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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
Scene One
Explanation and Analysis—Capitalists:
In the following excerpt from Scene 1, Long goes on a tirade against the upper class, condemning them for making him and his working-class comrades "wage slaves" on the ship they work on. In the course of his rant, Long turns the "beast" motif on its head and uses metaphor, redirecting it to describe the exploitative behavior of the upper classes:
LONG: But what d’they care for the Bible—them lazy, bloated swine what travels first cabin? Them’s the ones. They dragged us down’til we’re on’y wage slaves in the bowels of a bloody ship, sweatin’, burnin’ up, eatin’ coal dust! Hit’s them’s ter blame—the damned Capitalist clarss!
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Explanation and Analysis—Baggage:
In the following passage, Yank explains to his fellow workers the idea that it is they, not the wealthy passengers on the ship, that are important to society. He uses metaphor to make this point to his audience:
Unlock with LitCharts A+YANK: Dey’re just baggage. Who makes dis old tub run? Ain’t it us guys? Well den, we belong, don’t we? We belong and dey don’t. Dat’s all.
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Explanation and Analysis—Man as Machine:
After Paddy outlines his argument in Scene 1, Yank retaliates, providing an alternate stance to Patty's unrealistic nostalgia. Through metaphor, Yank explores the working-class man's relationship with industrialism:
Unlock with LitCharts A+YANK: I’m de ting in coal dat makes it boin; I’m steam and oil for de engines; I’m de ting in noise dat makes yuh hear it; I’m smoke and express trains and steamers and factory whistles; I’m de ting in gold dat makes money! And I’m what makes iron into steel! Steel, dat stands for de whole ting! And I’m steel—steel—steel! I’m de muscles in steel, de punch behind it!
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Explanation and Analysis—Nostalgia as a Drug:
In the following passage from Scene 1, Yank responds to Paddy's nostalgic monologue about not wanting to become part of the modern "machine." Believing Paddy's stance on the matter to be ridiculous, Yank writes him off as overly nostalgic, using metaphor to get his point across:
Unlock with LitCharts A+YANK: All dat crazy tripe about nights and days; all dat crazy tripe about stars and moons; all dat crazy tripe about suns and winds, fresh air and de rest of it—Aw hell, dat’s all a dope dream! Hittin’ de pipe of de past, dat’s what he’s doin’.
Explanation and Analysis—Industrialization:
In the following passage from Scene 1, Paddy delivers a monologue in opposition to the idea that men should make machines—in this instance, a ship—their home. In order to get across this sentiment, Paddy uses the following metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+PADDY: Ho-ho, divil mend you! Is it to belong to that you’re wishing? Is it a flesh and blood wheel of the engines you’d be?
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Explanation and Analysis—Beast in a Cage:
In the following excerpt from Scene 1, O'Neill uses the stage directions to set the scene in the bowels of the ship, describing the physical appearance and demeanor of the working men. To do this, O'Neill uses metaphor to continue with the trend of juxtaposing human and animal:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The room is crowded with men, shouting, cursing, laughing, singing—a confused, inchoate uproar swelling into a sort of unity, a meaning—the bewildered, furious, baffled defiance of a beast in a cage.
Scene Two
Explanation and Analysis—The Bessamer Process:
In the following excerpt, Mildred describes her place in the family business, relating steel production to her own production (or, to be more precise, to her own conception). She also presents the wealth she inherits as a hereditary trait. This complex metaphor reveals a great deal about her character:
Unlock with LitCharts A+MILDRED: Grandfather’s blast furnaces, flaming to the sky, melting steel, making millions—then father keeping those home fires burning, making more millions—and little me at the tail-end of it all. I’m a waste product in the Bessemer process—like the millions. Or rather, I inherit the acquired trait of the byproduct, wealth, but none of the energy, none of the strength of the steel that made it.
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