The Analysis of Ronnie’s Characterization in The Novel Entitled The Last Song by

Nicholas Sparks by Using Psychoanalysis Approach

Ni Nengah Hardiyanti
1612021038

1. Introduction
Novel is literary works which have more complex components than novella and short
story and it tries to deliver the author’s imagination and the values of life in the story
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988). It is important to analyze the novel in order to obtain a better
understanding of the story. This present essay will analyze the novel entitled The Last Song by
Nicholas Sparks. This novel tells about Veronica Miller or Ronnie, a teenager, who used to be
a sweet girl and turned to be a rebellious teenager after her parents’ divorced. After the divorce,
her father, Steve, left the family and moved to his hometown, Wilmington, North Carolina. It
made Ronnie very upset with her father. When summer came, Ronnie was forced by her mother
to spend summer with her father whom she had not been talking to for three years. Little by
little with Steve’s affectionate and love toward Ronnie, it could make her changed her attitude
to her father. Ronnie and Steve started to bond the relationship of daughter-father again.
Further, Ronnie also found a lover. She was falling in love with the local boy, Will Blakelee
who also changed her life.
Furthermore, the present essay will analyze the characterization of the main character
in Nicholas Sparks’ novel entitled The Last Song by using Psychoanalysis Theory. This essay
will be analyzing the characterization of Ronnie because of the changes and the development
in her characterization. At the beginning of the story, Ronnie was described as a rebellious and
immature teenager who hates her parents after their divorce. At the end of the story, Ronnie’s
characterization was changed. After experiencing some processes in her life, she became a
mature young girl. Further, the changes and development in Ronnie’s characterization will be
analyzed by using psychoanalysis theory. Psychoanalysis theory in literature is a theory that is
used to analyze the literary works through psychological aspects (Hossain, 2017). In more
detail, psychoanalysis theory by Sigmund Freud will be used to analyze the characterization of
Ronnie because the changes and the development in Ronnie’s characterization relate with
psychological aspect in psychoanalysis theory such as id, ego, and superego. Therefore, this
investigation is important to be conducted in order to figure out the changes and the
development of Ronnie’s personality in the point of view of psychoanalysis approach.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Characterization
Character is an important component in the story. It is one of the components of the
intrinsic element which can be found as an individual or person and animals (Nordquist, 2019).
Furthermore, characterization is needed in analyzing the character in the story. Reams (2015)
underlines that characterization is the way of revealing the traits of the character in the story
through the written description or explanation of the author. There are two techniques in
describing or revealing the characterization of the character which are direct and indirect
characterization (Reams, 2015). Thus, characterization analysis is important to be conducted in
order to obtain a better understanding about the story, especially the character.

2.2 Psychoanalysis Theory

Psychoanalysis is one of the criticism theories in the literature that can be utilized to
analyze the details of literary works in the view of human psychology in order to obtain a better
understanding about the literary works (Hossain, 2017). Further, psychoanalysis is a criticism
theory that focuses on analyzing human personality and the changing aspects of the personality.
Hossain (2017) states that in literature, psychoanalysis theory is concerned on analyzing four
aspects such as author, characters, audience, and the written form of literary works. The theory
of psychoanalysis is first introduced by Australian neurologist, Sigmund Freud for neuroses
therapy, but then he develops it and begins to be used to interpret or analyze literary texts,
(Hossain, 2017).
Sigmund Freud states that there are three essentials concepts that affecting human
personality in psychoanalysis theory and these three concepts are id, ego, and superego (Barry
& Saake, 2014). First, Id is an unconscious part of the psyche which is controlled by human
intuition and it is innate or congenital aspects of human personality from birth such as desire,
needs, love, and wants (Siegfried, 2014). Hossain (2017) states that id is part of human's psyche
that seeks for satisfaction and cannot be deferred. Second, ego is a conscious or rational part of
the psyche which can help human's mind to be able to make a decision and admit the truth of
the reality (Barry & Saake, 2014). In the ego, human psyche tries to seek satisfaction or desire
without denying reality (Barry & Saake, 2014). Kirszner & Mandell (as cited in Barry & Saake,
2014) underlines that ego is positioned between the demands of satisfaction in id and demand
of the social environment in superego. Third, superego is a conscious part of human's psyche
that is influenced by the social environment and suppress the impulses of seeking satisfaction
of id that cannot be accepted by the society, Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Ressman, and Willingham
(as cited in Barry & Saake, 2014).

