A Sip of Water (Metaphor)
Be Auntie says to Puah that "sometimes the best a woman could be was a sip of water" for men, slaking their figurative thirst and offering momentary relief.
Eyes as Questions (Metaphor)
Samuel has a vision of the shadow of a woman rising from the dark: “And yet, there she was: a black that made night jealous with eyes that were, themselves, questions.” He describes her eyes as “questions,” evoking their depth and mysterious quality.
Grave and Tomb (Metaphor)
Sarah describes Empty as “the grave and the tomb,” emphasizing how it is both the site of death and the burial grounds for its inhabitants (p. 122).
Butterflies (Simile)
Sarah says she is “like Essie’s butterflies” to illustrate that she has been skirting around Isaiah and Samuel’s existences, keeping them in her periphery but never drawing too close.
River (Metaphor)
Be Auntie compares herself to a river in the sense that both are flexible in their fertility: "Be Auntie was a river. In between, fertile or arid land, depending on the location." Depending on the circumstance, both Be Auntie and the river have varying degrees of fertility, as Be Auntie has been forced to have sex and bear children for the slave masters countless times.
Outhouse (Metaphor)
Be Auntie likens herself to “men’s rest stop and peace of mind; she was their cookhouse, flophouse, and outhouse” (pg. 93). She makes this comparison to illustrate how she, an older female slave, has been relegated to the roles of taking care of men's most basic needs: food, sex, and waste.
