PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJIrepository.usd.ac.id/9941/1/061214166_Full.pdf · Ada dua...

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THE IMPACTS OF GRAYER’S ATTITUDES ON HIS INHARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS MOTHER

AS PORTRAYED IN KRAUS & MCLAUGHLIN’S THE NANNY DIARIES

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Lukas Banu Aji 06 1214 166

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2011

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

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“Keep on smiling no matter what, because yesterday is the past. You will never know

what you will get. Enjoy your life.”

(CARPE DIEM, ANONYMOUS)

This thesis is dedicated to my beloved:

Father, Mother, Brothers, Sister, Friends, and all people who love me.


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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama : Lukas Banu Aji

Nomor mahasiswa : 06 1214 166

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: The Impacts of Grayer’s Attitudes on His Inharmonious Relationship with His Mother as Portrayed in Kraus & McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 18 Maret 2011 Yang menyatakan (Lukas Banu Aji)


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I praise my Lord Jesus Christ for all of His Love and Blessing. I thank

Him for being a true friend for me, staying by my side, protecting me in any

situation I have encountered in my life and guiding me in my study so that I was

finally able to finish this thesis.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto

Y., M.Hum., who has guided me patiently in the process of writing this thesis. I

thank him for his patience, advices, and time for consultation on this thesis until it

is done. I also send my gratitude to Sanata Dharma University that has given me

place and facilities to study, and to all my lecturers, the administrative staff of PBI

study program who have devoted themselves to help me during my study in

Sanata Dharma University.

With greatest gratitude, I thank my beloved family. It is for my wonderful

father and mother, Antonius Asmuri and Theresia Annie. I thank them for their

love, prayers, supports, and efforts to make me educated. It is also for my beloved

brother Matheus Banu Leksono, Thomas Banu Yudhanto, Fx. Banu Resiyawan

and my beloved sister Elisabeth Milaningrum for their helps in my study.

My special thankfulness goes to my uncle Paulus Sarwoto, S.S., M.A. who

has been so kind to me and provided me with supports and prayers. Last but not

least, I would to thank all my “2006” friends of the English Language Education

Study Program and people that I cannot mention one by one, for giving supports

and helps in finishing my thesis. May God bless them all.

Lukas Banu Aji


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...................................................................................................

PAGES OF APPROVAL ...............................................................................

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ............................................

PAGE OF DEDICATION .............................................................................

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...............................................................................

ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................

ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................

1.1. Background of the Study ...........................................................................

1.2. Problem Formulation .................................................................................

1.3. Objectives of the Study .............................................................................

1.4. Benefits of the Study .................................................................................

1.5. Definition of Terms ...................................................................................

1.5.1. Relationship ....................................................................................

1.5.2. Character .........................................................................................

1.5.3. Conflict ...........................................................................................

1.5.4. Social Status ....................................................................................

1.5.5. Society ............................................................................................

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...........................

2.1. Review of Related Theories ......................................................................

2.1.1. Critical Approach ............................................................................

2.1.2. Character .........................................................................................

2.1.3. Characterization ..............................................................................

2.1.3.1 Personal Description ...........................................................

2.1.3.2 Character as Seen by Others ...............................................

2.1.3.3. Speech ................................................................................

2.1.3.4. Past Life .............................................................................

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2.1.3.5. Conversation of Others ......................................................

2.1.3.6. Reaction .............................................................................

2.1.3.7. Direct Comment .................................................................

2.1.3.8. Thoughts ............................................................................

2.1.3.9 Mannerism ..........................................................................

2.1.4 The Mother-Child Relation ..............................................................

2.1.5 Family Influences on a Growing Child ............................................

2.1.5.1 The Nature of Parent-Child Relations .................................

2.1.5.2 Three Principal Parent Variables .........................................

2.1.5.3 Three Factors in Parent-Child Relationships .......................

2.1.6. Power and Parent-Child Relationships ............................................

2.1.6.1 The Authoritarian Parent .....................................................

2.1.6.2 The Authoritative Parent ......................................................

2.1.6.3 The Permissive Parent .........................................................

2.1.7 Child Emotional Development and Physical Well-Being ................

2.2 Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................

3.1. Object of the Study ....................................................................................

3.2. Approaches of the Study ...........................................................................

3.3. Method of the Study ..................................................................................

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS ..............................................................................

4.1 Relationship between Mrs. X and Her Son ................................................

4.1.1 The Description of the Characters of Annie Braddock .................... (the Nanny), Mrs. X, and Grayer Addison X

4.1.1.1 Annie Braddock (the Nanny) ...............................................

4.1.1.2 Mrs. X ..................................................................................

4.1.1.3 Grayer Addison X ................................................................

4.1.2 The Relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer .................................

4.1.2.1 Lack of Communication ......................................................

4.1.2.2 Too Much Control from the Mother ....................................

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4.1.2.3 Considering a Child as a Marital Status Only .....................

4.2 The Impacts of Inharmonious Relationship on Grayer’s Attitudes ............

4.2.1 Rude .................................................................................................

4.2.2 Selfish and Arbitrary ........................................................................

4.2.3 Rebellious .........................................................................................

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ..............................

5.1. Conclusions ...............................................................................................

5.2. Suggestions ...............................................................................................

5.2.1. Suggestions for the Implementation of Teaching Learning ............ Process

5.2.2. The Implementation of Teaching Public Speaking I ....................... Using Literary Work

REFERENCES ...............................................................................................

APPENDICES ................................................................................................

APPENDIX 1 Summary of the Novel ..............................................................

APPENDIX 2 Biography of Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin ................

APPENDIX 3 Lesson Plan to Teach Public Speaking I ..................................

APPENDIX 4 Teaching Materials of Public Speaking I .................................

APPENDIX 5 Pictures of Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin ...................... and The Nanny Diaries

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ABSTRACT Banu Aji, Lukas. 2011. The Impacts of His Inharmonious Relationship with His Mother on Grayer’s Attitudes as Portrayed in Kraus & McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis discusses the impacts of his inharmonious relationship with his mother on Grayer’s attitudes as portrayed in Kraus & McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries. This novel tells about the inharmonious relationship between a mother, Mrs. X and her son, Grayer Addison X. Mrs. X is a mother who often spends her time on shopping and having treatments at a beauty salon. She also hands over all her responsibilities as a mother to the Nanny. Therefore Grayer has to spend most of his time with the Nanny and he does not get enough love and care from his mother.

There are two problems related to the topic of this thesis: (1) how is the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer described in Kraus & McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries? (2) and what are the impacts of inharmonious relationship with his mother on Grayer’s attitudes?

In solving the two problems above, the writer applied the psychological approach, theories of character and characterization, theories of mother-child relation and family influences on a growing child, theory of power and parent-child relationships, and theory of child emotional development and physical well-being. The method of this thesis was a library study. The primary source was the novel itself. Other sources were obtained from books of Introduction to English Literature, Character and Characterization, The Psychology of Women, The Psychology of Women Volume II, Communication in Family Relationships, Child and Adolescent Psychology, and other written sources.

Based on the analysis, there are three major characters that are found in the novel. The first character is the Nanny, who is described as a loving and hard working person. She is also polite and honest. She works diligently under Mrs. X’s suspicions. The second character is Mrs. X, who is described as a terrible mother. It is already her habits to go shopping all day long and back home until late night. That selfishness makes her careless about her own son’s development. The third character is Grayer, who is described as a rude and arbitrary boy. He becomes a rude boy because he does not get enough affection and care from his mother. Therefore, it can be concluded that Mrs. X has inharmonious relationship with her son, because she cannot do the first task of a mother that is to shape her unity with the child in a harmonious manner and to dissolve the unity harmoniously. As a result, there are three impacts happening on Grayer’s attitudes. The first impact is that Grayer becomes a rude boy. The second impact is that Grayer becomes selfish and arbitrary. The third impact is that Grayer becomes rebellious toward his own parents.

This thesis also provides suggestions for the implementation of teaching Public Speaking I using literary work.


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ABSTRAK

Banu Aji, Lukas. 2011. The Impacts of His Inharmonious Relationship with His Mother on Grayer’s Attitudes as Portrayed in Kraus & McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas dampak hubungannya yang tidak harmonis dengan ibunya pada sikap Grayer seperti yang digambarkan dalam Kraus & McLaughlin's The Nanny Diaries. Novel ini bercerita tentang hubungan yang tidak harmonis antara seorang ibu, Mrs. X dan anak laki-lakinya, Grayer Addison X. Mrs. X adalah seorang ibu yang sering menghabiskan waktunya untuk berbelanja dan perawatan di salon kecantikan. Dia juga menyerahkan semua tanggung jawabnya sebagai ibu kepada Nanny. Oleh karena itu Grayer harus menghabiskan sebagian besar waktunya dengan Nanny dan dia tidak mendapatkan kasih sayang dan perawatan yang cukup dari ibunya.

Ada dua pertanyaan yang berkaitan dengan topik skripsi ini: (1) bagaimana hubungan antara Mrs. X dan Grayer yang tercermin dalam Kraus & McLaughlin's The Nanny Diaries? (2) dan apa dampak hubungan yang tidak harmonis dengan ibunya pada sikap Grayer?

Dalam menjawab dua pertanyaan di atas, penulis menggunakan pendekatan psikologis, teori karakter dan karakterisasi, teori hubungan ibu-anak dan pengaruh keluarga pada perkembangan anak, teori kekuasaan dan hubungan orang tua-anak, dan teori perkembangan emosi anak dan kesehatan fisik. Metode penelitian ini adalah studi pustaka. Sumber utama adalah novel itu sendiri. Sumber-sumber yang lain diperoleh dari buku-buku Introduction to English Literature, Character and Characterization, The Psychology of Women, The Psychology of Women Volume II, Communication in Family Relationships, Child and Adolescent Psychology, dan sumber-sumber tertulis lainnya.

Berdasarkan analisis tersebut, ada tiga karakter utama yang ditemukan dalam novel. Karakter yang pertama adalah Nanny yang digambarkan sebagai seorang yang penuh kasih sayang dan giat bekerja. Dia juga sopan dan jujur. Dia bekerja dengan tekun di bawah kecurigaan Mrs. X. Karakter yang kedua adalah Mrs. X yang digambarkan sebagai ibu yang payah. Hal ini sudah menjadi kebiasaannya untuk berbelanja sehari penuh dan kembali pulang sampai larut malam. Keegoisannya itu membuat dia tidak peduli dengan perkembangan anaknya sendiri. Karakter yang ketiga adalah Grayer yang digambarkan sebagai anak laki-laki yang kasar dan sewenang-wenang. Dia menjadi anak yang kasar karena dia tidak mendapatkan kasih sayang dan perawatan yang cukup dari ibunya. Oleh karena itu dapat disimpulkan bahwa Mrs. X mempunyai hubungan yang tidak harmonis dengan anaknya, karena dia tidak dapat melakukan tugas pertama dari seorang ibu yaitu membangun kesatuan dirinya dengan anak dengan cara yang harmonis dan larut dalam kesatuan yang harmonis. Akibatnya, ada tiga dampak yang terjadi pada sikap Grayer. Dampak yang pertama adalah Grayer menjadi anak yang kasar. Dampak yang kedua adalah Grayer menjadi egois dan


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sewenang-wenang. Dampak yang ketiga adalah Grayer menjadi memberontak kepada orang tuanya sendiri. Skripsi ini juga memberikan saran untuk pelaksanaan pengajaran Public Speaking I dengan menggunakan karya sastra.


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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of background of the study, problem formulation,

and definition of terms. The background of the study provides information of the

topic of the study and the reason for choosing the topic. Then, the objectives of

the study state the focus of the study. Next, the problem formulation describes the

problems formulated in order to make the study more directed. Last but not least,

the definitions of terms define some crucial terms in order to avoid

misunderstanding.

