Wind like a knife
The comparison between the wind which often blew in the area where the action takes place and a sharp knife is mentioned on numerous occasions in the novel. The comparison is used in this context to highlight the dangers the people who visited the area where exposing themselves to and how the area was filled with unseen and deadly dangers.
The Cathedral façade
The façade of the cathedral is used in the novel as a metaphor in the novel and is mentioned numerous times. The façade of the cathedral was built by various people over a large number of centuries and as a result, the faced was composed of at least three different types of stones. The Façade of the building is used in this context as a metaphor to suggest the different types of people who at one time or another lived in the area and how they built the society which is nowadays known as France.
Metaphor for normality
Because Ned is an American boy, he feels at times out of place in the France, the country where he moved for a couple of months with his father. The reason why Ned moved there was because he was in no situation to stay home alone, not because it was something he desired. Whenever Ned felt homesick, he would drink Coke, the only thing which he described as being the same as in his home country. Because of this, the Coke is used in the novel as a metaphor for normality and for the desire to maintain everything as unchanged as possible.
Metaphor for manliness
Ned describes his father as having a handlebar mustache which he is extremely proud of. The mustache is attached to Ned’s father’s image so much it is even included in the business card Ned’s father gave to his potential clients. The mustache is also used in this context as a metaphor to suggest the father’s manliness and the attributes which made him be both a good father and a good husband.
The mountain
A few days after the incident in the Cathedral, Ned goes on a discovery expedition with some members of his father’s team. The expedition will take the team towards a famous mountain near which the team was staying. While approaching the mountain, Ned suddenly starts feeling sick and has visions of the past. However, as soon as he goes further away from the mountain, he starts feeling better. In this sense, the mountain is used by a metaphor, to suggest the connection Ned had with the distant past.
