Eyes wide open
It is implied that because of the feeds, the people in the fictional universe did not have to use their eyes to see the outside world. When Titus wakes up and realizes that he no longer has his feed, the first thing he does is to open his eyes. His action is important because it can be considered as being metaphorical, standing for his new-found perception of the world.
Like a squid
After losing his ability to access the feed, Titus compares a vine he saw outside with a squid in love with the sky. While the comparison may appear strange, it shows that Titus was learning to make connections without the help of his feed and that he was beginning to no longer feel dependent on it.
Metaphor for superiority
Violet’s father is different in the sense that he used words considered as being impossible to understand by the other people. Being a professor who studied literature and language in general, Violet’s father distinguishes himself from the other people near him. The language he uses appears here as a metaphor for superiority and it is used to show just how different Violet’s father was from the rest of the population.
Diary
In the world where the characters live, no one seems to know how to write anymore. The people use their feeds to communicate with one another and thus writing and language in general became dead. Violet is among the only ones who still enjoys writing and thus she keeps a diary where she notes her thoughts and ideas. The diary is used here as a metaphor for rebellion and also to show that in comparison with others, Violet was different and she was not afraid to stand out from the crowd.
Metaphor for degradation
The people living on Earth during the time when the novel takes place all have strange lesions on their bodies, filled with puss that at times break and create painful wounds on the bodies of those who have them. The lesions are common in the novel, and they are also used as a metaphor that stands for the degradation brought forth by the advancement of human technology.
