This cartoon is a great representation of what symbol means in Chapter 2. In the cartoon, it showcases text messages between a female and the other person. During the message, the sender communicate only with emojis while the female sends short text messages, which serve as symbolic representations of thoughts, emotions, and intentions. Within the chapter, a symbol is a verbal communication that is arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract. This cartoon exaggerates the ambiguous element of the symbol by having a punch line, where the sender is a literal emoji instead of a person, showcasing how symbols can be ambiguous and interpreted differently by different people, since the female thought of it as a way for the sender to showcase thought and emotion, while in truth the sender sends the emoji because he is actually an emoji.

This cartoon reflects my own experience with texting and online communication. For example, everyone has their interpretation of different emojis. When texting friends, some of them interpret the two hands together emojis as praying, while others see it as a high-five. Similarly, at work, messages with emojis or brief replies can easily be misinterpreted. The cartoon illustrates how digital symbols can oversimplify or distort communication, echoing key points from the chapter.

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