Semiotic Analysis of The Front Covers of Women's Fiction Novels.
ABSTRACT
Dalam penulisan tugas akhir ini, saya menganalisis semiotik, yaitu studi
tentang tanda bahasa. Semiotik membahas bagaimana sesuatu bisa disebut sebagai
tanda bahasa. Sesuatu dikatakan sebagai tanda apabila memiliki representamen,
interpretan dan objek. Tanda tersebut memiliki tiga elemen yaitu simbol, ikon dan
indeks. Saya mengambil enam data dari sampul depan sejumlah novel perempuan,
baik remaja maupun dewasa untuk dianalisis. Dari sampul depan tersebut, saya
menganalisis apakah sampul tersebut cukup representatif dan komunikatif dalam
mewakili isi cerita secara umum dari novel tersebut.
Segala sesuatu yang ada di sampul depan novel tersebut saya analisis
menggunakan
teori
semiotik.
Saya
mengacu
pada
dua
tokoh
yang
mengembangkan teori semiotik ini, yaitu; Ferdinand de Saussure dan Charles
Sanders Peirce. Berdasarkan hasil analisis, saya menyimpulkan bahwa sampul
depan yang baik ialah sampul depan yang memiliki indeks dan ikon yang jelas.
Relasi antara judul, gambar dan warna haruslah jelas dan saling berkaitan,
sehingga pembaca mendapatkan gambaran yang jelas mengenai ide cerita dari
suatu novel.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………… i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………………..iii
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ..………………………….….…………………1
Statement of the Problem ..………………………………….…………….4
Purpose of the Study ……………………………………….…………….4
Method of Research ..……………………………………………………..4
Organization of the Thesis ..………………………………………………5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK…...…...........................6
CHAPTER THREE: SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF THE FRONT
COVERS OF WOMEN’S FICTION NOVELS.………………………...……11
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION..…………………………………………40
BIBLIOGRAPHY..……………………………………………………………..44
iii
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Language is based on a naming process, by which things get associated
with a word or name (Ekayati). As human beings, meaning-makers, we make
meaning through our creation and interpretation of signs. In this context, a sign
refers to anything which stands for something else (Chandler 2). As Umberto Eco
says, Semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign.
Sign also means an intersection or relationship of form and meaning,
where form is something concrete, including writing, sound and gestures; while
meaning is something mental or cognitive (http://books.google.co.id). Actually,
“we live in a world of signs and we have no way of understanding anything
except through signs” (Chandler 14) and to understand further about the sign
itself, we study Semiotics.
Sign is the basic form of communication. Through sign, we can
communicate our ideas and feelings. Sign, in this sense, can be found in the front
cover of a book. Books include comics, novels, text books and dictionaries. Every
book has a cover. The cover includes the front cover and the back cover, which
1
Maranatha Christian University
are very essential and crucial. By observing the front cover, people will have a
foretaste of the general content of the book, whether it is interesting or not. The
front cover of a book has some important information related to the novel. The
front cover usually contains the title of the novel, the writer‟s name, the
publisher‟s logo and, of course, some interesting pictures in various colours to
support the other elements. As a result, the front cover of a novel must be not only
interesting but also communicative. The front cover itself has to represent the
content of the novel.
Elizabeth Malone, who studies sign language, says that every element in
the cover of a novel is signs. They are categorised as signs because they help us to
understand the very nature of human language (Malone). The cover is a sign that
gives hints to the readers of the general idea of the book. Consequently, the
readers will have a preview of what the book is about.
The problem arises when a publisher makes an inappropriate front cover
or when the front cover does not smartly present the preview of the story of the
novel. As a result, the prospective readers or those who want to purchase the
books do not get the clues which are shown in the front cover.
The title of my thesis is Semiotic analysis of the front cover of women‟s
fiction novels, while the topic is about Semiotics. Women‟s fiction novel is “a
wide-ranging literary genre that includes various types of novels that generally
appeal more to women than men” (www.findmeanauthor.com). Women‟s fiction
novels include chick-lit, teen-lit, romantic fiction and metropop.
I choose this topic firstly because I am interested in semiotics as it is a
study about sign, not only the sign in general but also the sign in terms of
2
Maranatha Christian University
linguistics. In fact, semiotics can be applied to the front cover of a novel to help
the reader to get a better understanding on the novel.
