ISSN: 2302-2558
LEXICON
Journal of English Language and Literature
Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
Representation of Gender Stereotyping in
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women:
Endorsement of Traditional Gender Roles
N. R. Ekasanti, M. Hernawati
111-118
Anne Shirley’s Character Development
and its Causes as Seen in Anne of Green
Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
F. S. Az-Zahra, N. Saktiningrum
119-132
Homesickness as Seen in Harry Potter’s
Character in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J. Ramadhan, R. Jatmiko
133-138
A Journey to Ethical Life: A Moral
Reading of Shakespeare’s Othello
through the Nasirean Ethics of Naṣir Al-
Din Al-Ṭuṣi
M. D. T. Prasetya, M. A. Rokhman
139-155
The Significance of Conch in William
Golding's Lord of the Flies
J. Solehati, B. Hidayat
156-163
“Sorry, Darling”: Apologizing in The
Crown TV Series
P. A. Maulana, T. D. Hardjanto
164-177
Conceptual Metaphors in Paramore’s
After Laughter Album
S. M. Pramudita, S. Hanidar
178-189
Grammatical Errors in Indonesian
University Students’ Posters
in Yogyakarta
A. S. Khansa, A. Sutrisno
190-199
The Translation Strategies of Metaphors
in the Movies Mulan and Moana
P. A. Alanisa, A. Munandar
200-211
Unique Keywords Found in the Titles of
YouTube Beauty and Fashion Videos
L. Larasati, R. R. D. Moehkardi
212-217
Apology Strategies Produced by
Indonesian and Australian Bridge Players
F. M. Jessy, T. J. P. Sembodo
218-227
Turn-Taking Strategies Produced by
Male and Female Presenters in American
TV Shows
Nur Trihandayani Rivai
228-237
 ISSN: 2302-2558

LEXICON
Journal of English Language and Literature
Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

JOURNAL MANAGEMENT

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Adi Sutrisno, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

MANAGING EDITOR
Tofan Dwi Hardjanto

EDITORIAL BOARD
Ahmad Munjid, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Amin Basuki, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Arif Rokhman, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Aris Munandar, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Bambang Supriyanto, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
Gumawang Jati, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
Ni Gusti Ayu Roselani, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Nur Saktiningrum, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Rio Rini Diah Moehkardi, Universitas Gadjah Mada
Sharifah Hanidar, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Sydney Allen, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, U.S.A.
Tatit Hariyanti, University of Technology Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Widyastuti Purbani, Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia

SECTION EDITORS
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Mala Hernawati


LEXICON is published twice a year in April and October. It publishes research articles and
reports related to English literature, language studies, and translation studies.


LEXICON is published by English Studies Program, Department of Languages and Literature,
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
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 Published by
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Department of Languages and Literature
Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada
Soegondo Building, 3rd Floor, Room 306, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
Telephone: +62 274 513096; +62 812 270 981 47
Email: lexicon.fib@ugm.ac.id; Website: https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon
Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
Pages 111-118
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon

Representation of Gender Stereotyping in Louisa May Alcott’s

Little Women: Endorsement of Traditional Gender Roles
Nabilla Rahmadhiya Ekasanti, Mala Hernawati*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: malahernawati@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This research discusses how the characters in the novel Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott
eventually submit themselves to the stereotypical role of women in the late 19th century when in
reality American women were protesting the ideology of ‘separate spheres’ in accordance to the
traditional gender stereotype that they faced. The research applies the sociological approach to
uncover the connection between the literary work and the social condition of the era and to find out
how the gender roles affect the characters of the March girls, supported by the theory of children
literature. The primary data used in this research are the excerpts taken from Louisa May Alcott’s
Little Women and some supporting data are taken from academic journals. The research focuses on
the characters of the March Girls’ actions and dialogues that show submissive behavior, in contrast
to the efforts and movement of the women during that era who were protesting the ideology of
‘separate spheres’ that resulted in inequality. The result of the research concludes that Little Women
seems to be written only as a reproduction of traditional gender values, this matter contradicts with
what the American women in the late 19th century struggled for.

Keywords: gender stereotype, gender roles, separate spheres, American women.

which is why each literature work, written by

INTRODUCTION
The study of literature covers the major forms of
poetry, drama, and novel, but there is more than
one concept to define literature because its
definition changes from time to time. Literature can
be defined as a body of writing that aims to be
creative. It includes forms of writing which
deliberately and creatively experiment with
language in order to suggest images and ideas which
engage the reader’s imagination. Literature
describes and clarifies a reality, it functions as a
mirror that reflects the culture, civilization, norms,
and the perspectives of the people in a certain era,
different authors at different periods of time has its
own characteristics according to the social
condition and historical context. Literature is then
classified into many genres, which according to M.
H. Abrams (1999) in his book A Glossary of Literary
Terms, is a term of the French origin, derived from
the Latin word genus which translated as ‘type’ or
‘kind’. Genre denotes the types of classes of
literature and the classification of literary works
were based on many variables except by time or
place. The novel studied in this research belongs to
the genre of children’s literature because it does not
contain a heavy plot, no difficult conflicts, and the

N. R. Ekasanti & M. Hernawati | Representation of Gender Stereotyping | 111

112 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
diction chosen is easy to understand. Children’s
literature itself as defined by Peter Hunt (1999) in
Understanding Children’s Literature refers to
literary works created especially for children in
order to convey emotional and moral values.
In the late 19th century, for instance, an
American author, Louisa May Alcott, successfully
presented a coming-of-age novel entitled Little
Women that depicts the story of four young siblings
as they face together the struggle of girlhood to
womanhood, promoting the traditional gender roles
of women during that time to their children
audience. The book was initially published into two
volumes. Little Women was published in 1868 and
successfully won win the hearts of the middle-class
American girls during that time for its relatable
characters and situations. A sequel, Good Wives,
was published a year after. Nowadays, both Little
Women and Good Wives are published under one
title, Little Women, because it expresses how
women in the late 19th century, especially in
America, was not considered as significant as men,
hence ‘little’.
As a product of children’s literature, Louisa
May Alcott’s Little Women delivers the values of
traditional gender roles of women in America
during the late 19th century through the characters
of the March girls (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy), roles of
which men were cast as rational, strong, protective,
and decisive. Women, on the other hand, were cast
as the opposite (Tyson, 2015, p. 85).
Stephanie Foote (2005), a professor from
University of Illinois wrote Resentful Little
Women: Gender and Class Feeling in Louisa May
Alcott discussing the events in the novel where
anger and repression are generally ignored, telling
the readers, in the late 19th century, that women
must not have and must act less on negative
emotions. This matter made the readers lose the
opportunity to inquire responses that include anger
and resentment, in order to understand the
construction of a particular kind of ‘little women’.
This study aims at explaining the process of
gender typing in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Seen through the characters’ actions and dialogues,
it is clear that the March sisters faced some
challenges in trying to fit in into the society,
especially for Jo who thinks that some femininity
expectations are a heavy burden to bear. Though it
appears as if Jo’s character initially opposed the
traditional gender roles of the late 19th century, she
eventually gave in to the values of a ‘true woman’
which means conforming to the traditional gender
role. Factors, such as the March parents’ guidance
and how women at that time were not considered as
significant as men, influence the process of gender
typing of the March sisters in the novel and this
matter is examined in order to find out how
eventually the March girls submit into the gender
stereotype during that era and how it affected their
characters throughout the story, thus endorsing the
traditional gender values to the readers.
However, the establishment for the characters
of March sisters is effortless for Alcott, because it
serves as the epitome of Louisa May Alcott’s sisters
in real life. The four siblings carry very different
personalities despite coming from the same nuclear
family. Louisa represented herself as Jo, the second
daughter of the March family who was boyish and
outspoken. Anna, the oldest in the Alcott family is
portrayed as Meg. Lizzie is the quiet and perfect
Beth, while the youngest of the Alcott sisterhood,
May, is the dandy Amy. With a little amount of
exaggeration and cleaning up of the rough edges,
Alcott had finally settled the cast of the characters
for her novel (Cheever, 2011, p. 480).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Astuti (2016) wrote Theodore Laurence’s Character
Development as seen in Louisa May Alcott’s Little
Women. Astuti’s paper analyses the character
development of Theodore Laurence using objective
approach. The aim of this study is to understand the
character development of Theodore Laurence,
Josephine March’s best friend, from time to time
since the beginning to the end of the novel.
Johar (2012) wrote Josephine March’s
Character Development from Immaturity to
Maturity as Seen in Louisa May Alcott’s Little
Women in which she uses objective approach. The
approach is applied to the character of Josephine
March. Johar’s research aims to understand the
character development of the main character in the
novel, Josephine March, from time to time showing
 N. R. Ekasanti & M. Hernawati | Representation of Gender Stereotyping | 113
how she has grown from an immature young
woman to a mature woman.
Laire (2008) wrote Little Women, a Feminist
Study. Her paper presents two main issues themes
which are the tension between the true self and the
patriarchal assumptions, and the marriage issues.
Laire investigates Jo’s literary career as she tried to
find out whether Jo and Louisa both suffered from
an anxiety of authorship, she then discussed the
significance of marriage in the novel since Laire’s
research aims to study the female individuality in
the novel.
Setiowati (2007) wrote Failure in Gaining
Equality as Depicted in Louisa May Alcott’s Little
Women and Good Wives. The aim of Setiowati’s
study is to analyze the novel as the work of art that
marks the fight for women’s rights and the
correlation with the society in the period. She
applied the dynamic structuralism for her study,
stating that the analysis explores the depth of the
novel as a work of art through its inner structure,
and at the same time also relates it to the historical
background, Louisa’s life and the social background
of women in that era.
Widyaningtyas (2002) wroteJosephine’s
Independence and Self-Sacrifice for the Family as
the Reflection of Louisa May Alcott’s Life in Little
Women. Widyaningtyas’ aim in this study is to
show the reflection of Louisa May Alcott’s life and
experiences in Little Women and Good Wives. It is
intended in particular to show the depiction of
Josephine’s character which was written based on
the author’s own character.
Lastly, Wulandari (2000) wrote Feminism
Seen in Alcott’s Little Women, which analyses the
feminism’s reflection through the main characters.
The result of this study shows that feminism appears
through the four main characters – Jo, Amy, Meg,
and Beth – and their roles in society.
Most of the previous researches discussed the
development of a certain character, or how much
the character resembles the writer, and also the
starts of feminism that appears as a result of
patriarchal ideology. However, the present study
focuses on the process of gender typing in the late
19th century.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This research applies the sociological approach since
it discusses the characters’ progress in
understanding their gender role and eventually
submitting themselves to be an example of a gender
stereotype with the consideration of the 19th
century female role. The sociological approach
explores the relationship between the literary piece
and the society. It analyzes the social content of
literary works, which made quite sense to call this
approach a “connect-the-dots approach” as it
connects the social, cultural, economic, and even
the political situations to a work of literature
(Rapaport, 2011, p. 5)
Since the genre of this book is considered to
be children’s literature, therefore the theory of
children’s literature is also taken into account in
analyzing how in the midst of the start of the first
wave of feminism, Louisa May Alcott endorsed
traditional gender values through her novel which
does not convey the message of women
empowerment.
Besides, this study employs several theories
about gender and sex. People are sometimes
confused by the difference between sex and gender.
According to Helgeson (2017), sex refers to the
biological categories of female and male, categories
which are distinguished by genes, chromosomes,
and hormones. Culture has no influence on one’s
sex. Sex is a relatively stable category that is not
easily changed, although recent technology has
allowed people to change their biological sex.
Gender, by contrast, is a much more fluid category.
It refers to the social categories distinguished from
one another by a set of psychological features and
role attributes that society has assigned to the
biological category of sex (p. 3).
Gender typing is the process by which
children acquire not only a gender identity but also
the motives, values, and behaviors considered
appropriate in their culture for members of their
biological sex (Shaffer, 2012, p. 240). The research
on gender typing traditionally focused on three
114 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
separate but interrelated topics which are: (1) the
development of gender identity, or the knowledge
that one is either a boy or a girl and that gender is
an unchanging attribute; (2) the development of
gender-role stereotypes, or ideas about what males
and females are supposed to be like; and lastly (3)
the development of gender-typed patterns of
behavior—that is, the child’s tendencies to select
same-sex playmates and to favor same-sex activities
over those normally associated with the other sex
(Shaffer, 2012, p. 249).
METHODS
The data for this research were taken from Louisa
May Alcott’s Little Women. The actions and
dialogues of the characters of the March girls serves
as the focus as well as the primary data of the
research, while other secondary data are taken from
some academic papers and articles. The intrinsic and
extrinsic elements of the novel are examined to
determine which actions, thoughts, or dialogues
best suit the situation of how the March girls
acquire gender role through the gender typing
process, and how eventually they became
submissive to the traditional gender role, endorsing
an idea that during the late 19th century was
something that held American women back from
claiming the rights they deserve.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In correspondence with the objectives of the study,
the characterization of the March girls and the
social condition of the late 19th century holds the
most important aspect in analyzing what Louisa
May Alcott tried to deliver through her novel.
American women during the late 19th century faced
a lot of challenges in trying to break the belief of
domesticity so that they could put themselves in
both the domestic and public spheres.
American women in the late 19th century
were commonly married in their early to mid-20s to
much older men because it reinforced what was
considered ‘natural’ hierarchy between both sexes.
Marriage is where the domesticity lies for women,
as George Burnap stated, it is the sphere for which
women were originally intended and exactly fitter
to adorn and bless, as they make a solace out of their
homes (Burnap, as cited in Evans, 1997, p. 69). This
being said, it could be concluded that during that
era, women were assumed to not having anything
better to do than attending their home. They were
systematically discouraged from obtaining higher
education, joining certain professions, and running
businesses except as helpmates to their husbands
(Kuersten, 2003, p. 17). These discouragements were
due to the gender stereotype which was constructed
by the society, where the image of ‘true woman’
means that females should remain in the domestic
sphere, taking care of the needs of their husbands
and children.
Actually, during the near end of the Civil
War, American women were affected either
directly or indirectly by the challenges and changes.
Movements on women paving their way beyond the
home realm were starting, but most were too caught
up in being wives and mothers to participate
actively (Massey, 1994, p. 3). Those who took part
of the movement slowly gave light to women’s
rights. Until the end of the war, an ever-increasing
number of women becoming economically self-
sufficient and better educated. These women, as
quoted from Maria Weston Chapman, had “leaped
from their spheres”. Some of these women were
classified as strong-minded crusaders for woman’s
rights and they were exceedingly noisy, while the
others only showed signs of being restless but by no
means rebellious, and the over-whelming majority
were completely indifferent to the movement
(Chapman, as cited in Massey, 1994, p. 3-4).
Those who embarked on the different sphere
had obviously become more educated and changes
were made in the history of America. Thousands of
women in the North and the South joined volunteer
brigades and signed up to work as nurses. Nearly
twenty thousand women worked more directly for
the Union war effort. Working class white women
and free and enslaved African-American women
worked as laundresses, cooks and matrons, and
some three thousand middle-class white women
worked as nurses. The activist Dorothea Dix, the
superintendent of Army nurses, put out a call for
responsible, maternal volunteers who would not
distract the troops or behave in unseemly or
 N. R. Ekasanti & M. Hernawati | Representation of Gender Stereotyping | 115
unfeminine ways, one of the most famous of these
Union nurses was Louisa May Alcott.
Since the number of educated women
increased, the number of women who took a leap
out of the domestic sphere increased too. Such
matter made the demand for women in several
work fields elevated, including teachers. This case
evoked the stereotype of profession, for example,
the teaching profession were then seen more of a
profession for women. Of course, challenges like
unequal payment were faced by these women
because after all women were still seen weaker than
men. Not only those who worked as a teacher,
women who worked as factory labors experienced
the same treatment. These women were not allowed
to use their own money, even when they earned it.
They had to act as obedient daughters for their
fathers, so they hesitated if they should use their
hard-earned salaries for their own needs (Evans,
1997, p. 138).
More and more women entered the
professional world in the Second American
Industrial Revolution era after the Civil War.
Meaning, more mothers act as working mothers,
usually these mothers work as secretaries, writers,
nurses, governesses, or, for women of the lower
class, as maids. Even though they were finally
allowed to be in the public sphere, they still have
responsibilities inside the domestic sphere (Evans,
1997, p. 140).
However, Little Women’s author, Louisa May
Alcott, did not use her platform to promote the
spirit of breaking boundaries for the purpose of
providing a better life for women of the late 19th
century. Yet, she endorsed the traditional gender
roles instead, a traditional idea where women need
to remain as being pious, pure, and submissive in
order to be considered as a respected being.
Gender Typing Turns to Gender Stereotype:
The Experience of March Girls
As a product of the society, gender roles
reflect the gender stereotype which the society
categorize and respond to members of each gender.
It has long been an issue because the generalized
view or the preconception on the characteristics or
attributes that males and females should possess or
perform tend to limit the capacity of how an
individual could develop their personal abilities,
pursue professional careers, or as simple as making
their own choices in what to do with their lives.
Sometimes gender stereotyping resulted in the
violation of human rights and fundamental
freedom, which is why American women in the late
19th century started to make a move and take a leap
out of the domestic sphere to break the stereotype,
the traditional idea that women were regarded as
beings less than and weaker than men, that they
were incapable of accomplishing many things that
men could.
The causal process of gender typing until it
developed into gender stereotype were portrayed by
Louisa May Alcott through the characters of her
novel, Little Women. However, the experiences
that Louisa’s characters went through does not
exactly portray the social condition, especially the
struggles that American women faced during the
late 19th century. During the process of gender
typing, the March girls, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy,
were very much influenced by the teaching of their
parents, especially Marmee (Mrs. March), who
taught them the values that women should possess
in order to be perceived as coming from a
respectable family by the society.
I want my daughters to be beautiful,
accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and
respected; to have a happy youth, to be well and
wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives,
with as little care and sorrow to try them as God
sees fit to send. To be loved, and chosen by a good
man is the best and sweetest thing which can
happen to a woman; and I sincerely hope my girls
may know this beautiful experience. (Alcott, 2008,
p. 97)
Marmee’s statement supports the argument
that the biggest milestone in a women’s life is
getting married, as she described it to be a ‘beautiful
experience’. Her statement also implies that women
were deemed to be weaker than men because the
sweetest thing that could happen to a woman is
being chosen by a man. By engraving the idea of
“little woman” in the minds of their daughters, the
March parents successfully raised four children that
believed women’s duty is centered in the home.
The girls then develop the understanding of
the roles that were constructed for them by the
116 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
society. Jo, the second born of the March girls, was
the only one among the girls who initially showed
disinvestment of the gender role that she should
conform along the development of the story.
However, Louisa May Alcott does not intend for Jo
to be the candidate among her characters that
promotes a breakthrough from the traditional
gender role. Once she had found Professor Bhaer on
her journey in New York, they got married and not
so long after, Jo March subscribed to the traditional
roles that was taught to her since her childhood,
fulfilling the expectation of the society that women
are to be married and are responsible in making
their home as comfortable as possible for the delight
of their husbands.
The other members of the March girls did not
experience a twist like Jo, they had no doubt in
obeying the roles that were already constructed for
them. Marmee’s first born, Meg, was married to a
lad named John Brooke, who formerly tutors
Theodore Laurence privately in his home. Louisa
May Alcott describes marriage life has made Meg
g r o w wo m a n ly i n ch a r ac t e r a nd w is e r i n
housewifely arts (Alcott, 2008, p. 226), which fits
the characteristics of a ‘true woman’. Meg puts her
ambitions and hopes of living in luxury because the
man she married was not a wealthy man, and made
h erself bu sy only in th e d omestic sph ere,
determined to be a model housekeeper so that her
husband could find their home a paradise, because it
is what was expected of her. Beth’s character
however, did not have the chance to experience
marriage like all of her sisters because she passed
away due to complications from scarlet fever. But
this event does not mean that she had an agenda
against the stereotype. She contracted the disease
when she was out nurturing for the poor Hummel
family, an action too compassionate that her life was
later sacrificed. When Beth was ill, the youngest
sister, Amy, was immediately sent away to stay with
their Aunt March due to health reasons. Amy then
went along her Aunt March to Europe because
during her stay she impressed her aunt by being a
‘proper lady’. She spent her time in Europe studying
arts to achieve her ambition in becoming an artist,
however she stumbled upon Theodore Laurence
and the two immediately fell in love and tie the
knot. She too, tragically wasted her opportunity on
leaving the domestic sphere because after she and
Laurie got married she no longer pursues her dream
of being a professional artist. How all the March
girls eventually lead such a traditional gender role
that fits in what was expected from the society is no
other than the result of their parents’ teaching.
Endorsement of Traditional Gender Roles
through the Characterization of the March
Girls
The creation of the novel Little Women was
not entirely of Louisa May Alcott’s will. She was
pushed by Thomas Niles to make a story about
young girls and did so after much stalling. The
novel was published in 1868, almost the same time
of the end of the Civil War, transitioning to the
Second American Industrial Revolution. Women
were starting to get a hold of their education rights,
therefore increasing their intellectuality and are
able to commence movements demanding their
other rights to be fulfilled, breaking through the
traditional values and roles of women. The rise of
the Second American Industrial Revolution has
made countless of women leap off the domestic
sphere, left behind the ideology of ‘true woman’.
Little Women seems to be written only as a
reproduction of traditional gender values, which
contradicts with what the American women in the
late 19th century struggled for. Take example to
Meg’s marriage life. After she married John Brooke,
her biggest concern in life was to be a model
housewife. She would improve her lack of
homemaking skills so that her husband should find
their home a paradise. The rebellious and vocal Jo
eventually subscribed to the idea of being
submissive and nurturant after she met Professor
Bhaer and altogether stopped pursuing her dream in
order to be able to handle her new household. The
sickly Beth showed no significant actions of
portraying the endorsement of traditional gender
roles because her character was not long around in
the novel due to complications from the scarlet
fever that she had contacted. Amy, the last daughter
of the sisterhood, ended up marrying Laurie and she
too gave up her dream on being a professional artist.
 N. R. Ekasanti & M. Hernawati | Representation of Gender Stereotyping | 117
Children’s Literature as A Medium to Transfer
the Society’s Values on Gender in the Late 19th
Century
Children’s literature is created to convey
lessons or knowledge which are deemed important
to the foundation of the children’s future (Grenby,
2008, p. 4). However, the kind of lesson that Louisa
May Alcott delivered through her novel, Little
Women, was not the one that could form a new
generation with a different perspective on the roles
of women. Through the characters of the March
girls, Louisa May Alcott only reproduce the
traditional values that was constructed in the
society. Around twenty years before the publishing
of Little Women, figures such as Susan B. Anthony,
Rachel Foster Avery, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
has led the American women’s suffrage movement
which started from the women’s rights convention
in Seneca Falls, New York. The movement of course
supported the cause of gaining equality for women,
starting by fulfilling women’s right to vote.
Through her work, Louisa May Alcott could
have help deliver the message that these women
struggled to fight for equality and how from a
young age, girls should already understand that they
were not to be treated unequally by anyone. It is a
pity that Louisa did not use the platform that she
was presented very well.
CONCLUSION
This study finds that Louisa May Alcott’s Little
Women is a work of children’s literature which
serves to conserve the traditional gender roles by
portraying them through the characters of the
March girls. The March girls were depicted as girls
who eventually conform to the traditional idea of
gender stereotype, an idea which does not only
limit an individual to freedom of choice but also
their capability to improve themselves in many
aspects. American women in the late 19th century
were anxious to leave their duties in the domestic
sphere in order to get in to the public sphere
because they faced judgments such as not being
proper enough to work and provide for their family
because women’s capabilities were regarded less
than men, that they were not professional enough.
This stereotype which was constructed by the
society is then passed on to the children through
the process called gender typing, where the parents’
influence at home plays such a big role for them to
gain the understanding of values, motives, and
behaviors marked as appropriate for each respective
gender. The roles that they understand and perform
later reflect the stereotype of how males and
females should act.
Women of the late 19th century America then
started to commence movements to try and break
free from the occurring stereotype and this marks as
the beginning of the first wave of feminism. While
these women were demanding for equal rights and a
bright future full of opportunities, which they did
not only for them but also for the younger
generation, Louisa May Alcott represents the
characters of the march girls in Little Women to be
the opposite of what some of the women of the late
19th century were fighting for. Even though
throughout the story the characters of the march
girls, especially Jo, showed a point in the
development of their characters where they seem to
question the role that was assigned to them by the
society, the girls still took a step backwards and
reproduce the traditional gender stereotype rather
than present themselves as empowering characters.
This research is conducted to enrich the
studies of American women in the late 19th century
and to prove that readers or academicians should
always be critical in reading a text. In this case,
Little Women, when read closely with a critical
mind, does not voice the struggle for equality that
the American women in the late 19th century had
commenced.
REFERENCES
Abrams, M.H. (1999). Glossary of literary terms.
New York: Harcourt Brace College
Publishers.
Alcott, L. M. (2008). Little women. New York:
Baronet Books.
Astuti, F. I. (2016). Theodore Laurence’s character
development as seen in Louisa May Alcott’s
Little Women (Unpublished undergraduate
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thesis). Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Laire, D. (2009). Little Women: A feminist study
Indonesia. (Unpublished Master thesis). Ghent
University, Ghent, Belgium.
Cheever, S. (2011). Louisa May Alcott. New York:
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Massey, M. E. (1994). Women in the civil war.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Evans, S. M. (1997). Born for liberty: A history of
women in America. New York: Free Press Rapaport, H. (2011). The literary theory toolkit: A
Paperbacks. compendium of concepts and methods.
Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Foote, S. (2005). Resentful little women: Gender
and class feeling in Louisa May Setiowati, A. (2007). Failure in gaining equality as
Alcott. College Literature, 32(1), 63-85. depicted in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
doi:10.1353/lit.2005.0005. and Good Wives (Unpublished undergraduate
thesis). Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta,
Grenby, M. O. (2008). Children’s literature.
Indonesia.
Edinburgh University Press.
Shaffer, D. R. (2012). Social and personality
Helgeson, V. S. (2017). Psychology of gender. New
development. Vancouver: Crane Library at
York: Routledge, Taylor & Franicis Group.
the University of British Columbia.
Hunt, P. (1999). Understanding children’s literature.
Tyson, L. (2015). Critical theory today: A user-
New York: Routledge.
friendly guide. Routledge.
Johar, D. A. (2012) Josephine March’s character
Widyaningtyas, F. H. (2002) Josephine’s
development from immaturity to maturity as
independence and self-sacrifice for the family
seen in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
as the reflection of Louisa May Alcott’s life in
(Unpublished undergraduate thesis).
Little Women (Unpublished undergraduate
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta,
thesis). Universitas Sanata Dharma,
Indonesia.
Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Kuersten, A. K. (2003). Women and the law:
Wulandari, R. (2000). Feminism seen in Alcott’s
Leaders, cases, and documents. Oxford: ABC-
Little Women (Unpublished undergraduate
CLIO Interactive.
thesis). Universitas Sanata Dharma,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
Pages 119-132
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon

Anne Shirley’s Character Development and its Causes as Seen in

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Fatimah Salsabila Az-Zahra, Nur Saktiningrum*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: saktiningrum@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This research discusses the character development of Anne Shirley, the main character of the novel
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The objective of the research is to understand
the character development of Anne Shirley and also examines the factors that cause development.
The analysis is conducted by using the objective approach by M.H Abrams because the approach is
suitable to analyze character, characterization, and character development. The result of this
research shows that the character of Anne Shirley is developed from a loveless girl to a mature
teenager. Her character development is caused by two factors, internal factor which is her own
motivation and external factors which come from the people around her and new environment.

Keywords: Anne of Green Gables, Anne Shirley, character development, LM Montgomery.

Carole Gerson, in his article published on

INTRODUCTION
Lucy Maud Montgomery is a Canadian Female
Writer who was born in 1874 and spent her
childhood during North-West Resistance. Based on
the information gathered from L.M. Montgomery
and War’s introduction by Andrea McKenzie and
Jane Ledwell (2017), since her father served for the
North-West Resistance and her mother had died
because of tuberculosis, Lucy spent her childhood
with her grandparents and interacted mostly with
adults such as her grandparents, uncles, and aunts.
(p. 3) Thus, according to the information taken from
her website in lmmontgomery.ca, she became
lonely and she found that imagination and writing
stories as her escape from loneliness. (“About L.M.
Montgomery”)
L.M. Montgomery and Canadian Culture stated that
Anne of Green Gables is the first of four Anne series
that was published in 1908. After being rejected by
four big publishers, Page & Co. finally accepted the
script and the novel became very likable and
popular worldwide. Anne of Green Gables is even
categorized as an ‘overall bestseller’ as it had sold
800.000-900.000 copies by 1947 (p. 49).
This classic novel of girlhood and adolescence
(p. 49) tells a story of an orphan named Anne
Shirley who is mistakenly sent from her asylum to
two old siblings in a farm called Green Gables
located in Avonlea, a fictional small town in Prince
Edward Island. Through the novel, the readers
could follow the journey of 11 years old Anne
Shirley since her first arrival at the Green Gables