2.3 Empirical Review

There are several studies that have analyzed The Last Song Novel by Nicholas Sparks.
One of the studies is conducted by Febe Olivia Yowandra Dita Sutanto in 2015 with the title
The Influence of the Absence of the Father Figure On Ronnie’s Behavior as Seen in Nicholas
Sparks’ The Last Song. This study investigates the characterization of Ronnie and her father,
Steve, and how the absence of Ronnie’s father affects Ronnie’s attitude. This research uses four
theories in analyzing the changes of Ronnie characterization that is affected by the figure of her
father. Those theories are psychoanalysis theory, behavior theory, parent’s figure in child
development, and adolescence theory. Moreover, the present essay will analyze Ronnie’s
characterization by using psychoanalysis theory by Sigmund Freud through focusing on three
aspects which are id, ego, and superego.

3. Method
There are two methods that are used in collecting the data and information in this essay.
Those are close reading and library research. Close reading is reading activity which focuses
on the detail or pattern of the literary text in order to obtain a profound understanding
(Nordquist, 2018). Further, library research is the analysis of the source of data in the form of
the document, for example, journal or articles, novel, books and other printed materials
(Kothari, 2004). Furthermore, there are several procedures for collecting the data in this essay.
The procedures are, first, choosing the novel that will be analyzed, second, read the novel
frequently in order to understand the elements of the novel, third, choosing appropriate strategy
in analyzing the element of the novel, fourth, find related studies and theories to analyze the
element of the novel and the theory, and sixth, analyzing the data.

