Description of the soldiers
Alicia describes how she feels after her mother is shot by soldiers:
“They called for me to get moving, but their voices seemed to be coming as from underwater; I could not quite make out what they were saying. Their faces began to run also, so all I could see were two ugly blobs with dark spots for eyes and distorted, grotesque moving mouths.”
By saying that the soldiers sound like they are underwater, Alicia describes the trauma and shock she feels after the death of her mother, which has disorientated her. The two men become “two ugly blobs”, which emphasizes their lack of humanity to Alicia after committing such an atrocious act.
Prisoners metaphor
Here, Alicia describes the prisoners: "How can one describe the death march of what seemed to be a sea of men, women, and children? We were defenseless, demoralized people being pushed, hit, and even killed by the Germans and Ukrainians, who were driving us to some unknown destination.” She describes them as being a metaphorical “sea”, which emphasizes the number of people who were being taken.
Mourning simile
Alicia describes a woman who is mourning, saying that: “She looked to me like a branch dismembered from a tree, an arm without a body, a mind filled with grief, a bleeding heart, a walking tragedy.” Here, Alicia emphasizes the intense misery and grief that this woman is feeling. By describing her as being like a tree branch, Alicia emphasizes her frailty.
