Figurative Meanings Found in John Green's The Fault in Our Stars

Abstract

Figurative meanings or figurative language is broadly defined as a way of saying something other than ordinary way. It is more narrowly definable as a way of saying one thing and meaning another. The focus of this paper was to find out what types of figurative meanings found in the novel and what do the figurative meanings convey in the novel. The data source for this paper was a novel entitled The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The data collected was analyzed using the main theory about Figurative Language stated by Laurence Perrine (1987) in a book entitled Sound and Sense: An Introduction of Poetry while the supporting theory used in this paper was theory stated by (Larson, 1998) in a book entitled Meaning-Based Translation. Based on the result of the analysis for this paper, it was concluded that there were 45 figurative meanings and eleven types of figurative meanings found in the novel. Those 45 figurative meanings consisted of 5 metaphor, 5 simile, 6 personification, 5 hyperbole, 5 apostrophe, 5 synecdoche, 5 metonymies, 4 symbol, 2 paradox, 1 understatement, and 1 irony. The figurative meanings found in the novel conveyed something funny, serious, unpredictable and sarcasm. It influenced the novel itself so the story could be more interesting, and it helped the readers to imagine and understand the story and topics of conversation.


Keywords: figurative meanings, semantics, novel “The Fault in Our Stars”

References
[1] Abrams MH. A glossary of literary terms. 7th ed. Canada: Earl McPeek; 1999.

[2] Habibi MS. An analysis of figurative language in Edensor Novel by Andrea Hirata. Skripsi Thesis, Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Ilmu Keguruan, IAIN Salatiga; 2016.

[3] Klarer M. An introduction to literary studies. London: Routledge; 1999.

[4] Larson ML. Meaning based translation, a guide to across-language equivalence. New York: University Press of America; 1998.