Dissimilar Items

Comparisons between dissimilar objects demonstrate the amazing
capabilities of our brains - compare nearly any two objects and readers
instinctively know which attributes they have in common.
» Chantal was a real tiger!
Readers automatically guess that Chantal didn’t have claws, stripes,
fangs or a tail. They correctly understand that she is feisty, energetic and
perhaps hot tempered or a dangerous opponent.
Q:
What’s the
difference
between a duck?
A: One has webbed
feet and the other one
does!
Point
of View
Similar objects
have most
things in
common.
Dissimilar
objects
have little in
common.
126 The Art & Craft of Writing » My job at Hamburger Heaven was a noose slowly tightening around my
neck. If I didn’t quit and go back to school soon, I’d be trapped in this deadend
job forever.
The manager surely wasn’t literally strangling this employee, but the
redundant work was suffocating.
» My mother’s disapproving glare fell like an anvil on my shoulders.
» Rain fell in sheets, hammering the car roof like sticks on a kettle drum.
» As topsoil slides slowly downhill, the aspens begin to topple; but like an
exhausted boxer who refuses to stay down, the tree trunks’ bases grow
curved in order to stand the tree up straight again and continue growing
toward the sky.
To further prove the point, compare two objects that have virtually
nothing in common. Readers instantly note the absence of similarity.
» I always thought of Thomas as a paper bag.
» You’re nothing but a shoe lace!
» Ice cream is like trees.
It is? How? Of course if the trees happen to have an inch of snow on their
branches…that changes everything.
Compare dissimilar objects in one of three ways:
A. Simile
A simile is when you say something is “like” or “as” something else.
Examples:
» Xavier is like a little kid.
» Molly’s cooking is like a pagan worship ritual - mostly burnt offerings.
» The redwood forest is like a crowd of giants.
BUT just because you use the words “like” or “as” doesn’t always make your
sentence a simile.
» Jodi is as quiet as a church mouse.
A simile would have said Jodi was like a church mouse. Instead, this
example compared her quietness to that of the mouse. Not that it makes
much difference in this case, it just doesn’t technically qualify as a simile.
» Tom slept like a baby.
Once again, not officially a simile, though Tom’s actions resembled the
actions of another object.
B. Metaphor
Metaphor is like a simile, but rather than use “like” or “as,” it says that
one object is something it’s not.
» Chantal is a real tiger!
» You’re such a baby!
» Asteroids are stray bullets shot from the cannon of the original Big
Bang.
BUT just because you say something is something it’s not doesn’t always
make your sentence a metaphor. It could just be a mistake or a lie.
» That’s my seat, buddy!
» The Spirit of St. Louis was the aircraft piloted by Neil Armstrong on the
first one-person, non-stop flight over the Pacific Ocean.
8: Contrast 127
C. Allusion
Allusion is not something done by a magician - that’s an illusion. Alluding
involves an indirect reference to something not specifically identified but
expected to be recognized. If your friend drops his voice a full octave and
says “I’ll be back” in a foreign accent, who does it remind you of? Arnold
Schwarzeneger, of course. That’s an allusion. Bite into a carrot and ask “What’s
up, doc?” Bugs Bunny. Another allusion.
See how many of the following allusions you recognize:
» We always looked forward to Uncle Monte’s visit during the holidays. He
would show up with his white beard, deliver toys from the countries he had
visited during the past year, and shake when he laughed like a bowl full of
jelly.
» After sixteen hours in Jeff’s van, we finally arrived at the beach. I opened
the side door slowly, and as I stepped out, quipped, “One small step for
man….”
» Carrie was waiting for me on her front porch when I pulled up on my
new motorcycle. She walked to the curb to give me a hug and I handed her
the helmet. She strapped it on, opened the visor, and said, “To infinity, and
beyond!”
» I don’t know how she always knew just when we would arrive, but
Grandma was always standing on her front porch with one hand waving in
the air to greet us as we pulled into the driveway. After the six hour drive
with all six kids in the minivan, I half expected to see her holding a tablet
inscribed with the words “Bring me your poor, your tired, your huddled
masses.”
» Duncan pretended to take a cigar from his mouth and spoke with a
nasally voice, “Get away from me, kid, ya bother me.”