The Drowned World
by J. G. Ballard

The Drowned World: Metaphors 1 key example

Definition of Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
7. Carnival of Alligators
Explanation and Analysis—Alligator Hounds:

Six weeks after Riggs leaves Kerans, Beatrice, and Bodkin behind in the drowned city, Strangman and his crew appear. Ballard uses first a simile, then a metaphor to describe the terrifying "carnival of alligators" Strangman appears to have under his control:

The alligators congregated like hounds around their master, the wheeling cries of the dense cloud of sentinel birds overhead, Nile plover and stone curlew, piercing the morning air. More and more of the alligators joined the pack, cruising shoulder to shoulder in a clock-wise spiral, until at least two thousand were present, a massive group incarnation of reptilian evil.