Laurel: A riddle wrapped in mystery (Metaphor)
Through a metaphor, Belly's father expresses his opinion of Laurel, his ex-wife: “My dad once told me that Winston Churchill said that Russia was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. According to my dad, Churchill had been talking about my mother.” Churchill, operating from a war standpoint, describes Russia as impenetrable through this metaphor of a riddle wrapped in mystery, all within another mystery. Belly's father borrows this metaphor to express that he never really understood his wife.
Susannah's Laugh (Simile)
When Susannah gets breast cancer for the first time, Belly and Jeremiah overhear her having an intimate conversation with Laurel: she says that she would rather die than lose a breast. Laurel quips, in response, "'Your boobs really are pretty goddamn amazing'" causing Susannah to "burst out into laughter that sounded like a seal barking, and then she was laughing and crying at the same time.” The imagery produced by this simile’s unexpected juxtaposition of the usually light tone of laughter with the harsh sound of barking, as well as the juxtaposition of laughter with tears, highlights that though she's laughing about a joke in the moment, Susannah feels pain and despair at her illness.
Adolescent Emotions (Simile)
In the closing scene at Cousins, Belly uses a metaphor to describe her mixed feelings: “For a second I felt sad, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, it came to me. A memory, pressed in my heart like a leaf in a book. I lifted my arms in the air and twirled around in circles, like a water ballerina." On the one hand, she feels joy at ending the summer on a good note, yet on the other hand, she feels a melancholic nostalgia for the moment that hasn't even yet passed. However, she realizes that despite the present necessarily needing to end, her memories are like pressed and preserved leaves on her heart, imprints that no one can ever take away from her.
The Fight (Simile)
When Conrad rejects Belly outside the house, Jeremiah intercepts and the two brothers start to fight: "In a dangerous voice Conrad said, 'I'm warning you, Jeremiah.' The two of them were like two angry dogs, growling and spitting and circling each other." Likening the Fishers to "dogs," Belly underscores that the two are dangerous, animal-like in the moment.
Towel Flag (Simile)
Having decided to end the summer with one last midnight swim with the boys, Belly "slid a note under each door and then ran downstairs as quick as [she] could with [her] towel streaming behind [her] like a flag." This simile likening the towel to a flag highlights that Belly, like a leader waving a flag at the front of a procession, is beckoning the boys to follow her lead.
