The Semiotics of the Title in Jumaa Al-Muwaffaq's Novel "Al-Hajj

Abstract

This research examines the semiotics of the title in Jumaa Al-Muwaffaq’s novel Al-Hajj, considering the title the first textual threshold and a key to revealing the structure and meanings of the literary text. The study adopts the semiotic approach to analyze the main title and the internal subtitles. It presents the concept and scope of semiotics, the sign according to Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce, and the identificational, descriptive, connotative, and persuasive functions of titles. The linguistic, syntactic, and semantic analysis reveals that the title Al-Hajj moves beyond its familiar religious and social meanings to signify authority, domination, violence, and corruption within the novel. The analysis also demonstrates the close relationship between the subtitles, the narrative events, and the characters. The research concludes that the titles are consistent with the main text and contribute to intensifying its meanings and highlighting the author’s intentions.