Metaphors in journey to the center of the earth

1. "Looking down at the fathomless pit into which I was going to engulf myself."

2. "I imagined I was traveling through a hollowed-out diamond with the rays disintegrating into a thousand dazzling lights."

Explanation: He uses the words "Looking down at the fathomless pit into which I was going to engulf myself" as a metaphor to explain that he was acknowledging that in order to face his fears, he had to go through a difficult  journey that would be like a "pit" (water well) to him.

Axel also uses the metaphor: "I imagined I was traveling through a hollowed-out diamond with the rays disintegrating into a thousand dazzling lights." to describe how breathtaking and beautiful the sight was when he was on the subterranean, just as he was looking at a diamond and its bright lights.

the answer:

in the first part of the story running is all that matters to squeaky. running gives her confidence and defines who she is. at the beginning of the story she says that other kids call her mercury because she runs very fast. in the text she refers to herself as "miss quicksilver".

the line that provides the best evidence that squeaky has self-confidence is

" and i continue with my breathing exercise, strolling down broadway toward the ice cream man on 145th with not a care in the world cause i am miss quicksilver herself".