The train's clattering sound
As the train begins its movements, it jerks and makes a clattering sound, which the narrator compares to the sound of hundreds of crashing milk cans. The simile enhances the familiarity, which also makes the comparison appealing: "As the train started to move, it jerked and made a loud clattering sound, like hundreds of milk cans crashing."
"…crawled through like snakes."
The narrator uses a simile to compare how they crawled through a hole under the fence to snakes. The narrator notes: "…Papá spotted a small hole underneath the fence. […] We all crawled through like snakes." The simile thus enhances imagery.
The shell's sharp prongs
The piercing ability of the shell's sharp prongs is made explicit by comparing their scratching ability to that of a cat's claws. The simile enhances a more profound conception of the prong's scratching ability.
"The shells' sharp prongs scratched my hands like cat's claws and, sometimes, dug into the corner of my fingernails and made them bleed."
"Like a swarm of bees"
The enthusiasm of the narrator's class in seeing the caterpillar break free of its cocoon is implied by their reaction: "The whole class, like a swarm of bees, rushed over to the counter." The use of the simile in which the class is compared to a swarm of bees enhances the reader's conception of their large number.
"...my hands felt like ice"
Ice is often related to coldness. When the narrator compares the feeling within his hands to that of ice, the reader can develop a more refined understanding of the cold in his hands through the evoked sense of familiarity. The narrator notes: "Then as the liquid quickly cooled, my hands felt like ice."
