DAVID’S MOTIVATION IN GETTING RID OF HIS DOWN …penyayang, perhatian, seorang dokter yang hebat, dan malu terhadap masa lalunya. Ada empat faktor penting yang memotivasi David untuk

DAVID’S MOTIVATION IN GETTING RID OF HIS DOWN SYNDROME DAUGHTER AS SEEN IN

KIM EDWADS’S THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Maria Ayuni Widyastuti

051214053

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2012

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJIPLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

i

DAVID’S MOTIVATION IN GETTING RID OF HIS DOWN SYNDROME DAUGHTER AS SEEN IN

KIM EDWADS’S THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Maria Ayuni Widyastuti

051214053

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2012


ii


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iv


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vi

ABSTRACT Widyastuti, Maria Ayuni. 2012. David’s Motivation in Getting rid of His

Down Syndrome Daughter as Seen in Kim Edwards’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis analyzes Kim Edwards’s novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. This novel tells about an orthopedic surgeon who helps his wife, Norah Henry, in giving birth to a twin, Paul and Phoebe. Unfortunately, Phoebe suffers from Down syndrome. Therefore, David decides to get rid of her with the help of his nurse, Caroline Gill. Instead of leaving Phoebe to the institution, Caroline decides to raise her. David tells his wife that Phoebe is dead right after she was born, but the fact is she is alive.

The aim of this study is to find out David’s motivation in getting rid of his daughter. There are two problems to be answered: (1.) How is David’s character portrayed in the novel? and (2.) What is David’s motivation in getting rid of his Down syndrome daughter?

This thesis is a library study method. There are two kinds of sources used, namely, primary and secondary sources. Kim Edwards’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is the primary source. Meanwhile, the secondary sources are taken from some books and articles which are closely related with the issues presented in this study, such as the theory of character and characterization, theory of personality, and theory of motivation. This study uses psychological approach to analyze human personality and motivation.

The result of this study shows that physically, David is a handsome man. Besides, he is a loving and caring man, but he is shamed of his past life. He is also an excellent orthopedic surgeon. There are four main factors that motivate David to get rid of his daughter. His surface motivations are he does not want his wife to feel the same as his mother and raise Phoebe will be difficult due to her condition. Meanwhile, his deeper motivations are he is a selfish person and shames by the fact that he is carried the Down syndrome genetic in his body.

Since this study is imperfect and had many limitations. It is suggested for the future researchers to find out David’s other motivations to make this study perfect. As for English teachers, they are recommended to use this novel in the teaching-learning activity. The writer presents a lesson plan for Paragraph Writing class using The Memory Keeper’s Daughter that can be applied by teachers.

Keywords: Down syndrome, motivation, get rid of, secret, bitter past life, and

lie.


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ABSTRAK Widyastuti, Maria Ayuni. 2012. David’s Motivation in Getting rid of His

Down Syndrome Daughter as Seen in Kim Edwards’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Jogjakarta: Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Departemen Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Tesis ini menganalisis novel berjudul The Memory Keeper’s Daughter karya Kim Edwards. Novel ini menceritakan tentang seorang dokter bedah tulang yang membantu istrinya, Norah Henry, dalam proses melahirkan bayi kembar bernama Paul dan Phoebe. Sayangnya, Phoebe menderita Down syndrome, David lalu memutuskan untuk membuang Phoebe dengan bantuan perawatnya yaitu Caroline Gill. Alih-alih membawa Phoebe ke sebuah yayasan, Caroline memutuskan untuk merawatnya. David mengatakan pada istrinya bahwa Phoebe telah wafat tepat ketika dia dilahirkan, namun pada kenyataannya, dia masih hidup.

Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui motivasi David dalam membuang anak perempuannya. Ada dua masalah untuk dipecahkan: (1.) Bagaimana karakter David digambarkan dalam novel? dan (2.) Apa motivasi David untuk membuang putrinya yang menderita Down syndrome?

Tesis ini mengaplikasikan metode studi perpustakaan. Ada dua buah sumber-sumber yang digunakan yaitu sumber primer dan sekunder. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter karya Kim Edwards adalah sumber primer. Sedangkan sumber-sumber sekunder diambil dari beberapa buku dan artikel-artikel yang berhubungan erat dengan masalah yang dipaparkan seperti contohnya, teori karakter dan karakterisasi, teori personaliti, dan teori motivasi. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologi untuk menganalisi kepribadian dan motivasi seseorang.

Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa David adalah pria menarik yang penyayang, perhatian, seorang dokter yang hebat, dan malu terhadap masa lalunya. Ada empat faktor penting yang memotivasi David untuk membuang putrinya. Motivasinya secara tersirat yaitu dia tidak mau istrinya mengalami hal yang sama seperti ibunya dan mengasuh Phoebe akan sangat berat. Motivasinya yang mendalam adalah dia egois dan malu karena dia mempunyai Down syndrome genetik dalam tubuhnya.

Dianjurkan untuk para peneliti-peneliti yang akan datang, untuk menemukan motivasi-motivasi David lainnya yang belum ditemukan oleh penulis, untuk membuat studi ini sempurna. Hal ini dikarenakan karena studi ini belum sepenuhnya sempurna. Sedangkan untuk guru-guru Bahasa Inggris, dianjurkan untuk menggunakan novel ini dalam kegiatan belajar-mengajar. Studi ini juga memberikan rancangan rencana pembelajaran untuk kelas Paragraph Writing menggunakan novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter yang bisa diaplikasikan oleh guru-guru.

Kata kunci: Down syndrome, motivasi, membuang, rahasia, masa lalu yang

kelam, dan kebohongan


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my Almighty Lord, Jesus

Christ, Mother Mary, and Holy Spirit for Their wonderful bless, grace,

strength, and health so that, I could finish my thesis. I sincerely thank Them in

every minute in my life.

My deepest appreciation goes to my advisor, Dr. A. Herujiyanto, M.A. who

has given me guidance and help to finish my thesis. I thank him for his kindness,

guidance, patience, input, suggestions, advice, and encouragement in completing

my thesis. My gratitude also goes to all PBI’s lecturers who have taught me so

many things during my study in Sanata Dharma University.

My sincere gratitude also goes to my beloved parents, Simon Sumadi and

Theresia Sih Lestari for giving me love, support, prayer, shelter, delicious food,

and encouragement to finish my thesis immediately. I also thank my one and only

big brother, Julius Windy Ari Jatmiko who always supports and believes in

what I am doing. I want to send my gratitude for all of my family wherever they

are. I am so happy to have a great big family who always support and pray for me.

My best gratitude also goes to my late Mbah Uti and Mbah Kakung who always

loved me. I believe they always look after me from heaven.

Sincerely, I want to thank my best friends, Rose, Astri, and Fifin who have

motivated me to finish my thesis. I am very grateful to have such wonderful

friends. My gratitude also goes to my PBI’s friends Agnes, Lucia, Beni, Retno,

Anggi, Nova, Yoan, and all of my friends.


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I also would like to thank all of USD’s staffs especially Mbak Danik and

Mbak Tari, who helped me in the administration matters.

My sincere gratitude also goes to my inspiration, BigBang. I thank them for

their amazing music which always accompanies me day and night in completing

my thesis. Thanks for giving me spirit when I am in a bad mood and making me

laugh when I am sad.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all people who I could not

mention one by one. I thank them for their contribution and endless support. I will

never forget their kindness. May God bless them all.

Maria Ayuni Widyastuti


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

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

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY............................................... iv

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

ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………… vi

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

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………… ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………….. x

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

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

B. Objectives of the Study ............................................................. 3

C. Problem Formulation ................................................................ 3

D. Benefits of the Study ................................................................. 4

E. Definition of Terms ................................................................... 4

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies .......................................................... 6

B. Review of Related Theories……………………………………. 8

1. Theories of Critical Approach ............................................... 8

2. Theories of Character ........................................................... 10

3. Theories of Characterization ................................................. 12

4. Theories of Personality ......................................................... 15

5. Theories of Motivation

C. Theoretical Framework ............................................................... 18


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CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study ..................................................................... 19

B. Approach of the Study ................................................................ 20

C. Method of the Study .................................................................... 20

CHAPTER IV. DISCUSSION

A. David’s Character Portrayed in the Novel .................................. 22

1. David’s Physical Appearance ............................................... 24

2. David’s Personality Trait ...................................................... 25

a. A Kind and Loving Man ............................................... 25

b. A Good Doctor ................................................................ 29

c. Likes to Collect Stone and Photography ......................... 31

d. Ashamed of His Past Life ................................................ 32

B. David’s Motivation in Getting rid of Phoebe .............................. 33

1.Surface Motivation …………………………….................. 34

a. Does not Want Norah to End up Like

His Mother…………………………………………………….. 34

b. Difficult to Raise Phoebe ……..………….......................... 36

c. Selfish …………………………………………………... 37

d. Shame and Afraid by the Fact that

He is a Carrier ………………………………………… 42

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion .................................................................................. 56

B. Suggestions ................................................................................. 58

1. Suggestions for Future Researchers ................................... 58

2. Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activity ....................... 58


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REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 61

APPENDICES ............................................................................................... 64

A. Summary of the Novel ............................................................ 65

B. Biography of the Author ......................................................... 68

C. Lesson Plan for Teaching Paragraph Writing ......................... 70

D. Materials ................................................................................. 73


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Chapter one consists of the background of the study, objectives of the

study, problem formulation, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The

background of the study is focused on the study, the needs of analyzing the topic,

and the writer’s personal reason of choosing the novel. Objectives of the study

explain the goals of the study. The problem formulation gives the general

description of the problems that will be analyzed in the study. The last part is

definition of terms in which some terms related to the study are defined.

A. Background of the Study

According to Henkle (1997), reading a novel is a private experience where

people can really feel the situation in the novel, imagine the characters, and save it

in their memory (25). That is the exact feeling when the writer read Kim

Edward’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. The novel drags her into another

world and traps into the story. The novel creates a simple movie contains with

images of the character, place, time, plot, etc. Each reader has different perception

toward a novel and it may depend on the reader’s experience or background.

According to Murphy (1972), just like life which is a mixture of joy,

disapointment, hope, sorrow, humor, suffering, and success, so the greatest novels

reflect life and contain with many elements (p.133). Just like The Memory

Keeper’s Daughter, this novel also combines many elements of life. The idea

itself came from a true story of 40 years old man who never know that he had a

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Down Syndrome brother but the brother died before the man know that he was

exist.

The novel is about an orthopedic surgeon, David Henry, who helps his wife,

Norah Henry, giving birth to a twin, boy and girl. The baby boy is perfect and

healthy but the girl has Down syndrome. Quickly, he makes a decision not to keep

the girl but give her to his nurse, Caroline Gill. He asks her to bring his daughter

to an institution. Instead of giving the baby into an institution, the nurse decides to

raise the baby by herself without telling Henry first. Meanwhile, Henry tells

Norah that their baby girl passed away.

Caroline, who keeps the baby girl, names her Phoebe, just as Norah wants if

she has a baby girl. Phoebe grows up into a cheerful girl but like other Down

syndrome child, she is slow to develop, compare with normal child. In the

opposite, her twin, Paul, grow up into a healthy, smart, and charming boy.

To be a person who has disability is not an easy thing to deals with.

Sometimes, it needs big effort or others’ help to do a simple thing. They have to

depend on others to keep a living because they cannot earn money by themselves.

For some, the existence of mentally disabled people only becomes a burden. They

often feel unwanted or unloved because of their condition.

After realizing that Phoebe has Down syndrome, without hesitation David

gets rid of her. He does not need time to consider his action and ignore the fact

that she is his own flesh and blood. In this stage, the readers find that David is a

cruel and bad person because what kind of father who is capable to get rid of his

children. It does not make any sense. His action cannot be tolerated. If we think


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further, in every decision there must be reason and motivation behind it. There

must be motivation which encourages David to take the decision. What exactly is

his motivation to get rid of his daughter? Is he scared by the fact that it is hard to

raise a disabled child or he hated her because she is imperfect so that, it can

humiliate his family and pride? Is it easier for him to just get rid of her instead of

love her just the way she is? Does he feel guilty, especially when he has to tell a

lie? All of these questions become the background of this study. More

specifically, the background of the study is to find David’s true intention in

getting rid of his daughter.

