the narrator s motivation in bringing back his … · i the narrator s motivation in bringing back...

THE NARRATOR’S MOTIVATION IN BRINGING BACKHIS WIFE, ESTHER, AS REVEALED IN

PAULO COELHO’S THE ZAHIR

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsto Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Anastasia Setyaningrum

Student Number: 021214113

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMDEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATIONFACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITYYOGYAKARTA

2009

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

i

THE NARRATOR’S MOTIVATIONIN BRINGING BACK HIS WIFE, ESTHER,

AS REVEALED IN PAULO COELHO’S THE ZAHIR

A THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsto Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By



ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMDEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATIONFACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITYYOGYAKARTA

2009


ii

A Thesis on

THE NARRATOR’S MOTIVATIONIN BRINGING BACK HIS WIFE, ESTHER,

AS REVEALED IN PAULO COELHO’S THE ZAHIR

By



Approved by

Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum 27 April 2009

Sponsor


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Once you intend to realize your dream,

the whole world conspires to help you

- Paulo Coelho-

This thesis is dedicated to:

my parents,

my friends,

and I.


v

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

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

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

references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 27 April 2009

The writer

Anastasia Setyaningrum021214113


vi

ABSTRACT

Setyaningrum, Anastasia. 2009. The Narrator’s Motivation in Bringing BackHis Wife, Esther, as Revealed in Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir. Yogyakarta:English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and ArtsEducation, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata DharmaUniversity.

This study is conducted to reveal the narrator’s motivation in The Zahir infinding and bringing back his wife. The novel uses first-person point of view. Thenarrator of the novel is a successful and popular novelist. One day, his wife,Esther, disappears without any trace and the only reasonable hypothesis is that sheleaves him. In the beginning, the narrator suffers for the lost but then he canaccept it. He begins to search for her. In his attempt to find Esther, the narratordiscovers things that make him understand more about himself and Esther.

There are three questions discussed in this study. They are (1) how thenarrator’s character traits are described, (2) how the character traits of Esther, thenarrator’s wife, are described, and (3) what the narrator’s motivations in bringingback his wife are.

The method of gathering data used was library research. The data wascollected from the novel The Zahir as the primary source and from relatedtheories, criticisms, and other sources as the secondary sources. This study usedpsychological approach. The theory of character and characterization were used toanswer the first and second questions. The theory of motivation especially, thetheory of hierarchy of needs, was used to answer the third question. These theorieswere utilized to find out the narrator’s motivation in bringing back his wife,Esther.

The result of the analysis shows that the narrator is described as a curious,tough, ambitious, and adventurous person who enjoys his privileges as a novelist.Esther is a war journalist. She is caring, intelligent, and adaptable. She is also arisk taker. The narrator’s critical thinking and ambition supported him to find hiswife.Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, it can be concluded that thenarrator’s needs for security, love and belonging, and esteem motivate him to findand bring his wife, Esther, back..


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ABSTRAK

Setyaningrum, Anastasia. 2009. The Narrator’s Motivation in Bringing BackHis Wife, Esther, as Revealed in Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir. Yogyakarta:Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni.Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan. Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Studi ini disusun untuk mengungkap motivasi dari narator dalam novelThe Zahir dalam usahanya untuk menemukan dan membawa istrinya kembali.Novel ini menggunakan sudut pandang orang pertama. Narator dalam noveltersebut adalah seorang penulis yang sukses dan terkenal. Namun suatu hariistrinya, Esther, menghilang tanpa jejak dan satu-satunya hipotesa yang diperolehadalah bahwa ia pergi meninggalkan sang narator. Pada awalnya ia merasaterpukul, tetapi kemudian ia mulai dapat menerima kenyataan dan berusaha untukmenemukan istrinya. Dalam perjalanannya mencari Esther, sang naratormenemukan hal-hal yang membuatnya semakin mengerti tentang siapa dirinyadan arti Esther baginya.

Terdapat tiga permasalahan mendasar yang dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu(1) bagaimana karakter sang narator dalam novel The Zahir, (2) bagaimanakarakter Esther, istri sang narator, dan (3) apa motivasi sang narator dalammenemukan dan membawa kembali Esther, istrinya.

Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Datadikumpulkan dari novel The Zahir itu sendiri sebagai sumber utama dan dariteori-teori, kritik, dan sumber-sumber lainnya yang berhubungan dengan studisebagai data tambahan. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologis. Teorikarakter dan karakteristik digunakan untuk menjawab permasalahan pertama dankedua. Sedang teori motivasi, terutama hirarki kebutuhan dipakai untuk menjawabpermasalahan ketiga. Teori-teori ini digunakan untuk mengetahui motivasi sangnarator dalam menemukan dan membawa Esther kembali.

Hasil dari analisis menunjukkan bahwa sang narator adalah orang yangmemiliki rasa ingin tahu yang tinggi, kuat, ambisius dan berjiwa petualang. Iamenikmati kemewahan hidupnya sebagai penulis novel. Sedang Esther adalahseorang wartawan perang. Ia seorang wanita yang penyayang, berpengetahuanluas, suka mengambil resiko dan mudah beradaptasi. Karakter sang narator yangkritis dan ambisius mendukung motivasinya dalam menemukan istrinya.Berdasarkan teori hirarki kebutuhan Maslow, kebutuhannya akan perasaan aman,dicintai dan dimiliki, serta dihargai membuatnya ingin menemukan dan membawaEsther, istrinya, kembali.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank those who have supported me in finishing my thesis.

First and foremost, I would like to bestow my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ

for his love and mercy. His never ending blessings and guidance have

strengthened me to finish my thesis.

My deepest gratitude goes to my beloved parents, Papa Djoko and Mama

Niena, who shower me with their love, affection and prayers. I thank them for

encouraging me patiently in finishing my thesis and supporting me in my hard

days. I would also like to thank my sister, Irena, for her care and jokes. Their love

and prayers are everything for my life.

My greatest appreciation goes to my major sponsor, Ibu Henny

Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum., who has found time to read my thesis and patiently

guide me in composing the thesis. I would like to thank Ibu DR. Dra. Wigati Y.

Modouw, M.Hum. who has encouraged and guided me in working on my thesis.

I thank them for their patient guidance, time and suggestions. My thankfulness

goes to Sr. Margaret O’Donohue FCJ who had checked my thesis in a short

time. I would also like to thank all English Language Education Study

Program (EESP) lecturers for the knowledge, experience, and guidance during

my study as a student of EESP. My thanks are extended to Mbak Dani, Mbak

Tari and other staffs for helping me in dealing with administration works.

I would like to express my gratitude to my best friends, Echi, Mawar,

Vivi, Itha, for being around and supporting me in my ups and downs. I thank


ix

them for all the sweet moments we have. It is a six-year friendship and going to be

forever. My big thanks go to my friends, Esta, Tika, Ike, Lissa, Cicil, Wieda,

Seto, Ook, Udjo, Galih, Deddy, Metty, Emen, Miko, Jantri, Nana and all

members of PBI 2002 for the supports and laughter we share.

Last but not least, I thank those whose names I cannot mention here. May

God bless them.

Yogyakarta, 27 April 2009



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

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

DEDICATION PAGE......................................................................................... iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ................................................... v

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

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

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

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

LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1

1.1. Background of the Study...................................................... 1

1.2. Objectives of the Study ........................................................ 4

1.3. Problem Formulation ........................................................... 5

1.4. Benefits of the Study............................................................ 5

1.5. Definition of Terms.............................................................. 6

CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE................................... 8

2.1. Theoretical Review .............................................................. 8

2.1.1. Theory of Critical Approaches ................................... 8

2.1.2. Theory of Character and Chracterization ................... 10

2.1.3. Theory of Motivation ................................................. 14


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2.2. Theoretical Framework ........................................................ 17

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 19

3.1. Subject Matter ...................................................................... 19

3.2. Approach of the Study ......................................................... 21

3.3. Procedure.............................................................................. 21

CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS.................................................................................. .24

4.1. The Character of the Narrator .............................................. .24

4.1.1. Critical .........................................................................25

4.1.2. Tough ...........................................................................27

4.1.3. Ambitious.....................................................................29

4.1.4. Adventurous.................................................................30

4.2. The Character of Esther ....................................................... .31

4.2.1. Caring ..........................................................................32

4.2.2. Intelligent.....................................................................33

4.2.3. Risk Taking..................................................................34

4.2.4. Adaptable.....................................................................35

4.3. The Narrator’s Motivation in Bringing Back His Wife,

Esther.................................................................................... .37

4.3.2. Fulfilling the Narrator’s Safety Needs.........................38

4.3.3. Fulfilling the Narrator’s Belongingness and Love

Needs ...........................................................................39

4.3.4. Fulfilling the Narrator’s Self Esteem Needs................41


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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .....................................44

5.1. Conclusions .......................................................................... .44

5.2. Suggestions .......................................................................... .46

5.2.1. Suggestion for Future Researchers...............................46

5.2.2. Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activities ..............47

REFERENCES .....................................................................................................48


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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix

1. Summary of The Zahir ......................................................................................49

2. Paulo Coelho Biography ...................................................................................51

3. Lesson Plan for Speaking IV.............................................................................54

4. Material for Teaching Speaking IV...................................................................56

5. Paulo Coelho’s Works ......................................................................................62

6. Hierarchy of Needs Diagram ............................................................................63


1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with the background of the study, problem formulation,

objective of the study, benefit of the study, and the definition of terms. The

background of the study discusses the writer’s personal reasons in choosing the

topic of the study. The problem formulation formulates the problems that become

the focus of the study. The objectives of the study state the aims of this study. The

next part includes the benefits that are expected through the study. At the end of

the section, the definition of terms, the writer defines some terms in order to avoid

misunderstanding.