Secondly, Kompas
newspaper asserts that women‟s novels such as teen-lit and chick-lit are very
popular among women now. Most of them are even best-seller novels. In addition,
“the genre has captured the spirit of the times among young women and its
popularity reaches a wide audience” (www.findmeanauthor.com).
I choose to analyse the front cover of women‟s novels because nowadays,
a lot of women have developed the habit of reading the books of this genre. They
find that the theme of the story is very relevant to their condition (Litbang
Kompas),
besides,
the
characters
in
the
novel
mirror
the
society
(www.findmeanauthor.com). I analyse the front covers of novels because people
who want to buy a novel or read it will see whether the novel is interesting or not
by looking at the front cover of the novel. On top of that, all of the covers of the
books, including novels, which are displayed in the bookstore will show the front
cover and not the back cover. That is why, the front cover of a novel is more
important than the back one.
My topic belongs to Semiotics. I apply the theory by Charles Sanders
Peirce, an American philosopher and some linguists or semioticians that have
account for Semiotics.
In Semiotics, anything that „stands for‟ something else is a sign. Signs take
the form of words, images, sounds, gestures and objects (Chandler 2). It is stated
clearly that anything can be a sign and the front cover of a women‟s novel can
also be considered a sign. It has a lot of elements of semiotics to help the reader
understand the novel.
3
Maranatha Christian University
Finally, the significance of my topic is to show that the front cover of a
novel plays an important role in representing or hinting at the content of the novel.
I will also show that there are a number of Semiotic elements in the front cover
which can help the reader to get a better understanding of the novel.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The statements of the problem that I will use to analyse the data are:
1. What are the Semiotic elements found in the front covers of the novels?
2. How does Semiotics applied in the front cover represent the content of the
novels?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
These are the purpose of my thesis writing in order to answer the
statement of the problem above:
1. To know what elements of semiotics are found in the front covers of the
novels.
2. To show how semiotics applied in the front covers represents the content of
the novels.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
First, I read The Basic Semiotics by Daniel Chandler and some other
books which are related to Semiotics. I also search for Semiotic theories and
browse the Internet to find some Semiotic journals. Then, I compile the theories
4
Maranatha Christian University
and use them as the theoretical framework to analyse the data. Second, I browse
for the pictures of the front covers of women‟s fiction novels on the Internet and I
also scan the front covers of the novels I borrow from the library. Next, I choose
which ones of these covers that I will analyse in my thesis.
Finally, I analyse my data using the theory that I have found. Last but not
least, I write the conclusion in order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis writing.
ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS
My thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is Introduction and it
consists of Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the
Study, Method of Research and Organisation of the Thesis. Chapter Two consists
of the Semiotic theories that I use for my analysis. Chapter Three consists of the
data and analysis. Chapter Four is Conclusion. I give some comments and
personal opinions about the result of my analysis in this chapter. This thesis ends
with an appendix and a bibliography, which lists the source of my theory and data.
5
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I will write a conclusion related to the three first chapters
that I have written. In this thesis, I discuss Semiotics, the study of signs. I use the
Saussurean and Peircean theories to analyse the six data, which are taken from the
front covers of women’s fiction novels. Every front cover that I have analysed
have the elements of semiotics such as representamen, interpretant and object. In
addition, the sign itself consists of symbol, icon, index or it can be the
combination of those three elements.
Firstly, there are some important elements that each front cover has: the
title, the pictures, the name of the writer, the publisher’s logo, and the colours.
Those important elements should appear in each front cover of a novel to
differentiate it from the other novels. But, sometimes there is an additional
element in the front cover of the novel, such as the logo of the genre for example a
teen-lit novel logo or a chicklit novel logo. It is used to tell the readers that the
novel is a kind of a specific genre and that it is intended for certain target readers.
40
Maranatha Christian University
According to my analysis, I conclude that the most communicative and
representative front cover are the first and the fifth data. They can represent the
general idea of the novel well in the front cover. The front cover of the first data is
the most communicative data because the relation between the title, the pictures
and the colours are quite clear. It can give a hint about what the story of the novel
or about the general idea of the novel. In the first and fifth data, the elements of
representamen have a relation with each other and they give some important
information needed by the readers.
