SKRIPSI REVISI 5 Desember 2014.docx

7/24/2019 SKRIPSI REVISI 5 Desember 2014.docx

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CHAPTER I

Introduction

1.1. Background of Choosing the Subject

The Happy Prince and Other Talesis a book of short stories written by Oscar Wilde and

first appeared in 1888. The collection book consists of five stories, The Happy Prince, The

Nightingale and the Rose, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend and The Remarkale Rocket.

The book was very famous for its own title story, The Happy Prince. It is also the first work that

gains Wilde fame among the literary readers. olland mentions that the story of The Happy

Princeis beautifully written !as if poems in prose more than fairy tales for children" and yet the

remarkable thing is that they appeal e#ually to children and adults$ %&. olland '(()* +.

In 18+1 Wilde published another collection of fairy tale stories, ! Ho"se of

Pomegranate. The stories included in this book areThe #o"ng $ing, The %irthday of the &nfanta,

The Fisherman and his So"l and The Star'(hild. Willoughby in Art and Christhood: The

Aesthetics of Oscar Wilde (1993:3! states that the book (A House of Pomegranates! "as

described as ha#ing $so%bre %ood& detailed surfaces and %ore a%biguous %oral

territory' to the readers of his first collection& The Happy Prince and Other Tales "hile it

"as regarded as $enig%atic fictions that offer a crucial insight into the aesthetic credo' for

the readers of Wilde)s second collection of fairy tales (3!. *urther%ore& Willoughby adds

$the elaborate and styli+ed %ythologies of Pomegranates return and return again to

conflicting %odels of beauty& as the reader is led to consider& by stages& the i%,ort of

aesthetics for e#ery s,here' (3!. -agoulick states that fairy tales are !a subgenre of folktales

involving magical, fantastic or )onderful episodes, characters, events, or symbols.$ In relation to

what -agoulick has stated, what Wilde proposed in his fairy tales was #uite different and led

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many critics in bafflement since the stories were considered as !difficult for children to

understand$ %&. olland +. This e/planation is clearly making the distinction between the usual

fairy tales and Wilde0s fairy tales that put many elements of aesthetics or beauty to his works.

evertheless, in the discussion, this paper does not include the reasons nor describes elements of

the story that makes these short stories are fairy tales.

In this paper, the writer chooses two short stories taken from each collections of Oscar

Wilde. The short stories will be discussed in this paper are The #o"ng $ing and The Happy

Prince. These short stories are taken from a compilation book consists of all Oscar Wilde0s

works entitled The (omplete *orks of Oscar *ildewhich published in '((). In addition, the title

of two short stories will be abbreviated into 23 for The #o"ng $ing and 4 for The Happy

Princeto make the identification of the short stories is easier.

Wilde introduces the first story, The #o"ng $ing with the young 3ing as a round

character since he develops and changes through the course of events. 5rom the very first

moment of his recognition that he becomes the king, he shows signs of passion for beauty which

has a very great influence over his life. Thus, all what he cares about is the beautiful ob6ects that

give him pleasure and en6oyment. owever, he later changes his mind and behavior after

e/periencing three dreams that strike him with deep sadness and horror. e later turns into a

great 3ing who cares more about other people and especially the poor ones.

The second story is The Happy Princethat tells about a statue of a prince which suffers of

sorrow since he found the reality of his surroundings. In the past, when he was alive, he never

knew that there are many people outside his palace living in a very suffering life while he lived

in a happy life. 5inally, he finds out the reality that makes him very sad. e comes to know the

reality since he became a statue. It was built to remember him as a prince. ow as a statue, he

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can see and feel the sorrow of his people, he can observe everything that happens in the town and

communicate with the swallow that passes by, which later helps him, when the night comes

The present writer chooses short story to be discussed because though it has limitations in

term of space, this limitation does not reduce the depth of the story0s meaning. 7eading a short

story makes the present writer wants to e/plore more on what is behind the story. This limitation

also can be the strength of the short story since it will make the readers read the story up until the

end, as tanton states !9ven the limitation of a form may contribute to its effect" artist have

always en6oyed turning limitation into virtues. Thus, the very confinement of the short story has

forced artists to find ways of transcending its limits, of saying more than one would think

possible in the space$ %tanton, 1+:;* )ation of humanity behind the beauty. ?oth,

the 2oung 3ing and the appy 4rince are e/posed into the beauty and later, they witness the

unfair life that their people suffer through the beauty they have seen. The series of events that

they e/perienced change their point of view about beauty and life. This paper intends to see how

the humanity can be found behind the beauty" from visible beauty can reveal invisible beauty.

1.-. bjecti#e of the Study

The ob6ectives of the study are stated as follows*

a. to find the meaning of the beauty and what lies behind the beauty that can be found in the

two short stories

b. to discover Wilde0s criticism towards the leaders that surround the appy 4rince and the

young 3ing in the two short stories.

1.3. *ocus of /0a%ination

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In line with the ob6ective of this paper, the paper will focus only on the reali>ation of

humanity behind the beauty from both characters, the 2oung 3ing and the appy 4rince, after

they have e/perienced the beauty of the precious things previously. The reali>ation of humanity

behind the beauty that the 2oung 3ing and the appy 4rince do, will be e/plored through the

character, events, speeches, action, etc. that can be found in the stories.

1.. Sco,e of the Study

The scope of the study is limited on the intrinsic element among the short stories. The

process of humanity is studied from plot, description and action of the character. ?eside, some

symbols that are connected to the humanity will also be discussed to support the analysis.

1.. 2heoretical ,,roach

ince the ob6ectives of the study precondition a concept that literature is related to the

work itself, the author and the society" the theoretical ground used for the analysis of this

graduation paper is the dynamic structuralism approach. @uoting -ukarovsky in Teeuw0s Sastra

dan &lm" Sastra+ Pengantar Teori Sastra, he states*

The work of art manifests itself as a sign in its inner structure, in its relation to

reality, and also in its relation to society, to its creator, and its recipient %Teeuw,

1+8A* 1+(.

Bynamic structuralism is an appropriate approach to analy>e the short story because it

deals with the elements inside and outside literary work. This graduating paper will be limited to

discussing the relation between the works to its inner structure, its author, and its society or

reality. The present writer will not discuss the relationship between the works to last elementC

the recipientCsince it is find that the previous three elements are considered as sufficient. The

uni#ueness of dynamic structuralism which allows the using of both elements, intrinsic and

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e/trinsic can help the writer of this graduating paper to know the social background and the

hidden message of the stories. In other words, the approach can support the process to get the

ob6ective of the study. In dealing with the stories, the intrinsic elements that will be discussed in

this paper are theme or the sub6ect matters, plot, setting, symbolism and the characters of the

stories as the representation of the actual situation at that time. -eanwhile, the e/trinsic elements

that will be used in this paper are the biographical sketch of Oscar Wilde, the essays which were

written by Oscar Wilde and the condition of 9ngland in the &ictorian age.