1.1 Background of the Study

Marriage is a bond between a man and a woman. It is a relationship where

two people commit not only to live together in both good and bad times, but also

to share their life to their partner. Schware states that marriage is a permanent

union between a man and woman and legalized by the authority of the state (218).

Relating with permanent union, it is hoped that marriage happens just once in a

lifetime and cannot be separated, except because of death. Stanford defines

marriage as a kind of relationship to human beings. Marriage is a vital relationship

to human being for the growth and development (Stanford 169). In other words, it

can be said that marriage is a means to reach maturity as human beings and

through this process they learn and develop. If this process succeeds, it brings

happiness to them.

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History records some stories showing one’s love to his or her partner in

marriage; how they struggle to save their marriage. One of the most known love

history is from India. Taj Mahal, a great building which is known as a great proof

of love, was built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, as a monument to his

beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. They fell in love when they were fifteen and got

married at twenty on May 10, 1612. In the following 19 years, Mumtaz gave him

14 children. Mumtaz accompanied her husband everywhere. They were together

on a military expedition when she had their fourteenth child. Tragically she died

soon after this birth when she was only 39. Jahan was beside her, and according to

popular history it was a moment which inspired him to create this wonderful

monument (Singh 767).

There is also a love story of Greek mythology. One of the most known

stories, though it is the tragic one, is Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus was the son

of the Muse Calliope and a grand musician. His wife was Eurydice, who also

attracted the attentions of Aristaeus. Aristaeus pursued her until she stepped on a

poisonous snake and was forced into the underworld. Orpheus wanted his beloved

one back. Thus, he journeyed down to the underworld facing some creatures and

obstacles. He encountered Hades, who initially refused to release Eurydice, but

because of Orpheus's touching music, he released Eurydice with one condition;

Orpheus must not look back on their way out. Orpheus who was worried that

Eurydice was not behind him on their way home, looked at a glance back to see if

she was following him. She disappeared back into Hades, and he lost her forever.


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Unable to live without her, Orpheus spent the rest of his days in sorrow until his

death <“Orpheus and Eurydice”>.

Those stories show how people respect marriage. Unfortunately, more

marriages break easily nowadays. People are not able to save their marriage.

According to the World Divorce Statistic in 1996, the divorce rate was so high in

some countries. For example, in France the divorce rate reached 41% as % of

marriages. United States Departement of Health and Human Services, National

Center for Health Statistics, noted that in 2005 United States’ divorce rate reached

3.6 per 1000 population, while marriage rate reached 7.5 per 1000 population

<”Americans for Divorce Reform”>. This number shows that the number of

divorce is almost a half of the number of marriages. We then question the ability

of couples in maintaining their marriages. What happened to the love that brought

the couple together in the beginning?

This phenomenon of broken marriage is seized well by Paulo Coelho in

his novel, The Zahir. He expresses the meaning and values of marriage through

his beautiful paragraphs. It shares a story about a bestselling novelist who lives in

France and enjoys all the privilleges his money and celebrity bring. One day, he

discovers that his wife, a war correspondent, has disappeared without any trace.

He does not have any answer but he has plenty of questions of his own though he

does not know where to start looking for his wife, Esther. All the memories of

Esther cannot be erased from his mind and becomes an obsession that almost

leads him into madness. To answer the question “Why”, he traces back and


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explores his moments with Esther; all the things that happen to their mariage until

her leaving.

In his searching, he meets Mikhail, a young man who once was Esther’s

translator in Kazakhstan and also the person with whom he believes his wife

dissapeares. Mikhail promises to reunite him with his wife if the time is right. He

also says that Esther is fine and waiting for him. His searching for her and his

attempt to recapture his lost love takes him from France to Spain, Croatia and,

eventually, the beautiful landscape of Central Asia, Kazakhstan. The journey takes

him from the safety of his world to a totally unknown path, searching for a new

understanding of the nature of love. He finally reunites with his wife and starts to

have a happy marriage with new way of thinking.

The writer regards that it is a very interesting topic to be discussed since

nowadays there are many divorce cases. Many reasons for it, but still it seems like

people do not appreciate the values of marriage much. In this novel, the author

shows that marriage is worth to maintain. The narrator in Paulo Coelho’s The

Zahir, whose name is not mentioned in the novel, has everything in life;

popularity, stability and wealth. Those things can be strong reasons to end his

marriage with his wife, Esther, when she left him. On the contrary, he searches for

her and prefers to continue his marriage life with his wife. Analyzing one’s

motivation in maintaining his or her marriage is the idea that the writer will

discuss in this study. Based on that fact, the writer wants to analyze the narrator’s

motivation in finding and bringing back his wife.


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1.2 Objectives of the Study

Based on the background, the writer is interested in finding out three

objectives. The first objective is to reveal the narrator’s character traits. The

second objective is to figure out the character traits of Esther, the narrator’s wife.

Thirdly, this study is employed to find out the motivation behind the narrator’s

decision to bring his wife back.

1.3 Problem Formulation

There are three problems that are discussed in this study :

1. How are the narrator’s character traits in The Zahir described?

2. How are character traits of Esther, the narator’s wife, described?

3. What are the narrator’s motivations in finding his wife, Esther, and bringing

her back?

1.4 Benefits of the Study

This study gives three advantages to the readers. Firstly, this study intends

to introduce the readers to Paulo Coelho’s novel. This novel is worth reading

because it offers information about people’s character traits and effort in

maintaining a marriage. Secondly, the explanation and information in this study

can be a reference to the readers who are interested in analyzing Paulo Coelho’s

novels. Finally, it gives its contribution to the readers especially students of


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English Education Study Program through the teaching materials provided in this

study.

1.5 Definition of terms

There are some specific terms that need to be defined in order to avoid

misconception. They are :

1. Motivation

The term motive refers to an internal state of the organism which arouses

activity and directs the organism’s behavior toward certain objects or conditions

called goal (Aiken 110). According to Stanton, a character’s reason for behaving

as he does is his motivation (17). While Kalish states that motivated behavior is

behavior set into motion by a need (29). Motivation, in this study, is the reasons of

people’s behavior.

2. Zahir

In the novel The Zahir, it is mentioned that according to the writer Jorge

Luis Borges, the idea of the Zahir comes from Islamic tradition. Zahir, in Arabic,

means visible, present, and incapable of going unnoticed. It can refer to an object

or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought, until

we are unable to think of anything else.

3. Character

According to Abrams, characters are defined as “the persons presented in a

dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed

with moral dispositional and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they


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say – the dialogue – and by what they do – the action” (23). In other words, a

character is a person who plays a role in a story. This person expresses emotions

and moral principles through what he or she says and does.


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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter examines some theories to discuss the topic of the study. There

are three parts in this chapter. The first part is theoretical review, which discusses

about some related theories that help the writer to analyze Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir.

Since the objectives of the study are to describe the narrator’s character traits and the

character traits of the narrator’s wife, and also to find out the narrator’s motivation in

bringing his wife back, the theories in this part are related to those topics. The second

part deals with theoretical framework, which explains the reasons for choosing the

theories and the functions of each theory.

2.1 Theoretical Review

To analyze this study, the writer uses some theories. They are theory of

critical approaches that are usually used in literary study, theory of character and

characterization, and theory of psychology which focuses on motivation.

2.1.1 Theory of Critical Approaches

Appreciating literary works can be in different ways for every reader. One

way to do it is by giving evaluative judgments. Therefore, readers need some

appropriate approaches known as critical approach to literature. It helps the readers

gain better understanding in the nature, function, and positive values of literary


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works. Rohrberger and Wood Jr. introduce five approaches as the means for the

readers to evaluate a literary work (6-15). Those approaches are the formalist

approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural-historical approach, the

mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach.

The first is the formalist approach. It is concerned with demonstrating the

harmonious involvement of all the parts to the whole and with pointing out how

meaning is derived from structure and how matters and technique determine structure

(6-7). The second approach is the biographical approach. This approach provides

useful facts about the author which helps the readers to have a better understanding

and appreciation towards the literary object (8-9). The third approach is the

sociocultural-historical approach. This approach is concerned with the social

background in which work of literary was created. In short, before one can

understand well a work of literature, he or she has to know the social, cultural, and

historical aspects of the literary work because these aspects are inseparable from the

literary object (9-11). The forth approach is the mythopoeic approach. This approach

emphasizes the universal recurrent patterns of human thought. It is believed that these

patterns are found in ancient myths and folk rites which are so basic to human

thought and have meaning for all humans (11-13). The fifth approach is the

psychological approach. This approach believes that one’s imagination, capacity for

creation, and complexity of thoughts and behaviors are expressed through symbolic

words, thoughts and action. These symbols are common to all humans in which can


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be interpreted in light of the individual’s experience. This approach involves the

effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent pattern (13-15).

In this study, the writer uses the psychological approach to analyze Paulo

Coelho’s The Zahir. By using this approach, the analysis of the narrator’s motivation

in the novel can be done profoundly. The psychological approach uses psychological

theories to explain human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in

literary objects. Moreover, this approach believes that characters’ thought,

personality, and behavior may reflect their psychological order.

2.1.2 Theory of Characters and Characterization

Characters play essential roles in a literary work. They are the first point to

build a story. Most stories contain a central character, which is relevant to every event

in the story; usually the events cause some changes in him/her or in our attitude

toward him/her. Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work,

who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional

qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what they do –

the action (Abram 23).

Stanton clarifies that the term character is generally used in two ways (17).

The first, character marks out the persons in the story, the persons who appear in the

story. The second, character refers to the mixture of interests, desires, emotions, and

moral principles that make up each of the persons. Thus, the meaning of character can


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be both the actor in a story and the character traits of the characters. There must be a

relationship between an actor and the character traits that he or she has.

