论电影《少年派的奇幻漂流》中概念隐喻的应用

论电影《少年派的奇幻漂流》中概念隐喻的应用ChapterTwoConceptualMetaphorConceptualmetaphortheoryholdsthatmetaphorisasystematicmappingfromaconcreteconceptualdomaintoanabstractconceptualdomain;Metaphorsareproblemsofthinkingthatcanbereflectedinlanguage;Metaphorisawayofthinkingandameansofcognition.Thecorecontentsofhistheoryare:metaphorisacognitivedevice;Theessenceofmetaphorisconceptual;Metaphorsaresystematicmappingsacrossconceptualdomains;Themappingfollowstheprincipleofconstancy;Theuseofconceptualmetaphorsissubconsciousandsoon.2.1AnIntroductiontotheTheoryofConceptualMetaphorsTheideaofconceptualmetaphortheorywasfirstdevelopedinLakoff&Johnson’sbookTheMetaphorsWeLiveBy.Conceptualmetaphortheoryholdsthatmetaphorisasystematicmappingfromaconcreteconceptualdomaintoanabstractconceptualdomain;Metaphorsareproblemsofthinkingthatcanbereflectedinlanguage;Metaphorisawayofthinkingandameansofcognition.Thecorecontentsofhistheoryare:metaphorisacognitivedevice;Theessenceofmetaphorisconceptual;Metaphorsaresystematicmappingsacrossconceptualdomains;Themappingfollowstheprincipleofconstancy;Theuseofconceptualmetaphorsissubconsciousandsoon.Therevolutionaryviewofconceptualmetaphortheorycontributedtotheoveralldevelopmentofcognitivesemantics.TheMetaphorsWeLiveBydividesconceptualmetaphorsintothreecategories:structuralmetaphors,orientationmetaphors,andontologicalmetaphors.Structuralmetaphorreferstoconstructingoneconceptfromanother,suchastimeismoney;Orientationmetaphorreferstotheconstructionofoneconceptthroughacompletesystemtoanotherconcept,suchashappinessisabove,controlisupcorrespondstohighmood,undermycontrol;Ontologymetaphorsunderstandexperienceintermsofobjectsandsubstances,andtreatthemasdiscreteentitiesorsubstancesinaunifiedcategory,suchasmountainside,anddonotclearlyspecifyhowmuchaltitudetohowaltitudeismountainside,andmorning,noon,eveningisnotveryclear,butweallregarditasdiscrete.Conceptualmetaphorsarebasedoncultureandexperience,andmetaphorsarenotexactlythesameindifferentcultures.InEnglish,futurecomesfirstandpastcomeslast,whileintheindigenousAymaralanguageofSouthAmerica,futurecomeslastandpastcomesfirst.Conceptualmetaphortheoryarguesthathumanmentalprocessesareconstructedfrommetaphors.2.2TheCoreIdeaofConceptualMetaphorTheoryMetaphorisacognitivedevice;Theessenceofmetaphorisconceptual;Metaphorsaresystematicmappingsacrossconceptualdomains;Themappingfollowstheprincipleofconstancy;Theuseofconceptualmetaphorsissubconscious.Conceptualmetaphorsaredifferentfromwhatiscommonlycalledmetaphors.Itisageneralizationandsummaryofgeneralmetaphoricalexpressions,anditsmostimportantcharacteristicsaresystematic,generalizedandderivative.TheideaofconceptualmetaphortheoryisputforwardbyLakoff&JohnsoninthebookTheMetaphorWeLiveBy.LakoffandJohnsonargue:Metaphorpermeateseverydaylife,notonlyinlanguage,butalsointhinkingandactivities.Theordinaryconceptualsystembywhichwethinkandactisessentiallymetaphoricalinnature.SuchmetaphoriscalledconceptualmetaphorbyLakoffandJohnsonet.Metaphorisabasiccognitivemodeofhumanbeings.Oneofthecoreideasofconceptualmetaphortheoryistheimportanceofconceptualmetaphorforcognitivedevelopment.Manybasicconceptsinhumanconceptualsystemsareoftenmetaphorical.Metaphor,asadeepcoreconceptinhumanconceptualsystem,playsanimportantroleinhuman’sdailythinkingmodeanddiscourseexpression.Lakoffregardedmetaphorasasystematicwayforpeopletothink,actandexpresstheirthoughts,namely,metaphoricalconceptorconceptualmetaphor.Indailylife,peopletendtorecognize,thinkandexperiencewithreferencetothetangibleandconcreteconceptstheyarefamiliarwith.Thus,whendealingwithintangibleanddifficulttodefineconcepts,acognitivemodeofinterrelationbetweendifferentconceptsisformed.Inacertainculture,themetaphorconcepthasbeenformedintoasystematicandconsistentwholemetaphorconceptsystem,whichplaysanimportantroleinpeople’sunderstandingoftheobjectiveworld.Whileconceptualmetaphortheoryisfavoredbymanyscholars,italsohassomeproblemsandlimitations.Intermsofmethodology,thecorpusofthistheoryisnotfromlargecorpusretrieval,anditssystematicness,scientificityandauthenticityareoftenquestioned.Lakoff’sconceptualmetaphortheorylacksquantitativecriteriatodetermineconceptualmetaphor.Ifwecanaccepttheoriesarebuildingsasaconceptualmetaphor,it’sbecauseEnglishdoeshaveaseriesofmetaphoricalexpressionsthatdescribetheorywithwordsthatdescribebuildings.Then,ifthereisonlyonemetaphoricalexpression,canwealsobuilditscorrespondingconceptualmetaphor?Conceptualmetaphortheoryhasnocriteriontodistinguishmetaphoricalexpressionfromnon-metaphoricalexpressionandnomechanismtostrictlydistinguishpolysemousexpressionfrommetaphoricalexpression.Inaddition,thecorpusLakoffusestodiscussmetaphorissomestandardexpressionconventionalexpressionsindicatethatmostofthesemetaphorshaveenteredintolanguageexpressions,buttheyarenolongermetaphorsaccordingtoconventionalmetaphors.Thelimitationofconceptualmetaphortheoryisalsomanifestedindiachronicresearch.Lakoff’scorpusissynchronicandstatic,studyingconventionalmetaphor,thatis,studyingsome“deadmetaphor”solidifiedinlanguageexpression.Thecorecontentsofhistheoryare:metaphorisacognitivemeans;Thenatureofmetaphorisconceptual;Metaphorisasystematicmappingacrossconceptualdomains.Mappingfollowstheprincipleofconstancy;Theuseofconceptualmetaphorissubconsciousandsoon.2.3ClassificationofConceptualMetaphorsInTheMetaphorsWeLiveBy,Lakoff&Johnson(1980:10-32)dividesmetaphorsintothreetypesaccordingtodifferentsourcedomains:orientationalmetaphor,ontologicalmetaphor,andstructuralmetaphor.Theorientationalmetaphorsreferstothemetaphoroftheinterorganizationoftheelementswithinaconceptualsystem.Becausemostoftheelementsinsidethesesystemsneedtofollowspatialpositioning,suchasup,high,low,deep,inside,middle,outside,front,back,left,right,center,edge,etc.,itiscalledaazimuthmetaphor(Lakoff&Johnson,1980:14).Orientationmetaphoristhecognitiveprocessofmappingspatialconceptsassourcedomainstoothertargetdomainstoobtainextendedandabstractmeaning.Orientationmetaphorsprojectsomespatialrelationshipsandpropertiesontonon-spatialrelationshipsandproperties,whichnotonlymakesabstractandunknownconceptsmoreconcreteandeasytorecognize,butalsostimulatestheimaginationofreadersandlisteners,andestablishesarelationshipbetweenincompatiblethings.Asthesourcedomain,thespatialstructureisprojectedintotheconceptofnon-spatialstructure,thusgivingaspatialpositioning.Forexample,the“upanddown”patterncanbemetaphoricallymappedtomanyabstractfields,suchas“happinessisup,sadnessisdown”,“moreisup,lessisdown”,“goodisup,badisdown”,“highstatus