the principles of islamic faith in paulo coelho's the alchemist

64 Pages·2010·0.66 MB·English

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
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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
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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

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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
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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

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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.

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