The pictures and the title in the first data are related to each other. The title
Shopaholic and Baby is represented by the use of the pictures of a baby trolley
and women’s goods, which are also supported by the colour blue. Those elements
support each other so that the readers get clear information that the novel is about
a woman who likes shopping a lot and about her baby. While in the fifth data, the
title LOVENTURE is represented by the five hearts shapes, a woman, five men
and the use of many colours. Consequently, we can have general information
about the novel that the story is about a woman who experiences an adventure for
the purpose of seeking her soulmate.
The other data that can be categorised as a communicative cover and
which can represent the content of the novel are the second, the fourth, and the
sixth data. The signs in those front covers are quite clear although they are not as
clear as the first data. The weak point in the second data is the title, that is too
simple and has an ambiguous meaning, because as it is not clear whether the word
“U” refers to the man or the woman. The weak point of the fourth data is that the
41
Maranatha Christian University
background colour which is too plain. The prominent elements are only pink
mouse picture and the white background, but it still can represent the story of the
novel. The weak point of the sixth data is the title STILL…. It will make the
readers ask about what the title means, and what the title refers to. The title is
clearer when it is related to the pictures. The pictures help the readers to guess
what the story of the novel is by searching the relationship between the title and
the pictures. However, this data still represents the content of the novel.
I find one data which is less communicative than the other five data. The
front cover does not represent the story of the novel. The data which I mean is the
third data which is of the novel entitled 5cm.. It is the most phenomenal data. It
only has black colour as the background and the title 5cm.. This front cover is the
only one with no pictures at all. As the readers, we are only given limited
information about this novel. It arises various interpretations. On the contrary, this
novel can make the readers feel curious about the story of this novel.
The use of the title, the pictures and the colours is very important. Those
elements are very essential and crucial. They play an important role in giving
hints or clues to the readers. The three elements must have a significant relation
between one another. Each element supports the other elements in order to give
the readers clear information related to the novel.
On the whole, in terms of icon, in my opinion, it is better for the readers if
an icon is put in the form of pictures so it will give better understanding to the
people. In terms of index, I assume that the index is quite clear and helpful in
helping people to understand the relation between the elements of sign.
42
Maranatha Christian University
Therefore, I can also conclude that a good cover of novel is one that
consists of icons, each of which depicts or represents the story, and which is able
to communicate the meaning of each icon that results in a clear index.
Finally, I suggest that the analysis of the front covers of the novels through
semiotics can be applied not only to women’s fiction genre but also to all the other
genres. For the future thesis writers’, I hope this research can be more elaborated.
You can try to apply this kind of research to another genre, then you can compare
the result of your thesis later. The main point is whatever kind of genre it is, the
use of the important semiotics elements must be taken into account by the
publisher. Thus, the front cover will give clear and sufficient information to the
readers about the general idea of the story of the novel is about. The publisher
must pay attention and work hard to make a communicative front cover that
represents the content of the novel to attract the readers’ attention so that they will
not have any difficulties in guessing or interpreting about what the novel is about
when they see the front cover of a novel.
43
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
References:
Chandler, Daniel. The Basics Semiotics. Great Britain : Routledge, 2002.
Cobley, Paul, and Jansz Litza. Introducing Semiotics. UK : Icon Books, 2004.
Electronic Publication:
About.com.2009
Bennett, Steven. Women’s Fiction Genre.2008
Ekayati, Rini. “The Nature of the Linguistics Sign.” 13 December 2005
http://ekayati.blogspot.com/2005/12/nature-of-linguisticssign.html
Encyclopedia.com. 2008. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English.
September 2008
44
Maranatha Christian University
Hudson, Grover. “Essential Introductory Linguistics.” Blackwell Publishing 2000:
3
Kompas, Litbang. “Chick Lit, Rahasia Perempuan Kota yang Mendunia.” Harian
Kompas 17 April 2004
Malone, Elizabeth. “Linguistics Sign”. 18 July 2005
Princetonol.com. 2008. Asian Color Symbolism
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 13 October 2006
Webster.com.
2008.
Merriam
Webster
Dictionary.
September
2008
45
Maranatha Christian University
Webster.com.
2008.
Merriam
Webster
Dictionary.
