The concept of “solitude” Yann Martel’s novel “The High Mountains of Portugal”

Cognitive linguistics is the advancing branch of philology due to the proven correlation between the development language and human’s mind. The article analyzes the concept of “solitude” on the example novel by Canadian writer Yann Martel “The High Mountains of Portugal”. The object of this research is the concept “solitude”. The subject is the linguistic explication of the concept of “solitude” realized on the lexical and textual levels. Emphasis is made on characteristic features of the novel confirming that it refers to the literature of postmodernism. The author lists distinctive characteristics of the concept, analyzes the definition of “frame” with variety of subtypes, and “semantic field” as the largest semantic paradigm emerging by association with one or another phenomena. The concept of “solitude” is viewed from the perspective of philosophy, pedagogy and psychology. The scientific novelty consists in the analysis of insufficiently studied literary work of postmodernism (written in 2016) through the lens of cognitive linguistics. The term “concept” is considered in the context of multiplicity of its characteristics and approaches; definitions given by the scholars of various times and schools are provided. A conclusion is made on the discursive and emotional-evaluative components of the concept at hand. The author established the lexical and notional frames in the specific novel.

Tradução e retradução do romance "Life of Pi": estudo exploratório de estilística tradutória com base em corpus paralelo bilíngue inglês/português

Este artigo relata um estudo exploratório inicial e parcial de estilística tradutória baseado em corpus paralelo bilíngue inglês/português, de modo a comparar escolhas paradigmáticas e sintagmáticas de duas traduções de um mesmo texto-fonte no engendramento dos estilos dos textos traduzidos. Examinam-se a tradução e a retradução do primeiro capítulo do romance Life of Pi de Yann Martel em termos de quantidade de itens, formas e hapax legomena; razão forma/item; número de períodos; comprimento médio dos períodos; número de parágrafos; e escolhas lexicais e sintáticas. O estudo evidencia variações nos estilos da tradução e da retradução e sugere linhas para investigações futuras.

Didaktische Effekte des Umgangs mit Tieren in ausgewählten Robinsonaden

Der grundlegende Sammelband Robinsons Tiere (hrsg. von Roland Borgards, Marc Klesse und Alexander Kling) hat jüngst die Mensch-Tier-Interaktion in der Literaturgattung der Robinsonade näher beleuchtet. Der Fokus des Bandes liegt dabei auf der ethischen und politischen Dimension des speziesübergreifenden Umgangs miteinander. Welche didaktischen Effekte die Interaktion mit lebenden oder toten Tieren für die Protagonisten der untersuchten Robinsonaden hat, gerät dagegen kaum in den Blick. Dieser Frage widmet sich der vorliegende Aufsatz, der sich mit Daniel Defoes Prototyp und den Robinsonaden von Joachim Heinrich Campe, von Johann David und Johann Rudolf Wyss, von Marlen Haushofer sowie Yann Martel befasst.

Orientalism and Re-Orientalism in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

Yann Martel expresses his Orientalism and describes Pi’s Re-Orientalism in Life of Pi. Martel’s Orientalism presents the typical postcolonial writing model, which constructs a postcolonial exotic. Pi’s Re-Orientalism reflects a diasporic Eastern boy’s desire and identity in the West. The survival story for Pi and the Bengal tiger is a metaphor for Pi to grow up to be a true western man. Martel uses paratexts such as the author’s note, author’s interview with the protagonist Pi, records for a Japanese investigation on the truth, and inserts into the protagonist Pi’s narration, which expose the hidden intention for latent cultural hegemony. The departure of Richard Parker represents Pi’s final conforming to Western culture.

Uma fagulha de vida: discutindo tradução, adaptação e plágio a partir de Max e os felinos, de Moacyr Scliar e A sucessora, de Carolina Nabuco

Este artigo visa discutir dois casos envolvendo um suposto plágio de obras escritas por autores brasileiros por parte de escritores de língua inglesa. As obras nacionais são o romance A Sucessora (1934), de Carolina Nabuco, e a novela Max e os Felinos (1981), de Moacyr Scliar. A primeira traz semelhanças com Rebecca (1938), de Daphne du Maurier e a segunda compartilha a premissa de um de seus capítulos com A Vida de Pi (2001), de Yann Martel. Primeiramente, apresenta-se um pequeno resumo dessas quatro obras para situar os leitores, no qual semelhanças e diferenças são discutidas. Na sequência, a fim de compreender se houve, de fato, violação de direitos autorais, há uma seção dedicada ao conceito de plágio. Após essa, uma outra apresenta o que se entende por adaptação e como essa se diferencia e se relaciona com tradução. Em linhas gerais, conclui-se que o uso original de uma ideia anterior não exime obviamente um autor de referir suas fontes, ainda mais quando se toma algo emprestado de uma obra e/ou um autor menos conhecido.

