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Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 1
SPEECH AND THOUGHT PRESENTATION IN JHUMPA LAHIRI’S
INTERPRETER OF MALADIES
Arina Isti’anah
Sanata Dharma University
arina@usd.ac.id
ABSTRACT
This research focuses on analyzing speech and thought presentation in the
story by means of stylistic approach proposed by Leech and Short (2007). There are
two main objectives in this research: (1) to find out speech and thought presentation
techniques used in the story and (2) to figure out how those techniques reveal the
characterization of the story. Three types of speech presentation were found in the
analysis: Free Direct Speech (FDS) in 56%, Direct Speech (DS) in 41%, and Indirect
Speech (IS) in 3%. Indirect Thought (IT) is the only thought presentation found in the
data, presented in 15 utterances. The FDS technique suggests that the context of speech
in the story is clear enough, referring to who the speakers are. That is, why the readers
are involved in the story. By employing IT in the whole thought presentation, Lahiri
involves herself in the character’s consciousness.
Keywords: Speech, Thought, Presentation, Stylistics
ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini menganalisis penyajian ucapan dan pikiran dalam sebuah cerita
pendek dengan pendekatan stilistika oleh Leech dan Short (2007). Terdapat dua tujuan
dalam penelitian ini: (1) untuk menemukan teknik penyajian ucapan dan pikiran yang
digunakan di dalam cerita dan (2) untuk menemukan bagaimana teknik tersebut
mengungkapkan pengkarakteran dalam cerita. Terdapat tiga penyajian ucapan yang
ditemukan: ucapan langsung bebas dalam 56%, ucapan langsung dalam 41% dan
ucapan tidak langsung dalam 3%. Pikiran tidak langsung merupakan satu-satunya
teknik penyajian pikiran yang ditemukan di dalam data, yang ditemukan dalam 15
ungkapan. Teknik ucapan langsung bebas menunjukkan bahwa konteks ucapan dalam
cerita tersebut cukup jelas, yang mencakup siapa pembicaranya. Maka dari itu,
pembaca cerita dilibatkan ke dalam cerita. Dengan menggunakan pikiran tidak
langsung dalam penyajian, Lahiri melibatkan kesadaran karakter dalam cerita.
Kata kunci: Ucapan, Pikiran, Penyajian, Stilistika
A. INTRODUCTION
Literature is tightly related to human beings’ life. Literature is positioned as a
medium of appreciation, expression, and also entertainment. In literary studies,
criticisms have been offered to comment, criticize, or appreciate the works. Readers
have choices to use which criticisms suit their interest or need, depending on what genre
or certain issues the work brings. In linguistic studies, stylistics offers techniques and
concepts of modern linguistics to the study of literature (Leech & Short, 2007). Spritzer
proposes the idea that “by making ourselves explain how a particular effect or meaning
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 2
is achieved we not only understand better how it is achieved (which in itself is essential
to the critical task of explanation) but also gain a greater appreciation of what the writer
has created” (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 2).
In linguistic studies, ‘style’ refers to “selection from a total linguistic repertoire
that constitute a style” (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 9). Stylistics, is, therefore understood
as the study of style. In literary stylistics, the main goal is to explain the relation between
language and artistic function (Leech & Short, 2007). Literary works are written by
those who are excellent at describing or presenting the events, characters, or conflicts.
Every writer has its own choice and style in delivering the ideas in the form of literary
work. “The distinction between what a writer has to say, and how it is presented to the
reader, underlies one of the earliest and most persistent concepts of style: that of style
as the ‘dress of thought’” (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 13). Consequently, studies on style
are necessary to conduct.
Stylistics has a firm place within linguistics as it provides theories of language
and interpretation which complement context-free theories generated within other areas
of language studies (Jeffries & Mclntyre, 2010, p. 3). This theory is applied not only to
non-literary texts, but also literary texts. The notion of literariness also attracts scholars’
attention. Russian Formalists concentrated on the features that make “LITERATURE
‘literary’ and poems ‘poetic’. They also systematically studied the device of narrative
fiction” (Pope, 2002, p. 88). On the other hand, Prague School Functionalism argued
the relation between literature and life, or art and reality is always shifting. Therefore,
literature or art is subject to constant renegotiation and revision (Pope, 2002).
