High time (Metaphor)
Henry knew that he was not getting younger. Every day was precious and he had no more time to waste. Who knew, maybe “the clock was ticking” and his own end was nearer than he thought? Ethel’s death reminded him how valuable and fragile a human’s life was. One can think that he/she has all time in the world, but it is not true. No one knows, when his or her life is going to come to its end, so every minute should be treasured.
Worse time (Metaphor)
Henry was neither a millionaire nor a poor one. He had “a modest three-bedroom home with a basement” and was going to make some improvements as soon as he was retired. Ethel’s illness shocked all of them. All money they had saved for “a rainy day” was spent “in a downpour of medical bills, a torrent that lasted nearly a decade”. Who knew that a rainy day might last for years.
Danger (Metaphor)
World War II was one of the most terrible periods in the whole history of mankind. People managed to hate each other even outside of the battlefield. For instance, all the kids from Henry and Keiko’s school were afraid of “yellow peril”. It was not even clear what they were afraid of – the Imperial Japanese Army or the Chinese communists – but they managed to hate everyone who had a different skin color.
Untidy (Simile)
The man who helped Henry and Keiko to sneak into the club looked like “an unmade bed”. He was “the rumpled old man” who wore “long trousers, held up by gray suspenders, over a wrinkled button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up”. This simile was supposed to show that the man looked untidily.
An old tree (Simile)
According to one of numerous traditions of his Motherland, Henry planted a plum tree when his son was born. The day when Marty brought his girlfriend to his father’s house, Henry was pruning dead limbs of the plum tree. He suddenly realized that the tree “was as old as his son”. It reminded him of his own youth.
Surrender (Simile)
Henry’s father was expecting his son to behave. When he told Henry that he wanted him to go to China, Henry knew that there was nothing he could do about it. When he asked about his departure date, his words “fell out of his mouth, rising like a white flag of surrender”. Henry’s voice lacked force, he wasn’t going to object.
