Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson CHAPTER RESPONSE ch. 36-40

Recall that a simile uses the words “as” or “like” to compare two things. Re-read the following similes.
A. “Two [burial pits] lay open and empty, sprinkled with snow like sugar on a cake” (p.235). What two things is Halse Anderson comparing in this simile? Do you think it is an effective comparison? Why or why not?

B. “I tried to bury the remembery, but it kept floating to the top of my mind like a cork in a stormy sea” (p. 243). What two things is Halse Anderson comparing in this simile? How does the simile strengthen this image? In other words, why didn’t the author just say, “I tried to bury the remembery”?

C. “My mouth gaped open like that of a fish breathing its last” (p. 251). How does this simile contribute to the mood of the passage?