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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—Primeval Garbage Dump:
As a punishment for stepping off the path, Mr. Travis forces Eckels to retrieve the bullets from the dinosaur carcass in exchange for passage back to 2055. Before Eckels returns to the jungle, he uses a metaphor to illustrate its peril:
Eckels turned slowly to regard the primeval garbage dump, that hill of nightmares and terror.
This comparison of the jungle to a "garbage dump" and place of "nightmares" comes shortly after Eckels's harrowing encounter with the Tyrannosaurus. Notably, this cynical and anxious metaphor sharply contrasts with the majestic description of the jungle before the mayhem:
Far birds’ cries blew on a wind, and the smell of tar and old salt sea, moist grasses, and flowers of the color of blood.
The narrator describes the vibrant flora and the smell of salt in the air. "Sounds like music" and "sounds like flying tents" from dinosaurs fill the sky. The jungle before the Monster's attack is full of wonder and possibility. Afterwards, it is merely a representation of Eckels's cowardice and fear of animals that he cannot control. This shift in tone not only highlights Eckels's traumatic experience in the jungle, but also the story's critique of authoritarianism. When Eckels steps off the path and changes the election's outcome, he proves that technology can pave the way for extremist political systems such as fascism and communism. Comparing the once-beautiful jungle to a "garbage dump" reiterates the idea that the Time Machine is dangerous and that man should not have limitless reign over technology.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Tyrant Lizard:
When the hunting group first encounters the Tyrannosaurus, the narrator amplifies the sheer physicality of the Monster with a series of metaphors:
Each leg was a piston, a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of muscle. [...] And the head itself, a ton of sculptured stone, lifted easily upon the sky. [...] Its eyes rolled, ostrich eggs, empty of all expression save hunger.
Each of these metaphors compares the Tyrannosaurus to enormous physical objects to help the reader comprehend its gargantuan size. Each leg is a "piston" made of "thick rope" one might find on a ship. The head is "a ton of sculptured stone," reminiscent of statues in ancient worlds, like the Great Sphinx of Giza. Each eye is the size of an ostrich egg, the largest eggs found in nature today. Each physical description uses a conceivable item to paint the size of this inconceivable creature for the reader. Even though the metaphors read as hyperboles, they are unique in that their points of comparison are objectively accurate, perhaps even underestimates. This demonstrates that the Tyrannosaurus is truly a mammoth creature, something clearly not of modern times. After all, there is a reason that Eckels backs out of the hunt at the last possible second, claiming that the Monster "can't be killed."
