Chapter 2
Theoretical Background
This chapter consists of related theories that are needed to support to analysis
part. There are four elements of fiction used in describing Percy Jackson and The
Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie, which are character and characterization,
plot and theme. Furthermore, there is also a theory of the five codes of structuralism
by Roland Barthes that are going to be focused on the analysis in Percy Jackson and
The Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie.
2.1 Elements of Fiction
There are many elements of fiction in literary works to help the readers to
understand in the reading it. They are character, characterization, plot, theme, point
of view, setting and symbol. In order to answer the problem formulation in this
thesis, there are only focus on four elements of fiction; character and
characterization, plot, and theme.
2.1.1 Character and characterization
“Character is much more complex, variable, and ambiguous. The readers or
the audience can repeat what a person has done in a story but sufficient skill may be
needed to describe what is the people are in the story. The authors present their
characters either directly or indirectly” Perrine (1998, p.76 - 77),
Characters is made up by name, conversation, appearance, action, and
thought that are going in the head. In the other words, character is someone in a
literary work that is created by a writer with its own identity. It is also possible for a
writer to bring out the concern or idea through character’s thought. There are also
two types of characters, which are direct and indirect presentation. In directly, the
authors tell the plot or analysis and the characters directly to the readers or audiences
and the author uses descriptive method by telling the audiences what the character
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are like and how the characters’ behave. In indirectly, the authors show the audiences
the characters in action, what they are like from what they think or say, and do. The
author does not merely telling the audience about the characters.
Perrine (1998, p.78), stated that characterization also observes three other
principles. First, the characters are consistent in their behavior; they do not behave
one way on one occasion and a different way on another unless there is clearly a
sufficient reason for the change. Second, the characters are motivated in whatever
they do, especially when there is any change in their behavior the readers or the
viewers must be able to understand the reason for what they do. Last, characters are
plausible or lifelike. They are neither the pattern nor monster of evil nor an
impossible combination of contradictory traits.
According to Arp and Johnson (2006, p.104), characterization is the way to
describe the personality of the characters. There are in two kinds of characterization;
direct presentation is the author directly tell or explain about the personality of the
characters, tell the straight out by exposition or analysis. Moreover indirect
presentation is the author tells or explains about the personality of the characters
through the characters’ acting or actions or behavior and their dialogue in the story.
In other words characterization is the means by which writers present and reveal
character. Rush (2005, p.56), mentioned that the method of characterization is
narrative description with explicit judgment. In order the readers or the audiences
understand the story easily, it is also important for a writer to present the character by
using some description. Characterization surely assists the readers or the audiences
conceive character’ personality in a story.
Rush (2005, p. 70), states that the plot has to be set up and moved along,
information has to be revealed, the vision of the author has to be clarified, and above
all, the audience has to be engaged. The characters should be consistent and
professional to support the characters in the story like in their real life. He also said
that the characters are people who created by the author to completely the story.
According to DiYanni (2001, p, 55), characters in fiction can be conveniently
classified as major character, minor character, static character, and dynamic
character.
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2.1.1.1 Major Character
Major character is an important character at the centre of the story’s action.
DiYanni (2001, p. 55), said usually a character’s status as major or minor is clear.
Sometimes there is only one major character is appears but sometimes both of them
who dominate and their relationship being what matter most. A major character
appears as the main focus or character of the story that makes the story more
interesting and also to support the main conflict in a story. A major character can be
identified because in a literary work, the major character will deal with the main
conflict in a story.
According to Kennedy & Giogia (2005, p. 91), claimed that major character
called as protagonist. Moreover, Arp & Johnson (2006, p. 45), stated that protagonist
character is the central character in a conflict occasionally there may be more than
one protagonist character in a story. Protagonist is a person who has a good
personality, brave, and friendly. Furthermore, according Rush (2005, p.71), the
protagonist, or Agent of action, this character’s function is to make the events in the
story happen. Major character is the main character in the story that have the power
and very influential to the story.
2.1.1.2 Minor Character
According to DiYanni (2001, p. 55), stated that for supporting the major
characters are one or more secondary or minor characters are partly to illuminate the
major characters. Minor character are often static or unchanging and it is not always
has a conflict with the major character. This character shows that they can be the
characters that appear in some part of the story but their appearance can give an
impact or influence the major character and also the storyline.
2.1.1.3 Dynamic Character
Dynamic character is also known as round character. Round character is a
character is always changes in the story; a rounded character is the characters that
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have a complex personality. They are often as a conflicted and contradictory person.
