Summary & Response for “Metaphors We Live By”
Similarly to rhetoric, metaphors are not just words; they are a part of our daily lives. In order to understand something that may not be familiar to us, we use metaphors to make connections between one thing and another. With the given example, “Argument is War,” it contains ideas that allow us to understand what an argument is. While knowing what war is, we are able to get a better grasp of what arguments are and eventually see that they are verbal battles. Metaphors are also systematic; they involve a series of words that relate to one idea to help explain what the other idea is. The example, “Time is Money,” includes words, such as “spend,” “cost,” and “budget,” to allow us to figure out that our time is a valuable resource. Metaphors can also keep other aspects of an idea hidden to allow us to focus on the main idea. As shown in the conduit metaphor, Michael Reddy focuses on the concept of sending and receiving to help us understand how the exchange of ideas work. Sometimes, context matters when you use or see a metaphor. Depending on what the situation is, the meaning of a metaphor can change and it is important to be wary of that. Other than in text, metaphors help us get a better understanding of the world around us.
Before, when I heard the word, “metaphor,” my mind would immediately think of it as something in a passage where one thing is being compared to another. I never realized how much it is used in our everyday lives until now. We use them to help explain ordinary things in our world, such as how arguing works. I also found it interesting how there is systematic way to put a metaphor together. I’ve never noticed how word choice can influence how well a metaphor can work.
Summary & Response for “The Sperm and The Egg”
In “The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles,” Emily Martin discusses how gender stereotypes affect our view on biology, particularly with the reproductive system. To help create a simpler explanation of how these systems work, scientists use metaphors. Although the male and female processes are quite similar, one has more of a negative connotation than the other. For example, while both processes can result in the loss of gametes, a woman’s menstrual cycle is thought of to be a “productive enterprise” that “failed.” Since the first discovery of how fertilization naturally occurs, scientists have also used metaphors to help explain how the male and female gametes interact with each other in this process. They tend to use the metaphor of a “heroic hero to the rescue,” to describe the male gamete and the female gamete is likened to a “damsel in distress.” Although later research has proved that the male gametes aren’t the only “active party” in this process, they still continue to use masculine words to make it appear as if it is stronger than what it really is. While these metaphors help us to understand these processes, future scientists should refrain from using gender stereotypes and find other metaphors that equalizes our view of the topic.
I am quite impressed with how the use of metaphors can drastically alter our views on a simple topic. As seen in Emily Martin’s writing, both systems play a significant role in reproduction, yet the male’s is seen with a more positive light. Yes, the metaphors that are used for both systems give us an idea of how they work, but it’s frustrating to see that they continue to describe these processes in this unfair way, despite already having evidence that one is not better than the other. For example, both gametes are equally important in the process of fertilization, so why give the imagery of a “weak damsel in distress” or a “spider lying in wait in her web” to the female gamete? When using metaphors, they’re useful when describing an unknown topic to an audience, but we must keep in mind of how our culture can influence our views on it.