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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
Part 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Volcano:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 1, the narrator examines the impact that toxic manifestations of masculinity (and femininity) have on the Foster-Dead family unit:
Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without prior notice, Macon kept each member of his family awkward with fear. His hatred of his wife glittered and sparked in every word he spoke to her. The disappointment he felt in his daughters sifted down on them like ash, dulling their buttery complexions and choking the lilt out of what should have been girlish voices.
The narrator compares Macon dead to a volcano, "likely to erupt without prior notice." This temperament keeps his entire family on edge. Macon Dead represses his emotions, refraining from telling any of his children about his past and refusing to let them speak to his once-dear sister, Pilate Dead. Macon Dead is a man who has chosen to deprive himself of certain meaningful relationships in life, all for the purpose of social propriety. He passes this baggage down to his children, forcing upon them an unhealthy relational dynamic because it is all that Macon knows. Milkman seeks to break free from this toxic relational cycle, delving deep into his family history to uncover the truth about his father's past relationships.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Snake:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 2, Macon Dead II reveals a great deal to readers about how he regards his sister, Pilate Dead:
“Just listen to what I say. That woman’s no good. She’s a snake, and can charm you like a snake, but still a snake.”
"You talking about your own sister, the one you carried in your arms to the fields every morning."
“That was a long time ago. You seen her. What she look like to you? Somebody nice? Somebody normal?”
Macon Dead II presents his sister, Pilate, as a snake. This use of language conjures up sexual, sensual imagery, implying that she is a debauched woman (and hinting at possible incestual connections between Macon and Pilate). Furthermore, given the context of the novel's biblical imagery, it may be safe to say that this passage evokes snake imagery from Genesis, indirectly comparing Pilate to Satan, who appears to Eve as a snake in order to tempt her into disobeying God. Macon regards Pilate not only as a sister but as his temptress, a woman who lives life according to her own rules. Pilate is unbound by society and does not care for it. Macon both resents and envies this.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Beer and Hagar:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 4, the narrator reveals a critical piece of psychological information, meditating on the nature of Hagar and Milkman's romantic relationship:
She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it’s there, because it can’t hurt, and because what difference does it make?
Milkman compares his lover, Hagar, to the "third beer," the one a person drinks not to quench their thirst, but simply because they can, because it is there. She is second best, but not to any particular person: Hagar is second-best to Milkman's own ideals, the vision he has of some imaginary future lover that will surpass all others. With this vision in mind, Milkman cannot be satisfied with anything he has in the present. He deprives himself in his current relationship out of hope that something even more wonderful lurks on the horizon. This aspect of Milkman's psychology aligns with Morrison's general musings on the devaluing of women and their beauty and value, as well as the stagnancy of human relationships.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Septic Sheets:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 8, Milkman ruminates on his memories of family and childhood, now tainted by revelations that he cannot unsee:
He’d always believed his childhood was sterile, but the knowledge Macon and Ruth had given him wrapped his memory of it in septic sheets, heavy with the odor of illness, misery, and unforgiving hearts.
Milkman describes the memory of his childhood as being "wrapped in septic sheets," indirectly equating his childhood to human waste or refuse. His parents' choice to deprive him of any normative family relation (whether through stoic reserve, incest, or untimely breastfeeding) in turn deprives Milkman of any positive childhood memories he might lay claim to. The past becomes functionally dead to him—a metaphorical continuation of the imagery of death in the "Dead" family. Death, and ghosts, appear to follow Milkman from one important life event to the next, beginning with the man who tried to "fly" and instead died on the evening of Milkman's birth.
The simile in the above passage is yet another example of Morrison exploring the effect of deprivation on the human psyche. How does a person respond when, grown into an adult, the foundational aspects of childhood are upended?
Related Themes:
