Open Conference Systems, The 12th Graduate Student Conference: "Practicing Critical Digital Literacy For Future Education"

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THE ECOCRITICAL ROLE OF SACRED TREES IN LITERATURE: COMPARING C.S. LEWIS’S THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW AND DJOKOLELONO’S SETAN VAN OYOT
Yosafat Andrew G. Kameo

Last modified: 2023-11-30

Abstract


C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew and Djokolelono’s Setan van Oyot are literary works separated by culture and age, but are unified by a common denominator that is essential to develop an ecological awareness, which is their use of sacred trees. It has been observed that narratives containing embodiments of nature such as supernatural tales of forest guardians or sacred trees are among the most effective methods in intentionally voicing or unintentionally reminding humanity’s ecological obligations. The Magician’s Nephew possesses the ‘Tree of Protection’, while Setan van Oyot has the Indonesian weeping fig tree named, ‘Kiyai Oyot’. This paper will look into the ecocritical role surrounding both fiction’s sacred trees. By using the qualitative descriptive method, this paper has found first, the protector role of both trees. Second, both trees function as the first bulwarks against the fiction’s antagonists which are labelled as a foreign destructive force.


Keywords


Comparative Literature, Ecocriticism, Setan Van Oyot, The Magician’s Nephew

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