The analysis of semantic discourse systems in the picture book, the Arrival

Language in picture books means establishing communication; in this communication, the subject or I faces otherness; they (the subjects) in this opposition define each other and identity-making and meaning-making are formed in the process relation. According to sign-semantic features which govern discourse systems, generally, these systems are divided as following; intelligent or programming, sensible or interaction and event or random. Our question is that in visual structure of picture books, to what extent is it possible to analyze discourse systems on the basis of modern semiotic pattern? In some picture books, as a result of authorstarted feature governing them, all of the aforementioned three semiotic systems can be distinguished. In order to prove our claim and analyze our approach, we have chosen a picture book having the feature called Arrival by Shaun Tan as a case study. The study of a part of visual structure of the aforementioned book showed us that the subject can read all the three narration, interaction and event systems in some parts of the book simultaneously; this variety in establishing discourse systems puts the subject in the situation of constant meaning-making and identity-making which is rebuilt alternately. Therefore, the subject has a fragmentary and decentralizing identity which depends on the visual reading (representation) on discourse level.