Essay

CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION IN ENID BLYTON’S  FIRST TERM IN MALORY TOWER

By: Pustaka Sari (2211412053)

STATE UNIVERSITY OF SEMARANG

2014

I.                   INTRODUCTION

Character is an obligatory element included in a literary work. Not to mention, this is a must-have element in a fiction, as fiction itself is one kind of literary works. Besides character and its characterization, elements such as theme, plots, moral value, setting are also included in a fiction. However, for this essay, the one for the highlight is the character and its characterization in a fiction.

Character is a participant in the story, and is usually a person, but may be any personal identity, or entity whose existence originates from a fictional work or performance¹. This element is divided into some kinds, which are:

1.      Point-of-view character: The character from whose perspective (theme) the audience experiences the story. This is the character that represents the point of view the audience empathizes, or at the very least, sympathizes with. This is the "Main" Character in most cases, but not necessarily.

2.      Protagonist: The driver of the action of the story and therefore responsible for achieving the story's Objective Story Goal (the surface journey). In western storytelling tradition the Protagonist is usually the main character.

3.      Antagonist: A person, or a group of people (antagonists) who oppose the main character, or main characters. The Antagonist rarely succeeds the end of the book/series.

4.      Static character: A character who does not significantly change during the course of a story.

5.      Dynamic character: A character who undergoes character development during the course of a story.

6.      Foil: The character that contrasts to the protagonist in a way that illuminates their personality or characteristic.

7.      Supporting character: A character that plays a part in the plot, but is not major

8.      Minor character: A character in a bit/cameo part.

This element becomes the most interesting of the discussion since by digging up much more information about the characters, in this case is the characters in First Term at Malory Towers, really the readers will know what they get after reading the novel itself. By giving them the more deep evaluation about its characters, the anticipation of people can be raised. So that they are encouraged to know more about this novel written by Enid Blyton. This becomes the basic start to explain more about the characters in the novel.

The next thing to be discussed about is about the methods of developing characters. Readers can do this by understanding some of this ways:

1.      Appearance, which explains or describes the character's outward appearance so the readers can picture them, and identify them relative to other characters.

2.      Dialogue, which is what characters say and how they say it.

3.      Action, which is what characters do and how they do it.

4.      Reaction, which of others is how other characters see and treat a main character.

For further, there are three main topic should be elaborated more in this essay. First is on how reading this novel influences students of the same setting to create the same school atmosphere as in the story. For the next topic is how one character named Darrell Rivers triggers the readers with the same condition as her to build the same self-reflection. Lastly, it is about the structuralism made by the author of this novel is depicted in the reality life as well. These point will be explained further in the following chapters.

II.                TOPIC SENTENCE 1

Reading Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers influences students to create the same school atmosphere as in the story. It is not a judgment as an opinion, but really happens in the reality life as is depicted in the real life of some of the students. Some of students, girls mostly, read this book as their way to spend their leisure times. As the readers, they feel how the school in their real life is created not in the same way as Darrell and Sally’s school. This leads them to be the doppelganger of one of the character in the story, mostly they then will choose Darrell as their major role example.

The readers feel how Darrell live her school life monotonously at the beginning of the story which they can know how their life in their school was the same as hers in the beginning. By using this example, then the next is that how Darrell’s life triggers the readers’ life is really approved for the next topic. The readers then understand why Darrell and her friends want to make the life of their school to be more colorful, which is then added by some little attraction made by themselves. These attraction becomes the super powerful magnet for the readers to do the same thing, some of them are the same but mostly it is just almost-to-be, in order to make the same colorful atmosphere in their school.

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III.             TOPIC SENTENCE 2

Darrell Rivers’ characterization triggers readers with the same characterization to build the same condition as hers. As what has been mentioned above that Darrell does give such impact towards the readers. This is because of her major role in the story. The major role indirectly leads the readers to like the character of Darrell and then triggers them to do the same mirroring towards Darrell. Mostly, those readers also will think that they are the Darrell in their own life.

This can be clearly seen in a reader with the same perspective as Darrell has. Darrell is so annoying because of her sudden-burst anger since she cannot control it. Though, she has the good characterization as in the novel it is said that Darrell then befriends with a lot of people for her straightforward side and her high integrity for Malory Towers. Not to mention, in the end she gets Sally Hopes’ attention to be her only best friend. The author indirectly pushes the readers to make the same alliance for their own characters to be the exact same as Darrell has. For getting the same image of themselves, then the readers are pushed to hope that they can be blessed as Darrell gets in the story.

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IV.             TOPIC SENTENCE 3

Structuralism contained in the story triggers the same structuralism in the reality life of the readers. This next point is about how in the reality, students are divided into some groups as the same depicted in the story of First Term in Malory Towers. They are separated because of their perspectives, their behaviors, their abilities, etc. Actually, this is the peak of the topic should be discussed because no matter the author wants to describe about it by giving the readers about the symbolism of inequality, readers are blinded to know it by their hearts. They just know that the structuralism in the reality nowadays are the best.

Despite the fact that the author are also agree in the structuralism in the reality life, she wants to know how she can change it in a story. This is how the author writes about in the story. The readers know well that Gwendoline is a character should be avoided since she is sassy, and spoiled rich girl. It is like how in our surounding, a girl with a sassy, spoiled-look will come along with her ability of money. However, the author also wants to tell the readers how those spoiled rich girls are actually those who have problems in the society life. By telling this, Blyton wants the readers to destroy the strong wall encycling the structuralism of spoiled rich girls and wants the readers to enter the wall with a new structuralism itself that spoiled rich girls are also lonely girls. This is depicted how in our society actually they are abandoned by their own parents.

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V.                CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

Thus, in by saying, the conclusion is that how the First Term in Malory Towers novel depicts the life of the readers as it can be seen in the characters and their characterizations as well. As what it is told in the first topic, that it gives more strong values towards the students. It comes to this conclusion since the novel itself tries to describe the students’ life in a women boarding school. The atmosphere is almost the same in the recent life, how students in the schools create a life the same as Darrell and friends’ style. Not to mention, how the structural life in the recent days are the same is depicted in the story as well. Another stronf point about the good advantages grabbed from this story is that about how Blyton’s style to make the readers with the same characterization as Darrell Rivers, then she triggers them to be the same as Darrell in facing their reality life. By the hope that those people can find the problem solving of their problems by only understanding the story and also its characters only. This becomes the conclution that the novel itself is rich of healing towards the readers with the same characterization in the real life as well.