B. Objective of the Study

The objective of the study is to find out David’s motivation in getting rid of

his daughter as seen in the Kim Edward’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.

C. Problem Formulation

1. How is David’s character portrayed in the novel?

2. What is David’s true motivation in getting rid of his Down

syndrome daughter?


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D. Benefits of the Study

There are at least three groups of people who get benefit from this study.

The first is for readers in general. Hopefully, this paper will be useful to

encourage them to read the novel. The novel can gives many valuable things and

enrich their knowledge about literature. Since the theme is unique, they can get

new experience by reading the novel.

The second is for English Education Study Program students, this novel can

be a good reference for them who want to know more about literature work. By

reading this paper, it may help them to study further about some aspects in a novel

which are character, characterization, approaches, and their connection to

personalities and motivation.

The last is for English teacher, they can use the novel as an alternative in the

teaching-learning activity. Not only interesting, this novel contains many high

values that can be taught to students. By reading this paper, the teacher may get

better understanding about the novel before introducing it to the students.

E. Definition of Terms

1. Motivation

According to Mcclelland (1985), motivation refers to something in

people’s mind which arouses activity and directs people to obtain certain object or

condition called goals (p.4).

Aiken, Jr. (1969) states that motivation refers to something in people

mind which arouses activity and directs people to obtain certain object or


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condition called goals. A motivated person tends to focus his energy and attention

to an object or situation that will satisfy his motive (p.3). In this study, David’s

motivation becomes the reason why he wants to get rid of his daughter.

2. Goal

According to Hornby (1995), goal is something that you hope to achieve

(577). In this study, David wants to achieve a goal which is getting rid of Phoebe.

So that, he can protects his family

3. Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is a chromosal disorder caused by the presence of all or

part of an extra 21st chromosome. People with Down Syndrome has some

common physical signs such as flat face with an upward slant to the eye, short

neck, abnormally shaped ears, deep create in the palm, white spots on the iris of

the eye, poor muscle tone, loose ligament, small hands and feet, and a larger than

normal space between the big and second toes (“Wikipedia,” n.d.).

According to Heyn (n.d.), people with Down syndrome often deal with

health problem for example congenital heart disease, hearing problem, and eye

problem. Beside physical features, they also have mental features, which are

mental retardation or a disability that causes limits on intellectual abilities and

adaptive behavior; conceptual, social, and practical skills use in everyday lives,

delayed language development and low motor development. Down syndrome is

the disease which Phoebe is suffered from. The disease is incurable but it can be

prevented from getting worse.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of three important parts. They are review of related

studies, review of related theories, and theoretical framework. Review of related

studies presents the previous works using The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.

Reviews of related theories consist of theories which are used in conducting the

study. Meanwhile, theoretical framework contents the explanation how the

theories presented are applied in the study.

A. Review of Related Studies

There have been several studies related to The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.

Siess (2010) in her article Literary and Essays: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

discusses the conflicts faced by David Henry who is the main character in the

novel. She states that David has to face a conflict due to his decision in giving

away Phoebe. He has to pretend as if nothing happened and takes care of his

family. On the other hand, he has another obligation which is to look after

Phoebe. In the end, he has to choose between his family’s happiness and Phoebe’s

happiness.

The other study is conducted by Poston (n.d.). She reveals how the characters

in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter seem so real and alive. She especially

discusses David and Norah’s character changing. She states that David becomes a

hard and distant man after he decides to get rid of Phoebe. David carries out a

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burden because he is the only person who knows the truth behind the big secret.

She adds how David tries to redeem his mistake by sending Caroline’s money.

“He sends money to Caroline for Phoebe, to still his own guilt and fear about the

past” as for Norah, she portrays her as a mother ripped from one child. She studies

how Norah suffered from lost. “We watch her struggle with addictions, from

alcohol to sex to work, constantly filling the hole left by a daughter she never got

to know”. In the end, she can find her happiness again. “Eventually, Norah finds

love again, but the journey is long and full of loss”.

Morisset (2006) in her study Literary Analysis Essay: “The Memory Keeper’s

Daughter” discusses the setting of time of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter which

is in 1964. In that year, it would not be a problem if parents with disability

children such as Down syndrome, send their children to an institution rather than

raise them at home. The reasons are because the conventional thinking that the

child would be better care and the rest family members will not feel sad with a

child who has special needs. Morisset also adds the theme of The Memory

Keeper’s Daughter which is about family relationship. “Edwards’ debut novel

spans a quarter century from 1964 to 1989, exploring the life of a nuclear family

in which one member harbors an unthinkable secret against the backdrop of

rapidly evolving societal roles and expectations”. Besides talking about the setting

of time and theme, Morisset slightly discusses the characters.

“Edwards has created characters who reside in the shadows of good and evil, black and white, right and wrong. Each is flawed in his/her own way and it is the characters’ shortcomings that make them fascinating while compelling the story forward. Edwards skillfully pulls readers into the characters’ emotional states”(2006).


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However, this study is different from those previous studies. This study focuses

on David’s motivation in getting rid of his Down syndrome’s daughter and the

discussion of David’s character. Eventhough some of the previous works also

discuss the character, but in this study, David’s character is deeply explored not

only in general view. The study on David’s motivation to get rid of his daughter is

a new study.

B. Review of Related Theories

This part consists of three parts, which are the theory of critical approach,

the theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of personality, and

theory of motivation.

1. Theory of Critical Approach

Accroding to Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. (1971), a critical approach to

literature is used to help the readers in order to judge a work of art. To be able to

build the judgment, critical approach needs an understanding of its nature, fiction,

and positive values. They also state that by using critical approach, the readers

will be in a position to receive some positive esthetic values and provide the

means where they can understand the shape of literature and what it meant (p.4).

There are five kinds of critical approaches according to Rohrberger and Woods,

Jr. (1971), which are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the

sociocultural-historical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological

approach (pp.6-15).


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a. The Formalist Approach

This approach examines the literature piece without reference to facts of the

author’s life, the genre of the piece, or to its place in the development of the genre

or in the literature history, and without reference to its social society.

The concept of formalist approach is concerned with the ideas, personality and

the development of the author. The formalist approach might be able to judge the

esthetic value of a piece of work but it could not judge the work’s ultimate

greatness or consider the relation to other pieces.

b. The Biographical Approach

The Biographical Approach tends to concern that it is necessary to appreciate

the ideas and personality of the author in order to understand the author’s work.

This approach sees that a work of art is a reflection of the author. The author’s

biographical provides useful facts that could put the reader in a better position to

appreciate the author’s work.

c. The Sociocultural Historical Approach

The proponents of this approach insist that the only way to understand a

literary work is through studying the civilization that produced it. The historical

critics sees that to enrich the reader’s experience. Readers should examine the

other works that has relation to it. It could be from the same author or to works of

similar subject by different author in the same or different period.

Two important factors which underlying the sociocultural-historical approach

are the accuracy to present historical facts as value to the historian, but not


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necessarily to the author and a work of literature might have historical

significance but not necessarily literature significance.

d. The Mythopoeic Approach

Critics who use this approach tend to discover certain universally recurrent

patterns of human thought in which the works of art. Themes about myths such as

death and rebirth, sacrificial suffering, and fertility rites, can be found in the

literature work whether the author is conscious or unconsiuos in using them. It is

difficult to answer if the author is fully aware to use such theme into his work.

e. The Psychological Approach

The Psychological Approach involves the effort to locate and demonstrate

certain recurrent pattern just like the Myothopoiec Approach. The different is the

Psychological uses different body of knowledge. It mostly emphasis on Sigmund

Freud and his followers especially the modern psychological movement which get

the biggets effect through Freud’s theory.

Many modern writers have influenced by Freud’s theories. Some critics even

use Freud’s ideas to interpret the author’s work before him. Freud’s followers

believe that he did not invent behaviour pattern but he analyzed what he believed

had always existed.

2. Theory of Character

According to Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. (1971), a character is a person who

involves in a story, acts out in particular time and setting, and experiences some

kind of conflict in the event . The character must be credible so that people sees it


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as a real person. There are two kinds of character; the first one is flat characters

which are described as one-sided character. The second one is round characters

that have many-side. The most important character and becomes the center in a

novel is called protagonist (p.20). The opposite character whom the protagonist

most likely involves in conflict with another character is called the antagonist

(p.21).

Henkle (1977) states that everything which people talk about fiction has

something to do with the people in it. The word people here refer to characters in

the novel. Novel itself is a reflection of a deep and rich knowledge of human life

(p.86). Characters are the representative of human condition and the times which

they life. Characters are categorized into two, which are major characters and

secondary characters. Major characters are the main focus in the novel and

frequently appear in the story (p.90). By understanding those characters it means

that the readers can understand the novel. Major characters hold an important role

to build expectations and desires of the readers. They are created to present

convicting dramatizations of the human’s issues. The effectiveness of a novel is

depends on the major characters’ ability to express and dramatize the human’s

issues (p.92).

Meanwhile secondary characters functioned as supportive characters and

performed limited functions. The readers can discover the time and the society in

the novel by observing the secondary characters’ life (p.94). Secondary characters

can be functioned as point of reference, means that the readers can understand the

major characters through the secondary characters because they are the one who


12

come on a scene frequently to comment on the event, be friend with the major

characters, and interact with the major characters (p.95). The secondary characters

are generally less complex and intense. The characters are limited in ways

different from the major characters. Their responses toward conflicts are less

complex and interesting so that they may suffer less (p.97).

A novelist E.M. Forster states that there are two types of characters, round and

flat. Round character has several traits that form a complex and dynamic

personality. It means the character changing as the story progress. While flat

character is static from the beginning to the end of the story (as cited in Barnet,

Burto, and Cain, 2005, pp. 228-228).

3. Theory of Characterization

Characters are one of the important point in a novel. By studying and

examining the characters, the readers can follow the story and be a part of it.

Therefore, an author must be able to describe the characters and make it look real

and alive. So that, the readers can feel their presence and can fully imagine it.

Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. (1971) state that characterization is the process in

which an author creates a character. The characters have particular appearance

and personal traits which are different from other characters. There are two ways

that an author uses to characterize the characters. The first way is directly

describes the physical appearance of the characters. The second way is to place

the characters in a situation and observe how the characters behave or speak

(p.20).


13

According to Abcarian and Klotz (1988), characterization is the process in

which the characters are changed to make them seem real to the readers.

Characterization cannot be separated from the other elements of fiction, because it

depends on the other elements such as tone, plot, theme, setting, and so on (p.6).

Based on Murphy (1972), there are seven ways that an author uses to reveal the

characters, so that it become understandable and real to the readers’ imagination

(pp.161-173).

a. Personal description

This is the common way used by the author to show the character by giving

personal description such as the character’s appearance and what kind of clothes

he or she wears.

b. Character as seen by others

In this method, the author using others character’s point of view toward

certain character, instead of using other character’s point of view toward the

character. The readers can study the character through other characters.

c. Speech

There are many ways to reveal the character. It is not only by describing the

character’s outside look, but also through the words he or she said when the

character speaks to someone else or gives his or her opinion.

d. Past life

The past life of a character can give the readers clue. The character’s past life

helps the readers to shape the character. The readers can find out about the


14

character’s past life through the author description, the character’s thought, or

through the characters conversation with others.

e. Conversation with others

The author gives clue regarding a character through the conversation of other

characters about him or her and the thing they say about him or her. People

sometimes talk about other people and what they say often gives a clue to the

character of the person spoken about.

f. Reactions

The character’s reaction toward various situations and events, gives the

readers description about the character’s personality. The readers can learn the

character by analyzing the character’s attitude when he or she faces some

problem or encounters conflict.

g. Direct Comment

Sometimes, the author gives clue about the character’s through his or her

comment or direct description. The author direct comment itself, can lead the

reader to learn about character.

h. Thoughts

Through the character’s thought, the readers can read the character’s

personality. The character’s thought in a novel is honest and come from the

character’s heart. Sometimes, when the character talk with others, the things he

or she says or opinion is not honest. Meanwhile, thought is pure and honest. It

can help the readers learn the character better.


15

i. Mannerism

The last method to give the readers clue is through the character’s manner

and habit. The habit or manner can show the real personality of the character.

