PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
THE STRUGGLE OF A DYSLEXIC IN FACING SOCIAL BAD
TREATMENT AS SEEN THROUGH PERCY JACKSON IN
RICK RIORDIAN’S PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS:
THE LIGHTNING THIEF
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
STEVE KAMEVAN
Student Number: 104214105
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2016
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
THE STRUGGLE OF A DYSLEXSIC IN FACING SOCIAL
BAD TREATMENT AS SEEN THROUGH PERCY JACKSON
IN RICK RIORDIAN’S PERCY JACKSON AND THE
OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
STEVE KAMEVAN
Student Number: 104214105
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2016
i
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
A Sarjana Sqstra Undergraduate Thesis
THE STRUGGLE OF A DYSLEXIC IN FACING SOCIAL BAD
TREATMENT AS SEEN THROUGH PERCY JACKSON IN
RICK RIORDIAN'S PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS:
THE LIGHTNING THIEF
By
STEVE KAMEVAN
Student Number: rc4[4105
Approved by
w
Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani. S.S.. M.Hum.
Advisor
November 2,2016
November 2,2016
Co-advisor
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I
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
I
THE STRUGGLE OF A DYSLEXIC IN FACING SOCIAL BAD
TREATMENT AS SEEN THROUGH PERCY JACKSON IN
RICK RIORDIAN'S PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS:
THE LIGHTNING THIEF
I
I
I
By
STEVE KAMEVAN
Student Number:
l}42l4l}5
Defended before the Board of Examiners
on
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF'EXAMINERS
Name
Chairperson
Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A.
Secretary
Sri Mulyani, Ph.D.
Member I
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanark4 M.Hum.
Member 2
Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani,
Member
Elisabeth. Arti Wulandari, S.S., M.A., Ph.D.
3
S.S, M.Hum.
Yogyakarta, November 30, 2016
Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University
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Ari Subagyo, M. Hum.
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
STATEMENT
ffi' ORIGINALITY
I certi$ that this undergraduate tl$si-is eontains rto material which has been
previously submitted forthe awarrd sf@ other degree at any university, and that,
to the best of rny knowledge, tltis trrrdergraduate thesis contains no
material
previously written by any other person ex@pt where due reference is made in the
text of the undergradute thesis.
'ffi;ilemberl'2016
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma
Nama
: Steve Kamevan
Nomor Mahasiswa
:104214105
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
THE STRUGGLE OF A DYSLEXIC IN FACING SOCIAL BAD
TREATMENT AS SEEN THROUGH PERCY JACKSON IN RICK
RIORDIAN,S PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE
LIGHTNING THIEF
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). 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 minta ijin kepada saya
maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama mencantumkan nama saya
sebagai penulis.
Demikian pemyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 1 November20l6
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
I Come
I Consult
I Test
I Revise
And
I WIN
vi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Praise and great gratitude submitted to Almighty God, Almighty Jesus
Christ who always gives her gracious mercy and tremendous blessing that has
helped the writer finishing this undergraduate thesis. This undergraduate thesis is
as a requirement in accomplishing the S-1 Degree at the Department of English
Letters of University of Sanata Dharma.
The writer would like to thank to all of those who have given the
contribution so that this script can be finished. The writer would like to deliver
this thank Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum as the first advisor and Elisabeth
Arti Wulandari, S.S., M.A., Ph.D as the second advisor who have guided and
assisted the writer in writing and finishing the script. Thank you for your good
advice and valuable input. Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum as examiner who
have given the valuable input and advice for the improvement of this thesis. All
lecturers in Sanata Dharma University that the writer cannot mention all the
names. Thanks for your time, knowledge, advice and motivation that you have
given to the writer since study in this great campus. Cia, Ray, Tyas, Cindy and
mbak Mayang as friends of Sanata Dharma University who have allowed and
helped the writer conducted this research at Sanata Dharma University. Thank you
for your cooperation and contribution. My parents who always give motivation
when the writer is studying in Yogyakarta at Sanata Dharma University.
Steve Kamevan
vii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................
APPROVAL PAGE ..................................................................................
ACCEPTANCE PAGE.............................................................................
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ........................................................
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH.........
MOTTO PAGE .........................................................................................
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................
ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................
ABSTRAK...................................................................................................
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
x
xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................
A. Background of the Study ....................................................
B. Problem Formulation ..........................................................
C. Objectives of the Study ......................................................
D. Definition of Terms ............................................................
1. Struggle...........................................................................
2. Bad Treatment ...............................................................
3. Dyslexia ..........................................................................
1
1
6
6
6
7
7
7
CHAPTER II: REVIEWS OF THEORIES ..........................................
A. Review of Related Studies ..................................................
B. Review of Related Theories ...............................................
1. Theory of Character and Characterization .....................
a. Speech ..........................................................................
b. Conversation of Others.................................................
c. Reaction........................................................................
d. Direct Comment ...........................................................
e. Thoughts .......................................................................
f. Mannerism....................................................................
2. Theory of Dyslexia .........................................................
a. Difficulty with reading unfamiliar material .................
b. Slow pace of reading ....................................................
c. Understanding more easily when listening
than when reading ........................................................
d. Underachievement at school, particular in exam .........
e. Having close family members with dyslexia ...............
3. The Bad Treatment Facing Dyslexic ..............................
a. Anxiety .........................................................................
b. Anger ............................................................................
c. Self-image ....................................................................
8
8
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
13
13
viii
13
13
13
14
15
15
16
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
d. Depression ....................................................................
4. The Relation between Psychology and Literature ...........
C. Theoretical Framework ......................................................
16
22
23
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ........................................................
A. Object of the Study .............................................................
B. Approach of the Study ........................................................
C. Method of the Study ...........................................................
25
25
27
28
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .....................................................................
A. The Characteristics of Percy Jackson as Dyslexic ..............
1. At school .........................................................................
2. In the family ...................................................................
3. At the Camp....................................................................
B. The Bad Treatment Experienced by Percy..........................
1. School ..............................................................................
2. Family..............................................................................
3. Camp................................................................................
C. Percy Struggles Against the Society....................................
30
30
30
39
40
44
44
47
49
55
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………….
APPENDIX ...............................................................................................
70
74
78
ix
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
STEVE KAMEVAN. The Struggle of a Dyslexic In Facing Social Bad
Treatment as Seen through Percy Jackson in Rick Riordian’s Percy
Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Yogyakarta: Department
of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This thesis discusses Rick Riordan’s novel Percy Jackson and The
Olympians: The Lighting Thief. The discussion is about a student in Yancy
Academy who has a dyslexia syndrome. It is reflected through the main
character in the story who is Percy Jackson.
This discussion is meant to answer three problems that are formulated
to analyze the issue. The first problem is about the characteristics of Percy
Jackson as a dyslexic. The second one is about the discrimination towards
Percy Jackson by society seen in the story. The last one is how Percy Jackson
as a dyslexic can struggle against the social bad treatment.
To answer the research questions, this thesis used a psychological
approach to study the personality of the character in relation to his dyslexia.
The main source of the study is Riordan’s Percy Jackson and The Olympians:
The Lighting Thief. The other references are taken to support arguments
stated in this undergraduate thesis.
This study finds out that Percy Jackson is described as a teenager who
has a good education and lives in a common society. However, Percy suffers
a dyslexia syndrome which is revealed through some characteristics that he
has, such as short tempered, pessimistic and clumsy. Even though he is seen
as a good teenager generally, he has some characteristics that show his
differences to other teenagers in his environment. Percy thinks that he is
different to his other friends in school, home and camp. Then, Percy always
gets discrimination from his friends, his teachers and his family. After Percy
gets a discrimination from his friends, teachers and family, Percy wants to
survive and to be a good teenager. Since he lives at the camp, Percy struggles
to be seen as a normal teenager, till he can be accepted in the new society. He
has to change his “dyslexic” characteristics to be more “normal”. He changes
to be a calm, optimistic, brave and confident teenager. Moreover, Percy also
increases his skill in many fields, such as reading Latin Language, sport and
strategy like learning how to fight, making a potion and many other activities.
x
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK
STEVE KAMEVAN. The Struggle of a Dyslexic in Facing Social Bad
Treatment as Seen through Percy Jackson in Rick Riordian’s Percy
Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Yogyakarta: Program
Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Skripsi ini mendiskusikan novel Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and
The Olympians: The Lighting Thief. Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang siswa
yang bersekolah di Akademi Yancy yang memiliki sindroma disleksia. Hal
ini tercemin melalui tokoh utama dari cerita Percy Jackson.
Diskusi ini bermaksud menjawab tiga pertanyaan yang diformulasikan
untuk menganalisa isu terkait. Pertanyaan pertama adalah tentang karateristik
Percy Jackson sebagai seorang disleksia. Pertanyaan kedua adalah tentang
diskriminasi yang dialami oleh Percy Jackson oleh lingkungan
masyarakatnya. Pertanyaan terakhir adalah tentang bagaimana seorang Percy
Jackson sebagai dislekia dapat melakukan perjuangan melawan diskrimansi
sosial.
Untuk menjawab dari pertanyaan penelitian ini, penelitian ini
menggunakan pendekatan psikologis yaitu mempelajari kepribadian karakter
dalam kaitannya dengan disleksia. Sumber utama di pembelajaran ini adalah
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lighting Thief milik Riordan dan
referensi-referensi lain diambil untuk membantu argumen - argumen yang
diyantakan dalam skripsi ini.
Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa Percy Jackson digambarkan sebagai
seorang remaja yang memiliki pendidikan yang baik dan tinggal di
masyarakat umum. Namun, Percy menderita sindrom disleksia yang
terungkap memalui beberapa karakteristik bahwa ia mudah marah, selalu
menyerah dan ceroboh. Meskipun dia terlihat sebagai murid yang baik pada
umumnya, ia memliki beberapa karakteristik yang menunjukkan perbedaan
dengan siswa lain di sekolahnya. Percy berfikir bahwa ia berbeda dengan
teman-temanya di sekolah, di rumah maupun di kamp. Kemudian, Percy
selalu mendapat diskriminasi dari teman-temannya, guru dan orang tuanya
seperti di lingkungan sekolah, keluarga dan kamp. Setelah Percy mendapat
diskriminasi dari teman-temannya, guru dan orang tuanya, Percy ingin
berjuang untuk dilihat sebagai anak yang normal, sampai ia dapat diterima di
masyarakatnya. Dia harus mengubah karakter “disleksia” menjadi karakter
“normal”. Percy menjadi tenang, optimis, berani dan percaya diri. Selain itu,
Percy juga meningkatkan keterampilan dalam berbagai bidang, seperti
membaca Bahasa Latin, olah raga dan strategi seperti belajar bagaimana cara
bertarung, membuat ramuan dan banyak lagi.
xi
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature has been a part of human life. In An Introduction to the Study
of Literature, it is stated that literature is an expression of life through changing
social and artistic circumstances. Literature presents some aspects of human life,
such as historical, social, moral, and psychological aspects (Hudson, 1960: 10).
It can be seen that most of poem, prose, drama and also movies are the
representation of reality, in which the authors try to express their life experience.
Literature is human creation in certain time to say something or events
in certain period or year. It is intended to share some idea or issue to
other human beings, because the greatness of the literature works
brought out by the wisest and the most sensitive mind in the form of
information, experiences, knowledge or non-aesthetic values (Guerrin,
1979: 18).
Psychology and literature are strongly related each other which mean that
they cannot be separated. It is because through literature, psychological issues
can be found. For instance, the novel Frankenstein that is written by Mary
Wollstonecraft. In this work, the author tries to show how technology of science
can build a character or “a monster” (https://www.cliffsnotes.com, September
20, 2016). The main character in that novel is Victor Frankenstein who has a
psychological problem. The problem is called as the abnormality of character
because Victor Frankenstein, the main character, has “abnormal” characteristics
that are different from other common people in society at that time.
1
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2
Until now, abnormality still becomes the major issue in a psychology. It
is because the sufferer often gets humiliation and bad treatment from the society
even though they are smart or genius. For instance, one of the most common and
popular faces all over the world is Tom Cruise. He suffered from reading
disorder called dyslexia. Tom Cruise’s dyslexia was inherited from his mother.