There are types of character as a person in a story. Holman and Harmon

categorize character into two types (82). First, major character is the character that

plays the most important role in a story. A major character becomes the focus of the

story. He or she is the most frequently appearing character in the story from the

beginning until the end. Second, minor character is the character that takes a less

important role in the story. He or she does not always appear in the story.

Characters can also be flat and round characters, as E. M. Forster categorizes

in his book. Flat characters are easily recognized, “they are constructed round a single

idea or quality” (47). They have only one outstanding trait or feature. They change

only a little part from the beginning to the end of the story. In contrast, round

character is dynamic and changes. Round character is more complex than flat

character. Round character is presented with more facets with greater depth and more

details. He or she is complex in emotion and motivation. This kind of character has

unpredictable action and therefore often surprises the readers.

Abrams in Glossary of Literary Terms states that there are two methods in

portraying characters. They are telling method and showing method. Telling method

is a method, in which the author himself can interfere authoritatively, in order to

describe and often evaluate the motives and dispositions qualities of his characters.

Showing method is a method in which the author merely presents his characters’


12

talking and acting, and leaves the readers to infer what motives and dispositions lay

behind what they say or do (21).

Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens mentions nine methods to

understand personality in characters. They are personal description, character as seen

by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reaction, direct comment,

thoughts, and mannerism (Murphy 161-173).

The first one is personal description (161). It deals with physical appearances.

The author describes a person’s character from his or her face detail and clothes that a

person wears in the story. For example, a person wears cashmere and silk scarf can be

identified as a rich person. A person with scars, whiskers and untidy clothes can be

assumed as a criminal.

The second is characters as seen by another (162). Using this method, a

person’s character is described through the eyes and opinions of another character.

Therefore the readers can get a reflected image of one’s character. The reader gets, as

it were, a reflected image. This method can give the impressions of shape,

cleanliness, firmness, smoothness, colour, and many other things.

The third is speech (164). It is an important way that we can use to describe a

character. The author gives us a description of the characteristic of one person in a

novel through the words that come out from his or her mouth and the style of his or

her speech. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he or she is in a conversation with

others, whenever he or she puts forward an opinion, the person is giving us some

clues to his or her character.


13

The fourth is past life (166). A person’s character is influenced by his or her

past life. This is the reason why the author often gives hints to certain events in the

characters past life in a literary work.

The fifth one is conversation of others (167). We can take clues of a person’s

character through the conversations of the other people and the things they say about

him or her. People talk about other people and things they say describe other’s

character in their mind. Through these saying people give clues to the character of the

person spoken about.

The next is reactions (168). Different characters will react differently if they

face problems. Each reaction toward the problems shows the character’s tendency

and this tendency give the readers a description about the character’s personality. For

example, a story tells about two sisters who gets an accident one night. The first girl

cries out because there is no one there to help them. The second girl directly calls the

police to ask for help. These two girls show different characters from their reaction

toward a problem.

The seventh is direct comment (170). The description by direct comment is

different from the personal description. In the direct comment description, it is the

author who gives his or her personal reception and comment directly to the character

that he creates.

The eight is thoughts (171). By knowing a person’s thought, the author can

give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. Knowing a person’s


14

mind is one way to know the character of that person. Moreover, the author can give

description to the readers that different people may have different ways of thinking.

The last one is mannerism (173). A person’s character can be described

through a person’s mannerisms, habits, or unusual behavior which may also tell us

something about his or her character. The way a character acts can be a clue to

understand the person’s character.

2.1.3 Theory of Motivation

People’s behavior is influenced by certain motives. These motives lead them

to behave in their manner to get some achievement. Motivation seems to provide the

“Why” of behavior. The term motive refers to an internal state of the organism which

arouses activity and directs the organism’s behavior toward certain objects or

conditions called goal (Aiken 110). Since motives are always inferred from behavior,

it is circular reasoning to argue that a motive explains the behavior from which it was

inferred. According to Stanton, a character’s reason for behaving as he does is his

motivation (17). Moreover, Kalish clarifies that motivated behavior is behavior set

into motion by a need (29). A need indicates that some type of satisfaction is lacking

and implies that the organism is activated to reduce the dissatisfaction. He believes

that motivation is strong enough to activate goal-seeking behavior, which begins with

curious feeling and ended with behavior that satisfied one’s need.


15

Theory of motivation plays an essential role in this study because it helps the

writer to discover the narrator’s motivation in finding and bringing back his wife. It

helps the writer understands the reason why the narrator decides to take such action.

There are different theories of motivation stated by some theorists. The most

widely known is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow believes, as mentioned in

Braun and Linder, that human needs, or motives, are organized hierarchically (375).

The hierarchy of needs is presented in appendix 3.

Maslow in Goble’s The Third Force clarifies motivations in relation with

human needs (38). He states, as explained by Petri, that human motivations are based

on human needs and that people conduct an action to fulfill their needs (302).

Moreover, Maslow theory, as mentioned in Schultz, states that the needs of love and

possessing have to be fulfilled in order to get the satisfaction feeling and motivation

arises because of such needs (94). This shows that motivation exists to fulfill the

lacks that people feel inside them.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of physiological needs, safety needs,

belonging and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. The first two

needs are considered primary or lower-order needs; the remaining three are secondary

or higher-order needs. Maslow argues that usually the lowest need on the hierarchy

has to be satisfied first before the higher needs on the hierarchy being satisfied (Goble

38-43).

The physiological needs are the fundamental needs for food, clothing, shelter,

comfort, and self-preservation. Someone who faces death by starvation or any other


16

need of this level may resort to murder to meet fundamental, life sustaining need,

despite what society might think. When a person lacks of food, self-esteem, and love,

he is going to demand food first. He will ignore the other needs until the need of food

is satisfied.

The safety needs are the needs for stability, order and protection. An insecure

person behaves as if a great tragedy is almost always impending. This person has an

over need for order and stability, and tries hard to avoid the strange and the

unexpected. In short, people need to feel secure, safe and out of danger. People are

going to realize that higher needs become unimportant when their life is endangered.

The next needs are the belonging and love needs. Love, according to Maslow,

involves a healthy, loving relationship between two people which includes mutual

trust (Goble 41). We satisfy our love needs by establishing an intimate, caring

relationship with another person, or people in general, and in these relationships it is

just as important to give love as to receive it. In the proper relationship, there are lack

of fear and dropping of defenses. The absence of love stifles growth and the

development of potential. To defeat love needs is considered as a prime cause of

maladjustment. Love hunger is a deficiency disease. Love involves research hunger

for affectionate relationship with others and it requires both the receiving and giving

of love itself, love from another and someone to love. According to Maslow,

belonging and love needs are difficult to be satisfied in this modern world in which

people move a lot. We no longer stay permanently in one place. We change houses,


17

neighborhood, cities, countries, or even spouses. We are not long enough in one place

to develop a sense of belonging.

The esteem needs have two categories, they are self-esteem and respect from

other people. Self-esteem comprises such needs as desires for confidence,

competence, mastery, adequacy, achievement, independence, and freedom. Those

characteristics, if we lack of them, we feel inferior, weak and helpless in facing life.

Respect encloses such concepts as prestige, recognition, acceptance, attention, status,

reputation, and appreciation. Very often we think well ourselves if we are sure that

others think well of us.

The self-actualization needs are described as the desire to become more and

more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. These needs

are the identification of the psychological need for growth, development, and

utilization of potential. Self-actualizing people express their emotions in open and

direct ways. They are also committed to their work. According to Maslow, if this

sense of devotion and dedication is absent, it is impossible for someone to become

self-actualizing. These needs also appear after reasonable satisfaction of love and

esteem needs (Goble 42).

2.2 Theoretical Framework

The theories that the writer had explained were to support the analysis of the

study. In this part, the writer mentioned what theories are applied and why the writer

used those theories. First was the theory of critical approach which was important to


18

know what approach was the most relevant to analyze the study. It turned out that the

psychological approach was the most relevant one because this study discussed

human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary objects.

Moreover, this approach believed that characters’ thought, personality, and behavior

might reflect their psychological order.

Second was the theory of character and characterization. These theories were

used to help the writer describe what kind of person was the narrator in the novel.

According to the theory, a character could be described through several ways. These

theories were important in answering the first and second questions formulated in

problem formulation.

Third was the theory of motivation. This theory was employed in order to

reveal the motivation of the narrator in the novel in bringing back his wife. It was

believed that there was a hierarchy of needs that motivate people to do something.

This theory was important to answer the third question of the problem formulation.


19

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter is divided into three parts namely, subject matter, approach,

and procedure. In subject matter, the writer discusses the novel The Zahir, as the

focus of the study. In the approach, the writer mentions the approaches for

analyzing the novel. In procedure, the writer mentions the steps in writing this

thesis and inserts some sources that help me in analyzing the study.

3.1 Subject Matter

The subject of the study is Paulo Coelho’s novel entitled The Zahir. The

novel was first launched in Brazil on April 2005 and on the following months

internationally. According to a source from the internet written by Margaret Jull

Cost, forty different publishers signed contracts for rights at the Frankfurt Book

Fair 2004 to Coelho's new novel, The Zahir. It was originally written in

Portuguese and translated into 44 different languages. It is two hundred and ninety

eight pages long and divided into four parts <“The Zahir”>. Based on the novel,

the title, The Zahir, comes from a tale by Jorge Louis Borges. He is one of

Coelho’s most admired authors, published in his book The Aleph (1949).

