AN ANALYSIS OF SYMBOLISM AND

ALLEGORY IN GARTH NIX’S

“SABRIEL”

ARSWENDI NURCHOLIS
A1B017065

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF BENGKULU
2018/2019

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2
 PREFACE

Thanks to Allah SWT. for the blessings and mercy so that the writer can complete this
paper entitled “AN ANALYSIS OF SYMBOLISM AND ALLEGORY IN GARTH
NIX’S SABRIEL”. Prayers and greetings may be abundant to our esteemed Muhammad
SAW whom we are looking forward his help in hereafter.

As for the writing of this paper is to fulfill the assignment in Prose and Poem class.
This paper discuss about the use of Metaphor and Allegory in Garth Nix’s novel entitled
Sabriel.

The author would like to thank to those who have helped in process of making and
completing this paper, especially to Drs. Barnabas Sembiring, M. Si as a lecturer in Prose
and Poem class.

The writer is well aware that this paper is far from perfection and there are still many
mistakes. Therefore, the writer expects criticism and suggestion from readers so that the
writer can do better in future. The writer apologizes for the mistakes and errors and
hopefully this paper can be useful.

Bengkulu, 2018

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE......................................................................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................
1.1 Background....................................................................................................
1.2 Statement of the problems..............................................................................
1.3 Purpose of the study.......................................................................................
1.4 Benefits of study.............................................................................................

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................

2.1 Novel..............................................................................................................
2.2 Summary of Sabriel .......................................................................................
2.3 Garth Nix biography.......................................................................................
2.4 Symbolism .....................................................................................................
2.5 Allegory .........................................................................................................

CHAPTER III. METHOD...........................................................................................

3.1. Research Approsches and Strategy ...............................................................

3.2. Research Object..............................................................................................
3.3. Data and Data Resource.................................................................................
3.4. Data Collection Techniques...........................................................................

CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION........................................................

4.1. Symbolism in Sabriel.....................................................................................

4.2. Allegory in Sabriel.........................................................................................

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION...............................................

5.1 Conclusion..........................................................................................................
5.2 Suggestion ..........................................................................................................

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

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Novels are literary works that offer various human problems and humanity, live and
life. The authors live with these various problems with sincerity, they then declared again
through means of fiction in his view. In composing novels, authors usually use the
personal experience included in the story. Novels tend to be widespread and focus on
complexity, the meaning is the deliverance of character, characterize, problems
experienced by all the characters, and the expansion of the story’s background. So that it
can be concluded that the novel is a fictional story that describes the description ofthe life
story of characters through a series of complex conditions that can change the fate of the
character.

One of the fictional genres that is quite popular is fantasy stories. Fantasy stories
actually resemble fiction in general. However, in this context, what is meant by fantasy
stories is a story that can’t be found in real life. For example, magic, supernatural beings,
or magical objects. In essence, fantasy stories usually present things outside of human
reason, which are usually miraculous and unscientific. Many fantasy authors use real-
world folklore and mythology as inspiration and although another defining characteristic
of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements, such as magic, this does not
have to be the case. For instance, a narrative that takes place in an imagined town in the
northeastern United States could be considered realistic fiction as long as the plot and
characters are consistent with the history of a region and the natural characteristics that
someone who has been to the northeastern United States expects; however, if the
narrative takes place in an imagined town, on an imagined continent, with an imagined
history and an imagined ecosystem, the work becomes fantasy with or without
supernatural elements

In this study, writer use Garth Nix’s novel entitled Sabriel. Nix's writing is a mix of
things, he paints such great images of his world and has some hard hitting lines, but he
also manages to capture the teenage spirit and add humour despite its dangerous storyline.
Sabriel is the perfect heroine, she is a fabulous role model, she's strong, and intelligent.
Even though it’s fantasy novel, everything is explained and has a reason in this novel.
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 Every science, however theoretical, certainly has practical benefits for human life.
Likewise with linguistics. Linguistics will provide benefits directly to those involved in
language-related activities, such as linguists themselves, language teachers, translators,
compilers of textbooks, dictionary compilers, information officers, journalists, politicians,
diplomats, and so on.

1.2 Statement of problems

Based on the background described above, two formulations of the problem are
formulated as follows.
1) How are Symbolisms in the novel entitled “Sabriel” by Garth Nix?
2) How is Allegory in the novel entitled “sabriel” by Garth Nix ?