4. Finding and Discussion

Barry & Saake (2014) state that psychoanalysis theory by Sigmund Freud emphasizes
on three components of human psychology such as id, ego, and superego. This is the appropriate
theory to be used to analyze and interpret the personality of the main character in The Last Song
Novel. In the novel, Ronnie showed some changes and development in her personality or
characterization. The changes and development of Ronnie’s characterization in The Last Song
Novel by Nicholas Sparks will be analyzed by using the concept of id, ego, and superego.
 Ronnie was a victim of her parents’ divorce. In the first chapter, Ronnie is described as
a rebellious teenager. This characterization could be analyzed by using direct and indirect
description techniques. For example, direct description by the author about Ronnie’s
appearance as a sign of teenage rebellion. The proof could be seen as follows.
“Gone was the all-American girl he remembered, and in her place was a young woman
with a purple streak in her long brown hair, black fingernail polish, and dark clothing.
Despite the obvious signs of teenage rebellion, he thought again how much she
resembled her mother.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 53)
Authorial comments and the symbolization are used to give a description of Ronnie as
a rebellious character. “Purple streak hair”, “black fingernail polish”, and “dark clothing”
were points that denote Ronnie as a rebellious character. On the other hand, indirect
presentation that shows or denotes Ronnie as a rebellious character is through action. It could
be identified when Ronnie was being rude all the time when she met her father. The proof could
be seen as follows, “I hate being here! Don’t you get that? And I hate you, too!” She stared at
him, her face daring him to contradict her. Hoping he’d try, so she’d be able to say it again.”
(Sparks, 2009, p. 159). The words “…. her face daring him to contradict her” denote Ronnie’s
action as a rebellious daughter.
Moreover, there is also proof that denotes Ronnie as a nice girl. The proof could be seen
as follows, “There are times she’s still as sweet as ever. Like with Jonah. Even though they
fight like cats and dogs, she still brings him to the park every weekend.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 60).
The sentence “There are times she’s still as sweet as ever.”, indicates that Ronnie used to be a
nice girl before her parents’ divorce. Besides that, Ronnie used to be so close with her father,
the proof could be seen as follows, “Her dad, once a teacher at Juilliard, had been her teacher
as well, and for a long time, she’d been consumed by the desire not only to play, but to compose
original music with her father.” (Sparks, 2009, p.37). The words “…to compose original music
with her father.”, indicate that she was so close to her father before the divorce.
From the proofs above, it could be concluded that Ronnie’s rebellious characterization
is influenced by her parents. Before her parents divorced, Ronnie was a nice girl and close to
her father. She turned to be a rebellious daughter after her parents’ divorce. Further, Ronnie’s
characterization as a rebellious teenager reflects the concept of superego in Sigmund Freud’s
psychoanalysis theory. Superego is the conscious part which is influenced by the environment
(Barry & Saake, 2014). In this case, the environment refers to Ronnie’s parents. The divorce of
her parents influenced Ronnie’s personality to become a rebellious person.
 Besides the characterization of rebellious, Ronnie was also described as anger character.
Ronnie became full of anger. She was easy to get angry with her parent. The proof that denotes
Ronnie as anger character could be seen through his action that she did not talk to her father for
three years. The proof could be seen as follows, “That’s not my fault. He’s the one who left.”
“Yes, but you haven’t taken his calls. And every time he came to New York to see you and
Jonah, you ignored him and hung out with your friends.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 33). In addition,
Ronnie’s anger also presented through her thought. The proof of indirect presentation through
her thought could be seen as follows, “There was a moment, just a moment, when she cringed
at what she’d said to him; but her regret vanished as quickly as it had come. It was as if he
hadn’t even realized she’d been angry: She heard him begin to play the piano again, picking
up exactly where he’d left off.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 160). These sentences denote that Ronnie was
controlled by her anger. From the proofs above, it reflects the concept of superego in Sigmund
Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. Ronnie’s personality influenced by her parents’ divorced,
especially her father. Ronnie was so close to her father. However, after the divorce, her father
left the family and it made Ronnie really disappointed and mad with him. It indicates that
Ronnie’s anger characterization is influenced by her parents.
Ronnie was also described has immature characterization. This characterization could
be analyzed through indirect description. Indirect description of Ronnie’s immature trait could
be identified through her action and thought. The proof of Ronnie’s action that presents her
immature characterization could be seen as follows, “It wasn’t that she loved Rick; frankly, she
didn’t even like him that much. But she was angry at her mom, and it felt right at the time.”
(Sparks, 2009, p. 86). These sentences indicate that Ronnie intentionally making a relationship
with a trouble maker. The words “it felt right at the time.”, denote that Ronnie did it as a revenge
to make her mother mad. It reflects the concept of ego in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis
theory where Ronnie consciously or intentionally doing something that made her mother mad
to do revenge toward her parent. Furthermore, the proof of Ronnie’s thought that presents her
immature characterization could be seen as follows, “She wasn’t naive about drugs. Some of
her friends smoked pot, a few did cocaine or ecstasy, and one even had a nasty meth habit.”
(Sparks, 2009, p. 87) “Ronnie didn’t want to go there. Not after what happened to Kayla last
winter.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 87). These sentences indicate that Ronnie also intentionally making
friends with other rebellious teenagers with drugs and alcohol issue. The words “Ronnie didn’t
want to go there.”, denote that Ronnie did not interest with alcohol and drugs. She did it only
to make her mother angry and worry. It reflects the concept of ego in Sigmund Freud’s
psychoanalysis theory where Ronnie consciously doing something that made her mother mad
and worried her. She did it as a revenge to satisfy herself because of her parents’ divorce.
Furthermore, Ronnie was described as a caring character. This characterization could
be analyzed by using direct and indirect description technique. Further, direct description that
denotes Ronnie as a caring character could be identified through a description of another
character. Ronnie as a caring character could be analyzed by direct description through other
characterization when Kim said, “How’s she really doing?” “I don’t know.” She sighed. “And
I don’t think she does, either. She’s in this dark, moody phase.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 59). Another
proof also could be seen as follows.
“There are times she’s still as sweet as ever. Like with Jonah. Even though they fight like
cats and dogs, she still brings him to the park every weekend. And when he was having
trouble in math, she tutored him every night.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 60).
The words “She’s in this dark, moody phase.”, indicates Ronnie not in good situation
after her parents’ divorce. Further, the words “she’s still as sweet as ever” and “she still brings
him to the park every weekend” denote Ronnie as a caring character. These proofs indicate
Ronnie as a good sister who still cares with her little brother, Jonah, even though, she was in a
difficult situation after the divorce of her parents. It indicates that Ronnie’s caring personality
reflects the concept of id. Id is the unconscious part which is innate from birth (Siegfried, 2014).
Although she was being rude to her parents, but her caring personality did not change. Before
Ronnie’s parent divorced, Ronnie was a nice and kind girl. She also very close to her father,