F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 119

120 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
until her adulthood when she turned 16 years old.
Anne who never received any proper caring must
meet with the folks of Avonlea, especially Green
Gables. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, the siblings
who adopted her and decided to take care of her
and the people of Avonlea who might not have an
imagination which is as bright as hers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A considerable number of research on Anne of
Green Gables has been conducted by many scholars.
A study by Hanifah (2016) uses psychoanalytic
approach to observe the imagination of Anne
Shirley in the novel which includes Anne Shirley’s
position as an orphan who tries to survive with all
of her imagination. Another study that also employs
psychoanalytic approach is an undergraduate thesis
by Prameswari (2016). The study analyzes adoption
experienced by Anne Shirley through the
perspective of psychoanalytic approach. Finansia
(2013) also studies Anne’s extraversion by using
psychoanalytic approach
Even though the three studies use
Psychoanalytic approach and see the literary work
from the aspect of characters’ psychological
condition, the results are different since the first
study discusses only about the imagination owned
by Anne Shirley, while the second study discusses
adoption experienced by Anne Shirley which leads
to a finding that adoption gave many positive
impacts to her life, and the third study focuses on
Anne’s specific personality, extraversion, which
leads Anne to her own effort to stay alive and exist.
The fourth study is a thesis by Kathleen M
Patchell (2011). She studies the popularity of Anne
of Green Gables and the disappearance of Sowing
Seeds in Dany. She analyzes the reason why Anne
of Green Gables was more popular that Sowing
Seeds in Dany, whereas the books were published
with almost the same time and period. It is also
found that the religious content within the books
influences their popularities.
Another study about the novel’s popularity is
conducted by Hammill (2016). The study proves
how the popularity and likeness of the people
toward Minter and Anne of Green Gables have
shifted. Anne of Green Gables has successfully
become more popular – not to mention more iconic
– than Minter. Both studies clearly prove that Anne
of Green Gables is very likable and outstanding.
The last study is a research conducted by
Virokannas (2011) from University of Tampere,
Finland. The study sees the work through the
glasses of third-wave feminism and concludes that
Anne of Green Gables is an example of “early
female bildungsroman which has distinct feminist
undercurrents.”(p. 66). The study also sees how
feminist mothering is conducted by Marilla to Anne
and Lynde that represents patriarchal institution of
motherhood.
Compared to the studies above, this research
uses different perspective in seeing the character of
Anne Shirley and the novel. When the previous
studies tend to discuss how Anne’s talkative
behavior and imagination affect other characters
and readers from the perspective of psychology and
feminism, this research sees deeper into Anne
Shirley’s development as a character and how other
intrinsic elements in the novel play role in the
development.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This research employs objective approach proposed
by Abrams (1999). As Abrams (1999, p. 52) stated:
Objective criticism deals with a work of
literature as something which stands free
from what is often called "extrinsic" relations
to the poet, or to the audience, or to the
environing world. Instead it describes the
literary product as a self-sufficient and
autonomous object, or else as a world-in-
itself, which is to be contemplated as its own
end, and to be analyzed and judged solely by
"intrinsic" criteria such as its complexity,
coherence, equilibrium, integrity, and the
interrelations of its component elements.
The theory is suitable because it sees a literary
work as the work on its own. According to Abrams
(1976), using objective approach means “regards the
work of art in isolation from all these external
points of reference, analyzes it as a self-sufficient
 F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 121
entity constituted by its parts in their internal
relations, and sets out to judge it solely by criteria
intrinsic to its own mode of being.” (p. 26). This
approach only sees the intrinsic elements of the
novel and disregards the extrinsic elements. The
intrinsic elements, according to DiYanni (1986), as
the basic elements of a story includes plot, setting,
and characters (p. 44). Thus, the researcher uses
objective approach to gain comprehensive
information about the character, in this case the
character of Anne Shirley in the novel Anne of
Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
In order to have a deep analysis on the
character development, the theory of character and
characterization also must be applied. The concept
of character that is used in this research is the
person or animal or certain creatures with several
qualities related to their behavior, emotional, and
intellectual are attached (Abrams, 1999). Character
has two distinct types as mentioned by E.M Forster
(1927), flat and round character. Flat character is
defined as the character with simple and remarkable
traits (p. 4). A flat character does not have a detail
description about their emotions, behavior, and
moral. As its traits are easier to be analyzed, the
protagonists and antagonists of a literary work with
flat characters are obviously recognized.
Meanwhile, round character is understood by
Forster as a character that is “capable of surprise,
contradiction, and change; they are representations
of human beings in all of their complexity” (p. 5). A
round character is as real as real human who has a
complicated thinking, traits, and it particularly
plays many emotions.
However, the term ‘character’ is different
with another similar term, ‘characterization’.
Characterization is the technique used by the
author to build and develop a character. There are
two types of characterization, showing and telling.
Showing is the technique where the motives of the
characters are shown through their behavior, other
character’s comments, and its own sayings.
(Abrams, 1999) In the opposite, another type,
‘telling’, is the technique which lets the author to
have an intervention indirectly describing the
characters (Abrams, 1999) The theory of character
and characterization in this research are used to find
the traits, emotions, thinking, and moral of Anne
Shirley through the description given by the author,
dialogue between the characters, and the comments
of other characters about Anne Shirley.
The research focuses on the character
development of Anne Shirley. Thus, an
understanding about the character development
should be developed first before the analysis.
Griffith (2011) urged that there are two distinct
types of characters based on how they undergo
change or develop. The first type is dynamic
character, a character that can undergo change in
form of appearance, behavior, way of thinking, and
etc. The second type is static character, where the
character does not undergo change and it remains
the same from beginning until the end of the story.
The concept of character development is applied to
recognize the development experienced by Anne
Shirley throughout the novel.
METHODS
Library research method is used in this research. It
is the method where the researcher uses the sources
from any books in library, electronic books and
journals, articles, and data that are relatable to the
subject of matters. The data of this research are
divided into two kinds, the first data are called
primary data. The primary data are the characters’
utterances, dialogues, behavior, and all the intrinsic
aspects of the book that are collected through the
process of reading and taking notes by the
researcher. The secondary data are supporting
documents and information such as journals, books,
and websites. The library research method is the
most effective method in collecting data because
through collecting information by reading library
sources, the writer can gain accurate and sufficient
knowledge.
In analyzing data, there are several steps that
were done. First, the researcher reads Anne of
Green Gables for five times, after that the primary
data in form of utterances, dialogues, behavior, and
any intrinsic elements related to Anne Shirley were
collected by taking notes. Through the data, the
researcher analyzes the character development of
Anne Shirley and factors that affect it. After that,
the result of the analysis is arranged and written
systematically.
122 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The analysis of Anne’s character development is
based on three stages: the early stage of Anne
Shirley’s character development, realization and
learning process, and how Anne Shirley finally
reaches the stage of maturity. The stages are based
on the events that are analyzed through plot
observation. Plot, according to Klarer (1999), has
four sequential levels of an ideal traditional plot
line, “exposition—complication—climax or turning
point—resolution” (p. 15). Exposition is ‘an
introduction’ of the situation where the readers can
know who the characters are. After the explanation
of the background is given, the characters are led to
have complication or problem that is unsolved yet.
The peak of the problem is called a climax or a
turning point, followed by the resolution as the
ending or problem-solving. The first analysis
discusses the character development of Anne
Shirley in three stages and the second analysis
examines the factors that cause Anne Shirley’s
character development.
Anne Shirley’s Character Development
The analysis of Anne’s character development is
divided into three stages: the early stage of Anne
Shirley’s character development, realization and
learning process, and how Anne Shirley finally
reaches the stage of maturity.
The Early Stage
In the early stage, Anne is introduced as a loveless
little girl. Loveless can be understood in two
definitions; “1: having no love” and “2: not loved”
(Loveless, n.d.). She is loveless because she is not
surrounded by love and affection that she needs as a
little girl. Even though she is adopted twice by Mrs.
Thomas and Mrs. Hammond, Anne must take care
of their children and spend her time with them. She
is also always surrounded by unsupported
environment, where Mr. Thomas is abusive and
alcoholic and Mrs. Hammond demands her to take
care of many children. It can be understood that
adoption cannot guarantee that Anne’s life is filled
with enough care and love. The lack of love and
affection builds her to be a girl who is insecure,
loner, irreligious, bad-tempered, and selfish.
Since her first arrival, Anne has been very
insecure about her own appearance and it leads her
to the feeling of being unwanted, not confident to
be the best version of herself, and she has always
been comparing herself with other girls. Anne
Shirley always thinks that she is not beautiful
because of her red hair and skinny body and finds it
as a mistake. She always imagines if she has darker
hair color and beautiful face, people around her will
accept her. She even believes that ones’ appearance
can make someone change the decision to adopt a
child.
“She brought Lily Jones for herself. Lily is
only five years old and she is very beautiful
and had nut-brown hair. If I was very
beautiful and had nut-brown hair would you
keep me?” (p. 19)
The excerpt above shows that Anne feels
unwanted because of her appearance. She thinks
that people will only accept her if she looked
beautiful. It also implies she does not even accept
her own self by thinking that she does not deserve
to be accepted by anyone.
Anne’s insecurity is also manifested through
her preference on Sunday School dress. When
Marilla sends her to Sunday School for the first
time, Anne complains about being given a dress
without puffed sleeves. Puffed-sleeves is popular
among the girls and Anne thinks that she will look
beautiful only by wearing a puffed-sleeves dress,
“But I’d rather look ridiculous when
everybody else does than plain and sensible all
by myself,” persisted Anne mournfully.” (p.
59)
Her longing of having a puffed-sleeves dress is
not only to follow the trend among the girls or
being prettier, but Anne’s response toward Marilla’s
comment on puffed-sleeves reflects Anne’s
insecurity that brings her to an idea that being
different is loathsome and ugly. The research finds
that Anne is being afraid to look different and be
herself. Thus, she tries hard to be like everyone else
for the sake of being accepted and erasing her look
that is considered ‘ugly’ in her opinion. Anne also
decides to dye her hair after being intrigued by a
 F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 123
peddler who sells a hair coloring and says that
Anne’s hair will become raven-black. Hoping her
red hair will be washed away, Anne does not get
her raven-black hair, but a weird green hair. Anne’s
effort to look like others from the style until hair
color can be interpreted as Anne’s dissatisfaction of
her look and escape of her insecurity. Anne agrees
that she will accept herself if only she changes to be
like anybody else.
Her insecurity also leads her to compare her
look with her new friend when she is at the Green
Gables. When she is playing a role play with Ruby
Gillis, Diana Barry, and Jane Andrews, she does not
want to be the fairest character in the play because
she believes that she is not beautiful enough. She
compares her look with Ruby Gillis, whom she
considered as the most beautiful girl among them.
By comparing her appearance with other girls,
Anne shows her feeling of being more inferior and
worthless than others just because she does not have
fair skin and darker hair. Anne’s insecurity prevent
her from seeing herself in a positive way and being
to try new things, such as to play a role as a
beautiful drama character.
In the early stage, Anne is also characterized
as an irreligious little girl. The lack of proper and
intimate parenting not only results in emptiness in
Anne’s heart but also how Anne practices her
religion. Going to Sunday School is indeed a part of
common basic education for children at the time
and society where Anne lives. It is shown from
Anne’s experience to go to Sunday School when she
lives in the asylum and how the children in Avonlea
are required to go too.
However, Anne never takes her Sunday
School in the asylum seriously since it is boring for
her and she thinks that saying a prayer is
unnecessary because of three reasons or
backgrounds. The main reason is that nobody
teaches Anne to say her prayer or explains to her in
detail about involving God in every activity. The
second reason is the people and the society where
Anne used to live with do not see a religious
practice as an important activity that a child must
do. The proof is clearly shown on how Anne is
treated when she lives with Mrs. Thomas and Mrs.
Hammond. They never teach Anne to say her
prayer and make Anne prioritize taking care of their
children until she gets tired. They also never ask
Anne to guide their children too to say their prayer
and that means, not because Anne is adopted that
she is not taught to say her prayer before bed, but it
is the society that finds such religious practice
unnecessary. The last reason is Anne’s
dissatisfaction of her appearance, as she believes
that “people who haven’t red hair don’t know what
trouble is. Mrs. Thomas told me that God made my
hair red ON PURPOSE, and I’ve never cared about
Him since.” (p. 38) The excerpt can be inferred as
Anne’s dissatisfaction of her appearance that makes
her blame God for giving her red hair that she hates
the most.
Before Anne Shirley comes to the Green
Gables, Anne Shirley is a loner. She does not have
any real friends and she is too anxious to make a
new friendship as she is afraid that she cannot be
accepted. Instead of having a real one, Anne creates
her own imaginary friends, Maurice and Violetta.
Maurice is not more than just a piece of a bookcase
that has broken in Mrs. Thomas’ house and Violetta
is an echo that is produced in a long green little
valley when she used to live with Mrs. Hammond.
Anne always talks to them about everything and
strangely feels connected with them. This is
acceptable because that is the way Anne fulfills her
need of having a real friend. In addition, the
presence of imaginary friends can be understood as
Anne’s way to express her need of someone whom
she can talk to and play with, the figure that every
child needs but it is not there for Anne. Anne also
has the imagination to come to Katie Maurice’s
place to have a real talk and physical interaction,
which means that Anne’s longing of a real friend
with a real house and physical appearance is
unbearable.
However, when Marilla says that she may
introduce Anne to Diana Barry, Anne is very
anxious. She is afraid that Diana would not accept
her as a friend although Anne consciously
understands that she really wants Diana to be her
“bosom-friend”. Anne’s anxiety to meet a real friend
is understandable because she never makes any real
friendship before and nobody teaches her to.
Since Anne is very lonely and lack of
interaction with other people except with the
Thomas, the Hammonds, and the people at the
124 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
asylum, she becomes a bad-tempered little girl as
she cannot control and recognize her own
emotions. She has a very bad temper which leads
her to a sudden cry, anger, and uneasiness to forgive
and ask for an apology.
The evidence is shown from Anne’s reaction
when Marilla and Matthew are debating whether
they want to keep Anne or not. Rather than waiting
for Marilla’s decision, she shouts at them and
impulsively throws her carpet bag. She “burst into
tears she did. Sitting down on a chair by the table,
flinging her arms out upon it, and burying her face
in them, she proceeded to cry stormily.”(18) Anne
cannot control herself because she feels that she is
unwanted. Not only because she feels unwanted,
through her sudden cry, it can be understood that
Anne is also afraid to have nobody to take care of
her as she has put a huge expectation toward the
Green Gables. Thus, she thinks of crying and
shouting as the best way to express her fear, without
thinking about what Marilla and Matthew would
think about her temper and behavior.
Anne is also being bad-tempered when
someone gives comment about her look. It is shown
when Mrs. Rachel Lynde sees her for the first time
and gives a rude comment about her freckles,
skinny body, and red hair. Anne then constantly
shouts at her and tells her how much she hates Mrs.
Lynde before she runs into her room.
Her bad-temper is also shown when Gilbert
calls her ‘carrot’, she is not just angry to him, but
she decides to crack her slate onto his head. Anne’s
bad-temper leads her to be resentful and unwilling
to forgive both Mrs. Lynde and Gilbert Blythe. She
even promises not to forgive Gilbert forever. The
evidence implies that Anne behaves rudely because
nobody teaches her before what to do and how to
manage herself when she is angry or insulted.
Nobody teaches her to understand and express
emotions. Thus, Anne has her own way to
understand her emotions and explore her own
reaction when she has a certain emotion. She
chooses to repulsively show an overwhelming
emotion when she is angry or insulted as her
expression and defense.
Moreover, selfishness also becomes one of
Anne’s characterization. Since Anne never
experiences good experiences in her life before she
comes to the Green Gables, Anne becomes too
excited about her activity with her friends. She will
do anything as long as she can do the activity that
she wants. She never thinks about the consequence
or involving others’ feeling or morality in deciding
her activity or decision. Her rivalry with Gilbert
Blythe also brings her ambition in the wrong place.
The evidence can be seen through the part
when Anne is invited to a picnic where she will eat
her first ice cream. Unfortunately, Anne is not
allowed to go to the picnic when Marilla knows that
Anne has made her amethyst lost. Anne then
decides to make a false confession about the
amethyst for the sake of being allowed to go to the
picnic. Her dishonesty implies that Anne could not
understand involving morality and honesty as a
positive value in her action. Rather than thinking
about right or wrong, Anne chooses to follow her
ego and she is willing to do anything for it,
including telling lies to Marilla.
Anne’s selfishness is also shown through the
motive of Anne’s ambition to be the smartest at
school. Anne decides to be the smartest at school
when she knows that she hates Gilbert Blythe. She
uses her hatred feeling toward Gilbert as her motive
in pursuing her achievement at school, while she
actually should have a more virtuous motive behind
her study. Anne mistakenly uses hatred and
negative feeling as her weapon to boost her spirit in
studying. It is indeed not always bad, at least, Anne
could have a high motivation to study hard, but, she
still does not understand her goal after she can
achieve it. She also cannot set her focus and decides
her choice to have a future after being graduated.
All she knows is only about defeating Gilbert
Blythe.
Realization and Learning Process
In her realization stage, Anne starts to be getting
inspired. She finds that she is precious because now
she belongs to Green Gables. She also starts to
concern about how to fix herself rather than
thinking about her weakness and inferiority. Anne
grows a hope to herself that she is sure to become a
better woman in the future. However, Anne still
does not have the courage to love herself and see
herself as a beautiful girl.
 F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 125
Her arrival at the Green Gables has inspired
her to see herself in a better way. Anne still cannot
accept her physical appearance, but it is understood
that the place where she belongs to is an important
matter in defining her own self. By labeling herself
as ‘Anne of Green Gables’, Anne starts to believe
that she is becoming a better version of ‘Anne’. She
perceives that she could be better as she now lives
in the Green Gables, compared to when she used to
live from a house to another.
Since Anne first arrival, Mrs. Allan, the
minister’s wife, impresses her so much in a good
way,“…I hope I shall be a little like Mrs. Allan
when I grow up. Do you think there is any prospect
of it, Marilla?” (pp. 153-154) Anne’s aspiration of
being a woman like Mrs. Allan in the future is a sign
that Anne starts to have hope about a better self of
her own. It also implies that to Anne, appearance is
not the only parameter to decide someone’s profile,
but behavior and manner are also important.
In her realization stage, Anne also starts to
rethink about her behavior when she has to face
older people rather than her appearance and realizes
that she could ask for any suggestion about it rather
than just be sinking in despair like she used to do
when she is not satisfied with her appearance. As
the consequence of socializing with others, Anne
starts to rethink about her behavior in front of
others and put her appearance at the second place
on a certain occasion. The rethinking of her
behavior and to have someone who can guide her
on what to do has changed the way Anne faces her
insecurity. However, Anne still has doubt to claim
her beauty. She does not have enough courage to
say that she is beautiful. That can be seen through
the part where Anne is not sure to be the Lily Maid
until her friends convince her that her beauty is
suitable to play the role.
In this stage, she also starts to have a
willingness to learn by recalling her understanding
about God, developing her ability in making prayer
and reciting it before bed, and also going to the
Sunday School in Avonlea. Before Anne sleeps,
Marilla asks Anne to say her prayer, but Anne
refuses because she never says any prayer before
bed. To hear that, Marilla is very surprised.
“I never say any prayers,” announced Anne.
Marilla looked horrified astonishment. (p. 38)
Marilla’s response can be inferred that the
society where Marilla lives is different with the
society where Anne used to live. The people,
including Marilla, are very religious. Religion
practice, especially prayer before bed is really
important and it has been a common activity that
children in Avonlea do. It is different from Anne
who used to live in Nova Scotia, where Mrs.
Thomas and Mrs. Hammond never tell her to pray
and it makes a prayer before bed seems unnecessary
to Anne. Marilla then let Anne try to say her
prayer. Anne then decided to say her prayer with
her own words. Even though she makes a prayer
that sounds like a spoken letter, Marilla accepts that
as her way of learning. On the next day, Anne starts
to realize that she must learn to make a good prayer,
although she is still not focused when Marilla asks
her to read.
Anne also starts to go to Sunday School where
she can learn more about religion and meet the
other children. Anne is not really excited about the
Sunday School, but as Marilla requests her to go, she
tries to learn a lot and even answers all the
questions asked by Mrs. Rogerson.
Anne’s social life is also improved and she
gradually becomes friendly with the new people she
meets. Anne makes her first friendship with Diana
Barry and fulfills her needs of having a real friend
with Marilla’s help. She also starts to make a friend
when she enters Sunday School and Avonlea
School. Anne is brought to Diana’s house and starts
to know each other. Mrs. Barry let Diana to
befriend her and have their own time. Diana likes
Anne for her talkative behavior and imagination.
Anne, who never starts a friendship with a real girl
like Diana, offers a friendship type called ‘bosom-
friend’, a term that Anne makes by herself to
represent ‘a closer friend than the closest’. Anne’s
way in introducing the friendship is quite unique
and surprising for a person who never makes a real
friendship before. The idea of ‘bosom-friend’ that
Anne builds is a form of help given by Anne’s
imagination and her ability in romanticizing words
to build a friendship. This bossom-friend friendship
and the solemnization of the friendship which Anne
makes by herself has enchanted Diana to accept the
relationship wholeheartedly.
126 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
The formal education institutions, in this case,
Avonlea School and Sunday’s School, also play a
role in engaging Anne with her peers. Anne has a
chance to befriend the other girls such as Ruby
Gillis and Jane Andrews who become very close
with her although she puts Diana at the first place.
However, she has a problem in facing two other
new friends, Josie Pye, and Gilbert Blythe. Josie Pye
is a potential bully who has sharp words in her
mouth. She always tries to make people get down
and it annoys Anne. Gilbert Blythe could not have
the chance to be Anne’s friend and she hates him
the most for calling her ‘carrots’.
Anne has been softened by her rethinking
about her bad behavior toward Mrs. Rachel Lynde
and Gilbert Blythe’s help. Her rethinking is
triggered by Matthew’s question the next morning.
He asks Anne about how she deals with the
punishment from Marilla and suggests to say sorry
sooner.
“…I woke up three times and I was just
furious every time. But this morning it was
over. I wasn’t in a temper anymore—and it
left a dreadful sort of goneness, too. I felt so
ashamed of myself. But I just couldn’t think of
going and telling Mrs. Lynde so…” (p. 54)
Through the quotation above, it can be
inferred that Marilla’s punishment and Matthew’s
question have stimulated Anne to rethink about her
behavior and understand what she feels after
everything that has happened yesterday. Anne also
realizes that what she has said to Mrs. Rachel Lynde
is rude, no matter how hard Mrs. Rachel Lynde has
commented on her appearance. However, Anne is
afraid to say sorry to Mrs. Lynde as she has never
done it before. Supposing she still does not have
courage to say sorry, her realization toward her
behavior is a huge progress that happens to her.
After the slate incident, Anne still refuses to
forgive Gilbert Blythe. On the other hand, Gilbert
starts to show his effort to be forgiven by Anne.
When his apple is refused by Anne, he has another
chance to show that he is sorry by helping Anne
when she is about to drown. When Gilbert says
sorry to Anne and offers friendship, a feeling of
empathy starts to grow inside Anne’s heart.
Unfortunately, her resentfulness is bigger as she
decides to refuse it and even shouts at him. Through
the incident, it can be inferred that Anne actually
grows a sympathy toward Gilbert Blythe but her
resentful heart resists her heart to forgive him.
In this stage Anne also becomes empathetic.
Anne starts to involve Marilla in her decision
making. Anne’s relationship with Marilla and
Matthew gradually change Anne’s reason for her
ambition to be the smartest.
When Diana Barry tells Anne that they are
invited to the Old Miss Barry’s house, Anne is very
happy, but she does not say yes and says that she
will ask Marilla’s permission first. It implies that
Anne starts to involve Marilla in her decision and it
can be grasped as a sign that Anne understands
about permission. As the consequence of being
Marilla and Matthew’s responsibility, Anne realizes
that she needs their permission and they have rights
to say no or disagree with her decision.
As she gets closer with Marilla and Matthew,
Anne grows such an obligation and sympathy for
them. Anne starts to think about Marilla and
Matthew in any decision and wants. When Anne
wants to go to Queen’s and become a teacher, she
says to Marilla that the tuition fee is expensive and
she is afraid that they cannot afford it. Even though
Anne is excited about going to Queen’s, she now
thinks about the consequences that may happen to
Marilla and Matthew’s financial condition when
they have to pay Anne’s tuition fee.
As she has been taken care of, Anne agrees
that she must grow an ambition to make Marilla
and Matthew proud to return the favor, while
Marilla and Matthew which act as parentsagree that
Anne is their responsibility whose education need
should be fulfilled. However, Anne still thinks
about defeating Gilbert Blythe and cannot fully
ignore his achievement. She still uses her rivalry
with Gilbert Blythe as the parameter of her success
at school and when they apply for Queen’s.
Maturity
Maturity, as the last stage of Anne Shirley’s
character development, shows how Anne finally
becomes a teenager who is able to understand her
own value without erasing her beautiful
imagination about things. Anne’s maturity in the
way she sees herself is shown up when she becomes
 F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 127
confident as she internalizes the concept of self-
acceptance. Anne understands that the need of
having a beautiful look is not everything since she
has more important aspiration in her life rather
than just thinking about her appearance that can
only be seen outside.
Anne knows that her dreams of having darker
hair, skin as fair as Ruby’s, and dimples like Diana’s
will never come true. Yet, the realization cannot be
concluded as Anne’s pessimistic thinking of seeing
herself, because at the same time she also realizes
that she has more important dreams that she has
achieved and/or possible to achieve.
Her confidence and the idea of self-
acceptance hit its climax at the end of the novel
when Anne and her friends are on the way home to
Avonlea after the hotel concert. Through her
response toward Jane Andrews’ envious words to
the glamorous women they have met in the hotel,
Anne expresses her gratitude for the little things
that mean big for her. She argues that the spark of
imagination and love from their family are more
than just enough to be rich and happy. (p. 197)
Anne understands her own value and grateful for
what she has now. She realizes that everyone has
their own flaws, including Anne herself. Yet that
does not mean she cannot be happy and grateful for
her appearance and things around her.
At the end of her speech, she also emphasizes
the idea of self-acceptance with a grateful saying,
Well, I don’t want to be anyone but myself,
even if I go uncomforted by diamonds all my
life,” declared Anne. “I’m quite content to be
Anne of Green Gables, with my string of pearl
beads. I know Matthew gave me as much love
with them as ever went with Madame the
Pink Lady’s jewels.” (p. 198)
Anne is satisfied to be Anne of Green Gables
and feels beautiful and rich without imagining
herself to be Lady Cordelia or anybody else that she
used to think is prettier and perfect. Anne believes
that to be Anne of Green Gables is the most ‘beauty’
she has gained, added by the love that she has
received from Matthew and Marilla, she does not
need to be anybody else to be content.
After she is willing to learn the religious
practices and reciting bible, she grows up to be a
religious teenage girl. Anne now gets used to the
Sunday school and shows her seriousness in reading
and praying by answering all the questions asked in
the Sunday School. She also unconsciously grasps a
concept of praying by need rather than see it as an
obligation.
When the first time she learns to pray, she
sees praying as an obligation, but now she
understands praying as a need, she can pray without
feeling obliged. With the guidance from Marilla,
Anne now can make her own prayer with the
proper sentences. She also understands that to say a
prayer is not only when she must go to bed or on
any solemn occasion, but also when she needs God
to help her in every occasion. It can be seen through
the way Anne tells her ‘lake-tragedy’ to Mrs. Allan
when nobody can help her until Gilbert Blythe
finally comes. Anne starts to involve prayer when
she is in danger, meaning that she needs God’s help
and she comes into an understanding that to say a
prayer is very important.
Anne also can enjoy the Sunday School
without any hard feelings since she also gets many
friends and good activities there such as picnic to
taste ice cream for her first time, having tea at the
manse, and meeting Mrs. Allan, the minister’s wife
who has inspired her a lot and made her feel
encouraged to go to the Sunday School and learn a
lot. It can also be said that Anne finds the Sunday
School that Avonlea more fun than the one she
attends at the asylum, and the fun things she has
found make her spirit of learning her own religion
increase.
Anne now becomes easygoing as she can
easily make friends with anyone, even with the Old
Miss Barry. Anne also understands how to maintain
her relationship with Diana when she is at Queen’s
and builds a new friendship with the others.
Queen’s Preparation Class enables her to meet
more people and gives her chance to know Josie Pye
more. However, she still finds it difficult to like
Josie Pye, but she realizes that Josie Pye is just being
Josie Pye. She never means to be someone who is
hateful or disliked by anyone, her personality just
does not fit to Anne and she tries to accept that.
Anne also makes friend with the Old Miss
Barry, the aunt of Diana’s father whom they are
128 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
insulted when Anne is having a sleepover at Diana’s
house.
“I thought Marilla Cuthbert was an old fool
when I heard she’d adopted a girl out of an
orphan asylum,” she said to herself, “but I
guess she didn’t make much of a mistake after
all. If I’d a childlike Anne in the house all the
time I’d be a better and happier woman.” (p.
172)
From the excerpt, it can be seen that Anne’s
ability in engaging with others has developed very
well. She has made Old Miss Barry like her and
even invite her to her house. Anne’s socialization in
Avonlea has made her be able to communicate
better with others and even people from different
age and befriend them without feeling anxious at
the beginning. When she enters Queen’s, Anne also
makes friend with others. In the Academy,Anne has
been gradually drawing a little circle of friends
about her, thoughtful, imaginative, ambitious
students like herself. (205) Anne has successfully
built a friendship with the girls who have the same
aspiration, ambition, also characteristics like hers.
They are Stella Maynard and Priscilla Grant. Anne’s
friendship with them implies that Anne’s ability in
making a friendhas improved since she can choose
her own friend and in a group with the people who
have similarities with her, make their friendship’s
quality improve too. Anne is also able to maintain
her relationship with Diana by sending her letters
although she has made a new one.
Anne also enters her maturity stage when she
finally becomes good-tempered girl. After a long
debate within herself whether she should say sorry
or not to Mrs. Rachel Lynde, Anne’s realization of
mistakenly saying bad words to Mrs. Rachel Lynde
finally forces her to say it. Encouraged by Marilla,
Anne has perfectly made her apologize to Mrs.
Rachel Lynde and she accepts it.
Anne admits that she feels relief after she can
say sorry to Mrs. Lynde. It shows that Anne does
not only try to successfully control her temper but
also realize the side effect of saying sorry. Marilla
also influences her to understand that she might be
angry, but that emotion cannot justify her to be
impolite to someone who is older. From then on,
Anne starts to encourage herself to say sorry
whenever she makes a mistake, for example to Mrs.
Barry when she mistakenly gives Diana wine
instead of raspberry cordial and to the Old Miss
Barry whom she has insulted when Diana invites
her to have a sleepover.
The evidence that shows the good-tempered
Anne is when Josie Pye makes her falls after the
daring games. Instead of shouting at Josie Pye and
blaming her, Anne chooses to accept her ‘apology’,
although Josie Pye is actually never saying it to her.
Anne knows to control her temper by using her
imagination. She imagines if she were in Josie Pye’s
position.
Furthermore, she can rethink about what has
happened between her and Gilbert Blythe. She
decides to forgive him after she knows that Gilbert
gives up his chance to teach at Avonlea School so
that Anne could teach there.
“I forgave you that day by the pond landing,
although I didn’t know it. What a stubborn
little goose I was. I’ve been—I may as well
make a complete confession—I’ve been sorry
ever since.” (p. 221)
However, from the quotation above, it can be
inferred that it is not because Gilbert has given his
chance to Anne that Anne wants to forgive him, but
it is actually more because Anne has reached her
maturity to rethink about her behavior. She
understands that she used to be very stubborn and
denial and that has made her felt uneasy to forgive
him. She has softened her heart that she can see
what is behind her feeling that used to be denied by
her.
As her intimate relationship with Matthew
and Marilla grows bigger day by day, Anne is
gradually changing her motive in doing every good
thing in her life and becomes very responsible. She
understands that Matthew and Marilla have taken
care of her so that she could be a good girl and also
be the brightest one. Thus, Anne starts to set her
goal that she would be the credit for the Green
Gables folks.
Anne decides to put aside her rivalry with
Gilbert Blythe and starts to focus on her goal to be
the credit of the Green Gables. As a result of this
decision, Anne’s choice and the way in pursuing her
dream become clearer. She knows what she wants
and what she is going to do in the future. That can
 F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 129
be seen from her choice to focus more on pursuing
the Avery Scholarship rather than to be the first
rank with the highest score as she understands that
Avery Scholarship will lead her to pursue a better
education and more importantly, to be the credit for
Matthew.
Anne’s maturity is also shown through her
way she shows her responsibility for the Green
Gables folks. When Matthew dies and Marilla is
sick, Anne decides to give up her scholarship and
teaches the nearest school because she cannot leave
Marilla alone. When Marilla and the people think
that Anne’s action is a form of sacrifice, Anne
maturely does not think so. She does not feel like
she makes a sacrifice for giving up the scholarship to
help Marilla. She thinks that it is a must to help the
person who has helped her to have a better life.
Through her decision, it can be inferred that
Anne is able to feel Marilla’s suffering. After she is
being empathetic, she decides to be responsible for
the situation and take action by leaving her own
ambition for good and even arrange solution so that
the Green Gables does not have to be sold.
Factors that Cause Anne’s Character
Development
The second analysis reveals the factors that affect
Anne Shirley’s character development. There are
two major factors, the internal factor, which is
related to Anne Shirley’s motivation, and the
external factors, which are related to the new
environment and the people surround her.
Internal Factor
The internal factor that causes Anne Shirley’s
character development is her motivation. When she
comes to the Green Gables and realizes that Marilla
and Matthew actually want a boy, she is motivated
to be the girl that Marilla wants her to be.When she
is educated and taken care of by Marilla, she then
starts to follow the rule given by Marilla. Her
willingness to pray is even firstly triggered by her
motivation to be accepted by Marilla and Matthew
before finally, she realizes that saying a prayer is a
need. When she is continuously changing the
motive behind her ambition in the academy, her
motivation goes deeper, not only for the sake of
being accepted but how to pay Marilla and
Matthew’s scarification for her education and life.
Anne’s motivation also leads her to change
her behavior and starts to give more focus on it
rather than her appearance. Anne feels necessary to
have a better education since she realizes that a
good manner and behavior are very essential for
having interaction with other people. Without her
motivation, the willingness to learn, change, and
develop will never exist, although there are people
and environment that force her to develop.
External Factors
The external factors of Anne Shirley’s character
development are in form of the characters that have
an essential role also the new environment where
she lives.
Guidance from Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert
When Mrs. Spencer mistakenly sends Anne to them
instead of a boy who can help her to help Matthew
with the farm, Marilla and Matthew should take
care of her without any experience of parenting
before. However, Marilla and Matthew have done
their best to raise Anne as the substitute parents to
Anne. They have successfully internalized the good
value to Anne, provided her love, educational and
motivational support, and given Anne advice also
enlightenment when Anne faces problems since she
becomes Anne of Green Gables.
In this novel, both Marilla and Matthew have
different roles in educating and taking care of Anne.
Marilla provides more about education, knowledge,
moral values, religion, and many other things that
are more practical. Marilla is the first person who
tells her how to behave when Anne asks for any
advice before she goes to the drinking tea invitation
from Mrs. Allan. She tells Anne to not think too
much about herself. She also introduces Anne to the
positive habit like saying her prayer before bed, a
habit that Anne has never done before she comes to
the Green Gables. Marilla also sends Anne to
Sunday School and Avonlea School to provide
education for Anne. It should be also remembered
that Anne would never have her first real bosom-
friend if Marilla does not bring her to Diana’s house
and introduce Anne to Diana.
130 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
Meanwhile Matthew has his role to provide
love, security, and understanding. Anne calls him
the kindred-spirit since he is the first person who
accepts Anne to stay at Green Gables. He also
patiently listens to every story that Anne told to
him. He motivates Anne and always believes that
she will be successful in everything. He is also the
one who calms Anne when she is in a bad temper
because of Mrs. Lynde.
By all of the things they have given to her,
Anne grows respect, empathy, and love for them as
they are her parents. Anne then also feels like she
has the obligation to make them proud, help them,
and be a dedicated young woman for Marilla when
Matthew has died.
Green Gables as New Environment and Identity
Green Gables as the new home for Anne seems like
the last and the most perfect departure in Anne’s
life until she is sixteen. Green Gables to Anne is
such a new hope for her life that used to be full of
sorrow and loveless.
“I hadn’t any real idea what it looked like. But
just as soon as I saw it I felt it was home. Oh,
it seems as if I must be in a dream. Do you
know, my arm must be black and blue from
the elbow up, for I’ve pinched myself so many
times today.” (16)
Avonlea, especially Green Gables has been
home to Anne since her first arrival. Moreover, it is
not just a home, but a dreamland to Anne since she
can easily find some beautiful places in Avonlea and
them unique and beautiful names. Green Gables is
such a turning point in her life, from a lonely
orphan who used to live from a house to another
and asylum, becomes a girl who gets a proper living,
care and socializes with her peers.
Green Gables also has a big role in shaping
Anne’s identity. Anne’s insecurity is not only
because of her appearance, but also because she feels
that she belongs ‘nowhere’. But when she comes to
Green Gables, she tells herself that now she should
worry less because at least now she is Anne of
Green Gables and Anne of Nowhere no longer
exists. Anne even declares that she is proud to be
Anne of Green Gables when she finally can accept
and love herself just the way she is.
The Inspiration from Mrs. Allan
Mrs. Allan is the minister’s wife who is still young
and smart. Since her first arrival at the Green
Gables, she has captured Anne’s attention for her
unique demeanor which is different from the
common minister’s wife. Like the minister’s wife
who usually must behave calmly and only walk
behind her man, Mrs. Allan shows herself in front
of everybody and even starts a close relationship
with the children, which refers to what Anne called
as ‘deep talk’. She builds a relationship with
children with fewer boundaries. She also wears
clothing that according to Mrs. Lynde is too worldly
for a minister wife.
Through how Mrs. Allan is described in the
novel, it can be understood why Anne idolizes her
and is inspired by her. It is not just because Mrs.
Allan is able to take her heart and attention, but
also because Anne feels they both have similarity.
Both Anne and Mrs. Allan are considered as the
people who are quite different from the society of
Avonlea. It is rare to find someone who has a spark
of imagination like Anne has and Anne also feels
different because she is an adopted orphan who is
brought to Avonlea. Meanwhile Mrs. Allan is
considered different because the way she dresses up
and behaves seems to break the conventional rule of
what the society expects from a minister’s wife.
Mrs. Allan also tells Anne that she used to be
very mischief when she was a little girl but she
grows to be a good woman. Her life story that she
tells to Anne also makes Anne feels more connected
to her as she can relate how it feels to be called
mischief and troublemaker by the people and also to
have a hope of being a better person in the future.
Mrs. Allan’s figure is easily affected Anne and
inspires her to be a better person. Mrs. Allan also
the one who discovers Anne’s ability in singing and
tells Anne about it. However, it impacts on Anne’s
confidence since she used to be too afraid to admit
that she has indeed a good voice. Mrs. Allan’s ability
in seeing Anne’s hidden talent and encouraging her
to believe it makes it clear that she is the person
who really puts huge care toward Anne, besides
Marilla and Matthew. By all similarities and their
interaction, Anne becomes very inspired by her and
uses her figure as Anne’s ‘hope’ to be a better self in
the future.
 F. S. Az-Zahra & N. Saktiningrum | Anne Shirley’s Character Development | 131
Peers’ Support
Diana is the first person who makes Anne realizes
that love can also exist for someone whom we have
just known. Befriends with Diana, Anne learns to
love and be loved as a bosom-friend. Being loved
never happens to her when her only friends are
Katie Maurice and Violetta.
In addition, Anne’s friends at school also play
a big role in Anne’s character development. Anne
feels that she is important and loved when she
comes back to school and everyone is glad and gives
her presents. When she is sick, all of her friends also
visit her to show that they care to Anne. These
treatments boost Anne’s confident and under-
standing of her own existence. She used to think
that darker hair and fair skin will lead her to
happiness. Yet, in the end, she realizes that the
people around her, including her friends, have just
made her feel grateful and important. Her close
friends such as Ruby Gillis, Jane Andrews, and
Diana Barry also the people who have ensured Anne
that she is beautiful and suitable to be Lily Maid.
CONCLUSION
Anne of Green Gables tells about a girl named Anne
Shirley whose character develops through her
journey and learning process before and after she
comes to the Green Gables. Her character
development is explained through three stages; the
early stage, realization and learning process, and
maturity. The research reveals that once a loveless
girl like Anne Shirley can experience a gradual
development through the journey of life from a
loveless little girl into a mature teenager.
The research reveals that a girl can be loveless
when she is an orphan and is not provided and
surrounded by love and enough care. In the early
stage, a loveless girl is first introduced as a girl who
is very insecure about her identity and appearance,
has a problem in coping and expressing emotions
since nobody teaches her how to acknowledge and
control them. She is also described as a loner
because she finds difficulty in making friends and
socializing with others. In addition, she lacks of
religious and cultural values that are strongly
believed by the society where she lives as an
adopted child.
In the stage of realization and learning
process, she starts to internalize the new values in
defining herself in order to be accepted, inspired by
other characters and her new identity, and
understands her emotions. The girl finally reaches
the final stage, which is maturity. At this point she
is able to be confident by accepting her own self and
be grateful, able to control her emotion, easygoing
by maintaining her friendship with her old friend
and choose the most suitable circle for her when she
pursues higher education, and responsible by
involving others in her decision making.
It is also found that the roles of the parents,
inspiring figures, and environment give a huge
impact to the one’s character development. The
motivation that triggers the girl’s willingness is also
important in developing her character. Her
motivation to be accepted by her new parents and
new society gives her willingness to learn new
things, control herself, and internalize new value.
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Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
Pages 133-138
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon

Homesickness as Seen in Harry Potter’s Character in J. K. Rowling’s

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Januar Ramadhan, Rahmawan Jatmiko*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: rahmawan.jatmiko@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This research attempts to examine the effects of homesickness on Harry potter in J. K. Rowling’s
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Homesickness as a mental illness is prevalent in people;
therefore, the investigation used Harry Potter as its subject. The research adopts the theory of
homesickness proposed by Fisher (1989). The research shows the harshness of being homesick in a
society that we have little control of and in situations where we have no choice on how to proceed.
It highlights the need of attachments in a social sense for individuals who are suffering from
homesickness because it is one of the definite cure for a serious and dangerous mental illness. It can
affect anyone regardless of age, living conditions, and state of mind.

Keywords: character study, Harry Potter, homesickness, mental illness, state of mind.

or “round” from whether they change as a person or

INTRODUCTION
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a novel
written by J. K. Rowling. She wrote the novel in
1998 and published it in 1999. The story takes place
during the third book of a series of seven books
featuring Harry Potter as he attends a school of
wizardry, Hogwarts. Along with his friends, Ronald
Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must find
the truth about Sirius Black, an escapee from
Azkaban whom Harry and his friends believe to side
with the evil Lord Voldemort. The book garners
many popularities among children and young
adults, and receives success in its theatrical releases.
Harry Potter is the primary focus of the book
series. The character’s actions or reactions present
their story to develop their characters. The
development of their characters is considered “flat”
not from beginning to end (Wallace, 1986, p. 118).
A character is considered as a “flat” character when
they are static or unchanging in their characters and
a “round” character when they are dynamic or
changing in their characters. To know whether a
character is either of the two terms, the reader must
wait until the end of the story to give a complete
judgement to a character in the story.
The present research investigates whether
Harry Potter’s character changes through the
influence of homesickness. It utilizes the theoretical
model proposed by Fisher (1989) on the topic of
homesickness, which is primarily of loss that uses
grief and attachment as a supporting argument. This
theory is adopted to examine whether Harry Potter
is suffering from homesickness.

J. Ramadhan & R. Jatmiko | Homesickness | 133

134 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
Homesickness is a mental illness that affects the series. Throughout the book, Harry experiences
the mental health of a person from their feelings of many types of vulnerability such as fits of anger,
wanting to go home. The effects of homesickness moments of anxiety, and states of depression. The
influence the people to find a sense of familiarity in depression that manifests in person who suffers
their new environment that reminded them of their from homesickness links to all three vulnerabilities
old home. A few of them are their family, pets, or mentioned previously (Veschuur, Eurelings-
loved ones (Fisher, 1989). The effect forms an Bontekoe, Spinhoven & Duijsens, 2003).
insistence to return to a person’s real home or a
In line with these arguments, the present
location that is similar to their home. Eurelings-
research attempts to address the following the
Bontekoe, Vingerhoets, and Fontijn (1994), in line
research questions:
with Fisher’s theory, describe homesickness as “a
depression-like reaction to leaving a familiar 1. How does homesickness influence Harry
environment, accompanied by ruminations about Potter as a fictional character?
and a strong preoccupation with the former 2. What are the significant effects of
environment as well as a strong longing to return to homesickness on the character of Harry
the previous environment.” However, homesickness Potter?
is different from depression as homesickness’s main
cause is the drive for people to return home.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
LITERATURE REVIEW
selected for analysis in the present research due to
the various examples of homesickness found in the
There have been several studies on the topic of
book. Furthermore, the book is about the psyche of
Harry Potter, but there has not been any study
Harry Potter. In the book, Harry is a child turning
focusing on homesickness in Harry Potter. Nur
into to a teenager. Thurber (1999, p. 125) states,
(2017) discusses the influence of Harry Potter’s
“When children separate from home and primary
character to the conflict in Harry Potter and the
caregivers, they typically experience homesickness”
Chamber of Secrets using characteristics of defiance,
which supports Fisher’s theory of the mental health
curiosity, cleverness, protective side, bravery, and
of homesick people (Fisher, 1990). The dynamic
persistence.
changes in a children’s psyche are used to formulate
the changes in Harry’s character when influenced Theory of homesickness is very scarce and
by homesickness. some of them still need further research. However,
there are several studies focusing on homesickness.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Shirley Fisher published a research in homesickness
centers its story from Harry’s point of view. It
titled Homesickness, Cognition and Health in 1989.
ranges from his emotions to the thought process in
The research used a theoretical model to identify
coping with homesickness. Harry Potter and the
homesickness. The subject of research is mostly
Prisoner of Azkaban shifts the focus to Harry
children that leave home during their early age or
Potter’s personal struggle. It tells about how Harry
young adults who are studying abroad or far from
reminds his deceased parents, finds someone who
their home. It shows the various stressors of
murders them, and forgives the murderer. The
homesickness and the involvements of cognitive
feelings to yearn for loved ones, to find knowledge
thoughts and memory to find the cause of
for personal reasons, and to express compassion on
homesickness in a person as well as its
others as they do toward themselves are the key-
consequences.
points to cope with homesickness (Hack-Polay,
2012, p. 71). It is in line with the homesickness Hack-Polay publishes a journal in 2008 titled
model of Fisher. Migrant Integration: Case for Necessary Shift of
Paradigm. The journal elaborates on the necessity of
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
a pattern to find homesickness in a person. Later in
set during the time when Harry is the most
2012, Dieu Hack-Polay publishes another journal
vulnerable, compared to the other seven books in
titled When Home Isn’t Home – A Study of

Homesickness and Coping Strategies among Migrant
Workers and Expatriates.
In 2003, Margot J. Verschuur, Elisabeth H. M.
Eurelings-Bontekoe, Philip Spinhove, and Inge J
Duijsens releases Homesickness: Temperament and
Character. It defines a few more clarifications of
homesickness as well as the findings and definitions
of the consequences of homesickness. It also
introduces the definition of trigger effects of
homesickness in the layperson. We use the triggers
of homesickness and its treatment and prevention to
define homesickness.
Thus, this research is different from the
literature reviews because this research focuses on
homesickness’ influence in the fictional character
Harry Potter throughout the third book Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. There is no
literature review previously mentioned that
discusses homesickness’ influence in the character
of Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban. This research is therefore original and
does not adopt from the literature reviews
previously listed. The aforementioned works of
literature are mainly as an association for the
research’s topic of homesickness’ influence in Harry
Potter’s character.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The objectives of the present research are to
examine the effects of homesickness on Harry
Potter’s character. To understand the influence of
homesickness in Harry Potter’s character, the
research provides explanations of methods of
collecting and analyzing the data, which uses the
theoretical definition of homesickness by proposed
by Fisher (1989).
The study focuses on using the first model of
loss. When the individual separates from their
family, friends, and acquaintances, the same
individual also experiences a loss that results in
serious distress of grief and need for attachment.
The grief that appears from this model of
homesickness becomes a need for attachment equal
to the grief that a person accumulates.
J. Ramadhan & R. Jatmiko | Homesickness | 135
METHODS
This research uses a library research method to
collect the data in order to fulfill the objective of
this research paper. There are two kinds of data that
we collect, which are primary data and secondary
data.
The primary data of this research are the
dialogues and the narrations from the novel itself.
The research uses the narration and dialogues from
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that has
the connection with homesickness’ influence and its
effects to Harry Potter’s character in the book. The
secondary data were from other sources including
books, journals, articles, and reviews from the
libraries or the internet that supports the objective
of this research paper. Various parts of the novel
and the external data that contain or describe the
influence of homesickness and its effects on Harry
Potter’s character in the book were then collected
to support the primary data.
This study uses qualitative descriptive method
to gain the conclusion bases on a theory. In order to
analyze the homesickness influence and its effects
on Harry Potter’s characters, the method of
analyzing data mainly uses the theoretical examples
of homesickness using the model theory made by
Fisher (1989). Afterward, using the newest
descriptions of homesickness and its various
influence factor and effects variable found in the
secondary data, the findings were presented and
discussed in detail with the intention to correlate
that into the objective of the research. The primary
and secondary data sources were used to clarify the
influence of homesickness on Harry Potter
throughout the book.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Homesickness in Harry Potter’s character in the
book comes from his needs of attachment to
something that he can refer to as a family. It might
be a reminiscence of his parents, his old home in the
Dursley house, his memory of previous two years in
Hogwarts, or his friends who is his true family.
We discuss the function and usage of Fisher’s
model of homesickness (Fisher, 1989), which can be
136 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
implemented into the contextual evidence that
pertains to the character’s actions and feelings of
Harry Potter as written and interpreted in the book
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is
the title of Harry Potter’s third year in Hogwarts,
which makes it the third book in the series. The
content of the book mainly tells the readers about
the continuation of Harry Potter’s life straight from
the second book. His third year in Hogwarts is
about to start, his friends are sending him letters of
places they vacate, and being harassed again by his
adoptive family. Then, he is borne by more
responsibilities from school, his friends and families,
as well as his unchecked feelings that have plagued
him. It is born out of his unnoticed need for a
family, or at least a parental figure. The book tells a
detail of sorrow and circumstances where Harry
needs the figure of families or parent, not only
friends he could socialize with. This idea aligns with
the academic research which shows that young age
needs needs parental figure to avoid being homesick
(Fisher, 1989). The book presents the introduction
of parental figure for Harry Potter. They are the
new teacher, Lupin, and the convict Sirius Black,
who turns out to be his godfather all along.
Grief for Harry Potter refers to his loss of
parents. The loss of his parents during his childhood
continues to remind him of home that is now
nonexistent. It makes him searching for an
attachment throughout the story. This is presented
in the third book through the constant reminder of
his parent death by the Dementors and the
visitation ticket to Hogsmeade which needs
parent/guardian signature.
The need for parental figures is the main
reason of attachment found in the character of
Harry Potter. To equate the grief of losing his
parents, Harry needs a similar amount of
attachment to compensate for the loss. Attachment
for Harry Potter means to find a parental figure that
is on par with his parents. In the book, the visitation
form to Hogsmeade is a reference to the need for a
parental figure in Harry’s life.
There are two people that Harry attaches
himself within the book, namely Professor Lupin
and Sirius Black. Both people play a role in
lessening the grief of his parents in their way. They
are suitable in exchanging Harry’s grief for
attachments as both of them sufficiently know
Harry’s parents and Sirius is the sworn brother and
the real guardian figure of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter quickly attaches himself to
Lupin and later on in the story starts to bond with
Sirius Black through misunderstandings. Lupin is
the new teacher for the Defense of the Dark Arts. In
the story, Lupin teaches Harry various things which
are beneficial for Harry’s education and personal
life. He is often strict with teaching Harry and
understands that he needs Harry to improve if he
wants to continue attending Hogwarts. In return,
Sirius Black helps Harry from the sidelines but
overall supports Harry’s actions and needs in
Hogwarts.
The presence of Lupin is akin to a father
figure in Harry’s mind. Harry recognizes such a
figure akin to a father who is strict but protective.
He teaches Harry how to defend himself against his
fears and is constantly helping Harry in his time of
needs. It is not an exaggeration when Harry thinks
of Lupin as a sort of father figure. It supports the
idea that Lupin promotes a father figure in Harry.
In contrast, the presence of Sirius Black is
akin to a mother’s figure in Harry’s mind. The
figure is as protective as Lupin, but in contrast with
hoe open Lupin, Sirius prefers to be in the sideline
and watch Harry from afar. Sirius is also a kind and
loving person despite his rough appearance. It
represents the image of Harry’s mother who helps
Harry in his time of need though only in his vague
recollection of memory.
The symbol of fear and home creates kindling
effects of homesickness in Harry Potter’s character.
The symbol of fear in the book takes the form of
Dementors, and the symbol of home in the book
takes the form of Harry’s deceased parents. We
argue that both symbols are the greatest source of
homesickness that affects Harry Potter’s psyche.
Fear is a condition in which many people
suffering homesickness may receive can turn into
anxiety or depression-like state (Fisher 1989, 132).
Throughout his year in Harry Potter’s life in
Hogwarts, he feels as if it is not his second home
anymore. He experiences a different third year in
Hogwarts since he could not meet his close friend
regularly, fight with Dursley family, and being

haunted by the image of Black Dog which resembles
Sirius Black.
Fear for Harry is a feeling that he cannot
escape in the form of his grief for both his parents.
The parents of Harry Potter are constantly in use by
the Dementors to torment Harry Potter into giving
up his life. The fear due to the image his parents
dying feeds the Dementors and at the same time
acts as the main stressor of his homesickness
episodes.
Home to Harry Potter means a person whose
existence makes him feel safe. In this case, it is
Sirius Black, Harry Potter’s godfather. Harry feels
happy with and when he thinks of Sirius. Although
the two of them cannot live together, the thought
that Harry is able to see Sirius visiting him is
enough to make Harry feel comfortable in the
Dursley household.
We argue that because Harry Potter knows
that Sirius is alive, Harry can feel at home when
returning to the Dursley household. Knowing a
person is waiting for him or is watching over him
makes him think that his old home that rejects him
can eventually feel homely. The sensation of
homeliness stems from Sirius, which is a symbol of
home for Harry Potter above the Dursley
household.
The Dursley household is not an ideal home
for Harry. It is a place where his parental figures
restrict his action and the environment is not
friendly. However, it changes with the thought of
Sirius watching over him. It creates a happier
feeling over the Dursley house when Harry returns
to at the end of his third year.
CONCLUSION
We believe that homesickness does influence and
affect Harry Potter as a fictional character in various
ways. Homesickness can be an efficient way to
create a relatable character if handled well. Writers
can use the same method of writing for characters
that are more believable or has its background set in
a more real setting. Scientific research prove that
homesickness can occur to anyone. Harry’s personal
feelings and the changing environment around him
J. Ramadhan & R. Jatmiko | Homesickness | 137
play a part in influencing his homesickness. It is
triggered by the grief of his parents and his needs of
attachment to family or parental figure.
Harry as a fictional character creates a way for
people to understand what it means to lose
something and what it means to gain something. He
experiences the homesickness of loss and in turn
leaves grieving for his dead parents and in need of
attachment equal to the worth of the dead parents.
This need is fulfilled by being close to Lupin, the
new professor in Hogwarts, and understanding
Sirius Black, who is a criminal that turns out to be
one of the few people that Harry’s parents’ trust.
The moral of the story is to face the grievance
and the need for attachment head-on in a person’s
daily life. Like Harry’s example, the feelings and
struggle of a homesick person can reward him or
her in their life. For a loss and grievance, there
surely is someone to take over the grief and turn it
to a positive form of attachment.
It is a lesson to learn for many people who
plan to or has previously read Harry Potter. To
conquer their fear or to find a new home, one must
work hard for it. To befriend other people, one must
work hard for it. To better the life in his
environment, one must work hard for it. It is only
then that one can find happiness.
REFERENCES
Eurelings-Bontekoe, E. H. M., Vingerhoets, A. &
Fontijn, T. (1994). Personality and behavioral
antecedents of homesickness. Personality and
Individual Differences, 16(2), 229–235.
Fisher, S. (1989). Homesickness, cognition and
health. Hove, UK: Laurence Erlbaum.
Fisher, S. (1990). The psychological effects of
leaving home: Homesickness, health, and
obsessional thoughts. In S. Fisher and C. L.
Cooper (eds.), On the move: The psychology
of change and transition (pp. 153-170).
Chichester: Wiley.
Hack-Polay, D. (2012). When home isn't home: A
study of homesickness and coping strategies
among migrant workers and expatriates.
138 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
International Journal of Psychological Studies,
4(3), 62-72.
Martin, W. (1986). Recent theories of narative.
London: Cornell University Press.
Nur, A. (2017). Harry Potter's characteristics
influence towards the conflict of J.K.
Rowling's Harry Potterr and the Chamber of
Secrets. (Unpublished undergraduate thesis).
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta
Indonesia.
Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury.
Thurber, C. A. (1999) The phenomenology of
homesickness in boys. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 2, 125-139.
Verschuur, M. J., Eurelings-Bontekoe, E. H. M.,
Spinhoven, P., & Duijsens, I. J. (2003).
Homesickness, temperament and character.
Personality and Individual Differences, 757-
770.
Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
Pages 139-155
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon

A Journey to Ethical Life: A Moral Reading of Shakespeare’s Othello

through the Nasirean Ethics of Naṣir Al-Din Al-Ṭuṣi
Mochammad Dwi Teguh Prasetya, Muh. Arif Rokhman*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: arokhman@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This research is an attempt of offering a moral reading of Shakespeare’s Othello through The
Nasirean Ethics (Akhlaq-i Naṣiri) by Naṣir Al-Din Al-Ṭuṣi. It aims to analyse the ethical life of the
characters in it, how virtues and vices of a human soul are being reflected, as well as the social and
political life in Othello as reflected by the interaction of its characters. In conducting the research,
excerpts from the play are accordingly collected and investigated, and for the primary discussion, the
selective materials from The Nasirean Ethics of Al-Ṭuṣi are employed. The result of the research
shows that in man’s existence within the universe, cultivating virtue and removing vices are things
of most importance. Othello, Iago, and Roderigo are perplexed by the vices of the soul, a quality
when the golden mean of virtue is not at equilibrium. In social and political life, the ethical
components of justice and love are necessary as well as the presence of law, just arbitrator, and
money. This research suggests that the cultivation of morality and ethics should be the ground of
every civilization.

Keywords: virtue, vices, human soul, justice, ethics, love, Othello, Akhlaq-i Naṣiri.

questions in his plays in redeeming the existence of

INTRODUCTION
William Shakespeare (d. 1616) is one of, if not the
single greatest, English writer in the history of
literature. His masterpieces in forms of play and
poetry are eternally canonical and of his erudition,
Ben Johnson says that Shakespeare is not only “of
his time but all ages” (Frye, 1998, p. 223). This is
undeniably true as Shakespeare’s plays are filled
with timeless and deep exploration of human
condition, for instance of things that we invariably
encounter like greed and hatred, or the problem of
good and evil. Shakespeare brilliantly draws such
human life. As human beings are faced with trials
and tribulation, it is in his plays also that the
characters are put into various moral trials. (Gray
and Cock, 2014, p. 1) This is subsequently going to
captivate us in long time of literary discussion as we
all look for a consolation and inspiration through
literature.
Nonetheless, the biggest attraction of Othello
(Shakespeare, 1905) is its brilliance in exploring the
problem of our existential and spiritual journey. To
quote Diver Wilson, he says, “Othello, Desdemona,
and Iago are Man, the Divine, and The Devil”

M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 139

140 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
(Lings, 1966, p. 18). The play is centered on the
story of Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian
army and Iago, the jealous vice-general lieutenant,
enraged and moved to yearn for a vengeance. Iago’s
insinuation is so archetypal in our life and the
dialectic that Othello and Desdemona are posed to
will discover human’s existential life problems. For
those reasons, Othello was chosen as the main
object of the study. In doing that, The Nasirean
Ethics of Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi serves to be the
theoretical lens to conduct this study, which is used
to view Othello at which the wisdom and the
greatness of this play can be grasped. This altogether
presents the wisdom that Nasirean Ethics possesses.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A number of studies have been conducted on the
work. For instance, Sukardi (2015) analysed the
traits of Iago dan his relationships to the
Machiavellian principles. Using dynamic
structuralism proposed by Mukarovsky, she then
focused on the intrinsic elements of the play as well
as the elaboration of Machiavellian values. It was
concluded that Iago met the characteristics that a
true Machiaveliian possesses.
An investigation by Bayer (2010) analysed the
principal characters of Othello through the lenses of
Swanton’s formulation of virtue and Michael Slote’s
Agent Based approach. Another study by Prabowo
(2013) employed an objective approach and
analysed the racial issues in Othello. The racial
prejudice had impacts on the characters of Othello
in the play.
An attempt to analyse Othello from the
Islamic perspective has been conducted by Abdullah
(2018). He cited the actions, phenomenon, and
some conducts by characters and analysed them
using Islamic framework that predominantly was
derived from Qur’anic perspective and Prophetic
tradition. He explained that there was a lack of
encouragement and enthusiasm from Muslims to
study literature deeply. He analysed the characters
of Othello and their behaviours in relation to the
plot and how Islam sees the case.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Virtue and Vices of Human Soul
Virtue is a disposition or admirable character. It is
the fruit resulted when a faculty of the soul is at
equilibrium. Based on the existing three faculties of
the soul propounded by Al-Tusi, the rational,
irascible, concupiscible faculty, four cardinal virtues
are things to be cultivated to purify one’s character
and enjoin one to the pursuit of a good life before
God. They are wisdom, resulted from the
equilibrium of rational faculty, courage, from
irascible faculty, continence, from concupiscible
faculty, and justice is the harmony of all virtue. The
virtue is in a golden mean between two sides of
extreme quality, when it is not balanced, the vice of
the soul is resulted. The vice of the soul takes place
because of three things: excess (ifrat), deficiency
(tafrit), and perversion (rada’at).
Social and Political Theory of Nasirean Ethics
Tusi believes that politics is the human association,
and it is necessary as human being pursues the
felicity through a constant ethical life, human is in
need of assistance. In doing that, there are things
that have to be built within political community.
First of all, a society should be built by labour
specialization as this division of task is what enables
them to flourish. Some might dedicate themselves
in farming, some in knitting, and others. In securing
those cooperations, justice has to be preserved.
Justice is the harmony of all virtue, and within a
political community, justice should be predicated on
the Divine Law, Just arbitrator, and money.
However, as such pursuit of justice is necessary,
there is a higher component at which society should
be built, it is love. Love should be the basis of every
action in a social and political life.
METHODS
Method of Collecting Data
The library research is employed in this study.
The primary data is Othello by William
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 141
Shakespeare, in his complete works edited by W.J.
Craig (1903). Insofar the research questions are
posed, an extensive reading to the whole play is
done by which the monologue, dialogue, plot, and
situation in the play are accordingly comprehended
and noted to support the analysis and the findings of
the study. The selected data for the research is any
dialogue or monologue and character’s interactions
which are significant to the whole play and most
substantial to be analysed from Nasirean Ethics
perspective.
For theoretical discussions, The Nasirean
Ethics discussion will be selectively extracted from
G.M. Wickens’ translation (1964) of Akhlaq-i Nasiri
accordingly, in relation to the aforementioned
research questions. To offer a comprehensive
analysis on this book, several books, journals and
articles on Nasirean and Islamic Ethics will be
collected and extensively investigated to support the
analysis on this research that will be listed in
bibliography.
Method of Analyzing Data
Insofar the data are carefully selected and
collected, in what follows, the primary data from
Othello will be understood in comprehensive ways
by extensive readings, to understand its meaning,
implications, reasons, insights, and its relations to
the whole story of the play. The way the character
demonstrates his worldview from his dialogue or
monologue is heavily analysed, and how one
interacts with others are things to observe carefully.
If such thing has been accordingly identified, the
theoretical discussion of Akhlaq-i Nasiri is
employed as a lens to see those findings in the play
and what moral implication that can be implied and
learned there.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Othello and the Virtue and Vices of the
Rational Faculty
In this part, Othello is analysed as he is the main
figure of this play which always invites our
sympathy due to his tragic journey within the play.
His life is rich of moral insights as he is dealing with
various forms of tribulations in marriage, friendship,
and political career and the fact that he faces evil
whispers from Iago and other difficult trials.
Throughout the play, Othello is consistently
insinuated by the evil power of Iago. In dealing
with evil insinuation, and other people’s
manipulation and difficult trial, analysing Othello is
filled with moral visions on using our rational in
resisting against evils.
In this part, the virtue of wisdom that Othello
shows, in this case at the Act 1 Scene 1, is
elaborated. At the beginning of the play, Iago and
Roderigo are calling Brabantio as to insinuate and
enrage him of his daughter Desdemona who is
married by the Othello. Brabantio is enraged and he
accuses Othello of doing witchcraft and
enchantment upon his daughter, “O thou foul thief,
where hast thou stow'd my daughter? Damn'd as
thou art, thou hast enchanted her” (1.1.62-63).
Soon, Brabantio and some of his ancients are in a
search of Othello to demand words from him, they
meet in the middle of the night and a bloody fight is
going to take place between them. Though the
pressure is on and Othello can possibly do the fight,
Othello demonstrates his leadership and manages to
control himself in such situation as he says, “Hold
your hands, both you of my inclining and the rest:
Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it
Without a prompter.” (I.1.83-84) He also affirms
Brabantio’s charge wisely to go to before the law as
to prove and clarify Brabantio’s accusation of him
doing a “robbery” on his daughter. When Brabantio
has intensely planned to avenge him in such private
and physical revenge as hinted by Iago, “he comes
to bad intent”, that situation is wisely turned down
by Othello. Such act, of controlling raging emotions
of his and the rest of his inclinings, though he is at
some ways under pressure, it is not a wisdom which
neither exceeds, in a sense a person is using his
intelligence to ridicule other and beyond obligatory
extent, nor lack use of it, which denotes the neglect
of rational and clever decision. He ascends from
such situation, from quarrel to that of
reconciliation. Othello manages to control his rage
and disavow any temptation to foolishly fight
Brabantio and his people. He handles his way from
that of confusion and agitation within this case, and
such can only take place as he does not get enraged
142 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
of Brabantio’s enragement but choose to go to the
court of proving his case. His irascible faculty
(quwwati ghadabi) is receptive to moral and
intellectual reflection and at obedience to it, which
in this sense, discipline takes over his savage nature
within himself. In following this, Othello answers
Brabantio’s charge of taking the case before the law,
he says “What if I do obey? How may the Duke be
therewith satisfied, Whose messengers are here
aboust my side, Upon some present business of the
state to bring me to him?” (1.2.87-90) Othello
manages to realize that he needs to go directly
before the law as he will have more authoritative
reasoning and defence if such case is weighed up
properly in the court. Such decision is the use of
Othello’s rationality and his clarity of mind, as it is
the realization of the soul away from the confusion
in grasping the reality (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 82). Othello
manages to clear his mind that to reconcile those
problems, bloody duel should be avoided therefore
he needs to bring it before the court to comfort the
involved parties and clear his case. Say, Othello is
problematic for his marriage, but at the same time
he also has the chance of destroying himself before
the law if he loses against the charge. But, he
manages to realize that only proper procedure of the
trial can clearly process his case. It is on this matter
that I mention the wisdom Othello has. It is
Othello’s awareness that bloody duel and fight are
simply going to ruin every figure involved and no
case is going to be solved properly and fairly.
In what follows, the vices of the soul that
Othello has will be explained. It might be true that
Iago’s manipulation is devilry though it is not at the
expense of his sole brilliance, but to the ignorance
and confusion that Othello demonstrates. Ignorance
is the opposite of knowledge, and knowledge
signifies the understanding of reality rightly. When
Iago plants his suspicions and insinuations, Othello
is affirming himself without hesitation. In fact, it is
his voluntary enjoinment to attract him to speak, as
“let me know thy thought” that begins those
disaster. Instead of verifying, he lets loose these
insinuation preoccupying his mind, and never gives
smallest of chance for Desdemona or Cassio to prove
their innocence. Othello is also very superficial in
grasping the reality and assessing people around
him. This is realized by Iago by stating that “The
Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men
honest that but seem to be so; And will as tenderly
be led by the nose As asses are” (1.3.405-408). The
speeches of Iago are not merely his inner thoughts,
but it is the way Shakespeare tells his audiences of
the situations around his play. Though his
testimony needs further evidence and proof, but his
statements hold true to the end of the play as
Othello is somebody that is easily taunted merely by
weak arguments that make him easily lose his trust
to Desdemona. He is somebody with heedless
contemplation and decision making, for instance,
how Othello becomes somebody that praises and
loves Desdemona as “My life upon her faith!”
(I.3.296) then manages to become somebody devoid
of compassion at all as he calls Desdemona
“Impudent strumpet! (4.2.79)”, as hence it is thrown
without further rational evidence and dialogue as
Desdemona, never in the slightest justice, is given
room to defend and prove herself. Even he is just
enraged after Iago’s false speech of Cassio’s sexual
talk on “Sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us
hide our loves.” (3.3.420-421) Such false
imagination is enough to enrage Othello, of
“monstrous! Monstrous!”, with no proofs
whatsoever, and says “I’ll tear her into pieces”.
(3.3.432) Othello lets gossips and false speech ruin
his life, and turn him to believe in the unprovable
words from others rather than their own wife, but
most importantly without proper judgments. If the
sign of wisdom is clarity of mind, at which the soul
realizes an aptitude for extracting the desired result
without being befallen by any agitation or
confusion, in this case that Othello is perplexed by
his confusion, caused by his own superficiality.
Othello fails to recognize that in denouncing that
falsehood, he needs to verify the truth to
Desdemona or Cassio and any figures related to his
case, not by blatant and careless judgment. He starts
his rashness and malignity before even Cassio or
Desdemona are deliberately invited to prove the
case. However, the worst part lies in his assumption
of the situation, which leads him to carelessly
decide on things that he does not really know, on
Desdemona and Cassio. He is merely making a
position by a presumption that only by private
vengeance such problem will be consequently
solved. Othello loses his clear sense that any
possibilities of their case are still existing and only
by careful verification that the problem can be
overcome. He is too quick to appraise himself on the
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 143
position of giving retribution and justice. He says "O beginning of the play, Iago tells all his anger as he is
balmy breath, that dost almost persuad/ Justice to led by his political dissatisfaction on Othello (1.1)
break her sword!" (5.2.16-17). He also says “She's, which becomes the main reason why he hates and
like a liar, gone to burning hell: 'Twas I that kill'd sets his vengeance on Othello. In the following, we
her” (5.2.127). He assumes that he can punish and analyse the causes of Iago’s anger, of which we have
decide the just punishment for Desdemona. He mentioned in theoretical discussion of Ṭuṣi, which
lacks critical assessment of his situation in order not actually lead Iago to the pursuit of vengeance.
to be confused and swayed by his situations. Othello
Firstly, we discuss of conceit (ujb). At the
assumes that he is the figure of justice, and private
beginning of the play, we know Iago’s anger as
crime of a vengeance is what ought to be done in
Othello chooses Cassio over him as his lieutenant,
that case. Othello’s agitation in facing these
“Despise me if I do not (hate him)” (1.1.8), which is
tribulations has made him act in a careless, ignorant,
considerably triggered by his disappointment of
and impulsive ways. This is the disease of
Cassio’s selection as Othello’s lieutenant, “One
perplexity, from Ṭuṣi’s theory, as he describes that
Michael Cassio, a Florentine, A fellow almost
Perplexity arises from the contradiction of
damn'd in a fair wife; That never set a squadron in
arguments in difficult questions, and the inability of
the field, Nor the division of a battle knows. More
the soul to distinguish the truth and refute error.
than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric” (1.1.20-
(Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 126) At the beginning of the play,
24). This disappointment and anger lead him to plan
Othello still maintains his wisdom and capability to
his revenge against Othello as he proclaims “I follow
act carefully in situation he has, for instance, in
him to serve my turn upon him”. (1.1.42) Iago yields
managing the problem with Brabantio. But, he
a vengeance on Othello that leads to the bloody
cannot handle his own confusion and agitation due
disaster of the play and at the beginning of the play,
to his lack of deep understanding of managing
the audiences are informed of this. In his intimate
grievances in his marriage and friendship. He
opening of conversation with Roderigo, Iago tells
examines people superficially, takes careless
Roderigo on his complain of Othello. He suggests
observation of the problems within his marriage,
that such decision is corrupted and merely false
and quickly believes the insinuation of Iago without
choice as he says “I know my price, I am worth no
deeper observance. His jealousy and superficial
worse a place. But he, as loving his own pride and
nature might jeopardize his situation, but the
purposes. Evades them, with a bumbast
rational calculation is in his own hand, and it is he
circumstance. Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war”.
who should reflect and decide for his own fate.
(1.1.11-14) Iago shows his discontentment by
Therefore he regrets it after the bloody scene in the
referring to his argument that he is better of Cassio,
chamber taking place, “I have made my way
by valuing himself so high, which in Ṭuṣi’s
through more impediments. Whip me, ye devils,
argument is called as conceit. He regards himself so
From the possession of this heavenly sight! Blow me
high that such ennoblement is not proper though
about in winds!” (5.2.277-278).
Cassio is a gentleman of beauty and knowledge as
Iago has said. But, let’s assume Cassio, at some ways,
Iago and the Virtue and Vices of the Irascible does not deserve to acquire such position, does Iago
Faculty deserve to regard himself in such conceit? Ṭuṣi
argues:
In this part, Iago is analysed as he is a “genius” evil
character due to his malice, contempt, and When, however, it becomes aware of its own
“cleverness” in manipulating others. Iago seems to faults and deficiencies, and recognizes that
be motiveless as Wilson (as cited in Lings, 1966, p. virtue is common to all men, it becomes
18) states that he is the embodiment of evil. But, secure from conceit; for whoever finds his
long list of critics to Iago might show us that own perfection in others will not be conceited
Shakespeare might not create him without palpable (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 130)
reasons. McCloskey believes that Iago’s basic
Iago might be a skilful warrior and he shows
motivation is hate (McCloskey, p.1) which leads
his quality of strategizing. He also manages to
him to his revenge to Othello and others. From the
144 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
become Cassio’s competitor in filling the lieutenant
position. But, he does not recognize that Cassio
possesses such quality and virtue and he never
rationalizes that Othello’s decision is not simply
careless one. This has led him to think high about
himself and at its expense, he puts the other down
to him, which justifies his demeaning acts, malice,
and discontentment upon the other characters. This
leads to his success of displacing Cassio, such case
that is predicated by his self-grandiose and conceit.
Secondly, arrogance, one of the causes of
anger, is highly related to that of conceit, as to
differ, Ṭuṣi propounds his view that arrogance is
when such conceit takes place, and the arrogant
man is devoid of such opinion. It is a thin line
between two, and the closest arrogance that can be
found is Iago’s boasting of his honesty, as people,
ignorantly, call him “honest Iago”. Iago says to
Cassio who expresses his loss of reputation by
stating “"As I am an honest man, I thought you had
received some bodily wound" (2.3.266-267).” This is
considerably an arrogance, as Iago puts himself
highly in a quality of honesty, a virtue that Iago
actually lacks and he is so much devoid of it. Truly,
in doing this, Iago is motivated by his boasting of
the virtue of his reputation, as he says, “Good name
in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate
jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals
trash; 'tis something, nothing” (3.3.155-157) Iago is
consistently trying to set himself in a manner by
which can lead Othello to have good opinion of him
as “honest Iago”. He realizes such reputation is of
impermanence, and through defending it that he
can be a man of position and respect. Iago
demonstrates this in his dialogue when Othello
confronts him for the accusation of Desdemona.
Iago’s arrogance on his reputation succeeds as
Othello continuously puts his trust in him, to the
extent that it is bigger than his trust for Cassio,
Emilia, or even Desdemona, to the point that
Othello says “this fellow’s of exceeding honesty”.
(3.3.258) In fact, Iago capitalizes his boasting to
manipulate the other characters to set his own
plans.
Next cause of anger is contention and
quarrelsomeness, two qualities that is too difficult
not to ascribe it to Iago. He produces or initiates,
both directly or indirectly, and oftentimes through
manipulation and tricks, many of fight and brawl to
the extent of the bloody. He does this, deliberately,
to that of great characters in the play like Roderigo,
Cassio, Othello, Desdemona, and Emilia. The first
great conflict that he creates is between Othello and
Brabantio. Let’s say it is a matter of fact, at which
Brabantio will be enraged at whatever situation as
her daughter is married by a Moor, but Iago
masterfully provokes him in the night by a sexual
talk and mockery (1.1). Iago initiates or at least,
insinuates Othello and Brabantio into a fight. We
also witness how Iago sets Cassio up onto a party
which is expected to disrupt his relationship with
Othello. He says, “for even out of that will I cause
these of Cyprus to mutiny, whose qualification shall
come into no true taste again but by the displanting
of Cassio”, (2.1.283-286) and it leads to the
displacement of Cassio as he sets up to provoke
Cassio’s anger at the right place and at the right
time. But, the greatest fight he initiates is one to the
marriage of Othello and Desdemona. He
consistently plants suspicion, insinuation, and false
speech to their marriage, hence Othello loses his
trust and compassion to his own wife, perfectly
matched to Ṭuṣi’s elaboration of contention and
quarrelsomeness, as it produces separation and
mutual dislike and hostility.
In what follows, treachery, one of the most
prominent themes in Othello is discussed. Of
treachery, Ṭuṣi argues that the vice of Treachery is
predicated on betrayal, and it is too great to need
further explanation. We find the best reflection of
treachery on Iago and Othello. Iago is Othello’s
ancient that has been admitted as the honest figure
in his life, is releasing a treacherous plan against
him, a man of position and of trust to him, as later
on has chosen him over Michael Cassio. The hate is
with some reasons though some argue that it is
motiveless, by ways of discontentment, anger, and
jealousy. It is best reflected at the beginning of the
play in that of intimate dialogue with Roderigo.
Iago says of “I follow him to serve my turn upon
him”. (1.1.42) Iago’s betrayal of trust is much
predicated on his rage and jealousy over Cassio’s
position as his lieutenant and further assumes that
he has qualities that are measurably better than
Cassio. Though it is also perplexed by his villainy
traits of his devilry thoughts, the jealousy leads him
to betray Othello, and the best way of such is
ruining the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 145
he serves his ”vengeance on him”, and only through
his marriage that he would gain his downfall. This
plan is executed successfully by way of deception,
lying, and false speeches secretly, and such
demonstrates his successful plan to betray his own
leader.
Next cause of anger is of unfairness, which
denotes the imposition of burden of injustice on
another, which is deliberately done by way of
vengeance. Othello is clearly the biggest figure to be
his object of revenge, but as has been explained on a
matter of treachery, on this part we discuss how
Iago puts an injustice to Michael Cassio, the noble
and dignified gentleman of Venice. Iago’s rage and
jealousy leads him to set up a disaster of Cassio. He
says, “provoke him, that he may; for even out of
that will I cause these of Cyprus to mutiny, whose
qualification shall come into no true taste again but
by the displanting of Cassio” (2.1.282-286). This has
served to be the great injustice to Cassio, and the
innocent Cassio should bear its harms though it is
purely Othello’s authority to choose his liutenant.
Iago might regard himself higher than him but such
is not a justification disrespect Othello’ decision on
it and to that of Cassio’s merit. The innocent Cassio
has to be victimized for a thing that in no way
justifies such revenge.
We find above that those are the reflections
on the causes of anger that serves Iago’s
manipulation upon Othello. Assuming such causes
are true, it is therefore a question for us to evaluate
his devilry and bloody manipulation, as most of the
time, people are preoccupied by the same jealousy,
pride, or vanity in everyday life concerns but do not
carve the path to a monstrous one. In this sense, we
hear of Ṭuṣi’s argument, when one cause (of anger)
is continuously appearing, and one lacks rational
control to cool down the rage, which is deliberately
attained by reflection and amendment of virtue,
such things will ignite a tiny fire to that of
continuous friction and bigger, like a huge flame
consumes the forests and the trees. (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p.
129) It is what consumes Iago to consistently and
intentionally do harms to other characters without a
moment of guilt, it his constantly loss of reflection,
which consequently produces more and more causes
of anger which at the end finds no other chances to
cool him down, he is completely enraged and as
result, yielding for more vengeance to everyone
around him. Ṭuṣi, in another discussion, also says,
“This is the soul: neglected, it frequents the ignoble;
'But excited towards virtues, it devotes itself
thereto.” (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 32) As a person
contemplates on their virtue and subsequently
engages himself in such acquisition, a person, in the
opposite, might also devote himself to that of
continuous acquisition of vices within himself. Iago
fails to recognize the vices within his soul, at
whatever cost it be, though he, at some degree,
admits that vice is inherently destructive to a
person’s life. He says to Othello, “O, beware, my
lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster which
doth mock The meat it feeds on.” (3.3.166-167)
Though he knows, and articulates it well to Othello,
Iago does not yearn to act upon that knowledge as
he chooses to act to the pursuit of the contrary (of
felicity), and it is reflected on his dialogue with
Roderigo:
Virtue! a fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus
or thus. Our bodies are gardens, to the which
our wills are gardeners; so that if we will plant
nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up
thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs or
distract it with many (1.3.323-328).
Iago disavows the activity of cleansing the
soul from the monstrous vices to acquiring virtue.
Instead, Iago believes that virtue is inherently
insignificant and condemnable and one should be
liberated from such pursuit; almost like Nietzsche’s
condemnation on slave morality. (Scruton, 2007,
p.479) He lets himself to the baseness of rank as
propounded again in another statement “Ere I
would say I would drown myself for the love of a
Guinea-hen, I would change my humanity with a
baboon.” (1.3.317-319) To Cassio he says, “Come,
you are too severe a moraler” (3.2.303) when Cassio
regrets his fights in guilt. This is what makes him to
consistently plan a manipulation and devilry tricks
to other characters, without for once, realizing such
monstrosity or leaving himself in a guilty position
like Hamlet or Macbeth, as he strongly believes that
such virtue of gentleness, kindness, sympathy, and
regret are things of condemnation. Assuming Iago
still has slightness of fair and wrong actions, we
might haply think on his possible contemplation of
reality and awareness of virtuous act. Unfortunately
he does not as he turns from the burden of such
virtue. Iago realizes that “the power and corrigible
146 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
authority of this lies in our wills”. Furthermore he
does his manipulation for the sake of his pleasure as
he says, “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse; For
I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane If I
would time expend with such a snipe But for my
sport and profit” (1.3.390-392). In Nasirean ethics
perspective, when such worldview has been deeply
rooted, in a sense not to withstand the awareness of
virtue and make it habit but the opposite, idleness
and futility take of them, and one is consequently
blind of fair or foul action (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 57).
It is then necessary to observe Iago’s rational
faculty as it has been explained how the acquisition
of felicity requires its master (the rational faculty),
and such neglect will lead to disaster. Moreover, it is
seemingly that Iago’s two other faculties are as well
located outside the equilibrium, respectively the
appetitive and rational faculty, which will be
explained in what follows.
Iago is, by our clear reasonable argument, not
a man of stupidity. He knows exactly every part of
his plans, and how to succeed in it, Iago recognizes
every path to capitalize his situation by his own
competence. Iago recognizes that a man is gifted
with free will and such is the vehicle in which a
man comes to his goal. In such things, he does not
see being virtuous or let alone being obedient to the
Divine is a matter of life ethics, he sees that self-
interest should predicate an act. He advises
Roderigo on his pursuit of love to Desdemona by
saying, “It is merely a lust of the blood and a
permission of the will. Come, be a man.” (1.3.339)
He also condemns Roderigo’s fear out of his moral
self-sense and his dialectic of virtue. But here it is
observed that Iago’s rational faculty (quwwati
nutqi) is out of the equilibrium, at which it is not
observed carefully and activated to the pursuit of
good life. It is a disease of excess, on the name of
ingenuity, at which the faculty of rationality is used
beyond the obligatory and deserved extent. Iago
uses his rational and intellectual judgment to serve
vengeance upon Othello, set attacks upon him, and
manipulate others. He is not devoid of rationality,
but excessive of it as he uses his rationality to
manipulate others around him.
On the matter of concupiscible faculty
(quwwati shahwi), we are confronted with
problems if we are objected to define Iago’s motive
as solely a pursuit of wealth, food, drink, or women,
as oftentimes we see his other motives are visibly
grounded outside of it. Nevertheless, getting closer
to that of his speeches, we also witness how Iago is,
in fact, troubled by his appetites. He consistently
uses some appetitive words throughout the story,
such words are jewel, gold, profit, purse, riches, and
gold. (Heilman, 1953, p. 555) Iago’s use of poetic
terms in such a way signifies things that are dear to
him, and such symbolic words are as to serve
certain imagery of his appetites and pursuit of
pleasure.
At the beginning of the play for example, we
know what business is laid between Roderigo in the
first place and it shows one of the primal beginning
of Iago’s motivation. Roderigo states, “Tush, never
tell me; I take it much unkindly That thou, Iago,
who hast had my purse As if the strings were thine,
shouldst know of this” (1.1.1-3) We know what Iago
deals with him; it is his foolery on Roderigo on the
pursuit of money. This money, as we move forward
to the play, is a matter of false hope that Iago offers,
and the more it seems to get closer, as hence it is,
Iago capitalizes Roderigo for more money. The
words he utters, “put money in thy purse”, is
consistently and frequently used throughout the
play. This is the prolongation of Iago’s appetite,
manipulating his own friend at the expense of
gaining material profit, which we know are
successfully executed by him. At the other scenes,
we also witness how he confessed his tomfoolery on
Roderigo as a mean of his material pursuit, Iago
says, “live Roderigo, He calls me to a restitution
large, Of gold and jewels that I bobb'd from him, As
gifts to Desdemona.” (5.1.14-16) These are one of
the signs of his greed, one of the diseases of the
faculty of appetite, when it is not balanced. Greed is
located at the extreme excess of concupiscibilty,
when appetites are excessive, and not at obedience
to the rational faculty, such vice is resulted thereof.
From the aforementioned discussion, we
know the complexity that Iago ranges, as to grasp an
understanding of his motives, reasons, and ways of
thinking to know how his faculties within his soul
operates, at which the moral compass of human
being resides. Clearly, each faculty of the soul that
he possesses, respectively rational, concupiscible,
and irascible, is in essence, out of balance, and going
to certain extreme. Iago is a man who, by his own
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 147
will and competence, opposes the acquisition of
virtue, and all his faculties are diseased. The closer
the soul from the pursuit of appetites and
vengeance, the more it shuns the sound opinions
and reasonable and virtuous knowledge and reality.
Ṭuṣi mentions that such person is hard to cure and
he will lead himself down the path to that of
baseness and disaster:
There is an exception in the case of those
whom baseness of nature has befallen to an extreme
where humanity has completely departed from
them, while shamelessness, which is one of the
concomitants of surrender to deficiency, has
become a habit with them. There is no hope of
reforming such a person's soul, and treatment can
have no conceivable effect on his chronic disease,
his established sickness (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 55).
Roderigo and His Virtue and Vices of the
Conscupiscible Faculty
In this instance, Roderigo, the gentleman of Venice
and a friend of Iago, is analysed because he
consistently demonstrates his quality of love and
lust to Desdemona throughout the play. Roderigo
lets his appetites and sexual imaginations to prey
him; a thing that is capitalized by Iago. His actions
are predicated by his lust and unrequited love to
Desdemona. In what follows, the arguments will
explore Roderigo’s appetite and how his vices lead
him to tragedy.
In Nasirean Ethics, in the pursuit of food and
drink, a man must not seek to enjoy pleasure in
excessive or deficient way but to fulfil the basic
necessity to their endurance and physical health,
and in sexual impulses, man must submit it into
divinity, as such thing is only permitted for the sake
of preservation of the species and beget offspring.
For Ṭuṣi, sexuality is a matter of devotion, instead of
lust and appetite. He further criticizes the
hedonistic, ignorant, and materialistic pursuit of
pleasure, as it does not possess an intellect of
conceiving man’s purpose and divinity, and it shuns
them from what a human being is assigned to his
purpose and meaning in his life, comparing it to the
dog and the pig, two imageries of the bestiality.
Roderigo is known for his desire of
Desdemona; we know this from his first business
with Iago in the first place. Of her, he calls “the fair
Desdemona” to show his desire and love. Roderigo
is truly disappointed as she is married to Othello,
yet at no ways it can stop him to desire her. His love
is not constantly gone, even then growing into
bigger portion, and he knows that it is costly as he
has to pay Iago for some times as it is his hope to
belong to her. As he does not shun his desire in the
first place, he plans to provoke Brabantio as his
daughter is married to the Moor, though perplexed
Iago’s tricky initiation and plan. (1.1.) That plan is
successful, but as Othello brings the case before the
law, Brabantio makes reconciliation with his own
daughter’s marriage to Othello. In reaction to it,
Roderigo expresses his disappointment and rage as
his desire to own Desdemona seems to fade, he says
to Iago, “It is silliness to live when to live is
torment; and then have we a prescription to die
when death is our physician”. (1.3.310-312)
Roderigo means the torment as his distance and
impossibility to own Desdemona. It is his
unrequited lust that longing for ownership that he
describes it as torment. In this case, his love turns to
be a disease of the excess of appetite (mahabbat-i
bitalat), it is the disease at which human is in
avidity and eagerness of pursuing bodily appetites.
This can be seen clearly as he follows every Iago’s
insinuation as he truly hopes to own Desdemona
and Roderigo makes himself to the slave of his own
passion, both are the characteristics of this disease.
Roderigo follows every Iago’s plan, disrupts Cassio’s
position and attacks him. His lust has led him to do
every malicious act in an attempt to get Desdemona
into his ownership. This disease of excess of appetite
is dangerous as it turns Roderigo to be mad of his
own lust and it deludes him that his action to
pursue Desdemona is not noble at all. It traps
Roderigo into a sexual fantasy, and it ruins his
rational capacity. Such fantasy of sexuality,
according to Ṭuṣi, is ruining the soul and consuming
one’s aspiration and it leads to his disrespect to
others. In this case, Roderigo loses his respect to
Othello and his own fantasy makes him degrade
Othello’s dignity before him as he says, “if she had
been blessed she would never have loved The Moor;
blessed pudding! Didst thou not see her paddle with
the palm of his hand.” (2.1.259-262) and degrade
Cassio as well as he attacks him in several occasions.
This excess of lust serves to be the beginning reason
of his downfall and unfortunately Iago succeeds to
prey on his disease.
148 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
However, Roderigo once realizes that such
action is not to be done, and he contemplates on his
situation by saying, “What should I do? I confess it
is my shame to be so fond, but it is not in my virtue
to amend it.” (1.3.320-321). Nevertheless, Roderigo
shuns his own dialectic of truth by saying that he is
not capable of resisting his own passions. He
intentionally gives up against his impulses. His
unrequited appetite to Desdemona drives him mad,
and he is presented by no choice but pursuing her,
which can, and probably at best, be executed by
ruining their marriage first. Iago suggests this, but
his advice is predicated on Roderigo’s mad passion.
He capitalizes Roderigo’s yearning of bodily
gratification. Iago reflects this in his dialogue:
It is merely a lust of the blood and a
permission of the will. Come, be a man:
drown thyself! drown cats and blind puppies.
I have professed me thy friend, and I confess
me knit to thy deserving with cables of
perdurable toughness; I could never better
stead thee than now. Put money in thy purse
(1.3.339-345).
Consequently, he accepts Iago’s plan on
Othello’s mockery, and in talking about this, he
says, “I will do this, if I can bring it to any
opportunity” (2.1.292) Roderigo is now, more and
more, trapped into his appetitive mind, as he
willingly chooses to follow on his desire. Not at this
point, he turns to the opposites of passions, which,
in consequence, he begins to lose his conscience and
possess no power to resist his desire. According to
Ṭuṣi, we know that appetite should not be led into a
quest and pursuit of gratification, as hence it is, the
soul will grow weaker to its resistance. Roderigo lets
his passion consume him which later on grows to
become Envy (hasad), a disease that Ṭuṣi explains
that is predicated by excess of avidity. Such disease
leads a person to remove the desired object and
force it into himself, in this case Desdemona to be
removed of Othello. It is well-reflected by Iago
since the beginning of the play and the rest of it
serves to be the actions at which he attempts make
his ambition come true. Of Othello he says, “By
heaven, I rather would have been his hangman”.
(1.1.34) He actually demeans Othello of his position
as the husband of Desdemona as he degrades
Othello by saying, “What a full fortune does the
thick-lips owe, If he can carry’t thus” (1.1.67) and
he believes that he needs to follow every Iago’s
offers as he wants to disrupt Othello’s marriage with
Desdemona “Will thou be fast to my hopes, if I
depend on the issue?” (1.3.370). However, it is
interesting that Ṭuṣi says on the disease of envy as it
is a disease at which the object desired by the
envious man is impossible of realization, the only
thing to result is grief and suffering. (Ṭuṣi, 1964, pp.
147-148) It is in this case that Roderigo has led
himself to his own ruination. At the end, Roderigo
is solely used by Iago as his puppet, of serving his
revenge at ruining Othello and Cassio’s life. Of this,
Iago’s manipulation is not a thing to be disavowed,
but he directs his plan on the available weakness
that Roderigo possesses. It might be argued that
Roderigo is a man of fool, as he does not
demonstrate his use of intellect in detecting or
analysing his situation especially to his false
cooperation with Iago, but such deficiency of
rationality occurs as his appetite for Desdemona has
grown at grandiose within him.
In essence, appetites are the officers who
must be guarded by its chief, rational faculty, and
despised, a human being lost his wisdom and
devoted himself to the pursuit of appetite. Roderigo
is in this state of heedlessness; he does not recognize
and evaluate his situation clearly, as he is blinded by
his mad passion to Desdemona. Perhaps, he is at the
wrong time and situation as he has to deal with the
evil Iago. However, it is his own appetite, desire,
and ambition to its pursuit leads him to his own
destruction.
The Social and Political Life in Othello
In this part, the analysis on social and political
insights in Othello, from The Nasirean Ethics
perspective, is presented. Venice is an example of a
combination in a political life, not solely for the
descriptive quality of it but at how the society is
built at the cooperation of civilized life. The Duke,
as well as Venetian people, knows that only such
combination could secure their country. In fact, it
can be argued that Othello, as a play, is preoccupied
with political themes, as the conflict occurs in a
political nuance and problem. If we look at Iago,
who consistently demonstrates his trickery,
insinuation, and manipulation, his acts are, in fact,
predominantly predicated by his political
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 149
dissatisfaction of losing against Michael Cassio in sufficiency, yet opinion, a sovereign mistress
fulfilling the lieutenant place in Venice. It may be of effects, throws a more safer voice on you
true that Iago’s devilish nature might drive him to (1.3.221-226)
the place where he plans the most horrendous
In that occasion, we know that Othello is
revenge that a person may do, but his political
given the responsibility of leading Cyprus, the
ambition and political situation greatly affected him
single most important strategic place for Venice.
to serve his revenge on Othello. Consequently,
Such acquisition of leadership proves his worth.
Othello, as an army leader, should be victimized by
Though his racial identity might show that he is not
the acts of his political colleague, Iago.
a man of Venetian born, The Duke and the society
In the other side, it is also necessary to gives him a high erudition in exchange to what
observe Othello’s social and political situation in the Othello has demonstrated in the battlefield.
society as he is the main figure in this play who Subsequently, it is what makes the commercial and
comes to the city as an outsider. He is The Moor administrative activities, and the social life concerns
who is a foreigner to the Elizabethan society. can take place in that city. It is found here that
Venetian people realize that they are inherently Venice is built on cooperation of crafts and skill
diverse in crafts and capability, as propounded by diversity.
Ṭuṣi that God created man in different states of
On the other hand, this kind of combination
beings, as one similarity in divine gifts will make
is also found within the military structure, for
them perish. Othello is recognized for his quality
instance, at which other gentlemen of Venice are
and skills in battleship, it is what makes him serve
gifted in the liberal arts, and such description we
the Venetian society in such quite long time.
find in Michael Cassio. He is a gentleman of
Othello expresses his position in Venetian structure
rhetoric, one discipline to that of trivium of
and of heroism that predicates the reasons why
knowledge, respectively logic, grammar, and
Venetian people deem his figure in a high
rhetoric, and he is also recognized as a great
estimation:
arithmetician. We know of this from the dialogue of
Let him do his spite: Iago and Roderigo at the beginning of the play, of
My services which I have done the signiory him Iago says:
Shall out-tongue his complaints. (1.1.17-18)
Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
Her father lov'd me; oft invited me;
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
Still question'd me the story of my life,
That never set a squadron in the field,
From year to year,--the battles, sieges,
Nor the division of a battle knows
fortunes,
More than a spinster; unless the bookish
That I have pass'd. (1.3.128-129)
theoric, (1.1.19-24)
Othello has earned his position as the chief
Othello realizes that he does not excel in
and army general due to his skills and leadership in
liberal arts and the use of rhetoric that he has
war, and the Venetians need someone of battlefield
acknowledged as not having “soft phrase” to speak,
quality to secure their country. The Ottomans are at
yet excelling at his military skills. He regards
the edge of the door, and if Othello gets
himself as in need of somebody like Cassio, a man of
punishment, for instance, such situation will harm
gentleness and some quality of liberal arts to help
Venetian government and its people security, thus
him in the military government.
he recognizes that Othello has to be sent to Cyprus
quickly. It is recorded in the Duke’s council as he It can be said that those different capabilities
says: and crafts in Othello are what predicate the
Venetian life, and it can be implied that Venice is
The Turk with a most mighty preparation
built from such cooperation. Venice serves as a
makes for Cyprus.-- Othello, the fortitude of
democratic and open Republic where “foreigners”
the place is best known to you; and though
and “strangers” enjoyed the freedom to work, trade,
we have there a substitute of most allowed
or join its army with is cooperation. (Elaskary, 2008,
150 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
p. 140) However, such combination is not
inherently perfect and adequate as men are
inherently diverse, and it takes place also in their
perfection and deficiency of their virtue. There, it
necessitates the pursuit of justice in the society
which is explained in following.
Justice is the result of balance of all virtue,
when courage, continence, and wisdom are at
equilibrium; hence justice is the derivative virtue of
it. It is characterized by the subsumed species under
it: sincerity, amity, fidelity, concern, care of kin,
requital, good fellowship, fair judgment, affection,
acceptance, reliance, and devotion. Nevertheless,
the pursuit of justice cannot take place without the
sound existence of three components; the Divine
Law, the arbitrator, and money as pursuit of justice.
If justice is the culmination of three virtues, it
is therefore necessary to analyse how it is reflected
by Venetian society. However, this discussion is not
an attempt to conclude the whole establishment of
justice in Venice. Subsequently, the observation of
justice will be to see how Othello, the main
character of the play, and the noble man of Venice
is treated as he is a black man. Othello is physically
a foreigner citizen in Venice who lives under
certain extent of racial prejudice, though not
necessarily systematic and structural ones. He is The
Moor or the black that is believed to be a Moroccan
or an Arab. However, his struggle, skills, and service
to Venice are something to count by The Duke and
Senator, and it necessarily gives him such honour
and reputation amongst the government members.
This reputation is recognised therefore Lodovico is
much shocked when Othello shows his rashness and
ignorance to Desdemona. This account is given
testimony by Lodovico when he meets Othello and
Desdemona in Cyprus. In that occasion, Othello,
who has his irrational suspicion to Desdemona, has
little quarrel and he impulsively strikes Desdemona
in front of Lodovico, which arouses his surprise and
shock since Othello has been deemed as a man of
high erudition. He says, “Is this the noble Moor
whom our full senate Call all-in-all sufficient? Is
this the nature. Whom passion could not shake?
whose solid virtue. The shot of accident nor dart of
chance, Could neither graze nor pierce?” (4.1.275-
278). It shows that Othello is a man of respect and
nobility, though there are, to some extent, racial
prejudices as reflected by Iago or Roderigo calling
him as “Black Othello” or “thick lips”. However,
such racial opinion merely takes place from Iago’s
hate or as a shocking phenomenon since Othello
marries Desdemona, a woman of nobility, beauty,
and pride though most Venetians have deliberately
shown their deserving respect to Othello as he
shows his sacrifice to protect the country. In
relation to such racial opinions to Othello, it is here
that observation of justice will be analysed. In
Nasirean Ethics, friendship, care for kin, and human
fellowship are species of justice, and in this sense
that The Venetians fairly affirms that Othello is a
person of importance and equal deserving position.
For instance when Othello is charged before the law
by Brabantio as he expresses his dissatisfaction
before the court, however in that occasion the law
members are receptive of Othello’s worth and
respect and The Duke says of him “valiant Othello”,
to show his high erudition before him. There is fair
judgment here, one of the signs of justice, defined as
the claims of others without favour grudged or
regret (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 100). Othello is not valued as
base citizen or alike, and The Duke’s judgment is
free of uncontested prejudice in the first place. It
can be shown that merit is put up higher than racial
judgment, and Othello is a noble army leader that is
“more fair than” just a black. This is a virtue of
justice at which the political structure recognizes
his worth and erudition, and necessarily regards his
presence as one to be praised of. This is a justice of
second category, which concerns on the respect
performed on his fellow-men (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 100).
There is such affection and recognition, at whatever
expense or reason, to that of Othello’s position in
Venetian society. That case, as we refer again to the
subsumed species of justice, is also respectively
showing a sign of requital, which is a quality to
meet a kindness done to one with a like thereof, and
it is an offence if less of it. In that sense we grasp an
understanding of how Othello’s service, struggle,
and sacrifice are very much paid off by Venetian
government. They give him noble position, and he
earns such estimation from the Venetian society. In
the case of treating Othello as a black man, the
virtue of justice is somehow shown by the Venetian
government.
In what follows, Ṭuṣi regards three important
elements of a life of social and political justice,
therefore they must be present. They are The
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 151
Divine Law (namus-i Ilahi), arbritator (hakim), and
money. The Divine Law originally must submit
itself to the will of God that is deliberately
recognized by revelation, in Islamic tradtion it is
Qur’an and Sunnah as both serve to be the religious
authority of God’s commandment to human being.
However, Ṭuṣi corroborates it again in much more
detailed and encompassing explanation, to quote
him:
The Divine Law bids only to the
praiseworthy, for from Almighty God
proceeds only the fair; so the command of the
Divine Law is to good and to things leading to
felicity, while it issues prohibition against
civil mischiefs. Thus, it bids to courage, to the
keeping of order in lines of battle, and to a
combative spirit; likewise to continence and
the preservation of self from improprieties,
restraining from iniquity and slander, abuse
and evil speech. In short, it urges one to virtue
and withholds one from vice. (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p.
98)
It can also be argued that The Divine Law is,
in essence, commanding and protecting people to
the pursuit of virtue and felicity. It attempts to
protect the basic humanity and decency of people in
pursuing a virtuous life.
The case of Law and arbitrator are most easily
known in the Act I Scene 1 when witness how a
case is weighed up in the court. Brabantio, who is
enraged by a manipulative provocation of Iago and
Roderigo, charges Othello for his marriage with his
daughter, Desdemona. This phenomenon is well-
reflected in the beginning of the play. In the
beginning of his conflict, we know how Brabantio
calls Othello in quite demeaning way, constantly
referring to Othello’s racial identity. Of that, he
says,” O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd my
daughter? Damn'd as thou art, thou hast enchanted
her.” (1.2.62-63) A bloody fight is at the edge, it is
on this brawl that Othello decides to bring the case
before the court. (Act 1 Scene 2) They decide that
such case should be solved before the law, and it is a
fortunate situation for both as The Duke is in
council with his officers as to summon them in their
plans on Cyprus.
Brabantio accuses Othello of witchcraft and
poison that are used to attract and marry
Desdemona. He believes that such marriage is
impossible to occur and it is therefore nothing but a
use of black magic upon her. Brabantio makes his
complain before The Duke, and it is heard of very
well. The Duke takes the problem into his
observance, and The Duke responds to his
accusation by saying, “Whoe'er he be that, in this
foul proceeding, Hath thus beguiled your daughter
of herself” (1.3.65). The Duke believes that such
action needs a lawful concern and the serious crime
of witchcraft and punishment are against the life of
person therefore it requires a punishment or any
positions before the law. Such action, of witchcraft,
is inherently a civil mischief as it is impropriety and
abuse to a certain person; it is against a pursuit of
virtue that anybody has since a person that is
enchanted by witchcraft is abused of his free will.
The law that Ṭuṣi propounds is Divine Law that
educates and cultivates moral virtues to its people,
and in that pursuit of mission there are
commandments of what is legal and what is not.
The prohibition of witchcraft in Venice is clearly to
prevent and protect human beings from injustice
and abuse, and direct them to the pursuit of virtue.
It is therefore the reason why The Duke, at the
beginning, is going to take actions on the use of
such magic. The law that is applied is not
necessarily the Divine Law that Ṭuṣi means, as it
clearly is not. But, The Duke, at some ways, still
believe and try to protect the pursuit of virtue, and
the law that he uses in Venice still recognizes the
importance of virtue and protect people from
injustice, unfairness, and abuse.
When the mentioned accusation is presented,
however, the Duke responds by saying, “To vouch
this is no proof // Without more wider and more
overt test” (3.3.106-107). He realizes that such
accusation needs further judgment and analysis; it
therefore requires legal sequences of processes. It
does not only weigh up the evidence that Brabantio
presents, but summons the necessary parties before
the law as only by such predicament that the result
of the decision is sound. He lets Othello provide his
answers, and opens chances for Desdemona to
present her case. In this sense The Duke uses his
careful exploration of the case and sequences of
legal procedures, and he considerably invites
Othello and Desdemona to speak in measurable
defence. After hearing both parties’ argument, he
152 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
decides, at whatever result it might be, with rational
and consideration, later on he says “that tale would
win my daughter too”, referring to Othello’s
defence. In this case The Duke succeeds to become a
reasonable arbitrator for both parties. Furthermore,
he also uses his wisdom in overcoming the racist
charge of Brabantio to Othello, therefore he states,
referring that he should erase his racist view on
Othello, “And, noble signior, If virtue no delighted
beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair than
black.” (1.3.290-291) In this case The Duke
demonstrates his capability as a just arbitrator, in his
fairness of decision. He successively addresses the
problem in his people with his rational judgment
and calculation.
Ṭuṣi also deems money for the price of a just
transaction. The money is called as “the lesser law”
as it serves to be the mediator for men and become
an important instrument for the preservation of
justice. Ṭuṣi gives examples of a dyer and carpenter,
for better understanding, as the difference of value
or of price between their transactions can be an
inequity and inequivalence for both parties, it is
therefore necessary for the existence of a just
mediator for such transaction, money. This might
sound problematic, as in the modern sense money
seems to fail on the case of preserving justice, but
without money no adjustment of diversities in
society are going to be addressed by different prices,
association, and negotiation, therefore more justice
will occur. That is to say, he ponders and takes it
into further argument that the prosperity of the
world lies in the civic justice, and it is failed when a
tyranny takes place. In other words, money can be
an instrument of preserving justice, but when it is
not addressed with civic justice, for instance on the
problem of labor, social justice, or army officer, it
will lose its ground for justice. The use of money has
been part of the structure of Venetian society at the
first place. At the beginning of the play, we know
Roderigo who frequently pays Iago in exchange of
his help to make Desdemona’s marriage ruined.
Roderigo says, “take it much unkindly That thou,
Iago, who hast had my purse” (1.1.1-2). Roderigo’s
use of money is not at all the use of preserving
justice by mutual and proper transaction for it
denotes no meaning to their exchange, as it is an act
of condemnable malice and there is a unfairness
here, and most importantly such skill or service that
Iago offers is a matter of vice to the contrary of
money as the element of justice. Even then he lies
to Roderigo in the first place, therefore in this case
money loses its position as an element of a just
tansaction. But, of Othello, we know that he is
highly valued by Venice, and it is, in fact, by the
presence of money that he is also esteemed and
ennobled when he does his service in Venetian
army, he says, “My services which I have done the
signiory/ Shall out-tongue his complaints” (1.1.17-
18) The Venetian government pays him for his
sacrifice and service to protect their country, this is
at which the pursuit of justice accrues. Not all
Venetian people are physically gifted, especially in
that matter of war. Othello is divinely gifted with
that quality and experience. At this point, a balance
is attained as Othello spends his energy, time, and
service to Venetian government, yet he is enjoined
with goods, payment, and most importantly
reputation. The difference of capacity, as other
Venetian people take parts in other fields of
contribution have to be addressed justly with
Othello’s military contribution which, as well, keep
Venetian security in check. In this sense the justice
is preserved by money, as it gives equivalence to the
difference of skill, or transaction which
nevertheless needs its mediator.
However, while such preservation of justice is
acquired by society, Ṭuṣi argues that it is not the
best mean by which the acquisition of virtue takes
place, including justice, as we know that it is
sometimes complex and changing. It is in this sense
he argues the primal importance of political element
is of love (mahabbah), as the preservation of justice
is essentially a state at which love is lost, it is
therefore necessary to stand for justice in a political
life. Venetian government is not a lawless country,
and the army structure that Othello leads is not
blind of such preservation of justice. It recognizes
nobility, and it invites the members of promotion
and degradation within their structure. Such things
are as to show how a just proportion and system is
applied within the structure. But, in much more
political nuance, the bloody tragedy of Othello
leaves questions as the social situation still gives the
rooms for the figure to deviate from such
acquisition (of justice) as the virtue of love is
oftentimes lost from the characters. This case is
worst as the bloody conflicts take place in Cyprus in
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 153
which preservation of justice is not as strict as in
Venice. This problem is recognized by Lodovico,
one of the top government men in Othello, when
he visits Cyprus. He holds a meeting with Othello as
he is planned, by The Duke, to be withdrawn from
Cyprus and subsequently Cassio will take over his
position. In this instance, Othello is in severe
condition of his relationship with Desdemona. In
front of Lodovico’s face, he strikes Desdemona
without justified reason. Seeing this, Lodovico says,
“My lord, this would not be believ'd in Venice,
Though I should swear I saw't: 'tis very much: Make
her amends; she weeps.” (4.1.253-255) Lodovico
implies that such act of cruelty and vice will not
easily be done in Venice, as he recognizes that
Venetian political and social structure will not make
possible for such act to appear. The presence of The
Duke as the arbritator and Venetian Law will make
any perpetrators of cruelty fear to conduct such
impropriety. In what follows, the interaction of the
government to its people and the characters to other
characters will be examined for their virtue of love
quality.
The first love to discuss is government to its
people, Ṭuṣi says that such love should be alike to
paternal love, of a father to his son. This principle of
love is important as such will necessarily jeopardize
any chance that government exercises their
tyranny, and their relationship with its people is
predicated by pursuit of good, as it is the ideal basis
of love even in friendship and such, instead of
pleasure or profit. In pursuit of this love, the ruler
must model himself like the position of a father in
respect to sympathy and compassion. In Brabantio’s
charge, The Duke, at some extent, shows this
principle when he takes Brabantio’s charge into the
court. He knows that Brabantio is a man of high
nobility and Othello is a soldier of skills and
leadership. He places himself as a reasonable
arbitrator but most importantly he shows his
fatherly attitude which can be reflected from his
statement, “I think this tale would win my daughter
too.” (1.3.171) When logical exploration of the case
has been done, and it is proven that Othello’s
marriage with Desdemona is predicated on their
mutual love, The Duke advises Brabantio on his
racist thought onto Othello, of this he says “And,
noble signior, If virtue no delighted beauty lack,
Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.”
(1.3.290-291) At some extent, being that arbitrator,
The Duke shows the love that government has to
show to its people, and it is predicated on his care,
just proportion, and rationality in solving such case.
However, Brabantio’s charge is essentially
caused by love. In this that we know love is also
paradoxical. His charge to Othello is necessarily
based on his excessive love to Desdemona. He pities
her for she has to be married to a Moor that he
considers as physically unattractive. His rage is
based on his excessive love. He says that such
marriage is a robbery. It is propounded by Ṭuṣi that
fatherly love makes a father to have a great claim
upon his child. In this case we know from
Brabantio. He regards his daughter so high, to the
extent of his second self, and it is the reason why he
wishes perfection upon herself. However, when The
Duke and the council step in, and legal cases as well
as Othello and Desdemona’s explanation take place,
Brabantio makes a reconciliation with himself, to
accept his daughter marriage to Othello, of this he
says, “Come hither, Moor: I here do give thee that
with all my heart Which, but thou hast already,
with all my heart, I would keep from thee.”
(1.3.192-195) He realizes that Desdemona is
inherently sincere of that marriage. At this case,
predicated by his love to Desdemona too, it is which
makes him let the marriage continue as Desdemona
has pleaded him that it is her duty of loving her
husband as she loves her father.
In Othello, Desdemona is often called as
divine imminence. Hers is the representation of
pure love, as it is a love of giving, not taking, and it
is love of enjoining good to others, not a mad
egocentricism. She is consistently at obedience of
her husband, though it is the extreme excess of it,
but most importantly of her purity. She never
attempts to make infidelity, and it is failed to be
recognized by Othello, and she believes it so as she
has to take business of her virtue. She says to
Othello when she is accused of her infidelity:
No, as I am a Christian:
If to preserve this vessel for my lord”
From any other foul unlawful touch
Be not to be a strumpet, I am none.
(4.2.82-84)
She predicates her reason of being faithful of
Othello into her Christianity, a statement that
154 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
summarizes her worldview. She knows that such
action is not in and of itself virtuous, it is therefore
important for her to keep her private parts from
betrayal. Her love is categorized of love based on
good. As Ṭuṣi argues the love of good men
(including women) arises not from the pursuit of
profit or pleasure inasmuch as their primary
purpose is pure good and the quest of virtue. It is of
this reason that Desdemona consistently defends
her piety, and she struggles till the end of her life to
the pursuit of virtue. Desdemona might face her
disastrous tragedy, and her excessive innocence is
also a thing to blame, but her consistent pursuit of
virtue emboldens her meaning of existence. Her
virtuous nature, which is failed to be recognized
and unfortunately capitalized by others, proves to
be insignificant if linked to her death. However, it is
her pure love that shows us that the quest of virtue
is ennobling, and one who defends herself in the
acquisition of virtue is one who liberates herself,
and enjoins good, respect, and dignity onto herself.
It is on the contrary, as we will come to an
easy understanding for instance, if we analyse Iago’
relationship with Othello, such is never predicated
by love. Iago is inherently incapable of love; he only
recognizes profit and pleasure, be it physical,
psychological, or financial. Iago is devoid of the love
of humanity, as he acts on the contrary of desiring
good for his fellows. In fact, the tragedy that he
initiates, by insinuating any friends and fellows
around him are the result of his political ambition.
He says, “Why, there’s no remedy: ‘tis the curse of
service/ Preferment goes by letter and affection
(1.1.35-36) Disappointed by Othello’s placement of
Cassio as his lieutenant, he is enraged by this
situation and he starts to execute his personal and
private revenge to Othello and people around him.
Ṭuṣi argues that the love of profit or pleasure may
be shared by evil men to evil men, but Iago goes
beyond such predicament. His is the pursuit of evil
pleasure to an innocent man, and it is predicated by
his madness of pleasure that leads him down the
way. What Iago does is the extreme point of justice,
injustice, which is the direction in which somebody
uses reprehensible ways of achieving their end or
desired objects. (Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 87) Iago consistently
uses his sheer manipulation, as explained in the part
of Iago’s soul diseases, and it holds true as injustice
is the result when three faculties of the soul are not
at harmony, and Iago, who is sick in his faculties of
the soul has consistently shown his injustice and
tyranny as he intentionally harms Othello, Cassio,
Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo and anyone around
him. He achieves his goal by way of injustice and
tyranny, as he consistently seeks excess for himself
(Ṭuṣi, 1964, p. 104), for instance of harming others
to get his position as lieutenant officer, and seeks
deficiency for others (p. 104), by jeopardizing
Cassio’s position as lieutenant or Othello’s
relationship with Desdemona for his own self-
interest. Iago is a stranger to the sense of justice and
blind of love especially love of friendship or ruler
and follower love. His is artificial love that masks
his intentions of doing harm to other people. Such
emptiness of love is costly, and when it is taken into
a political life, huge disruption and corruption take
place. In this sense it can be said that Ṭuṣi believes
such action of going into a political life should be
based on removing evils from oneself, and most
importantly planting the seeds of love and learning
of it in proper manner, as when one fails to
preoccupy himself with love, politics can be deadly.
An individual private vice might not harm others,
but a person that is devoid of love, and taking
himself to the political realm, it will destruct the
people around, system, and the social political life
itself.
CONCLUSION
As a person is conscious that life has a meaning, and
in its fulfilment, one must adhere to a committed
ethical life and the pursuit of a good life, one must
be aware that if such principle is left out from one’s
existence, things begin to be desecrated. The human
soul and his moral reflection is the most essential
attribute, it is what distinguishes human from
animal. In a pursuit of consolation and purpose in
our life, they have to be realized as it is what
redeems and sets purpose to our life.
In relation to the first research question, it can
be understood that one must cultivate the cardinal
virtues and altogether remove the vices of the soul
from him. Othello loses his wisdom in facing the
tribulation to his marriage and he is too ignorant in
decision making. Iago is perplexed by the vice of
anger, which fatally leads him to pursue his
 M. D. T. Prasetya & M. A. Rokhman | A Journey to Ethical Life | 155
revenge. However, Iago goes into more extreme as
he turns vices into virtue, and he mocks admirable
virtues and turns them into pleasure and profit. He
relativizes morality, and condemns the binding
authority of morality onto himself. He is never for
once conscious of his evil actions. Iago reminds us
that when one condemns morality and never takes
his conscience to the pursuit of a virtuous life, a
man can be the cruellest figure on the face of the
earth. Roderigo is troubled by his own lust. His
excessive passion on lust is what serves him to get
his own tragedy. As the story ends, it can be said
that once the cultivation of virtue and cleansing the
soul of its vices are disavowed and abandoned, it is
highly costly, and growing to be tragedy not only
for personal impacts, but his surroundings too.
In relation to the second research question, it
is known that the cost which has to be endured to
neglect virtue is a cost that also demands the social
and political life as well. As Ṭuṣi argues, social and
political life has to be grounded on ethical ideas,
when it is gone, the order of a social life will not be
at equilibrium as politics is the discipline and
protective system to help man achieve their
perfection. Man must cooperate with others with an
ethical basis, and through Othello it is known that
the ethical components highly affect socio-political
life such as justice, love, and things like Divine Law,
a just arbritator, and a just flow of money are all
necessarily to create a civilized life (tamaddun).
Hence it is not enough, love should be the basis of
how one acts in a political community. In Othello,
such love is gone in some characters. Hence a
corruption appears within the political community.
Shakespeare might remind us of this
importance, and in his ethical treatise, Naṣir Al-Din
Ṭuṣi is offering high ideals in an ethical life, but
human beings are always in need of those ideals. It
is what binds us in community, what convinces us
to the pursuit of the good life. It is the idea that will
enlighten us in fulfilling our existence. The modern
life desecration that we all know experience today is
nothing but it serves to be a real depiction of what
the world looks like when it rejects ethics and the
ideals.
REFERENCES
Abdullah, A. K. (2018). Shakespeare's Othello from
the perspective of Islam. Toronto: Terebessy
Foundation. Retrieved From
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322
989242.
Bayer, J. (2010). Nicomachean and neo-Aristotelian
ethics and Shakespeare's tragedies.
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
Craig, W.J. (1903). Othello: The moor of Venice.
London: Methuen and Co.
Frye, R. M. (1988). “Not of an Age, but for All
Time”: A Shakespearean's thoughts on
Shakespeare's permanence. American
Philosophical Society, 132(3), pp. 223-236.
Gray, P. & Cox, J. D. (2014). Introduction:
rethinking Shakespeare and ethics. In P. Gray
& J. D. Cox (eds.), Shakespeare and
Renaissance Ethics. (pp. 1-34). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Heilman, R. B. (1953) The economics of Iago and
others. Modern Language Association, 68(3),
555-571.
Lings, M. (1966) Shakespeare in the light of sacred
art. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Prabowo, A. G. (2013). Racial issues and their
influences in Shakespeare’s Othello.
(Unpublished undergraduate thesis).
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia.
Shakespeare, W. (1905). The complete works of
William Shakespeare. London: Oxford
University Press.
Sukardi, R. A. Q. S.. (2015). The Machiavellian
principles depicted in William Shakespeare's
Othello. (Unpublished undergraduate thesis).
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia.
Ṭuṣi, Nasir Ad-Din. (1964). The Nasirean ethics.
(G.M. Wickens, Trans.). London: George
Allen and Unwin.
Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 156-163

