Irony in Violet's character development in The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

This study is conducted to analyze the character of Violet Hildreth from the novel The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon. The researcher analyzes the character Violet, or Vi, by examining her development and analyzing the irony found in it. There are three problems to be solved in this study, namely: (1) how does Violet’s character develop throughout the story; (2) what factors contribute to Violet’s character development in the story and (3) how does the irony found in the story correlate to Violet’s character development. This study uses New Criticism as the main theory to analyze the character development and irony within the text. The researcher uses a qualitative method, mainly the library method, to examine the novel The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon as the primary source. Other sources are used to support the analysis, including books, journal articles, theses, websites, and videos. Data was collected through close reading and collecting relevant parts and dialogues concerning the character of Violet Hildreth and her journey throughout the story. The results show that Violet was initially described as an obedient, empathetic, and compassionate young girl. However, after revealing Gran’s secret and learning her true identity, she changed into a mischievous, manipulative, and ruthless woman. Several factors play a big part in Violet’s development, mainly the people around her, such as Iris and Gran, and her motivation to save people in the same situation as her. Her character change also reveals the irony in it, namely situational irony, as her development contrasts with the expectations set around her ending.