September
2008
Data Sources:
Data 1
Google.com. 2007. Sophie Kinsella Books. 27 April 2008.
Data 2
Data 3
Dhirgantoro, Donny. 5cm.. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia, 2005.
Data 4
Arsjad, Mia. LOVENTURE. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. 2007
Data 5
Data 6
Kinasih, Esti. STILL…. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2007.
46
Maranatha Christian University
Dalam penulisan tugas akhir ini, saya menganalisis semiotik, yaitu studi
tentang tanda bahasa. Semiotik membahas bagaimana sesuatu bisa disebut sebagai
tanda bahasa. Sesuatu dikatakan sebagai tanda apabila memiliki representamen,
interpretan dan objek. Tanda tersebut memiliki tiga elemen yaitu simbol, ikon dan
indeks. Saya mengambil enam data dari sampul depan sejumlah novel perempuan,
baik remaja maupun dewasa untuk dianalisis. Dari sampul depan tersebut, saya
menganalisis apakah sampul tersebut cukup representatif dan komunikatif dalam
mewakili isi cerita secara umum dari novel tersebut.
Segala sesuatu yang ada di sampul depan novel tersebut saya analisis
menggunakan
teori
semiotik.
Saya
mengacu
pada
dua
tokoh
yang
mengembangkan teori semiotik ini, yaitu; Ferdinand de Saussure dan Charles
Sanders Peirce. Berdasarkan hasil analisis, saya menyimpulkan bahwa sampul
depan yang baik ialah sampul depan yang memiliki indeks dan ikon yang jelas.
Relasi antara judul, gambar dan warna haruslah jelas dan saling berkaitan,
sehingga pembaca mendapatkan gambaran yang jelas mengenai ide cerita dari
suatu novel.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………… i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………………..iii
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ..………………………….….…………………1
Statement of the Problem ..………………………………….…………….4
Purpose of the Study ……………………………………….…………….4
Method of Research ..……………………………………………………..4
Organization of the Thesis ..………………………………………………5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK…...…...........................6
CHAPTER THREE: SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF THE FRONT
COVERS OF WOMEN’S FICTION NOVELS.………………………...……11
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION..…………………………………………40
BIBLIOGRAPHY..……………………………………………………………..44
iii
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Language is based on a naming process, by which things get associated
with a word or name (Ekayati). As human beings, meaning-makers, we make
meaning through our creation and interpretation of signs. In this context, a sign
refers to anything which stands for something else (Chandler 2). As Umberto Eco
says, Semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign.
Sign also means an intersection or relationship of form and meaning,
where form is something concrete, including writing, sound and gestures; while
meaning is something mental or cognitive (http://books.google.co.id). Actually,
“we live in a world of signs and we have no way of understanding anything
except through signs” (Chandler 14) and to understand further about the sign
itself, we study Semiotics.
Sign is the basic form of communication. Through sign, we can
communicate our ideas and feelings. Sign, in this sense, can be found in the front
cover of a book. Books include comics, novels, text books and dictionaries. Every
book has a cover. The cover includes the front cover and the back cover, which
1
Maranatha Christian University
are very essential and crucial. By observing the front cover, people will have a
foretaste of the general content of the book, whether it is interesting or not. The
front cover of a book has some important information related to the novel. The
front cover usually contains the title of the novel, the writer‟s name, the
publisher‟s logo and, of course, some interesting pictures in various colours to
support the other elements. As a result, the front cover of a novel must be not only
interesting but also communicative. The front cover itself has to represent the
content of the novel.
Elizabeth Malone, who studies sign language, says that every element in
the cover of a novel is signs. They are categorised as signs because they help us to
understand the very nature of human language (Malone). The cover is a sign that
gives hints to the readers of the general idea of the book. Consequently, the
readers will have a preview of what the book is about.
The problem arises when a publisher makes an inappropriate front cover
or when the front cover does not smartly present the preview of the story of the
novel. As a result, the prospective readers or those who want to purchase the
books do not get the clues which are shown in the front cover.
The title of my thesis is Semiotic analysis of the front cover of women‟s
fiction novels, while the topic is about Semiotics. Women‟s fiction novel is “a
wide-ranging literary genre that includes various types of novels that generally
appeal more to women than men” (www.findmeanauthor.com). Women‟s fiction
novels include chick-lit, teen-lit, romantic fiction and metropop.
