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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—Harrison's Appearance:
The story’s description of Harrison begins with a metaphor that emphasizes the unnatural aspects of his appearance:
The rest of Harrison’s appearance was Halloween and hardware. [...] Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.
Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds.
And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random.
The initial metaphor describes Harrison in his handicaps with a somewhat abstract reference (Halloween) and then with a more tangible image (hardware). These suggest a variety of possible descriptors for his physique (menacing, towering, and mean) and also for the extent of his handicaps (excessive, elaborate, clumsy, but trickily designed). The next part of this passage sheds light on this metaphor by detailing the handicaps used to offset Harrison’s strength and good looks. It also picks up on this hardware image again in a simile, comparing Harrison to a junkyard.
The metaphor—and later simile—comparing Harrison’s appearance to clumsy scrap metal highlights an important tension in his characterization: between symmetry and randomness, perfection and disorder. The story explains that the handicaps used to subjugate Harrison are unusually asymmetrical in design. Harrison’s straight teeth must also be covered with caps at random. This unevenness purposely counteracts his extreme physical perfection, and the rarity of these uneven handicaps further highlights how abnormal Harrison is. Through metaphor, and then the elaboration of the metaphor, the story skillfully conveys the uniqueness of Harrison in his exceptional physical capabilities.
Related Themes:
