A face like a rat
The narrator describes the face of one of the men who break into the house of Roxy's mother as having the face of a rat. The use of this particular simile enhances the imagery: "There are two men, one taller with a face like a rat, the other shorter, square-jawed. She doesn’t know them."
The emphasis of Roxy's mother on the gravity of taking her daughter
Roxy's mother uses a simile to put emphasis on the gravity of the consequences that taking her daughter would have on the men who break into her house. Through the use of this simile, the reader is able to conceptualize just how fatal the consequences would be: "...you don’t know what you’re into, this is gonna come down on you like fire..."
The shrieking of Roxy's mother
To enhance imagery, the narrator compares the shrieking of Roxy's mother to a metal in a bad engine. The reader is able to perceive this sounds as rather disturbing. The narrator says: "Her mum shrieks then; it sounds like metal in a bad engine."
Crackling flash and a sound like a paper snapper
"She cuppeth the lightning in her hand. She commandeth it to strike. There’s a crackling flash and a sound like a paper snapper." The use of this simile facilitates imagery as the reader is able to imagine the sound and directly relate it to that of crackling paper snapper.
Patterned like a fern
The shape and form of the scar inflicted on one of the men who enter Roxy's house is directly compared to that of a fern using a simile. Its use, in this case, facilitates imagery: "She can see it even under the blond hairs: it’s scarlet, patterned like a fern, leaves and tendrils, budlets and branches."