I choose this topic firstly because I am interested in semiotics as it is a
study about sign, not only the sign in general but also the sign in terms of
2
Maranatha Christian University
linguistics. In fact, semiotics can be applied to the front cover of a novel to help
the reader to get a better understanding on the novel.
Secondly, Kompas
newspaper asserts that women‟s novels such as teen-lit and chick-lit are very
popular among women now. Most of them are even best-seller novels. In addition,
“the genre has captured the spirit of the times among young women and its
popularity reaches a wide audience” (www.findmeanauthor.com).
I choose to analyse the front cover of women‟s novels because nowadays,
a lot of women have developed the habit of reading the books of this genre. They
find that the theme of the story is very relevant to their condition (Litbang
Kompas),
besides,
the
characters
in
the
novel
mirror
the
society
(www.findmeanauthor.com). I analyse the front covers of novels because people
who want to buy a novel or read it will see whether the novel is interesting or not
by looking at the front cover of the novel. On top of that, all of the covers of the
books, including novels, which are displayed in the bookstore will show the front
cover and not the back cover. That is why, the front cover of a novel is more
important than the back one.
My topic belongs to Semiotics. I apply the theory by Charles Sanders
Peirce, an American philosopher and some linguists or semioticians that have
account for Semiotics.
In Semiotics, anything that „stands for‟ something else is a sign. Signs take
the form of words, images, sounds, gestures and objects (Chandler 2). It is stated
clearly that anything can be a sign and the front cover of a women‟s novel can
also be considered a sign. It has a lot of elements of semiotics to help the reader
understand the novel.
3
Maranatha Christian University
Finally, the significance of my topic is to show that the front cover of a
novel plays an important role in representing or hinting at the content of the novel.
I will also show that there are a number of Semiotic elements in the front cover
which can help the reader to get a better understanding of the novel.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The statements of the problem that I will use to analyse the data are:
1. What are the Semiotic elements found in the front covers of the novels?
2. How does Semiotics applied in the front cover represent the content of the
novels?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
These are the purpose of my thesis writing in order to answer the
statement of the problem above:
1. To know what elements of semiotics are found in the front covers of the
novels.
2. To show how semiotics applied in the front covers represents the content of
the novels.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
First, I read The Basic Semiotics by Daniel Chandler and some other
books which are related to Semiotics. I also search for Semiotic theories and
browse the Internet to find some Semiotic journals. Then, I compile the theories
4
Maranatha Christian University
and use them as the theoretical framework to analyse the data. Second, I browse
for the pictures of the front covers of women‟s fiction novels on the Internet and I
also scan the front covers of the novels I borrow from the library. Next, I choose
which ones of these covers that I will analyse in my thesis.
Finally, I analyse my data using the theory that I have found. Last but not
least, I write the conclusion in order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis writing.
ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS
My thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is Introduction and it
consists of Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the
Study, Method of Research and Organisation of the Thesis. Chapter Two consists
of the Semiotic theories that I use for my analysis. Chapter Three consists of the
data and analysis. Chapter Four is Conclusion. I give some comments and
personal opinions about the result of my analysis in this chapter. This thesis ends
with an appendix and a bibliography, which lists the source of my theory and data.
5
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I will write a conclusion related to the three first chapters
that I have written. In this thesis, I discuss Semiotics, the study of signs. I use the
Saussurean and Peircean theories to analyse the six data, which are taken from the
front covers of women’s fiction novels. Every front cover that I have analysed
have the elements of semiotics such as representamen, interpretant and object. In
addition, the sign itself consists of symbol, icon, index or it can be the
combination of those three elements.
Firstly, there are some important elements that each front cover has: the
title, the pictures, the name of the writer, the publisher’s logo, and the colours.
Those important elements should appear in each front cover of a novel to
differentiate it from the other novels. But, sometimes there is an additional
element in the front cover of the novel, such as the logo of the genre for example a
teen-lit novel logo or a chicklit novel logo. It is used to tell the readers that the
novel is a kind of a specific genre and that it is intended for certain target readers.
