Insurance
Brierly expounds, “Most of all, though I tried to keep my expectations in check as an insurance against disappointment, I hoped to find my Indian family so they would know what had happened to me. My bonds with them can never be broken.” Metaphorical insurance implies that Brierly does not raise his family because he is not guaranteed that his mission would succeed. Therefore, he controls his expectations as a mitigation of the disappointment which may ensue should his search become ineffective.
Paralyzing
Brierly describes, "The door, its hinges broken, is so much smaller than I remember it as a child - now I would have to bend over to fit through it. There's no point in knocking... This was my worst fear, so paralyzing that I suppressed it almost completely - that once I finally found my home after years of searching, my family wouldn't be in it." The metaphoric 'paralyzing' highlights the overwhelming apprehension which Brierly experiences upon arriving at his childhood house. Considering that he has been away for years, he is extremely nervous because he is not sure about the situation he could encounter there.
“Icy Chill”
Brierly confesses, “I can still feel the icy chill of panic that hit me when I realised I was trapped – a feeling of being weak, hyperactive and incredulous, all in one. I don't recall exactly what I did in that moment – screamed, banged the windows, cried, cursed.” The ‘ icy chill” occurs when Brierly loses sight of his brother at the carriage. The inability to sees him scares him immensely to the degree that it is comparable to an ‘ icy chill.” He is manifestly terrified of the probability of never finding his brother again. The moment is absolutely defining because after that he does not see in biological family for long.
Scavenge
Lahiri recounts, “Guddu said that was fine – there were a few things he needed to do anyway…He was probably going to scavenge some food, or hunt for coins around the platforms. I lay down, shut my eyes and must have fallen asleep straightaway.” After this, Lahiri loses track of Guddu and tracing him becomes impossible. The metaphorical scavenging depicts the imagery of foraging food from heaps of waste. Brierly’s family is so impoverished o it relies on savaging waste to find its daily food.
Bleary-eyed
Brearly recounts, “When I woke up, it was very quiet and the station was deserted. Bleary-eyed, I looked around for Guddu but couldn’t see him anywhere. There was a train at the platform where we’d got off, with its carriage door open, but I didn’t know if it was the same one, or how long I’d been asleep.” The metaphorical ‘bleary-eyed’ describes Brearly’s sleepy status upon waking up. He is fatigued and confused; hence, takes time to discern his surroundings. Perhaps, if he had not fallen asleep, he would have not been confused and ended up getting lost.
