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Showing 14 results for Reader
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of translational contact on use of epistemic modality in Persian translations and originals in the genre of education. Our findings show that the frequency and distribution of epistemic markers (especially, hedges) in the English texts is considerably higher than those of the Persian translations and originals. However, this has changed in the period of some sixty years, and Persian texts have become noticeably similar to English texts. Upon investigation of the ways translators rendered the epistemic uses of English modal auxiliaries (e.g., may, must, etc.) we found that translators in the 2006–2015 time farme have omitted fewer epitemic modals and translated fewer of them into Persian modals of higher confidence than translators in 1957–1968 time frame. These findings suggest that as the translational contact between English and Persian prolonged translated and original Persian texts have relatively converged towards the communicative preferences of English and have become more addressee-oriented. In fact, the addresee orientation of has first leaked into Persian translations and then has found its way into Persian originals. Weakening of cultural filtering in Persian translations has facilitated this process.
Mahmood Fotoohi Roudmajani, Mohammad Afshin Vafai ,
Volume 2, Issue 6 (7-2009)
Volume 2, Issue 6 (7-2009)
Abstract
Hermeneutic theory of literary history suggests the "history of readers" or "literature audience" rather than the history of the author and the text. In this approach, the literariness of a text - for example Hafiz poems - is measured according to its vividness, dynamism and ability of its conversation with different generations. Therefore the literary historian should write the "history of the effects of Hafiz poems" upon its readers rather than the biography and history of Hafiz himself.. By doing so, the historian actually writes "the life of Divan of Hafiz" and "the history of Hafiz meanings" i.e. the story of the text after its birth, and it's moving on in the history. By recognizing Hafiz readers in 15th century, the article has studied the echo of Hafiz voice in the first century after his death and according to the information obtained from sources in 15th century, classified Hafiz readers based on their types of reading. According to the biographical information and also some given titles and addresses to Hafez, his social position has been illustrated, and eventually the developing process of Hafez meanings from simplicity to complexity and from literary discourse into the sacred discourse, has been demonstrated
Bahram Behin,
Volume 3, Issue 9 (5-2010)
Volume 3, Issue 9 (5-2010)
Abstract
The banishment of poets from Plato’s Republic in order to reach at a society free from irresponsibility is the first step in the Western speculative philosophy to criticize poetry. From a Platonic point of view, irresponsible, irrational writing, of which poetry, due to its inspirational nature, is an outstanding realization, puts the ideal Greek society in disorder and thus should be avoided; philosophically speculative writing, which arises from rationality and truth-orientated thinking, should replace it. Although it is almost impossible to examine the credibility of such judgments, they have been raised in different guises throughout history to explain crises in human societies. With a special attention to the modern era, this paper argues that due to the shortcomings in the Western “philosophical discourse,” Western philosophical writings seem to be really dangerous and the cause of political and social crises. Conversely, writings arising from a “literary discourse” might turn out to be more responsible.
S. Hessampour, Z. Pirsoufi, S. Asadi,
Volume 6, Issue 21 (3-2013)
Volume 6, Issue 21 (3-2013)
Abstract
This paper uses the theory of "the implied reader in the book" by Aiden Chambers to analyze two of Ahmadi's latest works, "The butterfly had fallen asleep on my pillow" and "The girl, the fish, and the loneliness". To know the implied reader and his/her characteristics, Chambers suggests studying the four factors of style, point of view, partialityand and empty spaces. These factors play an important role in children's books and help the author communicate with the reader. The results show the implied readers in his books are thoughtful and capable children with pure imaginations and innovative souls who are able to enjoy the beauties of the story and discover the hidden concepts in it. Also the depth and complexity in Ahmadi's books provoke the adults and the young adults to read and enjoy his works. Keywords: Aidan Chambers, Ahmadreza Ahmadi, Children Story, Implied Reader, The butterfly had fallen asleep on my pillow, The girl, the fish, and the loneliness.
Hossein Pirloojeh,
Volume 8, Issue 29 (3-2015)
Volume 8, Issue 29 (3-2015)
Abstract
It is traditionally maintained in structural linguistics that by cutting verbal signs off each other paradigmatically, and enchaining some of them against the others syntagmatically, language system makes a body of text signify a certain meaning which is sustainable through contextual fluctuations. In line with this Saussurian assumption, and in an attempt to ascertain the authorial intention in literary works, many literary scholars have been mistaken rhetorics for criticism, albeit under the rubrics of structural poetics. This article, however, dismisses the futile attempt to pull certain meanings out of literary masterpiecesfor the purpose of investigating the origins of textuality in any work—let it not be shelved as great literature or literary at all. It aims to demonstrate why such mechanical procedures, prevalent in rhetorical studies, cannot account for textuality beyond the question of the thematic unity of a work; wherein textuality and plurality of text are suppressed in favor of the integrity and entirety required for works of verbal art. To account for the extensive significance of text and the abundance of its possible readings, a seemingly heterogeneous body of texts (including a piece of a poem, an extract from an article, and a vignette) has been analyzed within a reader-oriented framework. Drawing on Roland Barthes (1981), Asgari Pashaei (1995) and Christian Metz (1982), I have tried to move away from rhetorics toward a more proper notion of literary criticism.
