Puisi Tentang Rapat Karya Irfan Suryana

            The Water-Babies  was written by Charles Kingsley. It tells about a young little chimney sweep named Tom who had a journey in the water babies and he became a scientist after he learnt many lessons of life there. There, he also met some fairies who taught him about life. In the novel, Tom wanted to assist Mr. Grimes, the one who has control to Tom, because he was being punished by fairies due to his behavior. He destroyed many plants in the water babies. For reaching his purpose, Tom had to face many obstacles that he never thought before and he was aware that it was not an easy thing to help Mr. Grimes. So, from the novel, there are some points that we get after reading the novel. It is about a success. A success requires long process, for example experience, curiosity, lesson, and effort.

            Experience is the process of getting knowledge or skill from doing, seeing, or feeling things. Usually, someone who have many experiences will know more about everything and they are very useful for him in order to solve many problems that he have to face. Good experience or bad experience have same grade to lead someone in the best place. People who only have a little experience, of course, they will not go forward because they only know about some usual things that they get. Being a different person sometimes is perfect. In experience, people can meet new people, visit new place, and have different feelings such as happy, enjoyable, frightened, and heavenly. There are a lot of advantages of having many experiences. From the novel there are a lot of experiences that make Tom have to pass through all of them to help Mr. Grimes as his goal. An experience can be wonderful, bad, or even awful. Those things happen to Tom.

First, Tom have many wonderful experiences that make him feel amazed because he saw many kind of things for the first time. For instance Tom experienced many wonderful things that made him happy, for instance on page 10, So she walked beside Tom, and talked to him, and asked him where he lived, and what he knew, and all about himself, till Tom thought he had never met such a pleasant-spoken woman. Sometimes, someone will meet person who is not known and expected before but he or she gives a kind of wonderful experience. It happens to Tom. Tom accidentally met Irishwoman when he and Mr. Grimes wanted to go to Harthover. Tom could conclude that she was such a pleasant-woman because she was so polite to Tom and he had not ever met a woman like her. Besides that on page 36, He saw great spiders there, with crowns and crosses marked on their backs, who sat in the middle of their webs, and when they saw Tom coming, shook them so fast that they became invisible. In that time, Tom with Mr. Grimes wanted to go to Harthover but he met that strange animal which made him scary. In the beginning, of course, he was scary with those spiders because there are some differences between spider in land world and in the water babies. In the water babies, a spider have a crown, crosses marked on the back and it can disappear easily. That is why Tom was frightened.

Next, on another page, There were water-flowers there too, in thousands ; and tried to pick them : but as soon as he touched them, they drew themselves in and turned into knots of jelly ; and then Tom saw that they were all alive—bells, and stars, and wheels, and flowers, of all beautiful shapes and colours; and all alive  and busy, just as Tom was. So now he found that there was a great deal more in the world than he had fancied at first sight. Tom was surprised because he had not seen that flower like that. It was so strange and not usual thing for Tom. However, it made Tom realized that many things were amazing which he had not experienced. On page 266,  So Tom dived under the great white which never was opened yet, and went on in black darkness at the bottom of the sea, for seven days and seven nights. In that time Tom had conviction enough to go out and see all the world. So, he was not frightened with everything.

            In addition, another experience is about getting someone’s affection. It is an interesting one because Tom had not ever felt loving or caring from the others. In the novel, it is told that Tom was only with Mr. Grimes. On page 205, Tom got affection from fairy who took care of him. Tom had not ever got affection from anybody. So, when it happened Tom felt something different and he was so happy, she took Tom in her arms, and laid him in the softest place of all, and kissed him and patted him, and took to him, tenderly and low, such things as he had never heard before in his life; and Tom looked up into her eyes, and loved her, and loved, till he fell fast asleep from pure love. Honestly, that fairy is to nurse many babies in the water babies, it is not only Tom who is loved by fairy but the others as well.