1.1. Background of the Study

As we all know, a mother is the first person of the children’s life.

Whatever happens to her son or her daughter, a mother should be responsible for

that. According to Deutsch (308) in her book entitled The Psychology of Women

Volume II: The Monumental Work on the Emotional Life of the Modern Women,

there are two greatest tasks of a mother namely giving birth and upbringing. It is

very difficult to rear a son for a mother, because she is concerned not only with

the bodily care, but also with the well-being of her son. A mother must be able to

teach her son for controlling his instincts, in order to avoid having an uncontrolled

son that is dominated by his instincts. In this case, she must not be too mild in her

methods of training, so that a mother should not allow excessive indulgence

occurring in her son, because it involves the danger of undisciplined son. A


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mother also is not allowed to forbid too much, for excessive inhibition exposes the

child to the danger of neurotic illness.

Medinnus and Johnson (343) further strengthen the explanation above in

their book entitled Child and Adolescent Psychology: Behavior and Development.

According to them, the existing relationship between parents and children possess

certain characteristics that explain the tremendous and permanent impact of one

upon another. There is an intimate and intense relationship between the parents

and the child. The child is the mirror for his or her parents, who reflect the

parent’s own childhood. The emotional needs of one to another create a system

where the breakdown of one member will affect the entire system. Some clinical

reports reveal that the family member who seeks for psychological treatment

actually is not the one who needs it. This statement indicates that the

psychological disturbance of the concerned individual reflects a greater

disturbance within the family system. Furthermore, family-therapy case studies

show that when one family member is relieved from the psychological symptoms,

the symptoms frequently reappear in another member.

From the explanation above, relationship between the family members

(parents and children) is so close that one thing, which is done by one of the

family members, may have certain impacts on the other members. There is

phenomenon of child abuse as the results of inharmonious relationship between

the parents and the children. One cause within the inharmonious relationship is the

frustrated and disturbed parents. These parents are not able to cope with the

psychological, economic and social problems happening in their life. Therefore,


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they put their being frustrated and disturbed onto their child or children. The

impact of this action is that the child becomes the victim of the child abuse. This

child abuse, then, will hinder the child to play their role well within the family

system (Medinnus and Johnson 343-344).

Deutsche (313-315) gives a clear example. There is a case that a very

respectable woman destroys her own life by marrying a wrong person. It leads to

her mental condition getting worse, causing her to turn her emotion to her

children. The mother becomes very protective in order to prevent her children

from making the same mistake as her. Her treatments towards her children make

mother-children relationship become inharmonious as the children feel that the

mother limits them in every aspect.

Literary works, like novels, can portray the relationship as described

above. Some of literary works are created based on the real life. According to

Hudson (10), literature is an important record of what people have seen, what they

have experienced, what they have thought and felt in life. This aspect of literature

may have permanent interests for readers. A novel entitled The Nanny Diaries

clearly portrays such life experience. In this novel, readers can find more insights

about the inharmonious relationship between a mother and a child. Eventually,

after reading the novels, readers can conclude the solution for this problem,

especially for the working or busy mothers.

In brief, The Nanny Diaries tells about a mother named Mrs. X who does

not care about Grayer’s development. Grayer is a four year old boy and he is the

only child of Mrs. X. Living in a high class neighborhood she enjoys a very


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prestigious life style. This makes her think about her life and herself only and she

apparently forgets her role as a mother. Therefore, she hires Annie Braddock, a

recent graduate from New Jersey as a nanny to take care of Grayer. After

sometimes, Nanny feels that Mrs. X does not care and does not know about

Grayer’s developments, needs, and achievements. The situation grows harder

when Grayer becomes very naughty just to gain her mother’s attention. This is the

time when the inharmonious relationship between Grayer and her mother start.

This novel is very intriguing to be discussed. Because I can see the

connection between a mother, a nanny, and a child in the prestigious life style.

Being more specific, I can see the inharmonious relationship between a mother

and a child as portrayed within the novel. The character of Grayer was chosen to

be the focus of the theme of this study, because Grayer is a victim of an

inharmonious relationship in the X’s family based on the Nanny’s perception.

Therefore, I analyzed the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer although the

title of the novel is The Nanny Diaries. I can also gain insights about the impacts

of the inharmonious relationship between a mother and her child toward the

child’s development. This is very important, because this study will enable me to

see some factors contributing to family healthy relationship and to prevent the

same tragedy from taking place in a family who hires a nanny to take care of their

children.

1.2. Problem Formulation

Based on the explanation above, the writer formulates the problem

formulations to be discussed:


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1.2.1. How is the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer described in Kraus &

McLaughlin’s The Nanny Diaries?

1.2.2. What are the impacts of inharmonious relationship with his mother on

Grayer’s attitudes?

1.3. Objectives of the Study

The study has two objectives. The first objective is to investigate how the

authors describe the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer Addison X. This

objective also covers the analysis how the authors characterize Nanny, Mrs. X,

and Grayer. The second objective is to analyze the impacts of the bad parental role

on Grayer’s attitudes.

1.4. Benefits of the Study

This thesis gives the benefits to the writer as well as to the readers. For the

writer, this paper gives deeper understanding in the aspect of how important a

good relationship between the mother and the son is. For the readers, who are

mostly students of a college and who are going to be married and build a family in

the upcoming years, hopefully this paper can give some contributions to the

knowledge about how to take care of the child well.

1.5. Definition of Terms

There are some important terms related to this study. The terms will be

defined briefly and understandably as follows.

1.5.1 Relationship

According to Baron and Byrne (236), relationship is something that

happens if there are individuals who are influencing each other. Conviction,


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feeling, and attitude are the factors that have important rule in relationship.

1.5.2 Character

According to Abrams (20), character is the person, in a dramatic or

narrative work, endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed

in what they say-the dialogue-and what they do-the action. Throughout one’s

actions and speeches in the novel, it can be discovered how profound his personal

quality is. The process of knowing the personal quality will become so much help

of finding personal description of a character.

1.5.3 Conflict

According to Verderber (97), a conflict is “the clash of opposing attitudes,

ideas, behaviors, goals, and needs”. In this study conflict in relationship as a

mother and a son is focused. Therefore, a conflict here means the clash of

different views, attitudes, and ideas between a mother and her son.

1.5.4 Social Status

Richard T. Schaefer (122) states that social status refers to any position of

the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society – from

the lowest to the highest position. Status often conveys connotations of influence,

wealth, and fame.

1.5.5 Society

According to Henkle in his book Introduction to English Literature (23), a

society means “a variety of people of different occupations, ages and natures, in

living a way that creates a web of interrelationship”. The society in this study

refers to the society in the novel, namely the people who live in the Manhattan

Island and have a prestigious life style.


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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter is divided into two parts namely the review of related theories

and theoretical framework. Review of the related theories gives brief explanation

of the theories of critical approaches and the theories of literature such as theory

of character, theory of characterization, theory of mother-child relation, theory of

family influences on the growing child, and theory of child emotional

development and physical well-being. Theoretical framework provides an

explanation of how those theories are applied in analysis.

2.1 Review of Related Theories

This part presents the theoretical review which contains critical approach,

theories of character, theories of characterization, theory of mother-child relation,

theory of family influences on the growing child, and theory of child emotional

development and physical well-being.

2.1.1 Critical Approaches

According to what Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. (6-15) have claimed, there

are five types of critical approaches used to analyze a work of literature. First is

the formalist approach that searches only on the work based on its aesthetic value.

Secondly, the biographical approach is an approach in understanding a work of art

through the biography of the author. Third is the sociocultural-historical approach

that sees a work of literature which is referenced on sociocultural-historical


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background. The sociocultural-historical approach explores a work of literature by

emphasizing on historical background that shapes the setting of place in a story.

Fourth is the mythopoetic approach that uses myth beyond the work of art as the

reference. Fifth is the psychological approach which is based on the psychological

theories. The psychological approach explores a work of art by using some

psychological theories as the framework.

The psychological approach considers that each character’s behaviour

could be interpreted to the psychology of human being, resulting in the deeper

explanation of each character’s actions and behaviours (Rohrberger and Woods,

Jr. 16). In this study, the psychological approach was employed to investigate how

the authors describe the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer and to analyze

the impacts of inharmonius relationship with his mother on Grayer’s attitudes.

The psychological approach is also chosen as tools to process in The Nanny

Diaries, particularly in the impacts of his inharmonious relationship with his

mother on Grayer’s attitudes.

2.1.2 Character

In order to understand how a character in literary work is described, we

need to understand the theories of character. Through these theories we will get

the understanding about the character which is portrayed in a work of literature.

Characters experience many things that could influence their thoughts,

ideas, judgments about life and society (Abrams 20). They seem to have the same

dynamic emotion which can be seen through their speech and action. Abram adds


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that characters have some characteristics which are similar with human being.

Sometime it comes to them to get angry, and to show some moral and social

values that ultimately become their motivation in saying and doing something.

According to Henkle (88 – 97), characters can mainly be categorized as

major and minor characters. He states that major character is created to carry out

ideas or messages in a story to readers through the character’s feelings, thoughts,

actions, and reactions. In the other side, minor or secondary characters are those

who only appear in a certain setting to support the major characters. Henkle says

that it is necessary for us to pay a heed to the major characters in order to

understand the novel profoundly. As an addition, he says that we build

expectations and desires upon them to establish our values and to present

convincing dramatizations of the human issues of the book.

2.1.3 Characterization

Rhorberger and Wood, Jr. in Reading and Writing about Novel define

characterization as the process by which an author creates character, it is the

devices that he makes the readers to believe a character in the particular type of

person he is. An author does this way to make a stereotype of someone existing in

a real world situation comes real during the reading (20).

According to Murphy, there are nine methods in which the readers can

understand the character (161 -173). They are:

2.1.3.1 Personal Description

The author describes the appearance of a character in details such as the

face, the skin color, the hair, etc.


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2.1.3.2 Character as seen by others

The author describes the character of the person through the other’s eyes

and opinion. There the opinion may come from people around the person about

his personality which can also determine his characteristics.

2.1.3.3 Speech

The author gives the readers some clue about the character through what

the character says.

2.1.3.4 Past Life

In certain events of the characters past life, the readers will know the

characteristic of him/her. Here we learn that a character’s past experiences,

particularly those which are really meaningful can cause several effects to the

person’s future life even may change his character.

2.1.3.5 Conversation of others

Through the conversations done by other people, the readers will know

what they say about the character.

2.1.3.6 Reactions

The readers will know what kind of person the character is by seeing how

he/she reacts to various situations in the story. The readers here can conclude if a

person is temperamental or patient and etc.

2.1.3.7 Direct Comment

The author gives direct comment to the character. However, the author

will not give lots of direct comment otherwise the novel will be uninteresting to

deeply read.


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2.1.3.8 Thoughts

The author directly gives what a person is thinking about. By knowing

what in the character’s mind, the readers will know his characteristic.

2.1.3.9 Mannerism

The author creates the character’s behaviors where each and every one of

the behaviors will show the characteristic of the character. A person’s habits of

idiosyncrasies may also tell us something about someone’s characteristic.

Murphy also adds that characterization is the presentation of the

characters’ personalities including their attitudes, appearances, motives, and

actions, which are created to be life like. This is in order that the ideas of what

kind of people they are in the story are conveyed to the readers (161).

2.1.4 The Mother-Child Relation

According to Deutsch (308), the main problems of motherhood are the

reproductive function, and, as we have seen, continue, with the birth of the child,

the mother’s relation to the child. From this statement, it can be inferred that the

mother’s relation to the child is very important because the relation will be an

ongoing process; regarding the fact that the child grows bigger each day.

