PROSE

“Analysis of Theme Element in Laskar Pelangi Novel"

Arranged by:

Annisa Nur Azizah A 121 19 063

Arifia Iftita A 121 19 1
Nadiyah Rahmah A 121 19 049
Immut Wulandari A 121 19 073

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ART
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF TADULAKO
2021
 PREFACE

Praise be to the presence of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, because it is only with all His
grace that we are finally able to finish a paper with the topic “ Analysis of Theme

Element in Laskar Pelangi Novel”, and peace be upon to our Prophet Muhammad
Shalallahu 'alaihi wassalam.

We would like to say thank you to our lecturer, Mr. Waris, S.Pd., M.Pd., who has
given us this assignment, so we got a lot of additional knowledge about analyzing a novel.

This paper was written to fulfill assignment of Prose subject. We realized that this
paper still needs a lot of improvements, so we are looking forward to the input and criticism
from the readers.

Palu, 19 December 2021

Writers

2
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE...................................................................................................................................i

TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................ii

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1
1.1.Background of the paper.....................................................................................................1
1.2.Problem formulation............................................................................................................1
1.3.Purpose…………….............................................................................................................2

CHAPTER 2 DISCUSSION......................................................................................................3

CHAPTER 3 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................13
3.1.Conclusion..........................................................................................................................13

REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................14

3
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Quality literary works are needed in the process of literary learning. Sutarji Calzom
Bahri says that a literary work is said to be of high quality when it expresses the values of life
that are meaningful, captivating, uplifting, and is expressed in narrative, poetic, or dramatic
discourse. The novel is well-written and easy to read. Implicitly communicated, not overtly
but clearly, informative without being patronizing, does not pretend to be scientific or
religious but still provides valuable input. These literary works are generally called literary
works that transcend traditional literary forms. Many writers use literature to reflect their
own times and life experiences. Literary books increased not only in number, but also in
style and nature, differences in thought, style and form. This can also be seen in the
development of literature from era to era. Each generation has a certain set of important
characteristics that are always worth listening to, in terms of both theme and storytelling
style. However, of the many, there are still several novels that try not to be tempted by that
theme and try to provide another theme that is packaged nicely so that it makes a quality and
quality reading. One of several novels, there is a novel that makes education the theme. This
novel has a fluid style, with the use of detailed viewpoints and settings that make it a good
novel worth reading. Mixed in a creative, suggestive and educational reading for the reader.
This novel is Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata.

The novel Laskar Pelangi tells of the struggle and persistence of ten Belitong Malay
children. The group of children who were later called the Laskar Pelangi children, each of
them has dreams, aspirations, and desires for the future. The novel Laskar Pelangi, which
was first published in 2005, carried social, economic, friendship and educational values, so
that it did not change is called a transformative work. The social problems expressed in the
novel Laskar Pelangi are a reality in education in Indonesia. This novel discusses the
relationship between poverty and education, how difficult it is to get an education on one of
the richest islands in Indonesia. They are still struggling and trying hard to get an education
in the midst of poverty that exists in the Belitong community. They aim to reduce poverty

4
through education. Literary works are reflections of the society of their creation. The aim of
this paper is to identify the themes of the novel are used.

1.2. Problem Formulation

Based on the background, the problem formulation is as follows: what are the themes
contained in the Lasskar Pelangi novel?
1.3. Purpose

To find out the themes contained in the novel Laskar Pelangi.

CHAPTER 2

DISCUSSION

2.1. Novel

The novel is a genre of fiction, and fiction may be defined as the art or craft of
contriving, through the written word, representations of human life that instruct or divert or
both. The various forms that fiction may take are best seen less as a number of separate
categories than as a continuum or, more accurately, a cline, with some such brief form as
the anecdote at one end of the scale and the longest conceivable novel at the other. When any
piece of fiction is long enough to constitute a whole book, as opposed to a mere part of a

5
book, then it may be said to have achieved novelhood. But this state admits of its own
quantitative categories, so that a relatively brief novel may be termed a novella (or, if the
insubstantiality of the content matches its brevity, a novelette), and a very long novel may
overflow the banks of a single volume and become a roman-fleuve, or river novel. Length is
very much one of the dimensions of the genre.

