When describing how Soapy is kicked out of a restaurant for not paying his bill, the narrator uses a cluster of similes, as seen in the following passage:
“Now, get busy and call a cop,” said Soapy. “And don’t keep a gentleman waiting.”
“No cop for youse,” said the waiter, with a voice like butter cakes and an eye like the cherry in a Manhattan cocktail. “Hey, Con!”
Neatly upon his left ear on the callous pavement two waiters pitched Soapy. He arose, joint by joint, as a carpenter’s rule opens, and beat the dust from his clothes.
The first two similes here describe the waiter’s voice as being “like butter cakes” and his eye as appearing “like the cherry in a Manhattan cocktail.” Given the waiter’s profession, the culinary similes match the energy of the scene. In addition, they help readers understand how the waiter’s tone of voice is polite (or soft and sweet like a butter cake), while his eyes express an underlying anger (given that the cherry in Manhattan cocktails is typically quite dark). The combination of the waiter’s polite tone and underlying anger towards Soapy is demonstrative of the public’s simultaneous pity towards and rejection of houseless people.
The final simile here—“He arose, joint by joint, as a carpenter’s rule opens”—helps readers visualize Soapy’s belabored attempt to stand up after being tossed out of the restaurant. He moves the way a carpenter’s rule (or ruler) does—putting his bones and joints into place one at a time. This description is both comical and also sad, as it suggests that Soapy’s aging body clearly needs more care than the people around him are willing to give because of his social status.
