Stratification of Meaning in Jalal Al-e-Ahmad's " Footsteps

Short story is a literary genre characterized by compactness and concision. The main question here is how the writer of short stories can convey as much meaning as possible despite the brevity of this genre. The question of the relation between the form and meaning in the short story led us to an examination of one of the short stories by Jalal Ale-Ahmad: Jāpā (Footprint). In this study, we have tried to trace the signs propelling the narrative in this story. Using semiotics as our critical framework, we tried to shed light on the theme, the aspirations, doubts and anxieties of the protagonist and the tension in the story. Also, a narratological analysis revealed the extent to which the narrative-line contributes to semiosis in the story.