Blending and narrative viewpoint: Jonathan Raban’s travels through mental spaces

Abstract

This article 1 applies the framework of conceptual integration (or blending) theory (as developed by Fauconnier and Turner) to the analysis of several travel narratives by Jonathan Raban. The primary goal of the article is to show how the analysis of blending strategies used in the text may help in the recognition of the specific features of a writer's narrative style. An extensive discussion of a variety of blends appearing in Raban's texts also serves as a background to the discussion of the relation between choices of blending strategies and the allocation of narrative viewpoint. It is argued that the concept of narrative viewpoint crucially relies on the structure of blending networks. Finally, it is shown how interpretation of viewpoint phenomena in the narrative builds on the mechanism termed viewpoint compression.

Viewpoint phenomena in constructions and discourse

“…This is often achieved through avoidance of pronouns and selection of common nouns and modifiers instead; these selections often involve an evaluative viewpoint independent of the main storyline. Example (9), discussed at length in Dancygier (2005), is useful in demonstrating that:…”

“…The mechanism which makes the construction of the global viewpoint possible has been termed viewpoint compression (Dancygier 2005;2012b). It starts with lowest level viewpoints in local narrative spaces and then uses them in the construction of viewpoints higher in the network.…”

Introduction

“…Finally, in Language and Literature, Weber (2005) emphasises the key role played by pragmatic scales in the construction of cognitive cultural models, and shows how the processes of moving information across evaluative scales and filling in missing values work together with other processes of reasoning (such as conceptual blending) to produce the full complexity, but also the potentially stereotyped nature, of human thinking. And Dancygier (2005) focuses on (de)compression of identity and the consequent shifts of viewpoint. Writers can achieve an effect of 'viewpoint compression' by temporarily merging or blending two different viewpoints.…”

Recontextualizing social practices and globalization: Multimodal metaphor and fictional storytelling in printed and internet ads

“…The present study is framed theoretically within the current Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (LAKOFF & JOHNSON, 1980;LAKOFF & TURNER, 1989;JOHNSON, 1996;GIBBS, 2008) and within Blending Theory (FAUCONNIER AND TURNER, 1995, 2002TURNER, 1996;DANCYGIER 2005), its applications to the study of discourse (see also CAMERON and LOW, 1999;CHARTERIS-BLACK, 2004;MUSSOLFF, 2006;SEMINO, 2008) and, in particular, of multimodal metaphor in advertising discourse (FORCEVILLE, 1996(FORCEVILLE, , 2009(FORCEVILLE, , 2012URIOS-APARISI, 2009). …”

“…Additionally, special attention has been paid to the study of multimodal metaphor, that is, metaphor which involves the complementary or simultaneous cueing of the domains in different modes (verbal, visual, aural, gestural) (see also FORCEVILLE & URIOS-APARISI, 2009a; HIDALGO-DOWNING & KRALJEVIC MUJIC, 2013). Furthermore, recent contributions to the study of innovative and creative metaphors have been provided by Conceptual Integration Theory (CI), or Blending Theory, by providing a framework which allows greater flexibility for the study of complex creative metaphors (FAUCONNIER AND TURNER, 2002;DANCYGIER, 2005). This article is situated within this tradition of the study of metaphor in discourse.…”