It is interesting how in the Chicago Tribune newspaper strips, the principles of metonymy, conceptual metaphors, and blending all involve some sort of reduction, addition, or alteration of elements to convey a specific expression.

For me, the most effective principle was that of metonymy. A metonymic reference is when one element is used to stand for another broader concept. As Cohn says in the reading: “The metonymic element has some sort of related connection to a broader conception that it invokes.” For example, when walking past this sign, even though it’s just a baguette, the audience can interpret it as representing a bakery.

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There are so many ways of implementing metonymy to convey different ideas. For example, in the strips, the red nose was an added element that represented comedy compared to the eliminated element of the person standing in the snow to represent them no longer having to wait for the bus. These are two different techniques, but they each work in their own way. Another principle that I thought was interesting was backformation, where the reader can only make sense out of the first image when they see the last one, therefore working backwards to create meaning. Even though it can be a little frustrating to the reader not really understanding the full picture right off the bat, it can work towards creating a moment of cleverness and realization for the reader.