Stylistics is seen as an alternative criticism as it concerns too much with
language and not enough with literary concerns, which characterize the censure of
stylistics from a literary direction (Jeffries & Mclntyre, 2010, p. 3). In the twentieth
century, stylistics developed and its purpose is “to show how the technical linguistic
features of a literary work, such as the grammatical structure of its sentences, contribute
to its overall meanings and effects” (Bary, 2002, p. 202). The grammatical structure
meant previously can be observed further in the way the author picks the directness of
the narration.
Stylistics does not only deal with presenting the hard data of literary work or
criticizing the work. It relates the critic’s concern of aesthetic appreciation with the
linguist’s concern of linguistic description, in which the term “appreciation” here refers
to comprehension of both critical evaluation and interpretation (Leech & Short, 2007).
Conducting stylistic analysis becomes important since interpreting literary work is
closely related to the readers’ personal assumption. To do so, detailed linguistic features
used in literary work is necessary to present.
There are some major levels of language in conducting a stylistic study. The
table below summarizes the levels (Simpson, 2004, p. 5).
Table 1 Levels of Language Analysis
Level of Language
Branch of Study
The sound of spoken language;
the way words are pronounced.
Phonology, Phonetics
The patterns of written language;
the shape of language on the
page.
Graphology
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 3
The ways words are constructed;
words and their constituent
structures.
Morphology
The way words combine with
other words to form phrases and
sentences.
Syntax, Grammar
The words we use; the
vocabulary of a language.
Lexical Analysis, Lexicology
The meaning of words and
sentences.
Semantics
The way words and sentences are
used in everyday situations; the
meaning of language in context.
Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis
Approaches of stylistics these days see the text, literary and other types of text,
as “the center of a communicative event which may take place in a range of places and
timescales, and which includes the producer and the recipient” (Jeffries & Mclntyre,
2010, p. 71). Therefore, literary and other texts are considered as discourse. To analyze
a text as discourse, the form and function should be arranged in a particular way. The
discourse presentation of a text, or textual analysis, is considered beyond the
microstructural concerns of the level model of language (Jeffries & Mclntyre, 2010, p.
87). Leech & Short propose a model of narratives which attracts stylisticians as it deals
with “the presentation by a narrator of others’ words (written or spoken) or of their
thoughts that are sometimes presented by narrators as though they were witnessed
directly” (Jeffries & Mclntyre, 2010, p. 87).
Speech and thought presentations are distinctive markers in literary works. A
narrator can use various techniques in writing the works. The use of direct speech, for
example, is usually an attempt to engage the readers to the work. It can also be
supported by the use of first person pronoun I to show the narrator’s subjectivity.
However, the use of second and third person pronouns is also deliberate. The author’s
purpose in writing literary text is one of kinds which attracts scholars to analyze literary
works. In linguistic study, stylistics is exercised to figure out that “meaning in language
comes about through the linguistic choices that a writer makes” (Jeffries & Mclntyre,
2010). One of the linguistic features available in literary works is in the forms of the
narrator’s style. The term style in language is defined as distinctive linguistic
expression, covering what makes an expression distinctive, why it has been devised,
and what effect it has (Verdonk, 2002). In literary representation, a narrator’s style
signifies the perspectives or points of view. A narrator chooses the subjective or
objective point of view, marked by the language choice. A narrator can also have
multiple perspectives on events and to draw the reader into sharing (Verdonk, 2002).
An author uses speech and thought presentations in narrating the story. Speech
presentation can be identified from the semantic difference between direct and indirect
speech. One uses direct speech to report what someone has said, whereas in indirect
report one expresses what was said in one’s own words (Leech & Short, 2007). The
“internal speech” or thought presentation is the other way a narrator uses in literary
work. It presents the flow of thought through a character’s mind, or “stream of
consciousness writing” (Leech & Short, 2007).
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 4
In speech presentation, there are five techniques as proposed by Leech & Short:
Direct Speech (DS), Indirect Speech (IS), Free Direct Speech (FDS), Free Indirect
Speech (FIS), The Narrative Report of Speech Act (NRSA). Below are the examples of
speech presentation taken from Leech & Short (2007, pp.255-256).
