A study of water and fire as metaphors in american and vietnamese short stories of the 20th century

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

PHÍ THỊ THU TRANG

A STUDY OF WATER AND FIRE AS METAPHORS IN
AMERICAN AND VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES
OF THE 20TH CENTURY
NGHIÊN CỨU ẨN DỤ NƯỚC VÀ LỬA TRONG TRUYỆN
NGẮN THẾ KỶ 20 CỦA MỸ VÀ VIỆT NAM
MINOR M.A THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 602215

HÀ NỘI, 2010


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

PHÍ THỊ THU TRANG

A STUDY OF WATER AND FIRE AS METAPHORS IN
AMERICAN AND VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES
OF THE 20TH CENTURY
NGHIÊN CỨU ẨN DỤ NƯỚC VÀ LỬA TRONG TRUYỆN
NGẮN THẾ KỶ 20 CỦA MỸ VÀ VIỆT NAM
MINOR M.A THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 602215
SUPERVISOR: VĂN THỊ THANH BÌNH, M.A

HÀ NỘI, 2010


iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ..................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. iv

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1
1.

Rationale for the study ............................................................................................... 1

2.

Scope of the study ...................................................................................................... 2

3.

Objectives of the study ............................................................................................... 2

4.

Methods of the study .................................................................................................. 3

5.

Design of the study..................................................................................................... 3

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1: Theoretical background ............................................................................... 4
1.1

An overview of metaphor ....................................................................................... 4

1.1.1

What is metaphor?............................................................................................... 4

1.1.2

Components of metaphor..................................................................................... 5

1.1.3

Types of metaphor............................................................................................... 6

1.2

Metaphor in literature ............................................................................................. 7

1.3

American short stories of the 20th century ............................................................... 9

1.4

Vietnamese short stories of the 20th century .......................................................... 10

Chapter 2: Water and fire as metaphors in American and Vietnamese short stories of
the 20th century .............................................................................................................. 12
2.1 The popularity of water and fire as metaphors............................................................ 12
2.2 The formation of metaphors of water and fire ............................................................ 14
2.2.1 Lexical items .......................................................................................................... 14
2.2.2 Parts of speech ........................................................................................................ 20
2.3 The functions of metaphors of water and fire ............................................................. 23
2.3.1 The description of strong emotions ......................................................................... 23


v

2.3.2 The creation of imagery .......................................................................................... 32
2.4 Summary of the chapter ............................................................................................. 36

PART THREE: CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 38
1.

An overview of the study.......................................................................................... 38

2.

Pedagogical implications .......................................................................................... 40

3.

Suggestions for further studies.................................................................................. 42

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 43
APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX B ...................................................................................................................II
APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................. III
APPENDIX D .............................................................................................................. VIII
APPENDIX E ................................................................................................................XX
APPENDIX F............................................................................................................ XXIX
APPENDIX G ............................................................................................................. XXX