There are two greatest task of a woman, namely: to shape her unity with the child in a harmonious manner and to dissolve the unity harmoniously. The tasks of motherhood that serve the preservation of the species correspond to the developmental stages of the child. For instance, all of the mother’s interests during the child’s first life period are chiefly directed to the goal of his physical thriving. Her activity at this time is applied to his feeding and bodily care. At this stage the mother’s urge to preserve the unity with the child is strongest and the possibility of gratifying it greatest: the child’s helplessness during the suckling period furthers this unity (Deutsch 308-309).


12

From this explanation, it can be inferred that the first task of a mother in her early

child’s life is to make a unity with him. After having the unity with the child, then

the next task of a woman will be educating the child. This matter will be

explained in the following paragraph.

The mother’s next task is educating. Beside her attention to bodily care, she

is now concerned with the child’s psychology and his adjustment to reality.

Above all, the mother must now teach her children to control his instincts, and the

better her own instinctual life is controlled, the better does she succeed in this

task. She must not be too mild in her methods of training, for excessive

indulgence involves the danger of the child’s remaining undisciplined and

dominated by his instincts. She also is not allowed to forbid a lot, for excessive

inhibition exposes the child to the danger of neurotic illness (Deutsch 309). From

the previous explanation, it can be concluded that the second task is the important

one. The reason is that the mother must educate her child well. If the mother is too

mild, then her child will remain undisciplined and dominated by the instincts. If

the mother forbids too much, then the child will have a danger of experiencing a

neurotic illness. Therefore, the mother must take a right step in taking care of her

child.

Noller (135) states that there are three styles of parenting. They are

authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive styles. Further, Greenbaum & Landau

state that mother-child interactions tend to be dominated by caretaking. Mothers

communicate with their children, stimulate them, express positive affection to

them, and perform the basic childcare tasks more than do fathers (205).


13

2.1.5 Family Influences on a Growing Child

This theory is proposed by Medinus and Johnson and divided into several

sub-topics namely: the nature of parent-child relations, three principal parent

variables, and three factors in parent child relationships. Each of the sub-topics

will be explained briefly.

2.1.5.1 The Nature of Parent-Child Relations

Although all human relationships are unique, those existing between

parents and child posses certain characteristics that explain the tremendous and

permanent impact of one upon the other. The intimacy and intensity of contact

and the everyday interaction an interchange exist in an emotionally charged

atmosphere. A child serves as a mirror to the parent, who sees reflected there his

own childhood, his own unresolved and frequently long-term conflicts, and his

own needs and aspirations (Medinnus and Johnson 343).

The emotional needs of one to another create a system where the

breakdown of one member will affect the entire system. Some clinical reports

reveal that the family member who seeks for psychological treatment actually is

not the one who needs it. This statement indicates that the psychological disorder

of the concerned individual reflects a greater trouble within the family system.

Furthermore, family-therapy case studies show that when one family member is

relieved from the psychological symptoms, the symptoms frequently reappear in

another member (Medinnus and Johnson 343).

There is also another view of the value of children for their parents.

According to Nye (153), children are considered to fulfill needs of their parents.

One of the values of children for their parents is being a marital status. In this


14

case, they may enhance parents’ status because parenthood is thought to establish

parents as truly mature, stable, and acceptable members of adult community.

Parents who have children will be considered as having higher social status in

their community because being parents is regarded as prestigious and needs great

responsibility.

2.1.5.2 Three Principal Parent Variables

Medinnus and Johnson (347) state that there are three principal parent

variables, which are parent is personality, attitudes, and behavior. The first

variable is parent’s personality that influences personality development of their

child. It is because parents unconsciously teach character’s trait, values, and

attitudes to their children. The result of the influence can be good or bad to the

children, depending on how they receive it.

The second variable concerns parent’s attitudes. How the adult

understanding of the parental role in relation to the child influences his attitudes as

a parent. The conception of these responsibilities, functions, and obligations of a

role create the individual’s attitudes. Further, the interest of the child psychologist

in parental attitude stems, therefore, from the notion that a basic, underlying

attitude influences many behaviors of parenthood that are assumed to affect the

personality development of the child. (Medinnus and Johnson 349).

The third variable is parent’s behavior. At this point, there are many

aspects to learn in exploring the characteristics that describe the general

behavioral atmosphere of the home. Two characteristics which usually emerge are

acceptance versus rejection and autonomy versus control. Theoretically, the

psychological atmosphere of a home may fall into any of the four quadrants, each


15

of which represents one of four general combinations: acceptance-autonomy,

acceptance-control, rejection-autonomy, and rejection-control (Medinnus and

Johnson 356).

2.1.5.3 Three Factors in Parent-Child Relationships

There are three factors in parent-child relationships. Those factors are

perception of parents, discipline, and parent attitudes. Each part will be explained

briefly below.

The first factor is perception of parents. Commonly, children’s tendency in

perceiving their parents is negative. As a result, there is not so much to say about

the child’s perception and interpretation of their parents. It causes children to view

all of his interpersonal relations negatively, including their relationships with their

parents. Their negative perceptions of their parents also produce their poor

adjustments. Second, the young child is not a very reliable informant, not through

any desire to deceive, but through inability to express himself adequately in his

early years (Medinnus and Johnson 375).

The second variable is identification. Even though the concept of

identification has been used in many ways with a host of meanings, Sanford states

that identification is the process by which an individual incorporates certain

aspects of someone else’s behavior, attitudes, and characteristics. Identification

may occur at the unconscious level. The discussion of identification in the young

child primarily concerns his identification with sex role, the process of developing

characteristics similar to those of the parent of the same sex. However, numerous

characteristics seem to emerge from this process. Aggressive behavior, behavior


16

and attitudes toward others, leisure-time pursuits, are the results of children’s

identification with the parents in early years (383).

The third factor is discipline. The measurement of the effects of discipline

(the independent variables) on the child’s behavior and attitudes (the dependent

variables) would be full of uncertainty. Moreover, it is clear that the effects of

discipline depend upon the emotional context in which it is directed (Medinnus

and Johnson 383).

2.1.6 Power and Parent-Child Relationships

Noller in her book Communication in Family Relationships (135-136)

states that in parent-child relationship, parents are supposed to be in control of

families and responsible for their children’s behavior. Parents vary in the extent to

which they exercise power over their children. There are three basic styles of

parenting. They are:

2.1.6.1 The Authoritarian Parent

The authoritarian parents emphasize that children should obey them and

punish children if they do something wrong. This kind of parents do not

encourage their children, believing that the children should accept the parents’

word for what is right.

2.1.6.2 The Authoritative parent

The authoritative parents direct the activities of the child, while at the

same time they let their children to find their own talents and creativities. These

parents encourage and share with the children about the family rules and the

reasons to obey them. They are careful in controlling their children and tend to

persuade in getting the children’s cooperation.


17

2.1.6.3 The Permissive Parent

The permissive parents do not give any strict control over their children

and allows the children to regulate their own activities as much as possible.

Basically, such parents are warm but very low in control. They rely on the family

rules to control their children and to be responsible in the mildest ways.

2.1.6 Child Emotional Development and Physical Well-Being

According to Martin and Stendler, one’s health can be affected by one’s

emotional state. Sickness may be caused not only by disease but also from one’s

psychological conditions. Further, physical well-being may influence emotional

development (46-47). From these statements, it can be concluded that children’s

illness affect the emotional well-being of the child. Additionally, Mohr (47) states

that illness restricts children’s activities, which may bring out depressions and

inferiority towards their peers.

Further, Hurlock (184-185) proposes that emotions have significance over

children’s life. The importance of emotions is serving as a form of

communication, interfering with mental activities, coloring the child’s outlook on

life, affecting social interaction, developing habits, and affecting the

psychological climate.

Emotion serves as a form of communication because children’s

comprehension and vocabularies are still limited. That is why they express what

they want to say through emotion. They can also determine how they feel from

their bodily and facial changes. Concentration, learning, recalling and other


18

mental activities are affected by unpleasant emotions. Therefore, children perform

below their intellectual capacities when they are emotionally disturbed.

How children view their roles in life and their positions in the social group

is also influenced by their emotions, whether they are happy, frightened, or

curious. The success of their social adjustments depends on it. Further, emotions

affect social interaction in a way that children are encouraged to experience

various emotions, from pleasure to unpleasant emotions. It results in the children

development in relation to their social interaction.

Emotional expressions that satisfy children will be repeated and developed

into a habit. When children become adults, the habits will be established firmly

that it will be difficult to change them. Children’s emotions also affect the

psychological climate of the environments and it affects them. The environment

shows its influence towards children’s emotions that they will act based on what

the environment teach them to do.

Post (288) also explains the negative characteristics that may come in

children’s development. One of them is rudeness. Basically, it is caused by two

factors, namely parents’ low control and children’s loneliness. The first factor

comes from parents’ lack of control and attention that they never tell the

appropriate manners and behaviors to their children. As a result, children become

rude because they do not know what good manners are. The second factor,

loneliness, usually happens in a family who only has one child. Children who do

not have anyone to share and give tend to be very selfish and self-centered. Being

alone, that children is also inclined to be introspective.


19

2.2 Theoretical Framework

In order to analyze the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer, the

psychological approach is used. Then, theories of character and characterization

are used to determine the characters of Annie, Mrs. X, and Grayer. Next, theories

of mother-child relation and family influences on a growing child are also used to

determine how the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer is.

Furthermore the theory of power and parent-child relationships is used to

analyze he parental role, specifically the mother’s parental role. The analysis will

be supported by the theory of child emotional development and physical well-

being. Then, The theory of child emotional development and physical well-being

will also be used for identifying some impacts of his inharmonius relationship

with his mother on Grayer’s attitudes. When the analysis is done, the writer will

conclude his findings regarding to the novel and the analysis.


20

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

The writer divides this chapter into two parts, namely the object of the

study and the method of the study. The first sub-title explains about the novel in

brief, and the second sub-title explains the steps taken within working on the

research.

3.1 Object of the Study

The Nanny Diaries was published for the first time in 2002 by Kraus &

Emma McLaughlin. This edition was arranged by St. Martin’s Press, LLC through

Big Apple Tuttle-Mori Agency. The Nanny Diaries tells about inharmonious

relationship between a mother, Mrs. X and her son, Grayer Addison X. The story

starts with telling about Annie Braddock, a fresh college graduate from New

Jersey whose mother is a nurse. She makes an unsuccessful bid to press her into a

white-collared business career. Because of failing in the interview test selection,

Annie accepts a job as a nanny and a domestic servant in a very rich family who

lives in Upper East Side of Manhattan, known as the X’s family.

Annie has her first real taste of servant life when she arrives at the family’s

residence and promptly sinks into the X’s luxury tub. Annie must spend her days

tending to the demands of the couple’s mischievous and bratty son, Grayer. The

condition grows both more awkward and sticky when Annie begins to fall in love

with a young man who lives near the X’s apartment, named Harvard Hottie. He


21

leads her into seriously reevaluating her career goals and priorities after Annie is

fired during a family vacation to Nantucket.

3.2 Approach of the Study

The approach applied in this study was the psychological approach.

According to Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. (16), the psychological approach

considers that each character’s behaviour could be referred to the psychology of

human being, resulting in the deeper interpretation of each character’s actions and

behaviours (16). Therefore, the psychological approach was appropriate to

investigate how the authors describe the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer

and to analyze the impacts of inharmonius relationship with his mother on

Grayer’s attitudes.

3.3 Methods of the Study

In conducting the study, there were several steps the writer used. First of

all, the writer chose the object of the study, which was a novel, entitled The Nanny

Diaries by Kraus & Emma McLaughlin. Next, the writer chose the theories that

would be used for conducting the study namely: character, characterization,

mother-child relation, family influences on the growing child, and child emotional

development and physical well-being. Then, the writer explained the steps taken

in conducting the study. After explaining the steps, the writer analyzed the novel

by using the already chosen theories. Last but not least, the writer concluded the

results of the study.