1) He said, ‘I’ll come back here to see you again tomorrow.’ (DS)
2) ‘I’ll come back here to see you again tomorrow.’ (FDS)
3) He said that he would return there to see her the following day. (IS)
4) He would return there to see her again the following day. (FIS)
5) He promised his return. (NRSA)
In DS, the narrator presents the character’s words within inverted commas. It
means that the narrator reports directly what is said by the character. In IS, the words
of the character is shifted in the forms of the third person pronoun with a reporting verb
and the speech is presented in the view point of the narrator. The next technique, FDS
is a speech that is unmediated by a narrator (Jeffries & Mclntyre, 2010, p. 89). In the
FIS, the use of past tense marks the technique. The readers are invited to conclude the
‘voice’ of this sentence (Jeffries & Mclntyre, 2010). FIS is “normally thought of as a
freer version of ostensibly indirect forms” (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 260). The reported
speech is omitted. FIS usually occurs in “the context of sentences of narrative report,
and, given the preponderance of the third person narrator telling his tale in past tense”
(Leech & Short, 2007, p. 261). In NRSA, the narrator “does not have to commit himself
entirely to giving the sense of what was said, let alone the form of words in which they
were uttered” (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 259).
It is mentioned that thought presentation or stream of consciousness writing is
a technique which attempts to set forth the character’s thought in the haphazard fashion
of every day thinking, imagination (dreams), memories, wishes, and feelings (Khalil,
2007). Thought presentation is able to manipulate the narrative point of view
(Kvantaliani, 2014). For example, direct thought is seen from the first person point of
view, while indirect thought is seen from the third person point of view. There are five
techniques of thought presentation: Direct Thought (DT), Indirect Thought (IT), Free
Direct Thought (FDT), Free Indirect Thought (FIT), The Narrative Report of Thought
Act (NRTA). Below are the examples of thought presentation taken from Leech & Short
(2007, pp.270-271).
1) He wondered, ‘Does he still love me?’ (DT)
2) Does he still love me? (FDT)
3) He wondered if he still loved him. (IT)
4) Did he still love him? (FIT)
5) He wondered about her love for him. (NRTA)
In the examples above, there are differences on the linguistic features used.
Examples (1) and (2) have a difference on the introductory reporting clause. In the FDT,
there is not any introductory clause as found in DT. In the FIT, there is the back-shift
of the tense and the conversion of the first person pronoun to the third person pronoun
(indirect features) and by the absence of the reporting clause. However, there is a
retention of using question mark as the marker of direct features. The linguistic markers
of IT are the existence of introductory reporting clause, explicit subordination, and a
declarative form for the reported clause. The linguistic marker in NRTA is the
nominalization of the reported clause (Leech & Short, 2007).
The study of speech and thought presentation becomes interesting as it can
present the author’s purpose on using such technique. Through thought presentation,
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 5
the style which the author creates the illusion, that without his or her interference,
readers have direct access to the mental processes of the characters, i.e. to the inner
points of view (Verdonk, 2002). Furthermore, Verdonk mentions that “stream of
consciousness is now widely used in modern fiction as a narrative method to reveal the
character’s unspoken thoughts and feelings without having resource to dialogue or
description” (2002, p. 51). The use of mental verbs in the narration is the linguistic
marker to suggest the stream of consciousness. The readers are involved in the story by
involving the characters’ minds.
Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” is a short story rich of speech and
thought presentation techniques. There are three main characters in the story: Mr.
Kapasi, Mrs. Das and Mr. Das. In narrating the story, Lahiri employs different speech
and thought presentation techniques. The study on it becomes interesting as it presents
the model of analyzing literary work by means of linguistics. From the analysis, the
purpose why Lahiri chooses certain techniques can be achieved. Furthermore, the
interpretation of the text, particularly characterization, could be made more objective
as it avoids assumptions.
This research does not only categorize the narrator’s writing technique, but also
find out how those techniques are able to reveal the characterization in the story.
Previous studies on speech and though presentation have been done by many scholars.
Free Indirect Discourse (FID) is analyzed in Hemingway’s short stories. Blinova took
37 samples of FID which revealed a correlation between the formal features and
stylistic functions. The article mentioned that the use of FID in Hemingway’s short
stories is to distance the narrator from the character or virtually merge the two together
(Blinova, 2015).