By the age of seven, he was claimed that he had a dyslexia syndrome. It was
very difficult for him to understand what he read or wrote. He was not
accustomed to reading and writing. As a young boy, he had to suffer due to his
learning disability. Having a disability can cause other problems like depression,
anger, stress, and others. He often suffered from stress, headaches and temper
problems. His depression kept increasing each day of his young life. He was also
very talented in playing games like baseball, wrestling and soccer. When he
graduated from his school, he refused to attend his graduation, as he knew that
he might have failed in it. However, by the time becoming an adult, he learned
how to read and write. Knowing that he was especially talented in acting, he
tried to pursue a career out of acting. Tom Cruise is an example of a disabled
person who came out as a winner in his life. He proved to the world that we
could survive and be accepted in society, provided we are able to get over our
symptoms (http://www.dyslexiaconsultants.com, March 10, 2015).
Sometimes “the abnormal” that gives effect toward the unstable
personality has an impact towards the environment itself. Many people still do
not understand what kinds of the “abnormal” syndrome are. They always judge
and intimidate the person who has abnormality because commonly the sufferer
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3
cannot control his abnormality. They tend to have negative behaviors. Being an
“abnormal” person is not anybody’s expected. It means that the normal people
do not want to become an “abnormal” person. This abnormality is commonly
triggered by many factors. They can be from genetic factor or environment
factor.
Furthermore, in A Medical Dictionary about Dyslexia by James and
Philiph, dyslexia is a kind of learning disorders (James and Philip, 2001:3-6). It
means that dyslexia syndrome comes from the social influence and education
influence. Then, in book Helping Hyperactive Kids – A Sensory Integration
Approach, it is stated that hyperactivity and dyslexia are almost similar but
different in action or behavior (Lynn et.al, 2006:17-19). It means that people
with dyslexia and hyperactivity are very different from their behavior. For
example, the dyslexia has a lack of reading. Then, hyperactive has difficulty to
control his or her emotion because he or she always keeps being active and be
never tired.
Children who suffer from dyslexia have problem with reading and
comprehension of the written language, whereas reading becomes one of the
important elements in the learning process. The child is difficult to master the
basic ability to read and it can affect her/his scores. Besides, children with
dyslexia also have problems in absorbing the information from the written form.
Most of the people who have the dyslexia syndrome are difficult to pronounce a
word that is composed from several specific letters (Adams, 2008: 3). In
addition, the child will have difficulty in math. Previously, this condition is often
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4
called as minimal brain dysfunction syndrome or commonly called as Attention
Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Based on the research at the University of Toronto and the University of
North Carolina, the researchers found that around 35 percent of the dyslexic
participants in the aged of 18 and over had become the victim of physical abuse.
Moreover, about 77 people from 1,020 respondents who said they had been
physically abused during childhood which is received a diagnosis of dyslexia. In
journal of Interpersonal Violence by Stephen Hooper, he states,
“It is possible that for some children, the presence of dyslexia and
related learning problems may place them at relatively higher risk for
physical abuse, perhaps due to adult frustrations with chronic learning
failure." (Hooper, 2014).
Moreover, not only the children but also the adult with a dyslexia get bad
treatment. In one of the articles, it is said, “Dyslexic tax worker sues HMRC for
'bullying’”. The article discusses about the worker who had dyslexia sued by her
management because the victim feels that she gets a bullying from her works.
The worker name is Caroline Nicholson.
"I struggle reading any information and find it very difficult to put my
thoughts and ideas down into writing that anyone can understand. If
someone interrupts me speaking, I can easily lose my train of thought.
“Under stress, I can struggle to see the screen or the paper in front of
me. Also, reading under scrutiny is very difficult."
When her "understanding and supportive" manager retired in 2008, her
new manager gave her a hard time. (http://stv.tv/news/eastcentral/215496-dyslexic-tax-worker-sues-hmrc-for-bullying/) (March
10, 2015).
From this article the writer is increasingly convinced that the people who
suffer from a dyslexia cannot be accepted in their community. Caroline is
struggle not to show her syndrome. In a way, she always prepares her work
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
5
before she goes to work with the help of her mother. Even though she has a
weak memory, she tries harder to remember what is ordered by her boss.
Based on the fact above, the writer chooses the topic about dyslexia. The
writer wants to analyze the reaction of the society and the people who suffer
from dyslexia. In this research, the writer uses a psychological approach. The
writer chooses the psychological approach because the writer wants to look
deeper through this research how the people are accepted in their society
although they try to make them acceptable in society with the limitations.
Besides, the writer wants to show kinds of bad treatment of the people against
dyslexic.
The writer chooses a novel related to psychological a term that is Rick
Riordan’s work, in which the content is related to the issue of symptoms of
dyslexia syndrome. The novel Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning
Thief by Rick Riordan is categorized as fantasy fiction story. Rick Riordan tells
about a child who has dyslexia and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD). The main character itself is Percy Jackson. He is twelve years old, but
he is always getting trouble with his dyslexia syndrome and ADHD. In the
novel, Percy always cannot be accepted by his society or community in his
school. He always gets troubles with his friends and teachers. Besides that, in the
novel, Percy Jackson also has been claimed by himself as a dyslexic.
The writer focuses on the main character who has the dyslexia disorder
and how the main character struggles and survives in his society. Besides, the
writer wants to show the impact of dyslexia to his society. The main character
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6
that the writer tries to analyze in this research is Percy Jackson. The writer also
tries to identify what kind of symptoms that appears of the character in the
novel.
B. Problem Formulation
1. What are the characteristics of Percy Jackson as a dyslexic?
2. How is Percy Jackson as a dyslexic treated badly by society in the story?
3. How does Percy Jackson as a dyslexic bring about the struggle against the
social bad treatment?
C. Objectives of the Study
The writer focuses on three problems that are stated above as the
objectives of study. First, the writer wants to see what kind of characteristic of
Percy Jackson as a dyslexic is. Second, the writer wants to identify how Percy
Jackson as a dyslexic is discriminated by his society. Third, the writer wants to
find out how Percy Jackson struggles against the social bad treatment.
D. Definition of Terms
In this part, the writer gives the explanation of three important and
related terms in the study that are stated in problem formulation. The terms are
explained in the following paragraphs.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7
1. Struggle
In book The Struggle of Recognition, struggle is defined as “affective
motivational basis that is represented by the negative emotional reactions
accompanying the experience of disrespect” (Honneth, 1996: 135).
2.
Bad Treatment
In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, bad means
“unpleasant and causing difficulties or harm” (2001: 81). Then, treatment means
“the way you deal with or behave towards someone or something” (2001: 1541).
Therefore, the meaning of bad treatment is a way of behavior or actions that is
performed by the person or community or society. The actions can lead the
problems such as bullying, causing hostility and discriminating. Moreover, the
bad treatment also refers to practice of treating someone or a particular group in
society less fairly than others, based on their behavior (syndrome).
3. Dyslexic
Dyslexia is a kind of developmental learning disabilities (learning
disabilities) that is characterized by the difficulty in learning to read. Some
dyslexic children are also likely to have difficulty in writing, and sometimes in
speaking or numeracy (Aaron, 1994: 2-3).
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
The first related study is A Study Of Dyslexia Among Primary School
Students In Sarawak, Malaysia. This thesis written by Rosana Bin Awang
Bolhasan from Education Department Batu Lintang Teachers’ Training Institute.
Rosana determine the degree of dyslexic reading problem among primary school
students and the relationship between the degree of dyslexia and some factors.
The factors meant by Rosana were gender of age, class, parents’ income, parent
education, and parents’ occupation, students’ position in the family and the
number of brothers and sisters in the family.
The second related study is Sanata Dharma University; English Letters
Program Undergraduate thesis written by Erlita entitled The Causes of
Narrator’s Schizophrenia in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Paper”.
The writer takes Erlita’s work because the topic that she takes has a similar
focus with this study that is a character with a particular condition with the
writer’s analysis which is about “abnormal”syndrome. Erlita’s works in novel
“The Yellow Paper” analyzes the narrator’s characterization, the symptoms of
schizophrenia suffered by the narrator through the characterization, and the
factors that cause the narrator’s schizophrenia.
From the Narrator’s description, the writer is able to know the
symptoms of the Narrator’s schizophrenia, such as hallucination,
delusions, and experiences of control. Based on these symptoms, the
8
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
writer can conclude that the Narrator suffers from schizophrenia. Then,
the writer finds the factors that cause the Narrator’s schizophrenia. The
factors are the social life and life events. The social life factor is the
Narrator’s condition which she has to be isolated in the rented house
without being able to see her relatives, added by the lack of
communication between her and her husband, John; and life event
factor is the condition which she experiences a trauma after giving birth
her first child that cause the Narrator becomes a schizophrenia sufferer
(Erlita, 2012: 9).
Based on the quotation above, Erlita wants to analyze how the narrator
gets schizophrenia. Then, she also tries to look the problem why the narrator gets
the schizophrenia symptoms. As it can be seen that Erlita concludes that the
narrator of the short stories “The Yellow Paper” suffered the schizophrenia
symptoms because of the social life factor and the lack of communication
between her and husband who is John.
In Erlita’s thesis, the character suffered schizophrenia while in this thesis
the character of Percy Jackson in the novel “Percy Jackson and The Olympians:
The Lighting Thief” suffered dyslexia. Schizophrenia and dyslexia are not the
same condition. Then, in Erlita’s analysis, we learn the characteristics and the
impact of the condition to the characters’ relationship with other people. In the
writer analysis, the writer tries to look and analyze what kind of the
characteristics of Percy Jackson as a dyslexic is, how the relationship of Percy
Jackson in the society is, and what kind of bad treatment that Percy Jackson gets
in the novel is.
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B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
In order to analyze the characteristics of the main character in the novel,
the writer uses characterization theories. In Glossary of Literary Terms, it is
stated that:
Character is the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work that
are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and
dispositions qualities through their dialogue and their action (Abrams,
1981: 20).
Based on the quotation above, it is stated that the character is the person
who can give the readers the plot of the story. Through the plot, the character
shows the characteristics of his or her that bring many values and morals through
everything that the character does in the story. Abrams also divides the
characters into two categorizes; the main or major characters and minor
characters. The major character always becomes the center of the story. He or
she is the most important character in the story and the conflict of the story is
focused on the main character from the beginning until the end of the story.
To analyze further about character in the plot, the writer uses theory of
characterization from Understanding Unseen: An Introduction of English Poetry
and the English Novel for Overseas Student by Murphy. The writer uses six
ways to identify the character because in these six ways to identify the character
of Percy Jackson because only six that can help the writer to answer the problem
formulation:
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11
a. Speech
The reader can understand the character through what he or she says when he
or she is in conversation with other, and whenever he or she puts forward an
opinion.
b. Conversation of Others
The author can also give some clues to a person’s character through the
conversations among other characters.
c. Reactions
The author gives clues about character’s personality through the character’s
reaction towards various situations and events.
d. Direct Comment
The author describes or comments on a person’s character directly.
e. Thoughts
The author gives the readers information and understanding about what the
character’s thinking about.
f. Mannerism
The reader can get some clues by knowing the author’s description of
character’s personality through mannerism, habits, and many more in the novel
(Murphy, 1972:161-173).
By using those six ways, the writer knows what the character is and how
the character is characterized. The writer also can understand the main idea
about whom and what kind of character that the author wants to say and shows
is.
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12
2. Theory of Dyslexia
This study tries to analyze the main character who is Percy Jackson. He
has a dyslexia syndrome. The syndrome occurs since the person in the childhood
period, around kindergarten until junior high school. According to James and
Philip in Dyslexia: A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated
Research Guide to Internet References, dyslexia is one of the most serious
conditions afflicting the termination of human developmental disorders which
ranges from childhood like the development of their language, learning progress,
and attention (2003: 3-64). It means that the syndrome of dyslexia can be seen
when the children go to school around kindergarten until junior high school.
Furthermore, the syndrome of dyslexia can affect human development disorder
such as their language, learning progress, and attention.
According to Bonnie R. Strickland in Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology,
the definition of dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by
significant disparity between an individual’s general intelligence and his or her
language skill which is usually reflected from the school performance
(Strickland, 2001: 200). Strickland wants to say that the dyslexia can disturb
attention and cause hyperactivity disorder and disruptive behavior disorder.
