HUMAN-NATURE INTERDEPENDENCE IN SCOTT O DELL S ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS

Transcription

1 i HUMAN-NATURE INTERDEPENDENCE IN SCOTT O DELL S ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of the Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Literature Devi Arlianis NIM ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY 2016

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5 MOTTOS A good thing made by a good heart. There is no expert without being a novice. Fainna ma al usri yusron, Inna ma al usri yusron, So verily, with the hardship, there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there will be relief. Sesungguhnya setelah kesulitan ada kemudahan, setelah kesulitan ada kemudahan (Al Insyirah: 5-6). v

6 DEDICATIONS I dedicate this thesis to: Ummi Sri Pujiati, Papa Naudin, Abi Achmad Zarqoni, Tifa, Zulfa and Shevira. vi

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After finishing this research, I would like to express my gratitude for those who helped me in accomplishing this research and gave the aid in my personal life. My greatest gratitude will be for: 1. My Alloh SWT, the Most Merciful and the Most Almighty God around the World. All the praise be on to the creator of the Universe. Alhamdullillahirobbil A llamin. His guidance is always on me even though I have been in astray and always gives me the chances to go far better; 2. My Shalawat and Salam to the Prophet Muhammad SAW who give me the way to do his Sunnah, to strengthen me when I am weak, give the guidance of the Qur an to close to the Merciful God Alloh SWT; 3. Dr. Widyastuti Purbani, M.A. as my first supervisor and Ms. Nandy Intan Kurnia, M. Hum. as my second supervisor who have taught me everything related to this thesis and lectures in college. They have patiently guided me to work on this research. Their motivation and supports encourage me to finish this incredible study. I thank them more and more; 4. All lecturers in English Language and Literature Study Program who taught me during my study; 5. My beloved parents, Ummi Sri Pujiati, Papa Ipung, Abi Ahmad Zarqoni, Ibu Hajjah Partini, Bapak Hj.Slamet Widodo, Mbak Khaniatusa diyah and family, Budhe Nunuk and Pakdhe, who have delivered their support until I vii

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9 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title... Approval sheet... Ratification sheet... Pernyataan... Motto... Dedications... Acknowledgements... Table of Contents... List of Tables and Figures... Abstract... i ii iii iv v vi vii ix xii xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION... 1 A. Backgroundof the Research... 1 B. Research Focus... 4 C. Research Questions... 5 D. Research Objectives... 5 E. Research Significances... 5 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW... 6 A. Eco-Criticsm Definition History and Its Emergence The Interdependence between Nature and Human in Eco-Criticism... 9 ix

10 4. Concepts in Eco-Criticsm B. Literature and Its Elements Character and Characterization Points of View C. PreviousResearch Findings D. Conceptual Framework CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD A. The Research Design B. Data and the Source of the Data C. The Research Instruments D. The Data Collecting Technique E. Methods of Data Analysis F. Analitical Construct G. The Trustworthiness of the Data CHAPTER IV THE RESEARCHFINDING AND DISCUSSION A. Research Findings The Natural Problems Faced by Karana a. Animal Threat b. Natural Disaster c. Scarcity d. Bad Weather The Interdependences Between Nature and Human a. Human Needs Nature ) Needing Foods )Needing Shelter and Protection ) Needing Natural Materials to Make Life Necessities x

11 b. Nature Needs Human ) Needing Human to Recover From Life-Threatening Conditions ) Needing Human s Awareness Toward Natural Existence and Its Preservation B. Discussion CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX I APPENDIX II PERNYATAAN TRIANGULASI PERNYATAAN TRIANGULASI xi

12 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure1 :The Scheme of Theoretical Framework Table 1 Table 2 : The Natural Problems That Are Faced by Karana in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins :The InterdependenceBetween Human and Nature in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins Table 3 :Analytical Construct xii

13 HUMAN-NATURE INTERDEPENDENCE IN SCOTT O DELL S ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS By: Devi Arlianis NIM ABSTRACT This research aims to show the natural problems faced by Karana and interdependence between human and nature in Scott O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphin. This research applies ecocriticm theories proposed by Cheryll Glotfelty and Greg Garrard. This thesis is a descriptive qualitative study. The subject of this research is the novel from Scott O Dell entitled Island of the Blue Dolphins. The data which is collected are from the sentences and the paragraphs related to the natural problems faced by Karana a girl and the main character who lives alone in Island of the Blue Dolphins and the issue about interdependences between nature and human beings. The instruments of this research were the researcher herself as the primary instrument and two tables as the secondary one which is beneficial to aid in constructing the analysis. To obtain the validity or trustworthiness, the researcher used triangulation methods. The findings of the research show that natural problems faced by Karana and the interdependence between nature and human exist. First, the researcher found four kinds of natural problems faced by Karana, namely animal threat, natural disaster, scarcity and bad weather. Second, the researcher found the interdependence between human and nature broken down into two categories: human needs nature and nature needs human. Human needs nature existing in three ways, namely needing food, needing shelter and protection, needing natural materials to make life necessities. Meanwhile, nature needs human depicted in two means, namely needing human to recover from life-threatening conditions and needing human s awarenes toward nature existence and its preservation. Keywords: natural problems, human-nature interdependence, ecocriticism xiii

14 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Nature has been an issue over the past few years. It really becomes crucial especially when several disasters happen, for example floods and storms. Unfortunately, most disaster cases are only treated if they have ruined or failed infrastructures. The numbers of curative cases were more than preventive ones. Needless to say, the amount of ruined infrastructure has become destroyed; not only because of natural disasters like earthquake, but also because of the less standardized materials built by people and monitored with careless maintenance by the novice. Meanwhile, rivers have been the place to throw away the waste; and when the rainy season comes, houses are flooded. Although some of the children like the flood and they can play with the water; leptospirosis, pest, asthma, fever and breathe infections threat them. Some people also do illegal logging, fire the forest and fish using a bomb. They are not aware that their actions will destroy the earth. The balance of nature in today s era has become worse; the community has felt the impact of global warming that is the imbalance of the seasons and the increasing amount of hot weather in the rainy weather or the sunny season that happens in the rainy season. The usage of Freon or CFC (Chloro Fluoro Carbons) impacts the ice on the Arctic and Antartica poles which 1

15 2 contribute to the flood in the nearby countries. Moreover, it also threatens the sinking of the islands if the global warming stands still. Air conditioners, perfume bottles, and refrigerators are increasing in number; they are contributing to GHG or greenhouse gases. It is just like the UV A and UV B which are trapped in the glass house. It is hazardous for the nature, that is the issue of global warming. The bad gases can enter, but it cannot go out. The depiction is when the frog under the glasses can accept the X- rays but it cannot go out. Meanwhile, taken from The Emergence of Environmental Criticism, human beings can only nurture, the natural disaster can come along in several seconds to destroy the earth. The earthquake in Aceh in 2004, the Lapindo in Porong, the activity of mining industry in Kalimantan and Papua are the examples. They are some destructions in Indonesia, they will make the nature becomes imbalance and lead to another disaster. All the loss becomes the crucial impact. The problems of environment that grow worse every year represent the need of serious discussion on it. The discussion runs in various disciplines, including in literature. For some time, literature is seen as one eye to contribute in the global warming and natural disaster s issue. Meanwhile, through the depiction in literary work such as critics in newspaper it can be one proof that literature also gives the input and the bargaining position towards another discipline that correlated to other scientia, such us geology, geography, biology, history. Meanwhile, literature can depict a community s life. It also contains values and

16 3 inspiration. People can learn something through it. Literature can motivate the readers to do better things in their lives and also sharpen their emotion and increase their knowledge. Many literary authors concern about the ecological themes. One of the authors that has been successful in delivering ecological themes in his work is Scott O Dell. He expresses his love and concern towards the nature through his novel entitled Island of the Blue Dolphins. In Island of the Blue Dolphins, O Dell discusses the interdependence between human beings and nature and the wilderness in Ghalas-At tribes, one of native American. This story focuses on the life of Indian tribe. One day, white hunters from Russian arrive and want to get approval from Indian tribe for hunting otters and another biodiversity from the sea that can be changed with goods. Finally, it comes into a battle between the two. Two siblings are left in the island when all the inhabitants leave it. They are Karana and her brother, Ramo. Eventually, Ramo dies because of wild dogs attack. Thus, Karana lives alone. She makes a canoe, a reservation for otters, birds, and taming the wild dogs. It shows Karana s love to nurture the nature and inverse, nature also gives its protection through the cave land, the cave for dwelling. The novel portrays human s sensitivity toward their environment, and in the same time it also shows the interdependence between nature and human being. It is clearly seen from the novel that every single thing that the human do will give effect to the other creatures. Therefore, this novel can be used as a medium to deliver ecological consciousness. It can be an effective way to drag people s

17 4 attention to the environmental issue. By understanding the environmental issue, people will start to learn how to use the nature without destroying it. Therefore, it is necessary to develop people s consciousness to love their nature through literature. B. Research Focus Island of the Blue Dolphins is a teenager novel written by Scott O Dell. It tells about the Indian tribes which advocate its nature and its biodiversity (such as otter, sea gull, etc) towards the White hunters and Aleut. The problem comes since there is no approval toward the amount of the biodiversity that will be taken. It will be sold by the hunters in their area. Yet, the chief of Ghalas-at refused it. The problems arise and begin more serious when Karana, the main character in the novel jumped back to the Island of the Blue Dolphins to save his brother, Ramo who left behind. Several days, Ramo was dead and Karana leaves alone with the biodiversity like otter, bird and wild dog. There are some issues emerged in this novel which are interesting to analyze deeper, such as interdependence of human being towards nature, interdependence of nature towards human being and the natural problems that are faced by Karana in the Island of the Blue Dolphins.

