the influence of fox on little prince’s … · 2017-12-18 · the others. on the planet earth, he...

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THE INFLUENCE OF FOX ON LITTLE PRINCE’S

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN

IN ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY’S THE LITTLE PRINCE

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Albert Adhe Putera Wijaya

Student Number: 111214043

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2016

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

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iii


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STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work

or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the

references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 15 March 2016

The Writer


111214043


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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

nama : Albert Adhe Putera Wijaya

nomor mahasiswa : 111214043

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE INFLUENCE OF FOX ON LITTLE PRINCE’S

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN

IN ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY’S THE LITTLE PRINCE

Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata

Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain,

mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan

mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis

tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya

selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal: 15 March 2016

Yang menyatakan



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ABSTRACT

Wijaya, Albert Adhe Putera. (2016). The Influence of Fox on Little Prince's

Personality Development as Seen In Antoine De Saint-Exupery's Little Prince.

Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma

University.

This study analyzes a novel by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, entitled The

Little Prince. This novel tells about the adventure of Little Prince in finding life

lessons. For some reasons he has to leave his planet and travel from one planet to

the others. On the planet Earth, he meets Fox and eventually they become best

friends. Their meeting becomes very important for Little Prince because Fox is

the only one who becomes friend with Little Prince. Fox teaches many life lessons

to Little Prince. Through Fox lesson, Little Prince realizes what is important for

him and it changes his point of view.

The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of Fox on Little Prince's

personality development. There are two questions to answer in this study: (1)

What are the characteristics of Little Prince? (2) How does Fox influence Little

Prince's personality development?

Two sources are used in this study. The primary source is the novel itself,

entitled The Little Prince. The secondary sources are the books related to theory

of character, methods of characterization, and theory of personality.

Based on the analysis, the researcher finds out that the Little Prince is a

person who is full of curiosity and stubborn. He is also ambivalent, dishonest and

insensitive. There are two events which change Little Prince’s personality

development. The first is the friendship between him and Fox and the second is

life lessons which Fox teaches to Little Prince. That is what makes Little Prince

want to go back to his planet again.

This study provides some suggestions for English teachers and future

researchers. For English teachers, this study can be used as reading material.

Moreover, for future researchers who use the same novel, they can use the theme

about love between Little Prince and Rose.

Keywords: Influence, Personality Development, The Little Prince


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ABSTRAK

Wijaya, Albert Adhe Putera. (2016). The Influence of Fox on Little Prince's

Personality Development as Seen In Antoine De Saint-Exupery's Little Prince.

Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Yogyakarta.

Penelitian ini menganalisa sebuah novel oleh Antoine De Saint-Exupery

berjudul The Little Prince. Novel ini bercerita tentang petualangan Little Prince

dalam menemukan pelajaran hidup. Untuk beberapa alasan dia meninggalkan

planetnya dan pergi dari satu planet ke planet yang lain. Di planet Bumi, ia

bertemu Fox dan akhirnya mereka menjadi teman baik. Pertemuan mereka

menjadi sangat penting bagi Little Prince karena Fox adalah satu-satunya yang

menjadi teman Little Prince. Fox mengajarkan banyak pelajaran hidup kepada

Little Prince. Melalui pelajaran yang diberikan Fox, Little Prince menyadari apa

yang penting baginya dan mengubah sudut pandangnya.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisa pengaruh Fox pada

pengembangan kepribadian Little Prince. Ada dua pertanyaan dalam penelitian

ini: (1) Apakah karakteristik yang dimiliki oleh Little Prince? (2) Bagaimana Fox

mempengaruhi perkembangan kepribadian Little Prince?

Ada dua sumber yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Sumber utama

adalah novel itu sendiri yang berjudul The Little Prince. Sumber sekunder adalah

buku yang terkait dengan teori novel, teori karakter, metode karakterisasi, dan

teori kepribadian.

Berdasarkan hasil analisis, penulis menemukan bahwa adalah orang yang

Little Prince penuh rasa ingin tahu dan keras kepala. Dia juga ambivalen, tidak

jujur dan tidak sensitif. Ada dua peristiwa yang mengubah pengembangan

kepribadian Little Prince. Yang pertama adalah persahabatan antara dia dan Fox

dan yang kedua adalah pelajaran hidup yang Fox ajarkan kepada Little Prince.

Itulah yang membuat Little Prince ingin kembali ke planetnya lagi.

Studi ini memberikan beberapa saran bagi guru bahasa Inggris dan peneliti

di masa depan. Untuk guru bahasa Inggris, penelitian ini dapat digunakan sebagai

bahan bacaan bagi para siswa. Dan bagi para peneliti masa depan yang

menggunakan novel yang sama, mereka dapat menggunakan tema tentang cinta

antara Little Prince dan Rose.

Kata kunci: Influence, Personality Development, The Little Prince


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ for life, chances, blessings

and everything. For His guidance, I am able to finish this final paper.

I would like to send my gratitude to my advisor, Christina Kristiyani,

S.Pd., M.Pd., for the advice, guidance, time and support. I would like to thank all

of the lecturers in PBI who have shared a lot of things since I started study here.

In addition, I would like to thank PBI secretariat staff, Mbak Dhanniek for

helping me a lot.

