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The metaphors in literature and in rhetoric are differentiated from each other as well as interrelated with each other. The former could be described as an important technique of expression while the latter underlines the value of reference in a specific language performance. Metaphors arranged in literature works are indirect and vague. Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish—a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language. Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action (Lakoff, 1980: 5). In any piece of literature work, the ideas and concepts which the author wants to express are not revealed directly, but rely on indirect descriptions. Meanwhile, the connotations of metaphors are not unfolded clearly before the readers. That means readers need to interpret in their own methods depending on their experience and literary attainments.
2. Literature Review
Life of Pi is a piece of representative works of Yann Martel. There have been a considerable number of researches about this novel. For example, Ai Shaoliang elaborated Christian culture and the power of belief in his essay “Christian Culture in Life of Pi”. He analyzed the cultural background of the author and the novel to make readers feel the power of belief behind the charming story and guide them to interpret the novel from a different perspective. Yang Kaiyu discussed cross-cultural communication in “The Appreciation of the Creation of Eastern and Western Culture in Life of Pi” which led readers to pay attention to the value of human culture. The thesis studied cross-cultural characteristics from the culture, logic and plots in the novel. What’s more, some scholars wrote essays from other different angles like the Sphinx factors in Pi, illusion and reality, character and destiny and so on.
This thesis analyzes the novel Life of Pi from another angle. More attention will be paid to the metaphors in this novel and the novel will be interpreted as a whole. Life of Pi is not only an adventure story but also a fable, because there are a number of metaphors in this novel. These metaphors represent abstruse philosophy about life, belief and rationality and could be found everywhere in this novel. Through the study of the realistic meaning behind these metaphors, people can have a clear understanding of Martel’s main ideals in this novel.