From Semantics to Semiotics Re-Interpretation of "Shooting an Elephant" and Loss of Identity of the West in the Narrative

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the semantic organization of the text "Shooting an Elephant." The research is carried out with a multidisciplinary perspective using semantic and semiotic data. The theory of semantics is used to examine the words which predominately form the meaning universe of the text. The analysis is fulfilled within the scope of meaning relations as denotation/connotation and synonymy/antonymy in the lexical field. Then the transsentential signs which have a critical role in the construction of the semantic universe of the text are interpreted in the sense of semiotics. The production process of the descriptive, narrative, and thematic meaning layers is revealed throughout the study. Besides bringing the semantic universe of the narrative with its constructive components to light over the course of the study, the impressive dominance of particular signs and their contribution to the narrative are discussed to reveal the loss of identity of the West.