CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Choosing the Topic
James W. Nelson was a great writer who was born in 1944. He spent his
time to write stories. His first piece and immediately rejected by Reader’s
Digest. But the vein had been opened. His first novel (still in unfinished hard
copy) became a thousand-page behemoth, “hand-typed” four times. Then an
electric—will wonders never cease?—typewriter, and two more drafts. The first
computer arrived about 1980 (typewriter and monitor). One click and a
correction got made, and the story typed automatically, but, still, one page
at a time. The next three novels and about forty short stories came
quickly. He used three pen names because the story subjects were so different.
He has published two short stories in small press magazines and won three short
story contests (Falls Writers Workshop, Ohio). Dying to Live (an autobiography) is his first book in his own name.
A Collection of Contemporary Short
Stories is his second.
One of his stories entitle My
Husband, My Hero in his second book uses the flashback plot. He mixed the
plot. He started this story with problem. He used the problem to remind the
major character to recall the events. This flashback plot tempts me to dig this
plot further because this flashback plot makes this story so complicated and
interesting.
1.2 Objective of the study
The primary objective of this analysis is the plot of story My Husband, My Hero. The objective of
this study is to put the sequence of events in right order in order to
facilitate readers determine the events easily.
1.3 Statement of problem
As mentioned in the background of
choosing topic that James W. Nelson played with the flashback plot in his story
My Husband, My Hero, I am challenging
to dig the plot out he used in this story. How did he outwit the riders using
this plot?
1.4 Scope of the study
This paper is bounded
only one aspect which discussed the plot. The definition of plot, kinds of
plot, and how they can persuade the story being interesting.
1.5
Theoretically approach
Basically there are several kinds of theoretically approach to analyze
literary work, but here I use the objective approach to analyze this story. Objective
approach by Prof. Dr. Nyoman Kutha Ratna (2004; 74) revealed that it is the
important approach that discusses a lot the elements of intrinsic. The elements
of intrinsic will show the aesthetics of literary works maximally.
1.6
Method of the study
Encouraging the objective approach, I use the descriptive analysis
method. Descriptive analysis method is used to show the proofs based on facts in
the story and continue to analyze each proof. I focus just only on the plot of
this story due to the fact that I will explain it in the discussion.
1.7 Presentation
This study is presented
in four chapters. The first chapter contains introductions, which consists of
the background of choosing the subject, objective of the study, statement of
problem, scope of the study, theoretical approach, method of research, and
presentation. The second chapter
deals with the discussion of plot definition, kinds of plot, and how the plot
influence the story being interesting. The third chapter concludes the whole of
the discussion and gives suggestion to the readers.
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
2.1 Definition of plot
According to Panuti Sudjiman in his book Kamus Istilah Sastra (1984) giving limitation is the combination of
events in literary works (included text of drama or play) to get the particular
effects. The link can be created by the relation of time and causal (cause and
effect). Plot is the sequence of events which is planned and created by the
author accurately. He plays the plot using complicated problem to get the
climax of the story. In my analysis, Sudjiman said that plot is the sequence of
events which is drawn accurately to make the story alive. The author plays with
the plot in order to give the sense in his story.
Plot based on Edward Morgan
Forster in his book Aspect of Novel
(1927) the narration of many events which is planned intentionally regarding to
the series of time. Plot can be events which comes afterward each other. So, I
think that plot is the most important intrinsic element in literary works. The
story will never flow without the plot.
2.2 Kinds of Plot
Plot can be divided into two part; simple plot and multi plot. Simple
plot is the story whose has one problem and it runs quiet from the beginning
until the end of the story. Whereas multi plot is the story whose has the
primary major plot and it is supported by several sub plots which relate to
each other.
2.3 How the plot influences this
story being interesting
Related to the definition of plot which explains that plot is the series
of events to get climax of the story and make it alive. Additionally, plot does
not only make the story alive like the universe, but also influences the story
being interesting. It influences the sense of the story. When we read the story
in the novel or watch in the movie, we feel that we are in that story. So, that
is the reason why I say that plot is the most important intrinsic aspect in the
story. A smart and creative author plays with his plot and makes the events so
complicated in order to invite the readers joining the series of the events in
that story. The author plays with his event arrangement and causes our emotion
being uncontrolled. That is why we often weep, cry, angry, sympathy, etc when
we read novel or watch the movie.
In
this story My Husband, My Hero by
James W. Nelson makes my emotion uncontrolled. I am not aware before that they were
trapped in the nursing home because Nelson starts his story with evening dialog
was like in a house.
“Aaa-errr!”
The woman had heard her
husband calling, off and on, for, she didn’t know how long. All her life, maybe.
She knew he was calling her and knew he was saying ‘Mother’. But it didn’t
sound like ‘Mother,’ more like a very young child just learning to speak. The
‘M’ sound was missing, and the ‘th,’ and other sounds in his speech were
missing. But she knew what he was trying to say, so she heard him as she knew he
meant for her to hear.
