Train (A metaphor)
One of the voices in the novel asks Shy this question when he is escaping from the Last Chance school: “For such a clever boy, you really are intent on crashing on your own train, aren’t you?” The train is a metaphor for Shy’s life. Shy engages in actions that are self-destructive. An example of such an action is attempting to run away from a school that would have helped him become a better young man.
Shadow (A metaphor)
Porter compares Shy to a shadow. He writes, “He [Shy] turns his back and wanders into the blue. Moving shadow.” Shy is like a moving shadow because he is walking in the dark. He pushes on with his plan of escaping from the school in the dark when his peers are asleep.
Trap and Baby (Similes)
Shy gets into a fight after hearing about the impending closure of Last Chance. He starts looking for trouble by barging in and arguing with his peers. He gets into a fight with Jamie; his peers mock him by chanting the words “Shizo Shy.” Eventually, Steve manages to hold “him back, arms like a trap, shushing him like a baby.” The two similes (trap and baby) are used to underscore Shy’s vulnerability and unhinged nature that must be brought under control.
Vehicle (A metaphor)
A voice reminds Shy that he is “the driver of this vehicle.” The vehicle is metaphorical of the feelings that Shy should learn to recognize. The recognition of the feelings can help him to weigh their implication on all the things that he does.
“Climbing a tree” (A simile)
Shy and Posh Cal talk about their encounters with girls. The talk includes their naivety about sex. Cal adds to the topic by recounting how it was equivalent to “climbing a tree and falling off the first branch.” The simile underscores how Cal did not know how to go about it. The topic of the talk confirms that they are coming of age; they are no longer young boys.
