Bleeding Lips (Simile)
America sees one of her fellow contestants with so much makeup on, she thinks it looks like they are bleeding. This is meant as a scornful remark about the girl's inability to accurately put on makeup. It works to accentuate, however, the pressure the girls are under to make themselves look as good as possible. The comparison to blood also reflects the violent undertones of the Selection process.
Pants (Metaphor)
At the beginning of the novel, America makes a bet with Maxon about whether her sister would cry over the delicacies they have for breakfast. America declares that if she wins, she wants to be allowed to wear pants inside the palace. Even though she loses the bet, Maxon still gives her a box with pants that she can wear in the Women's Room on Saturdays. The pants are a metaphor for America's independence as it is granted to her by Maxon. The garment itself carries connotations of masculinity, which place America at odds with her presumed role in the palace.
Band-aid (Simile)
After Maxon and America become closer, Maxon begins telling America about his plans for the future and about what he wants to do for the country. Maxon tells America that he and his mother are trying to convince the royal budget-planners to provide a better education for the poor, as they believe that this will lead to a reduction in crime. America is uncertain whether it will be enough. She compares the idea with trying to put a band-aid on an amputated limb, telling him that there are bigger issues that need to be addressed first—like providing the people with enough food so that they don't starve—before worrying about their education.
Chains (Simile)
Before America is flown to the capital for the Selection, a royal official comes to the Singer residence to tell America about the rules she will have to comply with during the process. In thinking about these restrictions, she compares them to invisible chains keeping her down. This simile emphasizes how powerless America will be to make choices for herself. Even though she feels as though she is losing her freedom, America thinks that this condition is preferable to the country existing as rubble.
Stampede (Metaphor)
When the Selected head to the Dining Hall for their first breakfast with the prince, they are all dressed to the nines in an effort to make the best impression. America compares the sound of their heels on the stairs to an "elegant stampede" (100). The metaphor works to paint a vivid image of the 35 girls moving through the castle, as well as emphasizing the large size of their group. By comparing the noise to that of a stampede of animals, America also works to dehumanize them and describe the group as a herd of sorts.
