In class on Thursday, we discussed Ferdinand de Saussure and his emphasis on signification. While reading his work, I had a difficult time understanding what signifier and signified meant. However, the class example of the red rose and the yellow rose helped me to understand this concept. Our society attributes receiving a red rose to a romantic gesture, and receiving a yellow rose to a platonic gesture. The signified is the meaning, which is the platonic or friendly gesture. The rose was the signifier because it was the object that had a meaning placed onto it. The object itself does not have this meaning but culture assigns those objects a meaning. I had never learned about this concept prior to this class session, but this weekend I noticed this relationship between the signifier and signified in my personal life. My good friend’s birthday was yesterday and I wanted to buy her a necklace. I knew that she would enjoy this gift because she loves necklaces. I went shopping the day before her birthday and found her a necklace that was dark blue, which is her favorite color. When I gave her the necklace on her birthday, she had a big smile on her face and told me she loved her gift! The necklace itself does not have a meaning. To someone who does not enjoy wearing necklaces, does not particularly like the color blue, and did not receive it from a close friend, this may not be a special gift and appear as just an object. However, when I bought that necklace I gave it a meaning of friendship. I have also been a receiver of jewelry that resembles a close relationship. When my boyfriend visited me this summer, he gave me a bracelet with a shell and two stars that I have not taken off since. I love wearing beach jewelry, so him giving me a shell bracelet was thoughtful and meaningful. Although I would have liked the bracelet if I bought it myself, him buying it for me signifies our relationship. In both examples, the jewelry is the signifier, but the platonic and romantic love are the signified, which makes the jewelry so special.
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