Previous studies on similar approach have been done before. One of them was
conducted in Leo Tolstoy’s “God Sees the Truth, but Waits”. Jayal (2013) presented
five different techniques used in the short story: narrative report of speech act/ narrative
report of thought acts (NRSA/ NRTA), indirect speech/ indirect thought (IS/ IT), free
indirect speech/ free indirect thought (FIS/ FIT), direct speech/ direct thought (DS/ DT),
and free direct speech/ free direct thought (FDS/ FDT). Jayal revealed that speech
presentation was used more than thought presentation, about 60%. He argues that the
author has given more importance to the character’s words so that the theme of the story
is successfully addressed and able to gain sympathy and concern for the character
Akisonov (Jayal, 2013).
Thought presentation or stream of consciousness techniques in To the
Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf was done by Sang (2010). Sang (2010) presented the
interior monologue and free association as the ways Woolf shows the character’s inner
world in coherence and surface unity. The use of interior monologue allows the narrator
to reveal the character’s flow of thoughts and takes the reader into the consciousness of
the character in the novel. It also revealed that the use of free association make the
readers step into the inner worlds of her character by their feelings, thoughts, and
memories, (Sang, 2010).
The previous studies mentioned above motivates the present researcher to
analyze both speech and thought presentation techniques. The research will investigate
how the narrator chooses certain techniques in characterizing the characters. Leech and
Short’s theory of speech and thought presentation techniques will be applied in this
present research.
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 6
B. RESEARCH METHOD
This research applies stylistic approach. Stylistics, known as the study of style,
is believed to be the most appropriate way to study literary work in linguistic studies.
Studies on stylistics present the linguistic features as evidence in interpreting the
meanings, purpose, or effects of literary work. It aims at providing objective
interpretation by constantly checking against the linguistic evidence produced by the
analysis (Verdonk, 2001, p. 8). The linguistic level which is observed in this research
is the discourse level as it studies the textual structure of the story.
The main data was taken from a collection of short story entitled “Interpreter of
Maladies” (1999) written by Jhumpa Lahiri. The short story taken as the data has the
same title as the book, published in 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Company. Descriptive qualitative study is utilized in this research. The whole speech
and thought presentation are observed and categorized in terms of technique. The
researcher analyzes every sentence in the short story and highlights both speech and
thought presentation techniques. The data, then, were categorized into two major
techniques: speech and thought. Each category is broken down into its techniques as
suggested by Leech & Short (2007).
C. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This part discusses the findings of the research. In line with the research
problems, there are two main questions to answer. The first is to figure out the speech
and thought presentation of the main characters in Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies”.
From the analysis, the table below shows the summary of speech and thought
presentation in the story.
Table 2: Summary of Speech and Thought Presentation in the Data
Speech Presentation
Thought Presentation
Types
Number
Percentage
Types
Number
Percentage
DS
60
41%
DT
0
0%
IS
5
3%
IT
15
100%
FDS
81
56%
FDT
0
0%
FIS
0
0%
FIT
0
0%
NRSA
0
0%
NRTA
0
0%
Total
146
100%
Total
15
100%
The table above shows that Lahiri uses speech presentation the most in the story.
There are 146 clauses represented in speech presentation, while there are only 15
clauses represented in thought presentation. In speech presentation, 56% clauses are in
the form of Free Direct Speech (FDS), followed by Direct Speech (DS) in 41%. The
occurrence of Indirect Speech (IS) and Free Indirect Speech (FIS) is minor in the story.
On the other hand, in thought presentation, Lahiri only uses Indirect Thought (IT) to
narrate the character.
To elaborate the analysis, the sub-parts below show each presentation in
different sub-number. The analysis includes how each type of presentation is used by
Lahiri to describe the main characters in the story. By doing so, the second research
problem, the characterization of the story, can be figured out.
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 7
1. Speech Presentation
As mentioned in the previous part, this discussion is broken into each category
of speech presentation. The discussion starts from FDS as it occurs the most in the story.
The next discussion is DS, IS, and FIS.
a. Free Direct Speech (FDS)
Free Direct Speech is the speech presentation which occurs the most in Lahiri’s
“Interpreter of Maladies”. Observed more detail, this technique is used by Lahiri to
represent different characters. The table below shows the summary of FDS found in the
data.
