Profit-minded Santas (Simile)
Describing the garbage pickers returning to Annawadi, Boo writes, "Each evening, they returned down the slum road with gunny sacks of garbage on their backs, like a procession of broken-toothed, profit-minded Santas." Boo contextualizes the scene with a commercialized, Western reference that compares the garbage pickers to Santa Claus, but instead of toys, their sacks are filled with the trash of wealthier Mumbai residents.
Sorting People Like Sorting Garbage (Simile)
Abdul reflects on the fact that their Muslim background limits the opportunities for regular work in Mumbai, and the fact that Mirchi likely will not be able to work at a five-star hotel because of this. Boo writes, "It made sense to Abdul that in a polyglot city, people would sort themselves as he sorted his garbage, like with like" (13).
Human Shock Absorbers (Metaphor)
Of Asha, Boo writes, "This development increased the demand for canny mediators—human shock absorbers for the colliding, narrowly construed interests of one of the world’s largest cities" (20). Asha acts as a mediator between the residents of the slum and the city officials; she acts as a buffer for the residents' complaints so that the officials don't have to interact with them.
Rain like Nails (Simile)
Of a particularly miserable week for weather in Annawadi, Boo writes, "This year, the clouds broke early, and for a week the rain came down like nails" (73). Comparing the rain to nails, in this context, emphasizes its damaging effect on the residents of Annawadi, most of whom live in unsealed huts. Such constant rain, for them, is more than an inconvenience, it is a real hazard to health and wellbeing.
Bruised Sky (Simile)
Of the sunset sky over Annawadi, Boo writes, "It was 8 P.M. now, the sky above the maidan purple as a bruise" (98). Describing the sky as bruised emphasizes the aching pain that the residents of the slum must endure, especially following Fatima's burning.