Masoud Algooneh Juneghani,
Volume 9, Issue 33 (5-2016)
Volume 9, Issue 33 (5-2016)
Abstract
Semiotic Square, as a model trying to analyze and explain the foundation of signification, was firstly developed by Greimas. This model is the logical outcome of the development of binary oppositions, and is based on the primary structure of signification. It was first used in the structural analysis of narratives. However, Greimas, Rastier and some other members of Paris school applied it in the field of semiotics of poetry, as well. Nevertheless, researches using this model in the field of Persian literature are mainly concerned with its application in the structural analysis of either prose or verse narratives, and as a consequence, there is no comprehensive research which analyses the process of signification in poetry according to this model. Hence, after providing the basic assumptions of semiotic model, the present article tries to apply it in a semiotic reading of poetry. Therefore, at first the basic components of semiotic square and their combination methods is explained and afterwards the internal organization of the components of a poem by Attar, Mowlavi, and Hafiz is respectively analyzed. Such a research not only provides the possibility of the analysis of the poem's structure, and brings forth some of its latent perspectives, but also offers a reader-oriented model which indicates how a potent reader recognize and categorize the semantic components of the poem so as to arrive at a better understanding.
, Farzane Gholamy,
Volume 9, Issue 36 (12-2016)
Volume 9, Issue 36 (12-2016)
Abstract
Abstract
In recent years in Iran, Aiden Chambers’ theory called “The Reader in the Book” has greatly attracted researches in the realm of children literature. The purpose of such studies has been to read various works of Iranian children literature writers based on Chamber’s theory. In order to recognize the specifics of the child reader in the text, Chambers introduces the four essential elements of style, point of view, taking sides and tell-tale gaps. The fundamental question of this study is to examine whether the theoretical elements and concepts chambers names as essential to create the child reader in the book are practically used in his literary works? The examination of “Cindy’s Day Out” from his collection, Kissing Game, represents that Chambers has created an active and critical child reader in his work through the proper application of different methods, such as the shift from narratorial-descriptive style to dramatic-objective style, Various but fluid and friendly diction, few but understandable literary figures, third person narrator focalized through the main character, taking sides through style shift, superficial and cultural gaps along with gaps in characterization and narrative structure.
Farzad Baloo,
Volume 11, Issue 44 (4-2018)
Volume 11, Issue 44 (4-2018)
Abstract
Gadamer under the influence of Heidegger's views on the subject of Dasein's understanding, language, linguisticality, and historicity. , Founded a philosophical hermeneutics. Without reading the text, like his predecessors, Schleiermacher and Dilthey by adopting the method, and focusing on the author in pursuit of the author's intentions, or the reader as the focal point of the subject of understanding and reading the text, Inspired by Heidegger's ontological philosophy Correspondence Subject - subject between the reader and the text, and the Fusion of horizons is the final result of the dialogue between the reader and the text. While one of the most important misconceptions about Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics in popular research is that it is mistakenly interpreted from the philosophical hermeneutics to hermeneutic reader-centered.This mistake is rooted in such reasons as: the lack of attention to changing the methodological approach in philosophical hermeneutics to the political approach, the wrongly interpretation of the concept of adaptation or application in philosophical hermeneutics, the lack of attention to the concept of play in philosophical hermeneutics, the distinction of subject and object, and the lack of precise attention to The Fusion of horizons in philosophical hermeneutics is a lack of separation between the realm of philosophical hermeneutics and literary hermeneutics and ....The present research studies the roots of this misunderstanding.
Volume 12, Issue 48 (9-2015)
Abstract
Halleh Kiani
Yadolllah Jalali Pendari. PH.D
Abstract
Bijan Najdi (1941-1997) is one of the pioneers of post-modern stories in Iran. In this article, the status of reader in his post-modern stories has been researched. In his stories, he has used a number of approaches such as addressing the reader, and obscuring the introduction of the addressee of the story for the reader; the severalty of narrators; constant and non-identical changes of the point of view and the resulting lack of coherence in the text, depiction of paradoxical worlds, and presentation of different choices to the reader throughout the story in the form of meta-fiction, self-reference, and suspension of the reader amid the imaginative and factual atmosphere of the story, non-identical changes in the focal points of the narration, and thereby establishment of a multilateral atmosphere, an open ending, and/or multiple conclusions, for stories. All and all, these show that in the preparation of the stories, a pivotal role has been taken into consideration for the reader, and methodologies have been applied in Najdi’s stories for establishment of the ground for direct interaction of the reader and the text, and participation of the reader in development of the denotation of the texts.
Volume 13, Issue 1 (1-2006)
Abstract
The English narrative of "the adventure of Hajji Baba of Ispahan"[1] seems to be one of the controversial literal texts for the Iranian readership with social criticism interest. This paper intends, not to refute or redeem the validity claims of this historical actualized reading or to offer an alternative, but, to put it into perspective of a spectrum of possibilities and to show how and under what contingencies, the text can actualize some other rival and salient interpretations that reverberate our contemporary horizons of social reality. Using the Ricoeurian theories of literature by applying his theory of "surplus of meaning" on the text we suggest how "The World of Text " has the potential to have different readings and in the next step, by analyzing "The World of Reader" and its dialectical relations with the world of text, we exhibit the important role of "reading" as the act of Self Reflection.
Volume 13, Issue 4 (10-2022)
Abstract
The present article uses a cognitive approach to fiction and proposes a new and integrated model that examines the metaphorical concept of identity and shows how it is mapped and perceived by the character and reader in Tom McCarthy's novel Remainder (2005). It draws on Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor (1980) and the contextual frame theory developed by Peter Stockwell (2002). First, the mega-metaphor in the story is extracted; then its correspondence with the micro-metaphors in the text of the narrative, and the character's view from that point in different contexts of the story are examined. It then goes on to point out how the reader gets to know this issue while reading the work, and experiencing its various parts. The results show that the concept of identity consists of two different metaphorical mappings for the character and the reader, leading each one to a different understanding of it. It also emphasizes the effectiveness of this new cognitive tool in uncovering the hidden layers of literary works and the broad mental complexities at various levels, including narrator, character, and reader.
1. Introduction
The question of identity comprises a complexity which is shaped by various individual and social factors. Identity formation can be considered as a continuous process of "becoming" which arises from the interaction of the "ego" with the "other" in temporal, spatial and social conditions. Identity, while fragmented and multifaceted, is an attempt to achieve a unified and consistent concept that distinguishes the individual from the others and at the same time has the possibility to change and adapt to the environment. An individual’s linguistic and actual behavior is a mental representation of the concept in an interaction with environmental conditions. Thus, identity is an unresolved question or space in which various discourses are involved and take on a highly multifaceted nature.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the factors that can change this process of identity formation, affecting a person's speech and behavior directly. This study concerns the effects of crisis in identity on one's interactions with oneself and the environment. It is important to examine this through the analysis of the traumatized person's narrative of their life, in which they recount their mental and environmental experiences under the influence of the disease. The article examines the narrative process of identity formation in Tom McCarthy's novel Remainder (2005). The novel is about a first-person nameless narrator who tries to rebuild his lost and fragmented identity after experiencing a severe accident through strange and violent re-enactments of past events. The notions of heightened existential awareness and self-renewal in relation to the traumatized narrator are of the two features highlighted in the story.
Research Question(s)
The major question of this study is twofold. On the one hand, within a textual frame, it deals with the notion of identity as formed and recognized textually by the character; and on the other, within a contextual frame, it focuses on the reader’s process of identity formation while reading the novel. The answer to this question is based on the hypothesis that although the reader's apparent presence (in contextual frame) is based on the cognitive factors of the narrative text, the reader's own cognitive schemata are directly involved in shaping the narrator's identity during the reading process. The concept of identity, thus, becomes significant for the reader. To do so, the study borrows from the cognitive theories of conceptual metaphor and contextual frame theory as introduced by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), and Peter Stockwell (2002) respectively.
2. Literature Review
In Metaphors We Live By, Lakoffand Johnson consider “metaphor” as a means to contemplate and see the world, according to which cognition and understanding of concepts of the mind have metaphorical foundations, and the conceptual system is the direct result of the mechanism of metaphorical conceptualization (1980, p. 8). According to them, metaphorical expressions are generalized conceptual mappings that bridge between conceptual domains. This will make an abstract domain conceptually understandable based on the experiential concepts of a cognitive domain (Grady, 2007, p. 189). Manifestaion of these mental representaions can be found not only in language, but also in culture and art (Sadeghi, 2013; Afrashi and Moghimizadeh, 2014; Farshi and Afrashi, 2020; Ghaderi Najafabadi, 2016; Rezaei et al., 2017; Raisi et al., 2020).
What this background shows is the limited nature of Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor. This theory limits the formation of conceptual metaphors to the mind, which ultimately manifests itself in the linguistic and textual dimensions. However, according to Kövecses’ definition, the mind is only one source of meaning construction and processing. Other influential factors such as temporal, spatial and social phenomena play an important role in using and understanding conceptual metaphors (Kövecses, 2015, p. X). These factors are the constituents of the context with which the mind is in the ongoing process of linguistic communication and metaphorical construction. The narrative space of a story shows the contexts with which the narrator's mind and other characters are in constant interaction. In fact, the concept of identity arises from such interactions, in addition to the linguistic nature of the story. Based on what is said, this analysis focuses on the narrative of the story, since the notion of identity is expressed both in mental and textual levels in both linguistic and narrative forms, interfering with the cognitive interactions in the text and context.
In his book Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction (2002), Peter Stockwell presents the theory of contextual frame theory. This approach, which has not been mentioned in Persian studies so far, seeks to "understand how readers track reference to characters and events through the process of reading." (Stockwell, 2002, p. 155). This approach also includes the mental representation of the circumstances (temporal, spatial and social) that make up the current context. This is achieved through the linguistic components and narrative of the text, and direct inferences from the work itself. (p. 155)
3. Methodology
The purpose of this study is to adopt a new method by combining these two cognitive approaches to achieve a specific cognitive understanding of the concept of identity formation in the novel Remainder (2005), both textually and contextually. It seeks to achieve two important things: a) the narrator's textual journey of recognising his true lost identity formed through a process of mental schematization; B) The reader’s recognition of the concept of identity which is formed during the process of reading.
Through a descriptive-analytical approach, this study makes a connection between the two cognitive perspectives of Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) conceptual metaphors and Stockwell's (2002) contextual frame theory to examine the (con)textual frames of the story. It first discovers the mega-metaphor represented in the narrative, and the corresponding micro-metaphors in each part; and then, the subsequent role of the reader in shaping them as well as the narrator itself. Accordingly, the novel is divided into four main sections, each of which includes a mental representation of the narrator's re-enactments: 1. a London building apartment; 2. a tyre shop environment; 3. a shooting incident; 4. a bank robbery.
Table 1.
The Narrator’s Mental Re-enactments in the Story
Each of these re-enactments, respectively, includes the metaphorical mappings of "perfect identity is permanent", "perfection ascends/rises up", "true perfection is united to the world", "perfect/true identity stands beyond the law". In addition, the mega-metaphor of the story is "identity is a circular cycle". On the other hand, each of these mental re-enactments has its own fundamental contextual frame, which alters from frame recall to frame switch, frame repair, and finally to frame replacement. This process is subject to a change in the metaphorical mapping of the narrator's mentality in each part of the novel. As a result, at each stage of his mental re-enactments, it is these conceptual mappings that conform to the mega-metaphor of the story, creating the process of the narrator’s mental representation more violent.
4. Discussion and Results
The proposition at the beginning of the story, which is based on the metaphorical mapping "identity is a circular cycle", takes on different (con)textual frames throughout the story and guides the reader toward the final frame. During each of these processes of bounding and unbounding the frames, the reader obtains or adds information about the narrator and his story. Accordingly, when the narrator prepares the shooting scene for his third re-enactment and gives his reason for doing so, the reader and the narrator's cognitive course almost diverge from one another. The reason is the frame switch that takes place in this part of the story, which unbounds the previous contextual frames and binds them to a new re-enactment. Up to this point in the story, the reader has gained schematic knowledge of the narrator, his insistence on applying his embodied metaphors to the context of each re-enactment, and the failure to do so due to the lack of support for conceptual metaphors presented by the context. The reader realizes that the narrator is in fact in control of his mentality, turning him into a real chancer who tries to reconstruct his identity with money. The important point here is that this cyclical process only leads to the reproduction of other representations, and the remainder that the narrator recalls only repeats itself, becoming increasingly involved in violent and brutal re-enactments.
In the fourth re-enactment, when the re-enactment of a bank heist turns into a real bank heist, the frame that is switched for the narrator brings with it the repairing and renewal of the frame for the reader. As a result, on the plane, the reader's belief frame of the narrator changes completely; they realize that this vain cycle of continuous repetitions is reproduced in the narrator's mind: "Identity is a circular / repetitive cycle." The difference between this conceptual metaphor created in the reader's mind and the narrator's mind is that this conceptual metaphor arises from the narrative and linguistic frames of the novel, while the narrator himself is involved in the incompatibility of his conceptual metaphors with the conditions of the frames in which he represents himself.
According to the studies and (con)textual inreferences, the narrator and the reader recognize their own specific concept of identity, which leads to a different understanding of the novel:
6. Conclusion
The present article tries to reveal the limitations of Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor by examining the concept of identity formation in Tom McCarthy’s novel Remainder (2005). It considers the contextual frame of the narrative which includes a set of temporal, spatial and social relations and conditions, as another key factor in the formation of conceptual metaphors. This claim is made possible by the analysis of the story which is a collection of these contextual frames. The ups and downs that the narrator of McCarthy's novel experiences in the process of achieving and reviving the remainders of his identity, and the frustration and despair that he experiences in each contextual frame, are dominated by a lack of mental support for his conceptual metaphors by the context. Though Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphors rejects metaphor’s abstractness and gives it an embodied dimension, it does not concern its contextual roots in the process of narrative interaction (the narrator with his environment and the reader with the text). It somehow considers the metaphorical mind apart from these circumstances, which is an abstraction process itself.
On the other hand, the present study confirms the important role that the analysis of literary texts plays in the critical examination of linguistic findings and theories. Literary texts create frames in both textual and contextual dimensions, as they originate from the cognitive functions of the writer's mind and cognitive components that real-world people use in interaction with others. This similarity makes the story a good case for proving, denying, or correcting cognitive and linguistic findings. The findings of the present paper challenge Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphors and call for its revision.
1. Introduction
The question of identity comprises a complexity which is shaped by various individual and social factors. Identity formation can be considered as a continuous process of "becoming" which arises from the interaction of the "ego" with the "other" in temporal, spatial and social conditions. Identity, while fragmented and multifaceted, is an attempt to achieve a unified and consistent concept that distinguishes the individual from the others and at the same time has the possibility to change and adapt to the environment. An individual’s linguistic and actual behavior is a mental representation of the concept in an interaction with environmental conditions. Thus, identity is an unresolved question or space in which various discourses are involved and take on a highly multifaceted nature.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the factors that can change this process of identity formation, affecting a person's speech and behavior directly. This study concerns the effects of crisis in identity on one's interactions with oneself and the environment. It is important to examine this through the analysis of the traumatized person's narrative of their life, in which they recount their mental and environmental experiences under the influence of the disease. The article examines the narrative process of identity formation in Tom McCarthy's novel Remainder (2005). The novel is about a first-person nameless narrator who tries to rebuild his lost and fragmented identity after experiencing a severe accident through strange and violent re-enactments of past events. The notions of heightened existential awareness and self-renewal in relation to the traumatized narrator are of the two features highlighted in the story.
