The Simile of Taste
The narrator says that the term taste is not as simple as it is defined and interpreted by men. He compares the term taste to other figurative terms, which have deeper meaning. Since the term ‘taste’ is allegorical, it has a hidden meaning implying that the reader has to take time and analyze the context in which it is used. He writes:
"The term taste, like all other figurative terms, is not extremely accurate: the thing which we understand by it is far from simple and determined idea in the minds of most men, and it is, therefore, liable to uncertainty and confusion."
The Simile of Tobacco
Every individual is assumed to have similar tastes and preferences. The narrator says that if sugar is sweet, every person will have a similar feeling. However, the narrator notes that it is out of order for individual smoking tobacco to conclude that it tastes like sugar. The narrator uses the simile when he compares the taste of tobacco to that of sugar. He writes:
"But should any man be found who declares, that to him tobacco has a taste like sugar and that he cannot distinguish between milk and vinegar; or that tobacco and vinegar are sweet, milk bitter, and sugar sour, we immediately conclude that the organs of this man are out of order and that his palate is utterly vitiated.”
The Simile of Flavor
Some substances and food can have a universal taste to a human while others might note. The narrator acknowledges this fact though compares the taste of unknown fruits to tobacco. The author assumes that unknown fruits taste like tobacco. He says:
“In describing the taste of unknown fruit, you would scarcely say, that it had a sweet and pleasant flavor like tobacco, opium, or garlic, although you spoke to those who were constant use of these drugs, and had great pleasure in them.”
The Simile of the Palate
If an individual is accustomed to eating tasty and sweet foods, his palate will automatically notice foreign food, which tastes bitter or sour. The narrator compares the palates of all human beings and says that they are the same. For instance, if one individual's palate senses a bad taste on fruit or any bitter substance, the palate of another person will behave similarly. He writes:
“Suppose one who had vitiated his palate as to take more pleasure in the taste of opium than in that of butter or honey, to be presented with a bolus of squills; there is hardly any doubt but that he would prefer the butter or honey to this nauseous morsel, or to any other bitter drug to which he had not been accustomed; which proves that his palate is naturally like that of other men in all things….”
The metaphor of the news
The narrator notes that when he is told news in the morning he gets some pleasure, but in the evening finds that there is nothing pleasurable about that news. He becomes dissatisfied after realizing that the news was just imposed on him in the morning. He concludes that people are more naturally inclined to believe things told to them than find out for themselves. He argues that this notion of believing anything one is told is the primary reason why most ignorant countries lag because they do not challenge ideas. He writes:
"Hence, it is that men are much more naturally inclined to believe than incredulity. And it is upon this principle, that the most ignorant and barbarous nations have frequently excelled in similitudes, comparisons, metaphors, and allegories, who have been weak and backward in distinguishing and sorting their ideas."
