Comic Effect
One of the most memorable uses of metaphorical imagery in the novel is utilized for comic effect. There is just something inherent funny—in the right situation—with the use of repetition:
“He feels like a dog that has to be taken on walks to get his energy out. Especially when June says, ‘You’re like a dog that has to be taken on walks to get his energy out.’”
Sex
Sex used to be the mountain which could be scaled only through the use of metaphor. Then pornography went mainstream and ruined nearly all the fun. Since even YA novels these days are routinely filled with explicit sex, one cannot help but extract a good use of old-fashioned metaphor to describe intercourse and give it its due:
“Henry lets Alex take him apart with painstaking patience and precision, moans the name of God so many times that the room feels consecrated.”
Allusion
The author comes up with a terrific metaphor for lovers obstructed by circumstances. But then makes the fatal error of explaining the allusion. This error is doubly horrific because the explanation is dependent upon Alex—who up to this point has been repetitively identified as super-bright—not being literate enough to get the reference. The reference will not be explained here. Look it up!
“Dear Thisbe, I wish there weren’t a wall. Love, Pyramus”
Pop Culture
Unlike Pyramus and Thisbe which have kept fairly well-known for millennia, it is highly dubious that either of the pop culture references in this metaphorical image will still be recognizable in another thousand years. But that’s the dice one must throw when turning to pop culture for the metaphor:
“Anderson Cooper’s face looms on the screen overhead like a disgustingly handsome Hunger Games cannon, announcing they’re ready to call Florida.”
Politics
The world of politics has its own little dictionary of metaphorical terminology. Some have managed to stick around for some time—“riding coattails” and “lame duck”—while others have kind of fallen out of favor, like “carpetbagger” and “stalking horse.” What the future holds for the current widely used conceptualization of entire populations as one of two assigned colors can only be imagined:
“Dude . . . you don’t honestly think Texas can go blue, do you? It’s one of the most backward states in the country.”
