I was working on an assignement when I ran across this metaphor, which I'm supposed to explain and clarify, but IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!

The context: The story takes place in new france over 300 years ago or so, in a small village near the St-Laurence river. A little girl (the main character) is in a classroom. Her teacher is dying from a mortal illness (not specified), and none of the other characters know it. During the course of the story, she tries to pass down all of her knowledge to the little girl.

Now, going back to the little girl in the classroom. The teacher walks by her and smiles, then whispers into her ear;

Within these eyes, the river is so deep that all of the king's horses could drink from it. The king's horses and the king himself. Was he not already advancing, at the horizon, to drink as deep as his dark eyes?


Any ideas?


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WAITER: Here’s your green salad, sir.
ANAKIN: What? You fool, I told you NO CROUTONS! Aaaaaaargh!

[This message has been edited by Flexor (edited June 29, 2004).]

Sounds something like knowledge equated with power, and the king wanting such, perhaps told as a warning to the person their knowledge is being passed down to. I can tell you is the general uses of the symbols:

Eyes - soul, window
river - two things really: water, as life giving or renewal and path, journey... you know, "time is like a river" stuff
horses - military might most likely with comparison to king
king - if not literal, anyone of high position, possibly a corrupt source
horizon - future (duh)
deep as his dark eyes - where it seems to equate the idea of absolute power corrupts absolutely"

Hope that helps.

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The metaphor is the comparison of the teacher's eyes to the river, but 'eyes' is more like 'soul' or 'mind'. The gist of it is that she's experienced so much in her lifetime that to share all of it is improbable (horses will never drink a river dry), but she tries anyway. The king advancing at the horizon is her impending death.

I think.

More importantly, what are you doing in a classroom?

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"Look at me! I'm Tracer! BLAHBLAHBLAH!"

-MBeggar

My initial impression was that the teacher was refferring to the little girl, and that it had something to do with her spirit and her mind being deep enough to hold all of her knowledge and experience, but I can't see how the last bit fits in all of this.

"the river is deep enough" could be a way of saying 'you have your whole life ahead of you, I, on the other hand, am about to die'.

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WAITER: Here’s your green salad, sir.
ANAKIN: What? You fool, I told you NO CROUTONS! Aaaaaaargh!

Sounds good. Just run with whatever you can back up.

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"Look at me! I'm Tracer! BLAHBLAHBLAH!"

-MBeggar

Sounds like crap to me.

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EvilMagic.net: Brian's Web Log

ookkkaaayyy... care to explain why?

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WAITER: Here’s your green salad, sir.
ANAKIN: What? You fool, I told you NO CROUTONS! Aaaaaaargh!

Why don't make that the little girl have Force-powers?

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Sprite Mod (JO 2003)

That is what I would go with, it's what makes the most sense to me, and what I most likely would use.

Just seems to make the most sense, at least to me.

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RiP -MaDaVentor-
The Limelite

I agree. I hate assignments like this with a passion.

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Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me,
You told them all I was crazy,
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, God damn you.
============
Frogblast the Vent-Core!

I agree. It probably doesn't mean anything.

Just decide on something for it to mean, and then be able to back it up. If you can do that then the teacher can't complain.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right." -Isaac Asimov

[This message has been edited by Bobbert006 (edited June 30, 2004).]

I think the river represents some sort of pie. And the king likes pie. So the king eats the pie, with his horses... And the teacher thinks, that the girl should eat different kinds of pie, to spite the king, who only eats one kind of pie from that one pie river thing.

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"Just remember -- No matter how bad things get, Northern Minnesota will always be there"
-- Garrison Keeler

If that question weren't worth so many points I would soooo write that down!

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WAITER: Here’s your green salad, sir.
ANAKIN: What? You fool, I told you NO CROUTONS! Aaaaaaargh!