Doc Hata's description of the newspaper presentation of the town
In Chapter One of the novel, Doc Hata presents to the reader his initial view of the town where he'd spent almost thirty years of his life after serving in the army. Hata describes how he had found out about the American town where he set up his store, particularly, he describes the way in which the newspaper had described the town. He describes it using a simile:
"It looked sterile and desolate, like fresh blast ground, not in the least hopeful, and yet I felt strangely drawn to the town, in part because of the peaceful pace of life that the article noted, the simple tranquillity of the older, village section that made me think of the small city where I lived my youth, on the southwestern coast of Japan" (A Gesture Life, 2).
Doc Hata's emphasis on the people being subject to a set of conditions
After arriving in Bedleyville, Doc Hata brings to the readers attention how the people did not seem to notice him at first. He further concludes that their behaviour was not different from that of people in other towns. In his emphasis on the people of a particular area being subject to a common set of conditions, Doc Hata uses a simile in which he directly compares this fact to the growth in a part of a forest. He says:
"When I first arrived in Bedleyville, few people seemed to notice me. Not that they were much different from those in the other towns, at least not intrinsically. Fundamentally, it seems to me, the people in a particular area are given to a common set of conditions and influences, like the growth in a part of a forest" (A Gesture Life, 2).
Mr Starks imagination of Doc Hata in Japan
Mr Stark is noted in the novel to encourage Doc Hata to spend his last days in Japan. In one of his conversations with regards to the same, Mr Stark directly compares the vivid nature of his imagination of Doc Hata in Japan "wearing silken white robes and sipping rare sake served by knowing maidens" to a dream using a simile. This direct comparison facilitates comprehension by the reader of the intensity of the imagery. He says:
"“Imagine,” he said to me, almost musically, waving his Churchill-length cigar, “spending one’s days by a serene lake somewhere near Kyoto, wearing silken white robes and sipping rare sake served by knowing maidens. I can see you there, Doc. Like a dream I can see you.”
Cackled like old women
During their conversation with Mr Stark and Mr Harris, the author compares the loud laughs and cackling to those made by women. Through this direct comparison using a simile, the author is able to achieve imagery.
The author writes: "They both cackled like old women, blowing smoke every which way."
Drink like madmen
Doc Hata remembers the time they spent with his mates on the beach playing golf. In this particular flashback, he uses a simile to compare the uncontrolled drinking of alcohol by some of the other people to that of madmen: "We’d wake up late and stay on the course until dusk, and then eat a heavy dinner at a raucous lounge or striptease club where the others would drink like madmen until the early hours, when I’d have to drive us back to the hotel."
