Background of the Study

C. Research Questions

The study is expected to answer the following questions: 1. What are the natural problems that Karana faces in O’Dell’s Island of Blue Dolphins? 2. How are interdependence between nature and human being shown in Island of the Blue Dolphins?

D. Research Objectives

This research is aimed: 1. to show the natural problems that Karana faces in O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins, 2. to show the interdependence between nature and human beings in Islands of the Blue Dolphins.

E. Research Significances

This research is aimed to be beneficial for the students for some reasons. 1. The students of English Literature Study Program can enhance the findings or data from the Island of the Blue Dolphins, 2. The environmental communities who are caring to be more aware towards their environments. 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Eco-Criticism

1. Definition

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

2. The History of Ecocriticism and Its Emergence

The appearance of ecosystem has been laid down in the earth from the Ice Age to the Stone Age. However, the problem of ecosystem seems growing bigger and wider from time to time. The massive killing of the whales and otters done by the hunters for their furs and fleshes were hunted in an exaggerate manner. Perhaps, if the action is done continuously, the next generation will only know those kinds of animals through the fairy tales or told as a lullaby. Moreover, similar issues become the headline news such as global warming, oil spills, nuclear waste dumps, destructions of the tropical forest rain, acid rain and so on Glotfelty, 1996: xvi. In order to respond to those issues, other disciplines in the field of humanities like law, history and religion began to form “greening” movement in 1970s. By seeing the urgency of solving those issues and the importance of forming greening movement, literary studies started to broaden its “wing” to give awareness to the people about what happen in the world outside. In fact, there is no exact emergence knowing about eco-criticism which the main agenda is earth-centered things or nature. However, based on Barry 1995, 2002, eco-criticism as a concept arose for the first time in late 1970s, at meetings of WLA The Western Literature Association, a body whose field of interest is the literature of the American West. Meanwhile, Glotfelty 1996: xviii believed that emergence of eco-criticism was in the early of 1990. In 1990, the environmental literary studies which are mostly accepted, emerged. In foreign countries, many English Department begins to apply Environmental studies as their course. One of the examples is University of Nevada, Reno. Coupe 2011: 413 in Journal of American Studies stated that Burke as the first critic who analyzes culture and literature from the ecological perspective. Those facts were regarded that eco-criticism emerged in U.S.A. Moreover, this was no passing phase for him; his whole career may be understood as a philosophical experiment in the “green” thinking. In addition, Rueckert in Glotfelty, 1997:107 stated that first law of ecology is “everything connected to everything else”. The researcher’s goal is along with Rueckert’s opinion since the ecology, ecosystem or eco-criticism are interdisciplinary and interconnected. It has relation towards other scientia such as biology, geography, history, philosophy, ethnography. In conclusion, eco-criticism is formed as a tool or a criticism which examines the discipline of Ecology and ecosystem; where ecosystem contains the biodiversity of every living creature from bacteria to blue whale or blue dolphin and ecology is the discipline of the study. The good news is that though the eco- criticism is “a new” criticism, its existence is more recognized now. It is proven by University of Nevada, Reno, U.S.A which applied the study of literature and environment in its curricula. It means that eco criticism is more acceptable now.

3. The Interdependence between Nature and Human in Eco-Criticism