18 5 C. Research Questions The study is expected to answer the following questions: 1. What are the natural problems that Karana faces in O Dell s Island of Blue Dolphins? 2. How are interdependence between nature and human being shown in Island of the Blue Dolphins? D. Research Objectives This research is aimed: 1. to show the natural problems that Karana faces in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins, 2. to show the interdependence between nature and human beings in Islands of the Blue Dolphins. E. Research Significances This research is aimed to be beneficial for the students for some reasons. 1. The students of English Literature Study Program can enhance the findings or data from the Island of the Blue Dolphins, 2. The environmental communities who are caring to be more aware towards their environments.

19 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A. Eco-Criticism 1. Definition Eco-critism stated by Glotfelty (1996: xviii) is the study of relationship between literature and physical environment. It means that this criticism examines literature using the environment-centered point of view. In other words, this criticism examines the literature from the angle of discipline field of the study, ecology or another greening study like Biology. Garrard (2004:6) emphasizes Glotfelty s statement by saying that the ecocriticism can bring the environmental problems into media and humans culture. Garrard s statement means that the ecocriticism can help in defining, exploring and resolving the environmental issues into a wider area with wider perspectives. Furthermore, the world has been damaged by human actions and behaviors instead of by its own. One of the examples is the flood issue. Flood happens because humans throw away the garbage in the river, they build houses in inappropriate areas, do illegal logging and so on. In other words, humans are the core of environmental problems. Thus, humans should do actions to solve the environmental problems instead of become the problems. That is why the ecocriticism is needed and essential in humans life. As Worster (In Glotfelty, 1996: xxi) said that Historians, along with literary scholars, anthropologist, and philosophers, cannot do the reforming, of course, but they can help with 6

20 7 understanding. Therefore, even if it cannot repair the environment condition, it can give understanding and awareness to the society, especially to the reader. Therefore, there will be literary works containing greening issues. 2. The History of Ecocriticism and Its Emergence The appearance of ecosystem has been laid down in the earth from the Ice Age to the Stone Age. However, the problem of ecosystem seems growing bigger and wider from time to time. The massive killing of the whales and otters done by the hunters for their furs and fleshes were hunted in an exaggerate manner. Perhaps, if the action is done continuously, the next generation will only know those kinds of animals through the fairy tales or told as a lullaby. Moreover, similar issues become the headline news such as global warming, oil spills, nuclear waste dumps, destructions of the tropical forest rain, acid rain and so on (Glotfelty, 1996: xvi). In order to respond to those issues, other disciplines in the field of humanities like law, history and religion began to form greening movement in 1970s. By seeing the urgency of solving those issues and the importance of forming greening movement, literary studies started to broaden its wing to give awareness to the people about what happen in the world outside. In fact, there is no exact emergence knowing about eco-criticism which the main agenda is earth-centered things or nature. However, based on Barry (1995, 2002), eco-criticism as a concept arose for the first time in late 1970s, at meetings of WLA (The Western Literature Association, a body whose field of interest is the literature of the American West).

21 8 Meanwhile, Glotfelty (1996: xviii) believed that emergence of eco-criticism was in the early of In 1990, the environmental literary studies which are mostly accepted, emerged. In foreign countries, many English Department begins to apply Environmental studies as their course. One of the examples is University of Nevada, Reno. Coupe (2011: 413) in Journal of American Studies stated that Burke as the first critic who analyzes culture and literature from the ecological perspective. Those facts were regarded that eco-criticism emerged in U.S.A. Moreover, this was no passing phase for him; his whole career may be understood as a philosophical experiment in the green thinking. In addition, Rueckert (in Glotfelty, 1997:107) stated that first law of ecology is everything connected to everything else. The researcher s goal is along with Rueckert s opinion since the ecology, ecosystem or eco-criticism are interdisciplinary and interconnected. It has relation towards other scientia such as biology, geography, history, philosophy, ethnography. In conclusion, eco-criticism is formed as a tool or a criticism which examines the discipline of Ecology and ecosystem; where ecosystem contains the biodiversity of every living creature from bacteria to blue whale or blue dolphin and ecology is the discipline of the study. The good news is that though the ecocriticism is a new criticism, its existence is more recognized now. It is proven by University of Nevada, Reno, U.S.A which applied the study of literature and environment in its curricula. It means that eco criticism is more acceptable now. 3. The Interdependence between Nature and Human in Eco-Criticism

22 9 A fine guide to natural history, Face of North America : The Natural History of a Continent (New York : Harper and Row, 1963) describes about the diversity of landscape, from coast to dessert and how they are shaped by land-water, plantanimal processes (Howarth in Glofelty: 82). The ecocriticism is worthy because the coastal or sea and another landscape such as the forests are taken into consideration to be well maintained by human beings. In this case, there is interdependence toward human beings and a nature that cannot be separated. Furthermore, human beings are given the order from the God to maintain and to be aware of the nature. In conclusion, there is a chemical bounding between both of the parties. Moreover, the ecocriticsm can cover many aspects and disciplines of studies in the world. It can be proven by Glotfelty s statement. She (1996 : xvi) states that many disciplines like history, philosophy, law, sociology and religion have been used the perspective of ecocriticism. It depicts that ecocriticism is able to cover deeper and broader areas. These different humanities disciplines are united with same mission to give environmental awareness to the human. In addition, it shows that the nature should be considered in many different aspects in human life. In sum, the ecocriticism is chosen as its name rather than other names because eco- in the word ecocriticism has broader meanings and area. It refers that ecocriticism implies interdependent communities, integrated system and strong connections among constituent parts (Glotfelty, 1996:xx) It means that the study includes the human and its connection with environment rather than only discussing about environment alone.

23 10 4. Concepts in Eco-Criticism There are several concepts which Garrard (2004) proposed but the researcher chooses two of them which are in line with the purposes of this research. Both of the concepts are explained further in the following. a. Animal The existence of animals has a strong relation with humans. The animals may become human s threat, friend or prey. Baker (in Garrard, 2004: 141) states that culture shapes our reading of animals just as much as animals shape our reading of culture. From this statement, it can be concluded that animals can be shaped differently depending on human culture. Animals for several countries are the sources of food which people can hunt for their flesh and skin. However, in other countries like India and Sri Lanka, animals like snake, elephant and cow become the holy things which are prohibited to kill. b. The Wilderness Garrard (2004: 59) stated that the Wilderness has an almost sacramental value; it holds outs the promise of a renewed, authentic relation of humanity and the earth, a post-christian covenant, found in a space of purity, founded in an attitude of reverence a humility. This quotation refers to the way wilderness portray the direct relation between human and nature. The wilderness can be an avenue to show that nature and human are interdependent one to another. In addition, human holds a strong belief to the power of the nature somelike animism and dynamism. At that time, the human are still in the form of primitive dweller. They tend to praise the

24 11 big trees or bush and believe in god and godesses. It means that the wilderness may become an essential aspect in eco-criticism to portray the way humans and natural resources are interacted one to another. B. Literature and Its Elements 1. Character and Characterizations Characters are the most prominent things in making the story alive. Like Stewig (1980:369) states that the all authors concern is character. It happens as the characters are the first things which the readers recognize and remember. In other word, without characters, the story is like a dish without recipe. Moreover, Luckens (1999: 86-88) divide characters into two types namely round and flat. Luckens (1999: 86) states that flat characters are quickly made known to reader. These flat characters are not fully developed and their roles are to help carry the story. Meanwhile, the round characters (Luckens, 1999: 88) mean that they are fully developed. They have multi dimensions which make the characters own positive aspects and flaws at the same time. This character is known as three dimensional one. Luckens (1999:81-82) explained further that the characters can be analyzed by five aspects namely by actions, by speech, by appearance, by other s comments and by author s comments. 2. Points of View According to Roberts (2003: 81), points of view refer to a work s mode of narration, language, audience and perceptions of events and character. One may

25 12 grant, however, that the position from which people and understand things( e.g., established positions of political party, religion, social philosophy, and morality) has a most definite bearing on how they think and therefore on their opinions and beliefs( Roberts,2003: 81). The point of view used in the story can determine the position from which the readers are able to see and understand. It happens as point of view is able to shape reader s opinion and perception toward the story. Thus, the use of different point of view can shape different opinion and story. C. Previous Research Findings The researcher finds there are two previous studies that have several similarities compared to this research which is under the title: Human Nature Interdependence in Scott O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins. The first previous study is Tatiek Apriati s Analysis of Human Nature Relationship in Children s Book Julie. The second one is entitled Karana s Struggles for Survival in Scott O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins by Wiwiek Widiastuti (2012) which uses the feminism theory. She examines the aspects of woman bravery (Karana, the teenage girl from the Indian tribe) and great efforts to live in the wilderness of the nature. There are two reasons why this research is different from those previous studies. The first one is that this reseach tries to analyze the natural problems which other previous studies do not. Tatik Apriati focuses on how human and nature is interelated meanwhile Wiwiek Widiastuti focuses on how a young girl struggles in living alone in the island. The second one is that this research applies different novel

26 13 compared to Apriati s research and different perspective compared to Widiastuti s research. D. Conceptual Framework Island of the Blue Dolphins is a teenager novel written by Scott O Dell. It tells about Karana who lives with her tribes in Island of the Blue Dolphins. One day, the Russian and Alleut ships came to ask for the renewable resources like otter, shellfish, and another fish. There is an approval that the share must be 50 : 50, but the Russian and Alleut betrayed it. Many otter and another shellfish are taken by the White hunter and Alleut. It is clearly seen that the novel depicts the relationship between human and nature, especially between the human and ecosystem of the sea and its biodiversity. This novel gives a portrayal of nature in Ghalas-at tribe or Island of the Blue Dolphins to make a better understanding about keeping and greening the earth. The eco-criticism is applied in this research. The theoretical framework of this research can be seen in Figure 1 below.

