Research Paper on:
Political Writing and Metaphor

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
is meant for a sophisticated but mundane audience. Hence, it is not reserved for literary writing. Still, it is useful. Metaphor allows politicians and writers of politics a way to  make a significant point while using few words. Metaphor in fact is a powerful tool that may be utilized to inform the reader about ones world view (Bozlk, 2002).  Norton (1993-1994 as cited in Bozlk, 2002) notes that metaphors function as lenses by which people perceive and conceptualize experiences (2002). People who understand a metaphor are perhaps in  a similar mindset. For those who have opposing views, they may see the metaphor as something different but nevertheless get the point. In other words, metaphor is clever but someone  with an opposing view may look at it with disdain instead of humor. Metaphor creation has been used to encourage both insight and understanding (Bozlk, 2002). Yet,  questions linger. In examining a political magazine article, questions regarding the use of metaphor crop up. Why did the author choose to use a particular metaphor? Who is the audience?  Why did the writer not use another method of description? In examining a political article for purposes of evaluating metaphor, Power Drinking at Dukes by Aram Bakshian Jr., which appeared  in the American Spectator in 1993 will be utilized. It is a lighthearted piece that talks about a bar where some of the elite go. One is able to rub  elbows with the whos who of Washington at this power bar. He talks about the location and uses a few metaphors to describe the meeting place to a general audience.  One metaphor is as follows: "The minute a place earns a reputation as one it begins to attract flies" (Bakshian, 1993, p.68). Here, the flies of course are the people