VERBAL PHRASES IN THE NOVEL LIFE OF PI: A SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS

This study is intended to find out the types and functions of verbal phrases used in the novel Life of Pi. This research belongs to descriptive qualitative research, where the data are not analyzed by using statistical procedure; the data in this research are taken from the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel. To collect the data the writer uses the noting technique. The first step, the writer read and observed carefully to find out the verbal phrases. Then, the writer took notes of the sentences contained verbal phrases in Life of Pi, and then analyzed the data by classifying the verbal phrases and finding the function of verbal phrases. The research finding shows that there are three types of verbal phrases used in the novel Life of Pi, namely, gerund phrase, infinitive phrase, and participial phrase. Each type of verbal phrases has a different function. The researcher finds three functions of verbal phrases, namely noun, adjective, and adverb. Gerund phrase functions as a noun. Infinitive phrase functions as a noun, an adjective, and an adverb. Participial phrase functions as an adjective and as an adverb.

LE PAYS COMME HÔTEL:TRANSCULTUREL ET MOBILITES GEO-SYMBOLIQUES DANS LES AMERIQUES

In the 19th century, writers in Québec and Mexico equated the United-States to a hôtel, that is to a place linked to change, instability and loss of identity. In Québec, in the 19th century, Adolphe-Basile Routhier, the author of the national anthem « O Canada » in its french version, valorized homogeneity and stability. These values are put in jeopardy by modernity and technology, a situation, which is seen as positive by the Canadian thinker T. C Keefer who published Philosophy of the Railroads in 1853. Nowadays, comparing a country like Canada to a hôtel is seen as very positive by thinkers such as Yann Martel and Pico Iyer. Both of them are keen suporters of transcultural encounters. Being a Canadian nowadays means valorizing change and hybridity.

“Contar Alguma Coisa Não Cria Sempre Uma História?”: Adaptação, Metaficção E Trauma No Romance A Vida de Pi e no Filme As Aventuras de Pi

O romance A Vida de Pi (YANN MARTEL 2002) e sua adaptação para o cinema As Aventuras de Pi (ANG LEE 2012) narram a história de um imigrante indiano Piscine Molitor Patel, conhecido como Pi, que naufraga em sua travessia para o Canadá. Ao apresentar duas diferentes versões da sua sobrevivência, uma que inclui os animais do zoológico de sua família e outra sobre assassinato e canibalismo, a narrativa de Pi propicia uma discussão sobre a metalinguagem e os limites entre o ficcional e o real, que se reflete tanto na estrutura da narrativa, em seus diversos níveis, como na temática do romance e do filme. O artigo analisará a inter-relação entre a metalinguagem no romance e no filme e os limites da narrativa para expressar o trauma do colonialismo e da migração vivido por Pi. Enquanto o final inconclusivo do romance questiona os limites entre a ficção e o real, o filme apresenta um final conclusivo, mas que só é explicitado ao espectador pela construção narrativa do aparato cinematográfico, capaz também de gerar múltiplos sentidos.

Contradictions in fiction: Structuralism versus Jacques Derrida and deconstruction

The phenomenon of contradiction has been highlighted in recent decades by both postmodern art and deconstructionist philosophy. Deconstructionists seem most interested in contradictions generated by language and hence pervading all human life; they expose contradictions and proclaim their inevitable and devastating impact on human beings’ epistemological efforts. Postmodern art, though sometimes expressing radical scepticism, seems less predictable and more versatile in its use of contradictions. This paper attempts to offer a structuralist study of contradiction in discourse in the context of fictional narratives. Three contemporary novels—The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, Life of Pi by Yann Martel and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski—have been selected for the study. The paper focuses on the uses of contradictions and, in particular, their contribution to the works’ meaning and the process of interpretation. It appears that contradictions in fiction perform various meaningful tasks and, with rare exceptions, do not preclude the possibility of a consistent reading of the text. The second section of the paper brings into consideration deconstructionists’ and Jacques Derrida’s views on contradiction. While the uses of contradictions in postmodern fiction might supply an argument with which to oppose the epistemic scepticism advocated by deconstructionists, Derrida’s original treatment of contradictions, related to his critique of logocentrism inscribed in language, might be impervious to this kind of argument. Indeed, Derrida’s critique of language might partly undermine structuralist studies of contradictions; one should, however, remember that this critique rests ultimately on Derrida’s own uncertain metaphysical assumptions.