English for Meeting & Interview (Teks Percakapan Rapat dalam Bahasa Inggris) written by Irfan Suryana

Gothic Story for Children

One of the literary formula of children story is gothic or grosteque story. The formula has special characteristics . Gothic formula is actually a very ancient model of writing – actally it was popular in 15th century. But, the formula is reused until now as it is considered a very sophisticated formula of novel/drama or story writing in general. Children story formula, to a certain extent is similar to gothic or gtotesque story formula for common or adult reader. The difference lays in the “depth” and characters. As well asssubject matter portrayed in the story. As it is written for children, the subject matter is made suitable for children’s age and psychological capacity.

In many ways, gothic story formula is not very much different from adventure formula, as it is also presented using mental journey of the main character (s). The style, colors, and suspense are distinctive. Gothic formula is therefore more difficult to follow compared to other formula. However, the complicated plot makes the formula liked by children as well as adults who demand smarter reading exercise than enjoying pinky and dull stories.

The Chronicles of Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is written by Harper Collins and it contains many aspects of Gothic story such as theme, characterization, and plot.

1. Theme

A theme is the main idea from which a writer or an author starts writing a story. The theme is a kind of essential statement which crosses the author’s mind. A theme is then seen as a topic sentence declared by the author which is then developed into a work. Basically, a theme is an universal moral value.

Gothic story’s theme is always universal value of goodness. The theme always shows that the good or the right wins or prevails, and the evil or wrong will be always defeated or looses. This is the theme formula of gothic sory. Theme of The Chronicles of Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is to achieve a purpose needs struggle and process.

2. Characterization

Gothic story characterization is in many ways different from general story characterization. There is almost no protagonist as the main character usually becomes a victim of crime and is made trapped by a psycophatic person or endangered. Thus, the main character is passive and almost does nothing. In a gothic story like that, the one who plays an important role is a detective as in gothic story formula a detective or one who tries to pursue or find a solution or secret of something is the dominant character.

In a gothic story which does not expose crime but portray adventure or journey more, the main character is at the same time the detective. In the adventure he or she or they tries to achieve or get something precious or solve a solution or secret. The adventure can be physical or imaginary.

The most important character in gothic story is actually created exessively heartless and psychopatic. Yet, this character is made very intelligent and indifferent. Moreover than not, in gothic story, there are ghosts, or monsters, or alien beings. But different from Indonesia/Javanese horror stories, the alien beings or ghists are just creations of the author-not the ones found in society myths or real life. In The Chronicles of Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treade, there are four main characters. They are Caspian X, Lucy Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, and Eustace Scrubb.

1. Characterization of Caspian X

Early on, Harper Collins has depicted Caspian X to become a character who pursues or finds the seven swords of Seven Noble Swords because he wants to show that to get what someone wants needs struggle and process. Besides that, Harper Collins has depicted Caspian X as someone who is brave, kindhearted, responsible, and risk-taker.

No.	Characterization of Caspian X	Evidence
1.	He is brave	When he is in the prison in The Lone Islands, he is not afraid to talk with a strange old man. He turns out to be th one of the lost lords. He is brave when he fights people who bring Lucy and Eustace to be slaves and finally he and the others succeed to save them.
2.	He is kindhearted	He assists Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace who are swimming in the ocean of Narnia.
3.	He is responsible	When Aslan invites him to see Aslan's country, he refuses because he knows that he has more duties as a King. If he goes there perhaps his father will be disappointed because someone who goes there will never return again.
4.	He is risk-taker	He invites all voyagers to go to The Lone Island in which that is beyond the Seven Isles, no one has ever been through the Seven Isles.
5.	He is a romantic person as well	When he knows that a blue star is a girl who names Lilliandil, he wants to reveal his love to her but he knows he is on mission.

2. Characterization of Lucy Pevensie

From the beginning, Harper Collins has depicted Lucy Pevensie to become main character in The Chronicles of Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He has depicted Lucy Pevensie as the youngest of the Pevensie children. She is curious, kindhearted, brave, helpful, and risk taker but sometimes she is hesitant of herself. Even she wants to be her sister, Susan.

