Question

Which of the following sentences draws a metaphor?

• A. Karl Marx argued that the interests of two classes, the proletariat and the bourgeois, are always in conflict and irreconcilable.
• B. Karl Marx labelled the capitalist a parasite on the back of labour because the whole value of the produce created by the labouring man was expropriated by the capitalist.
• C. Weber held that the protestant ethic was responsible for the rise of capitalism in medieval Europe.
• D. Galbraith argued for a better balance between private affluence and public poverty, including measures to protect the environment against the excesses of private companies.

Hint:

Look for a word from one domain (like biology) applied directly to describe something else; that direct labeling is the metaphor.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

A metaphor calls one thing another thing directly (without using "like" or "as") to highlight a shared quality. We need the sentence that names something as if it literally were something else.

1. Option A: States a literal fact about Marx's view on class conflict; there is no image or comparison being drawn, just a plain description of a position.
2. Option B: Calls the capitalist "a parasite on the back of labour." A parasite is a literal biological organism that lives off a host; here the word is used to directly describe the capitalist, carrying over the idea of feeding off someone else's effort. This is a clear metaphor.
3. Option C: A plain historical claim about Weber's theory linking the protestant ethic to capitalism; nothing is being figuratively compared to something else.
4. Option D: Describes Galbraith's policy argument in literal terms; "private affluence" and "public poverty" are contrasted directly, not through a figurative image.

Option B is the only sentence that names one thing (the capitalist) as another thing (a parasite) to carry over a quality, which is exactly what a metaphor does.

Let's summarize:

• A metaphor directly labels one thing as another to transfer meaning.
• Calling the capitalist "a parasite" (option B) does exactly this.
• The remaining options are plain, literal statements of fact or argument.

So the answer is option B.