Simile: Half-Starved Fowl
On the beach that fateful day, the doctor and his wife see a strange black shape in the water that turns out to be a white man who is badly wounded. They decide they must turn the man over to authorities as a prisoner of war despite the fact that he is in such bad shape that ”He was very light, like a fowl that has been half starved for a long time until it is only feathers and skeleton.” This description helps the reader see just how poorly off the man is, recognizing that it a wonder he is not dead already. His condition increases the doctor's pity for the man and leads him to his decision to operate.
Simile: Animalistic Terror
The decision to turn Tom over is put off so that Sadao, compelled by duty, can tend to Tom's wounds; this leads to a developing relationship that is still grounded in suspicion and distrust. Tom thanks Sadao for saving his life, but Sadao's reply is a cold admonition to not be premature. This unexpectedly terse reply in turn produces an unexpected emotional response by Tom: Sadao “saw the flicker of terror again in the boy’s eyes—terror as unmistakable as an animal’s.” Tom feels a primitive horror, like a preyed-upon animal in the wild, as he considers that he still might die.