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CHAPTER 4

ANALYSIS

This chapter consists of two sections. The first section discusses the

relationship between Mrs. X and her son. This section includes the description of

the characters of Annie Braddock (the Nanny), Mrs. X, and Grayer Addison X.

The second section discusses about the impacts of inharmonious relationship with

his mother on Grayer’s Attitudes are.

4.1 Relationship between Mrs. X and Her Son

In this part, the analysis concerns the descriptions of the relationship

between Mrs. X and her son in the novel The Nanny Diaries. The analysis will

cover the description of the characters of Annie Braddock (the Nanny), Mrs. X,

and Grayer Addison X.

4.1.1 The Description of the Characters of Annie Braddock (the Nanny), Mrs.

X, and Grayer Addison X

There are three characters discussed in this part: Annie Braddock (the

Nanny), Mrs. X, and Grayer. Based on Henkle’s theory (88 – 97), Annie, Mrs. X.

and Grayer X are the major characters because they deserve full attention from the

readers. They become the centre of attention from the beginning to the ending part

of the story. In order to analyze the character’s traits, Murphy’s theory of

characterization (161 -173) is used. There are nine ways suggested in the theory,

but not all of them are used in analyzing the characters. There are only three ways

used in this analysis: speech, conversation by others, and reactions.


23

4.1.1.1 Annie Braddock (the Nanny)

Annie’s speeches and reactions indicate that she is a loving person. When

taking care of Grayer, she finds that she cannot leave him alone. She feels that she

loves Grayer because she understands Grayer’s attitudes that he needs love and

attention from his parents. We can see from the way Annie sacrifices her holidays

and free times to take care of Grayer although it means that she has to cancel her

date with her boy friend, Harvard Hottie.

Wouldn’t you like to join us for a few weeks on the ocean this summer, Nanny? It will be so relaxing.” My ears perk up at the sound of my name and I find myself responding with unmitigated enthusiasm. “Totally. Relaxing and fun. F-U-N. Bring it on!” I say, trying to give a purple thumbs-up, as I imagine me, the ocean, my Harvard Hottie. “Naaantucket-swim, sand, and surf. I mean, what’s not to love? Sign... me... up.” Beneath my half-closed eyes I see her look at me quizzically before turnoing to the snoring Mr. X. (Kraus & McLaughlin 83)

Annie shows that she prefers to spend her holidays with Grayer than to have a

date with her lovely Harvard Hottie. Annie thinks that there is no body who cares

about Grayer, even Grayer’s parents themself, so that Annie is the only person

who really loves Grayer.

The other example is that when Mrs. X fires Annie, because she requests

for asking holiday when she is expected to stay with no holiday on the X’s

vacation in the Nantucket. In this case, Mrs. X does not give permission to Annie

for saying good bye to Grayer. Therefore it makes Annie cry sadly. Actually

Annie really does not want to leave Grayer, because she has already loved Grayer

very much. Even Grayer himself also does not want to separate with Annie,

because he loves Annie much more than his parents. Concerning Annie and


24

Grayer love each other and do not want to be separated, Mrs. X really does not

care about this and just lets it go (Kraus & McLaughlin 296).

Annie is also a hard-working person. She is willing to work hard even

when she knows that her employer is not a good person and sometimes acts

unfriendly towards Annie. She rarely complains about her conditions and

situations around her. It can be seen when Annie is ordered to cook for Grayer’s

dinner and she is expected to work until late night, she shows her seriousness and

willingness to comfort Grayer (Kraus & McLaughlin 62-63).

The other example is that when Mrs. X asks Annie to join Hallowen party

by wearing Telletubis costumes. Actually Annie really does not want to wear that

kind of bizarre costumes, but she does not have any choice.

Dear God. She must be kidding. “Nanny, we’re gonna match!” If I wanted to get dressed up in bizarre costumes I could be making way more money than this. With a long sigh I begin to wrestle Grayer into his yellow costume, trying to convince him it’s just like putting on feet pajamas, only rounder. (Kraus & McLaughlin 69)

Annie shows that she really works well for whatever Mrs. X’s orders to her, so

that Mrs. X does not need to ask first whether Annie wants to join Hallowen party

with Mrs. X family or not. Even though there are so many multitasks that are not

Annie’s job, she still does whatever Mrs. X asks her to do.

Annie’s speeches also indicate that she is polite. We can see this from her

politeness even after she receives bad treatments from her masters. She always

answers in polite ways towards everything Mrs. X’s orders her to do although

sometimes it makes her angry. The example is when Grayer gets cough and ear

infection, Annie really wants to blame Mrs. X who is having treatment of a spa in


25

the same time. Grayer cannot seem to breathe and Annie does not know if she

should take him to the hospital or not. When Grayer’s fever is getting worse,

Annie is unable to call to Mrs. X, because Mrs. X does not want to be disturbed

while in the spa treatment. Therefore Annie really wants to express her anger to

Mrs. X, soon as Mrs. X comes back home late at night. Instead Mrs. X blames

Annie because of messy house. She does not thank Annie that has cured Grayer’s

very bad fever. This time Annie becomes speechless and she also does not blame

Mrs. X at all (Kraus & McLaughlin 142-143).

One day the X’s family has vacation on the Nantucket and Annie is

expected to stay with no holiday. When the vacation is going on, Mrs. X reject

Annie’s request for asking holiday for herself, even she fires Annie. Fortunately

Annie can calm down and she can accept the final decission of Mrs. X wisely.

“Well, it’s just that I have to find a new apartment this weekend, so if there’s any way that you could drop me off at the ferry Friday night on the way to your party... It’s just that there’ll be so much traffic on Saturday and I haven’t even started packing and I need to have everything boxed by Monday and I was just thinking, you know, if it’s not any trouble... Of course, if you need me I’m happy to stay-I just thought...” Mrs. X fixes me with a steely gaze. “Well, I have a better idea, Nanny, why don’t you just leave tonight? Mr. X can drive you to the ferry. (Kraus & McLaughlin 295)

It can be seen that Annie still behaves politely when Mrs. X fires her. Annie does

not protest at all although Mrs. X does not give any chance to Annie for saying

good bye to Grayer. It is the hardest situation of Annie for leaving the X’s family

without saying anything to Grayer.

Annie is also honest. We can see the example in the way she is trusted by

her employer to live with them. When Mrs. X has something to do outside the


26

house, she just leaves it without any anxiety. She even asks Annie’s helps to

choose the best and most suitable jewelry for her to wear. It shows that Mrs. X

somehow trusts Annie despite of her suspicions and hostility towards Annie

(Kraus & McLaughlin 295).

4.1.1.2 Mrs. X

The first characteristic of Mrs. X is selfish. She always thinks of her own

needs without any considerations towards others, especially Annie. She even does

not care about her own son’s developments. She believes that she has something

important to do more than any other businesses which need her attentions, such as

giving attentions to her son and managing her house more carefully. She usually

relies on her servants and Annie to do almost everything in home while she goes

having fun with her friends or satisfying herself. The example is when Mrs. X

accompanies Annie to pick Grayer up in his school for the first time. Mrs. X only

introduces Annie to Grayer’s teacher, Mrs. Butters and Grayer himself.

“Okay, Mommy’s gotta go,” she says, snapping her Startac closed. Her departure is like the suicide drills from gym class. Every time she gets just a few feet farther away, Grayer cries and she scurries back, admonishing, “Now Mommy’s going to be late” is gone (Kraus & McLaughlin 31).

It shows that Mrs. X does not feel any pity to Grayer, who is crying because his

mother leaves him. Even Mrs. X shows that she does not want to give her little

time to make Grayer stop crying.

The other example is that Mrs. X does not give any attention to her own

son. Even Mrs. X does not let Grayer touch her after her absence all day long. It is

already her habit to go outside along the day and go back home until late night.

She absolutely does not care about the development of her son. Even she also does


27

not feel that Grayer really misses her and wants to have a hug once a day (Kraus

& McLaughlin 119).

The second characteristic is hateful. As a rich woman, she considers

herself more powerful and superior than other people. So she always acts as if she

is perfect. If she finds that other people do something that she does not approve,

she will hate them forcefully. She can do it because she feels that she is the only

one who always does everything correctly. She cannot accept failure and mistake

even when it is unintentionally done. The example is when Mrs. X fires the

seventh Grayer’s nanny, named Caitlin, after she has six nannies in four months

before Caitlin.

“So what happened to Caitlin? Your new girl didn’t seem to know.” “Sally, it was a nightmare. I’m lucky I found Nanny when I did! Caitlin,

whose work I never found to be exemplary, by the way, but I put up with it, because, well, one does. Anyway, she had the nerve to ask for the last week of August off after I already gave her the first two weeks of January when we went to Aspen.” “You’re kidding.” “Well, I just felt she was trying to take complete advantage of me-” (Kraus & McLaughlin 78)

It shows that Mrs. X gets hateful easily when somebody tries to go against her. In

this case Caitlin is fired because she asks for a holiday. She hates Caitlin for what

she has done and she even looks for another nanny in order to substitute Caitlin.

One day when Mrs. X fires Connie who is the only housemaide that has

been living in the X’s aparment for 12 years. It happens because Connie does not

know where Grayer’s bow tie is. It is true that cleaning the house and preparing

Grayer’s clothes belong to Connie’s responsibility. In fact, Mrs. X cannot accept

any mistake and cannot tolerate the apology from Connie (Kraus & McLaughlin

199).


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The third is that Mrs. X is an ungrateful person. We can see this

characteristic from her attitude towards Annie. Despite Annie’s hard work and

sacrifices to take care of Grayer, Mrs. X does not respect Annie. She considers

Annie to be lazy, selfish, and unmotivated to work and she never thinks that

Annie is a great value in her home. Even Mrs. X gives multitasks to Annie

without any extra reward (Kraus & McLaughlin 50).

The example is when Mrs. X will give a fete for the Chicago branch of Mr.

X’s company. She entangles Annie to prepare the fete that all top executives will

present, asking her to call the caterers and double-check what kind of utensils and

linens they will be bringing for Mr. X’s party and to start assembling so many

items for the gift bags. In the meantime, Annie also has to wait Grayer who is

interviewing in the St. David. Therefore Annie has to work hard for doing all Mrs.

X’s instructions above (Kraus & McLaughlin 50-51).

The other example is that Mrs. X does not give a hefty Christmas bonus to

Annie. Although Annie has put so much extra time in order to get extra bonus, she

gets earmuffs only as the bonus.

“Ugh, that woman!” I slump forward. “I worked, like, eighty hours a week for the past month and for what? I’ll tell you for what. Earmuffs!” Everyone knows you get a hefty Christmas bonus; it’s just how it’s done. Why else would I have put in so much extra time? The bonus is for the extra, it’s the recognition! Every stupid person that works for them got money and a hand bag! And I got—” (Kraus & McLaughlin 123-124)

It can be seen that Mrs. X is very an ungrateful person when she gives Earmuffs

as the Christmas bonus to Annie. In this case Annie thinks that she has already put

in so much extra time working, which is eighty hours a week for the past month.


29

She wants to do that because she thinks that the bonus will be worth it. Therefore

what Mrs. X has already done breaks Annie’s heart.

4.1.1.3 Grayer Addison X

Grayer is described as a selfish boy. As a son of a rich family, he lacks of

nothing. This behaviour can be seen when he makes fun of Annie by asking her to

get something he wants, but when Annie brings the thing, he wants another again

and again. Grayer is also described as a rude boy. When he meets Annie at the

courtyard for the first time, Mrs. X asks Grayer to have lunch at the playground

with Annie, but Grayer refuses roughly by driving Annie away from her. Further,

Grayer really enjoys disturbing Annie for the first week. He shouts and throws

things to Annie. Therefore, it is very difficult for Annie to take care Grayer for the

first week (Kraus & McLaughlin 38).

Despite all of his bad attitudes and behaviours, Grayer is a lonely boy.