“Motherrr! You gonna get
supper on pretty soon?”
Yes, she should. She
wondered if she had meat thawed. She thought so. She had dusted that day. So she
should have meat thawed.
“Fresh fry the potatoes,”
her husband called.
Yes, fresh fry. He had
always liked them that way, sliced thin and raw and spread in the frying pan
like silver dollars.
In this story, the husband called his wife and he wanted a supper. I
assume that they were live together in a beautiful house. In fact they lived in
nursing home.
No, I don’t make your
supper anymore. Her mind began to clear. For a moment she remembered where she
was. She saw clearly what was happening. A young woman in a white uniform was
pushing her husband in a reclining jerry chair. And she, herself, was sitting
nearly helpless—no, she was helpless—in a
wheelchair. She and her husband were in a nursing home, at least together in
the same room but more separated then they had ever been in their sixty-five
years.
But I found my gaffe when I read the next paragraph, and then I see that
Nelson plays with the plot and he uses the flashback plot. I was suspicious
when I found another description in this story. Nelson only tells the husband’s
voices, no gestures. I assume again that the husband was dead.
“Motherrr!”
The voice cut into her.
What did he want now? She should go see. She moved her right hand, at least lifted
it. Her left one didn’t seem to work at all anymore. Her right hand rested on
the narrow wheel. She even gripped it, slightly. The wheel even turned, but no
more than a half inch.
“Motherrr!”
The voice came again.
Loud, yes. But not demanding, never demanding, and not really even too impatient.
How she loved him. She gripped the wheel again. Maybe an inch. Maybe more. She
even thought she felt movement.
“Motherrrrr...!”
A little louder that time.
She wanted to go to him, and wasn’t really sure why she couldn’t. Oh, yes, she couldn’t
walk. A long time since she had walked. She couldn’t even really remember what
walking was like, wasn’t even really sure she had the word right. Walk? She
just remembered her husband. All those years on the farm, getting up early
every day, helping milk the cows. She would never forget that one time when Red
had not wanted to be milked, or something. The cow had kicked, and kicked
again, and then had gone a little crazy, or some such thing, and actually
started bucking, even with her back legs hobbled. She knew the cow was normally
gentle, and would never hurt her purposefully. Even so she grabbed her half
full milk pail with one hand, her stool with the other…
Then I assume again that these dialogs from husband are just the wife
memories.
“Motherrrr!”
And where was he?
The voice seemed so far away. She looked around the room. He wasn’t there. Where
are you, Daddy? All she saw was her dim room, and a doorway, and beyond
that brighter lights.
“Motherrrr!” His voice
seemed to come from the doorway. If he would just come to her. She couldn’t go
to him. It was so frustrating sometimes.
This plot is so complicated, but very interesting. I have to determine
what are the first event, and then the second, the third, and finally the end
of the events. This is the series of events based on my understanding.
1.
They are a couple of spouses. My assumption is wrong that I think the husband
was dead.
2.
They live in a nursing home.
My assumption is wrong again that I
think before they are lived in a beautiful house.
3.
They were separate each
other. My assumption is true, but
my reason is wrong that I think they were separate because of the dead. In
fact, they were separate because of the nursing home rules.
4.
The husband wanted his
supper. My assumption is wrong for
four times that I assume the husband’s voices are just the wife’s memories. As
his habit in his house, he always called his wife in the evening and asked for
the supper. And these voices are real, not the memories.
5.
The wife could not finish
her husband’s supper. My assumption
is now true that the wife could not finish her husband’s supper because she was
on the wheel chair.
These are my proofs that plot is very important. If we are not careful in
reading story, we will get the wrong understanding. As I found before, I got
many wrong assumptions in reading Nelson’s story. Now, I can give the proof
that plot is the most important of intrinsic element in literary work.
CHAPTER III
CONCLUTION
3.1 Summary
Plot is the series of events that influences the story being interesting.
Plot supports the story as alive as universe. The story will never run without
plot, so that plot is the most important intrinsic element in literary work.
As
in this story My Husband, My Hero by
James W. Nelson plays with the plot and it caused the reader thinks a lot in
determining the sequence of events. He starts his story with evening dialog
like in a house when it was evening, but in fact it was in a nursing home. He
told about the nursing home in his several paragraphs before finishing his
story. He describes the husband just using the voices as I assume before that
the husband was dead. Actually, this is the story about love affair in the
nursing home. Nelson is smart author I think.
3.2 Suggestion
Before drawing a conclusion, it will be better if you read again your
short story or novel; because our assumption sometimes gives on the lie. As my
experience in reading this story that I got many assumptions but in fact they
are totally wrong. Reading a lot is good solution when you analyze literary
work.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ratna,
N. H. Teori, Metode, dan Tekhnik
Penelitian Sastra. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 2007
Sudjiman,
P. H. Kamus Istilah Sastra. Jakarta:
Gramedia, 1984
Forster,
E. M. Aspect of Novel. Harcourt:
Houghton Mifflin: 1927
