Conceptual Metaphor Analysis of The Great Gatsby

Abstract

Lakoff and Johnson's Metaphor We Live By published in 1980 has made the study of metaphor from the perspective of cognitive linguistics a new development and become a hot research topic. Metaphor is no longer limited to a simple rhetorical device used in literature, but a cognitive mode connected with our way of thinking and perceptual experience. Its essence is to use one thing to understand another thing and people use metaphors to understand and create connections between two different things. The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, is one of the greatest American works of the 20th century and is full of metaphors, which are the key to building the profound meaning of the book. It paints a panorama of the Jazz Age and the disillusionment of the American Dream. From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, this paper studies the metaphor of classic sentences in this book, hoping to help readers better understand this book. At the same time, the interpretation of conceptual metaphor theory based on text is helpful for us to grasp the daily application of metaphor effectively.