Metaphor and Metonymy

            Metaphors and metonymy are used throughout any type of literature that one reads.  Both these methods are used in daily life quite frequently without us truly realizing it.  In this blog, I will give the two major examples that I have come across in my life as of late while explaining the significance and meaning of a metaphor and metonymy.  Also, by using the examples, I will show how there can be confusion between metaphors and metonymy when the reader is left to interpret the meaning of the phrase or literature.

            Hayden White states, “Metaphor is essentially representational...in metonymy, phenomena are implicitly apprehended as bearing relationships to one another”.  These two ideas are very similar and have a few specific differences.  A metaphor allows for two things that are not similar to be compared and to show a resemblance.  Metonymy is utilized to pair a word’s meaning with another word while not using that specific word.  An example of a metaphor is ‘life is a journey’.  Life and journey are not two things that are used in the same context but they do have some resemblances so they are a metaphor.  An example of metonymy would be saying as White states, “a roar of thunder”.  A roar of thunder is a metonymy because the word roar is a substitute for the word sound.  Sound and roar have a relationship in which they both relate to the auditory sense. 

 There has been a metaphor and metonymy confusion that has happened in my life as of late.  For another one of my classes, the professor wrote on the syllabus “map of positions, stakeholders, audiences, and primary actors for issue” when referring to an assignment that he had assigned us.  The students took this in a metonymical way; we thought that we would be creating a map or a diagram of all these ideas.  However, the professor told us that it was actually a metaphor to something else.  The true assignment was writing a paper about the previously stated parts of the assignment.  The professor utilized metaphor in his assignments when the students interpreted it in a metonymical way.

I had another metaphor and metonymy confusion when I was reading for my Theology class.  We are studying the prophets of the Bible and I was reading from the book of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah 2:20 states, “Long ago you broke your yoke, you tore off your bonds. “I will not serve,” you said. On every high hill, under every green tree, you gave yourself to harlotry.”  On first sight, I was bewildered to see the phrase harlotry.  Harlotry means to fornicate with a prostitute.  I had taken a metonymical approach to the Scripture and had not thought about the use of language that Jeremiah had been utilizing.  In this instance, Jeremiah had been using a metaphor to depict the severity of Israel’s sin against God.  Metaphors and metonymy are very closely related and can be easily misinterpreted by a non-careful reader.

Metaphors and metonymy are used in daily life very frequently.  The individual must be careful to interpret the true meaning of each phrase that he or she reads.  Metaphors have a very specific relationship between two objects whereas metonymy has a relationship within the meaning.

Ideology Influenced by Culture.

            What is the relationship between culture and one’s ideology?  The very nature of a culture is dependent on its inhabitants and the environment in which you live.  In the same manner, the inhabitants are shaped by the culture in itself.  It is safe to say that culture is truly the individuals of a given area.  These individuals shape the culture that is present in their community that in turns shapes their actions and motives.  There is one thing that I find difficult to comprehend about culture, that is the idea that everyone in that area believes in the same ideology of that specific culture, and culture has either a positive or a negative influence on the individual’s ideas.

            Ideology is ones’ goals, expectations, and actions and I believe that these goals, expectations, and actions can be influenced by culture.  I have grown up in what some would consider the ghetto but to me it is home.  The culture that has surrounded me has given me a very specific perspective on life.  Culture influences ones’ ideology because it is the environment that you have grown up in.  The stigmas, that the ghetto is not a safe place, have shaped my actions dramatically.  They have forced me to be more aware of my surroundings and to watch what I say because it may cause some trouble.  However, it is not a bad thing because it is actually a very good life skill to know how to bite ones tongue at the proper moment.  I have also learned some of my life goals.  I have seen the pain and suffering of those that are less privileged in my environment and those that have struggled day after day to make ends meet.  I want to be able to help these people and to find a way to make their lives better.  Some say the ghetto may be a bad place to live but for me, I call it home and I find that it has shaped me into a tremendous individual that has the needs of others weighing on my heart.