but after the divorce and her father left her, then, she turned into rebellious and anger character,
especially to her parent. Although there was a change in her personality, but she still has a
caring personality and it did not change. Therefore, Ronnie’s caring personality reflects the
concept of id in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory.
In addition, Ronnie was described as a guilt-ridden character. This characterization
appeared after Ronnie reconciled with her father. Ronnie was forced by her mother to spend
summer with her father which she did not talk with him for three years. Little by little with
Steve’s affectionate and love toward Ronnie made her changed her attitude. She started to talk
again with her father. Ronnie and Steve started to bond the relationship of daughter-father again
and it influenced Ronnie’s characterization. This characterization is revealed by using indirect
description through thought. The proof could be seen as follows.
“She took the cup, staring at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?” “Why shouldn’t I
be?” Because I haven’t been very nice to you, she could have said. But she didn’t.
“Thanks,” she mumbled instead, thinking the whole thing felt like some weird Twilight
 Zone episode, where her dad had somehow completely forgotten the last three years.”
(Sparks, 2009, p. 296).
The words, “…Because I haven’t been very nice to you, she could have said.”, indicate her
regrets after being so rude and treating her father terribly. The changes in Ronnie’s attitude
toward her father reflect the concept of superego in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory.
Through Steve’s love toward Ronnie, it could make Ronnie change her attitude. It could be
concluded that the changes in Ronnie’s characterization are influenced by her father.
The development of Ronnie’s characterization after reconciling with her father can be
obviously seen through her action. She was described as a kind girl. Ronnie became more
patient and wise in facing her problems. For example, Ronnie tried to find the solution when
she was accused of doing serious shoplifting because of Blaze put some valuable CDs on her
bag. Even, Ronnie and Will, her boyfriend, still helped Galadriel or Blaze who burned by the
fire because of the fireballs that she was juggling hit her body. Ronnie still helped Blaze,
although, Blaze had made her accused of doing shoplifting and hated her because of her
boyfriend, Marcus, liked Ronnie. The proof could be seen as follows.
“Blaze was fading in and out of consciousness, and he moved as fast as he could, careful
not to jolt her unnecessarily. Ronnie came bounding up the steps as he was carrying Blaze
past; he had no idea how she’d been able to get down from the bleachers and reach him
so fast, but he was relieved to see her.” (Sparks, 2009, p. 740)
Another proof that indicates Ronnie has kind characterization can be seen through direct
characterization by another character. The proof could be seen as follows, “But you’re a great
person, Ronnie. You’re honest, and you were nice to me when you had no reason to be.”
(Sparks, 2009, p. 944). These sentences denote Ronnie as kind character when Blaze realized
that she had done something terrible to Ronnie and how kind was Ronnie to her. The
development of Ronnie’s psychology in her adolescence period is influenced by her father. It
reflected the concept of superego in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. Steve was a kind
and patient man. He never seemed angry and always avoided to have arguments with Ronnie.
His good personality could change and influence Ronnie’s characterization.
Furthermore, Ronnie did not have any idea about what was happened between her
parents when they got divorce. The day when Ronnie knew her father was dying because of
cancer made her wanted to stay to look after her father. However, her mother did not agree with
Ronnie’s decision and they had an argument. In the middle of their argument, Ronnie knew that
her mother was the one who having affair behind her father which caused the divorce. Ronnie
realized the reason of her mother never explained why her father left. Her mother tried to hide
the truth from Ronnie. In this kind of situation, Ronnie did not want to blame anyone. Therefore,
she forgave and forgot what had happened. Ronnie’s characterization as forgiving character
could be analyzed by using indirect description through speech. The proof could be seen as
follow, “It wasn’t Dad who had the affair, was it? she said slowly. It was you.” (Sparks, 2009,
p. 882), “You know what?” Ronnie snapped. “I don’t care. I don’t care what happened between
the two of you, I don’t care what happened in the past. But I’m not leaving my dad.” (Sparks,
2009, p. 883). This proofs denote that she did not want to blame or quarrel again with her
mother, instead she forgave her mother. Ronnie’s forgiving characterization reflects the concept
of superego in Sigmund Freud’s theory. The author described Steve as a good man and tend to
avoid having arguments or quarrel and his characterization influenced Ronnie. She did not want
to argue with her mother after she knew the truth behind her parents’ divorce. Therefore, there
is a development in Ronnie’s characterization after she reconciled with her father. She could
forgive her mother who had an affair and caused the divorce.
At the end of the story, Ronnie showed her maturity. Ronnie’s characterization as a mature
character could be identified through direct and indirect description. Direct description that
denotes Ronnie as a mature character could be seen through author description. The proof could
be seen as follows, “It was true, after all—she and her mom hadn’t argued once since she’d
returned. (Sparks, 2009, p. 1005). From this proof, it shows that Ronnie’s characterization had
changed. She did not have any hatred anymore in herself. At the beginning of the story, she was
full of anger and rebellious. Then, at the end of the story, she had gained maturity. The changes
and development of Ronnie’s characterization are influenced by her father when they spent the
summer together. It reflects the concept of superego in Sigmund Freud’s theory where Ronnie
as the main character was influenced by her father. Thus, summer was a process for Ronnie to
gain maturity. On the other hand, indirect description that present Ronnie as mature character
could be seen through her action. The proofs could be seen as follows.
“Only three weeks after arriving back in New York, she’d opened her audition with the
song she’d composed with her dad. She was a little rusty in her classical technique—three
weeks wasn’t much time to prepare for a high-level audition—but as she left the
auditorium, she thought her dad would have been proud of her. Then again, she thought
with a smile as she tucked his beloved score under her arm, he always had been.” (Sparks,
2009, p. 1007)
From the proofs above it could be analyzed that Ronnie became more mature after many things
happened to him during summer. She conciliated with her father. Then, she lost her father
because of cancer. Eventually, Ronnie realized what her passion was and it was playing piano.
She started to pursue her dream again. She went to Julliard and registered again and waited for
the auditioned. She believed that her father must be happy if she knew what she did. Ronnie’s
characterization is influenced by Steve. There were major changes and development of
Ronnie’s character which was fully influenced by her father. Through his love toward his
daughter, Steve could change Ronnie’s attitude. Even, after he died, Ronnie was still influenced
by Steve. It can be seen when Ronnie, eventually, pursued her dream for playing piano again
which she believed it would make Steve, her father, happy. It reflects the concept of superego
in Ronnie’s characterization that the changes and the development in Ronnie’s characterization
were influenced by her father.
The changes and the development in Ronnie’s characterization above are influenced by
her parents. It reflects the concept of superego where the main character is influenced by the
environment. The divorce of Ronnie’s parents made her turned to be a rebellious girl and hated
her parents, especially her father because she was so close with him. The similar study had
conducted by Sutanto in 2015. The results of the study show that the absence of Ronnie’s father
influences her attitude (Sutanto, 2015). After spending the summer together with her father,
Ronnie’s attitude started to change.

