Question

Read the excerpt from the Iroquois Constitution. “You, the Five Nations Confederate Lords, be firm so that if a tree falls on your joined arms it shall not separate or weaken your hold.” How does the figurative language in this sentence support the purpose of the passage?

Answer 1

It indicates that the Lords’ commitment to the Five Nations must be unbreakable.

Answer 2

It is indicated that the Five Nations Confederate Lords integrate a conglomerate, and so a link is formed between them.

The figurative language is introduced when a heavy burden or a hard-to-handle situation stands before the Confederate Lords, and these issues are represented as a tree (a heavy object) that falls over the Lords' link.

The purpose of this metaphore is to declare that the link joining the Confederate Lords must endure against all things.