THE PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC FAITH IN PAULO COELHO'S THE ALCHEMIST AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters FAJAR KURNIAWAN 044214084 ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010 THE PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC FAITH IN PAULO COELHO'S THE ALCHEMIST AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters FAJAR KURNIAWAN 044214084 ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010 i ii iii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY I honestly declared that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should. Yogyakarta, September 21, 2010 The Writer Fajar Kurniawan NIM : 044214084 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my deepest gratitude to Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. for her guidance and understanding, M. Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S. for reviewing this thesis, and to Eferlin The for giving me valuable input to my English writing. I am also privileged to have some criticism from Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum. on this thesis. My appreciation also goes to all lectures and staffs of English Letters Department for their support from the very beginning. Finally, thanks to all my friends, English Letters students of 2004 for their friendship. Fajar Kurniawan v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE i APPROVAL PAGE ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE iii HALAMAN PERNYATAAN iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi ABSTRACT viii ABSTRAK ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 A. Background of the Study 1 B. Problem Formulation 3 C. Objectives of the Study 3 D. Definition of Terms 4 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL REVIEW 5 A. Review of Related Studies 5 B. Review of Related Theories 7 1. Theory of Plot 7 2. View of Islam 9 C. Theoretical Framework 11 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 13 A. Object of the Study 13 B. Approach of the Study 13 C. Method of the Study 14 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS 15 A. The Plot in The Alchemist 15 1. Exposition 15 2. Complication 18 3. Climax 22 4. Denouement 25 vi B. The Principles of Islamic Faith in The Alchemist Seen through the Plot of the Story 28 1. Faith in the unity of God 29 2. Faith in the angels 32 3. Faith in the prophets 36 4. Faith in the destiny 39 5. Faith in the revelations 42 6. Faith in the hereafter 45 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 49 BIBLIOGRAPHY vii ABSTRACT FAJAR KURNIAWAN. The Principles of Islamic Faith in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a novel which tells the story of Santiago, a simple shepherd boy from the Spanish countryside of Andalusia who decides to leave his land for a journey of accomplishing his destiny – to find precious treasure hidden near the Egyptian Pyramids. During his journey to reach his destination, Santiago undergoes numerous adventures and dangers until he is finally successful to find his treasure. The factor of faith or believing has a great contribution to the accomplishment of Santiago's destiny. The story of Santiago teaches the readers about the importance of faith. In fact, faith is the fundamental of all religions. And this study is conducted specifically to reveal religious teachings from The Alchemist, particularly about the principles of Islamic faith. There are two problems in this study. The first problem is to analyze the plot of the story. And the second problem is to find out the principles of Islamic faith in the novel through the plot of the story. To analyze or answer the existing problems, this study uses the method of library research. Several informations and data are collected through library research in order to support the analysis. One of the most important data is the article about six pillars of faith which describes comprehensively the major principles of Islamic faith. And since this study is intended to reveal the teachings and positive values contained in a literary work, the moral- philosophical approach is considered appropriate to be applied. In the analysis of plot which is divided into four sections (exposition, complication, climax, and denouement), it can be seen that the ideas of faith are clearly visible in the plot of the story. And in the next analysis, the definition of each principle of Islamic faith is described in detail. It can also be seen that each principle of the Islamic faith is represented or portrayed through plot of the story. viii ABSTRAK FAJAR KURNIAWAN. The Principles of Islamic Faith in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2010. The Alchemist karya Paulo Coelho adalah novel yang bercerita tentang Santiago, seorang pemuda gembala sederhana dari daerah pedalaman Andalusia di Spanyol yang memutuskan untuk meninggalkan negerinya demi berkelana mewujudkan takdirnya – yaitu untuk menemukan harta karun terpendam yang tersembunyi di dekat Piramida Mesir. Dalam perjalanannya menuju tujuannya, Santiago melewati banyak petualangan dan bahaya hingga akhirnya dia berhasil menemukan harta karun yang dicarinya. Faktor iman atau kepercayaan sangatlah berperan dalam pemenuhan takdir Santiago. Kisah Santiago mengajarkan pembaca tentang betapa pentingnya iman. Sesungguhnya iman adalah dasar dari semua agama. Dan studi ini secara khusus ditujukan untuk mengungkapkan ajaran-ajaran religius dari The Alchemist, khususnya tentang prinsip-prinsip iman Islam. Studi ini memuat dua permasalahan. Permasalahan pertama adalah untuk menganalisa plot cerita. Dan permasalahan kedua adalah untuk menemukan prinsip-prinsip iman Islam di dalam novel melalui plot cerita. Untuk menganalisa atau menjawab permasalahan-permasalahan yang ada, studi ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Beberapa teori dan data penting dikumpulkan melalui studi pustaka untuk mendukung analisis. Salah satu data terpenting adalah artikel tentang enam pilar iman yang menjelaskan secara komprehensif prinsip-prinsip utama iman Islam. Dan karena studi ini dimaksudkan untuk mengungkapkan ajaran dan nilai-nilai positif yang terkandung di dalam sebuah karya sastra, maka pendekatan moral-filsafat dirasakan tepat untuk diterapkan. Dalam analisis plot yang dibagi ke dalam empat bagian (awal, komplikasi, klimaks, dan akhir), dapat dilihat bahwa ide-ide mengenai iman sangat tampak di dalam plot cerita. Kemudian dalam analisis berikutnya, definisi dari masing-masing prinsip iman Islam terjabarkan secara detil. Dapat dilihat juga bahwa setiap prinsip iman Islam itu terwakili atau tergambarkan melalui plot cerita. ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study The Alchemist is a novel written by Paulo Coelho. It is first published in 1988. The novel has been known not only in Coelho's homeland, Brazil, but also throughout the world. The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago, a simple shepherd boy from the Spanish countryside of Andalusia who decides to travel across African desert for finding precious treasure hidden near the Egyptian Pyramids. Paulo Coelho himself is the all-time bestselling Portuguese language author. He has sold more than 100 million books in over 150 countries worldwide, and his works have been translated into 66 languages. Some of his works focus on love and the journeys of life. The Alchemist is probably the most famous work of Paulo Coelho. The Alchemist has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries. The Alchemist is appreciated by some critics as a novel that can provide a sense of hope for the readers. Mark Machaalani, the founder of Accomplish-Life, states on his website accomplishlife.com: The Alchemist is like a simple, motivational, yet exciting novel that bursts with optimism; it is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. The main message I guess that is transmitted to readers is that “when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true” (2005). 1 The Alchemist is however not merely a motivational novel, but it contains religious values. The Alchemist brings the most fundamental principle of many religions about faith in the unity of God, that he is universal, eternal, all-knowing, all-seeing, and compassionate. This principle implies rejection of any other gods, except God himself. The Quran defines God as the one and only, he is indivisible, he does not beget, and he has no equal (Quran, 112:1-4). During his journey to reach the Egyptian Pyramids, Santiago undergoes numerous difficulties and dangers. But fortunately he encounters people who teach him to always have faith in God and the destiny. These people encourage Santiago to finish his journey in its accomplishment, and not to worry because everything has been written by the same hand. It means that God has already prepared answers to all of life's problems. By following the omens and signs given by God, Santiago is successful to find his treasure at the end of the story. “... God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you” (30). “Allah created the armies, and he also created the hawks. Allah taught me the language of the birds. Everything has been written by the same hand,” the boy said... (116). He thought of the many roads he had traveled, and of the strange way God had chosen to show him his treasure... “... But the path was written in the omens, and there was no way I could get wrong,” he said to himself (175). Islam is a religion which gives great importance on faith. It is said that people can receive perfect guidance to reach their destinations if they have real faith.