1.4. 5ethods of 6esearch

The method used in this study is library research. The sources are taken from the written

materials in the library. The main ob6ects of the research are the short stories entitled !The 2oung

3ing$ and !The appy 4rince$ written by Oscar Wilde. The second is figuring out of the

ob6ective of the study and collecting information that is needed to provide a good understanding

in writing this graduating paper. =fter that, the researcher tries to analy>e the work to answer the

ob6ective.

The secondary data are taken from internet or other articles, essays or researches that

support and can give clear picture of the work. They are necessary to help the writer give reliable

theory from the e/pert about the theoretical background of the research.

The analysis of research is done by a descriptive analysis method. This method aims to

make description or picture systematically, factually, and accurately about facts, characteristics

and relations among the phenomenon, which are observed %a>ir, :). ?y descriptive analysis

method, the researcher describes the facts that appear in the primary data and make analysis of

those facts.

1.7. 8iterature 6e#ie"

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To the best of the writer0s knowledge, there is not any graduating paper or thesis studying

about The 7eali>ation of umanity behind the ?eauty 5ound in Wilde0s The #o"ng $ing and

The Happy Prince in the library of 5aculty of Dultural ciences, Eniversitas Fad6ah -ada.

owever there is an article written by oang goc Trang as mentioned in

%http+phamho-)es-comthehappyprince-html entitled Pleas"re is Happiness. This article is

about the meaning of happiness that e/ists in the story of The Happy Prince. The writing

concentrates on how the happiness of the statue of appy 4rince can be achieved by doing the

acts that are done by the appy 4rince and the opinion of the writer about how to obtain

happiness. This writing uses the acts that are done by the appy 4rince as the source for

achieving happiness. The previous paper has similarity on using the acts of sacrificing that is

used also in the present paper.

Bespite the similarity, the present paper is different from the previous writing. The

present writer is viewing the beauty as the means of reali>ation humanity that consists of the acts

sacrificing as one of its part. =lso, the present paper is not only discussing only The Happy

Princebut also another short story from Wilde, The #o"ng $ing.

In spite of the similarities and differences, the previous article has given more insights to

the present paper writings.

1.. resentation

This paper is divided into four chapters. Dhapter one introduces the framework of the

whole paper. Dhapter two describes about the biographical sketch of Oscar Wilde and the social

background of &ictorian ?ritain society at the time, in this case nineteenth century era. Dhapter

three concentrates on the analysis that is divide into three parts. The first part discusses the

general ideas of beauty which includes the two divisions, tangible and intangible beauty. The

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second part of analysis focuses on how the =estheticism and Dhristianity influence the writing of

the story. 5inally, chapter four is the conclusion which constitutes the result of the research.

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CHAPTER II

Wilde)s Biogra,hical Sketch and ;ictorian Britain Society

-.1. scar Wilde)s 8ife

Oscar 5ingal O05lahertie Wills Wilde was born in Bublin on October 1:th18;A at o. '1

Westland 7ow. The house was also the place in which Oscar0s father carried his practice as a

doctor at the time %&. olland, 1+:(*1(. Oscar was the second of three children born to William

Wilde and Gane 5rancesca 9lgee. is father was a !renowned eye surgeon who had been

knighted for his medical service and earned his nonhereditary title$ %as #td. from !Oscar Wilde

?iography$ par. ' from which he later was called, ir William Wilde. is mother, Gane

5rancesca 9lgee, also known as Hady Wilde, was an Irish writer who wrote poems and articles

under a pen name, Speran/a%8.

=s a doctor, ir William Wilde had a prominent position in medical world when he

became one of the most important aural surgeon and oculists of his day. 8ater& he "as dubbed

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these facts& it "as ob#ious that Wilde)s "riting talent ca%e fro% his ,arents "ho had

"ritten %any fa%ous articles& books and "orks in the society at the ti%e.

Oscar Wilde was the second son in his family and born a year after his brother. The

eldest, William Wills Wilde, was born in 18;) %&. olland, 1(. In 18;


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valuable to me at that time. Though not so good as Tyrell, he had been in Freece,

had lived there and had saturated himself with Freek thought and Freek feeling.

?esides, he deliberately took the artistic standpoint towards everything, which

was coming more and more to be my standpoint. e was a delightful talker, too" a

really good talker in a certain wayCan artist in elo#uent words and vivid

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kneebreeches, black stocking, a soft loose silk shirt with a wide turndown collar and a large

flowing green tie. This, however, was only done for what would nowadays be called publicity. In

his daily life, he was always fashionably dressed and never appeared in public e/cept in the

correct0 clothing %olland, '+. herrard %via olland illustrates Oscar Wilde0s fashion which

was influenced by onorJ de ?al>ac.

In the day time when he was at work, he dressed in a white dressinggown

fashioned after the monkish cowl that ?al>ac used to wear at his writing

table. =t that time he was modeling himself on ?al>ac. ?eside the dressing

gown, he has ac#uired an ivory cane with a head of tur#uoises, which was a

replica of the famous walking stick which onorJ de ?al>ac used to carry when

love had transformed the recluse into a fop %&. olland A(.

Through the #uotation it can be seen that Oscar Wilde imitated ?al>ac0s fashion in his

daily life. onorJ de ?al>ac who is a playwright, editor, essayist, novelist and short story writer

and best known as a novelist was born on -ay '( th, 1ac0s deep observation of human life and behavior is

reflected in his comple/ characters and situations which came together from various

backgrounds in a single story %5amousauthors.org. In 18)(, ?al>ac also wrote the first true

philosophical e/pression of dandyism book, Treatise on 9legant Hiving. e started the dandies0

phenomenon in 5rance and influenced many people including Oscar Wilde. =fter the dandies0

phenomenon in 5rance ended, the phenomenon returned to ?ritain through Oscar Wilde. %e is

preceded by the infamous ?ritish dandy and life performance artist, ?eau ?rummell, but after

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?al>ac0s dandies the phenomenon returns to ?ritish Isles through Wilde and his silk.

%Hanternpro6ect.com. This statement proves that Oscar Wilde was the founder of dandies0

phenomenon in ?ritain after ?al>ac0s.

-.-. Christianity Influence to Wilde

Wilde0s interest to Dhristianity began before his imprisonment. e had

-.3. ;ictorian British Society

&ictorian 9ra was a period of the reigning @ueen &ictoria of Freat ?ritain and orthern

Ireland. = period in ?ritish history which great progress and fast changes in every realm of life

occurred. &ictorian 9ra e/tended from 18)< to 1+(1, along with the reign of @ueen &ictoria.

Handow %'((+, pars. 1;, states that the &ictorian =ge was described as having rapid changes

and developments in nearly every sphereCfrom advances in medical, scientific and

technological knowledge to changes in population growth and location. This idea about the rapid

changes and progress happening during &ictorian 9ra is also supported by Faunt that the

&ictorian ?ritain saw great e/pansion of wealth, power, and culture. he made revolution in

mechanical industry. Faunt said !ever before had so many inventions been turned into

practical advantage and made to produce riches. ever before had the life of a people made to

depend on machines$ %1+A;, 18. Buring this period, 9ngland0s economy changed from an

agrarianbased, handicraft economy to one dominated by urban, machinedriven manufacturing

%7alph ';8.