Table 3 Summary of Free Direct Speech Presentation Techniques in the Data
Characters
Number
Percentage
Mrs. Das
34
42%
Mr. Das
19
23%
Mr. Kapasi
28
35%
Total
81
100%
The table above demonstrates that Mrs. Das is presented as the character who is
mentioned the most in the story. Lahiri employs FDS in 34 utterances or 42%. Mr.
Kapasi is the following character presented in FDS, realized in 28 utterances or 35%.
Mr. Das is the character mentioned using FDS technique, represented in 19 utterances
only, or in 23%.
Free Direct Speech is one type of speech presentation techniques which is
unmediated by a narrator (Jeffries & Mclntyre, Stylistics, 2010, p. 89). In this technique,
the readers are let to be involved in the dialogues. The characters are not mentioned
again since the context of the discourse is already clear. Below is the example.
“Where in America do you live?”
“New Brunswick, New Jersey.”
“Next to New York?”
“Exactly. I teach middle school there.”
“What subject?”
“Science. In fact, every year I take my students on a trip to the Museum of
Natural History in New York City. In a way we have a lot in common, you could
say, you and I. How long have you been a tour guide, Mr. Kapasi?”
“Five years.” (Lahiri, 1999, p. 46)
The dialogue above occurs between Mr. Das and Mr. Kapasi. However, Lahiri does not
mention those two characters. The use of quotation marks in the dialogue above reveals
that the speech presentation is employed. The absence of the characters’ names signifies
that it is a free direct speech.
In the first line of the dialogue above, Mr. Das questions where Mr. Kapasi lived
when he was in America. Mr. Kapasi tells the family before that he once lived in
America. That information attracts Mr. Das to know more about the man who will lead
his family’s tour in India. The absence of the characters’ name in the dialogue above
also reveals that the setting and characters of the story are clear. Before the dialogue,
Lahiri provides a sentence telling information about who will talk in the dialogue, “Mr.
Kapasi turned to Mr. Das” (46).
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 8
Lahiri also uses FDS when she describe Mr. Kapasi and Mr. Das. Below is the
dialogue.
“I work in a doctor’s office.”
“You’re a doctor?”
“I am not a doctor. I work with one. As an interpreter.”
“What does a doctor need an interpreter for?”
“He has a number of Gujarati patients. My father was Gujarati, but many people
do not speak Gujarati in this area, including the doctor. And so the doctor asked
me to work in his office, interpreting what the patients say.” (Lahiri, 1999, p.
50)
It seems that Mrs. Das is interested in Mr. Kapasi’s activity when he was in America.
The first line of the dialogue above represents Mr. Kapasi’s utterance. He talks about
the place where he worked when he was in America. The topic about Mr. Kapasi’s job
attracts Mrs. Das’ attention. She follows up the question by clarifying whether Mr.
Kapasi is a doctor or not. The following dialogue explains what Mr. Kapasi did in the
doctor’s office. It reveals that Mr. Kapasi works as an interpreter which attracts Mrs.
Das’ attention. The dialogue above is not accompanied by the names of the characters.
It means that it is represented in free direct discourse presentation. Lahiri assumes that
the readers comprehend who are talking about the topic.
In the data, most FDS is employed by Lahiri when she shows the dialogue
between Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das. That is why the number of utterances representing
both characters dominates the data. Below is another example representing Mr. Kapasi
and Mrs. Das.
“A brave little boy,” Mr. Kapasi commented.
“It’s not surprising,” Mrs. Das said.
“No?”
“He is not his.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Raj’s. He’s not Raj’s son.” (Lahiri, 1999, p. 62)
In the dialogue above, the free direct speech occurs when Mrs. Das tells Mr. Kapasi
that Bobby is not Mr. Das’ son. The presentation is firstly introduced by the direct
speech between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi. The utterance “No” clearly indicates that it
is spoken by Mrs. Das. Starting from this information, Lahiri lets the readers involved
in the dialogue between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi. It is also related to the topic being
said, which is quite surprising.
The topic of saying mentioned above is followed up by Lahiri’s description of
further dialogue seen below.
“Are you surprised?” The way she put it made him choose his words with care.
“It’s not the type of thing one assumes,” Mr. Kapasi replied slowly. He put the
tin of lotus-oil balm back in his pocket.
“No, of course not. And no one knows, of course. No one at all. I’ve kept it a
secret for eight whole years.” She looked at Mr. Kapasi, tilting her chin as if to
gain a fresh perspective. “But now I’ve told you.” (Lahiri, 1999, p. 62)
In the above dialogue, Lahiri begins the dialogue using free direct speech technique
revealing Mrs. Das’ utterance. It is marked by the following statement “The way she
put it….” The pronoun “she” refers to Mrs. Das. Different from Mrs. Das’ presentation,
Lahiri mentions Mr. Kapasi when showing the response of Mrs. Das’ utterance before.
This technique is categorized as direct speech. This way is chosen by Lahiri to help the
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 9
readers comprehend that Mr. Kapasi is regarded as the one whom Mrs. Das trusts to tell
her secret. The last sentence in the dialogue above emphasizes that Lahiri invites the
readers to get closer in the dialogue as if they hear the utterance themselves. The
absence of Mrs. Das’ name in the last part above also concludes that Mrs. Das believes
in Mr. Kapasi to keep her secret.
The use of FDS by Lahiri to represent the three main characters reveals that
Lahiri invites the readers in the dialogue. The absence of the narrator to introduce who
is speaking shows that the context of the dialogue is already clear. Lahiri does not want
to disturb the readers’ being involved in the situation. In the analysis, the appearance of
Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi in the FDS presentation signifies that the two characters are
represented more in the story. Lahiri regards that the dialogue between them is without
the narrator’s intermediacy. Thus, their sayings matter more compared to the narrator’s
explanation of the context.
The domination of FDS in the story reveals that Lahiri attempts at manifesting
the effects of dramatization and immediacy (Semino & Short, 2004). In other words,
Lahiri is dramatizing the characters’ voices (Leech & Short, 2007). More t han half of
speech presentation - 56% - is presented in the FDS technique. Lahiri does not mention
the characters after the utterance directly, but the context already gives clear
information about who are talking. What is mentioned in the dialogue, which is
dominated by Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi, signifies that those characters are dramatized.
The relationship of Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das is presented not only as the relation
between a tour guide and a tourist. Nonetheless, Lahiri dramatizes Mrs. Das’ biggest
secret. The FDS is found a lot when Mrs. Das talks about Bobby, who is not biologically
Mr. Das’ son. Introducing this matter, Lahiri puts Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das in some
dialogues not introduced by the narrator. It points out that the story is not about the
interpreter that Mr. Kapasi became, but the interpreter of Mrs. Das’ life. It also reveals
why Mrs. Das believes Mr. Kapasi to talk about her secret that Bobby is not Mr. Das’
biological son.
b. Direct Speech (DS)
In the analysis, Lahiri uses direct speech in 41% of the total amount of speech
presentation. In this technique, Lahiri mentions the characters’ names after the
dialogues. The table below shows the frequency each character is represented in direct
speech.
Table 4 Summary of Direct Speech Presentation Techniques in the Data
Characters
Number
Percentage
Mrs. Das
22
37%
Mr. Das
21
35%
Mr. Kapasi
17
28%
Total
60
100%
The table above displays that Mrs. Das is represented in direct speech the most
among the other characters. Lahiri mentions Mrs. Das after the dialogue in 22
utterances, or 37%. Close to Mrs. Das, Mr. Das is represented in 21 utterances in direct
speech technique, or in 35%. On the other hand, Mr. Kapasi is represented the least
from the direct speech presentation, which is in 17 utterances or 28%.
The dialogue below is the example which Mr. Kapasi and Mr. Das are
represented in direct speech presentation.
Arina Isti’anah Speech and Thought Presentation
ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 10
“You left India as a child?” Mr. Kapasi asked when Mr. Das had settled once
again into the passenger seat.
“Oh, Mina and I were both born in America,” Mr. Das announced with an air of
sudden confidence. (Lahiri, 1999, p. 45)
In the above dialogue, direct speech is found from the verb “asked” and “announced”.
The use of quotation marks followed by the characters’ saying indicates the direct
speech technique. The dialogue above happens when Mr. Kapasi meets Mr. Das and
start to guide the family to travel in India.
Direct speech is also used by Lahiri to show the dialogue between Mr. Kapasi
and Mrs. Das. Below is the example.
Mrs. Das reached the car. “How long’s the trip?” she asked, shutting the door.
