The swaying white sheets
The image of Silencia being carried in white sheets becomes stuck in Mariamar's mind. She uses a simile to enhance the writer's perception of the swaying nature of the white sheets. The narrator notes: "Nevertheless, my mind could not rid itself of the persistent image: Silência's body being carried on shoulders, wrapped in white sheets that swayed like broken wings." The simile thus enhances the imagery of the swaying sheets.
Barbarism and cruelty
To be treated like an animal is an allusion to being ill and inhumanly treated. When Hanifa's husband compares his action of tying her up as if she were an animal, the perception that he was treating her in a barbaric, cruel, and bestial nature is brought out. The narrator notes: "I'm going to tie you with a rope, like an animal."
The astronomic gaze
The woman's gaze up at the ceiling is compared to the gaze of an astronomer at the noonday sky. The simile enhances the reader's perception of the woman's hypnotized and captivated state by the ceiling, as an astronomer would with the noonday sky. The narrator notes: "The woman gazes up at the ceiling like an astronomer gazing up at the noonday sky."
Waving arms
The narrator's waving arms as he tries to save Archie are brought out via the employment of a comparative language. The comparison by relating the waving components to flattering flags enhances imagery. The narrator notes: "And I could see myself standing in the middle of the road, my arms waving like flags fluttering."
The lioness's swaying tail
The imagery of the lioness's swaying tail is perceived through a simile in which it is directly compared to a fury pendulum's swaying. The rapid and intensity of the swaying tail are thus enhanced: "Then she slowly withdraws, her tail swaying like a furry pendulum, each step caressing the earth's surface."