27 14 Scott O Dell s Islands of the Blue Dolphin Eco-Criticism Literary Elements Animals Wilderness Characters and Characterization Points of View Objective 1: Objective 2: to show the natural problems that Karana faces in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins, to show the interdependence between nature and human beings in Islands of the Blue Dolphins Figure 1: The scheme of theoretical framework

28 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD As what has been mentioned in the first chapter, this research has two objectives, namely to show the natural problems of nature that Karana faces in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins and the interdependence between nature and human beings in the novel. The researcher divided this chapter into several parts, they are, the research design, data and the source of the data, the research instruments, the data collecting technique, methods of data analysis, analytical construct and trustworthiness of the data. A. The Research Design According to Vanderstoep and Johnston (2009: 7), qualitative research is a research which produces narrative or textual descriptions of the phenomena under study. It means that the phenomena which can be classified as narrative or text are analyzed using the qualitative research. As this research used words, phrase, sentences and paragraphs in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins as the data, this research applied the qualitative approach. In other words, this research was a descriptive qualitative study based on the phenomena. In addition, the data or phenomena in this research were explained further in the narrative and descriptive way. 15

29 16 B. Data and the Source of the Data The main source of the data was Scott O Dells Island of the Blue Dolphins which is one of teenage novels. This novel was written in 1960 based on the true research of an Indian girl in Ghalas-at tribes, the primitive dwellers along the seashore of the Island of the Blue Dolphins. This island was named Blue Dolphins since its shape was similar to the Blue Dolphins. The story was predicted occurred in 2000 B.C and found by white men in Meanwhile, all the words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs related to the interdependence between nature and human beings and nature problems, that is faced by the most prominent figure in Island of the Blue Dolphins a girl named Karana-- who finally could not speak since there was no one to talk to. Furthermore, the researcher also used other secondary sources such as books and articles from journals to support her research. In order to scrutiny the meaning related to human being interdependence toward nature and in turn, the researcher used eco-criticism study, especially by Glotfelty and Garrard s theories, such as: ecology, wilderness, biology, geography, ethnography, history and so on. The studies are mingled and cannot stand alone. It is correlated to each other. Thus, the researcher read several articles or book as she states before, such as Garrard s Eco- Criticism and The Ecocriticism Reader Landmarks in Literary Ecology edited by Cheryll Glotfelty and Harrold Fromm.

30 17 C. The Research Instrument As stated by Vanderstoep and Johnston (2009: 211), the researcher s interpretation is, therefore, only one of many possible valid interpretations of a given text. It means that the best instrument for a qualitative research is the human or in a precise way is the researcher herself. It was expected to attain the deep analysis of the research. The primary instrument of this research is the researcher herself who used her capacity to interpret and analyze the data. The researcher interpreted and analyzed the data related to the interdependence toward nature and human being as presented in the story according to the researcher s knowledge that was supported by the eco-criticism theory. The second instruments were the data tables. In this research, the researcher used two tables which are essential to categorize the data. The first table, Table 1, is essential to collect the data related to the natural problems faced by Karana in Island of the Blue Dolphins. Then, the second table, Table 2, was used to collect the data related to the interdependence between nature and human beings which is revealed in the novel. Both of these tables can be seen in the following. Table 1. The natural problems that are faced by Karana in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins No Page Category Quotation Animal Threat I would soon kill the wild dogs, but there were many small red foxes on the island. They were so numerous that I could never

31 18 No Page Category Quotation hope to get rid of them either by traps or with arrows. They were clever thieves and nothing I stored would be safe until I had built a fence. Table 2. The interdependence between nature and human being shown in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins No Page Category Quotation Needing Food The spring was not far off and I rested there, though I was very thirsty, cutting a lobe from a cactus bush to chew on. D. The Data Collecting Technique In collecting the data, the researcher made some steps. First, the researcher read the novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins carefully and thoroughly to attain a better understanding. Then, the researcher collected the data related to the topic of interdependences between nature and human being shown in Island of the Blue Dolphins, and natural problems that are faced by Karana in Island of the Blue Dolphins by making some notes in the form of sentences, and paragraphs.

32 19 E. Methods of Data Analysis The steps of the data analysis were explained as the following: 1. The researcher made some notes in the form of words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs related to the objectives of the research: natural problems faced by Karana in Island of the Blue Dolphins, interdependence between nature and human being shown in Island of the Blue Dolphins, and the wilderness that occurs in Island of the Blue Dolphins. 2. The researcher read and re-read the whole data and arranged them into two major categories related to the objectives of the research. 3. The researcher categorized the data in those two tables which were related to the objectives of the research. 4. The research sorted the categorized data. 5. The researcher analyzed and interpreted the relevant data based on the novel. 6. The last but not the least, the researcher applied the measure of trustworthiness of the relevant data by peer debriefing/ triangulation. F. Analytical Construct In order to make this research easier to be understood, the researcher made a data sheet or table which was filled by category, indicator, and description. This table was named as Table 3 which can be seen below.

