Chapter IV

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

A. Introduction to Analysis

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the aims of this study are to figure out

the types of commissives used by the characters in the movie entitled “A Bug’s Life”

and to find out why the characters exploit the types of commissive speech acts. In

addition, this study is also to identify how the characters of the movie exploit those

types.

The researcher uses Searle’s classification in determining the types of

commissives. Commissives are speech acts in which the speakers commit to do future

action. Commissives express the speaker’s intention about something in the future.

The types of commissives include promises, guarantees, swears, threats, refusals,

pledges, vows, etc. In uttering commissive speech acts, the speaker commonly uses

verbal and non-verbal strategies. The verbal strategy means the speaker utters direct

or indirect speech act, explicit or implicit statement, in high or low intonation while

the non-verbal strategy can be performed through the body language to give the force

of the degree of strength of their commissive speech acts.

In analyzing commissive speech acts, the researcher uses an animation

movie entitled A Bug’s Life because this movie provides the data related to the topic

of the research. The theme of this movie itself is also related to commissives. This

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movie is about a promise and belief of the main character named Flik to find the

warrior bugs who will help his colony from the grasshoppers’ oppression.

B. Analysis

B.1. The Types of Commissives Used by the Characters in the Movie “A Bug’s

Life”.

Commissive speech acts have many types such as promise, vow,

guarantee, swear, threat, etc. The types of commissives found in the movie A

Bug’s Life are promise, guarantee, refusal, threat, volunteer, and offer. The each

type is analyzed below:

B. 1. 1. Promise (Pr)

The term of promise means the speakers have intentions to do a future

action. Promise is defined as to tell somebody that the speaker will do or not

do something or that something will happen. In uttering a promise the

speakers may use the performative verb “promise” or not. The data belong to

Promise employed by the characters in the movie are explained below:

Datum 09 / ABL / Pr

Princess Atta : Flik, after much deliberation, we have decided to grant you your request.

Flik : Really? Princess Atta : Really Flik : Oh, thank you Princess. Thank you so much for the chance. I

won’t let you down. I promise, I promise, I promise. Princess Atta : That’s fine. No, forget it, forget it.

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From the datum above, the promise speech act is uttered by Flik by

saying “I won’t let you down. I promise, I promise, I promise”. In uttering

his promise, Flik uses the performative verb “promise” so that it can be

categorized as a promise speech act easily.

Datum 12 / ABL / Pr

Grub : So go already? Hey...the city’s that way! Flik : I know (pick the dandelion) Reed : You’re supposed to look for the bugs not dandelions. Flik : That’s right. Here I go. For the colony and for oppressed

ants everywhere. Dot : Bye Flik.

Flik says “For the colony and for oppressed ants everywhere”.

That utterance is categorized as a promise because the speaker intends to do

finding the warrior bugs for his colony and the oppressed ants. It means the

speaker will do a future action as the characteristic of promise.

Datum 20 / ABL / Pr

Flik : Circus bugs? How can you be circus bugs? Heimlich : What? Francis : Hey, hey, hey. You said nothing about killin’ grasshoppers.

You lied to us. Dim : Ja Flik : Are you kidding? Do you know what this is? This, my friends

is false advertising. Manny : How dare you! You, Sir, are charlatan in this scenario-

touting your wares as a talent scout, preying upon the hungry souls of hopeless artistes. Good to you, Sir.

Flik : Wait! No, no! Wait, wait! You can’t go. You have got to help me. Give me some time, I’ll come up with a plan.

Heimlich : Just go tell them the truth! Flik : They can’t know the truth. The truth, you see, is bad. I will be

branded for the rest of my life. My children will walk down

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the street, people will point and say! Look! There goes the spawn of Flik, the loser!

From the datum above, the promise speech act is uttered by Flik..

Flik requests the bugs to help him, then, he makes a promise by saying “I’ll

come up with a plan”. The modal “will” shows the speaker intends to do

something for his friends. He involves himself to the future action.

Datum 24 / ABL / Pr

Flik : Hopper’s afraid of birds! Francis : And I don’t blame ‘im Rosie : Whoa, Flik honey, we are not about to fight the grasshoppers,

okey? Flik : You’ll be gone before the grasshoppers ever arrive. Here’s

what we do. Manny : a-a-a – no another word. I don’t know what you’re concocting

in that little ant brain of yours, but we’ll have no part of it. Flik and the bugs (Rosie, Francis, and Manny) are talking about

Hopper. Flik tries to convince them by making a promise “You’ll be gone

before the grasshoppers ever arrive”. The modal “will” shows the speaker

intends to the future action.

Datum 27 / ABL / Pr

PT Flea : Hey guys! Keep me away! I promise to start to think about your payment.

From the datum above, the character PT Flea utters a promise “I

promise to start to think about your payment”. It can be easily recognized

because the speaker uses the performative verb “promise”.

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B. 1. 2. Guarantee (Gu)

The term of guarantee means a firm promise that the speaker will do

something or the speaker is sure about something. Therefore, what makes a

guarantee different from a promise is the degree of affirmation of the speech

act. The speaker may use the performative verb “guarantee” to express his/her

utterances. The data belong to Guarantee employed by the characters in the

movie are explained below:

Datum 01 / ABL / Gu

Princess Atta : Oh…wind’s died down. They’ll be here soon. Queen : Just be confident, dear. You’ll be fine. According the datum above, Princess Atta is in panic condition and the

Queen tries to calm her down by guaranteeing that she will be fine if she is

confident. She utters “You’ll be fine.” This utterance is categorized as a

guarantee because the speaker convinces her opinion.

Datum 02 / ABL / Gu

Queen : Ok, Atta, now, what do we do? Princess Atta : Ahh…oh! Don’t tell me. I know it, I know it. What is it? Queen : We relax Princess Atta : Right Queen : Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s the same year after year. They come,

they eat, they leave. That’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our life.

The dialogue above shows that the Queen guarantees about what will

happen to the colony year by year. She says “Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s the same

year after year. They come, they eat, they leave. That’s our lot in life. It’s

not a lot, but it’s our life” as a response to Princess Atta’s panic. Even

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though she does not use the performative verb “guarantee”, her speech act can

be categorized as a guarantee based on the degree of the affirmation of

something.

Datum 03 / ABL / Gu

Princess Atta : Flik, what are you doing? Flik : Oh, this! This is my new idea for harvesting grain. No more

picking individual kernels. You cut down the entire stalk! Princess Atta : Flik, we don’t have time for this. Flik : Exactly! We never have time for collect the food for

ourselves just we spend all summer harvesting for the offering. But my invention will speed up production.

From the datum above, Flik tries to convince Princess Atta about his

invention by saying a guarantee. He says “my invention will speed up

production” which shows his belief. That utterance is categorized as a

guarantee because the speaker is sure about something.

Datum 17 / ABL / Gu

Slim : Mayday, mayday. We’re losin’ the job. Francis : (to slim) We gotta sweeten the deal. (to the ants) Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, boys and

girls of all ages. Our troupe here guarantees a performance like no other! Why, when your grasshoppers friends get here, we are gonna knock them dead!

All Ants : (yelling) The datum above shows Francis utters a guarantee “Your Majesty,

ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. Our troupe here

guarantees a performance like no other! Why, when your grasshoppers

friends get here, we are gonna knock them dead!”. His utterance can be

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recognized as a guarantee easily because in uttering it, he uses the

performative verb “guarantee”.

Datum 21 / ABL / Gu







branded for the rest of my life. My children will walk down the street, people will point and say! Look! There goes the spawn of Flik, the loser!

Flik says a guarantee about what will happen if he tells the truth to the

ants. He convinces by saying “They can’t know the truth. The truth, you

see, is bad. I will be branded for the rest of my life. My children will walk

down the street, people will point and say! Look! There goes the spawn of

Flik, the loser!”, although he does not use the performative verb “guarantee”,

it can be categorized as a guarantee because he believes in what will happen if

he tells the truth.

Datum 26 / ABL / Gu

Rosie : We have to do something, come on guys, think! Gypsy : I know, the bird Manny : Yes, the bird

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Slim : The bird is brilliant Flik : The bird won’t work Francis : What are you talking about? Was your idea? Francis : What are you talking about? Was your idea? Dot : But you said that everything to me – Flik : That everything that I ever told you, all right Dot! Let’s face

the colony. I just make thing worse and the bird is guaranteed failure, just like me.

Manny : You listen to me, my boy! I’ve been living for failure and looser. And you are not a failure.

Rosie : Oh, Flik. You’ve done so many good things! Flik says a guarantee as a response to his friends suggestions, he

convinces by saying “The bird won’t work”. The word “won’t” is a form of

his conviction that the idea of making model bird is a failure and it is asserted

by saying “I just make thing worse and the bird is guaranteed failure, just

like me”.