There is possibility that it is not only about wonderful things that can be got from the experience but it is also a bad one. Why does it appear? Because sometimes bad experience will lead people to walk in right way and estrange themselves from bad things. It is not to be frightened but there are many significant things inside bad experience. In the novel, Tom experienced bad things, for example Tom almost died because he was buried alive but he saved, before Tom had stood there five minutes there he was buried in silt up his ankles, and began to be afraid that he should have been buried alive. Although Tom had bad experience but he knew how to save himself from the bad things. In other words, he could knew the way to adapt in good condition or in bad condition.

            Another thing is about curiosity. Curiosity can lead someone to get success in his life. Actually, curiosity is the desire to learn or know about anything. It is also an important thing for reaching a goal because without curiosity it is impossible to explore something and perhaps something will run as it is. It will be thought as an usual thing as well. Sometimes, it is hard to be understood and someone will give up easily to find out the answer. If people do not have curiosity, of course, their live will be boring and flat. They can receive easily the fact, order, warning, and so forth without exploring why those thing come up to them.  In the novel Tom was so curious about everything in the water-babies such as animal. He also wondered many things that he had not been thought before. Curiosity concerns knowledge, reason, and so on. In life, curiosity is an significant thing because it is so necessary for people in order to get success. There are some aspects that curiosity can appear.

First is about trying to understand plenty of strange things. Someone will wonder about anything for the first time such as a place that he has not be there before. There are a lot of strange things in this world and only people who has curiosity will understand about those things. Ordinary persons only see the performance of something without knowing more. If people understand about strange things that have not been known by the others, for sure, they will be such a great person so that they can do everything based on their knowledge so far. It happens to Tom when he was in meadow he found a cave and suddenly he wondered anything that lived in the dark cave. It happens as well in another situation, when Tom eventually could find a way to save Mr. Grimes through some fairies in the water babies. Tom felt doubtful when he tried to open the door because  he guessed that there would be dangerous thing inside. If Tom did not have curiosity enough about that cave, of course, his trip would end and he would not became a scientist which is told in the end of the novel.

Second is about leading down new paths. What does it mean?  It means curiosity will lead someone to get another way when one way seems hard to be taken. To be frank, there are not hard thing if people comprehend what they must be done in the next step. Many people fail because they do not see a new path in front of them. They give up easily because they are not creative as well. That means curiosity leads someone to be creative people. It is not an easy thing to find out the way to be creative but it needs training by themselves. There are some evidences of this statement. On page 95, Tom was so astonished that he never said a word: but he stared with all his eyes. And he went up to the top of the water too, and peeped out to see would happen. That page depicts that Tom wanted to know what was happening by going up to the top of the water. His curiosity leads him to take new path to know something. If he did not do that, of course, he would not know about it and he would overlook that thing. It is similar to page 267, he was so eager to get to the top of the water, and see the pool where the good whales go. If Tom do not have eagerness, he would not meet the whale and he would not know where whales’ home. Eventually, Tom could know the good whales laid.

Third is about Musing something. When someone muses something it means he is wondering about an important thing and he endeavors to understand it. Usually, musing something is done when people do not know what they must do. Some people contend that musing something only waste time and it is not necessary to be done. Sometimes, people who have thought like that they are egoistic person as if they know all things in this world. Moreover, musing something is done to find out the answer. Perhaps, it can be a solution, manner, and so forth. In the novel there is an evidence of musing something that is experienced by Tom. He had always one thing on his mind, and that was—where little Ellie went, when she went home on Sundays (p.221). One day, Tom was astonished about Ellie why she always went somewhere every Sunday because she never told him where  she would go. Tom did well, in the beginning Tom amused about where Ellie went and he was courageous to ask Ellie directly. After that, Ellie advised him to ask fairies about that. When Tom met the fairy named Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid he asked to her and the fairy told him the way to go there. There were some requirements if Tom wanted to go there. Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid said, “Those who go there must go first where thwy do not like, and do what they do not like, and help somebody they do not like (page 222). If Tom did not muse about it, he will never know about the place that there are a lot of requirements if Tom wanted to go there.

