Grammatical Cohesion

This study deals with analyzing cohesion through reference. This study examines the utilization of references in one of O. Henry's works. Halliday and Hassan's (1976) theory of cohesion serves as the foundation for Henry's short story "The Romance of a Busy Broker." It uses a mixed-method approach, which combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods, to analyze the story. The study tries to identify the most frequently used type of reference and determine whether narration or dialogue contains a higher frequency. Additionally, it also seeks to examine the way references contribute to the unity and continuity of the story. Despite the presence of all types of references in the story, the analysis reveals that personal references, accounting for 80% of references, are the most frequently used type. Of these, the narration accounts for 59% and the dialogue for 29%. The next thirty percent of references are demonstratives, while the last five percent are comparatives. Furthermore, it is discovered that the narration—which employs references at percentages of 71 and 29 in the dialogue—has the highest usage of references. Therefore, these references are used, especially personal ones, to avoid repetition and maintain the story's cohesiveness and smooth flow. These findings suggest that references are important for constructing a cohesive and engaging narrative and maintaining storytelling unity and continuity.