Research Question(s)
The major question of this study is twofold. On the one hand, within a textual frame, it deals with the notion of identity as formed and recognized textually by the character; and on the other, within a contextual frame, it focuses on the reader’s process of identity formation while reading the novel. The answer to this question is based on the hypothesis that although the reader's apparent presence (in contextual frame) is based on the cognitive factors of the narrative text, the reader's own cognitive schemata are directly involved in shaping the narrator's identity during the reading process. The concept of identity, thus, becomes significant for the reader. To do so, the study borrows from the cognitive theories of conceptual metaphor and contextual frame theory as introduced by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), and Peter Stockwell (2002) respectively.
2. Literature Review
In Metaphors We Live By, Lakoffand Johnson consider “metaphor” as a means to contemplate and see the world, according to which cognition and understanding of concepts of the mind have metaphorical foundations, and the conceptual system is the direct result of the mechanism of metaphorical conceptualization (1980, p. 8). According to them, metaphorical expressions are generalized conceptual mappings that bridge between conceptual domains. This will make an abstract domain conceptually understandable based on the experiential concepts of a cognitive domain (Grady, 2007, p. 189). Manifestaion of these mental representaions can be found not only in language, but also in culture and art (Sadeghi, 2013; Afrashi and Moghimizadeh, 2014; Farshi and Afrashi, 2020; Ghaderi Najafabadi, 2016; Rezaei et al., 2017; Raisi et al., 2020).
What this background shows is the limited nature of Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor. This theory limits the formation of conceptual metaphors to the mind, which ultimately manifests itself in the linguistic and textual dimensions. However, according to Kövecses’ definition, the mind is only one source of meaning construction and processing. Other influential factors such as temporal, spatial and social phenomena play an important role in using and understanding conceptual metaphors (Kövecses, 2015, p. X). These factors are the constituents of the context with which the mind is in the ongoing process of linguistic communication and metaphorical construction. The narrative space of a story shows the contexts with which the narrator's mind and other characters are in constant interaction. In fact, the concept of identity arises from such interactions, in addition to the linguistic nature of the story. Based on what is said, this analysis focuses on the narrative of the story, since the notion of identity is expressed both in mental and textual levels in both linguistic and narrative forms, interfering with the cognitive interactions in the text and context.
In his book Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction (2002), Peter Stockwell presents the theory of contextual frame theory. This approach, which has not been mentioned in Persian studies so far, seeks to "understand how readers track reference to characters and events through the process of reading." (Stockwell, 2002, p. 155). This approach also includes the mental representation of the circumstances (temporal, spatial and social) that make up the current context. This is achieved through the linguistic components and narrative of the text, and direct inferences from the work itself. (p. 155)
3. Methodology
The purpose of this study is to adopt a new method by combining these two cognitive approaches to achieve a specific cognitive understanding of the concept of identity formation in the novel Remainder (2005), both textually and contextually. It seeks to achieve two important things: a) the narrator's textual journey of recognising his true lost identity formed through a process of mental schematization; B) The reader’s recognition of the concept of identity which is formed during the process of reading.
Through a descriptive-analytical approach, this study makes a connection between the two cognitive perspectives of Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) conceptual metaphors and Stockwell's (2002) contextual frame theory to examine the (con)textual frames of the story. It first discovers the mega-metaphor represented in the narrative, and the corresponding micro-metaphors in each part; and then, the subsequent role of the reader in shaping them as well as the narrator itself. Accordingly, the novel is divided into four main sections, each of which includes a mental representation of the narrator's re-enactments: 1. a London building apartment; 2. a tyre shop environment; 3. a shooting incident; 4. a bank robbery.
Table 1.
The Narrator’s Mental Re-enactments in the Story
| 1st Re-enactment | 2nd Re-enactment | 3rd Re-enactment | 4th Re-enactment |
| London Building Apartment | Tyre Shop | Shooting Incident | Bank Robbery |
Each of these re-enactments, respectively, includes the metaphorical mappings of "perfect identity is permanent", "perfection ascends/rises up", "true perfection is united to the world", "perfect/true identity stands beyond the law". In addition, the mega-metaphor of the story is "identity is a circular cycle". On the other hand, each of these mental re-enactments has its own fundamental contextual frame, which alters from frame recall to frame switch, frame repair, and finally to frame replacement. This process is subject to a change in the metaphorical mapping of the narrator's mentality in each part of the novel. As a result, at each stage of his mental re-enactments, it is these conceptual mappings that conform to the mega-metaphor of the story, creating the process of the narrator’s mental representation more violent.
4. Discussion and Results
The proposition at the beginning of the story, which is based on the metaphorical mapping "identity is a circular cycle", takes on different (con)textual frames throughout the story and guides the reader toward the final frame. During each of these processes of bounding and unbounding the frames, the reader obtains or adds information about the narrator and his story. Accordingly, when the narrator prepares the shooting scene for his third re-enactment and gives his reason for doing so, the reader and the narrator's cognitive course almost diverge from one another. The reason is the frame switch that takes place in this part of the story, which unbounds the previous contextual frames and binds them to a new re-enactment. Up to this point in the story, the reader has gained schematic knowledge of the narrator, his insistence on applying his embodied metaphors to the context of each re-enactment, and the failure to do so due to the lack of support for conceptual metaphors presented by the context. The reader realizes that the narrator is in fact in control of his mentality, turning him into a real chancer who tries to reconstruct his identity with money. The important point here is that this cyclical process only leads to the reproduction of other representations, and the remainder that the narrator recalls only repeats itself, becoming increasingly involved in violent and brutal re-enactments.
In the fourth re-enactment, when the re-enactment of a bank heist turns into a real bank heist, the frame that is switched for the narrator brings with it the repairing and renewal of the frame for the reader. As a result, on the plane, the reader's belief frame of the narrator changes completely; they realize that this vain cycle of continuous repetitions is reproduced in the narrator's mind: "Identity is a circular / repetitive cycle." The difference between this conceptual metaphor created in the reader's mind and the narrator's mind is that this conceptual metaphor arises from the narrative and linguistic frames of the novel, while the narrator himself is involved in the incompatibility of his conceptual metaphors with the conditions of the frames in which he represents himself.
According to the studies and (con)textual inreferences, the narrator and the reader recognize their own specific concept of identity, which leads to a different understanding of the novel:
- Narrator: "perfect identity is stable, permanent and high."
- Reader: "identity is a recurring cycle."
6. Conclusion
The present article tries to reveal the limitations of Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor by examining the concept of identity formation in Tom McCarthy’s novel Remainder (2005). It considers the contextual frame of the narrative which includes a set of temporal, spatial and social relations and conditions, as another key factor in the formation of conceptual metaphors. This claim is made possible by the analysis of the story which is a collection of these contextual frames. The ups and downs that the narrator of McCarthy's novel experiences in the process of achieving and reviving the remainders of his identity, and the frustration and despair that he experiences in each contextual frame, are dominated by a lack of mental support for his conceptual metaphors by the context. Though Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphors rejects metaphor’s abstractness and gives it an embodied dimension, it does not concern its contextual roots in the process of narrative interaction (the narrator with his environment and the reader with the text). It somehow considers the metaphorical mind apart from these circumstances, which is an abstraction process itself.
On the other hand, the present study confirms the important role that the analysis of literary texts plays in the critical examination of linguistic findings and theories. Literary texts create frames in both textual and contextual dimensions, as they originate from the cognitive functions of the writer's mind and cognitive components that real-world people use in interaction with others. This similarity makes the story a good case for proving, denying, or correcting cognitive and linguistic findings. The findings of the present paper challenge Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphors and call for its revision.
Mohammad Javad Mahdavy, Fateme Soqandi, Roya Yadollahi Shahrah,
Volume 17, Issue 66 (8-2024)
Volume 17, Issue 66 (8-2024)
Abstract
In this article, we criticized Aidan Chambers' theory of the implied reader in children's and young adult literature. Chambers proposes techniques for identifying the implied reader in such literature. While the theory offers useful concepts, it contains flaws and gaps, which we explain under several headings: generalizations and ambiguity in definitions, overlap of categories, inconsistency in examples, and weak theoretical foundations. The proper application of this theory in practice requires revisions, supplements, and corrections, which we have addressed in this study. We further provide suggestions for improving the theory. Given that Chambers' theory aims to uncover the implied reader, we also explored techniques that enable us to identify this reader. In the fields of linguistic analysis of the novel and narratology, we found effective methods and concepts, and we designed an approach based on text structure analysis and narrative discourse, which helps infer the implied reader. This method includes the concepts of sème, focalization, voice, and distance, offering a more precise understanding of the implied reader.
1. Introduction
Considering a specific audience in children's and young adult literature is a necessity for writers in this field, far beyond what is required for adult literature authors. Thus, reader-response criticism is especially important in the realm of children's and young adult literature. Various theories have been proposed with this approach, emphasizing the reader's active engagement with the text and highlighting the reader's role in shaping meaning. In other words, the reader collaborates with the author in creating meaning. One reader-response theory is Aidan Chambers’ theory of the "implied reader," which introduces a reader within children's literature who is present in the text and plays a role in its construction. Chambers also lists techniques for illustrating this reader, including style, point of view, advocacy, and narrative gaps. This theory helps critics understand for whom the story is written.
2. Discussion
While Chambers' theory offers useful concepts, it has some flaws and gaps, which we have explained under several headings: vagueness in definitions, category overlap, inconsistency in examples, and weak theoretical foundations. In light of these criticisms, we attempted to introduce alternative methods to address the shortcomings of the theory. Upon closer inspection, among Chambers' four elements (style, point of view, advocacy, and narrative gaps), only style, point of view, and narrative gaps are tools for illustrating the implied reader, while advocacy pertains more to the relationship between the author and the implied reader rather than being a tool for deducing it.
