The simile of Ramani
Ramani joined a bad group of boys that engaged in drinking illegal alcohol. These boys thought that they were smart but they did not know they were ruining their lives. Nobody in the neighborhood was interested because it was the responsibility of their parents and relatives to correct the boys. However, the narrator felt sorry for Ramani, a son of the deceased parents that were well known to him. The narrator made a step to correct Ramani from his bad company. However, Ramani did not listen and the narrator says, "But when I told Ramani to keep away from those hot-shots he grinned like a sheep and said I was wrong, nothing bad was taking place.” The response from Ramani kept the narrator away and he decided to mind his own business.
The simile of Armband Youths
Ramani was in a group of youths who put on the armbands to symbolize their newly formed youth movement. However, Ramani accompanied these boys without wearing the Armband. The Armband boys did everything possible to ensure that Ramani was comfortable around them so that he could give them money and by them the illegal liquor whenever they wanted. To achieve their goal, the armband boys flattered Ramani and the author writes, “Such a handsome chap, they told him, compared to you Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh are like lepers only, you should go to Bombay and be put in the motion pictures.” When Ramani was told these flattering words, he felt loved and appreciated and he decided to remain in the group because he thought that he was not doing anything bad.
The metaphor of the movie dreams
The narrator articulates that if there is one thing that misled Ramani in his entire life was the movie's dreams. The movie dreams are metaphorically used by the narrator to mean illusions and false hope. The bad boys promised Ramani heaven and they assured him that good life and luxury were just miles away and his life could change for the better. Such illusions and false hope made Ramani refuse good advice from the people of goodwill like the narrator. What Ramani failed to realize in advance was that all the promises made to him were empty. The narrator says, “So now Ramani's head became filled with these movie dreams because there was nothing else inside to take up any space…..."
The simile of the widow
The narrator was not happy with the widow. Considering her age, she was supposed to be respectful and keep away from the young boys. However, the widow did everything possible to seduce Ramani in the presence of the narrator. The widow flattered Ramani by telling him that he was as handsome as Lord Krishna. Ramani accepted the compliment and showed interest in having an affair with her. The narrator sensed danger and he decided that he needed to do something to prevent this relationship for the sake of Ramani's dead parents to ensure that their son is not endangered anymore. When the narrator met the widow for the second time, he scolded calling her a thief's widow. The narrator says, "She stopped dead, jerking her face in an ugly way as if I had hit her with a whip." The reaction of the widow is compared to someone who had been hit by a whip.
An idiot child (Metaphor)
The term 'idiot child' is metaphorically used by the narrator to represent someone who is misled blindly to ruin his own life. The narrator did not support the marriage between the young boy, Ramani with the widow. However, Ramani was blinded to believe that her life and dreams were valid because she got married to the widow. The narrator knew outrightly that Ramani had subjected himself to humiliation. When Ramani coincidentally sat beside the narrator under the tree, the narrator told him "My idiot child, you have let the woman deprive your manhood!” Nevertheless, teacher Sahib's advice did not make Ramani shiver because he argued that age does not stop the lovemaking exercise with his widowed wife.