33 20 Table 3. Analytical Construct No. Category Description Indicators 1. Need water Human beings depend on not salty water. 2. Need food The Ghalas-at need food especially from the sea. The Ghalas-at tribe collect the rain water for survive. Sometimes they make the water from the liquid of the stems of the plants for drinking. They fish abalones, shellfish, a school of bass, otter. 3. Use Coral Coral Cove and Sea animal sometimes lay Cove and Headland function as ashore and need human help to pool the place for home in be protected from killer whale. the stormy wind or Pool was used as the hurricane preservation for otter when they are hurted by whale. G. Trustworthiness of the Data The trustworthiness of the data were conducted using four criteria. Those criteria, according to Moleong (2005: 103), are namely credibility, transferability, dependability and confirm ability. Credibility is the concept of internal validity. The researcher performed the detailed and deep observation of the data in order to make

34 21 this research credible enough. In addition, she also put the data on the theoretical concept of interdependence towards nature and human beings shown in Island of the Blue Dolphins, so that the reliability and validity of the data could be attained. In addition, she was helped by her first and second supervisors who are very kind and helpful in doing the researcher s research. Furthermore, the researcher conducts the peer debriefing, a discussion to gain the input for the criticism related to the research. Transferability is the concept of external validity. This aspect focused on how the researcher transfers the data to the readers. Conformability aims to measure how far the finding and the interpretation of the data are truly based on the data. For obtaining the degree of conformability, the researcher provided all data and asked the peer reviewers to give suggestion and opinion about the analysis.

35 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION This chapter presents two major parts, namely the research findings and the discussion. The first part is broken down into two big sections which are essential to answer the research questions: what are the natural problems that Karana faces in O Dell s Island of Blue Dolphins and how are interdependence between nature and human being shown in the novel. Meanwhile, the second part, which is the discussion, is very essential to explain the further implication of these research findings in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins. The further explanation can be found in the following. A. Research Findings 1. The Natural Problems Faced by Karana In in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins, the researcher finds various data related to natural problems faced by Karana. Natural problems are the symbol of the way nature and human beings are interdependence one to another. Moreover, the natural problems brings major influences on humans and humans take a crucial part in making and worsening natural destructions. These problems found in the novel are broken down into four categories, namely animal threat, disaster, scarcity and bad weather. These findings are explained in the following. 22

36 23 a. Animal Threat The existence of animals cannot be separated from human life. They may live in the forest, deep sea, ravine and other places. In this novel, these animals are portrayed in wilderness or the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Most of those animals are not tame. Karana, a twelve-year-old girl who lives alone in the island is presented facing natural problems which come from the animals. In fact, there are many animals found in the Island of the Blue Dolphins but there are two kinds of them which make Karana face difficulties. Those animals are wild dogs and red foxes. The existence of wild dogs can lead Karana into some problems because they try to attack her. One of the problems is presented in this quotation. I thought that it was a sound made by the wind, but when we came closer I saw dozens of wild dogs scurrying around through the huts. (O Dell, 1960: 41) These wild dogs try to steal foods like abalones and fish from humans. Their existences always become a problem for Galas-at people. In addition, when people move to another island, the dogs have limited foods. Thus, they become fierce and be able to attack human or others. It can be proven where the wild dogs are able to kill Karana s brother, Ramo. Therefore, the wild dogs become the menace for Karana who lives alone in the island. That is why she lives on the headland which is far from the bushes in order to stay away from the wild dogs. Thus, these wild dogs will find difficulties since there were cliff and ravine that were difficult to be reached by them as what is stated in the quotation below.

37 24 That night I climbed onto the rock to sleep. It was flat on top and wide enough for me to stretch out. Also it was so high from the ground that I did not need to fear the wild dogs while I was sleeping. (O Dell, 1960:50) Moreover, another animal threat comes from red foxes. These red foxes usually get their foods by stealing from the people at Galas-at. They tend to steal foods like abalone and fish. That is why these people try to either avoid or hunt them. However, as people left the island, their population grows bigger and bigger. Since, these red foxes number is so large, Karana feels that it will be difficult to kill them using spear and string. In other words, Karana is not capable in facing them and finds that these animals can lead her into many troubles. These situations are reflected in the following quotation: I would soon kill the wild dogs, but there were many small red foxes on the island. They were so numerous that I could never hope to get rid of them either by traps or with arrows. They were clever thieves and nothing I stored would be safe until I had built a fence. (O Dell. 1960: 73) The above statement means that red foxes have a nature to steal human s foods. Karana who lives alone has to be careful in keeping her foods and staying away out of trouble. She has no one who can protect her. Thus, she has to protect herself by living in a safe place and building a fence. Furthermore, she also equips herself with some weapons which she made it by her own. She learns to live in wilderness and face the animal threat with courageousness. b. Natural Disaster Disasters commonly occur in the earth. They can be volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunami, and earthquake. The disaster is also portrayed in O Dell s Island of the Blue Dolphins. In fact, it becomes another natural problem faced by Karana

38 25 in the Island of the Blue Dolphins. This natural disaster called earthquake happens in the island and leads Karana into several problems. The further explanation can be seen below. Slowly the earth began to move. It moved away from my feet and for a moment I seemed to be standing in the air. Water tipped out of the basket and trickled over my face. Then the basket fell to the ground. Not knowing what I did, thinking foolishly that another wave was upon me, I began to run. But it was a wave, a wave of earth, and it rippled under me along the cliff. (O Dell, 1960: 169) The above quotation explains that the earthquake is a kind of natural disaster which is so scary and occurs unpredicted. The quotation also explains that the earthquake is so big, makes the earth move so sudden and triggers terrible feeling. This disaster does not only make Karana scared which is proven that she tries to run away from the cave fastly, but also it makes her has to face several difficulties. It happens as the disaster makes Karana s shelter destroyed and ruined. It destructs her cave and appliances such as plates, water baskets and weapons. These difficulties can be found in the datum below. The earthquake did little damage. Even the spring, which failed to flow for `several days, started up again and flowed more than ever. But the great waves had cost me all the food and weapons which were stored in the cave, as well as the canoe I had been working on and those hidden under the south cliffs. (O Dell, 1960: 171) In the story, the earthquake as one of natural disasters brings some problems to Karana. As stated above, it leads the water in the spring cannot flow for several days since it has been blocked by an unknown reason. This spring is very essential in Karana s life since it provides her with fresh water. Thus, she has limited water to drink as it is not running well. Moreover, the great waves of the earthquake also cause some damages, especially to Karana s belongings such as her beloved

39 26 canoe, foods and weapons. Thus, she has to rebuild the canoe which needs to be done for about a year. However, in the end, Karana is able to deal with her problems, especially the one which is related to disaster. c. Scarcity Another problem which is faced by Karana in living in the island is called scarcity. The scarcity refers to the lack of water, foods and trees which make Karana faces difficulties. The first problem is the lack of water. When Karana who is living alone is sick, she has limited amount of water in her basket. Her condition does not allow her to move and get the water from the nearest spring. There is no one to help her. For five suns I could not go out because my leg had swollen so badly and I had no herbs with which to treat it. I had enough food to eat, but on the third day the water in the basket ran low. Two days later the basket was empty. It was necessary then for me to go to the spring in the ravine. (O Dell, 1960: 86) Water is a very essential aspect in human life especially Karana who needs water to drink and to do some other activities such as hunting foods and taking a bath. However, this novel is also portrayed that this essential thing can be so rare in the Island of the Blue Dolphin. Lack of water also occurs in another island called Santa Catalina. When people in the Island of the Blue Dolphin plan to move to a new island named Santa Catalina in order to avoid the bad luck and achieve a better life. In the new island, they have to face another problem. There is only amount of fresh water in this island. Thus, people cannot move there as they cannot fulfill their need for

40 27 fresh water to drink. Therefore, those people gather and try to find a better solution. In short, people cannot live without water, especially fresh water. This condition is reflected in the following quotation. For many days after that the village was quiet. People went out only to gather food and came back to eat in silence. Some wished to leave and go in their canoes to the island called Santa Catalina, which lies far off to the east, but others said that there was little water on that island. In the end a council was held and it was decided to stay at Ghalas-at. (O Dell, 1960: 25-26) The second scarcity refers to the lack of trees. The Island of the Blue Dolphins has a limited number of trees. It can happen because humans neither treat the trees well nor get interest to plant the tree in the island, especially the Aleut people. It is also worsen because they do not have any knowledge to cultivate trees and other plants. In contradictory, they tend to need trees or woods to make many things like canoe, bow, basket and many other things. Therefore, they utilize and try to find any tree that grows wildly. The situation of limited trees in the island can be found in the following datum. The bow and arrows took more time and caused me great difficulty. I had a bowstring, but wood which could be bent and yet had the proper strength was not easy to find. I searched the ravine for several days before I found it, trees being very scarce on Island of the Blue Dolphins. (O Dell, 1960: 25-26) In addition, the quotation proves that the existence of trees or woods is very important for Karana in order to make a bow and some arrows. These bows and arrows are very important to protect her from the wild dogs and red foxes which threaten Karana s lives and belongings. Sometimes, Karana also has to live with a limited amount of foods. The scarcity of foods happens because there are many obstacles which make Karana

