Love symbol Essay

1.1. Background of the Study Most people say love is a gift something beautiful from God. Love is a symbol about the feeling each individual. Deal with their couple, deal with their family, their children, and their friend. In the most stories, a man who falls in love with a woman will sacrifice everything he can, also with a woman, when a woman falls in love with a man will sacrifice everything she can. Not only about relationship between woman and man need sacrifice for a love, but also in family’s relationship needed. For example love and care of parents to her or his kids is always all the way. Based on my opinion that love is like a knife with two eyes, the right side can make a happiness, and the left side can make a sadness. The happiness moment of love is when two people allied in marriages. Two people with different personality become a one. The sadness moment is when two people in marriage decide to divorce, it makes very hurt, not only for two people who had, but it hurt to her and his kids. Those problems might come from external factors, such as the couple’s disagreement over some things, personal jealously, anxiety, distrust, etc. Sometimes, a person even has to sacrifice his or her own happiness for his or her lovers. This shows that love can be such a powerful of wonderful love, and can make painful, most people called it love. Based on the statement above love can also be found in one of Nicholas Sparks novel, the title is The Last Song. The Story tells about starts with Ronnie. She is a rebellious child who has taken the company of wrong kind of friends. It is because she has never been able to come out of her parent’s divorce and have bitter feelings about it. Her life has never been the same. After her parents divorced and her father moved to North Carolina, Ronnie distanced herself from her father and gave up music. Music was the thing that she had grown up learning from her father but now it was another source of stirring up bad memories. Three years later, on her father’s request, Ronnie and her brother, Jonah is sent to North Carolina to spend the summer with their father. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects her father’s attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer’s end. It is during this summer that Ronnie meets Will and Blaze and Marcus. After a disgusting episode with Marcus and Blaze, things starts changing in  her life for the good. She finds herself falling for Will, opening herself up to the greatest happiness – and pain – that she has ever known. Her strained relationship with her father starts healing slowly and gradually the bond is restored. All the characters seem real and are well defined. As Ronnie’s life changes, the readers can feel the way she matures from a rebellious teenager to a young woman of substance. Jona, He is intelligent, adorable and a witty child and the way he cares for his father and sister is simp ly moving. Steve, too as a father does his best to spend meaningful time with his children. His unconditional love for his children, patience with Ronnie and his belief in her and finally his love for music is remarkable. Forgiveness is the key to happiness. Life is too short to hold grudges against others. So, forgive and forget and move forward in life. Based on the website of Nicholas Sparks this story is told about love and family. As we know that the Nicholas Sparks’s works always tell about romantic and love. Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1998. He lives in North Carolina with his wife who accompanies him for 13 years. Nicholas Sparks graduated in 1984 as a valedictorian from Bella Vista High school. The first work of Nicholas Sparks is The Notebook, the novel was published in October 1996 and made the New York Times best seller list. With the success of his first novel he wrote several international bestsellers, one of is The Last Song, it was published on 2010. The Last Song is interesting to analyze particularly from intrinsic factors and the elements of conflict on the main character’s life. T he conflict starts from when Ronnie’s parents decide to divorce. Firstly Ronnie love playing music, after her parents divorce Ronnie dislike to play music, and he hate her father so much. One day, in summer Ronnie and her brother visit to her father’s house. She ignored her father. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the last person she thought she’d never be attracted to, and finds herself falling for him, opening her self up to the greatest happiness and pain that she has ever known. New Criticism theory is appropriate to use in this study to analyze Love and Song influence in Ronnie’s life. 1.2. Statement of the Problems Based on the background of the study above, there are several research questions have to discussed in this thesis, which are: a. How are Love and Song influence of Ronnie’s life in this novel ? b. How are Love and Song created conflict on the plot of the story in this novel? 