastor Harris almost died in that fire! He spent weeks in the hospital. Do
you know how painful burns are? Why don‟t you ask Blaze how it feels?
And the church...you know he can‟t even rebuild it...and now my dad‟s
never going to see the window where it belongs!” (Sparks, 2009:390).
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Because of that fire, Pastor Harris almost died. Ronnie is very disappointed
with Will. “Just go! Leave!”(Sparks, 2009:391). Ronnie is angry with Will, she
tells Will to go and leaves her. After Ronnie knew the truth from Will, she tells
her father. She also tells her father that she breaks her relationship with Will.
“I‟m not saying I‟m right. I‟ll be the first to admit I‟m wrong about a lot of
things. But if everything is just as you described it, then I want you to know
this: Pastor Harris doesn‟t want to know the truth. Because if he does, he‟ll
have to do something about it. And trust me, he would never want to hurt
Scott or his family, especially if it was an accident. He‟s just not that kind of
man. And one more thing. And of everything I‟ve said, this is the most
important.”
“What‟s that?”
“You need to learn how to forgive.”
She crossed her arms. “I‟ve already forgiven Will. I‟ve left him messages...”
Even before she finished, her dad was shaking his head. “I‟m not talking
about Will. You need to learn yourself first.”(Sparks, 2009:422-423).
From the quotation above, the author of the novel describes Steve‟s
characteristics through reactions (Murphy, 1972:168). Steve‟s reactions towards
Ronnie‟s story explain that he is a wise man. He does not mad with Will because
of his action, he gives an advice to Ronnie.
“When you told me that you were in love with Will, did you mean it?”
She remembered Megan asking her the same question. “Yes.”
“Then I think you might have been too hard on him.” (Sparks, 2009:422).
He says that Ronnie needs to learn how to forgive because Steve knows that
Ronnie loves Will very much. It will be hard for Ronnie to break her relationship
with Will because of this problem. He does not tell Ronnie to tell the truth to
Pastor Harris.
As a father, Steve really cares to her daughter‟s feeling. He knows that
Ronnie loves Will and because of this case they break their relationship. Steve
tries to understand Ronnie‟s feeling and he wants Ronnie learn how to forgive
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someone. When Ronnie is arrested by the police, he also does not angry with her.
He also does not discuss about it with Ronnie. He believes her. Different with
Kim, Kim will be angry if she knows that Ronnie is arrested by the police in
North Carolina. Ronnie needs someone who can understand and listen to her.
c.
Kind
Three persons in that novel say that Steve is a kind man. When Steve stays
in the hospital, Ronnie always accompanies him. Ronnie regrets because she has
wasted three years to hate her father. At that time, Steve‟s time is limited. He only
has less than a year to live. Ronnie realizes that she loves her father very much.
She does not want to lose him. “He was a good man, a good father, and he
deserved more than that” (Sparks, 2009:374). He is a good father for Ronnie. He
always loves Ronnie even though she hated him. And now, Ronnie wants to take
care of her father. Ronnie regrets about her action towards her father. She realizes
that she really loves her father. She can not hate him because of the parental
divorce.
Will admires Steve. “Only Steve, a man he‟d grown to admire, a man he‟d
learned from, and the kind of man he himself hoped to be as he grew older”
(Sparks, 2009:383). Will learns to be a good man from Steve. He gets many
lessons of life from Steve.
Pastor Harris is the last person that says Steve is a kind person. “I can‟t
imagine how hard this is for you. Your dad is a special man” (Sparks, 2009:376).
Ronnie takes care of her father in the hospital, she meets Pastor Harris. They talks
about Steve‟s illness seriously. Pastor Harris tells that Steve is a special man.
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“They know I think of him as my son” (Sparks, 2009:376). Pastor Harris has
regarded Steve as his son.
The author of The Last Song describes Steve‟s characteristics through
conversations of others. Sparks gives the reader clues about Steve‟s characteristics
through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him
(Murphy, 1972:167). They say that Steve is a good person, good father, special
man. From their words imply that Steve is a kind person.
d.
Loving
During Ronnie takes care of her father in her holiday, she reads many letters
from her father. She has never read any letters from Steve. One day, she reads all
Steve‟s letters for her.
When she reads one of Steve‟s letters, she knows that Steve very loves his
family.
I always love you, and I will always love Jonah. I always love your mother,
and she will always have my respect. She us the giver of the two greatest
gifts I’ve ever received and she’s been a wonderful mother (Sparks,
2009:414).
In that letters, Steve says that he loves his family so much. He loves his
children, Ronnie and Jonah. And the most important is Steve always loves his ex
wife. Steve sent all letters for Ronnie after the divorce happened.
When Steve talks to Jonah in the hospital, he tries to explain about his
cancer. Jonah is really sad. Steve also tries to entertain his son and reminds him
about the window that they have made together.
