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Logos
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
Introduction
Explanation and Analysis—Moral Contagion:
Riis goes to great lengths to depict the reality of the tenements—at least, his perception of them—to the reader through imagery and figurative language. While he succeeds in creating an empathetic image in some passages, certain others end up demonizing the very subjects Riis wishes to help. One can see this clearly in Riis's use of metaphor in the following passage from the introduction:
[The tenements are places] that throw off a scum of forty thousand human wrecks to the island asylums and workhouses year by year; that turned out in the last eight years around half a million beggars to prey upon our charities; that maintain a standing army of ten thousand tramps with all that that implies; because, above all, they touch the family life with deadly moral contagion.
Related Themes:
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—"Tramps" as Soldiers:
In Chapter 6, Riis describes the people who live in the tenements as "tramps," painting them as violent crowds of people that have quickly taken over a large swath of the city. Employing a metaphor, Riis implies that these people are dangerous:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The army of tramps that grew up after the disbandment of the armies in the field, and has kept up it's muster-roll, together with the in-rush of the Italian tide, have ever since opposed a stubborn barrier to all efforts at permanent improvement.
Related Themes:
Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—Alcohol as Poison:
In Chapter 18, Riis discusses the problem of alcohol addiction amongst tenement residents, noting with no small amount of righteous indignation the role that landlords play in cultivating vice. To make this point, he utilizes metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+East Side poverty is not alone in thus rewarding the tyrants that sweeten its cup of bitterness with their treacherous poison.
Related Themes:
