Speech acts performed by Spider-Man with his Rivals in “The Amazing Spider-Man” comic

ABSTRACT

This research focuses on analyzing Spider-Man’s utterance with his rivals. The aims of this research are to investigate the types and the way of performing speech acts which are proposed by Searle’s theory. In addition, the research applies descriptive qualitative method to analyze the data. The data are selected from “The Amazing Spider-Man” comic number 03 and 04.

This research shows that Spider-Man’s utterance with his rivals performed five types of speech acts. They are directive, representative, expressive verdictive, and commisive. The type of speech acts that is mostly performed by Spider-Man with his rivals is representative. The forms of representative are boasting, affirming, concluding and informing. Besides, commisive is found when the speaker expresses promising in the utterance. The researcher also finds directive in this object when the speaker intends the hearer to do something. In this case, the speaker uses commanding style to perform directive. Then, the speaker uses commisive utterances to commit himself to the performance of action. Here, the speaker has done an action promising to listeners. The next, the speaker uses expressive to express a psychological state about the situation, such as congratulating. Moreover, speakers use verdictive to express a value judgment or rates something, such as assessing. The researcher does not find declarative type.

In addition, this research finds two ways of performing speech acts: direct and indirect. Direct is mostly found in the utterance produced by Spider-Man with his rivals in “The Amazing Spider-Man” comic. Direct speech acts happens when he clearly performs one action in his utterance, no other interpretation. In this case, the speaker uses it when he intends to clarify, to express his attitude, and to state some messages to the hearer. Moreover, indirect speech act happens when he performs one utterance which can be interpreted into more than one act (illocutionary act). It is produced when the speaker needs to commanding and affirming to the hearer.

Concerning with the topic of this research, there are some suggestions to be considered. The researcher suggests for future researchers to investigate different subject, such as children’s utterances. In this case, children have their own unique way to communicate and astonishingly in her early age they can use an illocutionary act when they communicate. Those utterances will be rich of linguistic phenomena which can be analyzed with speech acts. In addition, she suggests to future researcher to use other speech act theory, such as Hurford (1983) because he elaborates and equips Searle’s theory about the classification of speech acts.