Representasi Nilai Ekologis pada Novel Jejak Balak karya Ayu Welirang: Ekokritik Perspektif Lawrence Buel
Abstract
This study aims to analyze and describe the representations of ecological values contained in the novel Jejak Balak by Ayu Welirang. This study explores ecocriticism in Jejak Balak through the theoretical framework of Lawrence Buell. The study adopts a descriptive qualitative approach and employs content analysis. The research data sources consist of Ayu Welirang’s novel Jejak Balak as well as books and journal articles discussing literary ecology. Data collection was conducted through reading the novel, document analysis, and note-taking. The results of the study indicate that the quotations in the novel Jejak Balak fulfill the four aspects of ecocriticism as defined by Lawrence Buell. The findings from these four aspects are as follows: the nonhuman environment as a subject of history (4 instances), non-anthropocentric concerns (2 instances), human ethical accountability toward nature (10 instances), and the environment as a dynamic process (6 instances). The ecological representations in the novel’s quotations relate to humanity’s destructive actions toward nature, humanity’s ethical responsibility toward nature, and ecological disasters resulting from human intervention. The findings of this study are useful for fostering a love of the environment and strengthening a sense of responsibility toward the preservation of natural ecosystems.
Downloads
References
Andriyani, N., & Piliang, W. S. H. (2019). Kritik sastra ekologis terhadap novel-novel terbaru Indonesia. GERAM (Gerakan Aktif Menulis), 7(1), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.25299/geram.2019.2877
Arisa, A., Arafah, M., & Srimularahmah, A. (2025). Pemertahanan kearifan lingkungan dalam novel Indonesia. Jurnal Onoma: Pendidikan, Bahasa, dan Sastra, 11(2), 1539–1550. https://doi.org/10.30605/onoma.v11i2.5027
Berliana, B., Suwandi, S., & Sumarwati. (2022). Fenomena disharmoni manusia dengan lingkungan dalam novel Lelaki Harimau karya Eka Kurniawan. Suar Betang, 17(2), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.26499/surbet.v17i2.357
Buell, L. (1995). The environmental imagination: Thoreau, nature writing, and the formation of American culture. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2016). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Garrard, G. (2012). Ecocriticism: The new critical idiom. Routledge.
Greenpeace Indonesia. (2025, July 12). Krisis iklim sudah sampai di depan rumah. https://www.greenpeace.org/indonesia/cerita/64548/krisis-iklim-sudah-sampai-di-depan-rumah/
Indonesia Environment & Energy Center. (n.d.). 20 masalah lingkungan serius di Indonesia: Penyebab, dampak, dan solusi. https://environment-indonesia.com/20-masalah-lingkungan-serius-di-indonesia-penyebab-dampak-dan-solusi/
Jannah, A., & Efendi, A. N. (2024). Kajian ekologi sastra (ekokritik) dalam antologi puisi Negeri di Atas Kertas karya Komunitas Sastra Nusantara: Perspektif Lawrence Buell. Ghancaran: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 77–90. https://doi.org/10.19105/ghancaran.vi.17182
Juanda, J., & Azis. (2023). Representasi lingkungan dalam cerpen Ketam Batu karya Gus TF Sakai. Jurnal Onoma: Pendidikan, Bahasa, dan Sastra, 9(1), 373–385. https://doi.org/10.30605/onoma.v9i1.2277
Karim, A. A., & Suyitno, I. (2024). Environmental exploitation in the colonial era: Human and natural disharmony in the novel Membunuh Harimau Jawa by Risda Nur Widia. In Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Literature HISKI (Vol. 1, pp. 233–251).
Latifah, N., Supriadi, O., & Suntoko. (2023). Nilai etika lingkungan dalam kumpulan cerpen Yang Lebih Bijak daripada Peri karya Rizqi Turama (pendekatan ekologi sastra). Jurnal Onoma: Pendidikan, Bahasa, dan Sastra, 9(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.30605/onoma.v9i1.2130
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Arizona State University.
Muhaiyaadden, F. A., Gunawan, F., Aulia, N. J., Syahid, M. I., & Ahmad, A. M. (2026). Analisis hukum terhadap pembiaran penebangan hutan dan alih fungsi lahan menjadi perkebunan sawit yang memicu banjir bandang di Sumatera. Adagium: Jurnal Ilmiah Hukum, 4(1), 66–88. https://doi.org/10.70308/adagium.v4i1.267
Nisma. (2025). Representasi nilai pendidikan lingkungan novel Jejak Balak karya Ayu Werilang (2023): Kajian ekokritik. Jurnal Sosial Humaniora (JSH), 18(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.12962/j24433527.v18i1.22684
Oktaviani, S., & Ruddin, M. (2024). Representasi ekokritik sastra perspektif Lawrence Buell dalam novel Menanam adalah Melawan karya Widodo. Ghancaran: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 254–268. https://doi.org/10.19105/ghancaran.vi.17210
Qoimah, N. A., Faisol, M., & Fitriani, L. (2025). Narasi kerusakan alam dalam novel Nazif Al-Hajr karya Ibrahim Al-Kuni: Perspektif ekokritik Greg Garrard. Jazirah: Jurnal Peradaban dan Kebudayaan, 6(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.51190/jazirah.v6i1.252
Qonitulhaq, E. F. R., & Pamungkas, O. Y. (2024). Magical realism in the novel Jejak Balak by Ayu Welirang. Canadian Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 4(6), 70–84. https://doi.org/10.53103/cjlls.v4i6.187
Rahman, S., & Cindi, D. T. (2024). Eksploitasi alam dalam perspektif sastra: Kajian ekologi sastra novel Tiang Garam karya Royyan Julian dan implikasinya pada pendidikan literasi lingkungan. Ghancaran: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 684–688. https://doi.org/10.19105/ghancaran.vi.18166
Salsabila, A., Meliasanti, F., & Muhtarom, I. (2025). Deforestasi dalam novel Jejak Balak karya Ayu Welirang (kajian ekokritik sastra): Deforestation in the novel Jejak Balak by Ayu Welirang (a study of literary ecocriticism). Transformatika: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 9(3), 888–906. https://doi.org/10.31002/transformatika.v9i3.2829
Setyawan, E., Suyitno, Wardani, N. E., & Suwandi, S. (2023). The pattern of land-grabbing practice in Year of the Weeds novel by Siddhartha Sarma. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 13(7), 1698–1707. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1307.13
Welirang, A. (2023). Jejak Balak. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Copyright (c) 2026 Erlina Kusumastuti, Sarwiji Suwandi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting the article/manuscript of the article, the author(s) agree with this policy. No specific document sign-off is required.
License
The use of the article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution license as currently displayed on Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author(s)' Warranties
The author warrants that the article is original, written by the stated author(s), has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author(s).
User/Public Rights
Under the Creative Commons license, users are allowed to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. Users will also need to attribute authors on distributing works in the journal and other media of publications. Unless otherwise stated, the authors are public entities as soon as their articles got published.
Rights of Authors
Authors retain all their rights to the published works, such as (but not limited to) the following rights;
- Copyright and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,
- The right to use the substance of the article in own future works, including lectures and books,
- The right to reproduce the article for own purposes,
- The right to self-archive the article,
- The right to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the article's published version (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Co-Authorship
If the article was jointly prepared by more than one author, any authors submitting the manuscript warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to be agreed on this copyright and license notice (agreement) on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this policy. The journal will not be held liable for anything that may arise due to the author(s) internal dispute. The journal will only communicate with the corresponding author.
Royalties
Being an open accessed journal and disseminating articles for free under the Creative Commons license term mentioned, author(s) aware that the journal entitles the author(s) to no royalties or other fees.
Miscellaneous
The article will be published in the journal if the article’s editorial process is successfully completed. The editors may modify the article to a style of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, referencing, and usage that deems appropriate. The author acknowledges that the article may be published so that it will be publicly accessible and such access will be free of charge for the readers.











