medium” and have “no fixed, single meaning” p. 655. In short, Barry 2009 concludes that deconstruction practice aims “to show that the text is at war with
itself: it is a house divided, and disunified” p. 69. Deconstruction involves several steps in the practice. Barry 2009 notes
that “deconstructionist looks for evidence of gaps, breaks, fissures and discontinuities of all kinds” p. 70. In order to achieve a better understanding,
Barry adds that the deconstructionist seeks “contradictionparadoxes, shiftbreaks in tone, viewpoint, tense, time, person, attitude, conflicts,
absencesomissions, linguistic quirks, aporia” to achieve its ultimate goal, which is “to show textual disunity” p. 70. Further, Barry 2009 provides
several things that is crucial for deconstructionist to do as follows: a.
Reading text against itself so as to expose what might be thought of as the ‘textual subconscious’, where meanings are expressed which may be
directly contrary to the surface meaning p. 70. b.
Fixing upon the surface features of the words- similarities in sound, the root meanings of words, a ‘dead’ or dying metaphor and bring these to the
foreground, so that they become crucial to the overall meaning p. 70. c.
Seeking to show that the text is characterized by disunity rather than unity p. 70.
d. Concentrating on a single passage and analyze it so intensively that it
becomes impossible to sustain a ‘univocal’ reading and the language explodes into ‘multiplicities of meaning’ p. 70.
e. Looking for shifts and breaks of various kinds in the text and see these as
evidence of what is repressed or glossed over or passed over in silence by the text. These discontinuities are sometimes called ‘fault-lines’, a
geological metaphor referring to the breaks in rock formations which give evidence of previous activity and movement p. 71.
Those several things above are practiced in analyzing the “M.I.A” song lyrics through deconstruction study. However, the study starts with discovering
the binary opposition within the text. Bressler 1999 states that “the first stage in a deconstructive reading is to recognize the existence and operation of binary
opposition in our thinking” p. 126. According to Chandler 2002, binary opposition is “a pair of mutually-exclusive signifiers in a paradigm set
representing categories which are logically o pposed” p. 224. Bressler 1999
explains that in binary opposition, “one concept is superior and defines itself by its opposite or inferior center” p. 125. It means that we can understand the
meaning of ‘good’ when it is contrasted to ‘bad’. Bressler adds that “by identifying the binary operation that exists in the text, deconstructionist can then
show the preconceived assumptions on which most of us base our interpretations” p. 130. Thus, discovering the binary opposition in the text is
important for deconstructionist. Further, Bressler 1999 provides some steps in practicing this strategy of reading as follows:
a. Discover the binary operation that governs a text
b. Comment on the values, concepts, and ideas beyond these operations
c. Reverse these present binary operations
d. Dismantle previously held worldviews
e. Accept the possibility of various perspective or levels of meaning in a text
based on the new binary inversions f.
Allow meaning of the text to be undecidable p. 131. Deconstruction in this study is applied in order to reveal the meaning which is
hidden beneath the literal meaning of “M.I.A” song lyrics. This study follows
the guide provided by Barry 2009. However, the step proposed by Bressler 1999 are applied before moving to Barry’s steps. Therefore, the meaning of
the song is taken to the new level of understanding as Guerin, et al. 2011 note “deconstruction leaves meaning open for the reader” p. 178.
5. Theory of Ambiguity
Empson 1955 in his book Seven Types of Ambiguity states that “an
ambiguity, in ordinary speech, means something very pronounced, and as a rule witty or deceitful” p. 3. Ambiguity can be found in a text which may occur
due to different perception between the author and the reader. For example, Empson notes that
“the statement ‘the brown cat sat on the red mat’ may be split up into a series
” p. 3. Empson also adds that “each such simple statement may be translated into a complicated statement which employs other terms” p. 3.
Further, Empson 1955 provides seven types of ambiguity that may occur in a text. In this study, these types of ambiguity are used to analyze to
contradiction found in the “M.I.A” song lyrics. The seven types of ambiguity are described as follows:
a. First Type
The first type ambiguity arises when a detail is effective in several ways at once, e.g. by comparisons with several points of likeness, antitheses with
several points of difference, ‘comparative’ adjectives, subdued metaphors,
and extra meanings suggested by rhythm p. 3. b.