The term novel is a truncation of the Italian word novella (from the plural of
Latin novellus, a late variant of novus, meaning “new”), so that what is now, in most
languages, a diminutive denotes historically the parent form. The novella was a kind of
enlarged anecdote like those to be found in the 14th-century Italian
classic Boccaccio’s Decameron, each of which exemplifies the etymology well enough. The
stories are little new things, novelties, freshly minted diversions, toys; they are not
reworkings of known fables or myths, and they are lacking in weight and moral earnestness.
It is to be noted that, despite the high example of novelists of the most profound seriousness,
such as Tolstoy, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf, the term novel still, in some quarters,
carries overtones of lightness and frivolity. And it is possible to descry a tendency to triviality
in the form itself. The ode or symphony seems to possess an inner mechanism that protects it
from aesthetic or moral corruption, but the novel can descend to shameful commercial depths
of sentimentality or pornography. It is the purpose of this section to consider the novel not
solely in terms of great art but also as an all-purpose medium catering for all the strata of
literacy.

2.1. Theme

1. Definition of Theme

As a literary device, theme refers to the central, deeper meaning of a written work.
Writers typically will convey the theme of their work, and allow the reader to perceive
and interpret it, rather than overtly or directly state the theme. As readers infer, reflect,
and analyze a literary theme, they develop a greater understanding of the work itself and
can apply this understanding beyond the literary work as a means of grasping a better
sense of the world. Theme is often what creates a memorable and significant experience
of a literary work for the reader.

6
 Themes are often subject to the reader’s perception and interpretation. This means
that readers may find primary and/or secondary themes in a work of literature that the
author didn’t intend to convey. Therefore, theme allows for literature to remain
meaningful, “living” works that can be revisited and analyzed in perpetuity by many
readers at once or by a single reader across time.

Many works of literature share common themes and central ideas. As a literary
device, theme allows the author to present and reveal all aspects of human nature and the
human condition. This enhances the enjoyment and significance of a literary work for
readers by encouraging thought, interpretation, and analysis. Discovery and analysis of
theme is also one of the primary reasons that readers return to “classic” literary works that
are centuries old. There is no end or expiration to the significance and impact theme can
have on readers of literature. Here are some common examples of literary themes: Love,
redemption, mortality, human versus nature, good versus evil, power, isolation, and
coming of age.

2. The Difference Between Theme and Subject Matter

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the difference between the theme and
subject matter of a literary work. They are both closely related to each other; however, the
subject matter is the topic that is overtly addressed and presented by the writer whereas
the theme is the meaning or underlying message that is imparted through the writing.

The subject matter of a written work is what the text is about and is, typically, clearly
indicated by the writer. The theme of a literary work reflects why it was written and what
the author hopes to convey on a deeper level to the reader without direct statements. A
reader may infer and a writer may imply a theme within a literary work. However, the
subject matter of a literary work is not inferred by the reader or implied by the writer; it is
overtly stated and understood.

For example, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the subject matter is two young
people from feuding families who fall deeply in love with each other. One theme of this
play, and Romeo and Juliet certainly features several themes, is the power of romantic
love and the futility of others to stop it. The subject matter is almost exclusively related to
the foundational elements of the story, such as what happens and to which characters. The

7
 theme, in contrast, is the lingering meaning and thought left to the reader as a means of
reaching a greater understanding of the play itself and the larger concept of love.

