“Dental Hygienists” - “The Stowaway”
The stowaway recounts, "I can't remember what they were all called-indeed, one of those pairs no longer exists-but you know the sort I mean. You've seen hippos with their mouths open and bright little birds pecking away between their teeth like distraught dental hygienists?" The emblematic 'dental hygienists' allude to the symbiotic relationship between the birds and the hippos. The birds feed themselves from the food remnants they pick off the hippos' teeth, whereas the hippos benefit from the service of having their teeth cleaned. Accordingly, the birds partake an activity which is similar to dental hygienists cleansing human teeth.
Alive - “The Visitors”
Barnes writes, “Many passengers commented to one another on Franklin’s obvious enthusiasm for his subject, how refreshing it was in these cynical times, and how he really made history come alive for them.” The metaphoric liveliness of history infers that Franklin’s mode of delivery makes the audience to view history as a current phenomenon. Franklin is effective in reducing the divergence between history and the present.
“Hysterical Rogue” - “The Stowaway”
The stowaway states, "You've always been led to believe that Noah was sage, righteous and God-fearing, and I've already described him as a hysterical rogue with a drink problem?" Here, the stowaway refutes the Biblical portrayal of Noah as a righteous man. He has inherent weaknesses which are expectable for all humans. If Noah were unqualifiedly sage, he would avoid alcoholism and be a sane man all through.
“On the edge” - “The Stowaway”
The stowaway reports, "At times Noah was nearly on the edge. The ark was behind schedule, the craftsmen had to be whipped, hundreds of terrified animals were bivouacking near his place and nobody knew when the rains were coming." Noah's edginess is attributed to the pressure to conclude the construction before the floods. He is anxious because if he fails to conclude it in time he will perish alongside various species. Had Noah been certain about the commencement date of the floods, his edginess would have been minimal.
Mussolini - “The Visitors”
Barnes explains, “He (Franklin Hughes) would declare… ‘Herod wasn’t just a tyrant and a unifier of his country, he was also a patron of the arts-perhaps we should think of him as a sort of Mussolini with good taste.” Hughes compares Herod to Mussolini to accentuate their similarities in terms of perpetuating authoritarianism during their reigns. Moreover, both of them committed atrocities by exploiting their power. Despite running in different eras and different kingdoms, their similarities are manifest.