1.3. Objective of the Study Based on the statements of the problem above, the writer’s purpose are analysis to clear out about: a. The effect of song and love in Ronnie’s life can changes her opinion b. love and song through conflicts elements in this novel 1.4. Significance of the Study In the English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Airlangga University, Surabaya, especially who are studying in literature class got some theory to write on thesis writing. Some theory are pschoanalytic criticism, marxist criticism, feminist criticism, new criticism, structuralist criticism, and etc. In this thesis writing the writer use and focused in New Criticism theory application. New Criticism theory application is about analysis of words, figures of speech and dictions. Intrinsic elements such as characterization, plot, and setting. In this thesis the writer analysis about the conflict of the plot in this story. How love and song influence the main character’s life. The Last Song give us about the effect on the power of love and song can changes the personality of the main character. As we know that the Nicholas Spark’s works, mostly genre about romantic (love). 1.5. Scope and Limitation The novel is analyzed from the text it self, which include the analysis on conflict of plot and elements particularly of the main character it self. This analysis does not discuss about other elements, or anything out from this novel. 1.6. Theoretical Background This thesis has a aim to analyze the love and song can give effect to Ronnie in The Last Song. The writer analyzes the conflict of the plot and the elements character in this novel, the writer uses New Criticism theory to get the more understanding about the problem of the analysis. It is a method of analyzing a text, in this case, a novel, based on the text itself without  adaption any other outside theories. All of elements found in a text are from the main idea represented by the text. New Criticism Theory itself talks about a theory which concerns on text only, without seeing who is the writer’s background of the text, as Tyson (2006) said that â€Å"some of its most important concepts concerning the nature and importance of textual evidence -the use of concrete, specific examples from the text itself to validate our interpretations- have been incorporated into the way most literary critics today, regardless of their theoretical persuasion, support their readings of lit erature.† Secondly, close reading is used to interpret or analyse the text, it means that New Criticism Theory has a new critic to analyse the text itself by using â€Å"close reading† as a point. Thirdly, New Criticism Theory as an imaginative literature in analysing a literary text which called an aesthetic experience is about something that can lead us as a reader to be the truth, as Bressler (2007) said that â€Å"Aesthetic Experience talks about (i.e., the effects produced on an individual when contemplating a work of art) that can lead the truth.† Fourthly, New Criticism Theory is about the author’s intention to make its interpret, as Tyson said that â€Å"New Criticism Theory knows on author’s intention which called ‘intentional fallacy’ to refer to the mistaken belief that the author’s intention is the same as the text’s meaning. Besides intentional fallacy, there is also affective fallacy means that it focuses on the text with its effects.† Fifthly, New Criticism Theory has formal elements or figurative language in analysing a literary text after â€Å"closely read,† there are images, symbol, metaphors, rhyme, meter, point of view, setting, characterization, and plot. Besides formal elements, literary language also one of formal elements, as Tyson (2006) said that â€Å"Literary Language, in contrast, depends on connotation: on the implication, association, suggestion, and evocation of meanings and of shades of meaning, in addition, literary language is expressive: it communicates tone, attitude, and feeling.† Sixthly, New Criticism Theory is also as â€Å"a play on words† which means that the words that exist on literary texts have multiple meanings. As Tyson said that â€Å"new criticism, the complexity of a text is created by the multiple and often conflicting meanings woven th rough it, and these meanings are primarily of four kinds of linguistic devices: (1) Paradox is thus responsible for much of the complexity of human experience and of the literature that portrays  it. (2) Irony means that a statement or event undermined by the context in which it occurs. (3) Ambiguity occurs when a word or event generates two or more different meanings. (4) Tension is created by the integration of the abstract and the concrete, of general ideas embodied in specific images.† 1.7. Method of the Study Write this thesis, firstly the writer reads the novel title The Last Song on a long times. The first time when read this novel, the writer get a general imagination of the all cintent of the novel. After the writer read the novel until finished, the writer get a technique to analyze the novel. She chosen base theory, that is New Criticism. The writer focuses analyze about the conflict in every plot’s the main character. The writer analyze about the influence love and song give effeect in the main character’s life. The writer also searching on the google to get more information about the novel and the New Criticism theory. She also consult with her lecture, and visit on the library books to get more information and collect the theory of New Crticism to doing her thesis analyze The Last Song. 1.8. Definition of Key Term Love: love is like a knife with two eyes, the right side can make a happiness,and the left side can make a sadness Effect: the impact of some happening in our life Song: Music can represented how people falls, which is her or his sad or happy CHAPTER II LITERARY REVIEW The theory that will be used in analyzing the text is New Criticism. As stated by Tyson, New Criticism’s purpose in an analysis is to reveal the true meaning of the text itself. Since this theory is based on the text itself, New Criticism’s main focus is toward the formal elements of the text which forms the organic unity of the text (Tyson 136). 