Questions: Metaphor and Analogy in Nonfiction: Figurative Thinking

Question 1

What does it mean that metaphor is a 'thinking tool' rather than just ornament in nonfiction?

• A. Metaphor decorates argument but doesn't contribute to meaning.
• B. Metaphor helps the writer understand and communicate ideas—it's a method of thinking, not decoration.
• C. Metaphor is irrelevant to nonfiction.
• D. Thinking requires avoiding metaphor.

Answer: (B)

A writer might use a metaphor about architecture to think through social structures. The metaphor isn't decoration; it's helping them—and readers—understand. Through the metaphor, abstract ideas become tangible and apprehensible.

Question 2

How can 'a sustained metaphor structure an entire essay'?

• A. Metaphors are too brief to structure essays.
• B. An essay might return repeatedly to a metaphor, using it to organize ideas and make connections between disparate material.
• C. Metaphors contradict structure.
• D. Only linear arguments can structure essays.

Answer: (B)

An essay about grief might use a sustained metaphor of seasons or geography. The writer explores different aspects of grief through this metaphoric lens. The metaphor becomes the organizing principle, allowing coherence without explicit argument.

Question 3

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

We don't think purely logically. We think through association and analogy. A metaphor allows the writer to honor this actual texture of thought while also helping readers think in similarly non-linear ways.

Question 4

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

This is false. Metaphor and fact aren't opposites in nonfiction. Metaphor can help communicate facts and ideas more clearly. A factual claim explained through apt metaphor isn't less factual; it's more understandable.

Question 5

How might an essay about an abstract concept use sustained metaphor as a thinking tool? Give an example.

Model answer:

An essay about identity might use sustained metaphor of a journey, a mirror, a conversation, or building. The writer explores identity through the lens of the chosen metaphor. Each paragraph develops a different aspect of identity while also developing the metaphor. The metaphor isn't just decoration—it's the structure that helps both writer and reader think through a complex concept. Readers encounter not just ideas about identity but these ideas made tangible through the metaphor. The metaphor becomes a thinking device that makes abstract concept concrete and apprehensible.