Example 1
Boswell, Johnson, Addison
In his work, The Life of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell uses extensive analogies to juxtapose the two writers and dispel the depreciation of Addison’s work by showing how the two writers possess differing styles that are both valuable and skilled.
To do this, Boswell takes advantage of several analogies to compare the two writers. He utilizes one of these analogies when he likens Addison’s style to a wise friend sharing his opinions and Johnson’s writing to a didactic teacher. He uses this to show the way that Johnson writes as one explaining and writing to those under him, whereas Addison writes to his audience as an equal. Another analogy that Boswell uses is a comparison between the two writers and differing kinds of alcoholic drinks, both strong and light, with Johnson’s writing being the powerful beverage that profoundly changes a person and Addison being the smoother drink that provides a buzz of enlightenment. Boswell describes the writers through analogies in order to explain to the reader how the tone of each writer is different and why one isn’t necessarily better than the other. The use of analogies gives the writing style of each author a certain level of personification that paints a clear image of the style’s value in the mind of the reader.
Boswell does all of this in order to fight the idea that Addison’s work is “nerveless and feeble.” In the passage, Boswell shows that Addison’s style doesn’t stand up to Johnson’s because it is not supposed to; Addison’s style is simply different from Johnson’s, not inferior to it. Both a hammer and a paint brush are needed to complete a house, and one is not inferior or superior to the other but simply have different uses, even if one is more expensive. Similarly, Addison and Johnson’s writings are simply different, though Johnson’s may carry more value. Boswell uses the analogies to show this, characterizing Addison’s writings as a pleasurable, smooth wine compared to Johnson’s strong, sometimes harsh liquor. Though the end of the passage intimates that Boswell holds Johnson in higher esteem than Addison, he makes it clear that Johnson’s strength does not prove Addison’s weakness. Gold may be more valuable than silver, but silver is still valuable.
Boswell’s analogies make it clear that Addison and his style are valuable and not to be depreciated, even though Johnson’s stronger, more energetic style seems to more naturally dominate. Addison’s suave, gentile style is to be valued and appreciated for what it is and is not to be viewed as a failed attempt to write like Johnson, even if Johnson’s work and level of expertise should be admired and sought after.
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