1.3 Purpose of the study

The objectives to be achived in this study are three, that is:
1) To fulfill assignment in prose and poem class.
2) To describe about Symbolism in the ovel entitled “Sabriel” bay Garth Nix.
3) To describe about Allegory in the novel entitled “Sabriel” bay Garth Nix.

1.4 Benefit of study

1) Theoritical benefits
a) The writer can find out about Symbolism in the ovel entitled “Sabriel” bay
Garth Nix.
b) The writer can find out about Allegory in the ovel entitled “Sabriel” bay
Garth Nix.
2) Practical benefits
a) The readers can find out about Symbolism in the ovel entitled “Sabriel” bay
Garth Nix.
b) The readers can find out about Allegory in the ovel entitled “Sabriel” bay
Garth Nix.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Novel
A. Definition
Many writers who provide those that provide boundaries or definitions of novels. The
limitations or definitions they provide vary because the perspectives they use also vary.
The definitions include the following :

1) The novel is the most popular literary form in the world. This form of literature is
the most printed and the most widely circulated, because of the broad power of the
community in the community (Jakob Sumardjo Drs).
2) Novel is a form of literary work in which there are social, moral, and educational
cultural values (Dr. Nurhadi, Dr. Dawud, Dra. Yuni Pratiwi, M.Pd, Dra. Abdul
Roni, M. Pd).
3) The novel is a literary work that has two elements, namely: intrinsic retreat and the
second extrinsic element are interconnected because it is very influential in the
presence of a literary work (Drs. Rostamaji, M.Pd, Agus priantoro, S.Pd).
4) Novel is a literary work in the form of prose that has intrinsic elements (Paulus
Tukam, S.Pd).

2.2 Summary of novel

Sabriel has grown up to be a successful student at Wyverley College in a place called

Ancelstierre. In contrast to the land of the Old Kingdom, which is ruled by Charter
Magic, Ancelstierre is a lot more like early 20th-century England.

When Sabriel's father misses their standing date for a magical long-distance chat
though, Sabriel starts to worry. That night, a creature from Death arrives at Wyverley and
delivers a set of necromantic bells and an enchanted sword. Taking this as a sign that her
dad is in bad trouble, Sabriel leaves school the next day to travel beyond the nearby Wall
and into the Old Kingdom in search of her father.

When she gets there, Sabriel realizes that the stone was broken because a Charter
Mage. Sabriel also realizes that it may not have been such a great idea to seek out a

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broken stone, because some seriously creepy things have wandered out of Death because
the stone is broken. After defeating one of these creepy creatures, Sabriel hits the road as
fast as she can, because she spots something even worse: a Mordicant, one of the Greater
Dead.

Sabriel finds her father trapped deep in Death, and is only able to free him temporarily
—he's been trapped in Death for too long to come back to Life permanently. He explains
that he froze Touchstone onto the ship because Touchstone is the last surviving royal
prince. It's maybe not so good that Sabriel freed Touchstone, because now Kerrigor can
continue his quest to completely destroy the Charter by sacrificing someone with royal
blood on the Charter stones.

Sabriel's father instructs her to grab Touchstone and get out of there, and takes her
sword and one of her necromantic bells to ward off Kerrigor. When Sabriel and her father
make it back to Life, Kerrigor is about to attack—Sabriel and Touchstone escape though,
avoiding the siren call of Sabriel's father's deathly bell with a well-timed kiss. Sabriel's
father succeeds in banishing Kerrigor temporarily with the bell, but dies in the effort.

Touchstone goes a little bit berserk and carries Sabriel to meet two sisters called the
Clayr, on Sabriel's father's instructions. The Clayr are visionaries and show Sabriel the
location of Kerrigor's body—if Sabriel can lay Kerrigor's body properly to rest with
necromancy, Kerrigor will be defeated. Kerrigor's body is hidden in Ancelstierre, not far
from Wyverley College.

The Clayr have a Paperwing ready for Sabriel and Touchstone, and the two of them
take off for the Wall. When they get there, they tell Colonel Horyse about Kerrigor's
body, and Horyse gathers a group of soldiers to help with the effort to destroy Kerrigor.

