Metaphor for wealth
Hiro talks about the metaverse as being an important place for the people living in the universe where the action takes place. In the metaverse, people can buy houses and properties but because of its prices, only the rich can afford to live there. Thus, owing a house in the metaverse is used as a metaphor for wealth.
Snow Crash
When Hiro first hears about the drug, he is confused to the reason why someone would name a drug after a computer virus that attacked many computers, crashing them. The name however is not random as it was used to suggest the idea that the drug was extremely powerful and that it did to humans what the virus did to the computers Hiro mentioned. Thus, the similarity has the purpose of highlighting the drug’s potency.
#A-367
#A-367 is the name given to a half-machine and half-dog being existing in the universe where the action takes place. #A-367 and other machines like it act like guard dogs, capable of killing and disarming anyone and anything that may want to harm their masters. The beings are however more than just guard dogs as they are also used here as metaphors to suggest the way technology and biological matter can one day fuse to become one. The author does not suggest through this that the result is a negative one, as the being that resulted from the fusion is enhanced and yet still maintained its humanity. Thus, the dogs are a metaphor used here to suggest a peaceful cohabitation between organic matter and the technological developments that appear every day.
Metaphor for protection
After Y.T. delivered the package for Hiro, she meet the man she made the delivery for, a man named Uncle Enzo. As a way of repaying her, he gave her his dog tags that would get her out of any type of problems she could get into. Thus, the dog tags are used here as a metaphor for protection.
Glass eye
The man who gives Y.T. jobs and who searches for potential clients is a man described as having a glass eye. The glass eye is an important element as it is used to make reference to the fact that in the world where the action takes place, the humans have no moral compass. Thus, in a sense, they are half blind as they are unable to see what is really important in the world.
