Interpreting Cartoon Characters as Signs in the Lyrics of Livingston’s Fairytale: A Peircean Approach

Abstract

This study examines the representation of cartoon characters in Livingston’s song Fairytale through the lens of Charles Sanders Peirce’s Triadic Model of Signs, highlighting how these characters convey the tension between childhood expectations and the realities of adult life. The analysis focuses on the roles of cartoon characters as representamen, object, and interpretant within Peirce’s semiotic theory. The data for this study were obtained from the lyrics of Fairytale and analyzed through qualitative descriptive method. The findings reveal that cartoon characters function as metaphoric symbols that express the song’s deeper reflection on growth. In conclusion, this study shows that the song effectively conveys the emotional tension between childhood and adulthood, and it is hoped that these findings will inspire further analyses of Fairytale from different fields of study.