Crowded (metaphor)
That very autumn, the birds have been too restless and Nat has noticed this fact. They always have been following the plow of the tractor in the field “in the great cloud” wheeling and crying. The community of these birds is depicted as great flocks of clamor.
Calmness comes with warmth (metaphor)
After an awful scene of fighting with birds, Nat decided to make some tea for himself and his tired wife. He relit the fire and “the glowing sticks brought normality; the steaming kettle and the brown teapot, comfort and security. He drank his tea, carried a cup up to his wife”. With hot tea and fire, their house again is filled with peace.
East wind (simile)
The east wind brought such cold weather, “like a razor, stripped the trees, and the leaves, crackling and dry, shivered and scattered with the wind’s blast”. The comparison with a razor shows how really severe and sharp it was.
Afraid of death (simile)
Nat thinks that such a strange behavior of the birds is caused by cold weather, “a message comes to the birds in autumn, like a warning. Winter is coming. Many of them perish. And like people who, apprehensive of death before their time, drive themselves to work or folly, the birds do likewise.” The birds are compared to people, who also in feeling an end of life act strangely and uncommonly.
Black cloud (simile)
The birds have covered all the country; London was not an exception, and the “sky there was so dense at ten o’clock this morning that it seemed as if the city was covered by a vast black cloud.”
