Tutorial Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what youre gonna get.

When Forrest Gump uttered that now-famous remark, everyone immediately understood what it meant. Life CAN be compared to a box of assorted chocolateseach day is different, you may expect one thing but get something else instead, some days are wonderful, others you dont care for all that much. And so on. It was a clever analogy that stuck. An analogy draws comparisons between different factors in two dissimilar things. As a writer, you could use an analogy to help illustrate or clarify a complex or unfamiliar concept. Or you could base your entire paper on one analogy, making it part of your thesis statement. How do you find a good analogy? For clarification purposes: You will need to choose something that it is already clearly understood by your audience, to compare to a concept you want your audience to be more clear about. Example: To help your reader comprehend economics, you could compare the economy to a forest, and government measures to control the economy to the Forest Service trying to control forest fires. Fires that burn out of control could be runaway inflation, threatening to ruin our economic process, while trained personnel and equipment to prevent or extinguish fires could be stricter regulations or penalties for those who are fueling or enabling inflation. But without a few small fires now and then, the forest gets too thick with undergrowth which will act like a blast furnace when a fire does break out. In this way, you can use your analogy to question whether heavy regulation and penalties ultimately do more harm than good. For a thesis: You will need to choose an analogy in which the similarities far outweigh the differences, and which you can prove with other types of supporting details. Example: You can draw an analogy between football and war. Both deal with offense and defense, ground-gaining to win, downs that are the equivalent of battles. They both have platoon-like systems, with generals (coaches), officers (quarterbacks and defensive callers), soldiers (linemen), etc. You could use this analogy to show that a certain novel written about football was actually meant to be a statement about war. But you will need to have more evidence than the analogy alone to convince your reader: is it pro-war or anti-war? What evidence can you point to for proof? Did the author have a life-changing experience with war that inspired the story? Cultural differences Beware of differences in cultural expressions and norms when using analogies. For example, Australians have an entirely different concept of football: other than the name, it bears very little resemblance to the game played in North America or Europe. If you

mentioned quarterbacks, linemen, or downs, they wouldnt be expected to understand the terminology; these are not elements of football in Australia, which more closely resembles a gang rumble than a war. Know who your audience is, and only use an analogy you are sure they'll be able to follow. Finally, analogies cannot stand alone. They can help clarify, and they can be thoughtprovoking, but they do not actually prove anything. If you use an analogy, you must back it up with other types of evidence that support the analogy as being valid. Analogy is a powerful cognitive tool for learning about new concepts based on existing knowledge. It can also convince people to think differently. So help your reader see things the way you see them by coming up with a great analogy. Common Analogies and Their Meanings Analogy examples with corresponding meanings are the best way to show the meaning of the word analogy. The following is a list of some common analogies and an explanation of their meaning.

The relationship between them began to thaw. This means that the relationship was changing. You are as annoying as nails on a chalkboard. You must be pretty annoying for someone to say that. I am going to be toast when I get home. This is usually said when someone is in trouble with their significant other. He is like a rock. This means he is steadfast and strong. She attended the celebrity roast. The person being roasted is being honored by people making harmless jokes about him or her. I feel like a fish out of water. This implies that you are not comfortable in your surroundings. She was offended when I said she was as flaky as a snowstorm. That isnt a very nice comparison to make. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Unless you really are a fish, this encourages you to move on and find another potential mate. She was as quiet as a mouse. It is hard to hear a mouse, so that means she was very quiet. Bing Crosby had a velvet voice. Since voices are not made of velvet, this implies that his voice was smooth and soothing. Life is like a box of chocolates. This has many meanings and is a great analogy for life.

Many famous people have also used analogies to explain their positions or their opinions on an issue. For instance, consider the following analogy examples:

"I am to dancing what Roseanne is to singing and Donald Duck to motivational speeches. I am as graceful as a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs." Leonard Pitts, "Curse of Rhythm Impairment" Miami Herald, Sep. 28, 2009 "If you want my final opinion on the mystery of life and all that, I can give it to you in a nutshell. The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe." Peter De Vries, Let Me Count the Ways "Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo." - Don Marquis

"They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there. It was like men handling a fish which is still alive and may jump back into the water." - George Orwell, A Hanging "Withdrawal of U.S. troops will become like salted peanuts to the American public; the more U.S. troops come home, the more will be demanded." - Henry Kissinger in a Memo to President Richard Nixon ... worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum." - Baz Luhrmann, Everybodys Free (to Wear Sunscreen) "Dumb gorgeous people should not be allowed to use literature when competing in the pick-up pool. It's like bald people wearing hats." - Matt McGrath from the movie Broken Hearts Club

Similes and Metaphors Some analogies are similes and some are metaphors. A simile is where two unlike things are compared while a metaphor is where unlike things have something in common. Similies A simile compares two things using the words as or like. An example of a simile would be you are as stubborn as a mule which means to convey the fact that you are being very stubborn. Another example would be He is as blind as a bat meaning he doesnt see very well. Similes are widely used by authors, songwriters, and poets. Following are some sweet similes:

Sweet as the last smile of sunset Sweet as the twilight notes of the thrush Sweet as the infant spring

Sweet as a cat with syrup in its paws Sweet as morning dew upon a rose Sweet as summer's showers

Metaphors Metaphors are an analogy where two unlike things are compared but have something in common. It sounds like you are stating a fact, but you have to think about it for it to make sense. For example, if you say, you are the wind beneath my wings you are not saying that a person can actually be wind. Instead, you are referring to the support you get from that person. Metaphors can be humorous while still getting the point across. Others use strange comparisons but are still effective. Examples include:

Don't be such an airhead Blueberry stains are stubborn Lets cross that bridge when we come to it Ill die of embarrassment

The new player is green Set the wheels in motion He is a diamond in the rough Late breaking news Bursting with flavor

Analogies as a Part of Language When you learn a new language, you learn word meanings and sentence structure. To really be fluent in a language takes a lot more than just knowing the basics. Language is also full of analogies that can vary by region or by groups of people. Every language not only has dialects and idioms, but changes over time. Words and phrases can begin to be used by the masses very quickly, especially with television and the Internet. To become fluent in a language takes more than knowing the meaning of every word. You will need to practice with native speakers of the language to also learn the everyday use of the language, such as the use of the analogy.