Said's Character (Simile)
The narrator often uses similes to illustrate Said's character.
Said often thinks about how clever, moral, and industrious he is. He recounts a time when he was pursuing Nabawiyya, and that after the encounter he went back to the palm tree and "…climbed it quick as a monkey" (93). He directly compares his singing as he went back to the hotel to that of an ecstatic bull. When he came face-to-face with Ilish, he "felt like a tiger" (18). He says that he used to run away at certain times the same way a rat under the threat of poison and cats does. This comparison shows that his way of life had put him at loggerheads with the authorities, and the punishments that he is likely to get for his crimes are like poison and cats—meant to eliminate him. To paint the portrait of the deplorable conditions of Said's life, the narrator describes how he desperately eats crumbs of leftover food, the way dogs do to bones. Said also uses smiles to describe the dexterity of his crimes: he says that his diving was like that of a fish, his flying like that of a hawk, and the ability to scale walls like that of a rat (14).
Love (Metaphor)
It is hard for Said to come to terms with Nabawiyya's leaving him, and he tends to think about their relationship as either perfect or a complete shame. Their love is painful to him, which he indicates with this metaphor: "All that was before he's felt the first scalding drop of love" (30). It's simple but effective; something "scalding" is burning, painful, searing. It leaves a scar and bad memories, which is what Nabawiyya's love is for Said.
Rauf (Simile)
Said hopes his old friend will be as he remembered him, but the longer he sits and observes Rauf in their first meeting since Said got out of jail, the more uncomfortable he becomes with the ways Rauf has changed. He thinks, "The feeling was unaccountable, like the whispered premonition of some still undiagnosed cancerous growth" (41). In this simile he compares his feeling about Rauf to cancer that is not diagnosed yet; it is there, beneath the surface, ready to spread and perhaps to kill, but the person only knows something is off rather than the extent of the problem.
Tarzan's Cafe (Simile)
There are few places the newly-released Said feels safe and comfortable, and one of those is Tarzan's cafe: "...the cafe felt like an island in the midst of an ocean, or an airplane alone in the sky" (57). In this simile, we get a sense of the cafe removed from the city full of Said's enemies, bad memories, and limited opportunities. Here he can be alone among his peers, receiving succor and feeling secure.
Rauf and Said (Metaphor)
One of the worst things about Rauf in Said's mind is that Rauf was a former mentor to him; Rauf treated him well, inspired him, and helped him. He uses a metaphor to explain how it is possible that such a rotten person (Rauf) managed to create such a good one (Said): "It can happen, however, that the cord carrying current to a lamp is dirty, speckled with fly shit" (132). Rauf is the dirty cord and Said is the bright light; Said is still brilliant and honorable even though Rauf is not.