For further explanation, the writer collects some information about
dyslexia. The researcher Hughes quotes of a variety of indicators of dyslexia in
adults in Living with Dyslexia (2009:24):
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13
a. Difficulty with reading unfamiliar material
It means when we learn a new vocabulary or new word, we have the difficulty to
learn it. For example, usually we read a novel or book with many pictures in the
book, but suddenly we read a novel or book with no pictures in that novel or
book.
b. Slow pace of reading
It depends on the situation and the ability of the people, especially, the people
who have the dyslexia syndrome.
c. Understanding more easily when listening than when reading.
The dyslexic has a lack of the ability of reading. They can better understand a
story through listening than reading.
d. Underachieving at school, particularly in exams.
Usually, the dyslexic also has a bad score in exams.
e. Having close family members with dyslexia.
Usually, the dyslexic may have come from their family or their relative. For
example, they have someone who has the dyslexia syndrome.
Teachers can find that there are many factors that are experienced by the
dyslexic. According to Neil Alexander-Passe in How Dyslexia Teenagers Cope,
not only children but also adult is identified as a dyslexic. Because they have a
difficulty in reading, they feel being excluded by their friends. Afterward, there
are feelings like lack of confidence, behavioral problem, self-doubt, school
refusal and competitive disorder (2006:6). M. Thomson and G. M. Hartley in
Academic Therapy say that the difficulties that they often face are withdrawing
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
14
their emotion and even conversely becoming aggressive by obtaining the
negative attention from the people (1980:19).
Moreover, the dyslexic that is obtained is not only the deficiency of
characteristics problems but also positive site.
The factor of the successful of the dyslexic in teenagers were active,
expressive individuals…. were pro-active to overcome hurdles, which
require high levels of self-confidence…. encouragement of talents and
hobbies and a search for self-worth…. also found that persistence and
stubbornness were assets (Passe, 2006: 3).
Based on the quotation above, Passe shows that the people who have the
dyslexia syndrome can survive and be successful in their lives. It can be seen
from the dyslexics’ persistence and stubbornness.
3. The Bad Treatment Facing Dyslexic
The dyslexics usually try to live this lives normally as they can.
However, people in the society often see them as disturbing people who have to
be isolated from the environment. It is because, commonly, normal people do
not like to see something that diverges from the norm. People often treat the
dyslexics inappropriately because they think that the dyslexics are the people
who are different from them. This situation then triggers the bad and unhealthy
relation between the society and the dyslexics.
According to explanation Dr. Michael Ryan in The International
Dyslexia Association (IDA), many people that suffer dyslexia get depression and
frustrated from their lives. One of them is who has parents having great hopes
for his children to be a successful. It becomes a source of depression. After that,
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15
the dyslexics get social bad treatment that they feel being underestimated by
their social life.
a. Anxiety
According to Dr. Michael in The International Dyslexia Association (IDA),
anxiety is the major factor in people with dyslexia syndrome. It means that the
dyslexics become fearful because of their constant frustration and confusion in
school. For example, they are afraid that they cannot enjoy their school,
society, and life. Moreover, they are afraid if they get homework from their
teacher, they cannot do the homework well.
b. Anger
Then, Dr. Michael in The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) said,
“Many of the emotional problems caused by dyslexia occur out of frustration
with school or social situations”. It means that the dyslexic cannot affect their
emotion because they get problem from their school and their social situation.
For example, at school, the dyslexics know they have difficulties in speaking
and reading. Therefore, they always get a reprimand from their teachers,
because they have a bad score at school. Next, they get a bad score and
difficulty to speak with their friend, they will be socially discriminated by their
friends (the normal people). The normal people assume that the dyslexics are
unintelligent and difficult to communicate well. Afterward, they will keep their
distance and claim that they are weird.
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c. Self-image
The self-image is the very important part for shaping the character of the child.
Then, according to Dr. Michael in The International Dyslexia Association
(IDA) said that,” during the first year of school, every child must resolve the
conflicts between a positive self-image and feelings of inferiority”. It means
that the character building starts when they enroll their school at the first time.
The conflict that they must face is social situation at school. If they cannot deal
with it, they get a difficulty to blend with their friends at school.
d. Depression
Depression is also a frequent complication in dyslexia. Although most of
dyslexics are not depressed, children with this kind of learning disability are at
a higher risk for intense feelings of sorrow and pain. If they cannot control their
emotion, they cannot build their character by themselves. They are afraid if
they cannot blend with their friend, they can be depressed. Perhaps because of
their low self-esteem, dyslexics are afraid to turn their anger toward their
environment instead turn it toward themselves. However, both children and
adults who are depressed tend to have three similar characteristics. First, they
tend to have negative thoughts about themselves, i.e. a negative self-image.
Second, they tend to view the world negatively. They are less likely to enjoy
the positively experiences in life. This makes it difficult for them to have fun.
Lastly, most depressed youngsters have great trouble imagining anything
positive about the future. The depressed dyslexic not only experiences great
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17
pain in his present experiences, but also foresees a life of continuing failure
(http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/, April 25, 2015).
Those four characteristics above are the characteristics that can be felt by
dyslexics. Moreover, the dyslexic feels depression not only from the society but
also from their parents.
Time and again, dyslexics and their parents hear, “He’s such a bright
child; if only he would try harder.” Ironically, no one knows exactly
how hard the dyslexic is trying. The pain of failing to meet other
people’s expectations is surpassed only by dyslexics’ inability to
achieve their goals. This is particularly true of those who develop
perfectionistic expectations in order to deal with their anxiety. They
grow up believing that it is “terrible” to make a mistake.
(http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/, April 25, 2015)
Dr. Michael states that parents want their children can be successful.
Parents want their children be good at the academic, get a better job and many
else. From that depression, the children with dyslexia syndrome feel anxious to
enjoy their school life. Furthermore, when the dyslexics are pressed, they always
compare themselves to the other children. From this situation, the dyslexics can
feel unaccepted in social situations. Then, the dyslexic has difficulty in reading
social cues. They may be oblivious to the amount of personal distance necessary
in social interactions or insensitive to other people’s body language. Next, the
effect of oral language functioning. It means that affected persons may have
troubles in finding the right words, may stammer, or may pause before
answering direct questions. This puts them at a disadvantage as they enter
adolescence phase, when language becomes more central to their relationships
with peers. Moreover, the dyslexics have difficulty in remembering the sequence
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18
of
letter
or
words
and
remembering
the
order
of
events
(http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/, April 25, 2015).
Furthermore, Dr. Michael Ryan in his article The International Dyslexia
Association (IDA) says:
For example, let us look at a normal playground interaction between
two children. A dyslexic child takes a toy that belongs to another child,
who calls the dyslexic a name. The dyslexic then hits the other child. In
relating the experience, the dyslexic child may reverse the sequence of
events. He may remember that the other child called him a name, and he
then took the toy and hit the other child.
(http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/parents/living-withdyslexia/home/social-emotional-challenges/what-does-dyslexic-personfeel)
Based on the quotation above, the dyslexic has a difficulty to retell the
events that have occurred. In this situation, the normal people can assume the
dyslexic is a liar even though they as a normal people do not know what the
dyslexic experiences. From that situation, the dyslexic will be shunned by the
society.
From the quotation above, the writer can conclude that the dyslexic has a
difficulty to speak clearly in order to retell what have happened. The normal
people can assume that they are a liar. Then, the normal people cannot believe
what the dyslexic says. The problem is that the dyslexic cannot make good
interactions with the normal person.
In addition, Gunnel (2007: 31-32) also supported Humphrey,
Hellendoorn, and Ruijssenaars theory about dyslexia. He states;
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19
Most participants [of a survey among dyslexic] reported that they had
few or no friends as children, and that they were bullied frequently. The
underachievers were less popular and had a lower social status in the
class as compared to other children.
Gunnel shows the comparison between dyslexic and normal person. The
dyslexic has few friends because they always get bullied even though they have
reached achievement. In Taube’s study as cited in Gunnel, it is stated that even
though the dyslexic has higher achievement than others, he or she is still not
popular and has lower social status in the class rather than other normal students.
Gunnel (2007: 32-33) supports Ridsdale and Casey about disability of
dyslexia. He states,
The dyslexia influences academic, rather than global self-esteem. The
reading-disabled children revealed more emotional problems and
considered themselves to be less competent scholastically than their
peers.
Most of children with dyslexia who commonly have difficulty in reading
and writing tend to have difficulty in controlling their own emotion. They cannot
control their emotion which cause problem that disturb their development. If it
happens at school, their learning progress will be hampered and it can cause
their competency become decreasing.
Gunnel (2007: 33) maintains Svensson, Lundberg and Jacobson theories.
He states,
The high prevalence of reading and writing disabilities that were found
in the study of juvenile delinquents seemed primarily to be related to
social and cultural factors, home backgrounds, limited school
attendance and poor self-esteem rather than to constitutional problems
of a dyslexic nature.
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20
Moreover according to studies by Syensson, Lundberg and Jacobson as
cited by Gunnel, it shows that the cause that make dyslexics cannot read and
write is because of the poor guidance from their own parents, society, and
teachers. They tend to see dyslexics as the people who cannot do anything
eventhough they are already taught. It is not caused by the natural limitation that
dyslexics have. All of those factors, then, can also cause their poor self-esteem
that trigger their inabillity in reading and writing which then, are seen as the
social problem.
People with dyslexia are often considered as weird and hyperactive. The
reason why dyslexics are weird and hyperactive is their syndrome. They include
hyperactive or daydreamer, lazy, and poor in vision, reading, spelling. They also
cannot count in math, and make the right time management (cannot focus).
(http://www.dyslexia.com/) (April 9, 2015)
Based on the studies above, it can be conclude that people who have
syndrome of dyslexia commonly make many people do not feel comfortable. It
is because they judge or bully the dyslexics. There are some explanations that
show some signs of dyslexics who may be bullied (http://www.minedu.govt.nz/;
2009: April 9, 2015):
1. Children who got bullied seem anxious about going to school.
2. They will try to skip the class.
3. They tend to avoid joining certain activities.
4. Children have bruises and do not want to give a straight answer about how
they got the bruises.
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5. Children are submissive or withdrawn with other children. They seem to be
unhappy or insecure, have low self-esteem or self-confidence.
6. They will talk about “nobody likes me” or “I haven’t got any friends”
7. They will talk about how they want to hurt someone or get back at someone
8. They will become someone who cannot stand up for themselves. They will
tend to be more shy and become introvert or vise versa. They can be
someone who are arogant and hot-tempered.
Because of the bad treatment from the society toward dyslexics and from
those signs of the bullying to dyslexic, the victims will not feel comfortable.
They will always become sad because they have become the bullying object.
The shocking fact is that there is also a case where a child who always got
bullied ended his life by hanging himself.
In an article from www.dailymail.co.uk states that “A dyslexic boy
hanged himself and said in a note that it was because he had been bullied by
primary school teachers eight years earlier.” According to the facts and studies,
the writer can conclude that children with dyslexics who always got bullied and
humiliated by the society will feel stressed, depressed and traumatic. It can
happen because of the bad relation between dyslexics and society. They cannot
understand how to treat the dyslexics appropriately. However, not all of people
who have the similar syndrome always end their own life.
Aside from that, normal people do not want to have a bloodline
descended from the people who have a symptom of dyslexia. For example,
London Sperm Bank does not want take the sperm for donate from the dyslexic.
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22
In a practice branded “eugenics” by campaigners and a would-be donor,
the London Sperm Bank has banned men with dyslexia or other
common conditions it described as “neurological diseases” from
donating. (http://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/)
This is a social bad treatment toward the people with syndrome of
dyslexia. They do not want to take and will reject the donation from the
dyslexic.
There are also some people who have successed to manage their illness
and their relation with society. As the result, the society also recognizes and
gives a reward of the achievement that they have reached. They are Agatha
Christie, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tom Cruise, Walt Disney,
Orlando Bloom and many else. They succeed to manage their dyslexic syndrome
and got many achievements.
4. The Relation between Psychology and Literature
Literature and psychology are two different issues. However, they are
related to each other. According to Wellek and Warren in Theory of Literature, it
is described that psychology and literature have a close relation in which some
of literary works talk about psychology cases. Through psychology, people will
learn about human condition in systematic way, meanwhile people will learn
about psychological value in the art of writing through literature (Wellek and
Warren, 1963:81).
