Anthropocentric versus Ecocentric Metaphors in Contemporary Climate Fiction: A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

In this paper, the researchers examine the use of metaphors in climate fiction. It is concerned with the metaphors making humans the center or the nature the center.  The books we will be reading are The Overstory by Richard Powers (2018), Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (2012), and Weather by Jenny Offill (2020). The researchers apply the concepts of the work of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) on the functioning of the metaphors and the concepts of Lawrence Buell (1995) and depicts that literature speaks about the environment. It is with these concepts that the language of the books influences the thoughts of the readers about people, nature, and environmental issues. Close analysis of Powers reveals that he makes numerous metaphors placing nature in the foreground and people in the background. This brings out the fact that there is a connection in everything in nature. Kingsolver balances metaphors containing people in the foreground with metaphors expressing increasing the sense of concern with nature.  In the novel by Offill, most of the metaphors are person-centered, discussing personal downfall and mental failure. This study discovers that the selection of various metaphors alters the way the tales narrate the characters of the people who take decisions and those who are accused of the environmental destruction. Such decisions can make the readers act more like human beings or nature. The research contributes to the climate communication literature by demonstrating the metaphors that are new can ensure that people remain focused or more sensitive to nature. The findings of the study claims that one of the areas where new metaphors could face human-centred narratives and make people think about the world of nature is modern climate fiction.