Actually, everything he does is an effort to get attention from other people

because he feels lonely and lack of affections from his mother. He tries to pretend

his sadness of being ignored by his parents by doing mischief. When he does that,

he feels that he can forget his loneliness and sadness. Actually, he is a good boy.

But because of his mother’s little care and attention towards him, Grayer becomes

a rude boy. The proof is when the housemaid of the X’s apartment, named Connie

tells Annie about what was happened to a baby nurse of Grayer, Jackie.

You ever hear about Jackie? I shake my head. “Jackie was his baby nurse, but she stayed till Grayer was two.” “What happened to her?” “Well, she got a boyfriend. That’s what happened to her.” I look at her quizzically. “For two years she just worked, she’d only been here maybe a few years and didn’t have too many friends. So she practically lived here and she and Mrs. X got on okay. I think they got together about Mr. X


30

traveling and Jackie dating no one special-you know, man troubles. But then Jackie met someone-he looked like Bob Marley-and now she can’t work on Friday nights and she don’t like to work the weekend if the Xes don’t be in Connecticut. So Mrs. X starts in with how inconvenienced she is. But really, she jealous. Jackie had that glow, you know. She had that look about her and Mrs. X couldn’t stand it. So she fired her. Nearly broke Grayer’s heart. After that-he was like a little devil child.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 200)

It can be seen that Grayer’s heart has already broken for the first time, because he

has been left by Grayer’s baby nurse, named Jackie. She is the first Grayer’s baby

nurse who is able to make him happy and comfortable. After two years working,

Mrs X fires Jackie, because Jackie asks for holiday on Friday nights and she also

does not like to work in the weekend after she has a boyfriend. It is very difficult

for Grayer to deal with broken-heartedness since he is still four years old.

Therefore Grayer becomes a very rude boy after that.

4.1.2 The Relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer

According to Deutsch (308-309), the mother’s relation to the child is very

important because the relation will be an ongoing process, regarding the fact that

the child grows bigger each day. There are two greatest tasks of a mother. The

first mother’s task is to shape her unity with the child in a harmonious manner and

to dissolve the unity harmoniously. The second task is to educate her child well. If

the mother is too mild, then her child will remain undisciplined and dominated by

the instincts. If the mother forbids too much, then the child will have a danger of

experiencing a neurotic illness. Therefore, the mother must take a right step in

taking care of her child. Further Noller (135) states that in parent-child

relationship, parents are supposed to be in control of families and responsible for

their children’s behavior.


31

In The Nanny Diaries, Mrs. X is one of the major characters in the novel.

She is portrayed as a woman who comes from a prosperous family and is married

to a rich man. As a result, her life is very glamourous and she never lacks of

anything. She spends her daily life on shopping and having treatments at spa.

Despite all her flawless appearances, she has some unusual characteristics that

make her get frustrated about her life and feels unhappy (Kraus & McLaughlin

199).

According to Deutsch (322) in her book entitled The Psychology of

Women, Although a mother has a significant role in her son’s development, the

relationship between them is not always good. In The Nanny Diaries, Mrs. X does

not want to spend her little time to take care of Grayer, even though she has one

child only. In the novel, Grayer is described as a selfish and rude boy. As a son of

a rich family, he lacks of nothing. Everything that he needs is provided well by his

mother. That is what makes him selfish and rude, because all people never say no

to him (Kraus & McLaughlin 38).

Deutsch (309) states that the first mother’s task is to shape her unity with

the child in a harmonious manner and to dissolve the unity harmoniously. The

Nanny Diaries tells that Mrs. X hands over all her responsibilities as a mother to

Annie. Automatically Grayer does not get enough affection and care from his

mother. Therefore it can be concluded that Mrs. X has inharmonious relationship

with her son, Grayer Addison X, because she cannot do the first task of a mother

that is to shape her unity with the child in a harmonious manner and to dissolve

the unity harmoniously (Deutsch 309).


32

The inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer can be seen

from her habit that she does not give any attention to her own son. Even Mrs. X

does not let Grayer touch her after her absence all day long. It is already her habit

to go outside along the day and go back home until late night. She absolutely does

not care about the development of her son. Even she also does not feel that Grayer

really misses her and wants to have a hug once a day (Kraus & McLaughlin 119).

The other proof is that Mrs. X wants to keep her glamorous lifestyle while

avoiding her responsibilities in taking care and educating her son. It can be seen

from Annie’s attitudes after Mrs. X fires her. Annie is the only person who takes

care of Grayer from he wakes up in the early morning until he falls asleep in the

night. Furthermore Mrs. X never takes care of her son, so that Annie hands over

all Mrs. X’s responsibility as a mother for Grayer.

“I really want to know-just where do you get the balls to ask a perfect stranger to be a surrogate mother to your kid?” “And you don’t have a job!” “What do you do all day?” “Well, you keep right on plugging away there, lady-the world can hardly wait to hear how your innovations are going to launch us right into the twenty-first century with a discovery so fantastic that you can’t spare a moment to give your son a hug.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 303)

It is Annie’s recording containing the criticisms of Mrs. X for being a terrible

mother for Grayer, after Mrs. X fires Annie. It shows that Annie is very

dissapointed with the attitudes of Mrs. X as Grayer’s mother. Annie thinks that

Mrs. X has something more important to do than any other businesses which need

her attentions, such as giving attentions to her son and managing her house more

carefully.


33

The inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer Addison X

have three characteristics. First, their relationship is lack of communication. The

second is too much control from the mother. The third is considering a child as a

marital status only.

4.1.2.1 Lack of communication

Mother-child relationship has long been considered as a very important

matter in a family life. The relationship greatly influences the developments of

both parents and children. Noller (197) states that the quality of the marriage

impacts the interaction with the children. Further, Noller (205) also states that

mother-child interactions tend to be dominated by caretaking. Mothers

communicate with their children, stimulate them, express positive affection to

them, and perform the basic childcare tasks more than do fathers.

In the novel, we can see that Mrs. X is not able to build communication

with her son well, stimulate him, and express positive affection to him (Kraus &

McLaughlin 45). Therefore it can be concluded that the relationship between Mrs.

X and Grayer is lack of communication and interaction. We can see the proof

from the daily activities of Mrs. X that she is always busy with her own activities.

It can be seen from so many shopping bags on the car that Mrs. X has just bought

when she visits Annie at the Grayer’s courtyard.

“This way.” The door of a Lincoln town car pops open and Mrs. X’s manicured hand flags me over. “Im so glad you’re here,” I say, leaning down to where she’s seated amid her shopping bags in the plush darkness. “Because I need to ask you-” (Kraus & McLaughlin 44-45)

Mrs. X visits Annie only to tell that she needs Annie to prepare the fete of


34

Chicago branch of Mr. X’s company. In the meantime, Annie also wants to ask

whether Alexander, a friend of Grayer, can accompany Grayer for the afternoon.

Annie is very confused about this situation, because there are four boys named

Alexander in Grayer’s school and Annie does not know which Alexander is

supposed to escort Grayer. Unfortunately Annie does not get the answer, because

Mrs. X just goes away in a hurry when she hears the heavy clank of the double

doors of Grayer’s play group opening. It seems that it is much more important

preparing the fete of Mr. X than caring her own son for Mrs. X. She also does not

want to give her little precious time to meet her son and to have a little

conversation to him (Kraus & McLaughlin 44-46).

The other proof is that Mrs. X does not let Grayer touch her after her

absence all day long. It is already her habit to go outside along the day and go

back home until late night. She absolutely does not care about the development of

her son. Therefore it can be seen that Mrs. X does not have any spare time for

Grayer to have well communication, like mother-child’s communication in

general (Kraus & McLaughlin 119).

4.1.2.2 Too Much Control from the Mother

Parents are supposed to be in control of families and responsible for their

children’s behavior. However, there are some problems commonly occurs related

to parents’ style in controlling their children. According to Noller (134) there are

three style of parenting, namely the authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive

styles. Children with authoritarian parents, who are high in control but low in

affection, tended to be less happy, less trusting, and more withdrawn than other


35

children. Further, low levels of support and high levels of coercion tend to result

in children who lack social competence and are low in self-esteem and creativity

and high in behavior problems (Noller 135).

In the novel, Mrs. X shows the style of an authoritarian mother. She forces

Grayer to do what she wants. It can be seen when Mrs. X gives Annie a copy of

Grayer’s schedule of after-school activities.

Dear Nanny, Welcome! The attached is a copy of Grayer’s schedule of after-school activities. Let me know if you have any questions. P.S. I’ve also included a list of some possible fun activities. P.S. I really prefer it if Grayer doesn’t nap in the afternoons. (Kraus & McLaughlin 32)

Mrs. X shows that she has already made Grayer’s schedule of after-school from

Monday until Friday. It shows what Grayer must do every hour. Even she makes

Grayer’s schedule if there is a class cancellation for Annie. Grayer’s schedule of

after-school is the proof that there are too much control from Mrs. X to Grayer

(Kraus & McLaughlin 33-34).

The other example is that when Mrs. X will give a fete for the Chicago

branch of Mr. X’s company. Mrs. X not only entangles Annie to prepare the fete

that all top executives will present, but also she leaves Annie a message

containing what and where Grayer should eat for his dinner.

“Nanny, As a rule I don’t like Grayer to have too many carbohydrates before bed. Tonight I’ve left all his food already measured out on the counter. If you could just put the beets, the kale, and the kahlrabi in the steamer for twelve minutes that should be perfect, but please try to stay out of the caterer’s way. You should probably give Grayer his dinner in his room. Actually, I might need to bring my dinner guests through when I give the tour. So it’s probably best for you both to take your plates into his bathroom while you eat-in case of spills” (Kraus & McLaughlin 62-63).


36

It shows that Mrs. X really gives too much control on Grayer’s diet. It means that

she forces Grayer to eat whatever kind of food that she has prepared for him. It

seems that Mrs. X really does not care whether Grayer likes the food or not.

Unfortunately, Grayer does not have any choice, so he eats his dinner in the

bathroom, otherwise he will not get his dinner. Therefore, it is also the proof that

there are too much control from Mrs. X to Grayer.

4.1.2.3 Considering a Child as a Marital Status Only

Children sometimes are seen as providing a value that they can fulfill

certain needs of their parents. Their values can be varied, depending on their

parents’ satisfactory needs. One of the values of children for their parents is to

enhance parents’ status because parenthood is thought to establish parents as truly

mature, stable, and acceptable members of adult community (Nye 153).

In the novel, Grayer receives such treatments from his parents. It means

that having a child is just a symbol in a marriage of a very rich couple, without

considering that a child needs protections, affections, and careful treatments. The

example is when Grayer gets very bad cough and ear infection, Annie cannot

make a call to Mrs. X, because the receptionist of a spa says that Mrs. X has been

in her spa treatment and cannot be disturbed.

"Yes, well, he has two more days to go, but his cough got really bad. I tried to call you." She bristles. "Well, Nanny, I think we've discussed where we prefer for Grayer to eat. You can go now, I've got it covered." I focus on smiling. "Okay, I'll just go and get changed." (Kraus & McLaughlin 142)

It makes Mrs. X not only a bad person, but also a terrible mother when she is

going to a spa and her son is suffering from a very bad cough, ear infection and


37

fever in the same time.

Noller (205) states that mother-child interactions tend to be dominated by

caretaking. Mothers communicate with their children, stimulate them, express

positive affection to them, and perform the basic childcare tasks more than do

fathers. Noller (136) also states that children with authoritarian parents, who are

high in control but low in affection, tend to be less happy, less trusting, and more

withdrawn than other children. In the novel, Grayer shows those attitudes, because

his mother always choose certain friends for Grayer, who are considered

approriate by her. Therefore Grayer does not have any right to choose his own

friends. It can be seen when Grayer wants to have Cristabelle to play with him,

Annie does not let Grayer to do that, because Mrs. X has already chosen

Alexander to accompany Grayer at that time.

