Frog Metaphors in Mo Yan's Novel 蛙 /ua⁵⁵/ (frog): A Cognitive Perspective

Authors

Yao Siqi

Publication Date

2017-01-01

Abstract

《蛙》/ua55/ (frog) by the Nobel Prize winning Chinese author Mo Yan describes China's changing its highly controversial one - child policy and system of forced abortions over the past half-century. Frog metaphors are omnipresent throughout the novel. The present study aims to investigate these metaphors within the framework of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's Frog Metaphors in Mo Yan's Novel 蛙 /ua55/ (Frog) 123 (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and the "GREAT CHAIN OF BEING" system of George Lakoff and Mark Turner (1989) to deepen our understanding of their nature and manifestations. Zoltán Kövecses's (2002) "HUMAN BEINGS ARE ANIMALS" and "ANIMALS ARE HUMAN BEINGS" were also considered as cognitive metaphorical models. Moreover, the viewpoint of "phonetic metaphor" initially proposed by Ivan Fónagy (1999) was also taken into account. Results were that in Mo Yan's work, the frog plays an essential role in the conceptualizing conventional views of certain areas in China. The analysis demonstrates how a cognitive approach offers an effective way to explore the cognitive basis of the text's view on the complex relationship between the basic human rights and the dilemmas of living in a repressive society. This paper also hopes to make a certain contribution to comprehending frog metaphors in terms of more clearly delineated concepts and ideology reflecting China's real society of a one-child policy and its traditional counter - policy notion.

First Page

122

Last Page

153

Recommended Citation

Siqi, Yao (2017) "Frog Metaphors in Mo Yan's Novel 蛙 /ua⁵⁵/ (frog): A Cognitive Perspective," Manusya, Journal of Humanities: Vol. 20: No. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/manusya/vol20/iss2/6