According to Borges, the idea of The Zahir comes from the Islamic tradition, with

an estimate origin in the 18th century. In Arabic, Zahir means visible, present, and

unable to go unnoticed. In other words, it is something or somebody that starts

becoming a central attention of someone’s life and ends up being the only thing


20

that can be thought of. Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author. He was born in 1947

in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Before dedicating completely to literature, the narrator worked as theatre

director and actor, lyricist, and journalist. “His other literary works are among

other Brida (1990), The Valkyries (1992), By the River Piedra I Sat Down and

Wept (1994), the compilation of texts Phrases (1995), The Fifth Mountain (1996),

Manual of a Warrior of Light (1997), Veronica Decides to Die (1998), The Devil

and Miss Prym (2000), the compilation of traditional tales in Stories for Parents,

Children, and Grandchildren (2001), Eleven Minutes (2003), and The Zahir

(2005)” <“The Zahir”>.

The Zahir is told from a first-person perspective. The main character, which

in this study is called as narrator, is a bestselling novelist who writes about

spirituality and once went on pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. His wife of

ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent. One day, he is suddenly left by his wife.

She leaves without any messages or clues. She is last seen with a young man who

is later known that his name is Mikhail, Esther’s translator when she was in

Kazakhstan. Was Esther kidnapped, killed, or did she simply abandon a marriage

that left her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn't have any answers. During his wife’s

disappearance, the narrator has a girlfriend. Subsequently, he becomes obsessed to

understand the reason of his wife’s desertion.

One day, Mikhail finds the narrator and promises to take him to his wife if

the time is right. Mikhail introduces the narrator to a global underground 'tribe' of


21

spiritual seekers who resist, somewhat vaguely, conventional ways of living. His

search for her takes him from France to Spain, Croatia and, eventually, the

beautiful landscape of Central Asia, Kazakhstan. All his efforts bring Esther to

him. He finally reunites with his wife with new way of thinking.

3.2 Approach of the Study

As mentioned in the previous chapter, Rohrberger and Woods offered five

approaches that could be employed in analyzing literary work. They were

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

approach, and psychological approach (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. 6-13). Among

them, the psychological approach was chosen to be the right approach. It

discussed human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns of a person in

literary work that built his or her characters. The psychological approach

supported the writer to reveal the narrator’s motivation in finding and bringing his

wife back. It could be realized, since, as proposed by Rohrberger and Woods, the

psychological approach involves various theories of psychology to explain the

character’s personality in a story. Each character’s behavior could be referred to a

psychology of human being.

3.3 Procedure

The method in gathering the data in this study was library research. The

writer mostly read and took notes from books, encyclopedia, articles and any

references that support the analysis in the study.


22

There were two kinds of sources in this study. They were primary and

secondary sources. The primary source was the Paulo Coelho’s novel, The Zahir.

Besides, the secondary sources were books, articles and any references related to

the topic discussed in this study. The books are among others Abram’s A Glossary

of Literary Terms, Murphy’s Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English

Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students, Aiken’s General Psychology,

and Kalish’s The Psychology of Human Behavior, Goble’s The Third Force.

There were some steps in writing this thesis. The first step was reading

Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir, since the novel is the primary source in this study. The

writer read it several times in order to understand the content of the novel. Taking

notes became a part of the writer’s effort to remember the general story and any

other details that the writer thought might be useful in the process of writing this

thesis.

The second step was formulating the problems that would be analyzed in

this thesis. The writer also tried to gather related data such as the theories to

answer the formulated problems and any information about The Zahir and the

author, Paulo Coelho. The data were taken from books and internet sources. Those

data are used as secondary sources to support the analysis in this study. The

theories gained were the theory of character and characterization, the theory of

critical approach, and the theory of motivation. Besides, the writer collected any

information about the novel The Zahir and who the author, Paulo Coelho, was.

The third step was finding the criticism of Paulo Coelho and his novel,

The Zahir. The writer found some criticism from high reputable magazines and


23

some readers to be written in this study. This criticism showed that this novel was

worth to be analyzed and that Coelho was a master in his field.

The fourth step was analyzing the character traits and the motivation of the

narrator, as stated in the problem formulations, by applying the theories of

characters and motivation and also the psychological approach.

The last step, after exploring all the steps above, the writer wrote a

conclusion of the analysis. The writer also enclosed suggestions for the further

analysis and the implementation in teaching learning activities.


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CHAPTER 4

ANALYSIS

This chapter discusses the answers to the problems stated in the first

chapter. The analysis is divided into three parts. The first and second parts are the

character analysis. The first part points out the character of the narrator. The

second part deals with the character of the narrator’s wife, Esther. The third part

discusses the motivation of the narrator in finding and bringing his wife back.

4.1 The Character of the Narrator

In this part, the writer points out the character of the narrator in the novel,

The Zahir. The character may be explored through the dialogue and the action of

the narrator, as mentioned in chapter 2 (Abrams 23). Holman and Harmon

categorize character into two types; major character and minor character (82). A

major character is a character that plays the most important role in a story. A

major character becomes the focus of the story. He or she is the most frequently

appeared character in the story from the beginning until the end. According to this

theory, in Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir, the narrator is categorized as the major

character because he plays the most important role in a story. He becomes the

focus of the story as well.

In revealing the real characteristics of the narrators, Murphy has proposed

nine ways to characterize the characteristics of a person in a story (Murphy 161-

173). They are personal description, characters as seen by another, speech, past

life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comments, thoughts, and mannerism.


25

However, in this novel, Coelho does not use all of the nine methods. There are

eight methods used; personal description, character as seen by another, speech,

past life, reaction, direct comment, thought, and mannerisms. Using these

methods, the author describes the narrator as:

4.1.1 Critical

The narrator is a successful novelist. He often states something in his mind

and questions some conditions that happen around him. He does not accept things

directly. He questions why people speak in the name of freedom if they are still

bound by their own promises; to their marriage vow, to their diet, to half-finished

project.

While I was fighting, I heard other people speaking in the name offreedom, and the more they defended this unique right, the more enslavedthey seemed to be their parents’ wishes, to a marriage in which they hadpromised to stay with the other person “for the rest of their lives”, to thebathroom scale, to their diet, to half-finished project … And so theiridentical days and night passed, … and whenever a door opened, theywould say:“I am not interested. I’m not in the mood.”How could they possibly know if they were in the mood or not if they hadever tried? (10).

He questions why people can say to other people if they are not interested in

something if they have not tried. This narrator’s curiosity is proved through the

narrator’s thought (Murphy 171).

When his wife, Esther, disappears, he wonders where she is and why she

leaves him. He tries to find some possibilities why Esther leaves. His curiosity

forces him to find out what happens to his wife. In a café, he picks up a napkin


26

and writes down some facts and the possibilities, including being kidnapped. He

lists all the possibilities that may happen, including the facts that should be met

for every possibility and its conclusion. The narrator admits that of all the

hypotheses, this is the reasonable one, but still he cannot accept it. He questions

the reason why she leaves him (14).

But Esther had disappeared and left clues that were visible only to me, asif it were a secret message: I’m leaving.Why?Is that question worth answering? (14)

Moreover, his curiosity leads him to get closer to Mikhail, a man who is

presumed to be the one with whom Esther leaves. One day, when he has to sign

books of his successful novel, he meets Mikhail. He realizes that he can get the

answer of why his wife disappears from him and that he must not lose him. He

wants to know about Esther from him.

I must not lose him-a word, a sentence, a sudden movement might causehim to leave and never come back. In a fraction of a second, I understandthat he and only he can save me from the blessing-or the curse-of theZahir, because he is the only one who knows where to find it, and I willfinally be able to ask the questions I have been repeating to myself for solong (61).

That is why after the book signing session is over he invites Mikhail to

join him for supper. He expects that Mikhail will tell him everything about Esther.

In fact, Mikhail does not want to tell anything that will satisfy the narrator’s

curiosity, except that Esther is fine. Unsatisfied with Mikhail’s response, the

narrator states what he wants directly. He wants Mikhail to give him any

information about his wife, Esther. At this moment, the narrator’s curiosity is

shown through his speech (Murphy 164).


27

“… Now I love her in a more silent way, but I can’t think about anything. Ibeg you, please, I’ll do anything you want, but I need you to explain to mewhy she disappeared like that. As you yourself said, I understand nothing.”(87).

The narrator’s saying and reactions to what happen shows his curiosity. He

wants to know what happens and after meeting someone that he thinks can give

him any information, he wants the person around him so that he can try to get as

much information as he can. He could just ignore Mikhail, but his curiosity leads

him to get closer to Mikhail and it overcomes his dislike of the young man.

4.1.2 Tough

The narrator experiences difficult situation. He is left by his wife, Esther.

He does not know why and where she goes. Losing Esther makes him wonder as

to the reasons why she left, the need of finding her, their marriage, her saying, and

memories about her. It is hard for him at first, especially because from all

hypotheses the only one that makes sense is that Esther left him for another man.

On the contrary, he is able to live through difficult situation. “I started

taking part in book signings again, I accepted invitations to give lectures, write

articles, attend charity dinners, appear on television programs, help out with

projects for up-and-coming young artists” (49). This shows that the narrator is a

tough person. Instead of grieving Esther’s disappearance, he spends his first year

doing the activities that he usually does, such as attending dinners, giving lectures,

signing books and doing other activities.


28

According to Murphy, the writer can give the readers direct knowledge of

what a person is thinking about. The writer applies this technique to analyze the

narrator’s thought of losing his wife, Esther. (Murphy 171).

For a while, I’ll think obsessively about her, I’ll become embittered, I’llbore my friends because all I ever talk about is my wife leaving me… I’llfind other women. When I walk down the street, I’ll keep seeing womenwho could be her. I’ll suffer day and night, night and day. This could takeweeks, months, possibly a year or more. Until one morning, I’ll wake upand find I’m thinking about something else, and then I know the worst isover. (14-15).

The narrator realizes that it may be hard for him for the first time, but he

convinces himself that he can go through it. He thinks that at the beginning he will

never stop thinking about her and that he will suffer without her by his side. At

the end, he knows he can pass that difficult time.