In !Industrial 7evolution* Hife ?efore The Industrial 7evolution$, the condition of

?ritain changes the country from an agricultural into an industrialist country and leads into

!rapid economic and population growth$. This revolution, in fact, also brings a drastic change in

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the society. The increasing population in each region of ?ritain makes everyone should struggle

for their life" it brings the rise of the middle class and the e/istence of child workers at that time.

-oreover, the e/istence of poverty is one of the problems appeared at the time of &ictorian era.

The development of machinery, in particular, transformed the te/tile industry in &ictorian

?ritain era. 4reviously, the work of manufacturing the garments or clothes was made mainly in

homes and this led into the rise of a system in manufacturing te/tiles which called as S)eating

System or S)eated *orkers. The term of sweated workers is related to !those engaged, usually at

home, in the manufacture of slop clothing, inferior shoes and slippers, cheap chairs and cabinets,

and crude nails, files, and cutlery$ %=usubel 1+;;*)1. In The 2ate 3ictorians+ ! Short History,

=usubel mentions that the workers of this sweating system were !lacking of the protection of

factory acts and trade unions, they worked unbelievably long hours for very low pay and under

shockingly unwholesome circumstances$ %)1. This condition is unavoidable since many people

need to work to make living so that those workers accept the low payment for their skills or

work, but at the same time it smothers0 the workers slowly.

CHAPTER III

2he Beauty 6eflected in the 2"o Short Stories

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3.1. General Ideas of Beauty

esthetics is a branch of ,hiloso,hy dealing "ith nature of art& beauty and taste&

"ith the creation and a,,reciation of beauty (5erria%=Webster.co%& $esthetics'!. In his

book entitled ! History of !esthetics, ?osan#uet says, !the term aesthetics is adopted with the

meaning now recogni>ed, in order to designate the philosophy of the beautiful as a distinct

province of theoretical in#uiryK for reflection upon beauty and upon fine arts begins among

ellenic thinkers at least as early as the time of ocrates, if not, in a certain sense, with still

earlier philosophers$ %?osan#uet, 1+::* 1. It means that aesthetics term has been known for

centuries through different ages and human civili>ations even when people have not used the

term before. =nd the desire to understand the beauty and fine arts has made the great thinkers

from ancient civili>ations learn and discuss it to find the meaning that lies behind themCbeauty

and fine arts.

=ccording to O4ford !dvanced 2earner5s Dictionary, beauty is !the #uality of being

pleasing to the senses or to the mind$ %'((;*1'1. 2herefore& beauty can be defined as the

uality of ,erson& ani%al& ,lace or things "hich can gi#e ,leasure or satisfaction to our

senses.owever, no one can give a definite meaning of beauty. The topic of beauty has been

discussed since long time ago, from the ancient times up until now. Beauty is studied as ,art of

se#eral fields of study such as aesthetics& sociology& social ,sychology& and culture. Beauty

can be related to %any things in this "orld for e0a%,le& nature and art. =s part of

aesthetics, beauty deals with the interpretation of some entity as being in balance

and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional wellbeing.

ince this can be a sub6ective e/perience, it is often said that Lbeauty is in the eye of the

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beholder.L It means everyone has their own opinion about beauty and what things they are

considered as beautiful.

In =ncient Freek, the word for beautiful is kalosand beauty is to kalon" they have moral

as well as aesthetic force. They refer to nobility0 as well as what we would think of as direct

visual beauty. =s for kalos, it has some meanings such as powerful0, e/cellent0, and strong0,

but has the sense of healthy0, serviceable0, beautiful0, attractive0, lovely0 and good0. The

senses that have been described may be brought together the idea of what is ordered or sound0

and those basic senses making kalosas one of key term in Freek thought. 4lato relates the kalos

very closely to the agathonCoutstanding or worthy. This can be understood as beauty has the

hidden power that can give great impact to anyone who perceives it. It is an aspect of it, or its

form. The kalonor beauty is the moving force of the striving for harmony or fulfillment in many

aspects of life. =n eternal idea of the kalonlies behind in the earthly form. It can be concluded

that beauty has an aspect that can stimulate every single creature in this world. It leads people to

find ways to reali>e a concept of trueness, organi>ed, and righteousness in our life.

4lato in his Symposi"m, made the key connection of beauty to eros, desire. e believed

that worldly beauty especially the beauty of se/ually attractive people could bring us toward a

celestial beauty, a beauty that would consist of the purest, most abstract truth. 0rosis the ability

to perceive the kalon" from the vision or knowledge of the kalonthrough eros, come virtue and

immortality. The kalonblends deity, cosmos and humanity, and through art and virtue it brings

meaning, fellowship and eternity into life.

-oreover, since the topic of this research is related to beauty, it is necessary to discuss

the division of beauty that e/ists in this world through the way it can be perceived by human

senses. Thus, the type of beauty will be divided into two categories, tangible and intangible.

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3.1.1. 2angible Beauty

=ccording to O4ford !dvance 2earners Dictionary%'((;, tangible is something that

can be clearly seen to e/ist or that you can touch and feel0 %pg.1;:8. In other words, it relates to

something physical or visible through our senses. The tangible beauty that can be seen in the

stories, The #o"ng $ing and The Happy Prince, are the description of those pictures#ue building,

beautiful ornaments, pretty 6ewelries, beautiful clothes, beautiful gems and paintings.

In the short story of The #o"ng $ing, the young king is attracted to the beautiful things

e/ist in his palace. Those beautiful things have led him into a great ama>ement when he finds

himself in his new world. It can be seen from this passage*

K but the wonderful palaceC6oye"se, as they called itCof which he now

found himself lord, seemed to him to be a new world freshfashioned for his

delight" and as soon as he could escape from the council board or audience

chamber, he would run down with the great staircase, with its lion of gilt bron>e

and its steps of bright porphyry, and wander from room to room, and

corridor to corridor, like one who was seeking to find in beauty an anodyne

from pain, a sort of restoration from sickness %Wilde, '((), 23* '1A.

This passage shows the physical beauty that is visible to his eyes is giving him pleasure

and satisfaction. e really en6oys what he had seen through his eyes and found it as a fondness to

the beauty that he has never seen before. 4reviously, this young king lived as a si/teen years old

boy in the forest with a poor goatherd and always following the goatherd when he was herding

the goats" he is also wearing rough leathern tunic and coarse sheepskin cloak. It can be said he

lived modestly in the forest as a young man. This new situationCof living in the beautiful palace

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Cis drastically giving him big changes in his lifeCfrom a goatherd into a young kingCrags to

riches.

On another occasion he had been missed for several hours, and after a lengthened

search had been discovered in a little chamber in one of the northern turrets of the

palace ga>ing, as if one in trance, at a Freek gem carved with the figure of

=donis. e had been seen, so the tale ran, pressing his warm lips to the marble

brow of an anti#ue statue that has been discovered in the bed river on the occasion

of the building of the stone bridge, and was inscribed with the name of the

?ithynian slave of adrian. e had passed a whole night in noting the effect of

the moonlight on a silver image of 9ndymion. %Wilde, '((), 23* '1A

2oung 3ing0s fondness to the beautiful things e/ist in his palace has made him into a

worshipper of beauty. e becomes so fascinated with the beauty of those beautiful things and

even

The robe of tissued gold, the sceptre and the rubystudded crown with its rows and rings

of pearls are three things that beautifully made for the coronation of this young 3ing. These three

ob6ects can be categori>ed into tangible beauty since they can be touched and seen by human

senses and can produce satisfaction to those who seen them.

