Figurative Language

In the story figurative language is often used in order to create a setting and draw and image in the readers' mind. I found that it was helpful to make me relate to the plot line, and I found these pieces of figurative language as poetic. One example of this figurative language in Inheritance of Loss is "Suddenly, as if a secret door had opened in her hearing, she became aware of the sound of microscopic jaws slow-milling the house to sawdust (pg. 39)." This piece brings the reader into the sensation of knowing that one's house is being eaten my termites, and things are slowly falling apart. This quote also seems to hold a deeper meaning. One could draw from the text that Sai is noticing how her family's honor and dignity is falling, yet it appears decent, underneath it is rotting.