In Psychology and its Allied Disciplines, Bornstein states that both
literature and psychology have one common purpose that is to describe the
human condition. Literature tries to describe the human condition into drama
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
23
while psychology studies human characteristics systematically (Bornstein,
1984:144).
Then, Richard explains more in The Psychology of Human Behavior. He
states that the author can communicate the feeling of his functional character and
make them look more like the real people whose behavior is trying to be
described by psychologist (Kalish, 1972:8).
C. Theoretical Framework
In this part, the writer explains the application of theories to answer the
problems formulation of the study. All related studies and theories are useful as
instruments to analyze problems formulation in this study. The reviews which
are mainly taken from the internet and books are important to be used in the
writer’s analysis.
To analyze the study, the writer chooses some suitable theories. They are
theory of character and characterization, theory of dyslexia, review of relation
between social and dyslexia, and theory of relation between psychology and
literature.
The first related theory is the theory of character and characterization.
This theory is used to answer problem number one which is how Percy’s
character is described in Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning
Thief.
The second related theories are the theory of dyslexia, review of relation
between society and dyslexia, and theory of relation between psychology and
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
24
literature. The first is theory of dyslexia. It is used to give more description and
understanding about the the dyslexia syndrome that are reflected through Percy’s
characterization. The second is theory of relation between pyschology and
literature which can help the writer to analysis how the dyslexia syndrome can
affect Percy’s psychological character. Finally, the review of relation between
society and dyslexia which is important to help the writer’s understanding about
what kind of dyslexia’s symptom that Percy suffers that influences his character
in his social process is.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a novel entitled Percy Jackson and The
Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Moreover, Riordan writes
this novel because of his experience and his imagination. Riordan writes this
novel based on Greek mythology because he is a teacher who teaches about
Greece at his school. It is a fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek
mythology. Greek mythology means the myths surrounding the Heroes &
Demigods, the sons and daughters of gods from Ancient Greece and Rome.
The definition of Demigods: Demigods were the offspring of a deity and
mortal, half-gods, who were invariably known for their courage and great
strength. Many of the ancient gods, like Zeus, had children as a result of their
romantic involvement with mortals. Demigods, being part of god and part
mortal, had great powers and abilities and often featured in the mythology of
the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Demigods were fabulous famous
heroes
they
are
Achilles,
Hercules,
Theseus
and
Perseus
(http://www.ancient.eu/, September 26, 2016). Then, this novel includes a
fantasy fiction novel. It means that a form of literary genre in which a plot
cannot occur in the real world. Its plot usually involves witchcraft or magic
taking place on an undiscovered planet of an unknown world. Its
overall theme and setting is a combination of technology, architecture, and
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26
language resembling European medieval ages. The most interesting thing
about fantasies is that their plot involves witches, sorcerers, mythical and
animal creatures talking like humans, which never happens in the real life
(http://www.findmeanauthor.com, September 26, 2016). It is also the
first young adult novel written by Rick Riordan, known for his Percy
Jackson novel series.
Based on the explanation above, this novel is the first novel in
the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, which tells about the adventures
of modern twelve-years-old teen, Percy Jackson; he discovers that he is
a demigod, the son of Sally Jackson and the Greek god Poseidon. Percy and
his friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, go on a quest to prevent
a war between the gods Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. The writer is not to
analyze this research Percy who is demigod but the writer wants to analyze
from Percy as a student and son in his school, family, and society.
The Lightning Thief was sold at auction to Miramax Books and
published in June, 2005. The book has been sold over 1.2 million copies in
the subsequent four years, appearing on The New York Times children's Best
Seller list and being listed as one of the Young Adult Library Services
Association's Best Books for Young Adults, among other awards. This novel
consists of 375 and 22 chapters. It was adapted into a film named Percy
Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief which was released in the
United States on February 12, 2010. The sequel of this novel is The Sea of
Monsters.
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B. Approach of the Study
In this study, the approach of the analysis is essential to help the writer
to limit the study. Based on the objectives of the study, the analysis of the
novel of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief employs the
psychological approach. In Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism edited
by Martin Coyle et al., it is stated that psychological criticism sets out to
study the subjective phenomenon of art by a scientific understanding
grounded in psychoanalytic theory (1993: 770).
According to Daiches in Critical Approaches to Literature;
“The notion that the artist is neurotic, sick, maladjusted, that art is
somehow a by-product of this sickness and maladjusted, has become
immensely popular during the last hundred and fifty years, and
modern psychology seems to have justified it” (1981: 343).
Daiches explains that the concept of an artist to be neurotic, sick, and
maladjusted is largely accepted by the public through modern psychological
approach. By using psychological point of view, the inner idea that is hidden
by the artist can be revealed and it thing has been done for many years.
“Psychology comes into criticism in two ways, in this investigation
of the act of creation and in the psychological study of particular
authors to show the relation between their attitudes and states of
mind and the special qualities of their work. This aspect belongs to
descriptive and not to the normative side of criticism no amount of
psychological investigation, either of the creative process in general
or of the problems of individual authors…. though the psychological
investigation of individual authors can sometimes help us to see why
those author displayed certain characteristic qualities in their work”
(Daiches, 1981: 340).
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28
According to the quotation above, by using psychological criticism in
Daiches’ book Critical Approaches to Literature it can help the writer to
investigate the work through the action and other psychological aspects that
appear in the work. Eventhough a work can be analyzed by using
pyschological criticism, it is not necessary to use the specific pyschological
aspects which are usually used by a psychoanalyst. In literature, the
psychological aspect that is used while using this criticism as the point of
view is only the descriptive one. It describes the quality of the work’s
elements rather than the normative one. It also uses the standard rules and
arguments of psychoanalysis. The other function of this criticism also to help
the writer to analyze the author’s intention and purpose through the relation
between the attitudes of all characters, the condition of characters’ state of
mind which is seen through the conversation, action, and story plot, and also
some qualities of the work that the author brings into it (1981: 340- 341).
The psychological approach is used for explaining the “abnormal”
behavior of the main character this study who is Percy Jackson, because of
the dyslexia symptom. The dyslexia disorder makes him to have a bad selfdevelopment. This approach enables the writer to analyze that character from
psychological point of view.
C. Method of the Study
The writer used library research as the method of this study. The
primary source used in this study was the novel written by Rick Riordan
entitled Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lighting Thief. Then, the
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
29
writer collected data from books of literature, theories, and some other books
that might complete this analysis. The writer also used other information
source such as online sources.
To answer the problem formulation, the writer used several steps.
First, the writer read the novel for several times for the deep and clear
understanding about what the novel was about. By understanding the content
of the novel, the writer found the issue about dyslexia and the symptoms, and
knew how the society acceptance over the dyslexic. Then, the writer
formulated it into some questions.
Second, the writer collected some data to support the study. The writer
used reliable sources, such as books and internet sources to help the writer to
understand the character and the theory well. By doing this way, the writer
gathered the related studies, theories, and references. Third, the writer related
the topic and the theories that are used to answer and analyze the problem
formulations. Lastly, the writer drew a conclusion.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the writer discusses the three problems that are stated
in the first chapter. There are three parts in this chapter. The first part is the
identification of the characteristic of Percy Jackson as a dyslexic. The second
part is the discussion of the social bad treatment experienced by Percy. The
third part is the discussion on how Percy faces his struggle against social bad
treatment.
A. The Characteristic of Percy Jackson as Dyslexic
In this part, the writer wants to explain deeper about Percy’s
characters. Therefore, the writer divided this part into three sections. There
are school, family, and camp. From those three sections, the reader can see
the differences of the characteristics of Percy as a dyslexic.
1. At the school
In this section, the writer discusses about Percy’s characteristics as a
dyslexic that can be revealed when he is in school. In the novel of Percy
Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is
seen as a good student in general. Percy is described as a teenager who has a
good education and lives in a common society. However, Percy suffers a
dyslexia syndrome which is revealed through some characteristics that he has.
Even though he is seen as a good student generally, he has some
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31
characteristics that show his difference from the other students in his school.
Percy himself thinks that he is different from his other friends in school.
First, Percy is described as a clumsy person. According to Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English, clumsy is defined as a character of a
person who does not behave in a careful and controlled way, so that he or she
often gets accidents (2001: 245). Percy often gets troubles and accidents in
school. As the result, Percy cannot enjoy the lessons and other activities in his
school. He feels that all he does is wrong and cause disaster. For example,
Percy gets trouble in his old school when he goes to a study tour in Saratoga
battlefield museum. He accidentally touches the wrong button of a canon and
as the result, he makes an accident that caused many of his friends injured.
See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade
school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident
with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus,
but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourthgrade school, when we took a behind the-scenes tour of the Marine
World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong button on the catwalk and
our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that... Well,
you get the idea. (Riordan, 2005: 2)
Based on the quotation above, it can be seen that Percy cannot control
his movement. He often makes an accident that eventually puts him in a bad
situation. Therefore, it can be concluded that the characteristic of Percy is
clumsy. According to Dyslexia the Gift, clumsy is defined as a characteristic
that becomes a part of dyslexia syndrome.
Dyslexic people are often hard to control their energy; thus it causes
their lack of caution. They tend to move excessively, which make them not
really careful when they do something. This kind of behavior can make
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32
dyslexic to be hyperactive which can be the cause of some behavioral
problem. According to the theory of dyslexia in How Dyslexia Teenagers
Cope by Passe, one of the dyslexia syndromes is suffering the behavioral
problem. As what Percy does, he shows the kind of behavioral problem in his
daily behavior because he cannot control his energy. Percy does the same
mistake when he joins field trip. In the novel, Percy accidentally attacks his
school bus and hit the wrong button when he has tour in the Marine World
shark pool. When Percy said, “I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of
course I got expelled anyway” (Riordan, 2005: 2). Because of his clumsiness
and fault, he is drop out from his school.
Second, Percy is described as a short-tempered person. According to
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2001: 449), the emotion
makes people have strong feelings or opinions. He often gets mad easily
without clear reason. It is because he cannot control his energy (hyperactive).
The quotation below shows Percy’s inability in controlling his emotion.
"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.
He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.
"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.
Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and
there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the
mess I was about to get myself into (Riordan, 2005: 3 - 4).
In the story, Nancy is Percy’s teacher in Yancy Academic. Percy is
disturbed and bullied by his teacher, especially Nancy. She often bullies
Percy by spilling her lunch over Percy. Percy cannot accept Nancy’s action.
He then cannot control his emotion. It can be seen through his nagging
towards Nancy.
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Moreover, Percy cannot be dissuaded by other people when he gets
angry. Percy even can fight with his teacher, Nancy. It is because Nancy
spilled her food to Percy. Then, Nancy tries to provoke Percy because she
knows that Percy has on probation or Percy gets the sanction from the school.
Percy’s reaction shows his characteristic that is emotional and shorttempered. “Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then
and there.” (Riordan, 2005: 3). Based on that quotation, it can be concluded
that Percy is a grudging person. Percy’s lack of emotional control leads him
to get angry easily. Percy wants to beat his teacher because he is very angry
and gets irritated by his teacher.
According to the theory of dyslexia Academic Therapy by M.
Thomson and G. M. Hartley, the dyslexic got problem of dealing with their
emotion. Then, Dr. Michael in The International Dyslexia Association (IDA)
said, “Many of the emotional problems caused by dyslexia occur out of
frustration with school or social situations”. From those theories of dyslexia,
it can conclude that the people who suffered dyslexia syndrome got problem
with their emotion. Percy also has the emotional problem.
Third, Percy is described as an absent-minded person. As described in
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, absent-minded is likely to
forget things, especially because you are thinking about something (2001: 5).
In the story, Percy often gets humiliation from his friends because he cannot
get good score for most of school subjects that he has. His teacher even does
not really like him because of his inability to get good score.
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34
Unlike other students in his class, Percy has difficulties in listening
and reading to his teachers. Percy cannot concentrate easily when he has to
read book or read his teacher’s explanation on the board. He has to listen to
his teacher’s explanation directly, so that he can catch the material better. His
friends like to bully him because of his different learning style. Therefore,
Percy is emotional, he gets angry easily and start to fights with his friends.
I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of
interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I
told them to shut up (Riordan, 2005: 4).
The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my
eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled,
Mr. Brunner called me back inside (Riordan, 2005: 21).
According to the theory of dyslexia Living with Dyslexia by Hughes
(2009: 24), it is said that dyslexic can understand something more easily
when they are listening rather than when they are reading. From the quotation
from Hughes, it can be concluded that the people with dyslexia must have a
high concentration, but in different way.
Even though Percy always gets bad score in his study but he likes one
lesson that is Latin. He also gets under pressure from his school and his
teacher. The pressure that Percy experiences is that Percy must have a good
score in his academic. If Percy cannot get a good score in academic, Percy
can be dropped out from his school.
"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you
to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy
Jackson."
I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.
But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else
(Riordan, 2005: 7).
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Based on the quotation above, Percy gets pressure from his school.
Mr. Burner as his teacher expects that Percy can be as good as his friends or
better than his friends. Most of dyslexic has low concentration level, so does
Percy. Based on the quotation above, it shows that Percy is stressed because
of the pressure from his teacher who expects more from him. It makes Percy
to be pessimistic. Percy knows that he never gets a good score in academic
because his difficulty in concentrating.
This kind of characteristic is commonly suffered by most of dyslexic.
In the story, Percy is told as a dyslexic who has same characteristic as
common dyslexic, which is an absent-minded person or has low
concentration level. Therefore, it made Percy becomes pessimistic person.
The writer’ opinion is also supported by theory of dyslexia Living with
Dyslexia by Hughes that the dyslexic has difficulty to get a good score.
Percy feels that he is different from other students because he cannot
get average score in his school like his friends. His friends and teachers also
see him as a “freak” or weird student because of his difference and his
“foolishness”.
Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We
thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were
from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it
elsewhere (Riordan, 2005: 8)
Based on the quotation above, Percy is seen as a loser by his friends.
Thus, it makes Percy and his friend, Grover does not like to play or gather
together with their friends. Percy realizes that he is different from his friends
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36
because of his “foolishness”. Besides that, he feels that if he gathers together
with his friends, he maybe can make some troubles with them.
According to the theory of dyslexia Living with Dyslexia by Hughes
(2009: 24), the dyslexic has difficulty in their academic and their studies.
Percy as a dyslexic also experiences this kind of difficulty. Based on the
quotation above, it shows Percy’s disinterest on doing his writing and reading
books. Therefore, Percy always tries to get shortcut to do his work in his
school. Percy realizes that he cannot read the full version of the novel, “Tom
Sawyer”. People with the dyslexia syndrome commonly have this kind of
difficulty.
I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades
slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and
her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class
(Riordan, 2005: 17)
Based on the quotation above, it shows that Percy often gets bad score
in his study. Besides that, because he is a short-tempered person, his
academic problem can be the reason why his emotion raises up. He often
involves into trouble, either with his friends or his teachers. As the result of
his inability to get the good score and to control his emotion, he has to get
punishment in his school.
I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his
faith that I could do well.
As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for
(Riordan, 2005: 18).
The quotation above shows how low Percy’s motivation is to study. It
is because Percy actually only likes one subject above all subjects in his
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37
school. He does not like other subjects in his school such as math, reading,
writing, etc. Percy only likes studying Latin language. According to the
theory of dyslexia Living with Dyslexia (2009: 24) by Hughes, the people
who suffered from dyslexia only liked one or two subjects that they liked in
school.
Since Percy never gets a good score in his school, Percy always does
some trick to do his work in his school, so that he can finish his tasks. Percy
knows that he cannot not read full of the novel of “Tom Sawyer”. This is the
main problem of people with the dyslexia syndrome. According to the theory
of dyslexia “Living with Dyslexia” (2009: 24) by Hughes said there are many
indicators of dyslexia, which one of them is having difficulties in reading,
such as having difficulty with reading unfamiliar material and having slow
pace of reading. If they are ordered to read many books, they should read
them slowly because of their limitation in reading. Commonly, they tend to
read books with few words. It means that they should be given a book with
many pictures. Unfortunately, at school they tend to be given books that have
no pictures or sketch on it. Thus, it makes them feel bored to read books.
Fourth, Percy is described as a stubborn person. According to
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, stubborn is defined as a
quality of a person who want to do what he or she wants and refuses to do
anything else. (2001: 1434). This issue then recurs frequently. Even though
his teachers have already warned him, Percy still cannot change the bad habit.
He still likes to do things that he wants, which he thinks as revenge to his
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38
friends. Thus, it makes him to be seen as a stubborn person, because he
cannot take others warning and suggestions.
Finally, when our teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the million time
why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him
an old sot. (Riordan, 2005: 17)
Based on the quotation above, Percy’s reaction towards what Mr.
Nicoll says show us that he is a stubborn person. He does not care about what
his teacher says though. It has been the million time and still does whatever
he likes.
From the characteristic of Percy in his school, it shows that Percy is
clumsy (careless), emotional or short tempered (easily angry), absent-minded
(less able to concentrate on a few things or lesson), and stubborn. According
to the theory of dyslexia How Dyslexia Teenagers Cope by Passe and
Academic Therapy by Hartley, the people with dyslexia syndrome have shorttempered, clumsy, absent-minded and stubborn characteristics in their nature.
If they are pressed, they can rebel. For example, at school, the teachers order
the students to do all their homework or they are demanded by the teachers to
become a clever person. Nevertheless, some of them can do it and some of
them cannot do it, because they had a different ability to do that. Percy gets
bullying in his school because of his difference. His characteristics which are
commonly found in dyslexics then make him get pressure, different
treatment, and bullying.
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2. In the family
In this part, the writer discusses about Percy character as dyslexia in
his family. After Percy does all his activity in his school, he goes home. In his
home, it shows us that the characteristic of Percy is emotional. It can be seen
through the quotation below,
"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't
act so snooty!" I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't
my room (Riordan, 2005: 32).
Based on the quotation above, the reaction that Percy has when he is
asked by his step-father shows that he is a short-tempered person. Percy
becomes emotional because he is stressed after what he has got in his school.
Percy shows his anger through his step-father (Gabe). Then, Percy also shows
his anger to his mother. It can be seen through this quotation, from the other
room, Gabe yelled, “"Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?" I gritted
my teeth” (Riordan, 2005: 33).
Based on the quotation above, Percy shows his anger by gritted his
teeth through his mother, because he does not like his step-father. Percy does
not like his step-father because Gabe is jobless. Percy’s step-father always
plays card with his friends at home. From that situation, Percy does not want
to greet and have relation with his step-father.
Percy becomes easily angry because at his home, he does not like his
step-father and even his mother for always obeying his step-father. Percy
does not have affection towards his step-father.
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Although Percy is always angry with his step-father. Percy always
feels being protected and comfortable with his mother. In the novel page 32,
when Percy’s mother calls Percy, he does not feel afraid. According to the
theory of dyslexia “Living with Dyslexia” (2009: 24) by Hughes, he said the
people who suffered dyslexia syndrome have close family members with
dyslexia. It means that not every teenager wants to have a step-father which
treats them badly. Even though, we have a disease or syndrome. However, in
Percy’s case, Percy has dyslexia syndrome and furthermore he does not like
his step-father because Percy always treated badly by his step-father at home.
3. At the camp
In this part, the writer discusses about Percy character as a dyslexic in
his camp. In general, camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers
conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and
adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers. This is not to be
confused with summer school, which is usually a required academic
curriculum for a student to make up work not accomplished during the
academic year, whereas summer camps can include academic work, but is not
a requirement for graduation. However, it is a little different with camp in the
novel, which is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted
during the months for the special children like Percy.
Percy has different characteristics when he goes to camp. He does not
become easily angry, absent-minded, clumsy and stubborn. He becomes like
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41
“normal teenage” who wants to learn something. He also can control his
emotions and seems to be calm.
First characteristic that is different with the characteristics when he is
at school and home is that he becomes a self-controlled person. According to
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, self-controlled is defined as
able to control feelings or actions (2001: 1292).
This camp situation is different from the situations at his school and
family. It is different because before Percy goes to the camp, he never wants
to study. Nevertheless, Percy enjoys and wants to learn many things in this
camp. Usually the common people like to go to the camp for holiday because
they can release their stress, depression, anger, and meet new people. This
also happened to Percy. In the novel, Percy likes to go to camp because he
can release his anger, depression, stress and meet new people. Then, Percy
experiences the change in himself. He becomes calmer and good to control
his emotions, especially anger. Because he can control his emotions, he can
let himself receive any lessons or experiences he gets in camp.
According to the theory of dyslexia “Living with Dyslexia” by
Hughes, it is said that the dyslexics have close bond or such as soul relation
with people who also have dyslexic syndrome (2009: 24). It also happens to
Percy. In the novel, the visitors or the residents in the camp commonly have
similarity with Percy which is dyslexia syndrome. This situation then makes
Percy to feel comfortable and be able to control everything that he cannot
control previously.
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Moreover, Percy likes camp because he can learn new lesson like
outdoor activity. Besides Percy can learn new lesson in camp, Percy also can
study his favorite language (Latin) with his new friends in camp. Then, Percy
also does not look shy and feel strange to learn anything in camp. It shows us
that Percy has different characteristics than in other places. He becomes
curious
about
something.
According
to
Longman
Dictionary
of
Contemporary English, curious is defined as having a desire to learn or know
more about something (2001: 332).
Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked
about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of
weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient
Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English.
After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of
Homer without too much headache (Riordan, 2005: 107).
Based on the quotation above, Percy basically and naturally has
willingness to learn and study Ancient Greek or Latin. Unlike when he is
studying other subjects, whenever he is studying Latin, he seems not to have
difficulties. Because of the unique bond that dyslexics have, they can
understand each other. Percy sees his friend who has the similarity with him
learn Ancient Greek. Percy who has natural interest in learning Ancient
Greek has eagerness to learn more about it. He becomes curious on learning
language, especially Ancient Greek.
Percy’s curiosity does not end to only learning Ancient Greek. He also
does not refuse to learn new things on his camp.
The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for
something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery, but we
found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. Foot
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43
racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the
dust. And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse
would pulverize me (Riordan, 2005: 107-108).
Based on the quotation above, it shows that Percy has curiosity to
learn new things. Even though he wants to learn every new thing in camp, he
still cannot do all of them because he does not have the skills. For example,
Percy cannot do archery, wrestling and even running. According to the theory
of dyslexia “Living with Dyslexia” by Hughes, the dyslexic has difficulties
with unfamiliar material.
The materials that Percy cannot do are archery, wrestling, and
running. Even though Percy cannot not do those all activity, but he never
gives up to try another activity that he can do until he finds what activity that
is suitable for him. It can be seen through the story when Percy’s teacher
(Chiron) tries to teach Percy archery. Percy at first tries archery, but Percy
cannot do it. Then Percy tries another skill that is wrestling. In fact, Percy
also cannot do it. He always loses when he tries to beat his friend, Clarisse.
Finally Percy can find what he can do, which is canoeing.
Based on the characteristics of Percy in the camp, it can be concluded
that Percy can be “normal” teenage and enjoy his time when he is in camp
rather than in his school or in his family. Percy becomes a better teenager
who is self-controlled and curious in learning new and good things. First,
Percy wants to try and learn Latin or Ancient Greek and other skill like
canoeing, wrestling, etc.
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B. The Bad Treatments Experienced by Percy
In this section, the writer analyzes the reaction of the society through
Percy Jackson as a dyslexic. There are three parts of social circumstances that
are analyzed because Percy becomes the part of them, they are; school, family
and camp. The writer tries to reveal the bad treatment that happen to Percy in
these three different social conditions.
1. At the school
In the school, Percy gets a bad treatment from his friends and his
teachers because he has been dropped out from many schools every year for
six years. Until one day, Percy wants to enter a new school, he has to struggle
to be accepted in that school. It can be seen through this quotation, “She'd
send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this
was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out
again” (Riordan, 2005: 9).
Based on the quotation above, that is how the educational institution
society reacts towards Percy. In the novel, Percy has been moved to many
schools for six times. It means that Percy’s old school could not accept him
because the teachers and his friends judged Percy as a troublemaker and not a
clever person. Percy is also known as a student who cannot be controlled.
Therefore, Percy must move to another school. Based on the situation, it
shows that school can only accept the students who do not act like Percy.
From that explanation above, Percy suffers bad treatment at the school.
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After Percy moves to another school, he still cannot enjoy in his new
school. Percy always gets bullied in his new school.
Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in
his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her
because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened
me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing,
or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip (Riordan, 2005: 3)
Based on the quotation above, the treatment that Percy gets from his
new school is also a form of social bad treatment. In the story, Percy’s teacher
and Nancy Bobofit as a headmaster try to provoke his anger. Nancy knows
that Percy is on probation. It means that if Percy makes a mistake then he will
get a punishment by the school. Otherwise, Nancy still does not care for what
will happen to Percy if he becomes uncontrolled again. Nancy Bobofit’s
action shows that, as a teacher, she does not try to teach the good thing to
Percy and does not want to care and protect Percy as her student. She acts
unfairly towards Percy. Even she tries to mislead Percy so that he gets into
trouble.
Not only his teachers who treat Percy unfairly, his friends also like to
bully him. The bullying from Percy’s friends is a kind of bad treatment. It
could be seen through this quotation,
I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit [headmaster
and teacher] appeared in front of me with her ugly friends I guess
she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists-and dumped her halfeaten lunch in Grover's lap. "Oops." She grinned at me with her
crooked teeth (Riordan, 2005: 9).
Based on the quotation above, Nancy tries to provoke Percy. From
Nancy’s reaction, she is very happy when she tries to provoke Percy’s anger.
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From this part, this is seen as a form social bad treatment. Nancy as Percy’s
teacher does not feel sympathy or care to help Percy avoid the punishment
from school.
Percy is also ignored by his friends. No one wants to be friends with
Percy at school. It can be seen through this quotation,
They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was
going back to the city . . . "Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool." . .
. They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed. (Riordan,
2005: 22-23).
Based on the quotation above, this was the reaction of society through
Percy. Percy’s friends do not ask more to Percy about his vacation. They only
answer, “Oh” because they think the story of Percy’s vacation is not attractive
for them. Then, the reaction of Percy’s friends is that they leave Percy alone.
In his new school, there is only one teacher who seems close to Percy.
"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said
(Riordan, 2005: 19). From that quotation, it means that Percy always gets
pressure from his new school and his old school. However, Mr. Brunner,
Percy’s teacher, wants his friends to give a freedom and fair treatment
towards Percy.
Mr. Brunner is Percy’s favorite teacher. Afterward, Mr. Brunner gives
a suggestion to Percy to be a better student. Mr. Brunner seems to be the only
teacher who gives trust and motivates Percy to study more in school. It can
be seen through this quotation,
Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I
couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was
telling me I was destined to get kicked out (Riordan, 2005: 22).
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Based on the quotation above, Mr. Brunner gives an explanation and
motivation that Percy must move to another school because of the problem
that he has caused. At first, Mr. Brunner seems to motivate Percy. However,
at the end of his sentence, Mr. Brunner seems precisely degrading Percy, "Oh,
confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy” (Riordan,
2005: 22). Based on the quotation, it shows that Mr. Brunner actually assume
that Percy is unlike other students in his school and discriminate Percy by
saying that Percy cannot handle his study in the school. This is a form of the
social bad treatment. Percy’s teacher knows that Percy could not study in his
school now and he with other teachers always compare Percy with his other
“normal” friends.
2. Family
In Percy’s family, Percy also gets bad treatment from Gabe, Percy’s
step-father.
Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."
"Where's my mom?"
"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"
That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life
been the last six months? (Riordan, 2005: 31).
The quotation above shows the bad treatment of Percy’s step-father.
Gabe does not treat Percy not like his own child. Gabe treats Percy like a
stranger. Then, Gabe also does not care about Percy’s life at school. Gabe’s
ignorance towards his child’s development is a form of bad treatment. Percy
does not get a proper and fair treatment from his father. It means that if every
father or step-father does not like his son or daughter until ignore them, then
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it can be a bad impact on the development of the children. Moreover, Gabe
always asks money from Percy. He considers Percy like a bank for him. If
Percy does not give Gabe money, he will threaten Percy.
Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds.
He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would
punch my lights out (Riordan, 2005: 31).
Based on the quotation above, Gabe’s threat towards his step-son is a
part of bad treatment that Percy experienced. It is not a common and
acceptable manner that parents do towards their own child.
The bad
treatments that Percy has experienced are Percy must obey the orders from
his step-father and has to always provide his step-father the money to play
poker every day. If Percy does not obey the orders, his step-father will beat
him.
Then, one day, Gabe’s friends came to Percy’s house and saw Gabe’s
treatments towards his child. The reaction from Gabe’s friend was they only
gave an advice to Gabe not to do such thing. It can be seen through Eddie,
one of Gabe’s friend’s speeches, “Eddie the super of the apartment building,
looked at me with a twinge of sympathy.” Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid
just got here." (Riordan, 2005: 32),
Based on the quotation above, even Gabe’s friends put sympathy on
Percy. Eddie seems cannot bear to see Percy always gets scolded by Gabe, his
step-father. From Eddie’s reaction, the writer can conclude what Gabe does
towards his son is actually unaccepted based on social norm.
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Afterward, Percy always becomes the object of mistake by his stepfather. It can be seen through this quotation, “Like I'd be the one driving. I
was twelve. However, that did not matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as
pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me” (Riordan, 2005: 36).
Percy is always blamed for every fault even though he does not do it.
According to the theory of dyslexia Growing with Dyslexia by Gunnel,
people who have the dyslexia syndrome tend to become the object of
injustice, although they get an achievement (2007: 31- 32).
In the story, the appreciation that Percy obtains only comes from his
mother. One day, Percy is asking to go to the camp with his mother.
However, Gabe does not want Percy and Sally to go. Even though Gabe lends
his car after Percy’s mother ask him, but Gabe does not trust it to Percy. Gabe
then threats Percy by saying, “Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," (Riordan,
2005: 36). From that quotation, the writer can conclude that Percy gets bad
treatment in his family, especially from his step-father who is actually
supposed to protect and love his own child.
3. Camp
In this section, the writer analyzes the reaction and treatment of the
society towards Percy as a dyslexic in camp. Percy does not only get bad
treatment from school and family, but also from his friends who also have
dyslexic in the camp.
From the common analogy, rarely people who have the similarity and
same problem will discriminate one another. As seen in the camp, Percy goes
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to camp because he can find peace and meet people who have the same
problem with him that is discriminated from their society or neighborhood.
There are various people who live in the camp according to the story.
Commonly they have unique skill (non-human skill), and unique
characteristics (temperamental, troublemaker, etc). They are rejected by the
common society because they are different. Common society thinks that they
will bring negative impact to the society. Then, it makes people who feel
rejected and have same uniqueness go to this camp and live there. Therefore,
the camp is the same like a community where people with uniqueness and
dyslexia gather together.
In the novel, this kind of camp is created as a community to
accommodate the people who have such characteristics. Percy then is also
sent by his father and his mother to join the camp, because Percy’s parents
know that the characteristic of Percy is special, which means he is not like
other common people.
"She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father
had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't
leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."
"Typical," Mr. D said (Riordan, 2005: 66).
Based on the quotation above, Percy’s parents do not want Percy to
join the camp. However, Percy’s parents are forced to do it. They do not have
any other choice, because Percy always gets bullied and trouble whenever he
enters any school in the town. Moreover, Percy’s parents worry if Percy does
not join the camp. Percy’s parents have worries about Percy’s future life.
Those worries are; Percy cannot success in school academically, Percy cannot
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get many friends, and Percy will always be dominated by his “normal”
friends because the people judge Percy as a troublemaker. It can be seen from
what Mr. D said, “Typical” (Riordan, 2005: 66). Mr. D is Percy’s teacher
who teaches Latin language at Yancy school. Based on what the Mr. D said,
the people who have the characteristic of dyslexia always have difficulty to
interact with common communities. From those difficulties that Percy has
experienced, it shows a bad treatment towards Percy because the communities
do not want to interact with people like Percy.
Then, the people who join the camp cannot join into one group
directly, they should be quarantined or join a particular group, “Mr. D turned
to me.”Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners." (Riordan,
2005: 71). It can be concluded that the people in the camp does not want to
get in trouble or something that can happen by the arrival of new person or
new student who is Percy. This treatment then shows a form of bad treatment
from the teachers in the camp by putting Percy in cabin eleven. Cabin eleven
is a form of bad treatment because the new people do not know his or her
skill or what kind of habit that they have. Then the teachers put Percy or new
people who join the camp to cabin eleven. The teachers put Percy in the cabin
eleven because they worry that Percy can cause trouble. The worries are
feared by the teachers at first since, the teachers do not know what Percy do
with the other group. Next, the teachers know why Percy has been sent into
this camp by his parents. Then, the teachers want Percy to know their friends
in a small group. Although the teachers put Percy into cabin eleven, some of
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Percy’s friends are welcoming Percy well. "They don't know what cabin to
put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors.
(Riordan, 2005: 85). Based on that quotation, the campers in Cabin Eleven
are willing to accept Percy to join in their cabin. However, a few from them
start to not like Percy.
They were staring at me, sizing me up. I looked around at the campers'
faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some
eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.
(Riordan, 2005: 84-85).
Based on the quotation above, the reaction of people in the camp
shows the bad treatment towards Percy. It can be concluded based on other
campers who still cannot accept Percy to be part of the camp members. It can
be seen through the reaction of Percy’s friends. The reaction that Percy’s
friends shows are grinning stupidly, sullen, and suspicious. It shows a bad
treatment towards Percy’s friends who also suffer dyslexic. Based on that
reaction, Percy still cannot be accepted by his friends in the camp indirectly,
even though they have the same background, which are dyslexia sufferers.
Moreover, Percy also gets physical a bad treatment from his friends in
the camp. It can be seen through this quotation,
Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinderblock building that I knew immediately was the bathroom. I was
kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big
girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls'
bathroom (Riordan, 2005: 90).
Based on the quotation above, Percy gets physical getting violence
from his friends at camp and bullied by his friends at the camp, Clarisse who
is also a dyslexic. In that quotation, Clarisse attacks Percy because she is
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jealous towards Percy, because he can kill the Minotaur and get the
achievement which is horn of Minotaur. Besides Clarisse being jealous that
Percy got an achievement, she also does not want Percy to always get the
center of attention. According to the theory of dyslexia “Growing up with
Dyslexia: Cognitive and Psychosocial Impact, and Salutogenic Factors by
Gunnel, it is said that people who have dyslexia syndrome always get bullied
even though they have reached achievement (2007: 31-32). In the novel,
Percy kills the Minotaur successfully and he gets the achievement like the
horn of Minotaur. From this situation, the writer can conclude the people who
have dyslexia syndrome can still reach achievement and success. However,
they may still also get bullied or bad treatment from normal people and other
dyslexics.
On the other side of the creek, the underbrush ex-ploded. Five Ares
warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark. "Cream the
punk!" Clarisse screamed. "The flag is that way," I told her. "The flag
is that way," I told her (Riordan, 2005: 120-121).
Based on the quotation above, Percy becomes the object of bullying in
his camp. It shows a bad treatment that Percy has experienced. Percy is
discriminated by his own friend. At first, there is assumption that Clarisse
always keeps an eye on Percy because she likes him and does not want to
humiliate herself in front of her friends on the camp. However, the situation
twists. Clarisse eventually bullies Percy by physically harming him. It means
that Clarisse wants to take revenge on Percy. Not only the normal people who
does not want get humiliated but also the people who have the dyslexia
syndrome also does not want get the humiliation. However, in this case it is
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different because when the normal people get the humiliation probably they
can feel depression, humiliation, angry, and even want to be alone. Moreover,
the case when the people who suffers the dyslexia syndrome get a
humiliation. Probably they can feel much more pain than the normal people.
In Percy’s case, the people who have a dyslexia syndrome do not want to get
bullied and even get humiliated. The people who have a dyslexia syndrome
want to feel like a normal person. It means that the people who have the
dyslexia syndrome do not want to be underestimated and regarded as
“abnormal” or “disable”. If they get humiliation, they can react extremely and
cause trouble in order to show a revenge. They can be stressed and repressed
from the bullying, so that they can do harmful things.
Percy always gets bullied by his friends. Percy’s friends always like to
watch when Percy becomes the object of bullying. Percy’s friends seem to
enjoy the bullying process on Percy.
Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded. The Hermes guys
gathered around. They were sup-pressing smiles. I figured they'd been
in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a
punching bag (Riordan, 2005: 110).
