The Power of Language

The Power of Language

Metaphors are not only a powerful way of allowing people to visualize a message that a person is trying to convey, but they are also a creative way of putting things that we see or think about every day into a new light. Speaking metaphorically isn't always very effortless and it certainly isn't easy for the listener to make the connection between what you are describing symbolically and what you are actually saying. Many writers use metaphors because they are a unique and creative way to express common ideas and they can also be very fun. Metaphors can be positive or negative depending upon which way the author would like to go.

In the articles on Science, we certainly were able to see several different metaphors used for various reasons. Particularly in the article, "The Body at War: Media Views of the Immune System" by Emily Martin we saw Martin draw a unique parallel between our bodies, (predominantly our immune systems), and larger issues concerning race, class and gender. This, like many metaphorical comparisons, might seem like an unlikely possibility for a connection, but once she begins to explain why she feels that the media's representation of our immune system is so closely related to other social issues we are forced to take a second look. The way in which Martin makes her comparisons, with her unique word choice and style, comes across as quite a powerful and convincing theory.

Mary Shelly also touched on some metaphorical language in her excerpt from her novel "Frankenstein." Although the power of language here is much more subtle there is clearly comparisons being made of what we would usually assume were completely unrelated topics. Shelly does a superb job of delicately interweaving metaphors about the power of human nature and the almost insatiable pursuit of knowledge that really call for the reader's earnest attention to the detail of her writing.

In Martin's article we see how she gradually begins to set up her comparison of differing anti-bodies that are present in our bodies to gender, class and race roles present in our society. Martin describes media representations of such things as AIDS awareness and immune system function short films as presenting parts of our body at war with the bacteria and disease that is constantly trying to invade our bodies. Our "self" is clearly the good guy and anything that tries to permeate our bodies without our body's direct consent is considered to be the bad guys.