ABSTRACT
This thesis analyzes a novel by Michael Gerard Bauer published in 2004 entitled The Running Man. The main topic of the discussion is the personality changes of the main character and the influence of the minor character toward the changes.
There are three objectives of the study. The first objective is to observe Tom Leyton’s personality as the main character depicted during his lifetime. The second objective is to observe Joseph Davidson’s characteristics as the supportive character. The last is to observe the contribution of Joseph Davidson as the minor character regarding to the personality change of Tom Leyton.
The method applied in this study is library research where the primary source is the novel itself. The secondary sources are taken from books and thesis that are related to the theory applied in this study. Theories which are applied in this study are the theory of character and characterization from various sources and theory of human personality that includes theory of personality and theory of personality change. Theory from literature and theories from psychology are combined in order to find the answers of the questions in the problem formulation.
The result of the analysis finds that the changes of personality in Tom happened because of some major triggers. The triggers are always from the outside, either from someone or some situation. However, those triggers can only occur when Tom, as the person who has these problems evolved around him, let them affect him and make him change. As well as the minor character, Joseph, and his relationship with Tom, their relationship changes Tom to be better until he dies. The characteristics of Joseph as the minor character bring out the goodness of Tom that has been buried for a long time. When Tom lets Joseph come to his world, Joseph actually has opened many doors with it.