            Besides experience and curiosity, there is lesson in getting success. Lesson is an activity that is done in order to learn something. Lesson is very crucial thing because if someone cannot get a lesson of something, he will give up easily and he will never get his own success. There are only persons who can get their lesson after they do not know what must be done. Moreover, lesson is about learning from everything. It can be human, animal, plant, or even from thing. When someone does not know about something, of course, he will ask someone and he will get new lesson from him. Lesson concerns many aspects such as subject, major, or even lesson of life. Lesson is not only got in school, organization, and so forth but it also can be got in many places even it can be unexpected place, like mountain. People who do not get lesson or they can be called as persons who are lack of lesson will not amend. They will be in the same place, same perception, same thought, same approximation rather than they become new people who know everything. Being people who can do everything because of their knowledge will be worthwhile for everyone in this world. Meeting new person on the road will also get new perception about something. People who have many lessons, notably lesson of life will be sought by everyone because mostly they have many obstacles regarding life. For example, they do not know the way to heal someone from sickness. In novel  The Water Babies, Charles Kingsley has been depicted Tom as a person who got many lesson from many things like fairy, animal, and so forth during he was in the water babies. That lesson is not usual lesson but it is exceptional lesson.

First thing that Tom got as a lesson from getting a warning. In a warning there is a message that has to be noticed because of many reasons. It can be for saving someone. Sometimes, if people do not mind a warning they must be got accident. Usually, a warning is given to someone who newly stays  in that place. For example on page 154, always remember that the one true, certain, final, and all important difference between you and an ape is, that you have a hippopotamus major in your brain, and it has none. In that time, a fairy gave a warning to Tom when he was in the water babies.

Second is about getting a story that happened in the past time. A story can give many lesson for the next generation. Especially, a bad story can give more lesson than a good one because it reflects many mistakes which have done by people in the past time so that it must be found the way how to make it better by next generation. Some people think that it waste time but smart people will listen to someone who is narrating about story in the past time. Tom got a lesson when fairy told him about people who looked for only a pleasant and they became animal because of their behavior. She told that story because she wanted to tell Tom that being people who only want a pleasant without thinking what good or bad will put them into dangerous thing. That message or that lesson is convinced by the fairy implicitly because she let Tom to think more and take a lesson by himself.

Third, a lesson can be got from concluding something. Smart people will try to conclude many things that exist around them. They do like that because they want to get precious thing that seem as usual thing. Concluding something is also useful for preparing what will be done. It is not an easy one because it needs thinking and comprehending more. In the other words, it will take long time and analysis as well. The benefit of concluding something is understanding or comprehending regarding something, answering all the questions that appear before, solving the problem, and so forth. On the page 90, there is evidence, So now he found that there was a great deal more in the world than he had fancied at first sight. Tom realized that there are many amazing things that Tom had not bee seen yet.  In the contrast, people who gaze some things around him is only usual thing and they do not need to think, of course, they will get nothing and it is a loss for them. They cannot utilize it in the best manner and sometimes they are careless in everything. They will regret in the future because they have ignored those thing which do not come back again in the same way.

Forth is about paying attention on advice. Sometimes, everyone always feels right in everything whereas there is no perfect person in this world so that everyone needs advice from the others. The aim of giving advice is just to make everything better. Usually, an advice is given by older one. An advice can be hard or easy to be done. If it is hard, thus, it needs some options but it still relates to the advice. In the other words, it can be done with different manner but it still makes sense with that advice. Moreover, an advice is given to someone because he has done a wrong thing or did mistake. In the novel, there is a unique thing because Tom got an advice not from people but petrels. Petrels can speak to Tom, They said, “if you don’t attend on him, you won’t earn your discharge from her, you know. It is from page 263. An advice can also make someone realize about his mistake so far so that he will not do same mistake again.. He will endeavor himself to know the way to be better one. It happens to Tom when Mother Carey advised Tom about knowing himself by saying, “You ought to know yourself, for you have been there already. It is from page 272. That advice is given to Tom because he was about forgot about himself. Tom tried to know himself, then, but it was so hard. Tom asked a help to Mother Carey because he extremely wanted to know himself. The, Mother Carey asked to Tom to look at her. So, Tom looked into her great blue eyes and he recollected the way perfectly. Eventually, he could know himself completely. If Tom did  not pay attention on Mother Carey’s advice, of course, he would not know about himself. Even though, in the beginning he found some troubles but he tried again by asking Mother Carey and finally he did very well.

