UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH METAPHOR IN POLITICAL CARTOONS: THE CASE OF GHANA’S FREE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (SHS) POLICY GEORGE BOAKYE-YIADOM 2020 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH METAPHOR IN POLITICAL CARTOONS: THE CASE OF GHANA’S FREE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (SHS) POLICY BY GEORGE BOAKYE-YIADOM THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL ENGLISH DEGREE OCTOBER, 2020 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh i DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis, except for the cited references and sources of data, is the result of my original research and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this University or elsewhere. Date: 06/09/2022 George Boakye-Yiadom (10701093) University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii CERTIFICATION We hereby certify that this thesis was supervised following procedures laid down by this University. Date…06/09/2022 GLADYS NYARKO ANSAH (DR.) SUPERVISOR Date…06/09/202 JEMIMA ASABEA ANDERSON (DR.) SUPERVISOR University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to the Almighty God who made it possible for me to complete this work. Also, to my beloved parents, Mr Thomas Minkah and Madam Theresah Ampomah, as well as Madam Kate Pokuah Yeboah and Ms Daniella Amoah -Boadu. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I praise the Almighty God for His showers of blessings which enabled me to complete the research. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to my research supervisors, Dr. Gladys Nyarko Ansah and Dr. Jemima Asabea Anderson, for their invaluable guidance throughout this research. Their dynamism, vision, sincerity and motivation have deeply inspired me. I would also like to thank Dr. Joyce Anku, Department of Education, University of Ghana, Legon, for her encouragement and suggestions rendered throughout this work. I am incredibly grateful to my parents -Thomas Minkah and Theresa Ampomah, for their love, prayers, care, and sacrifices in educating and preparing me for my future, not forgetting this remarkable woman, Madam Kate Pokua Yeboah. I am very much thankful to the former headmaster of Quaye Nungua R/C Basic School, Mr Paul K. Atu, for his words of encouragement, prayers, and for giving me the opportunity to pursue this MPhil programme. When the going got tough, and I wanted to give up, I had my broken heart restored through the encouraging words from Obaa Yaa Amponsah, a coursemate who doubles as a sister. I am incredibly grateful to Ms Daniella Amoah Boadu for her immeasurable support, encouragement and prayers. I am also grateful to my friends, Dennis Kyei Baffour, Mcdonaldson Appiah, Richard Appiah Kingsley, Francis Ohene Odei, David Anyimiah, Degraft Alex and Felicia University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v Afoley, for their prayers and support. Finally, I thank Thomas Abdul Jamel Asare and Ebenezer Agbaglo for spending their precious time to proofread this thesis. LIST OF ACRONYMS CDA Critical discourse analysis CMA Critical metaphor analysis CMT Conceptual metaphor theory CST Call service tax DA Discourse analysis FSHSP Free Senior high school policy GetFund Ghana Education Trust Fund JDM John Dramani Mahama MP Member of Parliament NADAA Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo NDC National Democratic Congress NPP New Patriotic Party PCs Political cartoons University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi ABSTRACT Every political party presents policies that appeal to the masses and believe to be people-centred. The media further explain these policies through various means. The media are very diplomatic in employing succinct, trouble-free, but comprehensive means to present political news. Since metaphorical language is known to provide such affordances, this study examined how the media (journalists) use metaphor in political cartoons to present the message of the introduction and implementation of Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy. Thirteen political cartoons related to Free SHS Policy were collected from August 2017 to November 2019 for analysis using Critical Metaphor Analysis as a framework. The data were grouped under different sub-themes and analyzed qualitatively. The data analysis revealed that the cartoonists (journalists) used different conceptual source domains to present the Free SHS policy message visually. These source domains included cooking, child delivery, seriously sick person, agriculture, sports, feeding children, pasturing cattle, religious confession, and climbing a ladder to enter a container. The findings suggest that the use of these source domains could promote a better understanding of the policy among the Ghanaian people. The analysis again showed the Ghanaian linguistic landscape as very diverse (multilingualism) is a reality in the Ghanaian linguistic society (as demonstrated in the cartoons' bubble speeches). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii TABLE OF CONTENT Contents Page DECLARATION ..................................................................................................... i CERTIFICATION .................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................... iv LIST OF ACRONYMS .......................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................................ vii CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.0 General Overview ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 History of Ghanaian Political Cartoons ......................................................... 3 1.2 The Media and Politics in Ghana ...................................................................... 6 1.3 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................. 9 1.4 Objective of the Study .................................................................................... 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii The study seeks to; ................................................................................................ 10 1.5 Research Question ........................................................................................ 10 1.6 Significance of the Study ............................................................................. 11 1.7 Scope and Limitations..................................................................................... 11 1.8 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................. 14 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................... 14 2.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Metaphor ....................................................................................................... 14 2.2 The Cognitive Linguistics View of Metaphor ................................................ 19 Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) ............................................................... 19 2.3 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) ................................................................ 22 2.4 Critical Metaphor Analysis ............................................................................. 25 2.5 Works That Employed CMA .......................................................................... 29 2.6 The role of Metaphor in Political Discourse ................................................... 31 2.7 History, types of cartoons and significance of Political Cartoons ................ 33 2.7.1 Types of Cartoons ....................................................................................... 34 2.7.2 Significance of Political Cartoons .............................................................. 36 2.8 Reviewed Works on Political Cartoons .......................................................... 36 2.9 Multimodality in focus .................................................................................... 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ix 2. 10 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................. 45 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 45 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 45 3.2 Research Design.......................................................................................... 45 3.3 Data ................................................................................................................. 46 3.4 The Sample Size ........................................................................................... 48 3.5 Sampling Technique and Data Collection Procedure ................................. 49 3. 6 Analytical Framework .................................................................................. 49 3. 7 Sample Data Analysis .................................................................................... 51 3. 8 The Semiotic Tools ........................................................................................ 51 3. 9 Limitations ..................................................................................................... 53 3. 10 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 53 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................. 54 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION......................................................................... 54 4.0 Introduction ................................................................................................. 54 4. 1 Metaphor of Free SHS policy in Ghana ......................................................... 54 4. 2 Preparation to roll out Free SHS is Food Preparation (Cooking) .................. 55 4.3 The Successful Implementation of FREE SHS Policy is Childbirth ........... 58 4.4 Financially Distressed Free SHS Policy is a Critically Ill Person .................. 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh x 4.5 Financing Free SHS Policy is Feeding a Child ............................................... 65 4. 6 Feeding Metaphor ......................................................................................... 66 4.7 Feeding Cattle is Financing Free SHS Policy ................................................. 69 4.8 Conceptual Metaphors of the Double Track System .................................... 76 4.9 Sports Metaphor ........................................................................................... 77 4.10 Agricultural (Farming) Metaphor ................................................................. 80 4.11 Conceptual Metaphors of Free SHS Interventions ..................................... 84 4.12 The President is a Carer/Caring Parent ......................................................... 85 4.11.1 The President as a Caring Parent .............................................................. 87 4.12 Religious Metaphor ....................................................................................... 90 4.13 Opposition’s NDC Change In Opinion on Free Shs is a Confession of Sin 91 4.14 Diverse Opinions by Former President Mahama on Free SHS Policy ....... 95 4.15 Access Metaphor ........................................................................................ 101 4.16. Linguistic Analysis of the Bubble Speeches in the Cartoons ................... 104 4.17 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................... 105 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................ 106 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................. 106 5. 0 Introduction ............................................................................................. 106 5. 1 Summary of Findings ................................................................................ 106 5. 2 Correlation between the Images and the Verbal Language ......................... 