4. Theory of Personality

According to Hall and Gardner (1970), the three systems of personality,

namely the id, the super-ego, and ego, have their own mechanism, function, and

component but they interact one another and contribute to form behavior. In

other words, behavior is the result of the interaction between the three major

systems (p.32). Byrne and Kelley (1981) state that id tells what people want to

do, super-ego shows what they should do, while ego decides what they can do

(p.49). The further explanation of each major follows:

a. Id

Weiner (1980) says id is the original system of the personality, unconscious,

and related to biological needs (pp.14-15). Hall and Gardner (1981) add the aims

of id are to avoid pain and obtain pleasure (p.50). Id consists of psychological

energy and becomes the center of it, because it quickly response the body needs

(p.32). Id follows the rule of pleasure principle, which means when someone’s

tension raised, id functions to discharge the tension and make he comfortable. Id

has two processes, the first one is reflect action, it is inborn and automatic

reactions to reduce the tension immediately. The second process is primary

process, which discharges tension by forming an image to reduce tension and


16

influence the thinking process so that, it is hard to distinguish between reality and

fantasy (p.33).

b. Ego

According to Hall and Gardner (1971) ego occurs because human need

something real to fulfill their needs and closely related to the objective world

(p.33). Ego is a part of id, the existence cannot be separated from id and it cannot

stand alone. It takes part as the executive of all personality sytems because it

chooses the action, decides the environment features to which it will response,

what needs that will be satisfied, and in what manner (p.34).

Ego follows the rule of reality principle which means it prevents the

discharge of the tension, until the appropriate object to fulfill the needs

discovered. It delays the pleasure principle temporally, because the pleasure

principle is fulfilled when the needed object is found so that, the tension can be

reduced. Ego uses secondary thinking process by creating a plan for satisfaction

based on logic and time orientation. Then, test it whether it will work or not by

some actions (p.34). Byrne and Kelley (1981) state that ego holds the important

key to control the id and super-ego (p.50).

c. Super-ego

Hall and Gardner (1970) mention that super-ego is the moral control of

personality. The main concern is to decide whether something is right or wrong

so it can act based on the moral standards create by the society (p.34). Super-ego

has two subsystems, the first one is conscience, means it punish someone who

did something wrong by making him or her feel guilty. The second subsystem is


17

ego ideal, which is the opposite of conscious; it rewards someone who did

something right by making him or her proud. Super-ego has three main functions

(p.35):

1) To prevent the impulse of id, especially sexual and an aggressive nature

because they are condemn by the society.

2) Persuade ego to change moralistic goals into realistic goals.

3) Strives for perfection

5. Theory of Motivation

Aiken, Jr. (1969) mentions that motivation refers to something in people’s


condition called goals (p.110). A motivated person tend to focus his energy and

attention to an object or situation that will satisfy his motive (p.145). Petris

(1981) says motivation is the explanation, used to make sense the behavior that is

being observed. Motivation is the concept used to describe the strength of act on

or within someone to initiate direct behavior. It is also used to explain differences

in the intensity of behavior (p.3). The source of motivation can be from human

thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and also social interactions. Motivation is not clear

for the person who experiences it. The basic motive of all human is to be

fulfilled as they can (p.4).

McClelland (1985) adds the basic motive of all human is to be fulfilled as

they can. The subject matter of a motivation is dealing with how behavior gets

started, energized, sustained, directed, and stopped (p.4). He also mentions that


18

motivation’s strength cannot be measured directly but indirectly because of the

influence of values, skills, and opportunities (p.152).

C. Theoretical Framework

In order to find the answer of the problem formulations, some theories that are

explained before is used.

Before conducting this study, the writer chooses the appropriate approach.

Psychological Approach turns out to be a suitable approach. Therefore, the writer

uses this approach.

The theories of character and characterization are used by the writer to

analyze David Henry’s character as questions in the first problem formulation.

The theories help the writer to study the main character further and determine his

characteristic.

To answer the second question in the problem formulation, the writer uses the

theory of motivation and personality. By applying these theories, the writer can

find out the real motivation of David in getting rid of his daughter and the process

when he makes the decision. The theories complement each other to find the true

motivation.


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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists of three parts, namely object of the study, approach of

the study, and method of the study. The object of the study shows a brief

description about the novel The Memory Keepers’ Daughter and the story. The

approach of the study consists of the approach in literature that the writer used to

analyze the novel and the reason why the approach is chosen. The last part is

method of the study, where the writer explains the steps taken in the study.

A. Object of the Study

The subject matter of this study is a novel The Memory Keepers’ Daughter

by Kim Edwards. The first edition of this novel was published in New York,

USA, by Penguin Group in 2005 and consists of 513 pages.

The Memory Keepers’ Daughter is a touching novel about an orthopedic

surgeon, Dr. David Henry, who gets rid of his daughter, Phoebe, to an institution

due to her condition. Actually, his wife, Norah, gave birth to a twin, a healthy

baby boy, Paul, and a baby girl with Down syndrome. Dr. Henry who helps his

wife delivers the babies, knows that Phoebe suffers from Down syndrome by

seeing her physical appearance. Suddenly, he asks his nurse, Caroline Gill, to take

Phoebe away. Caroline, who supposes to get rid of the baby, decides to raise her.

Norah, who knows that her daughter died feels so upset and sad. David who

knows the truth, could not do anything except cheers her up. Seeing his wife

suffers, does not make him want to reveal the secret. He believes that his decision

19


20

is right. It is better to get rid of Phoebe rather than raise her, because in the end

she will die in a young age.

On the other hand, Caroline’s life becomes better after she raises Phoebe.

Phoebe brings a new hope and light in her life. Phoebe who is predicted cannot

survive in this world, grows into a healthy girl despite her condition.

B. Approach of the Study

In analyzing the novel, the writer uses one of the critical approaches proposed

by Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. There are five approaches which are formalist

approach, biographical approach, socio-cultural approach, mythopoeic approach,

and the psychological approach. Among the five approaches, the writer uses

psychological approach.

The psychological approach is used to understand the characters’ personality

by observing their thought and behavior. The approach is also used to reveal the

motivation behind David’s decision to get rid of his daughter.

C. Method of the Study

This study conducted library study method. There were two sources that were

being used. They were primary and secondary sources. The primary source was

Kim Edwards’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (2005). Meanwhile, the

secondary sources were taken from books and articles from the interne.

There were some steps which the writer took to conduct this study. First, the

writer read the novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, thoroughly in order to


21

understand the whole part of the novel. After reading the novel, the writer wanted

to know the motivation of the main character behind his decision in getting rid his

Down syndrome’s daughter.

Second, the writer chose two problem formulations, which were related with

David’s character and his motivation in getting rid of his Down syndrome’s

daughter. Third, the writer found the appropriate approach to conduct this study.

The approach which was suitable was Psychological Approach. This study

focused on the main character’s personality and motivation. Therefore,

Psychological Approach was chosen. Forth, the writer analyzed this study by

using the theories that were being chosen. The theories were the theory of

character, theory of characterization, theory of personality, and theory of

motivation.

The last step, the writer drew conclusion about the study. The conclusion

includes the summary of the problems that have been answered. The writer also

gave some suggestions for the future researchers and teaching learning activities.


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CHAPTER IV

DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the discussion of the problem formulations as stated in

the first chapter. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is the

discussion of David’s character. The second part is the explanation of David’s

motivation in getting rid of his Down syndrome’s daughter.

A. David’s Character as Portrayed in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

To reveal David’s character, several theories have been used, namely

theory of character and characterization. Theory of character is used to find out

what kind of character David is. Rohberger and Woods, Jr.(1971) state that a

character is a person who is involved in a story, acts out in particular time and

setting, and experiences some kind of conflict in the event (p.20). Forster

mentions there are two kinds of character, flat and round character (as cited in

Barnet, Burto, and Cain, 2005, pp. 228-228). David is a round character, because

he has several traits that shape him into a complex character. His character is also

dynamic, means it changes as the story goes. At the beginning of the story, he is a

caring man. He cares about his wife and he expresses his love for her. “He lifted

her foot, both delicate and swollen inside the light blue sock, and began to

massage it gently” (p.4), but slowly his character changes into a loner person.

“Yet everything had changed. David had changed. Evenings, when he sat beside

her on the couch, browsing through his journals, he was no longer really there”

(p.99).

22


23

Norah notices Davis is changing. He becomes obsessed with photography

and his job as a doctor. The days when they used to walk together holding hands

were no longer exist (p.222). Norah feels as if David sees her as an object of

photography not as his wife. She realizes that he does not really see her and has

not for years (p.227).

David is the major character in the novel. As Henkle says, major character is

the main focus in the novel and frequently appears in the story (90). David is the

main focus in the novel because all the events and conflicts which happen in the

novel are started from David’s decision in getting rid of Phoebe. He frequently

appears in the novel and all the secondary characters often involve David in their

action and mind.

David Henry is an orthopedic surgeon. He has a sister, June, but she died

when she was twelve years old (p.195). She suffered from heart defect and since

his family was poor, June was not able to get proper treatment.

“My parents had hard lives, Paul. They didn’t have money. I don’t mean that they weren’t rich. I mean that sometimes they didn’t know if we were going to have food to eat. And it pained my mother, because they couldn’t get much help for June” (p.279).

His parents died not long after June’s death. His mother was a housewife and

his father was a miner. David is married to Norah Asher, a woman whom he

meets in the department store. They actually have twin babies, boy and girl, Paul

and Phoebe. Due to Phoebe’s condition, David asks his nurse, Caroline Gill, who

is madly in love with him, to take her away to an institution. David lies to his wife

saying that Phoebe is dead after she was born but the truth is he gets rid of her.


24

Instead of getting rid of Phoebe, Caroline decides to raise her and moves to

another town (p.86). David, who thinks that Phoebe is get rid of, shocks when he

finds out that Caroline keeps her. He is angry at first, but he realizes that he

cannot do anything. He leaves Phoebe to Caroline to be taken care of.

In order to study David’s character further, the writer applied theory of

characterization proposes by Rohberger and Woods, Jr. (1971), they state that

characterization is the process in which an author creates a character (p.20). While

according to Murphy (1972), there are nine ways to reveal a character namely

personal description, character as seen by others, speech, past life, conversation

with others, reactions, direct comments, thought, and mannerism (pp.160-173).

By applying those theories, the writer concludes the personality of David. David’s

character can be well understood through his appearance and personality’s traits.

1. David’s Physical Appearance

David is a handsome and charming man. When Caroline meets him for the

first time, she directly falls in love with him. She realizes that he is a kind of man

that she has been waiting for.

“He had brown hair with a reddish tinge and his face was lean, his expression attentive, assessing. He was not distinguished, yet there was something in his stance, his manner-some quiet alertness, some quality of listening-that set him apart. Caroline’s heart quickened and she felt a tingling on her skin, both pleasurable and irritating, like the unexpected brush of a moth’s wing. His eyes caught her and she knew it. Before he crossed the room to shake her hand, before he opened his mouth to speak his name, David Henry, in a neutral accent that placed him as an outsider before all this, Caroline was sure of a single simple fact: the person she’d been waiting for had come” (pp.33-34).


25

As for Norah, David is also a good looking man. She agrees to marry him

after three months dating. “Yet here was David, handsome, a doctor, standing in

the doorway of her apartment saying, Come on, please, there’s something special

I want you to see” (p.102).

2. David’s Personality Traits

a. A Kind and Loving Man

David is a loving man. He meets Norah, his wife, in a department store (p.15).

He falls in love with her at the first sight and after three months, he married her

(p.8). David loves Norah so much and his love grows bigger when she is pregnant.

“Watching her, he felt a surge of love and wonder: that she was his wife, that their

baby, due in just three weeks, would soon be born” (p.4). As for Norah, David’s

presence changes and brings new hope in her life. She used to have a dull life and

bored job at the telephone company. She thinks that she will be single for her

entire life but her life changes after she meets David.

“There had been moments, watching others go off to sorority parties, or sitting on her stool in the windowless room of the telephone company while co-workers planned their weddings down to the last corsage and party mint, when Norah, so quiet and reserved, believed she would be single all her life. Yet here was David, handsome, a doctor, standing in her doorway of apartment saying….. “ (p.102).

