The buggy simile
In ‘A Christmas Memory,’ the buggy is described as wobbling ‘like a drunkard’s legs.’ This simile gives an idea of how unstable the buggy is.
Strangers on the train
In ‘A Tree of Night,’ Kay’s meeting of the strangers on the train is a metaphor for her maturation and growth. She is uncomfortable with the situation, which represents the fact she is uncomfortable growing up.
Cobweb movement metaphor
The narrator uses a metaphor to describe the way Miriam eats her food, saying that her fingers made “cobweb movements.’ This emphasis Miriam’s ghost-like quality, suggesting that she is frail and barely-there.
Miriam's hair
Capote describes Miriam using a simile, describing her unusual hair color: “Her hair was the longest and strangest Mrs. Miller had ever seen: absolutely silver-white, like an albino's.”
Mrs. Miller simile
Capote describes Mrs. Miller using a simile at the beginning “Mrs. Miller hurried, her head bowed, obliviously as a mole burrowing a blind path.” This description presents Mrs. Miller as an unsuspecting woman, making her an easy target for the menacing Miriam.
Mrs. Miller's complexion
Mrs. Miller’s complexion after Miriam visits her is described as being “mottled in red patches, as though a fierce slap had left permanent marks.”
Dreams
Mrs. Miller's dreams are described as being incredibly complex and chaotic, with the use of a simile: “one dream threaded through the others like an elusively mysterious theme in a complicated symphony.”