This character is the character who learns about something and who become
enlightened, grow or deteriorate so the reader can splash to their character’s mind
and understand easily about the characters through their feeling and thoughts
Kennedy & Giogia (2010, p.78).
2.1.1.4 Static Character
Static Character can be called as flat character that does not change over time
in the story. According to Kennedy & Giogia (2010, p.78), static character is the
character that only has one prominent characteristic and interfering story at only one
or two points. In other words, the function of static or flat character can help the
major character to solve the problem or even to create the problem for a major
character is a story. The character’s personality is only can be seen in one aspect in
all of literature because the author does not want these characters interfering the story
too deep, just on the surface, with certain purposes for the story. Therefore, the static
character will become the character in a story that does not change from the
beginning to the end of the story.
2.1.2 Plot
The element of plot is the one that is going to be focused on in this paper. Plot
is the sequence of incidents or events of which of story is composed, presented in a
significant order Perrine (1998, p.48), It shows that plot is one of the elements of
literature that is very important that can give the main information about the story in
order to make the readers or the audience wonder about the next story until the end
of the story.
Rush (2005), claimed “Aristotle said that plot is the most important play
element. He also stated that “the audience could get neither the whole point
information of the play through the plot without knowing the characters first nor
hearing any of the dialogue of the play” (p. 35). It shows that the audiences or the
readers can get the main information easily through plot without they should know
about the characters are like or hearing any of dialogue first.
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According to Arp & Johnson (2006, p. 45), plot is chronological. The plot is
not the action itself, but the way the author arranges the action to ward a specifics
end of the story. Exposition; conflict; rising action; climax; falling action (turning
point); and resolution are included in element of plot. According to DiYanni (2001,
p. 44), plot is the action element of fiction; it is the arrangement of events that
emphasizes of the story.
Crisis
Turning point or climax
Complication(s)
Falling Action
Exposition
Resolution
Figure 01 (DiYanni’s 2001, p. 45)
2.1.2.1 Exposition
According to Kennedy & Giogia (2005, p. 12), mention that typical fiction
plot begin with the exposition. It is the opening part of the story, introduces the main
characters, and provides any other background information that needed in order to
understand and care about the events to follow. For example in “Godfather Death”,
the exposition is brief (all in the opening paragraph). The middle section of the story
begins with Death’s giving the herb to the boy and his warning not to defy him. This
moment introduces a new conflict and by this time it is clear that the son and not the
father are to be the central human character of the story. According to DiYanni
(2001, p. 44), the exposition is to tell background information that the audience need
to make sense of the action, to tell what happened before the story begins, introduce
the major characters, and describe the setting in the fiction.
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2.1.2.2 Rising Action
Kennedy & Giogia (2005, p. 13), states that rising action or crisis is a
moment of high tension before climax. Rising action or complication is opposition
that happened as the result of the events that occurred, within the main character,
between the character and some force in nature, or between characters. According to
DiYanni (2001, p. 45), the compilations or intensifications of the conflict that create
to a crisis or suspense. Rising action or complication is kind of action that will be
appearing in the stories.
2.1.2.3 Conflict or Suspense
According to Kennedy & Giogia (2005, p. 12), conflict or suspense is the
pleasurable anxiety the audience feel that heightens their attention to the story,
inheres in wondering how it will all turn out. For example in “Godfather Death” the
foreshadowing are apparent in Death’s warnings. When the doctor defies his
Godfather for the first time (when he saves the king) it will create a crisis, a moment
of the high tension. The tension is momentarily resolved when death lets him off. In
the last sections of the story, with the doctor in underworld events come to a climax.
Perrine (1998, p. 43), stated that suspense is the quality in a story that makes the
readers or the audience ask “What is going to happen next?” or “How will this turn
out?”. Suspense is the greatest when the readers’ or the viewers’ curiosity is
combined with anxiety about the fate of sympathetic characters. Conflict is a clash of
actions, ideas, desire, or wills. There are divided into three types of conflict. First,
character may be pitted against some other people or group (conflict of person
against person). Second, they may be in conflict with some external force which is
society, physical natures, or fate (conflict of person against environment). Third, they
may be in conflict with some elements in their own natures (conflict of person
against himself or herself) Perrine (1998, p. 42).
2.1.2.4 Climax
Kennedy & Giogia (2005, p. 13), stated that climax is the moment of the
greatest tension because of the result of the actions that has been done which force to
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make some important decisions to do something. The conflict may reach or turning
point, a moment greatest tension that fixes the outcomes DiYanni (2001, p. 45). It is
also the turning point in the story that can make the reader or the audience becomes
more curious about what will happen in the next story.
