Islands in the Stream: A Spatial Perspective on Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Reverse Flow

• Main Author: Faruk, Faruk
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: constructions of islands and seas; literary imagination; maritime orientation; spatial theory
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss40/29; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/2039/viewcontent/KK_2040_2C_202023_2029_20Forum_20Kritika_20on_20Critical_20Island_20Studies_20__20Faruk.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This study examines the role of Indonesian literary works with regard to the imagination as well as constructions of islands and seas, and in relation to the changing perception and attitudes of the Indonesian government respecting these twinned terms. The aforementioned is strikingly obvious in the case of the 2019 Natuna incident in which the Indonesian government verged on jurisdictional conflict with China over its Exclusive Economic Zone off Natuna island. The literary work chosen for discussion is Arus Balik [Reverse Flow] by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. I examine this novel's imagination and construction of islands and seas with reference to current theoretical frameworks in critical island studies; the Indonesian government's shift from a land-based to a maritime orientation in its policies, especially after the Natuna incident; and spatial production theory in cultural studies. In accordance with this new orientation and policy, the novel perceives and signifies Indonesian islands from a maritime perspective, which is a rupture in nature. On the one hand, the novel aims to broaden the minds of perceived limited islanders by compelling them to abandon the "reverse flow" and join in experiencing islands from a broader marine perspective. On the other hand, it serves as a reminder of the danger posed by the North and foreign countries/peoples.