“About two and a half hours,” Mr. Kapasi replied. (Lahiri, 1999, pp. 46-47)
In the above dialogue, direct speech is marked by the presence of the characters’ names,
Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi, and the employment of quotation marks indicating the
utterance. The verbs “asked” and “replied” display the speech presentation.
By employing DS, Lahiri as the author “reports what the character uttered in a
particular context” (Jayal, 2013). DS is marked by the use of quotation marks to indicate
the original statement uttered by the characters. Thompson (1996) mentions that
quotation marks used to indicate “higher degree of faithfulness to an original (or
possible) language event and to present the reported language event more vividly to the
hearer by stimulating the original event” (Semino & Short, 2004, p. 89). The high
degree of DS technique in the story reveals that the original utterance by the main
characters are important to present the important event. The three characters are
presented in similar presentation techniques. Thus, Lahiri presents them the same
important each other. The use of DS as the next dominating technique in the story
signifies that Lahiri also gives clear description of the context and setting. Lahiri
mentions clearly who are speaking by quoting directly what the characters say. This
technique is employed to narrate the three characters in equal number. It reveals that
the contexts mentioned in among the three participants have the same importance in
building the story.
c. Indirect Speech (IS)
The analysis finds that indirect speech is used by Lahiri five times. Mrs. Das is
represented twice, while Mr. Kapasi is presented three times. Below are the utterances
presented in indirect speech technique.
As they approached, Mr. Kapasi explained that the temple had been built
between A.D. 1243 and 1255, with the efforts of twelve hundred artisans, by
the great ruler of the Ganga dynasty, King Narasimhadeva the First, to
commemorate his victory against the Muslim army. (Lahiri, 1999, p. 56)
The verb marking the speech presentation is “explained”. The reporting speech
above shows Mr. Kapasi’s job as a tour guide. He performs his responsibility by
explaining the history of the temple. The indirect speech in the above extract is marked
by simple past tense in the verb “explained” and passive past perfect tense in the verb
“had been built”. Those past tenses are the indicators of reporting speech. Thus, the
above extract is categorized as indirect speech presentation.
Another narration showing indirect speech is presented as follows.
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ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 11
The children ran ahead, pointing to figures of naked people, intrigued in
particular by the Nagamithunas, the half-human, Mr. Kapasi told them, to live
in the deepest waters of the sea. (Lahiri, 1999, p. 57)
In the above excerpt, the indirect speech is shown by the verb “told”. The simple past
tense above also signifies the reported speech. The verb “told” is directed to the children
shown by the pronoun “them”. The information told by Mr. Kapasi is about the figures
of naked people found in the temple. Indirectly, Mr. Kapasi tells a story about the
history of the figures that were intrigued by the Nagamithunas to live in the deepest
waters of the sea.
The other indirect speech technique is shown in the extract below.
He would explain things to her, things about India, and she would explain things
to him about America. (Lahiri, 1999, p. 59)
In the above extract, Lahiri uses free indirect speech at the same time when describing
both Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das. The absence of quotation marks in the above extract
shows that Lahiri employs indirect speech when revealing Mr. Kapasi’s job as a tour
guide. It is strengthened by the number of this technique. Lahiri mentions Mr. Kapasi
twice by means of indirect speech. Both narrations are to reveal Mr. Kapasi’s
responsibility as a tour guide.
The employment of IS technique shows that it “provides the propositional
content of utterances, and therefore does not easily serve the purpose of dramatization”
(Semino & Short, 2004, p. 78). Lahiri focuses on what is said rather than presents the
context of saying. The small number of this technique in the story reveals that what Mr.
Kapasi said related to his job does not get much attention in the story. From the analysis,
the five utterances in IS technique are about Mr. Kapasi’s job as an interpreter. The
context of the background is already clear, so Lahiri does not need to repeat the context.
Rather, Lahiri focuses on mentioning what Mr. Kapasi said indirectly.
2. Thought Presentation
Different from the speech presentation, Lahiri uses thought presentation to
describe one character only, Mr. Kapasi. The interesting point is the technique used is
also the same, which is indirect thought. In the data, it is found 15 utterances
representing Mr. Kapasi. Below are the examples.
