Mccarthy: Use Of Analogies And Metaphors

Analogies and metaphors are used to compare things in order to help simplify a claim or make it more memorable. McCarthy uses a metaphor when stating, “Ours could have been the honor of being a beacon in the desert of destruction, a shining, living proof that civilization was not yet ready to destroy itself” (para 7). He discusses what the United States could have been at war’s end if this country was not “losing on every front.” In this metaphor he compares the U.S. to a beacon pointing out the horrifying results of Communism as it sits around the World that is Crumbling from World War II. By comparing the country to a beacon in “a desert of destruction,” McCarthy compares the United States to humanity’s last hope at civilization. By using

this metaphor, he illustrates to the audience what Communism has done and the destruction that Communism is capable of creating. McCarthy later says, “In my opinion the State Department, which is one of the most important government departments, is thoroughly infested with Communists.

I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy” (para 9). In this metaphor he compares the State Department to place that has been infested with rats, the rats being Communists spies. Moreover, he made accusations and claims about having in his hand the names of 57 individuals who are card carrying Communist, yet are working in the government and shaping foreign policy. This plants fear in the audience by making them feel as though they are unsafe since the government is falling to Communism, therefore immediate action must be taken to eliminate Communist traitors and restore the security of the country. Furthermore, McCarthy uses an analogy when stating, “This cloak of numbness and apathy has only needed a spark to rekindle them. Happily, this spark has finally been supplied” (para 12). McCarthy claims that after seeing war and mass murder, people become numb and, like a fire, they need a spark to

rekindle. He compares this spark to a spark that is needed for to rekindle a fire. The spark he talks about is of how the Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, defended his loyalty to “Alger Hiss,”a communist, using the Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. As stated before, this did anger the audience because it was hypocritical of Acheson to defend a non-Christian with Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.
Some may say that McCarthy was ineffective because he only used four facts, however he was able to move an entire nation and create the red scare, instilling fear of Communism and convincing Americans that Communists are infiltrating the country and government, despite using only four facts.

These facts being President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, that time of the World War II victory, the quotes by Stalin and Lenin and lastly, the number of people living in Russia at the time. This indicates that everything else stated in this speech was subjective, yet it still managed to move a nation to sensor American institutions, books and movies. It caused people to become superstitious of their friends, neighbors and coworkers. Was what McCarthy did correct? No. Did he do it the correct way? Certainly not, because he created widespread fear and chaos that ended up costing people their careers, friends and in one case their lives. However, was McCarthy successful in persuading the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club and later America that the Country, democracy and Christianity were under threat of Communism expansion? Without

Doubt.
Reading or hearing McCarthy’s speech today does not have the same effect and drive that it did in the 1950s because difference in historical contexts. McCarthy gave his speech during the end of one war, and a beginning of another. People needed a driving force to motivate and unite them, but McCarthy rose through division and fear. McCarthy instilled widespread fear and made his audience believe that anyone can be a Communist. This led to people being accused of Communism and being called in to testify. As a result, people who were called in commonly lost their jobs because of the accusations, despite being innocent. Moreover, children, whose parents were victims of accusations, were single out in school (“McCarthyism: The Aftermath” para 1). McCarthyism had a long lasting effect on the mental health and state of the country, which denied the country the ability to grow and reform, since witch hunting discouraged people from proposing reforms. (“McCarthyism: The Aftermath” para 4).