Meanwhile, power outages and encroaching fog signal the arrival of Kerrigor and his
newly assembled zombie army. As the soldiers open fire against the zombies, Sabriel
prepares the students to help open the sarcophagus. Joining hands in a circle, Sabriel,
Touchstone, students, and soldiers open the coffin together, but just as it's opened,
Kerrigor and Mogget, in Free Magic form, crash into the room.

Sabriel destroys Kerrigor's body using the final bell, then ultimately traps Kerrigor
using Mogget's ring. In a completely bizarre twist, the ring transforms Kerrigor into a

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black cat, and then Mogget appears in white cat form next to him, apparently intact. But
right before Kerrigor is transformed, he stabs Sabriel, and she dies.

As Sabriel gives herself up to the icy river in Death, she hears the voices of past
Abhorsen, including her father, telling her that it's not her time to go. They send her back
to Life, and she wakes up in Touchstone's arms.

2.3 Garth Nix’s biography

Born in Melbourne, Nix was raised in Canberra. He attended Turner Primary School,
Lyneham High School and Dickson College for schooling. While at Dickson College, Nix
joined the Australian Army Reserve. After a period working for the Australian
government, he traveled in Europe before returning to Australia in 1983 and undertaking
a BA in professional writing at Canberra University. He worked in a Canberra bookshop
after graduation, before moving to Sydney in 1987, where he worked his way up in the
publishing field. He was a sales rep and publicist before becoming a Senior editor at
HarperCollins. In 1993 he commenced further travel in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern
Europe before becoming a marketing consultant, founding his own company, Gotley Nix
Evans Pty Ltd. From 1999-2002 he worked as a literary agent with Curtis Brown
(Australia) Pty Ltd before becoming a full-time author.

In addition to his work as a fantasy novelist, Nix has written a number of scenarios
and articles for the role playing field, including those for Dungeons & Dragons and
Traveller. These have appeared in related publications such as White Dwarf, Multiverse
and Breakout!. He has also written case studies, articles and news items in the
information technology field, his work appearing in publications such as Computerworld
and PCWorld.

Nix's books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers
Weekly, The Bookseller, The Australian and The Sunday Times. His first published book
was The Ragwitch, a young adult fantasy published by Forge in 1995, which was
followed by Sabriel and Shade's Children (HarperCollins). Shade's Children was short
listed for the 1997 Aurealis Awards, is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ABA
Pick of the Lists, a CBCA Notable Book, and has been short listed for the Heartland Prize
(U.S.), the 2000 Pacific Northwest Reader's Choice Awards (U.S.), the South Carolina
Reader's Choice Awards, the Evergreen YA Award and the Garden State Young Reader's

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Awards. Sabriel won both the Best Fantasy Novel and Best Young Adult Novel in the
1995 Aurealis Awards. It is also an American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book,
an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a CBCA Notable Book, a LOCUS magazine
Recommended Fantasy novel, listed in 1997 Books for the Teenage (New York Public
Library), listed in Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror (VOYA) and it was short
listed for six U.S. State awards.

2.4 Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them
symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism can take
different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another, to give an entirely
different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Sometimes, however, an
action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value. For instance,
“smile” is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone smiling at you may
stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person has for you.

Symbols do shift their meanings depending on the context they are used in. “A chain,”
for example, may stand for “union” as well as “imprisonment”. Thus, symbolic meaning
of an object or an action is understood by when, where, and how it is used. It also
depends on who reads the work.

2.5 Allegory

As a literary device, an allegory is a metaphor in which a character, place or event is

used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. Allegory (in
the sense of the practice and use of allegorical devices and works) has occurred widely
throughout history in all forms of art, largely because it can readily illustrate or convey
complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers,
readers, or listeners.

Writers or speakers typically use allegories as literary devices or as rhetorical devices

that convey (semi-)hidden or complex meanings through symbolic figures, actions,

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imagery, or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the
author wishes to convey.

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 CHAPTER 3
METHOD

3.1. Research Approsches and Strategy

This research is a qualitative study. Therefore, the form of research used in the study
is descriptive research that uses the description of words by describing the results of
successful analysis carried out by departing on a prepared basis.

3.2. Research Object

Objects are elements that are both the target of research for data and data context
(Ratna, 2004: 20). The data object in this study is the Garth Nix’s novel entitled
“Sabriel”.

3.3. Data and Data Resource

a) Data
Data in this study are phrases, clauses and sentences contained in Garth Nix’s novel
entitled “Sabriel”.
b) Data resorces
The data sources in this study are author narratives and conversations or dialogues
contained in the stories of Garth Nix’s novel entitled “Sabriel”.
3.4. Data Collection Techniques
The technique used to collect data in research is a note-taking technique. The note-
taking technique is to record the written language contained in the novel. The note
technique is the technique of filtering data by recording the results of listening to the data
on the data card (Kusuma, 2007: 219). In implementing the use of Sabriel's novel
language style, writing is a written language so that the technique used in this study is a
note-taking technique. The note-taking technique in this study is by recording phrases,
clauses, and sentences related to the object of research.

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 CHAPTER 4

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Symbolism in Novel Sabriel

1) Cold, ice, and frozen things
Death is a frosty place in Sabriel's world. When necromancers visit Death, they wade
through an icy river so cold that their physical bodies, left behind in Life, become visibly
frozen. And when Sabriel finally discovers her father's body in the underground reservoir,
he has been trapped in Death so long that he's like an Abhorsen Sno-Cone. The coldness of
Death makes it abundantly clear that this isn't a happy-go-lucky kind of place.

Snow and ice appear in a much more tangible sense when Sabriel first journeys to the
Old Kingdom. The division between the magical world on one side of the Wall and non-
magical Ancelstierre is evident from the abrupt weather shift on each side:

[…] it was clear and cool on the Ancelstierre side, and the sun was shining—but
Sabriel could see snow falling steadily behind the Wall […] as if some mighty weather-
knife had simply sheared through the sky. (2.6)

Sabriel prepares for her trip to the Old Kingdom by packing cross-country skis. Here
the division between magic and non-magic is illustrated by a walk into the snow—and like
the icy river in Death, cold seems to evoke both the otherworldly and supernatural in
Sabriel's world, in addition to danger.

Touchstone is frozen when we first meet him, although not in ice—he's preserved as a
wooden figure on the prow of a ship. He's suspended in time, caught between worlds, just
as Sabriel's father was frozen between two worlds as well, which his immobility
represents. That he's frozen in a way that isn't icy cold, though, also immediately clues us
into the fact that this guy is one of the good ones.

2) Water
Water plays a big part in the magic system of the Old Kingdom, and it prevents
Death. Dead creatures can't cross running water, so bodies of water are used as barriers for
protection. For instance, Abhorsen's House is built on an island in the middle of a river,

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and the villagers of Nestowe take refuge on an island at sea when their town is besieged by
the Dead. So water represents keeping danger and Death out.

That's not all water symbolizes, though. A powerful spell prevents Old Kingdom
residents from discussing the Charter, but all bets are off once you're sailing on the open
ocean. Sabriel finally gets a few long-overdue explanations on the history of the Charter
and the Old Kingdom when she sets sail with Mogget and Touchstone en route to
Belisaere. So here water is not only their protection, but also serves to free them, in this
case from the effects of a spell.

The way Sabriel talks about it, water is better than a day at a health spa: Out at sea,
Sabriel "[…] felt relaxed, momentarily carefree, all the troubles that lay ahead and behind
her temporarily lost in single-minded contemplation of the clear blue-green water" (18.30).
Water provides a respite from the endless trouble that lurks on land for Sabriel, allowing
her to just be for a little bit, and get a much-needed break.

Water and life are pretty traditional symbolic pairings, and it's no different here,
where rushing water is the only thing that can prevent a troop of zombies from marching
into your house, and being at sea is the only time you can speak freely and catch up on
your rest.

3) Walls and barriers

There are tons of walls in this story, the most obvious of which being the capital-W
one that divides the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre. This Wall is a crucial barrier, serving
to separate the magical and non-magical world. Soldiers patrol the perimeter, armed with
both modern and medieval weapons, and it's defended by "[…] barbed wire, bullets, hand
grenades and mortar bombs" (2.2). All this suggests that it's pretty important to keep
magic and technology separate in this world.

We've also got the walled-in, fortress-like Abhorsen's House, the walls and aqueducts
surrounding the capital city, and the giant boom chain stretching across the mouth of the
sea at Belisaere

Metaphorically speaking, there's the invisible barrier between life and death, which
necromancers get to know pretty well, and every time we see a wall or other sort of

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barrier, we are clued into the fact that we're in a place where life and death are
dangerously close to one another.

