"melancholy streets in a penitential garb of soot" (p. 30) (Metaphor)
In order to describe the grimy London streets, Dickens uses a metaphor comparing them to mourners wearing black clothes. This metaphor not only allows him to describe a visual quality of the city streets, but it also helps him to heighten the depressing mood evoked upon Arthur's return to the city. Arthur himself is still mourning his father's death, and there is nothing warm or welcoming about his reunion with his mother or his birthplace.
"still, in his captivity, like a lower animal—like some impatient ape, or roused bear of a smaller species" (p. 16) (Simile)
This simile describes the behavior of Cavaletto while he is imprisoned in Marseilles. He is compared to an animal, which at first seems like a stereotypical and possibly even racist representation of an Italian criminal. However, the animals Cavaletto is compared to are both highly intelligent species who were sometimes exploited in circuses and bear-baiting performances where they were cruelly mistreated. The simile actually works to subtly develop the theme that prisons are dehumanizing places where individuals are treated like animals. Especially since Cavaletto will later be seen to be a kind and good-intentioned character, the simile functions more to criticize prisons than to criticize him.
"So rife and potent was the fever in Bleeding Heart Yard, that Mr. Pancks’s rent-days caused no interval in the patients" (p. 592) (Metaphor)
This metaphor is part of an extended metaphor where the craze for investing with Mr. Merdle is compared to a contagious disease that spreads rapidly through different parts of London. The metaphor foreshadows that Merdle is up to no good, and that there will be negative consequences for those who invest with him. It also shows that these investment decisions are not being made in a rational way, but that they involve people relying on their instincts and impulses.
"The cage door opened, and when the small bird, reared in captivity, had tamely fluttered in" (p. 107) (Metaphor)
This metaphor is used to describe Amy returning to the Marshalsea Prison and being observed by Arthur as she enters. Amy is compared to a small bird returning to her cage. The simile captures how the prison not only physically confines her but limits her perspective and experience. Because of her dedication to her family, Amy will never be able to build a life of her own outside of the prison walls. However, just like a pet bird that has never known freedom and therefore feels most secure and safe in its cage, Amy is emotionally attached to the only life she has ever known. As an outsider, Arthur can observe her sad situation, but is powerless to change it.
"Flora, whom he had left a lily, had become a peony" (pg. 153) (Metaphor)
This metaphor describes how Flora has changed in the twenty years of Arthur's absence. The comparison to different types of flowers playfully puns on Flora's name, but mostly focuses on the way she has physically changed. A lily is a slender and elegant flower, while a peony is fuller and more lush, although still attractive. The metaphor tactfully clarifies that Flora has become more stout and full-figured since Arthur last saw her.