I would like to thank my grandmother, Sri Yuliani, for the love and

support. I also thank my father, Agus Ana Wijaya, for not giving up on me. To

my mother, Henny Setiarini, who is always watching over me, I thank her for her

love. I personally thank Brigitta Pratiwi for the support and being my best friend.

The thankfulness goes to all of my friends in PBI batch 2011, especially

Theo, Yanu, Ginong, Gerard, Doni, Malik, and Agung. I send my gratitude to

Highlights for letting me be a part of theirs and for the process, professionalism

and hardwork in SPD class.



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................ i

APPROVAL PAGES .................................................................................... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY .............................................. iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI .............................................. v

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. vi

ABSTRAK ....................................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................... ix

LIST OF APPENDICES .............................................................................. xi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1

A. Background of the Study ............................................... 1

B. Approach of the Study ................................................... 5

CHAPTER II. DISCUSSION 8

A. Review of Related Literature ......................................... 8

1. Theory of Character ............................................. 8

a. Major Character .............................................. 10

b. Secondary Character ....................................... 10

c. Minor Character .............................................. 10

2. Method of Characterization ................................. 11

a. Personal Description ....................................... 12

b. Character Seen by the Other Character .......... 12

c. Speech ............................................................. 13


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d. Past Life .......................................................... 13

e. Conversation of Other Characters .................. 13

f. Reaction .......................................................... 14

g. Direction Comment of the Author ................. 14

h. Thoughts ......................................................... 14

i. Mannerism ....................................................... 14

3. Theory of Personality .......................................... 15

B. The Interpretation of the Finding ................................... 16

1. Little Prince's Characteristics .............................. 16

2. Fox Influences Towards Little Prince's

Personality Development .................................... 18

CHAPTER III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 22

A. Conclusions ................................................................... 22

B. Recommendations ......................................................... 23

REFERENCE ................................................................................................ 25

APPENDICES ............................................................................................... 26


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LIST OF APPENDECIES

Appendix 1. Biography of Antoine De Saint-Exupery.............................. 26

Appendix 2. Summary of the Little Prince............................................... 28


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part is the background of the

study. In this part, the researcher presents the background information and

rationale of the study undertaken. It contains the formulation of problems, the

importance of the study, and an overview of the study. The second part is the

approach of the study. In this part, the researcher states the approaches employed

in analyzing the work which contains the distinguished characteristics and the

procedure of the application of the approaches.

A. Background of the Study

Literature has become the part of life since human are able to write and

publish books. Literature becomes a medium to communicate and share ideas

about what occurs in society. Rohrberger and Woods (1971) state that, “Literature

is shaped content, significant form. It is a structure of words composed in a way

that there is a harmony of all related parts to the whole” (p.5). In other words,

literature is an art composed by its author. There are many types of literary works;

they are short stories, novels, plays and poetry.

In this study, the researcher chooses to discuss a novel by Antoine De

Saint-Exupery. Henkle (1977) states that, “The process of reading a novel induces

the reader’s imagination to spread out” (p.25). This is also the reason why the


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researcher chooses novel. However, it is difficult to define what a novel is. Laar

and Schoonderwoerd (1969) explain:

The word “novel’, like the word “art” is a tedious abstraction and it is

more profitable to talk about particular novels than about novel in general.

Although there are a great many definition of the novel, the novel is not a

thing that has ever been very precisely defined. None of the definition are

good enough and none apply to all novel (p.162).

They add a simple way to describe what a novel is, as “It is a narrative in prose; a

fiction of at least some 50,000 words (p.163).

In many cases, novels are basically written by grown-ups for grown-ups.

Thus, many novels are usually understood by grown-ups. There are only few

novels that are intended for children. As Laar and Schoonderwoerd (1969) note,

“Most novels, like literature in general, are written by grown-ups for grown-ups.

This often deals with situation in life that can only be fully understood and

appreciated by grown-ups” (p.162).

However, the researchers found out that Antoine De Saint-Exupery wrote

an interesting novel entitled The Little Prince. The Little Prince, which is

published in 1943, has a very interesting story about an imaginative adventure of

the writer of the novel when he is stranded in a desert. In that place he meets Little

Prince, an imaginative character with quite interesting background story.

A novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, is chosen as the

subject of this research. The researcher chooses this novel for some reasons. First,

this novel is intended for the children. That is why the writer of this novel uses

simple words, a simple storyline, and a lot of illustrations for the children to


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follow. Second, the writer changes the readers’ point of view easily by using

Little Prince character. There are many stories in this book that tell about how

strange grown-ups act in this world. The writer of the novel changes the readers’

point of view to children’s point of view by using Little Prince character.

Therefore, grown-ups can see things in different ways. This is also the reason why

this novel is good also for grown-ups. The last thing is this novel also has many

good moral values for grown-ups. The writer of the novel uses real life human

activities in the story. That is why every part of Little Prince’s journey to find his

life experiences can be a portray of human’s life also. Those are the reasons why

this novel is very interesting for both children and grown-ups.

This study focuses on two problems. 1) What are the characteristics of

Little Prince? 2) How does Fox influence Little Prince’s personality

development? These two questions are used to analyze the story of the novel The

Little Prince.