2.2. Theme Analysis of Laskar Pelangi Novel

Laskar Pelangi is the first novel by Andrea Hirata published by Bentang Pustaka in 2005.
This novel tells about the lives of 10 children from poor families who attend school (SD and
SMP) in a Muhammadiyah school in Belitung which is full of limitations. They are:

 Ikal aka Andrea Hirata

 Latitude; Latitude of the Ocean Basara bin Syahbani Maulana Basara
 the Sahara; N.A. Sahara Aulia Fadillah bint K.A. Muslim Ramdhani Fadillah
 Dowry; Mahr Ahlan bin Jumadi Ahlan bin Zubair bin Awam
 A Kiong (Chau Chin Kiong); Muhammad Jundullah Gufron Nur Zaman
 Shahdan; Shahdan Noor Aziz bin Syahari Noor Aziz
 Chives; Mukharam Kucai Khairani
 Borek aka Samson
 Trapani; Trapani Ihsan Jamari bin Zainuddin Ilham Jamari
 Aaron; Harun Ardhli Ramadan bin Syamsul Hazana Ramadan

They go to school and study in the same class from grade 1 elementary school to grade 3
junior high school, and call themselves Laskar Pelangi. At the end of the story, Laskar
Pelangi members add one daughter named Flo, a transfer student. The existing limitations do
not discourage them, but instead make them motivated to be able to do something better.
Laskar Pelangi is the first book in the Laskar Pelangi Tetralogy.

In general, this novel has the theme of education. However, upon closer inspection, it
turns out that this novel has different sub-themes from one chapter to another.

1. Education
Pendidikan adalah tema utama pada novel ini dimna keadaan pendidikan
Pulau Belitung di tengah himpitan kemiskinan. Dalam tema tersebut pengarang ingin
menyampaikan pesan bahwa bagaimana pun keadaan yang memprihatinkan seseorang
harus memiliki tekad, semangat serta keinginan yang kuat untk merubah nasib dan
keluar dari keadaaan tersebut tanpa harus berputus asa sehingga mencapai
kesuksesan.itu ini. Banyak hal yang mengandung pendidikan yang tersebar merata

