The narrator’s Father
The narrator vividly presents his father’s appearance and sense of fashion through the use of varied choice of vocabulary. She describes how he wears long underwear throughout the year and uses a simile to enhance the perception of the scent of his dark plaid shirt. He says: “He wears a dark plaid shirt that smells like wool and him, his hair and everything.” Through the use of this simile, a more profound understanding of the smell of the clothes of the narrator’s father is enhanced.
The narrator’s house
Intense descriptions enhance the reader’s understanding of the scenes depicted in a literary work. In the presentation of the narrator’s house, descriptions are used and the imagery of the house is enhanced through the use of a simile: “Our house is like a cave dug out with the roof made of branches and wire and metal with tarps and plastic on top of that and then the earth where everything is growing.” The dire and inhumane living conditions of the narrator and his family are thus made explicit through the use of the description.
The transparency of the leaves
The transparency of the leaves is particularly made prominent through the narrator’s use of a simile: “The leaves are like lace, the sun shining through.” Since the sun is able to shine through the leaves, their resemblance to lace especially with respect to transparency is made explicit.
The imagery of the slanting trees
The writer resorts to a basic mathematical concept to enhance the imagery of the trees slanting on each other in the forest. In particular, the concept of the hypotenuse enhances the conception of the idea of trees resting on other trees: “Some trees fall into other trees and never hit the ground but rest like the hypotenuse of a triangle slanting in the air.”
Randy’s smell and taste
The comprehension of the smell and taste of Randy’s skin is enhanced through the use of a simile where his smell is likened to that of a chemical and paint whereas the taste of his skin is likened to salt: “Father gave Randy to me and when I first got him, he smelled like a chemical and paint.” The taste of Randy’s skin is brought out when the narrator notes: “I touch my tongue to him and he tastes like salt from my hands.”