,lowstatus”,etc.Weusethemetaphorof“highstatus,lowstatus”asanexampletoexplainhowthe“up”modelhelpspeopleunderstandabstractsocialrelations.Humansocietyisasocietycomposedofpeople,duetothedifferenceinsocialpower,itisimpossibleforallpeopletobeinthesamehorizontalpositioninsociety,andsocialrelationscanonlybeconstructedbyverticalpositions.Structuralmetaphorreferstotheuseofhighlyconstructiveandsimpledescriptiveconceptstoconstructanotherconcept,andsimplyspeaking,structuralmetaphoristoconstructanotherrelativelyunfamiliar,abstractconceptwiththestructureofamorefamiliarandconcreteconcept.Generallyspeaking,metaphorsoftencompareabstractthingstoconcretethings,givingpeopleaconcretefeeling.Butmasterfulmetaphorscancompareconcretethingstoabstractthings,producingfreshfeelings.Structuralmetaphoristheconstructionofoneconceptinthestructureofanother,sothatthetwoconceptsaresuperimposedandthewordsthatdescribeoneconceptareusedtodescribetheother.Forexample,timeismoney,theconceptoftimeisorganizedandunderstoodthroughtheconceptofmoney,thewordsusedtotalkaboutmoneycanbeusedfortime,timeisregardedassomethingaspreciousasmoney,suchasspendingtime,wastingtime,savingtime.Structuralmetaphors,likeorientationmetaphorsandontologicalmetaphors,arebasedonsystematicassociationsinourexperience.Theargumentisawarwegaveatthebeginningisatypicalexampleofastructuralmetaphorthatallowsustounderstandtheconceptofargumentthroughamoreunderstandableconcept,thatis,warconflict.Similarstructuralmetaphorscanbefoundeverywhereinlife,suchasbooksareladders(booksmakeusprogress),thinkingisfood(Ichewacertainpointofview),andsoon.Ontologymetaphorreferstopeople’sviewofabstractandvaguethoughts,feelings,mentalactivities,events,statesandotherintangibleconceptsasconcretetangibleentities,especiallythehumanbodyitself.Theoriginalwayofhumanexistencewasmaterial,andhumanexperienceofobjectsprovidedamaterialbasisforustounderstandabstractconceptualexpressionasentity,fromwhichanothermetaphorwasderived.Ontologymetaphorreferstounderstandingthingsthataregivenabstractmeaningthroughentities,allowingustoclassify,quantify,anddiscussabstractthingsasakindofidenticalorseparablesubstance.Entitiesandmatterprovideasolidfoundationforvariousontologicalmetaphors,sothatontologicalmetaphorscanservedifferentpurposes.Inthistypeofconceptualmetaphor,peopleregardintangibleconceptssuchasvaguethoughts,feelings,mentalactivities,events,states,etc.,asconcreteandtangibleentities.Forexample,thetwoofuschattedspeculatively,andtherewasasayingthat“wehadachemicalreaction”.Ifwebothtalkanddon’tfeelit,it’s“wedidn’thavechemistry.”Thisfeelingisthatwepresentanexperiencethatisnotclearlydescribedthroughthemeansofmatterorobject.Ingeneral,ontologicalmetaphorsallowustoseeclearerstructures,andinfewornocaseswecanlookatanthropomorphismasaformofontologicalmetaphorinwhichhumanqualitiesareendowedwithnon-humanentities.ChapterThreeConceptualMetaphorAnalysisinLifeofPiThemainfunctionofmetaphoristounderstandabstractdomainsthroughconcreteexperientialknowledgeofcognition.Conceptualmetaphorisawayofreasoningaboutcognitiveconceptualization,whichisamappingfromoneconceptualdomaintoanother.Conceptualmetaphorsaremainlydividedintothreecategories:structuralmetaphors,orientationmetaphors,andontologicalmetaphors.3.1StructuralMetaphorStructuralmetaphorreferstotheuseofhighlyconstructiveandsimpledescriptiveconceptstoconstructanotherconcept,andsimplyspeaking,structuralmetaphoristoconstructanotherrelativelyunfamiliar,abstractconceptwiththestructureofamorefamiliarandconcreteconcept.3.1.1OrangutanMetaphorforMotherStructuralmetaphoristheconstructionofoneconceptinthestructureofanother,sothatthetwoconceptsaresuperimposedandthewordsthatdescribeoneconceptareusedtodescribetheother.ThesceneofthemotherapecomfortingthebabyorangutaninthecabinisthesameasthescenewherePi’smothercomfortsPionthedeck,andafterthestorm,Piasksthemotherorangutansonwheresheisthesadexpressiononthefaceofthemotherorangutancanshowthatthemotherorangutanexistsasamotherfigure.TheplotofthefemaleorangutanbeingbittentodeathbyslappingahyenaiscompletelyconsistentwiththeplotofthemotherbeingkilledbythecookinthesecondstorynarratedbyPi,confirmingthemetaphoroftheorangutanimage.ThecruelestthingaboutthefilmisthatPiatehismother,althoughthisisafactthatPihasalwaysavoided,butitisnotdifficulttoseethetruthofthisincidentfrommanydetails.Inthesecondstory,thefirstpartyalwaysemphasizesthatthechefgoesfishingwiththemeatofthewaterhandandeatsthesailor,butthecookdoesnoteatthemotherafterkillingit,whichisobviouslynotinlinewiththechef’susualstyle.Secondly,thereisnocorrespondingplotaboutthedeathofthemotherinthefirststory,andinthefirststory,thefoxlivinginthedesertandgrasslandappearsontheisland,whichshowstheabsurdityofthefirststory.Finally,whentheinvestigatorsaysthatbananasdonotfloatonwater,Pidoesnotmodifythisdetailinthesecondstory,whichalsoshowsthatthesecondstoryisfictional.Pimentionsfloatingonabananainbothstories,themotherorangutaninthefirststoryandthemotherinthesecond.3.1.2TheGirlfriendoftheMouseMetaphorInthefilm,PigoestoplayforthedanceclassfortheteacherandmeetsAnanda,shewaslaterfoundtrailingandclumsilyimitatingthesetthatonlyAnandadidoutofthehandofthelotusgesture.FromAnanda’sphrase“Lotusflowerhidingintheforest”,thehiddenlotusflowerintheforestisabitofaneye,andthiswonderfulmetaphorissaidbyher,layingadeepforeshadowingforthelatercannibalislandplot.Likeaprophet,AnandaPinpointsoutthekeyturningpointPiwillfaceatsea:uninhabitedislands.AsAnandadancedwiththedancers,theteacheremphasized,“Youneedtoconnectyoursoulswiththeearthsothatyoucantransmitenergytothegodsthroughdanceforcontactandcommunication.Thepurposeofherdanceistocommunicatewiththegods,andintheancientIndianscriptures,Nandiisthemountofthegods.AngLeecoinedtheroleofAnandacolor,throughthismetaphoricalmeansimpliesthatsheisabridgebetweenmanandGod,representsdivinityandevenfaithitself.That’swhysheisfearlesswhensheseestigers,andsaytoPi,“It’slistening.“Anandahasdivinetoleranceandgenerosity,andeveninthefaceoftigers(evilintheheart),hebelievesthatthebestialinstinctwilllisten.Thisalsoindicatesthatbestialitywillultimatelyobeythecallofhumannatureandfaith.Piisdyinginashipwreck,anditisbestialitythatallowsPi,whorepresentshisownhumanity,tolivebyeatinghumanflesh.Anandaislikeaprophetandrescuerinthisfilm,heraldingPialsohelpedPithroughalongseadrift.InLifeofPi,themouserepresentsPi’sfirstloveAmanda,andPisaidthathedoesn’trememberseparatingfromhisgirlfriend,becausehecan’tbearit,soPihideshisgirlfriendontheboatandgoestoCanadatogether,rat,whichmeansstowawayishisgirlfriend.3.2OntologyMetaphorOntologicalmetaphoristhemostbasicformofmetaphorthatregardsthings,activities,emotions,ideas,etc.asentitiesandsubstances.3.2.1Pi’snameMetaphorforHisFateAtthebeginningofthefilm,thewriterasksthemiddle-agedPitheoriginofhisname,andPisaysabouthimthenamecomesfromaswimmingpoolinFrance,beforehisunclewasbornsaytohisfather,Ifyouwantyourchildtohaveapuresoul,youhavetotakehimforaswiminPiscineMolitor(France’spristinepublicpool).HewasalsonamedPiscine,butwasteasedbyclassmatesbecausePiscinewaspronouncedthesameastheEnglishwordforurine.HisnamechangedfromatranquilFrenchpooltoadirtyIndiantoilet.Toavoidbeingteased,Piusedπtoexplainhisnameinthenewsemester.Piitselfisanirrationalnumberofinfinitedigits,andwhenPiwritesoutthePi’svalue,eachadditionalnumberrepresentsanachievement,whichisalsoameasureoftheprogressofhumancivilizationlogo.AsPi’sfathersaid,technologyhasledmankindtoachievesuccessinthesehundredsofyearsitisworthyofthousandsofyearsoffaithintheachievementsofhumancivilization.It’slikeinfinityofπvaluesequally,theseachievementsreflecttheboundlessdesiresofhumanbeings.Pi’sfatherbelievedinscienceandwasbusiness-minded,thinkingaboutitwhenthezoocouldn’tsustainitanimalsareshippedabroadtobesoldbecausepricesabroadaremuchhigherthaninIndia.Thisitalsoindirectlyledtothetragedyoftheshipwreck.Italsoreflectstheboundlessdesireofhumanbeingsandtheconsequencesofgreed.TheconsequencesoftheshipwreckledtoPi’s227daysofwonderphantomSeaJourney.Pihisirrationalnumberisneitherrepeatednorending,andisusedasametaphorfortheunknownandficklenatureoflife.Inthefilm,PiisameaningfulsymbolofthefateoftheprotagonistPi.Italsoimpliesthatintheseadrifting,nomatterwhattribulationsheendures,hewilleventuallysurvive.Buthissurvivalwasnotsimplydrifting,butabrutalanddifficultsurvivalunderstarvation.Pi’sstubbornnessandresilienceinwritingtheπvalueinthefilmadetailaddedbyAngLeehimselfalsolaidthegroundworkforhisfinalsurvivalduringthe227daysofdriftingatsea.Thenameoftheprotagonist,Pi,isametaphorforthechoppyandfickleofhisfate.3.2.2TigerMetaphorforPi’sBestialityInhisfirstcontactwiththetiger,thefilmlearnsthevalueofdoubtingfaith,anditisthisdoubtthatgivesfaithlifeandbecomesalivingcreature.Believingthatanimalshavesouls,theboywhohasastronginterestinreligionreachesintotheironfencewithapieceofmeatinhishandtofeedthetiger,butfortunatelyhisfatherstopsitintime,otherwisehewillloseanarm,andthenthefathereducatesPiwiththecruelsceneof“sheepintothemouthofthetiger”.Incontrasttohisstatementthat“doubtmakesfaithalivingthing”,thislessonmadePibegintodoubthispreviousknowledgeoftigers,andtherewasanextralivingtigerinPi’ssubsequentdriftingjourney,whichimpliedthemessagethat“tigersarefaith”.Theraftingtripthatfollowedalsoprovedthatitwaswiththecompanyofthetiger(faith)thatPipersevered,thusprovingthepoweroffaith(tiger)becauseitisdriftingforalongtimethebrigadesupportedthefactiontowithstandmanytrialswithoutanervousbreakdown.RichardParker,thetiger,canalsobeseeninthefilmasasymbolofman’sanimalnature,specificallyanotherselfthatthejuvenilePihasdifferentiated.Atthebeginningofthefilm,theforeshadowingisplanted,andtheboysendsabetwithhisbrothertogotochurchdrinkingwater,thepriestsawhimandasked,“Youmustbethirsty,”towhichPireplied:yes.ThispunimpliesthatthetigerisactuallytheembodimentofPi.Ifanimalsareusedasametaphorforpeople,itmustbethattheyhavesomecommontraitorcharacteristic.Andoldasthekingoftheforest,thetigerrepresentscourageandwildnessinbothChineseandWesterncultures.Asahigh-levelanimal,mancannotcompletelygetridofhisinherentanimalattributes.AsEngelssaid,“Thefactthatmancamefromtheanimalkingdomhasdeterminedman.”Itisneverpossibletocompletelygetridofbestiality,sotheproblemcanalwaysbetogetridofmuchmoresomeorless,liesinthedifferenceinthedegreeofbestialityorhumanity.(GuoBaohong,2008)AndTiger,asafictionalcharacterinthestory,istheembodimentofPibutagainbeingwithPimeansthatitrepresentstheoriginalnaturalattributesofPi,andwhatisrepresentedisthesocialattributesformedintheprocessofhumancivilization.Tigerscanbeseenastheembodimentofevilinthehumanheart.AndwhentheevilintheheartoftheyoungPigushesout,thePinaturallycan’tfaceitsquarely,andtheguiltafterthemurderpromptshimtofightwithittothedeath.However,facedwithahugetestofsurvival,hehadtolearntorationallycompromisewiththe“evil”inhumannature,andevengaveuphisvegetarianfaithtoeattheremainingcorpses.Whenhumanbeingsareinanextremeenvironment,eventhemostkindpeoplemayshowtheirhideousnessface.3.3OrientationMetaphorOrientationmetaphorsrefertometaphorsorganizedthroughspace,whichconstructmetaphoricalexpressionsthroughsomebasicconceptsofourlives,includingupanddown,insideandoutside,frontandback,depth,middle,andsurroundings.3.3.1Pi’sHometownofPondicherry–Pi’sEnlightenmentPilivesinadizzyingcountrythathastheoldesthistoryandcultureintheworldandisfullofthecallofnature.InIndia,therearemorethan300languages,dozensofdifferentethnicgroupslivetogether,shouldertoshoulder,almostalltheexistingreligionsintheworldcanfindtracesinthiscountry,Indianreligionsstrifeandconflictcontinuetoarise,themainofwhichistheconflictbetweenHinduismandIslam,Sikhism,Christianity,etc.ThefilmhaspavedthewayforPi’sbeliefs,especiallyinIndiainacountrywheretherearestillmanygods,thesectisverydifficulttoavoidthefoundingofthereligiousfaith,andhasbeeninfluencedbyitsmothersincechildhoodthegodswhocameintocontactwiththeHinduscarf:Krishna,themonkeygodHanuman,thegoddessLakshmi,thegodinchargeofmaintainingtheworld,Vishnu,andsoon.Afterthat,YicameintocontactwithChristianityandIslam.Itisadifferentkindofdivinepowerandculture,anditrepresentsthespiritonwhichitissupportedspace.Thevariousculturesmergedwitheachotherandreachedaheightofsublimationatthespiritualleveloftheschool,becausehefeltthatthesegodscouldpurifyhissoulworld,givepeoplespiritualsustenance,helphimsurviveinthisworld,andgainmorehopeandmultifacetedguidance,andeachgodhadtheinfluenceofsavingallthingsforce,GodisthesameexistenceintheheartofthePi,inspiredbyGodintheheart,andavarietyofreligiousbeliefshavelaidthefoundationforthe“divinity”inthethinkingofthePi,sohewillcryouttothegodsinthelatershipwreck,prayingforthehelpofthegods,andfeelthatGodisguidinghimtothevastoceanintheunderworld.Afterseveraltwistsandturnsinshipwrecks,piwouldalwayscometotheforewhenhewasdyinginthestormandwhenhewasonthevergeofdyingduetostarvation,andhecalledthosetoGod’scallingandguidance.TheseareallbecauseoftheenvironmentinwhichPigrewup.3.3.2AlonelyBoatintheSea-theTemperingofPiWaterhastwosymbolicmeaningsintheSutra:destructionandpurification.BeforetheGreatFlood,Noah’sArkcarriedallfuturehumanandanimallives,completingthecycleofallhumanbeingsfromdeathtorebirth.Therealizationofthiscycleheraldstheendoftheoldchaoticorderandthearrivalofanewidealorder,completingthecycleoflifeinwhichallhumanbeings“destroyandsaveonerebirth.”Waterisanimportantvisualelement.AndinPifrombeginningtoend,theprotagonist’ssurvivalcrisisandfateareaccompaniedbyit.Themetaphorofthedriftingjourneyisactuallytheprocessofhoningoneselfandseekingoneself.Throughthecomparisonofthetwostories,manycorrespondencescanbefound,thezebraistheinjuredsailor,thewinningdogisthebrutalFrenchcook,theorangutanisPi’skindmother,andthetigeristheperplexedPi,andthetruthofthestoryseemstograduallybecomeclear:thecookeatsthesailorandthenkillsPi’smother,andtheangryPikillsthecook.Butthecarnageprocessisnotthefocusofthestory,andthedriftingafterthatisthecore.Afterthedeathofthewinningdog,alltheanimalcarcassesaresweptaway,anditisobviousthatthetigerdidit,soitisnotonlycreepytoreflectthetruthitself:Piateeveryoneorkilledeveryone,includinghismother.Sowecannotsimplyjudgethisbehaviorbytraditionalethicsandmorality,becauseitsbehaviorisinacertainsenseforcedbythesituation,thatis,theso-calledexternalinterference.Inaddition,intheprocessofrafting,theimageof“lotus”representinghismotherhasappearedmanytimes,especiallyin“CannibalIsland”,whichalsoshowstheentanglementofPi:ontheonehand,inthedifficultsituation,Pineedsspiritualsupporttogetoutofdanger,andthemotheristheembodimentofthepoweroffaith,alwaysencouragingandsupportingPi;Ontheotherhand,whenPimakesunconventionalchoices,hisheartisfullofpainfulstruggles,hehoversbetweenreasonandsensibility,betweenlifeanddeath.Therefore,whenwesawthecryingofthepartyafterdocking,wecouldn’thelpbutaskhimwhatwastherealreasonforhiscrying?Thisisaverymemorablequestion,anditisalsothesubtletyofAngLee’sdesign.ThejourneyofdriftingwiththetigeristhecourseofPi’scontinuousvictoryovervariousdisastersbroughtaboutbynature,anditisalsothejourneyofthecontestbetweenhumannatureandanimalnatureinPi’sheart.Inthisprocess,theattitudetowardstheexistenceofhumanbestialityhasgonethroughaprocessfromfearandrejectiontotolerancetoacceptance,representingthedeepeningandgrowthofhumanunderstandingofthemselves.3.3.3TheIllusoryCannibalIsland-theAwakeningofPiBeforePilanded,hehadbeguntogiveuphisinsistenceonlife.Ashesaid,ifhestayedonthisisland,hewouldbeforgottenbytheworld.Ifwecontinuetodrift,thereisapossibilityofreturningtocivilization.Beingforgottenmeansquietlydying,andcontinuingtodriftmeanssurvival.ThecannibalislandmeansthatPi’swillisconsumedandhisdesiretosurviveisweakened.“Andthosefoxferretswerehumanfleshthathehadcut,andtigerseatingfoxferretsshowedthatPieatinghumanfleshreallyexisted.”Thecannibalislandlieslikeawoman,andneitherofthetwostoriesPitoldasanadultexplainswhathappenedtohermother’swhereabouts.Seeingthattheleftoverteethwereactuallyhismother’s,hisconsciencewasawakenedatthemoment.Theoverallappearanceofthecannibalislandisalsothatofthemotherlyingdown,indicatingthatthemother’sbodyhasdisappearedandhasbecomeabeastthatspendsitstimeinthedaytime.HefinallychosetoreturntocivilizationafterdiscoveringhiscrazybehaviorChapterFourTheRoleofConceptualMetaphorsinLifeofPiTheapplicationofconceptualmetaphorsmakesthemovieplotmorecomplete,creatinganatmosphererichincharact