Given that Chambers himself uses the term "style" in his theory, we initially turned to stylistics. After reflecting on and studying concepts related to stylistics and drawing from other fields such as linguistics and narratology, we found that employing stylistics to identify the implied reader is fraught with ambiguities, and there are much better tools for this purpose. Particularly, in stylistics, the interpretation of any subject depends on its frequency and recurrence. Thus, many significant points in identifying the implied reader would be overlooked simply because they are not frequent. Identifying the implied reader is, in fact, an effort to understand the rhetorical aspect of the text, meaning that by analyzing the surface structure of the text and recognizing the transformations in relation to its deep structure, we aim to understand the characteristics of the reader for whom this text/narrative was created. Therefore, we had to turn to techniques that allow us this rhetorical understanding. In linguistics, many of the topics Chambers aims to analyze under the term "style" are already discussed, such as the author's use of imagery, conscious and unconscious references, hypotheses about the reader's perception, and attitudes toward beliefs, customs, and characters in the narrative. Since the novel is a linguistic-narrative structure, we utilized the linguistics of the novel and narratology to better explain Chambers’ concepts. Roger Fowler's linguistics and the novel was one of the sources we relied on in this endeavor. Fowler introduces a method through which we can analyze the novel as a large narrative structure using linguistic tools. In our proposed analysis method, instead of the stylistics-related techniques like point of view and narrative gaps, which were not very precise, we used the techniques of the linguistics of the novel and narratology to derive a more accurate and well-founded understanding of the implied reader based on textual evidence.
In analyzing the element of the text, we used the concept of "semantic units," through which we can clarify the relationship between the narrator, characters, and implied reader within the novel, and thus infer the author’s perspective toward the implied reader. In the discussion of discourse, we also utilized narratology, employing techniques like focalization, voice, and distance to identify the implied reader. In analyzng the novel, focalization helps us understand how different viewpoints can influence our interpretation and understanding of events and characters. This concept clearly shows that not only “who says” but also “from whose perspective it is said” is equally important in shaping meaning. Through focalization, we can illustrate the implied reader with whom the text intends to communicate.
We also discussed the concept of voice. This concept relates to the analysis of how the speech and thought of characters are represented, showing how the author can reflect different viewpoints and ideologies in the story through various voices. The voices of the narrator and characters play a significant role in directly and indirectly expressing the author's attitude toward the implied reader.
Distance is another discourse-related technique that refers to the relationship between the narrator and the events of the story. This distance can be temporal, spatial, emotional, or epistemic, determining the degree of closeness or detachment of the narrator from the story. In novel analysis, the concept of distance helps us understand how the narrator might create a specific effect on the reader through this distance or closeness, and infer what kind of reader is being targeted.
3. Conclusion
While Aidan Chambers' theory of the implied reader provides valuable insights for researchers and writers of children's and young adult literature, it is not without its shortcomings. In this article, we critically examined Chambers' approach, highlighting its theoretical ambiguities and issues. One of the weaknesses of Chambers’ theory is its vagueness and generality. Chambers presents four techniques for identifying the implied reader, but the explanations for each are unclear, failing to provide precise tools or categories for analysis. Additionally, there is overlap between the concepts of Chambers’ techniques. For instance, style and narrative gaps cover similar aspects, such as the author's conscious and unconscious references. This overlap creates ambiguity, making it difficult for analysts to differentiate between the techniques. Other weaknesses of this theory include inconsistencies in the examples used and weak theoretical foundations. For example, Chambers proposes assumptions about the difficulty of topics and language for children without providing a clear definition or solid theoretical basis. In the next step, we sought to address these flaws by drawing on the linguistics of the novel and narratology to offer a solution for identifying the implied reader. Initially, we used Fowler’s theory regarding the analysis of text structure. Based on this, we found a way to identify the implied reader through analyzing the three elements of text, discourse, and content in the novel. By relying on complementary theories in narratology and linguistics, we planned a more substantial and precise analysis. Thus, in our proposed analysis method, instead of using the imprecise stylistics-related techniques like point of view and narrative gaps, we employed the techniques of novel linguistics and narratology and designed a method based on the analysis of the text structure and narrative discourse, allowing us to identify the implied reader. This method includes the concepts of semantic units, focalization, voice, and distance, which provide a more accurate understanding of the implied reader.
1. Introduction
Considering a specific audience in children's and young adult literature is a necessity for writers in this field, far beyond what is required for adult literature authors. Thus, reader-response criticism is especially important in the realm of children's and young adult literature. Various theories have been proposed with this approach, emphasizing the reader's active engagement with the text and highlighting the reader's role in shaping meaning. In other words, the reader collaborates with the author in creating meaning. One reader-response theory is Aidan Chambers’ theory of the "implied reader," which introduces a reader within children's literature who is present in the text and plays a role in its construction. Chambers also lists techniques for illustrating this reader, including style, point of view, advocacy, and narrative gaps. This theory helps critics understand for whom the story is written.
2. Discussion
While Chambers' theory offers useful concepts, it has some flaws and gaps, which we have explained under several headings: vagueness in definitions, category overlap, inconsistency in examples, and weak theoretical foundations. In light of these criticisms, we attempted to introduce alternative methods to address the shortcomings of the theory. Upon closer inspection, among Chambers' four elements (style, point of view, advocacy, and narrative gaps), only style, point of view, and narrative gaps are tools for illustrating the implied reader, while advocacy pertains more to the relationship between the author and the implied reader rather than being a tool for deducing it.
