"barking like a man"
In a novel titled The Human Comedy, it is perhaps only fitting that the metaphorical language contained within is often utilized for the express purpose of humor. One of the best examples occurs very early and it is a testament to the heart of this story that it seems to be used for no other reason than to draw a smile:
“A farmer’s dog came swiftly and with great importance, barking like a man with a message. Homer ignored the message...”
The Nose Paradox
The title of Chapter 11 is “A Speech on the Nose” in which Homer is asked to deliver an off-the-cuff speech on the human nose. The entire speech is peppered with humorous observation—at times it almost reads like the first draft of a 1980’s stand-up comic act—but the highlight is Homer’s metaphorical recognition of how the body part is a paradox:
“The nose is stationary, like a tree, but being on a movable object—the head—it suffers great punishment by being taken to places where it is only in the way.”
Mr. Mechano
Four-year-old Ulysses is entranced by the sight of a man in a store window made up to look like a machine with waxy skin and a mouth as useless a doll’s. There is something both entrancing and repellant about the marketing gimmick advertised as Mr. Mechano and he remains glued to his spot in front of the display, unable to move until ultimately, he is not only the only spectator left, but seemingly the only other human being on earth. Which is to say the only other human being on earth looks like a mechanical man and at that exactly moment their eyes lock and for the first time Ulysses knows fear as Mr. Mechano becomes a living metaphor for Death.
“The body is fighting off its diseases.”
The old telegraph operator, Mr. Grogan, gets a chance to wax philosophic about war, death, the universe and everything. It is a beautifully lyrical and expressive bit of wisdom gifted to young Homer that attempts to place the seeming meaningless deaths of war into a larger context. For clarity, he creates a metaphorical connection between the effect of war on humanity with the biological savagery of the body’s immune system.
The Apricot Tree
The apricot tree is a very complex metaphor, worthy of an entire chapter devoted to it titled “The Apricot Tree.” The children conspire to steal the apricot from a tree which is stood guard over by a man who seems dedicated to protecting his treasure, but takes secret delight in the attempts of the children. The kids try to steal the apricots even though they are not ripe and they fear that taking what belongs to another is a sin. The metaphorical implications should be fairly obvious, but if not, just think in terms of a pair of famous innocents stealing forbidden fruit from a tree guarded by someone to be feared, but tested.
