The simile of the boroughs
The author compares the economic turmoil and challenges the boroughs went through to the rest of the country. The author writes, "The boroughs, like the rest of the country in 1933, faced unprecedented depression." The family lost most of its wealth due to the declining value of the currency and the banking system's collapse. The boroughs family represents millions of families in the country that went through financial challenges in 1933.
The simile of Williamsburg and Brownsville
Eastern European Jews did everything to assimilate and look like the native Americans. After achieving some economic success, they left their traditions and relocated from Brooklyn to more affluent places dominated by the whites and other minority assimilated groups. The author compares Brooklyn neighborhoods to Williamsburg and Brownsville when writing, "After achieving some modest economic success, most moved out from the Lower East Side and from more crowded Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Brownsville to escape the congestion and shabbiness along with the weight of old-world structures."
The simile of Liberty
Ruth compares the process of acquiring liberty for women to equality. According to Ruth, women have to rise and fight for equal treatment. Over the years, men have disadvantaged women by denying them equal opportunities claiming that they are a weaker gender. Ruth says, "Like liberty, equality, she believes, is never really won, but has to be fought for by each generation."
The Life Magazine (Simile)
The author compares the Baders to other parents who take an interest in their children seriously; Baders believe that it is good to expose children even if they are smart enough. The author writes, "The Baders, like many parents, spared their daughter Life magazine's horrific photographs of the emaciated survivors of Auschwitz and other death camps."
Thurgood Marshall (simile)
The author equates Ruth's success to Thurgood Marshall's. Ruth lived her dream, and she got an opportunity to work in the Supreme Court, where she pushed her equality agenda. The author writes, "Winning a seat on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg – like Thurgood Marshall before her – was fated to serve as a member of the minority among ever further right-leaning colleagues."
