Myth in narrative structure of Jeff Kinney’s diary of a wimpy kid

Myth works in narrative of a novel since it deals with the process of generating meaning through a sign form; language. Myth is a mode of signification that elaborates its two sign systems; the linguistic system and the mythical system. The object that has been chosen in this research is Jeff Kinney’s novel titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This research concerns to identify and interpret the relation of myth and the mythical characteristics in the narrative structure of the novel through a process that is constructed by the relevant theory. In conducting this qualitative research, an approach that concerns to explore the subjective meanings through which people interpret the world, the different ways in which reality is constructed (through language, images and cultural artifacts) in particular contexts, the researcher uses the theory of myth by Roland Barthes as the theoretical base. Barthes postulates a theoretical model of relation which is according to the researched objects; 1) a linear relation for the text and 2) a multidimensional relation for the picture. Barthes also divides mythical characteristics into: 1) myth as type of speech, 2) myth as semiological system, 3) myth as stolen language, and 4) myth as depolitized language. This research uses the descriptive method which is a method that describes the facts of the data analysis. By using library research as the technique of collecting data, the collected data of this research are narratives that contain words, phrases, and sentences identified as sign forms, and the steps of data analysis include: a) elaborating and identifying the signs (word, phrase, sentence, or discourse), b) classifying or categorizing the data, c) interpreting the entire data, and d) making conclusion. Then, the researcher found the result of this research that myth in the narrative structure of Diary of a Wimpy Kid is constructed by the forms of words, phrases, and sentences in which have the linear relation because the researched object is text. The linear relations for each semiological system in constructing myth are divided into; 1) the primary relation which is literal relation that represents a literal meaning in the linguistic system as the first semiological system, and 2) the secondary relation which is symbolical and indexical relation that represent symbolical or indexical meaning in the mythical system as the second semiological system in which based on the first system. The researcher also found that there are also the categories of mythical characteristics; 1) myth as a type of speech represents messages embedded in the story, the data represent several speeches such as friendship, popularity, gender, diversity at school, family, and culture; 2) myth as semiological system reveals the semiological schema of myth including the linguistic system and the mythical system; 3) myth as stolen language represents words, phrases, and sentence which relate to the mythical speeches of social value and ideology; and 4) myth as depolitized language represents beliefs, values, and ideals based on the ideological fragment of religion