Metaphor as a Means of Representing First-Hand Cancer Experience in English Teen Sick-Lit

Alexandra Nagornaya, James Nwankwo
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Abstract

The present paper is a contribution to the study of cancer metaphors in contemporary English. It focuses on the ways cancer is conceptualized in teen sick-lit, a relatively new genre of children's literature which presents stories of severe illnesses that afflict teenagers, cancer being the most important of them. The analysis is based on four novels that employ the first-person narrative mode. It rests upon the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, utilizing such specific research instruments as the Career of Metaphor Theory (B. Bowdle and D. Gentner) and the concept of metaphorical creativity (Z. Kövecses). The novelty of the research angle is that the paper takes a differentiated approach towards cancer metaphor analysis, first identifying thematic groups relevant to cancer experience and then tracing patterns of metaphor use within each group. The four groups presented in the study are metaphors of cancer itself, cancer patients, diagnostic procedures and treatments, and physical and emotional conditions of patients. It is proved that there are metaphors that demonstrate a strong inclination to reflect only one aspect of cancer experience. Thus, the actively promoted journey metaphor appears suitable only for conceptualizing procedures and treatments, while war metaphor proves versatile. Further on, the paper analyzes instances of the war metaphor use proving that far from being obsolete, it has a considerable conceptual and communicative potential and can be developed further.
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隐喻:英语青少年病文学中癌症亲身经历的再现
本文是对当代英语中癌症隐喻研究的一种贡献。它关注的是癌症在青少年病态文学中的概念。青少年病态文学是一种相对较新的儿童文学类型,它呈现的是折磨青少年的严重疾病的故事,其中最重要的是癌症。本分析以四本采用第一人称叙事模式的小说为基础。它以概念隐喻理论为基础,利用了隐喻理论生涯(B. Bowdle和D. Gentner)和隐喻创造力概念(Z. Kövecses)等具体的研究工具。研究角度的新颖之处在于,本文采用差异化的方法对癌症隐喻进行分析,首先确定与癌症经历相关的主题群体,然后追踪每个群体中隐喻的使用模式。研究中出现的四组是癌症本身、癌症患者、诊断程序和治疗、患者的身体和情绪状况的隐喻。事实证明,有些隐喻强烈倾向于只反映癌症经历的一个方面。因此,积极推广的旅程隐喻似乎只适用于概念化程序和治疗,而战争隐喻被证明是多功能的。本文进一步分析了战争隐喻的使用实例,证明了战争隐喻不仅没有过时,而且具有相当大的概念和交际潜力,可以进一步发展。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.20
自引率
50.00%
发文量
87
审稿时长
6 weeks
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