REVEALING THE CHRISTIAN VALUES OF ELIJAH AS SEEN IN
PAULO COELHO’S THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Christina Rindang Kurniasari Student Number: 051214102
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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REVEALING THE CHRISTIAN VALUES OF ELIJAH AS SEEN IN
PAULO COELHO’S THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Christina Rindang Kurniasari Student Number: 051214102
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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ABSTRACT
Kurniasari, Christina Rindang. (2009) Revealingthe Christian Values of Elijah as Seen in Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University
This thesis discusses the Christian value conveyed by Elijah as the main character of Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain. Through his life experience in the City of Akbar, Elijah learns how to survive from the shattering and unavoidable circumstances. Due to that fact, Elijah shares some values that he affirms along his course of life.
This study aims to find out how Elijah, as the major character of this story, is characterized and what the Christian values are revealed by Elijah in this story. The problems are formulated as follows: 1). How is Elijah characterized in Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain? 2). What Christian values are presented by Elijah in Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain?
This study is a library research. There are two main sources, namely primary and secondary sources. The primary source is taken from the novel itself, The Fifth Mountain. The secondary sources are obtained from some relevant books related to literary theory such as the literary approach theory, theory on character and characterization, Christian values such as faith, hope, love, and the positive values of the tragedy in order to support the analysis. This study employs the moral-philosophical approach to examine the novel so as to relate the moral teaching conveyed in this story.
Based on the analysis, the result of the study can be divided into two major parts. First, Elijah is portrayed as a wise prophet. He tries to help other people who cry out for help and his wisdom is reflected from his wise saying scattered throughout the story. Involving himself in the political turmoil and war, he shows his courage and kindness in overcoming all the unavoidable events. Despite the fact that he is still young and talented, Elijah often feels depressed or doubtful about the purpose of his own life. Second, as a human being, sometimes he wants to give up but his faith ultimately triumphs over all his doubts and fears. The Christian values such as faith, hope and love are presented by Elijah along the story to show that the tragedy should not be treated as a punishment but the challenge for one’s spiritual growth.
Some suggestions for the future researchers and the teaching learning activities are presented. First, this thesis can be used as a reference or additional information for the future researchers who are willing to analyze the same novel. Second, this thesis proposes the suggestions for the implementation in teaching Intensive Reading II Class in English Language Education Study Program (ELESP), Sanata Dharma University.
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ABSTRAK
Kurniasari, Christina Rindang. (2009) Revealingthe Christian Values of Elijah as Seen in Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas nilai-nilai Kristiani yang dibawakan oleh Elijah sebagai tokoh utama dalam The Fifth Mountain karya Paulo Coelho. Melalui pengalaman hidupnya tinggal di Kota Akbar, Elijah belajar bagaimana bertahan hidup dari situasi yang kacau dan tak terelakkan. Atas dasar itu, Elijah membagikan beberapa nilai-nilai moral yang dia pegang teguh selama perjalanan hidupnya.
Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana Elijah sebagai tokoh utama dalam cerita dikarakterisasikan dan nilai-nilai Kristiani apa saja yang dia ungkapkan dalam cerita ini. Permasalahan-permasalahan tersebut dirumuskan sebagai berikut 1). Bagaimana Elijah digambarkan dalam novel The Fifth Mountain karya Paulo Coelho? 2). Nilai-nilai Kristiani apa saja yang Elijah sajikan dalam novel The Fifth Mountain karya Paulo Coelho?
Skripsi ini adalah sebuah penelitian perpustakaan. Ada dua jenis sumber yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini yaitu sumber utama dan sumber kedua. Sumber utama berasal dari novel itu sendiri, The Fifth Mountain. Sumber kedua diambil dari beberapa buku yang relevan dan berhubungan dengan teori kesusasteraan seperti teori pendekatan karya sastra dan teori karakter dan penokohan, nilai-nilai Kristiani seperti iman, harapan dan cinta, dan teori tentang nilai-nilai positip dari suatu tragedi untuk mendukung analisis. Skripsi ini menerapkan pendekatan moral-filosofis untuk menguji novel, sehubungan dengan ajaran moral yang disampaikan dalam cerita ini,.
Hasil analisis skripsi ini dapat dibagi menjadi dua bagian utama. Pertama, Elijah digambarkan sebagai nabi yang bijaksana. Dia membantu orang lain yang meminta pertolongan kepadanya dan kebijaksanaanya terpancar dari kata-kata bijaknya yang tersebar di seluruh bagian cerita. Tersangkut dalam huru-hara politik dan perang, dia menunjukkan keberanian dan kebaikan hatinya dalam mengatasi hal-hal buruk yang tak terelakkan. Meskipun dia masih muda dan berbakat, Elijah sering merasa tertekan atau ragu terhadap tujuan hidupnya. Kedua, sebagai manusia biasa, dia kadang ingin menyerah tetapi pada akhirnya imannya menang atas segala keraguan dan ketakutannya. Nilai-nilai kristiani seperti iman, pengharapan, dan kasih disajikan oleh Elijah melalui cerita ini untuk menunjukkan bahwa tragedi tidak seharusnya diperlakukan sebagai suatu hukuman melainkan sebagai suatu tantangan atas perkembangan spiritual seseorang.
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pengajaran Intensive Reading II, Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“It’s not the goal you set; it is what you need to achieve it”. This proverb has illustrated the circumstances in which I, as a university student, have worked to finish this thesis. Along the process of accomplishing this study, I have received the enormous assistance and support from many people. Therefore, I am obliged to express my greatest gratitude to those who have made the writing of this thesis possible and led me up to this far.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Our Almighty God and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I am so blessed with Their love and grace that everything can be accomplished in time. I am most grateful to V. Triprihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A. as my thesis sponsor, for having spent myriad hours reading and checking my thesis and also for her generous guidance and support. Left on my own, I am not convinced to accomplish this thesis. Her dedication has made me accomplish this thesis satisfactorily.
