Metaphor for death
At one point, when Lazaro was still serving the blind man, they entered a slaughterhouse which had ropes hanging from the ceiling. After touching them, the blind man became scared because they resembled the ropes used to hang people with. Thus, in this context, the ropes used here are used as a metaphor for death.
Metaphor for secrets
When Lazaro was serving the priest, he mentioned the fact that the priest had a chest where he used to keep all the food away from Lazaro. The chest is important because it is used here as a metaphor to suggest the secrets the priest had and the things he hid away from the rest of the world.
Just like a mouse
Also when Lazaro was staying with the priest, he developed a method of stealing bread from the priest and then making him believe that rodents were destroying his chest and stealing the food. In an indirect manner, Lazaro compared himself with a mouse and thus he highlighted the idea that he considered himself as being unimportant and disposable.
Metaphor for a lack of basic human rights
One thing that the reader notices about Lazaro is that he is perpetually hungry and underfeed. His masters are not interested in his well-being so they forget to give him enough food to eat. This lack of interest is a metaphor to suggest a lack for basic human rights and a lack of interest for the poor in general.
The house of death
When Lazaro was staying with the squire, he meet with a funeral procession and he hears the women lamenting the person who just passed. They ask the Gods not to take the dead man into the land where nothing grows and Lazaro gets scared, thinking that they may refer to the squire’s house. This comparison shows just how dreadful and how difficult it was for Lazaro to live in the houses of his former masters.