All of these walls and barriers serve another really important role: they keep things
where they should be. Dead things should stay on the Dead side; living things should stay
in Life. It's risky to cross any wall in Sabriel's world. Just as Colonel Horyse and his
troops devote themselves to patrolling the Wall, Sabriel and the other Abhorsen risk their
lives to make sure that nothing gets out of Death that shouldn't be in Life. And in this way,
walls and the like also symbolize order. There's a system in place here that should work so
long as everything stays where it belongs

4) Keys
So what's going on with the key symbol on Sabriel's Abhorsen garb? The official
tunic is "dusted with embroidered silver keys that reflect the light in all directions"
(10.37). An entire tunic covered with silver keys seems like a pretty blatant use of
symbolism

Keys represent links between places, a way to go from point A to point B. And in this
book, there are two places that everyone is very much interested in keeping separate, Life
and Death, and yet this doesn't always go as smoothly as folks might hope. There is one
person, however, the Abhorsen, who can move freely between these two realms, and when
they do, it's generally to try to right some sort of wrong. In this way, the Abhorsen is  a
key, the key between Life and Death, and the key to solving problems.

5) Bells and sound

Let's talk about Sabriel's bells for a minute. Her set of necromantic bells, passed to her
by her father, is the most important tool of her trade, in addition to being a dramatic
fashion statement, worn on a leather bandolier:

Seven tubular leather pouches hung from it, starting with one the size of a small pill
bottle; growing larger, till the seventh was almost the size of a jar.(1.62)

Each bell has a different function, and an associated sound. Ring one, and it puts
everyone to sleep; ring another, and it banishes everyone who hears it deep into Death,
including the ringer.

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 The tolling of Sabriel's bells can signify death, sleep, binding, enslaving, or casting
someone free, but whatever the intended action, the noise of these bells is one of the most
powerful magical forces we encounter in Sabriel's adventure. Because of this, each bell
represents whatever power it particularly possesses, in addition to power in general.

We're reminded of John Donne's famous phrase, "for whom the bell tolls," also used
as the title of a Hemingway novel, or the ringing of church bells, there's something final
and inescapable about the clang of a bell. So bells don't just represent power in this book,
they represent absolute power.

4.2. Allegory in Novel Sabriel

Crosses in death

When Sabriel dies in her final battle with Kerrigor, impaled on a sword, a familiar
image is visible on her face:

Her sword loomed above her, blade and hilt casting the moon-shadow of a cross upon
her face. (28.50)

Just as our hero dies, the a cross shows up on her body, and we can't help but think
of Jesus when this happens. After all, crosses are kind of his thing, and just like Sabriel,
death isn't the end of his story. This reference to Jesus, then, is also a moment
of foreshadowing: if we're reading carefully, this is a pretty big clue that Sabriel's death
isn't going to be final. And sure enough, just like Jesus, Sabriel returns to the land of the
living.

This isn't the only time the cross gets mentioned, though, and it also shows up when
Sabriel last bids her father farewell:

She hugged him tightly, her arms meeting around his back, his arms outstretched like a
cross, sword in one hand, bell in the other. (23.38)

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 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion
Based on the results of research on the analysis of symbolism and allegory in Garth
Nix's novel Sabriel, it can be summarized below.

1. The symbolism found in the Sabriel novel is as follows:

 Cold, ice and frozen thing
 Water
 Wall and barriers
 Keys
 Bells and sound
2. The allegory found in the Sabriel novel is Crosses in death.

Nix didn’t use too much metaphore in Sabriel so that he can focus to deliver the
storyline that reader can feel that they were in the story while reading this novel.

5.2 Suggestion

Based on the conclusion above, there are some suggestion given by the writer to other
researcher in order to do a better research. The writter suggest that to find out all the
symbolism and allegory needs a deep understanding to know the metaphorical sentence
that occur in the novel. In doing a research, should be patient to read the whole novel more
than once.

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 REFERENCES

Nix, Garth. (1996) Sabriel. New York, NY: HarperCollins

Beckson, Karl and Ganz, Arthur. (1975). Literary Terms: A Dictionary. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

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