109 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xi 5.3 The Implication of the Study ...................................................................... 111 5. 4 Suggestions for Future Research .............................................................. 112 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 113 APPENDICES .................................................................................................... 126 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 General Overview Elections are usually won or lost worldwide based on political parties' policies presented to the electorate. Ghana is not an exception in this matter. Ghanaians are believed to vote for a candidate or political party known to have policies that promise to relieve the electorate of economic burdens. In other words, Ghanaians are believed to vote for political parties and individuals who have people-centred policies. Run up to the 2016 general elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, the flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party, campaigned enthusiastically to introduce a Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in the country if elected into office as president. Nana Addo talked about the Free SHS policy on every political campaign platform he mounted. Soon, the Free SHS policy became a cliche, and almost all the media outlets in Ghana (electronic and print) discussed the policy in detail, raising concerns and questioning its feasibility. When Nana Addo Dankwa, in an interview with a journalist from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), was asked about what is his source of funding for the Free SHS policy would be, he told the journalist that he would come to Ghanaians and give the details of his anticipated funding sources- for the programme. This response deepened the contentions raised earlier concerning the feasibility of the policy. Many Ghanaians, mainly his political opponents, described the proposed Free SHS policy as a mere political gimmick to lure the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 electorate into voting for him. For instance, Honourable Ibrahim Mutarla Mohammed, an opposition member of parliament (MP) for Tamale Central Constituency, on September 5, 2017, “Nana Addo can never implement Free SHS; he is deceiving Ghanaians." (https://mobile.ghanaweb.com). The campaign was over, and the general election was conducted; the outcome of the election suggested that the message of the Free SHS Policy sank deeply in the electorate's minds, which perhaps made them (Ghanaians) vote massively for Nana Addo Dankwa to become the president of Ghana. The president’s decision to implement the Free SHS policy in his first year of office received much criticism from his political opponents, educationists, and economic think tanks. The critics believed that the policy was being hastily implemented because some glaring and potential challenges that should have been addressed were not addressed before its implementation. The New Democratic Congress (NDC), the main opposition party, and other stakeholders in education argued that the hasty implementation of the Free SHS policy in the early years to jeopardize was going to jeopardize the country’s educational system. However, these criticisms from his political opponents and other stakeholders did not deter President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo from implementing the Free SHS policy in the early days of his first term of office as president. The first batch of Free SHS policy beneficiaries started school in September 2017. As anything that is generally free is oversubscribed, the enrollment of secondary school students increased tremendously that year, creating problems for the implementers, schools, headteachers, school boards, etc. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 Thus, the implementation of the Free SHS Policy and its attendant challenges sparked new discourses and counter-discourses that were ideologically laden. While these discourses were rife in radio and television media, others captured the discourses in political cartoons. This study sought to examine the use of metaphor in political cartoons about Ghana’s Free SHS Policy between 2017 and 2019 academic years. 1.1 History of Ghanaian Political Cartoons Cartoon comes from the Italian word "cartone", which means "large paper" (Lobo, 2002). Cartoons are large pictorial images telling a story or commenting on a social or political issue in their purest form. Cartoons have been and continue to be an essential part of our societal culture. Political cartoons appeal to all audiences, both children and adults. The ‘Cartoon’ genre has widely been defined as a metaphorical codification of a satirical type through which an artist subtly informs, educates, and entertains the readership (Nyoni et al., 2012 & Sani et al., 2012). Morris (1993) maintains that an effective political cartoon can convey a politically sophisticated message condensed into a single image. He also noted that cartoons had been used to criticize the activities of political figures. Refaie (2009) similarly postulates that political cartoons specifically talk about political issues, events, or political figures. Cartoons explain and help people understand complex politics by presenting an imaginary scenario of real-life events. Due to Africa's high level of illiteracy, cartoons help explain government policies and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 programmes. Willet (2006) compared political cartoons to "iron fist in a velvet glove" that hilariously hammers the editorial message home. Edwards & Winkler (1997) also indicated that political cartoons are "graphic presentations typically designed in a one-panel, non-continuing format to make an independent statement or observation on political events or social policy." What makes political cartoons distinct from other forms is that cartoonists often use humour or irony to point out shortcomings or hypocrisies within the political system. The cartoonist combines artistic skills, hyperbole, and satire to question authorities and draw attention to social canker. Because of this role, political cartoonists have been regarded as influential and highly respected by political commentators. The citizens of every nation enjoy the freedom of speech and expression because of the nation’s independence and sovereignty. Notwithstanding, freedom of speech is curtailed in non-democratic countries. The electronic and print media outlets also enjoy some press freedom. This freedom allows the media to express and comment on national issues without fearing victimization. Although press freedom exists, print and electronic media rely on cartoons for their benefits in presenting their messages. Cartoons have been part of our democratic process since independence. The Accra Evening News, a popular newspaper that served as the official mouthpiece of the then Convention Peoples Party's (CPP) government, started publishing cartoons in 1957 to lampoon and criticize politicians' ills, particularly Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. Other cartoonists during that University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 period included Ghanatta, Sam, and Thiks. After the 1960s, cartoons have become part of our lives. It almost appears that all the print media in Ghana have a section of their papers for cartoons. With the advent of technology, cartoon works have extended from print media to other media such as social media and television. 'TV3', a private TV station in Ghana, during its 7:00 pm news, sometimes dedicates parts of the entertainment news segment to cartoons as a way of entertaining viewers. Aside from the entertainment aspect of the cartoons, they also bring viewers' attention to significant national issues that generate discussions. The cartoonists present on issues that range from political, social, economic, and religious. They also present on matters of national interest and trending issues. Aside from Tilapia, TV3's cartoonist, which airs on national television, most daily newspapers also dedicate a section of their editorials to cartoons. Currently, famous cartoons in Ghana include Daavi from the Daily Graphic, Akosua from the Daily Guide, 'T’ 'Spoon from the Chronicle, Politics and Politricks from the Enquirer, Pot from Kotoko Express Makaveli from the Accra Evening Mail. Santrofi Anoma cartoon publishes on Facebook. According to Ross (1992), cartoon making as art involves an artist's exaggeration, distortion, and falsification of reality issues into brief comments and satire vehicles. I agree with Ross because a cartoonist must be abreast of information and current issues to feed his readers and viewers. A unique technique is needed to achieve this role. Ross identified humour, satire, exaggeration, and metaphor, among others, as cartoonists' strategies in presenting issues. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 It is worth mentioning that cartoonists do not live in isolation in discharging their duties. In view of this, Conners (2014) suggests that the combination of visual, cultural, and literary allusions in a cartoon, along with a text that may take the form of a headline or words spoken by characters, results in a compelling and provocative image of opinion (p. 247). Again, the processing and interpretation of cartoons require a complex blend of political, cultural, historical, and contextual experiences to unravel the cartoons' meanings. Desousa and Medhurst (1984) stated that political cartoons' research has generally focused on well-remembered images of presidential candidates and other political leaders. Per what Desousa and Medhurst put across, works on political cartoons have focused on politicians' activities to reveal their evil crimes. Conners (1998) believes that understanding cartoons depends on culture, age, and the viewer’s intelligence levels. To her, culture differs from community to community and region, making interpreting and understanding cartoons dependent on the viewer's background knowledge. What makes this study unique from others is the euphoria and the contention surrounding Free SHS policy and how the cartoonists conceptualize the message of Free SHS policy from conception to delivery. 1.2 The Media and Politics in Ghana The establishment of media outlets in Anglophone and Francophone Africa developed during the colonial period. The influence of the colonial masters affected the media landscape tremendously. Therefore, Africa's media outlets can University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 be described as a colonial heritage. Sturmer (2008:59) maintains that, on the whole, the colonial mass media were centralized and served as the government's mouthpiece for the indigenes. This centralization extended to both print and electronic media. The media in Ghana and other parts of Africa always have a reciprocal relationship with politicians. Politicians rely on the media to get their messages to the populace. In some cases, some politicians own media houses, thereby employing journalists. Therefore, these journalists have to do the will of their paymasters, which denies them (journalists) the free mind to function. The media worldwide are seen as the fourth estate of the realm regarding democratic dispensation. They also serve as watchdogs in society. Therefore, their role in the country cannot be taken too lightly. They also (media) play a critical role by educating and explaining government policies and programmes to their listeners. The media in Ghana further explain these policies through various means. One of the means is the use of local languages such as Twi, Ga, Ewe, Nzema, and Dagbaani to explain government policies to enhance a better understanding. In doing all these, the media are very cautious in employing succinct, incident-free, comprehensive methods to present political news. In Ghana, where the country is politically polarized, media houses (public and private), religious ministers, chiefs, opinion leaders, and geo-political regions are meticulous in commenting on political issues. They suffer name-tagging or discrimination when they comment on national issues with a political undertone. It is either against the government of the day or for the incumbent government. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 Apart from the media employing an incident-free approach to addressing political issues, political cartoons present socio-economic and socio-political issues. It is worth mentioning that cartoonists have the license to comment on national issues in democratic countries without any attacks because of the satirical touch that comes with the cartoons and the amnesty they enjoy. Notwithstanding, history tells us that there has been an instance where a cartoonist has suffered attacks due to a particular publication that seems to malign a religious leader or a political figure. A typical example is the murder of a French cartoonist, Charles Hebdo. With its benefits, cartoon as a discourse genre has become a powerful instrument that provides a valuable and new communication direction. Szabo and Lent (1994: 31) see the use of cartoons by the media as "food for thought, artistic expression, a visual aid to understand better and clarify current national issues". A metaphor is one of the weapons cartoonists use apart from humour, exaggeration, and metonymy. Metaphor, over the years, has been regarded as an aspect of language or the ornamental aspect of language writers use to enrich their style of writing. In cognitive linguistics, metaphor is not just a language device but a mental concept. In 1980, Lakoff and Johnson co-authored a book titled Metaphors We Live By, introducing the conceptual metaphor theory. They (Lakoff and Johnson) believe that we can understand one domain in terms of another field. After launching their famous book, many scholars, including Forceville, Gibbs, and Charteris-Black, criticised and gave their opinion on metaphor. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 Charteris-Black (2004), realizing a gap in Lakoff and Johnson's work, maintains that metaphor analysis should go beyond the conceptual aspect. He believes that metaphor analysis should include the cognitive and ideological aspects, hence proposing Critical Metaphor Analysis, which is the amalgamation of two approaches, conceptual metaphor theory and critical discourse analysis. CMA was employed to identify how the Free SHS Policy was understood using specific source domains. The study used cartoons published before, during, and after implementing the Free SHS policy. 1.3 Statement of the Problem Researchers such as Bounegru and Forceville (2011) and Dălălău and Maior (2014) have explored metaphors in political cartoons using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) to reveal implicit messages in these cartoons. CMT has been applied to various studies. For example, Bounegru and Forceville (2011) used CMT to determine how cartoons used metaphors to represent the global financial crisis. Other researchers, such as Dălălău and Maior (2014) and Padilla (2018), have also used it to examine the use of metaphor in political cartoons to represent the Euro and Greek debt crises, respectively in the European context. These studies agree that metaphor is the greatest weapon cartoonists use to communicate their messages, which helps with understanding the messages through familiar source domains. In Ghana, a few studies on political cartoons, such as Rockson (2012), Oduro-Frimpong (2013) and Amankwah et al. (2012), adopted different University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 approaches to study political cartoons. These studies utilized theories such as Dell Hymes’ Ethnography of Communication, as can be found in Oduro-Frimpong (2013), the construction of reality and ethnomethodology found in Rockson (2012) and the theory of agenda setting found in Amankwah et al. (2012). It must be noted that even though political discourses are typically ideological, these studies did not consider ‘ideology’ or the role metaphors play in communicating political ideology. Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) allows us to explore meanings and participants’ ideologies in political cartoons. In this disposition, the present study adopts CMA in examining the conceptualization of the Free SHS policy from the campaign season to its implementation. Specifically, the research explores how Tilapia and Akosua political cartoonists in Ghana presented the message of the Free SHS policy through the use of multimodal metaphors. 1.4 Objective of the Study The study seeks to; 1. Identify the types of source domains the cartoonists used in the selected cartoons to conceptualize the Free SHS policy metaphorically. 2. To find out how the semiotic tools contribute to understanding the cartoonists’ message. 1.5 Research Question The study, therefore, attempted to answer the questions below: University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 1. What source domains were used by the cartoonists to metaphorically conceptualize Ghana’s Free Senior High School policy? 2. How do the semiotic tools contribute to understanding the cartoonists’ message? 1.6 Significance of the Study This study highlighted the importance of Ghanaian cartoonists in the democratic dispensation to expose government policies and projects using resources that portrayed Ghanaian culture. The cartoonists' use of familiar concepts helps best-explained government policies challenging to understand by the populace. The study would enlighten how the rivalry between the two major political parties, NPP and NDC, was deepened even in the cartoons. Additionally, the novelty of this study would serve as reference material for future researchers who may decide to do studies of this kind. Furthermore, the studies would draw the attention of politicians to the cartoonists' work since they communicate thoughtful messages to the readers and viewers. Finally, this study would augment the literature on political cartoon studies from a linguistics background. 1.7 Scope and Limitations The quintessence of the research focused on the use of metaphors in selected political cartoons related to the Free SHS Policy. The selected cartoons were obtained from TV3 News' cartoonist, Tilapia and the Daily Guide's cartoonist, Akosua. The justification for using these media outlets was explained in the methodology section. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 This research was intended not to be an exhaustive survey of all the cartoons' features, such as the setting of the cartoons, the participants involved, the use of a particular colour for a resolution, posture, gesture, and font size projections. Intermittently, I extended the analysis to other semiotic elements contributing to the cartoonists' message. Instead, the research intended to critically examine how cartoonists employed a metaphor as a cognitive tool espoused by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) to present the Free SHS policy of a particular government and the types of source domains used in the selected cartoons. Also, the analysis of the verbal language did not focus on the type of sentence structure the cartoonists used to present the message or determine whether the cartoonists used simple, complex or compound structures. Again, choosing one language over the other in the bubble speeches was not the focus. Instead, the study focused on how the bubble speeches brought out the ideological stance of the major political parties on the Free SHS policy on what they said before, during, and after implementing the policy. 1.8 Chapter Summary The purpose of Chapter One was to give a general overview and introduction to this study. I looked at the history of Ghanaian political cartoons tracing it from Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and media and politics in Ghana. I also considered a metaphor and critical metaphor analysis. The problem's statement was discussed alongside the study's objectives, research University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 questions and significance of the study. I also discussed the scope and limitations of the study. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.0 Introduction This chapter presents a review of relevant literature related to the present study, intending to establish an empirical examination that follows. Specifically, I provide a historical background to metaphor studies and then examine how metaphor has been discussed in cartoon studies. 2.1 Metaphor The word “metaphor” has its roots in the two Greek words, “meta” and “phorein,” meaning to “carry-over” or to “transfer” (Weller, 2006). The word carries the connotations of transferring specific characteristics or qualities from one thing to another by its parts. In Poetics, Aristotle (as cited in Ross, 1952: 1456) defines metaphor as “giving the thing a name that belongs to something else”. While in the later tradition, the use of metaphors has been seen as a matter of mere decoration, which has to delight the hearer, Aristotle stresses the cognitive function of metaphors. He says metaphors bring about learning (Rhet. III.10, 1410b14f.). In order to understand a metaphor, the hearer has to find something common between the metaphor and the thing the metaphor refers to. For example, if someone calls old age “stubble”, we have to find a common genus to which old age and stubble belong; we do not grasp the very sense of the metaphor until we find that both, old age and stubble, have lost their bloom. Thus, a metaphor not only refers to a thing but simultaneously University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 describes the thing in a certain respect. This is why Aristotle says that the metaphor brings about learning: as soon as we understand why someone uses the metaphor “stubble” to refer to old age, we have learned at least one characteristic of old age. St Clair (2004: 1) espouses a similar view: "Metaphors are statements based on some analogy where two things are compared to each other”. Usually, the entities that are compared have something in common. The discussion of metaphor now spans several subject areas, such as linguistics, literature, communication, advertisement, business, and psychology. Rapp (2010: 20-22) also refers to metaphor as “the application of an alien name by transference either from genus to species or from species to genus, or from species to species, or by analogy, that is, proportion”. Per this definition, it can be argued that when one uses a metaphor, they translate one word in terms of another and, as a result, transfers certain qualities from one subject to the other. In this vein, one can describe familiar or unfamiliar concepts. Aristotle (cf. Rapp, 2010) further distinguishes four ways in which metaphors can be used: (1) The genus to species relationship, where a more general term is used instead of a specific word: Aristotle uses the example of This ship of mine stands 'there' where 'stand' (species) is a more general way of saying 'is anchored' (genus). This relationship gives an aspect of another cognitive device known as Metonymy. (2) The species-to-genus relationship, what a species is, is determined by the genus to which the species belongs and what differentiates that species University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 from all other species of the same genus because the genus is more general than the species. (3) The species-to-species relationship, where