Mr. Feld’s unruly beard
The imagery of Mr. Feld’s rowdy and disorderly beard is enhanced through the use of a simile. The addition of the simile to his particularly vividly described appearance makes the evoked visual representation of him prominent. The writer notes: “Mr. Feld was a large, stout man with a short but unruly beard like tangled black wool.”
The weight of the creature on Ethan’s chest
The heaviness of the red fox-monkey sitting on Ethan’s chest is emphasized through the use of a simile. The direct comparison of its weight to the weight of a sack of nails thus facilitates the imagery and evokes the desired perception in the reader. The writer notes: “The creature weighed heavily on his chest, like a sack of nails.”
The creature’s foul smell
A simile is used in the direct comparison of the scary creature in Ethan’s dream to that of a fox. The writer notes: “…underneath the perfume it [the creature] stank like a fox, a rank smell of meat and mud.” In this way, the uncouth and foul smell of the creature is emphasized through the use of this simile.
Gasping like a fish
Ethan’s nightmare scares him. Even though he tries to scream, sound does not emerge. The narrator uses a simile to bring out the imagery of his opening and closing mouth, gasping like a fish: “Ethan opened and closed his mouth, gasping like a fish on a dock.”
“Flutter like the rustle of a curtain or flag”
A simile facilitates the direct comparison of the flutter in the trees following the crow’s ascension into the sky to the rustle of a curtain or a flag. The comparison facilitates a deeper conception of the sound made by the ascending crow in the trees: “In the trees to their left there was a sudden flutter, like the rustle of a curtain or a flag.”
