Whiteness (Simile)
Matilda describes Mr Watts being “white as the whites of your eyes, only sicker”. Thus the author highlights her (and actually all the villagers’) isolating of him among the others, as the author empathizes with this character.
A bait (Metaphor)
When Matilda told her mom about Great Expectations she often tried to say some “smart” word in order to show herself as an intelligent girl: “I waited for my mom to bite. But that bait didn’t interest her.” Using of the metaphor helps the author vividly depict the girl’s feeling in that moment, her perceiving of the situation.
Faith is oxygen (Simile)
The author compares faith with oxygen: “It keeps you afloat at all times.” This phrase concerns not simply faith in God in this story. It concerns faith in anything. Dolores believed in God, Matilda – in Pip, etc. And this faith helped them go through some obstacles in their lives.
A shoal of fish (Metaphor)
When Matilda’s mother was talking the children at school about faith she “…had as where she wanted us. We were that shoal of petrified fish that a shark circles.” This metaphor helps the author depict more vividly how strong impression Dolores made on the children.
