Ontological Metaphor in Colson Whitehead’s Novel the Nickel Boys: A Cognitive Linguistic Study

Abstract

One of the primary functions of metaphor is to help humans understand abstract concepts through concrete representations. In literary contexts, metaphor serves not only as a stylistic device but also as a conceptual tool to express internal experiences, moral values, and social realities. A specific type of metaphor often employed in literature is the ontological metaphor, in which abstract entities are conceptualized as tangible. This study aims to examine the use of ontological metaphors in The Nickel Boys, a novel by Colson Whitehead, using the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) developed by Lakoff & Johnson (1980). Through a qualitative and interpretive approach, this study identifies and categorizes different types of ontological metaphors in the novel and explores their functions in shaping meaning. The primary source of data in this study is the novel The Nickel Boys, while the data analyzed is word text that contain ontological metaphors. These data are then interpreted based on their narrative and thematic context in the novel. The findings reveal five major types of ontological metaphors used in the narrative: container, substance, object, machine, and group-of-entities. The results showed that from the 16 chapters analyzed, a total of 151 data were found to be ontological metaphors. These ontological metaphors help express complex psychological and social realities, such as trauma, injustice, struggle, and violence. By turning abstract experiences into physical forms, the metaphors make these realities more accessible to readers and enhance the emotional and thematic depth of the novel. Moreover, this study contributes to the growing body of research on ontological metaphor in literature by demonstrating how ontological metaphors reveal the cognitive patterns behind the representation of injustice, trauma. violence and struggle in non-fiction.