Metaphors In The Works Of Laozi And Mencius

Metaphors are used to present hidden similarities between two concepts to help understand a more distinct description of a setting, conflict and other entities in a story. “Rainsford stood blinking in the river of flaring gold light” (64). The metaphor “… the river of flaring gold light” implies that the river is reflecting a glow, like a flare of gold light. The quote helps present part of the setting and helps the reader imagine a

Metaphors and similes are comparing two unlike objects, and should have nothing to do with the action of a living thing.

The strongest usage of metaphor in this poem is in the first stanza in the line “write their knees with necessary scratches”. While scratches cannot be written, words can, so this insinuates that children learn with nature, and that despite its fading presence in today’s urban structures, it is a necessary learning tool for children. The poet has used this metaphor to remind the reader of their childhood, and how important it is to not just learn from the confines of a classroom, but in the world outside. This leads to create a sense of guilt in the reader for allowing such significant part of a child’s growing up to disintegrate into its concrete surroundings. Although a positive statement within itself, this metaphor brings upon a negative

In “A River Runs Through It,” similes are used constantly. They usually relate a person or object to an animal or living entity. For one example, Maclean uses a simile to compare life’s

In, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, there is a quote “they all carried ghosts.”, this metaphor can represent the many things the soldiers carried. Every soldier carries things that represent memories or security. In war, the soldiers are confronted with death every day so they carry things that remind them of people, memories, or hope.

Due to the author’s use of figurative language in comparing the individual's appearance to a dry river bed, the reader can observe a more precise

Soldiers throughout the ages have had to carry the burden of what war brings upon them. The physical strain is a huge weight to carry, but the mental turmoil that a solider must endure becomes most strenuous and lasting of the burdens placed upon them. When soldiers carry these burdens into a war zone, it is so the majority can live a life free from violence and turmoil. There is strong underlying metaphor in Tim O’Brien’s Novel The Things They Carried. Metaphor is used throughout the text of the book to create a sense of understanding or to convey a different meaning then the text originally suggests.

Authors use metaphors to make comparisons that the reader has to ponder on and consider, opposed to a simile where the comparison is blatantly displayed. Metaphors can be helpful to readers in the regard that they allow the reader to make connections within the text that they might not have made without the metaphor. Author David Levithan uses a metaphor to help the reader equate depression to something the reader might understand better. In the text, the main character states, “Depression has been likened to both a black cloud and a black black dog. For someone like Kelsea, the black dog is the right metaphor ”(Levithan 121). This quote tells the reader that depression can be equated to a black figure, or a dark looming presence. This could

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-” “-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 30).

Lakoff and Johnson state, “[w]e have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action” (3). They are saying that metaphors are used all the time and not just when people talk, but when they think and in what they do. This is exactly true because after learning about metaphors, and getting a better understanding of them, I have realized how much I, and others, apply them to everyday life without even realizing it, or trying to. Using a metaphor to describe Haas and Flower’s reading concepts will therefore make for a better grasp of what the concepts mean.

Metaphor: “The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy.” (Coelho, 73) In this quote, a metaphor is shown because it is comparing the desert to a capricious lady without using the words “like” or “as”. This quote is saying that the desert is unpredictable and it can make travelers go insane.

Human beings carry many different things with them, both physical and metaphorical. In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” he presents an exploration of the many burdens that people can carry. Throughout the story, he presents many detailed descriptions of the equipment and tangible things that the characters carry with them to help them survive their ordeal physically. O’Brien also describes the various ‘things’ that the men carry both physically and emotionally to help them deal with the mental and emotional stress of war. O’Brien also details the additional ‘things’ that the men pick up over the course of their experiences, both physical and mental/emotional. Through the metaphor of carrying objects, the descriptions of the items and

In “The Daodejing,” Laozi, similar to many prominent Chinese philosophers before and after his time, discusses his unique perspective of the “Way.” There is much controversy, however, regarding whether Laozi was the actual author of this text or was even a real person, and “his” work is thought to have been a composite. (For the purpose of clarity, throughout this paper, the author(s) of “The Daodejing” will be mentioned as Laozi.) Laozi’s vision of the “Way” is exceptionally challenging to define using words because of its metaphysical nature. Although this term is somewhat difficult to envision, it is what mankind should aspire and take action to be aligned with. According to Laozi, in “readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy,” the “Way” (or dao) is the “source, sustenance, and ideal state of all things in the world” (Laozi 158). It can be best thought of as the underlying guiding force of all events that occur in the universe, and mankind is closer to the “Way” when they realize that all things are interconnected and have an effect on one another. As might be expected, this vague definition isn’t a foolproof depiction of the eighty-one chapters in the “Daodejing,” but one is able to grasp a basic understanding of Laozi’s ineffable doctrine. Although numerous chapters are meaningful and could provide substantial analysis, this paper will focus in on Chapter Twelve. Ultimately, this chapter adequately and efficaciously compresses the teachings of “The Daodejing” into

In addition to the intrinsic ambiguity of human nature, Mengzi and Xunzi have utterly distinct emphasis on their theory about human nature. As long as part of human nature is overly stressed by each of them, they become more and more biased with respect to their overall definition of human nature.

Shakespeare’s work is among the hardest to read because of its supposed complexity and sophistication. The language used in the Early Modern Era is different than that of the Post Modern Era. Audiences that saw the performances were aural learners and were able to pinpoint certain tones and facial expressions that readers may not detect through words. Watching the plays performed provided better feedback than readings do (Palfrey 10-11). Metaphors, implicit or explicit, are figures of speech that help compare two unlike things and are not designed for literal intake. Yet, with Shakespeare’s work, metaphors should be taken literally. According to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, however, this technique of comparison allows metaphors to simultaneously highlight and hide certain attributes and/or qualities about the thing(s) being compared to (12-13). The highlighting and hiding of metaphors gives readers more insight into what Shakespeare may have meant at the time or even more so in what context did the people of the Elizabethan Age use language (Palfrey 11). Two important components of metaphors that do the highlighting and hiding are the vehicle and the tenor; each can be implicit or explicit as well. The metaphor in question emphasizes both the importance and unimportance of Lavinia’s character.