This study will focus on two characters only. In addition to Little Prince

which is the main character, Fox is chosen to be discussed in this study. The

reason is because Fox is the only character in the story who wants to be friends

with Little Prince. Fox is also who gives a lot of life lesson to Little Prince. Their

bond is what makes Little Prince has a very big change. While the other

characters are only give a little differences in Little Prince’s characteristics. For

that reasons, this study is intended to see Little Prince’s personality development

through their friendship.


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Literary works present a lot of capture applications of life generally

around people in the society. Especially in novel, it contains of a plot, setting, and

characters that capture some things real in life. However, The Little Prince

contains a lot of imaginative things and a lot of moral values based on the story. It

represents an imagination of young children rather than grown-ups. Thus, through

this study it is hoped that this novel helps the children to expand their

imagination. This novel not only contains a good story line, but also moral values

which are appropriate for children. The researcher hopes that this study is also

beneficial for future researchers. For those who want to analyze and explore this

novel, this study can be used as reference. There are many other things that can be

studied in The Little Prince. Especially, on how other minor characters in the

story affecting Little Prince and how the novel portrays the author’s real life

experiences. In addition, this novel can be used for teachers to teach reading in a

classroom. The teacher can explore on how to use the parts of stories when Little

Prince visits the other planets.

To avoid misinterpretation in this study, these are the explanation of the

terms. The terms are as follows.

3. Influence is any parts or present condition which plays a part in determining

one’s behavior, or course of thought, in the present (Drever, 1922, p.137). In

this study, influence is described as the effects of the particular relationship,

which determines one’s thought and behavior, especially the one which has

been experienced by Little Prince.


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4. Personality is a dynamic organization within the individual of those

psychological systems that determine his characteristics, behavior and thought”

(G.W. Allport, as cited in Engler, 2008, p.264). In other words, personality is

not only about characteristics, but also behavior and thought. How a character

acts in the story is also a part of personality.

5. Development refers to changes happening to human being during their lifetime

(Schiamberg and Smith, 1982, p.5). It has a relationship to some aspects such

as character and attitude. It means that the changes can happen to their

character and or attitude.

B. Approach of the Study

One of the best novels by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, entitled The Little

Prince, is used as an object to be discussed. A brief explanation on the life of

Antoine De Saint-Exupery can be found in Appendix 1. The Little Prince tells

about the adventure of Little Prince in finding life lessons. Little Prince who owns

his tiny little planet lives happily even though there is not any one to talk to. One

day, a Rose comes to his planet. He thinks that his Rose is special, the only one in

the universe. They talk about many things in the world they live in. As they talk to

each other, there is a doubt in the heart of Little Prince. There are things that Little

Prince could not understand as they argue to each other. He is too naïve and he

wants to learn about what grown-ups think. He decides to travel from one planet

to others to experience what he could not understand. He meets many kinds of

people in different planets until he arrived on Earth. The Earth is different from


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the planets he visits before; it is very vast. On this planet, Little Prince is stranded

in a desert and meets many unexpected events. One of them is that he meets Fox.

They becomes a good friend and Fox teaches many things to Little Prince. Their

friendship changes Little Prince’s life entirely. The summary of the novel can be

found in Appendix 2.

In this study, the Psychological approach is applied to analyze this novel.

According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971), “A critical approach to literature

necessitates an understanding of its nature, function and positive values” (p.3). A

general point of view is needed to analyze, criticize and understand a literary

work. Thus, Rohrberger and Woods discuss five critical approaches used in

analyzing a literary work; they are Formalist approach, Biographical approach,

Sociocultural-Historical approach, Mythopoeic approach and Psychological

approach. From all of those approaches, the Psychological approach is the most

appropriate approach to analyze this novel. Rohrberger and Woods explain that,

“The Psychological approach involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain

recurrent patterns. This approach determines the pattern through human social

communication” (p.13). In other words, Psychological approach focuses on the

psychological side of human beings. According to Lester Crow and Alice Crow

(1954), “Psychology is often said as the study of human behavior and the progress

of man’s self-development. Human behavior and development are influenced by

the environment and the potential that man have” (p.228-231). The characters’

thought and behavior can be understood by using psychological approach since


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this approach intends to comprehend the patterns of human personality and

behavior.

This approach is applied in order to explain Fox behavior pattern as the

significant character who influences Little Prince’s personality development.

Personality involves patterns of thought and feeling, but also behavior. The focus

of this study is the influence of the significant character on the main character’s

personality development as portrayed in the novel. Psychological approach is

applied to find out what was going on within the main character and the

significant character who influences his personality.

The method of the study used in this study is library research. The primary

source is the novel entitled The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The

secondary sources are the books related to theory of character, methods of

characterization, and theory of personality.

In analyzing this work, some steps are taken. First, the researcher read The

Little Prince many times in order to have deeper understanding about the

characters and the story. Second, the researcher attempts to find the problem

formulation. Third, the researcher gathers the data and related theories. Fourth, the

researcher analyzes the characters and the findings based on the theories. Those

theories are theory of character, method of characterization, and theory of

personality. My analysis is strengthened by discussions with my supervisor. The

last, the researcher draws conclusion based on the analysis and give some

suggestions for future researchers and teachers.


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CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

This chapter contains review of related literature and the findings. This

chapter will also answer the problem formulation stated in this study. This section

is followed by an interpretation of the result.

