American Metaphor

Rich Migel
March 20, 2007

Metaphors contribute much to the lexicon of any single culture. To ‘insiders’ of that culture, they represent an easy way to make everyday language a bit more interesting. Yet, to the ‘outsiders’ of that culture these metaphors could easily be left out of the conversation and feel intimidated if they don’t understand what’s being said. Americans use so many metaphors that often, we don’t even think when doing it. Metaphors are a unique part of each culture and have a variety of uses. In fact, a good portion of this essay is probably written in metaphor.

Americans use many phrases to help express their perspectives on life. When it’s pouring rain outside a common phrase would be “it’s raining cats and dogs out there.” Someone from a different culture might not actually infer that household pets are falling from the sky; but they still might misinterpret what’s being said. To “work like a dog” is to work really hard a one’s job. Animal metaphors are easily conceived because of the relationship many people share with pets, nature, etc.

One of the most common places to find metaphors is in music. Lyrics always rely on metaphor in order to convey the image or emotion the artist wants. While limiting the number of words they use at the same time. A great example of this is a John Mayer song form a few years back entitled “Your Body is a Wonderland.” Rather than use a worn-out, clichéd phrase such as ‘you’re really hot,’ Mayer opted for an innovative title for his song and created a new way to express the emotion of love.

One of the most enduring metaphorical images of America is that of the “Melting Pot.” It is an idea that ingredients go into a pot (people of different cultures and religions) and are then combined so as to lose discrete identities, and to a large degree yield a final product which has a more uniform consistency and flavor – something quite different from the original inputs. The melting pot term was derived from the early twentieth century period of immigration where millions of Europeans came to the States in search of a better life. Even now, 100 years later, Americans still identify with the country as a melting pot for all peoples.

Metaphors can be found in all phases of American culture – and in all other cultures for that matter. They contribute much to the way we communicate, the way we express emotions in song, and even the way we identify ourselves.