Whipping hair around like proud war banners
The writer uses a simile in which the proud and carefree nature of the girls is brought out. Specifically, the narrator compares the way in which the girls’ whip their hair around like proud war banners. In this way, the reader is able to have a more pronounced imagery of the depicted action, that is, the whipping around of hair.
The rising of the stadium from the suburban prairie “like an engorged and wart-spattered three-quarter moon”
The imagery of the stadium appearing on the horizon is enhanced in this work through the use of a simile. The narrator says that the stadium appeared on the horizon emerging from the sweep of the suburb prairies “like an engorged and wart-spattered three-quarter moon.”
Like air escaping through a pinhole wound
Billy’s TV appearance is followed by a series of self-reflections that bring out his struggles with self-confidence. The realization that many things could happen during his TV appearance or as a result of this TV appearance sets of a feeling in “his gut like air escaping through a pinhole wound.” While this comparison enhances imagery, it also brings out the intensity of this feeling in Billy’s gut.
The bristling of the cloud deck “like giant Brillo pad”
Through the stadium’s dome, the gathering bad weather is comprehensible. In fact, the ferocious nature of the weather is brought out through a link to hell where the writer says that the weather was going to hell. The narrator compares the bristling cloud deck to a giant Brillo pad, a situation that facilitates imagery.
The whoof sounds of the rotary vortex of the Mercedes “like the flapping wings of the angel of death”
The narrator uses a simile to directly compare the sounds made by the speeding Mercedes to the flapping wings of the angel of death. Through this comparison, the reader is able to comprehend the deathly feeling elicited by the vehicle’s speed.