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I would like to show my appreciation to all my family (Bapak Henricus Suyamto, Ibu M.I Marilah, Mba’ Linda and Bang John, Mas Andry, Mas
Benny, Lil’ Tom, and our beloved niece Nonina) in both Klaten and Jakarta for their support, cares, and love; especially to my beloved mother and father who keep saying their wish and prayers for my successful study and life. Not to mention, my thankfulness goes to my beloved friends Antris, Berlin, Mayang, Ruma, Patrice, Esthi, Andre, and Indro. I am so glad we can check and comment on one to another’s work. May all the best things come to our lives. Last but not the least, I would like to appreciate the support of all my friends and colleagues for their understanding and helps so that I could finish my thesis.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE……… i
APPROVAL PAGES……… ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY……… iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS... v
ABSTRACT……… vi
ABSTRAK……… vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS……… xi
LIST OF APPENDICES………. xiv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION……… 1
A. Background of the Study……… 1
B. Problem Formulation………. 5
C. Objectives of the Study………. 5
D. Benefits of the Study……… 6
E. Definition of Terms………6
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……… 9
A. Theoretical Review……….. 9
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2. Theories of Character and Characterization………. 11
3. Theory of Love……… 15
4. Theory of Faith……….. 18
5. Theory of Hope……….……….. 19
6. Theory of Positive Value of Tragedy……….……. 21
B. Theoretical Framework……… 22
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY………. 24
A. Object of the Study...……… 24
B. Approach of the Study……….. 25
C. Method and Procedure of the Study………. 26
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS……… 28
A. The Character of Elijah in The Fifth Mountain……… 28
1. Gifted……… 28
2. Obedient……… 30
3. Courageous……….. 31
4. Kind………. 33
5. Wise….……… 34
6. Young……….. 36
7. Free……….………. 36
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B. The Christian Values Revealed by Elijah through the Story 40
1. Love……… 40
2. Faith……… 45
3. Hope……… 49
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS……… 54
A. Conclusions……….. 54
B. Suggestions……….. 56
1. Suggestions for the Future Researchers……….. 56
2. The Implementation of The Fifth Mountain in Teaching Intensive Reading II……….. ……… 57
REFERENCES….……… 59
xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five parts. Those are background of the study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The first discussion is background of the study. It presents a description of the topic and the reasons for its selection. The second part is problem formulation, which formulates the problems to be discussed or analyzed in the form of question-word questions. The third part states the objectives of the study. Here, the purposes of the study undertaken in relation with the problem formulation are stated. In benefits of the study, it will be identified which parties will gain from the conducted study and what kinds of benefit they will get from this study. Lastly, in definition of terms, the keywords used in the study will be elaborated so as to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation. As a note, the definitions presented must then be related to the study.
A. Background of the Study
Related to the uncontrollable condition, there is an interesting example of Major H.P.S Ahluwalia from India. When he was young, he ever climbed the highest mountain, Mount Everest. At that time, he felt pleased with the result of his own achievement. Suddenly, a Pakistan Army shot him in Kashmir. Further, it happened when both India and Pakistan dealt to have a cease-fire. This brought about a serious injury to him. After being paralyzed he ran his life on the wheel chair. Nonetheless, Mr. Ahluwalia could get through this tough situation. He always put his faith in God and believes in his ability to survive. In my perception, although it is not easy for him at the very first time, along the way he can prove that he can stay strong as always.
Regarding what Major H.P.S Ahluwalia has experienced, faith plays an important role in someone’s life. Dealing with such a hard situation, people should keep their faith in God as the supreme power and earn the positive value like love as the motivation of life. Inevitably, in the real life there are so many people dealing with failures and lost, still they remain strong and survive. By earning the growing faith and love of God, people will choose to keep struggling with positive thinking and find the way out of the commotion.
3 themselves and their world, to assess their special roles in the universe, to learn the meaning of the personal struggles in which they are engaged” (1). In other words, they want to share experience. The work of literature becomes the means for men to learn about others’ experience of life.
I am mostly interested in novel among any other literary works because of its special characteristic. Stanton says “novel can and usually does present in detail the development of a character, or a relationship involving many characters, or a complicated event covering many years, or a complex relationship among a few characters” (44)
I choose to dive and search the positive values in the novel of Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain, since the values in this story are apparently advantageous for everyone who reads it. Although the situations are not familiar, as they happened many centuries ago in the far country, those give comparatively challenging and meaningful insights that it takes me to take careful reading and re-reading. Based on those brief explanations, it is worthwhile to give this fascinating novel a full analysis.
Related to values, Elijah affirms some values that he tries to put in his own action and words. Although the circumstances do not always treat him well and he often faces failures, Elijah wrests from the unavoidable a new beginning, an opportunity to give meaning tragedy and direction to a shattered life. Compared to his life that has been written in the Old Testament, here in the novel, Elijah is presented a little bit dissimilar. Elijah is sometimes torn between the desire to serve God and the needs of those he has come to love. In details, Paulo Coelho depicts Elijah’s thought and doubts beautifully.
Experienced something unavoidable like Elijah, Paulo Coelho tries to share a rationale point of view in growing faith of God and love in his personal life. The readers are inquired to have what so-called questioning attitudes. It is expected that they possess the critical thinking in facing every problem and growing their faith in the light of knowledge. Paulo Coelho invites all of his readers to have a new way of thinking in dealing with “something unavoidable” such as failure, sickness, death, and loss. What should be lasting in one’s life are the lessons of the unavoidable instead of the unavoidable itself. In other words, people should always have a positive way of thinking and earn positive values within.
5 important lessons about fate and life that will be interesting to find out. Along with my curiosity, I will analyze the elements of this story to reveal the moral values of this spiritual fiction.
In Christian teaching, values such as faith and hope are regarded as the supreme values among any other values (Corinthians 13:13). Therefore, the essence of The Fifth Mountain would be relevant to the Christian value. Taken from the life story of Elijah in the Bible, the author successfully composed another style of enjoying God’s words.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background above, I would like to formulate the problems of this study as follows:
1. How is Elijah characterized in Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain? 2. What Christian values are presented by Elijah in Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth
Mountain?
C. Objectives of the study
D. Benefits of the Study
This study tries to give some beneficial contributions to many parties. First of all, this study is expected to give the contributions to the English Language Education Study Program (ELESP)’s students. Hopefully, this study can give a better understanding and some insights about Paulo Coelho’s works, especially the novel entitled The Fifth Mountain. This study can be used as a good reference in appreciating Christian values conveyed in the literary works. Secondly, this study is purposed to give the best benefits for English Education Study Program. It is expected that this study can serve as a collection that enriches English Language Education Study Program’s library.
For the readers of my thesis, I would like to extend their interests on literature especially novel. They should know that novel couldn’t only be perceived as a pleasurable reading but also a means to purify their thought of human experience. Lastly, this study can be used by other researchers for their further researches as the additional resources in studying the Christian values in any literary works. The results of this study can be used as the references or considerations in exploring more values that are conveyed in literary works.