The first thing Mr. Kapasi had noticed when he saw Mr. and Mrs. Das, standing
with their children under the portico of the hotel, was that they were very young,
perhaps not even thirty. (Lahiri, 1999, p. 43)
In the above description, Lahiri shows thought presentation by means of the verb “had
noticed”. The verb “noticed” shows thought presentation as it is related to the
character’s consciousness to pay attention to the fact shown in the above description.
The fact is shown by means of adverbial clause “when he saw…”. It shows that Mr.
Kapasi puts much attention to the family. He starts to recognize what type of family he
is going to guide. The absence of quotation marks also clearly an identification of
indirectness.
Lahiri uses another verb to represent thought presentation to describe Mr.
Kapasi. Below is the excerpt.
Mr. Kapasi had never thought of his job in such complimentary terms. (Lahiri,
1999, p. 51)
In the above description, Lahiri uses the verb “thought” to reveal what Mr.
Kapasi thinks about. The indirectness presentation is shown by the absence of quotation
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ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 12
marks. What Mr. Kapasi thinks is about the job as an interpreter. During his career as
an interpreter, he never accepts compliment by other people, including his wife. That
is, why Lahiri employs thought presentation to display Mr. Kapasi’s cognition.
Lahiri strengthens the importance of Mr. Kapasi’s job as an interpreter in the
following excerpt,
Mr. Kapasi knew it was not a remarkable talent. Sometimes he feared that his
children knew better English than he did, just from watching television. (Lahiri,
1999, p. 52)
Lahiri shows Mr. Kapasi’s cognition by means of the verb “knew”. It is
presented indirectly as quotation marks are absent. The mental verb is followed by a
noun clause revealing what Mr. Kapasi thinks about, which is related to his talent as an
interpreter. This excerpt is much related to the previous cognition when Mr. Kapasi
accepts compliment regarding his job. It bothers his mind since he never thinks his job
is an extraordinary one. However, the praise given by Das’ family triggers his
confidence. He also feels respected.
In the extract below, Lahiri also uses the mental verb “knew” in describing Mr.
Kapasi’s cognition.
Mr. Kapasi knew that his wife had little regard for his career as an interpreter.
He knew it reminded her of the son she’d lost, and that she resented the
other lives he helped, in his own small way, to save. (Lahiri, 1999, p. 53)
The absence of quotation marks shows indirectness. After being complimented by Das’
family, Mr. Kapasi starts being aware of what his wife did to him. The lack of support
and appreciation by his wife now bothers him. Previously, Mr. Kapasi does not take his
wife’s treatment as something bothering. Now, Mr. Kapasi is aware that being an
interpreter is a precious job as he can speak English fluently to the patients. He is proud
of speaking English with Das’ family.
Since all of thought presentation refers to Mr. Kapasi, Lahiri takes this character
as the prominent one. The use of thought presentation technique among the other
techniques depicts that Lahiri is in a purpose to show that the Indian working in
America and being able to speak English needs cognitive verbs to employ. It shows
Lahiri’s consciousness that she is also an Indian immigrant living in America. What
Indians do in America should be acknowledged.
In the IT, “the thought of the character is reported in the third person with a
reporting verb. He is just a reporter of the inner world of his characters. He seems to be
a detached onlooker” (Jayal, 2013). Lahiri does not present what Mr. Kapasi thinks
directly. On the other hand, Lahiri uses her own words to report what the character
thinks. It aims at integrating the thought into the narrative text (Leech & Short, 2007).
D. CONCLUSION
This research concludes that Leech and Short’s narrative presentation is able to
interpret the author’s intention of using particular presentation techniques. To
strengthen the findings of this research, it is suggested that future research explores
deeply on what is said and what is thought by means of discourse analysis. It is
necessary to figure out further the verbiage, what is being said, in the FDS, DS and IS
techniques. The last narrative presentation found in the short story is IT. What is
interesting from this technique is Lahiri only involves Mr. Kapasi. The distinctive
technique used by Lahiri unveils that Mr. Kapasi’s thought is reported by Lahiri to show
that Mr. Kapasi as the central character needs to be acknowledged in terms of his
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ELITE Journal Volume 05 Number 02, December 2018 13
cognition. The job as an interpreter in India is precious. It is also strengthened by other
narrative techniques when Das’ family compliments his talent as an interpreter.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This paper is written as a research product funded by Kopertis Wilayah V Yogyakarta
and the Institute of Research and Community, Sanata Dharma University.
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