8
pada keseluruhan bab. Hal tersebut antara lain terlihat dalam kutipan yang ada dalam
Bab I: “Pagi itu, waktu aku masih kecil, aku duduk di bangku panjang di depan
sebuah kelas. Sebatang pohon fillicium tua yang rindang meneduhiku. Ayahku duduk
di sampingku. Memeluk tubuhku dengan kedua lengannya dan tersenyum
mengangguk-angguk pada setiap orang tua dan anakanaknya yang duduk di bangku
panjang di depan kami. Hari ini hari yang agak penting: hari pertama masuk SD.”
“Ada tiga alasan mengapa para orang tua mendaftarkan anaknya di sini. Pertama
karena sekolah Muhammadiyah tidak menetapkan iuran dalam bentuk apapun, kedua
karena firasat, anak-anak mereka dianggap memiliki karakter yang mudah disesatkan
oleh iblis sehingga sejak usia muda harus mendapatkan pendidikan Islam yang
tangguh. Ketiga, karena anaknya memang tak diterima di sekolah manapun.”
“Barangkali aku pulang saja, melupakan keinginan sekolah, dan mengikuti jejak
beberapa abang dan sepupu-sepupuku, menjadi kuli…”
Pada bab 2 juga ditemukan pembahasan tentang pendidikan. Sebuah kejadian
yang terjadi di sekolahan, ketika awal-awal mereka bersekolah. Hal tersebut tampak
dari kutipan di bawah ini: “ketika aku menyusul ke dalam kelas ia menyalamiku
dengan kuat seperti pegangan calon mertua yang menerima pinangan.”
“Sebaliknya, pagi itu merupakan saat yang tak terlupakan sampai puluhan tahun
mendatang karena pagi itu aku melihat Lintang yang canggung memegang sebuah
pensil besar yang belum diserut seperti memegang sebuah belati,”
Begitu juga berturut-turut pada bab 3 dan 8 yang menceritakan keadaan
sekolah Muhammadiyah yang tak pernah dikunjungi pejabat serta fasilitasnya yang
jauh dari kata layak, apalagi jika dibandingkan dengan sekolah PN yang kaya raya,
kutipan tersebut antara lain adalah : “Sekolah Muhammadiyah tidak pernah
dikunjungi pejabat, penjual kaligrafi, pengawas sekolah, apalagi anggota dewan.”
“Sekolah-sekolah PN berada di kawasan Gedong. Sekolah sekolah ini berdiri megah
di bawah naungan aghatis berusia ratusan tahun dan dikelilingi pagar besi tinggi
beruling melambangkan kedisiplinan dan mutu tinggi pendidikan.”
Pada bab 17 juga ditemukan pembahasan tentang pendidikan, “Memang
menyenangkan menginjak remaja, di sekolah mata pelajaran terasa mulai bermanfaat.
Misalnya, pelajaran membuat telur asin, menyemai biji sawi, membedah perut kodok,
ketrampilan menyulam, menata janur,membuat pupuk dari kotoran hewan, dan
praktek memasak.” Dari kutipan-kutipan tersebut, pembahasan tentang pendidikan
pada umumnya dan terdapat dalam setiap bab dalam novel Laskar Pelangi Pelangi.
9
 Novel ini sering menceritakan sekolahan sebagai latar tempatnya, sekolah adalah
tempat memperoleh pendidikan. Hal tersebut menunjukkan bahwa tema novel ini
adalah pendidikan. Hal ini sesuai dengan pendapat Herman J. Waluyo (2006: 28)
yang menyatakan bahwa latar berfungsi untuk memperjelas tema dalam novel.
1. Ekonomi
Ekonomi menjadi sub tema dalam novel Laskar Pelangi. Novel ini
menceritakan keadaan masyarakat Belitong pada waktu itu pada umumnya miskin.
Hal itu berungkali diceritakan secara lugas dalam novel ini sehingga menjadi sub
tema yang ada dalam novel ini. Kemiskinan sebagai salah satu masalah sosial ini
untuk lebih jelasnya akan dibahas pada pokok masalah kedua dalam penelitian ini.
Kemiskinan tersebut dapat dilihat dari kutipan berikut : “Agaknya selama turun
temurun keluarga laki-laki cemara angin ini tak mampu terangkat dari endemik
kemiskinan komunitas Melayu yang menjadi nelayan.”
“Tiba-tiba aku merasa beruntung didaftarkan di sekolah miskin Muhammadiyah. Ada
keindahan di sekolah Islam melarat ini.”
“Seperti Lintang, Syahdan yang miskin juga anak seorang nelayan. Tapi bukan
maksudku mencela dia, karena kenyataannya secara ekonomi kami, sepuluh kawan
sekelas ini, memang semuanya orang susah.”
2. Percintaan
Adapun sub tema yang lain yaitu percintaan. Diceritakan bahwa tokoh aku
mempunyai cinta pertama ketika berada pada bangku SMP. Cinta itu berawal dari
pertemuan di sebuah toko dimana tempat membeli kapur tokoh aku. Kisah itu dapat
dilihat dari kutipan: “Ketika mempersiapkan sepeda untuk pulang, Aku mencuri
pandang ke dalam toko. Kulihat dengan jelas Michele Yeoh mengintipku dari balik
tirai keong itu. Ia berlindung, tapi sama sekali ak menyembunyikan perasaannya. Aku
kembali melayang menembus bintang gemerlapan. Menari di atas awan, menyanyikan
lagu nostalgia I told you lately that I love you. Aku menoleh lagi ke belakang, di situ,
di antara tumpukan kemiri basah yang tengik, kaleng-kaleng minyak tanah dan
karung-karung pedak cumi aku telah menemukan cinta.”
“Tapi kami berdua masih terpaku pandang tanpa mampu berkata apapun, lidahku
terasa kelu, mulutku terkunci rapat-lebih tepatnya ternganga. Tak ada ada satu
katapun yang dapat terlaksana. Aku tak sanggup beranjak. Wanita ini memiliki aura
yang melumpuhkan. Tatapan matanya itu mencengkeram hatiku.”