That the narrator is a tough person can also be seen from his reaction

toward his wife’s disappearance (Murphy 168). He faces the facts that he becomes

the topic of various scandal sheets, tabloids, and magazines. They write about

Esther and the chronologies of her disappearance. They also write about the

narrator and sometimes write scandals about him (45). Those double his

uncomfortable feeling. He knows he feels the pain inside because his wife has left

him, but he convinces himself to continue his life. “I decided, from then on, to

suffer in silence and the invitations once more flooded in through my mailbox”

(48).

These show that the narrator is a tough person. He does not let a problem

in his marriage ruin his life. He continues his life and does activities he usually

does.


29

4.1.3 Ambitious

The narrator is ambitious. This can be seen through the eyes and opinions

of another. According to Murphy, analyzing a character through others’ eyes and

opinion is known as character as seen by another (Murphy 162). The writer

applies this technique in analyzing the narrator’s character related to his success

as a writer. The narrator’s friend, a publisher, says it directly when they talk about

favor bank one day in a café.

“That does not matter in the least. Let me give you an example: I knowthat you’re an up-and-coming writer and that, one day, you’ll be veryinfluential. I know this because, like you, I too was once ambitious,independent, honest. I no longer have the energy I once had, but I want tohelp you because I can’t or don’t want to grind to a halt just yet.” (29).

The narrator wants to be a writer from the beginning. The path to become

a successful writer is not as easy as he thought before. To realize his dream, he

has to work in some companies. He works in a hardware store as a delivery man,

in a newspaper office, and long before becoming a writer, he works as a song

writer. When his first book is not as popular as he wished, this makes him a little

bit afraid to write another book. Although many people know him more as a song

writer, it does not diminish his dream to be a successful writer. He keeps trying to

be a writer. He wants to do anything in order to make his dream come true. He has

a strong will to become a writer. This shows that he is ambitious. This can be

seen from the narrator’s thought (Murphy 171).

When people ask me what to do, I say I’m a writer. When they say theyonly knew my song lyrics, I say that’s just a part of my work. When theyapologize and say they’ve never read any of my books, I explain that I’mworking on a project – which is a lie (17).


30

He still has a strong will to be a writer though for a time he finds it

difficult to write. Realizing his condition, his wife, Esther, buys him a ticket to

Spain. She knows he can do it. He just needs to be forced to do it. Buying him a

ticket is her way to encourage her husband, so that he can start writing his novel.

By going to Spain, Esther hoped he could concentrate on his work. The narrator

thinks that it is ridiculous and will not help him at all, but one day words by words

come and he can easily type it and finish it. He succeeds to write a book, a popular

one.

I learn, I suffer, my books are translated into French, and, in the traditionof that country, the stranger is welcomed. Not only that, the stranger is anenormous success! Ten years on, I have a large apartment with a view overthe Seine, I am loved by my readers and loathed by the critics… (31).

4.1.4 Adventurous

The narrator is a person who likes adventure. The term adventurous has

two terms; not afraid of taking risk and eager to go to new places and do exciting

things. He is not afraid of taking risks can be seen from the narrator’s thought

(Murphy 171). He cannot stay watching and waiting. He likes to find something

new or challenging. He admits it himself.

The same conflicts I had with my previous wives begin to surface: womenare always looking for stability and fidelity, while I’m looking foradventure and the unknown. This time, though, the relationship last longer(17).

Moreover, the writer applies the technique of character as seen by another

when the narrator’s wife says to the narrator about what kind of person he is


31

(Murphy 162). The narrator’s wife, Esther, realizes that her husband likes to look

for adventure. It is stated in her conversation with her husband.

“That’s not it either. I’m very happy with my self. I enjoy your company,but I just don’t think it’s going to work.”“You enjoy my company, but hate being your self. You’re always lookingfor adventure in order to forget more important things. You always want tofeel the adrenalin flowing in your veins and you forget that the only thingthat should be flowing through them is blood.” (18).

The narrator is in Spain in order to finish writing his book, but he does not

complete it immediately. Though Esther is the one who gives him a chance to

write there, since the ticket is from her, he does not use this opportunity well. In

fact, he enjoys his independence. “It is very comfortable being married and

knowing that I can always return to her arms, meanwhile enjoying all the

independence in the world” (22). He falls in love with a Catalan scientist, with an

Argentine woman, and with a young woman who sings in the metro. This blonde

singer then sleeps in the rented apartment where he lives and goes out every night

with him to enjoy la movida madrilène (“the Madrid scene”). He has fun there by

attending parties. Until one day Esther tells him that she wants to come there and

he has to stop all fun.

4.2 The Character of Esther

Esther is the narrator’s wife. She is thirty years old. She is such a great

journalist, winning two international prizes for journalism. They meet for the first

time when she wants to interview him. They then meet again at a party and their

relationship grows into a more serious one. Esther moves her things to his

apartment and they then live together. In the novel, the narrator says directly about


32

her; that she is a journalist and a pretty woman. The writer here applies the direct

comment technique (Murphy 170).

One day, a journalist comes to interview me. She wants to know what it’slike to have my work known all over the country but to be entirelyunknown myself, since normally it’s only the singer who appears in themedia. She’s pretty, intelligent, quiet (17).

Esther’s characters can be found through the narrator’s opinion, her

saying, and also her reaction toward something.

4.2.1 Caring

Esther is caring. We can see it from what she does to her husband; her

mannerisms toward her husband (Murphy 173). She encourages him to write

when he thinks it is too hard for him. She buys him a ticket to Spain when he

almost gives up writing his book and starts thinking that their marriage will not

work.

Where is the ticket for?Spain.I’m shocked. Air tickets are expensive, besides, I can’t go away now, I’vegot a career ahead of me, and I need to look after it. I’ll lose out on a lot ofpotential music partnerships; the problem isn’t me, it’s our marriage (21).

She supports him though she accepts refusal from him to maintain their

marriage. She loves him so much and gives him a chance to be alone so that he

can think and focus on his writing. “You can, you want to, but you don’t,” she

says. “Your problem isn’t me, but you, so it would be best if you spent some time

alone.” (21).


33

She cares about her husband so much, even more than she does for herself.

This is seen from the character as seen by another (Murphy 162). The narrator

sees it well.

I look across at the woman who has just made some coffee and is nowreading a newspaper, whose eyes look tired and desperate, who is herusual silent self, who does not always show her affection in gestures, thewoman who made me say yes when I wanted to say no, who forced me tofight for what she, quite rightly, believed was my reason for living, who letme set off alone because her love for me was greater even than her love forherself, who made me go in search of my dream; and suddenly, seeing thatsmall, quiet woman, whose eyes said more than any words, who was oftenterrified inside, but always courageous in her actions, who could lovesomeone without humbling herself and who never ever apologized forfighting for her man – suddenly, my fingers press down on the keys (24).

Esther is not an indifferent person. Being a war correspondent makes her

learn much about life and love.

She even brings a piece of cloth with her everywhere which belonged to a

soldier. If she did not care, she would not carry out soldier’s request before he

died. This shows that Esther is caring. This is admitted by another character in the

story, Mikhail (Murphy 162).

“Do you see this? The cloth is actually green; it looks black because it’scaked with dried blood. A soldier somewhere in the world asked herbefore he died to remove his shirt, then cut it into tiny pieces and distributethose pieces to anyone capable of understanding the message of his death.Do you have a piece?”“No, Esther has never even mentioned it to me.” (95).

Moreover, Mikhail says that Esther has helped him in difficulties, an

action that will not be done if the person does not care about someone’s problems.

I found in Esther the partner I was looking for, the person who helped meset out on the mission I was entrusted with, the angel who opened thedoors, the roads, the paths, that will allow us – if our Lady is willing – torestore the energy of love to the earth. We share the same mission (95).


34

4.2.2 Intelligent

The writer applies the technique of seeing someone’s character through the

eyes and opinions of another in analyzing Esther’s character (Murphy 162). In

here, it is applied through the narrator’s opinion. She is Esther, thirty years old,

the winner of two international prizes for journalism, and married. My wife (4).

To be a journalist is not an easy work. It needs deep thought and creative

language so the writing will be useful and understandable for the readers. A

journalist is someone who writes news reports for newspapers, magazines,

television, or radio. Esther is a journalist, the best one since she has a degree and

wins prizes for it. This shows that Esther is an intelligent woman.

Esther is also able to speak in four different languages, although it is not

mentioned in the novel what languages they are. This is a quality that is not

mastered by all people; a quality that shows her intelligence.

Carpets! My wife (ex-wife, please, do try and get used to it), who had allthe money she could possibly need, had degree in journalism, spoke fourlanguages, was now obliged to making a living weaving carpets and givingFrench lesson to foreigners? I must get a grip to my self (94).

4.2.3 Risk Taking

Esther is a risk taker. This can be seen from her speech (Murphy 164).

Esther’s job is the proof that she is a risk taking person. She is actually a journalist

and from it she already earns good money. One day, she tells her husband that she

wants to be a war correspondent. Her husband disagrees with the idea. It is a risky


35

job. Esther mentions that she wants to be a war journalist not because she wants to

earn a lot of money, but to be alone.

“What are you saying?”“That I want to be a war correspondent.”“You are mad. You don’t need to do that. You’re already doing the workyou want to do now. You earn good money – not that you need that moneyto live on. You have all the contacts you need in the Favor Bank. Youhave talent and you’ve earned your colleagues’ respect.”“All right then, let’s just say I need to be alone.”“Because of me?” (33).

Her disappearance is actually also a risky action to save her marriage. She

decides to disappear in order to make her husband understand he himself and their

marriage. By leaving her husband, she can get two results; her husband will find

her and will bring her back to him or he will never come to her and their marriage

is just history. This shows that she is risk taking and it can be seen from her

reaction to the conditions around her (Murphy 168). She realizes that, but she

realizes too that to fix it there must be changes. She believes that when her

husband comes to her, he must be a different person.