As a father, David also loves both of his children Paul and Phoebe. David

is happy when Paul, a beautiful dark-haired boy, is born .When Paul is still very

young, he has a close relation with him. They used to play and collect stones

together. Paul makes his life perfect despite his busy activity as a doctor.

“He squatted down and held out his arms, and Paul plunged in to them, resting his head briefly on David’s shoulder, the bristle of his new haircut both soft


26

and stiff against David’s neck. David kissed his forehead, regretting that moment of anger… “ (pp.178-179).

Paul likes to play guitar since he is a teenager. David gives him a special

Almansa guitar for his birthday present and it becomes his favorite guitar. “He’d

spent hours researching this guitar, ordering it on a company in New York; his

face was full of quiet pleasure as Paul lifted it reverently from the box.” (p.228).

Everytime he watches Paul’s perform, his eyes become teary as he listens to

Paul’s music. Paul wants to be a musician but David disagrees because for him,

music is just a hobby not as a choice of career. Although David opposes Paul’s

dream, he still loves him. David sometimes travels to another town to watch his

son performs. “Sometimes David traveled a hundred miles or more, to Cincinnati

or Pittsburgh or Atlanta or Memphis, to slip into the back of a darkened

auditorium and watch Paul performs” (p.409).

Eventhough David gets rid of Phoebe, deep inside he still loves her. He

keeps every letters and photos of Phoebe in his dark room. Caroline keeps him

posted by sending letters, telling that Phoebe is fine and how she grows up. She

even puts Phoebe’s photos. When David receives Caroline’s letter for the first

time, he does not want to read it, he even throws it in the trash, unopened.

However, he ends up keeping it secretly in his dark room (p.182). David always

sends money for Phoebe to the address written in Caroline’s post mark letter,

along with a note asking where she is now, because the post marks of her letters

are from different towns (p.182). Everytime Caroline sends him letters, she never

writes down her address. David, who wonders where Phoebe is, hires a private

investigator to find her (p.402). He wants to find her and finally he gets her


27

address in Pittsburgh. Seeing Phoebe, makes he feels as if he is seeing Paul. She

really resembles Paul (p.403). David realizes that he is secluded in Phoebe’s life.

She is invisible to him for years, but now he sees her real figure. David does not

come into her house, he just sees her from his car (p.403). He does not want to

disturb Phoebe’s happiness with her new family. He leaves the past undisturbed.

Before he dies, he makes an account using Caroline’s name on it (p.402).

David also loves his late sister, June, though she is weak but it does not

make he hates her. When he is young, his jobs are to feed the chicken, weed the

garden, clean the coop, and watch June. He treats June like a normal healthy child.

He does not comfort her when she falls and lets her play dirt, rubs it in her hair

“His love for her was so deeply woven with resentment that he could not untangle

the two” (p.153).

David has a close relation with June and he always care for her. She is his best

friend, everytime he goes home after school; June’s happy face welcomes him.

”Yet when he came up the path from school with his books slung over his back, it

was June who looked into his face and understood what his day had been like,

who wanted to know all about it” (p.154). He always remember June, his lovely

sister. He remembers her sweet voice when she sings, how she likes to eat

homemade jelly, how she loves butterflies and wind (p.136), and she does not

afraid of snakes (p.195). Her death leaves a deep scar in his heart. He always

longs his childhood moment with her. “He thought of June, the way her hair got

so blond in the sun each summer, the scent of her skin-soap and warmth and

something metallic…. . He had loved her so much, her sweet laughter” (p.143).


28

David is a kind hearted-man; he proves it when he takes Rosemary to his

house. Rosemary is a pregnant girl who is living in his abandoned old house. He

brings her home with him. He insists her to stay in his house though Norah

disagrees with his decision (p.356). He convinces Norah that Rosemary needs

help, she is still very young and pregnant (p.365). He tells her his secret, the big

secret that he tries to bury (p.345). Rosemary knows everything about David and

it makes Norah suspicious. She feels David’s relation with Rosemary is stronger

and closer than physical relation. “And yet Norah sensed something between the

two of them, an emotional connection, alive and positively charged, which pierced

her as much, perhaps more, than any physical affair would have done” (p.374).

The fact that Rosemary knows everything about David makes Paul jealous. He

is jealous because he never gets a chance to visit David’s childhood house. He

envies Rosemary for knowing everything about June, about Paul’s hobby and

dream, and his relation with his father. She even visits June’s grave with David

“Paul felt something fill him then, some emotion he couldn’t name. Envy, maybe, that this girl, this thin pale stranger with the beautiful ears, had been to a place that mattered to his father, a place he himself had never seen. I’ll take you there someday, his father had promised, but years had passed and he had never mentioned it again” (p.359).

David has a special relationship with Rosemary. He can be himself

whenever he is with Rosemary. He shows his broken hearted, fragile and

miserable side of him to her. She knows everything about him, his family and

Phoebe. He can easily tell her about Phoebe and she is just listening not judging

him. She knows that somehow she fills the space left by Phoebe in David’s heart

(p.395).


29

David loves Jack, Rosemary’s son, like his own son. He loves to play with Jack

and holds his hand when they are walking (p.394). Moreover, he makes an

account for him under Rosemary’s name (p.401). Seeing Jack makes he wonders

about his memory with Paul.

“The truth was, he loved to watch the boy. He loved to read Jack stories, feeling his weight and warmth, his head falling against his shoulder as he drifted nearly into sleep. He loved to hold his small trusting hand when they walked down the side-walk to the store” (p.394) .

He is sad when Rosemary and Jack are going to move and leave him. They

have been his companions since he divorces with Norah and moves from his

house (p.399).

b. A Good Doctor

Since he was a boy, David is a very smart boy. He is able to go to school

because he gets a scholarship. He wants to be a doctor after June’s dead. It is his

mom who asks him to study and help the world. Actually deep inside his heart, he

feels guilty because he is still alive, while his sister is buried on the ground. He

feels sorry for her, which is why he wants to be a doctor. He chooses to be an

orthopedic doctor because he is amazed by his feet bone. Once he ever gets his

feet to be X-rayed and he is amazed by the mysterious figure of his feet (p.195).

David is known to be a very good doctor. He has a great ability in diagnosing

and very skillful. He graduated when he is very young. He is the first student who

graduated in his class (p.9). He is happy with his profession. “He enjoy his

profession as a doctor and very happy with it. He was pleased-it was good to be


30

able to help people in need, to offer healing-something he could not seem to do

for those he loved the most” (p.137).

He is a dedicated doctor. He does not mind to wake up in the middle of the

night when he gets call from hospital (p.143). Every Tuesday nights, he treats

patients for free. That is why many people would come and fill the waiting room.

He often stays until midnight to treat his patients.

“Then rising to open the office doors again on Tuesday nights, a free clinic for patients who could not afford to pay him. The waiting room was always full on those nights, and he was often still there when Caroline finally went home at midnight, so weary herself that she could barely think” (p.38).

Caroline even cannot hate him because she remembers how devoted David

is with his patients. He really cares and loves his patients.

“She wanted to hate him still, but she remembered how many nights he had stayed in the clinic, treating patients who could not afford the care they needed. Patients from countryside, from the mountains, who made the arduous trip to Lexington, short on money, long on hope. The other clinics partner had not liked it, but Dr. Henry had not stopped” (p.82). After he divorces and moves out, he decides to leave his former practice,

because a man, who becomes his patient for twenty years, is turned away because

he lacks of health insurance (p.398). Now, David has his own practice and he

takes care of everyone rich or poor. He works not for money anymore. Money is

not the reason why he is still being a doctor. He does not mind when some of his

patients do not pay him in a form of money but with field produce or yard work

(p.398). When he died, many people come to his funeral and fill the little church.

They are his patients whose lives are saved by him (p.417).


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c. Likes to Collect Stone and Photography

David likes to collect stone since he was a little boy. It was his father who

teaches him about stones and he becomes fond of them, “On one such night his

father handed him a smooth stone, on axe head he had found while digging a

trench” (p.150). Since then, he likes to collect stones and put it in his shelves

(p.135). Later, he also teaches Paul about stone and as a boy Paul also seems to

like it (p.179). He likes to look for stones and show it to David. Even when he

grows up, he still remembers how David used to tell him about stones and how

happy he is when he found stones.

“He reached into his pocket and spread some small stones on the hood of the car. “Remember these?” he asked, as Norah picked one up, fingering the smooth white disk with a hole in the middle.”Crinoids. From sea lilies. Dad taught me about them, the day I broke my arm” (p.390).

Norah is aware of David’s hobby in collecting stone. Sometimes, she finds

stones everywhere, in David’s pocket, scatter on the dresser, or tuck into

enveloped in the desk (p.171). She feels very happy when she sees David and Paul

look for stones together.

David has another hobby which is photography. He becomes obsessed with

camera since Norah gives him one for their wedding anniversary’s present.

Actually, Norah hopes that the camera can distract David because he is so busy

with his job (p.98). Later, she feels regret because he seems to be obsessed with it

(pp.170-171). David builds a dark room in their house after his photos get noticed

and no one comes into the room except him (p.272). He spends most of his time in

that room, developing film or doing experiments with light (p.272). Besides, the


32

dark room brings different atmosphere. It is cool and quiet. That is why he feels

peace there (p.180).

d. Ashamed of His Past Life

David is a mysterious man. It is not only because he hides a big secret but he is

also shames of his past life. David never tells Norah much about his family and he

does not tell Paul either. He shames by the fact that he used to be poor. Norah

understands about David’s feeling. That condition makes him hard to reveal

himself (p.422). David’s family has a small clapboard house on the hill. They also

have chickens and cow (p.322). David helps his mother by feeding the chickens

and milking the cow. He also works in a store near the main street. The money

which he gets is used to rent a room because his school is far from his house

(p.331). His family is very poor; they collect old engines, tin cans, milk bottles

that are scattered across the lawns and hills (p.336). When he was a boy, David

used to go with his father to hunt snakes. The snakes are sold and the money is

used to pay for food and June’s medication.

“That was one time. There were other days when they went out to catch rattlesnakes. Dusk to dawn, they’d walked through the woods, carrying forked sticks, cloth bags over their shoulders and a metal box swinging from David’s hand” (p.150).

After June died, David goes to university in Pittsburgh to be a doctor and help

the world as his mother’s wish. When he studied there, he used David Henry as

his name but in fact, his real name is David Henry McCallister. Formerly, it is not

his intention to change his name, but it started from a mistyped letter of

acceptation with his name on it. Though the name is wrong, the address and


33

Social Security Number are correct. However, David who is aware of this mistake

does not try to fix it. He uses the name David Henry to register in the university.

He does not tell anyone about it. He just wants to be a new person with no history

and unburden with the bitter past (p.330).

David tries his best to have a better life and gives his family everything. He

becomes a successful doctor and earns much money. He also wants Paul to be a

successful man who has great income and able to support his future family. That

is why, when Paul tells him that he wants to be a musician, he opposes the idea.

David believes, that it is alright if Paul likes to play guitar, but not make it as his

career. According to David, being a musician does not give much for living. He

wants Paul to persuade other things outside music, because Paul has many talents.

However, Paul insists that he will go to Julliard to study music though David

disagrees (p.255). Music is everything for Paul. That is why he does not want to

give up on it (p.280).

B. David’s Motivation in Getting rid of Phoebe

According to Aiken, Jr. (1969), motivation refers to something in people’s


condition called goals (p.110). Petris (1981) adds that motivation can be from

human thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and social interaction (p.4). In this part, the

writer tries to find out what is David motivation in getting rid of Phoebe. His

motivation comes from his thoughts about his past life especially about June and

the feeling of lost that he and his parents ever feel. Besides, there are other factors


34

that motivated David to give away Phoebe. Those factors are divided into two,

surface motivation and deeper motivation.