one specific term replaces another. Aristotle's example is, "Then he drew off his life with the bronze and Then with the bronze cup he cut the water", where 'to draw off' and 'to cut' (species) represent to take away (species). (4) Metaphor from analogy, which consists of substitutions between X is to Y type relationships, for instance, to define old age as the sunset of life. One can speak metaphorically about the old age of the day or the evening of life. Rapp (2010) further elucidates Aristotle’s position by adding that to understand a metaphor, the hearer has to find something common between the metaphor and the thing the metaphor refers to. With Rapp's assertion, there should be similar features between the entity we want to map and its referent. Cognitive linguists term the source domain (usually familiar experience) and the target domain (unfamiliar experience). Nonetheless, the target domain can sometimes be a familiar experience. Similarly, Corbett (1965:438) espouses that metaphor implies comparing two things that are not the same but share some common features. Corbett believes that we can compare two, unlike entities. For instance, two animals' behaviour of different species can be compared since they belong to the same taxonomy. Correspondingly, Galperin (1981) maintains that metaphor relates to the dictionary and the contextual logical meaning based on the similarity of some University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 properties of two similar concepts. Semanticists believe an isolated word does not have meaning unless used in context or with the help of its co-text. For this reason, the purpose of a word from the dictionary would be different when the same word is put in context. Barcelona (2000), on the other hand, defines metaphor as the cognitive mechanism whereby one experimental domain is partially “mapped” and projected onto a different empirical domain so that the second domain is understood partially in terms of the first one. Barcelona’s view affirms what Lakoff and Johnson (1980) espoused that we understand one unfamiliar experience in terms of a familiar experience. This assertion implies that we understand entities from known to unknown and concrete to abstract. Langacker (1999) seems to support Lakoff and Johnson's view that we can conceive one situation against the background afforded to another. The conceived ideas usually serve as the source domain, which helps us understand the target domain. The classical view of metaphor prevailed until the middle of the 20th century. In the classical view, a metaphor is a figure of speech or literary device and is not found in everyday language. A metaphor is regarded as a figure of speech in traditional linguistics. However, Cognitive linguistics (CL) considers metaphor as “a cognitive phenomenon in which people understand abstract target domains in terms of concrete source domains” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 8). This approach gave way to the comparison view of metaphor, which states that when processing metaphor, the target domain's properties are mapped with the source (base) domain, which leads to the identification of shared characteristics. According to University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 Richards (1936), the target domain can be a familiar, complex, or subjective experience. In the Metaphor as comparison tradition, a metaphor has three terms: the target domain (tenor), the source domain (vehicle), and the similarities between the two become the ground. For example, in the metaphor LIFE is a JOURNEY, the characteristics of the target term 'LIFE' are mapped with that of the base term 'JOURNEY', and then we look for an overlap in the characteristics. One might say that LIFE is similar to a JOURNEY because both have a beginning and an end. Other characteristics are the person leading a life is a traveller, his purposes are destinations, the means to achieving goals are routed, and progress is the distance travelled (Lakoff & Turner, 2009). Glucksberg & Keysar (1990) propose that metaphors are comprehended through categorization and comparison processes. Glucksberg & Keysar maintain that there should be some form of sorting between source and target domain to understand metaphors. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) further assert that human beings conceptualize abstract ideas in terms of actual experiences, the latter being experiences that pertain directly to the body (sense perception, motor activity, physical pain and pleasure, heat and cold, among others). All the views put forth by the various scholars in defining metaphor seem to be interwoven, but Kovecses (2005) holds a current view that metaphor is culture-dependent. He opines further that metaphorical construction is heavily dependent on the context it appears. Gibbs (1987) supports this assertion that metaphor interpretation can only occur in context. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 Forceville (1996) mentions that anything that qualifies to be called “metaphor” must be capable of providing answers to the following questions, 1. Which are the two terms of the Metaphor, and how do we know? 2. Which is the Metaphor's target domain, and which is the Metaphor's source domain, and how do we know? 3. Which features can be mapped from the source domain to the target domain, and how is their selection decided upon? 2.2 The Cognitive Linguistics View of Metaphor Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) (Lakoff, 1993; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) provides a valuable tool for linguists to analyze ideologies and identities implicit in language and visual images. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argue that a metaphor is a powerful conceptual tool essential to understanding the world, as was captured in their famous book Metaphor we Live By. Globally, it has recently been agreed that metaphor is how we make sense of all phenomena. This is so because metaphors are deeply rooted in our sign system, thought, and action, permeating everyday life. Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 157) contend that metaphor has the persuasive power “to define reality [ ...] through a coherent network of entailments that highlight some features of reality and hide others”. Metaphors can also be seen as a conceptual system because different metaphors are related to each other coherently. For example, abstract concepts such as love and argument are not easily understood unless related to a directly perceivable University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 referent, such as LOVE IS MADNESS and ARGUMENT IS WAR. Lakoff and Johnson (2003: 49-62) state that “metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action" and that "our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think”. A metaphor is a kind of thinking or conceptualization that is not limited to language; however, language provides a convenient way to observe how a metaphor works. The two conceptual metaphor domains are the source and target domains. The source domain is a physical and concrete entity, while the target domain is an abstract entity. Ungerer and Schmid (1996) propose a structural mapping process from a “source” domain to a “target” domain. The duo maintains that metaphors allow us to conceptualize abstract phenomena by relying on real- world models of our experienced and stored knowledge. The source domain is the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions to understand another conceptual domain. On the contrary, the target domain is the conceptual domain which is understood in this way. From a cognitive perspective, metaphor is mapping a source model's structure onto a target model. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) buttress their point with an example about romantic relationships: LOVE (target) as JOURNEY (source domain) mappings. The mapping involves understanding one domain of experience, LOVE (romantic relationship), in terms of a very different domain of experience, JOURNEY. One of the source domain properties is mapped onto the target domain based on the cross-mapping Lakoff and Johnson espouse. The lovers' → travellers. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 The love relationship → vehicle. The lovers' common goals → common destinations on the journey. Difficulties in the romantic relationship → impediments to travel. In the expression, “LOVE IS A JOURNEY,” the former is the target domain, comparatively more abstract. The latter is the source domain which is relatively more concrete. The abstract target domain of love is understood, thus through the particular source domain of journey. This mapping takes place in the mind in a specific context and projects aspects of the source domain onto the target domain, called conceptual mapping. Identifying metaphors involves mapping from a source domain to a target domain. The mapping conceived is conceptualized mentally, hence the name conceptual metaphor. Another example, ARGUMENT IS WAR is a conceptual metaphor with the following metaphorical linguistic expressions: Your claims are indefensible. He attacked every weak point in my argument. His criticisms were right on the target. (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) The source domain corresponds to the target domain; consequently, there is a mapping between the source and target domains. The target domain “A” is understood in terms of the source domain “B”. For example, in the conceptual metaphor mentioned above, ARGUMENT is the target domain, and WAR is the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 source domain. Whenever WAR is mapped onto ARGUMENT, the two domains correspond to each other in a way that enables us to interpret ARGUMENT as a WAR (Kertész, 2004) Lakoff and Johnson (1980) distinguish between three different types of metaphors according to the cognitive functions they perform. These are structural, orientational, and ontological metaphors. Structural metaphors are metaphors where one concept is structured metaphorically in terms of another, where the source provides an extensive knowledge structure and explains it for the target domain. Example: TIME IS MONEY. Orientational metaphors are based on spatial orientation; they organize a whole system of concepts in terms of physical orientation, such as up-down, in- out, front-back, deep-shallow, and central-peripheral. For example, HAPPY IS UP, and SAD IS DOWN. Ontological metaphors are metaphors in which an abstract concept, such as an emotion, activity or idea, is exemplified as something concrete, such as a person, an object, substance or container. An example is AN ACTIVITY AS A CONTAINER (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). 2.3 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) Critical discourse analysis (CDA, hereafter) is a discourse analysis approach within the critical social theory that originates from Critical Linguistics, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 a branch of discourse analysis. The Cognitive Linguistic Approach to CDA can be characterised as investigating ideological patterns in text and conceptualisation. The so far fruitful energy between Cognitive Linguistics and CDA has largely been confined to critical metaphor studies, with Conceptual Metaphor Theory providing the theoretical framework. However, Cognitive Linguistics in CDA may extend beyond Critical Metaphor Analysis to create a broader but coherent Cognitive Linguistic Approach which incorporates aspects of Cognitive Grammar, Mental Spaces, Frame Semantics and Force-Dynamics (Hart, 2011). CDA is mainly used to deconstruct the hidden social power and ideology to uncover social inequality through discourse structures of reality and to change social practice for the benefit of the disadvantaged. According to Wodak, CDA “shows the connection between language, power and ideology” (1989: 5). CDA is an approach and research method that scholars have widely adopted to study and analyze various discourses in recent years. It involves an analysis of the dialectical relationship between discourse (including language and other forms of semiosis, for example, body language or visual images) and other social practice elements. CDA takes a broad interdisciplinary approach that combines linguistic methods with approaches from other human science disciplines such as sociology, politics, history, and psychology. CDA does place a text within a social context and demonstrates how particular discursive practices reflect socio-political power structures. Scholars consider CDA a powerful approach to study the interplay between language and ideology. Fowler (1991:89) proposes that “analysis using University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 appropriate linguistic tools, and referring to relevant historical and social context, can bring ideology, normally hidden through accustoming of discourse to the surface for inspection.” In CDA, every discourse act is assumed to have a potentially conscious intention that reflects the text producer and recipient's relative social position. The primary aim of CDA is to analyze and make explicit political and ideological motivations that would otherwise be implicit or concealed. This approach reveals the philosophical concepts behind why political actors use certain expressions. According to Fairclough and Wodak (1997), CDA deals with extralinguistic factors such as culture, society, and ideology in historical terms. It, therefore, looks beyond the micro-description level of linguistic analysis into institutional frameworks, cultures, and ideologies to explain and evaluate how personal and social ideologies are tactfully encoded. Flood (1999) suggests that ideology exists as a social phenomenon communicated through verbal actions that directly or indirectly justify political action courses. Hodge and Kress (1993) opine that ideology involves a systematically organized reality presentation. Van Dijk, one of the most prolific advocates of critical cognitive studies, espouses that ideologies are clusters of beliefs in our minds (1998:26). He specifies that such beliefs are general, that is, abstract and context-independent, as well as socially shared. According to Van Dijk, sociocultural knowledge is shared by community members, while ideologies are shared and defended by particular groups within that community. For instance, members of political parties (NPP & NDC) share a common ideology, and they protect these ideologies. It is worth mentioning that University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+accustoming&FORM=DCTRQY 25 ideologies are ultimately based on sociocultural knowledge. And one person can belong to different groups. In other words, ideology is the belief system perpetuating norms and values held by people belonging to the same group. Therefore, ideology is a fully integrated sociocultural-cognitive phenomenon’ (Verschueren, 2012: 8). The word “critical” in CDA often refers to theoretical perspectives and methodologies that aim to change the existing social and political order. Every political cartoon has ideologies and messages that need to be discovered. Wei (2006) observes that critical discourse analysis has absorbed the results from cognitive linguistics research and adopted by cognitive linguists. Metaphor is “central to CDA since it deals with forming a coherent view of reality” (Charteris- Black, 2004: 28), and it is used to “persuasively convey evaluations and constitutes a potentially ideological property of texts” (Sacristan, 2005: 221). Critical metaphor analysis (CMA) has typically become the meeting point of these two fields (CMT and CDA) because it subsumes them. Combining these two approaches gives CMT the theoretical framework that underpins this study. 2.4 Critical Metaphor Analysis Critical metaphor analysis (CMA, henceforth) is a method first adopted and elaborated by Jonathan Charteris-Black (2004) to tackle the gap he identified with Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory. Charteris- Black believes that metaphor analysis should be a central component of critical discourse analysis because metaphors are persuasively used to convey evaluations and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 constitute part of the text's ideology. CMA aims to reveal language users' implied intentions and ideologies, focusing on metaphors. In his book, Corpus Approaches, Charteris-Black argues that the definition of metaphor needs to incorporate a linguistic, pragmatic, semantic, and cognitive concept to account adequately for metaphor in any linguistic expression (Charteris-Black: 2004). Charteris-Black suggests that one concept cannot sufficiently account for the metaphorical expression. For Charteris-Black to account for the lapses in CMT and CDA, he propounds critical metaphor analysis, incorporating two models: critical discourse analysis and conceptual metaphor theory. He opines further that metaphor constitutes verbal evidence for an underlying system of ideologies. Metaphor is not an exclusive linguistic, pragmatic, or cognitive phenomenon. Charteris-Black (2004) argues further that the cognitive-semantic approach also needs to be complemented with an analysis of pragmatic factors, as metaphors are always used within a specific communication context that governs their role. In simpler terms, relying alone on CMT allows one to deal with metaphorical expressions' in cognitive aspects. Using CDA alone also gives the chance to discuss the ideological stance behind the metaphorical expression. Therefore, for Charteris-Black to account sufficiently for the loopholes, he synchronizes the two approaches (CMT & CDA) to get CMA. At least, CMA has solved the problem to some extent, and it is widely accepted. He suggests three benchmarks in the definition of metaphor. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 1. Linguistic criteria: a metaphor is a phrase that causes semantic tension by reification (referring to something abstract using a word or phrase that, in other contexts, applies to something concrete), personification (referring to something that is inanimate using a word or phrase that, in another context, refers to something animate), and depersonification (referring to something animate using a word or phrase that in other contexts refers to something inanimate). 2. Pragmatic criteria: a metaphor is an incongruous linguistic representation with the underlying purpose of influencing opinions and judgements by persuasion. This purpose is often covert and reflects speaker intentions within particular contexts of use. 3. Cognitive criteria: a metaphor is caused by a shift in the conceptual system. The basis for the conceptual change is the relevance of, or psychological association between, the attributes of the referent of linguistic expression in its source context and those of the referent in its novel target context. This relevance or association is usually based on some previously unperceived similarity between the referents in those contexts (Charteris-Black, 2004: 22-23). CMA is interested in exploring the implicit intentions of language users, the ideological configurations, and the hidden power relations within a socio-political and cultural context. Charteris-Black (2004) outlines three steps to follow when one wants to apply CMA to any text: University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 1. Identification of metaphor: This is a stage in which one critically and carefully scans for metaphorical expressions found in a particular discourse/cartoon. The identified metaphor will then be examined concerning the criteria for the definition of metaphor, either at linguistic, pragmatic, or cognitive levels resulting from a shift in domain used. 2. Metaphor interpretation: This stage involves establishing a relationship between metaphors and the cognitive and pragmatic factors that determine those metaphors identified. It involves identifying conceptual metaphors and, where feasible, conceptual keys. At this phase, it is possible to consider how far metaphor choices are proactive in constructing a socially significant representation. 3. Explanation of Metaphor: this stage includes identifying the social agency involved in their production and their social role in persuasion. The formation of conceptual metaphors, keys, and illustrations of the typical evaluation of metaphors will explain why they can be persuasive. In a sense, it identifies the discourse functions of metaphors that permit us to establish their ideological and rhetorical motivation—Charteris-Black (2004: 35-41). It is worth stating that not all studies that employ CMA as a theoretical framework adhere to the three stages. It depends on what the researcher seeks to achieve at the end of the study. CMA is a way of revealing underlying ideologies, attitudes, and beliefs. CMA, therefore, constitutes a vital means of understanding more about the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 complicated relationship between language, thoughts, and social context. In analyzing parts of metaphors, attention is drawn to which aspects of the source domains are transferred metaphorically to the target domain. For this purpose, I employ the CMA approach because it provides a methodology for analysing and interpreting ideology and illustrates how metaphors were used to communicate the Free SHS policy’s message. CMA advances metaphor studies and serves as a research tool for the cognitive and pragmatic analysis of metaphors in discourse. 2.5 Works That Employed CMA This section of the study aims to present works that employed CMA in their analysis. The papers to be reviewed differ considerably from the current study; they are still relevant since they are similar in the adopted theoretical perspective. The use of metaphors has become familiar with political figures to lure the electorates, especially during the campaign period. These metaphors reflect the socio-cultural background of the candidates. The candidates appeal to images that concretize their socio-economic policies to bait the electorate. Frequently, politicians use metaphors that are readily available in their immediate environment. Opeibi (2009) asserts that Nigerian politicians increasingly use war, religious, and journey metaphors. In contrast, American and British politicians use baseball and cricket metaphors because these domains are common in their environment. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 Agbo et al. (2018) similarly examine how Nigerian political actors use metaphor in their speeches, focusing on three former presidents: M. K. O Abiola, General Ibrahim Babaginda, and Goodluck Jonathan. Their analysis identified three source domains: war/battle/contest metaphor, the metaphor of a journey, and the metaphor conceptualizing the nation as a person. Their findings indicate that politicians use metaphors to justify their actions and activities, consolidate their positions, and convey complex expressions to avoid conflicts. Ezeifeka (2013) also examines how a private-owned newspaper, Guardian, used metaphor in reporting the Nigerian Union of Teachers’ (NUT) strike to demand better remuneration. The analysis identifies the following source domains: war/conflicts, illness/disease, death, and games/sports, with teachers’ strikes being the target domain. The findings reveal that the newspaper editors strategically use metaphors to be recognized as neutral, not on the side of the government or the striking teachers. Kelly (2016) critically examines how selected English, and Chinese cosmetic advertisement slogans employ metaphor. Because of the ideological nature of the advertisement, Charteris-Black's CMA was used for the analysis. The selected advertisements were categorized into several sources: emotional intimacy with appearances, food metaphor, structural metaphor, a universal metaphor with real bodily experience, and an orientational metaphor related to spatial sense. The findings reveal that metaphors in cosmetic advertisements help uncover the hidden ideologies behind these advertisements, which evoke consumers’ desires and persuade them to buy their products. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 Cammaerts (2012) employes CMA to examine how North-Belgian politicians and political journalists use metaphors during political instability and constitutional crises. The researcher identifies the following source domains: sports and games metaphor, war metaphor, culinary metaphor, and transport- related metaphors, all mapped onto the target domain of political instability and constitutional crisis. The findings revealed that the use of metaphor varies according to users. Political journalists use metaphors to make a complex political process more understandable for the audience or voice their displeasure concerning the country's crisis. In the negotiation process, politicians use metaphors to speak to the electorates and their political opponents. The study further indicated that metaphors are vehicles of overt and hidden meanings, used by political and media actors as a discursive practice with a precise strategic aim and intent. 2.6 The role of Metaphor in Political Discourse Political issues are complex and cumbersome; in this regard, political actors heavily rely on metaphors to present their messages. Thompson (1996) asserts that politics without metaphor is like a fish without water. In our body politics, metaphor cannot be eliminated because it mitigates chaos and anarchy. In political discourses, metaphors are not empty devices; they are deployed deliberately to enhance the texts' persuasive effect by providing striking and vivid images that enhance the communicative meaning of the discourse. Political communicators use metaphors to project their ideological stance, either positively or negatively, to show persuasion, negotiation, and other power relations. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 According to Musolff (2012), being a competent political speaker or writer implies the expert use of metaphors to promote potentially problematic political concepts without incurring the risk of being held legally or socially responsible. Politicians deploy metaphors to manage stressful situations and convey doubtful expressions to avoid conflicts. Politicians often resort to metaphors because of the capacity to disguise and conceal particular aspects of experience and thus shape reality to suit the users' interests. Fairclough (2008) opines that politicians use metaphors to avoid a direct reference to a face- threatening phenomenon. Because of this, politicians often resort to the use of metaphors to convey weightier subjects that may be difficult to express in plain language. Again, metaphors are used in political discourse to manage the most threatening speech acts and minimise the speaker's accountability. Landtsheer (2004) maintain that politicians use metaphors as persuasive communication tools to bridge gaps and build identification between strangers, frame issues; create, maintain, or dissolve political coalitions; and generate votes to win elections. The use of metaphor and its selection are intrinsically motivated; it has a precise political aim, either to promote one’s view against another or to discredit political adversaries or enemies. Jamieson (1985) asserts that the choice of a metaphor depends on the speaker's intention, as what they intend to achieve at the end of the speech depends on the metaphor to choose. Mio (1997: 130) states that metaphors are valuable instruments in political communication because they “resonate with latent symbolic representations residing at the unconscious level”. According to Mio, political actors employ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 metaphors to uncover unmentioned issues, thereby making these issues known to the populace. Van Teeffelen (1994) posits that the strength of the metaphor in terms of political communication consists of its ability to emphasize particular elements and linkages, understanding cause and effect, symptom and essence, and especially praise and blame. With Van Teeffelen’s pronouncement, metaphors serve political interests. He further argues that when metaphors are used as ideological devices, they are privileged to the user because the actor will play with words. 2.7 History, types of cartoons and significance of Political Cartoons The first known political cartoon was published in 1360 BC, which ridiculed Ikhnaton's father-in-law of Tutankhamon. Rudimentary forms of political cartoons have also been found in Ancient Greek pottery depictions that lampooned political leaders and lauded Olympian gods (Danjoux, 2007). Artists such as William Hogarth in 1700 often made sets of humorous (funny) drawings that were about political subjects, such as poverty, elections, war, and riots. (Mcnally, 2014: 20). The drawings were made into prints and sold cheaply. These prints were not called cartoons at that time, but they led to modern political cartoons in newspapers. Nowadays, many newspapers publish different political cartoons in their papers every day. The word “cartoon” was first used in 1843 in an English magazine called the “Punch”. Cartoons have become part of our lives and gained momentum and scholarly attention. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 2.7.1 Types of Cartoons  A comic strip is a cartoon published in newspapers and other media outlets to create laughter and humour for its readers and viewers.  An educational cartoon is usually found in educational materials to teach a concept or a topic.  An Animated cartoon is a type of cartoon that features animal characters in the story's presentation. Such cartoons are always in the form of stories called fables.  A political cartoon is a type of cartoon that talks about political figures, issues, and political events. This study will discuss political cartoons. As already indicated, this study will use political cartoons for the analysis. Different scholars have given their views on political cartoons; a few of them have been provided below, Refaie (2009:175) explains political cartoons as a genre that explicitly discusses political issues, events, or political figures. She further explains that they help people understand politics by presenting an imaginary scenario of real- life events. Mateus (2016) maintains that political cartoons are symbolic artistic illustrations making a witty or humorous point containing comments on social issues, events, or personalities, typically (but not always) combining satire and hyperbole to question authority and social mores. Morris (1993) asserts that an effective political cartoon can convey a politically sophisticated message condensed into a single image. He also maintains that cartoons are used to criticize the activities of political figures. This University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 35 genre is unique because it provides a format within political communication in which complex messages can be expressed through a single image. Hoffman & Howard (2007) add that political cartoons are a format that simplifies the complicated political situation and thus helps people to understand current events. A political cartoon does not always show real people. Sometimes, it may use personification of a country or organization as a person, an animal, or a monster. Benson (2005) indicates that the significance of a political cartoon is sometimes even more incredible than its potential to initiate thinking about debate lies more in its role of encapsulating moments in history in a clear and, on occasion, iconic manner. Morris (1993) proposes domestication of political cartoons as the process by which abstract ideas and distance, unfamiliar persons, or events are converted into something close, familiar, and concrete. To him, cartoonists make cartoons using resources distinct to a particular geographical area and can be understood by readers and viewers. He further states that political cartoons are a "safe" area to express opinions and make accusations instead of news reports, which must be factually and not inflammatory. In light of this, designers of political cartoons frequently use visual metaphors and caricatures to explain complicated political situations and, as a result, sum up a current event in a humorous manner. Processing and interpreting political cartoons require a complete mix of political, cultural, historical, and contextual knowledge. To arrive at the message behind cartoons, the interpretation of cartoons crucially depends on the viewers’ ability to University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 36 recognize persons, objects, and situations and on viewers’ knowledge of the relevant facts, such as news events, historical facts, and cultural habits. Saraceni (2003: 36), for instance, points out that "cartoons are like single sentences: to understand them, you need to have some extra-textual information". All this background knowledge contributes by helping the viewer conceptualise the cartoon's message. 2.7.2 Significance of Political Cartoons According to Tsakona (2009), political cartoons perform four functions: 1. They are used to express an opinion on national issues. 2. They are used to entertain viewers and readers. 3. They serve as agenda-setting and framing of specific political issues. 4. They are used thoughtfully to criticize political leaders and their destructive policies. 2.8 Reviewed Works on Political Cartoons Different scholars have analysed metaphors in political cartoons worldwide; notable works relevant to the current study have been sampled. Bounegru and Forceville (2011) examine the use of metaphors in political cartoons to represent the global financial crisis. The analysis revealed that the use of familiar source domains such as catastrophe (natural disaster), illness/death, and begging, among others, presented the actual state of the global financial crisis. Again, the cartoonists' heavy reliance on multimodal metaphors helps University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 37 understand the message. Dălălău and Maior (2014) similarly study how metaphors were used in editorial cartoons to represent the Euro crisis. The data were categorized into source domains, illness, meteorological phenomena, container, game, and movement. The analysis revealed that the personification of the Euro enhanced the understanding of the message. Đurović & Silaški (2017) examine how Serbian newspapers use political cartoons to present Serbia-EU relations. The selected cartoons were grouped into different source domains: school, sports, journey, and liquid towards the target domain EU-Serbia relation. Each scene talked about Serbia-EU relations from a different perspective. The findings revealed that cartoons might be understood to relay a critical voice of the general public and thus become a vehicle that the cartoonist can use to set social agenda. Kulikova and Detinko (2014) analyse political cartoons in the British press to review intra-cultural and intercultural perspectives among the major political parties: The findings revealed that the cartoonist deliberately used well-known metaphors to present their message, which helped bring out the hidden messages. Conners (2005) examines the 2004 presidential campaign political cartoons regarding popular culture. She categorized the cartoons under the following