Metaphors and Similes in Contemporary American Prose: D. Tartt’s Novel “The Goldfinch”

Abstract

The article presents a survey of the metaphor- and simile-related researches in modern linguistics and considers stylistic functions of metaphors and similes in contemporary fiction. It is based on the novel The Goldfinch (2013) written by the American writer D. Tartt, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2014). It proves that the tropes in question used in the book are unique and striking. They perform figurative and descriptive functions, contribute to the expressiveness and emotiveness of the text, help to convey the characters’ psychological frame of mind and produce a dramatic effect.