1. Surface Motivation

Surface motivation means the motivation that can be clearly seen and states

in the novel. There are several surface meanings that motivate David to get rid of

Phoebe, those are:

a. Does not Want Norah to End up Like His Mother

June has become the center attention of David’s parents since she is

diagnosed with heart defect. All of their attention goes to June because she is

weak and could not do anything. They try to protect her. When she is dead,

David’s parents feel confuse. They do not know what to do, because after all these

years, June gets their attention. “He remembered thinking bitterly, that they did

not know what to do with themselves without June to care for. She had been the

center of all their lives for so long” (p.143). June’s death brings sadness and grief

to his family. His mother, who is already sad by the fact that June is different from

other child, tries to survive and give June her love. She cries whenever she sees

June tries to catch her breath (p.23). Yet, she died when she was twelve years old

(p.195). David’s mother has tries to do her best and face the reality. June’s death

makes her so sad and lost. The memory of his sad mother is always haunts him.

“Still, he remembered the depth and endurance of his mother’s grief, the way she

walked uphill to the grave every morning, her arms folded against whatever

weather she encountered” (p.21). Not long after June’s death, his father also dead,


35

and his mother moved to her sister’s house. Since then, David never sees her

(p.143).

David wants to protect Norah from pain and loss. He does not want Norah’s

life to be broken when Phoebe died. It hurts him to see his mother’s grief and

sadness. He does not want Norah to feel the same. “He had wanted to spare her,

to protect her from loss and pain; he had not understood that lost would follow her

regardless, as persistent and life-shaping as a stream of water” (p.139). Caroline

also understands that David’s reason to get rid of Phoebe is to protect Norah. “He

told me once about his sister. She had a heart defect and died young, his mother

never got over her grief. For what’s worth, I think, he was trying to protect you”

(p.472). Moreover, David wants to protect his family from grief and pain. “This

was the grief he had carried with him, heavy as a stone in his heart. This was the

grief he had tried to spare Norah and Paul, only to create so many others” (p.338).

David wants Paul to grow up happily without suffering like David. No matter how

hard David tries to protect Paul, he still feel lost. He wonders about his sister. “He

reached for his guitar, wondering about his sister. If she hadn’t died. Would she

be like him? Would she like to run? Would she sing?” (p.270).

After all, as a mother who loses her daughter, Norah feels really sad,

depresses and cannot forget Phoebe. Phoebe is always on her mind, though she

tries to be strong and accept the truth. “She’d been paralyzed with grief almost,

too full of sorrow even to weep. But she had stayed for several hours before she

finally stood up and brushed off her clothes and went home” (p.94). She never has

the chance to hold or look at her face. Even in the day when she gives birth, David


36

would not allow her to see Phoebe. He says that Phoebe is already buried and it is

better for them to just go home and take care of Paul (p.48). She wants other

people to remember Phoebe. She is angry when her neighbors come to

congratulate her and they praise how beautiful Paul is. They do not even mention

Phoebe. It breaks her heart (p.60). She always remembers Phoebe and it hurts her.

“Oh, this was silly, her loss had happened almost two decades ago. Surely this

grief should not wells up, fresh as water in a spring” (p.387). Sometimes, she feels

that David is already forget about Phoebe, because everytime she wants to talk

about her, David seems to avoid the conversation. He is even mad when Norah

wants to have a memorial service for her (p.64).

b. Difficult to Raise Phoebe

Raising a child with a special condition is hard. As a doctor, David knows

about it very well. It takes a lot time and money to take care of Phoebe. When he

sees Phoebe for the first time, he realizes something is not right. He remembers

what his professor said back in his college days.

“A classic case, he remembered his professor saying as they examined a similar child, years ago. A mongoloid, do you know what that means? And the doctor, dutiful, had recited the symptoms he’d memorized from the text: flaccid muscle tone, delayed growth and mental development, possible heart complications, early death. The professor had nodded, pacing his stethoscope on the baby’s smooth bare chest. Poor kid. There’s nothing they can do except try to keep him clean. They ought to spare themselves and send him home” (p.21).

He also remembers the pain that June suffers from. She grows up very slow.

Moreover, she is hard to breathe. Her condition gets worse year by year until she

dies (p.136). David who knows exactly what will happen to Phoebe, does not

want to take the risk. It will be hard for him and Norah to keep Phoebe. There is


37

nothing he can do, except send Phoebe to an institution. It is the best way because

she would be in good hands and get the right treatment (p.25).

2. Deeper Motivation

Deeper motivation means David’s real motivation why he hands Phoebe to

Caroline. This motivation is not clearly stated in the novel, but it is holding an

important factor why David decides to get rid of Phoebe. Those motivations are:

a. Selfish

Beyond his reason to spare his family from sadness, it is actually he himself

who does not want to feel sad again. He has been suffering from the lost since

June’s death. It haunts him every day. He is sick of it and he does not want to

experience it again. Phoebe reminds him of June. “When he imagined the

daughter he’d given away, it was his sister’s face he saw, pale her hair, her serious

smile” (p.139). When he thinks about June, he remembers the days they used to

spend together. He is always sad whenever he remembers June, his beloved sister,

who dies at a young age. “His sister, this girl who loved wind, who laughed at the

sun on her face and was not afraid of snakes. She had died at age twelve, and by

now she was nothing but the memory of love nothing, now but bones” (p.195).

David still feels lost and grief in his heart. He is shock when his mother tells him

June is gone. The pain is deep inside his heart and he could not even cry. “The

pain he felt was deep inside him and above that was numbness and he could not

cry” (p.154). He tries to be a new person. He becomes a great doctor and has a

better life. He does not want to ruin it, the new life that he builds so hard.


38

The memories of David and his mother’s sadness, lost, pain, and grief make

him thinking to get rid of Phoebe. In this part, his id is taking a big part. Id is the

first system in human personalities proposes by Sigmund Freud. As Hall and

Gardner state id is aimed to avoid pain and obtain pleasure (p.33). When David

sees Phoebe for the first time, the memories of June emerges. The image of his

lost, sad, and heartbroken mother also comes to his mind. It breaks his heart how

his mother is truly sad and lost. He does not want Norah and Paul to feel the same

sadness the he and his mother ever feel (p.21).

David’s decision to get rid of Phoebe is affected by the feeling of grief and

pain that he and his mother experience. Then, his ego decides that it is the best

way if he gives her up. Ego is the second system of human personalities. It takes

part as the executive of all personality systems because it chooses the action,

decides the environment features to which it will response, what needs that will be

satisfied, and in what manner (p.34). His memory of lost along with his mother

sadness stimulates David to take an action. To avoid the pain he used to feel, he

gives away Phoebe. He can live happily with Norah and Paul without concerning

about Phoebe’s condition. They will not sad when Phoebe died at any times.

No matter how hard David tries to think that getting rid of Phoebe is the best

way, still he feels guilty and regrets (p.253). After all, he does the wrong thing

that is why he feels regret and guilty for what happen in his family. His super-ego,

the last system in human personalities, makes him feel guilty because of his

wrong decision. Super-ego is the moral control of personality; the main concern is

to decide whether something is right or wrong so it can act based on the moral


39

standards create by the society (p.34). David is doing the wrong thing by getting

rid of Phoebe. He does not even tell Norah. He lies for his entire life. He makes

Norah and Paul suffer because of his action. He really regrets it. The super-ego’s

sub system that makes David feels guilty is called conscience. It is punishes

someone who doing wrong by making him feels guilty. David feels guilty but he

does not have the courage to tell Norah the truth. “He had never been able to tell

her the truth, knowing he would lose her entirely- and perhaps Paul too-if he did”

(p.394). He realizes that it is his fault which makes his family breaks into pieces.

It is all because of the secret that he could not tell. He blames himself for what

happen with Norah and Paul.

“He had given their daughter away. This secret stood in the middle of their family; it shaped their lives together. He knew it; he saw it, visible to him as a rock wall grown up between them. And he saw Norah and Paul reaching out and striking rock and not understanding what was happening, only the something stood between them that could not be seen or broken” (p.247).

He is aware by the fact, that his secret makes Norah’s life miserable. First,

she begins to drink too much and later she has affairs (p.349). He does not blame

Norah when she has affairs, because he realizes that it is his fault. He tries to

ignore it and forgive her because he is the one who makes it happen.

“He’d made a choice, on the beach; he’d left Norah’s clothes lying on the sand, her laughter spilling into the light. He’d gone back to the cottage and worked with the photos, and when she’d come in, an hour or so later, he hadn’t said a thing about Howard. He’d kept this silence because his own secrets were darker, more hidden, and because he believed that his secrets had created hers” (p.259).

Norah notices that her relation with David is further away. She tries to keep

their relation closer, to remember what they are used to be in their early marriage

days, but it seems to be nothing (p.222). She prepares a special vacation for David


40

and Paul. She hopes that it can make their relation becomes close again, but David

is only busy with his camera. Norah tries to please him by posing for hours to ease

the distance between them. However, David does not notice it. It makes her tired

with their relation (p.223). That is why she starts to have affairs.

David realizes that Paul also suffers from his lie and their mess up life. He

hurts Paul. He tries to make it right but it is useless.

“Paul suffered for it, he knew that. David had tried so hard to give him everything. He had tried so hard to give him everything. He had tried to be a good father. But however hard he worked to make Paul’s life smooth and easy, the fact remained that David built that life on a lie” (p.327).

He wants to make his relation with Paul become close again but it never

works. “He’d wanted to connect with Paul, to have a moment when they

understood each other, but his good intentions had spiraled into argument and

distance”(p.258). Paul knows that his parents are unhappy with their life. He

realizes that his father has secret and he knows Norah is having affair.

“You and Mom,” Paul said, his words bursting out, as if he he’d been holding them back a long time, “What’s wrong with you, anyway? You live like you don’t care about anything. You don’t have any joy. You just get through the days no matter what. You don’t even give a damn about that Howard guy” (p.255).

He realizes that it is partly his fault why his parents are unhappy. He believes

that it is his duty to protect his family. It is his responsibility since he is the one

who still alive unlike Phoebe (p.272). Through his music, Paul wants to make

everything right. He wants to bring joy and happiness for his parents. He plays

music to shout out his heart. He is good at it, but his parents never seem to care.

“All these years he had been good, but it hadn’t made any difference. He’d discovered music and played his heart out into the silence of that house, into the hole his sister’s death had made in their lives, and that hadn’t


41

mattered either. He had tried as hard as he could to make his parents look up from their lives and hear the beauty, the joy that he’d discovered. He’d played so much and he’d gotten so fine. And yet all this time they’d never looked up, not once, not until Rosemary had steeped through the door and altered everything” (p.370).

David finds his new passion through photography. He really obsessed with

it, that is why he spends most of his spare time in his dark room. He feels peace in

the dark room and it is quite (p.180). No one ever goes there except him. For

David, photography is about perception series, images of the body that look like

something else all and secrets that people will have and never tell (p.257). He sees

the world different through camera, “Sometimes watching images emerge in the

bath of developer, he glimpse Norah arm, the curve of her hip, and full with a

deep sense of his love for her” (p.245). Aside photography, David is very busy

with his job as a doctor. He is busy in helping others. “He had devoted himself to

his work and, in those areas of life he could control, had been very successful”

(p.394). He does not have time to do other things beside working and

photographing. “He worked so hard, and spent long hours in his darkroom too,

clipping images to dry on the clothes he’d strung form wall to wall” (p.222).

Norah hates David’s hobby in photography because he tends to ignore the other

things. “It makes her sad because he speaks of photography as he had spoken once

of medicine, of their marriage, a language and tone that evoked the lost past and

filled her with longing” (p.223).


42

b. Shame and Afraid by the Fact that He is a Carrier

David holds an important role why Phoebe is suffered from Down syndrome.

He carries the genetic that caused Down syndrome. It is true that June is the one

with the disease, but it does not mean that David does not have it in his body. As a

doctor, he should know it. He is afraid Norah will blame him for what happen to

Phoebe. He should know the risk when he has children because indirectly he is a

carrier. Therefore, it is better if she regards Phoebe is dead. It explains why he

always refuses whenever Norah says that she is ready to have another baby.

“I want to have another baby, David,” Norah said David was so startled he didn’t speak for a moment. “The timing seems wrong,” he said. “That’s all.”

“You’re saying no. you’re saying no, but you don’t want to admit it”. “We’re not ready,” David said. “I’m not” (p.148).

From the conversation between David and Norah, it can be seen that

David is afraid to have other children, because his children might be born like

Phoebe or June. He does not want to take the risk tough Norah badly wants

another baby.

