GP Essay Skills - Paper 2 -SIMILE, METAPHOR, ANALOGY

4. SIMILE, METAPHOR, ANALOGY (Tip: SIMILIARITY!)

Question Types:

- Explain the phrase: “….” (metaphor)

- Why X is being described as Y?

- Identify and explain one metaphor from Paragraph X.

Purpose:

- To test if you can draw similarities between two unlike ideas.

Task:

- Metaphor: Comparison between two unlike ideas. A metaphor is a vehicle that allows you to understand a complex, unique or abstract idea more deeply.

- To draw links between two unlike ideas – the literal definition and figurative definition. (What does it mean on its own, and what does it mean in context?)

Template:

- “Just as X…, Y… “

- “X is… Similarly, Y is…. “

Examples:

a. Why does the author refer to ambition as an “investment of emotional capital”? (SAJC Pre-Prelim 2008)

Ans. Just as an investment is risky/involves uncertainty/involves committing resources in the hope of earning a return (literal definition), so ambition may not generate success despite the heart/soul/emotional energy put into it (figurative definition).

b. Explain what the author means by ‘our destiny is simply this chameleon stranger—ourself!’ (‘A’ Level 2004)

Ans. Just as a chameleon changes its colours according to the surroundings (literal definition), one’s fate is continually changing as one’s thinking is volatile (figurative definition)

c. The writer says that "genes, by themselves, are like seeds dropped onto the pavement: powerless to produce anything". How is this simile apt in illustrating his point? (ACJC Prelim 2005).

à Show links between literal and figurative meanings, i.e. seeds = genes, pavement = absence of conducive environment, water/soil = optimal environment/culture

Lift

Paraphrase

"genes, by themselves, are like seeds dropped onto the pavement: powerless to produce anything". (l.50-51)

Literal: This (simile) implies that just as seeds dropped onto the pavement cannot grow without agents of dispersal/soil and water for nourishment. (1m) Figurative: Genes also need the influence of culture/ environment to determine how a person turns out/develops; genes alone cannot determine how a person turns out; they need the influence of culture or environment (1m) Alternative answer: Just as seeds need good soil and specific conditions for it to grow well and produce fruit, genes are special characteristics in a human being which need to be nurtured through a good environment to bring out one’s potential.