            In class, we talked about Public Enemy’s song, “Don’t Believe the Hype”.  In this song, Public Enemy is talking about the stereotypes have been placed on African Americans.  Culture has placed these negative ideas (ideology) on the members of society.  This is a very strong claim by Public Enemy to rebuke the stigmas that culture places upon African Americans.  Public Enemy’s states, “They claim that I'm a criminal.  By now, I wonder how, some people never know.  The enemy could be their friend guardian.  I’m not a hooligan… Don’t Believe The Hype.”  Public Enemy is attempting to break down the barriers and is preaching the message that the culture’s ideology of African Americans is wrong.  Culture has a strong influence on the individual’s ideology. However, it can have a positive or a negative impact on ones’ ideology.

            Culture projects a specific message for a community in order to influence one’s ideas.  For advertising, it is said that sex sells.  I believe this is true because the commercials are always portraying a supermodel of some sort wearing little more than a skimpy bikini.  With this in mind, the individual may be more apt to buy the product because it is the thought of “that person is gorgeous so the product must work.”  In this way, culture can shape our ideology.  Please see this video for an example (I apologize for it being in spanish.)

            Culture and ideology go hand in hand.  Ideology is based on the image that a culture projects onto the individual.  That individual then bases his personal ideology on the ideas that society (culture) has installed.  Some ideas may be good while others may be bad.  It is up to the individual to decide whether he wants to believe the stigmas that culture projects or to disregard it and as Public Enemy says, “Don’t Believe the Hype”.

           

Interpret This?!

            When an author writes, does he write to entertain a specific audience?  When a comedian tells a joke, does he only expect a certain group of people to laugh?  I ponder these questions when I think about interpretations and how they can be misconstrued.  Different people have different interpretations from an intended meaning that the author has given.  I am contradicting my claim in my last blog but I can change my mind quite frequently.  I do believe that there is a specific meaning that the author of a statement or work is intending for his audience.  The audience may have many different interpretations for the same remark.  I will utilize an example from my daily life and I will also utilize an example from a daily comedian.

            In my daily life, I have certain jokes or phrases that my friends can pick up on because they have been around me for a long time (historical context).  For example, I would use certain phrases that they would think is hysterical because they understand the tone and the connotation that I am using the phrase.  However, I have learned that it is not always the same for each individual person.  The story begins with me talking to my girlfriend at the time (we have now gone our separate ways).  We were talking about a\her struggling in school and that she had failed another of her exams.  In a very sarcastic tone, I said, “Gosh!! What the hell chica?”  I used a Napoleon Dynamite tone which I have posted below.  My friends would have known that I was completely kidding and I did not mean it in the way she interpreted it.  She became quite furious with me and it proceeded into an argument over something stupid.

            I learned my lesson firsthand that interpretations can be taken into different context depending on the recipient.  My meaning was to cheer my ex-girlfriend with my sarcasm.  Obviously, it did not work because she was even madder and it caused an argument.  It proves the point that I am trying to make about interpretations.  Interpretations are dependent on the reader and are independent of the author’s intentions.  The reader can misconstrue the author’s desired meaning with a text because their own emotions may alter their opinion.  In this alteration, their personal interpretation has been constructed and differs from the author’s intentions.

            Interpretations can differ upon reading or viewing a work of art.  In this example, Gabriel Iglesias is telling his interpretation of Steve Irwin’s death.  The problem that I have encountered with this certain clip is how different people have perceived it.  I have shown a few people and they have all had different interpretations of the video.  Some people were very offended by Iglesias’ jokes about Steve Irwin because he had died recently.  However, other people saw that the comedian was making a joke to entertain the audience (author’s intent).  Here is the clip and you may decide for yourself on your own personal interpretation.

            I would also like to consider the words of Stanley Fish on the subject of meaning.  Stanley Fish states, “the self will simply substitute its own meanings for the meanings that texts bring with them, the meanings that texts “have”…” (Fish 335).  Fish states that the individual will project a meaning onto the text without consideration of the author’s meaning.  I agree with Fish that the reader will place a meaning onto a text while ignoring the author’s meaning.  The reader becomes more engaged with the text because he/she will become intertwined with the text because they will interpret the text in whichever way they seem fit. 

            To answer the questions that I asked to begin this blog, I believe that an author has a specific meaning in mind that may pertain to all but he is not necessarily writing to a specific audience.  I also believe that comedians tell jokes to make people laugh and they know that not everyone will find a certain joke as funny because of their own interpretations.  My concluding statement is that the reader can interpret and project is own interpretation onto a text or work of art without consideration of the author’s meaning.