Mccarthy: Use Of Analogies And Metaphors

Analogies and metaphors are used to compare things in order to help simplify a claim or make it more memorable. McCarthy uses a metaphor when stating, “Ours could have been the honor of being a beacon in the desert of destruction, a shining, living proof that civilization was not yet ready to destroy itself” (para 7). He discusses what the United States could have been at war’s end if this country was not “losing on every front.” In this metaphor he compares the U.S. to a beacon pointing out the horrifying results of Communism as it sits around the World that is Crumbling from World War II. By comparing the country to a beacon in “a desert of destruction,” McCarthy compares the United States to humanity’s last hope at civilization. By using

I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy” (para 9). In this metaphor he compares the State Department to place that has been infested with rats, the rats being Communists spies. Moreover, he made accusations and claims about having in his hand the names of 57 individuals who are card carrying Communist, yet are working in the government and shaping foreign policy. This plants fear in the audience by making them feel as though they are unsafe since the government is falling to Communism, therefore immediate action must be taken to eliminate Communist traitors and restore the security of the country. Furthermore, McCarthy uses an analogy when stating, “This cloak of numbness and apathy has only needed a spark to rekindle them. Happily, this spark has finally been supplied” (para 12). McCarthy claims that after seeing war and mass murder, people become numb and, like a fire, they need a spark to

These facts being President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, that time of the World War II victory, the quotes by Stalin and Lenin and lastly, the number of people living in Russia at the time. This indicates that everything else stated in this speech was subjective, yet it still managed to move a nation to sensor American institutions, books and movies. It caused people to become superstitious of their friends, neighbors and coworkers. Was what McCarthy did correct? No. Did he do it the correct way? Certainly not, because he created widespread fear and chaos that ended up costing people their careers, friends and in one case their lives. However, was McCarthy successful in persuading the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club and later America that the Country, democracy and Christianity were under threat of Communism expansion? Without