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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

This chapter consists of review of related theories and theoretical

framework. In review of related theories, some theories are applied in order to

answer the statements of the problems. They are character, characterization,

feminism, and woman struggle. Hence, some quotations from the experts are

used to support the theories. Meanwhile, theoretical framework contains some

theories used to answer the problems of the study.

2.1 Review of Related Theories

Some theories are presented in this chapter. They are used to analyze this

research. Moreover, the detail definition and explanation of character,

characterization, feminism, and woman struggle is also discussed. Each of the

theories will be described in the following sub-chapters.

2.1.1 Character

Character is an imaginary person in a fiction story. Every character who

exists in the story makes the plot become more interesting. Character is the people

in narratives (Griffith 1990: 49). Rosenheim (1960: 32) also defines that character

in a work of literary art relates to the qualities of moral, emotional, and

intellectual in which the agent has been endowed by the author. It means that a
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character shows the behaviors of human being. In other words, a character is the

most significant part in the story.

There are some different types of character in literature. In term of role,

there are major character and minor character. As stated by Bernardo,

Major characters are vital to the development and resolution of the

conflict. In other words, the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around
these characters. Meanwhile, minor characters serve to complement the
major characters and help move the plot events forward.
{“Characterization in Literature” page 1 of 2
(http://learn.lexiconic.net/characters.htm) accessed on April 4th, 2017}

It means that major the character is the focus on the plot story. She or he leads the

way of the story with some developing conflicts and her solutions. Her existence

also helps making people interested in reading the story. However, a minor

character also plays role in the story even though he is not the main character. She

or he supports the major character in moving the story.

In terms of morality, characters are classified into protagonist and

antagonist. Protagonist is a positive character meaning that she or he always does

something good and cares to the others in everything. She or he is usually

described as hero or heroine in a story. Scanlan defines that:

Protagonist is the main character who has good attitudes in the story. The
protagonist usually performs something, which is suitable with the reader’s
vision and hope. The nature and attitude protagonist represents their
thought and feeling. Thus, the personal identification of the protagonist is
empty given by the readers. The protagonist is the character whose
objectives spearhead the action of the play. This character may be a hero,
inspiring sympathy, and admirations (1988: 93).
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Moreover, antagonist is the character or situation that represents the

opposition against which the protagonist must contend {“Characterization in

Literature” page 1 of 2 (http://learn.lexiconic.net/characters.htm) accessed on

April 4th, 2017}. In other words, the antagonist is an obstacle that the protagonist

must overcome. An antagonist character must be a bad person in her or his

behavior. Further, it can be seen in a story as a villain. Nevertheless, the existence

of this antagonist character moves the story plot and provides a good chance for

protagonist character to be the good ones.

Character can also be divided into terms of complexity. They are round

character and flat character. Griffith said that:

Round characters have multiple personality traits and therefore resemble

read people. They are much harder to understand and describe than flat
characters. No single description or interpretation can fully contain them.
But round characters have many more traits than just associated with
their general type. It makes time develop round characters convincingly;
they are often in longer works in shorter one. While flat characters have
only one or two personality traits and are easily recognizable as
stereotypes (1990: 50)
It can be concluded that round character is a character which shows all sides of

him. Meanwhile, a flat character is the one which shows only one side of him.

Therefore, round character plays more action and contribution to the story plot

than the flat ones.

2.1.2 Characterization

Character always deals with the way she or he is described in a story. To

understand the behavior, attitude, thought, and appearance of the characters,

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characterization is applied in order to get the detail of the characters’ description.

Characterization is a method used to depict the images of a character to be clearer.

Furthermore, Holman and Harmon state that characterization is the

creation of this imaginary person, so that they exist for the reader as life like

(1986: 33). While Hudson (1910: 147) says that characterization is the way the

author portrays his character from the outside, dissect his or her assign, motives,

thought, feeling, explains, comments, and often pronounces authoritative

judgment upon them. In conclusion, characterization is a way used to describe the

character in a fiction or story in detail.

