Question

read the excerpt from flannery oconnors \the life you save may be your own.\ mr. shiftlet was so shocked that for about a hundred feet he drove along slowly with the door stiff open. a cloud, the exact color of the boys hat and shaped like a turnip, had descended over the sun, and another, worse looking, crouched behind the car. mr. shiftlet felt that the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him. he raised his arm and let it fall again to his breast. \oh lord!\ he prayed. \break forth and wash the slime from this earth!\ the turnip continued slowly to descend. after a few minutes there was a guffawing peal of thunder from behind and fantastic raindrops, like tin - can tops, crashed over the rear of mr. shiftlets car. which is a metaphor? ○ the turnip continued slowly to descend. ○...raindrops, like tin - can drops, crashed over the rear of mr. shiftlets car. ○ mr. shiftlet felt that the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him. ○ he raised his arm and let it fall again to his breast.

Explanation:

A metaphor directly describes one thing as another without using comparison words like "like" or "as".

1. "The turnip continued slowly to descend" refers to a cloud already compared to a turnip earlier, but it is not a standalone metaphor.
2. "...raindrops, like tin-can drops..." uses "like", so it is a simile, not a metaphor.
3. "Mr. Shiftlet felt that the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him" directly equates the moral corruption of the world to a tangible, engulfing force, with no comparison word, making it a metaphor.
4. "He raised his arm and let it fall again to his breast" is a literal action description with no figurative language.

Answer:

Mr. Shiftlet felt that the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him.