“Grayer, Mommy said you have a play date with Alex,” I say. He shrughs. “How about Cristabelle? Cristabelle, want to have a play date?” Apparently, one play date’s as good as another.” “Grover, it’s not Cristabelle, sweetie. But we can have a play date with Cristabelle another day. Would you like that?” Grayer huffs off. At the age of four he seems already to know that if the date has to be postponed it probably isn’t going to happen. (Kraus & McLaughlin 46)

It shows that Grayer feels less happy, less trusting, and more withdrawn than

other children when he is not able to choose a play date’s friend for himself. It

happens, because Mrs. X has already chosen play date’s friends who is suitable

for Grayer. Therefore Grayer always feels upset when he have to play with a play

date’s friend who is already chosen for him by Mrs. X

Further Nye states that one of the values of children for their parents is to

enhance parents’ status because parenthood is thought to establish parents as truly


38

mature, stable, and acceptable members of adult community (153). Lacking of

communication, too much controlling from the mother, and considering a child as

a marital status only in the relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer are the

characteristics of an inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and her son. As a

result, this inharmonious relationship has several impacts on Grayer’s attitudes.

4.2 The Impacts of Inharmonious Relationship on Grayer’s Attitudes

According to Hurlock (184-185), emotions have significance over

children’s life. The importance of emotions is serving as a form of

communication, interfering with mental activities, coloring the child’s outlook on

life, affecting social interaction, developing habits, and affecting the

psychological climate. The parent-child relationship is also proved to have

significant impacts on the child’s personal life in the way that the child will act

based on what parents teach them to do. Family relationship also give impacts

towards children’s attitude. Two factors come as results of inharmonious

relationship between parents-children, namely rudeness and loneliness. According

to Post, children become rude when their parents never tell the appropriate

manners and behaviors to them. Children also tend to do negative behaviors when

they feel lonely because of their parents’ lack of attention (288). Further, Deutsch

states that mothers must educate their children well. She must not be too mild in

her methods of training, for excessive indulgence involves the danger of the

child’s remaining undisciplined. She also is not allowed to forbid a lot, for

excessive inhibition exposes the child to the danger of neurotic illness (Deutsch

309).


39

The Nanny Diaries tells that the inharmonious relationship between Mrs.

X and Grayer makes several impacts on Grayer’s attitudes. The first impact is that

Grayer becomes a rude boy. The second impact is that Grayer becomes selfish and

arbitrary. The third impact is that Grayer becomes rebellious toward his own

parents. For further explanation of those impacts on Grayer’s attitudes, here each

impact will be analyzed.

4.2.1 Rude

The first impact of the inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and

Grayer is Grayer’s rudeness. Post (288) states that one of the negative

characteristics, which may come in children’s development is rudeness. Basically,

it is caused by two factors, namely parents’ low control and children’s loneliness.

The first factor comes from parents’ lack of control and attention that they never

tell the appropriate manners and behaviors to their children. As a result, children

become rude because they do not know what good manners are.

In the novel, Grayer becomes a rude boy because he lacks of control and

attention, so he is never told the appropriate manners and behaviors as a child by

his mother. We can see the example from Grayer’s attitudes through Annie.

“Grayer, you remember Nanny? You two are going to have lunch at the playground!” his mother prompts him. He slumps against her leg and glares at me. “Go away.” “Honey, we can have snack together, but Mommy has an appoinment. You two are going to have such a good time! Now hop in your stroller and Nanny will give you snack.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 31)

It happens when Grayer meets Annie at the courtyard for the first time. Mrs. X

asks Grayer to have lunch at the playground with Annie, but Grayer refuses

roughly by driving Annie away from her.


40

The other example is that Grayer is always saying rude words to Annie

when she picks him up at Grayer’s courtyard for a week.

We head toward the park as they chatter away. She propels him forward with ease, though he can’t be a light load with his toys, school stuff, and backup supplies of snack. “Grayer, who’s your best friend at school?” I ask. “Shut up, stupidhead! I told you to get out of here, you bad woman!” Grayer hurls his stroller at me, screaming at the top of his lungs. Blood rushes to my face as I retort with false confidence, “You . . . silly!” (Kraus & McLaughlin 37)

Those examples show that as a four year old boy, Grayer’s attitudes toward Annie

is very rude. It happens because Mrs. X does not warn her son at all when he says

rude word to Annie. Therefore Grayer becomes a rude boy, because Mrs. X does

never tell her son the appropriate manners and behaviors as a child. Grayer can

easily say rude words, even though Mrs. X has seven nannies, before she gets

Annie as the eighth and the last nanny for Grayer. It means that Mrs. X never

teaches Grayer how to behave well to others, especially to his nannies (Kraus &

McLaughlin 200).

The other proof is that Grayer considers people around him as people who

must be treated badly. He always hates people who try to get closer to him,

because he thinks that they will leave him alone when he has already felt

comfortable with them. Therefore it is very easy for Grayer to behave rudely. He

starts to be a rude boy when Mrs. X fires the seventh Grayer’s nanny, named

Caitlin, after she has six nannies in four months before Caitlin (Kraus &

McLaughlin 200). As a very rich woman, it is just a simple matter for Mrs. X to

fire a Grayer’s nanny and then provides a new Grayer’s nanny. Of course, those


41

bad habits of Mrs. X breaks Grayer’s heart and she does not care about it at all.

Actually Grayer’s heart has already broken three times, because he has

been left by three nannies who are able to make him happy and comfortable. The

first is Grayer’s baby nurse, named Jackie. She has been worked for two years to

take care Grayer when he is still baby and Jackie was the first nanny who breaks

Grayer’s heart (Kraus & McLaughlin 200).

After that Mrs. X has Caitlin as the seventh Grayer’s nanny and Mrs. X

also fires her because of a simple thing that Caitlin asks for a holiday. It breaks

Grayer’s heart again and makes him much more rude than before (Kraus &

McLaughlin 78). The last is the worst that Grayer has to lose his eighth lovely

nanny, who is Annie Braddock (Kraus & McLaughlin 295). It is very difficult

situation for Grayer to feel broken-heart since he is still four years old. Therefore

it is the main cause why Grayer becomes a rude boy.

4.2.2 Selfish and Arbitrary

The second impact of the inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and

Grayer is Grayer’s being selfish. According to Post (288), children who do not

have anyone to share and give tend to be very selfish and arbitrary. Being alone,

that children is also inclined to be introspective. In the novel, we can see that

Grayer does not get enough affection and care from his parents. He is just a boy

after all. He needs love and care from his parents. However, he cannot get them

because his parents are very busy and show little attention to him. It can be seen

from the habits of Mr. X who is vey busy and seldom goes back home. Even Mrs.

X has to call Justine first, a secretary of Mr. X asking when Mr. X is able to go


42

home (Kraus & McLaughlin 182).

Mrs. X wants to schedule a family meeting about . . .” I glance over her shoulder at the pasta pusher-“the little one. When could he be here?” “Let’s se. . . I could push a meeting up . . .” Yeah, I can get him back to New York by Wednesday at four. I’ll have him there.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 182)

It is not only very difficult to get the precious time of Mr. X for having a family

meeting, but also to get Mr. X’s attention for Grayer when he is at home.

Therefore Grayer absolutely lacks of love and care from his own father. On the

other side, Mrs. X seldom has a little time to take care her own son and hands over

all her responsibilities as a mother to Annie. Automatically it also makes Grayer

lack of attention from his mother. We can see the examples from the daily

activities of Mrs. X. She is always busy with her own activities, like shopping and

going to spa (Kraus & McLaughlin 139-140).

Being a lonely child causes Grayer to be selfish and arbitrary. It can be

seen from Grayer’s attitudes when he knows that Caitlin’s position is going to be

replaced by Annie as the only Grayer’s nanny.

“I told you to get out of here, you bad woman!” Grayer hurls his stroller at me, screaming at the top of his lungs. I consider taking a playground poll as to whether I should “get out” and, if I choose not to, does this, in fact, make me a “bad woman?” Caitlin rights the stroller as if his throwing it were part of a fabulous game we’re playing. “Well, looks to me like somebody has a bit of energy and wants me to catch him!” She chases him all over the playground, laughing deeply. He slides down the slide and catches him. He hides behind the monkey bars and she catches him. There is a lot of catching overall. I start to chase her as she chases him, but give up when he looks pleadingly into my eyes, moaning “STOaaaooop.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 37)

From the example, we can conclude that Grayer is a selfish child. When the

transition time of Caitlin with Annie is going on, Grayer cannot admit it, so he


43

always says that he wants Caitlin, not Annie. It means that he must get whatever

he wants. Even though Mrs. X has already decided to replace Caitlin with Annie,

Grayer does not want to accept her. He wants Caitlin only as his nanny. It is

already his habit that whatever he wants. It must be satisfied by his nanny and

parents. If they are not able to make Grayer satisfied, he will get furious.

Therefore it is the proof that Grayer is a selfish child and arbitrary boy.

The other proof is that Grayer always wants his card pinned to his clothes

all the time. Grayer’s card is a card that is written his father’s name, Mr. X.

“So, what’s with the card?” “Oh, that grotty old thing.” She swallows. “He carries it everywhere. He’ll be wanting it pinned to his trousers and in his pajamas. It drives the Mrs. X crazy, but he refuses to so much as put on his underpants without it.” She blinks a few times and then turns away. (Kraus & McLaughlin 36)

It also shows that whatever Grayer wants must be satisfied. Otherwise he will get

furious. Even his own mother is not able to forbid him not to pin his card in his

pajamas. It means that he must get whatever he wants and no body is able to

forbid Grayer to do what he wants. So it is also the proof that Grayer is a selfish

and arbitrary child.

4.2.3 Rebellious

The third impact of the inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and

Grayer is Grayer’s being rebellious. According to Deutsch (305), mother must

educate their children well. She has to make a balance between being mild and

restricted to her children. When she forbids too much, the children will be

rebellious. In the novel, Grayer becomes rebellius towards his parents, because he

gets only little affection and cares from his own parents. However, his parents are


44

still busy with their own bussiness. Annie is the only person who shows that she

cares Grayer. Her treatments makes Grayer feel comfortable and accepted. The

result is that Annie receives different treatments from Grayer. He considers her to

be the only person who loves him. Grayer even tries to be nice to Annie. The

example is that Grayer gives a very special gift that is crooked paper heart to

Nanny in the Valentine’s Day.

“Whatcha got there, buddy?” “It’s a Valentine. I made it. You can hold it.” I look down at the heart, assuming it’s for Mrs. X. “Mrs. Butters spelled for me. I told her what to say and she spelled for me. Read it, Nanny, read it.” I almost can’t speak, “I LOVE YOU NANNY FROM GRAYER ADDISON X.” “Yup. That’s what I said.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 150)

On that moment, Grayer does not give any gift to Mrs. X, but he only says

“Happy Valentine’s Day” to her. Even Grayer does not give any gift and he also

does not say anything to his own father, Mr. X on this Valentine’s Day. It seems

that Grayer loves Nanny much more than he loves his own parents. Therefore it is

the proof that Grayer is rebellious towards his own parents.

Once Grayer shouts that he needs Annie only when she leaves the X’s

family. It happens because Mrs. X fires Annie on the day when the X’s family has

vacation on the Nantucket.

“Here.” She hands me the check. I turn and walk past her onto the gravel driveway, as Grayer’s increasingly hydterical cries echo out into the darkness. “NAAAANNNNYYYY! I NEEEEEED YOOOOUUUUU! NOT MY MOTHER!!” (Kraus & McLaughlin 297)

It shows that Grayer really does not want to be separated with his lovely nanny,


45

Annie Braddock, because he already feels that Annie is the only person who

shows that she loves and cares Grayer very much. Therefore Grayer does not have

any feeling to his own mother. He thinks that Annie is the only person he needs,

not his mother. It is also the proof that Grayer is rebellious towards his own

mother.