41 28 cannot hunt neither hunt, dig nor find them. Moreover, she has to feed Rontu, her dog and Mon-a-nee, her otter with bigger amount of foods. These foods can be abalones, shellfish, roots, scarlet apples, and cactus. As she can neither cultivate nor breed them, she only can depend on the nature. In other words, she relies upon the availability of those food in the nature. The food scarcity makes her become so miserable as she needs to limit what she eats. The only thing that worried me was that all the abalones I had gathered in the summer were gone. I would need to live from day to day on what I could catch, trying to get enough on the days when I could fish to last through the times when I could not. Through the first part of the winter, before Mon-a-nee swam away, this was sometimes hard to do. Afterwards it was not so hard and Rontu and I always had enough eat. (O Dell, 1960: 150) Thus, she has to starve and struggle against her own ego. She sacrifices her own self for the lives of hers, Rontu and Mon-a-nee. She has to work harder and look for enough food for the three of them. Thus, she learns how to solve this problem day by day. d. Bad Weather Living in a small island called the Island of the Blue Dolphins means dealing with bad weather. It occurs because the island s weather is influenced by the sea. The bad weather can be in the form of stormy wind and heavy rain. This bad weather usually leads Karana into several difficulties. One of these difficulties is that Karana cannot live permanently in one place. It happens as she has to consider the unpredictable and changeable weather in the island. For example, she has to live in the cave during the winter which stormy winds usually come. She

42 29 also needs to live on the hill in the nice weather like summer. One of the bad weather conditions can be seen in the following quotation. There were few storms that winter and rain was light and ended early. This meant that we would need to be careful of water. In the old days the springs sometimes ran low and no one worried, but now everything seemed to cause alarm. Many were afraid that we would die of thirst. (O Dell, 1960: 30) The existence of storms and less rain in the winter makes the people in Galas-at worry. It happens as the spring as the water resource does not run well. It will threaten their lives as finding the drinking water can be so difficult. The bad weather makes people cannot live comfortably. They need to prepare their ownselves when the winter comes and find a solution to make the spring run well in the cold weather. Moreover, the bad weather does not only occur on the land but also on the sea. The bad weather leads the sea to have bigger waves which can hamper Karana s sailing toward the bigger land compared to the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Thus, Karana gives up and turn back to the island. This condition is reflected in the statement below. A wave passed over my head and I went down and down until I thought I would never behold the day again. The ship was far away when I rose. Only the sails showed through the spray. I was still clutching the basket that held all my things, but it was very heavy and I realized that I could not swim with it in my arms. Letting it sink, I started off toward the shore. (O Dell, 1960: 39) In addition, the bad weather in the form of harsh winds can make Karana lose her opportunity to go away from the island with some stranger men. These stranger men refer to the white people. These people are able to rescue Karana and bring her into a safe place from living alone in the island. However, Karana cannot call them and her communication with the men is interrupted because of

43 30 the harsh winds. Furthermore, she might forget her language since she has lived alone and had no one to talk to for many years in the Island of the Blue Dolphins. I raised my hand and shouted over and over, but the wind carried my voice away. I ran down the beach and waded into the water. The men did not see me. (O Dell, 1960: 175) 2. The Interdependence between Human and Nature a. Human Needs Nature 1) Needing Foods Foods are the essential things for humans to keep them alive. Nature provides these things for them. These foods can be in the form of water, fish, abalones, vegetables, fruits and so on. In other words, these foods only can be found in the nature. Thus, humans depend on nature in order to fulfill their basic needs. It cannot be denied that water is a very prominent thing in human body. It is very crucial for humans. Humans can live until seven days without food, but they will be starving to die if they did not consume water for three days. In this novel, humans needing water is presented as the following quotation. The spring was not far off and I rested there, though I was very thirsty, cutting a lobe from a cactus bush to chew on. (O Dell, 1960: 89). Karana feels so thirsty because the lack of mineral in her body. Thus, she needs water to fulfill her body s need. Then, she finds a cactus near her and she sucks the cactus to drink. It means that the water can also be taken from plants like cactus too. This water can be gotten by chewing the cactus. Thus, nature provides not only spring but also plants which can be utilized to fulfill humans needs for water. In other words, human depends on the existence of the nature.

44 31 In addition, humans which are presented through Karana need foods. These foods can be achieved from many sources in various forms. She may eat vegetables, fruits and roots. She may gather abalones and shellfish from the sea to fulfill her need for foods. This condition is reflected in this statement below. At last I gave up looking for him and began to gather abalones for winter. The red shell holds the sweetest meat and are the best for drying, though the green ones and the black are also good. Because the red ones are the sweetest, starfish prey upon them. (O Dell, 1960: 116) It is vivid that Karana cannot stand alone for fulfilling the daily needs. She needs foods from the sea such as abalones and from the lands like vegetables, fruits and roots. It also shows that the humans depend on nature. 2) Needing Shelter and Protection As Karana lives alone in wilderness, she needs shelter and protection from both animal threat and bad weather condition. Fortunately, the nature helps her in order to achieve them. The nature provides safe caves and other things which are beneficial to protect her from unwanted things. It can be proven by the below statement. While I was living there I decided that I would make the cave into another house, where I could stay should again get hurt or sick. And this I did as soon as I was strong and could walk. (O Dell, 1960: 88) Karana makes the cave like her own house which can protect her while she is sick. This cave is also beneficial to protect her from bad weather and animal treat like red foxes and wild dogs. The cave gives Karana some spaces to live on her own, to store her belongings and to lay down her body from tiredness. It can be stated