Fifth is about understanding the others’ experience. A lesson can be got from the others’ experience. Good experience or bad one, for sure, can give many lessons, notably lesson of life. When people share about their obstacles in the past time and they can solve those with many manners it will give many solutions for the others to solve their problem as well. In the other words, it will be used as a good solution for solving their problem. To be frank, problem in this world is always circled from one person to another. The difference is the subject who must undergo that problem. However, many people deem that they are amazing people who live in this world so that they neglect the others. So, when someone tries to understand why that person can be a successful person it will make him becomes a successful person as well. That example is like Tom. Tom tried to understand about the reason why many skippers turned into mollys. Mollys are kind of bird in water babies. He found out the answer, the reason is they were saucy and greedy. Many persons are egoistic. They do not want to comprehend the others’ experience because they contend that it is not important. An important thing is they can take care of themselves whereas by understanding the others’ experience will maintain them for bad things that will happen to them.

Sixth is a lesson can be got from getting explanation of something. Being person who is open-minded will facilitate himself to comprehend an explanation from someone. Giving explanation of something implies that something is very important and many persons have not known about that. Usually, that thing concerns human being. It is not easy to comprehend an explanation because sometimes it is complicated one. The point is to make people know about something and they do not know about that before. An example from this is from the novel when Mother Carey said to  Tom, “any one can make things, if they will take time and trouble enough”. If Tom did not get explanation, he would be very confused because he did not know the truth.

Seventh is about getting guidance. It can get a lesson because getting guidance from the others will give a new thing that will make someone know the way he must be through. Some persons in this world neglect about the guidance that is given by someone who takes care of him whereas they will go astray if they do not listen to. That is why guidance is very important as well in this life. If someone only uses his belief to reach his dream or his goal it will give many difficulties and it will be hard as well. There are a lot of benefits from getting the guidance. For example, people who get guidance will not be confused again because they know the answer completely and they can maximize what they have for reaching their dream because they will see that everything seems easy because of the guidance. Sometimes, to get guidance is difficult because people must ask to someone or learn something. In the novel, Tom got a lesson about a wonderful place that man never saw before by getting guidance from conjurors, fortune tellers, astrologers, prophesiers, and the others who were in water babies. They said to Tom, “Look a-head, only look a-head; and we will show you what man never saw before, and right away to the end of the world! It is from page 279. If Tom did not get the guidance from them, of course, he did not know about that place in which people never see before.

Eighth is a lesson that is got from learning how the others defend their existence. An existence is also very important thing for people because they will be admitted that they live in this world. Trying to defend an existence is not as easy as people think because it needs more effort and talent. It is not about being popular people but how to live in this world. If people do not try to defend their existence, of course, the next generation will not know about them or even a history will not record them. It happens to Tom, when he learnt about all little people who wrote their own book regarding them. It is from page 288, he saw all little people in the world, writing all the little books in the world, about all the other little people in the world; probably because they had no great people to write about. Until in the end of the novel Tom did not write a book about himself but he just knew that it is important thing to be done if he wanted to be known by the next generation.

Ninth is a lesson about making preparation for anything. If someone have been ready for anything, it means he will not be surprised if bad things occur because not all things are appropriate with plan that has been made before. To be honest, many people feel lazy if they have to prepare for everything that is not necessary from them. They are completely wrong because all things can happen in every situation and every place. To be frank, making preparation is hard because it means that people must prepare everything for outer plan but if people do like that, for sure it will make them better in many situation. They will perform their best and maybe the others will stare at that people. Tom got a lesson about it when Tom saw ploughs drawing horses, nails driving hammers, birds’ nests taking boys, books making authors, bulls keeping china-shops, monkeys shaving cats, dead dogs drilling live lions, blind brigadiers shelfed as principals of college, play-actors not in the least shelfed as popular preachers and suddenly they said to Tom, “Every one set to do something which he had not learnt, because in what he had learnt, or pretended to learn, he had failed.” It is from page 290. The ploughs wanted to say that it is better for Tom to prepare for anything.

Tenth is about lesson to believe in oneself. Believing in oneself will make someone really understand what he will do for himself. So, there will not be remorse if he does everything with his own. Besides that, he will not depend on the others because he realizes that the others will not always be next to him. Even sometimes they come and go without permission. Usually, people too much depend on the others because they do not believe in themselves whereas it will only make them cannot stand alone. It is a must for them to realize that their future is only on their hand, not the others’ hand. Moreover, they will not find true life that keep moving forward to a success. When people failed they will not surrender what have happened but they will try to find out the reason why they fail. After that, they will move on and go on to do the same challenges to make them complete. It is like a game. In the novel, Tom is very confident to take his own way although somebody tries to influence him to take another way. There is an evidence about it on page 291, “The east lies here, my dear,; I assure you this is the east. Tom said to him, “But I don’t want to go east.” If Tom d.id not believe in himself, he will go astray for sure.

The last lesson is about doing everything that can be done. Sometimes, people feel that they do not have capability enough to do something. They are unaware of something that they have and they must improve their capability by themselves. To be honest, Everyone has different capability that makes them special person with the others. If they realize about it, of course, they all will get their own success.  Tom got a lesson like that from the truncheon that he met when he went inside to the great building to look for Mr. Grimes. They said to Tom, We do our own work for ourselves ; and do it very well (page 311). They wanted to say to Tom that believing in himself is a must because it will lead Tom to be a successful person in the land world after he could go out from the water babies.

            The last thing is about effort. Effort is physical or mental activity that is needed to achieve something. A success will not be achieved if there is no extra effort. A success is like a plan for future and an effort is like a way to reach that future. It connects one to another. There is no success without effort. Sometimes, people give up on what they want. They just want to achieve anything instantly. They must realize that there is no amazing thing that can be attained instantly. All amazing things require process and in the process there are many obstacles. It does not only effort to achieve a dream but it needs ambition. An ambition can facilitate someone in his effort. Perhaps, people will be upset because they have maximize their effort for reaching their success but they have to be patient as well. So, effort also needs patient because it will give people composure. It reflects to Tom as well, in the novel there are many efforts that are done by Tom in many aspects.

            Effort is need in attaining desire. If people want to attain their desire or dream, of course, they must try to find out the way for it. It is not an easy one as well because there will be a consultation about reaching a dream. That consultation is from someone who is expert in that dream. On page 39 Tom endeavored himself to reach what he wanted. He had to be through many problems, for example hard way and strange place. He did like that because he wanted to see what old grouse was doing with his family. To reach their place in higher place Tom had to climb hill. Perhaps, Tom was frightened but he tried to forget that feeling. It is an example from an effort that was done by Tom. The evidence of this statement is Tom went  on and on, he hardly knew why; but he liked the great wide strange place, and the cool fresh bracing air. But he went more and more slowly as he got higher up the hill; for now the ground grew very bad indeed. After he tried to climb that hill finally he could see old grouse with his family.