B. 1. 3. Refusal (Ref)

The term of refusal is defined as an act of saying or showing a

speaker’s intention not to do, give, or accept something. Therefore, when a

speaker utters a refusal, he/she expresses his/her intention to deny something

offered and ordered to him/her. The data belong to Refusal employed by the

characters in the movie are explained below:

Datum 04 / ABL / Ref

Flik : Princess Atta. There’s something I need to tell you. Princess Atta : Not now, Flik, shh! Flik : But you Highness. It’s about the offering. Princess Atta : Sshh….

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From the datum above, Flik wants to explain something to Princess

Atta, but she refuses him by saying “Not now, Flik”. She expresses the

refusal as the response to Flik’s request.


Hopper : There still a few months till the rains come. So you can all try again.

Queen : But Hopper, since it’s almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather food for ourselves.

Hopper : Listen! If you don’t keep your end of the bargain then I can’t guarantee your safety. And there are insects out there, they will take advantage of you. Someone could get hurt

Hopper forces the ants to pick the double food, the Queen as the leader

of the colony states her refusal. She refuses Hopper’s order by saying “But

Hopper, since it’s almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather

food for ourselves”.


Flik : I should help repair the damage before I go. The Royal Councils : No! No, no! Just go! Just leave! Flik : (nod of his head) In the datum above, Flik offers a help to repair the damage.

Considering what Flik has done, the Royal Council states a refusal by saying

“No! No, no!” That utterance can be categorized as a refusal easily by the

word “no” explicitly used.


Fly : You! Come here! I want my money back! PT Flea : Oh, no refunds after the first two minutes.

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From the datum above, a Fly asks PT Flea to give back his money

because he is unsatisfied with the circus performance, but PT Flea refuses his

demand by saying “Oh, no refunds after the first two minutes”. That

utterance can be categorized as a refusal easily by the word “no” used.


Slim : PT, what’s the point? PT Flea : Not now Slim. Slim : What’s the point of going out there? They’ll only laugh at me. PT Flea : That’s because you’re a clown! Slim is asking PT Flea, but PT refuses to answer by saying “Not now

Slim” as a form of his refusal to explain. The word “not now” shows an

explicit refusal.


Rosie : Flik! Flik : Not right now, Rosie, I’m making a speech. --- No, there is no circus around here. Flik is making a speech, then, Rosie disturbs him to explain

something. Flik refuses her by saying “Not right now, Rosie, I’m making a

speech”.


Flik : Your Highness, the warriors have called for a secret meeting

to plan for a circus – a circumventing the oncoming hordes so they can trapeze – trap them with ease.

Princess Atta : Shouldn’t I come? Flik : No! No, classified in the D.M.Z. Gotta go A.S.A.P. you

know, strictly B.Y.O.B. bye!

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Princess Atta : B.Y.O.B? In the datum above Flik says a refusal “No! No, classified in the

D.M.Z. Gotta go A.S.A.P. you know, strictly B.Y.O.B. bye!” as a response

to Princess Atta’s offer to accompany him.


Princess Atta : Flik, I owe you an apology. Flik : For what? Princess Atta : Well, I haven’t been that nice to you and I’m sorry, if there’s

any way I can make up to – hey I know, how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?

Flik : me? Princess Atta : Oh, sure. You’ve got great report especially after that rescue.

You are very brave. Flik : Really? Naw, naw. Princess Atta : Not everyone faces of bird, I mean even Hopper’s afraid of

‘em. Flik : No – no, I can’t From the data above, Princess Atta offers Flik to be queen’s official

advisor, but Flik refuses it by saying “Really? Naw, naw” which is asserted

by saying “No – no, I can’t” to express his disability to accept the offer.





in that little ant brain of yours, but we’ll have no part of it. In the datum above, Manny utters “we’ll have no part of it” as a form

of his refusal to not join Flik’s idea. The word “we” shows that in uttering the

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utterance, the speaker is as the part of community. In this case, the speaker is

representing his friends.


Hopper : Wait! Where is she? (angrily) Gypsy : I’m sorry, a magician never reveals the secret. Gypsy and Manny perform a performance to disappear the Queen in

order to rescue her. Hopper is angry to know that the Queen is lost, thus he

asks where the Queen is. Gypsy refuses to explain by saying “I’m sorry, a

magician never reveals the secret”.


PT Flea : Are you sure? You can come on with us Flik : Sorry, my place is here Princess Atta : Pretty answer PT offers Flik to join his circus, but Flik refuses it by saying “Sorry,

my place is here”. Even though he does not say “no”, his speech act can be

categorized as a refusal because he expresses his willingness to keep staying

in his colony.

B. 1. 4. Threat (Thr)

The term of threat in Oxford Dictionary is the act of saying an

intimidation of the speaker to the hearer in which there is an intention to hurt

the hearer. The data belong to Threat employed by the characters in the

movie are explained below:

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Datum 05 / ABL / Thr

Hopper : It’s a bug – eat – bug world out there, Princess. One of those circles of life kind of things. Now, let me tell you how things are supposed to work. The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the grasshoppers eat the food –

Molt : And the birds eat the grasshoppers. Hey, like the one that nearly ate you. You ‘member?

Oh, you should’ve seen it. This blue jay has him halfway down his throat and Hopper’s kickin’ and screamin’. And I’m scared. I’m not goin’ anywhere near, okay? Aw come on…. It’s a great story.

Hopper : I swear if I hadn’t promised to mother on her deathbed that I wouldn’t kill you, I’ll kill you.

Molt : And believe me. No one appreciates that more than I do Hopper : Shut up! I don’t want to hear another word out of you while

we where on this island. Do you understand me?

Hopper utters a threat that is directed to Molt as a form of his anger.

He says “I swear if I hadn’t promised to mother on her deathbed that I

wouldn’t kill you, I’ll kill you”. Even though, he uses the performative verb

“swear”, but looking at the context of situation where the dialogue happens,

the meaning of that utterance is aimed to threat, not to make solemn promise.



Queen : But Hopper. Since it’s almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather food for ourselves.

Hopper : Listen! If you don’t keep your end of the bargain then I can’t guarantee your safety. And there are insects out there, they will take advantage of you. Someone could get hurt!

Hopper orders the ants to provide the food again, but the queen refuses

it. Then, as a response to the Queen’s refusal, Hopper utters a threat by saying

“If you don’t keep your end of the bargain then I can’t guarantee your

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safety. And there are insects out there, they will take advantage of you.

Someone could get hurt!” to intimidate the ants.


Fly : Hey cutie! Wanna pollinate with a real bug? Ooh, come to

papa! Francis : So, bein’ a ladybug automatically makes me a girl, is that it,

fly boy? Huh?! Fly : She’s a guy. Francis : Judging by your breath, you must have been buzzin’ around

a dung heap all day. Anytime, pal! I’m gonna pick the hairs out of your head one by one.

Fly : Take your best shot! Francis : You name the place! Fly : Oh, yeah? Francis : Yeah, ‘cause when you get there, you are dead! Slim : Francis, let me handle this. (to Fly) that’s no way to speak to

a lady. Francis is angry because he is regarded as a girl by the Flies. He

threatens the Flies by saying “Anytime, pal! I’m gonna pick the hairs out of

your head one by one” which is asserted “Yeah, ‘cause when you get there,

you are dead!”.

B. 1. 5. Volunteer (Vol)

The term of volunteer is defined as an intention of a speaker to do

something without force and intimidation from others. The data belong to

Volunteer employed by the characters in the movie are explained below:

Datum 08 / ABL / Vol Flik : Your Highness, don’t you see? We could send someone to get

help. Princess Atta : Leave the island?

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Queen : Why didn’t I think of that? Oh! Because it’s suicide! Thorny : She’s right! We never leave the island. Cornelius : Never leave. Thorny : There’s sanakes and birds and bigger bugs out there! Flik : Exactly! Bigger bugs! We could find bigger bugs to come

here and fight and forever rid us of Hopper and his gang! Mr. Soil : Ludicrous! Dr. Flora : Who would do a crazy thing like that? Flik : I’ll volunteer. I’d very happy to volunteer. Queen : (laugh) You got a lot of spunk, kid, but no one’s gonna help a

bunch of ants. Flik offers himself to be a volunteer. He says “I’ll volunteer. I’d very

happy to volunteer”. He makes an intention that he will do a future action by

becoming a volunteer. In uttering his speech act Flik uses the performative

verb ‘volunteer’.

B. 1. 6. Offer (Off)

The term of Offer means the speaker is willing to do something for or

give something to the hearer/addressee. The data belong to Offer employed by

the characters in the movie are explained below:

Datum 10 / ABL / Off

Flik : I should help repair the damage before I go. The Royal Councils : No! No, no! Just go! Just leave! Flik : (nod of his head)

From the datum above, Flik performs an offer to the Royal Council by

saying “I should help repair the damage before I go”. Flik offers himself to

take the responsibility for what he has done.


