Battling Villagers in the Midst of Modern Life in Mata yang Enak Dipandang by Ahmad Tohari

Abstract

This discussion aims to present the descriptive analysis of five short stories by Ahmad Tohari in the collection of short stories of Mata yang Enak Dipandang. Well-known for stories richly depict the life of villagers, the short stories reveal the struggles behind a seemingly homogeneous, innocent, and simple village culture with individualistic, heterogeneous, and complexed modern life. The two collide and boil down to the behaviors and reasons that represent the struggles of personal identity and its survival in the late modern life settings. It is within that context, Ahmad Tohari presents different layers of personal struggles of identity that is always faced with challenges to adapt and change in the midst of their respective era.

Epic of Mahabharata in Kuntowijoyo’s Novels: Aesthetic Response Analysis

“…In wayang performances, Punakawan becomes a medium for social criticism and raises the voice of the common people. Punakawan [10] figures convey messages of kindness and local wisdom related to human character, relationships between humans, and human relationships with nature and the environment.…”