The howlers groaning like a saw blade
The howler's monstrous voice is explicitly brought out through the use of a simile. In particular, the writer says that the howling would begin with one person and goes on to use a simile which enhances the reader’s perception of the monstrous, screeching, and groaning nature of the man’s voice: “It would start with just one: his forced, rhythmic groaning, like a saw blade.”
Feet like iced fish
The boy’s mother grows deeply fearful of the night-time howling and the writer acutely presents this as she runs over to her son’s room. A simile is used to enhance the perception of the cold-nature of her feet: “Sometimes she ran down the tiled hallway to her son’s bedroom, appearing in the doorway with her hair loose, her feet like iced fish in the bed.” Through the use of this simile, the extent of the woman’s fear is brought out while at the same time hinting at her protective nature.
Hiding in bed like a pair of sloths
Enrique uses a simile in which he compares the mother and son pair to a pair of sloths. The comparison plays the role of reprimanding the pair while at the same time bringing out their late rising trait: “ … if you went out in the morning instead of hiding in bed like a pair of sloths.”
The imagery of the sun flaming through the water
The sun’s rays as they travel down the water is brought through the use of a simile. The use of this simile develops imagery as the reader can relate the sun’s rays through linking them to flaming arrows: “The sun comes down through the water like flaming arrows.”
The swirling dresses
The ecstatic nature of the girls is brought out through the employment of vivid descriptions. As they dance, their clothes sway and swirl around, an imagery that is enhanced through direct comparison to a froth: “Their white dresses swirled like froth.”
