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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—The Intersection:
During his evening walk, Mead passes by the intersection of two main highways in his town. When describing the energy of this particular intersection during the day, the narrator, channeling Mead, uses a metaphor, as seen in the following passage:
He came to a cloverleaf intersection which stood silent where two main highways crossed the town. During the day it was a thunderous surge of cars, the gas stations open, a great insect rustling and a ceaseless jockeying for position as the scarab beetles, a faint incense puttering from their exhausts, skimmed homeward to the far directions.
The narrator metaphorically compares the intersection to “a great insect” and the individual cars to “scarab beetles” “ceaseless[ly] jockeying for position” on their journeys to and from home. While in other parts of the story Bradbury critiques television as a problematic technological advancement, here he presents the automobile in a negative light, depicting it as a device that is no more humane than thoughtless insects swarming and fighting with each other.
This moment is also significant because it is one of many in which Mead (or the narrator channeling Mead) uses metaphorical language centered on the natural world. This is likely because, unlike the masses of people driving around in their cars, Mead is taking hours-long walks every day, noticing the trees, and likely the insects as well.
Related Themes:
