Mr. Robert Finch (metaphor and simile)
The description of Mr. Robert Finch is filled with negative impressions, and the author uses simile and metaphor to maintain this image. For example, when very angry “Mr. Robert’s mouth tightens like a rope pulled taut”, which means that he tries to collect himself not to burst out with anger; to describe the state of Mr. Robert’s personal affairs the metaphor is used: “he was filled up with trouble from his dirty boots to the brim of his scraggly hat” and the words ‘dirty’ and ‘scraggly’ add to the overall negative perception of this character.
The pox (metaphor)
The pox, which is a disease, is metaphorically implemented and even personified at some level, as it “had left Ruth and Isabel with scars like tiny stars scattered in the skin” and “took Momma home to the Maker”, which means that she died because of it.
Nature phenomena (similes and metaphors)
The author appeals to a different kind of comparison by talking about natural phenomena. For example, one morning when Isabel woke up she saw that “the sun had popped up in the east like a cork and was burning through the morning mist”; or “the fat moon lit the water like a lantern over a looking glass; a clean, cold breeze blew from the north”. The images of nature are used as background for the major events.
Fear (metaphor)
When Isabel realized that Mr. Robert was not going let them go she was really afraid, and “the cold inside her snaked down to her feet and up around her neck. She shivered in the warm spring sunshine.” The fear is metaphorically represented as cold.
Slaves (simile)
Isabel and her sister Ruth were sold “like bolts of faded cloth or chipped porridge bowls.” The simile carries the perception of the horrid reality of being a slave, when one’s life means not more than any other object around.
New York City (metaphor)
In 1776 New York was the place filled with contradictions, as one part of the population supported the rebels, the second part supported the King, and the third has not decided yet which side they should take. The author metaphorically calls New York “a ball tossed between the loyalists and Patriots”, and people living there were “a tribe of Mr. Facing- Both-Ways.” Besides, it was a busy city and its “folk was walking like their shoes were on fire” which at first frightened Isabel, as she had never left the farm before.
Thorny thought (simile)
The thought of being loyal to a person who owns you for Isabel “was prickly, like burrs trapped in her shift, pressing into her skin with every step”.
