Like Their Eyes Had Turned to Hard Glass (Simile)
Dolores recalls visiting a Pentecostal church one day and being scared by the expressions on people’s faces. She describes them as having dopey, childlike expressions, “like their eyes had turned to hard glass por las lágrimas que tienen all lock up inside them.” Dolores compares their eyes to glass, almost like a doll’s empty look. She imagines that this is because of all the tears that people have had to hold inside. Many in the town have suffered deeply and turn to religion as a source of comfort.
El Diablo Hides Between the Pages (Metaphor)
During the protest at the school, Amparo gives a speech. In it, she talks about how “El diablo hides between the pages of the papeles we sign that make us afraid.” Amparo is warning the other protesters not to trust the official documents they sign. Whether for immigration, federal housing, or a work contract, Amparo recognizes that these official documents are often designed to protect those in power and placate or intimidate poor and working-class people. She uses metaphorical language to compare the hidden motives of these documents to the devil.
Like Cutting Off the Arms of the Family (Simile)
Don Gilberto is telling Juan about the Valle family, and how their father, Arturo, left their family. He says that “when a father leaves, it’s like cutting off the arms of the family.” Here Moraga uses a simile to talk about the mark an absent father leaves on a family by comparing a family without a father to a body without arms.
He Had a Sweet Mouth (Metaphor)
Mario is talking to Dolores about Arturo. He questions whether Arturo ever loved Dolores and his children. Dolores defends Arturo, saying he loved the family. Mario retorts, “He had a sweet mouth, that’s all.” Mario uses a metaphor to describe how Arturo was a smooth talker who could convince Dolores with his sweet words to take him back, despite being unfaithful.
You Walk Around Full of Holes (Metaphor)
Dolores describes the suffering of mothers in a conversation with Yolanda and Amparo. She explains that children “always take a piece of you with them. So you walk around full of holes from all the places they take from you.” Moraga uses a metaphor to illustrate the depth of a mother’s love, how it’s like giving a piece of yourself permanently to your child.
Pecan Trees Like Rigid Skeletons (Simile)
Looking out across the fields, Cerezita describes “pecan trees like rigid skeletons black against the sky.” Cerezita sees death—of the land and of her community—in the agricultural fields where they work. To emphasize her point, she compares the pecan trees in the winter, without their leaves, to black skeletons. Comparing the land to the body further reinforces the connection that Moraga draws betweens the two throughout the play.
