Wet Blankets (Simile)
"The air was dank and musty - like the smell of wet blankets." (63)
Wet blankets, especially those made of wool, have a heavy smell that seems to hang in the air long after the blankets have dried. They also have an oppressiveness that makes the air feel thick as if one is under the weight of a wet blanket. The use of this simile helps create mood and atmosphere as well as a sense of place.
Coloring Book (Simile)
"The world looked like an enormous coloring book that had never been used." (125)
When the orchestra stops playing, all of the color suddenly disappears from the world and everything seems to be outlined in black. This reminds Milo of a huge brand-new coloring book that is just waiting for someone to color between the lines. It is a powerful scene in its stark contrast with what existed prior. Its power also lies in the reminder that the world is a more beautiful and harmonious place when people take the time to learn, do, and explore things.
The Dark (Simile)
"The higher they went, the darker it became, though it wasn't the darkness of night, but rather more like a mixture of lurking shadows and mixed intentions." (203)
This simile compares the dark to something sinister and frightening, as if it is merely a cover for all of the bad things that can happen or the evil entities that may cause them. It is entirely threatening; rather than being a darkness that falls because it is night, it is darkness reflecting evil around them. This is the most frightening and perilous part of the journey, and this simile helps establish that.
The Mailman's Ring (Simile)
"Her eyes sparkled brightly and she answered with a laugh as friendly as the Mailman's ring when you know there's a letter for you." (231)
When you are expecting mail, there is nothing as exciting and friendly as the mailman dropping the correspondence into your mailbox or ringing the doorbell to hand it to you in person. The Princess's laugh has the same exciting, yet happy and friendly feel to it evoking the gladness and anticipation of a letter about to arrive and the feeling that someone has remembered or thought about you. The fact that this is associated with "Rhyme and Reason" helps emphasize how those two things are not just important but wonderful.
The Island of Conclusions and the Sea of Knowledge (Metaphor)
The Island of Conclusions is a metaphor for the act of jumping to conclusions and making assumptions about a subject or person, and then remaining happy to stay misinformed or without the correct information. People stay on the island because they are frightened or too lazy to escape via the Sea of Knowledge, and this, too, is a metaphor for the way in which people are frightened to learn anything that might change their views, or for people who do not want to look more deeply into a subject because staying convinced about their original conclusion is much easier.