The Significance of the Conch in William Golding's Lord of the Flies

Jamiah Solehati, Bernadus Hidayat*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: bernhidayat@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

This research investigates the significance of the conch shell in the novel Lord of the Flies written by
William Golding. The focus of this research is to examine the meaning of the conch shell as one of
the most important symbols and to observe the dynamic of the main characters in relation to power.
The research applies textual formalism approach to uncover the meaning of the symbol.
Furthermore, this research is also supported with sociological approach to relate the literary work
with the reality of the social condition during that era and to get a better understanding of the
characterization of the main characters in the novel. The main data used in this research is the novel
Lord of the Flies. To support this analysis, additional data is taken from various sources such as books
and academic journals. The result of this analysis shows that conch is symbol of democratic power
and order. Furthermore, the conch leads us to understand that we must have rules and authority to
maintain a safe environment. Without them, utter chaos is inevitable.

Keywords: authority, order, symbol, textual formalism.

“response” to R.M. Ballantyne’s The Coral Island: A

INTRODUCTION
William Golding was an educator and celebrated
English novelist known for his novel entitled Lord
of the Flies, which was published in 1954. The idea
of the novel was drawn from his experience as a
Royal Navy who fights in the Second World War.
His work has been described as pessimistic,
spiritual, and allegorical. He uses his novel to
picture a man's struggle between his civilized self
and his hidden, darker nature.
The novel that established the former
schoolmaster’s reputation was subject of multiple
rejections before it was accepted by Faber and
Faber. While his novel has been compared to
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Richard Hughes High
Wind in Jamaica, Golding’s novel was actually his
Tale of the Pacific Ocean (Niemeyer, 1961, p. 12).
These two books share the same plot line and even
the same character names (two of the lead
characters are named Ralph and Jack in both books)
Thirty years after the publication of his acclaimed
first novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding was
awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1983, “for
his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic
narrative art and the diversity and universality of
myth, illuminate the human condition in the world
of today.” (The Nobel Prize in Literature, 1983).
Lord of The Flies is a novel which has been
widely regarded as a classic. Up until today, the
novel greatly influenced writers of horrors and
postapocalyptic fiction and has read by millions
worldwide and has been required reading in schools

156 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

 J. Solehati & B. Hidayat | The Significance of the Conch | 157
and universities. In addition to that, the novel has
impact on popular culture, spawning a variety of
parodies, tributes, and re-imagining. The novel
chronicles the story of English schoolboys who are
stranded in an unnamed and uninhabited island
near the Pacific Ocean after their plane, which
supposed to evacuate them from nuclear warfare,
crashes. These schoolboys, as the lone survivors, and
without the presence of adult, are trying to be
civilized. Thus they establish their own society,
elect their leader, and begin to divide the task such
as hunting and fire watching. But things go south
when there is a power struggle between the boys.
The situation is getting more unpleasant by the
rumour of the sighting of a monster in the island.
The theme of the novel also pique one’s
interest. Among others, the one that is very striking
is about the decline of civilization. As mentioned
previously, Golding took the inspiration for Lord of
the Flies based on his experience witnessing the
horror of World War II and his pessimistic view of
the world and society. He sensed that the state of
the world and its people were not getting any better
after the great war. In the novel, it is shown
through the characters of the novel, who are well-
educated British schoolchildren aged 6-12 year old,
yet, despite of their ages, are capable of being
ruthless.
Furthermore, the decline of the civilization
which Golding presents through British
schoolchildren has its own correlation with the title
of the novel Lord of The Flies. While, Lord of the
Flies itself is a literal translation of the word
‘Beelzebub’ which is a devil who is capable of
flying. Throughout the novel, the children grow
dirtier and dirtier, an outward reflection of their
inner state, like flies who cover something rotten.
As savage and evil they can be, the most evil of all is
a boy named Jack, the leader of choirboys turn tribe
of hunters. Jack, as a leader of the choirboys, has
always been feuding with Ralph, the leader who
won the election fair and square. Ralph tries to
establish some rules and order in the island and Jack
tries to disturb the peace and order on the island by
creating a terror. Thus, power struggle between the
two happening. The conflict between them bears
the resemblance of the ideological battle during the
Cold War. Ralph is the representation of democratic
leader, whereas Jack bears the trait of totalitarian
leader.
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is full of
numerous symbols. The literary definition of a
symbol is a person, place or object that represents
more than what it is physically. The author uses a
variety of these to assist the reader in relating
aspects of the narrative to places or ideas in today’s
world, as well as infusing the story with greater
depth and meaning. Throughout the novel, Golding
effectively implements three distinct politically
related symbols; the conch, Jack and Ralph.
Conch as a symbol becomes the primary
interest for the writer as it is constantly found
throughout the novel. Conch, or a large white shell
is a symbol of a civilized society that they establish
in the island as a reminiscent of the British social
order; a civil society founded on discourse and
consensus. The leader of the boys, Ralph, uses the
instrument to summon the boys to gather for
meetings. He also stresses that whoever held the
conch has every right to speak in front of others. An
idea which they soon implement.
The present research attempts to investigate
the significance of the conch as a symbol by
analysing its meaning in order to get an idea of what
the author of the novel wants to communicate
through the meaning of the main symbol, which is
conch, that appears frequently on Lord of the Flies,
then of civilization by analyzing the significance of
the conch in Lord of the Flies and the effect of the
destruction of the shell to the boys and the society
they built on the island.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The popularity of the novel Lord of the Flies has
attracted a number of studies. For example, Amalia
(2014) focused on proving that the absence of
society restraints can cause the falling of civilization
instinct and leading people to act according to their
primitive instincts. She employed Sigmund Freud’s
theory of Id, Ego, and Superego to examine the
psychological problems of the three characters in
the novel, they are: Ralph, Piggy, and Jack, who
committed to savagery and created conflict of
civilization. The findings thus clarified that parental
158 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
guidance, is needed to produce the instinctual
drives and mentally stable and healthy men.
Another study by Wilson (2014) investigated
the biblical parallels and reflections in the novel as
many critics have drawn strong parallels between
the characters in the novel and biblical characters
and their stories. His research gave the result that
the novel, Lord of the Flies is full of symbols and
metaphor, and Golding in his novel intended
Simon, the character, to be a Christ-like figure and
Simon’s place in the story is a parallel to how the
society treated Jesus as told in the bible. Other than
that, the natural setting of the island of the story is
also the parallel of Garden of Eden.
Dagar (2013) examined the origin of the
dream of beast that haunts the boys on the island
and how the nightmare corresponds to what are
categorized as “traumatic dreams.” She found that
the trauma of the war, which incited the destructive
instinct of the boys. Beside that, the writer also
found that the causes of the nightmare are their
hunting activity and brutal murder of one of the
boys.
Another study by George and Raju (2012)
entitled Personal Accountability of Evil in William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies analyzed the dichotomy
between good and evil. In their close analysis, they
brought out the topic that some individuals within
the society or in the political system perpetrate evil,
instead of the political system or the society, which
we often blame.
Next, Yuda (2011) focused on the novel’s
characterizations of Jack, Ralph and Piggy, their
main personality features and their personality
development as the novel progresses. Four of
Freud’s theory were employed to analyze the
literary work: the unconscious mind; id, ego,
superego; dynamic personality development; and
Freudian defense mechanism. From his research he
concluded that in wilderness, the main characters
with dominant id feature gain more influence and
domination than the others, meanwhile characters
with other features will slowly lose their influence
as the novel progresses. In his analysis, it is also
implied that without the boundary of civilization,
people will committed to savagery.
Lastly, Bruns (2008) also analyzed the same
work, but with a different focus. Bruns (2008)
examined the symbols found in the novel and how
they are tied to its social power relations. The uses
of symbols are crucial in the novel, as it is more
powerful than it first seems. In his analysis he found
that there are number of symbols in the novel
which are tied to a social power relation like the
conch and Piggy’s spectacle as a symbol of
democratic power system, Jack’s tribe as a symbol,
of dictatorial government, and the fire which he
interpreted as a symbol for both power systems.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This paper employs Textual Formalism approach in
analyzing the significance of conch in the novel
Lord of the Flies. We adopted this particular
approach because it is suitable for observing the
significance of conch in the novel to the narrative.
In 20th century, formalism dominated the literary
world and continued to influence academic
quarters. As its name suggest, textual formalism
focuses on the formal element found in the literary
works. As the emphasis of the theory is on the
formal elements of the text itself, one must less
consider another external input which includes
cultural and societal influence. The understanding
of formalist approach is also in line with Lois
Tyson's argument in her book Critical Theory of
Today (2006):
“Although the author's intention or the
reader's response is sometimes mentioned in
New Critical readings of literary texts, neither
one is the focus of analysis. For the only way
we can know if a given author's intention or a
given reader's interpretation actually repre-
sents the text's meanings is to carefully
examine, or “closely read,” all the evidence
provided by the language of the text itself: its
images, symbols, metaphors, rhyme, meter,
point of view, setting, characterization, plot,
and so forth, which, because they form, or
shape, the literary work are called its formal
elements.” (Tyson, 2006, p. 149)
From the preceding quotation, Textual
Formalism examines the individual part of the text
including the characters, the tone, the settings, the
symbols, the point of views, and other intrinsic
 J. Solehati & B. Hidayat | The Significance of the Conch | 159
elements of the text which makes a single text. The
goal of analyzing formal element in a text is to help
to enrich our reading of literary text and to
appreciate complex operations of formal elements
and how those elements function to create
meaning.
In order to help answer the research
questions, Sociological approach is also applied to
this study. The goal of the approach is to understand
the relationship between literary work with society.
This from of literary criticism was first introduced
by Kenneth Burke in 20th century. Sociological
criticism is influenced by new criticism. According
to Kennedy and Gioia (2005), when examining a
text using the sociological approach, one must take
cultural, economic, and political context into
account.
The statement above implies that a literary
work is also a part of society because it depicts social
life of a certain society. The sociological approach is
employed to explain a certain occurrence in a
particular time and give insight as how to general
public felt about something. Furthermore, the
approach is also look at economy, political
condition, including its system of government and
who holds the power. Also, by understanding the
author's life can help the researcher to analyze and
understand the literary work better.
William Golding's life experience influences
the idea of his novel Lord of the Flies. His work
greatly inspired by his stint as a army fought in the
World War II, where he served in Royal Navy as a
rocket launcher and participated in Battle of
Normandy. He is deeply concerned with the effect
of the war on individuals and for social relationship.
Lord of the Flies is not a product of Golding's
imagination, but rather a product of reflection of
society during its time. Although Golding never
openly states what year his book is taking place, it is
obviously assumed that the story is taking place at
the dawn of World War II. For example, when the
boys first arrived at the island where they stranded
at, they actually about to get evacuated from a
nuclear war, furthermore, the novel is obviously set
against the background of nuclear war when the
character expressing his anxiety of nuclear war,
which reflects the threat of atomic bomb in 1950s.
Furthermore, Golding, could not stay away from
portraying the dangers of the dictators, who
threatened the peace of the world. In the novel, the
conflict that resembles to that of Cold War is
depicted through the character of Ralph and Jack,
which represents democracy and dictatorship
respectively.
From the explanation above, the writer tries to
explain that the novel Lord of the Flies shows
reality of the society and how the writer responds to
it. Furthermore, a work of art cannot be separated
from its social, political and cultural background.
The society in which the author lives, the author's
word views and experience during his/her life, and
to whom the author wants to convey the message of
his works play an important role in the creative
process of making the works. Therefore, by
analyzing a work and its relation to the reality is an
important thing as the main point of the discussion,
the writer believes the application of the
sociological approach will be most appropriate to
use in the research.
METHODS
The method of collecting the data employed in this
study is library research. The data are taken from
credible books in the library, websites, and journal
articles, which are related to the topic of the
research. The primary data of the research is the
novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. We
collected and described relevant scenes that
contribute to the significance of conch in the novel.
In addition to the analysis on the literary work,
secondary data obtained from the experts are
employed to support the analysis.
The data analysis of the research was done
through observation of the intrinsic elements of the
novel which include the main characters of the
novel—Ralph, piggy, and Jack, and the historical
background related to the setting of time of the
novel. We did a close reading on the characters’
actions, thoughts, after that we took notes on their
important roles in the story. Subsequently, the data
from the novel were related with the secondary
data from different sources in order to answer the
research questions.
160 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
One of the most important symbol in the novel is
the conch shell. On the beginning of the novel, two
of the stranded boys, Ralph and Piggy meet for the
very first time. As they wander through their new
place, they realized that they live on an island.
When they carry on their walking, they discover a
large-pink coloured conch shell. Piggy, who has
seen the shell before and has heard what is it
capable of doing.
“He has seen this shell before and he has
heard that it can be used as an instrument to
make a loud sound.” (Golding, 2006, p. 15)
Golding also implies that the shell is
something exquisite and invaluable by Piggy telling
Ralph that the shell is expensive that someone must
pay a great amount of money for it. The conch
being expensive and multifunctional, gives Piggy a
brilliant idea to give it more value than just being a
sound machine or wall ornament. When the conch
is finally blown for the first time, one by one starts
to appear before they eventually gather, including a
boy named Jack and his choirboys, who resembles a
military man as he leads his choirboy in military
style. Jack Merridew's demeanor immediately
intimidates Piggy, but not Ralph.
“Piggy asked no names. He was intimidated
by this uniformed superiority and the off-
hand authority of Merridew's voice. “He
shrank to the other side of Ralph and busied
himself with his glasses” (Golding, pp. 20-21)
When they meet for the first time Ralph is
already taking initiative by asking everyone's name.
Jack, on the other hand, is having fun ridiculing
Piggy for talking too much and because he is named
Piggy and the fact that he is fat. In the assembly,
Ralph also taking initiative to get rescued, suggests
that they should elect a chief. When the boys
decide that they should have a leader, Jack is
convinced it should be him.
“I ought to be chief,” said Jack with simple
arrogance, “because I am chapter chorister
and I can sing C sharp. “ (Golding, p. 22)
As the head of choir, Jack is tyrannical.
Having said that, he assumes the rest of the boys
will listen to him too. One of his boys, Roger, who
is usually quiet , suggests a vote for leader and
dampen Jack's self-appointing plan. Unlike Jack
who is trying to declare himself fit as a leader,
Ralph is elected democratically through voting
among the boys in the island. In spite of Piggy's
obvious intelligence and Jack's discipline and
willingness to lead, none of the boys can think of a
good reason for Ralph to be leader: He is attractive
and charismatic, possesses a stillness. The statement
by Golding about Ralph appearance is an overt
stereotype of leaders from the West, such as
American presidents or Great Britain prime
ministers, especially from the perspective of an
Englishman. In the real world, we often find, how
they present themselves in public is one of the main
factor why he or she is elected to be a leader.. In the
case of Ralph, aside from being charismatic and
attractive, most importantly he is holding the
conch. The beautiful conch appeals the eyes of the
boys, more importantly, Ralph' demeanour while
holding the shell suggests that he would be a leader
with poise.
“The being that had blown that, had sat
waiting for them on the platform with
delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set
apart. “(Golding 16)
“(Ralph) has fair hair, broad shoulders, and a
mildness about his mouth and eyes that
proclaimed no devil .” (Golding, p. 10)
The practice which is commonly done in
democratic society is applied on the island where
the boys stranded at. The boys use the conch to
establish a society similar to that of British social
order: a civil society that built on discourse and
consensus. When the shell is used to summon the
boys for meeting, the idea of democracy is
immediately embraced. As a leader who has a
leadership similar to those of democratic leader, he
believes everyone has equal rights by giving them
chance to express their opinion and delegating task
to each of the boy. After Ralph being elected as a
leader , sees Jack being humiliated by the boys
because they favour Ralph more than Jack. Ralph
knows jack is humiliated and dissatisfied with the
result of the election, as a compensation, he lets Jack
 J. Solehati & B. Hidayat | The Significance of the Conch | 161
lead his own hunting group with choirboys as its
member. The hunting task is given to him because
of his bravery and military-style demeanour.
Hoping that he will be able to provide food for the
rest of the island's inhabitants.
“...Ralph looked at him, eager to offer
something.
“The choir belongs to you, of course” “They
could be the army-” “Or hunters-” “They
could be-- “
“Jack's in charge of the choir. They can be --
what do you want them to be?” “Hunters.”
(Golding, p. 23)
The idea of a conch as a symbol of order can
be seen when Ralph, the leader with power knows
it is in his and other boys' interest to maintain some
order. During the assembly, he realizes that there
are no grownups looking after them, thus Ralph
suggests that they should have rules in order to keep
things under control on the island. “We'll have
rules!” he cried excitedly. “Lots of rules! Then when
anyone breaks em--” (Golding, p. 33) Furthermore,
Ralph as a leader with conch, sets some rules, which
includes storing water they collect from streams in
coconut shell and use rocks for lavatory as he
forbids his boys from urinating in fruit trees area.
These rules are made to keep the boys on the island
behaves just like human instead of animals. He
firmly believes that rules is “the only thing we've
got” (Golding 91). However, as good as the idea of
having some rules to maintain order on the island
may seem, it never occurs any of them to
implement a system of discipline to keep them in
check. If one is asked the perfect diction to describe
the civilization of the island it would be “tenuous.”
Even before the collapse of their society there are a
few significant challenges and failures of the rules
Ralph make to maintain order. For instance, The
Littleuns, a group of youngest children, which
nobody bothers to learn their names, they look up
to their leader, Ralph, because he is bigger and older
than them. However, when they given task to be
performed, they do not do it. It is assumed that they
have zero value as they spend their days just to play
and eat.
“They ate most of the day, picking fruit where
they could reach it and not particular about
ripeness and quality... apart from food and
sleep, they found time for play, aimless and
trivial, in the white sand by the bright water,”
(Golding, p. 53)
Secondly, as previously mentioned before, the
boys agree to about the location where they
supposed to relieve themselves. They agree that
they will use the rocky area of the island, so as to
not contaminate the drinking water. Although the
rule is made for everybody's benefit and health,
they demonstrate no act of being discipline and
demonstrate no shame of what their selfish,
thoughtless and disgusting action that can imperil
anybody on the island.
Although part of the failure to maintain order
on the island is on Ralph as the leader who fails to
create a form of punishment to the other boys, it is
partly due to the other boy's ignorance. They are
selfish. They are busy enjoying their freedom
through playing all day as there are no grownups
watching them. Their ignorance go as far as
neglecting the fire that they lit to attract the passing
ship so that they can get out from the island.
The conch starts to lose its power and
maintain order on the island when fear about the
sighting of beast grips the rest of the boy on the
island. At the beginning of the story, Ralph still can
manage the boys well. They understand the need of
order and purposive action even though sometimes
they do not want to be bothered. By, this time, the
idea of civilization begins to wear off. Jack, who,
from the beginning, is after Ralph's position,
manipulates the boys to rise into power. He plays
with their emotions. Two emotions that he is
focusing at are fear and excitement. When Ralph is
stressing the importance of keeping the fire, Jack is
stressing that the beast is real and they need to focus
on hunting and less with the fire. He makes the
boys hysterical and Ralph loses control at assembly
as he planned. The same manner the real
totalitarian leaders from past or present use.
“Quiet,” shout Jack. You, listen. The beast is
sitting up there, whatever it is-- [...] Hunting,
said Jack. He remembered his age-old tremors
in forest. Yes, the beast is a hunter “ (Golding,
p. 126)
Not everyone on the island wants to be a
civilized person. From the beginning, Jack and his
boys, the hunter, exhibit sign of savagery. They are
162 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
assigned to be a hunter, but it is not because they
want to provide food, rather because they like to
kill. What follows after are war paints and chants.
When the hunter separates themselves from Ralph's
civilized society, their behavior grow primitives.
With Ralph's boys joining Jack's hunter group, Jack
immediately has more chance to satisfy his savagery
desire.
Before the conch is destroyed, it is “lay at
Ralph's feet fragile and white” (Golding, p. 179)
showing how little power the conch has, because
there is no more boys who follow Ralph, only
Piggy. Jack's promise to the other boys of protecting
them from the beast is more enticing. Jack
establishes himself on the opposite end of the island,
Ralph and Piggy is trying to bring it to him and
show him that the conch still has its power, but Jack
assert them that it does not count on the end of the
island.
The shell is finally destructed during an event
in which Piggy and Jack go to the Castle Rock, the
place where Jack and his tribe live. A boy named
Roger drops a rock from the top of the hill killing
Piggy and the conch. He drops the boulder onto
Piggy because he realizes nobody on the island will
contain his cruelty. Before he perpetrates his act on
Piggy, he tries to throw pebble at another boy, but
his arms are held by “taboo of the old life; and he is
still understands the boundaries set by parents and
school and policemen and law. (Golding, p. 62) It is
not a coincidence that the rock killed both Piggy
and the conch. Piggy has been the voice of reason
for Ralph. He thinks like an adult, which makes him
a link to both society and nature. Piggy is a firm
believer of the conch that it can still bring influence
to the Jack's tribe
“The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from
chin to knee; the conch exploded into a
thousand white fragments and ceased to exist
(Golding 186).”
The conch is destroyed. No more order on the
island. Conch' power is diminished, and so does the
control over one another diminished.
CONCLUSION
The present study has shown that the conch
plays a very significant role in William Golding's
Lord of the Flies. It is used as a symbol of power and
order. When it is first discovered, the conch is used
to call the assembly. Furthermore, when the
assembly is held for the first time, they elect their
leader and Ralph gets elected because he is holding
the conch. Once the boys realize that there are no
older people present on the island, they start to
implement a civilized society in which they lived
before. They try to set everything in order, such as
taking turns while expressing opinion on the
assembly by using the conch so one gets
interrupted. Subsequently, the conch is also
representing democratic power, which is proved by
the conch power to encourage free speech and civil
process, which even the little boys can easily
embrace. Yet, in practice, the concept is more
difficult to realize as the rules they agreed on are
impossible to enforce as there are no consequences
for those who violates it. In order to understands
the interaction of the characters to power, this
study also revealed the trait of the important
characters. Ralph is a representation of democratic
leader as he is always appearing productive by
trying to implement free speech and giving
everyone on the island equal power and he is always
thinking about their future by stressing the
importance of being rescued, while Jack is his
antithesis who resembles that of the World War II
authoritarian leaders that always seeks for power
and hunting.
The power on the island shifts because the
society that Ralph is trying to establish has failed.
Ralph offers them a chance to be rescued and
civilized, yet as leader he fails to establishes the
necessary set of rules and consequences, which
brings about the other boys negligence of the tasks
that they have been assigned. Ralph's failure is
cleverly used by Jack to rise into power who rules
his group with fear and terror. He lures the other
boys with meat into joining him and his choirboys
 J. Solehati & B. Hidayat | The Significance of the Conch | 163
and also using terror of a beast. When the boys
begin to favour Jack' side, they become a pack of
bloodthirsty hunters.
Golding's experience during the war and the
era that follows is represented through the leaders
in the novel, Ralph and Jack. They are represented
by different ways or running things and their
personalities and their struggle to gain power
through different forms of power. As for the conch,
it is a tool that Ralph believes that it can effectively
govern the boys meeting, whoever holds the shell
during the assembly has rights to speak. As the
civilization in the island erodes, the shell loses its
power and influence. What Golding is trying to
convey through the meaning of the conch is that we
have to have rules, order, and authority to maintain
our society. The structure and order of government
have power to protect and sustain when each
individual in the society plays the role that has been
assigned. Without rules and authority, the
civilization can erode into a state of disorder, as told
by Golding when the boys left to their own without
discipline. He proves that it is essential for mankind
to have a form of government with authority figure
enforcing the rule so each of us have sense of right
and wrong. Utter chaos becomes inevitable when
society is not governed.
REFERENCES
Amalia, F. (2014). Civilization versus savagery in
William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
(Unpublished undergraduate thesis).
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia.
Bruns, B. (2008). The symbolism of power in
William Golding's Lord of The Flies.
Retrieved from http://www.diva-
portal.org/smash/get/diva2:132457/fulltext01.
Dagar, J. (2013). The nightmare beast, war and the
children in William Golding's Lord of the
Flies. Psy Art.
George, J. & Raju, R.L.N. (2015). Personal
accountability to evil in William Golding's
Lord of the Flies. Mediterranean Journal of
Social Sciences, 6(6), S2. 174-178.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s2p1
74.
Golding, W. (2006). Lord of the Flies. New York:
Perigee Book.
Kennedy, X. J. & Gioia, D. (2005). Literature: An
introduction to fiction, poetry, and drama.
London: Longman.
Niemeyer, C. (1961). The Coral Island revisited.
College English, 22(4), 241–245.
The Nobel Prize. (1983, October). William Golding.
Retrieved from
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1
983/press-release/.
Tyson, L. (2006). Critical theory today: A user-
friendly guide (2nd ed.). New York:
Routledge.
Wilson, D. D. (2014). A study on the reflection of
Biblical characters and concept in Lord of the
flies . IMPACT: International Journal of
Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature,
2(5), 179-182.
Yudha, J. P. (2011). Freudian latent phase in
wilderness as portrayed in William Golding's
Lord of the Flies (A psychological approach).
(Unpublished undergraduate thesis).
Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta,
Indonesia.
Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 164-177

“Sorry, Darling”: Apologizing in The Crown TV Series

Pradhana Ahmad Maulana, Tofan Dwi Hardjanto*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: deha@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

The present research investigates the realization of apologies in the TV series

entitled The Crown. In doing so, the study attempts to identify and classify apology
strategies employed by the characters in the series using the taxonomy proposed by
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984). The collection of the apology data was done
through observation of the series, starting from the first episode in the first season
to the twentieth episode in the second season. The investigation has successfully
identified and classified 45 apologies. From a total of 45 apologies found, 33 (73.4%)
were classified as direct realizations (27 or 60% as standalone IFIDs and 6 or 13.3%
as IFID combinations). Indirect apology realizations, however, were relatively rare
with only 12 (26.6%) occurrences in total. The explanation of situation was found to
be the most commonly used indirect strategy with six (13.3%) instances. The results
seem to suggest that the characters in the series prefer direct strategies in
apologizing in English.

Keywords: apology, apology strategies, direct apology, speech act, The Crown.

(1989), an apology is defined as “a speech act which

INTRODUCTION
People express their ideas and opinions by means of
communication. It is understood as an exchange of
information and message between two parties
through verbal or non-verbal means. In this sense,
the mutual exchange is reflected when the
addressing party presents information or sends
message to the receiving party. However, it is not a
rare occasion when an utterance or action by one
party results in an offense to the other in the
process. The situation prompts the offender to take
a remedial action through an apology. For Olshtain
provides support for the hearer who is mal-affected
by a violation” (p. 156). An apology can be
expressed in a number of ways. The most common
way to produce an apology involves the use of
formulaic expressions such as “sorry” and
“apologize”, whereas other apologetic statements
include various forms of expressions, such as
promises and explanations, which represent the
speaker’s remorse. Regardless of the way an apology
is produced, the offender aims to concede the
mistake and accept the responsibility in order to re-

164 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019


establish harmony with the offended (Chaem-
saithong, 2009).
Apologies are closely connected to the
concept of social differences. In the words of Blum-
Kulka and Olshtain (1984), the realization of an
apology speech act is contingent upon social factors
embedded in the situation. Furthermore, over the
last two decades, many researchers have been
investigating apology and social differences
extensively to explore new findings. A great
number of researchers have combined the
production of apologies across different languages
with social parameters as the foundation in their
investigations. Retrospectively, the popularity has
been set by the very existence of the seminal works
of Olshtain and Cohen (1983), Blum-Kulka and
Olshtain (1984), and Brown and Levinson (1987),
which provide a firm basis for the subsequent
studies to date. However, the majority of these
studies have investigated apology through
discourse-completion test, a pre-scripted instrument
which involves a situational role play. It is
considerably rare to find apology studies that utilize
other approach. Meanwhile, judging from the
general conclusions, the potential influence of social
power and distance on the realization and sincerity
of apology is also little known. Instead, the
researchers generally highlight gender-related
aspects in their conclusions.
The lack of studies examining the potential
effect of social variables on the realization of
apology is worth-mentioning. The general
procedure of collecting apology strategies through
methods under pre-scripted conditions such as DCT
and questionnaire appears to be a major limitation
to apology studies as well. Therefore, the present
research attempts to fill in the gap by offering
different approach in analyzing apology. The
present research investigates the realization of
apologies in a TV series entitled The Crown as an
attempt to provide new findings on apology studies,
in particular the potential influence of social
distance and power on the realization and sincerity
of apologetic behavior. The Crown is chosen due to
the specific needs and emphasis of the research on
social differences.
P. A. Maulana & T. D. Hardjanto | Apologizing | 165
LITERATURE REVIEW
Over the last two decades, there have been
numerous studies done by researchers from various
perspectives which investigate the use of apology.
Different findings, methods, and approaches are
reflected in these studies. Recently, Ugla and Jafre
(2016) explore the apology strategies used by Iraqi
EFL learners, both in English and Iraqi Arabic. The
collection of the data is done through a DCT and an
interview. All of the 55 participants are Iraqis
chosen randomly from two universities in Iraq,
namely Al-Yarmouk University and University of
Diyala. The data are analyzed with the taxonomy
suggested by Holmes (1990). The participants are
placed in fourteen different situations, and thus
contribute to the variation in using the apology
strategies. In line with the finding, the authors
highlight the awareness of the participants in
meeting the requirements of using the appropriate
strategies, both in English and Iraqi Arabic. Another
result from the study shows that most participants
prefer not to translate their apology strategies from
Iraqi Arabic to English, which means that they have
already understood how to use the conventionalized
strategies in English appropriately.
Darwish (2014) investigates gender differ-
ences in the production of apology strategies. In his
study, he aims to reveal the similarities and
differences in the act of apologizing between male
and female students from various private schools in
Amman, Jordan. The data are collected by
distributing questionnaire consisting of 15 questions
and 14 different situations which prompt a
respondent to apologize. The questionnaire is
equally distributed to 30 male and 30 female
students who are English native speakers. Because
of the variety of the responses, the data from the
respondents are then analyzed using the
combinations of coding scheme provided by seven
researchers, namely Fraser (1981), Olshtain and
Cohen (1983), Owen (1983), Trosborg (1987),
Holmes (1990), and Aijmer (1996). From the results,
it is revealed that male speakers relatively adopt
more strategies (6) in apologizing than their female
counterparts (5). In their apologetic behavior, male
166 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
speakers tend to be more direct due to the fact that strategies used by Persian male native speakers and
they use explicit apology strategy more frequently. its intensification methods from politeness
perspective. The data are collected through the
Majeed and Janjua (2014) from National
utilization of a Discourse Completion Test (DCT)
University of Modern Languages Islamabad also
which contains 12 different situations. The
examine the correlation between the use of apology
identification is based upon Blum-Kulka, House,
speech act and gender. The study aims to determine
and Kasper’s taxonomy (1989), with the addition of
the difference of reaction between the two genders
newly-found and modified strategies employed in
given a variety of different situations which create
Afghari (2007). The results of the research indicate
the need to apologize. In doing so, the research
that Persian male speakers tend to use culture-
covers the strategies produced by Urdu speakers. All
specific strategies in relation to the assessment of
of the 15 male and 10 female participants are
contextual variables such as social distance, power
students from different departments in National
distance, and severity of the offense. Contextual
University of Modern Languages Islamabad. The
variables inherently influence the use of specific
data are collected through an open questionnaire
intensifiers by the speakers to appease the hearer.
similar to DCT and analyzed using the taxonomy
Offer for Repair and Statement of Offence are
provided by Blum-Kulka, House, and Kasper (1989).
revealed to be the two most frequently-used
The questionnaire illustrates 10 different situations
intensifiers.
to which a respondent should react. The findings of
the study reveal that most participants tend to use Unlike previous apology studies, the present
IFID and Explanation of an Account more than any research reflects different approaches, aims, and
other strategies. It also suggests that participants methods. Considering that the aforementioned
from both groups have a tendency to express non- studies have utilized DCT and questionnaire as data
formulaic strategies when they apologize in Urdu. collecting method, the present research hence
However, it is revealed that female participants are makes a distinctive move by collecting apology
more likely to use English formulaic expressions, utterances occurring in a TV series. The present
constituting a higher percentage (56.56%) when study focuses on the realization of apologies by all
compared to their male counterparts (40.41%). of the characters in Netflix series entitled The
Crown. The data are collected from an observation
Another study of apology speech act is
of the whole series in chronological order. For the
conducted by Aydin (2013) from Minnesota State
classification scheme, the present research employs
University. Investigating from cross-cultural
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s taxonomy (1984), which
perspective, he aims to identify and compare the
consists of five potential semantic formulae:
apology strategies used by Turkish, American-
Illocutionary Force Indicating Device, Accepting
English, and advanced non-native English speakers
the Responsibility, Offer of Repair, Promise of
in Turkey. The collection of the data incorporates
Forbearance, and Explanation of Situation. The
DCT method and the three different groups of
study also places more emphasis on the potential
participants are given the same situations. The data
influence of social power and distance between the
analysis is based upon the classification model
characters on the realization and sincerity of
suggested by Olshtain and Cohen (1983). The results
apology strategies.
of the study reveal that Turkish speakers tend to use
indirect realization of apology more frequently than
the American participants. However, it is also
revealed that American participants employ THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
intensifiers more frequently than the two other
groups. On the other hand, the advanced non-
native participants generally show similar pattern Speech Acts
with one another in using apology strategies.
A speech act is a linguistic unit in pragmatics that
Shahrokhi (2012) from Islamic Azad deals with the role of words not only to present
University has conducted a study on the apology information but also to carry out actions. It aims to

explain the language exchange in terms of the
effects on both the speaker and the hearer. Austin
(1975, p. 6) first introduced the concept of speech
act as a performative utterance, which indicated
that “the issuing of an utterance is the performing of
an action”. Austin (1962) classified speech acts into
three levels of separate acts, namely locutionary act,
illocutionary act, and perlocutionary act. Locution-
ary act is the basic act of producing meaningful
expression, while illocutionary act can be defined as
the act performed through the communicative force
of an utterance. Perlocutionary act is understood as
the actual effect of the utterance on the hearer
(Cutting, 2002).
In order to be felicitous, a speech act needs to
fulfill certain preconditions, namely felicity
conditions (Cutting, 2002). Austin (1962, p. 14-15)
mentioned that in felicity conditions, a certain
procedure with a certain conventional effect should
exist. The procedure includes the uttering of certain
words by certain persons in certain circumstances.
The circumstances and the participants must be
appropriate, as specified in the procedure. The
procedure must be executed correctly and
completely by the participants. Searle (1969) gives
more detailed rules concerning the felicity
conditions for speech act to occur. Searle (1969)
describes that there are general conditions for all
speech act to be felicitous, that the hearer must hear
and understand the language used, and the speaker
must not be pretending in using the language.
Specifically, Searle’s rules (1969) for felicity
conditions are propositional content, preparatory
condition, sincerity condition, and essential
condition.
a. Propositional content condition is the
condition which specifies the features of the
semantic content of the utterance. In the case
of apology, it mostly refers to the actions
committed in the past.
b. Preparatory condition is the condition that
specifies the contextual features of the
performed act, which means that the speech
act must have clear purposes. For apology,
there is an assumption that some offense has
been committed.
c. Sincerity condition is the condition that
specifies the speaker’s wants and beliefs. For
P. A. Maulana & T. D. Hardjanto | Apologizing | 167
example, in the case of apology, it is an
understanding that certain offence has been
committed and recognized as such by the
hearer.
d. Essential Condition is the condition that
specifies an attempt to get the hearer to
perform the desired actions. In apology, the
act of forgiving shows the fulfillment of the
condition.
Many linguistic researchers have developed
different taxonomies of speech acts. Approaches to
speech act theory mostly categorize speech acts
based on what they communicate to the hearer.
Searle (1976) classified speech acts based on their
illocutionary force into the following classes:
1. Representative: A representative speech act
refers to the act used to state something that
the speaker believes to be certifiable or true. It
includes the act of criticizing, complaining,
claiming, and describing
2. Commisive: A commisive speech act can be
understood as the act used by the speakers as
an attempt to commit themselves to future
actions. It encompasses the act of promising,
offering, and volunteering.
3. Directive: A directive speech act can be
defined as the act which attempts to get the
hearer to perform some actions. Giving orders,
suggesting, requesting, commanding, and
forbidding are the examples of directives.
4. Expressive: An expressive speech act is an act
used to convey the feeling of the speaker. The
utterance includes the act of apologizing,
complementing, praising, and congratulating.
5. Declarative: A declarative speech act is under-
stood as an attempt to declare information. It
can be defined as the act which can change
the world in an immediate way. Declaring,
dismissing, approving, resigning, and baptiz-
ing are the examples of declaratives.
Apology Speech Act
An apology speech act exhibits a number of defining
characteristics and major traits. According to
Searle’s (1976) taxonomy, apologies fall under the
expressive category, whose function is to convey the
168 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
feelings and the emotions of the speakers. An
apology occurs between two participants, with one
participant expecting a compensation for the
violation committed by the other (Cohen and
Olshtain, 1983). When rendering an apology, the
speaker should be willing to humble himself/herself
to take the responsibility for the offense committed,
in order to maintain a harmonious relationship with
the interlocutor (Chaemsaithong, 2009). Thus,
apology plays a crucial role in communication as a
remedial speech act.
Regarding its nature as an attempt of
rectifying situation, apology has been defined by
experts coming from various field of study. A
frequently-cited definition is probably that of
Olshtain (1989). She defines an apology as “a speech
act which intends to provide support for the hearer
who is mal-affected by a violation” (1989, p. 156). In
the words of Cody and McLaughlin (1987), apology
is defined as a verbal act that attempts to explain the
wrongful behavior so that it becomes acceptable.
Bergman and Kasper (1993, p. 82) defines an
apology as “compensatory action to an offense in
the doing of which S was casually involved and
which is costly to H”. These concepts are in line
with Goffman’s (1971), who views apology as
remedial interchanges which serve to re-establish
social harmony.
The time reference of apology exchanges has
also become the subject of discussion among
researchers. For Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984, p.
206), apology generally refers to post-event act.
Interestingly, Kador (2009, p. 132) additionally
postulates pre-event time reference with the likes of
pre-emptive apologetic remarks, which he refers to
as “damage control before the victim is aware of the
offense”. Given this understanding, an apology
exchange may occur either in the time prior to the
committing of the potential offense or after the
victim’s recognition of the offense.
In addition to the definitions of apology, there
are numerous classifications of apology strategies.
One of the most recognized classification schemes is
provided by the seminal work of Olshtain and
Cohen (1983). Olshtain and Cohen (1983, p. 22)
viewed that an apology can be realized through five
semantic formulae, which are: (1) an expression of
an apology, (2) an explanation or account of the
situation, (3) an acknowledgement of responsibility,
(4) an offer of repair, and (5) a promise of
forbearance. Another even more contributive
taxonomy is that of Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s
(1984), who based their model on Olshtain and
Cohen’s (1983). Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s (1984)
taxonomy is quite similar to the classification model
of Olshtain and Cohen (1983) in many aspects.
However, the strategies within the model can be
used either by themselves, or even in any
combination. To distinguish the performance of
each apology, Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984, p.
206) reorganize the strategies based on the level of
directness, which will be elaborated in detail below.
1. Direct Realization (Direct Apology)
According to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984), a
direct realization of an apology can be done through
explicit Illocutionary Force Indicating Device
(IFID), which employs a formulaic expression of
regret and apology. Illocutionary Force Indicating
Device is considered the primary direct remedial
moves in Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s (1984)
taxonomy. The strategy can be characterized by the
use of performative verbs such as: (be) sorry,
apologize, excuse, regret, forgive, and pardon. In
other words, IFID incorporates routinized and
formulaic expressions of apology, which are used as
the primary means of signalling regret for the
violation committed (Blum-Kulka and Olshtain,
1984).
2. Indirect Realization (Indirect Apology)
According to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984, p.
207), the general procedure for coding other
apology strategies, aside from explicit IFID, is based
upon these series of questions: “(a) does it contain
an explanation? (b) does it express S's responsibility?
(c) does it convey an offer of repair? or (d) does it
contain a promise of forbearance?”. Utterances that
affirmatively conform to any of these criteria would
then be regarded as the indirect realization of
apology. Thus, this potential range of apologies
would be recognized as an explanation or account of
cause, an accepting the responsibility, an offer of
repair, and a promise of forbearance. The following
is the elaborated details of indirect apology
strategies.
a. Explanation or Account of Situation