5irstly, the robe tissued of gold can be considered as beautiful because it is weaved by

using a thread of gold and gold has been known to all human civili>ation as a sign of nobility and

divinity.

e thought that he was standing in a long, low attic, amidst the whir and clatter of

many looms. The meagre daylight peered in through the grated windows, and

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showed him the gaunt figures of the weavers bending over their cases.

%Wilde, '((), 23, p. '1;

K =nd he turned away scowling, and threw the shuttle across the loom, and

the young 3ing saw that it was threaded with a thread of gold. %Wilde,

'((), 23, p. '1:

ince long time ago, the robe of a willbecrowned king or #ueen always contains the

gold element, for e/ample a thread of gold. This is showing that gold is a symbol of nobility and

divinity. It will be shining when the light falls on it and showing the greatness of a king or #ueen.

The robe that will be worn in the coronation should be handled carefully by the weaver because a

thread of gold is very e/pensive and delicate, even the weaver sometimes should not be sleeping

because he has to finish the robe so that the new king will look beautiful and sophisticated when

the coronation takes place.

econdly, the precious thing that is also considered as beautiful and tangible is the pearl

from the young 3ing0s sceptre. The sceptre with its rows and rings is covered with pearls. In

classical 7ome, only persons above a certain rank were allowed to wear pearl 6ewelry. The Hatin

word for pearl literally means Luni#ueL, attesting to the fact that no two pearls are identical

%http+)))-pearloasis-compearlhistory-html. 4earl is also a symbol for purity and innocence

because of its white color" it is used to be sewn in bridal gowns (http+crystal'

c"re-compearl-html7.

Hastly, another thing that can produce a satisfaction to one0s eyes is the rubystudded

crown. The crown for the new king is usually made from any metal and studded with gems,

especially ruby. 7uby is usually associated to nobility. It has been considered for thousands of

years as !king0s stone or #ueen of gemstone because it surpasses all other precious stones in

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http://www.pearloasis.com/pearlhistory.htmlhttp://www.pearloasis.com/pearlhistory.html


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virtue, and its value e/ceeds even that of the Biamond$ %crystalvaults.com.

7uby has everything

a precious stone should have" Femstone.org mentions that it has !magnificent color, e/cellent

hardness and outstanding brilliance$. In addition to that, it is an e/tremely rare gemstone,

especially in its finer #ualities. This means that the finest ruby is rarer than the fine diamond. The

#ualities possess by finest ruby, to make them rarer than diamond, are the si>e and transparency

of the ruby" the larger and clearer the ruby, the rarer and the more e/pensive the ruby. The beauty

of ruby has made many rulers in the world put this gemstone as decoration of the king0s crown.

Bue to its rarity, many people %rich ones put a lot of effort to get this stone even mobili>es other

people %poor ones to bring them this stone.

K and there he saw an immense multitude of men toiling in the bed of a dried

up river. They swarmed up the crag like ants. They dug deep pits in the ground

and went down into them. ome of them cleft the rocks with great a/es" others

grabbled in the sand. They tore up the cactus by its roots, and trampled on the

scarlet blossoms. They hurried about, calling to each other, and no man was idle.

%Wilde, '((), 23, p.'1


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servants, have to find in any part of the driedup river and do whatever that can bring them to the

finding of ruby.

=like with The #o"ng $ing, the story of The Happy Princegives similar depiction about

what things related to the physical beauty. In this short story, the beauty can be seen from the

statue of a prince that is covered by gems and gold leaves. The sapphires, ruby and leaves of gold

are, obviously, attracting the people who see it and it can be seen from the passages*

igh above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the appy 4rince. e

was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright

sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his swordhilt. e was very much

admired indeed. K

e is as beautiful as a weathercock,0 remarked one of the Town Douncilors

who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic taste" K

I am glad there is someone in the world who is #uite happy0, muttered a

disappointed man as he ga>ed at the wonderful statue. %Wilde, '((), 4, p.

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relates to material value. In social conte/t, gold can show the status and position of people who

wear or own gold in the structure of the society. In religious conte/t, gold can be used !to

e/press as the veneration of divine or deities or a divinity$. This implies that the nature of gold is

as a means of communication. 5or e/ample, people who wearing gold or own gold can transmit a

sign0, to whoever sees it, that those people are rich or coming from wealthy families.

In the previous #uotation, there are some comments made by the city people after seeing

the statue ofHappy Prince. 5irstly, one of the town councillors said that the statue is as beautiful

as weathercock. The weathercock or weather vane is an instrument on the top of buildings. The

vane is functioned as the pointer of wind directions and used generally as a decoration of

buildings. The Town Douncillors compares the beauty of the statue, in this case the fine leave of

gold, to the weathercock. The weather vane gains name weathercock0 from 4eter, one of the

twelve disciples of Gesus Dhrist. ?ecause the cock %rooster relates to the Gesus0 prophecy that

4eter will denounce im for three times before the cock crows. The beauty of weathercock

compares to the statue because the weathercock can be seen clearly since its position on the top

of the building and it is pointing to the direction where the wind blows.

The statue of the appy 4rince, along with the vane in the story, is also put in the top of

the tall column so that people can see and admire it. 5or the weathercock is also considered as

the emblem of the sun" for the cock is natural emblem to descry the dawn %Gennings, 188A. It

can be said that the Town Douncillors is comparing the statue to the weathercock because of its

goldencovered body which is as beautiful as sun that symboli>es by the weathercock as well.

The second comment is made by a disappointed man who thinks the statue of appy

4rince is a reali>ation of the prince being happy. The word happy that modifies prince mentioned

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here by the disappointed man refers to the attribute that the statue has, especially the fine gold

leaves that covers the body of theHappy Prince statue.

In her paper, The Symolic Nat"re of Gold in 1agical and Religio"s (onte4ts , ?ehr

mentions Ganes, who wrote a book entitledGod and Gold 2ate !nti8"ity. In this book Ganes has

shown the continuity of the use of gold, and its numerous associations with the numinous, from a

preDhristian to a Dhristian world. It means that gold held its importance even within a religion

that upheld poverty and the re6ection of worldly goods. The disappointed man shows an

e/pression that he lacks of material, in this case money or gold, which can be a symbol of

prosperity or prosperous life. 2he disa,,ointed %an thinks that by ha#ing all the gold& "hen

he "as ali#e& the rince li#ed in ha,,y state. s the statue of ?a,,y rince said&


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Therefore, intangible beauty can be defined as something that is beautiful in inner state rather

than physical state.