40
Maranatha Christian University
According to my analysis, I conclude that the most communicative and
representative front cover are the first and the fifth data. They can represent the
general idea of the novel well in the front cover. The front cover of the first data is
the most communicative data because the relation between the title, the pictures
and the colours are quite clear. It can give a hint about what the story of the novel
or about the general idea of the novel. In the first and fifth data, the elements of
representamen have a relation with each other and they give some important
information needed by the readers.
The pictures and the title in the first data are related to each other. The title
Shopaholic and Baby is represented by the use of the pictures of a baby trolley
and women’s goods, which are also supported by the colour blue. Those elements
support each other so that the readers get clear information that the novel is about
a woman who likes shopping a lot and about her baby. While in the fifth data, the
title LOVENTURE is represented by the five hearts shapes, a woman, five men
and the use of many colours. Consequently, we can have general information
about the novel that the story is about a woman who experiences an adventure for
the purpose of seeking her soulmate.
The other data that can be categorised as a communicative cover and
which can represent the content of the novel are the second, the fourth, and the
sixth data. The signs in those front covers are quite clear although they are not as
clear as the first data. The weak point in the second data is the title, that is too
simple and has an ambiguous meaning, because as it is not clear whether the word
“U” refers to the man or the woman. The weak point of the fourth data is that the
41
Maranatha Christian University
background colour which is too plain. The prominent elements are only pink
mouse picture and the white background, but it still can represent the story of the
novel. The weak point of the sixth data is the title STILL…. It will make the
readers ask about what the title means, and what the title refers to. The title is
clearer when it is related to the pictures. The pictures help the readers to guess
what the story of the novel is by searching the relationship between the title and
the pictures. However, this data still represents the content of the novel.
I find one data which is less communicative than the other five data. The
front cover does not represent the story of the novel. The data which I mean is the
third data which is of the novel entitled 5cm.. It is the most phenomenal data. It
only has black colour as the background and the title 5cm.. This front cover is the
only one with no pictures at all. As the readers, we are only given limited
information about this novel. It arises various interpretations. On the contrary, this
novel can make the readers feel curious about the story of this novel.
The use of the title, the pictures and the colours is very important. Those
elements are very essential and crucial. They play an important role in giving
hints or clues to the readers. The three elements must have a significant relation
between one another. Each element supports the other elements in order to give
the readers clear information related to the novel.
On the whole, in terms of icon, in my opinion, it is better for the readers if
an icon is put in the form of pictures so it will give better understanding to the
people. In terms of index, I assume that the index is quite clear and helpful in
helping people to understand the relation between the elements of sign.
42
Maranatha Christian University
Therefore, I can also conclude that a good cover of novel is one that
consists of icons, each of which depicts or represents the story, and which is able
to communicate the meaning of each icon that results in a clear index.
Finally, I suggest that the analysis of the front covers of the novels through
semiotics can be applied not only to women’s fiction genre but also to all the other
genres. For the future thesis writers’, I hope this research can be more elaborated.
You can try to apply this kind of research to another genre, then you can compare
the result of your thesis later. The main point is whatever kind of genre it is, the
use of the important semiotics elements must be taken into account by the
publisher. Thus, the front cover will give clear and sufficient information to the
readers about the general idea of the story of the novel is about. The publisher
must pay attention and work hard to make a communicative front cover that
represents the content of the novel to attract the readers’ attention so that they will
not have any difficulties in guessing or interpreting about what the novel is about
when they see the front cover of a novel.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References:
Chandler, Daniel. The Basics Semiotics. Great Britain : Routledge, 2002.
Cobley, Paul, and Jansz Litza. Introducing Semiotics. UK : Icon Books, 2004.
Electronic Publication:
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Bennett, Steven. Women’s Fiction Genre.2008
Ekayati, Rini. “The Nature of the Linguistics Sign.” 13 December 2005
http://ekayati.blogspot.com/2005/12/nature-of-linguisticssign.html
Encyclopedia.com. 2008. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English.
September 2008
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Maranatha Christian University
Hudson, Grover. “Essential Introductory Linguistics.” Blackwell Publishing 2000:
3
Kompas, Litbang. “Chick Lit, Rahasia Perempuan Kota yang Mendunia.” Harian
Kompas 17 April 2004
Malone, Elizabeth. “Linguistics Sign”. 18 July 2005
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 13 October 2006
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Kinasih, Esti. STILL…. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2007.
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