2.1 New Criticism New criticism is one of literary approaches which is commonly used to interpret the meaning of a literary work. New criticism begin in the 1940s  through 1960s, in that era, this method of analysis became popular in the most high school and college literature classes. This approach concerns with close reading, a technique that focus on the elements of a literary work. In a literary work, the elements can be tone, point of view, and any other poetic device that will help the reader understand the overall meaning of a literary work. Formal elements determine what a text contains, since text or literary works uses language in order to express its meaning. In literary work, the language that the author uses in explaining the story of a poem or play is different from the language that people found in their everyday life. In everyday life, we often found scientific language which means that the language is easy to understand and to the point of what it means. On the other hand, literary work use figurative language since a one word can have more than one meaning. As an important part of formal elements, figurative language carries images, symbols, metaphor and similes. This is where figurative language becomes an important part of formal elements because it carries images, symbols, metaphor, and similes in its language (Tyson 141). 2.2 Setting Setting is a physical details of the place, the time, and the social context that influence the actions of the characters in a literary work. Often setting also evokes a mood or atmosphere, foreshadowing event to come. Setting is the time and place of a story. Vivid settings give a story reality; they give readers a sense of being there. Playwrights build themes into their plays through the development and interrelationship of all elements of drama, most of which are the same as for fiction. Three methods of developing theme, however, are particularly noteworthy: repetitions, symbols, and contrasts. All three lend themselves well to drama (Griffith 71): Repetitions can take many forms- a character’s performing the same gesture over and over again, repeating the same phrase stating the same idea, or appearing at regular intervals. Symbolism can enrich setting; but, in fact, symbolism bears on both characterization and theme as well. Then contrast is a device for developing not just theme but characterization and plot as well, and contrast usually bears on all three. 2.3 Plot Plot gives an order to the events that the character in the text faces and focuses on conflicts. Events require the interaction between a character’s oneself or an interaction with another character. The conflicts itself are what the characters must face in a story and need to be resolved. There are elements that make the plot become interesting: introduction (where the character and the story are introduced), rising action, conflict (the struggle that grows out of the of the interplay of two opposing forces in a plot), climax (the highest point of interest in the story or the point which readers learn how the conflict is resolved), falling action, and denouement (the ending of the story). There are many types of plot, such as dramatic plot, episodic plot, parallel plot, and cumulative plot. 2.4 Character Character is a person in a narrative works such as novel, play or drama, and film. Characters in a drama can be different from each other, it means that each character has its own characterization. Characterization is a process of how a character is depicted in a literary work, the aspect of characterization need to be taken in account to illustrate the characters of a story, for example how characters behave or how they act in a certain situation they are in. There are some types of the characters in a drama, such as protagonist (the best actor who got the principal part), euteragonist (the second best actor), antagonist (the character who rivals with other character, mostly involve in a conflict), and the last one is stereotype or stock character (a character who reappears in various forms in many plays). CHAPTER III ANALYSIS Love and song through conflicts Fristly the writer explain about love. Love is a symbol about the feeling each individual. Deal with their couple, deal with their family, their children, and their friend. In the most stories, a man who falls in love with a woman will sacrifice everything he can, also with a woman, when a woman falls in love with a man will sacrifice everything she can. Not only about relationship between woman and man need sacrifice for a love, in family’s relationship needed too. For example love and care of parents to her or his kids is always all the way. Based on my opinion that love is  like a knife with two eyes, the right side can make a happiness, and the left side can make a sadness. The happiness moment of love is when two people allied in marriages. Two people with different personality become a one. The sadness moment is when two people in marriage decide to divorce, it makes very hurt, not