“I’ve waited for you in so many ways,” she said, when she saw that mytears were abating. “Like a desperate wife who knows that her husband hasnever understood her life, and that he will never come to her, and so shehas no option but to get on a plane and go back, only to leave again afterthe next crisis, then go back and leave and go back....” (293).

4.2.4 Adaptable

Her jobs as a journalist and a war correspondent force her to deal with

many people with different background and characters and also different

situations. She has to be able to adapt to any conditions. That she has the quality


36

to adapt to many different people and situations is proven by the number of people

who know her.

In the journey of finding Esther, the narrator meets Mikhail who once was

Esther’s translator when she went to Kazakhstan. “Mikhail insisted: I had to meet

the beggars; they were part of his life and part of Esther’s life too.” (161). The

conversations of other people and the things they say about Esther can give clues

of her character (Murphy 167). The conversation between the beggars and the

narrator below shows that the beggars know Esther well and that she is adaptable.

“So you’re the husband of the journalist?”“Are you Esther’s husband?” asks a female beggar, wide-eyed; she isdressed garishly, in a green hat and a purple coat.I don’t know what to say.“Why hasn’t she been back here?” ask someone else. “I hope she isn’tdead. She was always going to such dangerous places. I often told her sheshouldn’t. Look what she gave me!”And she shows me a scrap of bloodstained fabric, part of the dead soldier’sshirt.“No, she’s not dead,” I say. “But I’m surprised to hear that she used tocome here.” (166).

Esther makes friends with people from a lower economic background

though she is a wife of a famous novelist. She can adapt to people who have

different background from her. Surprisingly, the doctor who treats the narrator

when he gets an accident knows Ether as well. Esther also makes friends with

people who have a different educational background and profession from her.

“…A brush with death always helps us to live our lives better; that’s whatyour wife told me when she gave me a bit of bloodstained fabric, which Ialways carry with me, even though, as a doctor, I see death, close to, everyday.”“Did she say why she gave you the cloth?” (190).


37

From here, the narrator knows that Esther makes relationships with many

different people. All of them have a piece of cloth from Esther, which she says is

given by a soldier before he died in a war. She is able to build relationships with

people from different backgrounds and they all accept her.

4.3 The Narrator’s Motivation in Bringing Back His Wife, Esther

Most people in the world, whether they realize it or not, live in an

organized way. They manage their daily activities. They know when they have to

go to work or to school, to go with friends, to visit relatives, to have a vacation, or

just to enjoy the day with the person they love. Everything goes like they want

and they do not have to worry about it. But what if something unexpected

happens? Most people do not prepare themselves for the unexpected things. They

are happy with what they are and what they have. So, when something unexpected

happens, they do not know what to do.

The same condition also happens on married life. The narrator in the

novel The Zahir is left by his wife, Esther. Esther’s disappearance is an

unexpected thing for the narrator. He thinks he does not have problems in his

marriage. He does not quarrel with Esther before she leaves. There are some

disagreements that usually happen in ordinary marriages but not serious problems.

He states his opinion to the policeman on the day Esther leaves.

He asks me if we have domestic problems. I say that we’ve been togetherfor ten years and have the same problems most married couples have –nothing more (6).


38

Esther’s disappearance leaves the question why to the narrator. He thinks

of some reasons why she leaves him and wonders where she is. As mentioned in

chapter 2, people’s behavior is influenced by certain motives. These motives lead

them to behave in their manner to get some achievement. Motivation seems to

provide the “Why” of behavior. To discover why the narrator wants to bring back

his wife, Esther, the theory of motivation especially Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

is utilized.

According to Maslow, there are five basic needs in the hierarchy of needs.

They are physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, esteem

needs, and self-actualization needs. Maslow argues that usually the lowest need on

the hierarchy has to be satisfied first before the higher needs on the hierarchy

being satisfied (Goble 38-43).

The lowest need is physiological need. It includes food, clothing, shelter

and self-preservation. His work as a bestselling novelist makes him rich and

popular. He has a house in Paris, but sometimes spends his days in a luxurious

hotel.

I decide not to go home. I go over to reception, ask for a room, and somedeodorant. The hotel is full, but the manager fixes things for me: I end upwith a lovely suite looking out at the Eiffel Tower, a terrace, the rooftopsof Paris, the lights coming one by one, the families getting together tohave Sunday supper (16).

It shows that shelter, food, and other self-preservation needs are not things that the

narrator has to worry about. Because the narrator is a wealthy person, he is able to

satisfy the physiological needs. After this need is satisfied, the narrator demands

for higher need, the safety needs.


39

4.3.1 Fulfilling the Narrator’s Safety Needs

Maslow states that the insecure person has a compulsive need for order

and stability and goes to great lengths to avoid the strange and unexpected (Goble

40). In the novel, Esther’s disappearance is an unexpected thing. Moreover, the

narrator feels insecure when a day after Esther’s disappearance all the media starts

to talk about it. His face shows up in many front covers of newspapers, tabloids

and magazines. They write about Esther’s disappearance.

Immediately after leaving a prison, I appeared on the covers of variousscandal sheets: they began by alleging a possible crime, but, in order toavoid ending up in court, they always concluded with the statement that Ihad been cleared. (Cleared? I hadn’t even been accused!) (45).

Those articles make him uncomfortable. They write the chronological

story and also the hypotheses of Esther’s disappearance but some writings often

force him into a corner. The media are not only in France but also across Europe

and they all write about it.

Then they returned to the attack, alleging that my wife had run awaybecause of my many extramarital affairs; a German magazine even hinteda possible relationship with a singer, twenty years my junior, who said shehad met me in Oslo, in Norway… The singer said that there was nothingbetween us (so why put a photo of us in the cover?) (46).

4.3.2 Fulfilling the Narrator’s Belongingness and Love Needs

Esther is the narrator’s fourth wife. He gets divorced from his third wife

and meets Esther. Their first meeting is when Esther as a journalist interviews him

as a popular author. At first, it is the narrator who falls in love with Esther.

I fall in love, but she is not remotely interested. When I phone, she alwayssays she’s busy. The more she rejects me, the more interested I become,


40

until, at last, I manage to persuade her to spend a weekend at my house inthe country (17).

After their second meeting, he finds that Esther falls in love with him and their

love relationship continues.

He finds Esther is different with other women. He knows that he loves her

and Esther loves him, even after years of their marriage. Esther once buys him a

ticket to Spain when he gets stuck in his writing. Esther says it is for him to spend

some time alone writing his novel. On the contrary, the narrator has fun and

enjoys the days with parties and some girls. Until one day, Esther says she wants

to go to Spain and asks about the novel. The narrator argues that Esther makes his

life a hell and destroys his happiness. Esther says nothing at that time. Then the

narrator tries to type. He watches Esther and suddenly words come out. He

continues to type and finishes his writing. “… This time, I know that “it” comes

from Esther’s heart; my love is reborn, I write the books because she exists,

because she has survived all the difficult times without complaint, without ever

once seeing herself as a victim” (25). He starts to understand that she loves him

much more than she loves herself and that he loves her in return.

In addition, when the narrator is left by Esther, his wife, he thinks that he

needs something to distract him from thinking over about her. “With the Zahir

beginning to occupy my every thought, I needed an antidote, something that

would not take me to the brink of despair. There was only one possible solution: a

girlfriend” (48). So, he tries to meet some girls. There are three or four women

that interest him. And then he meets Marie, a thirty-five-year-old French actress.


41

She is the only one who did not spout such nonsense as: “I like you as aman not as the celebrity everyone wants to meet” or worse still: “I’m notinterested in money” … She was the only one who was genuinely pleasedat my success, because she too was famous and knew that celebrity counts(48)

They often go at parties and receptions together. People make speculation about

their relationship, but they never confirm. When they are busy with their work and

have to be in different places, they visit each other. They are close, but still

independent. “She got on her filming and I with my work; when I could, I would

travel to Milan, and when she could, she would meet me in Paris; we were close

but not dependent on each other” (49).

The narrator spends much time with Marie. They share laughter,

experience, and stories. Marie knows every story about him and Esther and he

knows everything about Marie even her impossible love for a married neighbor.

On the other hand, the narrator feels that what he does with Marie and what he

feels to her is different to what he feels to Esther. Marie’s presence can cure his

loneliness but cannot fulfill his emptiness feeling. It is like a puzzle when one part

does not fit perfectly.

Marie pretended not to know what was going on in my soul, and Ipretended not to know what was going on in hers… We were friends,companions, we enjoyed the same things; I would even go so far as to satthat they was between us a kind of love, but different from the love I feltfor Esther or that Marie felt for her neighbor (49).

4.3.3 Fulfilling the Narrator’s Self Esteem Needs

After the narrator’s belongingness and love needs are met, needs for self

esteem emerge. According to Maslow, there are two categories of esteem needs.

There are self respect and esteem for other people. Self esteem includes such


42

needs as desire for confidence, competence, mastery, adequacy, achievement,

independence, and freedom. Respect from others includes such concepts as

prestige, recognition, acceptance, attention, status, reputation, and appreciation

(Goble 42).

The narrator in the novel The Zahir gets respect from others when he

publishes a book. The title is A Time to Rend and a Time to Sew. The book is

written about a year after Esther’s disappearance and it is Esther that inspires him

to write the book. “Why should I worry about woman who left me? … It was

because of her I spent all those painful days and nights, nearly lost my friends and

wrote A Time to Rend and a Time to Sew” (70).

The respect comes from the people around him and also the readers. A

month after it is published, the book becomes number one on the best seller lists.