“June’s death had broken their mother’s spirit, and David could no longer believe himself immune from misfortune. It was statically unlikely that they’d have another child with Down syndrome, but it was possible, anything was possible; and he couldn’t take the risk” (p.149).

At the end, Norah gives up her thought about having baby. She knows that

David does want more children. She is tired in arguing about it. “David did not

want more children, and now that Paul is in school she had given up arguing with

him about it. It was hard to imagine going back to diapers and 2 A.M. feedings,

though she often longed to hold another baby in her arms” (p.171).


43

The novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter mostly tells about David’s life.

The author, Kim Edwards, wants to tell the readers about the relation between

David and Phoebe. Although David gets rid of Phoebe, they have an emotional

connection as father and daughter. Phoebe never knows who her real father is and

she never understands though Norah and Paul try to tell her (p.494). All of

David’s attention goes to Phoebe. He does not really care about anything, nor

Norah or Paul. Deep in his heart, he always thinks about Phoebe. After all she is

his daughter. Phoebe has similarity with June, David’s sister. Both of them like to

sing, butterflies, and they are nice persons. June who is badly sick likes to sing

when she is still alive. She fills their silent house with her pure voice.

“She had loved butterflies, and standing with her face turned to the sun, eyes closed, and eating homemade jelly on the thin saltines his mother bought in town, she always singing, made up tunes she hummed softly to herself. For months after she died, he had woken in the night, thinking he heard her small voice, singing like the wind in the pines” (p.136).

June is a cheerful girl despite her bad condition. However, she never

complains. She wants to make her family happy by doing simple things that she

can do; singing, laughing, and eating dinner together though it is hard for her to sit

in the table. “It was the year she died, and it was hard for her to sit up at the table,

but she did; she had dinner with them every night, lamplight in her blond hair and

her hands moving slowly with deliberate grace” (p.342).

Phoebe also loves singing and butterflies, she has a sweet and beautiful

voice. Her voice amazes Caroline every time she hears it. “Phoebe’s voice could

do this to her too, the pure tones of her singing drifting through the rooms, making


44

Caroline pause in whatever she was doing and stand still, the worlds pouring

through her like light” (p.438).

David and Phoebe build an emotional relation as father and daughter.

Phoebe is interested in one thing David tries to push Paul to do, which is

basketball (p.326). Paul is tall and he is a good runner. David always asks Paul to

try basketball, focuses more on sport and forgets music. Paul hates it, the only

thing he wants to do is music. He hates how David forces him to play basketball

(pp.366-367). On the other hand, his twin likes it. David has Phoebe’s photos

when she is about to shot the ball (p.326). Paul feels that David is getting rid of

the wrong child, because he knows that Phoebe loves basketball just like David

always wants to (p.487). Another thing that Phoebe and David have in common is,

both of them are allergic to bee. Phoebe’s body swells suddenly when a bee stings

her.

“But Phoebe’s sobs were giving way to a wheezing like the croup she’d suffered as a child. Her palm was swelling; the back of her hand and her finger too. Caroline felt herself grow still inside, even as she rose swiftly and called to Al. “Hurry!” she cried, her voice so loud and strange. “Oh Al, she’s allergic” (p.215).

Deep in her heart, Phoebe seems to know David. Phoebe can understand the

look in Paul’s face when he brings Phoebe to David’s grave. She captures Paul’s

sadness and says that she will also be sad if her father died (p.511). She seems to

be connected with David emotionally. When Paul is ready to leave, she is still

there. She touches David’s grave and sings with her beautiful voice as if she

understands that it is her father’s grave. Paul startles seeing that moment.

Unconsciously, he starts to sing along with her. They sing for their father (p.512).


45

It is probably the moment that David been waiting for but sadly it happens after

he died. There, in his grave, his children Paul and his neglected daughter Phoebe,

come to see him. It is a beautiful moment that he wants to see. Paul stands next to

his sister, holding hands as they the leave the graveyard (p.513).

David always remembers his family; his mother, father, June, and Phoebe.

They fill his mind everywhere he goes.

“Everywhere David looked he was reminded of his family: the warmth of June’s breath against his cheek, his mother singing as she folded laundry at the table, his father’s stories echoing against these walls. Gone, all of them gone, and his daughter too” (p.345).

For the rest of his life, he always misses Phoebe. He wants to know and

meet her in person not just through photos. Phoebe’s photos are kept and hidden

in the dark room, his personal and private room (p.314). He regrets the moment

when he hands Phoebe to Caroline. He realizes that it is a wrong choice.

However, he wants to turn back, wondering if he can go back to fix the past

(p.253). He hopes that he has courage to raise Phoebe along with Paul. He

wonders what his life will be if he made different decision to keep Phoebe

(p.259). His life will be different and much happier than now. David desperately

wants to find Phoebe, he always asks Caroline where she lives in his letter, but

she refuses to tell. Once he even tells her his intention to meet and know Phoebe

more, but Caroline never replies his letter again (p.313). David is always waiting

for Caroline’s letter, because in her letters, she tells him how Phoebe is and gives

him some of her photos (p.313). It pleases him because he feels like he knows

Phoebe through Caroline’s letters. When he can finally find Caroline, he does not

have courage to approach and talk to Phoebe because he realizes that he is


46

invisible for her (p.403). He is just a stranger for her. He is not the one whom she

calls father, but even if David tells her that he is her father, she will never

understand. It hurts him and no matter how much he longs and misses her, he

cannot hold her.

Through his camera, David wants to remember Phoebe. His longing for

Phoebe is reflected through his photos. When Norah looks at his collection after

he died, she finds some strange photos. They are neatly arranged and organized by

year. The first folder is full of infants’ photos, anonymous infants that David takes

randomly. The second folder is not infants anymore but two up to four years old

girls and none of them are familiar. The last folder changes from girls to young

women and again they are anonymous (p.463). Norah realizes that all of those

photos show David’s feeling for Phoebe. She understands now although he never

speaks about Phoebe but he keeps her presence through his camera.

“For a long time Norah sat very still, agitated, on the edge of knowing. And then suddenly the knowledge was hers, irrevocable, searing: all those years of silence when he would not speak of their lost daughter, David had been keeping this record of her absence. Paul, and a thousand other girls, all growing” (p.464).

The photos show how much David misses Phoebe, his lovely daughter. He

knows that he cannot see her. That is why he fills the hole in his heart by

capturing girls’ photos with the same age as Phoebe. He sees the girls as if he sees

Phoebe.

David is similar with Phoebe, they are neglected people. David is isolated by

June’s presence. All of his mother’s attention goes to her because she is sick. He

has to understand it (p.143). He is a healthy boy but June is a fragile sick girl. He


47

tries to lessen his mother’s burden by helping her doing the house chores, be a

smart boy in school, and be a good brother for June. At least, there are few things

that he can do to help his mother, but in the end he could not do anything when

June is dead. He cannot make his mother smile again. He cannot replace June in

her heart. All he can see is his mother’s sadness and the memory of grief that she

could not handle (p.21). What he can do is to make his mother’s wish come true

which is to study and help the world. Ironically, when he finally can be a better

person with great job and good income, his mother is no longer there. She leaves

him, she dies and he cannot even stay by her side at her last time (p.143). June’s

death and his mother’s grief are stronger than David’s strength. He cannot make

his mother happy again, no matter hard he tries.

For Phoebe, she is a neglected child. David gets rid of her because she is

sick. He does not even give her chance. He tells everyone that she is dead. She

never exists in Norah and Paul’s world, not until they find out that she is alive.

For the rest of his life, David lives a miserable life, he misses and longs Phoebe.

He wants to stop the time and fix the moment (p.254). His life is full of pain and

both Norah and Paul cannot fix it. He carries the pain until he died and he died in

loneliness with no one beside him (p.414). Everyone is leaving him, his family,

his children, and his wife.

The novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter refers to Caroline’s memory, as

Phoebe’s foster mother and keeper. Her memory tells the readers from how David

hands Phoebe and asks her to bring Phoebe to an institution. Caroline does

David’s order without asking any further, because she is in love with him. She


48

also understands that he is shocked with Phoebe’s condition (p.27). Instead of

getting rid of Phoebe, Caroline decides to raise her because according to her,

because the institution is an awful place (p.82). She decides to keep her and

moves to another town, starting a new life with Phoebe (p.74). She is aware of

Phoebe’s health and understands that it can be worse. She tries to look for job, in

order to survive and gives Phoebe what she needs. She works as a nurse and she

stays in her patient’s house with Phoebe (p.117).

Caroline is a patient mother. She never complains, scold, or blame Phoebe

because of her condition. Phoebe’s growth is slower than the other kids and she is

slow in mastering things. Caroline has to fight for Phoebe’s right to get proper

education like other normal kids. She is the member of Upside Down Society, an

organization in which the members are parents who have children like Phoebe.

Together they insist the Board Education to include their children in public

schools (p.246). Her love for Phoebe grows as the time goes by. At first, she

keeps Phoebe because she pities her but slowly she loves her with all of her heart.

She raises Phoebe well, with love and attention. Phoebe changes her life and

brings light in her dark life. She used to be lonely without anyone beside her, but

now she has Phoebe by her side (p.33). She grows into a mature and wise woman

because of Phoebe. She regards Phoebe as her own daughter, but she is afraid if

David will take her back (p.314). It is not her intention to keep Phoebe away from

David. She regularly sends David letters to tell him how Phoebe is. She also gives

him Phoebe’s photos (p.294). Caroline thinks David will not read her letters, that

is why she can write it freely and spill out her feeling, but it turns out that David


49

reads and keeps the letters (p.314). Caroline is succeeding in raising Phoebe,

especially because she is special. Phoebe grows into a happy, cheerful,

independent woman. She even has a job in a photocopy shop (p.472). Phoebe can

survive from her illness because of Caroline and David never expects that she will

survive and live.

“David sat and wrote a letter. He wrote swiftly, letting the words pour out, all his regrets about the past, all his hopes for Phoebe. Who was she, this child of his flesh, the girl he had given away? He had not expected that’s he would live this long, or that she would have the sort of life Caroline wrote him about” (p.259).

David’s unhappy childhood memory makes him decide to get rid of Phoebe.

The pain, sadness, and lost affect him and hold an important role for him to make

the decision (p.249). He does not want to be hurt again, that is why he hands

Phoebe to Caroline. He already lost his sister, mother, and father. He does not

want to feel the grief again. His life is completely changes after June’s born. He is

happy because he has a sister but it turns out that she is sick. His childhood was

full of worries about June’s condition, poverty which makes June does not get

proper treatment, and sadness after she died.

David has an unhappy childhood and ironically it is repeated again by his

daughter. Phoebe also experiences the exact same thing like David. She is a

neglected child; her father does not want her and give her away. Phoebe is

neglected by her own father because she is different from the other kids. It is not

even her fault to have Down syndrome in her body but David does not want to

know. He does not want to raise her. David is also a neglected child, all of his

parents attention goes to June. June is the only thing that they care the most


50

(p.143). He has tried to be an obedient son. He helps his mother and becomes a

smart student who gets scholarship. However, it does not good enough to get his

parents’ full attention. Even when June is dead and he is the only child his parents

had, still he does not get their full attention. His parents do not used to not have

June because she is the center of their attention. At least, David is luckier than

Phoebe,. David knows who his parents are. He lives with them for years and gets

their love, though it is not big as their love to June. His parents keep and raise

him. They do not give him away. As for Phoebe, she never knows who her real

parents are and she will never understand. Her father gets rid of her right after she

was born. She never had the chance to be hold by her mother and to be sang

lullaby. She never gets love from her parents, though Caroline loves her, but she

is not her real mother and it is not the same. All of her family thinks that she is

dead. They had never known that in fact she is alive. She would had been happier

if David had not given her away and she would had been to live with her family,

David’s family therefore, will not break into pieces.

David and Phoebe, they are both are separated from their sibling. David is

separated from June by death. He never hates her though she is sick and gets his

parents’ attention. He loves her and she becomes his true companion (pp.153-

154). June is always on his mind. He remembers how they used to spent time

together (p.186) and her sweet personality (p.136).

