Reread this stanza from the poem “Soccer Until Dusk” by Mark Brazaitis, which describes how his father was before and after his parents divorced.

Question

Before he divorced my mother,
before computers,
he would go afternoons into the den,
sit at his desk,
and type deep into the night.
I would fall asleep to the rhythmic thwack of keys,
my bedtime song.
From time to time he complained about working too hard,
spoke of wanting an alternative to 12-hour days.
In the months after the divorce, when our lives
seemed to have been sliced open like fruits,
spilling our secret juices,
he saw Gandhi and thought of giving everything,
house and car and savings, to my mother.

Which lines use a simile to help readers understand a family’s experience of divorce?

he saw Gandhi and thought of giving everything,
house and car and savings, to my mother.

I would fall asleep to the rhythmic thwack of keys,
my bedtime song.

Before he divorced my mother,
before computers,
he would go afternoons into the den,
sit at his desk,
and type deep into the night.

In the months after the divorce, when our lives
seemed to have been sliced open like fruits,

Answer 1

The lines that use a simile to help readers understand a family’s experience of divorce are:

"In the months after the divorce, when our lives seemed to have been sliced open like fruits,"

This line compares the family’s lives to fruits that have been sliced open, suggesting the vulnerability and messiness that often accompanies the emotional fallout of divorce.