The Struggle for Self-Existence of Lionel Essrog in Jonathan Lethem’ Motherless Brooklyn: A New Criticism

• Main Author: Elok Purnamasari, 120810087
• Format: Theses and Dissertations NonPeerReviewed
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: PN80-99 Criticism
• Online Access: http://repository.unair.ac.id/57127/1/ABSTRACT.pdf; http://repository.unair.ac.id/57127/2/FS.%20BE.%20130-16%20Pur%20s.pdf; http://repository.unair.ac.id/57127/; http://lib.unair.ac.id
• Institution: Universitas Airlangga

This study aims to analyze the struggle for self-existence of the main character Lionel Essrog in Jonathan Lethem’s novel Motherless Brooklyn. Motherless Brooklyn is a detective fiction novel. In this novel, Lionel as the main character depicted as young single, poor, and parentless man. As human, he has so many weakness points and powerless. He has got Tourette Syndrom that affects on his social interaction. The entire struggle he did can be found through the interaction with other characters and through the action depicted in the narration and the dialogue in the novel. Moreover, the writer uses new criticism to support the analysis. In addition, the objectives of the study is to describe the struggle for self-existence of Lionel Essrog through such formal elements of the novel as characterization, setting, conflicts of the plot, and theme. As the result of this study, the writer found that Lionel struggle for self-existence encourage him exceed the limit of his capability.