The performing of this strategy is inherently
dependent on situations and varies according to the
context. According to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain
(1984), the strategy is used when the speaker
intends to compensate the violation resulting from
any external mitigating circumstances, over which
the speaker does not have any control. Such
explanation to the offense can be either explicitly-
related or implicitly-related (Blum Kulka and
Olshtain, 1984 p. 208). For instance, the speaker is
unable to attend the meeting held in his/her office
on time. The speaker then explains that “I had a
problem this morning. The taxi was late”. Thus, the
expression “The taxi was late” shows explicit
relation to the offense, whereas the expression “I
had a problem this morning” indicates implicit
relation.
b. Accepting the Responsibility
The strategy is used as an attempt to placate the
hearer by the accepting the responsibility for the
offense, which creates the need to apologize (Blum-
Kulka and Olshtain, 1984). In the strategy, the
speaker has to acknowledge that the offense is face-
threatening to him/her, so that he/she will accept
the blame and takes the responsibility in order to
appease the hearer (Blum-Kulka and Olshtain,
1984).
c. Offer of Repair
In performing the strategy, the speaker offers a way
to repair the offense. This formula occurs only in
certain contexts, where the speaker acknowledges
that the damage and inconvenience which affect the
hearer can be compensated for (Blum-Kulka and
Olshtain, 1984). Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984)
stated that the strategy can be realized through
either specified act of repair or general/unspecified
act of repair. For instance, the speaker accidentally
rams his/her motorbike into a stationary car
belonging to one of the neighbors. The speaker may
respond to this situation by offering specified repair
to the hearer, using the expression “I’ll pay for the
damage”. The expression shows that the speaker
acknowledges the damage that he/she has inflicted,
and thus he/she willingly pays for it. On the other
hand, the speaker is also able to respond to the
situation by offering unspecified act of repair, using
the expression “I’ll see what I can do”. By using this
utterance, the speaker intends to repair the damage.
P. A. Maulana & T. D. Hardjanto | Apologizing | 169
However, it indicates that the repair for the damage
inflicted is still unspecified, as it is still unclear what
kind of repair the speaker will offer.
d. Promise of Forbearance
Promise of Forbearance, besides Offer of Repair, is a
strategy that also relates to future acts. The strategy
expects the speaker to behave in a consistent
manner, not to repeat the offense for which he/she
apologizes (Owen, 1983). The speaker can either
promise not to do the same violation again in the
future or promise to improve their behavior in a
number of ways (Trosborg, 1995). By using the
strategy, the speaker also admits the responsibility
without necessarily stating it explicitly (Blum-Kulka
and Olshtain, 1984). For instance, the speaker
forgets to bring the book he borrowed from the
hearer. The speaker then implicitly admits that
he/she is responsible for the offense and promises
not to repeat it again, by saying “I promise I won’t
do that again”. The expression shows that the
speaker will improve his/her behavior by promising
that he/she “won’t do that again”.
METHODS
As the primary data for the research are apology
utterances transcribed from the subtitles of the
series, we need to understand the definition of
utterance. An utterance can be defined as any
stretch of talk by one person on a special occasion
that involves a sequence of sentences, single phrase,
or even a single word (Hurford, Hearsey, & Smith,
2007, p. 16). Several steps had been taken as the
procedure of collecting the apology utterances. In
more general terms, the series was observed in
chronological order, starting from the first episode
in the first season (Wolferton Splash) until the
twentieth episode (Mystery Man) in the second
season, to obtain the proper contextual information,
which contributed greatly to the analyzing process,
as well as to avoid any possible misinterpretation.
The viewing process would involve careful listening
to the utterances spoken by the characters and
reading along of the subtitles at the same time. If
the subtitles were different from the audio
recordings, corrections for the subtitles were made
accordingly to equate with the audio recordings.
170 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
The audio recordings were significantly clear to
listen to and therefore the viewing process rarely
came across such difficulties. In the next step, when
the possible apology expressions appeared, the
episode was paused and the expressions as well as
their contextual information were noted down. The
information included the character uttering the
expression, additional contextual information, as
well as the time in which the expression appeared
in the movie. The time was marked from the start
until the end of the dialogue.
In analyzing the data, the research
incorporated careful classifying of the chosen
utterances into the category of apology strategies by
the seminal work of Blum-Kulka and Olshtain
(1984). The model was adopted because of its use in
a variety of observations concerning apology
strategies. This model was also universally more
applicable, due to its flexibility to be used in many
languages. Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984) give a
comprehensive list of strategies that contains
reference to apology, whose basis of the
categorization is predominantly characterized by
different level of directness. Generally, as stated by
Blum Kulka and Olshtain (1984), apology strategies
are classified into two major types: direct apology
and indirect apology. These strategies were
categorized as follows:
1. Direct Apology, which covers direct and
explicit statements of apology. This level of
apology includes only the Illocutionary Force
Indicating Device (IFID) (e.g. I apologize or I
am sorry).
2. Indirect Apology, which covers several
indirect statements of remorse: (a) Accepting
the responsibility, which includes the stating
of remorse by accepting the responsibility for
the offense committed (e.g. It was my fault).
(b) Explanation of situation, which is
characterized by the explanations of any
external mitigating circumstances related to
the offense (e.g. The traffic was terrible). (c)
Offer of repair, which includes the stating of
remorse by offering a way to repair the
offense (e.g. I’ll pay for the damage). (d)
Promise of forbearance, which contains
pledge not to commit the same offense in the
future (e.g. I will never do that again).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This section specifically presents the results from
the identification and the classification of apology
strategies occurring in all of the 20 episodes of The
Crown. The apologies are classified based on the
taxonomy proposed by Blum-Kulka and Olshtain
(1984), which consists of five different formulae.
The overall results reflect two general findings,
namely the types of strategies used by the characters
and the strategy that occurs most often in the whole
series.
Table 1. Frequency of Apology Strategies
in The Crown TV Series
No Apology Type N %
1. Direct Apology 33 73.4
2. Indirect Apology 12 26.6
Total 45 100.0
Through the process of identification and
classification, a total of 45 apology strategies were
found. From the overall results, a great disparity
between the frequencies of direct strategies and
indirect strategies can be clearly noticed. As
displayed on Table 1, direct apologies, which consist
of self-contained IFID expressions and combinations
of IFID and other intensifying strategies, occur far
more frequently in the series than indirect
apologies. Constituting up to 73.4 percent in total,
direct apology is produced 33 times, 27(60%) of
which are self-contained IFID expressions while the
remaining 6 (13.4%) are combinations involving
IFID and other intensifiers. The total percentage of
the latter is registered by varying forms of
combination, ranging from 2 IFID + Explanation of
Situation (4.5%), 1 IFID + Accepting the
Responsibility (2.2%), 1 IFID + Offer of Repair
(2.2%), and 2 Explanation of Situation + IFID
(4.5%). On the other hand, the figures reveal that
indirect apologies are used less frequently in the
series with only 12 occurrences, or 26.6% in total.
Explanation of Situation (ES), which makes up half
of the total percentage (13.3%), is the most
frequently used indirect apology with 6
occurrences. The strategy is then followed by Offer
of Repair (OR), which is employed two times in the

series (4.5%). Other self-contained expressions of
indirect apology, such as Accepting the
Responsibility (AR) and Promise of Forbearance
(PF), as well as two combinations, namely ES + OR
and AR + OR, each occurs once and accounts for
2.2%. Therefore, direct/explicit apologies are more
preferred by the characters in the series. The
following paragraphs provide a detailed discussion
of each of the strategies.
Direct Apologies
Direct apologies are the most commonly used
strategy in the series with a total of 33 occurrences
(73.4%). In regard to the frequency of realization,
self-contained IFID expressions are employed more
frequently (27 times) than combinations of IFID and
other intensifying strategies (6 times).
Illocutionary Force Indicating Device
The characters in The Crown TV series generally
employ self-contained IFID strategies as a means to
express apologies, as proven by their total
percentage (60%). However, it is quite expectable to
see the frequent production of IFIDs considering
the characters’ emphasis on the sincerity of the
apology in situations where they commit offenses to
others. In the series, the production of self-
contained IFIDs can be reflected by the use of
formulaic expressions such as “sorry”, “apologize”,
“regret”, “forgive”, and “excuse”. From the
investigated and identified IFIDs, “sorry” is the most
commonly used expression, featuring in the
majority of the IFIDs. In order to show the
production of self-contained IFID strategies in the
series, an example is presented below.
(1) 00:30:01 →00:30:06 TC01.E08.IFID (SD-P=)
Context: The royal couple is getting ready for an
event in Jamaica. Philip asks why Elizabeth looks a
bit upset. Elizabeth then hands her husband a
newspaper, with Margaret on the front page. Earlier
that night Margaret made an adventurous move on
her welcoming speech for the ambassadors in place
of the Queen. Elizabeth is a bit upset yet jealous of
her sister getting the spotlight. She then talks in
quite rude tone to Philip. Philip reckons that his
P. A. Maulana & T. D. Hardjanto | Apologizing | 171
wife needs to calm down, saying that it is a bit
unusual of her to act and say things in such manner.
Philip: That’s unlike you.
Elizabeth: I am sorry.
The example above reflects the production of
self-contained IFID strategy. The expression “I am
sorry” refers to the explicit use of IFID. In the
situation, Elizabeth talks in quite rude tone to her
husband, Philip. The way Elizabeth talks really
offends Philip, who as a husband demands respect
from his own wife. Even though issues from
external factors play a role in affecting Elizabeth’s
talking tone, such action is not acceptable under
any circumstances. The recognition of the need to
apologize is triggered by the expression “That’s
unlike you”. Elizabeth realizes greatly the cost
resulting from the offense, and thus decides to
apologize. To show her profound regret and
apologetic stance, she expresses a direct IFID
apology. Since there are no other succeeding
apologetic statements, the apology is therefore
considered a self-contained expression.
Combinations of IFID and Other Intensifying
Strategies
Combinations differ in terms of linguistic
realization, as they consist of more than one apology
formula. Out of the 33 IFID strategies found, there
are only 6 combinations of IFID and other
intensifiers, accounting for 13.4%. The total
percentage and frequency suggest the occasional
production of the strategy in the series. The
realization of IFID combinations in the series
generally begins with the production of an IFID
followed by other indirect formulae as intensifiers,
as can be seen from the realization of IFID + ES (2),
IFID + AR (1), and IFID + OR (1). Interestingly,
however, an IFID combination with inverted
realization was also found, as proven by the
production of ES + IFID which occurs 2 times.
Another worth-mentioning finding is the general
formation demonstrated by the realization, as each
discovered set of combination contains only two
apology formulae. An illustration of IFID strategy as
combination is discussed in the following
paragraph.
172 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
(2) 00:03:17→00:03:31TC01.E06.IFID + ES
(SD-P>)
Context: At the BBC Office, Bill, a content writer
asks a permission to put a news lead about the royal
family on the front page. The report will cover the
forbidden relationship between Princess Margaret
and Philip Townsend, a comptroller of Royal
family. The Princess has been spotted leaving the
coronation, only to indulge herself in a romantic
affair with her comptroller. It becomes a tradition
within the royal family that any member, under any
circumstances, shall not have a relationship with a
divorcee whose ex-partner is still alive. In this case,
Philip is a divorcee and his former wife is still alive.
Bill is eager to write and decide to ask if the news
can be put on the front page. The chief editor,
however, refuses to approve, since he considers the
topic trivial.
Bill: Picking fluff off a man's jacket that's a gesture
as intimate as a kiss, more intimate, since it
suggests the kiss has already happened.
Chief Editor: No. I'm sorry, Bill. I can't hold the
front page for a bit of fluff.
The production of the combination apology
presented above contains two different formulae,
namely IFID and ES. The combination begins with
the expression “No. I am sorry, Bill”, which
represents direct IFID apology. The succeeding
expression can be acknowledged as the intensifier,
which reflects an Explanation of Situation (ES)
strategy. Example (2) shows that not all apologies
are produced after the recognition of an offense.
The apology is made prior to the potential offense,
which is rejecting an offer. Since the chief editor is
going to decline the potential headline, he responds
by sincerely apologizing in advance, using the
formulaic expression “sorry”. The explanation “I
can't hold the front page for a bit of fluff” suggests
an explicit relation to the offense, because the trivial
nature of “picking fluff off a man’s jacket” does not
meet the desirable criteria of a good headline for the
Chief Editor accordingly.
Indirect Apologies
Generally speaking, indirect apologies occurred less
frequently with only 12 cases observed (26.6%). The
infrequent use of the strategy is linked with the
characters’ preference to express “routinized”
apologies, which causally can be equated with the
inclination towards direct apology strategies. From a
total of 12 instances, Explanation of Situation (ES) is
employed most frequently with 6 occurrences,
constituting half of the total percentage (13.4%).
Subsequently, Offer of Repair constitutes the second
highest frequency with 2 instances (4.5%).
Accepting the Responsibility (AR) and Promise of
Forbearance (PF) are observed only in 1 situation
each (2.2%). Similar frequency and percentage are
also reflected in the combinations of ES + OR and
AR + OR with 1 production each (2.2%).
Explanation of Situation
The realization of the strategy can be observed
when the speaker provides an explanation or
account to the offense. As has been mentioned
earlier, however, not all explanation can be
analyzed as Explanation of Situation (ES) strategy.
According to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984, p.
208), the explanations should be either explicitly-
related or implicitly-related to the offense
committed. To show the realization of explicitly-
related ES strategy, below is an example.
(3) 00:16:55→00:17:04TC01.E04.ES (SD+P<)
Context: The scene shows heavy smog affecting all
over the country in early morning. Elizabeth is still
in her office not aware of the hazard. However, she
has made an appointment to see her grandmother,
so she asks a royal chauffeur to take her there. The
chauffeur surely refuses the request and politely
explains the current situation out there that makes
it impossible to drive.
Royal Chauffeur: I am afraid the visibility is too
poor to drive, Ma’am. It’s been judged too
hazardous.
Elizabeth: It’s what? 200 yard?
The expression produced by the royal
chauffeur contains a reference to the explanation
strategy that shows explicit relation to the offense.
In the situation, Elizabeth requests the chauffeur to
drive her to Queen Mary’s house for an
appointment. However, the chauffeur surely rejects
the request, judging from the current condition of

the streets outside which are heavily affected by the
smog. The refusal of the request is made specifically
for the well-being of the Queen, who is still
unaware of the danger. To reduce the impact of the
potential offense, the chauffeur provides an account
that “The visibility is too poor to drive” and “It’s
been judged too hazardous”, which show explicit
cause of the refusal. The explanation also helps
convey the chauffeur’s regretful and apologetic
stance, even though it does not contain direct
apology expression. Hence, the expression above is
best identified as Explanation of Situation strategy.
Offer of Repair
Despite having occurred in only two cases, Offer of
Repair constitutes the second highest frequency
among the category of indirect apology strategies.
The realization of the strategy contains an
announcement of reparation for the damage
inflicted. Essentially, the speaker attempts to mend
and ease the suffering of the affected in two
different ways, namely by specified reparation and
unspecified reparation. The former is revealed
through mentioning specifically the form of repair
to the damage, while the latter is done by stating
the type of reparation in more general way. Below
is an example.
(4) 00:31:26→00:31.52TC02.E03.OR (SD-P<)
Context: Things just got worse back in the UK. The
media coverage on Parkers’ divorce has just gotten
out of control. The news itself has reached the
Buckingham Palace, and in indirect manner, will
affect Philip and Elizabeth’s royal marriage. Philip
blames Mike, for he is the root of all of these
problems. Mike attempts to console Philip by
offering his resignation as Philip’s private secretary
if the news keeps circulating.
Philip Mountbatten: I've had my own telegram
from London. I hope you're not going to make
this next step difficult for me.
Mike Parker: No. You have my resignation the first
thing.
The highlighted expression above can be
identified as specified Offer of Repair strategy. The
resignation is offered as an attempt to console Philip
and repair the damage. From the observation and
P. A. Maulana & T. D. Hardjanto | Apologizing | 173
analysis of the context and the expression, Mike has
violated the rules of the royal tour for
communicating with Baron Nahum through letters
about the misconduct they have done, including
committing adultery. Mike’s wife somehow finds
out and decides to initiate a divorce proceeding. The
news circulates quickly, reaching Buckingham
Palace and eventually gets back to Philip and Mike.
The infringement of the rules can be perceived as an
offense to Philip, who bears a responsibility over
everything that happens within the royal tour.
Mike, who consciously realizes the great cost
resulted from the violation, offers specifically his
resignation as Philip’s private secretary to mend the
damage.
Accepting the Responsibility
The production of Accepting the Responsibility is
extremely rare in the series. From 45 analyzed
apology cases, the strategy occurs only in 1 situation
where the issuing of Denial of Fault is discovered.
The investigation finds no match for other two
subcategories (Explicit Self-Blame and Expressing
Trait of Self-Deficiency). An example is shown
below.
(5) 00:11:09→00:11:37TC01.E06.AR (SD-P=)
Context: Philip is having a quality time lunching
together with his male friends in Soho. There, he
talks about women and sex with the other guys.
After having a lunch together, Philip gets home a
little bit drunk. He tells the royal servants jokingly
not to mention to his wife that he’s been out with
the boys drinking and talking about girls. Elizabeth,
who’s been watching Philip stealthily from the
windows, confronts him about his improper
behavior as a part of royal family.
Philip: With just men
Elizabeth: Talking about women
Philip: No. Talking about Egypt if you must know
and the revolution that's just taken place
there. Along with the unrest in Croatia,
Albania, Montenegro, Yugoslavia, Hungary,
Italy. Please take note. Yes, a little bit about
the fairer sex over coffee and the odd brandy.
What do you expect? It's a gentlemen's lunch
club.
174 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
The example above reflects a production of
Denial of Fault, a subcategory under the major
Accepting the Responsibility strategy. Deustcmann
(2003) states that the subcategory involves partial or
total rejection to apologize (p. 83). The rejection to
apologize is reflected by the expression “What do
you expect? It’s a gentlemen’s lunch club”, which
appears to indicate no remorse for the hearer.
However, the expression that precedes the strategy
shows that Philip takes responsibility for the
mistake, since he admits that he talks “a little bit
about the fairer sex over coffee and the odd
brandy”. Interestingly, the nature of the subformula
which is conflicting with the characteristics of
typical apology has become the subject of reviews
for many linguists. This particular strategy has been
criticized and questioned specifically by Meier
(1998), who points out the lack of consistency
within CCSARP taxonomy when comparing
findings with other studies (p. 222). However, as the
present research relies primarily on CCSARP’s
coding scheme, the investigation proceeds to
identify the highlighted expression as an indirect
apology, specifically Accepting the Responsibility
(AR), as suggested by Blum-Kulka and Olshtain
(1984).
Promise of Forbearance
Out of the 45 apology strategies found, only
one production of Promise of Forbearance strategy
can be observed. This specific strategy contains a
reference to future improvement of the speaker’s
behavior and conveys a message that the same
offense will not be repeated in the future. Such
reparatory actions generally include future promises
made by the speaker as an attempt to maintain
harmony. The example below exhibits the key
attributes of the strategy.
(6) 00:22:54→00:23:14TC02.E07. PF (SD-P>)
Context: Margaret announces her marriage with
Tony to Elizabeth. Since Tony is a single man who
has never married before, Margaret wants her sister
assurance that this time there won’t be any
obstacles that prevent her from marrying Tony.
Elizabeth wants Margaret to forget everything in
the past, as she promises that she will not prevent
them from getting married.
Margaret: Be good enough to give me that assurance
again, nice and audibly, so we're both quite
clear.
Elizabeth: Margaret, I promise that I will never do
anything to block any marriage of yours ever
again.
Margaret: Thank you.
The highlighted expression above conforms
fully with the characteristics of PF strategy, as it
contains a promise for not committing the same
mistake in the future. The expression “I promise
that I will never do anything to block any marriage
of yours ever again” is a confirmatory evidence for
classifying the strategy as such. In the context
earlier, Elizabeth made some mistakes in the past
for interfering Margaret’s planned marriage. Even
though Elizabeth had the support from the
government and the Church, Margaret could not
tolerate such intervention, because earlier in the
story Elizabeth had promised that Margaret could
marry Peter. However, Margaret’s plan disinte-
grated since Elizabeth broke her own words by
banning the marriage. Contemplating retrospective-
ly, Margaret thus wants Elizabeth’s reassurance that
she can now be allowed to marry Tony, a single
man who has never married anyone before.
Elizabeth, who realizes her past mistakes, makes a
remedial promise that she will not interfere in
Margaret’s marriage again. The promise can convey
two potential hints, the first being the assurance not
to do the same mistake again, as suggested by “I will
never do anything to block any marriage of yours
ever again”. The second possible hint is the
improvement of speaker’s behavior, which can be
realized if Elizabeth fulfills her promise.
Combinations of Indirect Apology Strategies
The rare use of additional intensifiers to
indirect apologies results in the low frequency of
the strategy. This particular strategy only occurs in
two instances (4.5%), all of which involves the
performing of Offer of Repair (OR) as intensifying
devices, as seen in the realization of ES + OR and
AR + OR. Interestingly, it can be taken into account
that the combinations above feature realization
formation similar to that of direct apology
combinations, as they contain only two formulae for
each production.

The consistent occurrence of OR strategy as
intensifiers within the two instances is a matter
worthy of further investigation. Considering the
potential damage resulting from the offense in the
observed cases, the preference to minimize the
damage apologetically by reparatory actions appears
justifiable. The following examples illustrate the
use of such combinations.
(7) 00:07:43 →00:07:49TC02.E07. ES + OR
(SD-P=)
Context: Margaret is visiting Antony’s gallery
because the couple will have an appointment with
the journalists. In a sad tone, Margaret says that his
former lover Peter Townsend is going to marry
someone in Brussels. This really puts Margaret in
tears, because she and Peter have pledged that if
they fail to marry each other, they won’t marry
someone else. Hearing this, Antony tries to appease
Margaret, saying that she will do just fine. In light
of this soothing moment, Margaret proposes Antony
to marry her. Antony doesn’t say a word and
remains silent. Margaret feels offended, because
Antony cannot just ignore her proposal since she
really meant it. He then explains that they both will
be late for the exhibition if they keep talking and to
repair the offense, Antony then promises to discuss
it another time.
Princess Margaret: You can't just leave it there.
Antony Armstrong-Jones: Darling, we're half an
hour late as it is.
Princess Margaret: I've just effectively proposed.
Antony Armstrong-Jones: We can discuss this in
another time.
Two different formulae are employed in
Antony’s attempt to placate Margaret. The
consolation is first done through the issuing of ES
strategy. In the context, Margaret is heavily affected
after hearing that her former lover Peter will marry
someone in Brussels. It evokes the nurturing side of
Tony, who immediately offers his sympathy to
Margaret. In light of this delightful moment,
Margaret senses an opportunity to make a marriage
proposal to Tony, who is apparently still busy with
his stuff. However, Margaret views this differently,
as she thinks that Tony is ignoring her. The
ignoring of her proposal hurts Margaret even more
P. A. Maulana & T. D. Hardjanto | Apologizing | 175
and thus elicits a response “You can’t just leave it
there”. Tony acknowledges her partner’s
disappointment and tries to calm her down by
providing an account that he has been busy
preparing the exhibition. The expression “Darling,
we're half an hour late as it is” explains implicitly
the cause why he remains silent. Since Tony does
not intend to hurt Margaret in any way, he offers to
talk about it in another time, as reflected by the
expression “We can discuss this in another time”.
The offer can be seen as a form of reparation and
thus is identified as OR, for Tony promises
specifically to talk about the proposal seriously,
which he hopes can really mend the damage.
(8) 00:13:18 →00:13:35TC02.E10. AR + OR
(SD+P<)
Context: John Profumo’s affair with Christine
Keeler has put British government in turmoil.
Harold Macmillan, the Prime Minister, feels like he
is to blame for this embarrassing scandal. He thinks
that as the Head of the Government, he has failed to
establish order within the institutions he leads.
Consequently, he asks for an audience with
Elizabeth to talk about that urgent matter. He
accepts the responsibility and to save his face, he
offers his resignation in immediate effect.
Elizabeth: This dentist, Mr. Ward, clearly has a lot
to answer for.
Harold Macmillan: Osteopath, ma'am.
Elizabeth: Oh, well, he seems to have orchestrated
it all.
Harold Macmillan: He may have orchestrated it, but
read the newspapers, you'd think it's all my
fault. And for that reason, I think it's only
right that I offer you my resignation.
Elizabeth: What?
Another instance of OR production as an
intensifier can be observed in the combination
above. Preceding the formula is an expression of
AR, which acts as the primary apologetic move. The
scale of the offense which has spread nationwide is
the key factor why the production of OR is
discovered here. The Prime Minister is actually
aware of the affair but he decides to prevent it from
circulating in mass media. However, journalists are
176 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
finally able to uncover the truth and put pressure on
Harold. Harold, as the Head of the Government,
bears direct responsibility to the Queen for any
misconduct within his institutions. Thus, as a
remedial move to the perceived ‘offense’ he has
committed to the people of the country, he
patriotically takes the blame by saying “But read the
newspapers, you'd think it's all my fault” (Explicit
self-blame). The apologetic remark is intensified by
the offering of his resignation in immediate effect,
as reflected from the expression “And for that
reason, I think it's only right that I offer you my
resignation”. The resignation explicitly represents
Harold’s reparatory actions as a payout for the
damage, a typical attribute of specified OR strategy.
CONCLUSION
The present research has been conducted to
identify and classify the apology strategies produced
in The Crown with the taxonomy provided by
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984). The research has
successfully identified and classified 45 apology
utterances which have been discovered in two
seasons of the series. The results have shown that
most of the characters opt for direct apologies as the
primary means of showing regret and maintaining
harmony. From a total of 45 apologies found, 33
(73.4%) are classified as direct realizations (27 as
standalone IFIDs and 6 other as IFID combinations).
This particular finding may be explained in the
words of Slavianova (2012), who argues that the
prevalence of direct apologies in British culture is
partly due to the fact that speakers tend to avoid the
intrusion of personal privacy as a means of showing
politeness. Therefore, in circumstances where the
invasion of privacy is inevitable, which includes the
committing of an offense, speakers are more likely
to offer ‘formulaic’ direct apologies (Slavianova,
2012). Meanwhile, indirect apology realizations are
relatively rare with only 12 occurrences in total. ES
strategy is found to be the most commonly used
indirect strategy with 6 instances, constituting
13.3%.
With the accomplishment of the present
research, investigating apologies from other
unscripted sources for future studies is highly-
recommended. The realization of apology in debates
or telephone conversations, for instance, can
contribute to new findings as to how apologies are
offered in naturally-occurring speech. Since people
know very little about apology realizations in
natural conditions, future studies therefore should
focus on investigating this particular area.
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Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 178-189

Conceptual Metaphors in Paramore’s After Laughter Album

Stephanie Melinda Pramudita, Sharifah Hanidar*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: sharifah@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This research aims to classify the conceptual metaphors in Paramore’s After Laughter (2017) album.
The data for the research were taken from 11 songs in the album After Laughter. The data were
analyzed using Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) theory of conceptual metaphor. From the 11 songs, 47
data were identified containing conceptual metaphors. Overall, the data mostly consist of
orientational metaphors. There were 37 data containing orientational metaphors, which are used by
the songwriters to convey to their listeners that they had experienced ups and downs in their lives.
Eight structural metaphors were used to deliver the message that life is full of challenges and
struggle. However, it also conveys a lesson of the most genuine forgiveness. Only 2 data containing
ontological metaphors were found. The conceptual metaphors depict the devastation in their lives, as
it is tangible through human imagination and has human characteristics. By using conceptual
metaphors in the song lyrics, the songwriters enable the listeners to acknowledge the message, as
well as the story that they meant to convey.

Keywords: conceptual metaphors, experiences, messages, songs.

September 2018) who was a songwriter for his band

INTRODUCTION
A lyric can be an expression of certain feelings such
as happiness, loneliness, depression, and
hopelessness. It is a strong component in any kind
of songs. The lyrics are even more enjoyable if they
are relatable to the listeners’ current state of mind.
Pettijon and Sacco (2009) argue that the
cooperativeness between words and songs are surely
connected in expressing emotions, even opinions,
and also attitude (p. 297).
Songwriters write lyrics based on what they
want to share, which connects with people’s
feelings. To produce lyrics that would appeal to
more listeners, songwriters use figurative language.
Bartholomew Heeren (personal communication,
named Cyprus, agrees that figurative language is the
way to colorize the lyrics and indirectly show the
message that the songwriters intend to say to the
listeners. There are many types of figurative
language used by songwriters, such as simile,
hyperbole, personification, irony, and metaphor.
Metaphors are used in daily communication,
and it is in line with human’s thought and reasoning
(Kövecses, 2010, p. 4). Metaphors, one of the
popular figurative forms, are also used in song lyrics.
Johansson (2016) claims that metaphor is used by
many songwriters to depict the narrative of the
lyrics that they intend to write (p. 5). Kövecses
(2010) highlights metaphor as an engagement of
similarities in two entities that are compared and

178 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

 S. M. Pramudita & S. Hanidar | Conceptual Metaphors | 179
identified, and not merely as a linguistic
phenomenon and artistic feature. In order to
understand the conscious and deliberate use of
metaphors, people should be able to interpret the
underlying meanings (p. 4).
Communicating feelings by using metaphor-
ical expressions can be seen in Paramore’s latest
album. Paramore is an American pop-punk band
formed in 2004 in their hometown in Nashville,
Tennessee. The band consists of three members,
Hayley Williams, the lead vocalist, Taylor York, the
guitarist, and Zac Farro, the drummer. After four
years of waiting, finally, their fifth album, After
Laughter, was released on May 12, 2017. Almost all
the lyrics in the album were written by the
members of the band based on their feeling. In
2010, the band lost the Farro brothers, and in 2017
Zac finally joined the band again, and in 2015 the
bassist, Jeremy Davis left the band. Those bitter
moments led the remaining members, Williams and
York, to produce lyrics that depict their pessimism,
guilt, and anxiety. It is also a tribute to their friend,
Zac, who joined the band again.
From the album, eleven out of twelve songs,
which are based on the depiction of the band
members’ depression and life devastation, are
chosen. Those feelings are poured into the lyrics of
their songs; Hard Times, Rose-Colored Boy, Told
You So, Forgiveness, Fake Happy, 26, Pool,
Grudges, Caught in the Middle, Idle Worship, and
Tell Me How. The song that is not analyzed is No
Friend because it is not written by the members of
Paramore. It was written by Aaron Weiss, the lead-
singer of MewithoutYou.
The present research investigates the use of
conceptual metaphors in the lyrics and how the
songwriters deliver the meaning that they intend to
express. All of the lyrics in the album are not only
relatable to the band members, but also to their
listeners.
LITERATURE REVIEW
There have been numerous researches on
metaphor in recent years. In 2017, an
undergraduate thesis entitled Metaphors Found in
Adhitia Sofyan’s Songs was written by Meidia Rea
Smithiana, an English Department student of
Universitas Gadjah Mada. She used the theory of
conceptual metaphor proposed by Lakoff and
Johnson to analyze eight songs from Adhitia
Sofyan’s four different albums.
In the same year, Desti Yuwastina (2017), also
a student of the English Department of Universitas
Gadjah Mada, wrote an undergraduate thesis
entitled Metaphor in the Primetime Television U.S.
Presidential Debates in 2015. The metaphors found
in the political debate were identified and classified
into two categories: the structural and orientational
metaphor. Besides applying both concepts, the
metaphors used in the debates were also analyzed
based on cultural coherence.
In 2014, Dewinta Mentari, who is also from
the English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada,
analyzed metaphors used in Abraham Lincoln’s
speech by applying Andrew Goatly’s theory in her
undergraduate thesis entitled Metaphors in
Abraham Lincoln’s Speeches on the National Unity,
Slavery, and the Equality of Men. The research
examines five speeches of Abraham Lincoln, during
the year 1854-1865.
There is also a related research from Umeå
University, Sweden, entitled Conceptual Metaphor
in Lyrics by Leonard Cohen written by Anna
Johansson (2016). The songs were taken from the
album Ten New Songs (2001); A Thousand Kissed
Deep, Here It Is, and Boogie Street. The research
focuses on the conceptual metaphor, by applying
Lakoff and Johnson’s theory, especially the source
domain and target domain that is implied in the
lyrics.
Lastly, in 2011, Laima Petruškevičiūtė, a
student of Šiauliai University, Lithuania, wrote a
bachelor thesis on Conceptual Metaphor of Love in
Poetry. The poems are taken from influential poets
such as Hartley Coleridge, Robert Burns, Elizabeth
Barrett Browning, Edgar Allan Poe, Christina
Rossetti, and many more. The research aims at
analyzing the source and target domain of the
poems about love.
This paper presents the same subject that is
conceptual metaphors. However, the data source is
different from the previous researches. The lyrics
are written by the three members of Paramore, who
are native speakers of English. This research only
180 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
focuses on one album, After Laughter (Paramore,
2017), which is mainly about depression, anxiety,
and other personal problems that the members
experienced.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theory used to analyze the use of conceptual
metaphors in the songs is the conceptual metaphor
theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in
their book Metaphors We Live By. According to
them, a conceptual metaphor is an aspect of a
systematic form. One example is TIME IS MONEY.
Time and money are countable. People can spend
and pay for them. They also have value. There is a
connection between two concepts of the indefinite
measurement (p. 7).
In a conceptual metaphor, there are two
conceptual domains: source domain and target
domain. The source domain is the one that depicts
the metaphorical expression to be understood for
the other domain. The target domain, meanwhile, is
the domain that is attempted to be understood from
the use of the source domain. It can be said that the
source domain is concrete, while the target domain
is abstract. An example of this is: LOVE IS A
JOURNEY. Therefore, JOURNEY is the source
domain because there is only one meaning in the
word, that is the act of traveling. While for LOVE,
as the target domain, contains more than one
concept in the word: it possibly means affection or
intimacy. The sentence means that love includes
sacrifice as in a long journey where the adventurers
often meet some obstacles. It leads to an
understanding that love has its dynamic motion as it
is on a journey.
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) classify the concept
of metaphor into three major types: structural,
orientational, and ontological metaphor. The
concept of structural metaphor is that it is
understood and expressed or presented in terms of
another concept. It is the type of metaphor that is
most commonly used. It structures the daily
activities of human beings and forms the way they
notice, think, and do (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 4).
For instance, THEORIES ARE BUILDINGS
(Kövecses, 2010, p. 34). Buildings cannot stand
without pedestals, and neither can theories.
Without their construction of explanations, theories
are meaningless.
Orientational metaphors deal with the spatial
orientation UP and DOWN as it is the part of our
physical environment and even culture (Lakoff &
Johnson, 1980, p. 15). It independently delivers the
consistency between the words and the meaning of
the metaphorical expressions (Lakoff & Johnson,
1980, p. 18). One example of an orientational
metaphor is HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN. The
statement describes the feeling when people are
happy; they would be energized and feel up all day
long. Meanwhile, it is the opposite when people are
sad. They feel powerless and helpless.
Ontological metaphors always involve human
sense in its usage. It deals with the rationality of
human experiences, a direct expression of mental
phenomena. For instance, THE MIND IS A
BRITTLE OBJECT. The concept of MIND has a
sense of a physical phenomenon, which possesses
boundaries in its surface, A BRITTLE OBJECT.
Ontological metaphors also include
personification in the concept (Lakoff & Johnson,
1980, p. 33). It expresses human motivations,
characteristics, and activities and uses human terms
in the metaphorical expressions. In the
sentence, Cancer finally caught up with him does
not literally mean that cancer can run and be in the
same position as him, but it means that he suffers
from cancer.
METHODS
The data were taken from lyrics in Paramore’s fifth
album After Laughter, which was released on May
12, 2017. There are 11 chosen songs. Hard Times,
Told You So, Forgiveness, Fake Happy, Caught in
the Middle, Idle Wordship, and Tell Me How were
written by Williams and York. Whereas Rose-
Colored Boy, Pool, and Grudges were written by the
three members of the band.
To collect the data, we listened to the songs
and read the lyrics thoroughly to understand the
meaning and context. Thereafter, the metaphors
found in all the songs were noted down based on
 S. M. Pramudita & S. Hanidar | Conceptual Metaphors | 181
the theory of metaphors from the book Metaphors
We Lived By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
(1980).
The analysis of the data was based on the
three types of metaphors proposed by Lakoff and
Johnson: structural, orientational, and ontological
metaphors. Firstly, the lyrics were classified
according to the relevance of the three types of
metaphors. Secondly, the data, which are phrases
and sentences containing metaphorical expressions,
were clarified based on the context. Here, the
number in brackets in each stanza refers to the data
that contain the conceptual metaphors. Lastly, the
meaning conveyed by the songwriters by using
metaphors were analyzed and qualitatively
explained.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 below presents the frequency of conceptual
metaphors found in Paramore’s After Laughter
album. The table shows that all three types of
conceptual metaphors are used: orientational,
structural and ontological. The use of orientational
metaphor in the album exceeds structural and
ontological metaphors with 37 occurrences
(78.72%). Ontological metaphor like structural
metaphor is less used in the album. There are only
seven occurrences (14.90%) of ontological
metaphor. The least used conceptual metaphor is
structural metaphor. It only comprises 3
occurrences (6.38%) of the data altogether.
Table 1. The frequency of conceptual metaphors in
Paramore’s After Laughter album
No. Metaphor Type Raw % with depression. She spent her days in bed and felt
1. Orientational 37 78.72
2. Structural 3 6.38
3. Ontological 7 14.90
Total 47 100.00
Orientational Metaphors
HAPPY IS UP
(1) And if I go out tonight dress up my fears
You think I look alright with these mascara tears
(2) See I’m gonna draw my lipstick wider than my
mouth
And if the lights are low they’ll never see me frown
(Fake Happy)
The song Fake Happy is about Williams’
dilemmas on how to hide sadness. Sadness hides in
many different masks (Quinn, 2018). This leads to
Data (1) and Data (2) which convey orientational
metaphor HAPPY IS UP (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980,
p. 15). Williams expresses her dilemmas in (1) dress
up my fears and in (2) I’m gonna draw my lipstick
wider than my mouth. Although she is insincere
about her feelings, by dressing up her fears, she tries
to present herself in the most impressive light as if
she is not afraid anymore. She also attempts to look
happy by putting on lipstick to hide her frowning
expression. She believes that by applying lipstick,
she can cover up her frowning mouth and people
will see her still as a happy person.
FINE IS UP
All that I want
(3) Is to wake up fine
Tell me that I’m alright
That I ain’t gonna die
All that I want
Is a hole in the ground
You can tell me when it’s alright
For me to come out
(Hard Times)
Example (3) found in the song Hard Times
relates to a psychology article entitled Anxiety vs.
Depression by Neuman (2012, par. 3) that says a
person with depression usually feels bad after they
wake up. In the past three years, Williams struggled
dead in her hopeless life (Frank, 2017).
Therefore, the metaphor in example (3) to
wake up fine connects with the orientational
metaphor FINE IS UP. The songwriters draw the
situation when they wake up. They want
everything to be fine because they usually wake up
and feel bad afterwards. From the concept FINE IS
UP, they also remind the listeners to keep trying
and be supportive of each other even if the situation
is hopeless.
182 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

ALIVE IS UP Why we had to waste so much time

(6) Well we just pick up, pick up, and start again
Walking around
Cause we can’t keep holding on to grudges
With my little raincloud
(Grudges)
Hangin over my head
And it ain’t coming down Williams explicitly reveals that the song,
Where do I go? Grudges, is a nostalgic song dedicated to Farro
Gimme some sort of sign (Beats 1, 2017), one of the members of the band,
(4) Hit me with lightning! who left the band and then joined it again. This
Maybe I’ll come alive song also depicts Farro’s feelings after rejoining the
(Hard Times) band. The orientational concept FORGIVENESS IS
UP in Data (6), “we just pick up, pick up and start
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
again,” means that they had problems in the band
Dictionary lightning means a flash, or several
and their friendship was almost wrecked. However,
flashes, or very bright light in the sky caused by
Farro’s brother supported his decision to rejoin the
electricity (“Lightning,” 2010). In (4) hit me with
band which gave him a new poise (Swift, 2017, par.
lightning! does not carry the literal meaning of
28). This is portrayed in the orientational metaphor
being struck by lightning but on the contrary it
FORGIVENESS IS UP in (6). They forgive each
means that she is so much alive and that the flash
other’s anger, and develop their friendship into the
lights up the darkness in her current pathetic life.
most sincere one, as seen in the phrase cause we
As a result, the metaphor in (4) hit me with
can’t keep holding on to grudges.
lightning! shows the orientational metaphor ALIVE
IS UP.
HOPE IS UP
OPTIMISM IS UP Hey baby I’m not your superhuman
And if that’s what you want
Reality will break your heart
I hate to let you down
Survival will not be the hardest part
(7) I got your hopes up
(5) It's keeping all your hopes alive
Now I got you hoping
When all the rest of you has died
That I’m gonna be the one to let you down
So let it break your heart
(Idle Worship)
(26)
Williams begs her fans not to see her as a
The metaphor in example (5) used in the song,
superhuman, but as an ordinary being in the song,
26 sums up Williams’ reflection in her statement to
Idle Worship. By explaining that she also has flaws,
Pollard (2017, par. 4) that she finally finds her path,
she hopes that her fans would not be disappointed.
instead of giving up. After some years of battling
Therefore, it is reflected through orientational
depression, Williams becomes more empathetic in
metaphor HOPE IS UP in (7), I got your hopes up.
talking about mental health with her friends, as
The orientational concept HOPE IS UP depicts her
well as her fans. In all her interviews, she always
fans who idolize her as a superhero, and they hope
encourages other people to battle hardships in life.
to become like her. However, Williams dislikes the
Thus, it’s keeping all your hopes alive can be
idea of her becoming a role model for her fans
classified as an orientational metaphor OPTIMISM
because her life is imperfect, for instance she lost
IS UP. Williams wants to remind her listeners
friends and suffered from depression.
although reality will break your heart keeping hope
alive is of importance in order to be able to endure
life, It is perseverance that keeps her hopes alive LIGHT IS UP
when she almost gives up. Remember how we used to like ourselves?
What little light that’s left, we need to keep it
FORGIVENESS IS UP sacred
Stop asking why
 S. M. Pramudita & S. Hanidar | Conceptual Metaphors | 183
I know that you’re afraid to let all the dark escape
you
(8) But we can let the light illuminate these
hopeless places
(Idle Worship)
The metaphor in (8), e can let the light
illuminate these hopeless places in the song Idle
Worship reveals that Williams used to project
herself as a heroine, consequently she understands
the feeling of being herself. She tries to cheer her
fans up by keeping up their potentials. LIGHT IS UP
in (8) shows that LIGHT provides hope, and they
need to keep it sacred. The LIGHT also illuminates
these hopeless places, which refers to hardships in
life as experienced by Williams.
SAD IS DOWN
Walking around
(9) With my little raincloud
Hangin over my head
And it ain’t coming down
Where do I go?
Gimme some sort of sign
Hit me with lightning!
Maybe I’ll come alive
(Hard Times)
The orientational metaphor SAD IS DOWN
(Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p.15) is found in the
song, Hard Times, which is about the world of
depression. The “I” refers to the front woman of
Paramore, Williams. The orientational concept is
found in (9), with my little raincloud. Williams uses
rain cloud as a symbol of depression. A cloud has a
variety of meanings in symbolization because it
changes its shape (Rosen, 2011), and it has the same
characteristics with depressed people, whose
behaviors change due to their mental causes
(“Depression,” 2018). In addition, rain cloud appears
before rain and it changes color from white to gray
(Castro, 2013). Gray symbolizes a moody situation
and results in a disturbing feeling (Bourn, 2010). It
is clear that the rain cloud in the song implies
depression, as it is described by the color and the
nature of a cloud. Thus, the rain cloud in Data (9)
indicates the use of orientational metaphor SAD IS
DOWN because the rain cloud follows her and it
heightens her feelings of depression.
FEAR IS DOWN
All that I want
Is to wake up fine
Tell me that I’m alright
That I ain’t gonna die
All that I want
(10) Is a hole in the ground
You can tell me when it’s alright
For me to come out
(Hard Times)
Depression is described in another way in (10)
found in the song Hard Times. According to Rubin
Khoddam in his article entitled “The Dark Deep
Hole of Depression” (2015, par. 6-8), ‘hole’ means
depression, which is related to the theme of the
song. The word hole has two different meanings;
living in depression and acknowledging depression.
The song conveys more of acknowledging
depression than living in depression because the
songwriters still do positive things such as
producing and writing songs to overcome their
depression. Williams also said that her condition is
called darkness instead of depression (101WKQX,
2017). By stating you can tell me when it’s alright,
for me to come out, the songwriters refer to you as
someone who helped Williams from her depression.
You refers to York, her songwriting companion
during her dark days battling with depression. The
metaphor in (10) connects with the orientational
metaphor FEAR IS DOWN. Williams needs support
because she is in FEAR. All she wants is a hole in
the ground because the hole is a place to hide her
depressed feeling.
PESSIMISM IS DOWN
Rose-colored boy
I hear you makin all that noise
About the world you want to see
And I’m so annoyed
(11) Cause I just killed off what was left of the
optimist in me
(Rose-colored boy)
The song, Rose-Colored Boy, speaks about a
mental condition when a person is feeling pressured
by the expectations of a lot of people, especially the
loved ones. Optimism is not always positive in some
conditions. For example, the speaker in the song,
who is in a state of depression, sees optimism as a
184 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
burden. It is revealed by the songwriters that a
smile does not always show happiness. It is hard to
hide depression, anxiety, and other mental state
while people only see from the outside and expect
the happiness itself (Paramore, 2018). According to
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, ‘rose-
colored’ is used to describe an idea or a way of
looking at a situation as being better or more
positive than it really is (Rose-coloured, 2010).It is
obvious in (11) that I is a pessimistic person and
rose-colored boy is an optimistic person. And so, the
orientational metaphor used is PESSIMISM
ISDOWN because the I has just killed off her/his
optimism, because she/he is annoyed by the rose-
colored boy. Thus, the I does not want to see the
perspective of the world from the optimistic
person’s eyes.
SURRENDER IS DOWN
There’s still a thread that runs from your body to
mine
And you can’t break what you don’t see
An invisible line
If I follow it down will we just be alright?
But it could take me all your life to learn to love
How I thought I could love someone
I haven’t even begun
(12)If it's all up to us we might as well give up
(Forgiveness)
The metaphor in (12) if it’s all up to us we
might as well give up used in the song Forgiveness
indicates the orientational metaphor SURRENDER
IS DOWN. This refers to the moment when
Williams decided to quit the band because she was
tired of losing people in her life, such as the
members of the band and her ex-husband. This is
due to the fact that she has not been able to love
someone because she is not sure of how to do it.
Losing people in her life makes her confused and
causes anxiety, as she stated that she could not eat
or sleep (Williams, 2018, par. 11).
REALITY IS DOWN
(13) Man you really know how to get someone
down
Everything was fine until you came around
I’ve been chasing after dreamers in the clouds
But after all wasn’t I the one who said
To keep your feet on the ground?
Man you really brought me back down
(26)
The metaphor in (13) Man you really know
how to get someone down from the song 26 conveys
the use of orientational metaphor REALITY IS
DOWN. 26 is a song about being too hopeful and
continuing to be a dreamer. The songwriter says
that she is in a moment when she has a dream,
which usually ends up getting hurt. However, when
she does not have any dreams, she would lose her
way in reaching her goals. At the end, she chooses
to stay on the track and focuses on what is coming
next (Pollard, 2017, par. 4). Therefore, in the song
26, the word I refers to Williams whereas you refers
to reality. Williams is brought down from her
dream. And when she is not dreaming, she
experiences disappointment in her real life that
makes her DOWN.
DISAPPOINTMENT IS DOWN
Oh it’s such a long and awful lonely fall
Down from this pedestal that you keep putting me
on
(14) What if I fall on my face? What if I make a
mistake?
If it’s okay, a little grace would be appreciated!
(Idle Worship)
The metaphor in (14) What if I fall on my
face? What if I make a mistake in the song Idle
Worship also conveys the use of orientational
metaphor DISAPPOINTMENT IS DOWN. The
speaker, who is Williams, continues her insecurity
of her fans’ expectation of her. She is afraid of
disappointing them because she cannot meet their
expectation which is a huge failure for her.
HOPELESS IS DOWN
Hey baby I’m not your superhuman
And if that’s what you want
I hate to let you down
I got your hopes up
Now I got you hoping
(15) That I’m gonna be the one to let you down
(IdleWorship)
Williams begs her fans not to see her as a
superhuman, but as an ordinary being. By
 S. M. Pramudita & S. Hanidar | Conceptual Metaphors | 185
explaining that she also has flaws, she hopes that
her fans would not be disappointed. Therefore, it is
reflected through orientational metaphor HOPE-
LESS IS DOWN in (15) I’m gonna be the one who
let you down in the song Idle Worship. Williams
dislikes the idea of her being a role model for her
fans because her life is imperfect. For instance, she
lost friends and became depressed. Hence, the
concept of her discomfort is show in the
orientational metaphor HOPELESS IS DOWN by
way of pushing down the high expectations of her
fans. She is not as what her fans see her because she
also has weaknesses, unlike the ideal characteristics
of a hero.
TIRED IS DOWN
(16) Think I’m tired of getting over it
And just starting something new again
I’m getting sick of the beginnings
And always coming to your defenses
(Tell Me How)
The song Tell Me How expresses Williams’
emotion when she was ready to quit the band after
the departure of Jeremy Davis in 2015. The band is
used to losing its members. But in Davis’ case, it had
to go through the federal court because Davis sued
Williams for not putting his name in the credit for
the 2013 album Self-Titled and all of the band’s
royalties went to Williams while in the contract
with the label, Williams’ royalties were also for the
rest of the members (Coscarelli, 2017, par. 20). The
case ended up with Davis leaving the band.
As a result of this incident, her emotion is
expressed is portrayed in the use of orientational
metaphor TIRED IS DOWN in (16) I’m tired of
getting over it. Williams is tired of always starting
anew because every time she starts with something
new, it does not always go well as she intends it to
be, such as restarting the band. She has to adjust and
adapt herself to the condition when a member
leaves the band again, and this leaves her feeling
tired of it.
Structural Metaphors
LOVE IS A JOURNEY
As if the first cut wasn’t deep enough
(17) I dove in again cause I'm not into giving up
Coulda got the same rush from any lover’s touch
But why get used to something new?
Cause no one breaks my heart like you
(Pool)
The metaphor in (17) in the song Pool was
written by Williams and Farro. It is about an
attempt to retain their relationship. The songwriters
depict the pool as little ocean. Ocean is a mass of
salt water that covers most of the earth’s surface
(“Ocean,” 2010). Thus, pool represents the depth of
their love towards their partners, as an ocean has
surface and depth.
The song is about someone who is
brokenhearted because the partner hurts her/him.
The speaker in the song is still in love with his/her
partner, thus causing the speaker to continue
her/his journey to make the partner stay and not
leave. Therefore, the metaphorical expression in
(17) is perceived within the structural metaphor
LOVE IS A JOURNEY (Kövecses, 2010, p. 6), where
the target domain is LOVE and the source domain is
JOURNEY. The target domain LOVE is experienced
through the source domain JOURNEY. Love is like
a journey because the speaker is on a journey of
getting a second chance in the relationship with the
partner. This can be seen in the phrase dove in
again. This shows that the speaker is not into giving
up. By diving in, the speaker might discover other
ways for the partner to stay in the relationship.
However, the speaker knows that it is possible to
find a new cause. The speaker chooses to continue
the relationship because the speaker could get the
same heartache from another partner.
TIME IS MONEY
Stop asking why
(18)Why we had to waste so much time
Well we just pick up, pick up, and start again
Cause we can’t keep holding on to grudges
(Grudges)
The structural metaphor TIME IS MONEY
(Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p. 7) is found in (18) in
the song Grudges. TIME is the target domain and
MONEY is the source domain. The domain TIME is
understood through the domain MONEY. We in
the song refers to Farro and Williams. Waste so
much time is like wasting money because they
186 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
wasted their time holding onto their grudges, as
Farro felt guilty after leaving the band because he
only followed his brother, who left the band first.
Farro suggests that after his return to the band, he
and Williams should forget about the past because
holding on to the past is a waste of time. What they
should do next is to embrace forgiveness.
ANGER IS WAR
Hearts are breaking
(19) Wars are raging on
And I have taken my glasses off
You got me nervous
I’m right at the end of my rope
A half-empty girl
Don’t make me laugh, I’ll choke
(Rose-Colored Boy)
The structural metaphor ANGER IS WAR is
found in (19) wars are raging on in the song Rose-
Colored Boy. The target domain ANGER is
conceptualized through the source domain WAR. In
the stanza, war refers to a fight against the optimist
and pessimist, and it causes an emotional reaction.
The line I have taken my glasses off has the
relevance to the idiom ‘rose-colored glasses’, which
means someone’s view of optimism (“rose-colored
glasses,” n.d.). Therefore, when someone takes off
her/his glasses, it results in another nervousness and
anger, as well as disappointment and devastation
because she/he sees the state of pessimism.
OPINION IS FIRE
I know you like
When I admit that I was wrong and you were right
At least I try
(20) To keep my cool when I’m thrown into a fire
(Told You So)
The metaphor in (20) in the song Told You So
is about Williams’ life whether it is a blessing or a
curse as the energy, and she is thrown into a place
where she finds herself again (Beats 1, 2017). It is a
blessing because she learns from her mistakes, yet it
is also a curse because people still expect much from
her. It is reflected by the structural metaphor
OPINION IS FIRE. The target domain OPINION is
experienced through the source domain FIRE. The
metaphor in (20) to keep my cool when I’m thrown
into a fire is seen as structural metaphor because it
reflects what Williams thinks about people’s
opinion or expectation. Thus, whatever bad
experiences she had, she tries to always retain her
composure and poise.
VOICE IS WEAPON
You hurt me bad this time
No coming back
And I cried till I couldn’t cry
Another heart attack
If I lay on the floor maybe I’ll wake up
And I don’t pick up when you call
(21) Cause your voice is a gun
Every word is a bullet hole
Shot a hole in the sun
If I never look up maybe I’ll never notice
(Forgiveness)
The structural metaphor VOICE IS WEAPON
is found in (21) voice is a gun. The target domain
VOICE is understood through the source domain
WEAPON. Voice can inflict pain as weapons can.
The voice in (21) you hurt me bad this time, no
coming back causes a great disappointment because
Williams expresses her frustration towards You.
Weapon is a device for attacking or fighting
somebody (“Weapon,” 2010). Thus, weapon is
symbolized to emphasize the voice that causes pain
and grievance just like a weapon.
DREAM IS MONEY
Hold onto hope if you got it
Don’t let it go for nobody
(22) They say that dreaming is free
But I wouldn’t care what it cost me
(26)
In the song 26, dream means a wish to have
something. It might be a good result or a nightmare
(“Dream,” 2010). Williams is still holding onto her
dream that she wants to live in, despite of the risk of
being hurt or disappointed. For this reason, it leads
to the structural metaphor DREAM IS MONEY in
(22) dreaming is free. DREAM as the target domain,
is experienced through MONEY, the source domain.
DREAM is like MONEY because Williams explicitly
says wouldn’t care what it costs me, meaning that
 S. M. Pramudita & S. Hanidar | Conceptual Metaphors | 187
she does not care if her dream costs her. As long as
she can keep dreaming, she will do it at any cost.
FAITH IS FUTILITY
Oh no I ain’t your hero
(23) You’re wasting all your faith on me
Oh no I know where this goes
Think it’s safe to say your savior doesn’t look a thing
like me
(Idle Worship)
Williams repeatedly says that she does not
like to be worshipped by her fans. For her,
personally, looking up to oneself or idolizing
somebody cannot save lives. It is faith that saves our
lives (Beats 1, 2017). And so, it projects to her fans
that they must not have faith in futility, and it is
perceived in (23) you’re wasting all your faith on
me in the song Idle Worship with the structural
metaphor FAITH IS FUTILITY. FAITH is the target
domain and FUTILITY is the source domain. The
domain FAITH is understood through the domain
FUTILITY. The structural metaphor FAITH IS
FUTILITY is used because the fans are wasting their
energy, time, and money on someone like her who
has flaws.
SILENCE IS WAR
Keep me up with your silence
Take me down with your quiet
Of all the weapons you fight with
(24) Your silence is the most violent
(Tell Me How)
In the song Tell Me How, silence is the only
weapon that Davis used to leave the band. Other
than the lawsuit, there was no other evidence to
prove to the public about his leaving the band.
Therefore, Williams associates the silence with
weapon and it leads to the structural metaphor
SILENCE IS WAR in (24). SILENCE is the target
domain whereas WAR is the source domain. The
target domain SILENCE is understood through the
source domain WAR. Silence is like war because the
two of them had to fight each other to win the
lawsuit in court. This is conveyed in (24) your
silence is the most violent. In the end, Davis
chooses to leave the band and as for Williams, it is
the most painful retreat in the band’s journey
because she had to face him in court.
Ontological Metaphor
HEARTS ARE BRITTLE OBJECTS
(25) Hearts are breaking
Wars are raging on
And I have taken my glasses off
You got me nervous
I’m right at the end of my rope
A half-empty girl
Don’t make me laugh, I’ll choke
(Rose-Colored Boy)
The ontological metaphor HEARTS ARE
BRITTLE OBJECTS is found in (25) hearts are
breaking used in the song Rose-Colored Boy. The
target domain HEARTS is experienced through the
source domain BRITTLE OBJECTS. It belongs to an
ontological entity and substance metaphor because
there is a physical phenomena, which is bounded
with a surface. The physical phenomenom is
breaking and the surface is hearts. Thus, hearts are
objects that are easily broken. This refers to the
situation when a person is in a state of depression.
She/he is brokenhearted because she/he perceives
optimism as a burden.
TIME IS BASTARD
(26) Time is a bastard
I won’t break my neck to get around it
But aren’t we so brave to give up a fight
And let the years go by without us
Cause now I feel you by my side
And I don’t even care if it’s been awhile
I can feel that we’ve changed and we’re better this
way
(Grudges)
In the song, Grudges, the members of the
band are proud that they do not harbor grudges any
longer. Yet, they still blame time, as it is perceived
in (26) time is a bastard. Bastard is a slang word used
to insult somebody who has been rude, unpleasant,
or cruel (“Bastard,” 2010). In (26), the ontological
metaphor, personification, TIME IS BASTARD is
perceived. Bastard is associated with time because it
is cruel for the songwriters, as they grieve over the
188 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
time when they spent on grudges. That is why they
consider time as a bastard. TIME is the target
domain and BASTARD is the source domain. The
domain TIME is understood through the domain
BASTARD. TIME IS BASTARD because time is
mean to them. I won’t break my neck to get around
it implies that they had wasted their time holding
onto grudges because Farro left the band in 2010.
But as time passes by, all the members become wiser
and the reconnection makes them happier.
CONCLUSION
Conceptual metaphors are all about daily
communication that needs a human’s cognitive
ability to differentiate the metaphorical and non-
metaphorical meanings in song lyrics. They also
colorize what the songwriters intend to say. The
eleven chosen songs in After Laughter album by
Paramore carry out three types of conceptual
metaphors: orientational metaphor, structural
metaphor, and ontological metaphor, which are
used by the songwriters in their lyrics to relay their
experiences.
In general, orientational metaphors are found
in each of the eleven chosen songs. The songwriters
had gone through the ups and downs in their lives.
They were hopeless, pessimistic, disappointed and
depressed due to the bands’ problems and the
members’ personal dilemmas. Nevertheless,
afterward, they rise up again and realize that life is
sometimes hard. Through the metaphors, the
songwriters want the listeners to know that keeping
hope is essential to fight the fear of failure, hatred
from the past, and doubt in life.
Structural metaphors in the eleven chosen
songs imply war, journey, and valuable objects. The
songwriters fought the problems within the
circumstances that are high-risk, with the loss of
their time and energy to win. The songwriters also
employ structural metaphors to express the most
truthful reconnection in their friendship and to
remind the listeners that everybody has a weakness
that we should learn from.
Ontological metaphors are the least used
concept in the eleven chosen songs of the analysis.
However, the concept successfully expresses the
devastation in the member’s personal lives, as it is
able to be grasped in a human’s imagination, and it
always has boundaries through the concept of entity
and substance.
To sum up, conceptual metaphors are used in
daily communication, as the songwriters of After
Laughter convey to their listeners that we have to
get up from the downfall of life, and fight against it
in order to win the battle in life. There is still much
information about conceptual metaphors that
researchers are able to define and relate in different
cases. We hope that there would be other
researches in another form such as news, movies,
and advertisements.
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Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 190-199

Grammatical Errors in Indonesian University Students’

Posters in Yogyakarta
Adila Salma Khansa, Adi Sutrisno*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: adisutrisno@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate grammatical errors in posters published by Indonesian University
students’ in Yogyakarta. The errors are classified based on the Surface Strategy Taxonomy by Dulay,
Burt, and Krashen (1982) mixed with linguistic categories. Based on the data analysis on 97 posters
from 7 universities in Yogyakarta, there are 201 errors found. The highest frequency of errors is
Omission in terms of number with 122 occurrences (60.69 %), followed by Omission in subject-verb
concord with 45 errors (22.38 %), and Omission of preposition with 6 occurrences (2.98 %). In total
there are 182 (90.56%) Omission errors, while the other errors only occur less than 10%. The result
shows that there are tendencies to omit necessary items rather than add, misform, misorder, or
misuse items.

Keywords: grammatical errors, error analysis, Surface Strategy Taxonomy, university students’
poster.

English and Indonesian language, are easily found

INTRODUCTION
Posters are easily found in public places especially
around campuses, cafeterias, cafes, restaurants, and
other public places, even on the streets, and also on
SNS (Social Networking Sites). It has become an
effective way for publication. According to Hornby
(2009) poster is “a large notice, often with a picture
on it, that is put in a public place to advertise
something” (p. 942).
In Indonesia, the use of English in posters is
very common. It is most likely because English is an
International Language, which is used by people
around the globe, including Indonesia. Not all the
posters are presented fully in English; many of them
are bilingual. Posters, which are presented in
in many places in Indonesia.
As non-native speaker of English, Indonesian
learns English as a second or even third language.
Learning second or third language is not easy. As
stated by Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982), “…
making errors is an inevitable part of learning.
People cannot learn language without first system-
atically committing errors” (p. 138). In the use of
English as a foreign language, it is very likely that
some errors occur in writing, speaking, listening,
and reading.
Moreover, this paper studies posters published
by university students, who are assumed to have
learnt English for several years. They are at least in
intermediate level of English proficiency because

190 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019


universities usually have a minimum standard of
English proficiency for their students. But still, the
number of posters which have grammatical errors in
them is high.
In general, this research aims to investigate
grammatical errors in posters published by
university students. In particular its objectives are:
(1) to identify the errors which occur in the posters
made by the students; and (2) to classify the errors
according to their grammatical features and to find
the most frequent error in the posters.
The focus of this study is limited only to the
grammatical features of the posters. The analysis is
only focused on the morphology and syntactic
aspects. Therefore, the semantic and pragmatic
aspects are excluded.
LITERATURE REVIEW
There were several researches on error analysis that
had been conducted. One of the researches was a
journal article by Tizazu (2014) published in
International Journal of English Language and
Linguistics Research Volume 2. The title of the
article was A Linguistic Analysis of Errors in
Learners’ Compositions: The Case of Arba Minch
University Students. The research examined the
nature of the errors that AMU students committed
in expressing their ideas in writing. Another
research was conducted by Farrokh (2011) in a
journal article entitles Analysing of EFL Learners’
Linguistic Errors: Evidence from Iranian Translation
Trainees published Theory and Practice in Language
Studies Volume 1. The objective of the research was
to find the most frequent linguistic error of 50
junior students of translation training program from
the Islamic Azad University of Lahijan.
Apart from those journal articles, there were
also several undergraduate and graduate papers from
Universitas Gadjah Mada which analyzed gram-
matical errors. The most recent research was
conducted by Hasan (2017) entitled Grammatical
Errors Made by the Students of English Department
UGM Year 2012 in Their Writing Class. Another
research was conducted by Sinaga (2015). She
studied the grammatical errors found in the “Portal
Nasional Republik Indonesia” Website. The
A. S. Khansa & A. Sutrisno | Grammatical Errors | 191
research attempted to investigate and to classify the
errors, which were found in “Portal Nasional
Republik Indonesia” website. In the same year,
Wulandari (2015) conducted a research for her
thesis about grammatical errors on English essay
made by first year students. The aim of this research
was to describe grammatical errors made by the
first-year students of Islamic Banking Economics of
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. Simbolon
(2013) from Universitas Gadjah Mada also studied
error analysis on websites. The research aimed to
identify the grammatical errors in three Indonesian
universities’ websites; Universitas Gadjah Mada,
Universitas Indonesia, and Universitas Airlangga.
Those researches on grammatical errors above
show that research using the Surface Strategy
Taxonomy and linguistics category, the same
theories used in this research, have been conducted
before. However, the objects of the research are
different. The previous research studied the
grammatical errors in websites and student’s
writings. Unlike those previous researches, this
research studies grammatical error analysis on
posters.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In 1970s, Error Analysis (EA) was part of
Contrastive Analysis (CA) that was used to foresee
the errors by identifying the differences between
the learners’ L1 and their target language (Ellis,
1994, p. 47). In other words, in the process of
learning a second language, learners tend to bring
the habits of their first language. This is in line with
Corder’s argument (1967) that says, “people now
believed they had a principled means for accounting
for these errors, namely that they were the result of
interference in the learning of a second language
from the habits of the first language,” (p. 162).
While CA only pays attention to the learner’s native
language and the target language, EA has a
methodology for investigating learner language
(Ellis, 1994, p. 48).
Errors are defined as idiosyncrasies in the
language caused by lack of grammatical knowledge
that reflects the competence of target language
learners (Brown, 2007, p. 258). However, there is
192 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
another term called mistakes, which should be (Dulay, Burt, and Krashen, 1982, p. 158).
carefully distinguished from errors (Brown, 2007, p. Different from omission errors that the item is
258). Errors represent the learners’ lack of not supplied at all, in misformation errors the
competence while mistakes show the learners’ learner supplies something, even though it is
failure to perform their competence (Ellis, 1994, p. incorrect.
51). The difference between error and mistake is
4. Misordering error is identified by the incorrect
whether the speaker is capable of self-correcting
arrangement of a morpheme or a group of
such error or mistake or not.
morphemes in an utterance (Dulay, Burt, and
In writing skills, errors usually occur in the Krashen, 1982, p. 162).
grammar. By grammatical structure, it means the
organization of morphemes and words into larger
meaningful utterances. Grammar, then, can be
defined as the branch of linguistics, which deals METHODS
with the organization of morphemic units into
meaningful combinations larger than words This research applies qualitative method with
(Francis, 1958, p. 223). Furthermore, Francis (1958) simple calculation. The data sources of this research
explains the subject matter of grammar includes, are images contain texts and then the data are
first, the mechanism and devices by which words transformed into texts contain grammatical errors.
are combined into larger units of discourse; and Meanwhile, a simple calculation is used in order to
second, the total linguistics structure of such units find the most frequent error.
(p. 225). Another definition of grammar of a
Purposive sampling technique is used to
language is a theory or set of statements, which tells
collect the data sources of this research. Instead of
us in a formal and explicit way which strings of the
picking random posters found in the street and in
basic elements of the language are permitted (Bach,
SNS (Social Networking Sites), we selected the
1964, p. 13). In other words, from the two
posters which met the criteria. The criteria are: (1)
definitions, we can say that grammar is a set of rules
they were published by university students in
to organize morphemes and words into a larger
Yogyakarta; (2) they were written in English or
meaningful unit such as sentence.
English-Indonesian; and (3) they had at least one
In order to analyze the grammatical errors, grammatical error.
this research uses the Surface Strategy Taxonomy by
All of the poster samples are taken from SNS
Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982). According to the
(Social Networking Sites), most of them are taken
Surface Strategy Taxonomy, the errors are classified
from Line, and the others are from Instagram since
into four categories:
nowadays students like to publish their posters in
1. Omission errors are indicated by the absence of a various social media.
morpheme that must appear in a well-formed
After collecting the posters, we classified the
utterance (Dulay, Burt, and Krashen, 1982, p.
posters based on the university and numbered the
154). It means that any morphemes, both free
posters in each university. For instance: A-1, A-2,
morphemes and bound morphemes, which are
B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, D-1, D-2, E-1, E-2 and so on.
omitted can be categorized as Omission error. By
There are 60 posters from University A, 11 posters
the term morpheme, it means the minimal
from University B, 5 posters from University C, 4
meaningful units of which the language is
posters from University D, 2 posters from
composed (Nida, 1970, p. 6).
University E, 13 posters from University F, and 2
2. Addition errors are marked by the presence of an posters from University G. Consequently, there are
item that must not occur in a well-formed 97 posters from 7 universities in Yogyakarta.
utterance (Dulay, Burt, and Krashen, 1982, p.
In order to achieve the first objective, we put
156).
the data, subsequently from error number 1 to error
3. Misformation is marked by the use of the number 201, in a table. When all of the data had
incorrect form of the structure or morpheme been listed and numbered, we analyzed and

categorized the data based on the four categories in
the Surface Strategy Taxonomy by Dulay, Burt, and
Krashen (1982). In this step, we found some data
that could not be classified into the four categories,
therefore we put those data into Others.
However, to accomplish the second research
objective and to get deeper analysis on the errors,
we classified the errors into their linguistics
categories, for instance concord, preposition,
determiner, verb, number, noun phrase, etc. There
is also a miscellaneous category for error like
omission of direct object. In this process, we
employed a more detailed analysis than the first
step. After that, the result of the second analysis was
merged with the result of the previous analysis. As a
result, the data were classified into more detailed
categories rather than using both of the categories
separately. After that, the total occurrence in each
category was summed up in order to find the most
frequent error.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1. The frequency of errors in the posters
No. Error Type Raw % subject must agree with the verb. In simple present
1. Addition 7 3.48
2. Misformation 9 4.48
3. Misordering 1 0.50
4. Omission 182 90.54
5. Others 2 1.00
Total 201 100.00
The result shows that there are 182 Omission
errors found, which means 90.54% of the total
errors are in this category. Meanwhile the second
and third place is Misformation and Addition. The
difference of number between the two categories is
not really significant. In Misformation category
there are 9 errors (4.48%), while in Addition
category there are 7 errors (3.48%). The fourth
place is errors that fall into Other category, with
total occurrences 2 (0.98%). And the least frequent
error is Misordering that only occur once (0.50%)
among total 201 errors.
A. S. Khansa & A. Sutrisno | Grammatical Errors | 193
Omission
There are 182 omission errors which are
distributed into six linguistics categories: concord,
preposition, determiner, verb, number, and
miscellaneous.
Concord
According to Leech and Svartvik (1975)
concord is also called agreement (p. 200). They
point out that concord means “certain grammatical
items agree with each other in (A) number or (B)
person” (Leech & Svartvik, 1975, p. 200).
In this research, omission in subject-verb
concord is the second most frequent error with 44
occurrences. Below is an example of disagreement
in subject-verb found in the posters.
(1) HIMAVI UGM Proudly Present
EVOFEST (A-13)
The subject of the sentence above is HIMAVI
UGM. According to Leech and Svartvik’s rules
(1975), that plural words and phrases count as
singular if they are used as names. HIMAVI UGM is
a name of an organization. For that reason, the
subject of the sentence is regarded as singular. The
tense, a third person singular subject must be
followed by the inflected form of the verb by
adding –s to the verb. Consequently, the sentence
should read, “HIMAVI UGM Proudly Presents
EVOFEST.”
Preposition
Curme (1935) argues that, “A preposition is a
word that indicates a relation between the noun or
pronoun it governs and another word, which may
be a verb, and adjective, or another noun or
pronoun” (p. 87). For instance, in ‘I walk with her’
the preposition with indicates a relation between
the verb (walk) and the pronoun (her).
There are 6 errors that belong to this category.
One of the examples is shown below.
(2) Deputy President Director Ø PT Vale
Indonesia (A-1)
194 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
The phrase above needs a preposition as a
postmodifier in a noun phrase. The preposition is
also needed to show the relation between the two
noun phrases (deputy president director and PT
Vale Indonesia). Therefore, the phrase should read,
“Deputy President Director of PT Vale Indonesia.”
Most of the omissions of preposition that are
found are similar with the case above. The students
who make the posters tend to omit the preposition
of between two noun phrases. From the total 6
occurrences, 5 of them are omission of preposition
of. These might be interlingual errors since in
Bahasa Indonesia, no prepositions are needed to
form noun phrase which indicates someone’s
functional position. For example, “Director of PT
Vale” will be “Direktur PT Vale” in Bahasa
Indonesia, without any preposition.
Determiner
Leech and Svartvik (1975) define determiners
as “words which specify the range of reference of a
noun in various ways, e.g. by making it definite (the
boy), indefinite (a boy), or by indicating quantity
(many boys)” (p. 225). When the speaker uses the
definite article the the speaker assumes that both
the speaker and the hearer know what they are
talking about. Differently, when the speaker wants
to convey indefinite meaning but does not add
meaning of amount, the speaker uses the indefinite
article a(n) (with singular count nouns), or the zero-
indefinite article with mass nouns or plural count
nouns (Leech & Svartvik, 1975, p. 52).
In total, there are 3 omission errors in
determiner. One of them will be discussed below.
(3) BE Ø TRULY ENGINEER (A-9)
There are two errors in the phrase above, but
in this section, we are only discussing the error in
terms of determiner. The phrase above needs an
indefinite article before the noun phrase true
engineer. There should be an a placed before true
engineer because true engineer is a singular count
noun. Consequently, it should read, “Be a true
engineer.”
Verb
According to Cobuild (1993) a verb is a word
that is used along with a subject to express what
someone or something does, what happens to them,
or what they are. (p. 749)
There are 5 omissions of verb found in the
posters. One of them is error in auxiliary verb,
while the other four are errors in linking verbs.
Below is an example taken from the data.
(4) Registration Fee Ø only 100K Certificate
Ø Included (A-24)
The example above has two errors, both of
them are omission of verb. The first error is
omission of linking verb and the second error is
omission of auxiliary verb in passive voice
construction. The passive voice construction in the
example above does not have any be before the past
participle (included). According to Quirk,
Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik (1986) there are
two functions of auxiliary be: “as aspect auxiliary
type C, and as a passive auxiliary type D (p. 80).
Passive auxiliary type D consist of the auxiliary be +
the –ed participle of the verb-phrase head. For
example: He is examined” (Quirk et al., 1986, p. 73).
Based on that rule, the sentence should read,
“Registration Fee is only 100K Certificate is
Included.”
This kind of error happens as a result of the
learner’s L1 interference. Dulay, Burt, and Krashen
(1982) call it interlingual errors, “…refer to L2
errors that reflect native language structure,
regardless of the internal processes or external
conditions that spawned them.” (p. 171). The word-
for-word translation of datum number 61 above will
be, Biaya Registrasi Hanya 100K Termasuk
Sertifikat without any verbs, which is acceptable in
Bahasa Indonesia, but not acceptable in English.
Number
According to Huddleston and Pullum (2007)
number is the name of the system contrasting
singular and plural. (p. 85)
This category of error has 122 occurrences
which is 60.09 % of the total errors found.
Therefore, omission of number is the most frequent
error found in the university students’ posters. All
of the errors that fall into this category use the
singular form of the noun to express something that
is supposed to be plural. The substitution of singular
for plural may occur more than once in a poster.

Most of the errors occur in the same phrase, media
partner, whereas they usually have several media
partners. One of the examples is shown below.
(5) MEDIA PARTNERØ: SKM UGM
BULAKSUMUR, RRI, SWARAGAMA
(A-3)
The noun phrase above refers to three media
that has become the partners of the event.
Therefore, it should read, “Media Partners: SKM
UGM Bulaksumur, RRI, Swaragama.”
Other common errors are found in nouns or
noun phrases like our speaker, ticket box, guest star,
contact person, and facility. Those nouns and noun
phrases refer to something which is more than one,
thus they should use the plural forms instead of the
singular forms of the noun. Because of that reason,
the nouns and noun phrases should read, “our
speakers”, “ticket boxes”, “guest stars”, “contact
persons”, “facilities.”
Miscellaneous
There is one datum that falls into this
category. The datum shows error in omission of
direct object. The example is shown below.
(6) Fill and send Ø to
inmmscugm@gmail.com (A-28)
The verb send in the example above is a
transitive verb. According to Crystal (2008), a
transitive verb is a verb which can take a direct
object (p. 494). For that reason, the example above
needs a direct object after the transitive verb send.
Referring to the information in poster UGM-28, the
object is the formulir of Nuclear Orientation School
2018. Therefore, the direct object can be the form or
pronoun it that refers to the form. The example
should read, “Fill and send the form to
inmmscugm@gmail.com” or “Fill and send it to
inmmscugm@gmail.com.”
Addition
Unlike omission errors that have 90.54 % of
occurrences, addition error only has 3.48% of the
total occurrences. In total there are 7 addition errors
which are distributed into four linguistic categories.
A. S. Khansa & A. Sutrisno | Grammatical Errors | 195
The categories are concord, preposition, number,
and noun phrase.
Concord
While most of concord errors fall into
omission category, there are few concord errors that
fall into addition category. They are only 6.25 %
from the total of concord errors, 48 occurrences.
In previous section, the omission in concord
section, it has been mentioned that most of the
errors in concord occur in this case: a singular
subject followed by a plural verb. While in this
section, all of the errors are the opposite: a plural
subject followed by a singular verb. The 3 errors
found in this category occur in the same verb
present. One of the examples will be discussed
below.
(7) IKATAN MAHASISWA GEODESI
INDONESIA X KMTG FT – KMDG SV
UGM PRODLY PRESENTS SEMINAR
NASIONAL IMGI 2016 (A-7)
The sentence above has two subjects, they are
Ikatan Mahasiswa Geodesi Indonesia and KMTG FT
– KMDG SV UGM. For that reason, the sentence
requires a plural verb instead of a singular verb. The
verb does not need the inflection form of present.
Therefore, the sentence should read, “Ikatan
Mahasiswa Geodesi Indonesia and KMTG FT –
KMDG SV UGM Proudly Present Seminar Nasional
IMGI 2016.”
Preposition
There is only one error in this category. It is
shown below.
(8) We want you to join with us (A-21)
The sentence above does not need preposition
with after the verb join because the verb join is a
transitive verb. A transitive verb does not need any
preposition, but need a direct object afterward
(Crystal, 2008, p. 494). Thus, the sentence should
read, “We want you to join us.”
The use of preposition “with” in the example
above is possibly because of the influence of the
learner’s L1. In Indonesian, the sentence would
read, kami ingin kamu bergabung dengan kami.
196 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
Thus, the word-for-word translation would be
exactly like the example.
Number
While omission in number placed the first as
the most frequent error, there is only one error of
number that falls into addition category. Different
from the other number errors that substitute the
singular forms for the plural forms, the example
below substitutes the plural form for the singular
one.
(9) Media Partners: Info Lomba (A-26)
The noun phrase media partner only refers to
one thing, Info Lomba. Consequently, the noun
phrase should use the singular form instead of the
plural form. On that account, the phrase should
read “Media Partner.”
Noun Phrase
The example of error that classified into
addition in noun phrase is shown below.
(10) CONTACTS PERSONS: Viony +62 822
2934 0981 & Amal +62 821 3824 0086
(E-1)
Noun phrase can form plurals. But the plural
form does not need to be in every element of the
noun phrase. The head of the phrase, person, does
need to form plurals since there are two persons
mentioned afterward, but the pre-modification does
not need to form plural. Therefore, the noun phrase
should read, “contact persons.”
Misformation
Misformation error is in the second place of
the most frequent error according to the
classification using the Surface Strategy Taxonomy.
But the difference of number with Omission error is
quite significant. While Omission error has 182
occurrences (90.54%), Misformation has 9
occurrences, only 4.48 % from the total
occurrences. Those 9 errors are distributed into
three linguistic categories: noun phrase, pronoun,
and genitive case.
Noun Phrase
Leech (2006) argues that, “The structure of
noun phrases can be stated simply as follows:
(determiner[s]) + (modifier[s]) + head + (modifier[s])
where brackets represent optional elements.” (p. 73)
Some examples of data that classified into
misformation in noun phrase are discussed below.
(11) Blood Donate Partner (B-1)
(12) Fill in the originally letter (B-10)
Both of the examples above contain errors in
the modifiers. One of the modifiers of datum
number 134, donate, is a verb. According to Leech
(2006), modifiers of various kinds may be added
either before or after the noun head in order to
form more complex noun phrases. One-word
modifiers, especially adjectives and nouns, generally
occur before the head: a hungry child, Russian folk
music, these lively young animals (p. 74). For this
reason, a verb cannot modify a noun, so the
modifier of datum number 134 should be the noun
form of the verb donate, donation. Thus, the noun
phrase should be, “blood donation partner.”
Pronoun
Misformation of pronoun that found in the
posters is error of demonstrative pronoun. Richards
and Schmidt (2009) define demonstrative as, “a
word (a pronoun or a determiner) which refers to
something in terms of whether it is near to or
distant from the speaker. The demonstratives in
English are: this, that, these, those. For example:
You take these books (here) and I’ll take those
(there)” (p. 161).
There are 2 errors in this category. Both of
them will be discussed below.
(13) GET THIS: SHARING PENGALAMAN,
SEMINAR WAWANCARA, 1-1
INTERVIEW, SNACK N LUNCH (A-9)
(14) FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK
THIS OUT LINE@btl0896y
INSTAGRAM @kmhdugm (A-20)

Both of the errors in this class can be
categorized in alternating-forms according to three
types of misformation errors by Dulay, Burt, and
Krashen (1982, p. 161).
Genitive Case
There are two possessive case incorrect are
found in the posters. One of the examples will be
discussed below.
(15) It’s Potential, Careers and Sustainability
(A-40)
The example above uses the incorrect form of
possessive case. Generally, genitive-s is used to form
possessive case, but pronouns have their own form
of possessive case. As cited in Quirk et al. (1986)
possessive pronouns are divided into two groups
based on their functions, they are determiner
function and nominal function (p. 209). Pronouns
that fall into determiner function are my, our, your,
his, her, its, and their. Whereas pronouns that
classified into nominal function are mine, ours,
yours, his, hers, and theirs. Based on that
explanation, the datum should read, “Its potential,
careers and sustainability.”
Misordering
Misordering error is the least frequent error
found in the posters. It only occurs one time, which
made up 0.50% from the total occurrences. The
discussion, along with the example is presented
below.
Miscellaneous
Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982) call this type
of error as a “creative” error (p. 162). Furthermore,
they argue that learners make written misordering
errors that are word-for-word translations of their
native language surface structures (Dulay, Burt, and
Krashen, 1982, pp. 162-163). There is one error that
falls into this category.
(16) Only available limited seats! (A-24)
The example above shows incorrect word
order. It shows a word-for-word translation of
Hanya tersedia kursi terbatas in Bahasa Indonesia.
The correct order is “Only limited seats are
available” and it would be even better and sounds
A. S. Khansa & A. Sutrisno | Grammatical Errors | 197
more natural to native speakers if they write, “Only
limited seating is available.”
Others
There are two errors classified in Others, both
of them are errors in the use of prepositions. But
those two preposition errors cannot be classified
into the four categories of the Surface Strategy
Taxonomy because they are not omission errors,
addition errors, misformation errors, neither
misordering errors. Both of the errors are misuse of
prepositions.
Preposition (Misuse of Preposition)
Quirk et al. (1986) define the general function
of preposition is to express a relation between two
entities, one being that represented by the
prepositional complement (p. 306). Furthermore,
they also explain, “Of the various types of relational
meaning, those place and time are the most
prominent and easy to identify. Other relationship
such as instrument and cause may also be
recognized although it is difficult,” (Quirk et al.,
1986, p. 306).
(17) Get on Board and Get Ready in Our
Maiden Voyage around the World (A-
34)
The example above shows that there is a
misuse of preposition. Preposition in is used to
imply position especially area (Quirk & Greenbaum,
1973, p. 137). However, in the sentence above, the
preposition does not imply posistion, but intended
destination. The suitable preposition to imply
intended destination id for, as explained by Quirk &
Greenbaum (1973,), “Phrases of purpose or
destination answer the question ‘Why …?’, ‘What
… for?’, ‘Where … for?’, or ‘Who … for?’…” (p.
147). Therefore the sentence should read, “Get on
Board and Get Ready for Our Maiden Voyage
around the World.”
CONCLUSION
The result of this research shows that the most
frequent error found in university students’ posters
is Omission errors with 182 occurrences or 90.56 %
198 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
from the total errors. In detail, Omission in terms of
number is the most frequent error with 122
occurrences (60.69 %). The poster makers often use
the singular form of the nouns instead of the plural
form although they refer to something plural.
The second place for highest frequency of
error is Omission in subject-verb concord with 45
occurrences (22.38 %). The students often omit
suffix-s that should be attached to verbs that
complement third person singular subjects. The
third most frequent error is Omission of preposition
with 6 occurrences (2.98 %), followed by
Misformation of noun phrase which has 5 errors
(2.48 %). However, the other categories of error
only have 1, 2, or 3 occurrences or less than 1.5 % of
the total errors.
There is a significant difference of
occurrences between Omission and the other
categories. Students tend to produce omission errors
rather than addition, misformation, misordering, or
misuse errors. Most of the errors are interlingual
which occur as the result of the learner’s L1
interference.
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Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 200-211

The Translation Strategies of Metaphors

in the Movies Mulan and Moana
Prasna Audri Alanisa, Aris Munandar*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: arismunandar@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the metaphor in the movies Mulan and Moana. The objectives of this research
are to identify the strategy in the translation of metaphor and to explain the motive in using the
translation strategy. This research employs several theories such as Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980)
theory to identify the metaphor, Newmark’s (1988) theory to categorize the translation strategy. The
result of this study shows that out of seven strategies, three strategies are employed to translate the
metaphor in the movies. Those strategies are 1) reproducing the same image as the source language,
2) replacing the image into a different image in the target language, and 3) converting the image into
sense. The strategy of reproducing the same image is used when the metaphorical image is acceptable
in the target language. The strategy of replacing the image into a different image is employed when
the SL image is uncommon and there is an equal image in the target language. When the
metaphorical image is not familiar and there is no equal image in the target language, converting the
image into the sense is applied in translating the metaphor.