In the story of The #o"ng $ingthe e/ample of intangible beauty can be seen through the

behavior of and the words utter of the 2oung 3ing after he finds out how his delicate robe, rubies

for the crown and the pearl for his sceptre are produced.

=nd the Dhamberlain and the high officers of tate came in and made obeisance

to him, and the pages brought him the robe of tissued gold, and set the

crown and the sceptre before him.

=nd the young 3ing looked at them, and they were beautiful. -ore beautiful were

they than aught that he had ever seen. ?ut he remembered his dreams, and he

said to his court0s lords* Take these things away, for I will not wear

them.0

K ?ut he spake sternly to them again, and said* Take these things away, and

hide them from me. Though it be the day of my coronation, I will not wear them.

5or on the loom of sorrow, and by the white hands of 4ain, has this my robe been

woven. There is ?lood in the heart of the ruby, and Beath in the heart of the

pearl.0 =nd he told them his three dreams. %Wilde, '((), 23, p.'1+

The passages show how wise the young 3ing acts and thinks after he e/perienced three

dreams which unfold the ugliness0 of producing beautiful and precious things. e insists not

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wear the king0s raiment since they are produced on other people0s sufferings. It is the people,

whom he will be the lord of, who suffer from the oppression and torture in order to give him the

proper king0s raiment. is actions and decision to abandon his king0s apparel shows his love and

empathy to his people. e wants to see his people especially the poor to live properly and fairly.

is encounter with the ?ishop in the Dathedral leads his stern respond towards the old bishop"

his respond can reflect his beautiful heart as shown in following*

hall Goy wear what Frief has fashionedM0 said the young 3ing. =nd he told his

three dreams.%Wilde, '((), 23, p.''1

=fter the young 3ing tells the old ?ishop about his dreams, the ?ishop replies to him by

mentioning the ugliness or worst things that e/ist in this world even around them such as

robbery, people with leper, the beggars, the thieves, and the pirates. =lso, he advises the young

3ing to forget his three dreams since the old man considers it as only dreams. This implies that

the young 3ing should not think hard and take it as a burden since the young 3ing0s dreams are

making him weary. This can be inferred from the young 3ing0s conversation with the ?ishop in

the following*

?ishop * =nd as for dreams, think no more of them. The burden of this

world is too great for one man to bear, and the world0s sorrow

too heavy for one heart to suffer.0

2oung 3ing * ayest thou that in this houseM0 said the young 3ing, and he

strode past the ?ishop, and climbed up the steps of the altar,

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and stood before the image of Dhrist. %Wilde, '((), 23,

p.''1

It can be inferred that the young 3ing feels that it is his responsibility to provide the

prosperous life to his people and do many righteous acts towards anybody even to the leper, the

beggars or the thieves. The implied beauty in these passages is love. Hove is the most beautiful

thing in this world. The love that is owned by the young 3ing makes him abandon another

beauty0 that he owns. e chooses not to wear the raiment or sovereign0s robe because he knows

that this beautiful robe and his king0s attire need sacrifice from the people who make it. In other

words, he refuses to wear the beautiful raiment, because he loves his people.

5urthermore, the act of the young 3ing to fight the statement delivers by the ?ishop

occurs because the young 3ing sticks to the truth though the ?ishop has asked him to turn away

from what he believes as the righteousness. Instead, the young 3ing #uestions the ?ishop0s

credibility as a religious leader since stating controversial statement in front of the young 3ing.

It is charity that e/ists in the story of The Happy Prince. In the short story, the prince

portrayed by the statue of Happy Princeis doing heroic things helped by a little wallow. This

statue of a prince sacrifices his beauty by asking the wallow to give the sapphires in his eyes,

the ruby on his sword hilt and the fine leaves of gold covering his body to the poor or the needy.

The act of sacrificing that is done by the statue of appy 4rince and the wallow can be

considered as beautiful. The statue of appy 4rince willingly gives the gems, sapphires and a

ruby, and the leaves of gold that cover his body for the poor people by the help of a wallow"

and the wallow is willing to sacrifice his time to fly to the south only for helping and fulfilling

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the re#uest of the appy 4rince statue. The appy 4rince and wallow are willing to give

whatever they have to make people happy. The statue of appy 4rince does this because he sees

the realities that there are many people of his town living in poverty and he never knew this

before. When he knows about it, he would like to help them but he cannot move since he is a

statue. o, when a little wallow stays with him, he asks this bird to help him. =t first, the

wallow refuses to help. Hater on, he helps the statue of appy 4rince to give away the

sapphires, ruby and leaves of gold to the poor or the needy. Their act of sharing, helping and

caring can be considered as beautiful because it brings happiness for other people and reduces

the sorrow that the poor suffer.

The statue of appy 4rince and the wallow show that the beauty can come from small

acts and sincere intention. They give their belongings, precious gems and times, to help others, to

make other people0s life better.

3.2. Relation of Beauty with Humanity

The word aestheticism gains its popularity since a wellknown author promotes this term

through his works and styles. It is Oscar Wilde who claims himself as an aesthete or the =postle

of =estheticism0 %olland, '(()*es beauty such

as flowers. The use of precious gems and stones can be seen in his two short stories, The Happy

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Prince andThe #o"ng $ingwhere Wilde e/posed the beauty of ruby, pearl, sapphire and gold to

encode moral issues in his fairy tales.

In The #o"ng $ingand The Happy Prince, Wilde uses gold, ruby, pearl and sapphire as

the means to emphasi>e the beautiful things which usually refers to nobility and weaves a story

that can deliver his criticism towards the society by using those four elements. Those four

elements are considered as precious, valuable and referring to nobility which are limited only to

the upper class to show their status or level in the society. In a letter, Wilde states his purpose in

writing The Happy Princewas to address the issue of modern art in &ictorian society %art

Bavis and olland, );;. Through various characters, such as the townspeople, Wilde wants to

critici>e the sentiments of the 1+thcentury art movement LWhat is not beautiful, is not usefulL.

Wilde fights this idea with the transformation of the statue from golden and beautiful to grey and

ugly. e supported the realism movement that showing that even something is not beautiful, it is

useful.

Bear meN ow shabby the appy 4rince looksN0 he said.

ow shabby, indeedN0 cried the Town Doucillors, who always agreed with the

-ayor. K

The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes were gone, and he is golden no

longer,0 said the Town Douncillors. K

=nd here is actually a dead bird at his feetN0 continued the -ayor. We must

really issue a proclamation that birds are not to be allowed to die here.0

=nd the Town Dlerk made a note of the suggestions.

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o they pulled down the statue of the appy 4rince. =s he is no longer

beautiful he is no longer useful,0 said the =rt 4rofessor at the Eniversity.

%Wilde, 4, pp. '


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Through his two short stories, Wilde wants to pour his thoughts towards the Hate

&ictorian society. The ?ritish society, indeed, achieved its highest peak when @ueen &ictoria

ruled the country. =ccording to udson and =dams %from !&ictorian =ge* 7eview$ par. 1, the

&ictorian era was described as !a period of dramatic change that brought 9ngland to its highest

point of development of world power$, but also !a period of prudishness, repression and old

fashioned grew$ %Handow '((+, par. 1. The rapid changes shown in ?ritain gave Wilde

concerns on the condition of low class people at that time. It is sweated workers or sweatshop

that becomes one of the ob6ects that Wilde captured in his short stories, The #o"ng $ingand The

Happy Prince.