themes: familiar political places, physical or psychological exaggeration, and situational themes. The findings revealed that the cartoonist's portrayal of U.S. presidential candidates makes voters accept one’s candidature or reject one’s bid. The study also indicated that the cartoonist deliberately attached humour to the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 38 cartoons to reduce the seriousness that comes with the message. This study highlights the importance of cartoons as an election-winning strategy in the US. Alousque (2013) examines metaphors and metonymies in the political cartoon from a French cartoonist, 'Plantu'. The findings revealed that cartoonists employed metaphors to reduce the effects of the message. Again, it was observed that the cartoonist relied on metaphor and metonymy to discuss pertinent and political issues in society. The reliance on these cognitive devices aid in the presentation of the message in a manner that those involved will not take offence. One exciting thing that runs through the works that employed metaphor as the theoretical framework is that the researchers categorized the data into different themes, making the analysis easier. These studies also highlight the importance of metaphor in cartoon discussions. Other studies have analysed cartoons with different theoretical frameworks. Sani et al. (2012) examine how Nigerian newspapers used cartoons as a tool for setting a political agenda. Artistically, cartoons set an agenda, providing political commentary and debate in a witty and artful fashion. With these findings, it is clear that cartoonists deliberately dwell on topical issues in the country and set the tone for public debate. Amankwah et al. (2012) conduct a comparative study on how Ghanaian newspapers use cartoons to communicate their message. The study exposed that Ghanaian cartoonists deliberately employ metaphor, exaggeration, humour, language, the willful distortion of reality, satire, irony, and symbolism as a University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 39 disguise to present their messages on politics, corruption, the economy, and religion. These devices help the readers to understand the cartoonists’ message. Adejuwon and Alimi (2011) examine how cartoons were used to illustrate the political process in Nigeria, focusing on cartoons that express the forceful political opinions of the target audience. The study revealed that cartoonists in Nigeria artistically employ exaggeration to present socio-political issues that are abominable to mention and discuss in plain text, with the fear of being sidelined and chastised by political forces. The work sheds light on the importance of cartoons in Nigeria. Siddique & Rahman (2016) focus on how political cartoons have been used as a communicative tool on the internet and print media to produce significant meaning and dominant themes. The findings revealed that political cartoons had become an essential part of the administrative proceedings because people enjoy imagining the whole story by just seeing a small representation. Samuel (2017) examines the features of multimodal discourse in the cartoons from the TELL news magazine. The cartoons chosen portray political themes and issues. Samuel believes that readers and viewers achieve this because of the satire and humour of the cartoons. Agu (2017) studies the semiotic elements inherent in cartoons that depict political leaders in Nigeria. The analysis shows that cartoon communication has become an essential tool Nigerian newspapers use to pass profound messages to their readers. Rockson (2012) examines the level of stereotyping, underrepresentation, and gender roles in Ghanaian politics from "Akosua" cartoons from the Daily University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 40 Guide. The analysis revealed that women had been sidelined in Ghana for a long time regarding the political space. After analysing the data, Rockson concluded that due to the high illiteracy rate in Ghana, readers find it difficult to understand the linguistic features concealed in the cartoons. When readers cannot understand the linguistic features attached to the cartoons, the actual meaning behind the cartoons are lost, and appreciating the cartoons becomes very difficult. Someone may argue that to understand cartoons, and one does not need to have mastery over the genre. However, Rockson believes that cartoon appreciation requires a unique technique from readers and viewers. Fiankor et al. (2017) discuss how Akosua cartoonist presented Ghana’s 2013 presidential election petition hearing at the Supreme Court. The findings indicated that when adequately used, political cartoons had become an appropriate means of communication. The findings from the study again revealed that policymakers and academics could rely on cartoons to shape political and social agenda. Rivas-Carmona (2014) examines how cartoons presented gender equality, especially the marginalization of women in society. Due to the sensitive nature of this topic (gender equity and women empowerment), the cartoonist employed different communicative modes and linguistic features like visual metaphors, humour, and sarcasm to present how women are marginalized in society. The study revealed that the cartoonist deliberately used humour and sarcasm to reduce the severe nature of this delicate issue. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 41 Oluremi and Ajepe (2016) undertake a pragmatic analysis of political cartoons published in Nigeria before the 2015 general elections. The findings revealed that Nigerian newspapers use cartoons to condemn and caution political figures. This freedom allows Nigerian dailies to hide behind cartoons and condemn the evil acts of politicians. Kondowe et al. (2014) analyse how Malawian newspapers used cartoons to portray the activities of political leaders. The findings revealed that the use of semiotic tools by the cartoonist help with the understanding of the cartoonist's message. Tehseem and Bokhari (2015) discuss how Pakistani newspapers employ cartoons as a face-saving and face-spoiling mechanism. one of the newspapers was judged pro-government and the other as anti-government. The analysis exposed that the pro-government newspaper presented issues that favour the government to save its face, while the one seen as anti-government presented issues skewed against the government to damage its reputation. Jabeen (2016) critically examines how political cartoons presented an ideological representation of Pak-India relations in the post-September 2011 (9/11) incident. The findings indicated that the data analysis portrayed Bush (President of the U.S) as evil. In contrast, Musharraf (President of Afghanistan) was seen as inactive and sluggish in all his dealings. Ingutia and Matu (2016) analyse linguistic features of political cartoons used in newspaper editorials reporting in Kenya to communicate political viewpoints in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 42 the 2013 Kenyan general elections. The findings revealed that mainstream Kenyan newspaper editorials use cartoons mainly as a narrative to express opposing viewpoints about Kenyan politicians and political activities to avoid being charged with defamation of character. Sani et al. (2012) analyze how linguistic devices were employed to construct satire in Nigerian political cartoons, focusing on the choice of lexical items such as coined and loan words. The analysis revealed that cartoonists in Nigeria initially used exclamations to attract attention since interjections evoke feelings or emotions and heavily relied on adjectives to describe evil mongers. 2.9 Multimodality in focus In the past, discourse analysis usually focuses on peoples' speeches to reveal hidden meanings in expressions. Many scholars have analyzed speeches (oral and written) of prominent figures in society, especially politicians, to know the intent behind their expressions. In 2006, Kress and Van Leeuwen introduced an approach which is a feature of a text called Multimodality, which gave a paradigm shift to discourse analysis. According to the proponents, one can derive meaning from other areas (pictures, images) other than speeches. A multimodality is an approach which forms part of a text that includes the analysis of communication in all forms (text and non-text). It combines language and other semiotic tools in meaning-making (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006). Multimodality relies on more than one semiotic mode to convey meaning. The proponents of this approach outlined some semiotic resources that contribute University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 43 to meaning-making. These semiotic tools include settings (where the event occurs), participants (the various characters), font sizes (projection of the characters and the write-ups), colour, gesture (signs and attitude of characters), posture, among others. Several researchers have employed this approach to analyze images, cartoons, caricatures, and paintings on buildings. According to the proponents of multimodality, messages are behind these signs and symbols (semiotic tools) attached to the cartoons. To understand the message behind cartoons, one has to employ semiotic tools. Below are some studies that employed a multimodal approach; Ademilokun (2016) examines political campaign adverts of the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, focusing on verbal and non-verbal meaning-making in the adverts. The findings revealed that through the peculiar use of semiotic resources in the discourse, the discourse producers branded political contestants in such a way as to either accept political aspirants or reject some aspirants. Igwebuike et al. (2016) conduct a pragmatic-semiotic investigation of 'Occupy Nigeria, reviewing verbal and visual modes representing their protest against fuel increment. The findings revealed that Nigerian protesters against fuel subsidy relied heavily on cartoons and other semiotic tools to present the fuel subsidy's hardship. Amoro and Atoloye (2016) analyze verbal and non-verbal features of cartoons connected with Nigeria’s 2015 General Election. The analysis showed that social semiotic reference is pivotal in the relationship between political discourse and ideology. These semiotic tools help in bringing out the cartoonist’s message. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 44 The reviewed works were sampled from Europe, Asia, and Africa, indicating the global nature of political cartoon studies. These works confirmed the importance of political cartoons as promulgated by Tsakona (2009). 2. 10 Chapter Summary The primary purpose of chapter two was to trace metaphor studies from the time of Aristotle, who described metaphor as a literary device. Lakoff and Johnson explained metaphor as the cognitive or conceptual device. On the other hand, Charteris-Black identified a gap in Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory by proposing a critical metaphor analysis that blends two approaches, CMA and CDA. Multimodality as an approach to analysing a text was discussed extensively. This chapter has discussed the importance of metaphor to politicians, the history of cartoons, the types of cartoons, and political cartoons' importance. I also reviewed works that employed CMA/CMT as their theoretical frameworks, multimodal, and the works that used political cartoons as their data. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 45 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction Chapter Three discusses the methodology employed in the research. Specifically, this chapter discusses the data involved in this research and the methods required to arrive at the findings. The chapter explicitly discusses the research design, background and source of data, sample size, sampling procedure, and method of the data analysis. The discussion of these pertinent issues creates space for readers to understand the processes the study went through in arriving at the findings and, at the same time, helps those interested in replicating the results for verifiability (Gustavii, 2008). 