英语论文哪里有？本研究表明，《上层林冠》的隐喻体系不仅是修辞工具，更是认知框架的革命：通过赋予非人类能动性的叙事权力，并以网状结构模拟生态非层级性特征，鲍尔斯将自然重塑为生命主体，挑战以人类为中心的伦理范式。
Chapter One Metaphorical Varieties in The Overstory
1.1 Structural Metaphors
Structural metaphors work by systematically mapping a more concrete,embodied domain(the source)onto an abstract or complex conceptual domain(thetarget),allowing us to reason about the target through the logic of the source.Thiscognitive mechanism allows intangible ideas—such as time,morality,or existence―to be reimagined through tangible,experiential systems.In The Overstory,twodominant structural metaphors shape the novel:“trees as living archives”and“life asan interconnected forest”.These metaphors are not mere poetic flourishes,rather,theyserve as cognitive tools that challenge human-centered perspectives.Ultimately,thesemetaphors function as bridges,enabling readers to experience ecological time(asmeasured by growth rings)and to see interdependence(as exemplified by forestnetworks).Through this metaphorical framework,Powers invites a deeperunderstanding of the interconnectedness of life,urging a reevaluation of humanrelationships with the natural world.
Chapter Two Textual Analysis of Metaphor Formations in TheOverstory
2.1 Linguistic Foundation
The Overstory exemplifies how textual context dynamically constructsconceptual metaphors rather than merely reflecting preexisting cognitive mappings.Richard Powers’linguistic framework fosters metaphors rooted in ecologicalconsciousness through lexical innovation,sensory immediacy,and narrative rhythm.This aligns with Kövecses’assertion that“metaphors arise from the interplay betweenconceptual systems and immediate contexts”(49).By embedding botanical terminology in human experiences,Powers’language reframes vegetal processes asshared existential narratives,demonstrating how texts function as discursiveecosystems where metaphors develop contextually.
2.1.1 Lexical Patterns
As a foundation of a novel,the lexical patterns illustrate how language generatesmetaphors through contextual adaptation,rather than static symbolism.Powersfrequently repeats certain arboreal terms like tree,root,leaf,and branch in TheOverstory,which mimics the structural and semantic growth of trees.The repetitionof these words primes the reader to look for subtle shifts in meaning as the narrativeprogresses.These terms evolve dynamically across narrative contexts,aligning with“contextual priming”(Kövecses 24).
Chapter Three Cultural Implications Beyond Metaphor in TheOverstory
3.1 Literary Constructive Function
Metaphors give texture to literary language.The beauty of literary language liesin its multiple meanings.Powers’written language frees oneself from the constraintsof formal language and makes words polysemy and puns.Then these words conveytheir connotations,avoiding the pitfalls of generalization and banality in TheOverstory,thereby enhancing their distinctive capacity to evoke the vivid narrative ofstorytelling.When a writer incorporates his genuine emotional experiences into aliterary work,it produces an artistic effect that is real and touching.Powers puts hisecological passion into it,then broadens the literary value.
3.1.1 Cultural Connotations on Language
Like the organic system as the very medium of tree life,the writing has itsmedium in which its language is the tactical channel.As for Powers,his diction is fullof fluidity and fluency.Garrett Stewart(2020)considers that“grafting the two stories—of us and of the trees—wouldn’t be possible,or at least not as effective,withoutconvincing us through figurative language that we are part of the same ecosystem ofmeanings”(165).It stresses the novelistic experience of his language perpetually.Implicit verbal language is his writing characteristic to make The Overstory sustainmany cultural connotations powerfully.
3.2 Extended Cultural Implications
Through the openness of metaphor,Powers transforms language into abridge—one end is rooted in literary imagination,the other extending into the cultural soil of the real world.The polysemy of this literary construction transcends mereaesthetic experimentation.In The Overstory,plant narratives perform a dual function:they deconstruct anthropocentric language while simultaneously reconstructing acultural grammar oriented toward ecological crisis.It instead points to tangible,real-life society.The ecological and existential crises depicted in the novel not onlyallude to the virtual textual space but also resonate with the current social situation.Inthis novel,Powers describes the relationship between plants and humans whichreflects American history and looks ahead to ecological criticism.Powers not onlyconnects with the American historical events,such as the Timber War and WesternMovement,but also echoes the urgent ecological crisis facing the planet with theadvocacy of ecological consciousness.Therefore,The Overstory goes beyond theliterariness within the whole text and expands its implications to society with thislong-spanning.
Conclusion
Plants have often been viewed as passive elements or atmospheric backdrops incontemporary theory.However,Richard Powers offers a distinct perspective in TheOverstory,presenting trees as central protagonists intertwined with the lives of humancharacters.Through conceptual metaphor theory and the theory of metaphor andcontext,Powers redefines the relationship between trees and humans.This thesis findsthat the metaphorical system in The Overstory functions in a dual revolutionarymanner,both internally and externally.As a rhetorical device,it constructs a poeticnetwork of human-tree symbiosis;as a cognitive framework,it challenges theanthropocentric paradigm of thought.
ConclusionPlants have often been viewed as passive elements or atmospheric backdrops incontemporary theory.However,Richard Powers offers a distinct perspective in TheOverstory,presenting trees as central protagonists intertwined with the lives of humancharacters.Through conceptual metaphor theory and the theory of metaphor andcontext,Powers redefines the relationship between trees and humans.This thesis findsthat the metaphorical system in The Overstory functions in a dual revolutionarymanner,both internally and externally.As a rhetorical device,it constructs a poeticnetwork of human-tree symbiosis;as a cognitive framework,it challenges theanthropocentric paradigm of thought.
Secondly,the formation of this metaphorical system relies not only onplant-based semantic patterns and sensory rhetoric,but also on the reproduction of thenonlinear logic of ecosystems through tree-like branching structure and cross-speciesintertextuality.Through structural and graphic imagery,Powers associates eachcharacter with a specific tree,emphasizing the cyclic nature of both human andarboreal existence.Pivotal events in the characters’lives often coincide during theirinteractions with trees,highlighting the deep connection between them.
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