Some reviews about the book come out and letters from readers arrive. “The

critics never praise me.” “I mean your readers: you’ve received more letters than

ever.” (56).

He also starts signing the book like usually does as a writer. He does it and

enjoys it.

At the appointed time, I start signing books. There is brief eye-to-eyecontact and a feeling of solidarity, joy, and mutual respect. There arehandshakes, a few letters, gifts, comments. Ninety minutes later, I ask for aten-minute rest, no one complains, and my publisher (as has becometraditional at my books signings in France) order champagnes to be servedto everyone still in line (I have tried to get this tradition adopted in othercountries, but they always say that French champagne is too expensive andend up serving mineral water instead. But that, too, shows respect forthose still waiting.) (62).


43

Those things make him feels being accepted and respected by others. It is

related to the narrator’s reputation as a writer. It also makes him realize that no

matter how hard he tries to deny that he does not think about Esther anymore, he

cannot escape from her.


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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This is the last chapter of the study. It consists of two parts, conclusions

and suggestions. The first part is the conclusions of the study. It summarizes the

analysis of the problems of the study. The second part is suggestions. It describes

the recommendations for future researches on the topic and the ways to apply The

Zahir in the teaching learning activities.

5.1. Conclusions

The study comes to the conclusion part after analyzing The Zahir in

chapter four. There are three problems discussed in this study. First is the

narrator’s character. Second is the character of Esther, the narrator’s wife. Third is

the narrator’s motivation in bringing back Esther.

The first conclusion deals with the first problem. The narrator in the novel

is an author. He is described as a curious, tough, ambitious and adventurous

person. His curiosity leads him to find her wife, Esther. As an ambitious person,

he is able to realize his dream to become a writer. Although the process is hard, he

keeps trying and facing all obstacles until he finally can be a popular and

successful writer. He is a tough person. Some people fail when they have to face

difficult problems, but he survives. When Esther suddenly leaves him and articles

in the newspapers discourage him, he is able to continue his life. Though he finds

it hard to accept it at first, he is able to socialize again, give lectures, and attend


45

dinners or books signing. The narrator is adventurous. He likes to travel

everywhere. It supports his work also as a writer to explore places and gain

information. When Esther disappears, he travels from France to Kazakhstan.

The second conclusion deals with the second problem. Esther, the

narrator’s wife is described as a caring, intelligent, risk taking and adaptable

person. She is thirty years old. She works as a war journalist. Although she is

quite busy with her work, she cares for her husband. She supports him to keep

writing. When her husband gets stuck in his writing, she encourages him and even

buys him a ticket to Spain so that he can concentrate more. Esther is an intelligent

woman. Being a journalist demands a lot of knowledge and intelligence. She

proves it by winning two international prizes for journalism. She is a risk taker

when she takes a job as a war journalist. Her decision to leave her husband

suddenly also describes that she is a risk taker. Esther makes friends with

everyone. She does not care about their social and educational background. She

makes friends with doctors, soldiers, and even beggars.

Third conclusion deals with the third problem. There is a relationship

between characters and their motivation. The narrator’s motivation can be seen

through his character. As an ambitious and adventurous person, the narrator is

motivated to bring Esther, his wife, back. Esther becomes his zahir. She occupies

the narrator’s mind until he cannot think of anything else. The narrator becomes

obsessed with her and his ambition forces him to find and bring Esther back.

His motivation is caused by the imbalance within himself. He has to fulfill

the needs in his life. He has to fulfill his safety need when he feels insecure with


46

the media. He has to fulfill his needs of love and belonging when he feels empty

and realizes that only Esther, his wife, can fill it. He gets his confidence to meet

and bring Esther back when he publishes his book. He fulfills his self esteem

needs. Thus, the study uses Maslow’s motivation theory that is formed in a

hierarchy of needs.

5.2 Suggestions

This part is divided into two parts. The first part is recommendations for

future researches on the topic and the second is suggestion to apply The Zahir in

the teaching learning activities.

5.2.1 Suggestion for Future Researchers

This part concerns with the future researchers who are interested in

studying literary works. The Zahir is an interesting novel that has some aspects to

analyze. For consideration, the characters in the novel can be another subject to

analyze.

Besides the narrator, there is Esther, the narrator’s wife. She makes a big

decision for her marriage and the reasons for the action are worth analyzing. The

life values, such as happiness and marriage’s values are also interesting topics to

discuss. The Zahir tells the story using first person point of view. The future

researchers can use the biographical approach and find out how it affects the

character of the narrator.


47

5.2.2 Suggestion for Teaching Learning Activities

The Zahir provides some topics that can be used for teaching. For

example, the term zahir itself which means obsession. The narrator in the novel is

obsessed with his wife, Esther, since she left him. He thinks of her, he sees her

everywhere and he looks for Esther in every woman he meets. Esther becomes his

zahir. This can be an interesting topic to discuss in the classroom. Everyone

experiences it.

Studying literary works can enrich the students’ knowledge and ability in

language. Moreover, students can learn about life values from the literary works

they analyze. One of the practices is through speaking class. There are many

activities that can be implemented in speaking class, such as dialogue, role-play,

discussions, storytelling and debate. The following activity is about the group

discussion. This kind of activity gives opportunity to the students to have critical

thinking and improve their proficiency in English.


48

REFERENCES

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th

ed. Forth Worth: Holt, Rinehartand Winston Inc. 1993.

Braun, Jay., Linder, Darwin E., Asimov, Isaac. Psychology Today: An

Introduction. 4th

ed. New York: Random House Inc. 1979.

Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice.

2nd

ed. London: Longman Inc. 1981.

Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel: And Related Writings. London: Edwardand Arnold. 1974.

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. NewYork: The Modern Language Association of America. 2003.

Goble, Frank G. The Third Force: The Psychology of Human Behavior. NewYork: Pocket Book. 1971.

Henkle, Roger B. Reading the Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques ofInterpreting Fiction. New York: Harper and Row Publishers Inc. 1977.

Jung, John. Understanding Human Motivation: A Cognitive Approach. MacmillanPubl. 1978.

Kalish, Richard A. The Psychology of Human Behavior. 3rd ed. California:Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc. 1973.

Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture. Essex: Longman GroupUK Limited. 1992.

Maslow, Abraham H. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. Middlesex: PenguinBooks Ltd. 1976.

McClelland, David C. Human Motivation. Berkeley: Brooks/Cole Publ. Co. 1973.

Murphy, M. J. Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and theEnglish Novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.1972.

Petri, Herbert L. Motivation: Theory and Research. Belmont, California:Wadsworth Inc. 1981.


49

Rohrberger, Mary and Samuel H. Woods, Jr. Reading and Writing aboutLiterature. New York: Random House Inc. 1971.

Singh, Sarina, Joe Bindloss. India. 12th ed. Oakland: Lonely Planet Publications.2007.

Stanton, Robert. An Introduction to Fiction. New York: Holt, Rinehart andWinston Inc. 1964.

Tillit, Bruce, Mary Newton Bruder. Speaking Naturally. Melbourne: CambridgeUniversity Press. 1985.

Webster’s New Explorer Dictionary and Thesaurus. Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster Inc. 1999.

White, Elizabeth, Joan Wofford, and Edward J. Gordon. Understanding Literature.Lexington, Massachusetts: Ginn and Company. 1975.

Wellek, Rene and Austen Warren. Theory of Literature. 3rd ed. New York: AHarvest book. 1956.

Online Sources:

Coelho, Paulo. Last updated: March 20, 2009 at 1.20 p.m. Accessed on August 4,2008 at 2.10 p.m. <http://paulocoelhoblog.com>

Costa, Margaret Jull. The Zahir. Last updated August 4, 2008 at 2.40 p.m.Accessed on July 2, 2008. <http://hindustantimes.com/news/specials/thezahir/>.

Irwin, Donald B. Americans for Divorce Reform. World DivorceStatistics: Percentage of Divorces in Selected Countries. Last updated:August 4, 2008 at 2.25 p.m. Accessed on July 2, 2008.<http://infoplease.com/world_divorce_statistics.htm>

Maslow, Abraham. Theory of Human Motivation. Last updated:March 20, 2009 at 1.11 pm.Accessed on April 2, 2008.http://advancedhiring.com/docs/theoryofhuman motivation.pdf.

Simons, Janet A. Orpheus and Eurydice. Last updated: August 4, 2008 at 2.50p.m. Accessed on July 2, 2008. <http:// pantheon.org/articles/o/orpheus/.html>.


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APPENDIX 1

SUMMARY OF THE ZAHIR

The story begins when the narrator of the novel, a bestselling novelist,

discovers that his wife disappears one day without any trace. Her name is

Esther, thirty years old, a war correspondent. The

narrator thinks of some possibilities. Is she

kidnapped, blackmailed, or murdered? Of all the

hypotheses, the most reasonable one is that she

leaves him for another man. He cannot find the

reason why his wife, Esther, does that. He thinks

their marriage is fine. Like other ordinary

marriages, they argue sometimes, but they never

mention about divorce. He has to admit that he

often has affairs with some women. He does not

have to worry that Esther will know it because they agree that they never talk

about it. Esther, anyway, is the one who always encourages him to write books

until he becomes a famous author like now.

Esther’s disappearance makes him suffer a lot. He sees Esther

everywhere and always looks for her in crowds. He hears her voice in every

girl’s laugh, conversation, even in a traffic jam. Esther becomes the Zahir that

fills his life; makes him think of nothing else. But then, he realizes that he

needs an antidote. In his opinion, the solution is finding a girlfriend. He then

meets Marie, a French actress. He tells her everything that happens to him,


51

including things about Esther. So does Marie. She tells him things in her life,

including her love story. They are very open with each other. Moreover, he

knows that she loves him and tries to show it to him. Although he already has

Marie, he cannot stop thinking about Esther. He realizes that Esther is the

reason he lives. He thinks that his love to Esther is different with he has with

Marie. Marie knows it. That is why she always encourages him to find his

wife, Esther. So that he can find solution of his marriage and make clear

decision for their relationship.