5. Conclusion
From the explanation above, it could be concluded that the changes and the development
of Ronnie’s characterization relate with psychological aspects in Sigmund Freud’s
psychoanalysis theory such as id, ego, and superego. The concepts of id, ego, and superego are
used to analyze the changes and development in Ronnie’s characterization. Further, there are
eight characterizations which are found in The Last Song Novel by Nicholas Sparks through
using psychoanalysis theory. These characterizations are rebellious, anger, immature, caring,
guilt-ridden, kind, forgiving, and mature. It can be obviously seen that there are major changes
and development within Ronnie’s character.
The first characterization is rebellious. Ronnie’s rebellious characterization is
influenced by her parents. She turned to be a rebellious daughter after her parents’ divorce. It
reflects the concept of superego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. The second characterization
is anger. Ronnie’s anger characterization is influenced by the absence of her father. Ronnie
became full of anger to her parents, especially her father. She was so close with her father, but
after the divorce, her father left the family which really made Ronnie upset. It reflects the
concept of superego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. The third characterization is immature.
This characterization is influenced by Ronnie’s parents. Ronnie consciously doing something
that made her mother mad and worried her. She did it as a revenge to satisfy herself after the
divorce of her parents. It reflects the concept of ego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. The
fourth characterization is caring. Ronnie was still described as a caring sister, although she was
not in a good situation and being rude to her parents. It reflects the concept of id in Freud’s
psychoanalysis theory.
The fifth characterization is guilt-ridden. This characterization is influenced by
Ronnie’s father after they were reconciled. It reflects the concept of superego in Freud’s
psychoanalysis theory. The sixth characterization is kind. This characterization is influenced
by her father as well. Steve was described as a good man. He was also a patient man. His
characterizations were influenced Ronnie to be more patient in facing her problem in her life.
It reflects the concept of superego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. The seventh
characterization is forgiving. This characterization is influenced by her father to forgive her
mother who had an affair. It reflects the concept of superego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory.
The eighth characterization is mature. Steve was a figure who fully influences Ronnie’s
characterization. Even, after he died, he still influenced Ronnie’s character. After Steve’s
funeral, Ronnie never had quarrel again with her mother and started to pursue her dream to be
a pianist. She did it because she knew her father would be happy. It reflects the concept of
superego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. Thus, the changes and the development in Ronnie’s
characterization mostly reflect the concept of superego in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory.
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