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Princess Atta : Flik, I owe you an apology. Flik : For what? Princess Atta : Well, I haven’t been that nice to you and I’m sorry, if there’s

any way I can make up to – hey I know, how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?

Flik : me? Princess Atta : Oh, sure. You’ve got great report especially after that rescue.

You are very brave. Flik : Really? Naw, naw. Princess Atta : Not everyone faces of bird, I mean even Hopper’s afraid of

‘em. Flik : No – no, I can’t

From the dialogue above, Princess Atta offers a special position to

Flik. She says “how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the

warrior bugs?”


PT Flea : Are you sure? You can come on with us Flik : Sorry, my place is here Princess Atta : Pretty answer

From the dialogue above, the speaker is PT Flea while the hearer is

Flik. PT Flea offers Flik to join his circus by saying “You can come on with

us”. He offers that there is still a place for Flik in his circus.

B.2. The Functions of Commissive Speech Acts in the Movie A Bug’s Life.

Each type of commissves may have certain functions. Those fuctions

can be to repair relationship, expresse the belief of the speaker the dislike,

anger, etc. The functions of commissive speech acts in the Movie A Bug’s Life

are analyzed below:


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Promise is a speech act showing the speaker’s intention of a future

action to do or not do something. In this movie, promise speech acts uttered by

the characters have certain functions. They are to repair and maintain the

relationship to the hearers, to show loyalty, love, sympathy, thank, care,

solidarity, and also to show intimacy to the hearer. The functions of promises

and the examples are presented below:

1. Repairing and maintaining relationship

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker feels guilty

for the fault he/she has made.

Datum 09 / ABL / Pr


Flik : Really? Princess Atta : Really Flik : Oh, thank you Princess. Thank you so much for the chance.

I won’t let you down. I promise, I promise, I promise. Princess Atta : That’s fine. No, forget it, forget it. The dialogue happens in the ant colony, specifically in the court so

that the situation tends to be formal. The participants involve Flik, Princess

Atta, Queen, and the Royal Council, but the dialogue taken as the datum is

focused on Flik and Princess Atta. Princess Atta is the Queen-to-be, while

Flik is the worker ant, but the way of they speak to each other shows that

they have close relationship like a friendship but bordered by the status of

theirs.

Flik is in the court as the accused because he has caused the ants have

to offer the double food for the grasshoppers. Flik performs his idea to find

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the bigger bugs to get rid off the grasshopper gang from their colony. Flik

requests the Royal Council and Princess Atta to allow him to find the

warrior bugs. Princess Atta and the Royal Council discuss his request, then,

Princess Atta representing the Royal Council says that they grant his

request. Flik is very happy about it. He promises to Princess Atta by saying

“I won’t let you down. I promise, I promise, I promise”. By studying the

context situation where the dialogue occurs, it can be analyzed that Flik

performs the promise to maintain and repair his relationship with Princess

Atta and the Royal council because of the fault he has made.

Datum 27 / ABL / Pr


The dialogue occurs in the evening, in the ant island when Flik and his

friends are preparing themselves to trick the grasshoppers. PT Flea is the

owner of circus show. He is the leader of the circus troupe. He is very

stingy. He always thinks about money so that his circus troupe has no

respect to him.

PT Flea is locked up by his circus troupe because they know that PT

will disturb their plan to trick the grasshoppers. Therefore, PT is locked up

in his circus box. PT Flea utters a promise “I promise to start to think

about your payment”. He promises that in order to be freed. It can be said

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that the intention behind his utterance is only to repair the relationship with

his circus trope in order to get their sympathy.

2. Showing loyalty

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker concerns

about the hearer. Therefore, the speaker via his/her utterance performs a

promise to show the loyalty.

Datum 12 / ABL / Pr



The dialogue happens in the morning, in the ant island when Flik is

ready to leave the ant island to find the warrior bugs. There are four

participants in the dialogue. They are Flik, Dot, Grub, and Reed. Dot is

Princess Atta’s little sister while Grub and Reed are Dot’s friends. They

have close relationship with Flik as friends.

Flik is going to go to find the warrior bugs. He picks a dandelion, then,

flies with it. Flying in the air, he shouts “For the colony and for oppressed

ants everywhere”. He promises that his trip is for the colony and the

oppressed ants everywhere. From Flik’s speech act, it can be analyzed that

the reason he utters the promise is motivated by his loyalty to the colony.

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3. Showing care

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker concerns

about the hearer’s safety. Therefore, the speaker via his/her utterance

performs a promise to show his/her care.

Datum 20 / ABL / Pr








The dialogue above happens in the Ant Island. The participants are

Heimlich, Francis, Dim, Manny and Flik. Flik and the bugs become friends

when they meet in the bar after a fight against the Flies. Flik thinks that

those bugs are the warriors who can help his colony to get rid off the

grasshoppers.

Knowing that those bugs are not the warriors, Flik becomes angry. He

thinks that the bugs have lied to him. Flik and the circus bugs are involved

49

in a debate. The circus bugs also do not want to be blamed by Flik, then,

they leave him, but Flik still tries to restrain them.

Flik asks them to help and not go. Flik tries to convince them by

making a promise. He says “I’ll come up with a plan”. The function of this

utterance is to show the speaker’s care to the hearer.

Datum 24 / ABL / Pr




in that little ant brain of yours, but we’ll have no part of it.

The dialogue above occurs in the bugs’ chamber after rescuing Dot,

Princess Atta’s sister, from a bird. The participants in the dialogue are Flik

and the Bugs. As well explained previously, Flik and the bugs have close

relationship. In the dialogue above, they are talking about the way to trick

the grasshoppers.

Flik makes a promise directed to his bug friends. He says “You’ll be

gone before the grasshoppers ever arrive”. Flik tries to convince them

that their identity will not be known by the grasshoppers. His promise shows

that he cares about the bugs’ safety.


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Guarantee is a speech act showing the speaker’s belief about

something. In this movie, the guarantee speech acts uttered by the characters

have certain functions. They are to get sympathy from the hearer and to

express the belief and conviction of the speaker about something. The

functions of guarantees and the examples are presented below:

1. Getting sympathy from the hearers

This function is performed by the speaker because he/she wants to get the

sympathy from the hearer.

Datum 17 / ABL / Gu

Slim : Mayday, mayday. We’re losin’ the job. Francis : (to slim) We gotta sweeten the deal.

(to the ants) Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. Our troupe here guarantees a performance like no other! Why, when your grasshoppers friends get here, we are gonna knock them dead!

All Ants : (yelling)

The dialogue above happens in the ant island after the circus troupe

comes. The participants involve the circus bugs and the ants. The speaker

of the guarantee speech act is Francis, one of the circus bugs. This

utterance is a response toward the ants’ reaction to their coming.

The datum above shows that Francis utters a guarantee “Your

Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. Our troupe

here guarantees a performance like no other! Why, when your

grasshoppers friends get here, we are gonna knock them dead!” his

utterance is used to take the ants’ sympathy so that their coming can be

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accepted. He guarantees the best performance which makes the ants very

glad.

2. Expressing the belief and conviction of the speaker about something

This function is performed because the speaker via his/her utterance wants

to show his/her belief and conviction about something.

Datum 01 / ABL / Gu

Princess Atta : Oh…wind’s died down. They’ll be here soon. Queen : Just be confident, dear. You’ll be fine.

The dialogue above happens in the morning, in the picking day, in the

ant hill. There are two participants in that dialogue. They are Princess Atta

and the Queen. Princess Atta is the Queen’s daughter, so that it is

described that they have close relationship.

Princess Atta and the Queen are overseeing the worker ants who pick

up the food for the grasshopper. Princess Atta is in panic condition and the

Queen tries to calm her down by sating a guarantee that she will be fine if

she is confident. She utters “You’ll be fine”. Her sentences are a form of

her belief of something.

Datum 02 / ABL / Gu

Queen : Ok, Atta, now, what do we do? Princess Atta : Ahh…oh! Don’t tell me. I know it, I know it. What is

it? Queen : We relax Princess Atta : Right

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Queen : Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s the same year after year. They come, they eat, they leave. That’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our life.

The dialogue above still happens in the ant hill when the worker ants

are picking the grains for the grasshoppers. There are two participants in

that dialogue. They are Princess Atta and the Queen.

Princess Atta is very panic in preparing the foods for the grasshopper.

The queen wants to know what they should do, but Princess Atta does not

know what she should do. The queen tries to calm her down by saying a

guarantee “Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s the same year after year. They come,

they eat, they leave. That’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our

life”. The Queen tries to affirm that their life is to provide the foods year

by year. She performs her belief that what will happen to their colony is

not a bad thing.

Datum 03 / ABL / Gu

Princess Atta : Flik, what are you doing? Flik : Oh, this! This is my new idea for harvesting grain. No

more picking individual kernels. You cut down the entire stalk!

Princess Atta : Flik, we don’t have time for this. Flik : Exactly! We never have time for collect the food for


The dialogue above happens in the ant island, in the morning, at the

picking grains time. There are two participants in that dialogue. They are

Princess Atta and Flik. Princess Atta is the queen to be, while Flik is a

worker ant. They have different status. In the beginning, their relationship

53

is far, after Flik rescues Dot, Princess Atta’s sister, their relationship

becomes close.

In the dialogue above, Flik is trying to promote his new invention to

Princess Atta. Unfortunately, Princes Atta has no interest in his invention.

Flik tries to convince her that his invention will be successful by making a

guarantee. He says “my invention will speed up production” to express

his belief and conviction of his invention. Therefore, it can be said that

Flik’s guarantee is motivated by his desire to perform his belief.

Datum 13 / ABL / Gu

Grub : (to Reed) Your dad’s right. He’s gonna die. Dot : You just watch! He’s gonna get the bestest roughest bugs

you’ve ever seen.

The dialogue happens in the mountain side of Ant Island when Flik is

going to go to find the warrior bugs. The participants in the dialogue are

Grub, Reed, and Dot. They have close relationship because Grub, Reed

and Dot are friends although they have different opinion about Flik.

Grub and Reed hesitate about Flik’s ability to find the warrior bugs,

but Dot with her belief tries to convince them by saying “He’s gonna get

the bestest roughest bugs you’ve ever seen” She guarantees that Flik

will be successful because it is motivated by her conviction toward Flik.

Datum 21 / ABL / Gu

Flik : Circus bugs? How can you be circus bugs? Heimlich : What?

54

Francis : Hey, hey, hey. You said nothing about killin’ grasshoppers. You lied to us.

Dim : Ja Flik : Are you kidding? Do you know what this is? This, my friends






The dialogue above happens in the Ant Island. The participants are

Heimlich, Francis, Dim, Manny and Flik. Flik and the bugs become

friends when they meet in the bar after a fight against the Flies. Flik thinks

that those bugs are the warriors who can help his colony to get rid off the

grasshoppers.

Knowing that those bugs are only the circus bugs, Flik becomes angry

and disappointed. Flik blames them because they do not tell the truth that

they are not the warriors. Heimlich suggests Flik to tell the truth to the

ants but he refuses by saying a guarantee “I will be branded for the rest

of my life. My children will walk down the street, people will point

and say! Look! There goes the spawn of Flik, the loser!”

Flik through his guarantee speech act wants to convince the bugs that

it will be bad if he tells the truth to the ants. The ants expect the warrior

bugs’ coming who will help them from Hopper’s oppression. Flik’s belief

55

that the truth will be bad for him, thus he tries to get the bug’s sympathy

through his speech act.

Datum 26 / ABL / Gu

Rosie : We have to do something, come on guys, think! Gypsy : I know, the bird Manny : Yes, the bird Slim : The bird is brilliant Flik : The bird won’t work Francis : What are you talking about? Was your idea? Francis : What are you talking about? Was your idea? Dot : But you said that everything to me – Flik : That everything that I ever told you, all right Dot! Let’s face

the colony. I just make thing worse and the bird is guaranteed failure, just like me.


Rosie : Oh, Flik. You’ve done so many good things!

The dialogue takes place in PT Flea’s box in the trip of the circus

performance. The participants in this dialogue are the bugs (Heimlich,

Dim, Rosie, Manny, Gypsy, Slim, Francis, Tuck and Roll), Flik, and Dot.

They become friend after the rescue from the bird. Their relationship

becomes so close.

Dot comes to them and tells what has happened in the ant island. She

asks them to help her mother from Hopper. The bugs suggest Flik to come

back to the ant island to rescue the Queen with what he has made “the

bird”. Flik says a guarantee as his response to his friends suggestions, he

convinces by saying “The bird won’t work”. Flik is distrust and

disappointed to himself. The word “won’t” is a form of his conviction that

the idea of making model bird is a failure and it is asserted by saying “I

56

just make thing worse and the bird is guaranteed failure, just like

me”.


Refusal is a speech act showing the speaker’s dislike. In this movie,

the refusal speech acts uttered by the characters have certain functions. They

are to show the dislike and distrust of the speakers to the hearers and also to

save the speakers from the bad effects made by the hearers or to avoid

conflicts with the hearers. The functions of refusal speech act and the

examples are presented below:

1. Showing the dislike and distrust to the hearers

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker dislikes and

distrust toward what the hearers say or offer.



The dialogue occurs inside ant hill, in the midday when the ants are

waiting for the grasshoppers’ coming to take the food provided on the

offering stone. The participants in the dialogue are only Flik and Princess

Atta. Princess Atta and Flik have no close relationship because they have

different status. Flik comes to Princess Atta to tell the Princess about what

57

he has done to the offering. He requests the Princess to give a time for him

to explain what has happened.

Princess Atta applies a direct refusal in the form of imperative

sentence to Flik. Princess Atta is very anxious about the grasshoppers’

coming, thus, when Flik comes to tell something to her, she refuses him

by uttering “Not now, Flik, shh!”

The reason why she utters a refusal utterance to Flik’s request can be

analyzed from the situation influencing her. She is in panic condition

when Flik asks to tell something to her. She is also afraid to make a fault

because providing foods to the grasshoppers is her first job as the queen to

be. Thus, she tries to do as good as possible to satisfy the grasshoppers

and she ignores Flik by refusing his request. She dislikes being disturbed

and distrusts with Flik’s report.





The dialogue above happens inside ant hill. The participants are the

ants and the grasshopper, but the dialogue is focused on Hopper and the

Queen. Hopper is the leader of the grasshopper gang oppressing the ant

colony.

58


of the colony states her refusal to Hopper’s order by saying “But Hopper.

Since it’s almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather food for

ourselves”. This utterance is motivated by her dislike to Hopper’s

treatment.



The dialogue happens in the meeting room when Flik is faced in front

of the Royal Councils because of his fault causing the ants have to provide

double food for the grasshoppers. This dialogue involves Flik and the

Royal Councils (Princess Atta, Mr. Soil, Thorny, Cornelius, and Dr. Flora)

as the participants.

In the datum above, Flik offers a help to repair the damage caused by

him. Considering what Flik has done, the Royal Councils refuse it by

saying “No! No, no!” This refusal is stated because they know about Flik.

They are afraid that Flik will make the mess worse. It can be said that the

refusal speech act uttered by the Royal Councils is motivated by their

distrust to Flik.



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The dialogue above happens in the evening, at the circus show. The

participants are a Fly and PT Flea. Fly is an audience of the circus, while

PT Flea is the owner of the circus. Therefore, there is no close relation

between them.

From the datum above, Fly asks PT to give back his money because he

is unsatisfied with the circus performance, but PT refuses his demand by

saying “Oh, no refunds after the first two minutes”. PT refuses Fly’s

demand because he dislikes giving back Fly’s money.


Slim : PT, what’s the point? PT Flea : Not now Slim. Slim : What’s the point of going out there? They’ll only laugh at me. PT Flea : That’s because you’re a clown!

The dialogue occurs at the circus show, specifically behind the stage.

There two participants in this dialogue. They are PT Flea and Slim. Slim

is one of the performers who works on PT Flea’s circus show. They have

no close relationship because PT Flea is a stingy flea so that Slim dislikes

him.

Slim is asking PT about something, but PT refuses to answer by

saying “Not now Slim” as a form of his dislike to explain something.

Therefore, it can be explained that his refusal is motivated by the will of

PT not to be disturbed by Slim because he dislikes it.


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Rosie : Flik! Flik : Not right now, Rosie, I’m making a speech. --- No, there is no circus around here.

The dialogue happens in the ant hill, specifically in welcoming

ceremony. The participants in this dialogue are Rosie and Flik. Rosie is

one of the bugs who are regarded as the warriors by Flik. Flik and the

bugs become friends when they meet in the bar after a fight against the

Flies. Flik thinks that those bugs are the warriors who can help his colony

to get rid off the grasshoppers.

Flik is making a speech to the ants for his success in finding the

warrior bugs, while Rosie is trying to explain Flik about the truth that she

and her friends are not the warriors but they are only the circus troupe.

Flik refuses her by saying “Not right now, Rosie, I’m making a speech.

---No, there is no circus around here.” The reason why he utters a

refusal to Rosie can be analyzed from the situation influencing him. He is

making a speech so that he tries to focus on it. He wants to impress the

ants through his speech. Therefore, he dislikes being disturbed.






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The dialogue above occurs in the bugs’ chamber. The participants in

the dialogue are Flik and the bugs. They become friends again after

rescuing Dot, Princess Atta’s sister, from a bird although Flik knows that

they are not the warriors. Because of their intimacy to each other, the

situation where the conversation happens is informal.

Flik and those bugs are talking about the way to trick the

grasshoppers. Flik tries to convince them by promising that the bugs will

leave the island before the grasshoppers come. As a response to Flik,

Manny states his argument representing his friends. He says a refusal that

he and his friend will not join Flik’s idea. He says “we’ll have no part of

it”. His utterance is motivated by his distrust to Flik’s idea. He does not

want to take a risk to fight against the grasshoppers.


PT Flea : Are you sure? You can come on with us Flik : Sorry, my place is here

The dialogue above happens in the morning, in the ant island before

PT Flea continues his trip with the circus. There are two participants in the

dialogue. They are PT Flea and Flik. In the beginning Flik and PT Flea

have no close relationship. They become friends after the ants’ victory on

the grasshoppers.

PT offers Flik to join his circus, but Flik refuses it by saying “Sorry,

my place is here”. His refusal can be identified that he has no intention to

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join the circus. He implicitly performs his dislike to leave the ant island

because Flik begins to develop feelings for Princess Atta.

2. Saving the speakers from the bad effects made by the hearers or avoiding

conflicts with the hearers.

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker thinks if

he/she accepts what speaker offer, he/she will be involved in a conflict

with the hearer. By performing the refusal, the speaker wants to save

her/himself from the bad effect made by the hearer.


Flik : Your Highness, the warriors have called for a secret meeting to plan for a circus – a circumventing the oncoming hordes so they can trapeze – trap them with ease.

Princess Atta : Shouldn’t I come? Flik : No! No, classified in the D.M.Z. Gotta go A.S.A.P.

you know, strictly B.Y.O.B. bye! Princess Atta : B.Y.O.B?

The dialogue happens in Ant Island when Flik tries to run the bugs and

Princess Atta is following him. The participants in this dialogue are Flik

and Princess Atta. Princess Atta and Flik have no close relationship.

In the datum above Flik says a refusal “No! No, classified in the

D.M.Z. Gotta go A.S.A.P. you know, strictly B.Y.O.B. bye!” as a

response to Princess Atta’s willingness to accompany him. The reason

why Flik utters the refusal to Princess Atta is motivated by Flik’s secret.

He wants to hide the truth from Princess Atta. He wants to save himself

from Princess Atta’s anger and to avoid a conflict with her.

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Datum 23 / ABL / Ref Princess Atta : Flik, I owe you an apology. Flik : For what? Princess Atta : Well, I haven’t been that nice to you and I’m sorry, if

there’s any way I can make up to – hey I know, how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?

Flik : me? Princess Atta : Oh, sure. You’ve got great report especially after that

rescue. You are very brave. Flik : Really? Naw, naw. Princess Atta : Not everyone faces of bird, I mean even Hopper’s

afraid of ‘em. Flik : No – no, I can’t

The dialogue above happens inside ant hill. The participants in that

dialogue are Princess Atta and Flik. Flik and Princess Atta start having

close relationship after rescuing Dot, Princess Atta’s sister, from a bird.

Princess Atta starts having a belief that Flik has done a great thing by

finding the warrior bugs and rescuing her sister.

Princess Atta thanks to Flik because he and his bug friends have

rescue her sister, Dot, from the bird. Then, as her thank to Flik, she offers

a position to Flik in the Queen’s Official Advisor to the warrior bugs. Flik

refuses it by saying “Really? Naw, naw” which is asserted by saying “No

– no, I can’t”. His refusal can be analyzed based on what has happened.

Flik feels that he is not proper to take that job because he has lied to the

Princess. He is afraid if someday Princess Atta knows the truth, she will

be disappointed. He wants to save himself from Princess Atta’s anger and

to avoid a conflict with her.

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Datum 28 / ABL / Ref Hopper : Wait! Where is she? (angrily) Gypsy : I’m sorry, a magician never reveals the secret.

The dialogue takes place in the night, in the ant island, specifically

when the circus bugs tries to trick Hopper by performing their show. The

participants in the dialogue are Hopper and Gypsy. They have no close

relationship. Hopper does not know that Gypsy is one of the ants’ friends.

Many and Gypsy perform a show to disappear the Queen. This trick is

done to rescue the Queen from Hopper’s trap. Hopper is angry to know

that the Queen is lost, thus he asks where the queen is angrily. Gypsy

refuses to explain by saying “I’m sorry, a magician never reveals the

secret”. The words “I’m sorry” in that utterance is not used to apologize,

but it is used to make a polite refusal.

Gypsy states a refusal to not reveal the secret because she is afraid if

Hopper knows that he is tricked by her. She knows that Queen’s life is in

danger and she does not want to tell Hopper where the Queen is.

Therefore, it can be said that Gypsy’s refusal is to save herself from

Hopper’s anger and to avoid a conflict with him.


Threat is a speech act showing the negative feeling and anger of the

speakers to the hearers. In this movie, the threat speech acts uttered by the

characters to express the negative feeling and anger of the speakers to the

65

hearers and to intimidate the hearers as a form of the speakers’ intention to

show the higher power and status. The functions of threats and the examples

are presented below:

1. Expressing the negative feeling and anger of the speakers to the hearers.

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker feels that

the addressee has made him ashamed. Therefore, the speaker via his

utterance threats the addressee to express his negative feeling and anger.


Hopper : It’s a bug – eat – bug world out there, Princess. One of those circle of life kind of things. Now, let me tell you how things are supposed to work. The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the grasshoppers eat the food –




Molt : And believe me. No one appreciates that more than I do Hopper : Shut up! I don’t want to hear another word out of you while

we where on this island. Do you understand me? The dialogue above takes place inside ant hill when Hopper

intimidates the ants. Then, Molt interrupts his speech. The participants in

this dialogue are Hopper and Molt. Hopper is the leader of the

grasshopper gang, while Molt is his brother. They have close relationship

as brothers although Hopper does not really like him.

Hopper utters a threat that is directed to Molt as a form of his anger.

He says “I swear if I hadn’t promised to mother on her deathbed that

66

I wouldn’t kill you, I’ll kill you”. Hopper is angry because Molt

interrupts his speech. Hopper does not want to be ashamed in front of the

ants because of Molt’s words. Thus, he expresses his anger to his brother

by performing a threat.






Fly : Take your best shot! Francis : You name the place! Fly : Oh, yeah? Francis : Yeah, ‘cause when you get there, you are dead!

The dialogue happens in the circus show. The participants in this

dialogue are Francis and Fly. Francis is a performer in the circus show,

while Fly is the audience. They have no close relationship.

Francis is very angry because Fly teases him by regarding that he is a

girl. He threatens the Fly by saying “Anytime, pal! I’m gonna pick the

hairs out of your head one by one” which is asserted “Yeah, ‘cause

when you get there, you are dead!” to express his anger.

2. Intimidating the hearers as a form of the speakers’ intention to show the

higher power and status.

67

This function is performed by the speaker because the speaker wants to

make the addressees obeys him. The speaker wants to show the addressee

that he has higher power and status to intimidate them.





The dialogue takes place inside ant hill. Hopper comes down into the

ant hill. He is very angry because he finds no food on the offering stone.

The participants in this dialogue are Hopper and the Queen, but Hopper’s

threat is directed to all ants there.

Hopper orders the ants to provide the food again, but the queen refuses

it. Then, as a response to the Queen’s refusal, Hopper utters a threat by

saying “If you don’t keep your end of the bargain then I can’t

guarantee your safety. And there are insects out there, they will take

advantage of you. Someone could get hurt!” Hopper’s threat is

motivated by his anger because the ants do not provide the food. He

intimidates the ants that one of them will get hurt if they do not do his

order. His utterance shows that he wants to show that he is the superior

bug and the ants are lower. He wants to make the ants obey him.

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Volunteer is a speech act showing the speaker’s intention to do something

without force and oppression from other. In this movie, the volunteer speech

act uttered by the characters has a function. It is to repair and maintain the

relationship with the hearer. This function is performed by the speaker

because the speaker feels guilty for the fault he/she has made. That function

is presented below:


help. Princess Atta : Leave the island? Queen : Why didn’t I think of that? Oh! Because it’s suicide! Thorny : She’s right! We never leave the island. Cornelius : Never leave. Thorny : There’s sanakes and birds and bigger bugs out there! Flik : Exactly! Bigger bugs! We could find bigger bugs to come

here and fight and forever rid us of Hopper and his gang! Mr. Soil : Ludicrous! Dr. Flora : Who would do a crazy thing like that? Flik : I’ll volunteer. I’d very happy to volunteer. Queen : (laugh) You got a lot of spunk, kid, but no one’s gonna help a

bunch of ants. The dialogue above happens inside ant hill, specifically in the court in

which Flik is faced on the Royal Councils and the Queen because of his fault

causing the ants have to provide double food for the grasshoppers. The

participants in this dialogue are Flik, Princess Atta, Queen, and the Royal

Councils (Mr. Soil, Dr. Flora, Thorny, and Cornelius). They are talking about

finding the bigger bugs to help their colony from Hopper and his gang.

