A Heap of Dry Tinder (Metaphor)
In her introduction, Smith characterizes South Korea in 1980 as “a heap of dry tinder waiting for a spark,” underscoring how volatile its political climate had become—one small trigger could unleash a major upheaval. By likening the nation’s tensions to a combustible natural phenomenon, Smith conveys both the urgency of the situation and the sense that things could change at any moment.
Souls and Birds (Simile)
When Dong-ho recalls his grandmother's death, he describes how "something seemed to flutter up from her face, like a bird escaping from her shuttered eyes" (Chapter 1). After her death, the boy wondered "where that fluttering, winged thing had disappeared to." This simile evokes the grandmother's soul as a fragile thing capable of taking flight. Questions like these concerning the relationship between a person's body and soul appear throughout the novel, specifically in relation to life and death.
Raindrops (Simile)
The novel begins with metaphorical imagery comparing raindrops to jewels: "The wind is about to take on visible form. As though the raindrops suspended in the air, held breath before the plunge, are on the cusp of trembling down, glittering like jewels" (Chapter 1). This evokes the rain as something precious, which someone later compares to the souls of the dead.
The Moon (Metaphor)
Seon-ju recalls how her friend and mentor (the famous labor rights activist Seong-hee) had a romantic nature as a young woman (Chapter 5). Seong-hee frequently quoted lines from poems, including a metaphor that compared the moon to "the eye of the night." This line scared Seon-ju, who imagined the moon as an all-seeing eye gazing coldly down upon them.
Life and Death (Simile and Metaphor)
In Chapter 3, a man imprisoned for participating in the 1980 Gwangju Uprising changed his outlook on life and death after suffering extensive torture in prison. The quote reads, "If life was the summer that had just gone by, if life was a body sullied with sweat and bloody pus, clotted seconds that refused to pass, if life was a mouthful of bean sprouts that only served to intensify the hunger pangs, then perhaps death would be like a clean brushstroke, erasing all such things in a single sweep" (Chapter 3). Using a variety of metaphors, the prisoner characterizes life as capable of producing malaise at best and brutality at worst. The final simile compares death to erasure, but in such a way that brings relief.
Two Peas in a Pod (Simile)
Dong-ho's mother compares Dong-ho and his best friend Jeong-dae to "two peas in a pod" (Chapter 6). This description not only emphasizes their similarities, but also does so in a fondly diminutive way. Most 15 year-old adolescents might not take kindly to being called "two peas in a pod." But Dong-ho's mother will forever remember the harmonious relationship between the friends in this way.
