Like Lot’s wife
In the introduction, the author offers a description of the Great Plains, covered by sand. The sand covered everything from vegetation to houses and in some instances only a vague silhouette remained behind. The silhouettes are compared to Lot’s wife, the Biblical character who was transformed into stone after looking back when God decided to destroy the city. The comparison here has the purpose of making the reader understand the extent to which the Great Plains were affected by the sand storms.
Metaphor for the death of the Indian tribes
Buffaloes were extremely important for the Indian tribes. They relied on hunting buffaloes to have enough food, to have clothes and also to have materials to build their homes. The Americans did everything they could to kill the buffaloes and in the 1890s, they hunted the buffaloes in the Texas region to extinction. The reason why they did it is because they hoped that by killing the buffaloes, the Indians will not be tempted to reclaim their hunting rights and to go and live as tribes once more. The death of the buffaloes is thus used here as a metaphor to suggest the death of the Indian tribes and to suggest the way the Americans tried to kill the American tribes by destroying their food supply.
Like the African Sahara
In 1806, Pike was sent by President Thomas Jefferson to scout the Great Plains and he sent back a report to the president. In the report, he compared the Great Plains with the African Sahara, making thus the president understand just how much things have changed and how every piece of vegetation was destroyed in the Great Plains. The comparison also helps the reader understand better the struggles the people living in the Great Plains had to endure.
Metaphor for dark times
In the third chapter, Bam White’s wife has a stillborn daughter shortly after moving on the High Plains. Bam White does not think too much about it and continues with his life. His wife however thinks that maybe the baby died because of the place they were living and began thinking that they should have continued traveling. The dead baby is used here as a metaphor to suggest the dark times that approached and to make reference to the troubles the people will have to face.
Dry as a chalkboard
In the sixth chapter, the author compares the filed with dried chalkboard. The comparison has the purpose of making the reader understand just how the fields were affected by the excessive farming and how much the fields were affected almost to an irreparable way.