Keywords: metaphor, Moana, Mulan, translation ideology, translation strategy.

language.” In other words, the translator has to put

INTRODUCTION
The entertainment world has covered a wide area to
the new technology, and movie is one of it. Movie is
a popular entertainment that is consumed by people
around the world including Indonesia. Indonesians
do not only enjoy Indonesian but also foreign
movies. In this case, translation becomes a bridge to
cross a language problem in understanding the
movie.
According to Newmark (1988, p. 7), “Trans-
lation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a
written message and/or statement in one language
by the same message and/or statement in another
up more efforts to give equivalence between the
source language and target language. As a result, it is
expected to solve the misunderstanding among the
inter-cultural societies around the world.
Metaphor is a concept that is planted in
human thought in daily life. Lakoff and Johnson
(1980, p. 5) state that “The essence of metaphor is
understanding and experiencing one kind of thing
in terms of another”. It is a concept that is planted
in human thought in daily life. Metaphor could be
universal but some of them are based on a culture of
a place or society. If the metaphor translation is not
done meticulously, there could be a misunder-

200 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

 P. A. Alanisa & A. Munandar | The Translation Strategy of Metaphors | 201
standing between the source language and target Fumani (2016) also performed a research
language user. about metaphors found in Hafez Diwan poetry
which are translated by three different translators.
This study uses two Disney movies, Mulan
The study used Newmark’s strategy to analyze the
(1998) and Moana (2016), as the object of the
metaphor translation. The result of the research is
research. Mulan is a movie about a girl who
presented in quantitative analysis in the form of
disguised as a man to save her disabled father to join
tables. The tables show the frequency and the
an army and save her family’s pride. Meanwhile,
comparison of translation strategies used by the
Moana is a movie about a girl who tried to return
three translators. The researcher concludes that
the island goddess’ heart to save her island. Both
dead metaphorwas used most frequently by the two
movies use many figurative languages especially
translators while stock metaphor was used most
metaphor in its dialogues, monologues, and songs.
frequently by the other translator. Since the result is
These two movies are widely distributed around the
presented in statistics, this paper is still lack of
world, which is also in Indonesia. Subtitle is a
discussion and explanation.
necessity for most of Indonesian who are not
English speakers. Keparang and Putranti (2017) have done
another study related to metaphor translation. The
The two movies are translated by different
data is categorized based on the theory proposed by
translators. It is such a curiosity to know how the
Keraf (1984) and Newmark (1988). The translation
translators translate the metaphor in the movies,
strategy of the metaphors was analyzed under
what translation strategy used by the translators,
Newmark’s (1988) theory. This study used 30 data:
and why they used the strategy.
27 data used imitative translation method and 3 data
used functional communication method. The thesis
also concluded from 31 metaphors, there are 27
LITERATURE REVIEW maintained metaphors and 4 non-maintained
metaphors. This study gives a clear result and
Metaphor translation strategies have been studied discussion. However, there is no explanation on
before by many researchers (see, for example, why the translator used the strategies.
Maulida, 2015; Jalali, 2015; Fumani, 2016; Keparang,
The most recent research is done by Fitria
2016; Fitria, 2017). Jalali (2015) has conducted a
(2017) by using the theory proposed by Lakoff and
research about translation strategy of metaphor. In
Johnson (1980) for classifying the metaphor and
his research, Newmark’s theory was used to identify
Newmark’s(1988) and Larson’s (1984) theories for
the metaphor and the translation strategy. The data
translation strategy classification. The research is
were collected from two movies and 100 data were
descriptive qualitative research. From the study, it
found from both movies. The research concludes
was concluded that there were two factors that
that reproducing the same source language (SL)
influenced the metaphor translation; the level of
image in the target language (TL) is the most
difficulty in translating metaphor and the
common strategy used by the translator. However,
differences on orientations in translating metaphor.
there is no explanation of the reason why the
translator uses the translation strategy. This current study uses two Disney movies,
Mulan (1998) and Moana (2016), as the object of the
Another research on metaphor translation
research. Mulan is a movie about a girl who
strategy has been done by Maulida (2015). The data
disguised as a man to save her disabled father to join
were classified in the types of metaphor proposed
an army and save her family’s pride. Meanwhile,
by Ullman (1972) and its translation strategy
Moana is a movie about a girl who tried to return
proposed by Newmark (1988). The study found 10
the island goddess’ heart to save her island. Both
data which are presented both in the quantitative
movies use many figurative languages especially
and qualitative analysis. It was also found that in
metaphor in its dialogues, monologues, and songs.
one translation there could be more than one
The two movies are translated by different
translation strategy.
translators. Because of that, it is such a curiosity to
202 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
know how the translators translate the metaphor in
the movies, what translation strategy used by the
translators, and why they used the strategy.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Metaphor
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) state that the essence of
metaphor is understanding and experiencing one
kind of thing in terms of another. From this
statement, it is clear that metaphor is a way of using
language by conceptualizing a thing or action into
in term of another thing or action. Just like
communication, metaphor is a concept that is
applied to human thought in daily life. It is a
conceptual system that people unconsciously think
and experience every day. They also mention that
“metaphor is one that we live by in this culture”
(1980, p. 4). This statement reemphasizes that a
metaphor is recognized when the concept is
acknowledged in a culture. Since each culture has a
different way of thinking, it also could affect the
understanding of the concept in a metaphor.
Moreover, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) also
propose three categories of conceptual metaphors,
which are:
Structural Metaphor
It is a metaphor in which one concept is understood
in another structured concept. Structural metaphor
is in which the complex and abstract concept
presented in a more concrete concept. For example,
ARGUMENT IS WAR. Lakoff and Johnson (1980)
explain that argument is sometimes an event that
could bring people into a competition. In every
argument, there is always a winner and a loser. In
this context, it can be seen that argument is viewed
as a part of the war.
Orientational Metaphor
This metaphor involves spatial orientation such as
up-down, in-out, front-back, deep-shallow, central-
peripheral. It is a metaphor that is based on the
physical and cultural experience. This is why each
culture has a different orientational metaphor. For
example, in Indonesia when people want to invite
someone, they will wave their palm downward.
Meanwhile, in other countries, they will wave their
palm upward.
Ontological Metaphor
Ontological metaphor is a way of viewing an
abstract thing as entities and substances. For
example, THE MIND IS A MACHINE. This concept
gives an idea that “mind” is something that can be
turned on and off, has an efficiency level and
productive capacity. For example: “My mind has
been turned on”; “His mind is full of mathematics”
Metaphor Translation Strategies
As discussed previously, metaphor is a way of
viewing an entity or action in terms of another. It is
a conceptual system that lives in one’s mind and
culture. A concept that is valid in one’s culture is
not always recognized in another culture. This idea
leads to the difficulty in transferring the metaphor
in the form of translation. Newmark (2004) states
that the translation cannot simply reproduce, or be,
the original (p. 5). This is not only a matter of
transferring the words and sentences but also the
culture. In this case, the translator needs to pay
attention to find the proper meaning but does not
clash with the target language culture.
Furthermore, in order to translate the
metaphor, Newmark (1988), proposes seven
strategies in translating metaphor, which are:
1. Reproducing the same image in the target
language. This strategy is used when the
image of the source language can be translated
perfectly in the target language and it is
understandable, for example:
ST: Time is money
TT: Waktu adalah uang.
2. Replaced the image in the source language
with a standard target language image. This
means that the translator replacing the image
of the metaphor from the source language into
a familiar image in the target language, for
example:
ST: Hello, honey!
TT: Halo, sayang! (Hello, dear).
 P. A. Alanisa & A. Munandar | The Translation Strategy of Metaphors | 203
3. Translation of metaphor by simile. This
strategy is used when the translation in the
target language image is not as expressive as
the source language image, for example;
ST: You are my shining star
TT: Kau seperti bintang yang berkelap-kelip
(You are like a twinkling star).
4. Translation of metaphor by simile plus sense.
The metaphor is translated into simile
accompanied by its meaning, for example:
ST: You are a thunder
TT: Kau sangat kuat seperti petir yang
menggelegar (You are so strong like a
growling thunder)
5. Conversion of metaphor to sense. The
translator needs to convert the metaphor into
its meaning when the target language does not
have any equivalent image that relates to the
source language, for example:
ST: My mom is my spirit
TT: Ibuku adalah seseorang yang membuatku
selalu kuat. (My mom is the one who
makes me always strong.)
6. Deletion. When the metaphor is redundant or
otiose, the translator could have a choice to
delete it, for example;
ST: Merry Christmas sweetheart
TT: Selamat Natal (Merry Christmas).
7. Same metaphor combined with sense. The
translator uses this strategy to emphasize the
meaning that it could easily be understood in
the target language, for example;
ST: Books are the compasses and telescopes
TT: Buku adalah kompas and teleskop yang
menunjukan kita jalan ke dunia yang
lebih luas. (Books are the compasses and
telescopes that give us a way to a wider
world.)
METHODS
The data for this research were taken from the
animation movies Mulan and Moana. The data are
metaphors that are contained in the dialogues,
monologues, and songs of the movies. Other
materials from books or the internet are also needed
to support the analysis.
The data were collected from the subtitles of
the movies downloaded from subscene.com. The
first step of the data collection was downloading the
English and the Indonesian subtitles of the movies
from the website. The next step was watching the
movies and observing the subtitles of the movies
carefully. Then, the sentences containing metaphors
are noted to be analyzed.
In order to analyze the strategy, first, this
research classified the metaphors by using the
theory of Lakoff and Johnson (1980). Then, this
research performed an analysis of translation
strategies proposed by Newmark (1988) that are
used by the translators in translating the metaphor
from English to Indonesian. This research also
analyzed the ideology employed by the translators
to identify the motive in using the translation
strategy. Regardless of the name of a character,
place, and cultural term, this research limited the
ideology analysis only to the concept of the
metaphor. In analyzing the song lyrics, this research
disregarded the rhyme, rhythm, and song beat
considering the lyrics are not sung but in the form
of subtitle.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the data analysis of the translation
strategy of metaphors found in the dialogues,
monologues and song lyrics of the movies, Mulan
and Moana, can be seen in Table 1 below.
The table shows that out of the translation
seven strategies proposed by Newmark (1988), only
three strategies were applied by the translators in
translating the metaphors found in the movies.
These strategies are: 1) reproducing the same image
as source language; 2) replacing the image in the
source language with a standard target language
image, and 3) converting the image of metaphor
into sense. In the movie Mulan, the three strategies
are almost equally used in translating 49 metaphors.
The first strategy is used 22 times, the second
strategy is used 13 times and the fifth strategy is
used 14 times. Meanwhile, in the movie Moana, the
204 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
first strategy is the most frequently used in
translating metaphor as it is employed by the
translator 42 times. The second strategy is used 15
times and the fifth strategy is used 7 times.
Table 1. The frequency of the translation strategies of
metaphors found in the movies
No. Strategy Freq.
1. Translating metaphor into 64
metaphor with the same
image
2. Translating metaphor into 28
metaphor with different
image
3. Translating metaphor into --
simile
4. Metaphor into Simile plus --
Sense
5. Translating metaphor into 21
sense
6. Deletion --
7. Translating metaphor into --
same metaphor plus sense
Total 113
Translating metaphor into metaphor with the
same image
In Mulan, this strategy is applied 22 times.
Meanwhile, in the movie Moana, this strategy is
applied 42 times. Maintaining the image of the
source language metaphor is likely used because the
metaphors found in the two movies are considered
acceptable and comprehensible in the target
language. Below is an example.
(1) [MULAN] 00:30:23 → 00:30:27
ST: Yeah. Ah, you ain’t worth my time.
TT: Yeah. Ah, kau tidak sepadan dengan
waktuku.
This sentence is categorized as a metaphor
under the concept of TIME IS MONEY. According
to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), time is a valuable
commodity and where work is typically associated
with the time it takes and time is precisely
quantified. In other words, the longer time you
work, the more money you get. Thus, in the society,
time is equated to money. In relation to this
concept, according to Lexico online dictionary, the
word worth means “1 [predicative] Equivalent in
value to the sum or item specified” (Worth, n.d).
This word is usually associated with money, for
example in the sentence This necklace is worth
$1000. From here, it is known that the metaphor
above belongs to the concept of TIME IS MONEY.
In the target text, it could be seen that the
image worth is translated into sepadan in the TL
% which has the same meaning as the SL image. Thus,
56.64 after considering there are no changes in the image
and the meaning, it could be concluded that in the
target language, the metaphor is maintained as well
24.78 as the concept of it.
Another example of using the strategy
-- reproducing the same image as in the source
language is shown below.
--
(2) [MOANA] 00:02:16 → 00:02:23
ST: But without her heart Te Fiti begun to
18.58
crumble, giving birth to a terrible
--
darkness.
TT: Tapi, tanpa jantungnya, Te Fiti mulai
-- hancur, melahirkan kegelapan yang
sangat mengerikan.
100.00
In this sentence, darkness is viewed as
something or someone that could be born. Literally,
giving birth ’is an action of a human or mammals in
delivering an infant. Meanwhile darkness is the
partial or total absence of light. Based on these
definitions, this sentence could not be interpreted
literally, since darkness is an abstract thing.
Therefore, it is an ontological metaphor in the
concept of DARKNESS IS AN ENTITY. So in this
context, giving birth to a terrible darkness means
the problems and troubles affect the condition of
the island.
This metaphor is translated without any
changes in the image. The word giving birth is
translated into melahirkan which has the same
meaning as the original image. The object of the
metaphor a terrible darkness is translated into
kegelapan yang sangat mengerikan (a very terrible
darkness). By maintaining the image and the object
of the metaphor, the target audiences are able to
catch the meaning of the metaphor since the
concept is acceptable in the target language.
(3) [MOANA] 00:11:31 →00:11:34
ST : I’ll have my people to guide me. We’ll
build our future together.
 P. A. Alanisa & A. Munandar | The Translation Strategy of Metaphors | 205
TT : Rakyatku akan membimbingku. Kita
bangun masa depan bersama.
This sentence is a song lyrics sung by Moana
in consideration to be a chief. In this lyrics, Moana
tells herself that the villagers will help her to build
their future. The sentence we’ll build our future
together is a conceptual metaphor of FUTURE IS A
BUILDING. In this concept, future is viewed as
having the characteristics of a building. It could be
built, standing and collapsing. According to Lexico
online dictionary, the word future means “1 (usually
the future) A period of time following the moment
of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to
come.” (Future, n.d.). It implies that future is an
abstract thing. Meanwhile, the word build means “1
Construct (something) by putting parts or material
together.” (Build, n.d.). It is a word to treat a
concrete object. Therefore, this sentence is
considered as a metaphor since there is no activity
to build an abstract thing like “future”. In this
context, it means working hard to achieve goals and
live well in the future.
According to the data, the SL metaphor is
translated by reproducing the same image as in the
source language into TL metaphor “Kita
membangun masa depan bersama”. It could be seen
that the object of the metaphor, future, is translated
into the same object which is masa depan (future).
The image of the metaphor, build, is translated into
the same image in the target language which is
membangun (build). So, by maintaining the object
and the image, the translated metaphor remains in
the concept of FUTURE IS A BUILDING.
The concept FUTURE IS A BUILDING is
acknowledged both in the source language and the
target language. Same as the concept of TIME IS
MONEY, ‘future’ and ‘building’ share similar
characteristics. Both of them is something that has
to be planned carefully and arranged correctly to
become the wanted result. Therefore, the audiences
readily understand the meaning and the concept of
it. Additionally, this concept in a metaphor such as
membangun masa depan is a common metaphor
used in the target language.
(4) [MOANA] 01:13:10 →01:13:15
ST : All those new lands, new villages, it was
the water that connected them all.
TT : Daratan baru, desa baru. Airlah yang
menghubungkan semuanya.
This sentence is said by Maui when he told
Moana that in the past he used to use his power to
pull the island from under the sea and when there
are new islands, it was the water that connected
those islands. In this sentence, the ‘water’ is
compared to an object that could connect other
things. According to Lexico online dictionary, the
word connect (Connect, n.d.) means “1 Bring
together or into contact so that a real or notional
link is established”. Meanwhile, the word water
means “A colourless, transparent, odourless liquid
that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the
basis of the fluids of living organisms” (Water, n.d.).
Literally ‘water’ is a liquid that does not have the
ability to connect two objects or more directly.
However, in this sentence, water becomes a
connector between islands. Figuratively, it means
that through the water or the sea the villagers on
the island are able to find another island.
In the translation, the metaphor is translated
into airlah yang menghubungkan semuanya. It
could be seen that the object of the metaphor, the
water, is translated into the same object which is
airlah (“the water”). The image of the metaphor,
connected, is also translated into the same image,
which is menghubungkan (“connected”). Therefore,
it means that the first strategy is used to translate
this metaphor since there is no change in the image
as well as the meaning of the metaphor.
Maintaining the same image is a suitable
strategy to translate this metaphor since the source
language and the target language share the same
culture. Both the SL and TL are based on the
archipelago state that is familiar with the relation
between the island and the sea. Because of this, the
metaphor that is presented in the source language is
readily understood by the target audiences.
Translating metaphor into metaphor with a
different image
It is a strategy by replacing the source language
image into the most common image in the target
language. In the movies Mulan and Moana, this
strategy is likely used when the image of the
metaphor is unfamiliar and the target language
provides an equal image that carries the same
206 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
meaning as the SL image. However, it is also found
some metaphors that are considered understandable
in the target language. Nonetheless, this strategy is
still applied to translate those metaphors.
(5) [MULAN] 00:01:36 →00:01:38
ST: We’re under attack! Light the signal
TT: Kita diserang! Nyalakan tanda bahaya!
This sentence is said by the soldier of China
Kingdom when The Huns are climbing onto the
Great Wall to attack the kingdom. This expression
can be included as an orientational metaphor in the
concept of BEING SUBJECT TO CONTROL or
FORCE IS DOWN. Literally, the word under means
being down from the concrete object, e.g. under the
table, but in this sentence, the word under is put
before the abstract thing, which is attack or an
aggressive and violent action against a person or
place. If the phrase under attack is interpreted
literally, it would not make any sense. Besides, it is a
metaphor which means being a subject to control by
the attackers or simply being attacked.
According to the data, the SL metaphor we’re
under attack is translated in Indonesian into kita
diserang (“we’re attacked”). The SL metaphor is
replaced into the standard TL metaphor. It could be
seen that the image, under attack, is translated into
TL image, diserang, which is the word that is
originally used for the attack of the animals.
Therefore, the change of the image also changes the
concept which is from BEING SUBJECT TO
CONTROL or FORCE IS DOWN into HUMAN IS
AN ANIMAL.
The word diserang is a common word used in
Indonesia to be expressed in a situation of the
people being attacked. By replacing the image into
that word, it is able to make the metaphor simpler,
so that the audience would be easy to understand.
Other than that, the word diserang is the most
equivalent word to replace the word under attack.
(6) [MULAN] 00:12:17 → 00:12:28
ST: Now I see that if I were truly to be
myself, I would break my family’s heart.
TT: Sekarang aku tahu jika aku benar-benar
menjadi diriku sendiri, aku akan
menyakiti perasaan keluargaku.
The source text is a song lyrics, sung by Mulan
when she thinks she failed to make their family
proud in the matchmaking event. In this sentence,
the phrase break my family’s heart is considered as
an ontological metaphor of HEART IS A BRITTLE
OBJECT. According to Cambridge online
dictionary, the word heart figuratively means “B2
used to refer to a person's character or the place
within a person where feelings or emotions are
considered to come from” (Heart, n.d.). In other
words, heart is a place of feelings. It could be a
feeling of happiness, anger or sadness. Meanwhile,
the word break means “A2 to (cause something to)
separate suddenly or violently into two or more
pieces, or to (cause something to) stop working by
being damaged” (Break, n.d.). This word is usually
used for a brittle concrete object such as glasses.
This is why that heart could be conceptualized as a
brittle object. Therefore, metaphorically, this
sentence means to break the place of feelings. In
this context, this metaphor means to make Mulan’s
family feels upset or sad or disappointed.
In the target text, this metaphor is translated
into a different metaphor but still carries the same
sense as in the source language. The metaphor break
my family’s heart is translated into menyakiti
perasaan keluargaku (“hurt my family’s feeling”) in
the target language. It could be seen that the image
of the metaphor, break, is translated into menyakiti
(hurt) which means to cause physical pain or injury
to a human or an animal, e.g. you hurt my hand or
those hunters are hurting the deer. So, if those two
words are being compared, it is clear that the image
of the metaphor has changed. The word break is
usually used to treat a brittle object, meanwhile, the
word menyakiti (“hurt”) is used to treat a part of the
body. Moreover, the object of the metaphor is also
changed which is from heart translated into
perasaan (“feeling”). Therefore, the changes of the
object and the image of metaphor also change the
concept which is from HEART IS A BRITTLE
OBJECT into FEELING IS PART OF BODY.
Actually, the metaphor with a concept
HEART IS A BRITTLE OBJECT is acknowledged in
the target language. However, this metaphor is
translated into a different metaphor. It is because
menyakiti perasaan is a more common phrase to
express the sadness and disappointment in the target
language. By replacing the image into that phrase, it
eases the audience to grasp the meaning that is
delivered through the metaphor.
 P. A. Alanisa & A. Munandar | The Translation Strategy of Metaphors | 207
(7) [MULAN] 00:08:19 → 00:08:32
ST: Ancestors, hear my plea, help me not to
make a fool of me and to not uproot my
family tree, keep my father standing tall.
TT: Leluhur, dengarkan permohonanku,
tolong aku agar tidak memalukan dan
tidak mempermalukan nama
keluargaku, buat ayahku tetap bangga.
The term family tree is a term to describe
genealogy. However, it could also be perceived as an
ontological metaphor in the concept of SOCIAL
ORGANIZATION IS A PLANT. A tree’ is a plant
that grows and develops from the seed to a
considerable height and having branches. So, just
like a tree, a family is a blood-related unit that could
also develop by its quantity and quality. Meanwhile,
the word uproot means to pull out of the ground.
Therefore, in this context, this sentence means to
not bring down the family’s pride.
In the target language, the metaphor is
translated into a different metaphor. The source
language metaphor, not to uproot my family tree, is
translated into tidak mempermalukan nama
keluargaku (“not to bring shame to my family’s
name”). Firstly, the object, my family tree, is
translated into another object which is nama
keluargaku (“my family name”). Secondly, the
image, uproot, is translated into mempermalukan
(“embarrass”). However, despite the changes, the
sense of the metaphor is still maintained.
The family tree is a term for a diagram
showing the relationships between family members
extended into several generations. It is basically a
way of family to identify the family members from
the ancestors to the present descendants. However,
this term is not familiar to target language culture.
Because of that, replacing it into nama keluarga is a
good option to translate this metaphor. Nama
keluarga is a clan or a name that represents which
family a person comes from. It has the same
function as family tree to identify the generation of
a family. Although not all of the people in Indonesia
have a clan name, this term is more common in the
target language. Therefore, the target audience
would easily understand the meaning of the
metaphor.
(8) [MOANA] 00:24:53 →00:24:58
ST: We sail the length of the seas on the
ocean breeze.
TT: Kita mengarungi panjangnya laut
berselimut angin samudera.
This sentence is taken from song lyrics sung
by Moana’s ancestors when they sail to look for new
islands. It is considered as an ontological metaphor
of WIND IS AN ENTITY. Literally, the word on,
according to the dictionary means physically in
contact with and supported by (a surface). It means
that this word is used to treat a solid object, such as
on the table, on the soil, etc. But, in this sentence,
the word on is put after the phrase the ocean
breeze, which means the ocean gentle wind. The
word wind itself means the perceptible natural
movement of the air. From here, it is known that
ocean breeze is not a solid object. However, in this
sentence, the ocean breeze is being likened to an
entity that has a feature of supporting another thing
above it. In this context, this metaphors means
getting blows by a breeze in the ocean
surroundings.
In the translation, the object, the ocean
breeze, is turned into angin samudera which is the
literal translation of the original object. The image,
however, is changed into an equal image, which is
from on into berselimut. The word berselimut
means to be covered or surrounded completely. So,
it means that in the target language, the concept of
the metaphor also has undergone the change which
is from being viewed as an entity that is supporting
something into an entity that is enveloping
something.
In the translated metaphor, the concept is
easier to understand since the target audiences
already know the concept of the word berselimut
which is being surrounded by something.
Therefore, this word goes well in the translated
metaphor to create the same sense as the source
language. In addition, by using this image, the
sentence tends to be more expressive.
Another example can be seen below.
(9) [MOANA] 00:15:22 → 00:15:31
ST: He took a canoe, Moana. He crossed the
reef and found an unforgiving sea,
waves like mountains.
208 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
TT: Dia membawa kano, Moana. Melewati
karang dan bertemu laut yang kejam,
gelombang seperti gunung.”
The word unforgiving, according to
Cambridge online dictionary, means “not willing to
forgive people for things they do wrong”. Here, it is
known that the word unforgiving is originally used
for a person. Meanwhile, the word sea means “the
salty water that covers a large part of the surface of
the earth”. Therefore, in this sentence, the sea is
likened to a human being that has the feature of
unforgiving. This indicates that this metaphor is
considered as a conceptual metaphor of SEA IS A
PERSON. In this context, it means to found a sea
with terrible weather and wave that could drown
the people who sail on it.
In the target text, it could be seen that the
image of the metaphor is translated into a different
image. The metaphor unforgiving sea is translated
into laut yang kejam (“cruel sea”). From this, it is
seen that the image, unforgiving, is turned into
kejam (“cruel”). The word kejam (“cruel”) means
extremely unkind and unpleasant and causing pain
to people or animals intentionally. This word is
regarded to have a broader meaning than the
original image. However, the change of the image
does not seem to change the concept and the
meaning of the metaphor.
Replacing the image into the word kejam is a
suitable strategy to translate this metaphor since it is
a generic word to describe the violent thing in the
target language. So, through this strategy, the target
audiences could readily understand the meaning of
the metaphor.
Translating metaphor into sense
This strategy is applied by translating the metaphor
directly into meaning. It is used when the
translators encounter with the unfamiliar metaphor
and it seems difficult to find an equal image in the
target language, for example;
(10) [MULAN] 00:04:49 → 00:04:55
ST: To uphold the family honor. Don’t
worry father, I won’t let you down.
TT: Untuk menjaga kehormatan keluarga.
Jangan khawatir, ayah, aku tak akan
mengecewakan Ayah.”
This sentence appears in the conversation
between Mulan and her father. In their house,
Mulan’s father is worried because Mulan always
fails in every matchmaking event. So, to calm her
father, Mulan told to her father that she won’t let
her father down. The sentence I won’t let you down
is included as an orientational metaphor that fits
with SAD IS DOWN concept. In this concept,
feelings could be reflected in a physical gesture. In
this case for example, when people feel sad, their
body gesture is dropping with their heads down. So,
in this context, it means that Mulan does not want
to let his father feels sad because of her failure in
the matchmaker event.
In the target language, the metaphor is
translated into its sense, which is from the
metaphor I won’t let you down into Aku tak akan
mengecewakanmu, Ayah (“I won’t disappoint you,
Father”). Here, the image of the metaphor down is
converted into its sense disappointed which means
“sad or displeased” because someone or something
has failed to fulfill one's hopes or expectations. So,
even though the target text still fulfills the meaning
of the SL metaphor, it does not contain the figure of
speech anymore.
This strategy is probably used because I won’t
let you down is common to express the
disappointment or sadness in the source language.
So, by converting it into sense, the target audiences
are able to get a direct understanding of what really
happens in the scene and what Mulan really feels
toward his father.
(11) [MULAN] 01:09:31 →01:09:32
ST: They’ll never reach the Emperor in
time.
TT: Mereka tidak akan bisa menyelamatkan
Kaisar dengan cepat.
The sentence above is uttered by Mulan when
The Huns abduct the Emperor and try to threaten
the Emperor so that he would give the kingdom to
the Huns. Because of that, the general and the army
tried to save the Emperor, but Mulan thinks that
they’ll never save the Emperor in time. The word in
time is considered as an ontological metaphor in the
concept of TIME IS A CONTAINER. In this
sentence, time is viewed as something that has a
boundary and ‘an in-out orientation’. It means an
activity or an action has to be done in the
 P. A. Alanisa & A. Munandar | The Translation Strategy of Metaphors | 209
boundaries of that time. So, in this context, this
metaphor means that the army could not save the
Emperor quickly.
The source language metaphor, in time, is
translated into dengan cepat (“quickly”) into the
target language. This means that the metaphor is
reproduced into an adverb in the target language
which is also the sense of the metaphor itself.
Actually, there is another phrase that might keep
the metaphor such as tepat waktu. However, by
translating the metaphor into its sense, it could
point out directly about the idea that is conveyed in
the scene to the target audience.
(12) [MOANA] 00:09:44 → 00:09:47
ST: The village may think am crazy or say
that I drift too far.
TT: Penduduk mungkin berpikir nenek gila
atau terlalu mengkhayal.
This sentence is sung when the character
Grandma told Moana that sometimes she acts
differently from common villagers in the village and
that is why many people said that she drifts too far.
According to Lexico online dictionary, the word
drift means “1 Be carried slowly by a current of air
or water” (Drift, n.d.). So, the sentence I drift too far
could be considered as a conceptual metaphor of
PERSON IS AN OBJECT since in this sentence,
grandma is perceived as an object that is being
carried away by the water. Even though this
sentence can be interpreted literally, in this context,
it means for being illogical.
In the target text, the metaphor is converted
into sense. It could be seen that the metaphor, I
drift too far, is translated into nenek terlalu
mengkhayal (“grandma is too fantasizing”). In this
translation, the object, I, is changed into nenek
(“grandma”) and the image drift is translated into
mengkhayal (“fantasize”). Mengkhayal (“fantasize”)
in the TL means to indulge in daydreaming about
something desired. This indicates that both the
image, drift and its translation share the same sense,
which is the state of human who is imagining
something outside their real life. However, in the
target language, the translation is reproduced more
explicitly and without figurative expression.
Actually, there is a metaphor that provides
the same image as the source text which is Nenek
melayang terlalu jauh. The word melayang (Layang,
n.d.) figuratively means as having an indirect mind,
thought, and feeling. This definition has a similar
meaning to the image of the original metaphor.
However, converting this metaphor directly into
sense is a compatible strategy to make the audience
easily understand what is delivered in the scene.
(13) [MOANA] 00:25:20 → 00:25:27
ST: We keep our island in our mind and
when it’s time to find home. We know
the way.
TT: Kita mengingat pulau itu dan saat tiba
waktunya mencari hunian, kita tahu
jalannya.
This sentence is also a song lyrics sung by the
ancient voyagers in their journey to find an island.
In the lyrics, it is mentioned we keep our island in
our mind. From the sentence, it is found two
metaphors. The first metaphor is provided in the
phrase keep our island. This phrase gives an idea as
if the island seems to be something that can be kept.
The word keep itself means “A2 to have or continue
to have in your possession” (Keep, n.d.). For
example, you can keep the key, keep your medicine
in your locker. Meanwhile, island is a piece of land
surrounded by water while it is not a small object.
Therefore, it could be considered that keep our
island is a metaphor in the concept of ISLAND IS A
SMALL OBJECT. The second metaphor is provided
in the phrase in our mind. The ‘in and out’
orientation is used for an area that has a boundary
around it. However, mind is a very abstract element
of a person that enables them to be aware of
something in the world. Therefore, in this sentence,
mind is likened to a boundary space that something
can be put in it. These ideas give a concept that
MIND IS A CONTAINER. Based on the context,
keep our island in our mind means to always give
attention to the previous island even though living
on the new island.
From the text above, it is known that the
original metaphor is translated into kita mengingat
pulau itu (“we remember that island”). The word
mengingat (“remember”) means to always bring
something or someone in the past in someone’s
mind. From here, it could be seen that the word
mengingat shares the same meaning as the sense of
the source language metaphor. However, the target
210 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
text does not seem to maintain the metaphor in its
sentence.
Converting the metaphor into sense is a
suitable strategy to translate this metaphor. It is
because this metaphor has two images that could
not always have the same meaning in the target
language. For example, the word keep, in the keep
your distance, with the object distance, this phrase
still can be understood when it is translated into the
same image into jaga jarakmu but it is different in
the sentence keep your voice low. If this sentence is
translated into jaga suaramu rendah, it would be a
little difficult to understand the meaning of the
sentence, so that it has to be translated into its sense
which is pelankan suaramu. This also applies in the
metaphor keep our island in our mind. Moreover,
converting this metaphor into its sense eases the
target audiences to understand what really happens
in the scene.
CONCLUSION
Based on the findings and analysis, it shows that out
of seven strategies, three strategies are used to
translate the metaphor. These strategies are
reproducing the same image as the source language,
replacing the image into a different image in the
target language and converting the image into sense.
The fact that reproducing the same image is the
most frequently used strategy indicates that most of
the metaphors presented in the source language
have equal metaphorical meaning in the target
language metaphor. By keeping the metaphorical
image, the target audiences are still able to
understand the meaning of the metaphor. However,
some metaphors cannot be translated into the same
image as in the source language. Therefore, to create
the same understanding as in the source language,
the translators chose to translate the metaphor by
replacing the image into an equal image in the
target language and converting the image into sense.
In relation to the first point, the translators
employ the domestication ideology to create the
easiest understanding of the target audience by
using the three strategies. Domestication ideology is
performed by the translators because the two
movies have many metaphors that are similar and
acceptable in the target language. These metaphors
are translated by reproducing the same image as the
source language strategy. Moreover, there are also
some metaphors that are not common in the target
language. Therefore, these metaphors are translated
by replacing them into a different metaphor or
converting them into sense.
The two points above lead to an overall
conclusion that the two translators have a consistent
ideology in translating the metaphor. By using the
three strategies, they aim to transfer the source
language metaphor as close as possible to the target
language. Therefore, it could be fully understood by
the target audiences.
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Build. (n.d.). In Lexico online dictionary. Retrieved
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https://www.lexico.com/definition/build.
Break. (n.d.). In Cambridge online dictionary.
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nglish/break.
Connect. (n.d.). In Lexico online dictionary.
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Fitria, A. (2017). Metafora pada novel Harry Potter
and The Sorcerer's Stone dan strategi
penerjemahannya. (Unpublished master’s
thesis). Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta,
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Fumani, M. (2016). Strategies used by translators to
translate metaphors in Hafez poetry based on
Newmark’s (1988) model. In The second
national interdisciplinary conference on
current issues of English language teaching
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on_Newmark's_1988_Model.
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Future. (n.d.). In Lexico online dictionary. Layang. (n.d.). In Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia
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Heart. (n.d.). In Cambridge online dictionary. Maulida, K. N. (2015). A metaphor translation in
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Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Jalali, M. (2015). Frequent translation strategies
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Canada.
Newmark, P. (2004). A textbook of translation. New
Kaparang, A.I. & Putranti, A. (2017). The York, USA: Prentice Hall.
translation strategies of metaphors in Dee’s
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Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 212-217

Unique Keywords Found in the Titles

of YouTube Beauty and Fashion Videos
Lintang Larasati, Rio Rini Diah Moehkardi*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: riomoehkardi@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the meaning of the keywords used in YouTube’s beauty and fashion videos. It
attempts to identify the most frequently used unique keywords found in the titles of the videos and
examine the semantic change of the keywords. For these purposes, a semantic approach was adopted.
A quantitative method was used to identify the most frequently used unique keywords.
Furthermore, to reveal the semantic change of the keywords, Leech’s theory (1981) of meaning, the
componential analysis, and Breal’s (1900) specification of semantic change were employed. 44 most
frequently used unique keywords were found on the five top rank Beauty & Fashion YouTube
channels. Five of these keywords, which are ‘favorites’, ‘swatches’, ‘haul’, ‘get ready’, and ‘try on’,
appeared on at least three channels. All of them have undergone semantic change. Three keywords
are categorized in two types of semantic change. There are two specializations, one pejoration, one
metaphor, three ameliorations, and one generalization.

Keywords: componential analysis, keywords in video titles, semantic change, YouTube beauty
community.

one time and there was none found on Therapy

INTRODUCTION
The beauty community on YouTube use some
distinctive words in their video titles, which make
them stand out from other communities. They tend
to repeat the same keywords every now and then,
which seems to indicate that there are specific main
ideas used repeatedly for video content in the
beauty community. For example, in 2016, the word
haul was used eight times on Burr's (2016) channel
and the word favorite was used six times on
Gabriella's channel (Gabriella, 2016). In comparison
to those channels coming from Beauty & Fashion
category, in the same year, Pansino’s channel (2016)
from Cooking & Health only used the word haul
(2016), while the word favorite was only used one
time on each channel. This repetitive use of certain
keywords across channels in the beauty community
suggests that some keywords are unique to video
titles on beauty and fashion channels. Furthermore,
these unique keywords have a different number of
occurrences which indicate that some of them are
more significant than others. For example, while
the word haul was used eight times in Burr’s
channel, the word essentials was only used one time
on the same channel within the same year.
When talking about language used by a
community, it is important to talk about the
semantic change as the meaning of a word in a

212 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

 L. Larasati & R. R. D. Moehkardi | Unique Keywords | 213
community can be different to what people outside
of the community understand. For example, the
word spoiler in Oxford Advanced Learners
Dictionary (2013) means a part of an aircraft’s wing
for the aeronautics. Also from the same dictionary,
spoiler has a different meaning related to
automotive, where it means a raised part on a fast
car. Maggs (2015) wrote in her book about the
fandom community that “a spoiler is any
information about a story, plotline, or character that
is revealed ahead of time.” (p. 32). While having a
similar meaning with that of the fandom
community, the beauty community mostly use the
word in their video titles to reveal products
included in a subscription box package. Moreover, it
is used as a warning since some people prefer their
subscription boxes to be secret until they receive
them themselves. The examples of this usage can be
seen in “March Boxyluxe | Palette Brand Spoiler!!!”
(Guillen, 2019), “July 2019 Boxycharm Spoiler!”
(Wolfe, 2019), and “Boxycharm February 2019 &
March Spoilers” (Wolfe, 2019). In conclusion, the
word spoiler has different meanings in terms of its
dictionary meaning and the meaning found in a
particular community. This shows that the word
spoiler has undergone a semantic change and we are
interested to investigate if there are more words in
the beauty community that have undergone a
semantic change.
There are many advantages in identifying and
understanding these keywords. Learning about
them in general improves the vocabulary
knowledge and analyzing their semantic changes
teaches the proper way to use the terms. Moreover,
identifying the most frequently used keywords by
beauty and fashion channels helps to recognize the
popular types of videos circulated in the com-
munity. Understanding the meaning of these
keywords in the titles makes it easier for people
inside and outside of the community to grasp the
context of the videos. It also helps aspiring
YouTubers to familiarize themselves with the
popular keywords along with their meanings in the
community.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Four previous studies have relevant topic,
methodology, object of study, and approach to the
present study. These studies are helpful as they
contribute ideas and library references to the
present research. García-Rapp (2016) was interested
in the beauty community which is similar to the
present research. However, García-Rapp focuses on
a particular beauty guru, while the present research
examines the beauty community as a whole.
Another study by Tobing (2010) used the
same theories of meaning and componential analysis
as the present research, but the data and the theory
of semantic change are different. Štichová (2015)
examined keywords in video titles. She investigated
not only the semantic change but also the process of
word formation. Bilung (2018) is similar to the
present study in the sense that both use the same
theory of semantic change by Bréal (1964). Both
also apply the componential analysis and the theory
of meaning by Leech (1981). However, the data are
different. The data of this study are taken from the
video titles of YouTube channels coming from the
Beauty & Fashion category, while Bilung’s were
from the transcription of makeup tutorial videos.
Furthermore, this study looks for the most
frequently used unique keywords, while Bilung’s
analyzes all of the jargons found in makeup tutorial
videos.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theories used to solve the problem formulated
in this study include the theory of componential
analysis, theory of meaning, and theory of semantic
changes. Componential analysis is used to break
down features of the keywords both in conceptual
and social meanings, which are two out of seven
types of meaning proposed by Leech. Those
keywords are then compared to each other to see if
there is a change in the meaning. To see the type of
214 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
change undergone by each of the keywords, we use
the semantic change theory by Bréal (1964). Haul
No. Lexical Conceptual Social Meaning
Item Meaning
K.1 Haul [+a result] [+a show of
METHODS [+an effort to result]
obtain] [+shopping]
The data collection was conducted in two [+with a device] [+money]
ways. One was by collecting the video titles and the [-fashion] [+fashion]
other was by using a questionnaire targeting [-makeup] [+makeup]
YouTube’s beauty community. The samples for the While the conceptual meaning of the noun
primary data, which are the video titles, were haul may refer to the result of any act to obtain
selected with some specifications set to both the anything using the appropriate device, the beauty
channels and the videos. Meanwhile, the community uses the noun ‘haul’ to refer to a show
questionnaire was distributed through e-mails and of one’s shopping’s result. This shows that the
online forums containing a request for the meaning of the noun haul in the beauty sector has
respondents to do componential analysis. undergone a semantic change and it has been
The data analysis was conducted in two ways. narrowed; therefore, the noun haul is categorized in
One was by looking through the primary data and the specialization semantic change. The conceptual
determining which keywords were used most meaning of the noun haul is the superordinate of its
frequently, while the other one was comparing the social meaning and its social meaning is the
conceptual meaning and the social meaning of each subordinate of its conceptual meaning. Moreover,
keyword to reveal the type of semantic change. The two features that are added to the social meaning
conceptual meaning was taken from breaking down are proven to be topics that are popular in haul
meanings found in the dictionaries. The social videos, which are [fashion] and [makeup].
meaning was taken from the questionnaire result,
the video samples, and online references. Favorites
No. Lexical Conceptual Social Meaning
Item Meaning
K.2 Favorites [+a person or a [+a person or a
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
thing] thing]
[+loved] [+loved]
The keywords ‘haul’, ‘favorites’, ‘swatches’, ‘get
[+treated with [-treated with
ready’, and ‘try on’ were presented to respondents special favor] special favor]
so that they could make their own judgment, as a [+received [-received
part of the Beauty Community, of what features better better
best represent those keywords. 59 respondents treatment than treatment than
answered the questionnaire with only 10 of them others] others]
were qualified to be analyzed further. Those were [-periodical-ly] [+periodically]
who answered all of the questions listed The social meaning loses the features [treated
accordingly. with special favor] and [received better treatment
We asked the respondents to give 10 features than others] from the conceptual meaning, which
for each keyword, but some of them sometimes gave means that the positive sense of ‘special favor’ and
more than 10 features and some gave only nine for ‘better treatment’ are not in the social meaning. The
some of the keywords. Nevertheless, we included all limitation in the manner of time by the feature
of the features provided by the respondents. [periodically] also makes the noun ‘favorites’ lose
the meaning of it being special. The loss of positive
sense puts the word favorites under the pejoration
type of semantic change.
 L. Larasati & R. R. D. Moehkardi | Unique Keywords | 215
Swatches
Get Ready
No. Lexical Conceptual Social
Item Meaning Meaning No. Lexical Conceptual Social
K.3 Swatches [+sample] [+example] Item Meaning Meaning
[+small [+small K.4 Get [+to prepare] [+to prepare]
collection] collection] Ready / [-fun] [+fun]
[+fabric] [-fabric] Get [-tutorial] [+tutorial]
[-color] [+color] Ready [-beauty] [+beauty]
[-makeup] [+makeup] with Me /
[-fun] [+fun] GRWM

The additional feature [fun] found in the The idiom get ready has been narrowed in the
social meaning puts the noun ‘swatches’ in a more beauty sector by the feature [tutorial] and [beauty]
positive sense and therefore may categorize it in the as the social meaning of ‘get ready’ heavily involves
amelioration semantic change. However, it may also putting on makeup. Therefore, the idiom may be
be categorized in the metaphor semantic change. categorized in the specialization type of semantic
The noun ‘swatches’ in the conceptual and social change. The conceptual meaning of the idiom ‘get
meanings refers to different entities from different ready’ is the superordinate of the social meaning
domains. Its domain in the conceptual meaning is and the social meaning is the subordinate of the
textile, while its domain in the beauty sector is conceptual meaning. Moreover, it has also gained a
makeup product. Therefore, although they share positive sense with the feature [fun] which may also
similarities, the social meaning of ‘swatches’ categorize it in the amelioration type of semantic
proposes a different sense of meaning in comparison change.
to the conceptual one. The similarity perceived here
is the similarity of function and quantification. Try On
They both take sample from a product which can be
No. Lexical Conceptual Social
seen in the feature [sample] from the conceptual
Item Meaning Meaning
meaning and [example] from the social meaning.
K.5 Try On / [+put on] [+demo]
They also have the same way of quantification,
Try-On / [+clothing] [+fashion]
using the feature [small collection] for both Trying On [+see the fit] [+fit]
meanings. Meanwhile, they differ in their sources. [+how it looks] [+impression]
The conceptual meaning has the feature [fabric] as [-makeup] [+makeup]
the source of the sample and the social meaning has [-brand] [+brand]
the feature [makeup]. [-new] [+new]

The beauty community uses the noun
‘swatches’ to describe the makeup product which
has the same function and quantification of the
textile ‘swatches’. The beauty community maps
both the feature of function [sample] and the
feature of quantification [small collection] from the
domain of textile onto the domain of makeup
product. This transfer from one domain to another
puts the noun ‘swatches’ to be in the metaphor
semantic change.
The feature [new] is present in the social
meaning and it gives the keyword a positive sense of
something fresh and up to date. This feature can be
found in all of the video samples, as they all talk
about something the vloggers just recently bought.
The addition of the feature [new] may put the
keyword ‘try on’ in the amelioration type of
semantic change. However, there is also an addition
of the feature [makeup] which makes the keyword’s
meaning widen in the social meaning. While the
216 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
conceptual meaning only relates ‘try on’ to clothing,
the beauty sector branches it further out to makeup.
Therefore, the type of semantic change experienced
by the keyword ‘try on’ is generalization with the
conceptual meaning being the subordinate of the
social meaning and the social meaning being the
superordinate of the conceptual meaning.
CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis of the first problem,
there are 266 unique keywords found across five
YouTube channels’ 651 video titles. The most
frequently used are as many as 44 keywords.Of
these keywords, only five were found on most of
the channels. The most popular one is ‘haul’ with
108 occurrences. The second is ‘favorite’ with 64
occurrences. The third is ‘get ready’ with 43
occurrences. The fourth is ‘try on’ with 40
occurrences. The fifth is ‘swatches’ with 35
occurrences. The frequency of the keywords may
give insight into what is popular in the community
at the time.
Based on the analysis of the second problem,
only five out of six Breal’s types of semantic change
are found in this study. All of the keywords in the
beauty sector have undergone semantic change.
‘Haul’ is categorized in the specialization type of
semantic change. ‘Favorites’ is categorized in the
pejoration type of semantic change. ‘Swatches’ is
categorized in the metaphor and amelioration type
of semantic change. ‘Get ready’ is categorized in the
specialization and amelioration type of semantic
change. ‘Try on’ is categorized in the generalization
and amelioration type of semantic change.
In relation to these keywords, there are
specific topics found in the social meaning, which
are beauty and fashion. We found that the
generalization and specialization semantic changes
are all due to adjusting the meaning in relation to
beauty and fashion. We also found that the most
common type of semantic change experienced by
the keywords is the amelioration semantic change.
Our hypothesis on this would be because these
keywords appear in the titles of videos usually
produced for entertainment purposes where positive
sense needs to be employed.
There have not been many studies which take
interest in the language of the beauty community.
Therefore, one of the limitations in doing this
research was looking for a reference for establishing
an effective and structured system in collecting and
analyzing the data. We suggest other researchers to
find better ways to collect and analyze the data for
similar research. Another limitation was the sample
size of just five channels. Having more researchers
or time would have allowed for a better
understanding of the language used by the beauty
community by expanding the sample size. We also
could have used more respondents instead of just 10
and it would have allowed for a more accurate
representation for the beauty community.
Furthermore, we suggest other researchers to take a
closer look into more areas other than semantic to
have more thorough research on the study. For
example, other researchers may conduct a syntax
analysis and discover how the titles are structured
to further understand the language used by the
beauty community for video titles. Other
researchers may also conduct a study to explain the
reason why the change happened and to test if our
hypotheses about the change, as briefly talked about
earlier in this conclusion, are true.
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beauty jargon found in makeup tutorial videos
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García-Rapp, F. (2016). The digital media
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[Kindle Version]. (2013). Retrieved from
Amazon Kindle store. Wolfe, E. (2019, June 10). Boxycharm July 2019
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Pansino, R. (2016). [Video section]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtu.be/kaHN1EXQ0wl.
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beauty video titles. (Unpublished master’s
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Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 218-227

A Comparative Study of Apology Strategies produced by

Indonesian and Australian Bridge Players
Fanny Misfa Jessy, Thomas J.P. Sembodo*
English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: thomassembodo@ugm.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This study aims to identify, classify, and compare the apology strategies used by Indonesian and
Australian bridge players. The data were gathered from 10 Indonesian bridge players and 10
Australian bridge players through a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) questionnaire. There are 173
apology strategies found among Indonesian bridge players and 146 apology strategies among
Australian bridge players. The data are classified by the categorization adapted from previous
research such as Cohen and Olshtain (1981), Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984) and Shahrokhi and Jan
(2012). The result of the study shows some similarities and differences in terms of frequency of
apology strategies used by Indonesian and Australian bridge players. The findings of this study
describe the speech acts of apology between two groups of people with different cultural
backgrounds.

Keywords: Apology strategies, Australian, bridge players, Indonesian, level of offense.

