A boss is always right (Metaphor)
George can’t understand why some people stand accusations, insults, and constant humiliation. However, it is not the complete truth. He knows why they do it. “One back-answer” and you “get the sack.” Those people are afraid of losing their jobs, the last money they have. It is not like it is easy to find a better job too. Difficult times require patience and an ability to adjust to any situation you find yourself in. “The customer is always right.” The boss is always right too. There is nothing this girl George meets at the shop can do to change the situation.
Work force (Metaphor)
Many of George’s neighbors live under the illusion that they own their houses and have what’s called “a stake in the country.” Those “poor saps in Hesperides,” and in “all such places,” are turned into Crum’s “devoted slaves for ever.” It is vitally important to keep the illusion that they own their property, that they can’t be thrown out when they can’t pay their bills. The building society doesn’t dare “kill the goose that lay the gilded eggs.” These poor people are their way to big money.
Working hard for a dream (Metaphor)
A house is a dream for many people. Indeed, the exact dream of having a house, a place where you can rest, relax, and even hide from the struggles and horrors of the world makes “every one of those poor bastards” work even harder, “sweating” their “guts” out to pay “twice the proper price for a brick doll’s house.” That’s called “Belle Vue” because there is “no view and the bell doesn’t ring.” The funniest thing – according to George – is that “every one of those poor suckers” would “die” for it.
Irritating (Simile)
George needed to buy “a packet of razor-blades.” When he got to the soap counter “the floor-manager”, was “cursing the girl in charge there.” It didn’t seem like she had done anything wrong, it was her portion of “morning curse,” just to get her “into trim for the day.” The worst thing was that the manager’s voice was like “a circular saw.” It was so loud and annoying that it made George wince. To make the situation even worse, he was one of those people who turn away and then dart back at you, “like a dragon-fly.”
Perfect (Simile)
George's false teeth were perfect. They sat “nice and smooth over the gums,” and he even felt “younger.” Though Warner was a cheap dentist, he knew how to do his job. George thought that the man was “a bit of an artist.” He didn’t aim at “making you look like a toothpaste advert.” The man got huge cabinets “full of false teeth.” They were all graded “according to size and colour,” and he picked them out “like a jeweller.” George’s dentist knew how to trick people into believing that your false teeth were the ones you were born with.