Phoebe is also far from her twin, Paul. She never knows that she has a brother

but at least she is luckier than David. She gets a chance to meet Paul. It is all

because of Caroline. Caroline takes the risk to tell Norah the truth after she finds


51

out that David is dead (p.469). After all these years, she is been hiding, but now

she decides to reveal the truth. Caroline tells Norah everything about Phoebe. She

gives Norah her address, invites Norah to visit her house and meets Phoebe

(p.473). She is the one who reunites Phoebe with her real family. Norah is shock

when she knows that her daughter is a still alive and David gets rid of her. She is

very angry with David for not telling the truth and lying for his entire life (p.474).

Paul also feels the same as Norah. He is angry and surprise by the truth (p.488).

They decide to meet with Phoebe. Paul is preparing himself before he meets

Phoebe. He read the some information about Down syndrome, but the reality is

different. All of the theories that he read are useless when he faces Phoebe.

However, her warm smile eases his worries and makes him comfortable (p.492).

Phoebe, who does not know that Paul is her brother, welcomes him and invites

him to her room (p.495). She comfortably talks about herself to Paul. Paul listens

to her with enthusiasm (p.497). Gradually, they become closer just like brother

and sister. They both have something in common. Both of them like music, Paul

likes to play guitar and Phoebe likes to sing. They also allergic to bees just like

their father.

Both David and Phoebe are far from their mother. Again, it is death which

separates David from his mother. His mother dies because she cannot endure the

sadness after June’s death (p.334). A part of her is dead along with June’s death.

She does not know what to do with her life. June’s death breaks her heart and she

lives in despair until she died (p.149). She cannot accept the fact that June is died

and she cannot control her feeling. Her grief defeats her and she died because of


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it. Norah also sad and lost when she knows that Phoebe is dead. She is sad

because she never has the chance to hold or look at her face. Her happiness is

incomplete because she lost her daughter though she still has Paul. She suffers

from grief and no one seems to care, even David. He avoids everytime she wants

to talk about Phoebe (p.64). Phoebe haunts her everyday, but sometime she feels

that she is alive somewhere (p.172). Norah is different from David’s mother. She

is a strong woman, she is stronger than David’s mother. She does not let the grief

controls her. She tries to move on and built her life again. She does not want to be

weak and sad for her entire life. She did it, she change into a powerful and

independent woman (p.327). She begins to work at a travel company, the job that

she always wants to do but at first she is hesitate to take it (p.22). Later, she owns

the company and develops it. Norah has succeeded in overcoming her grief and be

better person.

Phoebe is separated from her mother. When she meets Norah, she just another

strange person in her eyes. She never knows that Norah is her mother. For

Phoebe, her mother is Caroline. She does not understand when Norah tell her the

truth and she is afraid when Norah asks her to live together (p.494). Phoebe never

understands no matter how hard Norah tries to explain. Phoebe and David

experience the same things, they both have unhappy life. What David feels during

his childhoods is repeated again by his daughter.

The tragic life story of Phoebe is in fact, the fruit of David’s selfishness. This

can be seen from how he deals with his family. He used to be a loving and kind

husband who really cares for his wife, but after he gets rid of Phoebe, he becomes


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a complete different person. He does not care about Norah’s feeling, whether she

is happy or sad. He is busy with himself. He is busy with his new passion which is

photography. He is obsessed with it. He is very excited talking about photography

just like when he is excited talking about medicine (p.223). Photography is the

perfect distraction for him, he is been hiding a big secret from everybody. He does

not want to face it, he prefers to ignore it and pretend that everything is alright.

Photography gives him pleasure and different sensation. The dark room where no

one ever comes is a perfect place for him to hide. It is his personal and private

room that is secluded from the world and it is just his own world that exists.

David is also using his time to work, helping people and fixing their body. He

works so hard every day. He does not mind to wake up in the middle of the night

when someone needs his help (p.473). He is so devoted with his job. It is all

because his mother and June. They both are the persons who make David wants to

be a doctor (p.155). He promises them and he keeps his promise. David’s life is

for photography, his job, and Phoebe. He spends most of his time for those two

things. The other things are nothing for him. Gradually, he becomes a cold and

introvert person. He does not care when Norah has affairs. He does not angry

when he finds out that Norah is having an affair in their holiday (p.259). He

ignores it, though he knows that she is cheating. Later when she has other affairs,

he puts the same ignorant act (p.327). He totally ignores it and does not really care

about it. His selfishness makes him to be an ignorant person. It makes Norah

desperate and as the result she is starting to have affairs (p.237).


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As a son, Paul is also affected by David’s selfishness. For David, Phoebe is

more important than Paul for David. He does not equally love his children.

Phoebe gets his love more than Paul, although it is Paul who lives with him and

calls him “Dad”. He never understands Paul. He hates Paul’s idea to be a

musician, though he realizes that Paul’s passion is music and he has the talent for

it (p.249). He does not want Paul to be a musician though it is Paul’s dream. He

keeps telling Paul that music is a bad choice to make a living (p.255). He forces

Paul to try something else outside music because Paul has many talents which

could give him a wonderful job. He never listens to Paul and because he has

worked so hard to give everything for him (p.280). His action make Paul hates

and disrespects him. He grows into a rebellious teenager. He has a bad

relationship with David and Norah. He becomes introvert. He ever tries to smoke

weed (p.263) and also runs away from home using his neighbor’s car (p.368). He

does all of those things because he is lonely. He does not get enough attention

from David nor Norah. David is busy with his job and photography. On the top of

it, Paul hates how David always telling him to stop dreaming to be a musician.

Meanwhile, Norah is busy with her travel company. Paul is disappointed with her

because he knows that Norah is having an affair (p.263). It hurts him. Since then,

he sees Norah as a different person. He ignores her and treats her rudely (p.251).

Paul releases all of his angers through music (p.268). Music comforts him and

becomes everything for him. Phoebe is happier than Paul though she is neglected

but she is loved and protected by people around her (p.447). On the other hand,

Paul never feels happy in his house, in fact there is no love in his family. It is


55

ironic, because he is the one who lives with David and Norah but his life is more

miserable than his neglected sister. It is all because of David. His selfishness

blinds him and hurts people around him. He is the one who makes the wrong

decision. Norah and Paul are innocent but they have to suffer, it is all because of

his selfishness and unhappy childhood.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter consists of two parts, namely conclusions and suggestions. The

first part is the conclusion of the discussion. The second part is the suggestion for

the future researchers and teaching-learning activity in literary work using The

Memory Keeper’s Daughter.

A. Conclusions

The conclusion is the result of the discussion on the two questions, namely

how is David’s character portrayed in the novel and what is David’s motivation in

getting rid of his Down syndrome’s daughter.

By making use of the theory of character by Forster and Henkle, the

character and personality of David can be described as follows:

David is the main character in the novel. He becomes the main focus and

holds an important role in the story. Everything that happens in the novel, the

conflicts and events are happened because of David’s decision to get rid of

Phoebe. David is a round character. It means that his character is changing, at the

beginning he is a caring man but slowly he change into an ignorant man.

David has several personality traits which make him a complex character.

He is a handsome orthopedic surgeon who loves everyone around him especially

his family. He is also a kind man. He is willing to take care Rosemary who has no

relation with him though Norah disagrees. David is a good and skilful doctor; he

devotes himself to his job and helps everyone who needs his help whether they are

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rich or poor. David’s hobbies are photography and stone collecting, he like

collects stones because of his father’s influence and he loves photography since

Norah gives him a camera for their anniversary’s present. David is ashamed by his

past life because he was sp poor and he tries to be a better person.

David’s motivation in getting rid of Phoebe is found through the theory of

motivation by Aiken, Jr. and Petris. Motivation stimulates someone to take action

in order to reach certain goals. David’s motivation in getting rid of Phoebe is

divided into two parts, which are surface and deeper motivation. His surface

motivations are first, he does not want Norah to end up like his mother. David

does not want Norah to be haunted by grief, sadness, and lost like his mother

when June is dead. The second motivation is, as a doctor David realizes raising

Phoebe will be difficult. It takes much time and money. The institution is the best

choice for her because she can get proper treatment.

Meanwhile David’s deeper motivations in getting rid of Phoebe are,

because he is a selfish person. He does not want to feel the same sadness and pain

just like when June is dead. June’s death leaves a big scar in his heart. Therefore,

he does not want to feel it again. The last motivation is because he is ashamed by

the fact that he is the one who holds an important key why Phoebe is suffered

form Down syndrome. He has the genetic cells that cause the disease. He is afraid

Norah will blame him for what happen to Phoebe.

David’s decision effects the people around him. His relation with his family

becomes further away. He escapes through photography and his job. Norah starts

to have affairs and Paul grows into a rebellious teenager. He does not care about


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anything except himself and Phoebe. He is haunted by regret because of his wrong

decision, but he does not have courage to reveal everything. He misses and longs

Phoebe so much, but he is afraid to meet her. David’s motivations are affected by

his unhappy childhood. He could not forget his past no matter how hard he tries.

Ironically, his unhappy childhood memory is also experienced by his daughter,

Phoebe. Phoebe is through the exact unhappy memory as David. David’s tragic life

story is caused by David’s selfishness who loves himself more than he loves

someone including his family

B. Suggestions

This part consists of suggestions for the future researcher and teaching-

learning activities using The Memory Keeper’s Daughter novel.

1. Suggestion for the Future Researchers

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is an interesting novel. The story is

dramatic, tragic, and heart-breaking. The future researchers who want to study this

novel are suggested to study further about David’s motivation in getting rid of his

daughter. Since this study is imperfect and has many limitations, so it is better for

the future researchers to explore David’s motivation further and find his other

motivations. Therefore, this study can perfect.

2. Suggestions for The Teaching-Learning Activities

Literature is one of the best ways for language learning. Teachers can

encourage their students to read literature works in order to learn new vocabularies

and tenses. They also can use literature works as an example of how to write in a


59

good way with sequences and combine different ideas. There are many kinds of

literature works and novel is one of them. Novel is a good media for language

learning. It is relevant with people’s daily live because the story in a novel is the

image of society and anyone could experience it. Studying a novel has an extra

value because the students can get useful values of life. There are many lessons

that can be drawn from reading a novel.

In language learning itself, there are four skills. They are reading, writing,

listening, and speaking. Writing is one of the most suitable skills to use novel as a

learning media. Novel can be a good alternative media for students to learn various

genres of text, such as narrative, descriptive, and recount text. Using novel as an

example of certain text genre, can gives students different experience because

novel deals with human’s emotion and it is closely related to our daily lives.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is suggested to be used as a teaching

material for Paragraph Writing class which is offered in the 2nd semester. Due to

the thickness of the novel, teachers can use several paragraphs in this novel as an

example of certain text genre. The writer proposes some paragraphs in this novel to

teach narrative text. The students can apply their knowledge in the previous class,

which was Basic Writing Skill, in this class. They are ten steps in conducting the

teaching learning activity using The Memory Keeper’s Daughter in Paragraph

Writing class. They are as stated as follow:

1. The writer selects the materials from the novel (pp.402-403 and pp.410-411).

2. The teacher introduces the topic which is narrative text briefly.

3. The teacher explains the generic structure of narrative text.


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4. The teacher distributes the worksheet.

5. The teacher asks the students to read the example of narrative text.

6. The teacher asks the students to analyze the text.

7. The teacher asks the students to read another example of narrative text.

8. The teacher asks the students to answer the questions related to the text.

9. The teacher asks the students to write a reflection.

10. The students submit their work at the end of the class.


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REFERENCES

Abcarian, R., & Martin, K. (1988). Literature reading and writing the human

experience. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Aiken, L. R., Jr. (1969). General psychology: A survey. Novato: Chandler

Publishing Company.

Barnet, S., Burto., Williams., & Cain, William, E. (2005). Literature for

composition essays, fiction, poetry, and drama. New York: Congman Pearse.

Byrne, D., & Kelley, K. (1981). An introduction to personality. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Edwards, K. (2005). The memory keeper’s daughter. New York: Penguin Books.

Hall, C. S., & Lindsey, G. (1970). Theories of personality. New York: John Wiley

& Sons, Inc.

Henkle, R. B. (1977). Reading the novel: An introduction to the techniques of

interpreting fiction. New York: Harper and Row, Pub.

Hornby, A. S. (1995). Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Mcclelland, D. C. (1985). Human motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and

Company .

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

and the English novel for overseas students. London: George Allen and

Unwin, Ltd.

