Eileen Chang Literary Language Of Metaphor

In the international literature circles, Eileen Chang is undoubtedly a great female writer quick in thought and chequered in language, combining sense of life and sense of art. The prominent feature of Chang's works is original and concinne expression in addition to vivid and realistic plot presentation.Language is the explicit expression of thoughts while metaphor is the featured language form and ideal language material for literature analysis because metaphors by nature involve more of deep thoughts of language and reflect individual cognitive experience with both formal and logical accuracy in expression. Wherever it appears, language constantly carries its cultural signature, thus to interpret languages and metaphors is an effective way to revivify author's linguistic thinking and cultures. Language is the external display of complicated psychological mechanism and metaphor-analysis initiates this journey to the HEART.Categorization is the process to effectively assorting originally intricate phenomena. By attempting to introduce Categorization Theory into metaphors, this dissertation reconstructs metaphor with the brand-new concept that "metaphor is the continuous and incomplete process of categorization", so as to transfer the originally static and pure metaphor analysis into the dynamic analysis of the overall metaphor forms of one author's works. In addition, this dissertation will also build the model of individual psychological mechanism of metaphors and apply this model to interpret Eileen Chang's psychology in constructing her metaphors.This dissertation interprets Chang's metaphorical features in her works the five factors attributing to the generation of individual metaphors in the individual metaphor mechanism model as the framework and with Categorization Theory-based metaphor analysis as the approach. Hence, the charm of Chang's works can be revivified by means of researching language material and quantifying her works' style. 1. The prominent feature of the General Construction(1) Observation on Cultural LinguisticsCultural Linguistic surge in China began in the mid-1980s. Linguistics stresses that language by nature is a cultural phenomenon, so Cultural Linguistics is an ontological discipline in language study.Cultural Linguistics is a comprehensive linguistic discipline studying languages' cultural qualities and cultural values. Cultural quality means language itself is culture, a cultural phenomenon; Cultural value means languages contains abundant cultural content, is an information system to embody and understand culture. Language and culture are not the two objects of Cultural Linguistics. Instead, as cultural signs, language itself determines that Cultural Linguistics is nothing other than a linguistic discipline.In the perspective of semeiology, culture by nature is a meaning system in the form of language. Culture's impacts on an author include the author's knowledge of his environment and history of his time. Meanwhile, as a particle of the powerful social system the author records the contemporary culture. Language is a tool to convey thoughts and record life. One society's culture dovetails with any actions that can generate meaning, verbal actions included undoubtedly.The construction of Cultural Linguistics is to transfer linguistic analysis from being static and isolated to being author-related, verbal-context-related, and then author's-cultural-background-related, so as to create a dynamic and comprehensive analytical approach. Lakoff also mentions this point and holds that metaphorical projections vary in terms of universality:Some are universal, others are rather broad, still others seem to embody cultural features. This dissertation's comprehensive analysis of the metaphors in Eileen Chang's omnibus is an attempt to blend cultural analysis with linguistic analysis. The concept of culture, when specified to an individual author, is his growing experience. Author's childhood memories will help shape reciprocal life outlooks, personalities and sexual features. All those comprehensive factors will affect individual language expression, especially metaphor expression. Therefore textual analysis should not be limited to text, rather, it should be the thorough interpretation of the cultural value embodied by language and the language form implied in cultural values. The comprehensive mode combining cultural and textual analysis is a compulsory attempt to theoretically extend and develop pure language analysis.(2) To Expand Metaphorical Theory from the Categorization ViewpointMetaphor categorization theory is to summarize author's categorized features in metaphor construction and outcome by means of blending categorization theory into metaphor analysis and to interpret individual metaphor formation rules from categorization angle, (ps. The construction of the major theories in Chapter 1 and 2, mainly including Metaphor Categorization Theory and the theories in the section of Freud's Main Process and Secondary Process in the Mechanism Model of Individual Metaphor Generation, was conducted step by step with the guidance and consultation of Prof. Liu Dawei of Chinese Department at Fudan University, which is deeply and sincerely appreciated.)The reason why this dissertation adopts this approach is that although with a very long history, metaphor study has all the way been classified in linguistic rhetorical study. With its usage appearing very early in ancient China, metaphor has not formed complete concept system in China. Therefore, metaphor has remained a rhetorical form instead of an independent linguistic discipline. In 1980s, the publishing of George Lakoff's book Metaphors We Live by provides us with an interpretive approach to metaphors. Lakoff notes that metaphor is everywhere and metaphor's focus is not on language but on people's illustrating one concept domain with another concept domain, being the reflection between concept domains. Lakoff's metaphor theory broadens the former concepts and understanding of metaphors, and introduces metaphor as an independent discipline to researchers, so as to provide a brand-new viewpoint to interpret metaphors, which makes it a comprehensive innovation of metaphor study theories.However, Lakoff's metaphor theory is limited to summarizing overall characters of metaphors instead of probing into metaphors'individualities. In addition, his metaphor analysis concerns more of cognitive understanding of independent sentence patterns instead of summarizing one author's overall metaphor rules. Once probing into the text, we will find that one author's selection of tenors and vehicles has his or her own rules and inclinations. The unitary analysis of metaphors only with Lakoff's Projection Theory from source domain to target domain plainly can not thoroughly interpret the relation between author's metaphor selection and author's style formation. It is compulsory to provide the metaphor theory with a brand-new summarization and necessary supplements in order to stress that metaphor is the revivification of individual thoughts and language expression with cultural signs.The first chapter of this dissertation supplies us with the theoretical breakthrough to better this thoughts with the introduction of the concept of categorization.There are three major parts in the categorized interpretation of metaphors:1. the review of metaphor concepts, past and present, home and abroad,2. the theoretical review of categorization concept and,3. the construction and detailed illustration of metaphor's categorization theory.The study of metaphors has experienced the transformation from rhetorical positioning to linguistic positioning. It has developed from substitution theory, comparison theory, interaction theory, and finally to cognitive interpretation of metaphors.The detailed illustration of categorization includes the concepts of category and categorization; two theories of categorization:classical categorization and prototype categorization; the major elements inside prototype categorization:prototype, good samples, bad samples, marginal members and featured samples mentioned soon in this dissertation, upper category; prototype category; lower category, etc.This dissertation puts forward the theory of "the essence of metaphor is re-categorization" and further demonstrates that metaphor is continuous and incomplete categorization. Tenor and vehicle have their own respective categories while the process of metaphor projecting is from vehicle categorization to tenor categorization, which is one-way and nonreversible. During the process of categorization, the source category, namely tenor category, picks up new feature cluster from vehicle category while still keeping the features of the source category to form a new tenor category; Vehicle category selects representative feature cluster for the tenor during the process of projecting that is always incomplete and continuous projection, only which can be the compulsory condition of metaphor construction. On the other hand, if the process of projecting is complete, the tenor category will be non-categoried, namely decategorized……This dissertation also cites the concept of non-categorization and proposes that metaphor differs from non-categorization in that metaphor is incomplete categorization while non-categorization is the projection with total change of part of speech, that is, if vehicle is completely projected during non-categorization, the original vehicle category will disappear and the original tenor completely accept vehicle's feature cluster, as a result, the metaphor process becomes a process of a word completely changing part of speech and meaning, therefore the metaphor cannot be called a metaphor because it has lost its constructing pattern and existing conditions. In addition to metaphor's categorization theory construction, this article analyzes the two major types of metaphor categorization:metaphors between categories and metaphors within one category. This dissertation unprecedentedly includes the formerly-thought sentence patterns of analogy and comparison in rhetoric into metaphors within one category, for which this dissertation gives reasonable explanation and classification motivation with categorization theory. Extending the original scope of metaphors, this establishment of metaphors within one category is a brand-new theory and attempt.The construction of metaphor categorization theory includes the following theories:the prototype features of tenor and vehicle in metaphor categorization process, the establishment and interpretation of such concepts as marginal samples and characteristic samples(originated by the author). The interpretation of metaphors between categories and metaphors within one category(originated by the author) as well as their differences, the differences between categorization and non-categorization (that is the interpretation of incomplete metaphor categorization and decategorization that is not metaphor).Based on the metaphor categorization, the following graph is designed for clearer and better description and understanding The theories put forward in the dissertation are for the purpose of being applied to the analysis of literature works, which is done in the following way:Categorized research is conducted after classifying all metaphors to study various authors' similarities, orientation and uniqueness in metaphor selection, for example, singular tenor vs. multiple vehicles or singular vehicle vs. multiple tenors. Categorized analysis of tenor and vehicle selections can show author's metaphor habits, including metaphorical category word selecting habits, metaphor sentence pattern construction habits, the orientation of metaphor generating results, the percentages of metaphors between categories and metaphors within one category, the relationship between construction positions of tenor and vehicle, and the relationship between tenor and vehicle's own qualities and metaphor results. Different categories reflect authors' different personality and residue of different life memory. This is to illustrate with the statistical data of results after metaphor categorization, which is the most direct method to quantify author's metaphor style with statistics.(3)Construction of Individual Metaphor Generating MechanismMetaphor is a means of language expression as well as a way of thinking. It is necessary to figure out the relationship between language and thinking before conducting the research on the metaphor cognition generating mechanism. The selection orientation of tenors and vehicles in individual metaphor generation makes the difference in metaphor styles. Language is the significant tool for people to conduct complicated thinking, which is especially obvious in metaphor generating mechanism. Brain is the source of thoughts. Freud's Theory of Main Process and Secondary Process reveals metaphors' psychological forming process. Metaphor thinking model is cognition's senior stage, an important cognition means for human. The direct thinking in the metaphor thinking's major process and the integrated thinking in the secondary process correlate to construct the metaphor thinking model with both vividness, orientation and creativity. Metaphor is the embodiment of human creativity that helps people to know new things and marks the improvement of human wisdom. The selection of tenors and vehicles, matching forms and selection category diversity determine the author's style. Among them, the key role is the existence of cognition residue, in other words, the role played by personal characteristics, sexual outlook of life, natural phenomena, human body and instant sensory experience.Major steps to the construction of Individual Metaphor Generating Mechanism1) Setting of five factors affecting connection triggering processConnection triggering process is the first step of the formation of metaphors. Before functioning, connection triggering process will be affected by individual metaphor's cognitive residue consisting of five key factors including personal characteristics, sexual outlook of life, natural phenomena, human body and instant sensory experience. The five key factors vary with individuals and also are the embodiment of diversified metaphor categorizations and metaphor styles resulting from varied individual metaphors and their respective effects. All the metaphor analysis of Chang's works in the dissertation adopt the above five factors as the classification framework.2) Freud's Theory of Main Process and Secondary Process as the Theoretical Stem of Individual Metaphor Generating MechanismFreud's theory of main process and secondary process are the key to the theory. Freud holds that main process is an abstract and spontaneous process, regardless of temporal and spatial limitations, characterized by fusion, shift and symbolization, applying the illusion of desire satisfaction in dreams to relieving involuntary impulses; Whereas the secondary process is reasonable process sticking strictly to grammar and formal logic, in addition to temporal and spatial rules, and relieving involuntary impulses with sophisticated and appropriate behaviors. The main process precedes the secondary process. Main process vs. Secondary process is Abstract vs. Concrete, Involuntary impulsive vs. Objective integration. The performing of main process and secondary process is instant in human brains, but the two are supplemental to each other and influence each other so that they are indivisible. In other words, the essence of metaphor generation consists of the two parts of unconscious selection and conscious reasonable integration. In former study of metaphor's