A. Review of Related Literature

This study focuses on the analyzing characteristics. The researchers found

out that there are only few researches on The Little Prince. So far, the researches

are mainly talking about symbolism and the biographical study of The Little

Prince’s author. For that reason, this study focuses on the characters on the novel.

This section contains theories related to this study. They are theory of

character, methods of characterization, and theory of personality. These theories

are fundamental analysis of this study.

1. Theory of Character

According to Laar and Schoonderwoerd (1969) character is “the

representation of certain person, however the resulting characters are never exact

replicas of the actual human beings” (p.165). Moreover, Abrams (2000) notes a

character is “an individual who exists in a dramatic or narrative work and s/he has


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moral dispositional qualities that can be seen from his/her dialogue and action.”

(p.21). Stanton (1965) states that character is “one of the most important elements

in the literary works” (p.17). Laar and Schoonderwoerd (1969) also state similar

theory, “Two main elements of a novel are the story or plot and people or

character” (p.163).

Milligan (1983) explains there is always a character that becomes the

center of the storyline. All of his actions are important and affecting the story

itself. Milligan called this as Major character as stated in his book:

Major character is the most important character in a literary work. He

plays a very important role because everything he does becomes the

content of the story. A major character becomes the centre of the story

because he endures problems, conflict, happiness, sorrow, etc. Through his

action, the readers knows the author’s message of the story (p.155).

Milligan also added that one character in a story is insufficient. Many

other characters are needed even though they are less affecting the story itself.

However, their roles are to support the main character in many different ways.

Milligan (1983) explains “Minor characters are the characters that play less

important role than major character. Their appearances support the main

character to develop the story so they appear only in a certain setting. They do

not endure the problem of the story” (p.155).

On the other side, Henkel (1977) mentions in his book, An Introduction to

Techniques of Interpreting Fiction, there are three kinds of characters. They are

major character, secondary character, and minor character.


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a. Major Character

Major character whom we observe most often in the novel, whose

appearance are frequent, attain the level of preeminence. They are created because

they are given the amplitude and attention to present convincing dramatizations of

the human issue of the book. If they fail in this role, the book essentially fails.

However if we understand them, we presumably understand the focal experience

in the novel.

b. Secondary Character

The secondary character function is to populate the world of novels. Since

fiction presents human contexts, the secondary characters establish that context.

Secondary characters may be a friend of the major character in novel, or one who

comes on scene frequently to comment on events or interact with the major

characters.

c. Minor Character

The minor characters, being generally less complex or less intense, and

drawn in shallow or relief, present what is often only one side of the experience.

The novel is sharpened by the actions of subsidiary characters. They function to

construct a composite picture of the human condition that is at issue in the novel

(p.92-99).

E.M. Forster in his book, Aspects of The Novel, mentions that there are

two kinds of characters. “First is flat characters who are compelled by a set idea in


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their creator. Second is round characters who embody all the variations and

complexities of human nature” (as cited in Henkle, 1977, p.91). Laar and

Schoonderwoerd (1969) explained:

A round character is the most perfect way for a novelist to represent his

characters in their wholeness and in all their different aspects. A flat

character is represented only or mainly in one aspect. A flat characters are

constructed round a single idea or quality e.g. goodness, badness, etc. and

they can usually be summed up in a few words or a single sentence. In flat

characters, some trait of characters is for some reason exaggerated, while

the other aspects or traits are hardly paid attention to. They represent

people as more simple than in fact they are (p.170-171).

Henkle (1977) notes, “If a character is not supposed to be complex and

lifelike, if he supposed to represent an idea then it is useless to look for

psychological subtlety in his portrait” (p.21). He further adds, “The principle

objective of the creation of characters in novel is to enable us to understand, and

to experience, people (p.86). In other words, a character has to be able to represent

a human life with its social interaction. Thus, the author’s intention and messages

will be apprehended for the readers.

2. Methods of Characterization

Characterization theory is used to discover further about characters in

novel. Laar and Schoonderwoerd (1969) state:

Character in a novel should not be static. There must be development.

While the plot, the story, goes forward, the characters should go forward

too and vice versa. Character may be delineated (characterize) or drawn

either from the inside by analysis of motives etc., or from the outside by

description of external elements. Characters may also be drawn by

showing them in contact with other characters and by showing how they

react to other human being. The way one character behaves to another

character – the interplay of characters – may tell us a good deal about them

(p.171).


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Rohrberger and Woods (1971) explain that characterization is an author’s creative

process in creating a character. This process consists of describing the character’s

physical appearance, style, manner, thought, action and other’s opinion about him

or her (p.231). By understanding this process, the characteristics of a character

will be easier to describe.

In this study, Murphy’s theory of characterization is used to analyze the

characters. According to Murphy (1972), there are nine ways for author to make

his or her characters understandable, which are as follows.

a. Personal Description

The author can describe the person’s appearance and clothes in the story.

The author describes what the characters are like and tells the readers the details

of the characters’ appearance; body/build, the face, skin colour, eyes, hair and

clothing. The author gives every detail through his own words or narration.

b. Character Seen by the Other Character

The author can describe a character through the eyes and opinions of other

people in the story. The readers get as it were, a reflected image. In other words,

the author describes a character in the story by letting people in the story make

opinions about the character him or herself.


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c. Speech

The author can give the readers an insight into the character of one person

in the story through what the person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever

he is in the conversation with the others, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he

is giving his readers a clue to his character. The way a character speaks and gives

opinion to others gives the readers an insight to the characteristics.

d. Past Life

The author lets the readers learn something about a person’s past life, the

author can give the readers a clue to events that helped to shape the person’s

characters. This way can be seen through the direct comment from the author,

person’s thought, conversation or the medium of another person.

e. Conversation of Other Characters

The author can give the readers’ clue to a person’s character through the

conversation of other people and the things they say about the character itself. The

clues that the readers have comes from the characters’ conversation. In addition,

Laar and Schoonderwoerd (1969) also state that, ‘Dialogue tell the readers

something about the character that is speaking’ (p.171). It means that when

characters in the story are having conversation, they describe one to another’s

characteristics.


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f. Reaction

The author can give the readers a clue about the person’s character by

letting the readers know how that person reacts to the various situations and

events. It can be shown by their speech and or behavior. Therefore, through this

reaction, the readers can understand the mental and moral qualities of the person

in the story.

g. Direct Comment of the Author

The author can describe or comment on a person’s character in the story

directly. In this way, the readers will understand what kind of people are in the

story more easily. The readers do not need to guess what kind of characteristics a

character has because the author tells them directly.

h. Thoughts

The author can give the readers direct knowledge of what a person in the

story is thinking about. Here, the author is able to do what the author him or

herself cannot do in the real life. The author can also tell the readers what

different people are thinking.

i. Mannerism

It means that the author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits or

idiosyncrasies, which may also tell us something about his character (p. 160-173).


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The way a character acts in the story can give a clear idea about characteristics to

the readers.

Some of methods may be used to analyze Little Prince characteristics, they

are character seen by the other character, speech, conversation of other characters,

reaction and thoughts. Most of the stories are told by the author himself. However

he represents himself as a character in the story. Some parts of the story tell the

characters’ characteristics through speech, conversation and reaction towards

other characters. In addition, Little Prince usually thinks to himself when he

learns about what grown-ups do.

3. Theory of Personality

Hurlock (1974) says that “Human life consists of two aspects, namely

individual and social aspects. The individual aspect concerns with the physical

changes and individual’s personality development. Individual’s personality

development, which is usually influenced by two factors; individual’s early

experience within his family and the important events that happened outside the

home or the social aspects” (p.19-20).

Allport (1970) says that “cultural ways, social situation, and individual’s

role within social systems plays role in individual’s development personality”

(p.194-195). He explains that a child usually requires cultural ways. He grows to

accept the roles within the family, but later, he finds himself playing many

assigned roles within many social systems. His behavior is modified within limits

by every social situation he encounters.


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B. The Interpretation of the Findings

This section discusses two questions that are stated in the problem

formulation. Thus, this section is divided into two parts. The first part is the

discussion of Little Prince’s characteristics. The second part is the discussion on

how Fox influences towards Little Prince’s personality development.

1. Little Prince’s Characteristics

There are many characteristics that can be found in Little Prince since he is

the main character in this novel. However, the researchers will explain some of

his characteristics that is affecting the story most. First, Little Prince is a person

who is full of curiosity and stubborn. He is always interested in knowing about

anything he does not know. When he travels from one planet to another, he

always asks questions especially about what grown-ups think. When he meets

king, he is the one who starts to ask question. “’Sire,’ he said to him, ‘I beg that

you will excuse my asking you a question-‘” (p.35). In the second planet, he is

also interested in what grown-ups think. “What do you mean – ‘admire’?” (p.40).

In other planets, it can be seen that Little Prince is a character with full of

curiosity. “’What are you doing there?’ he said to the tippler.” (p.40); “’Five

hundred million what?’ asked the Little Prince.” (p.41); “Good morning, sir. Why

have you just put out your lamp?” (p.46); “’What is that big book?’ said the Little

Prince. “What are you doing?” (p.49). In addition to his curiosity, Little Prince is

also stubborn. Little Prince is very stubborn when he starts asking questions. His

curiosity over a thing must be answered, otherwise he will keep asking the same


17

question. “’Then my sunset?’ the Little Prince reminded him: for he never forget a

question once he asked it.” (p.36); “’Five-hundred-and-one million what?’

repeated the Little Prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he

had asked it.” (p.42); “But what does that mean – ‘ephemeral’? repeated the Little

Prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it” (p.52).

Second, Little Prince is a person who is ambivalent, dishonest and

insensitive. These other sides of Little Prince’s characters are revealed when Little

Prince begins to think about his journey to other planets. It all starts when Little

Prince meets with Rose in his planet. He takes good care of her from the very start

when she was still in form of seed. After she grows up as a beautiful flower, Little

Prince begins to fall in love with Rose (p.27). Nonetheless, Little Prince says to

himself, “But I was too young to know how to love her. . .” (p.30). He always

quarrels with Rose over things. He travels from one planet to others to experience

what he does not know and says he may not come back to his planet. He is also

ambivalent because he does not know whether his decision is right or not. “He

believed that he would never want to return. But on this last morning all these

familiar tasks seemed very precious to him. (p.30)”. Another reason is that Little

Prince is dishonest with his own feeling. “And when he watered the flower for the

last time, and prepared to place her under the shelter of her glass globe, he realize

that he was very close to tears. (p.32)”. Little Prince is also insensitive. This

characteristic can be seen through Rose’s speech. “’Of course I love you,’ the

flower said to him. ‘It is my fault that you have not known it all the while. (p.32)”.


