The Bill Figurative Language

What does it mean to be a human being? Although the answer to that has been a concern for many writers from ancient times to the present, John Donne and Bernard Malamud endeavored the topic in their literary works, Meditation XVII and The Bill. John Donne, the author of Meditation XVII discusses the topic of death and mourning, while using a meditative tone. On the other hand, Bernard Malamud, the author of The Bill, focuses on the dreary story of poverty, guilt, and hopelessness. Though both pieces share similar themes, both writers used unique ways to captivate their audiences through compelling content, diction, tone, and figurative language, in order to define what it means to be a human being.

To begin, due to the comprehensive time difference between The Bill and

Meditation XVII, the reader notices intense distinctions in the style, as well as some of the content of both literary works. In taking a look at the style of both pieces, one notices that the diction and syntax vary drastically. For example, in The Bill, the language can be described as being conversational, standard English, while the language in Meditation XVII can be described as being formal and symbolic. Also the sentence structure; the syntax, of both writings is discrete; The Bill has short, simple sentences while Meditation XVII consists of long complex sentences and paragraphs. To illustrate the contrasting diction and syntax in both writings, in The Bill, Malamud writes, “I’ll pay them bit by bit. I will, by Jesus”. The sentence clearly depicts the simple language and sentence structure used.By way of contrast, in Meditation XVII, Donne writes, "Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that”. This is only the beginning sentence of the essay, and the reader can already notice the complexity in both the diction and the syntax. Similarly, as both the writer's writing style differs, their tone and content also differs. In The Bill, Willy, the inarticulate and frustrated protagonist, sees humans, specifically Mr. and Mrs. Panessa, as animals and does not respect them, as opposed to Donne, the author of Meditation XVII, who sees himself as part of mankind, and feels sympathy towards the dead and respects them.

While some prominent differences are reflected through both literary works, one can undoubtedly notice the similarities between Meditation XVII and The Bill, both in style and content.

The reader can easily recognize the extensive use of figurative language in both writings. For example, in Meditation XVII Donne stated, “...all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...”. This quote is a metaphor described through the use of imagery. It describes humankind as a book and every person is a chapter and god is the author of the book. Similarly, in The Bill, Malamud wrote, “All day they (tenants) pestered Willy like clusters of flies and he holds them what the landlord had ordered”. This quote is a simile comparing the tenants to clusters of flies that keep buzzing and annoying Willy to pay rent. In addition to the figurative language, one can identify the common theme between the essay and the short story as well. Although elucidated through unique approaches, both The Bill and Meditation XVII, focus on defining interdependent relationships among

humans.
In conclusion since, Meditation XVII and The Bill come from entirely different time periods and perspectives the diction, syntax, and tone differ greatly. However, they are similar because they both focus on a common theme: interdependent relationships among humans; while incorporating a prominent amount of figurative language including metaphors, similes and even imagery to draw on their audience’s emotions and religious fervor. Donne and Malamud, both great writers, reached out to their audience’s emotions and to eventually define what it means to be a human being.