“Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
“Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson expands on the common understanding of metaphors by detailing its involvement in linguistics, communication, and the simple generality – everyday realities. Lakoff and Johnson describe the importance of metaphorical concepts, the understanding of one idea or conceptual domain in terms of another, by drawing connections to the way people interpret, internalize, and connect information. They materialize this concept by expounding the example, “ARGUMENT IS WAR”, and explaining how this metaphor intrinsically structures an individual’s actions or thoughts on the subject. Lakoff and Johnson suggests with the title that metaphors are a bigger part to communication and understanding in literature and everyday life whom we “live by”. While I understand the ideas being put forth, I believe metaphors are more functional in literature than in everyday life. While we may compare things to other things in normal conversation, it is not the sole focus of said conversation. In literature on the other hand, most often than not metaphors are used as the focal point of the argument.
“The Egg and the Sperm” by Emily Martin
Emily Martin’s, “The Egg and the Sperm”, is a critical account of the negative associations made between the terms “sperm and “egg” and its ties to harmful stereotypes. Martin’s arguments highlight the injustices used in medical text where a woman’s reproductive functions are described dismissively while a male’s is in way “appreciated”. The idea that inferiority is often a false characteristic of all things feminine is used by Martin to connect to consequential societal factors such as gender roles, stereotypes, etc. The ideas presented by Martin displayed things vividly for all parties, particularly males who normally wouldn’t be aware of inequities.
Connections
Both “Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson and “The Egg and the Sperm” by Emily Martin highlight the significance of words in the realm of metaphors. Lakoff and Johnson’s example of “ARGUMENT IS WAR” is similar to Martin’s issue with gender inequality, where the words used around metaphor construct an understanding or argument for the metaphor.