69

Flik volunteers himself to find the warrior bugs. He says “I’ll

volunteer. I’d very happy to volunteer”. He makes intention that he will do

a future action by becoming a volunteer. His utterance shows that he tries to

repair his relationship with his colony for what he has done causing them

cannot pick the food for themselves because they have to provide doudle food

for the grasshoppers.


Offer is a speech act showing the speaker’s willing to do something for or

give something to the hearer/addressee. In this movie, the offer speech acts

uttered by the characters have a function. It is also to repair and maintain the

relationship with the hearer. This function is performed by the speaker

because the speaker feels guilty for the fault he/she has made. That function

is presented below:



The dialogue above happens inside ant hill, specifically in the court in

which Flik is faced on the Royal Councils and the Queen because of his

fault causing the ants have to provide double food for the grasshoppers. The

participants in this dialogue are Flik, Princess Atta, Queen, and the Royal

Councils (Mr. Soil, Dr. Flora, Thorny, and Cornelius).

70

After volunteering himself to find the warrior bugs for his colony, Flik

offer himself to take the responsibility on the mess by saying “I should help

repair the damage before I go”. Flik offers his help in order to repair the

relationship with the colony. He has caused the ants have to work harder for

the grasshoppers. Thus, he wants to redeem his fault by repairing the

damage in that colony.


Princess Atta : Flik, I owe you an apology. Flik : For what? Princess Atta : Well, I haven’t been that nice to you and I’m sorry, if

there’s any way I can make up to – hey I know, how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?

Flik : me? Princess Atta : Oh, sure. You’ve got great report especially after that

rescue. You are very brave. Flik : Really? Naw, naw. Princess Atta : Not everyone faces of bird, I mean even Hopper’s


The dialogue above happens inside ant hill. The participants in that

dialogue are Princess Atta and Flik. Flik and Princess Atta start having close

relationship after rescuing Dot, Princess Atta’s sister, from a bird. Princess

Atta starts having a belief that Flik has done a great thing by finding the

warrior bugs and rescuing her sister.

From the dialogue above, it shows that Princess Atta is offeing a new

position for Flik in their colony. She says “how would you like to be the

queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?” as her thankful feeling

71

because Flik has rescued her sister from a bird. She wants to start better

relationship with Flik to redeem her disbelief to Flik. It can be said that the

reason why Princess Atta performs an offer to Flik is to repair her

relationship with Flik.



The dialogue above happens in the morning, in the ant island before

PT Flea continues his trip with the circus. There are two participants in the

dialogue. They are PT Flea and Flik. In the beginning Flik and PT Flea have

no close relationship. They become friends after the ants’ victory on the

grasshoppers.

PT Flea offers Flik to join his circus because he has regarded Flik as

his friend. He says “Are you sure? You can come on with us”. His offer is

stated to maintain their relationship.

B.3. How the Types of Commissive Speech Acts are Exploited by the Characters.

Each speaker has his/her own way in uttering commissive speech acts.

They can use verbal and non-verbal expression. The verbal strategy means the

speaker utters direct or indirect speech act, explicit or implicit statement, in high

or low intonation. A non-verbal expression is commonly done through body

language to emphasize his/her speech. In this part, the researcher will analyze

the way the characters in “A Bug’s Life” perform the commissive speech acts.

72


This type of commissves is expressed by the speaker by using

performative verb “promise” or not, indirect speech act or direct speech act, in

high, low or normal intonation, and affirmed by non-verbal expression or not.

1. Using performative verb, direct speech act, high intonation, non verbal

expression.

Datum 09 / ABL / Pr


Flik : Really? Princess Atta : Really Flik : Oh, thank you Princess. Thank you so much for the

chance. I won’t let you down. I promise, I promise, I promise.

Princess Atta : That’s fine. No, forget it, forget it.

From the datum above, the promise speech act is uttered by Flik

explicitly in form of direct speech act. In uttering his promise, Flik uses

performative verb “promise”. Flik says “I promise” for three times with

shaking Princess Atta’s hands to convince his intention not to make the

Princess disappointed. He says his promise in high intonation to show his

enthusiastic. His eye gaze and facial expression also show that his promise

is stated seriously and sincerely.

Datum 27 / ABL / Pr


73

From the datum above, PT Flea utters a promise explicitly by using a

performative verb “promise”. His utterance is in form of declarative

sentence indicating direct speech act. This utterance is uttered by PT Flea in

high intonation to attract his friends’ sympathy.

2. No performative verb, direct speech act, high intonation, no non verbal

expression.

Datum 12 / ABL / Pr



Flik says his promise in high intonation. He shouts his promise as a

form of his happiness to find the warrior bugs. He states his promise in the

form of direct speech act. His utterance can be categorized as a promise

because he has intention of a future action.

3. No performative verb, modality “will”, direct speech act, high intonation,

non verbal expression.

Datum 20 / ABL / Pr



is false advertising.

74

Manny : How dare you! You, Sir, are charlatan in this scenario- touting your wares as a talent scout, preying upon the hungry souls of hopeless artistes. Good to you, Sir.




Flik says his promise in the form of direct speech act by using

declarative sentence. He convinces his friends that he will make a plan. The

simple future tense with modality “will” used in his sentence indicates a

future action. He says his promise in high intonation to convince and show the

strength of his intention. His eyes gaze shows his serious in his promise.

Datum 24 / ABL / Pr




in that little ant brain of yours, but we’ll have no part of it. Flik tries to convince the bugs by making a promise that they will

leave the ant island before the grasshoppers come. Flik says his promise in the

form of direct speech act by using declarative sentence. His speech act is

uttered explicitly in normal intonation. The simple future tense with modality

“will” used in his sentence indicates a future action. This speech act is

affirmed with Flik’s eyes gaze.

75


This type of commissves is expressed by the speaker by using

performative verb “guarantee” or not, indirect speech act or direct speech act,

in high, low or normal intonation, and affirmed by non-verbal expression or

not.

1. No performative verb, modality “will”, direct speech act, normal

intonation, no non verbal expression.

Datum 01 / ABL / Gu

Princess Atta : Oh…wind’s died down. They’ll be here soon. Queen : Just be confident, dear. You’ll be fine.

Princess Atta is in panic condition and the Queen tries to calm her

down by guaranteeing that she will be fine if she is confident. She utters

“You’ll be fine” explicitly, in normal intonation. The simple future tense

with modality “will” used in his sentence indicates a future action. Her

utterance is in form direct speech act because of the declarative form used.

Datum 02 / ABL / Gu

Queen : Ok, Atta, now, what do we do? Princess Atta : Ahh…oh! Don’t tell me. I know it, I know it. What is it? Queen : We relax Princess Atta : Right Queen : Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s the same year after year. They

come, they eat, they leave. That’s our lot in life. It’s not a lot, but it’s our life.

The Queen also tries to affirm that their life is to provide the foods

year by year. She says her sentence in normal intonation in order to make

Princess Atta calm down. The simple future tense with modality “will”

76

used in his sentence indicates a future action. Her utterance is in the form

of direct speech act because of the declarative form used.

2. No performative verb, modality “will”, direct speech act, high intonation,

non verbal expression.

Datum 03 / ABL / Gu

Princess Atta : Flik, what are you doing? Flik : Oh, this! This is my new idea for harvesting grain. No

more picking individual kernels. You cut down the entire stalk!

Princess Atta : Flik, we don’t have time for this. Flik : Exactly! We never have time for collect the food for


Flik tries to convince Princess Atta about his invention by saying a

guarantee that his invention will be successful. He directly says “my

invention will speed up production” in high intonation to show his

belief about his invention. The simple future tense with modality “will”

used in his sentence indicates a future action. His utterance is affirmed

with his eyes gaze. He performs direct speech act because his sentence is

in declarative form.

Datum 21 / ABL / Gu



is false advertising.

77

Manny : How dare you! You, Sir, are charlatan in this scenario- touting your wares as a talent scout, preying upon the hungry souls of hopeless artistes. Good to you, Sir.




Flik through his guarantee speech act wants to convince the bugs

that it will be bad risk if he tells the truth to the ants. He speaks in high

intonation to affirm his sentences. The simple future tense with modality

“will” used in his sentence indicates a future action He says his guarantee

explicitly by using direct speech act in the form of declarative sentence.

His utterance is affirmed with non verbal expression in which he kneels in

front of his bug friends.

3. No performative verb, simple future tense, direct speech act, high

intonation, no non verbal expression

Datum 13 / ABL / Gu

Grub : (to Reed) Your dad’s right. He’s gonna die. Dot : You just watch! He’s gonna get the bestest roughest bugs

you’ve ever seen.

Dot makes a guarantee directly, in high intonation to affirm her

belief toward Flik’s ability to find the warrior bugs because she does not

like the way her friends appraise Flik. She performs her utterance in

declarative sentence indicating direct speech act.

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4. Using performative verb, direct speech act, high intonation, no non verbal

expression.

Datum 17 / ABL / Gu

Slim : Mayday, mayday. We’re losin’ the job. Francis : (to slim) We gotta sweeten the deal. (to the ants) Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, boys and

girls of all ages. Our troupe here guarantees a performance like no other! Why, when your grasshoppers friends get here, we are gonna knock them dead!

All Ants : (yelling)

The datum above shows Francis utters a guarantee in high intonation

to attract the intention of the ants. He uses the word “our”, it means that he

is a member of a community. His speech is to represent his friends. In

uttering his speech, he says his guarantee explicitly in high intonation by

using the performative verb “guarantee”. His utterance is in declarative

sentence form showing the direct speech act.

5. Using performative verb, direct speech act, low intonation, non verbal

expression.

Datum 26 / ABL / Gu

Rosie : We have to do something, come on guys, think! Gypsy : I know, the bird Manny : Yes, the bird Slim : The bird is brilliant Flik : The bird won’t work Francis : What are you talking about? Was your idea? Francis : What are you talking about? Was your idea? Dot : But you said that everything to me –

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Flik : That everything that I ever told you, all right Dot! Let’s face the colony. I just make thing worse and the bird is guaranteed failure, just like me.


Rosie : Oh, Flik. You’ve done so many good things!

Flik utters his speech acts in low intonation while bowing his head. It

seems that he is desperate. He is lost his confident about what he has

made. In uttering his speech, he says his guarantee explicitly by using the

performative verb “guarantee”. His utterance is in declarative sentence

form showing the direct speech act.


This type of commissves is expressed by the speaker by saying no or

not, using indirect speech act or direct speech act, in high, low or normal

intonation, and affirmed by non-verbal expression or not.

1. Expressing no or not, direct speech act, high intonation, non verbal

expression.



Princess Atta utters her refusal explicitly by saying “not now” which

is said in high intonation to show Flik that she does not want to be

disturbed. It can also be seen from her non-verbal action. She talks to Flik

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without looking at his face and keeps paying her attention to wait for the

grasshoppers’ arrive.



The Royal council utters the refusal as the response to Flik’s offer.

They refuse him in high intonation and explicitly say “no” with non verbal

expression to convince Flik that he does not need to repair the damage by

moving their hands symbolizing “no” to affirm their refusal.



From the datum above, a Fly asks PT to give back his money because

he is unsatisfied with the circus performance, but PT refuses his demand

by saying “Oh, no refunds after the first two minutes” in high

intonation, then, leaving the Fly. He says his refusal explicitly by using

the word “no”.


Slim : PT, what’s the point? PT Flea : Not now Slim. Slim : What’s the point of going out there? They’ll only laugh at me. PT Flea : That’s because you’re a clown!

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Slim is asking PT, but PT states a refusal to him explicitly by saying

“not now” in high intonation as a form of his anger not to be disturbed by

Slim’s questions. He points his finger to Slim to affirm his intention not to

be disturbed.


Flik : Your Highness, the warriors have called for a secret meeting to plan for a circus – a circumventing the oncoming hordes so they can trapeze – trap them with ease.

Princess Atta : Shouldn’t I come? Flik : No! No, classified in the D.M.Z. Gotta go A.S.A.P.

you know, strictly B.Y.O.B. bye! Princess Atta : B.Y.O.B? In the datum above Flik says a refusal “No! No, classified in the

D.M.Z. Gotta go A.S.A.P. you know, strictly B.Y.O.B. bye!” in high

intonation and explicitly by saying “no” to prevent Princess Atta follows

him. He refuses Princess Atta with non verbal expression to convince that

he does not want to be accompanied by moving his hands symbolizing

“no” to affirm his refusal.






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Manny states his argument representing his friends as a response to

Flik’s utterance. He says a refusal that he and his friend will not join

Flik’s idea in high intonation to assert his speech. He uses the first plural

person to represent his friend bugs. He explicitly says the refusal by

saying “We’ll have no part of it”. He performs his utterance in the form

of direct speech act. He uses non verbal expression to affirm his speech

act by moving his hands symbolizing “no”.

2. Expressing no or not, direct speech act, low intonation, non verbal

expression.


Rosie : Flik! Flik : Not right now, Rosie, I’m making a speech. --- No, there is no circus around here.

Flik is making a speech, then, Rosie disturbs him to explain

something. Flik refuses her by saying “Not right now, Rosie, I’m

making a speech. ---No, there is no circus around here” in low voice

and intonation in order to avoid the ants hear that. He uses the word “no”

to express his refusal explicitly. In uttering his speech act, Flik does not

look at Rosie.


Hopper : Wait! Where is she? (angrily) Gypsy : I’m sorry, a magician never reveals the secret.

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Gypsy refuses to explain by saying “I’m sorry, a magician never

reveals the secret” to Hopper in low intonation by bending her back to

avoid Hopper’s anger. The word “sorry” used by the speaker is aimed to

say her refusal implicitly, not to ask apology. She uses direct speech act in

expressing her utterance.

3. Without expressing no or not, direct speech act, high intonation, non

verbal expression.






of the colony states the refusal to Hopper’s order in high intonation to

affirm that her colony has to pick the food for themselves. She says her

refusal implicitly by using the word “but” to indicate the refusal, but she

performs her speech act in declarative sentence showing direct speech act.

In uttering her refusal, the Queen stands up in front of Hopper.

4. Expressing no or not, direct speech act, normal intonation, non verbal

expression.


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Princess Atta : Flik, I owe you an apology. Flik : For what? Princess Atta : Well, I haven’t been that nice to you and I’m sorry,

if there’s any way I can make up to – hey I know, how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?

Flik : me? Princess Atta : Oh, sure. You’ve got great report especially after

that rescue. You are very brave. Flik : Really? Naw, naw. Princess Atta : Not everyone faces of bird, I mean even Hopper’s


From the data above, Princess Atta commands Flik and offers him to

be queen’s official advisor, but Flik refuses it by saying “Really? Naw,

naw” which is asserted by saying “No – no, I can’t”. He says that

utterance explicitly in normal intonation by saying “no”. He performs his

utterance in declarative sentence indicating the direct speech act. He

moves his hands to show that he really refuses Princess Atta’s offer.

5. Without expressing no or not, direct speech act, normal intonation, non

verbal expression.

Datum 30 / ABL / Ref PT Flea : Are you sure? You can come on with us Flik : Sorry, my place is here Princess Atta : Pretty answer

PT offers Flik to join his circus, but Flik refuses it by saying “Sorry,

my place is here”. He says his refusal implicitly by saying sorry in order

to be polite. He says his refusal in normal intonation by shaking his head.

He uses direct speech act by using declarative sentence.

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This type of commissves is expressed by the speaker by using direct

speech act, in high intonation, and affirmed by non-verbal expression.


Hopper : It’s a bug – eat – bug world out there, Princess. One of those circle of life kind of things. Now, let me tell you how things are supposed to work. The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the grasshoppers eat the food –




Molt : And believe me. No one appreciates that more than I do Hopper : Shut up! I don’t want to hear another word out of you

while we where on this island. Do you understand me? Hopper utters a threat directed to Molt as a form of his anger. He says

his swear in high intonation and uses a performative verb “swear”, but it is

implicitly to threat Molt. In uttering his threat, Hopper also uses non-

verbal action in which he pushes Molt to the corner while holding his neck

firmly to give emphasizing.




Hopper : Listen! If you don’t keep your end of the bargain then I can’t guarantee your safety. And there are insects out

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there, they will take advantage of you. Someone could get hurt!

Hopper explicitly intimidates the ants by threatening that one of the

ants will get hurt if they do not do his order. He says his threat in high

intonation to make the ants afraid of him. His utterance is performed in

direct speech act.






Fly : Take your best shot! Francis : You name the place! Fly : Oh, yeah? Francis : Yeah, ‘cause when you get there, you are dead! Slim : Francis, let me handle this. (to Fly) that’s no way to speak to

a lady. Francis threatens the Flies explicitly by saying “Anytime, pal! I’m

gonna pick the hairs out of your head one by one” which is asserted

“Yeah, ‘cause when you get there, you are dead!”. His direct spech act

is peformed in high intonation while pointing his finger toward the Fly.


