" A Visual Grammar Analysis of the Sea Prayer (2018): the Journey from Peace to Conflict”

The Syrian refugee crisis has attracted significant attention from researchers in all fields. This paper investigates the effectiveness of images in illustrating the experience of Syrian refugees by applying Kress and van Leeuwen`s visual grammar approach to Khaled Hosseini`s Sea Prayer (2018). The study aims to explore how visual elements in the novel contribute to the construction of meaning. This study investigates how an illustration can narrate the story of catastrophic transformations that Syrians faced using key principles identified from visual grammar theory: representational, interactive, and compositional meanings. A qualitative approach is employed, involving the analysis of selected images from the novel. The analysis reveals that visual elements work to illustrate a shift of meaning from peace to conflict. The significance of the research could be seen in its ability to emphasize the need for an understanding of how different modes of communication are used, as words and sentences might not be sufficient to convey a thought efficiently in today's fast-changing world.