Summary and Response: Metaphors We Live By
The major concept of “Metaphors We Live By,” by Lakoff and Johnson, talks about how metaphors aren’t strictly in writing or interpretation. Metaphors have been integrated into our culture as metaphorical concepts. Some examples the text gave were, “Argument is War,” and “Time is Money.” The idea of a metaphorical concept is that it structures what we understand and how we use that in getting our ideas across. The text gives examples of both of the metaphorical concepts and how these metaphorical concepts are used. I thought the section on “Time is Money,” was especially interesting. The text talked about how we view time as a commodity and therefore give it a value. The text then talks about how this metaphorical concept is only looked at to be true in our culture and society. The text says, “This isn’t a necessary way for human beings to conceptualize time; it is tied to our culture.” That got me thinking into what other metaphors do we live by that are unique to our culture. I would like to look more into that and see some of what other cultures metaphorical concepts are, and how they dictate their society.
Summary and Response: The Egg and The Sperm
While reading “The Egg and The Sperm: How Science has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles,” Martin focuses on the idea that the discussion of the egg and sperm reflect closely the typical stereotypes of males and females. In almost all depictions, the lifetime and actions of the egg are looked at as passive. Martin says, ” It (the egg) does not move or journey, but passively is swept” This is in contrast to how sperm are depicted, having to do with force and strength. Martin could find only 1 text where the sperm is not portrayed as typically “male,” which is in a movie. Later in the reading, Martin talks about how new research gives the egg a bigger role, but at the expense of making it seem hostile. She then goes on to talk about how although the egg is now given a greater role, it is still described with female stereotypes. The egg has become “hostile” and “traps the sperm.” I found this especially interesting, that with all the new technology that comes with this society, the egg is still given female stereotypes. One would think in this day, the process could be better described than with the attributes of a female, just because it occurs in a female body. I also found it very interesting that Martin could only find 1 text that didn’t describe the sperm with male stereotypes. It just furthers the argument that there will always be bias and stereotypes in society, no matter the advancements.
Connections
In “The Egg and The Sperm,” Martin uses many metaphors to help get her point across. One metaphor that specifically stood out to me was the comparison of the egg to a Queen. The egg was described as needing rescuing and the Sperm being the King, rescues the “Queen.” In “Metaphors We Live By, ” Lakoff and Johnson talk about how we use metaphorical concepets to structure what we do and how we understand what were doing. After reading this, you can infer that Martin uses this metaphor to help the reader understand how the egg is being portrayed in science. This metaphor helps Martin get her point across and helps her build her argument.