Metaphors are used everywhere not only in text and “Metaphors We Live By,” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson tells us why it is important for us to understand where they came from. The text explains that metaphors come from the very idea of concept. What we perceive is all part of concept and if our concepts are metaphorical then it is safe to say that whatever we think and do are all metaphorical. Examples of metaphorical concepts such as “Argument is War” and “Time is Money” are all metaphors that we use from an understanding of a concept. Arguments can be described with the concept of war and time can be compared with the concept of how we value money. However, metaphorical concept is structured to be partial and not total because one concept is not actually the same as the other concept not an understanding of the concept. For example, an argument is not actually war. It is just that the concept of war can be the same as the concept of an argument. Similarly, time is not actually money but the saying “time is money” comes from the understanding that time is just as valuable as money. Personally, this explanation of metaphors was confusing, however, since I already knew what metaphors were, it was easy to understand what the authors were trying to say or what message they were trying to convey.
In “The Egg and The Sperm” by Emily Martin, the author emphasizes how gender stereotypes are present when explaining the egg and the sperm. One example is shown when the author talks about one explanation of menstruation and spermatogenesis. While menstruation was seen as a failure, spermatogenesis was praised. This showed a gender stereotype because menstruation is similar to spermatogenesis in terms of producing something. Yet, menstruation is seen as something bad while spermatogenesis is seen as something good. THe author also points out that in some texts, the women’s reproductive cycle is explained with pretty much the opposite of enthusiasm while the men’s reproductive cycle is explained with pride. As a person who believes in gender equality, this is not acceptable. Men are always being praised for such small things while women are always degraded for small things. I’m sure most authors described the egg and the sperm by incorporating gender roles for people to understand better but that doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. This can be very offensive to some people and these authors really need to find another way to explain it without creating controversy.
The two texts “Metaphors We Live By” and “The Egg and The Sperm” have one thing in common. What they have in common is the use of metaphors. While “Metaphors We Live By” explains why metaphors are used and how we can analyze it, “The Egg and The Sperm” is an actual example the utilization of metaphors. In “The Egg and The Sperm” they compare the egg and the sperm to gender roles. Gender roles and the reproductive system of humans have similar concepts which allow them to be compared to each other. The author also writes “The theory of the human body is always a part of a fantasy.“ in the first sentence of the text which already shows a metaphor by comparing the theory of the human body to fantasy. This is interesting because the author uses metaphor so that the reader can relate and understand it better and when I read it, I did understand and relate to it better which shows that the tactic of using metaphors really work.