3.2 Research Design Kerlinger (1986) states that a research design is a plan, structure, and investigation strategy implemented to answer research questions or problems. Similarly, Parahoo (1997) describes a research design as “a plan that describes how, when, and where data are to be collected and analyzed” (p. 142). In the present study, I adopted a qualitative research design; specifically, content analysis formed the basis of analysis in this research. I adopted the qualitative method because it is essential in identifying and describing the various aspects of the research (such as participants, colour effects, posture, font sizes and verbal language) to arrive at the research findings. Kumar (2011) affirms this assertion that a study is classified as a qualitative approach if it primarily describes a University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 46 situation, natural phenomena, problem, or actual enumeration of events, behaviour, and condition without quantifying or influencing them. 3.3 Data The data for this research comprises political cartoons featuring Free SHS policy. I focused on the cartoons published online by two media houses: ‘Tilapia’ from TV 3 and ‘Akosua' from the Daily Guide newspaper. I chose a TV station and a newspaper to have divergent views on how each report on Free SHS policy via cartoon as a discourse genre. The selected media outlets are owned and managed by private individuals. One would have expected the researcher to collect data from state-owned media outlets such as Ghana Television (GTV) and the Daily Graphic. The state-owned media outlets are perceived to be neutral in presenting national issues, making them more credible than other media outlets. GTV, a state-owned station, does not produce or air political cartoons on its network. On the converse, the Daily Graphic, a state-owned newspaper, has been publishing cartoons known as 'Daavi' before halting its production in 2017. Enquiries made by the researcher indicate a lawsuit of defamation levelled against 'Daavi', which ended its publication. The choice of these two media houses (Tv3 and the Daily Graphic) is motivated by several reasons. Firstly, TV3, a private-owned station, has vast viewership from almost all the sixteen regions in Ghana. This assertion is supported by Geopoll's media measurement service held last year (2019) ranked TV3 second in Ghana ahead of the other TV stations, including the state-owned University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 47 stations, in terms of its coverage. Relatedly, Ghana Leadership Awards recently adjudged 'Tilapia' of TV3 the best political cartoonist of 2019. Again, ‘Tilapia’ won 2019's Comedy and Poetry Awards as a best comic sketch artist. Correspondingly, it is perceived as neutral in presenting political and national issues. These successes chalked make Tilapia more credible as compared to other cartoonists. In Ghana, some newspapers are alleged to be for the government in power, and others are against the government of the day. For instance, the Daily Guide and The stateman newspapers are perceived as pro- NPP, whereas the Democrat and the Enquirer newspapers are perceived as pro- NDC. The researcher’s quest was to have a well-balanced opinion on Free SHS policy by prominent political actors (NPP & NDC). Following this, I decided to collect data from the afore- mentioned newspapers alleged either pro- or anti-government. The newspapers, the Democrat and the Enquirer, purported to be anti-government, stopped publishing political cartoons before the 2016 general elections. The reasons for halting the publications of cartoons by these newspapers remain unknown. Since these newspapers suspended the publication of cartoons, I was deprived of collecting data from them. Not having access to these newspapers somehow defeated the objective of getting a balanced opinion on the subject matter. Nevertheless, the research needed to be conducted; therefore, I decided to collect data from 'Akosua' of the Daily Guide; although it is perceived as pro- government, it has not stopped publishing cartoons. The data collection for this study spanned from 1st August 2017 to November 2019. This period was University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 48 explicitly chosen because it marked the inception of the Free SHS policy. In other words, the period was before, during, and after the policy implementation. Therefore, I could not have chosen any better period than this one. 3.4 The Sample Size The sample size of this thesis comprises thirteen cartoons that have features of Free SHS policy. Two reasons informed the choice of this sample size. Firstly, this sample size is considered appropriate for this research because of the detailed investigation of the conceptual metaphors and semiotic tools (participants, font sizes, colour effects, gesture, verbal language) this thesis focuses on. The appropriate data size for a study is not specific and is often based on the type of research being conducted. Anthony (2001) confirms that “the choice of data for a study should be based on the focus of the study: either the study intends to do a detailed investigation or a brief one.” Doing an in-depth study of a particular phenomenon with massive data can pose a severe challenge to the research, with specific reference to timing and method of analysis. On the other hand, a brief study with relatively small data is not advisable. Secondly, the literature also informs this choice. The data sets for previous studies on political cartoons range from 4 (e.g., Agu, 2017; Samuel, 2017; Bounegru & Forceville, 2011; Fiankor et al., 201; Kondowe et al., 2014; Rockson, 2012; Oluremi & Ajepe, 2016) to 50 plus (e.g., Igwebuike et al., 2016; Siddique & Rahman 2016), depending on the method of analysis or the semiotic tools studied. Therefore, the present study used thirteen cartoons since, in qualitative University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 49 research, the sample size does not influence the significance or quality of the study and note that there are no guidelines in determining sample size (Holloway &Wheeler, 2002). 3.5 Sampling Technique and Data Collection Procedure The purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the appropriate time intervals for this current research. I downloaded all political cartoons featuring the Free SHS policy features from TV3 online website. The cartoons gathered from TV3 numbered ten. The other three were from the Daily Guide’s website. Therefore, the convenient sampling technique was employed to select the two media outlets and the cartoons for the research. Parahoo (1997: 232) maintains that purposive sampling is “a method of a sampling technique where the researcher deliberately chooses who [or what] to include in the study based on their ability to provide necessary data.” This definition informs the choice of multimodal cartoons. 3. 6 Analytical Framework This section presents the analytical framework used in the study. This research employs the content analysis approach to examine conceptual metaphors and semiotic tools such as participants, settings, font sizes, colour effects, gestures, and participants’ posture. Hsieh and Shannon define content analysis as “a research method used for the subjective interpretation of the content of data through the systematic process of coding and identifying themes or patterns” (2005, pp.1278). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 50 The analysis is guided explicitly by Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA). It must be emphasized that the theory was selected because I wanted to find out the participants' conceptual metaphors and ideological stances in the selected cartoons. The theory indicates that metaphor analysis should include the linguistic, semantic, cognitive, and pragmatic criteria for metaphor in any data (Charteris-Black, 2004). CMA was selected because it combines conceptual metaphor theory and critical discourse analysis. Charteris-Black (2004) notes three stages to be adhered to in using CMA. The first stage is identifying the metaphor in the cartoons, interpreting the identified metaphor, and explaining the identified metaphor as the other stages. Charteris-Black (as cited in Agbo et al., 2018) further explains the stages of CMA. According to him, metaphor identification involves determining the metaphors in a cartoon and whether they reveal any semantic tension between a literal source domain and a metaphorical target domain. Metaphor interpretation concerns the social relations constructed through the metaphors identified. On the other hand, Metaphor explanation deals with how metaphors interact within the context where they are used (Charteris-Black, 2004). On the other hand, metaphor explanation also addresses the ideological motivations behind the language (bubble speeches) that come with the cartoons. After the explanation and interpretation of the identified metaphor, the properties of the source domain are mapped onto the target domain. The identified University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 51 metaphors are capitalised for this study, with the verbal language (bubble speeches) being capitalized and indented. 3. 7 Sample Data Analysis With the analysis, I identified the metaphor in the cartoons, which preceded with an interpretation and explanation of the identified metaphor as put forth by Charteris-Black (2004) to ascertain the ideological stance of the participants in the selected cartoons. After identifying the metaphor, I listed the elements of mappings from the source domain (familiar concepts) to the target domain (unfamiliar concepts), which enhances the structural mapping process. An arrow was used to map from the source domain to the target domain. I did an in-depth analysis of the cartoon after the mappings were done. When needed, the analysis also focused on some semiotic tools because not all the cartoons had the semiotic tools espoused by Kress and Van Leeuwen. After this, the verbal language/bubble speeches accompanying the cartoons were explained to identify the correlation between the characters. 3. 8 The Semiotic Tools This section discusses how the specific semiotic tools that the cartoonists used to send their messages were analyzed.  Settings refer to an event's time, exact place, and circumstance, so choosing a particular setting for a specific cartoon helps convey the cartoonist's message. The choice of settings depends on the message the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 52 cartoonists want to put across. Some of the settings used by the cartoonists include a hospital. For instance, the cartoonist's use of maternity and emergency wards was done with a purpose, which aids the communicated message. Following this, the onus lies on me to establish why the cartoonist adopted this setting.  Participants are the various characters or people used by the cartoonists in a particular cartoon. Participants in the cartoon are the cartoonist’s construction toward representations of reality related to communication. These characters contribute to the messages being communicated, and cartoonists deliberately select them for a purpose.  The Colour effect refers to cartoonists using a particular colour for a specific cartoon. There are numerous colours in the world, but the cartoonist purposely selects one or two colours that they know will aid the readers and viewers in understanding the message.  Font sizes refe