Based on the analysis above, it can be concluded that a child performs

below his intellectual capacities when they are emotionally disturbed. The

emotions of a child also influences how a child view his role in life and his

position in the social group, whether they are happy, frightened, or curious. So the

success of his adjustments depends on it. Even emotions also affect social

interaction from pleasure to unpleasant emotions. It results in the child

development in relation to their social interaction (Hurlock 184-185).

The inharmonious relationship between a mother and her son influences

on the son’s performance below his intellectual capacities when he is emotionally

disturbed (Hurlock 184-185). Actually managing this inharmonious relationship

cooperatively can transform the inharmonious relationship between a mother and

her son into an experience that strengthens a relationship. That is why it is

important in maintaining a harmonious relationship between a mother and her son.


46

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions and suggestions. The first section

covers the conclusions of the analysis in the previous chapter and contains the

answers to the problems formulated. The second section presents the suggestions

for further research and the implementation of teaching through this novel in

Public Speaking II.

5.1. Conclusions

A family has a significant role on the child’s development. It greatly

influences and shapes his characteristics and behaviors. Supports from his family

also help him to overcome challenges and difficulties in life. If relationships

between a child and his family are not established well, that child will be affected

in negative ways. Because of bad relationships with his own family, he often

searches for other people to love, such as his friends or nanny. Such inharmonious

relationship and its influence on a child’s development are reflected by the

characters of Mrs. X and Grayer Addison X in Kraus & McLaughlin’s The Nanny

Diaries.

The first character described in the novel is Annie Braddock. She is the

eighth and the last nanny in the X’s family. Annie is a loving and hard working

person. She works diligently under Mrs. X’s suspicions. She tries to establish

good relationship with Grayer, even though he hates her in the first time. She is

also polite and honest. Despite all bad treatments she receives from the X’s


47

family, she keeps her behaviors and manners in polite ways. She does not want to

make trouble with them. Instead, she shows affection and care towards Grayer.

In the novel, the second character is Mrs. X. She is described as a woman

who comes from a prosperous family and married to a rich man. As a result, her

life is so glamourous and she never lacks of anything. It is already her habits to go

shopping all day long and back home until late night. That selfishness makes her

does not care about her own son’s development. She is also proved to be a hateful

and ungrateful person. As a rich woman, she considers herself more powerful and

superior than other people. So she always acts as if she is the only perfect one.

She does not want to hear criticisms towards her. That is why she hates Annie

Braddock, despite all Annie’s efforts for helping Mrs. X of maintaining her

family.

The third character is that Grayer who is portrayed as a boy who comes

from a rich family and whose mother does not show a great care towards him. He

is a rude and arbitrary boy who enjoys making fun of other people, especially his

nannies. However, actually Grayer is a lonely boy. His behaviors are just efforts

to get attentions from his parents because they seem to be busy with their own

business and do not care about him at all. When Grayer meets Annie, the only

person who shows love and care for him, he gradually shows his love to her rather

than to his own family. The Nanny Diaries tells that Mrs. X hands over all her

responsibilities as a mother to Annie. Automatically Grayer does not get enough

affection and care from his mother. Therefore it can be concluded that Mrs. X has

inharmonious relationship with her son, Grayer Addison X, because she cannot do


48

the first task of a mother that is to shape her unity with the child in a harmonious

manner and to dissolve the unity harmoniously.

The inharmonious relationship between Mrs. X and Grayer Addison X

have three characteristic. First, their relationship is lack of communication. Mrs. X

rarely gives some times to have conversation or even to talk properly like a

mother and her son because she is so busy with her own businesses. The second is

too much control from the mother. Mrs. X forces Grayer to obey the schedule

arranged for him, which contains very strict rules and activities for Grayer. It is

excessive for a mother to force such controls towards her own son. The third

nature is considering a child as a marital status only. His parents want Grayer to

grow like what they want. Grayer is considered as a symbol of the X’s family

only. He is not a living being who has his own will and interests. Although they

care about Grayer’s well-being, they do not care about his psychological health. It

is apparent in their way to hire eight nannies to take care of Grayer rather than

taking care of him by themselves. Actually, it is because they prefer their own

businesses and interests rather than to take care of their own son. The situations

make several impacts on Grayer’s attitudes.

There are three impacts happening on Grayer’s attitudes. The first impact

is that Grayer becomes a rude boy. It happens because he lacks of control and

attention, so he is never told the appropriate manners and behaviors as a child by

his mother. The second impact is that Grayer becomes selfish and arbitrary.

Grayer feels lonely because his parents are always busy. It makes him to be a

selfish child. It becomes a habit that whatever he wants must be satisfied by his


49

nanny and parents. The third impact is that Grayer becomes rebellious toward his

own parents. He gets only little affection and cares from his own parents. It is only

the Nanny who shows her love and care for Grayer. Her treatments makes Grayer

feel comfortable and accepted. That is why Grayer seems to love Nanny much

more than he loves his own parents and he becomes rebellious towards his own

parents.

Grayer does not get enough love and care from his own family because

they tend to ignore him. Rather, it is Annie who shows that she loves Grayer. Her

treatments make Grayer feels comfortable and accepted. However, the

relationship between Grayer and his mother can be saved finally. The resolution

of this problem is through discussion to manage and resolve their conflicts. It can

be seen from the changes of Mrs. X’s behaviors toward Grayer, after she watch

the Nanny’s recording containing criticisms of Mrs. X for being a terrible mother.

Gradually, she re-established her relationship with her own son through

maintaining communications.

5.2. Suggestions

Mother-son relationship analyzed in this study is not the only thing that is

interesting in the novel The Nanny Diaries. There are several topics suggested for

further researches, namely Grayer’s relationships with Annie, Father, and other

characters. The conflicts between Annie, Mr. X and Mrs X is also interesting to

analyze. The researchers may analyze these topics for further researches using the

psychological approach as applied in this study.


50

The novel The Nanny Diaries can also be used as an instrument to teach

English. There are several advantages of employing a literary work in teaching

language. Jonathan P.A. Sell (92) states that the use of literature in foreign

language class may improve language learning at primary level and give students

insight into other culture.

Further, Lazar (qtd in Sell 87) suggests that literature in a foreign language

classroom encourages language acquisition, expands language awareness, and

develops on students’ interpretative abilities. That is why literature is important in

a language teaching-learning process. The following section is suggestions for

teaching-learning process and the implementation of teaching Public Speaking II

using literary work as a material.

5.2.1 Suggestion for the Implementation of Teaching Learning Process

Literary works can be a good source for teaching English. Reading and

understanding literary works enable students to get knowledge and information.

Reading literary works not only provides pleasure and enjoyment, but also obtain

knowledge and improve reading skills. Students develop their knowledge from the

content that they read. They can experience valuable lessons from conflicts they

found and read in the literary works that also help them to improve themselves in

better ways. Their reading skills are also increased by reading literary works.

Literature can be used to teach many subjects. In this study, the novel The

Nanny Diaries is used as a material to teach a certain subject, namely Public

Speaking I. The next section proposes the suggestions for the implementation of

teaching Public Speaking I using literary work.


51

5.2.1.1. The Implementation of Teaching Public Speaking I Using Literary

Work

A work of literature may be applied as a material for teaching Public

Speaking I. The Nanny Diaries is used as an example. Considering the intellectual

competence, the implementation of the novel is limited to advanced students,

especially the fourth semester students of English Language Education Study

Program. The major activities consist of group work and discussion. The students

read some quotations from chapter V, VI, and XII of the novel and do oral

performances, and participations to test their comprehension and interpretation of

the novel.


52

REFERENCES

Abrams, M. H. 1999. Glossary of Literary Terms. Seventh Edition. Boston: Thompson Learning, Inc.

Bird, J. and L. Bird. 1972. Power to the Parents: A Common Sense of Child Raising for the 70’s. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Deutsch, H. 1973. The Psychology of Women Vol. II Motherhood, Bantam.

Forster, E. M. 1974. Aspect of the Novel. Harmonworth: Penguin Book.

Gouran, W. and J. A. Doelger. 1992. Mastering Communication. Second Edition. New York: Allyn and Bacon.

Henkle, R. B. 1977. Reading The Novel. New York: Harper and Row, Inc.

Kraus, N. and E. McLaughlin. 2002. The Nanny Diaries. Camberwell: Penguin Book.

Medinnus, G. R. and R. C. Johson. 1969. Child & Adolescent Psycholog,y Behavior and Development. New York: John & Sons, Inc.

Murphy, M.J. 1972. Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen and Unwind Ltd.

Noller, P. and M. A. Fitzpatrick. 1993. Communication in Family Relationships. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Nye, I. F. 1982. Family Relationship: Rewards and Costs. London: Sage Publications, Inc.

Rohrberger, M. and S. H. Woods, Jr. 1971. Reading and Writing about Literature. New York: Random House Inc.

Verderber, R. F. 1978. Communicate. Fourth Edition. New York: Wadsworth, Inc.

Vasta, R., M. M. Haith, and S. A. Miller, S. 1995. Child Pscyhology. Second Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.


53

APPENDIX 1

Summary of the Novel

After graduating from Montclair State, New Jersey Girl Annie can't make

up her mind about what to do with her life. After saving a little boy from being

run over in the park, she is quickly employed as a nanny for a rich Upper East

Side couple. Mr X is occupied with his business, Mrs X loves shopping and none

of them really likes to spend time with their little boy Grayer. Annie quickly

learns that she has more than her hands full with taking care of him. Her busy

schedule doesn't give her much spare time. Mrs X fired Annie because she asks

holiday for herself when the X’s family has vacation on the Nantucket.

Annie Braddock graduates from college as anthropology major and freezes

during the interview for an internship at a big corporation. To find herself, she

takes a job as a nanny in Manhattan's Toney Upper East Side, and moves in with

the X family - a cheating husband, a control-freak wife, and Grayer, a lad of five.

Mrs. X works the nanny day and night while neglecting her son. Annie must

spend her days tending to the demands of the couple’s mischievous and bratty

son, Grayer. The condition grows both more awkward and sticky when Annie

begins to fall in love with a young man who lives near the X’s apartment, named

Harvard Hottie. He leads her into seriously reevaluating her career goals and

priorities after Annie is fired during a family vacation to Nantucket.

Taken from : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489237/plotsummary Accessed on : Friday, November 5th 2010


54

APPENDIX 2

Biography of Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin

When Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus met, they were both students

at New York University and both working as part-time nannies for families on the

Upper East Side. (Kraus was a native of the city; McLaughlin was from upstate

New York). They didn't dream then that the shared experience that cemented their

friendship would lead to fame and fortune as the authors of The Nanny Diaries, a

fictional account of their years working in childcare.

"We wrote it for ourselves, really," McLaughlin told a reporter from The

Washington Post. "We wrote it to share with our parents and our close friends.

And we wrote it to see if we could." The result was a scathing portrait of

emotionally unavailable parents who obsess over private school admissions but

coolly deflect the kids' hands when they come in search of a hug. The New York

Times' Janet Maslin called it "perfectly pitched social satire." And it struck a

nerve with readers -- not only in New York City, but across the country and

around the world. More than 2 million copies have been printed, and rights to the

book were purchased in 32 countries.

"It was unbelievable to us," Kraus said in an interview with Rocky

Mountain News. "I don't think we ever wrapped our heads around it." At the age

of 28, the two were celebrity writers, able to devote themselves full-time to the

task of co-authoring another novel. First, though, there were some hurdles to

clear: their publishers at St. Martin's Press didn't want their second book, so a new


55

agent got them a two-book deal at Random House. But the deal fizzled, and their

much-publicized $2 million advance was rescinded.

