The Power Of Metaphors Identity and belonging are crucial parts of fitting into society. Even though it is hard to portray the importance of this, authors use metaphors to portray how characters learn their identity and sense of belonging. In the excerpts from Inside Out and Back Again, the main character’s papaya tree is a metaphor that shows the ups and downs of her social life. Likewise, in the informational text, So where are you from, the author uses a “box” as a metaphor to describe the feeling of fitting in. Furthermore, Curtain Call, written by former WNBA player Swin Cash, uses women’s basketball as a metaphor to show how Cash fought for her future and legacy. In the historical fiction novel Inside Out and Back Again, Ha, the main
…show more content…
The fruit that is still green and ripening represents her slowly learning how she belongs to the Vietnamese community. When Ha’s family flees the country, they cut down the papaya tree, claiming that “it’s better than letting the Communists have it”(60). When they cut it down, it represents Ha being stripped of her identity. She is going to America and has to try and be accepted there, even though she already has some sense of belonging in Vietnam. When Ha is in America for about a year, she makes friends with her neighbor, Miss Washington. On Christmas, she gifts Ha with dried papaya. The first time she tried it, she described it as “chewy, sugary, waxy, sticky” and “not the same at all”. Ha gets so mad that she throws it away. Later, her mother soaks it in warm water. When Ha tries it, it tastes not as bad, but still …show more content…
They ask to place her in a “box”, and pretend as if asking the question gives her a choice of boxes. They know that she is American, but they are asking where she was originally from. This, according to Sepiso, “suggests that she cannot validate her sense of belonging to this place.” This question makes her feel like it’s necessary to drag out her pre-rehearsed response that would satisfy their need for the information, even though her identity has nothing to do with where her ancestors were from. At the end of the text, she talks about how they would “learn to keep their boxes away from her”, and that she would “never, ever fit” inside them. She knows that someday, they will understand that her identity is not only the land where her predecessors came from. Additionally, Curtain Call, written by former WNBA player Swin Cash, uses women’s basketball as a metaphor to describe how Cash fought for success for future generations of women in sports. Her life revolves around the WNBA league, and she “cares so much about whether the league will be around for another 20 years.” She wants women to feel like they still belong in sports, even if others try to criticize
The fruit that is still green and ripening represents her slowly learning how she belongs to the Vietnamese community. When Ha’s family flees the country, they cut down the papaya tree, claiming that “it’s better than letting the Communists have it”(60). When they cut it down, it represents Ha being stripped of her identity. She is going to America and has to try and be accepted there, even though she already has some sense of belonging in Vietnam. When Ha is in America for about a year, she makes friends with her neighbor, Miss Washington. On Christmas, she gifts Ha with dried papaya. The first time she tried it, she described it as “chewy, sugary, waxy, sticky” and “not the same at all”. Ha gets so mad that she throws it away. Later, her mother soaks it in warm water. When Ha tries it, it tastes not as bad, but still …show more content…
They ask to place her in a “box”, and pretend as if asking the question gives her a choice of boxes. They know that she is American, but they are asking where she was originally from. This, according to Sepiso, “suggests that she cannot validate her sense of belonging to this place.” This question makes her feel like it’s necessary to drag out her pre-rehearsed response that would satisfy their need for the information, even though her identity has nothing to do with where her ancestors were from. At the end of the text, she talks about how they would “learn to keep their boxes away from her”, and that she would “never, ever fit” inside them. She knows that someday, they will understand that her identity is not only the land where her predecessors came from. Additionally, Curtain Call, written by former WNBA player Swin Cash, uses women’s basketball as a metaphor to describe how Cash fought for success for future generations of women in sports. Her life revolves around the WNBA league, and she “cares so much about whether the league will be around for another 20 years.” She wants women to feel like they still belong in sports, even if others try to criticize