This type of commissves is expressed by the speaker by using direct

speech act, modality “will” indicating a future action, in high intonation, and

affirmed by non-verbal expression or not.

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help. Princess Atta : Leave the island? Queen : Why didn’t I think of that? Oh! Because it’s suicide! Thorny : She’s right! We never leave the island. Cornelius : Never leave. Thorny : There’s sanakes and birds and bigger bugs out there! Flik : Exactly! Bigger bugs! We could find bigger bugs to come

here and fight and forever rid us of Hopper and his gang! Mr. Soil : Ludicrous! Dr. Flora : Who would do a crazy thing like that? Flik : I’ll volunteer. I’d very happy to volunteer. Queen : (laugh) you got a lot of spunk, kid, but no one’s gonna help a

bunch of ants. Flik offers himself to be a volunteer. He says explicitly by using a

performative verb “volunteer”. His utterance is stated in direct speech act. He

expresses his utterance “I’ll volunteer. I’d very happy to volunteer” in high

intonation to show his seriousness and enthusiastic.


This type of commissves is expressed by the speaker by using indirect

speech act or direct speech act, in high, low or normal intonation, and

affirmed by non-verbal expression or not.

1. Using indirect speech act, normal intonation, non-verbal expression.



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From the datum above, the offer utterance is expressed implicitly in

form of declarative sentence. This utterance is uttered in the form of

indirect speech act because the offer speech act is not uttered in

interrogative sentence. He lifts the palms of his hands to show his

seriousness. The speaker uses declarative sentence to express the offer.

Flik says his utterance in normal intonation.


PT Flea : Are you sure? You can come on with us Flik : Sorry, my place is here Princess Atta : Pretty answer

The datum above shows that the offer speech act expressed implisitly

by PT Flea is an indirect speech act. His utterance is stated in form of

declarative sentence. His offer is expressed in normal intonation by

moving his hand indicating an invitation.

2. Using direct speech act, high intonation, non-verbal expression.

Datum 22 / ABL / Off Princess Atta : Flik, I owe you an apology. Flik : For what? Princess Atta : Well, I haven’t been that nice to you and I’m sorry,

if there’s any way I can make up to – hey I know, how would you like to be the queen’s official advisor to the warrior bugs?

Flik : me? Princess Atta : Oh, sure. You’ve got great report especially after

that rescue. You are very brave. Flik : Really? Naw, naw. Princess Atta : Not everyone faces of bird, I mean even Hopper’s


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From the datum above, it shows that the offer speech act uttered by

Princess Atta is explicitly in the form of direct speech act. She uses the

interrogative sentence to express her offer. Her offer is uttered in high

intonation with an eyes gaze showing her seriousness.

B.4. Why the Commissive Speech Acts are Exploited in the Movie “A Bug’s

Life”.

In the previous analysis, the analysis were focused on the analysis of the

commissive speech acts in the form of the types, the functions of each type in

communication between the characters (the speaker and hearer), and the ways

of those speech acts are performed. In this part, the research is focused in why

commissive speech acts are exploited in the movie.

Based on the previous analysis, it shows that each speech acts are

performed in different ways and functions. It depends on the speaker’s purposes

and the context of situation. In this movie, the dialogue / the utterances

performed by the characters have been formated based on the story which is

lifted. It can be concluded that the speech acts used in this movie are influenced

by the theme of the movie. It must have been impossible if the characters create

their own speech acts. Their speech acts are determined by the theme

established through the context of situation.

Looking at the theme of this movie, there are some points which can be

lifted as the major theme and subthemes. They are promise, responsibility,

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oppression, and struggle. Promise becomes the major theme because the point

of this movie is about promise, a promise to provide the food the grasshopper to

get safety, a promise to find the warrior bugs to save the ant colony, etc. The

subthemes responsibility, opression, strugle are built based on the major theme

that shape some point caught in the movie. Those subthemes indirectly draw the

answer why the commissive speech acts are exploited in the film “A Bug’s

Life”. The six types of commissive found in the movie indicate their

relationship with the theme. It can be seen through the scheme below:

The scheme above explains that the major theme builds some subthemes

that create the context of situation to shape the six types of commissive speech

acts. Below some analysis to prove that the theme of the movie influences the

speech acts taken from the data:

Datum 08 / ABL / Vol

Sub theme: oppression

Sub theme: struggle

Promise

Volunteer

Sub theme: responsibility

Guarantee

Offer

Threat

Refusal

Promise

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Flik : Your Highness, don’t you see? We could send someone to get help.

Princess Atta : Leave the island? Queen : Why didn’t I think of that? Oh! Because it’s suicide! Thorny : She’s right! We never leave the island. Cornelius : Never leave. Thorny : There’s snakes and birds and bigger bugs out there! Flik : Exactly! Bigger bugs! We could find bigger bugs to come

here and fight and forever rid us of Hopper and his gang! Mr. Soil : Ludicrous! Dr. Flora : Who would do a crazy thing like that? Flik : I’ll volunteer. I’d very happy to volunteer. Queen : (laugh) you got a lot of spunk, kid, but no one’s gonna help a

bunch of ants.

The datum above shows that the type of commissive is volunteer, the

function of that speech act is to repair the relationship with the hearer and to

show the loyalty, while the way to perform that speech act is by direct speech

act with explicit performative and non-verbally expressed in high intonation.

The reason why that speech act appears in the movie can be seen throug the plot

of the story. At the beginning of the story, the ants are picking the food for the

grasshopper. Flik, the main character, accidentally knocks the pile of food into a

stream just before the grasshoppers arrive. The leader of the grasshoppers,

Hopper, gives the ants the rest of the season to make good on what they owe,

but orders a double ration of food after Flik stands up to him in defense of the

Queen’s youngest daughter Dot. Flik is admonished by the colony’s royal

council. Flik think that one way to be free from the grasshoppers is by finding

the warrior bugs who can fight against the grasshoppers. Flik realizes that his

fault causing the ants have to provide double food for the grasshoppers should

be redeemed. Therefore, he volunteers himself to find the warrior bugs. The sub

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theme responsibility has shaped a context of situation in which the speaker

should perform a volunteer speech act.

Datum 09 / ABL / Pr


Flik : Really? Princess Atta : Really Flik : Oh, thank you Princess. Thank you so much for the chance. I

won’t let you down. I promise, I promise, I promise. Princess Atta : That’s fine. No, forget it, forget it.

Datum 9 is still related to the datum 8 because it is the continuity of the

previous plot. In datum 8 and datum 9, the participants and the context of

situation are the same. Therefore, the promise speech act here is also influenced

by the sub theme responsibility shaping the context of situation to make the

speaker to perform that speech act.





Datum 7 shows that the type of the commissive is threat. Based on the

previous analysis, the functions of that speech act are to intimidate the hearers

and to show the higher status and power of the speaker. The answer why threat

speech act is appeared in the movie can also be seen through the story. The sub

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theme of this movie is oppression. This movie stories that an ant colony will be

protected by the grasshoppers if the provide the food every season.

Unfortunately, in a season, the ants cannot provide the food because of an ant

named Flik. Then, Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, is very angry and he

commands the ants to provide the double food for the next season. In this case,

the situation built by the theme is about oppression. Related to the context of

situation, the threat speech act is performed as the result of that situation.




Hopper : Listen! If you don’t keep your end of the bargain then I can’t guarantee your safety. And there are insects out there, they will take advantage of you. Someone could get hurt.

Datum 6 shows that the type of commissive is refusal. Based on the

previous analysis, the function of this speech act is to express the dislike while

the way to perform that speech act is in high intonation in implicit statement.

Looking at the context of situation, it shows that that refusal is a form of the

response to a command. The ants are forced to the double food for the

grasshoppers, the queen as the leader of the ant colony performs her refusal. Her

speech act is a form of her struggle to the opression. It can be said that the

situation built by the subtheme stuggle has shaped a refusal speech act.

However, not all the types of commissives found in this movie are

because of the theme and subthemes of the movie. Some of the speech acts of

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commissives in this movie are also built as form of the development of the

story. It can be seen from some data below:

Datum 29 -30 / ABL / Off - Ref


The datum 29 above shows that the offer speech act performed by the

speaker, PT Flea, as the development of the story. That speech act is a form of

the development of the dialogue to make the story. The datum 30 is also a form

of development of the story. The refusal speech act performed by Flik as the

response to PT Flea.

Why a speech act is exploited by the speaker, it is because of the context

of situation covering the speaker and the hearer. In the movie A Bug’s Life, the

context of situation is shaped based on the theme and sub themes, thus what is

expressed by the speaker is established based on the story.

Chapter IV

Documents

Transcript of Chapter IV