The study on the main character of Sinclair Lewis' Main Street

Literature is the expression of life and the representation of human action and experience. The literary works are able to reflect the problem of life and also criticize a certain social condition. The writer is interested in analyzing a novel in her thesis because a novel tells a long story and is full of details since it tries to be realistic. The writer chooses Sinclair Lewis' novel Main Street because she is interested in the story which tells about a woman who is ambitious to change a town and the inhabitants of the town. In the novel, the novelist emphasizes the details of the mediocrity of the American small town and the narrow-mindedness of its inhabitants. Using qualitative analysis and evaluation parameters, techniques and procedure aided with the principles of discourse analysis, content analysis and literary analysis whenever necessary, this study tries to find out the basic qualities of the main character which cover physical qualities, social relationship and mental qualities. This study also tries to find out the way the main character sees herself, the way the other characters see the main character, the way the author presents the main character, and whether or not the main character is able to embody the theme. The data analysis results show that : 1. Carol Kennicott as the main character of main is described as an attractive woman in her middle-twenties with her black hair, beautiful skin and eyes, and her slim body. She, however, is described as a woman who is not successful in making nice relationship with her society. 2. Carol is a woman who has strong self confidence. 3. The other characters see Carol as an idealistic, ambitious, and arrogant woman. 4. Carol is presented by the author in dramatic and descriptive presentation and the combination of the two two technique. She is also presented as a 'round' character, and the author treats her sympathetically. 5. Carol is able to embody the theme. Finally, by studying Lewis' novel Main Street, the writer expects that the other students will be able to understand the whole content of a literary work and to develop their understanding of people's character