DEATH AND SELF-REALIZATION IN SADEGH HEDAYAT’S THE BLIND OWL AND JOHN BANVILLE’S THE SEA

DEATH AND SELF-REALIZATION IN SADEGH HEDAYAT’S THE BLIND OWL AND JOHN BANVILLE’S THE SEA

Neneng N Aprianti , Budi Darmab, Ali Mustofac a/b/c Language and Literature Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia. nenengaprianti@mhs.unesa.ac.id

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to describe the death perception and its role to unveil the awareness to achieve self-realization through the concept of existentialism. The main characters in Hedayat’s The Blind Owl and Banville’s The Sea show their freedom in perceiving the death which constantly influences the process of self-realization. This study applied the concept of theistic and atheistic existentialisms which are proposed by Kierkegaard and Sartre. The results showed 1) the main character in the two novels presents death as anxiety awakening, the refusal of afterlife and death as the stages of life. 2) The death perception leads the character to reveal self, acknowledge superiority, and reveal spiritual living. These results gave contribution in building students’ comprehension about the freedom and responsibility upon the decision taken in their lives.

Keyword: Existentialism Death Self-Realization The Blind Owl The Sea

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