2.1.2.5 Falling Action
According to Kennedy & Giogia (2005, p. 13), falling action or turning point
is the point in the story where the conflict begins to be dealt with or resolved.
Resolution is here the conflict ends. At this point all of the problems that the
characters faced throughout the story are worked out and the story is concluded.
According to DiYanni (2001, p. 45), it is the stage when the action of tension falls
off as the plot’s complications are sorted out and resolved. It is always appears in the
story after the climax to give the sign that the story will end.
2.1.2.6 Resolution
Resolution or denouement is the ending of the story; it comes after the
resolution part. At this point of the problem in the story has been done. The
characters faces throughout the story are worked out and the story is concluded. In
the end of the story, there are any of kinds of the ending story which are unhappy
ending (there is the main characters unsuccessful to resolve the problem in the story).
According to Perrine (1998, p. 46), There are two justifications that made for
unhappy ending. First, many situations in real life have unhappy ending while in the
fiction is to illuminate life, it must presents defeat as well as triumph. Second, the
unhappy ending has a special value for writers who wish people to ponder their own
life the unhappy ending are more likely to raise significant issues, happy ending
(there is the main characters find out the way to resolve the problem in the story),
surprise ending (a sudden, unexpected turn or twist) and indeterminate ending (in this
kind, usually has the continue story maybe there is some of series so that the end of
the story has no clear ending.
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2.2 Theme
Theme is a big idea or the message from the author. It is the most important
of the elements of fiction that are needed to gain full understanding of the story. In
other word, the theme of a piece of literature is its view about life or human nature
and how people behave. Some common themes found in literature are abstract terms
such as: love, faith, courage, and also survival. Brenda (2010, p. 26), mentions that
the theme refers to the entire message that the author is trying to send the big idea of
the story through four ways to get the big idea or theme of the story as follow. First,
themes are expressed and emphasized by the way the author makes the readers or the
audiences feel by sharing feelings of the main character. Second, themes are
presented in thoughts and conversations. Third, themes are suggested through the
characters. The main character usually illustrates the most important theme of the
story. Fourth, the actions or events in the story are used to suggest theme. People
naturally express ideas and feelings through their actions.
2.3 Structuralism
According to Ryan (2007, p. 29), the structuralism in literature can be
described in several ways. Each work of literature has a structure unique unto itself.
Structuralism is a major contribution to the study of structure in literature was made
by the intellectual movement. Moreover, according to Bandopant (2014, p. 70), the
term of structuralism refers to the works of structural linguists such as Saussure,
Jakobson and structural anthropologist, Lavi-Strauss and structural semioticians such
as Greimas and Barthes.
According to Mishra (2011, p. 158 - 159), states that structuralism approach
to literature examines structures for instance, poem, essay, novel, drama and film
along with their constitutive components which being put together give meaning as
post-effect to the text. For instance, a poem is a structure and its components are
sounds, images, phrases, punctuation and words. These elements are held together by
some internal governing rules.
Furthermore, Barry (2009, p. 39), stated that in the structuralist approach to
literature there is a constant movement away from the interpretation of the individual
literary work. Structuralism is an intellectual movement which against the liberal
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humanism theory and was exist from 1950s until the late of1960s and it is first seen
in the work of the anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss (1908) and the literary critic
Roland Barthes (1915-1980). There are three major figures in the structuralism
theory; Ferdinand de Saussure, Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes.
Ferdinand de Saussure is the first major figure of structuralism. According to
Barry (2009, p. 40), Saussure was a key figure in the development of modern
approaches to language study. Saussure concentrated of the patterns and functions of
language, with the emphasis on how meanings are maintained and established and on
the functions of grammatical structures. Saussure argues that the language should not
be studied as it is practiced in everyday life rather linguistic should study the system
of rules embedded in language that makes everyday speech Ryan (2007, p. 35).
The second major figure of structuralism is French anthropologist Claude
Lèvi – Strauss. Strauss was more concern to analyze the literature from the
anthropology and sociology viewpoint. According to Bertens (2008, p. 17), Claude
Lèvi-Strauss was the first anthropologist to see the potential of Saussure’s analysis of
language as a way of approaching the most diverse cultural phenomena. The
anthropology structuralism that was developed in the later 1940s by the French
anthropologist Claude Lèvi-Strauss has never had much direct relevance for literary
studies.
