"Like" "As": the deceptive link
The metaphor is a vehicle mediating between the object signified and the reality in-itself. It, as such, implies a similarity which may be non-existent. However, unlike the simile, it hides its artificiality by omitting the word "like" which acts as a visual link between the sign and signified in the simile.
The artificiality of the metaphor takes foreground in the age of reproducibility wherein technology is able to create almost exact semblance. It becomes the mediation wherein we try and define ourselves in relation to the world around us. The breaking down of language, in this way, marks the breaking down of all technologies of representation. Reality in-of-itself becomes increasingly elusive as not only language and our physical senses, but technology frames our taking in of life.