10
 "Perlahan muncul sebuah pesawat Foker 28 melintas pelan di atas lapangan. Aku tahu
didalam pesawat itu ada A ling dan ia juga pasti sedih.”
“Ia telah meninggalkanku. Aku mengamati pesawat yang telah membawa cinta
pertamaku menembus awan-awan putih nun jauh di angkasa. Pesawat itu semakin
lama semakin kecil dan pandanganku semakin kabur, bukan karena pesawat itu
semakin jauh tapi karena air mata yang mengenang di pelupuk mataku. Selamat
tinggal belahan jiwaku, cinta pertamaku.”
“Sebaliknya aku semakin mencintai A ling. Ia dengan bijak telah mengganti
kehadirannya dengan kehadiran edensor yang menghapus laraku.”
3. Perjuangan
Perjuangan juga menjadi tema dalam novel lascar pelangi ini. Awal dari kisah
laskar pelangi ini pun dimulai dengan perjuangan untuk mendapatkan sepuluh murid
baru oleh dua orang guru di SD Muhammadiyah untuk mempertahankan
kelangsungan eksistensi SD Muhammadiyah di Belitong. Kemudian penggambaran
keadaan SD Muhammadiyah yang memperhatinkan. Bab 4, dilukiskan penggambaran
perjuangan seorang guru dalam membangkitkan semangat pendidikan di SD
Muhammadiyah Belitong. Pengarang juga menekankan pada pengkotakkotakan di
dalam meraih sesuatu yang lebih baik, baik itu pendidikan maupun pola hidup di
Belitong dikarenakan adanya sebuah Perusahan Timah. Untuk pendidikan Hirata
menggambarkan perbedaan yang sangat menonjol dalam sarana maupun sarana
belajar untuk meraih cita-cita, antara sekolah PN dengan SD Muhammadiyah. Akan
tetapi hal yang menakjubkan di dalam novel ini setiap bab menunjukkan peristiwa
yang mengejutkan. contohnya adalah pengarang menampilkan beberapa tokoh yang
mempunyai semangat belajar yang tinggi dengan disertai bakat mereka yang sangat
luar biasa. Salah satunya adalah Lintang.
Bab 10 hal yang menakjubkan itu dimulai, membuat hati setiap orang akan
bergetar melihat, merasakan perjuangan seorang anak nelayan yang benar-benar ingin
sekolah dengan jalan menempuh jarak sekolah yang sangat jauh dengan berbagai
rintangan yang ia temui di perjalanan. semangat belajar lintang yang begitu kuat,
semua itu karena ia rajin membaca, belajar, menganalisis, serta berusaha mencari
solusi kehidupannya. Selanjutnya Bab ke 32 digambarkan perjuangan ikal di dalam
meraih citacita dengan berusaha yang ekstra. Inilah hasil pendidikan yang di ajarkan
kepada laskar pelangi untuk member sebanyak-banyaknya bukan menerima sebanyak-
banyaknya. Jadi dapat disimpulkan bahwa Tema Novel Laskar Pelangi, semangat
11
 perjuangan yang disertai dengan keikhlasan sebelas orang anggota laskar pelangi
dalam menempuh pendidikan. Mereka dengan segala kekurangan dan keterbatasan
yang ada namun mereka pantang menyerah dalam menuntut ilmu.

REFERENCES

Hadi, M. E. T. (2010). Analisis novel Laskar Pelangi karya Andrea Hirata (tinjauan sosiologi
sastra).

Kustanti, M. C. (2016). Tema dan Pesan dalam Fungsi Media pada Novel Laskar Pelangi
Karya Andrea Hirata (Analisis Wacana Pragmatik). SAP (Susunan Artikel Pendidikan), 1(2).

Hutahaean, F. ANALISIS NOVEL LASKAR PELANGI KARYA ANDREA HIRATA

DENGAN PENDEKATAN UNSUR INTRINSIK DAN EKSTRINSIK. Jurnal Edukasi
Kultura: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra dan Budaya, 4(2).

Anthony Burgess . https://www.britannica.com/art/novel/Character

https://literarydevices.net/theme/

12