“I call it God light, because it reminds me of heaven. Every time the light
shines through the window we built or any window at all, you‟ll know I‟m
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right there with you, okay? That‟s going to be me. I‟ll be the light in the
window.” (Sparks, 2009:408)
Steve promises to Jonah that he will be the light in the window. He says that
he will always be there for Jonah. He never leaves Jonah and his family.
Sparks also describes how Steve really loves his children directly. “Steve
loves his children more than life itself, but more than that, he knew that Jonah
needed him, and once more, he was struck by the realization that he was failing as
a father” (Sparks, 2009:406). In the other conversation between Pastor Harris and
Ronnie, Pastor Harris also tells that Steve loves his children more than he loves
himself. “He loves the two of you more than life itself, and he didn‟t want to hurt
you” (Sparks, 2009:376). Pastor Harris tells to Ronnie how her father was so
nervous before he meets her and Jonah. Because Steve really loves Ronnie, he is
willing to build a wall to cover the piano from Ronnie‟s view. Ronnie does not
want to see the piano in Steve‟s house. She also does not like of Steve plays the
piano in the house. Because of that, Steve always plays the piano in the church.
Steve is willing to do anything to make Ronnie happy although he cannot often
plays piano in his house. He also does not force Ronnie to love piano again after
she never plays it.
B.
The Influence of the Absence of the Father Figure on Ronnie’s
Behavior
Steve and Kim divorced when Ronnie was fourteen years old. It means that
Ronnie spends her adolescent period without her father figure. She lives only with
one parent, her mother. Living with her mother means less contact with her father,
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therefore there is lack a father figure at home. During three years after the divorce,
Ronnie has lived with her mother and her little brother.
As children without father because of the divorce, Ronnie has a minimum
interaction with male parents. After the divorce, Steve moves from their house
and lives in his hometown. Because of the fatherless condition, Ronnie does not
get her father figure in her entire life. “Father absence resulting from divorce is
more likely to have negative effects than the father‟s dying” (Kimmed and
Weiner, 1985:258). The influence of the absence of father figure on Ronnie‟s
behavior will be stated as follows:
1.
She has negative feelings towards her father
In The Last Song, Sparks tells the reader that Steve does not live with his
family after he and Kim divorced. Kim lives with Ronnie and Jonah, whereas
Steve lives alone in his hometown in North Carolina (Sparks, 2009:16). “Yes, but
you haven‟t taken his calls. And every time he came to New York to see you and
Jonah, you ignored him and hung out with your friends” (Sparks, 2009:11). Steve
often comes to New York to meet Ronnie and Jonah, but he only meets Kim and
Jonah. Ronnie always ignores her father‟s call and never wants to meet him
(Sparks, 2009:11). According to Greetman and Dunne, divorce is typically part of
larger problem in psychological and emotional health (1990:9). Ronnie is the
victim of her parental divorce. The parental divorce really breaks her heart. She
must deal with the reality. She does not get her father figure after the parental
divorce. “Functional definitions of families focus on what people do together, and
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especially on what they do support to each other (Cheal, 2002:7). Parents are very
important person of children‟s life. After the parental divorce, Ronnie always
ignores Steve. In the Steve‟s letters, he also says that Ronnie always ignores him
(Sparks, 2009:413). Ronnie is angry with her father. According to Ronnie‟s
opinion, it is Steve‟s fault. “He‟s the one who left” (Sparks, 2009:10). Someday,
Will asks Ronnie why she does not play piano anymore.
“He taught me to play from the time I was able to walk. I played for hours,
seven days a week, for years. We even did some composing together. It‟s
what we shared, you know? It was something for just the two of us, and
when he moved out of the apartment... I felt like he hadn‟t only betrayed the
family. I felt like he‟d betrayed me personally, and I was just so angry about
all of it that I swore I‟d down here and saw the piano and heard him playing
it every time I was around, I couldn‟t help feeling that he was trying to
pretend that what he‟d done didn‟t matter. Like he thought we could just
start over. But we couldn‟t. You can‟t undo the past” (Sparks, 2009:256).
Steve is Ronnie‟s first piano teacher. Ronnie tells that they used to play
piano every day. They also composed song together. After the divorce, Ronnie
feels like her father not only betrayed her family but also betrayed her personally.
“Anger and hostility are common emotional reactions among adolscents,
especially toward the parent they blame for the divorce” (Rice, 1996:120). Ronnie
says that her father who leaves her. She thinks that it is all of her father‟s fault.
She thinks that her father loved someone else and then decided to divorce from
her mother. Ronnie blames her father about her parental divorce. Ronnie like the
other adolescents needs support and affection from her father, but she does not get
it from her father. Whereas Steve always tries to call her and send letter to her, but
she does not care about it. She always has a negative feelings towards Steve
because Ronnie thinks that Steve is the reason why her family broken.
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She does not get along with Kim, her mother
Besides having negative feelings towards her father, Ronnie also does not
get along with Kim. Ronnie never obeys her mother‟s rules anymore. She breaks
the curfew, she does whatever she likes, and she never pays attentions to her
mother anymore. After Ronnie and Jonah arrived in her father‟s house to spend
their holiday, Steve asks Jonah about Ronnie and Kim. “...Mom and Ronnie
fought the whole time” (Sparks, 2009:19). Ronnie and Kim also fight because of
the simple things. When Ronnie snaps her gum on the way to Steve‟s house, Kim
is also angry with Ronnie (Sparks, 2009:9). Ronnie knows her mother hate it but
she still snaps her gum like that. It is their second fight when they are on their way
to Steve‟s house. Their first fight is when Kim plays Mozart‟s Sonata number 16.
Ronnie does not like that because she played it in her performance at Carnegie
Hall four years ago, before the divorce happened (Sparks, 2009:8).
Fatherless children may develop a number of problems. Sometimes they
become excessively dependent upon the mother; sometimes they grown
rebellious and defiant, difficult for the mother to control. Antisocial
behavior in the form of stealing may also break out the following the loss of
father (Martin and Stendler, 1957:331).
Kim finds it difficult to control Ronnie after the divorce. Ronnie becomes a
child who never listens to her mother again. “After separation occurs, adolescents
have to adjust to the absence of one parent, often one on whom they have
depended deeply for affection and help” (Rice, 1996:120). Kim is the only one
parent who lives together with Ronnie because after the divorce Steve leaves
alone. Kim has double role, as a father and as a mother. In fact, Kim has a new
boyfriend. She dates with Brian. She will get married with her new boyfriend in
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January (Sparks, 2009:22). Jonah can accept it, he likes her mother‟s new
boyfriend. But Ronnie really does not care about it. She refuses to meet Brian if
he comes to her house. Theory of adolescence explains that children will be
jealous if their parents date with someone else. “If parent begin to date again and
get involved with another person, adolescents may become jealous and resentful
because they have to share their parent with another adult” (Rice, 1996:120). The
presence of someone else will give effect towards children. Children must learn to
accept it and share their parents with stepmother, stepfather, stepbrother or
stepsister.
3.
She becomes cynical about whole things
Ronnie losses her father figures because her parental divorce. According to
Kimmel and Weiner, father absence resulting from divorce is more likely to have
negative effects than the father‟s dying (Kimmel and Weiner, 1985:258). Because
the absence of father figure because of dying is more understandable than the
absence of father figure because of the divorce. After her parental divorce, Ronnie
becomes cynical about whole things.
She figured they were in college-they were only a couple of years older than
her-but there was an easy affection between them that she had yet experince
in any of her own relationship. Yeah she‟d had boyfriends, but she‟d never
been in love, and sometimes she doubted whether she would be. After her
parents divorced, she‟d been kind of cynical about whole things.. (Sparks,
2009: 135).
Ronnie has boyfriends, but she never loves them. She just tries to seek
attention from her male friends. “They begin dating early and are likely to
engange in sexual intercourse at an early age” (Rice, 1996:125). During the
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summer holiday, Ronnie also has a relationship with Will Blakelee. It means that
Ronnie tries to seek attention from male because she cannot get affection from her
father figure.
4.
She becomes rebellious girl
Ronnie is not only has problem with her parents, she is also involved in
delinquency. After Kim arrives in Steve‟s house, they talks about Ronnie.
“What did the judge say about her shoplifting?”
“Just what I told you on the phone,” she said with a resigned expression. “If
she doesn‟t get into any more trouble, it‟ll be expunged from her record. If
she does it again, though...”she traild off.
“You‟re worried about this,”he started.
Kim turned away. “It‟s not the first time, which is the problem,” she
confessed. “She admitted to stealing the bracelet last year, but this time, she
said she was buying a bunch of stuff at the drugstore and couldn‟t hold it all,
so she tucked the lipstick in her pocket. She paid for everything else, and
when you see the video, it seems to be an honest mistake, but...”
“But you‟re not sure” (Sparks, 2009: 23-24).
From that conversation, Ronnie involves in delinquency two times. During
the holiday, Ronnie is also arrested by the police because of Blaze. Blaze puts
something in Ronnie‟s bag when they meet in the shop. According to Rice in
theory of adolescence, adolescents from father‟s absence family had a higher case
of delinquency that adolescent from intact families (Rice, 1996:125). Ronnie as
children without father because of the parental divorce associated with
delinquency.
Divorce or separation brings with it loss of environmental control. Mothers
report being less able to discipline or influence their children after divorce,
partly because the children are upset, partly because they put a lot of the
blame for the absence of their father on the mother... (Rice, 1996:126)
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Ronnie does not have a good relationship with her mother. Ronnie is upset
with her mother and blames her parents about the divorce.
Besides delinquency, Ronnie often goes to the clubs with her friends.
“Don‟t you mean you‟d rather spend all night at the clubs? I‟m not naive, Ronnie.
I know what goes on in those kinds of places” (Sparks, 2009:11). In adolescent‟s
theory, Rice explains that adolescence who experiences parental divorce will find
something new that can divert their attention from parental divorce. Ronnie
becomes a rebellious girl as her escapement from the reality.
Young children, because of their limited capacity to understand what is
happening, are especially prone to unrealistic feeling of anger and guilt, and
they often revert to whinning, clinging, infantile behaviour that they had
previously outgrown (Kimmel and Weiner, 1985:262).
The reason why Ronnie becomes rebellious girl because she does not really
understand what happens to her parents. As a children, she does not understand
why divorce can happens and breaks her family. When her parents‟ divorce, they
do not tell their reason to their children. Ronnie blames her father as the reason of
the divorce and does not get along with her mother.
Ronnie repress all traumatic past events into her unconsciousness. In theory
repression in psychoanalysis, anything you forget, anything from which you divert
your attention until it is forgotten becomes unconscious” (Jung, 1948:362). But if
unconscious brain can no longer accommodate all of that, then the anxiety that
will come to the surface in the form of over action. This theory explains why
Ronnie changes. For Ronnie, her parental divorce is a painful moment in her life.
“Divorce is typically part of larger problem in psychological and emotional
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health” (Greetman and Dunne, 1990:9). She must live with mother and her
brother, she also loses her father figure after the divorce. She tries to divert her
attention from that problem. As the result, she becomes worse than before.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
This chapter contains the conclusion of this thesis. The object of this thesis
is a novel by Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song. There are two problems
formulation in this thesis. The first problem formulation is about the characteristic
of Ronnie and Steve, and the second problem formulation is about the influence of
father figure absence on Ronnie‟s behavior.
To answer the first question in the problem formulation, the first part of
analysis discusses about Ronnie‟s characteristics when there is her father figure
and when she loses her father figure. From the analysis, the writer finds out
Ronnie‟s characteristics when there is her father figure, she is described as caring,
nice, and religious. Meanwhile, Ronnie‟s characteristics when she loses her father
figure are angry, rude, and rebellious. The writer also analyzes Steve‟s
characteristics. Steve, Ronnie‟s father is described as religious, wise, kind, and
loving. These characteristics are presented through various ways based on
Murphy‟s theory. The characteristics can be described through personal
description, characters as seen by another, speech, past life, conversations of
other, reactions, direct comment, thoughts and mannerisms.
To answer the second questions in the problem formulation, the writer
analysis the influence of father figure absence on Ronnie‟s behavior. To reveal the
influence of father figure absence, the writer uses several theories. Theory of
behavior, theory of parent‟s role in child development, theory of adolescence and
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theory of repression in psychoanalysis are used to finds out the influence of father
figure absence on Ronnie‟s behavior. Because of her parental divorce, Ronnie
must accept the reality that she loses her father figure. After the parental divorce,
Steve moves to North Carolina and does not live with his family anymore. Ronnie
lives with her mother, Kim and her little brother Jonah in New York. There are
four influences of the absence of father figure on Ronnie‟s behavior. The first
influence is Ronnie has negative feelings towards her father, Steve. Ronnie
always ignores her father‟s call and never wants to meet Steve if Steve goes to
New York. She blames her father as the cause of her parental divorce. She thinks
that her father betrayed her personally. She becomes a girl who hates piano and
her father so much. Steve is her first piano teacher. Steve introduced piano to
Ronnie when she was child. Ronnie also does not get along with Kim. Ronnie
always fights with her mother. She breaks the curfew and the rules. When Kim
has a boyfriend, Ronnie also does not care about it. She always locks herself in
her room when her mother‟s boyfriend comes to her house in New York. Ronnie
becomes cynical about whole things and she becomes rebellious girl. She changes
her appearance extremely. She also involves in delinquency. She is arrested by the
police two times. Ronnie also tries to seek attention from males, but she never
falls in love with them. She did this because she cannot find father figure after her
parental divorce.
Because of the parental divorce, Ronnie experiences bad experiences in her
life. The theory of repression in psychoanalysis explains why Ronnie changes.
Divorce is a painful moment for Ronnie. She loses her father figure, her mother
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has a new boyfriend, and she feels like her father betrayed her. The theory of
behavior also explains that experiences can change people. That is why the
absence of father figure can influence Ronnie‟s behavior.
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