There are two ways that can be applied to analyze a character. They are

dramatic method and analytic method. The two ways are used to reveal what the

character is like. Hence, the images of the characters are described by using those

methods.

As defined by Kenney, the methods which can be used to describe the

image of the characters are discursive method and dramatic method. The former,

the author simply tells us about his characters. The latter, the author allows his

characters of reveal themselves to us through their own words and actions (1966:

34-35). In other words, the dramatic method is how the characters describe

themselves through his owns actions. However, the discursive method is how the

character is shown direcly by the author in the story.

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2.1.3 Feminism

Woman has always been important figure in life. Moreover, the relation

between women and men influence each other almost in everything. Women and

men have different way to think, feel, and interpret things. However, women are

underestimated compared with the men in time. It makes women ask for the

equality in right and duties.

As defined by Grimshaw (1986: 21), Feminism is the response to a belief

that women have been oppressed and unjustly treated, and sometimes also to a

belief that they have, available to them more than so men, certain resources for

developing a critique of the damaging and destructive aspect of human institution

social relationship, and for tracing the links between these things and the

subordination of women to men. In other words, feminism is done to be the

movement of women in order to get their position equal as men.

Kaplan (1975: 17-18) says that, “The term feminine is defined as the

aspects of women’s consciousness or feminine consciousness in which the

combination of physical traits socially based attitudes of women belong to it”. On

other words, feminism comes to three different attitudes in which they are

involved in those three waves of feminism. First attitude of feminism is the

pursuit of equality. The latter is the claim of difference. At last, it is the

undermining the kind of fixed identity including the movement towards their

rights to be the same as men.

Feminism reflects the idea of an opposition in which women have been

mistreated, misinterpreted, as well as misplaced by patriarchal society or rules.

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Women have been politically, economically, socially, and philosophically

dominated by men. As the result of those oppressions, however, feminism

becomes a belief of the way of women expressing not only their minds but also

their ideas to the society in this case is men that they are able to do such thing

consciously as the results of their movement. Therefore, the idea of feminism is a

conception of women’s movement as the effect of being totally victimized,

conditioned, and indoctrinated. In conclusion, the movement of women will be

discoursed in further discussion of first wave, second wave, and third wave.

2.1.3.1 The First Wave

First wave of feminism refers to women’s question of claiming their role

in society as they are disadvantage. It causes the critical respond of women that

men are to blame. Pilcher and Whelehan (2004:53) say that “In Britain, the

origins of first wave feminism lay in the widespread social and economic changes

of industrialization, one aspect of which was the extension of constitutional rights

to wider sections of the (male) population. The first movement of women shows

the result that is the rights of women to take a part in some sectors of social life

the way men do.

It is also stated that “This early feminism was concerned with the

education and employment rights of women and with improving the legal rights of

married women (Philcer and Whelehan, 2004:53). It can be concluded that the

first wave of feminism is dealing with the condition of women’s existence that is

not avowed in such as in education and employment. Therefore, first wave of

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feminism stands for the women to get their rights in working and getting

education as well as men get.

2.1.3.2 The Second Wave

The term second-wave feminism refers mostly to the radical feminism of

the women’s liberation movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Radical

second-wave feminism can not be discussed separatedly from other movements of

the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, it grew out of leftist movements in postwar Western

societies, among them the student protests and in the United States and the civil

right movements. These movements critized “capitalism” and “imperialism” and

focused on the notion and interests of “oppresed” groups. Radical second-wave

feminism is theoretically based on a combination of neo-Marxism and

psychoanalysis. Firestone in The Case for Feminist Revolution asserts as follows:

Partiarchy is inheret to bourgeois society and the sexual difference is

moe fundamental than class ans races diferrences. She even claimed
that women-due to their primary social attachment to the family and
reproduction-constitute a class and economy of their own, based on the
unpaid work in the home, the productivity of motherhood, and their
function as workforce reserve (1971:58).

