The Horror Story Within
In a way, part of this epic book that puts the brakes on and screeches to a halt not that far shy of a thousand pages is a horror novel. That is to say, there is a monster story within the story of this tale. And he is far worse than your typical movie creature:
“Samuel Pinchard was a monster who kept a series of little girls to harm in the cabin on the left side of the big house.”
Waiting for the Monster
The monster that is Samuel Pinchard is truly a tale of horror that may make parts of the book uncomfortably disturbing reading for some. The use of metaphor is an effective strategy conveying the full scope of the terror he instills and yet does nothing to dilute the evil:
“Sunday nights were a reprieve in the life of Samuel and his siblings, for the other six days a week, that light would be followed by the demon-filled darkness.”
Crack Addict
Drug addiction is a social problem overflowing with opportunities for metaphor. It is minefield for those who fall into and gold mine for those who write about those who fall into it:
“The pellets like cheap jewelry, cloudy diamonds that somebody tried to pass off as priceless. They didn’t look like something that could ruin Lydia’s life. That could make her family ashamed to call her name out loud in polite company, make her mother feel as if her heart had been stolen and carried off to Hell.”
“States’ rights”
One of the most egregious and pathetic metaphors describing a great big horrible chunk of American history is directly confronted in the novel. It remains a problem even to this day because many people still can’t seem to figure out that a metaphorical term is being used at all:
“Rebecca, how is the Civil War not about race?”
“Because the Civil War was about states’ rights.”
“Yes, the right for southern states to hold African Americans in slavery!”
Literal Threats Delivered Metaphorically
People use metaphor in their everyday discourse all the time, but usually without placing much thought into it. The metaphors we use in conversation tend to be repetitions of what we have heard that have become part of the lexicon of life. And then there are conversations metaphors that pop out from the crowd:
“I would sleep very lightly, if I were you, Dylan Cornell. For I am going to burn your manhood with coals. And I would be careful about eating as well. I will treat you like a sturgeon and poison you.”
