Semiotics: What is Your Purpose in Identifying the Text?

Daniel Chandler's Questions:

• Why did you choose this text?
• Your purposes may reflect your values: how does the text relate to your own values?

More Questions:

• From what position do you come as an interpreter of the text?
• Why did you choose this particular text? Why is this text interesting to you?
• What is your first reaction to the text? Does it attract you? Repel you? Puzzle you?
• What is the "pleasure of the text" (Barthes)? Can you identify what is enticing or compelling? Is this a text you would come back to, and if so, why?

It is important to determine the values which you bring to analysis. The question of values includes not only what we are attracted to or repelled from, but also the ideological positions we bring to analysis.