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2. Fox Influences Towards Little Prince’s Personality Development

When Little Prince meets Fox, he learns what is the meaning of friendship.

At first, it can be seen that Fox is a character who is shy and very cautious. He

greets Little Prince while hiding under a tree. “‘Good morning,’ the Little Prince

responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing. ‘I am right

here,’ the voice said, ‘under the apple tree.’” (p.62). And he does not want to

play with Little Prince because they are not friends yet. “ ‘I cannot play with you,’

the Fox said. ‘I am not tamed.’ ” (p.63). However, Fox feels lonely and he also

wants to be friends with Little Prince. “ ‘Please – tame me!’ he said.” (p.65). The

meaning of “tame” become very important for both of them. They learn about

friendship and tie their relation one to another through this “tame” word. Fox tells

Little Prince what their friendship will be like. “But if you tame me, it will be as if

the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be

different from all others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the

ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.” (p.65). Fox also adds

that their friendship will change everything that is common.

“And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread.

Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And

that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how

wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also

golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to

the wind in the wheat. . .” (p.65)

Even though, Little Prince is not quite sure with this friendship, Fox reassures

him. “‘One only understand the things that one tames,’ said the Fox. ‘Men have

no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at shops.


19

But there is no shop anywhere one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends

any more. If you want a friend, tame me. . .’” (p.65).

The most important characteristic of Fox is that he is wise. Most of the

time, a Fox character is characterized as a cunning and sly character in many

different kinds of stories. However, in this novel the character of Fox is

characterized as kind, helpful and especially wise. Little Prince gets many lessons

from what Fox said to him. Fox explains to Little Prince the mean of ‘tame’.

“'What does that mean – ‘tame’?'. 'It is an act too often neglected,' said the Fox. 'It

means to establish ties.'” (p.64). Fox teaches Little Prince the meaning of

friendship and being special.

“To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a

hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you,

on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a Fox

like a hundred thousand other Foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall

need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall

be unique in all the world. . .” (p.64)

When Little Prince is going to leave, Fox reassures him that friendship will

always leave behind good things. “'But now you are going to cry!' said the Little

Prince. 'Yes, that is so,' said the Fox.' 'Then it has done you no good at all!' 'It has

done me good,' said the Fox, 'because of the colour of the wheat fields.'” (p.68).

After he befriends with Fox, he learns what important in his life. When the

Fox teaches Little Prince about what is meant by ‘tame’, he finally understands

about his feeling towards Rose. “I am beginning to understand,” said the Little


20

Prince. “There is a flower . . . I think that she has tamed me . . .” (p.64). Through

Fox words, Little Prince understands about what it is meant by special.

The Little Prince went away, to look again at the Roses. “You are not at all

like my Rose,” he said. “As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you,

and you have tamed no one. You are like my Fox when I first knew him.

He was only a Fox like a hundred thousand other Foxes. But I have made

him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.” (p.68)

As Fox says to Little Prince, “It is the time I have wasted for your Rose that make

your Rose so important.” (p.70), he finally realizes it when he met with the

switchman. “Only the children know what they are looking for,” said the Little

Prince. “They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to

them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry...” (p.71). The last

message given by Fox is what impact Little Prince most. His feeling towards Rose

changes. Little Prince becomes honest to himself and he admits it to the pilot.

“The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to

have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her

radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her. . . I ought to

have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems.

Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her.

. .” (p.30)

After all that happens on the Earth and after he hears Fox’s last message, the only

thing Little Prince wants to do is that he goes back to his planet, his home. He

does not admit it at first when he meets the pilot.

“Do you come from another planet?” But he did not reply. He tossed his

head gently, without taking his eyes from my plane: “Is it true that you

can’t have come from very far away. . .” And he sank into reverie, which

lasted a long time. Then, taking my sheep out of his pocket, he buried

himself in the contemplation of his treasure. (p.12)


21

However, it states clearly at the end of the story that Little Prince is on the way to

find his way back when he meets the pilot.

“Then it was not by chance that on the morning when I first met you – a

week ago – you were strolling along like that, all alone, a thousand miles

from any inhabited region? You were on your way back to the place where

you landed?” The Little Prince flushed again. (p.78)

His meeting with Fox is what makes Little Prince changes his point of

view. At first, he still needs a lot to learn about what grown-ups think. That is why

he is so stubborn. All of his questions must be answered. Even though most of the

time people that he meets do not want to answer Little Prince questions, he insists

on repeating the same question. However, after he meets Fox, Little Prince

realizes what is important to him. Even though at first he says that he is not going

to back to his planet, but Fox’s last message reveals his true heart. He becomes an

open-minded person. He knows what he is looking for. It is proven when he meets

railway switchman. “’Only the children know what they are looking for,’ said the

Little Prince.” (p.61). At that time, Little Prince already realizes what his purpose

is. He tries to find his way back home to his planet. Little Prince also learns that

time he wasted on someone will not be wasted at all. When a merchant asked him

what will he do when he has fifty –three minutes to spare, Little Prince answers,

“If I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure

towards a spring of fresh water.” (p.63). It is because Little Prince realizes that

every minute is precious. It is all because of Fox who has teaches him important

life lesson.