Second Type The second type ambiguity occurs when two or more alternative meanings
are fully resolved into one p. 57. c.
Third Type The third type of ambiguity is considered as a verbal matter which occurs
when two ideas connected only by being both relevant in the context, can be given in one word simultaneously. This is often done by reference to
derivation p. 117. d.
Fourth Type The fourth type of ambiguity occurs when two or more meanings of a
statement do not agree among themselves, but are combined to make clear a more complicated state of mind in the author p. 151.
e. Fifth Type
This type of ambiguity occurs when the author is discovering his idea in the act of writing, or not holding it all in his mind at once, so that, for instance,
there is a simile which applies to nothing exactly, but lies half-way between two things when the author is moving from one to the other p. 175.
f. Sixth Type
The sixth type of ambiguity occurs when a statement says nothing, by tautology, by contradiction, or by irrelevant statements; so that the reader is
forced to invent statement of his own and they are liable to conflict with one another p. 199.
g. Seventh Type
This type of ambiguity is the most ambiguous among other types. It occurs when two meanings of the word, the two values of ambiguity, are the two
opposite meanings defined by the context, so that the total effect is to show a fundamental division in the writer’s mind p. 217.
B. Context of the Song
M.I.A is a song released by Avenged Sevenfold, a metalcore band from Huntington Beach, California, United States of America. It was released in 2005
on the album City of Evil and listed as the last track of the album. The song was written by its vocalist, Matthew Charles Sanders. He wrote the song as a tribute
for his friends who joined the military service. The title of the song itself was taken from military abbreviation of “Missing in Action” which means those
who lost of killed in the battlefield, but the bodies were not found yet. However, Sanders did not mention the war that inspired him to write a
song. It is started with the protagonist which simply mentioned as “I” watching
inhuman actions that force him to be deployed in the war. As a soldier, the protagonist must be brave and strong in the field. In the midst of the war, he
saw something that bothered his mind as a human being. That thing was the horror of war which he should go through. The horror of war was depicted in
the act of killings which took his friends’ and enemy soldiers’ lives. In the end, he managed to come home alive. Despite all brave actions he did during the
war, he was labeled as a murderer. Understanding the horror faced by the soldiers and having friends on the
field, Sanders decided to write a song about his friends. Although he did not join the military, Sanders tried to put himself as a soldier in the field. He also
wrote the feelings about the veterans who have come home after the service. The feeling of guilt, sins, and fear about what they have done is portrayed in the
lyrics.
C. Theoretical Framework
Based on the formulated problem mentioned in the previous chapter, this study aims for the hidden
meaning of “M.I.A” through the deconstruction study. Besides, the researcher also employs some other theories that are related
to this study. In order to answer the first formulated problem, the researcher employs decorum from Simpson 1967 and theory of poetry from Kennedy and
Gioia 2002. Further, to answer the second formulated problem, the researcher applies post-structuralism approach, deconstruction by Derrida which is taken
from various sources such as Barry 2009 and Bressler 1999. The theory of ambiguity from Empson 1955 is used to clarify that the literal meaning and
the hidden meaning are two things that contradict each other. In other words, it
is used as a bridge between the literal and the hidden meaning.
23
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts namely object of the study, approach of the study, and method of the study. Object of the study explains the song which is
used in this study. Approach of the study describes the approach used in this study which is post-structuralism approach. The last part which tells the steps taken in
conducting this study is called method of the study.
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is the song lyrics of “M.I.A.” from American
metalcore band, Avenged Sevenfold. The song was written by its vocalist, Matthew Sanders. It was released on the album City of Evil which was published by Warner
Bros Music on June 7, 2005. The album was ranked 30 on the Billboard 200 and certified as a platinum record by Recording Industry Association of America
RIAA in August 2009. Unlike Beast and the Harlot, Bat Country, Burn It Down, and Seize the Day, M.I.A was not released as an individual release or a single.
Further, the band rarely performed the song on the live performance due to its long duration, which ran for eight minutes and forty-eight seconds.
The nine-stanza song shares the theme of war in the modern era. Matthew Sanders, also known as M. Shadows, wrote the lyrics brilliantly. He succeeds in
