The Wind (Metaphor)
Soon after his return form war, Tayo attributes human qualities to the wind in a lonely area: "The wind was practicing with small gusts of hot air that fluttered the leaves on the elm tree in the yard. The wind was warming up for the afternoon" (17). This description occurs early in Silko's narrative; at this point, Tayo is still living apart from Auntie and the rest of his relatives, and is still dealing with the traumas of combat and loss. However, this instance of delicate personification suggests that even in his depleted state Tayo possesses the qualities of sensitivity, imagination, and appreciation for nature that could lead to a potent recovery.
Supervising the Cattle (Simile)
Reflecting on his work alongside Josiah before the war, Tayo remembers helping his uncle move the cattle soon after their arrival: "He wanted to remember the morning, bright and clear as the leaves on the little green plants which grew low and close to the sandy ground" (72). Tayo's image of freshness, the "little green plants," is especially revealing. Working with the cattle is a fertile new adventure, an activity rich with life and promise at this point in Tayo's life. Later, the war, the disappearance of the cattle, and Josiah's death will compromise the sense of positivity that Tayo—in this memory and through this image—is desperate to keep in his thoughts.
Betonie's Appearance (Simile)
At the first meeting with Betonie, Tayo registers a strong first impression of the healer's face: "The cheekbones were like the wings of a hawk soaring away from his broad nose; he wore a drooping thick mustache; the hairs were steel gray" (109). Here, the reference to a hawk is notable; it creates and immediate image of strength, and indicates that Tayo, despite his reservations about meeting Betonie, finds some aspects of the medicine man immediately impressive. The comparison involving Betonie and a hawk is also meaningful in light of the later events of the narrative. Just as hawk sees acutely and acts quickly, Betonie easily discerns Tayo's problems and find a remedy for them in remarkably short order.
Riding in Leroy's Truck (Simile)
Silko uses a vivid comparison to capture Tayo's sensations as he rides along in Leroy's broken-down truck: "he was laughing anyway, the bumps shaking laughter out of him, like feathers out of an old pillow, until he was limp and there were tears in his eyes" (146). Keep in mind that Tayo is riding along as part of one of Leroy and Harley's alcohol-fueled sprees. The idea of feathers being shaken out of an old pillow captures the wild, sudden, kinetic sensation of being in the old truck, but also suggests Tayo's helplessness. A pillow without feathers is useless—just as useless, perhaps, as Tayo is so long as he gives in to a lifestyle of alcoholism and empty aggression.
Thinking and Emptiness (Metaphor)
As he considers, towards the end of the novel, how he has changed since his return from war, Tayo considers Ts'eh's therapeutic role in his life. In fact, her influence has changed the very structure of his thoughts and emotions: "The terror of the dreaming he had done on this bed was gone, uprooted from his belly; and the woman had filled the hollow spaces with new dreams" (204). Tayo's process of healing was not by any means simple, but the use of physical comparisons and metaphors captures a few important elements of Tayo's recuperation. His problems are not impossibly vast: they are more like physical obstacles that can be "uprooted." His mind, moreover, is not something that lies beyond control and modification: like a structure, it can be purposefully "filled" with new, positive ideas.
