THE SIGNIFICANCE OF POINT OF VIEW AS SEEN IN JODY PICOULT’S MY SISTER’S KEEPER WITH READER-RESPONSE APPROACH

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Background

Life condition, affects people’s way of thinking.

One of the ways how a person shares the ideas is by creating some literary works.

There are so many things which can be categorized as literary work, for example: story.

To present a story, it includes plot of the story, the theme, the use of point of view, the characters, and so on. All stories have “someone” that tells and guides the readers throughout the story is called narrator.

The way a story is told affects how the story will be wrapped as whole by the readers’ interpretation. It will guide the readers to the events on the story.

Point of view chooses from where the readers will see the story. It bridges the idea of the author and the readers. This is an important aspect that sometimes the readers do not aware of.

A work might have multiple points of view. One of the examples is Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper.

It is a story of a thirteen-aged girl, Anna, who sues her parents. There is a huge emotion war in each member of the family also the attorney who is hired by Anna.

The interesting part of the work is when Picoult includes seven characters in which the point of view of each character alter from one to another as the chapter changes.

From this uniqueness, the researcher decides to conduct the study focusing in analyzing the use of point of view in My Sister’s Keeper.

Research Focus

In this study, the researcher would like to focus on the analysis of the usage of point of view. There are some problems which can be identified. The problems can be emerged from the use of point of view in this novel and from the effect of this kind of point of view towards the reader that may imply a significance of point of view.

Many people forget or even do not realize that point of view hold a significant role in telling a story. This study tries to search how point of view holds an important role in informing a story to readers; without point of view, a story cannot be told.

In carrying out this research, the researcher will try to explain the used of point of view as viewed in My Sister’s Keeper.

The researcher will concern in analyzing the using of point of view as viewed in seven characters in the novel. The researcher will also concern about the effect of using a kind of point of view towards the reader.

In conducting this research, the researcher uses point of view to be the main theory of the study

The researcher will take some readers to be given some question considering about how point of view affect their view on the story. This will help the researcher analyze the significance of point of view towards the readers.

Based on the previous explanation of the identification of the problems, theories and approaches to use, and limitations of the study, the researcher formulates some problems which are: What are the characters that play their point of view in this

novel? What is the significance of point of view towards the

readers?

Research Objective

The objectives of the study are written as follows: Discovering the characters in My Sister’s

Keeper which are given the change to explain what they feel to the readers.

Figuring out the effect of point of view towards the readers

Research Significance

Theoretically better comprehension toward the knowledge of

point of view as an important part in the literary works.

Practically Hopefully, from this research, people will consider

more of the values of narrative modes especially point of view in literary works both to entertain and inform the readers.

By reading this research, it is hoped that the readers will be more interested in literary works and notice the hidden thing such as point of view.

LITERARY REVIEW

Point of View Point of view is functioned just like a painting. People use to think of point of view as a minor point in

telling a story. Yet, many critics now try to convince people the vice versa.

The most well-known point of view are first person and third person (according to Wayne C. Booth)

For Booth, there are dramatized and undramatized narrators.

An undramatized narrator :it has no sign of actual story-telling. Most of the story are passed through the consciousness of one or more tellers.

Dramatized narrators : the characters in their own right. ‘Disguised narrators’ are dramatized narrators who are not labelled by the authors as narrators. Many characters in novels find themselves telling stories however indirectly.

Beside that, point of view is also divided into some types: first-person, second-person, third-person limited or omniscient, multiple-person, and alternating person view.

Reader-Response Plato and Aristotle’s concerns about audience

response is that the readers are passive. As in watching a play, readers will only sit passively and absorbing the contents.

The New Critics believed that if text is analyzed thoroughly, it can expose its own meaning. Extrinsic factors such as historical or social context mattered a little. It then brings to the reader’s response to the text. The critics believe that readers are not passive.

My Sister’s Keeper The story is opened by Anna who sold her

precious necklace to hire an attorney, Campbell Alexander, to sue her own parents, Brian and Sara Fitzgerald.

Anna asked the right of her own body as she was used to help her sister by giving her organ, started from blood, till kidney. Furthermore, Anna wondered if her sister, Kate, would not be sick, would she be born to the world?

Anna was helped also by Julia, a guardian ad litem appointed by the court.

The story becomes more complicated when Kate’s condition became more serious. Anna did not want her sister she loved to be dead. Sara was still preoccupied that they will get Anna’s kidney no matter what as though Anna never sue her though Kate’s body maybe can’t hold surgery.

Brian, Anna’s father, started to agree with Anna. He did not want to make Anna suffering, though he too wanted Kate to be alive.

To give refreshment, Jody Picoult asserts a love story between Campbell and Julia.

METHODOLOGY

This research uses qualitative research design.

