“Journey of discovery”
Bryson recounts, "It was against this disturbed and erratic background that I became gripped with a curious urge to go back to the land of my youth and make what the blurb writers like to call a journey of discovery... I wanted to go back to the magic places of my youth." The journey is instrumental in enabling the speaker to relive his babyhood remembrances which were created with his deceased father. Psychoanalytically, the journey is tantamount to a regression that aids in soothing the pain which Bryson is weathering after the mourning of his father.
Tupperware
Bryson writes, "In Britain it had been a year without summer. Wet spring had merged imperceptibly into bleak autumn. For months the sky had remained a depthless grey. Sometimes it rained, but mostly it was just dull, a land without shadows. It was like living inside Tupperware. And here suddenly the sun was dazzling in its intensity." The allegorical 'Tupperware' accentuates the unfriendly weather in Britain. The weather is predominantly cold due to the absence of summer which would have warmed up Britain. Tupperware depicts a gloomy ambiance that makes life dull.
Dog-like
Bryson narrates, “Uneasily I drove on, and steeled myself for the prospect of a night spent beneath the stars with dog-like animals sniffing at my feet and snakes finding warmth up a trouser leg.” The steeling implies that Bryson is steeling himself for a life outdoors at night when animals which resemble dogs are on the loose. Night will fall before the conclusion of Bryson’s journey; hence, he is mentally prepared to encounter the dreaded animals in the backdrop of the night.
Seedy
Bryson writes, “Just down the road stood a little town…on the edge of town was an old motel which looked pretty seedy, though judging by the absence of charred furniture in the front yard it was clearly a set up from the sort of place my dad would have chosen.” The metaphorical ‘seedy’ underscores the motel’s shabbiness. The motel is utterly untidy, but Bryson goes there because it is the sole option which Bryson has.
Wheel-barrow
Bryson writes, “Afterwards I retired with a six-pack to my motel where I discovered that the bed, judging by its fragrance and shape had only recently been vacated by a horse…It was like lying in a wheel-barrow.” Bryson compares the previous occupant to a horse due to the omnipresence of the horse-like smell that lingers in the smell. Moreover, comparing the bed to a wheelbarrow confirms Bryson’s discomfort at the motel. The motel does not offer Bryson high quality services.
