This dissertation unfolds around a series of metaphors with which I will illustrate, problematize, and refashion the traditional Western view of translation in a way that is accessible to those who are not familiar with the post-Nietzschean notions of language upon which this study is founded. My first metaphor, translation as redressing, will help illustrate how the most basic notion of translation in the West is explicitly tied to Plato's view of representation outlined in The Republic, as well as introduce the implications that Nietzsche's radical critique of Platonism has for our understanding of this practice. The second metaphor, translation as cannibalism, which is often associated with post-Nietzschean approaches, will not only illustrate the inseparability of the translator from what is being translated, but, also, show that we cannot simply rid ourselves of the Platonic tradition that this metaphor seeks to subvert. In the third chapter, I will use translation as a metaphor to help investigate the process by which national identities are constructed and cross-cultural encounters take place and, in turn, examine what these processes can tell us about the practice of translation. Drawing upon ideas discussed throughout the dissertation, I will focus on the creation of Antes O Mundo Não Existia ["Before the World Didn't Exist"], written in Desana and translated into Portuguese by two Desana Indians, in order to explore the notion of translation as an encounter in which both sides become entangled and transformed.

More than merely providing illustrations, metaphor holds an important place in this study because of its close connection to translation. Translation and metaphor not only share a common etymology, but they have both been designated as secondary forms of representation in the Western, Platonic tradition, and, consequently, have both undergone similar revisions in contemporary, post-Nietzschean philosophy, which has given them positions of primary importance. Thus, both concepts share similar stakes and can aid in rethinking the process through which we constantly construct truth and meaning in a world where the metaphorical and the proper, or a translation and its original, cannot be separated.