In the article “The Myth of Police Reform” Coates uses three analogies to get his points across. You will need to analyze two of them.
Recall that an analogy is a comparison of one situation to another that is used to help the reader understand one situation better by connecting it to another situation that is either simpler or more familiar to the reader. The comparison may also be dramatic in order to create an emotional response. The two situations will not be entirely similar, but they should have something very important in common.
For example, I recently heard an interview where someone said that in several states, someone who denies that former President Trump lost the last election is running to become the Secretary of (their) State. The person being interviewed explained that the Secretary of State is responsible for ensuring that the election process is followed properly. The person said that having a Secretary of State who had pushed for overturning President Biden’s election even after scores of judges and independent researchers found no evidence of significant election fraud was like having an arsonist in charge of a fire station. The mental image of a person running around setting fires when they are supposed to be extinguishing them and supervising others who are supposed to do the same certainly illustrates a ridiculous and highly dangerous situation, which is what the speaker was saying would be created if these election results deniers were elected.
In an analogy, the comparisons may be signaled by words or phrases such as “like”, “just as”. “is to”, “is akin to” or “tantamount to”. An analogy may also be a metaphors, where one thing is called another, as in “The investigation is a witch hunt,” which is meant to imply that invsetgitors are looking for something that does not exist, just as people did in the actual historical Salem witch hunt that resulted in the execution of many ordinary women believed to have been spell-casting evil- doers.
For this short two- paragraph writing assignment, follow these steps:
1.Identify the exact words Coates uses in one analogy. (Place these words inside of quotes)
2. In your own words, tell what two situations are being compared.
3. Examine Coate’s word choice in the analogy, especially in the situation he invents to compare to the real one he is writing about. Answer this question: Why would he choose these exact words to get his message across? In other words, what do the words he chose in his comparison bring to mind or make you visualize?
4. Was the analogy likely to help the targeted reader, (probably an educated American who is interested in current events and policies, based on the magazine in which this article was published) understand his point? Why or why not?