Petri, H. L. (1981). Motivation: Theory and research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Publishing Company.

Rohrberger, M., & Samuel, H. W., Jr (1971). Reading & writing about literature.

New York: Random House, Inc.

Weiner, B. (1980). Human motivation. Philadelphia: Saunders Company.

Internet Sources:

Heyn, S, N., Ph.d. (n.d.). Down syndrome. Retrieved September 9, 2010, from

http://www.medicinenet.com/down_syndrome/page9.htm

Morisset, J. (2006, December 26). Review of the stunning first novel the memory

keeper's daughter by Kim Edwards. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from

http://jmorisset.edublogs.org/literary-analysis-essay/

Poston, L. (n.d.). Literary analysis essay: “The memory keeper’s daughter”.

Retrieved August 20, 2011, from

http://leslie-poston.suite101.com/the-memory-keeper-s-daughter-a10949


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Siess, Janie., H. (2010, April 20). Book review the memory keeper’s daughter.

Retrieved August 20, 2011, from http://www.jhsiess.com/2010/04/24/book-

review-the-memory-keepers-daughter/

___________. (n.d.). An interview with Kim Edwards author of the memory

keeper’s daughter. Retrieved August, 21, 2011, from

http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_numbe

r/1270/kim-edwards

___________. (n.d.). Down syndrome. Retrieved September 9, 2010, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

____________. (n.d.). The memory keeper’s daughter. Retrieved August, 21,

2011,from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memory_Keeper%27s_Daughter


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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX 1:

SUMMARY OF THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER NOVEL

In 1964, during an unusual Kentucky blizzard, Dr. David Henry is forced to

deliver his and his wife Norah's first child, with the help of a nurse; Caroline Gill.

Their first child, a boy they name Paul, is born a visibly perfect child. When the

second baby, a girl, is born, David notices immediately she is suffered from Down

syndrome. David thinking of his sister, June, who died young due to a heart

defect, decides that the baby girl will be placed in an institution to spare Norah the

suffering June's death caused his own mother. Caroline is charged with the task of

carrying the infant to the institution. After assessing the wretched conditions of

the place, however, she decides to keep and raise the baby herself. Meanwhile,

David lies to Norah and tells her that their daughter died at birth.

The 'death' of their daughter has caused a distance between David and Norah.

David thinks a lot about his childhood, the struggles with poverty. Caroline is in

Pittsburgh and is hired by a woman named Dorothy "Doro" March, to work as a

private nurse for her father, Leo, and she live with them. Caroline claims that

Phoebe is her daughter, and cares for her. Caroline sends letters and pictures of

Phoebe to David. David sends money to Caroline through a PO Box address, and

then makes a half-hearted attempt to find out where Caroline and Phoebe live. The

distance between the Henrys has grown even further. David is now an aspiring

photographer with his own darkroom, where he keeps Phoebe's pictures and

Caroline's letters hidden; he retreats further into himself, immersing himself in his

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work. Norah, still drinking secretly and has taken to applying for a job with a

travel agency in an attempt to build a life of her own. Paul seems to have an

aptitude for music and singing.

Phoebe is growing up a healthy child. Over the years, Caroline has saved

the money David Henry has sent her and kept it an in trust for Phoebe. David

sends Caroline a letter, asking her to let him meet Phoebe and to let Phoebe know

her twin brother, Paul. Paul is becoming an accomplished musician, playing the

guitar and the piano and dreaming of attending Juilliard, while also behaving like

a daredevil teenager - experimenting with cannabis and walking on rail tracks.

David and Norah are now living almost separate lives. Norah simply wants her

son to be happy, while David pushes his son to take an interest in basketball and

to follow a career path that will guarantee him stability, money, and success. One

day, David has an arts show in Pittsburgh. Caroline turns up and shows him

pictures of Phoebe. David is devastated and goes to his parents' abandoned house,

where he finds Rosemary, a pregnant 16-year-old, who is squatting in the house.

He tells Rosemary his secret. He asks her to come and live with him. Paul and

Norah can't believe the way he's behaving, and believe that there is a sexual

relationship between David and the girl. Paul and Rosemary bond and Paul

understands the truth but is still furious with his father. Paul steals a neighbor’s

car and runs away for a couple of days, before he is arrested as his parents have to

come get him. Paul has been accepted at Juilliard.

Rosemary and her son Jack move back to live with her family. Norah and

David are now divorced and Norah is dating. Paul is traveling and studying music


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in France. David dies of a heart attack. When Norah sorts through David's

photographs she understands David in a way she never did when he was alive.

Caroline worries about the future and is scared about letting Phoebe live her own

life. When Caroline hears of David's death she goes and finds Norah and tells her

the truth. Norah and Paul meet Phoebe for the first time. Phoebe and Paul both

attend their mother's wedding. Paul takes Phoebe to their father's grave.

Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memory_Keeper%27s_Daughter


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APPENDIX 2:

BIOGRAPHY OF KIM EDWARDS

Kim Edwards is an American author and educator. She was born in Texas,

on May 4th 1958. She grew up in Skaneales, New York. Now, she lives in

Lexington with her husband, Thomas Clayton, and their two daughters. Edwards

was graduated from Colgate University and The University of Iowa, where she

received an MFA in fiction and MA in linguistic. Along with her husband, she

spent five years teaching in Malaysia, Japan, and Cambodia. Then, she moved to

Pittsburgh because her husband was accepted in The University of Pittsburgh.

Edwards has been interested in writing since she was a little girl. She has the

courage to write when she attended a fiction workshop in Colgate University. She

gets the inspiration to write from many things. One of her greatest inspiration is

when she is travelling or visiting a new country. “"One of my greatest times of

inspiration is when I'm traveling or living in a new country-there's a tremendous

freedom that comes from being unfettered by your own, familiar culture, and by

seeing the world from a different point of view."

She got the inspiration to write The Memory Keeper’s Daughter from her

priest who told her a story.

“It was just a few sentences, about a man who'd discovered late in life that his brother had been born with Down syndrome, placed in an institution at birth, and kept a secret from his family, even from his own mother, all his life. He'd died in that institution, unknown. I remember being struck by the story even as she told it, and thinking right away that it really would make a good novel. It was the secret at the center of the family that intrigued me.”

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The Memory Keeper’s Daughter itself was her first novel, but it was gained a

lot of recognitions.

Kim Edwards’s works:

• The Way It Felt to be Falling (short story)

• The Secrets of A Fire King (short stories)

• Sky Juice (short)

• The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (novel)

• The Lake of Dreams (novel)

Adapted from:

http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/12

70/kim-edwards


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APPENDIX 3:

LESSON PLAN

Subject : Paragraph Writing

Level : 2ndSemester Students of English Education Study Program

Time Allocation : 1 Meeting (2x50 Minutes)

Competence Standards : On completing the course, students are

able to compose a good paragraph, write

well using different types of writing genre,

deconstruct the generic and schematic

structure of each genre, find the social

purposes and linguistic features of texts,

and write texts with the learned genres.

Basic Competence : The students are able to improve their

writing skill, understand the features of

various text genres, and write a text based

on the learned genre.

Indicators

1. Understanding the meaning and generic structure of narrative text.

2. Identifying the generic structure of narrative text.

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3. Analyzing the generic structure of narrative text.

I. Learning Objectives:

The students are able to:

a. Understand the meaning and generic structure of narrative text.

b. Identify the generic structure of narrative text.

c. Analyze the generic structure of narrative text.

II. Learning Material :

Kim Edwards’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (pp.402-403 and pp.410-

411).

III. Time Allotment :

2x50 minutes.

IV. Learning Activities :

1. Pre-activities (10’)

- The teacher introduces the topic. (5’)

- The teacher distributes the worksheet. (5’)

2. Whilst-activities (30’)

- The students read the short text. (5’)

- The students analyze the text. (10’)

- The students read another text. (5’)


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- The students answer the questions related to the text. (10’)

3. Post-activities (10’)

- The students write a reflection.

V. Sources :

1. Edwards, Kim. (2005). The memory keeper’s daughter. New York:

Penguin Books. Page 402-403 and page 410-411.

2. Handouts and worksheet.

VI. Evaluation :

Teacher evaluates the students based on their work and participation in

the class.


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Material for Paragraph Writing

I. Warming up questions:

1. What is meant by narrative text?

2. What is the purpose of narrative text?

3. What are the generic structures of narrative text?

II. Read and analyze the text!

When Jack was born, David set up an account for him in Rosemary’s name,

and one for Phoebe, in Caroline’s name. It was easy enough; he’d always had

Caroline’s Social Security number, and he had her address too. It had taken a

private investigator less than a week to find Caroline and Phoebe, living in

Pittsburgh, in a tall narrow house near the freeway. David had driven there and

parked on the street, meaning to go up the steps and knock on the door. What he

wanted was to tell Norah what had happened, and he couldn’t do that without

telling her where Phoebe was. Norah would want to see their daughter; he was

sure, so it wasn’t only his own life he might change, or Norah’s or Paul’s. He had

come here to tell Caroline what he was hoping to do. Was it the right thing? He

didn’t know. He sat in the car. Phoebe had grown up here.

And then David saw her: Phoebe, his daughter. She was in the dining room,

setting the table. She had Paul’s dark hair and his profile, and for an instant, until

she turned to reach for the saltshaker, David felt as if he must be watching his son.

She was short and stocky, and her hair was thin, held back with barrettes. Even so,

the resemblance was still visible to David: there was Paul’s smile, his nose, Paul’s

expression of concentration on Phoebe’s face when she put her hands on her hips

and surveyed the table.

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By then it was fully dark. David stood, transfixed, glad there was little traffic.

Now he understood that he was not in control of this situation, he was excluded

from it as completely as if he didn’t exist. David went back to his car. He had

caused Norah pain; his deception had made her suffer in ways he had never

imagined or intended. But he could spare her this. He could drive away and leave

the past undisturbed. And that was what he did, finally, travelling all night across

the flat expanse of Ohio.

Taken from: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (pp.402-403)

a. Orientation:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Complication:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Resolution:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Read the text and answer the questions!

David stood, stretched, and loped off to the park. About a mile into his run, he

remembered the other thing that had been nagging him all morning, the

importance of the day beyond Rosemary’s test: July twelfth, Norah’s birthday. He

ran, veering away from the park, heading instead for his old neighborhood.

Rosemary was right, Norah should know. He would tell her today. He would go to

their old house, where Norah still lived and wait until she returned and he would

tell her, though he could not imagine now how Norah would respond.

David turned down to his old street. He had not been here in months. The

driveway was empty; Norah wasn’t home. He paced across the lawn a few times


75

to catch his breath, and then walked to where the key was still hidden beneath a

brick beside the rhododendron. He let himself inside and got a water of drink.

There was a yellow legal pad on the desk by the phone, full of cryptic notes. He

tore this page off carefully, neatly, arranging it in the center of the desk, then

carried the pad back to the breakfast nook, sat down, and began to write. Our little

girl did not die. Caroline Gill took her and raised her in another city. He crosses

this out. I gave away our daughter. He sighed and out the pen down. He couldn’t

do this; he could hardly imagine anymore what his life would be without the

weight of his hidden knowledge. Distantly, the tap in the downstairs bathroom

dripped. Something that had driven him crazy for years, something had always

meant to fix. It took him more than an hour to fix the faucets in the bathroom.

Well, at least she would be happy about the faucets. And he was too; he’d done

a careful, meticulous job. He stood in the kitchen, stretching his arms wide as he

prepared to finish his run and picked the yellow legal pad up again. I fixed the

bathroom sink, he wrote. Happy Birthday. Then, he left, locking the door behind

him, and ran.

Taken from: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (pp.410-411)

IV. Answer these questions!

1. Analyze the text based on the generic structure!

2. What is the topic sentence of the text above?

3. Mention the support sentences of the text above!


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V. Reflection Time!

1. What have you leant today?

2. Do you have any difficulty in understanding narrative text?

3. What do you think about using literature work in today’s learning?


Documents

DAVID’S MOTIVATION IN GETTING RID OF HIS DOWN …penyayang, perhatian, seorang dokter yang hebat, dan malu terhadap masa lalunya. Ada empat faktor penting yang memotivasi David untuk