Reincarnation Symbols in Dustin Thao's You've Reached Sam: Roland Barthes' Semiotic Theory
Abstrak
This study analyzes the novel You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao to find the meaning of the reincarnation symbol contained in the novel by using semiotic theory by Roland Barthes. In semiotic theory there are five codes namely hermeneutic code, symbolic code, connotative code, cultural code, and action code. In the five codes, three of them describe the symbol of reincarnation in the story, namely the hermeneutic code, the symbolic code, and the connotative code. This study uses a text-oriented approach that focuses on the meaning of the symbol of reincarnation in the main character by analyzing and describing the symbol of reincarnation. The techniques used in collecting data in this study are Documenting Data, Taking Notes and Close Reading. The results of this study indicate that of Roland Barthes' five semiotic codes, there are three codes described, namely hermeneutic codes, symbolic codes, and connotative codes. where there are 24 symbols that describe reincarnation, the hermeneutic code has 8 symbols, the symbolic code has 12 symbols and, 4 connotative symbols describe the reincarnation of the main character in the novel You've Reached Sam.
Artikel teks lengkap
Referensi
Barthes, R. (1970). S/Z. Paris: Editions du Seuil.
Barthes, R. (1985). L’aventure sémiologique. Paris: Editions du Seuil.
Benadla, D. (2020). A structural approach to D. H. Lawrence’s The Lovely Lady: Application of Roland Barthes’ five codes. Journal Iles D’Imesli, 12, 23–35.
Chandler, D. (2002). Semiotics: The basics. London: Routledge.
Dillistone, F. W. (2002). The power of symbols. Yogyakarta: Kanisius.
Thao, D. (2021). You’ve reached Sam. Macmillan Audio.
Duckworth, G. E. (2015). The nature of Roman comedy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Eppley, K. (2019). Close reading: What is reading for? Curriculum Inquiry, 49(3), 338–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2019.1631701
Dillistone, F. W. (2002). Daya kekuatan simbol (A. Widyamarta, Trans.). Yogyakarta: Kanisius.
Imroatina, I., Setyorini, A., & Ihsan. (2022). Ecowarriors bring back Kumandra: An ecofeminism study depicted in Raya and the Last Dragon. English Teaching Journal, 10(1), 54–59.
https://doi.org/10.25273/etj.v10i1.12659
Isfandiyary, F. H. (2017). The aspects of semiotics using Barthes’s theory on A Series of Unfortunate Events movie poster (Doctoral dissertation, Diponegoro University). https://doi.org/10.25273/etj.v10i1.12659
Jadou, S. H., & Al Ghabra, I. M. M. M. (2021). Barthes’ semiotic theory and interpretation of signs. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.37648/ijrssh.v11i03.027
Malik, W. H., Zaib, S., & Bughio, F. A. (2014). Theory into practice: Application of Roland Barthes’ five codes on Bina Shah’s The Optimist. Academic Research International, 5(5), 242–250.
Nono, E. D. R. (2017). Simbol-simbol dalam novel The Scarlet Letter karya Nathaniel Hawthorne. Manado: Universitas Sam Ratulangi.
Novita, C., Ihsan, P., & Setyorini, A. (2021). Hopelessness in J. C. Dawn's selected poems. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching, 5(1), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v5i1.3834
Purwani, W. A. (2019). Performativitas gender dalam novel The Female Man karya Joanna Russ. Karangan, 2(1), 110–115.
Ali, R., Khan, M. A., & Qureshi, H. H. (2021). A structuralist study of Barthes’ codes in Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 18(18), 1173.
Rosita, U. N., & Purwani, W. A. (2022). Gender discrimination in Kate Chopin’s five short stories. Sphota: Jurnal Linguistik dan Sastra, 14(1), 45–55.
Safitri, H., & Purwani, W. A. (2022). Psychoanalysis in Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. Karangan, 4(2), 135–139.
Sobur, A. (2006). Semiotika komunikasi. Bandung: Rosda Karya.
Sukiman, Purwani, W. A., Pratiwi, W., & Widiati, N. (2019). The use of Samawa tribe Sakeco art as a literature learning material in junior high school. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1339(1), 012076. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1339/1/012076
Zaib, S., & Mashori, G. M. (2015). Five codes of Barthes in Shahraz’s story A Pair of Jeans: A post-structural analysis. ELF Journal, 16, 171–184.
Penulis
Hak Cipta (c) 2025 Wilujeng Asih Purwani

Artikel ini berlisensi Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published workÂ