Wilde uses his aesthetics adoration towards beautiful things to encode his view on the

real !ugliness$ that e/ists in the life of ?ritish society. e does not only use his knowledge of

Dlassics to describe the world that he creates for the two short stories but also the virtues that he

considers appropriate to the message he wants to say.

=ccording to 4eterson and eligman0s book, (haracter Strengths and 3irt"es Handook

as #uoted in Wikipedia, !the virtue, humanity, is a set of strengths focused on tending and

befriending others0.$ This phrase e/pects us to give awareness to our friends or even strangers

that really need the help from us. Through the two short stories, Wilde intends to show the

attitudes of the young 3ing and appy 4rince are a proof of their ability to sense the hardship

that happens in the settings of these two short stories. Their ability to feel the sufferings from the

poor is leading them to act humanely. In addition, the good deed performed by the wallow by

helping his new friend, the appy 4rince, to deliver the beautiful gems and gold leaves to the

needy and even sacrificed his life is also a proof of loyalty and love in his companionship to the

appy 4rince.

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=ll the sacrifices made by the three characters in Wilde0s short stories, The #o"ng $ing

andThe Happy Prince, reflects the Wilde0s implied concern of humanity. =ccording to O4ford

!dvanced 2earners Dictionary%ornby, '((;, the word humanity means !the #uality of being

kind to people and animals by making sure that they do not suffer more than is necessary" the

#uality of being humane$ %ed by attachment, comfort, and generally

positive feelings. In Freek, love can be divided into four types. They are torgeaffection,

4hilliafriendship, 9rosromance and =gapeunconditional love or charity. Hove is also the topic

that is implied in Wilde0s short stories.

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Dharity is the type of love that is described as caring regardless of the circumstance. It

gives, but it takes nothing in return. This kind of love is conceived from what the =ncient Freek

categori>ed as!gape.!gapeis often translated into unconditional love and usually relates to the

ew Testament0s Fod0s love to human, as well as human reciprocal love for Fod %!=gape$ in

9ncyclopaedia ?ritannica. Dharity contains a deepest sense of love than the other three because

it formulates the sense of giving and loving without asking rewards in return. Hewis in his book,

The Fo"r 2oves %1+:(, writes that the Bivinelove %or !gape is Fiftlove from Fod. e

highlights the Fiftlove from the sacrifice cycle e/ists in the Dhristianity which he illustrates as

!The 5ather gives all e is and has to the on. The on gives imself back to the 5ather, and

gives imself to the world, and for the world to the 5ather, and thus gives the world %in imself

back to the 5ather too$ %Hewis 11. It tells about the act of giving from the 5ather and the on

which engages the !love$ in the process of giving or sacrificing. This !Fiftlove$ that Wilde

wants to embed to his short stories, The #o"ng $ingand TheHappy Prince.

Wilde displays a similar type of sacrifice with different ob6ects to be sacrificed in his two

short stories. In The #o"ng $ing, Wilde shows the sacrifice of this young 3ing toward his

en6oyment from the beautiful ob6ects he adores that almost blind him from the sufferings of his

people. The same as the young 3ing0s attitude, the appy 4rince and the wallow in The Happy

Princeare showing good actions towards the poor people in appy 4rince0s country. ?oth of

them give the most precious things in their life to make others happy. The willingness of the

appy 4rince statue to give all his belongingsCthe precious gems and leaves of goldCthat

cover his body is a great e/ample of love to other people that Wilde wants to show. In addition,

the wallow, which accompanies the statue of appy 4rince, e/hibits a true companion and love

not only for the statue but also for the people in the town.

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In the story of The #o"ng 3ing, this young 3ing lives in a beautiful palace, but he

previously lived in the forest as a son of a goatherd. The beauty of the new place leads him to

worship the beauty he has never seen. It is similar to what happen to ?ritish people in &ictorian

era. The revolution in industry has da>>led them with the ability of the machines created at the

nineteenth century in which helping them to produce the goods easier and increased the

efficiency of the production. =s #uoted from !Industrial 7evolution$ the revolution is

!increasing the demand for the metal parts used in machinery$. Though, the ?ritish people

already have their original tools from the eighteenth century, the development of machine in the

nineteenth century was an advent for them %'(1A, par. );. This meant they could make money

easier than the previous era. It is paralleled with the condition of the young king. ?oth, young

king and &ictorian people were once lived in an average state, but one day they found themselves

living in a prosperous condition. ?y having a new status as a young king, this adopted son of a

goatherd transforms into a person who admired his new living place and its decorations. =t the

short period of time, he is mesmeri>ed by such beauty.

K but the wonderful palace6oye"se, as they called itCof which he now found

himself lord, seemed to him to be a new world freshfashioned for his

delightK.and, indeed, they were to him real voyages through a

marvelous land, K

-any curious stories were related about him at this period. It was said that a stout

?urgomaster, who had come to deliver a florid oratorical address on behalf

of the citi>ens of the town, had caught sight of him kneeling in real adoration

before a great picture that had 6ust been brought form &enice, and that

seemed to herald the worship of some new gods. %23, p. '1A pars. ;


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=ll rare and costly materials had certainly a great fascination for him, and in

his eagerness to procure them he had sent away many merchants, some to

traffic for amber with the rough fisherfolk of the north seas, some to 9gypt to

look for that curious green tur#uoise which is found only in the tombs of

kings, and is said to possess magical properties. K %23, '((), p.'1A par 8

The beautiful ob6ects seen by the young 3ing in his palace has impressed him and left

him into a deep adoration about many precious and beautiful ob6ects. This crave causes him to

order many merchants to go in any direction to get everything he wants to own without reali>ing

the impact resulted by his command. One of his commands was, for his coronation day, to have

king0s attireCrobe, sceptre and crownCtoiled by the artificers night and day to finish them and

the compensation for their worthy work was 6ewels searched in every corner in the world. The

outcome of his order affected the artificers. 5irstly, many weavers were employed by the

artificers and paid low to weave the king0s robe. These weavers had to work day and night

without having much break. It is similar to what happened to working classes in &ictorian era.

The working classes in &ictorian era fell into a working system which known as !sweated

workers$. The sweated workers underwent horrible conditions when working in the factories

which were portrayed by Wilde in The #o"ng $ing.

e %young 3ing thought that he was standing in a long, low attic, amidst the

whir and clatter of many looms. The meager daylight peered in through

the grated windows, and showed him the gaunt figure of the weavers bending over

their cases. 4ale, sicklylooking children were crouched on the huge cross

beams.

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=s the shuttles dashed through the warp they lifted up the heavy battens, and

when the shuttles stopped they let the battens fall and pressed the threads

together. Their faces were pinched with famine, and their thin hand shook and

trembled. ome haggard women were seated at table sewing. =

horrible odour filled the place. The air was foul and heavy, and the walls

dripped and streamed with damp. %23, Wilde, '(()*'1;

It is miserable to watch this condition of working environment for human. The sufferings

of weavers in this short story are also e/perienced by the working classes in &ictorian era

especially in sweatshop. Those who work in sweatshop industry lived in poor condition because

the workers were paid low, while they have to work hard to meet the high demand from the

customers.

