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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
1919
Explanation and Analysis—Paper Dolls:
As he exits the hospital following his military service in 1919, Shadrack notices people who look like “paper dolls.” This metaphor emphasizes how Shadrack’s grasp on reality has shifted and illustrates his new perspective on the world:
They were thin slips, like paper dolls floating the walks. Some were seated in chairs with wheels, propelled by other paper figures from behind. All seemed to be smoking, and their arms and legs curved in the breeze. A good high wind would pull them up and away and they would land perhaps among the tops of the trees.
Having been away from normal society and domestic life, Shadrack’s reintroduction to reality is muddled. His perception of people as “paper dolls” reflects this fact. However, it is also clear that Morrison is deliberately withholding an explanation of what Shadrack witnessed during war and how it has affected him.
Considering the novel’s larger examinations of racism and community identity (especially in relation to women’s roles in society), Shadrack’s perception of people as “paper dolls” may imply that individuals within society are replica images of one another, lacking the strength to remain rooted to the earth as real people. As dolls, they fit into prescribed roles and situations—this is likely why Shadrack feels a “good high wind” would easily blow them away. With this extended metaphor, Morrison prompts the reader to consider not only the trauma Shadrack likely experiences in the war, but also how this trauma might reveal to him a version of reality that others cannot access. This unique perspective, especially as it emerges early in the novel, establishes Morrison's emphasis on community identity.
Related Themes:
1927
Explanation and Analysis—The Hem:
In the following passage from 1927, Jude considers his potential marriage with Nel. Jude thinks of Nel as the hem to the garment that is his life, a metaphor for her role in the marriage:
The more he thought about marriage, the more attractive it became. Whatever his fortune, whatever the cut of his garment, there would always be the hem—the tuck and fold that hid his raveling edges; a someone sweet, industrious and loyal to shore him up. And in return he would shelter her, love her, grow old with her.
Jude thinks of Nel as the “hem” of his life that will keep it from unraveling while also hiding any unattractive aspects. This metaphor hints that Nel, as well as the overall role of being a wife, is thought of by men as a necessary but often unnoticed mechanism of support. Morrison makes clear through this metaphor that Jude’s motive for marriage is to feel secure about his future.
The metaphor also makes clear the role to which Nel has been condemned. The commitment she makes to Jude via their marriage comes with the expectation that she will remain faithful, raise their children, and support the overall livelihood of their family. When Jude eventually abandons the family and Nel becomes a single mother, he proves that he considers his own future to be more important than that of their family’s. Thus, this metaphor adds to an overall thesis in the novel about womanhood, motherhood, and the arbitrary strictures of gender roles.
Related Themes:
1939
Explanation and Analysis—One of the Spiders:
In the following passage from 1939, Sula imagines Nel as a spider trapped within its own web. This comparison serves as a metaphor for how Sula perceives the roles of motherhood and women in general as a trap that even her best friend, Nel, has fallen into:
Now Nel was one of them. One of the spiders whose only thought was the next rung of the web, who dangled in dark dry places suspended by their own spittle, more terrified of the free fall than the snake's breath below. Their eyes so intent on the wayward stranger who trips into their net, they were blind to the cobalt on their own backs, the moonshine fighting to pierce their corners.
It makes sense that Sula views Nel in this way because she has just returned to Bottom after being away for ten years. While she attended college and traveled to various cities, Nel remained stagnant. Nel chose the life of marriage and motherhood, both of which have relatively circumscribed lifestyles. To Sula, Nel and the other wives of Bottom are akin to spiders who cannot see the true danger that lies beyond their webs.
Sula is disappointed in Nel for giving up her independence to fulfill traditional ideals of womanhood, which are ultimately prescribed by men. Womanhood and independence are major themes throughout the novel, and in this passage, Morrison demonstrates how adhering to gender roles can become as mindless as an animal instinctively fulfilling its duty.
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