psychological mechanism, researchers tend to apply the one-time thinking process such as association to construct metaphor thinking while trying to understand the relationship between language and thinking, while in this dissertation, the metaphor construction is considered to be completed in the brain by means of the interaction of two-time processes, namely, the integration of abstract main process and reasonable secondary process. The main process stresses the original state, unconsciousness and spontaneousness of concepts while the secondary process more stresses reasonable integration, metaphor mode conservation and consciousness of thinking. This dissertation holds that constructing metaphor this way better suits the metaphor formation rules and human recognizing features.The secondary integration process of metaphors includes echoing, sifting and molding. The influence of context on metaphors during context reflecting includes the positive influence that helps understanding and the negative influence that changes the original metaphor thinking.3) The chapter of context reflection of lately-appearing structure is the last link of metaphor psychological mechanism formation in construction of individual metaphor psychological mechanism model. It is also the phase to make metaphor interpretation more reasonable.The context reflection of lately-appearing structure is to put the secondary process, after integrated, into verbal context, and study it by means of combining verbal context and author's contemporary living context, which makes the result of categorizing metaphors more objective, reliable and convincing.As is shown in the graph, the individual metaphor generating mechanism includes the projection of metaphor's imputing space (vehicle) to outputting space (tenor). Between the two spaces, metaphors undergo 1. connection trigger-off (Freud's major process),2. the secondary integration of language (Freud's secondary process) 3, the context reflecting process of lately-appearing structure. Finally metaphor flows to output space and comes into being. The interpretation of metaphor's psychological mechanism is the research of the metaphor psychology based on the physiological structure of language and thought.(4) Originality in Analyzing Chang's Metaphorical StyleThe dissertation demonstrates Chang's metaphorical style construction from three perspectives:1) Study of the style of Chang's metaphorical forms, namely, Chang's metaphorical forms, her featured metaphorical forms and the representing of the interaction between tenor and vehicle; 2) The embodiment of the effect of Chang's metaphorical style; 3) The differences and similarities between literature style and linguistic style. The metaphorical style reflected in the metaphorical effect, an important part in the summary, will be constructed in the dissertation in the following aspects.Chang's metaphorical styles. From the perspective of the metaphorical effect, Chang's metaphorical styles belong to the categories of nostalgia, thisworldiness, uniqueness, and representativeness.1. The nostalgia category mainly focuses on the recurrence of Chang's nostalgia for traditional life in her metaphors.2. The thisworldiness category mainly focuses on the indulging into worldly life feature reflected in Chang's metaphorical components, which is embodied in so many of her metaphors and its most distinguished representing form is constructing metaphors based on daily life.3. The uniqueness category mainly reflects Chang's unique habits in metaphorical thinking, which originates from her cognitive residue, unique life experiences and thinking patterns, which distinguish her metaphors from those of other writers to form a typical Chang's construction.4. The representativeness category exhibits the foundation of Chang's metaphors, that is, which styles eventually becomes her most representative metaphorical style. 2. The Major Steps to Overall ConstructionThis dissertation consists of three major sections. The first section is theoretical construction; The second section is case study; The third section is result analysis and style presentation.The first section mainly includes Chapter 1 Categorized Interpretation of Metaphors and Chapter 2 Psychological Interpretation of Metaphors and Construction of Individual Psychological Mechanism of Metaphor Generating.The second section mainly consists of four chapters (chapter 3 to chapter 6), major content being analyzing Chang's metaphorical language features.In analyzing Chang's metaphorical features, this dissertation attempts to combine Chapter 1 with Chapter 2, reconstructing metaphor from these two angles to analyze Chang's metaphor samples. The major classification framework consists of the five elements mentioned in Chapter 2 that affect metaphor generation:personal characteristics, sexual view of life, natural phenomena, human body and instant sensory experience that together form individual cognitive residue. When it comes to analysis methodology, the categorization theory stated in Chapter 1 Categorized Interpretation of metaphors is adopted.Chapter 3 presents one of the key factors that influence metaphors:natural phenomena.Natural phenomena are frequently applied in Chang's metaphors. Analyzing this item involves the following aspects:1. metaphors about the sun; 2. metaphors about the moon,3. metaphors about rain. This chapter analyzes Chang's metaphors'major features after being enlightened by natural phenomena in view of her constructing the above metaphors.Chapter 4 deals with the second key factor contributing to metaphors:human body.With her narcissism, Chang applies human body as another major means to her metaphor construction, involving the following aspects:1. Heart-related metaphors; 2. eye-related metaphors; 3. face-related metaphors.Chapter 5 deals with the third key factor affecting her metaphors:sexual view of life.This chapter is Chang's female view of life for she is a female. This chapter designs five reference items to conduct the analysis, including Chang's Marriage metaphors, Life metaphors, Home metaphors, Female metaphors and Child metaphors. Category-analyzing the above five classifications of metaphors, this chapter concludes Chang's unique ideas about marriage, female and life, and concludes the impacts of her life outlook on her metaphor construction.Chapter 6 is the interpretation of Eileen Chang's personality.The metaphors discussed in this chapter are different from those in the former chapters in that it initially adopts a unique analyzing method, applying abstract classification and interpretation of metaphors. This dissertation lists five metaphor reference items to investigate Chang's personality:Seal metaphors, Scission metaphors, Obstruction metaphors and Cross-generation metaphors and thoroughfare metaphors. These five types also serve as embodiment of Chang's characteristic descriptive mode and style. By investigating the above five types of abstract metaphors and combining psychological theories, this dissertation reveals Chang's hidden character factors from the angle of metaphor analysis, which is an original way to interpreting Chang's personality.Chapter 7 is analyzing the impacts of instant sensory experiences on metaphor construction. Two critical elements are examined here:colors in visual domain and sounds in acoustic domain. This chapter first reviews color generating, then mainly analyzes white, red and blue according to their quantities checked out in the texts. Those colors are compared against the colors in traditional senses, which infers that Chang's color concept differs from usual visual senses. In her everyday writing, Chang has formed her own way of perceiving colors and has consciously blended the perception into the writing mood, which reveals heart via colors to the readers. The analysis of acoustic sounds mainly presents sounds represented by content words and constructed with onomatopoeia and then their application into various aspects and their classification. Those analyses unravel Chang's sound applying features and rules. The third section, mainly combining the theories put forward in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, theoretically summarizes the analyzing results of Chang's metaphors, consequently draws the concrete conclusion concerning Chang's metaphorical style in the context of linguistics.To put it bluntly, the categorized interpretation of metaphors and constructing individual psychological mechanism of metaphors set new theoretical foundation and original viewpoint. The categorized research of metaphors is the tool and theoretical basis in our effort to analyze Eileen Chang's metaphors. The psychological mechanism interpretation reveals the author's psychological motives in selecting metaphorical categories and analyzes all the metaphors in Chang's works with the psychological factors influencing metaphor construction, consequently Chang's style is displayed with abundant and authentic data and material.3. Problems to be solvedLimited by individual capability, this research undoubtedly has some problems and weaknesses and during researching, some new problems will arise, just like the tree's branches spreading out into new mystery.1. Limited by my theoretical knowledge and time, the two major theories of metaphor categorization theory and individual metaphor generating mechanism can only be made relatively reasonable and a lot of theoretical creation, improvement and modification remain to be done.2. The current metaphor categorization theory and individual metaphor generating mechanism apply better to interpreting fresh metaphors (live metaphors), The reason is that metaphor generating mechanism stresses the trigger and integration of instant thinking while for set metaphors and those metaphors still evolving, further theoretical expansion is required.3. The study conducted here is interdisciplinary, which requires me to better and explore further the study of multiple subjects.4. This dissertation applies the two major theories of metaphor categorizing theory and individual metaphor generating mechanism to studying Eileen Chang's works. It still remains to be explored whether the two theories apply to other authors' works or whether some new improvement will be made when studying other authors with the two theories.Academic research by itself knows no boundary and it is a source of lasting pleasure, the pleasure of creating and the pleasure of corroborating.