The main instrument was the researcher, herself, who had to observe the data. The secondary instruments were the helping instruments for the researcher to analyze the data, such as dictionary and other literatures.

Discussion

Point of View Anna

“It made me wonder, though, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy. Chances are, I'd still be floating up in Heaven or wherever, waiting to be attached to a body to spend some time on Earth. Certainly I would not be part of this family. See, unlike the rest of the free world, I didn't get here by accident. And if your parents have you for a reason, then that reason better exists. Because once it's gone, so are you.”(My Sister’s Keeper – Anna, pg. 3 par. 1)

Sara I struggle to my elbows to watch what is going on below.

"The umbilical cord," I remind him. "Be careful." He cuts it, beautiful blood, and hurries it out of the room to a place where it will be cryogenically preserved until Kate is ready for it.

(My Sister’s Keeper – Sara, pg. 90 par. 7) I stare at the ceiling again. "Just so you know," I say, more

loudly than I've intended, "I'm not going to let Kate die." (My Sister’s Keeper – Sara, pg. 29 par. 7)

Brian "Did you ever feel, when you were a kid, that maybe they

were playing favorites?" Her face tightens, just the tiniest bit, and I feel bad about putting her on the spot. "We all know you're supposed to love your kids equal, but that's not always how it works out."(My Sister’s Keeper – Brian, pg. 129)

"I know. And I'm sorry about Kate, Mr. Fitzgerald," he says."Call me Brian." I cup my hands around my mug. "And I would like to speak to you… without Sara around."He leans back in the folding chair. "How about right now?"It's not a good time, but it will never be a good time for this. "Okay." I take a deep breath. "I think Anna's right."(My Sister’s Keeper – Brian, pg. 198)

Campbell Plus, the case will generate a ton of publicity for me, and will

jack up my pro bono for the whole damn decade.(My Sister’s Keeper – Campbell, pg. 17 par. 1)

"Campbell," Kerri presses, relentless, "you can't expect a kid to fend for herself."I head back into my office. Judge follows, pausing just inside the threshold. "It's not my problem," I say; and then I close the door, lock it securely, and wait.(My Sister’s Keeper – Campbell, pg. 19)

Julia Campbell yanks the line out of my hand. "You already told me that

you don't think it's in Anna's best interests to be a kidney donor for her sister.""I also told you she's incapable of making that decision by herself.""Her father moved her out of the house. He can be her moral compass.""And how long is that going to last? What about the next time?"(My Sister’s Keeper – Julia, pg. 252)

Jesse "Dad," I said. "When are we going?"

But he was busy wadding up toilet paper, bunching it up under Kate's nose."Dad?" I repeated.My father looked right at me, but he didn't answer. And his eyes were dazed and staring through me, like I was made out of smoke.That was the first time I thought that maybe I was.(My Sister’s Keeper – Jesse, Page 218)

Kate “I wonder if she was at Jesse's graduation from

the police academy, if she knows that he won a citation from the mayor last year for his role in a drug bust. I wonder if she knew that Daddy fell deep into a bottle after she left, and had to claw his way out. I wonder if she knows that, now, I teach children how to dance. That every time I see two little girls at the barre, sinking into plies, I think of us.”(My Sister’s Keeper – Kate, pg. 363)

Readers’ Response Suryahadi Yulia Rachman

The most interesting part: how the novel was made into several chapters with perspective changing.

Take sides: Anna’s side. Point of view is one of the most important though the story

itself is the most interesting. Fahmy Ramanda

The most interesting part: he likes how the story alter the characters in every chapter: how the characters seems like begging for his understanding. Also, Sara’s view.

Take sides: Anna’s side. Though actually he agree most with Brian.

Point of view is the most important part of a story. An author has to be smart on choosing what point of view s/he will use because it will affect the readers when they read the story.

Ratna Sheina The most interesting part: the controversial

story it raise to tell the world, about an engineered baby

Take sides: Anna’s side. Though actually he agree most with Brian.

Ratna realizes that point of view is important as the other narratives mode is.

Conclusion

There are seven characters which play the roles in the novel: Anna Fitzgerald, Kate Fitzgerald, Sara Fitzgerald, Brian Fitzgerald, Jesse Fitzgerald, Campbell Alexander, and Julia Romano.

In each chapter of the novel, all of the characters use first person point of view. However, if the readers see from the whole book, the novel uses alternate point of view as the author changes the point of view of the characters in each chapter during the story.

Based on the interviews the way how the author alters the use of point of view is the interesting point of this novel.

Some of the respondents realized that point of view is one of the means to guide the readers in enjoying the story.

After all, this book can be said as unique as not all literary works use this kind of point of view. The story is interesting as the main conflict is quite radical where the main character sues her own parents in claiming her own body.