Based on the quotation above, what Percy’s friends do towards him is
a bad treatment. In the story, Percy is taught how to use a sword and shield to
fight with Luke, Percy’s friend. However, Percy then becomes the center of
attention to his friends in camp. They laugh and want Percy to lose the battle.
In conclusion, even though Percy lives with people who have the same
background with him, he is still unsafe from the practice of bullying.
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C. Percy Struggles Against the Society
Based on the explanation in the previous section, Percy experiences
social bad treatments at school, home, and the camp. At school, Percy gets the
social bad treatment from his teachers (like when Percy’s teachers always
bothered Percy by spilling food to Percy), his friends (Percy does not have
friends in his school), and his school (like when Percy got a sanction. If Percy
makes one trouble, he can be dropped out from his school. Then, Percy must
be a good student with good score academically). At home, Percy got the
social bad treatment from his step-father. Percy never gets love of a father. In
this section, the writer wants to show to the reader about how Percy can fight
and face the social bad treatment in his life.
According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, struggle
is described as trying extremely hard to achieve something, even though it is
very difficult and problematic (2001: 1434). In the story, Percy shows his
struggle when he goes to tour and his school. In the story, he accidentally
makes his school bus on fire with cannon and hit the wrong button in Marine
World shark pool. From that clumsy action of Percy, he gets sanction from
his school. The sanction that Percy gets is that he must move from his school.
Then, Percy got a new school that is Yancy Academic. In the story, Percy
shows his struggle. Percy tries to struggle after by receiving the sanction from
his school. He has to drop out from school, even though the mistakes that
Percy makes actually can be still discussed with the Percy’s parents by
considering that Percy has mental disorder which is dyslexia.
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“This trip, I was determined to be good” (Riordan 2005: 3). The
quotation, which is Percy’s direct comment in the story, shows that Percy
wants to become a good student. Percy does not want to be a troublemaker.
From that explanation, Percy has a positive act, such as he does not want to
be careless or do something that harms himself and his friends when he is in
tour. However, Percy’s friends think that Percy is a troublemaker. Based on
Percy’s friends thought, the writer can conclude that Percy has a changing
character. Before his friends judged him as a troublemaker, actually Percy
wants to become not as a troublemaker. It is because, what Percy has done is
not his own fault but an accident. Thus, it can be concluded as Percy’s
struggle in his school.
Percy does not want to move from one school to another school. It is
because Percy has to meet new people and adapt on the new school life again.
“I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried”
(Riordan, 2005: 18). It shows that Percy feels uncomfortable if Percy always
moves to another school. Afterwards, Percy wants to prove himself that he
can change into a better person. Through Percy’s willingness that he does not
want to move to another school again, it shows that Percy is struggling during
his times in school. He tries hard to convince people in his school that he does
not deserve to drop out from the school.
Although Percy shows that he wants to be a good student but he
always becomes an object of bullying by Percy’s teacher. Percy always gets a
sanction and probation from his school. Because of that situation, it leads to
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Percy’s difficulty in controlling his emotion. Percy’s anger actually can be
seen as his struggle. The struggle that Percy experiences is that if he gets
trouble or makes any trouble with his friends and his teachers, Percy can be
dropped out from his school. In this situation, Percy becomes anxious. Percy
has been already given a prohibition by the school because of his trouble.
Then, Percy’s friend tries to warn Percy about it. When he hears his friend’s
warning, Percy experiences mental and psychological struggle because he has
to control his emotion even though he is in anger. According to the theory of
dyslexia in The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) by Dr. Michael
Ryan, the dyslexics cannot control their emotion because it is caused by
biological factors. They get problem from their school and their social
situation. Therefore, Percy tries hard to hold his anger and disappointment.
He struggles to hold his desire to kill his teacher. He also struggles to hold his
anger because of the upcoming sanction that he will get if he does another
mistake. From that situation, Percy does not have choice. The reaction that
Percy shows is that he holding his emotion by mumbling.
I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times,
"Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind
went blank. A wave roared in my ears. I don't remember touching her,
but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the
fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!" (Riordan, 2005: 9).
Based on that quotation above, it shows that this is the reaction of
Percy to Percy’s teacher (Nancy Bobofit), because Percy cannot control his
emotion any longer, though Percy always tries to do it. Thus, the writer can
conclude that Percy cannot control his emotion because Percy always gets
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depression from his environment which is bullying action from Percy’s
teacher. It can be seen in the article of dyslexia; depression is also a frequent
complication in dyslexia. It means that the most of dyslexics feel depressed
because of the learning disability are at a higher risk for intense feelings of
sorrow and pain. That is why Percy feels depressed. Then, the reaction of
Percy is that he accidentally pushes his teacher when he is in anger. This is
the part of Percy’s struggle. Percy cannot show his anger directly to his
teacher because he gets dilemma. The dilemma that Percy experiences is if
Percy gets caught cause the problem, Percy can be dropped out from his
school. As the result, he pushed his teacher accidentally.
In academic matter, Percy seems to have difficulties in studying and
understanding lessons, so that it is hard for Percy to get good grade in the
school. He seems reluctant to get good grade.
… despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder
and I had never made above a C- in my life… And I just couldn't learn
all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly (Riordan,
2005: 7).
From that quotation above, Percy shows that he does not want to try
harder in academic matters. Percy just gives up on his limitation that he
suffers ADHD. It can be seen through his direct comment which is said that
he never gets above C- in his life. Then, Percy always complains that he
cannot memorize the lesson well. From that situation, the writer can conclude
that Percy does not want to try harder and try to improve thing that becomes
his deficiency. What he does only showing his complain.
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Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the
Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to
take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the
book (Riordan, 2005: 12).
According to the theory of dyslexia in Living with Dyslexia by
Hughes, the people who suffered the dyslexia syndrome have a difficulty in
reading unfamiliar material (2004). Based on the situation that Percy
experiences, it can be inferred that Percy is a lazy person because he does not
want to read any books. According to the theory of dyslexia in Living with
Dyslexia by Hughes, the problems that are mostly suffered by the people with
dyslexia mostly are the difficulty in reading unfamiliar material and lack of
understanding in reading comprehension (2004). From that theory, it can
show that Percy has tried his best to read books, but he still cannot do or fails
in doing his homework or the other assignment from his school. Because of
his failure in achieving good score, the people tend to judge him as a lazy
person. This situation is getting worse because Percy also usually only copies
the data directly from the internet when he has to submit task assigned by his
teacher.
Another pressure that he gets from the school is that, besides he has
difficulty in studying, his academic scores are also decreasing time by time.
As the result, he becomes stressed and his emotions are uncontrollable.
Percy is stressed because he never gets a good grade, gets pressure
from his school, and always gets bullied from his teacher. From those
pressures, Percy shows his anger to his teachers by fighting and mocking
them harshly. This is a form of struggle that he has to do during his school
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time. He has to show his anger in brutal actions, such as fighting and mocking
as the reaction to the pressures that he gets. Actually, Percy wants to show to
his friends and his teachers that he can be a good student and good friend.
However, every time Percy wants to show it, his friends and his teachers
always judge that he is always wrong. That is the cause why Percy’s friends
and teachers bully him.
Percy is interested in Latin language lesson which can be seen through
this quotation, “I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament
days……..As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for”
(Riordan, 2005: 18). Percy only likes one subject in his school that is Latin
Language. Percy likes the subject because he likes the teacher and there are
numerous interesting activities for Percy to follow. For example, in Latin
Language, Percy does not only learn and study about Latin, but there are also
some games that he can do. Percy’s direct comment, that is he misses the
Latin class and tournament days in the Latin language class, shows that the
people who suffer the dyslexia syndrome do not like the lesson which is
monotone. It is different when Percy is studying in English class. In that
class, Percy only studies spelling without any fun activities. Thus, it makes
Percy hates English class compared with Latin language class.
Afterwards, Percy tries hard not to leave his school again. He does not
want to be dropped out this time since he has been dropped out from many
schools before. It can be seen through Percy’s direct comment, “…at least I
could apologize for the big fat if I was about to score on his exam. I didn't
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want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried” (Riordan,
2005: 18). The quotation shows that Percy realizes his weakness and failure
in achieving good score. He apologizes to his teacher because of it. He also
said that, even though it is hard for him to have good score, he still wants to
stay at his school. Percy’s spirit and motivation in living his school life can be
seen as a form of struggle. He struggles to be accepted and be a good student
in the school. He also struggles to have good score at the school, even though
he cannot learn optimally because of his syndrome that makes his
understanding limited. Percy does that because Percy is tired to move from
one school to another school. Percy wants to do that because he wants to
show his friends, his teachers, and his parents that he can do his best and
graduate from the school.
After Percy shows his change in his school, Percy’s teacher still
cannot trust him that he can survive and can get a good score. In the teachers’
thought, the typical of students who always get into trouble or the trouble
makers are always lazy (they do not want to work their homework or do any
assignments at their school). From this kind of thought, it can show that even
though Percy shows the positive behavior, they still cannot believe that Percy
can change.
"This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time." "No,
no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ...
you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-" "Thanks," I blurted.
"Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.” (Riordan, 2005: 22).
The quotation above shows Percy’s disappointment to his teachers
who cannot believe that Percy can be a successful man in the future although
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Percy has tried hard to be a good student. It can be seen from the conversation
between Percy and his teacher (Mr. Brunner). Percy does not believe what his
teacher said. Percy thinks that he can be a good student with a good score.
After that, Percy’s teacher said that Percy is a not a normal person. Then,
Percy must move to another school. Based on the explanation from Mr.
Brunner, Percy feels that his struggle to be a better person is seen as nothing.
Then, the reaction that Percy shows is leaving his teacher room.
Percy also struggles against bad treatment at his home. Percy has to
struggle at his home because his father treats him badly. Percy never gets love
as a child from Gabe, his step-father.
Percy has got a bad treatment from his step-father (Gabe). Based on
the story, Sally (Percy’s mother) is married to Gabe (Percy’s step-father)
because she does not want the society to judge Percy as a child who does not
have father.
Percy always becomes an object of Gabe’s anger. “When I was young,
I nick-named him Smelly Gabe.” (Riordan, 2005: 30). From that quotation, it
can show that Percy can call his step-father like that because Percy cannot
stand with his step-father is behavior to him.
Furthermore, Percy’s step-father does not believe Percy. In the story,
Percy and Sally want to go to a vacation but Gabe does not allow Percy to go
with Sally. Gabe's eyes get small. "The trip? You mean you were serious
about that?”. “I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go." (Riordan, 2005:
35). From that quotation, it can be seen the reaction of Gabe. The reaction
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that Gabe shows is that he cannot believe Percy to go to vacation with his
wife. It means that Percy never gets a love and trust of father, even though he
is only Percy’s step-father. Then, from that condition, Percy shows his
disappointment and anger to Sally because his mother marries Gabe. In his
home, Percy only gets love and care from his mother and Percy does not have
a love from Gabe (Percy’s step-father). Percy always considers Gabe as a
troublemaker and Percy never obeys him. Percy feels that he never gets good
attention and love from his father. That is why Percy shows his anger to
Gabe.
Percy experienced different bad treatment. The different that Percy
experienced in Percy’s home and Percy’s school. In Percy’s school, in short,
there are two different kinds of bad treatments which experienced by Percy at
school and at home. At school, Percy gets bad treatment about his academic
and his social school. Meanwhile, at home Percy gets a bad treatment from
his-step-father.
From those places school and home, it can be seen that Percy always
gets bad treatment from his friends, teachers, and step-father. It is hard for
Percy to get good attention, a trust and love. However, in the camp, the bad
treatment that Percy gets is different from school and home. Then, Percy also
has a characteristic changing. The change that Percy shows in the novel when
he is at the camp is that Percy becomes brave, easy going, and not shies.
Thus, it shows Percy’s struggle during his day at the camp to be a different
person who can give impact that is more positive to other people around him.
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His habits and attitude at the camp are unlike his habits and attitude at school
and at home. Percy tries to ignore his bad personality and changes it to the
good one.
In the novel, Percy does not afraid meeting new people in the camp. It
is different when Percy is at school. Percy only has one friend at the school.
He tends to be a solitary person rather than be a sociable person. It can be
seen through this quotation,
They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone
through it at enough schools…..I looked around at the campers' faces,
some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me
as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets (Riordan,
2005: 84 – 85).
