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The Use Of Metonyms In Orange Is The New Black

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“Prison is not an isolated institution, it is part of a continuum in the control of women, whether by our lack of access to economic independence, violence, racism or specific laws that target women such as prostitution and social security. The society that condemns the behavior of women it imprisons, yet accepts the treatment prisoners are given inside is at best hypocritical, but perhaps more correctly, sadistic” (Amanda George). The prison system takes people away from their families and communities, for petty crimes and then give harsh sentences that doesn’t match the crime that was committed. Women are placed in an oppressive and controlling environment which subjects them to be treated in a manner which society looks down on but accept and sadly, does nothing about. Correspondingly, Piper Kerman wrote a memoir “Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison” …show more content…

Metonym is a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated. The creator of Orange Is the New Black, Jenji Kohan uses the metaphoric language of metonyms so that the audience can feel connected to the characters by the use of nicknames. It was important for her to use metonyms because it helped the audience to establish a relationship and feel connected to each character. In Orange Is the New Black the inmates in Litchfield are called by their last names by the officers. This can make one feel like less of a person and more dehumanizing. Metonyms are shown through characters such as Red, Crazy Eyes and Dandelion (a nickname given by one of the inmates for Piper). These names are representations of their personalities and to build a relationship between each inmates and the viewers. The purpose of this is to make each character more humane in such horrendous

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