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CHAPTER III

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part is the conclusion. In this

part, the researcher summarizes the major findings or the solutions to the

problems. The second part is the recommendation. In this part, the researcher

relates the discussed topic to the teaching field.

A. Conclusions

Based on the analysis on the previous chapters, two points are concluded

in this chapter. The first is Little Prince characteristics. The second is how Fox

influences Little Prince’s personality development.

The Little Prince has many kinds of characters because he is the main

character in the story. First, Little Prince is a person who is full of curiosity and

stubborn. He is always interested in knowing about anything he does not know.

His curiosity over a thing must be answered, otherwise he will keep asking the

same question. Second, Little Prince is a person who is ambivalent, dishonest and

insensitive. He never speaks his true mind. That is why he quarrels with Rose and

leaves his planet.

There are two events which change Little Prince’s personality

development. The first is the friendship between him and Fox and the second is


23

life lessons which Fox teaches to Little Prince. First, through their friendship we

can see that Little Prince personality changes. Little Prince who at first is stubborn

becomes a person who is open-minded. He realizes his purpose and sets his goal

to go back to his planet. Second, through Fox’s life lessons Little Prince realizes

that the time he wastes on somebody important is not wasted.

B. Recommendations

This study will be a great aid for teachers to teach their classes. There are

two reasons for this. First, The Little Prince novel itself is a great work by its

author and can be used as reading material. This novel is suitable to teach reading

for Senior High School. The activities will be divided into three; they are pre-

reading activities, whilst reading activities and post reading activities. In pre-

reading activities, some excerpts of the novel are taken and the teacher may give

the students some vocabularies that difficult for the students to follow. The

students will be asked to look the meaning in the dictionary. In whilst reading

activities, the teacher asks the students to read the excerpt of the novels, answer

the vocabulary exercise, true-false exercise, and comprehension questions. Then

the teacher and the students will discuss all of the assignments. In post reading

activities, the teacher invites the students to state the moral values they have learn

from the story.

This research may also be used for the future researcher. This novel is a

great work which depicts human life using a simple story. This study only focuses

on Little Prince and Fox even though there are many other characters in this


24

novel. Little Prince travels from one planet to others, so there will be many stories

on those planets. There is also Rose which become the main reason why Little

Prince left his planet. Therefore, there will be a lot more things to discuss about

The Little Prince. The one the researcher suggests is the theme about love

between Little Prince and Rose.


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REFERENCES

Abrams, M.H. (2000). A glossary of literary terms (4th ed.). New York: Rinehart and

Winston, Inc.

Allport, G.W. (1970). Pattern and growth in personality. New York: Rinehart and

Winston, Inc.

Crow, L.D. & Crow, A.V.B. (1954). Reading in general psychology. New York: Barnes

and Noble, Inc.

Drever, J. (1922). The psychology of everyday life. London: Methuen & Co., Ltd.

Engler, B. (2008). Personality theories: An introduction (8th ed.). Boston: Houghton

Mifflin.

Exupery, A.D.S. (1998). The Little Prince. London: Mammoth.

Henkle, R.B. (1977). Reading the novel: An introduction of interpreting fiction. New

York: Harper & Row, Inc.

Hurlock, E. B. (1976). Personality development. New Delhi: Tata Mc Graw-Hill Inc.

Laar, E.V.D. & Schoonderwoerd, N. (1969). An approach to English literature (6th ed.).

Rotterdam: LCG, Malmberg

Milligan, I. (1983). The novel in English: An introduction. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.

Murphy, M.J. (1972). Understanding unseen: An introduction to English poetry and the

English novel for overseas students. London: George Allan and Unwin, Ltd.

Rohrberger, M. & Woods, S.H. (1971). Reading and writing about literature. New York:

Random House, Inc.

Schiamberg, L.B. & Smith, K.U. (1982). Human development. New York: Macmillan

Stanton, R. (1965). An introduction to fiction. New York: Rinehart and Winston, Inc.


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APPENDIX 1

BIOGRAPHY OF ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY

Antoine de saint Exupery was born on 29th June, 1900 in Marseille,

France. His father died in 1904 due to a stroke, thus his mother moved with her

children to Le Mans in 1909. He spent his childhood years at the castle of Saint-

Maurice-de-Rémens, surrounded by sisters, aunts, cousins and nurses. He

acquired his early education at Jesuit schools in Montgré and Le Mans, and a

Catholic boarding school in Switzerland (1915-1917). Much to his dismay, he

failed his final examination at a university preparatory school, so he enrolled

himself at the École des Beaux-Arts to study architecture. He tried to join the

Navy, but could not enter. In 1921, he started off as a mechanic and joined the

French Air Force in Strasbourg. He had flown, with a pilot, for the first time in

1912. However, when his fiancé’s family objected, he settled in Paris where he

took an office job and started to write. His engagement broke off some time later.

Saint-Exupery’s first tale, ‘L’Aviateur’ was published in 1926 in the

literary magazine Le Navire d’argent. His career took off when in 1928; he

became the director of the remote Cap Juby Airfield in Rio de Oro, Sahara.