In an event where he has to sign books, he meets this man; a young man

who is believed to be the one with whom his wife disappears. Esther talks over

and over again about him, a twenty-five Kazakhstan boy who once becomes

her translator. His name is Mikhail. Since the meeting, the narrator always

makes some contacts with Mikhail. From him he knows that his wife is fine

and waits for him somewhere. Mikhail tells the narrator that that time is not yet

right if he wants to see his wife, but he promises when the time is right he will

tell him where he can find Esther.

Mikhail somewhat believes that he can hear God’s voices. It is the voice

which leads him until this far. At first, the author does not want to believe it,

but after an accident that makes him so close to death, he starts changing his

behavior. He starts following what are in front of him. With Mikhail, he joins

some social group of people where Esther usually sit and talks with them. His

search for her takes him from France to Spain, Croatia and, eventually, the

beautiful landscape of Central Asia, Kazakhstan. The journey takes him from

the safety of his world to a totally unknown path, searching for a new

understanding of the nature of love and the power of destiny.


52

One day, after the entire journey is done, Mikhail mentions a name of a

village in Kazakhstan, a place where Esther is waiting for him for so long. He

goes there and finally he sees her, the woman whom he loves so much though

it takes time to realize it. He meets Esther with new understanding of life; a

better understanding about himself and his marriage.

Adapted from The Zahir by Paulo Coelho <http://paulocoelhoblog.com>.


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APPENDIX 2

PAULO COELHO’S BIOGRAPHY

The Brazilian author Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de

Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre

director, actor, lyricist, and journalist.

Coelho wrote song lyrics for many famous performers in Brazilian music,

such as Elis Regina and Rita Lee. Yet his most well-known work has been done

with Raul Seixas. Together they wrote such successes as Eu nasci há dez mil anos

atrás (I was born ten thousand years ago), Gita, and Al Capone, amongst other 60

songs.

His fascination with the spiritual quest dates back to his hippie days, when

he travelled the world learning about secret societies, oriental religions, etc.

In 1982, Coelho published his first book, Hell Archives, which failed to

make any kind of impact. In 1985, he contributed to the Practical Manual of

Vampirism, although he later tried to take it off the shelves, since he considered it

“of bad quality”. In 1986, Paulo Coelho did the pilgrimage to Saint James of

Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage.

In the following year, Coelho published The Alchemist. Slow initial sales

convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of

the best selling Brazilian books of all time.


54

Other titles include Brida (1990), The Valkyries (1992), By the River

Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994), the collection of his best columns published

in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo entitle Maktub (1994), the

compilation of texts Phrases (1995), The Fifth Mountain (1996), Manual of a

Warrior of Light (1997), Veronika Decides to Die (1998), The Devil and Miss

Prym (2000), the compilation of traditional tales in Stories for Parents, Children,

and Grandchildren (2001), Eleven Minutes (2003), The Zahir (2005).

He also adapted The Gift (Henry Drummond) and Love Letters of a

Prophet (Kahlil Gibran).

To date, Coelho has sold a total of 75 million copies and, according to the

magazine Publishing Trends, he was the most sold author in the world in 2003

with his book Eleven Minutes – even though at the time it had not been released

in the United States, Japan, or 10 other countries!

Also according to Publishing Trends, The Alchemist was to be found in

the 6th place of world sales in 2003. Eleven Minutes topped all lists in the world,

except for England, where it was in second place. The Zahir, published in 2005,

was in third place of bestsellers according to Publishing Trends, after Dan

Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

The Alchemist was one of the most important literary phenomena of the

20th century. It reaches the first place in bestselling lists in 18 countries, and so

far has sold 30 million copies.


55

The book has been praised by different personalities ranging from the

Nobel Prize Kenzaburo Oe to the singer Madonna, who considers it one of her

favorite books. It has equally inspired many projects – such as a musical in Japan,

theatre plays in France, Belgium, USA, Turkey, Italy, and Switzerland. It is also

the theme of two symphonies (Italy and USA) and had its text illustrated by the

famous French artist Moebius (author of the sceneries for Fifth Element and

Alien).

His work has been translated in 62 languages, and edited in more than 150

countries.

Taken from: http://www.paulocoelho.com/engl/bio.shtml


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APPENDIX 3

LESSON PLAN

Subject : Speaking IV

Class : 4th Semester of English Educational

Study Program

Topic : Obsession

Time Allocation : 2 x 50 minutes

I. General Instruction Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to develop various kinds of

skills in order to enable them to speak in public successfully.

II. Specific Instructional Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:

1. Express their opinion orally about obsession in a group discussion based on the

selected material.

2. Interrupt other’s opinion orally about obsession in a group discussion based on

the selected material.

3. Argue other’s opinion orally about obsession in a group discussion based on

the selected material.

4. Deliver the result of the discussion individually in front of the class about

obsession based on the selected material.


57

III. Material:

Taken from a scene of Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir.

IV. Teaching and Learning Activities:

Kind of Activity Activities TimeAlloc.

Pre-Teaching Greeting Listen to the teacher’s introduction about

the selected material of Paulo Coelho’s TheZahir

5’

While-Teaching Pre-Discussion The students are divided into groups of

four The teacher gives the topic based on the

text Each group read the text

Discussion Each group discusses the topic by

expressing, interrupting and arguing The teacher observes the discussion

Post-Discussion Each group concludes their discussion Each student delivers the result of the

discussion in front of the class The teacher gives time to other groups to

ask and give comments or suggestions

5’5’10’

35’

5’25’

10’

Post Teaching The teacher and the students makeconclusion about obsession

5’

V. Evaluation:

Students’ oral performance and participation.


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APPENDIX 4

Language Features that are useful for students

Functions Expressions

Capturing audience’sattention

Asking a question:

Did you ever....?

Do you know why....?

Using a quote:

Martin Luther King, Jr. Once said “I have adream”

Telling some amazing facts:

According to the latest study,.....

I read somewhere the other day that....

Giving the audience a problem to think about:

Suppose ........ How would you....?

How many people here this morning......? Well,imagine...... Do you think that’s possible?

Stating the purpose ofthe presentation

This morning I’m going to talk to you about .....

This afternoon I’m going to report on .....

I’d like to tell you .....

Clarifying the parts ofthe speech

So, I’ll start off by filling you in on thebackground to ...

I’ll start off by giving you an overview of .....

I’ll start my presentation by outlining ...

And then I’ll go on to discuss in more depth theimplications of .....

Then, I’ll talk you through .....

Providing support Let me give you an example .....

As a result, ....


59

Moving from one partof the resentation toanother

Now, that I’ve expained .... let me move on to ....

Which reminds me . . .

Come to think of it, . . .

Concluding Before I end, let me summarise the main pointsI’ve mentioned .....

In conclusion, then, ....

Adapted from Speaking Naturally, 75


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Pre-Discussion Questions

1. In your opinion, what is the meaning of obsession?

2. What are the reasons of someone being obssessed to something orsomeone?

3. Do you think obsession is something positive? Why?

Read the following paragraphs carefully. These paragraphs are about theobssession of the narrator in the story.

In Buenos Aires, the Zahir is a common 20-centavo coin; the letters N and T and thenumber 2 bear the marks of a knife or a letteropener; 1929 is the date engraved on thereverse. (In Gujarat, at the end of theeighteenth century, the Zahir was a tiger; inJava it was a blind man from the SurakartaMosque who was stoned by the faithful; inPersia, an astrolabe that Nadir Shah ordered tobe thrown into the sea; in the Mahdi’s prisons,in around 1892, a small compass that had beentouched by Rudolf Karl von Slatin…)

A year later, I wake thinking about the storyby Jorge Luis Borges, about somethingwhich, once touched or seen, can never beforgotten, and which gradually so fills ourthoughts that we are driven to madness. Myzahir is not a romantic metaphor – a blindman, acompass, a tiger, or a coin.

It has a name, and her name isEsther.

Taken from The Zahir page 45

But the Zahir, about which

I initially used to think with either

irritation or affection, continued to

grow in my soul. I started looking

for Esther in every woman I met. I

would see her in every bar, every

cinema, at bus stops. More than once

I ordered a taxi driver to stop in the

middle of the street or to follow

someone, until I could persuade

myself that the person was not the

person I was looking for.

With the Zahir beginning to

occupy my every thought, I needed

an antidote, something that would

not take me to the brink of despair.

Taken from The Zahir page 48


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Group Discussion Questions

1. After reading the text of Coelho’s The Zahir, discuss and identify theobsession of the narrator in the story. Elaborate your answer by quoting thesentences from the material given.

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2. Have you ever experienced being obsessed to something or someone? If

yes, what is that and how can you say that as an obsession?

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3. Point out some reasons why people are obssessed of somethings. Giveexamples, quotations, or many other things to support your opinion.

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APPENDIX 5

PAULO COELHO’S WORKS

Hell Archives (1982)

Practical Manual of Vampirism (1985)

The Pilgrimage (1986)

The Alchemist (1987)

Brida (1990)

The Valkyries (1992)

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994)

Maktub (1994)

Phrases (1995)

The Fifth Mountain (1996)

Manual of a Warrior of Light (1997)

Veronica Decides to Die (1998)


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The Devil and Miss Prym (2000)

Stories for Parents, Children, and Grandchildren (2001)

Eleven Minutes (2003)

The Zahir (2005)

Taken from: http://www.paulocoelho.com/engl/bio.shtml


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APPENDIX 6


the narrator s motivation in bringing back his … · i the narrator s motivation in bringing back...

Documents