Finally, they landed at Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster,

which published Citizen Girl, another satirical take on a young New Yorker's

travails in the work world -- this time, a woman in her twenties who is fired from

her feminist nonprofit and lands a new job at a dot-com. "We set out to write

something we had not come across," McLaughlin told Rocky Mountain News.

"And we had not come across a book that takes a young woman through a

professional odyssey, where the odyssey is 99 percent of the experience and her

sex life is 1 percent of it."

The phenomenally successful Nanny Diaries was a tough act to follow,

and some critics found the new book disappointing. USA Today suggested that the

authorial duo might be a "one-hit wonder." But other reviewers were positively

buoyant about Citizen Girl and the way its heroine struggles to hang onto her

integrity, self-respect and feminism in a world of "Girls Gone Wild."

"Thank God for Citizen Girl," wrote Sacha Zimmerman in The New

Republic. "Girl is a self-possessed, moral, intelligent, and open feminist who is

not a militant-chic refugee from Lilith Fair or an NPR-tote-bag carrying blue-

stater in a hemp dress. She isn't a loveable oaf like Bridget Jones who only

obsesses over weight and boys and little else. McLaughlin and Kraus pull it off

because they are so wry and so spot on."

McLaughlin and Kraus insist they aren't joined at the hip -- but they are

good partners, and fans can expect their partnership to continue. "With any luck,"


56

wrote Emily Gordon for Newsday, "even if their next collaboration is a book

about the pitfalls of creating a sane but beautiful wedding, the trials of loft buying

or the stresses of professional pregnancy, they'll do it with panache."

Taken from: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=1022386 Accessed on : Friday, November 5th 2010


57

APPENDIX 3

Lesson Plan Public Speaking I

Subject : Public Speaking I

Level : 4th Semester of English Language Education Study

Program

Topic : Impromptu Speech

Materials : Chapter V, VI, and XII of The Nanny Diaries

Theme : Relationship

Time Allocation : 2 X 50 minutes class meeting

1. Competence Standard:

The students will be able to develop various kinds of skills in order to

enable them to speak in public successfully.

2. Basic Competence:

The students will be able to conduct an impromptu speech actively in a

group discussion.

3. Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:

3.1 Perform a group discussion to achieve oral fluency and have confidence to

conduct impromptu speech actively.

3.2 Identify their opinions orally about the characteristics of one of the major

characters on the selected quotation in a group discussion.

3.3 Express their opinions orally about a role of a mother should be in a group

discussion based on selected quotation.

3.4 State their opinions orally about the reasons why Grayer becomes rebellius

towards his parents in a group discussion based on the selected quotation.

3.5 Elaborate their answers by quoting sentences from a quotation above to

support their answers!

4. Teaching Method

Discussion and group work


58

5. Material

Taken from chapter V, VI, and XII of The Nanny Diaries

6. Teaching and learning Activities

Kind of

Activity

Activities Time

Allocation

Pre-Teaching - Greeting

- The teacher distributes the handout of impromptu

speech to the students.

- Listen to the teacher’s introduction about the

materials that they are going to learn.

10’

While-

Teaching

Pre-Discussion

- The teacher asks the students to read the handout

of impromptu speech first.

- The teacher explains the students about the

definition, generic structure, steps and tips of

conducting impromptru speech actively.

Discussion

- The teacher divides the students into groups that

consists of four students for each group.

- Each student gives a short speech for answering

the provided question based on the selected

quotation in a group discussion.

- The teacher observes the discussion

Post-Discussion

- Each representative student of a group discussion

has to present the result of a group discussion in

front of the class for 10 minutes as an impromptu

speech by identifying, expressing, stating, and

elaborating the group member’s opinions as an

impromptu speech actively.

5’

15’

5’

15’

5’

40’


59

Post-Teaching - The teacher and the students draw conclusion on

the role of a mother should be for her son.

5’

7. Evaluation:

Student’s oral performance and participation

8. Reference

Kraus, Nicola and McLaughlin, Emma. 2002. The Nanny Diaries. Camberwell:

Penguin Book.

http://www.rostrum.com.au/speaking‐faq/speaking‐impromptu

http://www.drdilip.com/six_steps_to_impromptu_speaking_success.htm

Accessed on : Thursday, March 17th 2011


60

APPENDIX 4

Teaching Materials of Public Speaking I

Impromptu Speech

Impromptu speech is the most difficult form of public speaking

assignment. It is a type of speech that will not give you enough time to prepare.

You will be asked to speak in front of everyone out of the blue in order to talk

about the specific subject. But even with little to no preparation, you are still

expected to deliver a great speech. A badly delivered speech is enexcusable even

though you did not have any time to prepare. You will still be viewed as a bad

speaker if you are unable to have a compelling speech with little to no preparation.

1. An opening It makes your audience want to listen.

2. A body It develops your topic.

3. A conclusion It summaries your speech or leave your audience with a message.

1. Listen

Listen to what’s asked of you. Listen to the words and the tone of voice.

Understand what is being asked of you before you even think of forming a

response. Is the question clear? Is there a question behind the question?

Make it a priority to understand the question.

What is impromptu Speech?

The Generic Structure of Impromptu Speech

Six Steps to Impromptu Speaking Success


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2. Focus

Bring your full concentration on to the question at hand. For that moment,

the most important challenge you face is choosing your response to the

question. So cause the brilliance of your intellect and spirit to bear on the

topic.

3. Do Not Rush to Respond

Do not feel compelled to blurt out a response! People will wait when they

sense that you are thinking about the question. You can also buy yourself

some precious seconds by slowly standing up, or walking up to the

lectern. The mind thinks extremely rapidly, at about 600-800 words per

minute. So get out of the way, and let your mind think!

4. Pick a Theme for Your Response…or if you can’t think of a theme,

begin to address the topic and free associate until you find a theme on

which you’d like to expand

Sometimes, a theme will come readily to your mind. Then, you would

simply introduce the topic, your view of it, and proceed to build your

speech. However, at other times, you may not have any idea how best to

answer the question. In such a case, address the topic, and as the words

flow, keep your mind focused on the thoughts and concepts that arise in

the flow. You will “see” new relationships among ideas and concepts as

you speak. This will allow you to find an aspect of the topic in to which

you can free associate and build your talk around.

5. Build the Body of Your Speech

Like any other speech, an impromptu speech should have an opening, a

body, and a conclusion. In step 4, you introduce your response. In step 5,

you build the body of your speech. This is where you may give an

example or two, tell a story, share facts and figures, and bolster your point

of view.

6. Conclude Confidently

Wrap up your comments to solidify the clarity of your response. If you

shared information, you may want to give a summary of your main points.


62

If you were trying to persuade, you may want to appeal to the emotions in

a powerful way, or conclude with a thought provoking question, or

challenge the audience to take a specific action.

Note that the first three steps require you to listen, focus, and think. The last three

steps require you to speak, think, be mentally agile, and remain focused. Try

these steps. As you gain confidence, you will not think of the mechanics, but

simply flow in to the process and have fun with your mind!

Several Tips to Impromptu Speaking Success

o Grabbing Every Opportunity When you are asked to deliver a public speech without prior notice, you need to grap every opportunity to prepare. The first thing you have to do is to look for a pen and paper. This will really help you control your thoughts. Because of time constraints, you have to create the flow of your speech and this can be done by creating an outline. It helps you concentrate on what you need to talk about instead of delving on too many subjects.

o The First and Last Line One of the best ways to ensure success in an impromptu speech is to write down your first and last line. These are the words that will be often be remembered by your audience. Create a compelling introduction so that you can easily draw your audience to the topic you are about to discuss. As a conclusion, you can summarize what you have just said or you can simply emphasize a point you just made.

o Relaxing Methods Panicking only increases the chance of giving a bad speech. Take a deep breath before you go up the stage or stand in front of everyone. If you have a minute or two to prepare, close your eyes and breathe slowly but deeply, so that you can control the blood flow in your body which could help you relax.

o Take Note of Your Tone You have to concentrate on controlling your tone while talking to the public, because you cannot rehearse for the speech. A controlled tone will mean command of the language as well as knowledge of the subject.


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Now It is Your Turn..!!

Read the following quotations from The Nanny Diaries carefully!

This quotation below is a conversation between Mrs. X and the Nanny.

Mrs. X is Grayer’s mother who often spends her time on shopping and having

treatments at a beauty salon. That selfishness makes her does not care about

Grayer’s development. Further, Mrs. X also hands over all her responsibilities as a

mother to Annie, so that the Nanny is the only person who gives affection and

care to Grayer.

I. Prepare and deliver your own impromptu speech by answering the

question below!

After reading a quotation above, identify what the characteristics of

Grayer’s mother are. Discuss the answer among the group. Elaborate your

answer by quoting sentences from the quotation to support your answer!

“Hello! What are those crumbs doing all over your face?” She spatulas him and turns to me. I see the room through her eyes. Pillows, blankets, and wet towels all lying on the floor where I finally crashed when Grayer feel asleep at six this morning. “Grayer’s been pretty sick. We were up late last night and –” “Well, he looks just fine now, except for those crumbs. Grayer goes in the bathroom and wash your face so I can show you your present.” He turns to me with wide eyes and skips to the bedroom. I’m amazed he can even set foot in there.” "Yes, well, he has two more days to go, but his cough got really bad. I tried to call you." She bristles. "Well, Nanny, I think we've discussed where we prefer for Grayer to eat. You can go now, I've got it covered." I focus on smiling. "Okay, I'll just go and get changed." (Kraus & McLaughlin 142)


64

This quotation below is the Nanny’s recording that contains the criticisms

of Mrs. X for being a terrible mother for Grayer, after Mrs. X fires Annie. It

shows that Annie is very dissapointed with the attitudes of Mrs. X as Grayer’s

mother. Annie thinks that Mrs. X has something important to do more than any

other businesses which need her attentions, such as giving attentions to her son

and managing her house more carefully.

II. Prepare and deliver your own impromptu speech by answering the

question below!

After having analyzed the characteristics of a Grayer’s mother, what do you

think a role of a mother should be? Discuss the answer among the group!

“I really want to know-just where do you get the balls to ask a perfect stranger to be a surrogate mother to your kid?” “And you don’t have a job! What do you do all day? Are you building a spaceship over there at the Parents League? Helping the mayor map out a new public transportation plan from a secret room at Bendel’s? I know! I thinking up a solution to the conflict in the Middle East from behind the locked door of your bedroom!” “Well, you keep right on plugging away there, lady-the world can hardly wait to hear how your innovations are going to launch us right into the twenty-first century with a discovery so fantastic that you can’t spare a moment to give your son a hug.” I lean down and stare deeply into the bear’s eyes. “There’s been a lot of ‘confusion,’ so let me make this perfectly clear for you: Raising your child is hard work! Which you would know if you ever did it for more than five minutes at a time!” (Kraus & McLaughlin 303)


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This quotation below is a conversation between Grayer and the Nanny.

Grayer becomes rebellius towards his parents and the Nanny becomes the only

person who shows that she cares Grayer. The result is that Annie receives

different treatments from Grayer. He considers her to be the only person who

loves him. Therefore Grayer gives a very special gift that is crooked paper heart to

the Nanny only in the Valentine’s Day.

III. Prepare and deliver your own impromptu speech by answering the

question below!

Discuss the answer among the group, why does Grayer become rebellius

towards his parents? Elaborate your answer by quoting sentences from a

quotation above to support your answer!

“Whatcha got there, buddy?” “It’s a Valentine. I made it. You can hold it.” I look down at the heart, assuming it’s for Mrs. X. “Mrs. Butters spelled for me. I told her what to say and she spelled for me. Read it, Nanny, read it.” I almost can’t speak, “I LOVE YOU NANNY FROM GRAYER ADDISON X.” “Yup. That’s what I said.” (Kraus & McLaughlin 150)


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APPENDIX 5

Pictures of Nicola Kraus & Emma

McLaughlin

Picture of The Nanny Diaries

Novel


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