only for two people who had, but it hurt to her and his kids. Those problems might come from external factors, such as the couple’s disagreement over some things, personal jealously, anxiety, distrust, etc. Sometimes, a person even has to sacrifice his or her own happiness for his or her lovers. This shows that love can be such a powerful of wonderful love, and can make painful, most people called it love. Song is one of expression about somebody who want to show that her or his feeling. In this novel Ronnie’s father like playing piano to show his feeling about his condition. Before divorce, he always played music with Ronnie, but after divorce he play music without Ronnie, because Ronnie now hate play music. Even Ronnie didn’t play piano, in deepest her feeling, she want to play piano. Ronnie Miller, portrays a rebellious teenager who lives in New York City and is forced to move in with her father for the summer in Tybee Island, Georgia. She hates him after her parents’ divorce and hasn’t talked to him for th ree years. Her father taught her how to play the piano and she loved it. Ever since the divorce, she refuses to play. Ronnie was accepted to Juliard School for the fall, but she refuses to attend. Before she arrived to Georgia, she was miserable, hostile, and defensive towards everyone around her. Ronnie has a serious attitude and she was not being nice to her father. The conflict is when Ronnie’s parents divorce, she hate her father. She always ignore her father. The statement that she hate her father. â€Å" I don’t ant to see and talk to him.† Ronnie said. (the last song 11) The conversation is when her mother talk to Ronnie, that Ronnie and her brother will spend the summer holiday in her father house. The main conflict why Ronnie hate her father is when her grandfather passed away is changes her father. Ronnie’s father quit his position at Juilliard, and year after that he’d decided to try his luck as a concert pianist. Then three years ago her father and her mother decided to divorce, and his father moved back to his home town. Before her parrents divorce, Ro nnie like playing piano, but after her parents divorce she stop playing piano. â€Å"Ronnie hated the piano and swore she’d never play again a decision even some of her  oldest friends thought was strange, since it had been a major part of her life for as long as she’d known them.† (the last song 12) Love changes Ronnie’s Character The first day at her father’s house, Ronnie met Will Blakelee. She crashed into him at his volleyball game and he accidentally spilled her milkshake all over her. Ronnie ignores him even though he was handsome, rich, and popular. The writer assumed that of this text is to think that no matter what happens, you will always end up with your true love in the end. Despite the arguments and different values one may share, it is the thought of first love that will bring you together and help that irresistible bond last forever. The text encourages us all to believe that in every hard time in our lives, we will be rescued by a gorgeous, strong, wealthy man who has nothing less in his heart but the idea to sweep you off your feet at every moment. It is giving every young woman the idea that they don’t have to go out and work hard to find the perfect man because at some point he is going to bump right into you at the beach and you will be in love from then on. The values and cha racteristics, besides the ones on the outside, don’t matter to Ronnie and Will. They are infatuated with each other after spending one summer together. The oppositional reading refuses to explain the unrealistic hopes and expectations it sends out to the viewers. The two young lovers jump right into love within seconds of meeting each other. The first meeting was completely unrealistic because it was just an event based on being in the right place at the right time. They have major class differences and many issues that they didn’t deal with together. The idea that Will was able to change Ronnie from a rebel to a saint in two days could not have been done so easily. In this novel, Ronnie’s father tells Will â€Å"I would be able to help you if I understood the mind of a woman†. It is hard to believe that an 18 year-old boy would be able to understand a woman, but an older, wiser, divorced adult does not. We can not mindlessly accept the idea that your perfect partner is cosmically predestined, so nothing/nobody can ultimately separate you be cause there are many events that can separate a couple. When Ronnie stay at her father’s house, firstly Ronnie ignore her father, but after Ronnie meet someone who makes Ronnie fall in love, step by step she changes her mind preseption to her father. Would Ronnie have been interested in Will if he was shorter, poorer, weaker, and younger than her? Wills rescue of Ronnie was based on his strength and his ability to love her. What would Will have offered to Ronnie if he didn’t have the characteristics of being rich, older, stronger, and taller? Also, do you really think it is realistic for Will to be able to change Ronnie’s rebellious ways instantly? She went from being a rebellious, angry teen who was caught for shoplifting back at home in New York City and â€Å"hated† her father, to a beautiful, respectful young woman who loved her father and only does good things. This is something that can’t be changed within days of meeting a good-looking man.