The white fence
The narrator focuses on the white fence described at the beginning of the novel and they remain an important element for the narrator. The fence is also used here as a metaphor representing the safety offered by a close-knit family.
Like a flood coming over him
At the beginning of the novel, Jacques had almost no memories related to the time he spent in Germany as a child. It is implied that this was the result of extreme trauma and that Jacques's subconscious simply repressed the bad memories of his past. This changes when the main character first reaches Germany and sees places he was once familiar with. Jacques begins to get his memories back and the narrator compares this event with a violent flood. This comparison is important because it transmits the violent nature of the memories and how they affected the main character.
The death of the adoptive parents
Jacques's adoptive parents died when he was a young adolescent, leaving the young boy with no family and no friends to stand by him. This destabilized him and send him on a slippery path characterized by pain and suffering. The disappearance of the parents is a traumatic event for Jacques but it is also used as a metaphor for the end of the period characterized by security and safety.
Rain falling from the sky
Berlin is still in ruins when Jacques first reaches the city. The battles which were fought there were visible on every building and on every street. The people who survived the bombing still remembered vividly the terror they went through and described it to the main character as well. It is here that the comparison between the falling bombs and rain appears for the first time. This comparison also evokes a powerful image of violence which affected everyone, indiscriminately.
Paris
The action of the novel ends in Paris, the city Jacques decided to call home after finishing his extensive quest to find the truth about his parents. In comparison with Berlin, Paris is described as a normal city, untouched by the horrors the characters saw in Germany, Poland, or Chechoslovakia. Paris is safe and lively and because of this, it is also used as a metaphor to represent the idea of peace.
