Discovering the Value of Education in a Fantastical World: An Exploration of Magical Realism in a Contemporary Novel

Abstract

So far, the study of magical realism in literature has been limited to the relationship of literature to the chronology of text creation. There have been no studies linking the imagination of magical realism and the reader effect, especially the content of educational values. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the values of education in the literature of magical realism. This research uses semiotic methods, content analysis, and hermeneutics. The primary data source is Danarto Asmaraloka’s novel. The results showed that Asmaraloka is a literature that creates a complex world. It represents reality and fantasy that rejects simple and exclusive binary and postmodernist views. The magical realism in Asmaraloka encompasses certain cultural traditions and universal aspects. At the same time, Asmaraloka provides educational values about freedom. An important im-plication of this research is that literature can be a medium of expression that simultaneously guides readers about freedom.

Keywords

• education
• indonesian literature
• magical realism
• literary anthropology
• educational values