To get the white pearl for young 3ing0s sceptre was the task burdened from the sceptre0s

artificers to the pearls0 finders. The finders were a hundred slave led by the negroes" the finders

should dive into the sea only to find the pearls with painful state.

=s soon as they had cast anchor an hauled down the sail, the negroes went into

the hold and brought up a long ropeladder, heavily weighted with lead. K

Then the negroes sei>ed the youngest of the slaves and knocked his gives off,

and filled his nostrils and with his ears with wa/, and tied a big stone round his

waist. e crept wearily down the ladder, and disappeared into the sea. = few

bubbles rose where he sank. ome of the other slaves peered curiously over the

side. =t the prow of the galley sat a shark charmer, beating monotonously upon a

drum. %23, Wilde, '((), p. '1


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This diving procession took a very long time since it was not easy to find the oysters

which have the pearls inside. In the past, the pearl diving is the only way to get the natural pearls

because of its rarity. In !4earl unting$ %'(1A, par. 1 mentions that the pearl hunting started in

4ersian gulf and Gapan. The increasing activity of hunting was caused by higher demands of

India in the eighteenth and nineteenth century since that country became more prosperous %as

#td. from !4earl Biving$, '((1 .To get the pearl, the diver should dive into at least 1' to A(

meters depth to find it in one single breath %#td. from !4earl unting, '(1A, pars. A. These

circumstances were not uncommon resulting death to the divers. This pearl diving activity that

caused death was also seen by the young 3ing in one of his three dreams and brought him into

agony.

The last part of the young 3ing0s command on preparation of his coronation was the

searching of rubies for his crown. 7uby is well known for its value since ancient era and usually

used as the 6ewelry for the noble. To decorate the king0s crown, the artificers ordered the rubies

from the miner of ruby which is depicted by =varice. =varice summoned her servants to dig up

in every corner of the woods and in the banks of driedup river. =nd when those people were

digging, =varice was visited by Beath. The conversation between =varice and Beath was like a

bargain that will decide the fate of the servants. -any servants were lost because of =gue, 5ever

and 4lague.

The circumstances that happened to the working classes in the story ofThe #o"ng $ing

were alike with the working classes in &ictorian ?ritain. They live in a very poor condition, paid

in very low wages, and the working hour that was bad if it is compared to today conditions. The

working hour was about fourteen hours to nineteen hours per day %#td. from Bel Dol, !9vidence

Fiven ?efore the adler Dommittee. The depiction of &ictorian ociety that grew rapidly into

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great development was not giving same to the conditions of the society, in this case the working

class. The working class people could not en6oy the same happiness0 like the upper class society.

The new world that the &ictorian ?ritish found has changed them to be more individualistic and

did not care of what happened to other people. While the young 3ing showed different reaction

towards the poor people. e abandoned his personal pleasure and instead transformed his

character from a person who worshipped the ?eauty, which almost makes him forget his

surrounding, to a person who cares of poor or marginali>ed people in his land. Wilde shows the

?ritish people in &ictorian era the figure of young 3ing who re6ects the precious and beautiful

things for his coronation as an act of his awareness to what he saw in his dreams considering the

conditions of the people that have worked for him to make the robe, to get the pearls and rubies

for his coronation. The young king is shown by Wilde as a person with an e/ceptional character

that is different from most ?ritish people during &ictorian era. e is showing his love through a

sacrifice of the desire and pleasure of beautiful things.

Enlike The #o"ng $ingwhich only shows one main characterCthe young 3ing, the short

story The Happy Princeshows two characters that emphasi>es the sacrifice of the appy 4rince

and the wallow as a proof of their love, the love of appy 4rince statue to his people and the

love of the wallow to appy 4rince.

?y witnessing the unfairness in the city, the appy 4rince felt touched and needed to help

the needy. =fter en6oying all the pleasure he had when he was alive, he now consumes the reality

that for long time he had never seen behind the wall of his palace. Wilde named the palace where

appy 4rince lived after the 5rench words, Sans'So"ciwhich means carefree. e seemed to tell

that everyone who lives in the palace lives happily not need to worry about everything outside

their palace through the speech uttered by the appy 4rince to the wallow.

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When I was I alive and had the human heart,0 answered the statue, I did not

know what tears were, for I lived in the 4alace of ansouci, where sorrow is not

allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and

in the evening I led the dance in the Freat all. 7ound the garden ran a very lofty

wall, but never I cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so

beautiful. -y courtiers called me the appy 4rince, and happy indeed I was, if

pleasure be happiness. o I lived, and so I died. =nd now that I am dead they have

set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city,

and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep.0 %4, Wilde,

'(()* '


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4rince. The charity that lies in these two sacrifices is a reflection of Wilde0s love to Fod. Dharity

is mostly known by the Dhristian as the act of loving Fod as it is referring to most wellknown

phrase !Fod is Hove$ from the oly ?ible in 1 Gohn A*8 %I& ?ible, ;


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=nd the young 3ing looked at them, and they were beautiful. -ore beautiful were

they than aught he had ever seen. ?ut he remembered his dreams, and said to his

lords* Take these things away, for I will not wear them.0 %23, Wilde, '(()* '1+

=nd the courtiers were ama>ed, and some of them laughed, for they thought that

he was 6esting. %'1+

?ut he spake sternly to them again, and said* Take these things away, and hide

them from me. Thought it be the day of my coronation, I will not wear them. 5or

on the loom of sorrow, and by the white hands of 4ain, has this my robe been

woven. There is ?lood in the heart of the ruby, and Beath in the heart of the

pearl.0 =nd he told them his three dreams. %'1+

2he ,assages are e#idence that the king rai%ent& indeed& is beautiful and %ade for

the king)s coronation and only for king. But later& the young Ding refuses to "ear it because

he kno"s ho" the attire "hich he should "ear is %ade of in his drea%s. ?e %entions four

things that relate to his rai%ent %aking& they are sorro"& ,ain& blood and death "hich

beco%e the basis of his refusal. *urther%ore& he describes the conditions of ,eo,le "ho are

toiling for hi% to create a beautiful robe& cro"n and sce,ter after uttering his refusal to

"ear the rai%ent.