E. Definitions of Terms
7 will be explained. It is done because some terms might have some different meanings to different circumstances.
1. Character
According to Abrams, character is defined as
The persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what they do – the action. (20)
In other words, characters here can be described through their moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities and those can be seen verbally and by the action.
In this study, character is defined as the person with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that is presented by the author to recognize, understand, and deal with the tragedy of life experience.
2. Personality
In this study, personality is every human character intellect, temperament, skill, morality, and every attitude that have been built by Elijah in the course of his life.
3. Christian Value
According to Kauffman, the word “Christian” can be defined as “one who believes in Christ and follows Him” (112). Also, as an adjective, Christian means, “relating to Christ or Christianity or the church” (112). Surely, the second meaning is more relevant to use. According to Rahner and Vorgrimler, the term value, or better to be seen as ethics, is defined as “the science of moral; it seeks to analyze and explore the moral facts from which the norms of human behavior may derive” (151-152). Here, value relates to the moral standard.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two big parts. Those are theoretical review and theoretical framework. Theoretical review examines the theories applied in conducting the study. Definitely, only those which are directly relevant to the study are included. The next part is the theoretical framework. It clarifies the contribution of the theories in solving the problem formulations. Those theories must be synthesized so as to make them operationally applicable to the problem formulations. In other words, it depicts a guidance to analyze the problems formulated in the problem formulation.
A. Theoretical Review
Here, theoretical review consists of literary theories and any other relevant theories. The first problem formulation will be answered by acquiring literary theories that consist of theory of critical approach and theory of character and characterization. Afterwards, the problem formulation about the Christian value will require theory of love, theory of faith, theory of hope, and the theory of the positive values of tragedy.
1. Critical Approach
approaches, the formalist approach, the psychological approach, and mythological and archetypal approaches (51-218).
According to Guerin, in historical and biographical approaches people see a literary work as “a reflection of its author’s life and times or the life and the times of the characters in the work” (51). The most common and well known of the use of the historical and biographical approaches is Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain. It is believed that the most sensational happenings and colorful characters in Huckleberry Finn are based on actual events and persons Twain saw in Hannibal, Missouri, where he grew up, and in other towns up and down the Mississippi.
Next, it is the moral and philosophical approaches. According to Guerin et al. moral-philosophical approach is “the approach which insists to teach morality and probe philosophical issues. If the work is in any degree significant or intelligible, the meaning of its literary works will be there” (78). The chief impact of Huckleberry Finn derives from its morality. The major theme of this story is “man’s inhumanity to man and it is exemplified in both calm and impassioned accusation and satire” (78). Due to that fact, this study determines to use the moral philosophical approach. This approach will give much help to find the moral teaching within the story. Beyond the course of his life, Elijah undergoes some valuable philosophical issues.
11 formalist approach is relevantly used to analyze poems. This is because poem is usually identified from its lines of iambic, lines, and rhymes.
The fourth approach is the psychological approach. According to Guerin, the use of psychological interpretation is “to afford many profound clues toward solving a work’s thematic and symbolic mysteries” (153). Therefore, this approach is an excellent tool for reading beneath the lines. Many critics often use Freud’s psychological theory as an interpretive tool. Freud, as cited by Guerin, proposes that psychological forces over which they have very limited control motivate most of people’s actions (153). .
Last, Guerin states that mythological and archetypal approaches are concerned “to seek out the mysterious elements that inform certain literary works and elicit, with almost uncanny force, dramatic and universal human reactions” (182). Also it aims and wishes “to discover how certain works of literature, usually those that have become, or promise to become, “classics” image a kind of reality to which readers give perennial response” (182).
2. Character and Characterization
Forster, as cited by Kennedy, states, “characters may seem round or flat, depending on whether a writer sketches or sculptures those” (61) Furthermore, he says that
On the other hand, Abrams states that
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what they do – the action The grounds in characters temperament, desire and moral nature for their speech and action are called their motivation. A character may undergo a radical change, either through the gradual process, of motivation and development or as the result crisis. (20)
Stanton defines the term “character” in two common ways: “It designates the individuals who appear in the story. Besides, it refers to the mixture of interest, desires, emotions, and moral principles that makes up each of these individuals” (17). Most of the writers of the literary works attempt to create such striking and unique characters. Nevertheless, if the story seems “true to life”, the readers can generally find that the author has provided with the characters sufficient reasons to behave as they do. Rohberger and Woods define the word characterization as “the process by which the author creates character, the devices by which he makes the readers believe a character is the particular type of person he is” (20).
Eventually, Murphy states “characters must be understandable and come live for the readers so as to find out how the character is characterized in the story” (161). There are nine points affirmed in his theory, namely personal description, characters as seen by others, speech, past life, conversation of others, reaction, direct comment, thought, mannerism (162-173).
13 identify the build, skin color, hair, hands, clothing or even the scar of the characters.
Second, the characters are portrayed through the eyes and opinion of the others, for example the readers are able to know the characters from another character’s opinion or eyes. Another character helps the readers to get closer and understand many characters. They get, as it were, a reflected image.
Next, the readers are given some insights into the character from what the persons say, whenever he or she speaks in conversation with others, and whenever he or she puts forward an opinion. Some expressions or replies such as kindness or compliments can show how the characters look like.
Then, the readers should know and learn something about the characters’ past life to get some clues to the characters. This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person. For an instance, if character A was bad-tempered towards his family, it seems obvious that now character A would behave bad-temperately to his grandson.
The character is presented through the conversation of other people and thing they say about him or her. When two characters or more do talk about the other character, the things they say often give as the clue to the character of the person spoken for the readers.
and how they act out their reactions, the readers could determine whether character A is a protagonist or antagonist character.
The author comments or tells on a person’s character directly. Actually, this is the easiest way for the readers to understand the character. If everything is there, then the readers can easily grab and enjoy.
The author gives the readers direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect he or she is able to do what the readers cannot do in real life, telling them what different people are thinking. Seemingly, the readers have a secret listening device plugged in the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel.
Lastly, the author shows a character’s habits, idiosyncrastes, and mannerism, which may also tell the readers something about the character. By using their creativity and uniqueness, some authors successfully made something special for their own characters that cannot be found in the other stories or novel.
Furthermore, Little proposes that there are some ways to analyze a character (93). It can be studied from
a. His or her basic characterization. This can be analyzed from: 1). The psychical condition of the characters, including his or her age.