No.	Characterization Lucy Pevensie	Evidence
1.	She has curiosity	When she is with her brother, Edmund in her bedroom. They look at the painting of a ship. She feels that the painting is strange. She is true, the waves and ship of the painting seem moving and it becomes a portal to them to the Narnia World.
2.	She is kindhearted and helpful	Although her co sin, Eustace, always disturbs her, she does not revenge to him. Even she feels loose when Eustace disappear in the Death water Islands. She is willing to help the invisible Dufflepuds to find a visibility spell. She supports Eustace, her cousin, when he becomes a dragon.
3.	She is brave and risk-taker	When she voyages with her brother, Edmund, and Caspian X, and all voyagers to find seven swords of The Noble Lords. She is not hesitant and afraid though she is a woman and she knows that there will be many obstacles that she has to confront it. She is brave when she is asked by the invisible Dufflepuds to find a visibility spell.
4.	She is sometimes hesitant of herself	When she is finding a visibility spell, she finds a spell of beauty. She obviously wants to be her sister, Susan, because Lucy thinks that Susan is more beautiful than her.

3. Characterization of Edmund Pevensie

Early on, Harper Collins has depicted Edmund Pevensie to become the second-youngest of the Pevensie children and a King of Narnia. He is brave, risk-taker, kindhearted, and helpful but sometimes he becomes hard when he is hunger for more power.

No.	Characterization of Edmund Pevensie	Evidence
1.	Edmund Pevensie is curious and brave	Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian X go down to the place in Death water Islands and there is a pool. They want to know what the pool is. That is why they test that pool with a branch. They can know that the pool can change anything into gold.
2,	He is risk-taker	He fights a monstrous sea serpent.
3.	He is kind-hearted	He takes good care of his young sister and cousin while they embark on a voyage to defeat the enemy.
4.	Sometimes, Edmund Pevensien is hard	In the story, he often quarrel with Caspian X because he feels he has right to arrange voyagers rather than Caspian X. For example, he is in the Deathwater Islands with Lucy and Caspian. He suddenly fights Caspian because he extremely wants to own the pool which can make anything into gold. Frankly, it happens because of his hunger for more power.

4. Characterization of Eustace Scrubb

Early on, Harper Collins has depicted Eustace Scrubb to become the Pevensie children's annoying who gets transported to Narnia for the first time. Through Eustace Scrubb, Harper Collins wants to show that everyone has opportunity to be better person than before. At first, Eustace Scrubb irritates everyone with his bad attitude, but he dramatically changes after he is cursed to be a dragon.

No.	Characterization of Eustace Scrubb	Evidence
1.	He has bad attitude	He always teases Edmund and Lucy about Narnia and how they talk about it. When he is in the voyage, he irritates everyone including Reepicheep.
2.	He becomes a more generous and cooperative soul	After he is cursed and becomes a dragon, he realizes what he has done. With the support of his cousins and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, he becomes a more generous and cooperative soul.
3.	He is helpful and brave	He assists the voyagers to provide the food. He is brave when he attacks a monstrous sea serpant.
4.	He is curious as well	He is curious when he goes down to the place in which there are a lot of treasures though his curiosity and his greed make him into a dragon.

3. Plot

Gothic story plot varies. The most popular one is adventure gothic plot in which the main character is doing a journey or a kind of “research” (investigation) to reach a certain destination or find a secret or truth or a very precious thing. The main character can also play the role of detective. Struggles hard to achieve or get to the target and in doing so faces rivalry or attack of the antagonist character who is psychopatic and obsessive.

The plot of gothic story presents life sequence from a state of experience, from state of nothing to something. The story is arranged complicatelly with multi-plot. Therefore, in one plot there are sub-plots, or story-within-story model. The main character is made victimized by the antagonist pathetic figure who tries to pursue the same target. Crime then really dominates the story. The story suspense is the most significant element of the gothic plot. Suspense building is taken care seriously. One of the good ways to build suspense is creating a supernatural or alien caharacter. The plot is arranged by considering universal theme. Thus, gothic plot despite showing violence must portray a story that the good or right wins the evil or wrong.

