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Филологические науки
УДК 821.111(73)
JACK LONDON'S SKILL IN CREATING IMAGE OF WOMAN (CASE OF STYLISTIC DEVICE METAPHOR)
M.F. Norova, Bukhara state medical institute named after Abu Ali ibn Sina (Bukhara,
Uzbekistan).
Abstract. This article is devoted to the literary art and skill of Jack London in creating the image of woman in the example of the stylistic device metaphor. In order to achieve this aim some examples from his novel "Martin Eden" have been brought to show the literary art and skill of Jack London.
Keywords: metaphor, image, expressiveness, stylistic device, lexical meaning, picturesque ways, selfless love, contextual meaning, fair society on earth.
ДЕЙСТВИЕ ДЖЕК ЛОНДОНА В СОЗДАНИИ ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЯ ЖЕНЩИН (НА ПРИМЕРЕ УСТРОЙСТВА СТИЛИСТИЧЕСКОГО МЕТОДА)
Аннотация. Эта статья посвящена литературному искусству и мастерству Джека Лондона в создании образа женщины на примере метафизики стилистического устройства. Для достижения этой цели были приведены примеры из его романа «Marten Eden», чтобы показать литературное искусство и мастерство Джека Лондона.
Ключевые слова: Метафора, изображение, выразительность, стилистическое устройство, лексический смысл, живописные способы, бескорыстная любовь, контекстуальный смысл, справедливое и справедливое общество на земле.
Introduction.
At first glance it may seem to us that creating certain images by using the stylistic device metaphor and metaphorical expressions is an easy task. But in fact, comprehensive analysis showed that it requires a very good knowledge of not only lexical meaning of words, but also the knowledge of culture, history, literature and political awareness, etc. from writer to be able to use such devices and convey his ideas to readers in more expressive and picturesque ways. The stylistic device based on the principle of identification of two objects is called a metaphor. No doubt Jack London proved to have good abilities in putting his thoughts on paper. In-depth analysis showed that in creating the images of his main characters he often used metaphorical phrases based on natural phenomena (volcanic convulsions, gulf, fire, storm and wind) and features of animals and birds (soared on mad wings, etc).
In order to better describe his feelings, those times and to portrait the events taken place in his life, London tried to use more stylistic devices, which added expressiveness and color to his novel "Martin Eden". Specifically, London often used metaphor and metaphorical expressions of different types.
In creating the image of Ruth in "Martin Eden", London referred to the following metaphorical expressions.
"Ruth!" He had not thought a simple sound could be so beautiful. "Ruth!" It was a talisman, a magic word to conjure with. [ 1, p.49]
At first sight the name Ruth seems to be just a female name. But in this context it is compared with a talisman, the aim being to describe the name Ruth by taking well-known attributes from the talisman. In this case, according to I.A. Richards in The Philosophy of Rhetoric, the name Ruth is tenor (or ground) and talisman is the vehicle (or figure) metaphors. As talisman itself is a strong magical object, the author used this very word to increase expressiveness of his writing. A metaphor constructed from a simple word "talisman" conveyed to the reader how much Ruth was desirable for Martin. It is an active metaphor, because the author created it and it's not a part of daily language. In the example we can see how skillfully and beautifully metaphorical expression can be used to communicate certain information to the reader.
The difference between them lay in that she was cool and self-possessed while his face flushed to the roots of the hair. [1, p.72]
Ruth belonged to high society, she had different culture and sophistication, they were quite different. In this example using the word "cool" and the expression "flushed to the roots of the hair" in one sentence the author explicitly constructed a meaning that in spite of the fact that Ruth meant a lot to Martin, she felt indifferent towards him. Dictionary meaning of the word "cool" is cold temperature, but contextually the word "cool" means indifferent and unfriendly, lacking enthusiasm. The author is indirectly comparing the inner state and relations of Martin and Ruth to each other. It is a trite metaphor as this meaning is fixed in the dictionaries.
For the moment, the great gulf that separated them was bridged. [1, p.80] Although this sentence does not contain any word directly saying that Martin and Ruth have a chance of being together, this meaning is skillfully created by the metaphorically used words "gulf" and "was bridged. These words here are serving just as instruments to give a contextual meaning that seemingly impossible union of Martin and Ruth was a reality for the time being. It should be noted that using these words without one another is senseless as they are meaningful only when used in combination and in this context. It is a complex metaphor, because there is no any actual gulf or bridge. Existence of a gulf between them implies separation, but bridge gave them a chance to be together.