Given that Chambers himself uses the term "style" in his theory, we initially turned to stylistics. After reflecting on and studying concepts related to stylistics and drawing from other fields such as linguistics and narratology, we found that employing stylistics to identify the implied reader is fraught with ambiguities, and there are much better tools for this purpose. Particularly, in stylistics, the interpretation of any subject depends on its frequency and recurrence. Thus, many significant points in identifying the implied reader would be overlooked simply because they are not frequent. Identifying the implied reader is, in fact, an effort to understand the rhetorical aspect of the text, meaning that by analyzing the surface structure of the text and recognizing the transformations in relation to its deep structure, we aim to understand the characteristics of the reader for whom this text/narrative was created. Therefore, we had to turn to techniques that allow us this rhetorical understanding. In linguistics, many of the topics Chambers aims to analyze under the term "style" are already discussed, such as the author's use of imagery, conscious and unconscious references, hypotheses about the reader's perception, and attitudes toward beliefs, customs, and characters in the narrative. Since the novel is a linguistic-narrative structure, we utilized the linguistics of the novel and narratology to better explain Chambers’ concepts. Roger Fowler's linguistics and the novel was one of the sources we relied on in this endeavor. Fowler introduces a method through which we can analyze the novel as a large narrative structure using linguistic tools. In our proposed analysis method, instead of the stylistics-related techniques like point of view and narrative gaps, which were not very precise, we used the techniques of the linguistics of the novel and narratology to derive a more accurate and well-founded understanding of the implied reader based on textual evidence.
In analyzing the element of the text, we used the concept of "semantic units," through which we can clarify the relationship between the narrator, characters, and implied reader within the novel, and thus infer the author’s perspective toward the implied reader. In the discussion of discourse, we also utilized narratology, employing techniques like focalization, voice, and distance to identify the implied reader. In analyzng the novel, focalization helps us understand how different viewpoints can influence our interpretation and understanding of events and characters. This concept clearly shows that not only “who says” but also “from whose perspective it is said” is equally important in shaping meaning. Through focalization, we can illustrate the implied reader with whom the text intends to communicate.
We also discussed the concept of voice. This concept relates to the analysis of how the speech and thought of characters are represented, showing how the author can reflect different viewpoints and ideologies in the story through various voices. The voices of the narrator and characters play a significant role in directly and indirectly expressing the author's attitude toward the implied reader.
Distance is another discourse-related technique that refers to the relationship between the narrator and the events of the story. This distance can be temporal, spatial, emotional, or epistemic, determining the degree of closeness or detachment of the narrator from the story. In novel analysis, the concept of distance helps us understand how the narrator might create a specific effect on the reader through this distance or closeness, and infer what kind of reader is being targeted.
3. Conclusion
While Aidan Chambers' theory of the implied reader provides valuable insights for researchers and writers of children's and young adult literature, it is not without its shortcomings. In this article, we critically examined Chambers' approach, highlighting its theoretical ambiguities and issues. One of the weaknesses of Chambers’ theory is its vagueness and generality. Chambers presents four techniques for identifying the implied reader, but the explanations for each are unclear, failing to provide precise tools or categories for analysis. Additionally, there is overlap between the concepts of Chambers’ techniques. For instance, style and narrative gaps cover similar aspects, such as the author's conscious and unconscious references. This overlap creates ambiguity, making it difficult for analysts to differentiate between the techniques. Other weaknesses of this theory include inconsistencies in the examples used and weak theoretical foundations. For example, Chambers proposes assumptions about the difficulty of topics and language for children without providing a clear definition or solid theoretical basis. In the next step, we sought to address these flaws by drawing on the linguistics of the novel and narratology to offer a solution for identifying the implied reader. Initially, we used Fowler’s theory regarding the analysis of text structure. Based on this, we found a way to identify the implied reader through analyzing the three elements of text, discourse, and content in the novel. By relying on complementary theories in narratology and linguistics, we planned a more substantial and precise analysis. Thus, in our proposed analysis method, instead of using the imprecise stylistics-related techniques like point of view and narrative gaps, we employed the techniques of novel linguistics and narratology and designed a method based on the analysis of the text structure and narrative discourse, allowing us to identify the implied reader. This method includes the concepts of semantic units, focalization, voice, and distance, which provide a more accurate understanding of the implied reader.
Volume 17, Issue 69 (1-2021)
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to reach a definition of humor as a kind of literature based on contemporary literary theories, especially reader-centered theories In order to recognize the humor of a literary text based on it. "Humor is a literary text whose action is to create a contrast between the reader's perceptual concepts of the text and the reader's mental patterns." Based on this, examples of satires in various texts (Quran, Shahnameh, Khayyam quatrains, poems by Shamloo and Shafi'i Kadkani) have been analyzed and shown some examples that have been introduced as humor in various books or articles are not examples of humor as a kind of literary expression.
Volume 27, Issue 1 (3-2020)
Abstract
Over the past several centuries, Children have found their place in the world in terms of their education and learning issues hence, the child has become the subject of interest of researchers and scholars of educational sciences and psychology. Researchers and critics have also been interested in children's literature as domain independent from other literature fields. In early years, we have come across a lot of works related to children and after realizing the necessity of criticism of those works, critics entered the theoretical domain to develop and promote the level of these literary works especially for children. However, the Shia children's literature has not received much scientific attention despite a large number of studies in the field of children’s literature. As such, critical studies are needed in this area to bring the Shia child literature to its desired end. This article, based on descriptive, analytical and critical approaches and with a brief presentation of the Chambers theory, tries to study a model of Shia children's literature in order to elevate its existing standard.
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