Last Words
First, some clarity. Out of all the sentences that comprise this novel, it is probably not overly hyperbolic to suggest that at least twenty percent or so contain a metaphorical image of one sort or another. Almost every aspect of humanity that is covered in the tale is open to figurative expressions. On the one hand, this makes for interesting reading. On the other hand, too much of anything can be pushing the limit. The following example will suffice as a near-perfect display of the typical use of metaphor throughout the narrative:
“This is what is meant by last words: they are keys to unlock the afterlife. They're not last words but passwords, and as soon as they're spoken you can go.”
Character Description
Much of this plethora of metaphor and simile is directed toward describing characters. And much of that is narrowed to a specific focus upon describing Edward Bloom. He is a man worthy of such abundance of figurative language:
“It was as though he lived in a state of constant aspiration; getting there, wherever it was, wasn’t the important thing: it was the battle, and the battle after that, and the war was never ending.”
How Cars Used to Be
Edward Bloom is also a man who lived at a time when people could and did walk more often to get where they were going. Imagine living at a time when an automobile still possessed that special quality that comes with a technology not yet becoming an expectation of modern life:
“The car is my father's magic carpet. Not only does it get him places, but it shows him places.”
Meet Your Parents
We spend the bulk of our lives with them in one way or another, but an argument can be made that of all the people the average person knows best, the people they know least are their parents. Parents have a habit of remaining mom and dad throughout life and the reality of the knowledge that they did have a life before we arrive never really sinks in completely for most. If it did, we could tell our children a lot more about their grandparents:
“Beneath one facade there’s another facade and then another, and beneath that the aching dark place, his life, something that neither of us understands.”
How the Past Was
The main problem the son here has in talking about getting to really know the truth about his father is that his father is always quick with the quip. He complains that is father is always equipped with a joke and that, while funny, the humor also seems to serve a more serious purpose. Less than two full pages after explicitly addressing this issue, son asks father to tell him something what he was like as a child:
“I was a fat boy. Nobody ever would play with me. I was so fat I could only play seek. That’s how fat I was.”