Cultural Study Speech Act Realization Patterns

INTRODUCTION
People use an apology when they realize that they
have made a mistake. However, people might have
different preferences whether, when and how to
apologize. People can apologize by simply saying "I
apologize" or "I regret", or, moreover, they can
express their regret by, for example, repairing the
mistakes they have made, or taking responsibility
for what they did.
The strategies of apology are discussed in the
field of Pragmatics especially in speech act theory.
There have been many studies on apology strategies
and one of the popular research was conducted by
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984). In their work,
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984) used Cross-
(CCSARP) as their data analysis. CCSARP is
considered to have a universality to analyze cross-
linguistic comparisons that have cross-cultural
diversity. According to Blum-Kulka and Olstain
(1984), the project is expected to be able to provide
a further understanding of speech acts especially
requests and apologies.
In the field of sports, there are some situations
when players have to apologize. One of the sports
that is recently well-known is Bridge sports. Bridge
is a card game played in pairs or groups. This game
has developed in various countries around the
world, such as Indonesia and Australia. Having
experience as a bridge player, the researcher of the
current study is interested to observe whether there

218 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019

 F. M. Jessy & T. J. P. Sembodo | Apology Strategies | 219
are differences or similarities in apology strategies
used by bridge players from Indonesia and
Australia.
LITERATURE REVIEW
There have been many pragmatic studies about
apology strategies. Demeter (2000), for example,
investigated apology strategies used in Romanian
using a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) to collect
their data. He got 150 respondents producing 1,500
strategies to analyze. The findings prove that the
Romanian speakers that participated in the survey
overwhelmingly preferred to use more than one
category when apologizing.
Shahrokhi and Jan (2012) examined the
realization of apology strategies among Persian
males. The research focuses on investigating the
apology speech act by Persian male native speakers
to categorize and formulate the apology strategies
employed in their interactions in various social
contexts. In their research, they also use the coding
scheme of CCSARP (Cross-Cultural Speech Act
Realization Patterns) by Blum Kulka and Olshtain
(1989) with some modification to analyze the data
collected. The result of his study shows that the
high frequency of IFID (Illocutionary Force
Indicating Device) as the most frequent and direct
way of apologizing reflects Persian's orientation
toward the negative politeness. However they also
stated that the analysis of the data of this study may
not be generalized to all Persian males community;
but still, it can provide some insights on the apology
strategy patterns in the Persian male context and
some of the implications on cultural norms and
rules in the Persian society.
Subandi (2014) explored the use of cross-
cultural politeness strategies of apologies by
Australian English speakers and Indonesian
speakers. The research reveals the respondents use
different strategies when producing apology speech
acts. Indonesian speakers tend to respect age and
social class in realizing apology, also they mostly use
more vary strategies and longer sentences.
Meanwhile, Australian were more likely to ignore
age or social status.
Another research is “Apology strategies and
gender: A Pragmatic Study of apology speech acts in
the Urdu language" by Majeed and Janjua (2014).
They researched by collecting data through DCT
which was used in CCSARP by Blum Kulka, 1982.
The data were analyzed using a coding procedure
developed by the CCSARP with some modifications.
They focus on an apology strategy in the Urdu
language conducted by the students at the National
University of Modern Languages Islamabad. The
results of the research indicate that the gender
differences emerging are influenced by their social
position and authority and the female participants
seem to be more aware of their facial desires when
negotiating with their friends and relatives.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Morris (1938) signifies pragmatics as a relation
between signs and the people who interpret it.
According to Morris (1938) pragmatics is the study
of speech acts which linguistically conveys a sign
that contains meaning (p. 30). The focus of this
study is to classify the apology strategies used by
two different groups of people. Therefore, it applies
several theories related to the topic of this research.
The first is context. It is an action about
“understanding what things are for; it is also what
gives our utterances their true pragmatic meaning
and allows them to be counted as true pragmatic
acts” (Mey, 2001, p. 41). According to Cutting
(2002), there are three types of context; situational
context, background knowledge context, and co-
textual context. Situational context is what speakers
know about what they can see around them.
Background knowledge context is what they know
about each other and the world. Lastly, co-textual
context is what they know about what they have
been saying.
The action in conveying what is intended by
the speaker to the hearer is done through
utterances. Utterance is ‘a term used in linguistics
and phonetics to refer to a stretch of speech about
which no assumptions have been made in terms of
linguistic theory' (Crystal, 2008, p. 505). Bowe et al.
(2014) point out that a speech act is concerned with
understanding the intentions and conventions
220 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
linked to an utterance and what this utterance can
do.
According to Austin (1962) and Searle (1969)
an utterance consists of three components. First is
locution, the actual form of the utterance. It is the
basic production of the meaningful utterance of
what is said. This component is more related to the
hearer. If the hearer fails to understand what the
speaker is saying then the speaker has failed to do a
locutionary act. The second is illocution, the
communicative force of the utterance. It is what is
intended by the speaker in making the utterance.
An illocutionary act is accomplished via utterance
with a communicative intention. A speaker may
perform an illocutionary act to make a promise,
offer or explanation as proposed by Austin (1962) as
an illocutionary force. The third is perlocution, the
communicative effect of the utterance. This act is
about producing the effect of meaningful,
intentional utterance. It is what the hearer
interprets as the meaning intended by the
utterance.
Searle (1976) conveys that illocutionary act is
the basic unit of human linguistic communication.
It relates to the speaker’s purposes by uttering
sentences. There are five kinds of speech acts
adapted from Searle (1976, p. 16-21):
1) Representatives, e.g. affirm, deny, report,
believe, etc.
2) Directives, e.g. command, request, insist, ask,
etc.
3) Commissives, e.g. promise, offer, declare, etc.
4) Expressives, e.g. 'thank', 'congratulate',
'apologize', 'condole', 'deplore', and 'welcome'.
5) Declarations, e.g. baptize, name, appoint, etc.
Apology comes under expressive speech acts.
Cohen and Olshtain (1981) perceive apology as a
social event when they point out that it is
performed when social norms are violated. Cohen
and Olshtain (1981, p. 113-134) state that there are
six types of apology strategies as follows;
a) Illocutionary force indicating devices (IFID)
- An expression of regret, e.g. I’m sorry.
- An offer of apology, e.g. I apologize.
- A request for forgiveness, e.g. Forgive me
b) Taking responsibility (TOR)
- Explicit self-blame, e.g. It is my fault.
- Lack of intent, e.g. I didn’t mean it.
- Expression of self-deficiency, e.g. I forgot.
- Self-dispraise, e.g. I’m such a fool!
- Justify hearer, e.g. You’re right.
- Refusal to acknowledge guilt, e.g. It
wasn’t my fault.
- Statement of the Offense (STO), e.g. I
didn’t bring your book
c) An explanation or account of the situation
(AES), explaining the reasons for the
violation, e.g. The traffic was terrible.
d) An offer of repair (AOR), e.g. I’ll pay for it.
e) A promise for forbearance (POF), e.g. It won’t
happen again.
f) Concern for the Hearer (CFH), e.g. Are you
okay?
Another strategy is shown in Shahrokhi and
Jan (2012) research. Shahrokhi and Jan (2012, p.
695) state that the respondents in their research
occasionally underestimated the offense as humor to
reduce the frequency of the offensethey were
responsible for in some situations explained in the
DCT.
Felicity conditions, according to Crystal
(2008), refer to the conditions that must be in place
and the criteria that must be satisfied for a speech
act to achieve its purpose. In other words, it is a
criterion that must be fulfilled if the speech act
wants to reach its purpose. Murphy (2015)
summarizes that there are four types of felicity
conditions, which can cover most of the utterances
described as apology speech acts, as follows:
Propositional content: an act is done, or
to be done in the future, by the speaker
or someone for whom the speaker is a
formally recognized representative.
Preparatory condition: speaker believes
that the apology recipient, or a
contextually relevant third party,
believes that the act was an offense
against the recipient (or someone whom
the recipient represents).
Sincerity condition: speaker regrets the
act of one of its consequences.
Essential condition: utterance counts as
an apology. (pp. 10-11)
 F. M. Jessy & T. J. P. Sembodo | Apology Strategies | 221
METHODS
Participants
The subjects of the study are divided into two
groups. The first group consists of ten young bridge
players from Indonesia. This group answered the
question in Indonesian. The second group are ten
young bridge players from Australia. The researcher
recruited the Australian bridge athletes from a
bridge application named Bridge Base Online. This
group answered the question in English. All
participants are in the age range of 20 - 26 years old.
Method of Data Collection
The current study employed a Discourse
Completion Test (DCT) for data collection. Many
pragmatics studies about apology strategy use the
DCT to investigate variation in the validity of cross-
cultural speech acts. The DCT used in this research
is adapted from the DCT in the research conducted
by Shahrokhi and Jan (2012). The situations are
adjusted to the possible incidents that happen in a
bridge game. Participants were asked to imagine
themselves in the described situations and to
respond accordingly.
Method of Data Analysis
This study aims to analyze and compare the speech
acts of apology employed by Indonesian and
Australian bridge players. After the data has been
collected, the researcher code the data from each
participant and categorized each group's responses
by the situations using the coding scheme of A
Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act Realization
Pattern (CCSARP) project and compared the results.
The use of cross-cultural study is to compare the
practice of communication from one language /
cultural group to another, as used in previous
studies. After coding was completed, the frequency
of distributions of apology strategies by the
participants was calculated. Finally, the apology
realization patterns of the Indonesian bridge players
were compared to those of Australian bridge players
to identify any similarities and differences between
the two groups.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
There are a total of 173 apologies produced by
Indonesian bridge players. IFID was used 74 times
by Indonesian bridge players. Expression of regret
was produced twice (1,16%), an offer of apology was
spoken 68 times (39,31%), and ‘request for
forgiveness' was spoken 4 times (2,31%). The
frequency of Indonesian players using Taking
Responsibility strategy is 62 times. They expressed
the strategy of Explicit Self-blame (ESB) 3 times in
different situations. There are 30 utterances of Lack
of Intent (LOI). There are 14 utterances (8,1%) that
belong to Expression of Self-deficiency. There is
only one utterance of Refusal to Acknowledge Guilt
(RAG) category used by Indonesian bridge players.
Statement of the offense (STO) was used 4 times. An
Explanation of the Situations (AES) was found 5
times. There are 38 utterances that belong to An
Offer of Repair (AOR). There are three utterances
(1,73%) of Concern for the Hearer (CFH) found in
the data.
Meanwhile there are 146 apologies produced
by Australian bridge players. There are 70
utterances of IFID. There are 42 utterances of ‘an
expression of regret’. There are 21 utterances of
AOA. There are seven utterances which included a
request for forgiveness. Explicit self-blame (ESB)
was found four times. Lack of Intent (LOI) strategy
was found eight times. There are 8 utterances
included in the Expression of self-deficiency (ESD).
There are four utterances included in the apology of
the strategy to explain or account for the situation
(AES). There are around 37 utterances that belong
to An Offer of Repair (AOR). Promise for
forbearance (POF) was spoken five times and
Concern for the hearer (CFH) was used four times.
There are 5 utterances of Underestimating the
offense as Humor in the data. Table 1 below
presents the frequency of apology strategies
produced by both groups of respondents.
When comparing the data from both groups
of respondents, we found some similarities of the
apology strategies used by both groups. There are
five types of apology strategies that are used with
approximately similar frequencies. The first
strategy is ‘request for forgiveness’. The
Indonesian bridge players produce four of this
strategy, and the Australian produce seven of this.
222 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
The following are two examples spoken by one of (2) Paman, maaf, tadi sepertinya beberapa badan
the Indonesian respondents. mobil rusak. Saya benar-benar tidak sengaja.
Tolong dimaafkan. (G4, ID)
Table 1. The frequency of apology strategies produced
by the Indonesian and Australian Bridge Players “Uncle, I apologize, it seems like some car
bodies were broken. I really didn't mean it.
Indonesian Australian Please forgive me.”
No. Strategies
N % N % This apology contains the apology Tolong
1. Illocutionary Force 74 42.8 70 48.0 dimaafkan that means “Please forgive me”. With
Indicating Devices this utterance the respondent, based on the
(IFID) provided situation, asked his uncle to forgive him
for accidentally damaging his uncle's car.
2. Taking of
53 30.6 21 14.4
Responsibility To observe the similarity of the above
3. An explanation or 5 2.9 4 2.7 apologies with those spoken by the Australian
account of the respondents, the following are three examples of
situations (AES) requests for forgiveness produced by the Australian
4. An offer of repair 38 22.0 37 25.4
bridge players.
(AOR) (3) Forgive me please, I forgot the book. (A8, AU)
5. Promise for 0 0 5 3.4 The above apologetic utterance produced by
forbearance (POF)
an Australian respondent when responding to
6. Concern for the 3 1.7 4 2.7 Situation 1. The respondent says "Forgive me,
hearer (CFH) please" to his coach as he forgot to bring his coach's
7. Underestimating the 0 0 5 3.4 book that he is supposed to return at the time.
offense as Humor
(4) Forgive me, it was my foolish. (B5, AU)
(UOH)
Total 173 100 146 100
This is another example of the ‘request for
forgiveness’ that is a response for Situation 2 which
contains low offense.
When comparing the data from both groups
(5) Forgive me, uncle. I'll repair it. The similar
of respondents, we found some similarities of the
incidents won’t happen again in the future.
apology strategies used by both groups. There are
(G5, AU)
five types of apology strategies that are used with
approximately similar frequencies. The first strategy The above apology is a response for Situation
is request for forgiveness. The Indonesian bridge 7, in which the respondent borrowed his uncle's
players produce four of this strategy, and the car, and he had an accident that damaged some
Australian produce seven of this. The following are parts of the car.
two examples spoken by one of the Indonesian
The second strategy that occurs relativey
respondents.
similar in terms of frequecy among the two
(1) Yaelah, ternyata aku punya petanya dong. respondent groups is explicit self-blame. This
Maafkan hamba. (C3, ID) strategy is a sub-strategy of ‘taking of responsibility’.
Three such apologies accour among the Indonesian
“Geez, it turns out I have the map. Forgive
bridge players, and four occur among the Australian
me.”
resondents. Below are the ‘explicit self-blames’
This apology is a response for Situation 3. The occured among the Indonesian respondents.
respondent utters the apology Maafkan hamba that
(6) Maaf, Pak/Bu, maaf, saya benar-benar minta
means “Forgive me” towards the hearer.
maaf. Saya yang ceroboh, gak sengaja tumpah
jadinya. Maaf ya, Pak/Bu. (B7, ID)
 F. M. Jessy & T. J. P. Sembodo | Apology Strategies | 223
“I apologize, Sir/Ma'am, I apologize, I really
apologize. I was careless, I accidentally spilled
it out. I apologize, Sir.”
The above apology is uttered when a player
spilled orange juice into his manager's trousers. He
explicitly blamed himself for him being careless by
saying saya yang ceroboh that means “I was
careless”.
(7) Mas/mba, saya mau mengakui salah saya.
Mohon maaf sekali, layar laptopnya jadi
hancur begini. Saya tadi nggak sengaja
menyenggol laptopnya waktu mau angkat
telepon. Kira-kira kalau saya bawa laptopnya
ke tempat servis bagaimana mas/mba?
insyaAllah semua biayanya biar saya yang
tanggung. Maaf ya apabila jadi menyusahkan.
(E1, ID)
“Mas/mba, I want to admit that I have made a
mistake. I really apologize, the laptop screen is
broken like this. I accidentally nudged the
laptop when I wanted to pick up the phone.
What if I bring the laptop to the service
station mas/mba? InsyaAllah, about all the
costs let me be responsible. I apologize if it
becomes troublesome.”
This explicit self-blame is an apology for
Situation 5. This respondent explicitly utters saya
mau mengakui salah saya that means “I want to
admit that I have made a mistake” to show that he is
responsible for damaging the hearer’s laptop.
(8) Maaf ya, Om. Aku kurang hati-hati banget
emang. (G6, ID)
“I apologize, Om. I’m really careless.”
The above is the other explicit self-blame
occuring among the Indonesian bridge players in
response to Situation 7. The respondent uses the
phrase Aku kurang hati-hati banget emang that
means “I’m really careless” to show that what he did
is out of his carelessness, and he feels responsible for
the incident.
In the case of the Australian respondents
uttering explicit self-blames, the following are two
examples of such apologies.
(9) Sorry. I'm so careless. (B6, AU)
The above apology shows that the respondent
admits his being not careful, spilling orange juice on
his team manager's trousers.
(10) Oh, sorry. This is my fault. (F7, AU)
This explicit self-blame is an apology for
spilling a bottle of milk on one’s team mate’s
spotless car. The respondent blames himself as an
expression of an apology.
Another strategy that is used among the two
groups of respondents with fairly similar frequency
is an explanation of the situations (AES). This
strategy occurs five times ammong the Indonesian
bridge and four times among the Australian bridge
players. The following is one of such apologies
uttered among the Indonesian respondents.
(11) Terima kasih, Paman, sudah meminjamkan
mobilnya, dan saya minta maaf, Paman, saat
perjalanan pulang tadi saya mengalami
kecelakaan sehingga lampu utama mobil rusak
dan bempernya bengkok. Besok biar saya
benarkan di bengkel, Paman. (G2, ID)
“Thank you, Uncle, for lending me a car, and I
apologize, Uncle, on the way home I had an
accident so that the main headlights of the car
were broken and the bumpers were bent.
Tomorrow I'll fix it in the workshop, Uncle.”
The above apology is a response to Situation 5,
in which the speaker damaged his uncle's car. In
this example, the respondent explained that the car
was broken because he had an accident while using
the car. Interestingly, the expression saya
mengalami kecelakaan that means “I had an
accident” is also utterred in the other four apologies
of this strategy.
With regards to the Australian bridge players,
the following is one of the four explanations of the
situations.
(12) I would explain carefully for what was
happened to his car and ask for his
forgiveness. (G2, AU)
The above apology is a response to Situation 7,
in which hypothetically the bridge player tells his
uncle that his car has been damaged in several parts
due to the accident experienced by the respondent.
The fourth strategy that occurs with the
relatively similar frequency among both groups of
224 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
respondents is an offer of repair (AOR). Among the
Indonesian group this strategy occurs 38 times and
37 times among the Australian group. With this
strategy a speaker offers refinements for the
offences he committed, such as be responsible for
the damage or paying compensations. The following
are several of the strategy that occur among the
Indonesian respondents.
(13) Maaf, Mas/Mba, saya lupa membawa buku
bridge, mungkin bisa saya ambil dulu
sekarang. (A8, ID)
“I apologize, Bro/Sis, I forgot to bring a bridge
book, maybe I can take it now.”
In this apology, the expression mungkin bisa
saya ambil dulu sekarang that means “maybe I can
take it now” is uttered because the speaker forgot to
bring a book belonging to his coach. He offered to
take the book to refine the violation he has
committed that is he does not bring it.
(14) Ya Allah. Maaf, bro. Gak sengaja. Aku traktir
jus jeruk lagi saja ya. (B3, ID)
“Oh my God. I apologize, Bro. I did not mean
to. I'll treat you an orange juice again, okay?”
In this apology, the respondent offers to buy
an orange juice for his manager because he has
already spilled orange juice on his manager's
trousers. This reaction is identified as an offer of
repair as he attempts to make amends for what he
has done.
(15) Maaf, Pak. Saya tidak sengaja, ini pak tisu
untuk membersihkannya. (B5, ID)
“I apologize, Sir. I accidentally. Here is some
tissue to clean it, Sir.”
The above is another an offer of repair, which
is a response to Situation 2. The repair that is
offered is handing out tissue or a napkin to clean the
manager's trousers which are wet due to spilled
orange juice.
(16) Maaf banget, kak. Saya tidak sengaja
menjatuhkan laptop kakak. Nanti biar saya
perbaiki laptop kakak agar supaya bisa
digunakan kembali. (E2, ID)
“I apologize a lot, Kak. I accidentally dropped
your laptop. Later, let me fix your laptop so
that it can be used again.”
The above apology is an offer of repair that is
a response to Situation 5. In this situation, the
speaker drops his senior's laptop, and he says that he
will repair the laptop, so that it can be functional
again.
(17) Maaf. Biar saya saja yang membersihkannya.
(F2, ID)
“I apologize. Let me clean it up.”
With this apology, the respondent offers to
clean his partner's car after he spilled a bottle of
milk in it (Situation 6). There are other 5 similar
utterances that contain ‘an offer of repair’ in
Situation 6.
(18) Paman, maaf sekali. Maaf, Paman. Biar aku
bantu bawa ke bengkel ya.
“Uncle, I apologize. I apologize, uncle. Let me
help take it to the workshop.”
This apology is a response to Situation 7. The
speaker apologies to the hearer after he damaged
his uncle's car. In his apology he expresses that he
will take his uncle’s car to a workshop to be
repaired. The offer of such compensation is also
expressed by several other respondents; there are 6
utterances regarding Situation 7 that belong to this
strategy.
(19) Maaf banget ini. Aku gak sengaja. Nanti aku
transfer kerugiannya biar kamu bisa beli tas
baru. (H3, ID)
“I really apologize. I didn't mean it. I'll
transfer money to you for the loss, so that
later you can buy a new bag.”
This offer of repair is an apology with regards
to Situation 8. In this situation, the speaker has
spilled black ink on a bag that belongs to another
player. To apologize the speaker offers
compensation so that the hearer can buy a new bag.
Such a strategy is also used among the
Australian respondents in response to the given
situations. This strategy is the second most
frequently used strategy by Australian bridge
players. As mentioned earlier, there are 37 offer of
repair utterances found among this respondent
group. The following are several examples of such a
strategy among the Australian bridge players.
 F. M. Jessy & T. J. P. Sembodo | Apology Strategies | 225
(20) I'll say sorry and bring it back the next class.
(A2, AU)
This apology contains ‘an offer of repair’ that
is a response to Situation 1, in which a player does
not bring his coach's book that he has promised to
return it the time of the conversation.
(21) Oh really I would immediately wipe it with
any tissues or anything there and say sorry.
(B2, AU)
The above apologetic utterance is a response
to a situation, in which the speaker just spilled
orange juice on his team manager's trousers. The
speaker says that he would make a repair by wiping
the manager’s wet trousers with tissues or other
things available.
(22) I would apologize profusely (a lot), and I
would insist on paying for the repairs for it.
(E1, AU)
The above is another ‘an offer of repair’
strategy showing that the speaker would pay the
repair fee of the probably damaged laptop of his
senior. In this situation, the speaker dropped the
laptop accidentally.
(23) Oh no, I'm sorry, should I wash your car? (F5,
AU)
This apology is a response to a situation, in
which the speaker spills a bottle of milk in his
friend’s car. The speaker, then, offers to wash the
car as a repair for his action.
(24) I sincerely apologize. I won't do this kind of
stupidity again. Let me fix it. (G9, AU)
This an offer of repair is a response to
Situation 7, in which he apologizes to his uncle
because he has damaged the car while he was
borrowing it. In his apology, the speaker offers to
repair the damage.
(25) I'm sorry. Should I buy a new bag for you?
(H9, AU)
The above apology is a response to a situation,
in which a bridge player just spilled black ink on a
bag belonging to another player from another team.
In his apology, the speaker offers to buy a new bag
to repair his mistake of making the hearer’s bag
dirty.
The last apology strategy that occurs relatively
similar in terms of frequency among the two
respondent groups is concern for the hearer (CFH).
With this strategy, the speaker gives attention to
the hearer for the offence he made, such as the
question "apakah anda baik-baik saja?" that means
“are you alright?” Three of this strategy occur
among the Indonesian bridge players, all of which
are responses to Situation 4. Similarly, among the
Australian group this strategy occur as responses to
Situation 4, and this occur four times. The following
is one example of the apology strategy that occurs
among the Indonesian bridge players.
(26) Maaf, maaf, nggak sengaja. Kamu gak apa-apa
kan? (D4, ID)
“I apologize, I didn't mean to. Are you okay?”
In the above apology, the speaker includes the
expression/question kamu gak apa-apa kan? that is
close in meaning to “Are you okay?”. This strategy is
a response to the situation when the respondent has
just stepped on the toe of another player from
another team. The question asked by the speaker
above shows that he is concerned about the hearer’s
condition, especially his toe.
With regards, to the Australian respondent
group, the four ‘concerns for the hearer’ are also the
responses to Situation 4, in which the speaker
accidentally has just treaded on another team
player’s toe in a closing ceremony of a bridge
tournament. The following is one of the four
apologies that belong to ‘concern for the hearer’
strategy.
(27) Hi, are you okay? I'm sorry. (D7, AU)
This respondent starts his apology with the
question “Hi, are you okay?”, and this shows the
speaker’s concern about the hearer toe. With this
question the speaker also genuinely wants to know
whether or not he has hurt the hearer’s toe.
Regarding to the level of offenses, both
respondents preferred using the apology strategies
of expression of regret, expression of self-deficiency,
and concern for the hearer to the low level of
offenses. Meanwhile, for the high level of offenses
both groups preferred using the apology strategies of
an offer of apology, request for forgiveness, an
explanation of the situation, and an offer of repair.
226 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
Some differences are also found among the
two groups. There are three types of apology
strategies used by Indonesian but were not used by
the Australian group. They are self-dispraise, refusal
to acknowledge guilt, and statement of the offense.
On the other hand, there are also three types of
apology strategies used by Australian but were not
used by Indonesian. They are justify hearer, promise
for forbearance, and underestimating the offense as
humor. Also, Indonesian bridge players tend to use
three types of apology strategies more often than
Australian. Indonesian respondents more often used
the apology strategies of an offer of apology, lack of
intent, and expression of self-deficiency. Mean-
while, Australian respondents are more frequently
to use the apology strategy of expression of regret
than Indonesian respondents.
We can also see that, although both groups
preferred using the strategy of ‘illocutionary force
indicating devices', Indonesian bridge players are
more often to use ‘an offer of apology' while the
preferred strategy by Australian bridge players is ‘an
expression of regret'. Based on the level of offenses,
the preferred apology strategy used by Indonesian
bridge players in both levels is ‘an offer of apology’.
On the other hand, Australian bridge players mostly
used the apology strategy of ‘expression of regret’ to
the low level of offenses, and mostly used the
strategy of ‘an offer of repair’ to the high level of
offenses.
CONCLUSION
This research was undertaken by using a Discourse
Completion Test (DCT) to elicit apologies from ten
Indonesian bridge players and ten Australian bridge
players. The research found that there are
similarities and differences in apology strategies
among the two respondent groups. Overall, 173
apology strategies by the Indonesian bridge players
and 146 apology strategies by the Australian bridge
players were collected, and they were classified
based on the apology taxonomy proposed by Cohen
and Olshtain (1981).
With these findings, this research is expected
to provide additional knowledge of speech acts of
apology used by two different speech communities
with different cultures represented by the two
respondent groups. However, it can be argued that
the findings of this study cannot be generalized to
all Indonesians and Australians. In addition, there
are shortcomings as well as issues that have not
been discussed with regards to other aspects of
apology strategies, such as social relations between
the speakers and hearers. Therefore, it is suggested
that further research investigate or include these
aspects.
REFERENCES
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London: Oxford University Press.
Blum-Kulka, S., & Olshtain, E. (1984). Requests and
Apologies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Speech
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Linguistics, 5(3), 196-213.
doi:10.1093/applin/5.3.196.
Bowe, H., Martin, K., & Manns, H. (2014).
Communication Across Cultures: Mutual
understanding in a global world (2nd ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cohen, A. D., & Olshtain, E. (1981). Developing A
Measure of Sociocultural Competence: The
Case Of Apology1. Language Learning, 31(1),
113-134. doi:10.1111/j.1467-
1770.1981.tb01375.x.
Crystal, D. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and
Phonetics (6th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
Cutting, J. (2002). Pragmatics and Discourse: A
Resource Book for Students. London:
Routledge
Majeed, A., & Janjua, F. (2014). Apology strategies
and gender: A Pragmatic Study of apology
speech acts in the Urdu language. Merit
Research Journals, 2(3), 54-61.
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Mey, J. (2001). Pragmatics: An Introduction (2nd
ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
Morris, C. W. (1938). Foundations of the theory of
signs (Vol. 1, Ser. 2). Chicago, IL: University
of Chicago Press.
Murphy, J. (2015) Revisiting the apology as a speech
act: The case of parliamentary apologies.
Journal of Language and Politics, 14 (2). pp.
175-204.
Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech Acts. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/
CBO9781139173438
Searle, J. R. (1976). A classification of illocutionary
acts. Language in Society, 5(01), 1-23.
doi:10.1017/s0047404500006837.
Shahrokhi, M., & Jan, J. M. (2012). The realization
of apology strategies among Persian
males. Procedia - Social and Behavioral
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doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.183.
Subandi. (2014). Permintaan Maaf Dalam Bahasa
Inggris Australia Dan Bahasa Indonesia:
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Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Lexicon Volume 6, Number 2
October 2019
https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon Pages 228-237

Turn-Taking Strategies Produced by Male and Female Presenters

in American TV Shows
Nur Trihandayani Rivai
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia

Email: nthandayanir@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study aims at examining the turn-taking strategies performed by male presenter, Jimmy
Kimmel, and female presenter, Ellen DeGeneres, in two American TV talk shows. The data were
analyzed using Stenstrom theory (1994) for the turn-taking strategies performed by both presenters.
The findings revealed the following. (1) As the representation of male presenters, in conversation
with male guests, Jimmy performed most of the strategies such as hesitant start, clean start, uptakes,
links, alert, filled pause/ verbal fillers, silent pause, lexical repetition, a new start prompting and
appealing. However, he did not apply metacomment and giving up strategy. Furthermore, in
conversation with female guests, he used all the strategies, except hesitant start, metacomment,
lexical repetition, a new start, and giving up strategy. (2) As the representation of female presenters,
Ellen did not use metacomment, silent pause, and giving up strategies in her conversation with male
guests. On the other hand, in conversation with female guests, she used all the strategies, except
metacomment strategy. (3) This study also revealed that male presenters interrupted more often to
female guests than to male guests, which supports the theory proposed by Zimmerman and West
(1975).

Keywords: gender, turn-taking, turn-taking in gender, Stenstrom theory.

important and fascinating because it is related to the

INTRODUCTION
The ideas of turn-taking have attracted the
attention of researchers considering its significance
to daily conversation and human behavior (Miller
in Beattie, 1982). Many research projects have also
shown that social role, age, gender, and background
culture are connected to the turn-taking behavior
(Laskowski, 2008; Berry, 1994). This idea deals with
the role of language in describing and shaping the
gender and identity of human beings (Abdelrahim,
2006). If we look at the implications of turn-taking,
it can be seen that having research in this area is
behavior of human beings.
According to the above points, the present
research attempts to investigate the turn-taking
strategies used by male and female presenters in talk
shows. The presenters who have been chosen as the
subject for this research are Jimmy Kimmel, a male
famous presenter and comedian, and Ellen
DeGeneres who is also a popular female presenter
and comedian in America.
Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974)
pioneered a study analyzing turn-taking. They

228 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019


provided rules related to turn taking which are: (a)
when the next speaker selects the current speaker,
the current speaker has the right to speak; (b) if the
current speaker does not select the next speaker,
anyone can be the next speaker—this is called “self-
selection”; (c) if the speaker does not select the next
speaker, or there is no “self-selection” then the
current speaker can resume his/her turn. In brief,
they proposed that a speaker, in face-to-face
conversation, can use a number of ways to imply
turn-taking.
Related to the study of turn taking, a study
conducted by Zimmerman and West (1978) showed
that women are lacking in turn taking compared to
man. After studying 30 single-sex and mixed-sex
conversations, they found that in the 11 mixed-sex
conversation, 98% interruption were made by men.
So they conclude that “males assert an asymmetrical
right to control topics”.
Exploring the issues of gender in turn taking,
Fishman (1983) focused her investigation on
interruption in private conversations by three
hetero-sexual couple in their own house for 14 days.
The results showed that men not only interrupted
their partners during conversations, but also did not
take up their partners' topics in conversations and
women failed in trying to start the conversation
with the topic they choose. In addition, Elbytra
(2014) also came up with similar findings. He
analyzed the turn-taking between male and female
in the movie “Hitch”. One of his major findings
showed that women tend to wait until the speakers
finish their talk, while men overlap and interrupt
the other speaker. However, not only men talk
more than women, but women and men tend to talk
more in different kinds of situation (Eckert and Mc
Connell, 2003).
However, another study asserts that women
can do turn-taking as well as the men in the
particular time and place. Maghrida (2016)
examined how male and female characters
performed different turn-taking organization in
“Before Midnight” movie, especially in the part
when the male and female characters are having
arguments. Adopting the theory proposed by Sacks,
Schegloff, and Jefferson (1974), the result shows
that both male and female characters were similar
in the sense of turn allocation: both use ‘current
Nur T. Rivai | Turn Taking Strategies | 229
speaker select next speaker’ and ‘self-selection’. And
related to gender, female character dominated male
since she interrupted more. This is related to
Tannen’s theory (1992) which stated that female
tend to talk freely in a private setting.
Furthermore, turn-taking has been observed
in various settings such as debates, speeches,
conferences, and talk shows, in formal and informal
mode of conversation (Ghilzai, 2015). Talk shows
also have become a popular source of data to look at
the phenomenon. This is so, in conversation,
participants have to confine themselves to the
activity, asking questions and giving answers
(Hutchby, 2006).
Relating to above points, this study is to
analyze the turn-taking strategies used by male and
female presenters in Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy
Kimmel talk shows. The research addresses the
following questions are:
(1) What turn-taking strategies does Jimmy
Kimmel use to male and female guests?
(2) What turn-taking strategies does Ellen
DeGeneres use to male and female guests?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Conversation Analysis
The study of conversation and talk-in-
interaction wasconducted by Sacks, Jefferson, and
Schegloff in late 1960s and the earlier 1970s is called
Conversation Analysis (CA) which is also known as
an approach in studying conversation in social
interaction. According to Liddicoat (2007), “one of
the most noticeable features of conversation is that
speakers change”. Relating to the study of turn-
taking, CA methods attempt to record and explain
how participants can understand to one another’s
action during their back-and-forth interaction and
how they set up their turns to respond to previous
turn(s) (Drew, 2005). Furthermore, in analyzing
conversation, the researchers collected the data
using video or audio recording, then the records
aretranscribed to see the patterns of the
conversation. The transcription helps the
researchers to notice the features of the talk being
230 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
transcribed and to see the detailed aspects that may
appear outside the act of transcription (Heath and
Luff, 1993).
Turn-Taking Strategies
Stenstrom (1994) proposes three turn-taking
strategies: taking the turn, holding the turn, and
yielding the turn.
Taking the Turn
Taking the turn is the condition when someone is
going to take turn in conversation, either to give
comment about the current topic or to create a new
topic. Based on Stenstrom (1994), there are three
ways in taking the turn: starting up, taking over,
and interrupting.
1) Starting up
The starting up strategy is divided into two
categories: hesitant start and clean start. Hesitant
start happens when the next speaker is not fully
prepared to start the conversation. Furthermore,
there are two possible ways in starting up, which
are filled pauses and verbal fillers. On the other
hand, a clean start happens when the current
speaker knows what is going to be said because the
speaker already prepared for it.
2) Taking over
Taking over involves uptakes or links. Uptakes
strategy happens when the next speaker
understands what has been said by the previous
speaker and evaluate it before expressing his/her
words. Some uptakes that usually used are: yeah, oh,
well, no, yes. Moreover, there is also uptakes
without appealer
Another strategy for taking over is links. This
strategy are known by the use of conjunction in
taking the floor such as,and, but, so, and because
3) Interrupting
Interruption happens when the next speaker
abruptly cuts off the current speaker’s talk.
Furthermore, here are two kinds of interruption:
alert and metacomments. Alerts (e.g.: listen, hey,
look) happens when the next speaker cuts off the
ongoing talk with a higher pitch. Moreover,
metacomment (e.g.: can I just tell, may I halt you) is
a polite version of interruption. This is usually
applied in formal situation.
Holding the Turn
Holding the turn is one of the strategies for the
current speaker to maintain the turn in speaking.
There are four strategies in holding the turn: Filled
Pause or Verbal Fillers, Silent Pause, Lexical
Repetition, and A New Start.
1) Filled Pause or Verbal Fillers
By using this strategy, the speaker is not trying to
give the turn, but attempts to say something.
However, the duration of filled pause or verbal
fillers cannot be too long because the next speakers
will assume that it is their turn.
2) Silent Pause
One of the ways in maintaining the floor is by
applying the silent pause strategy. This strategy is
longer than filled pause strategy.
3) Lexical Repetition
To keep the conversation going, the current speaker
may employ lexical repetition strategy. The main
feature of this strategy is the use of repetition of the
word, clause partial, or the combination of both to
maintain the floor.
4) A New Start
A new start strategy is applied if the current speaker
wants to maintain the floor but failed to continue
the topic that has been said.
Yielding the Turn
Giving someone a chance to speak is called yielding
the turn. There are three kinds of yielding the turn:
prompting, appealing, and giving up.

1) Prompting
Apologizing, greeting, inviting, offering, question-
ing and requesting are the examples of prompting.
2) Appealing
Appealing means give other people chance to speak
in order to get the feedback by using the word such
as: alright, you know, you see, and tag question.
3) Giving Up
Giving up strategy happens when the current
speaker realizes that she/he does not have any topic
to be told, so he/she give the turn by making a long
pause.
Turn-taking in Gender Studies
Employing the turn-taking model proposed by
Sacks, Shegloff, and Jefferson (1994), Coates (2013)
pointed out some violations of turn-taking made by
men in mixed-sex conversation, based on some
well-known research projects. She identified how
male grabbing the floor and holding the turn in turn
taking-strategies. In grabbing the floor, it shows
that males dominate in mixed-sex conversation
compared to females (Zimmerman & West, 1975;
Eakins & Eakins, 1979; Leet-Pellegrini, 1980; Mulac
et al. 1988; Schick Case, 1988; Holmes, 1995;
Gunnarsson, 1997) even if the female has high
status (West, 1998).
Meanwhile, in holding the turn strategy, it
shows that males talk a lot more than females.
When males were asked to describe three pictures,
they took on average 13.00 minutes per picture
while females took average 3.17 minutes per
picture, more than four time as long (Swacker,
1975). A research from Herring, Johnson, and
DiBenedetto (1998), the participants (men and
women) were having discussion of ‘men’s literature’
which lasted for five weeks. The results show that
men contributed 70% of the total words. Moreover,
during the five weeks, there were two days when
women contribution surpassed the men’s. However,
Nur T. Rivai | Turn Taking Strategies | 231
men were getting angry, assuming they were being
‘silenced’ and threatening to ‘unsubscribe’ from the
network.
Concerning the detailed explanation above, it
shows that men dominate women in mixed-sex
conversation and violate the rule of turn-taking,
because according to Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson
(1974), the rule of turn-taking is ‘at least and not
more than one speaker talks at a time’. Participants
in conversation are equals and that they have equal
rights to the floor (Coates, 2013).
METHODS
The data were taken from the conversations
between presenters and the guests from two talk
shows aired in America: Ellen DeGeneres Show and
Jimmy Kimmel Live! In every episode, these two
talk shows invite two or three guests. However, the
the research focused only on certain guests (male
and female) who were being interviewed in the
same day, specifically one in the afternoon in Ellen
DeGeneres Show and another one at midnight in
Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The videos of Jimmy Kimmel
and Ellen DeGeneres interviewing Anthony
Anderson were aired in October 2nd 2017. On the
other hand, the videos of Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen
DeGeneres interviewing Kate Hudson were aired at
October 12th 2017. (See Appendix 1 for a list of the
videos used as the data sources in this study.)
First, the data in the form of conversation in
the video that had been downloaded was
transcribed using Jefferson’s transcription
convention (1985) (in Liddicoat, 2007). However, in
this research, not all of the transcription notations
were applied in transcribing the conversation. The
notation applies only to some notations related to
the strategies in turn-taking proposed by Stenstrom
(1994). Then, the conversation in the video were
transcribed. After classifying based on the strategies,
then I explained the situation that happened
between the presenters and the guests to make the
readers understand what was actually going on in
the conversation.
232 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
turn. Jimmy started the topic yet hasn’t fully
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
prepared for the conversation which indicates that
he performed hesitant start strategy by using the
Jimmy Kimmel’s Interview with a Male Guest, filled pause “mmm”.
Anthony Anderson Meanwhile, in holding the turn, he performed
Table 1. Frequency of Jimmy Kimmel’s turn taking silent pause as one of the examples:
strategies in interview with a male guest (2) Jimmy: but these babies (0.2) you said they’re
good so they just don’t cries
Strategy Substrategy Freq. %
Anthony: they don’t cry at all men the best
Starting up 6 9.52 temperament of ofof any infant I’ve ever
Taking
Taking over 9 14.29 work with man they’re the happiest
the turn
babies around.
Interrupting 3 4.76
Filled Furthermore, in yielding the turn, the example is:
pause/Verbal 6 9.52
(3) Jimmy: did you test the babies before it to
Holding fillers
make sure they have a good temperament
the turn Silent pause 4 6.35
or it was luck that gave you good
Lexical
1 1.59 temperament babies.
repetition
A new start 1 1.59 Anthony: I I think it was luck because I think
Yielding Prompting 31 49.21 parents would bring their babies baby
the turn Appealing 2 3.17 benadryl up to the audition.
Giving up - - Jimmy applied prompting strategy to give the turn
Total 63 100.00 to Anthony to speak. Asking question is one of the
features in yielding the turn.
The result of the findings showed that Jimmy
performed hesitant start, clean start, uptakes, links,
Jimmy Kimmel’s Interview with a Male Guest,
alert, filled pause/verbal fillers, silent pause, lexical
Kate Hudson
repetition, a new start, prompting, and appealing in
his conversation with a male guest, Anthony Table 2. Frequency of Jimmy Kimmel’s turn taking
Anderson. For example: strategies in interview with a female guest

(1) Anthony: [oh let’s do it] are you guys still Strategy Substrategy Freq. %
friends
Starting up 2 4.35
Jimmy: of course Taking
Taking over 6 13.04
Anthony: okay the turn
Interrupting 16 34.78
Jimmy: by the way I saw mmm I saw you last Filled
time at the emmys a couple weeks ago and pause/Verbal 2 4.35
aaa in fact where I saw you you were on Holding fillers
stage very busy presenting the best variety the turn Silent pause 1 2.17
talk series award to another show to john Lexical
- -
oliver instead to your best friend jim how repetition
many times have you been on john A new start - -
oliver’s show Yielding Prompting 11 23.91
the turn Appealing 8 17.39
As explained in the previous section, hesitant Giving up 0 0.00
start can be noticed by the use of filled pause in the Total 46 100.00
beginning of the utterance which indicates that the
current speaker is not fully prepared in taking the
 Nur T. Rivai | Turn Taking Strategies | 233
In conversation with a female guest, Kate Jimmy gives the turn to Kate by applying
Hudson, Jimmy only used clean start, uptakes, links, appealing strategy which focused to get feedback by
alert, filled pause, silent pause, prompting and using the word “right” in the end of the sentence.
appealing. For instance, he appliedthe alert strategy
in taking the turn: Ellen DeGeneres’ Interview with a Male Guest,
(4) Jimmy: yeah it looks cool you did it for a role Anthony Anderson
Kate: I did I did a film with sia and Table 3. Frequency of Ellen DeGeneres’ turn taking
strategies in interview with a male guest
Jimmy: -OH SIA directed a film right
Jimmy cut off Kate’s utterance right after she Strategy Substrategy Freq. %
mentioned Sia’s name to make sure that Sia, who is
Starting up 3 11.54
a famous singer, also directed a film. Interrupting Taking
someone’s utterances with high pitch that showed Taking over 4 15.38
the turn
in the conversation above can be classified as alert Interrupting 2 7.69
strategy. Filled
pause/Verbal 7 26.92
In holding the turn, the example is:
Holding fillers
(5) Kate: yeah aa you know Jimmy I love the turn Silent pause - -
pumpkin spice like I really love it just Lexical
1 3.85
because I’m kinda those people that loves repetition
the holidays like I change my house and A new start 1 3.85
the scents and everything and pumpkin Yielding Prompting 7 26.92
spice is one of the things I put it in my the turn Appealing 1 3.85
house I Giving up - -
Total 26 100.00
Jimmy: -WHAT about wellI know that what
about on pizza is it eee are you In her conversation with male guest, Ellen
performed hesitant start, clean start, uptakes, links,
In conversation above, Jimmy applied filled
alert, filled pause/verbal fillers, lexical repetition, a
pause and verbal fillers in one utterance. Since he
new start, prompting and appealing.
was going to ask a question to Kate, Jimmy
maintained the floor using filled pause strategy In taking the turn, she applied clean start
“what about on pizza is it eee are you”. He also strategy which shown below:
applied “well” which is known as a verbal filler in (7) Anthony: yes little tiny shots that I thought
holding the turn strategy was water I thought they were joking
Furthermore, the example in yielding the turn until I hit that and then that got me
is: started for the night
(6) Jimmy: this book is called pretty fun and it’s Ellen: right
about running a party right Anthony: yes
Kate: well no its about I mean I mean it’s Ellen: well if you want more ((spotted some
about why it is important to have to
alcohols))
gather I mean to me it’s like on of of I we
talked about wellness a lot we talked An example of holding the turn is shown
about healthiness people forget to talked below:
about why we connect and that’s kind of (8) Anthony: I can’t afford you
the focus on this along with the fun stuffs
but it’s really about its important to Ellen: ((laughing)) alright let’s talk about aaa
connect it’s not about the party it’s about let’s talk about black is haaa the season
the tradition
234 | LEXICON, Volume 6, Number 2, October 2019
premiere is tomorrow and aa so aa this is Ellen: because some guys don’t like women
the musical tomorrow, right with short hair I mean
This utterance contains two strategies in Ellen was taking the turn by using the
holding the turn; lexical repetition strategy and new conjunction “because”. Starting the turn by applying
start strategy. conjunction in the beginning of the utterance is
called links strategy.
To yield the turn, she used prompting strategy
In holding the turn, she used lexical repetition
(9) Ellen: how do you lose maybach
as shown below:
Anthony: aa tequila
(11) Ellen: [now] says it’skatehudson appears fun
Ellen questioned how Anthony lost his flirty fit AF aa and aa how does she do it
Maybach. Jokingly, Anthony answered by saying but next to you it says get great ass so it
“tequila” which means he was drunk. However, it acts its look like its look like this is how
was just a joke. As mentioned before, the you get it but your story is up here
characteristic of prompting strategy is by asking
Kate: gosh it sad you know advertising I guess
questions.
Furthermore, the examples of yielding the
Ellen DeGeneres’ Interview with a Female turn that had been used by Ellen used the giving up
substrategy as part of the yielding the turn strategy.
Guest, Kate Hudson
Here is an example:
Table 4. Frequency of Ellen DeGeneres’ turn taking
strategies in interview with a female guest (12) Ellen: and so your boys and your mm you
have a new boyfriend his name is (0.3)
Strategy Substrategy Freq. %
Kate: Danny
Starting up 3 5.66 Ellen yielded the turn by using giving up
Taking
Taking over 11 20.75 strategy which indicated by the use of long pause in
the turn
the end of the utterance.
Interrupting 2 3.77
Filled After identifying the findings, there are
pause/Verbal 9 16.98 similarities between the two presenters in
Holding fillers performing the turn-taking strategies. As we know,
the turn Silent pause 1 1.89 Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Ellen DeGeneres Show is
Lexical an informal talk show. This is so, metacomment
9 16.98
repetition strategy was not being applied by both presenter to
A new start 3 5.66 hand over the turn to the guests. Additionally,
Yielding Prompting 11 20.75
prompting strategy was mainly used by both
the turn Appealing 2 3.77
presenters since a talk show requires the presenters
Giving up 2 3.77
to ask questions to the guest. Meanwhile, Ellen
Total 53 100.00
performed giving up strategy but only to the female
Ellen, as the representative of female guest. This strategy also never been used by Jimmy
presenters, performed hesitant start, clean start, Kimmel to his male or female guest.
uptakes, links, alert, filled pause/verbal fillers, silent According to Faizah (2016), female speakers
pause, lexical repetition, a new start, prompting, are more inclined to interrupt same-sex speakers
appealing, and giving up in her conversation with and male speakers are more inclined to interrupt
female guest. One of the examples in taking the turn opposite-sex speakers. This is related to the
is provided below: prominent research by Zimmerman and West
(10) Ellen: Danny and everybody likes the hair (1978) that men interrupted more in mixed-sex
conversation. In this study, it was also found that
Kate: yeah Jimmy, as the representative of male presenters, did
many interruptions in his conversation with the

female presenter, Kate Hudson. According to the
findings, he used the alert strategy 16 times while
talking with Kate Hudson, but only performed 3
times in his conversation with the male guest,
Anthony Anderson. As mentioned before, an alert
strategy is used when someone cuts off the ongoing
talk in a high pitch. Compared to the representative
of female presenters, Ellen only performed the alert
strategy twice in each conversation with male and
female guests. Hence, in line with the idea of
violation in turn-taking related to gender study
proposed by Coates (2013), this study also proved
that male interrupted more in mixed-sex
conversation compared to women.
CONCLUSION
The results showed that in conversation
between the male presenter Jimmy Kimmel and the
male guest Anthony Anderson, it showed that
Jimmy applied several strategies in taking the turn
such as hesitant start, clean start, uptakes, links and
alert. To hold the turn, he used all the substrategies
namely filled pause/verbal fillers, silent pause,
lexical repetition, and a new start. Furthermore,
prompting and appealing were also used by Jimmy
to yield his turn. Meanwhile, in conversation
between Jimmy and the female guest Kate Hudson,
the result showed that Jimmy used clean start,
uptakes, links and alert in taking the turn. In
holding the turn, he used filled pause and silent
pause strategy. And to yield the turn, he applied
prompting and appealing strategies.
Then, after analyzing the conversation
between the female presenter Ellen DeGeneres and
the male guest Anthony Anderson, the result
showed that Ellen also performed several strategies
in taking the turn, holding the turn, and yielding
the turn. She used hesitant start, clean start,
uptakes, links, and alert. While maintaining the
floor, she applied filled pause/verbal fillers, lexical
repetition, and a new start strategy. Then, to give
the turn to the guest, she employed prompting and
appealing strategies. Ellen also performed several
turn-taking strategies in her conversation with
female guest, Kate Hudson. In taking the turn, she
applied hesitant start, clean start, uptakes, links, and
alert. After that, she also employed all the strategies
Nur T. Rivai | Turn Taking Strategies | 235
in holding the turn, such as filled pause/verbal
fillers, silent pause, lexical repetition, and a new
start. Finally, she also used prompting, appealing,
and giving up strategies. From the explanation
above, it can be concluded that both male and
female presenters did not use metacomment
strategy in taking the turn, since both talk shows
was in informal situation. Beside that, both male
and female presenters also used prompting as the
main strategy to yield the turn to the guests. The
differences were also found in the strategies that
used by both male and female presenters. In brief,
Jimmy as the male presenter never employed giving
up strategy in his conversation but Ellen as the
female presenter applied this strategy in her
conversation with female guest named Kate
Hudson.
Related to gender and language, in mixed-sex
conversation, Jimmy did interruption more to Kate
Hudson rather than in other conversations which
relatable to the theory of Zimmerman and West
(1975) stated that men interrupted more in mixed-
sex conversation rather than women.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am deeply grateful to Ibu Dr. Mirjam
Anugerahwati, M. A., and Ibu Dr. Hj. Emalia
Iragiliati, M.Pd, as my advisors who always
patiently guided me and patiently gave their time to
examine this project. I would also like to extend my
gratitude to the anonymous reviewer for the
insightful comments and suggestions.
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