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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 2 (Dos)
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Spring:
In this passage, the author uses a simile comparing Lupito to a "coiled spring" to emphasize the suppressed energy that fills his body during his flight from pursuers after killing the sherriff. Antonio describes Lupito’s explosive movements as he struggles with whether to surrender to the mob:
I saw Lupito’s tense body shake. A low, sad mournful cry tore itself from his throat and mixed into the lapping sound of the waters of the river. His head shook slowly, and I guess he must have been thinking and fighting between surrendering or remaining free, and hunted. Then like a coiled spring he jumped up, his pistol aimed straight up. There was a flash of fire and the loud report of the pistol. But he had not fired at Narciso or at any of the men on the bridge!
Springs store potential energy, and the comparison implies that Lupito’s leap into the air is a sudden and violent release of this pent-up force. The simile "like a coiled spring" conveys the immense tension that has been building up in Lupito’s body. As a result of his experiences in the war, the veteran Lupito suffers from hallucinations that seem to be related to what would be called post-traumatic stress disorder today. He kills the sheriff in a panic, and all of his actions afterward are a result of both panic and the long-suppressed emotions stuck within his psyche after the war. The choice to act “explosively” in response to his “thinking and fighting” here reflects not only his desperation, but also the inevitability of his breakdown after enduring prolonged pressure. This simile also points to the abruptness and unpredictability of Lupito’s jump, as if it’s not entirely under his control. By likening him to a spring, the author suggests that Lupito’s actions aren’t premeditated. He’s behaving reactively, rather than proactively.
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Chapter 4 (Cuatro)
Explanation and Analysis—Blood Types:
In this passage, the author uses metaphor and simile to explain the cultural and familial differences between the Luna and Márez families. Ultima describes these inherited traits to Antonio while they gather prickly pears:
It is the blood of the Lunas to be quiet, for only a quiet man can learn the secrets of the earth that are necessary for planting—They are quiet like the moon—And it is the blood of the Márez to be wild, like the ocean from which they take their name, and the spaces of the llano that have become their home.
Here, Ultima ties identity and temperament to ancestry. She is framing these qualities for Antonio as intrinsic and unchangeable, as though he has no choice but to behave in the same way. The metaphor of things being "in the blood" of the Lunas and the Márez is part of this. For Ultima the deep-seated and inescapable traits passed down through each family’s lineage are undeniable facts. By attributing the calmness of the Lunas and the relative wildness of the Márez to their "blood," she explains that having these characteristics is just part of belonging to these families.
The similes comparing the Lunas to the "quiet moon" and the Márez to the "wild ocean" and "spaces of the llano" further link each family’s differing traits to the natural world. The “quiet” moon “causes” the Lunas’ patience and skill at farming and “planting.” In contrast, both the ocean’s untamed energy and the vast openness of the llano are part of the restless characters of the Márez men. The two sides of the family could not be more different, though both draw traits from the natural world.
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Chapter 8 (Ocho)
Explanation and Analysis—Restless, Seeking:
In this passage, the author uses personification and a simile to highlight the restless nature of Antonio’s Márez lineage. Andrew explains to Antonio that his desire to leave the river valley and avoid the quiet life of a farmer stems from their father Gabriel's side of the family:
[...] [T]he Márez blood in us that touches us with this urge to wander. Like the restless, seeking sea.
Andrew’s personification of the “Márez blood” as something that "touches [them] with this urge to wander" gives the boys’ ancestral lineage agency and suggests it actively shapes their behavior. The brothers supposedly have the influence of two bloodlines affecting their personalities: the peaceful, hardworking Lunas influence of their mother and the wandering, adventurous Márez side from their father. Andrew’s attestation that the Márez men all inherit a deep, almost physical need for exploration is something he’s heard since early childhood, as has Antonio. Andrew is absolving himself of responsibility for wanting to leave by saying he can’t help it; his longing to wander is inescapable and rooted in his identity.
The simile comparing the Márez blood to the "restless, seeking sea" further underscores the Márez’s ceaseless drive to find a life that exceeds their current circumstances. The sea, which is constantly changing and moving, mirrors the Márez men’s innate need to explore the world and to embrace uncertainty.
