How does synecdoche use a part to refer to a whole?

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Louisa May Alcott: Little Women — figure of speech Front cover of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel *Little Women*.

Synecdoche is a figure of speech that functions by substituting a part of something to represent the whole, or occasionally, using the whole to represent a part. By focusing on a specific, recognizable component, the speaker creates vivid imagery or shorthand for the entire subject.12

Common examples include:

Part for the whole: Using "hired hands" to refer to workmen, "wheels" to refer to a car, or "sails" to refer to ships.12
Whole for the part: Using the term "society" to specifically denote "high society".12

While often confused with metonymy—which involves replacing a word with something closely associated with it—synecdoche is distinct because it relies on a literal part-to-whole relationship rather than a broader association.132