“The flesh and blood man” (“Requiem for a Glass Heart”)
This metaphor encapsulates the neighbors’ view of ‘the stone thrower’. According to the metaphor, the neighbors perceive the man as a sincere person; hence, they do not know about his other trait of ‘stone throwing.’
“high pitched keening of glass succumbing to obstinate pressure” (“Requiem for a Glass Heart”)
This metaphor speaks to the sound of the ‘glass wife’s heart, and it denotes the tension that is inherent in the wife’s life. As a result of exasperation, the glass wife is prone to a smashing.
The Allegory of Beatification (“The Mark of Cain”)
Roxana Gay employs a religious allegory of beatification. Caleb and Jacob beatify their father’s memories, which are apparent in how they belittle the narrator, by recreating the past that they had with him. The tattoos of their father amplify the beatification. The beatification depicts the magnitude of the father’s conditioning and its outcome in Caleb and Jacob’s adulthood lives. The father’s inspiration is antagonistic though.
