Metaphors have played a major role in describing historically important events in the world. For instance, the term "Iron Curtain" is used to symbolize the Berlin Wall that divided Eastern and Western Germany from the conclusion of World War II to the late 80's. This term not only reinforces the physical boundary that existed, but also the boundaries of ideologies and the firm stance that was held by both sides. History books can only go so far to explain the intangible factors seen throughout time, this is where the use of metaphors become useful. To those that did not live during the Cold War and cannot recall the tensions that were felt nor the fear the world's citizens lived with can collectively infer with the use of this term what life must have been like.
Metaphors have proven to be a successful tool in the fields of medicine and science. For most people, understanding scientific concepts do not come naturally and they require a different approach to process the information. Here metaphors, more specifically analogies, allow an internal mental picture to form and a connection can then be made. Because the language used in medicine can be unclear to the common person,metaphors are often used when talking about matters of health. Doctors employ this figure of speech to help patients and their family members understand fully certain medical conditions and how they will be treated. Other metaphors are used to articulate the function of certain organs in the body. For example, the heart is a pump and the brain is a computer.
One of my favorite examples of the use of metaphors in literature is found in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Mockingbirds represent innocence. Like hunters kill mockingbirds, Harper Lee portrays in this classic the many ways people kill innocence and the determination one father exhibits to preserve the innocence in his own children as well as in others. Another book that implements great usage of metaphors is Eudora Welty's The Optimists Daughter. This story line offers little plot twists and almost no suspense. It does, however, contain a plethora of deep, intense emotions that define the novel. These feelings are portrayed not by being inside the main character's head, but through a string of metaphors that allow readers to perceive the character's internal struggle that are externally revealed at the end.
It amazes me in a time where metaphors are inescapable, so many people missed the metaphor found in Tom Johnson's blog Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home. Our lives are peppered with metaphors. We cannot drive down the road without encountering a billboard that possesses one. Metaphors often determine the products we buy as a result of their ingenious use by advertising agencies, whether we realize it or not. Politicians use metaphors on a daily basis to build popularity for votes or reassure his or her constituents that certain policies are necessary. Surely no one actually believed that Dr. Strange literally meant that teachers "pour information" into their student's heads after drilling a hole in the top and then "burps them" to get back that information. Since metaphors have become such a large part of everybody's daily lives, they have become a normal facet of language not matter how embellished the comparison is. Perhaps this leads to a little insight as to why so many students missed Tom Johnson's metaphor. When required to recognize a metaphor, there appears to be nothing out of the ordinary. The key to realizing that a metaphor is being used is to pay close attention to the context clues surrounding the comparison. It is vital to be able to identify metaphors and what they mean not only to ensure academic success, but also to make sure sound, informative decisions can be made outside of the classroom.
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