Starts in 1970s, second wave feminism refers to radical feminism. At the

moment the system of patriarchy was so popular. In this condition, the women get

some oppressions from the men. It happens as the men’s power controls them.

Moreover, the men try to be the leader in the family. So, the women do not have

the same right as the men. They are dominated by the men’s control.
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2.1.3.3 The Third Wave

The third wave of feminism began in the middle of 1990s and was

informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking. Women start claiming their

rights towards society regarding the former movement. In this moment many

constructs were destabilized, including the notions of “Universal Womanhood”,

body, gender, sexuality, and heteronormativity {“Three Waves of Feminism”

page 1 of 3 (https://www.pacificu.edu/about-us/news-events/three-waves-

feminism) accessed on May 31th, 2017}. In the third wave of feminism, women

start to wider their rights over the freedom related to gender which means that

women are no longer compared to men because of the different gender in any

sectors.

Third wave of feminism attempt to expand their existence that there is

no discriminations or oppressions towards identity and difference of sex and

gender. (Gills, 2004: 67-68) declares that, the feminine may long have revealed its

constructed nature, its theoretical and empirical inadequacy, but become equally

apparent to post-conventionalist at least is that sex is no less contingent. It means

that third wave of feminism deals with the idea to omit the border of differences

between women and men.

It can be concluded that third wave of feminism is fighting against the

sexual difference where women can work, have education, and get their social life

as well as men. In summary, the concept of third wave feminism refers to female

difference that is what has caused female oppression that they which to move

beyond “difference” altogether. (Guerin,1999: 200).

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2.1.4 Woman Struggle

Woman struggle focuses only on white woman struggle due to the fact that

white woman struggle deals with the oppression from the society. Hooks (2014 :

64) defines that woman strugggle must be a responsibility to learn to accept

responsibility for fighting oppresion. On other words, woman struggle is the result

of feminism waves. Therefore, the white women make some changes in their life

in order to get their ability avowed. Not only the ability of white women who live

in physical difficulty, but also they who are not expected becoming the leader to

be equal with men.

Furthermore, to be equal with men is hard for white woman because of the

oppression of society that they think men is best of all. Others believe that a

systematic and institutionalized inequality and oppression of women has emerged

historically in connection with the development of other inequalities, mainly those

of class (Jones, 1994: 12). Moreover, the white woman struggles to get their

existence avowed. Despite of all the discriminations white women proves to the

society that they are able to do such things the way men can do. {“The Struggle of

Woman” page 14 of 23(https://www.womanhood.com/strugle-of-being-a-woman-

literature-reviews) accessed on June 5th, 2017}.

However, every woman has ability to live their life, get job, become

leader, and achieve their dreams. There is no way for the society to think that only

men can become anything they want as women prove them that equality is rights

and tools for women to be the same level as men. In conclusion, woman has the

ability and determination to change their image by changing the view of society
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towards them through their movement. They effort to get the right to make their

position equal with the men.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

Some different theories are used and applied in this sub-chapter in order to

solve the problems of the study. All of the problems will be discussed and

analyzed by using different theories. There are two problems in this research. The

first problem is about the woman struggle as reflected in the main characters of

those three stories. It will be discussed by using theory of feminism and woman

struggle because it contributes the most to the struggle of Maggie in An Angel in

Disguise, Lizzie in Little Lizzie, and Mrs. Eldridge in Coffee vs. Brandy.

The second problem is about analyzing the influences of the main

characters’ struggle to other characters in An Angel in Disguise, Little Lizzie, and

Coffee vs. Brandy. Therefore, the problem will be analyzed by applying theory of

character and characterization since it can be used to understand the character’s

change and behavior of other characters towards the main characters in those

stories. At last, the result of this research is concluded.