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Simile
Explanation and Analysis—Greasy Glimmer:
When, in Chapter 23, Griffin explains to Mr. Kemp how weather affects him, he uses a curious set of similes:
And fog—I should be like a fainter bubble in a fog, a surface, a greasy glimmer of humanity.
The three things that Griffin compares himself to are a “fainter bubble”, “a surface,” “a greasy glimmer of humanity.” The first two comparisons are fairly literal. He is almost clear, in the presence of fog, like a bubble. His skin is simply texture without being filled with color, like a surface. However, the last object that he is compared to is loaded with symbolic meaning. His characterization of himself as greasy serves to further characterize him as undesirable. He is grotesque in appearance and not quite human.
The fact that he is only a suggestion of humanity shows that Griffin may be missing some key components of what it is to be human, like empathy and meaningful human connections. At the same time, though, the third part of the simile shows that he is visible in some respect. The fact that he is any of the above things demonstrates the weather's effect on him. In the fog or snow, he no longer is incognito, and he becomes a very visible curiosity. The simile emphasizes his vulnerability in the face of normal weather variations.
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