Those responsible should suffer severe sanctions if found guilty. However, we must separate guilt from blame. Should these few Army reservists be blamed as the "bad apples" in a good barrel of American soldiers, as our leaders have characterized them? Or are they the once-good apples soured and corrupted by an evil barrel? I argue for the latter perspective after having studied the psychology of evil for many decades. In fact, I have been responsible for constructing evil barrels that produced many bad apples. . . . Before more of our youth are corrupted, perhaps the time has come to empty out the vinegar of needless war that has filled that evil barrel.---Philip G. Zimbardo, The Boston Globe, May 9, 2004

Above is an example of an extended metaphor, in which the writer maintains a single comparison over several sentences. When one metaphor is used judiciously throughout a single piece of writing, the effect can be powerful.

A. How many individual elements make up the metaphor of the apple barrel? How many times is each element mentioned?

B. How effective do you find this metaphor? What makes it work or not work?

C. Create your own extended metaphor by using a single comparison over five or six sentences. It may be serious or humorous. Read your extended metaphor to your classmates.