<i>The Purse</i>: A Broad Rhetorical Interpretation of Hope and Woe

文章依据广义修辞学“三层面”理论，对高晓声的小说《钱包》的核心修辞元素“钱包”的修辞义进行分析，探寻其与小说文本建构的关系。“钱包”除本义外在文章中呈现出“希望”和“祸患”两重修辞义，在修辞义转换中推动情节发展，展现了底层民众真实而又复杂的人性，揭露了社会秩序被打破的动荡时期“上位者”的残暴及其给底层民众带来的苦难。This paper analyzes the rhetorical meaning of “wallet”, the core rhetorical element in Gao Xiaosheng’s novel The Purse, based on the theory of “three levels” of generalized rhetoric, and explores its relationship with the textual construction of the novel. In addition to its original meaning, the word “wallet” presents two rhetorical meanings of “hope” and “misfortune” in the article, which promote the development of the plot in the transformation of rhetorical meanings. It shows the real and complicated human nature of the grassroots, and exposes the brutality of the warlords during the war, when the social order was broken, and the sufferings they brought to the grassroots.