Creature metaphor
Elizabeth uses a metaphor to describe herself as a "frightened little creature" when she was a teenager. In doing so, she encourages us to feel a sense of sympathy for her, as she seemingly didn't have much of a choice in giving up Glen for adoption.
Glen's behaviour
Glen's childish behavior metaphorically represents the fact he hasn't grown up. He still acts like a child, which includes throwing tantrums, refusing to do what he is told, and trying to provoke Elizabeth. This represents the fact he has not grown up properly and is still psychologically stuck in his childhood.
Net metaphor
Glen uses a metaphor to describe how most adults try to recapture their childhood:
"From what I see most grown-ups try to capture their childhoods again one way or another. But they have too many holes in their nets. They don't work at it enough."
In using this comparison, Glen suggests that most people fail where he is succeeding. Unlike most people, Glen seeks to relive his childhood and recapture it.
Glen's return
Glen's return into Elizabeth's life is a metaphor for the fact that he is often on her mind. Elizabeth admits that she thinks about him often, and his return represents the fact that the thought of him will never truly go away.
Goldfish simile
Describing how bored he was listening to a man at the hospital, Glen uses a simile:
"On and on he went with that goldfish mouth of his opening and shutting."
By describing the man as being like a goldfish, Glen suggests that he is mindless and boring.
Woodpecker simile
Again, Glen uses a simile to describe how boring the conversations were in the hospital. He compares the man's words to a woodpecker, pecking at his head:
"Words, words, words... like a woodpecker drilling into my skull."