2). The social relationship, which means the personal relationship with other characters, or wider social relationship, such as social class and occupation. 3). The mental qualities that are the typical way of thinking, feeling, and acting. b. His or her appearance from various point of view, included:
15 3). How he or she develops, or fails to develop during the course of the story. c. His or her place in the work, namely:
1). The treatment of the author (sketched or fully rounded portrayed descriptively or dramatically, treated sympatically or unsympatically).
2). His or her place in the story (a leading character or a minor one)
3). His or her relation to the theme, for example: whether the character embodies something important the author has to say.
3. The Theory of Love
Fromm defines the term “love as an attitude, an orientation of character which determines the relatedness of a person to the world as a whole, not toward one “object” of love” (46). There are four basic elements of all forms of love, namely care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge (22).
Dealing with the element of care, love is the active concern for the life and the growth of that which one loves. It is best described as the mother’s love for her child. In Christian teaching, the essence of love is to “labor” for something and “to make something grow” (23). Therefore, love and labor are inseparable. People love for they labor and they labor for that which they love.
he is. Respect, as well as love, liberates people for their own sake in their own ways.
To respect a person is not possible without knowing him. There is the knowledge which is an aspect of love is one which does not stay at the periphery, but penetrates to the core (24). Further, based on the kind of object which is loved, there are five types of love, namely Brotherly Love, Motherly Love, Erotic Love, Self-Love, and Love of God.” (47-71)
Brotherly love is the most fundamental of love. It is defined as the sense of responsibility, cares, respect, knowledge of any other human being, the wish to further his life. It is love for all human beings and characterized by its very lack of exclusiveness. In short, brotherly love means love among equals.
Motherly love is the unconditional affirmation of the child’s life and his needs. Dealing with the affirmation issue, there are two aspects of motherly love. The first one is the care and responsibility that is absolutely necessary for the preservation of the child’s life and his growth. Secondly, it is the attitude which instills in the child a love for living. In this kind of love, it is shown that two people who were one become separate.
17 Erotic love means “the craving for complete fusion, for union with one other person” (46). It is characterized by its very nature exclusive and not universal. As a result, this kind of love becomes “the most deceptive form of love” (46). Erotic love grows since someone experiences the separateness of the other person primarily as physical separateness. Therefore physical union means overcoming separateness. Erotic love has one premise “That I love from the essence of my being – and experience the other person in the essence of his or her being” (47)
Love should be essentially an act of will of decision to commit one’s life completely to that of one other person (47). To love somebody is not just a strong feeling – it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise (47). If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and may go.
The next one is self-love. Self-love is not the same as selfishness. A selfish person is interested only in himself, wants everything for himself, feels no pleasure in giving, but only in taking. For that reason, he lacks interest in the needs of others, and respect for their dignity and integrity. He can see nothing but himself, he judges everyone and everything from its usefulness to him.
connected with the love for any other being. The affirmation of one’s own life, happiness, growth, and freedom is rooted in ones capacity to love.
Love of God is described as “the longing for the attainment of the full capacity to love, for the realization of that which “God” stands for in oneself” (71). The thing that counts here is the act of experiencing the oneness with God. As the religious form of love, God stands for the highest value and the most desirable good. Neither the knowledge of God in thought, nor the thought of one’s love of God, but the act of experiencing the oneness with God that counts.
In this study, two types of love will be mainly used, namely the erotic love and the love of God. Erotic love will become the basic theory to analyze the relationship between Elijah and the widow in Akbar. Meanwhile, Love of God is used to explain the growing faith of Elijah.
4. Theory of Faith
Related to the development of the individual, Cooke proposes that “faith brings personal fulfillment in terms of maturity and in term of faith, maturity demands love” (20). Still, Fromm queries, “the practice of the art of loving requires the practice of faith” (102). According to him, there are two types of faith in the world. They are rational and irrational faith (102).
19 idea which is based on one’s submission to irrational authority. Irrational authority here means the acceptance of something as true only because an authority or the majority says so.
Faith is the most fundamental aspect of human quest for relation to transcendence. According to Fowler, “Faith is defined as an orientation of the total person, giving purpose and goal to one’s hopes and strivings, thoughts, and actions “(14). He proposes that faith has three characteristics
a. It is fundamental so that none of us can live well for very long without it. b. It is universal so that when we move beneath the symbols, rituals and ethical patterns that express it, faith recognizably the same phenomenon in Christians, Marxists, Hindus, and Dinka.
c. It is infinitely varied so that each person’s faith is unique.
5. Theory of Hope
It is said that human beings are “Homo Esperans’, or Man of Hope. Definitely, the ability to hope makes human beings unique compared to any other living creature. According to Lynch, hope is defined as
The fundamental knowledge and feeling that there is a way out of difficulty, that things can work out, that we as human persons can somehow handle and manage internal and external reality, that there are “solutions” in the most ordinary biological and psychological sense of that word, that, above all, there are ways out of illness. (24)
hope for I do not yet have or see; it may be difficult; but I can have it – it is possible” (24). St. Paul teaches, “We live by hope”. He wants to underline this universality of hope in all that people do and every step they take. It can be interpreted as meaning that everything people do in life is based on the hope that will get them somewhere, though sometimes they do not know where.
Hope, therefore, is energized by belief in the possibility of getting somewhere, in the possibility of reaching goals, the “somewhere” goals, can be as many as the wishes and things people propose to themselves (26). Also, Lynch proposes that “this is our classic image of hope: overcoming difficulty, liberating the self from darkness, escaping from some kind of prison” (27)
It is then concluded that there is hope that makes and pushes human being to learn perpetually. Hope allows to try repeatedly although if it does not work and is really embarrassing. Related to the previous values which are love and faith, these three values are inseparable. Behind every hope that people earn, there is a strong foundation of faith. If there is no hope for many uncertain things in human heart, they cannot move forward. Further, those two essential things are strongly demanded to support the ability to love. Without any hope, people will not have a will or decision to make the one that they love happy.
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6. Theory of the Positive Value of Tragedy
According to Maguire tragedy has “a potentially positive value for the expansion of moral consciousness” (358). However, it is possible to admit that suffering is intrinsic to living. Given the ability to choose, “whether tragedy and suffering contribute positively to one’s growth depends entirely on one’s response to them” (358).
Further, Maguire states “what is special about a person is their ability to transcend suffering and transform it into something positive” (359). A horse, for example, that was born deaf and blind would be best put to death. On the contrary, Helen Keller, was born with these terrible disabilities, and yet “she was a person and as such was able to transcend them marvelously and bring much fulfillment to her own life and much hope to the lives of others” (359).