During this period, the house he lived in was a wooden ram-shackle and he slept

on a thin straw mattress. A point in his life came when he had completely

secluded himself. This was when he wrote The Little Prince and The Wisdom of


27

the Sands which showed his love for the desert. His first novel, Southern Mail

celebrated the courage of the early pilots, flying at the limits of safety, to speed on

the mail and win a commercial advantage over rail and steamship rivals. Another

story was written which described the author’s failed relationship with his fiancé.

In 1929, Saint-Exupery flew to South America, where he was made the

director of the Aeroposta Argentina Company. This experience gave the basis for

his second novel, Night Flight which became an international bestseller. It won

the Prix Femina. The story describes Rivière, the hard-bitten airport chief who has

by gone into retirement and has accepted the work of flying the mail as his

destiny.

Saint-Exupery married a widow, Consuelo Gómez Carillo in 1931. The

marriage did not last for long. Consuelo felt neglected by her husband, who did

not have the time to pay much attention to her needs. There were also rumors of

him being engaged in affairs with other women. After being convinced by a

friend, he wrote a book about Pilots’ confessions, Wind, Sand and Stars, which

appeared in 1939 and won the French Academy’s 1939 Grand Prix du Roman and

the National Book Award in the United States. He disappeared on a

reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean and France in July 1944 and is

believed to have died at that time.

Adapted from: http://www.famousauthors.org/antoine-de-saint-exupery


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APPENDIX 2

SUMMARY OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

The narrator, an airplane pilot, crashes in the

Sahara desert. The crash badly damages his

airplane and leaves the narrator with very

little food or water. As he is worrying over

his predicament, he is approached by the

Little Prince, a very serious little blond boy

who asks the narrator to draw him a sheep.

The narrator obliges, and the two become

friends. The pilot learns that the Little Prince

comes from a small planet that the Little

Prince calls Asteroid 325 but that people on Earth call Asteroid B-612. The Little

Prince took great care of this planet, preventing any bad seeds from growing and

making sure it was never overrun by baobab trees. One day, a mysterious rose

sprouted on the planet and the Little Prince fell in love with it. But when he

caught the rose in a lie one day, he decided that he could not trust her anymore.

He grew lonely and decided to leave. Despite a last-minute reconciliation with the

rose, the prince set out to explore other planets and cure his loneliness.

While journeying, the narrator tells us, the Little Prince passes by

neighboring asteroids and encounters for the first time the strange, narrow-minded

world of grown-ups. On the first six planets the Little Prince visits, he meets a

king, a vain man, a drunkard, a businessman, a lamplighter, and a geographer, all

of whom live alone and are overly consumed by their chosen occupations. Such

strange behavior both amuses and perturbs the Little Prince. He does not

understand their need to order people around, to be admired, and to own

everything. With the exception of the lamplighter, whose dogged faithfulness he


29

admires, the Little Prince does not think much of the adults he visits, and he does

not learn anything useful. However, he learns from the geographer that flowers do

not last forever, and he begins to miss the rose he has left behind.

At the geographer’s suggestion, the Little Prince visits Earth, but he lands

in the middle of the desert and cannot find any humans. Instead, he meets a snake

who speaks in riddles and hints darkly that its lethal poison can send the Little

Prince back to the heavens if he so wishes. The Little Prince ignores the offer and

continues his explorations, stopping to talk to a three-petaled flower and to climb

the tallest mountain he can find, where he confuses the echo of his voice for

conversation. Eventually, the Little Prince finds a rose garden, which surprises

and depresses him—his rose had told him that she was the only one of her kind.

The prince befriends Fox, who teaches him that the important things in life

are visible only to the heart, that his time away from the rose makes the rose more

special to him, and that love makes a person responsible for the beings that one

loves. The Little Prince realizes that, even though there are many roses, his love

for his rose makes her unique and that he is therefore responsible for her. Despite

this revelation, he still feels very lonely because he is so far away from his rose.

The prince ends his story by describing his encounters with two men, a railway

switchman and a salesclerk.

It is now the narrator’s eighth day in the desert, and at the prince’s

suggestion, they set off to find a well. The water feeds their hearts as much as

their bodies, and the two share a moment of bliss as they agree that too many

people do not see what is truly important in life. The Little Prince’s mind,

however, is fixed on returning to his rose, and he begins making plans with the

snake to head back to his planet. The narrator is able to fix his plane on the day

before the one-year anniversary of the prince’s arrival on Earth, and he walks

sadly with his friend out to the place the prince landed. The snake bites the prince,

who falls noiselessly to the sand.


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The narrator takes comfort when he cannot find the prince’s body the next

day and is confident that the prince has returned to his asteroid. The narrator is

also comforted by the stars, in which he now hears the tinkling of his friend’s

laughter. Often, however, he grows sad and wonders if the sheep he drew has

eaten the prince’s rose. The narrator concludes by showing his readers a drawing

of the desert landscape and by asking us to stop for a while under the stars if we

are ever in the area and to let the narrator know immediately if the Little Prince

has returned.

Adapted from: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/summary.html


the influence of fox on little prince’s … · 2017-12-18 · the others. on the planet earth, he...

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