Andrea Hirata and the Tetra Logy

Descriptive Essay
He is a simple man, it can be seen from his daily appearance. His curly hair is combed rarely, his clothes seem old, and he is not fashionable. He loves to use old jeans, weird necklace, and his lovely boots. His major study is economy, and he is highly interested in physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy. He was a student of Universitas Indonesia. He got Europe scholarship for studying Master of Science in Universitē de Paris and Sheffield Hallam University. Regarding from his physical appearance and his background of study, we won’t believe that he is a famous writer. Andrea Hirata Seman Said Harun, is a famous and talented writer who was born on October 24, 1973 in Belitong, Bangka Belitung Province. He is the writer of the famous Tetra Logy Laskar Pelangi. His love to Pulau Belitung leads him to write those novels. The tetra logy consists of four novels which reveal Andrea’s life story.

Laskar Pelangi is Andrea’s first novel which was published by Bentang Pustaka in 2005. This novel primarily reveals Andrea’s life when he was a child. This novel tells about 10 students as the Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops) which consists of Ikal –Andrea’s nickname-, Lintang, Sahara, Mahar, A Kiong, Syahdan, Kucai, Borek, Trapani, and Harun. They come from poor families and they were studying in Muhammadiyah Elementary and Junior High School in Pulau Belitung in their unpretentious life. They called themselves Laskar Pelangi because they love to watch rainbow together as they were in the same school since the first grade of Elementary School until they were in the third grade of Junior High School. In the end of the story the member of the troops is added one girl namely Flo as a transferred student. Hard life didn’t hamper them but motivated them to do something better to increase their quality of life. This novel is used as many academic references. It is recorded as the top best seller ever of Indonesian Literature Book.

Andera’s second novel is titled Sang Pemimpi (the dreamer). This novel was published in July 2005 by Bentang Pustaka. This novel describes Ikal’s teenage life especially when he was a senior high school student. In this novel Andrea primarily explores the friendship of Ikal and Arai. Arai is not a member of Laskar Pelangi. He was adopted by Ikal’s father after Arai’s father died when Arai was a student in the third grade of elementary school. Arai is the central character in this novel. Arai is a very rigid boy even though he had a very hard life. He can see life from many points of view and perspectives. Actually there are three main characters in this novel, and the third one is Jimbron. He is the ‘Horse Boy’. He loves horse very much, he knows horse very well, and he loves to talk about horse eve though he is a stammer. They three had very hard life which strengthens their friendship. This novel inspires many readers as the revelation of the power of dream.

His third novel, Edensor, was published on May 2007 by Bentang Pustaka too. The main characters in this novel are Ikal and Arai. This novel differs from the two previous novels in its setting. The previous novels take place in Belitong while this novel takes place in Paris as they get a scholarship to study in Sorbonne University, Paris, France. The most interesting part of this novel is the paradox of life reveals by Andrea. They cried to the happiness and laugh to the sadness. Andrea arouses culture shock when he describes the significance differences of their life in Belitong and their live in the populous city, Paris. There are apparent relationships of the story in this novel and the story in the two previous novels. Ikal’s journey to search his beloved girl A Ling who he met in Belitong is one example of those relationships. Those make this novel really interesting to read. Andrea put the power of dream as the basic moral value in this novel as he did in the previous novels. The interesting story and inspiring moral values brings this novel as a nominee in the KLA (Khatulistiwa Literary Award) in 2007.

Maryamah Karpov is the fourth and the last novel of the Tetra Logy. This novel was published on November 2008 by Bentang Pustaka and officially released on November 28, 2008 in MP Book Point Jakarta. In this novel Andrea explores the story of Ikal, Arai, and A Ling equipped by the unanswered questions in the previous novels. As the last novel, it describes the conclusion and the end of Ikal’s journey. Ikal traveled throughout “batuan” or “lanun” island –place of criminals’ hiding- to search for his love A Ling. The power of love and dream are aroused in this story apparently. Good responses come from the readers, especially from the fans of Laskar Pelangi those are very expectant for the next story. This novel gets many awards from Indonesian Literature Committee.

Those are brief descriptions of Anrea Hirata and his Tetra Logy. Many things can be learned from him and his novels, not only his success in writing but also the moral values in the novels. His novels that come from his love and his powerful dream lead him to the top of his career as a writer and success economist. Every novel gets its own specialty and awards. Many people said that he is the JK Rowling of Indonesia. We have to be proud that Indonesia has a good and talented writer like him. Make your dreams, because god will hug those dreams (Andrea Hirata 2006).