            Besides that, effort is needed in helping someone. If someone only stares on the difficulty of the others. It means he does not have loving and caring to the others. For helping the others, thus, it needs an effort even many extra efforts. Helping someone is a must because it reflects that he has good-hearted and it will be useful in next situation. Perhaps, one day people who have been helped by someone will help back to him if he is an accident. In the novel, a fairy endeavored to help Tom for solving his problem for looking for Mr. Grimes. Eventually, she showed to Tom the way to Mr. Grimes. If the fairy did not tell Tom where Mr. Grimes was, of course, Tom would be confused what he had to do and he would not met Mr. Grimes as well.  The evidence of this statement is You must go to Shiny wall, and through the white gate that never was opened; and then you will come to Peacepool, and Mother Carey’s Haven, where the good whales go when they die. And then Mother Carey will tell you the way to the Other-end-of-Nowhere, and there you will find Mr. Grimes. (p. 241). After Tom got a help from the fairy, eventually he could find a way in order to save Mr. Grimes.

            In addition, a thing that can be called an effort is asking to someone to get a clarity of something. Sometimes, people feel ashamed to ask someone whereas it will make them know what they must be done. It is not necessary for them to be ashamed because it will just give a loss for them. Even it makes them confused. If someone wants to explore about something, t is a must for them to ask the others who are gazed as expert ones to give a clarity about that because if his choice is wrong, of course, he will get confusion, not a clarity one.  In the novel, Tom asked to the whale where Mother Carey was. His choice is perfect to ask the whale because they knew completely about Mother Carey. After Tom asking, the whale showed where Mother Carey was directly. If Tom was ashamed to ask the whale, of course, he would not know where Mother Carey was and for sure he would not find Mr. Grimes as his goal. The evidence is Tom swam up to the nearest whale, and asked the way to Mother Carey. The whale told to Tom, “There she sits in the middle”.

                Moreover, another thing that needs an effort is self-defense for living. Defending from many dangerous things is a must. If people do not defend themselves, of course, they will be in dangerous situation. Even it will danger their life as well. They have to have extra efforts in order to defend their life from dangerous things that will be faced. In the novel, many actions that Tom had been done to save his life from dangerous things. For example, on page 286, Tom met a very strange beast. He tried to drop Tom but Tom held on tight to its claws, thinking himself safer where he was. In the beginning a very strange beast felt disturbed because Tom was getting in his way but Tom believed in himself that he was true so there was no frightened thing that would block his way anyway. If Tom did not do like that. Perhaps he would get an accident.

            The last thing that can be called an effort is trying to find a new way. If people only give up in bad situation because they go astray, of course, their life will not keep moving forward and it also will influence their future. Some people maybe only receive everything that is given by the others. Some people will force themselves in order to get a new way for reaching a success of life. People must know that it is very significant. In the novel, when Tom was in his journey to help Mr. Grimes. Tom looked up at the enormous wall, which seemed at least ninety miles high, and he wondered how he should ever get up.

             So, based on the novel, The Water Babies that was written by Charles Kingsley there are many aspects which are needed to get a success. Every aspect connect one to another. An amazing success can be got if these are complete. These are experience, curiosity, lesson, and effort. In the beginning Tom must be through many obstacles to reach his goal, helping Mr. Grimes. Those make Tom become a strong person. He can get many experiences during he was in water babies. Even there are many things that Tom has not been thought, seen, and done by him before. These things make Tom know more about life and its surroundings. In addition, Tom has curiosity enough that it is not all people who has capability like that. For example, Tom tried to understand many strange things that make Tom felt astonished. Moreover Tom gets many lesson during in the water babies such as making preparation for anything, believing in self, and doing everything that can be done. Those lessons Tom can be got is from fairies, animals, and even an usual thing to make Tom become a better person. In the last thing is about effort. All things need effort because to get success does not only need experience, curiosity, and lesson but they need effort as well. From the beginning until the end of novel there are a lot of actions that Tom did to achieve his goal. Eventually, after he could went out from the water babies, he become a scientist who could plan railroads, steam-engines, electric telegraph, and rifled guns, and so forth.

Yogyakarta, 1 November 2015

IRFAN SURYANA