This is from the short story ‘the Deep’, written by Anthony Doerr. The story is about a young boy, Tom, who has a hole in his heart and according to the doctor , will not live very long
When they were in school Ruby Hornaday brought a red book with colourful sea creatures that made Tom ‘s heart boom in his ears, and shortly after this he fainted in class. The doctor then told him that when he got excited, he should think of something blue. Several times when he was with Ruby or even dreaming of her , he had to think of something blue because she had an aggravating effect on him as is common with a teenager. The color blue became a metaphor to Tom as a calming sea in the turmoil of life.
When Ruby brought him tadpoles on a rainy day, Tom felt as if the whole sky was rushing through the open door into his mouth. This is a metaphor for the feeling he got before he fainted.
When they went to the marsh for the first time and Ruby inspected the water with a swim mask, he felt himself trembling like a needle to a pole. This was literally one of Mr. Weems’s similes. Also, Tom felt his blood storming through its lightless tunnels. His life is seen here as a tunnel without light because he was not supposed to live long.
These forms of figurative language reveal how Tom’s emotions got the best of him every time he was with Ruby. He could not think straight, his weak heart would start beating fast , and he just had to follow her wherever she lead him to. When he was with her he did not care anymore about his mother’s warnings to be careful.