She did not know the actual fire of love. Her knowledge of love was purely theoretical, and she conceived of it as lambent flame, gentle as the fall of dew or the ripple of quiet water, and cool as velvet - dark of summer nights. [1, p.82]
The phrase "fire of love" is used in this example to make the sentence more emotional. It means that she would not know the power and danger of true love, because she had never loved before. This type of metaphor is commonly used also by contemporary writers. It is a dead metaphor.
She did not dream of the volcanic convulsions of love, its scorching heat and sterile wastes of parched ashes. [1, p.83]
As we can see here in this example London used such metaphorical phrases like volcanic convulsions, scorching heat, parched ashes, which are emotional and strong words. This way he tried to describe how strong the feelings could be, but Ruth lacked them, as she had never experienced a true love before. This is the compound or loose metaphor, which catches the mind with several points of similarity.
Ambition soared on mad wings and he saw himself climbing the heights with her, sharing thoughts with her, pleasuring in beautiful and noble things with her. It was a soul -possession he dreamed, refined beyond any grossness. [l, p.42]
In this sentence London used a number of various metaphorical expressions and words (soared on mad wings, heights and sharing thoughts) to demonstrate the degree of Martin's ambitions. Ambition is not a material matter or creature, therefore it cannot soar (fly high). "Soared on mad wings" is a submerged metaphor. Here the readers can notice features of a high soaring bird. "Thought" is not a material object either, so it cannot be shared physically. However, the phrasal verb "share thoughts" is a trite metaphor. This type of expressions are used so often that a reader should not necessarily be an educated person to figure out what is meant. Such expressions are usually included in the dictionaries.
Each time he murmured it, her face shimmered before him, suffusing the soul wall with a golden radiance. [1, p.49]
In this sentence the movement of face is probably identified with the movement of star or moon. "Shimmer" is employed in transferred meaning by the author in order to attract the readers' attention. Metaphors like "suffusing with a golden radiance" could add charm and strength to the sentence which author wanted to describe. It is an extended metaphor, which sets up a principal subject with several subsidiary subjects or comparisons.
The radiance did not stop at the wall. It extended on into infinity, and through its golden depths, his soul went questing after hers. [1, p.49]
Here several metaphors are used - radiance, infinity, depth, went questing. This sentence is so arranged that each of the consecutive words is more important, more significant and more emotional. It is astonishing, how much ordinary metaphors helped the author to make the sentence much more touching. The metaphor used above is an extended metaphor.
Here are some examples of the usage of metaphor in creating the image of Mrs. Morse. Ruth's mother considered Martin to be guilty for her daughter being unhappy, she found him impractical for life and unable to achieve something in his life. It would seem to them that he is shamelessly showing off his low origin.
Sooner of later she was going to awaken anyway, and she did awaken, and lo! Ruth is no more than a child. It is a calf love with the pair of them and they will grow out of it. [1, p. 197]
In this sentence London employed the word "awaken" metaphorically. Here it is said about Ruth's womanly nature, which she lacked before. She was indifferent towards men and Mrs. Morse would worry about it. And finally mother became glad when Ruth had liked him. The author wanted to say that those feelings in Ruth were asleep, now they are awaken, that's to say she fell in love with Martin. It is also a trite metaphor, like calf-love (romantic attachment or affection between adolescents. Calf itself means a young bovine animal).
He has nothing but roughness and coarseness to offer you in exchange for all that is refined and delicate in you. [1, p. 196]
At first sight, the words "coarseness and roughness" seem to be not metaphorical, but this feature of person can't be offered the words "coarseness, roughness and refined, delicate" in one sentence. The author explicitly constructed a meaning that Martin isn't polite and well brought up man as Ruth. It is a mixed metaphor that leaps from one identification to second, which is consistent with the first one.
He will never grow up I am afraid, will never be a monev-earner. [1, p. 178] The original meaning of "to grow up" is to advance to maturity. In this case through the words of Mrs. Morse the author wanted to say that Martin cannot find a profitable job in order to live in good life conditions with Ruth, not to grow up physically. Here an implicit metaphor is used, in
which the tenor (grow up) is not specified, but implied. The truth seems that metaphor is older than any literature - an immemorial human impulse perhaps as much utilitarian as literary.
He is impractical. Loving you, he should, in the name of common sense, be doing something that would give him the right to marry, instead of paltering around with those stories of his and with childish dreams. [1, p. 178]
As we see, here the author used metaphor "paltering around" instead of "writing, creating". Using this metaphor London showed the distrust of Mrs. Morse in creative ability and capacity of Martin Eden. It is a genuine metaphor, "paltering around" here is absolutely in unexpected meaning. Even the scientist who whishes to persuade the world may find metaphor far from valueless. "We are women together" she repeated, as they went out of the room, their (mother and Ruth) arms around each other's waists, their hearts swelling with a new sense of companionship. [1, p. 180]
Hearts swelling is not said directly, these words are used in this example to make the sentence more emotional. It means they (Mrs. Morse and her daughter) were glad that finally they had understood each other as "heart swelling" is not often used in speech. It is an active metaphor.
And this world is so ordered that money is necessary to happiness - oh not, not these swollen fortunes, but enough of money to permit of common comfort and decency. [1, p. 179]
First of all there is an intensifier. In this sentence "swollen fortunes means much wealth. It is used for the sake of emphasis that how much Mrs. Morse loved money and was a female slave of wealth. It is a genuine metaphor as it is quite unpredictable. Using these words without each other is senseless as they make sense when used in combination.
He is no match for you in any way. We have no foolish ideas about wealth, but comfort is another matter, and our daughter should at least marry a man who can give her that - and not a penniless adventurer, a sailor, a cowboy, a smuggler. [1, p. 196]
Match - able to contend with another as an equal. Here Mrs. Morse wanted to say that Martin would never be equal to Ruth not physically, but financially. In this example metaphor is based on the interaction between the dictionary and contextual meanings. The word "cowboy" originally means a person who herds and tends cattle. But here it means an unscrupulous and reckless person. Besides, a penniless adventurer and smuggler - also used in transferred meaning. It is a trite metaphor, as commonly used in speech.
The strange void in Ruth's nature had been filled and filled without danger or penalty. [1, p178]
As we know void means an unfilled space in a wall or building, but not in character or nature of a human being. If we analyze this sentence we can see that void is transferred into another meaning in order to indicate a resemblance between a building and the nature of human being. It is a genuine metaphor as it's unexpected and quite unpredictable. The word void is not fixed in dictionaries as the shortage or lack of character, nature of human being. And the void cannot be filled with penalty. The author compared two objects belonging to different spheres.
The analysis revealed that the metaphor and metaphorical expressions used in respect of Mrs. Morse are slightly different from those of Ruth. The reason for this is obvious. Ruth was a person whom Martin loved and she was an object of admiration for him, whereas Mrs. Morse was only her mother, who is given less admiration and importance. In addition, she was against their relationship. Therefore, the metaphors created to describe Mrs. Morse or paragraph where she was mentioned by the author are neutral or less emotional compared to those that were created to
depict Ruth.
One can conclude that Mrs. Morse was a semi-negative character for Martin as she would not support the union of Martin and Ruth. For this reason, the metaphors, like other stylistic devices were used in negative manner towards Martin by Mrs. Morse (roughness and coarseness. penniless adventurer, a cowboy, a smuggler, paltering around, etc). On the other hand, she wanted to see her daughter happy ("And this world is so ordered that money is necessary to happiness - oh not, not these swollen fortunes, but enough of money to permit of common comfort and decency"), and she considered that Martin was not worth Ruth.
References:
1. London J. "Martin Eden" / Third Edition. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House
1960.
2. Loren G. Nobody's Renown: Plagiarism and Publicity in the Career of Jack London // American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography. 1999. Vol. 71. №3. pp. 529-549.
3. Galperin I.R. An Essay in Stylistic Analysis. Moscow: Higher school publishing home,
1968.
4. Galperin I.R. Stylistics. Moscow: Higher school, 1977.
5. Prokhorova V.I., Soshalskaya E.G. Oral Practice Through Stylistic Analysis. Moscow,
1979.
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About of author
Mavluda Fayzullayevna Norova, teacher of the chair "languages, pedagogics and psychology" of Bukhara state medical institute named after Abu Ali ibn Sina (Bukhara, Uzbekistan).