Here, the words tragedy, suffering, and the unavoidable events are used interchangeably. The positive thing that people can grasp from the tragedy is that, “as a moral teacher, it draws the consciousness more deeply into the foundational experience of the personhood” (359). As what Helen Keller has shown to the world, her greatness related to her tragedy.
and suffering, Maguire refers to a painful experience that is not of one’s own choosing, something that cuts athwart one’s plans and hopes, which he would avoid if at all possible. Tragedy is the hurting experience that he would do anything to avoid (360).
Leclereq, as cited in Maguire’s, says “suffering is never absolute, as long as man is conscious of pursuing his end. If there is meaning that endures in spite of the suffering, then the tragic dimension will not blot out hope or stifle the process of growth (361).. Tragedy is an opportunity and may be an opening to creativity. It is said that someone who has experienced great tragedy “he was never the same after that.” Tragedy acquaints people with reality in a new way. It changes them. Perception, however, is conditioned by their state of being. They are not the same after tragedy, nor do things appear to them afterward in the same light.
B. Theoretical Framework
In this study, there are two problems formulation. The first problem formulation is related to the characterization of Elijah in the story. In order to answer that question, there will be some theories to use. There are some theories about character and characterization by Murphy and Little applied to support the analysis. Next, the second problem formulation is related to the Christian values revealed in the story.
23 theory of love by Fromm to describe the love experience that Elijah has for the widow of Akbar. Here, the theory about the erotic love and the elements of love will give the best support. Next, for the second value, I will use the theory of faith by Fromm and Fowler. Using the theory by Fromm, I will try to reveal the rational faith and also love of God that Elijah experiences in his course of life. Further, the three characteristics of faith proposed by Fowler will give much help in analyzing this second value.
The theory of hope by Lynch will be used to portray how Elijah still survives in the unavoidable events during his course of life in Akbar. Since the course of Elijah’s life is inseparable from what so-called tragedy, I would like to reveal that actually tragedy brings about some positive values. Therefore, I would combine the theory of hope with the theory of the positive value of tragedy by Maguire.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter elaborates three main sections. There are object of the study, approach of the study, and method and procedure of the study. Object of the study describes the work to be studied with its physical description. Also, it mentions briefly what the work is generally about. Approach of the study presents the approach employed in the analysis, its description, and the reasons for its selection. Method and procedure of the study describe the steps taken in analyzing the work, from reading up to reporting the findings. Included are statements whether the study is a library research or field research.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a novel entitled The Fifth Mountain written by a Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho. It was first published in 1996 with its Portuguese title O Monte Cinco. In 1998, it was translated into English by Clifford E. Landers and published by HarperCollins Publisher, New York, United States of America. This novel consists of 243 pages and is divided into 40 chapters.
25 brought misfortune with him. Taken before the High Priest of Akbar, he was condemned to die on the Fifth Mountain. Up on the mountain, an angel of God directed him to descend and, through God's power, restore the boy to life.
As his feelings for the widow and her son grew, Elijah was torn between an earthly love he had never known and the desire to return to Israel and remove Jezebel from the throne. Nevertheless, he must have remained in Akbar until the Lord ordered him to depart. Soon Elijah found himself at the center of a military and political maelstrom that challenged his faith and forced him to confront the unavoidable. Out of the tragedy that emerged, Elijah learned lessons that were applicable to all of humankind.
The author of this novel, Paulo Coelho wrote this novel actually because he wanted to share his point of view when the unavoidable happened at the very secure and confident moment. He disclosed the way people should perceive tragedy in their life as it did normally happen. In this novel, he transformed himself as Elijah. He told his own experience concerning the unavoidable event. Nonetheless, he learned how to deal with his problems through the life of Elijah.
B. Approach of the Study
which insists to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. Also, it insists on ascertaining and stating what is taught” (77-78).
Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that the moral-philosophical approach aims to analyze the ideas of moral value. This approach is really helpful to search what value people highly affirm in their life. Dealing with the study, therefore I choose to apply the moral-philosophical approach as a means to analyze the issue as it concerns with human moral consciousness, what kinds of problem related to affirming the values, and how he or she should overcome those problems. Through the character of Elijah, the highly affirmed values such as love, faith and hope are represented. Those three values are challenged in the light of tragedy. The deep character of Elijah can be seen from his struggle for holding on those values and trying to share those values through his actions and his words to people in Akbar.
C. Method and Procedure of the Study
This study applied the library research to analyze Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain. It means that books are the most important sources and references to support this research. There are two kinds of sources used in this study, namely the primary and secondary resources.
27 were taken from Robert Stanton’s An Introduction to Fiction, M.J Murphy’s Understanding Unseen, M.H Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms, and Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving.
There were some steps in accomplishing this study. The first one was reading the novel The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho as the primary source. Here, I did the careful reading and re-reading. Also, I paid more attention on the values that brought by the main character. Some important quotations or sayings were highlighted in the text as the supporting ideas. The second step was collecting the data that described the literary theories such as theory of character and characterization, critical approach, and Christian values.
28
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This whole chapter aims to answer the two problems formulation that has been stated in chapter I. Furthermore, this chapter is divided into two major parts. The first part discusses the character and the characterization of Elijah as the main character of the story. The second part explains the Christian value affirmed by Elijah within the story. In responding the problems formulation, the analysis will be based on the theories synthesized in the theoretical framework.
A. The Character of Elijah in The Fifth Mountain
In answering the problem related to the characterization of Elijah, the theory on characterization by Murphy and Little will be applied. As mentioned before, according to Murphy, the characterization of a figure can be seen from nine points. Those are personal description, characters as seen by others, speech, past life, conversation of others, reaction, direct comment, thought, and mannerism. In addition, Little states that one’s characterization also can be perceived from his or her basic characterization, his or her appearance from various points of view, and his or her place in the work.
1. Gifted
29 man. This type of characterization, according to Murphy, can be classified as characters as seen by other.
Since childhood, he had heard voices and spoken with angels. This was when he had been impelled by his father and mother to seek out a priest of Israel who, after asking many questions, identified him as a Nabi, “a man of the spirit”, someone who “exalts himself with the word of God” (9) Another talent that Elijah has is that he is able to restore someone’s life. After some days he lives with the widow and her son, the widow’s son fell ill and died. Being accused by the people in Akbar, Elijah should climb the Fifth Mountain and ask for the forgiveness there. Instead of encountering the Fifth Mountain’s Gods, Elijah meets the Angel of the Lord that orders him to restore the boy’s life. Therefore, he asks the guards to see the widow one more time.
