Shattering Glass
The title of the book has been metaphorically used to draw a comparison to the main protagonist. The protagonist’s name, Glass, and the title of the book are similar. The protagonist has been portrayed as delicate from how his skin was described. The first part of the title also tries to foreshadow the death of the protagonist. It gives the readers an increased thirst to read the book to find out how the glass shattered. The title shows how Simon’s life got ruined at the hands of his classmates.
Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
The statement, “Bob was more a sheep in a wolf’s clothing” has been used metaphorically to expose Bob’s cowardice. Bob who was thought to have the guts to lead people, was in reality a coward. He did not have the courage that befits any leader. He was pretending to be very brave but when it came to taking up the job, he got cold feet. The metaphor has been used to emphasize how pretentious Bob was about his bravery.
Christmas Present
Kids get overjoyed whenever they are given Christmas presents. They look forward to receiving presents every Christmas holiday. The happiness that Rob had has been compared to that of a kid with a Christmas present as in the statement, “he looked like a kid with a Christmas present.” This is to emphasize the satisfaction that he had with the knowledge that he would use Simon to destroy Lance. He was working on making Simon popular in the school to get back at Lance. This would give him a lot of joy and satisfaction just like kids get joy from receiving Christmas presents.
Confidence
The statement, “he wore confidence like the rest of us wore favorite sweatshirts” magnifies the level of confidence that Rob had. Rob had the confidence that the narrators and his schoolmates have never seen before. He had his way with words when it came to everyone including adults. It was this confidence that enabled him to easily take over the influence Lance had on everyone. Comparing his confidence to their favorite sweatshirts emphasizes how natural his confidence was. Wearing one’s favorite sweatshirt is natural to most people since one is sure that one looks good in that specific sweatshirt. The statement also exaggerates Rob’s level of confidence.
Toad and a Mushy Fat
The narrator was comparing Simon’s skin to that of a toad. The statement, “skin like the underside of a toad and mushy fat” explains how delicate skin of Simon was. It emphasizes the delicateness of the skin in a feminine way. The simile also undermines Simon’s masculinity by insisting on his delicate nature. It also shows how easy it was for Simon to get hurt having that kind of skin. It was probably why the bullies had an easy time bullying him knowing he would not fight back.
