What It's Like 2

This is the second installation of the What It's Like metaphors. The event that I am choosing to focus on for this post is, not a recent event, but rather something that has always existed for my whole life. I am referring to being the first-born. There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to being the first-born. In one aspect, being the oldest is the best, because you usually have the upper hand among your siblings. Also, you get respect and are not treated like a baby. On the other hand however, usually your parents are more restrictive, and you are expected to succeed in order to 'pave a path' for your younger siblings. The best metaphor that I can think of, again, comes from Lord of the Rings. In the second part of the trilogy, the last march of the Ents takes place against Isengard. I am an ent (preferably Treebeard), and my younger sibling is Pippin, who is on my shoulder. Usually, in school, I am expected to pave a path, to clear the jungle, to set good expectations. I am expected to do the serious work of attacking Isengard, while my younger sister sits on my shoulder. While I am knocking off orcs left and right, Pippin merely lobs some stones and hopes to nail one. My point is, it is generally easier for my younger sibling because of the path I paved in school. However, the benefits of being the elder is that everyone (generally) respects you for the work you put in. No one is going to make fun of Treebeard--he is a boss.

What It's Like 1

We all have stressful events in life. All of us. Being an American does not negate this fact, because stress is how we perceive events or changes in our life. Sometimes, it is helpful to explain stress in metaphors. That is what this blog entry, and the ones to follow, will attempt to do: capture 'what it's like...' in a metaphor.
One stressful event in my life that easily comes to mind is striving to get a 4.0 in all of high school. This is an extremely stressful goal, one that has me cranking my wheels all the time, checking my grades, constantly making corrections, adjustments, changes in work ethic. I study, work hard, and try to manage my time well every day. Honestly, the best metaphor I can think of that relates to this stressful goal in my life is that I am Frodo from Lord of the Rings. The ultimate goal, achieving 4.0, is like the final moment where Gollum falls into Mount Doom and the ring is finally devoured by magma. Finals are like huge enemies, like the Balrog, or the Nazgul King. I must defeat them if I want to reach my goal. Finally, the hoards of Orcs are little assignments.

Litotes

     A very effective and useful literary term in a writer's tool-box is litotes (pronounced lie-toe-tease). Litotes is an understatement where an affirmative characteristic is expressed by the opposite of the contrary. For example "Steve Perry is not a bad singer" is a litotes, because it affirms Steve Perry as a good singer by stating he is not the opposite (which, incidentally, is very true; he is an excellent singer).
     Litotes is littered everywhere in culture and literature. Usually pop culture comes in the form of songs, stories, and other mediums. However, the example of litotes that I found comes from a form of art: memes. Perhaps a definition would be helpful. Google defines a meme as "an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed on from one individual to another by...imitation". In short, a meme is a set picture that is applicable to countless scenarios, eventually embodying the idea itself. It just so happens that a popular meme exists where litotes is utilized. Below is the meme.

This is litotes because its meaning is equivalent to good, but it is saying it is not the opposite of good. This creates a mediocre feeling, but still positive.
     Litotes is also found in literature. In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, litotes is used as a rhetorical device. When Conrad is tearing down the idea of imperialism, he uses litotes, through Marlow, to create a lukewarm atmosphere about Marlow's countrymen. Marlow states "I had a white companion too, not a bad chap, but rather too fleshy and with the exasperating habit of fainting on the hot hillsides, miles away from the least bit of shade and water" (Conrad 52). Conrad uses litotes here as a rhetorical device in order to show that imperialism is a gray area of morality, because there are humans, who are "not bad" on either side of the issue. Not bad, in this case, implies not entirely good either. Conrad creates this feeling through the literary term of litotes.