At first, the widow does not want to see him, but after Elijah promises that he is able to restore her boy’s life and that the rest of Elijah’s family will be cursed if he does not make it true, the widow of Akbar allows Elijah to restore her boy’s life. Once Elijah takes the boy out of her bosom, he carries him up into a loft, where he abides and lays him upon his own bed. The next things he does are praying and asking the Lord to make that boy whole again. He inquires the Lord to let that child’s soul into his body again. Subsequently, the boy opens his eyes then asks for his mother. Smilingly, Elijah tells him that she is downstairs and waiting for him so much. (56-57)
2. Obedient
Elijah is such a nice child for both of his parents. He wants to please them as he can. He tries to do whatever his parents ask him to. Elijah never questions when his parents tell him that being a prophet means dangerous. Here, according to Murphy, Elijah is characterized as an obedient child because it can be seen from his speech with others.
When they left that place, his father and mother demanded that Elijah never tell anyone what he saw and heard; to be a prophet meant having ties to the government, and that was always dangerous. In any case, Elijah had never heard anything that might interest priests and king. (9)
As a result, Elijah loses his ability to have a vision. Gradually his capability disappeared, and that made his parents quite relieved. After all, his parents never raise that matter any longer.
As soon as the visions disappeared, he – obedient to his father and mother – made very effort to forget them as rapidly as possible. For this reason, the voices and visions became more and more infrequent. His father and mother were pleased, and they did not raise the mater again. (9)
Although Elijah and his family come from the low-class society, his parents really care about him. Being such a common man, Elijah runs his simple life as a carpenter by the supports of his parents. His parents do so once they know that he is mature enough to sustain himself. “When he came of an age to sustain himself, they lent him money to open a small carpentry shop. Elijah went on buying the cedar they brought in and selling the products of his carpentry shop.”(11)
31 as the traders and the artisans decide to leave for a moment until the condition is better. Yet, Elijah should be obedient to wait until the Lord gives him the permission. It feels dilemmatic though. According to Murphy, the following expression can really show how obedient Elijah is in putting forward his opinion.
The merchants and artisans made plans to go to Sidon and Tyre until calm was restored. “It is easy for them to leave,” he thought. Merchants can transport their goods everywhere in the world. Artisans too can work, even where a strange language is spoken, “But I must have the Lord’s permission (128).
3. Courageous
Some people in Akbar think that Elijah is such a cowardly prophet. The high priest, as the antagonist character in this story scolds him crying with fear when he is brought into his presence. On the contrary, Elijah denies all the things the high priest says. These following replies, according to Murphy, can support Elijah’s characterization because of his speech.
My tears were for the evil I felt I had caused you, for I fear but two things: the Lord and myself. I did not flee from Israel, and I am ready to return as soon as the Lord permits. I will put an end to your beautiful princess, and the faith of Israel shall survive this threat too (68)
courage. Death, for Elijah, is not something to be afraid of. Even the trouble does not stop there.
The governor threats Elijah that he can decapitate him at once or drag him through the street, or tell the people that he brings a curse upon the City of Akbar. On the other hand, Elijah only says that he will accept whatever his fate might happen, but he wants everybody to know that he does not want to hide from anything. It is the commander’s soldiers that keep him away from the Governor of Akbar. (121), which is according to Murphy, Elijah’s characterization is determined to his reaction.
Elijah tries to let the people remained in Akbar know how they should live their life courageously. When the tragedy happens in Akbar, many lives are taken away and many houses are destroyed, Elijah shares his thought that everybody should go onward optimistically. Elijah considers that this is the right time to make a better living after the unavoidable events. It is his thought, as proposed by Murphy, which reveals Elijah’s courage.
Cowards never allow their hearts to blaze with this fire; all they desire is for the changed situation to quickly return to what it was before, so they can go on living their lives and thinking in their customary way. The brave, however, set afire that which was old and, even at the cost of great internal suffering, abandon everything, including God, and continue onward. (204)
33 Let’s climb it, he said. “It’s forbidden.” “Yes, it is forbidden. But doesn’t
mean it is dangerous.” He took him by both hands, and they began climbing toward the top. They stopped from time to time to gaze at the valley below; the absence of rain had left its mark throughout the countryside, and with the exception of the cultivated fields around Akbar, everything seemed a desert as harsh as those of Egypt. (235)
4. Kind
Although Elijah is gifted with some special talents, he never thinks to use it for his own sake. He never admits that he can do everything with his own two hands. On the contrary, he believes that it is God who is powerful. Everything comes from Him, he affirms.
Yes, replied Elijah. “But the angels of the Lord do not converse with men; they only transmit the orders that come from God.” “Use thy power,” said the guardian angel. Elijah did not understand what was meant by that. “I have no power but which comes from the Lord,” he said “Nor hath anyone. But all have the power of the Lord, and use it not.” (59)
When the City of Akbar is threatened by the coming war, Elijah is the only person who proposes the negotiation so as to overcome the war. In his opinion, the good warrior is not the one who can kill hundreds of enemies but the one who is good at the diplomacy affair.
The governor explained that peace, the great pride of his people, had reigned in Phoenicia for almost three centuries. What would the generations yet unborn say if he were to interrupt this era of prosperity? “Send emissary to negotiate with them,” said Elijah. “The best warrior is the one who succeeds in transforming an enemy into a friend.” (75)
envious of the Elijah’s presence since the governor respects him. As what Murphy proposes, Elijah is considered as a kind person through what the commander says about him.
The Israelite has comforted the sick, visited the imprisoned, and fed the hungry”. When anyone has a dispute to settle with his neighbor, he calls on him, and all accept his judgment, because they are just. The governor is using him to increase his own standing among the people, but no one sees this. (93)
5. Wise
The next personality of Elijah is wise. In the story, Elijah encounters and experiences the trouble with his course of life. Nevertheless, those problems do not turn Elijah into a selfish person. In fact, he is able to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that he has. Being well accepted, Elijah tries to share his thoughts to help other people to solve their problems in Akbar. According to Little, what Elijah does here is directly related to the mental qualities. In other words, Elijah’s actions are closely related to the way he thinks and feels.
