An Indexicality Analysis of Post-Traumatic Growth in Cinematic Discourse: Kya Clark in Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Hannah Mary Adaya, Kristine Jane Reambonanza, Rajimah Jane Edzrael, Jessy Faye Caduyac, Jonalyn Silvestre, Life Gabriel Osumo
Received: 30 May 2026; Revised: 19 July 2026; Accepted: 26 July 2026; Published: 29 July 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.66074/B8M3X1V9C
Abstract
This study examines how indexical meanings embedded in discourse linguistically construct trauma, post-traumatic growth, and identity transformation in Kya Clark’s character in Where the Crawdads Sing (2022). While previous studies have explored trauma and resilience in literary narratives, limited research has investigated how these experiences are encoded through indexical features of discourse. Grounded in Silverstein’s Indexicality Theory and supported by Narrative Identity Theory and Post-Traumatic Growth Theory, the study analyzes how linguistic choices reflect emotional, psychological, and social meanings throughout the narrative. Using a qualitative discourse-analytic design, the study examined selected discourse excerpts from Kya Clark’s dialogues and interactional exchanges in the film. Data were subjected to close reading, open coding, thematic categorization, and indexicality analysis. Linguistic features such as silence, avoidance, hesitation, emotional distancing, self-positioning, metaphorical expressions, and declarative statements were analyzed to determine how they index trauma, resilience, and identity reconstruction. Findings reveal that trauma is linguistically manifested through silence, emotional withdrawal, generalized relational statements, and self-exclusion, reflecting abandonment, social isolation, and psychological distress. In contrast, post-traumatic growth is indexed through emotional agency, self-affirmation, ecological attachment, assertive self-positioning, and symbolic identity ownership, signaling resilience, self-worth, and emotional recovery. The progression of these indexical meanings demonstrates a gradual movement from a trauma-centered identity toward an integrated and empowered sense of self. Based on these findings, the study proposes a discourse-based analytical framework consisting of trauma-indexed discourse, transitional resilience discourse, and post-traumatic growth discourse. The study contributes to cinematic discourse analysis by demonstrating how language, silence, prosodic delivery, and interactional patterns function as sites where trauma, recovery, and identity reconstruction become linguistically observable. It further expands the application of indexicality to the examination of psychological experiences and character development in cinematic narratives.
Keywords: cinematic discourse analysis, narrative identity, post-traumatic growth, trauma discourse
Author Information: Central Mindanao Colleges, Kidapawan City, Philippines; losumo@cmc.edu.ph
Volume 2, Issue 3, September 2026