2.3.1 Structuralism in Barthes S/Z
The third major figure of the structuralism is Roland Barthes, who applied the
structuralist method to the general field of the modern culture. Barthes was more
concern to study about the literature in the literary works. Barthes’s method of
analysis is to divide the story into 561 ‘lexies’, or units of meaning, so he classifies
them using five ‘codes’, seeing these as the basic underlying structures of all
narratives. The five codes identified by Barthes in S/Z that can be used to analyze
literary works in a structuralism way. The five codes are the proairetic code, the
hermeneutic code, the cultural code, the semic code, and the symbolic code Barry
(2009, p. 51).
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2.3.1.1 The Proairetic Code
The proairetic provides indication of actions in the story Barry (2009, p. 51).
Proairetic code is a code which provides the events or indications of actions which
not create questions but has cause and effect. It refers to patterns of action by which
we understand the sequence and significance in our daily lives. According to Malik,
Zaib, & Bughio (2014, p. 243) mentioned the proairetic code is also called the code
of actions. It refers to those elements that create suspense in the text and catches the
interest of the reader. Every action of suspense heralds what comes next. What
happens next? In this way it keeps the interest of reader alive for the coming actions.
It is the important parts of the literary work where the readers find a chronological
sequence in the actions and situations.
2.3.1.2 The Hermenutic Code
The hermeneutic code is the code that creates the question for the reader in
their mind Barry (2009, p. 51). Hermeneutic code is the way the story avoids telling
the truth or revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues in through out to help create
mystery. The term of hermeneutic code is refers to any element of the story that is
not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the readers. The purpose of the
author wants to keep the audience feel wonder, curious, and guessing so that make
the audience wants to read the story or watch the movie until the final scenes when
all is revealed Barry (2009, p. 51). According to Malik, Zaib, & Bughio (2014, p.
243), the hermeneutic code is also called the enigmatic code. It refers to those
elements of a text that are mysterious, puzzling and unexplained or incompletely
explained in the narrative and so make the reader curios to know or understand them.
The reader tries to unveil the mystery of these elements by raising different
questions.
2.3.1.3 The Semic Code
The semic code is called as connotative code that has the meaning behind the
story Barry (2009, p. 51), semic code is the symbol that contained in the story and
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concern with characteristics. It refers to symbol or connotation within the story that
gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word. The
connotative meaning is often found in the characterization. This code is also related
with theme of the story.
2.3.1.4 The Cultural Code
The cultural code refers to the common knowledge about cultural society
Barry (2009, p. 51). In the other words, The Cultural code is looks at the audience
wider cultural knowledge, morality, historical and ideology. In addition it refers to
anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged
and is assumed to be a foundation for truth. This code analyzes the words or
sentences that refer to the things that have been known before in society Barry (2009,
p. 51). In other words, the cultural codes related to the historical background of the
story.
2.3.1.5 The Symbolic Code
The last code is the symbolic code. It is related to the most basic binary
polarities such as good - evil Barry (2009, p. 51). Symbolic code is related to binary
oppositions on which the structure of a story. It consists of contrast and pairings
related to the most basic binary which are male and female, night and day, good and
bad, life and dead. These are the structures of contrasted elements which
structuralism sees as fundamental to the human way of perceiving and organizing
reality. Malik, Zaib, & Bughio (2014, p. 243), It refers to those elements that give
opposite meanings. It refers to the story should have polarities and antitheses which
are old and young, life and death, good and evil, human and god.
2.4 Greek Mythology
According to www.ancientgreece.co.uk, the gods were born and grew just
like human beings, some of them even married, however they were ageless and death
never came to them. They lived inside human like bodies with an ethereal fluid
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called ichors running through the veins. They had passions and human weaknesses
and were many times at fault, but were then obliged to take the full responsibility of
their actions. Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Mount Olympus the
twelve chief gods, usually called the Olympians, were Zeus, Hera, Hephaestus,
Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hestia, Hermes, Demeter, and Poseidon.
The big three is a term in Greek Mythology used to describe the Three Brothers
or main power holders in the immortal world. The Big Three are Zeus, Poseidon, and
Hades, sons of Cronus and Rhea. When the Three Brothers overthrew Cronus and
cast him away, they divided the world into three parts: the sky/Olympus, the oceans,
and the Underworld. Zeus chose first and picked the sky and Olympus. He had a
hunger for power and felt he would do an excellent job as king of all. Poseidon chose
next and picked the oceans. This left Hades with one choice, the Underworld.
Ashamed of his domain, he withdrew himself from Olympus and suffered alone in
the Underworld.