Wrapping It Up (Ch 7)

The last chapter of the book I felt like really should have been towards the beginning. It's like after you read the whole book asking, just give me a simple definition! I feel like I'm going crazy! The last chapter says, there is no simple definition. In fact Semiotics is such a broad subject that no one can really agree much on anything about it. The only definition is the study of signs. What signs is up to the persons field who is studying it. This chapter explains that regardless the field all signs should be studied, and understood. Once a person learns what codes are getting thrown at them they do not fall for things that the average decoder will. If a person realizes that everything is a code, they are able to decode consciously, unlike most of the population who does all of their decoding unconsciously. At the end of the chapter Chandler states "There is no escape from signs (219)." We must live with them, so we should learn about them.

At the beginning of this book I was worried. I really didn't like semiotics because I didn't get it. It just seemed dense and somewhat useless. Now that I've finished the book though, I'm realizing the importance and enjoyment of knowing about signs, and that regardless of the subject of them they are all important.