Business

What metaphors are used in Business by Victor Hernandez Cruz?

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There is always the metaphor of individualism embedded in business. "Business" draws on the long history of individualism in America, eliciting sympathy from readers for the plight of a simple street musician who has been denied his right to make a living. Cruz highlights the importance of the individual in the West in two ways: one, he makes the main character in the story a vendor and a musician, someone who both sells things for a living and artistically expresses himself through his music; two, he places the individual in opposition to the law, an institutional branch of government which often squashes the rights of individuals. The judge's angry question, "What kind of business / is this[?]," is rhetorical, and meant to suggest that the kind of business practiced by the musician is against the law. The vendor first violated the law (presumably) by selling his wares and performing on the street, and then showed his contempt for the law by doing the same thing in court and winning over the detectives and court clerks. The judge symbolically represents not only the law but also the idea of collectivism, which puts the many ahead of the individual.