In the first dream, he sees how miserable the life of the weavers of his robeCto eat and

to li#e ,ro,erly are so%ething that they only could drea% because of their "ages are #ery

lo" and they cannot feed their children "ith healthy food and good ,ortion. In his second

drea%& the ,earl for decorating his sce,tre should be earned by the sla#e "ho has to risk

his life by s"i%%ing into ocean dee,. ?e "atches ho" the sla#e)s blood gushes out fro% his

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ears and nose because the nostrils and ears are filled "ith "a0 by the sla#e)s %aster&

,re#iously& "hile he is getting the ,earl fro% the de,th of the ocean. It is ,ainful for the

young Ding to "atch this e,isode and he cannot do anything. nd lastly& in his third

drea%s he sees three ti%es the death of #arice)s ser#ants "hile they are seeking rubies for

the king)s cro"n.2here are t"o e#ents occur bet"een #arice and Aeath& but only one shall

decide the fate of #arice)s ser#ants. *irstly& Aeath asks #arice to gi#e hi% a third of her

ser#ants and "ill let her ser#ants continue the %ining. But he changes his %ind "hen he

looks at #arice)s fist& "hich contains three grains of corn. So& he asks her to gi#e hi% one

of her three grains of corn to be ,lanted in his garden.But she refuses for three ti%es the

reuest of Aeath to gi#e hi% a grain of corn "hich results to the death of #arice)s ser#ants

through three ti%es occurrence. 2he death of #arice)s ser#ants are 2he latter e#ent ,uts

#arice and Aeath in a situation "here Aeath tries to ,ersuade #arice to gi#e hi% a grain

of corn& but she refuses three ti%es& ?ere lies i%,licit %eanings deli#ered by Wilde in

"hich are i%,ortant to the

2he young Ding cannot do anything but "ee, "hen he "itnesses this tragedy. The

sufferings and hardships watched by the young 3ing in his dreams are making him a different

person. It is why he insists to abandon the raiment.

2hose descri,tion are told by the young Ding to the courtiers and noble%en but

they see% disa,,ro#e the drea%s and lead to the objection fro% the courtiers and the

noble%en.The courtiers even whisper their disappointment of the story of the young 3ing0s

three dreams. They said*

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urely he is mad" for what is a dream but a dream, and a vision but a visionM

They are not real things that one should heed them. =nd what have to do with the

lives of those who toil for usM hall a man not eat bread till he has seen the sower,

nor drink wine till he has talked with the vinedresserM0%23, Wilde, '(()*'1+

This passage showed us that the courtiers were not really concern of what the lower class people

e/perienced. They consider that the dreams were only dreams and one should not think about it

too much. 5urthermore, they thought it was not necessary to really consider0 the condition of the

people who worked for them. They think they have given some amounts of money for those

people who produced the things they consumed. They thought it was enough and they did not

have to give more care for those workers0s live condition or hardship. 2hey do not reali+e that

e#en though the stories are drea%s& but it ha,,ens in the real life. 2hey do and %ay not

uestion ho" those beautiful objects are %ade because they only care about ho" ,leasant

the things if they are theirs.

In addition, a Dhamberlain could not accept that a king would not dress according the

tradition of king0s coronation. Because it is his duty to %ake sure the cere%onials and rituals

or traditions usually held by the %onarchy go as "ell as it should be . %Wikipedia, !Hord

Dhamberlain$, par.:


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?ut the young 3ing replied in ama>ement,

K Is it so, indeedM0 he #uestioned. Will they not know me for a king if I have

not a king0s raimentM0 %'1+

They will not know thee, my lord,0 cried the Dhamberlain. %'1+

I had thought that there had been men who were kinglike,0 he answered, but it

may be as thou sayest. =nd yet I will not wear this robe, nor will I be crowned with this

crown, but even as I came to the 4alace so I will go forth from it.0 %'1+''(

=s he made his decision to not wearing his king0s raiment, the young 3ing decided to

take his leathern tunic and rude wooden staff with a crown from wild briar for his king0s raiment.

This decision made the noblemen upset when they saw him in the Freat all. The noblemen

could not accept that a king will dress in leathern tunic, holding rude wooden staff and crowned

by wild briar rose.

=nd the nobles made merry, and some of them cried out to him, -y lord, the

people wait for their king, and thou showest them a beggar,0 and others were

wroth and said, e brings shame upon our state, and is unworthy to be our

master.0 ?ut he answered not a word, but passed on, and went down the bright

porphyry staircase, and out through the gates of bron>e, and mounted upon his

horse, and rode towards the cathedral, the little page running beside him. %23,

Wilde ''(

Through this description, it can be seen that the young 3ing is upset and disappointed with those

noblemen but he gave no answer and did not really confront them. Instead he mounted his horse

-agdalena A'


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to the cathedral where his coronation will be held. They showed that they were not aware of

other people especially the poor ones. They did not take it seriously what the young 3ing was

really concerned at. =lthough he was ignored by the noblemen, he still put high hope on the

people, nobles and commoners, to understand him about his decision not to wear king0s raiment

because he did care about the origin of the raiment. e feels afraid and sorry for those people

who are toiling day and night for preparing his king0s raiment and %any "ho die in searching

for the decoration of his sce,tre and cro"n. But in reality& his ,eo,le %ocked and

hu%iliated hi%.

=nd people laughed and said, It is the 3ing0s fool who is riding by,0 and they

mocked him. %23, Wilde ''(

=nd he drew rein and said, ay, but I am the 3ing.0 =nd he told them his three

dreams. %''(

=nd a man came out of the crowd and spake bitterly to him and said, knowest

thou that out of the lu/ury of the rich cometh the life of the poorM ?y your pomp

we are nurtured, and your vices give us bread. To toil a master is bitter, but to

have no master to toil is more bitter still. Thinkest thou that ravens will feed usM

=nd what cure hast thou for these thingsM Wilt thou say to the buyer, !Thou shalt

buy for so much,$ and to the seller, !Thou shalt sell at this priceM$ I trow not.

Therefore go back to thy 4alace and put thy purple fine linen. What hast thou to

do with us, and what we sufferM0 %''(

*urther%ore& he recei#es %ore %ockery fro% his ,eo,le of his decision than

agree%ent. They do not think that the reaction made by the young 3ing will affect their life.

-agdalena A)


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They cannot see the young 3ing0s good intention and reason to ob6ect wearing the king0s

raiment.nd e#en a %an& fro% the cro"d& re,lies to hi% in a cynic "ay and think of his

drastic change is a useless thing. 2he %an)s cynicis% rises because they ha#e been in too

%uch suffering and ha#e lost their ho,e to their %asters and it is better for the% to do "hat

they should do and so does the Ding.

=s same as The #o"ng $ing, the story of The Happy Princeshows the insensitive leaders

of the condition of their people. 2he 2o"n Councillors are the re,resentation of the leaders

"ho% Wilde describes as selfish or only concerning their li#es and nobody else.They only

care about their own image in the elite society but never care about the hardships which are

e/perienced by their people. It can be inferred from this e/cerpt*

e was very much admired indeed. e is as beautiful as weathercock,0 remarked

one of the Town Douncillors who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic

tastes" only not #uite so useful,0 he added, fearing lest people should think him

unpractical, which he really was not. K %4, Wilde '


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9arly the ne/t morning the -ayor was walking in the s#uare below in the

company with the Town Douncillors. =s they passed the column he looked up at

the statue* Bear meN ow shabby the appy 4rince looksN he said. K%4, Wilde

'


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so great as -isery. 5ly over my city, little wallow, and tell me what you see

there.0 %4, Wilde '


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C?2/6 I;

Conclusion

SKRIPSI REVISI 5 Desember 2014.docx

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