From that quotation above, it can be seen that this is a change of
Percy’s character. The change that Percy shows is that he does not really care
about people’s gaze at him and his new friends’ attitude towards him. When
the new people there ignore him, Percy also does not really care. This is a
form of Percy’s struggle. He becomes stronger in dealing with others’
negative view on him after getting bullies at school and at home. Besides that,
Percy has promised himself that he does not want be a troublemaker again
and wants to be a good person.
Afterward, Percy cannot avoid the bad situation that he experiences
during his time at the camp. Not only at school and at home, in the camp
Percy also become an object of bullying, “then a husky voice yelled, "Well!
A newbie!"…. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep” (Riordan, 2005:
89 – 90). The quotation shows Percy’s struggle. Percy knows that he becomes
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65
the object of bullying from his friend’s unfriendly greeting. Percy’s struggle
is that he becomes stronger toward any kind of bullying at the camp. He does
not show his bad temper nor anger when he is mocked. It is because Percy is
already familiar with the same situation while he is at school and at home.
I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but
this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the
girls' bathroom. Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started
pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes
and, well, like what goes into toilets. I strained to keep my head up.
Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I
heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my
hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over
my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom
tiles with Clarisse I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again,
hit-ting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto
her butt. (Riordan, 2005: 90).
Based on that quotation, Percy thinks that in the camp he must earn
his own reputation. It means that Percy does not want to be an object of
bullying anymore. In this situation, Percy wants to show to his friends in the
camp that he can fight back the bullying that he gets. Then, Percy becomes
brave and gets into the fight with Clarisse. This is a form of Percy’s struggle.
Through brutality, Percy wants to show that he is not a weak person who can
be bullied all the time. He dares to fight, even though he has to punch his
friends back. This situation is different when he is at school and at home. He
struggles to control his emotion and anger because he is afraid of the
punishment. Even though Percy is unable to control his anger and fails to the
punishment, he still cannot express his voice of freedom. He is still limited by
the social norm and rules. He also cannot make his reputation becomes good.
However, when he is at the camp, he shows his freedom differently. He is not
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afraid to get into the fight because people at the camp commonly will see the
good side of people who is brave enough to fight. People at the camp think
that fighting is the form of bravery.
Precisely, after Percy gets into fight with Clarisse, Percy does not
become an object of bullying anymore. He also does not get bad gaze, too, “I
didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home”.
(Riordan, 2005: 106). From that quotation, it shows that finally Percy feels
that the camp is his real home. It is because he can feel the satisfaction to be
free from bullying. Even though there are still people at the camp who do not
like Percy, he can fight and revenge it. He is considered as a strong person
now at the camp. He feels happy and proud of this situation.
After his friends in the camp recognize Percy as a strong and brave
person, Percy does not feel shy anymore. In this camp, Percy wants to try
learning Latin language and practicing some more activities that he never gets
before at school and at home.
Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked
about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of
weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient
Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English.
After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of
Homer without too much headache (Riordan, 2005: 107).
Based on quotation above, it can be seen that this is the changes of
Percy’s character. When he was at school, he did not want to push himself to
learn something new. He just tried to get good score which was also failed.
Percy also looked shy and reserved when he was at school. However, in the
camp, Percy does not look shy. Percy wants to try and learn something new.
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By trying to learn something new, it shows Percy’s struggle. It can be seen
through Percy’s direct comment. Every morning, Percy always studies with
his friend to learn Latin language.
Chiron tried to teach me archery, but we found out pretty quick I
wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. Foot racing? No good either.
The wood-nymph instruc-tors left me in the dust. They told me not to
worry about it. And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat,
Clarisse would pulverize me. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as
good at archery as the Apollo kids. I didn't have Hephaestus's skill
with metalwork or-gods forbid- Dionysus's way with vine plants
(Riordan, 2005: 107 – 108).
Next, Percy wants to try the outdoor activity for example Percy wants
to try how to do archery, running, wrestling, becoming a blacksmith, and
many more. Furthermore, Percy does not complain even though he cannot do
them well. Thus, it shows how Percy struggles to be accepted in the
community (the camp) by trying hard to learn and follow the new activities
which most of them are rare for him. For example, Percy is hard in learning
archery, but he never gives up to try it again and again. Then, Percy also tries
another outdoor activity until he gets hurt.
Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way.
With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your
guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of
his blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!"
Whap! (Riordan, 2005: 109).
Luke, Percy’s friend, teaches Percy how to fight. In that situation,
Percy always gets pressure from Luke until Percy gets hurt. However, Percy
does not complain about what happens to him because of that training. Percy
always tries to listen what Luke says during the training. After that, Percy
looks happy and never gives up to try something new.
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68
Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the
beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the
weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner
with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel
some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. Just that warm feeling
I'd always had… (Riordan, 2005: 108).
Based on the quotation above, it can be seen that Percy is happier than
when he is at his school and at home. It shows that Percy likes and enjoys to
become the part of the community. It also shows that Percy’s struggle to be
free from bullying can be achieved when he is at the camp. It is because, at
the camp Percy can be accepted even though he struggles in brutality. The
community can understand and accept the way that Percy does to protect
himself. The situation at the camp makes Percy more comfortable in
developing himself. He becomes a good person while he is at the camp by
doing many positive things. It is because the dyslexic is comfortable with the
people with the same syndrome or those who can protect them in the society.
It can be seen in the theory of dyslexia Living with Dyslexia by Hughes, he
said that the member of dyslexia or the people who have dyslexia syndrome is
more comfortable with the people of the of the same syndrome or those who
can protect them like their family (2009: 24).
Then, in the novel, Percy shows that he enjoys and likes to be a
camper. Percy likes to be a camper because he feels the people in the camp
can accept him as a friend. Besides, the people in the camp are the same like
Percy because they are also the dyslexic. Besides the people in the camp are
dyslexic, Percy likes in the camp because he can get new friends and improve
his Latin language. Based on the explanation above, it can be seen that Percy
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69
as a dyslexic must survive and fight against bullying in any environment.
From, the struggles that Percy experienced, Percy can survive and success in
his society, even though he has flaws
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
This part has a purpose to show the conclusion from the analysis of Rick
Riordan’s novel Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. There
are three questions formulated in this thesis. The first is about the characteristic of
Percy Jackson’s as a dyslexic. The second is about how Percy Jackson is treated
badly by society. The third is about the struggle of Percy Jackson as a dyslexic
against the social bad treatment.
First, the writer finds that Percy has some characteristics which show
differentiate him with the regular teenagers around him. The writer classified his
characteristics based on the place that he usually attends in the novel. First, at
school, Percy is described as a student of Yancy University and seen as a good
student in general. Percy is described as a teenager who has a good education and
lives in a common society. However, Percy suffers a dyslexia syndrome which is
revealed through some characteristics that he has. Even though he is seen as a
good student in general, he has some characteristics that show his difference to
other students in his school. Percy thinks that he is different with his other friends
in school. The characteristics of Percy Jackson that is showed in the novel are
clumsy, short temper and easily give up in everything what he done. Then, in
Percy’s house, Percy is described as a nice child at his family. Percy was born in a
broken family. Percy lives with Sally (his mother) and Gabe (his step-father). At
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71
home, Percy looks emotional. He always looks emotional because he often gets
pressure and depression from his school. Then, Percy also always shows his anger
to his mother and his step-father because he does not like Gabe (his step-father).
Besides, Percy always gets angry easily because he cannot get attention from
Gabe. However, Percy’s character changes when he is in the camp. The changing
of Percy’s characters in the camp is he does not become easily gets angry, absentminded, clumsy and stubborn. He becomes like a “normal teenager” who wants to
learn something. He also can control his emotions and seems to be more calm.
Second, the writer finds that Percy as a dyslexic gets bullying and bad
treatment from almost all places that he attends: school, home, and camp. At
school, Percy gets bad treatment from his friends and his teacher. Percy always
gets bad treatment because his teacher always compares him with the other
students They always look Percy as a trouble maker and lazy person. Furthermore,
Percy also gets sanction that forces him to not do any single mistake. If Percy
makes do any mistake, he can be dropped out from his school. At home, Percy
gets bad treatment from Gabe (Percy’s step-father). Gabe always looks Percy as a
child who always does not obey. In camp, Percy gets bad treatment from his camp
teachers and his friends. In the camp, Percy becomes a camper. When Percy joins
the camp, he does not have a friend. Then, the teacher in the camp ordered Percy
to join the cabin eleven. The cabin eleven is the place for new people and for the
student who does not know what his or her own skill.
Third, Percy has to struggle in order to survive against the bad treatment
that he gets. At school, Percy as a dyslexic fight against the bad treatment that he
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72
experiences. At school, Percy always tries harder to get a good attention. For
example, Percy always tries to finish his homework. Percy always tries not to be a
trouble maker, clumsy and lazy. Then, Percy always tries hard to control his
emotion, even though his emotion is hard to be controlled. Every time Percy tries
to control his emotion, he is always teased by his friends and his teachers.
Moreover, Percy also tries to get a good score in his academic. Percy wants to do
it because he does not want to be called as a lazy student. At his home, Percy
shows his anger to Gabe because he does not like Gabe. When Percy is at home,
Percy always does not feel comfortable with his father, except his mother. Percy
shows his frustration and depression by showing his anger to Gabe. However,
Percy feels comfort and safe when he is with his mother. In the camp, Percy has
the different struggles with the struggles at school and at home. In the camp,
Percy wants to learn a new activity or new lesson. Then, Percy is not afraid with
his friends in the camp. In the camp, Percy becomes brave and he can accept any
challenge from his friends and his teachers. Besides becoming brave, he also
wants to learn new lesson and wants to improve his other skills, especially his
Latin Language.
Based on the struggle that Percy has as a dyslexic, the writer can conclude
that Percy must fight over others bad treatment which sees Percy as an abnormal
person who has to be exiled. As a dyslexic, Percy has to change his characters
from someone who is ignorant and temperament to be someone who is brave
enough to challenge others for the treatment that he gets. Besides, as a dyslexic,
he has to try to be like a “normal person” so that he can be accepted in the society.
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73
He wants to do this because he wants to show others that a dyslexic is worthy to
be treated normally. A dyslexic is the same with other people in the society.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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APPENDIX
The Summary of Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
The novel tells about Percy Jackson life and his journey. He is twelve
years old. He is the main character in the novel. The story is about an ordinary
child who has ADHD and dyslexia syndrome. He always moves from one school
to another school because he cannot get a good score in his academic. His name is
Perseus Jackson or called Percy Jackson. He lived with his mother and his stepfather. One day he knew that he was not ordinary child because he had a school
trip, he got attacked by a monster who pretended to be his math teacher. The
monster wanted him to put back the thing that he stole but he realized that he
never stolen anything and he was saved by a pen from his teacher who told the
truth about him. Besides, he had a best friend named Grover.
Percy and his mother lived with his step-father named Gabe. He was lazy
man who always made Percy’s mother become slave. Percy was really mad with
his step-father but he could not do many things to stop it. His mother told about
his father that his father and the reason why his father left them. One day, his
mother wanted to send him to a camp for those people who had special abilities
like him. At first, Percy did not now about his mother’s thought. When they were
on their way, a monster (Minotaur) attacked them and he knew that Grover is not
an ordinary person but he was a half goat and man. It is called Satyr. From the
accident his mother was disappeared. Grover took him to the half-blood camp.
This camp was the safe place for person like Percy. it was because Percy was a
demigod; half-human and half-god. At that time, he was still confused why he
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lived in the half-blood camp. He learnt many things at there and met many things
at there and met many friends such as Annabeth and Luke. Until he knew the truth
about his father. The truth showed that Percy was the son of Poseidon, the God of
Sea and the three of the biggest and stronger of God. Because of that, he was
suspected as the lighting thief and he help his father to find the lightening thief. In
his deep heart he felt his conflict between himself and his father but finally he
decided it for the world and humanity.
Percy did his journey with Annabeth and Grover. Many accidents
happened during his journey. He fought with Medusa, Cymera, and escape from
Mrs. Dodds, fought with Ares who was God of War, and went to underworld to
meet Hades and brought his mother back. All of journey finally brought him the
truth that the truly lightening thief was Luke, son of Hermes. Actually he could
not believe that Luke was the thief but it was proven by Luke. He was mad with
all gods and his father. At the end he could return the thunder bold to Zeus.