The metaphor in the Changing Place

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Abstract： This paper attempts to use some basic principles in the modern metaphor theory in the cognitive theory to analyze the changing place， which is one of the representatives of David Lodge’s academic fictions， so that it can help to have a better understanding of the metaphor used in this fiction.

Key words：Metaphor， language use in fiction， Changing Place

1. Introduction

According to the definition made by Lakoff and Turner， each fictional story can be seen as an extension of the rhetorical devices， so that we can understand our inner life through the narration of the outside world. Because the literal meaning is no longer powerful enough for the author to express his mind， he chooses the figurative use of language， which refers to language used in a figurative way for a rhetorical purpose. David Lodge’s writing skills are permeated with his own theories. He makes full use of metaphor on the basis of the modern linguistic theory. Take the Changing Place as example， the fiction could be regarded as a metaphor as a whole， which is made of plots and characters. Therefore， we could search for the exact metaphorical meaning of the fiction and the metaphorical use through what David Lodge shows.

2. Metaphorical language used in Changing Places

2.1 Metaphor in the novel

The motif of quest in Changing Places as a textural device is developed by the exchange program which sets the story in motion. “The faculty exchanges of Morris Zapp and Philip Swallow sets off a chain of complication that address most of the practical dilemmas of modern existence.” In Changing Places， the author uses human being as tenor and cultural system as vehicle in the metaphorical language. The novel is also made in the contrast between the two protagonists which is as well symbolic of that between British and American cultures and cultural systems.

The different characters of the two men result in their discoveries of different self-identities. To Morris Zapp， England is gloomy， poor， shabby and boring， linked to welfare solidarity and unaware of the power of free enterprise， but he is very much impressed by the family bonds， the warmth of human relationships and the survival of moral scruple. What Philip Swallow discovers at first glance in the United States is that the Americans are better off but not having a better life than the English. They are more cynical and he is uncomfortable with the way they place the pursuit of their own ends above nearly everything. Aggression， competition and lack of ambition makes him that the academic position in Rummidge University is more stable and easier to keep than in Euphoric State. The arrivals of Zapp and Swallow become fusions of different cultures. Each character is metaphorized as own culture. Two completely different cultures are seen through different eyes and represented by the two scholars.

2.2 Analysis

Metaphor lies in the deconstruction of the old cognitive way and the establishment of a new one. The creation of the metaphorical meaning is a self-contradictory and self-destructive process. The spiritual conflict of people in the end of the nineteenth century finds full expression in the metaphor in the characterization of Changing Places.

It is a wise choice for Lodge to use scholar as a tenor. Scholars are have more academic views on the culture and cultural system than ordinary people. The backgrounds of the two scholars are more than geographical in essence. The two countries that they come from also imply the distinction of two cultures which feed two kinds of values on the part of the people who live in these countries： the more conservative West Midlands of Britain and the more ambitious coastal California of America. What’s more， though with the same academic setting， the distinction of two cultures draws on two different institutions of higher education under which both Philip Swallow and Morris Zapp are products of their respective academic systems. The conservative and dreary Rummidge University is set in contrast to the ambitious and competitive Euphoric State. They are of a much milder nature in England while those in America are more different cultures shed much light on the understanding of what each one of the two scholars progressively designates as his own national identity and character. They are used to be symbols of their own cultural systems， and at the same time the differences they encounter in the different countries turn out to be the reflection of the conflicts of two cultural systems.

3. Conclusion

Therefore， with the above general analysis of the metaphorical use in Changing Places， which is one of his representatives of David Lodge’s literary creations， we could arrive at an interpretation of Lodge’s language in fiction and his metaphorical strategies in representing the contemporary world. Lodge’s artistic manipulation of the metaphoric modes are so powerful that they help Lodge to use metaphorical language to elaborate and explain his ideas.

Reference：

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