There are many plots in The Chronicles of Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

1. Lucy's room

Edmund and Lucy stay in Eustace's house. When they are in Lucy's room, they look at a painting of a ship. Suddenly, they see the waves and ship seem moving. Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are drawn into the painting. It transports them into an ocean in Narnia. They are rescued by King Caspian X. He is captain of the Dawn Treader. He invites them to locate the Seven Noble Lords.

2. The Lone Islands

They arrive in Lone Islands. They can know that people there are sold as slaves. Caspian and Edmund are captured and imprisoned while Lucy and Eustace are sold as slaves. In the prison, Caspian shocks because he meets one of the lost lords. He names Lord Bern. He reveals that the slaves are not sold but they are sacrificed to a mysterious green mist. Lord Bern, who becomes the new governor, gives a sword to Caspian. That sword is one of seven swords that is given by Aslan to the Seven Noble Lords.

3. Island of the Duffluds

When all voyagers sleep, Lucy is kidnapped by the invisible Dufflepuds who ask her to the place in which a book of visibility spell. Eventually, she finds it and she begins trying to find that spell. Suddenly, she sees a spell that will make her beautiful and she wishes to be her sister because Lucy contends that her sister, Susan, is more beautiful than her. Standing there, Lucy gets a dream as if she were Susan. Suddenly, Aslan appears and chides her about her self-doubted. Aslan tells her that Susan can know Narnia because of her. Finally, she finds visibility spell that it makes all invisible creatures visible. Coriakin who causes all creatures there become invisible because he want to protect them from terrible things, tells them the way to defeat a mysterious green mist. He says that they can defeat that mist by laying the lords' seven swords at Aslan' Table on Ramandu's island and there will be a shiny star that it will guide them to Ramandu. Besides that, he tells them that they have to be careful of their enemy inside them.

4. Deathwater Islands

Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian go down to place in which there is pool there. They shock that there is man under water and he become a golden stone. He turns out one of the lost lords because there is a sword nearby him. The water causes him into gold. Caspian and Edmund fight each other because they want to own the gold but Lucy reconciles them that they have to remember about Coriakin's advise. There, Eustace finds a place that is full of treasure. He forgets about Coriakin"s advise. He steals a gold bracelet and wears it. Suddenly he becomes a dragon.

5. Ramandu's Island

They arrive in Ramandu's island in which there are some lost lord with their swords. They are invited to eat there by a woman. That woman is a star who transforms into Lililandil. They are successful to collect noble lords' sword but they still miss one sword. Lililandil tells them that that sword is in Dark island.

6. Dark Island

Lilliandil guides them to the Dark Island in which that is a lair of the mist. There, they meet the last surviving Lord, Rhoop. He warns them to go back and keep away from there and he also warns them not to think of their fears but they get closer to ask that sword from him. However, Edmund fails and his fear manifastes a mysterious green mist becomes a monstrous sea serpent that attacks the ship. Lord Rhoop throws his sword at Eustace. It stabs him and Eustace fly away. He lands on a sandy island. He is assisted by Aslan and he turns him back into a boy and sends him back to Ramandu's island to place the sword. The mist tries to distract Edmund by appearing as Jadis, the White Witch. Edmund succeeds in getting the seven swords together. Finally, a monstrous seas serpant is defeated and three Lords who sleep wake up. The sacrificed people reappear and all people are safe.

7.Aslan's country

Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, Caspian, and Reepicheep go to the World's End in which there is Aslan's country. They see a massive wave and suddenly Aslan appears and tells them that his country lies beyond and everyone who goes there never return again. Caspian wants to see Aslan's country but he knows that he has more duties to do as a king but Reepicheep obviously wants to go there. Aslan opens a portal to send Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace home. They enter the portal and swim up to the bedroom. Arriving in the bedroom, they look at the painting which shows the Dawn Treader sailing away and disappears behind the waves.