Staplers like Locomotives
When Howie thinks about the oldest staplers, he compares them to "coal-fired locomotives," which are just as "cast-ironic and upright." By referring to heavy machinery, he emphasizes that the old-style staplers in particular and office equipment in general used to be much more durable than they are now.
Vending Machines like Office Buildings
Howie thinks that vending machines seem like office buildings, with the exception that the goods, "unlike life-sized elevator cars, never made stops at intermediate floors, but fell when summoned straight down to lobbies and foyers of varying design." Apart from their outer appearance, which resembles the glass facades of modern office buildings, they could also be seen as a mirror of the modern corporate world where clients spend money to receive goods or services, and the workers inside the buildings are replaceable just like the items in a vending machine.
People on Escalators like Easter Island Monuments
Howie compares people standing on an escalator to "Easter Island monuments," which connote long faces and motionlessness. This analogy emphasizes how passive and mundane the modern consumerist society is.
Howie Feels like Popcorn
While walking among the mass of office workers, Howie feels like an exploding popcorn. He sees himself as a "dried bicuspid of American grain," which indicates that he is already worn out, "dropped into a lucid gold liquid pressed from less fortunate brother kernels," which shows that he is aware of social inequality. He is then "subjected to heat," which connotes the idea of being under pressure (e.g. by the education system or by a boss) until he becomes a popcorn "much larger but seemingly of less mass than before," which emphasizes that he grows physically but not professionally or personally.
Howie like a Windup Toy
When thinking about being in an elevator alone, Howie confesses that he has "pretended to walk like a windup toy into the walls." Apart from providing a humorous image of his actions, this behavior also connotes that he lacks a sense of direction, or that he has no outlet for his excessive energy because he is stuck in a boring place.
