Drowning in Metaphors
Charles Dickens uses metaphors in nearly everything, and tends to extend them far longer than is necessary. For example, he references fog nonstop for the entire first half of chapter one. On the one hand, the imagery is perfect for setting the scene, on the other, his overuse of it gets out of hand, making the reader think: "Okay, we get it. There's a lot of fog. Fog this, fog that, fog here, fog there, fog everywhere. And you still keep mentioning the fog! Get on with it." and then Charles Dickens is like: " Hey, did I mention? There's fog!" And the reader is like: "Yes, we know, what else is there?" And Charles Dickens is like: "Did you know there is a lot of fog?"
Normally, I like metaphors and references, but the excessive, redundant nature of Dickens' metaphors is maddening and disconcerting. It makes it hard to focus on what is actually happening. And this is not confined to just the fog metaphor, at another point there is a character who rants about his "connections" for a paragraph or so; using the word in nearly every sentence. This is meant to show the corruption, but really just detracts and distracts from the flow of the narrative. Charles Dickens is good with storytelling and use of imagery and metaphors, but his overuse of the latter two to the nth degree significantly hampers his narrative.
I commented on Breanna Poole, Ian Blair, and Song Whittington's blog posts.
He is rather overbearing on the metaphors. Perhaps it's just my mental state, but I found them, or rather the fog metaphor, relatable. Though I know it was merely to set the scene, it resonated with some mental fog I've been stepping through. On any other circumstance, however, I'm sure I would have found Dickens' redundancy a nuisance rather than a comfort.
ReplyDeleteThe fog is the metaphor for suspense though, right? Just like you want him to stop talking about the fog, you also want him to reveal the detail we are waiting on: the twist that is so surrounded by suspense. The fog shows corruption, but at the same time, is it not also concealing it?
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, yes, the fog is an excellent metaphor. The problem is that there is enough fog here to condense and fill the entire pacific ocean. There is a point when you have overused a metaphor, and Dickens crossed it at least tenfold.
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