THE BEAUTIFUL OF KHALIL GIBRAN

"He is an excessive fanatic, almost crazy. Even though he is an idealist, his literary goal is to poison the souls of young people. If men and women follow Gibran's advice on marriage, family ties will break, society will perish, and the world will become hell for people by demons and demons. "

Some have argued that Gibran Kahlil Gibran is a poet of love. His work was also impressed with the romance of romance. Like when I visited a bookstore some time ago, I found that his work had been bound in pink, with a cartoon similar to a doll, and the title highlighted the romance side. This appearance does not only shrink the figure of Gibran, but also shapes the shadow that his work is solely for teenagers.

Like Milan Kundera, Pramoedya, and other 'real' writers, Gibran 'created' a struggle. Excerpts at the beginning of this paper are quotes from those who drove Gibran. He also used this quote to begin his work entitled The Eastern Nation of Honey Eaters. Gibran refused what was addressed to him. Through it he unraveled some of the habits and general behavior of the eastern nation.

Gibran was born January 6, 1883, in Bishari (now Lebanon) which was then still in Syria and under Turkish rule. Gibran grew into a famous genius in the East and in the West. At an early age, he wrestled in Arabic literature at Lebanon. And as a reward subservient to conscience and common sense, Gibran grew into a 'dissident'. In 1906 he launched a sharp attack on the Church and the State through his work, Ara’s al Muruj.

As a reward for his writings, Gibran had to leave his homeland. In the overseas country, he devoted a sad feeling to see his country. And as someone who was expelled when he wrote, "Being a foreigner in a foreign country is better than being a stranger among your own brothers"

After spending some time in Boston, Gibran continued studying in London and studied at the Julien Academie and in the Ecoles des Beaux-Arts Paris. This experience gives Gibran the chance to 'experience' the literature of two worlds: east and west. Some say Gibran is the bridge of both.

Among the writers who briefly influenced Gibran was the philosopher who inspired Hasan Tiro, Nietzsche. If we read Gibran's work entitled The Prophet, we can find its form very close to the work of Nietzsche, Also Sprach Zarathustra. Gibran offers a 'fresh and sharp framework' in seeing and interpreting the reality of human life.

In the Prophet, a character named Al Mustafa. He came home from the Odyssey. Al Mustafa speaks to his people about legal, political and moral issues. Through it, Gibran stabs the hypocritical behavior of arrogant people and social institutions in presenting values; impose the will of good and bad by ignoring the humanist side and/or even by humiliating humanity.

With sharp writing Gibran had gotten a glance. Power tells us that his exciting writing style endangers human life. The "school" people call it, "People who are excessive in seeing the bad side of life." One of his masterpieces "Broken Wings" was labeled "Combined Poison".

Then was born "Eastern Nation Honey Eaters". He described the attitude and way of thinking of the east that pulled them into a setback. In the case of writing, for example, the Eastern nation wants the writers to write just good things about themselves. Gibran said,

"Easterners demand writers like bees who always produce honey. They are honey eaters and prefer them to all other foods.

They ask the world to study their history, customs, and traditions, and their language. They also expect the world to learn everything they know, "

In Gibran's view, the East was lulled into an illusive picture of themselves. Think of yourself as a great nation even though it is far from reality. Their minds freeze and cannot be contested. Gibran incised,

In short, the Eastern people ask for justification for their past and the basis of their peace. They abstain from positive thinking and teaching and some knowledge of the reality that will hurt and wake them from sleep. "

Gibran rejects apologetic thinking, a model of thinking that seeks justification for inequality that is contrary to healthy reason. He refused to become a honey-eater writer whose mind worked only to gain praise from his people and ignore conscience in order to follow the path of thinking of lame crowds.

After the expulsion and all the insults attached to his people, Gibran breathed his last breath on April 10, 1931 on St. Vincent Hospital, New York. His body was repatriated to Beirut. The Lebanese government built Mesium Kahlil Gibran as a form of normalization

Credit: Mr. Putra Hidayatullah