THE ROLE OF THE CONCEPT MONEY IN REFLECTING THE AUTHOR’S LINGUISTIC PERSONA IN “THE FINANCIER” BY T. DREISER

Abstract

The paper studies into the ways of reflecting the author’s linguistic persona in “The Financier” by T. Dreiser by objectification of the concept MONEY. The research aims at describing the lexical and syntactical means of objectification of the given concept with the emphasis on its cognitive-propositional model. The objectives are accomplished through the use of the following methods: continuous sampling method, contextual interpretation method, semantic analysis method, descriptive method. The results of the research have demonstrated that the information content of the concept in the perception of the English language native speakers is represented by such concep- tual fields as the relationship between the money and goods markets, income, amenities, wealth, power, property which relate to the close periphery of the concept MONEY. Within the conceptual framework of the novel “The Financier” specific attributes exceeding the scope of the conceptual field of MONEY can be identified. These are such attributes as social stratification, social status, debts, trouble spot, American dream. The authors come to the conclusion that the means of objectification of the concept MONEY organize the semantic space of the text as well as its style and composition structure. The subjects of the concept are represented by Dreiser’s characters who are confronted with a choice. In most cases the characters choose the money, which reflects the author’s perception of the contemporary American society.