There were his thoughts as he headed toward the place in the square where, once a week, he was wont to help the inhabitants of the city to settle their disputes. In general, the issues were trivial: quarrels between neighbors, old people reluctant to pay their taxes, tradesmen who felt they had been cheated in their business dealings. (95)
35 What are you doing? “I have nothing to do,” she replied. Then learn something. At this moment, many people have stopped living. They do not become angry, nor cry out; they merely wait for time to pass. They did not accept the challenges of life, so life no longer challenges them. You are running that same risk; react, face life, but don’t stop living. (91)
When the widow is afraid of the battle to start, Elijah tries to comfort and encourage her. He asks her not to worry about something unavoidable like war or battle, but the point is that they should have a faith within and make a right choice in facing those problems.
Because I was afraid. But today, waiting for the battle to start, I heard the governor’s words, and I thoughts of you. Fear reaches only to the point where the unavoidable begins; from there on, it loses its meaning. And all we have left is the hope that we are making the right decision (145-146)
Not only earn a sensible actions, Elijah also always tries to see problems and give some wise comments about them. He possesses such a wise point of view toward a problem and explains the rational solution. After the city of Akbar gets ruined, many people feel so desperate. They do not have a clue about how to continue their life when everything they have was taken away. Seeing this, Elijah chooses to tell them that there is something beyond that tragedy. There is a lesson of life that they should grasp from it and again, it seems like a job for Elijah.
Tragedies do happen. We can discover the reason, blame others, imagine how different our lives would be had they not occurred. But none of that is important; they did occur, and so be it. From there onward we must put aside the fear that they awoke in us and begin to rebuild (212-213)
help. They believe that he will solve the problems justly. Further, Elijah does not mind to help everyone in the City of Akbar, even the governor himself.
The Israelite has comforted the sick, visited the imprisoned, and fed the hungry. When anyone has a dispute to settle with his neighbor, he calls on him, and all accept his judgment, because they are just. The governor is using him to increase his own standing among the people, but no one sees this (93)
6. Young
Everything starts to go wrong when Elijah is still young. By his age, he lacks of life experience. Even, he has never fallen in love to a girl. Up to his age, he feels a little upset because he seldom tastes the beauty of this world. It is what Little proposes that one characterization can be seen from the physical condition, including his or her age.
He remembered his childhood, the mornings and afternoons in Gilead, the unfinished work he would leave in his carpentry shop. He thought of his mother and father, who had never desired their son to be a prophet. He thought of Jezebel’s eyes and of King Ahab’ smile. He thought how stupid it was to die at twenty-three, without ever having known a woman’s love (16)
7. Free
Return to the ruined city of Akbar, Elijah wants to fix something that runs unwell in the past. From now on, he will forget his old identity as a prophet who would free Israel but fail to save even one city. According to Murphy, Elijah is characterized as a free person because of his own past. By using the direct comments by the author and through his own thoughts, it seems obvious that now Elijah wants to be free.
37 return to Israel, to go back to work as a carpenter, to travel to Greece to learn the thoughts of wise men, or to journey with the Phoenician navigators to the lands across the sea. (184-185)
On the journey to the ruined city of Akbar, Elijah demands the silence. He wants to clear his mind from everything that has already occurred in the past. Yet, he is ready when the fire from heaven strikes and kills him at a moment. His mind is free from everything.
He felt silent. He emptied his mind and waited for death. For a long time he concentrated on nothing beyond the sound of his footsteps in the sand; he did not want to hear the voices of angels or threats from heaven. His heart was free, and no longer did he fear what might befall him. (187) By the end of the story, Elijah would like to have a new name. It is a name that gives him a strong feeling about his mission of life. It is not something that is given by his parents or any other people, but a new name that truly reflects the goal of his life. Further, he chooses Liberation as his new name. Also, he asks people in Akbar to determine to what kind of name they will use to inspire their future life.
Each one has a name from birth but must learn to baptize his life with the word he has chosen to give meaning to that life. At that moment he named his life Liberation. Elijah rose and prayed, “I fought Thee, Lord and I am not ashamed. And because of it I discovered that I am on my path because such is my wish, not because it was imposed on me by my father and mother, by customs of my country, or even by Thee. (205-206)
8. Depressed
At the very beginning of his task, Elijah should accept that his soul is in danger. Queen Jezebel orders her soldiers to kill him and he feels left all alone. Everything changes so bad and goes wrong after all.
weeks, and months to come, the traders from Lebanon would knock on his door and someone would tell them the owner had fled, leaving behind a trail of innocent prophets’ deaths. (18-19)
After Elijah follows his destiny to be a prophet, many unfortunate events come. Although some moments do not happen to his own life, but some people around him like the Levite or the widow from Akbar end their life because of him. Sometimes Elijah feels so depressed that his talent as a prophet does not bring any grace for everybody, which is according to Little Elijah is characterized as a person who sometimes fails to develop during the course of the story. Therefore, the root of his depression is on his own failure.
He regretted his decision and blamed himself for the death of yet another man. If he had accepted the idea of the Council of Akbar meeting in secret, the governor could have taken Elijah with him; then it would have been the two of them against the high priest and the commander” (112) Very often, Elijah feels so disheartened in carrying out the mission to destroy Queen Jezebel. All the things that he has done do not lead him in the right path. Even, it brings misfortunes to another people, just like people in Akbar. He often gives up and becomes desolate.
Even if it comes to pass, I have doubted myself. I am no longer worthy of my task,” answered Elijah. “Every man hath the right to doubt his task, and to forsake it from time to time; but what he must not do is forget it. Whoever doubteth not himself is unworthy – for in his unquestioning belief in his ability, he commieth the sin of pride. (53)
39 not understand why the Lord demands him to stay rather than ask him to return to his own country and destroy Queen Jezebel.
He too was a person like all the others, and in this moment walking through the valley he wished above all else never to have heard the voice of the Lord or of His angels. But life is made not of desires but of the acts of each person. He recalled that several times in the past he had tried to renounce his mission, but he was still there, in the middle of that valley, because this the Lord had demanded. (113)
Finally, the battle comes. It happens when people in Akbar still sleep at night. Elijah suffers from such a great lose because the widow who he loves died on that sudden attack. Yet, people in Akbar accuse him for bringing this misfortune. A group of people who see him on the street struck his body and insists him to leave the city. Everybody puts the blame on Elijah. Elijah does not know what to do next, he feels extremely down.
The group withdrew. Elijah did not have the strength to rise to his feet. When he recovered from the same, he had ceased to be the same man. He desired neither to die nor to go on living. He desired nothing: he possessed no love, no hate, no faith. (172)
The climax of his desolate feeling, he decides to work by his own. Elijah thinks that God has left him all alone. Therefore, Elijah wants to revenge and proves that he can build his life again from the ruins.
B. The Christian Values Revealed in The Fifth Mountain
1. Love
Through the character of the widow in Akbar, Elijah learns how to love someone. At the very first time, Elijah admires the widow who reminds him to Queen Jezebel. In fact both of them are from the same country, Lebanon.
The widow smiled, her eyes shone, and he saw for the first time that she was beautiful. She was at least ten years older than he, but at that moment he felt great tenderness for her. He was no accustomed to such sentiments, and he was filled with fear; he remembered Jezebel’s eyes, and the wish he had made upon leaving Ahab’s palace – to marry a woman from Lebanon. (81-82)
Although he feels strange or awkward to confess it, Elijah perceives that he has never felt like this before, the physical union like sitting side to side with a woman is such a new experience for him, which is proposed by Fromm that it is a kind of love that grows since someone experiences the separateness of the other person primarily as physical separateness.
He was enjoying at this woman’s side. Love could be a more frightening experience than standing before Ahab’s soldier with an arrow aimed at his heart; if the arrow had struck him, he would be dead - and the rest was up to God. But if love struck him, he alone would have to take responsibility for the consequences. (83)
For the entire of his life, Elijah dreams to win a woman’s heart. Unfortunately, when God permits to have that feeling, Elijah does not know what to do. Perceiving this novel experience, Elijah is “suffering”.
41 Bearing in his own minds, Elijah learns from others’ experience that when he loves someone, it is just full of tragic experience. Elijah is torn apart when he has fallen in love with the widow and one day the Lord asks him to leave the city of Akbar. What matters for him is the physical separateness with the widow and Elijah does not know how to handle it if it happens now.
History was filled with tragic example. And even had he no knowledge of sacred Scripture, he had the example of his friends, and of friends the friends, lost in long nights of waiting and suffering and the feeling of being difficult for him to leave his city when the Lord commanded, and he would be dead now. (86)
Not only being afraid of the physical separateness, but Elijah is not also daring to utter his feeling to the widow. Although there are some perfect moments to utter what he feels, Elijah tends to perceive that the widow refers to something else.
For a fraction of a second, he felt he could open his heart to her. But he decided not to take the risk; she must surely be referring to something else. “Start doing something,” he said, changing the subject. “In that way, time will be an ally, not an enemy. (91)
Walking through the valley, Elijah thinks that he cannot give his love to the widow. The only thing he is able to do is asking to God how to erase that feeling from his heart. Suddenly his personal guardian angel appeared and said that Lord will take the seed of hatred out of the human’s heart, but He is not willing to wipe away the beautiful feeling of people’s love.
One night, when everyone in Akbar really feels the coming war, Elijah takes the widow and her son to search for a safer place. In this difficult situation, Elijah decides to express his feeling to the widow as if everything will totally change from now on.
It will be a long journey, and we shall find no rest until I have done what He has asked of me,” said Elijah, as if guessing her thoughts. “Still, your love will be my mainstay, and in the moments I grow weary in the battles in His name, I can find repose in your arms. (146)
The night before the attack happens, Elijah is not able to sleep and he decides to pray for the widow. He prays to the Lord because he truly cares about her. Praying to the Lord is one of his ways to show that he concerns about the widow’s life.
In the love of a woman, I have discovered the love for all creatures, “he prayed silently. “ I need her. I know that the Lord will not forget that I am one of His instruments, perhaps the weakest of those He has chosen. Help me, O Lord, because I must repose calmly amidst the battles. (152)
The Assyrians soldiers attack the widow’s house. They burn it and get Elijah. A neighbor cries that there is a woman caught in the fire in her own house. Elijah hears it, but he can only pray that Lord will save her. Having made a terrible mistake, the Assyrian soldiers thought that the widow tried to hide the governor of Akbar. However, Elijah gathers his remaining energy to save the widow. More than just a feeling, Elijah now feels that everything happened that night is related to his commitment as the God’s servant
43 In the end of her life, while the widow was dying of the burnt injuries, Elijah collects his bravery and makes his confession that he is ready to accept her love. He does not want the widow to die, as the widow is the love of his life. The widow is the first person who teaches Elijah how to love. This sudden separate definitely tears his heart out.
He continued to dig, and she repeated, “Go and find the body of my son. Please, do as I ask.” Elijah’s head fell against his chest, and he began weeping softly. “I don’t know where he’s buried,” he said. Please don’t go; how I long to have you remain with me. I need you to teach me how to love; my heart is ready now“(165)
Suffering the death of her that draws nearer, Elijah and the widow’s son are demanded to swear that they will not weep for the widow after she was taken away and they must take care of each other.
This is the oath: you two will not weep for me, and each will take care of the other until the Lord allows each of you to follow his path. Don’t weep for me, for there is no reason to be sad. From this moment on, I am Akbar, and the city is beautiful. (166-167)
This tragic physical separateness really makes him down. He never thinks that everything should end up this way. Even, he has no power to save the one who he really loves. God has encountered him with that widow in Akbar. He also asks Elijah to learn how to love a special person. Even so, he never forgets his important mission to return to Israel and destroy Queen Jezebel. Lord knows that Elijah is always ready to go back there. When Elijah suffers from the “imprisoning” love, God does not want to take it away from him.
Unexpectedly, she died in that tragic moment. Feeling so depressed, Elijah does not admit the circumstance. He blames God and asks why this happens to him. Elijah always submits to His demands, but He treats him back unfairly. He grows angry with God. He only knows that the more suffering the Lord gives to him, the hollower his life will be. From now on, he is reduced to ruins, fire, and dust. (167-168)
Elijah tries very hard to rebuild the ruined city of Akbar. That is one way he can do to feel the widow closer. When he takes care of the city, he shows his respect and concerns to the widow and the other people in the city. Receiving such great helps from other, slowly but sure they can rebuild the city and develop themselves after the tragedy. Elijah’s will and commitment to restore the city is paid something worthwhile. When everything becomes normal again, he experiences something wonderful.
He saw a form and knew that it was the woman he had loved, who now returned to walk with pride through her city. He smiled, feeling her touch his face. “I am proud of you,” she seemed to be saying.” Akbar truly is still beautiful. (226-227)
That experience means something for Elijah. Recalling the moment that they have spent together, Elijah is not afraid and doubtful to express what he feels for the widow. As Fromm proposes, Elijah’s love for the widow grows from a feeling into an act of will of decision to commit one’s life completely to that of one other person.