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Chapter 16 (Dieciseis)
Explanation and Analysis—Cold Blood:
When Antonio tries to warn Ultima about what Tenorio intends to do to them, she dismisses his concerns. To explain why, she uses a simile comparing Tenorio to a wolf, and an idiom to describe the cowardliness of his murder of Narciso:
[...] [D]o not worry about Tenorio’s threats, he has no manly strength to carry them out. He murdered Narciso because he ambushed him in cold blood, but he will not find me so easy to ambush—He is like an old wolf who drags around the ground where he has made his kill, his conscience will not let him rest.
Ultima is trying to comfort an insistent Antonio here. To try and make him understand the situation, she uses a simile to compare Narciso to "an old wolf who drags around the ground where he has made his kill.” She is saying that, in the same way that wolves “drag” their scent glands to mark their territory, Narciso is exaggerating his ability to follow through on his intentions. Although Tenorio is still angry with her and with the world, she thinks Tenorio returns to the scene of his murder more out of guilt than spite. His inability to detach from the act of killing Narciso is, to Ultima, evidence that Tenorio's crime weighs on his conscience. She does not believe he will kill again because she sees him as a tormented figure rather than an active threat.
When a person acts "in cold blood,” they are committing an action that is premeditated and presumably unemotional. The idiom is often used in reference to committing a crime that a person has planned in advance to carry out. Crimes committed “in cold blood” are often punished more harshly than those that happen without time to reflect and plan, because the criminal acted in full knowledge of their choices. Tenorio ambushed Narciso “in cold blood,” but Ultima believes he will have a harder time getting the better of her.
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Explanation and Analysis—Wounded Rabbit:
In this passage the author employs a simile comparing Antonio to a rabbit to describe his fear and vulnerability when he encounters the murderous Tenorio. Antonio reacts to Tenorio’s sudden presence and the noise he makes like a prey animal seeing a predator:
I was so startled and frightened that I jumped like a wounded rabbit, but he made no move to catch me.
Anaya’s simile comparing Antonio to a "wounded rabbit" shows the reader how frightened and vulnerable the young boy feels in this moment. As the older Antonio recounts the scene, he describes his memory of himself as being like prey in the presence of a predator. Rabbits are often used as symbols of vulnerability, as they are a common food source for meat-eating animals and have few natural defensive mechanisms beyond speed. They’re also small and soft, which is how Antonio envisions his younger self here. The simile in this passage underlines Antonio’s instinctive recognition of Tenorio as a threat, especially given that he knows Tenorio killed Narcisco. He is immediately worried for his own safety, and for good reason.
The comparison to a "wounded rabbit" also connects Antonio to the natural world of the llano. On the plains, prey animals live in constant fear of predators. Antonio, who is standing exposed in the blowing dust of the llano, reacts like a rabbit that knows it’s been sighted by a fox. Saying that he jumped like a "wounded" rabbit adds an additional layer of shock to this description. It’s as though Tenorio’s presence is so negative that it actually hurts Antonio, making him “jump” with pain.
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Chapter 20 (Veinte)
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Flower:
Ultima believes that interfering with destiny can only have negative consequences, as she explains to Antonio. In this quote the author uses a simile and a metaphor to explain her views on the importance of personal growth without external “meddling," as Antonio explains to his teacher Miss Violet:
Ultima says a man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it.
The simile comparing a man’s destiny to a flower "with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom" explains how important Ultima feels the natural and unforced processes of growth and fulfillment are. Trying to force a flower into bloom by opening its petals prematurely will usually only damage it and prevent it from blooming properly. Just as a flower cannot blossom as it's meant to if someone tries to force it open, Ultima thinks a person’s destiny cannot unfold properly under external control or interference.
The metaphor in this passage likens natural elements like "sun," "earth," and "water" to the natural course of destiny’s workings. Just like a flower must be nourished by the correct combination of natural resources as they become available, people require the natural sequence of appropriate conditions to grow to their full potential.
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