ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a full analysis of the similes that appear in John Updike's short story "Transaction". In "Transaction", similes are a feature of the voice of the narrator as the narrator presents the experiences of Ed. Because most of the story is internally focalized through Ed's point of view, readers encounter most of the similes as representations of Ed's thoughts and perceptions conveyed in the narrative discourse. The narrative discourse of "Transaction" includes internal focalization that is closely and consistently aligned with the mind of its main character. Although most of Ed's experiences and thoughts are described in the voice of the narrator, there are a few moments when Ed's internally focalized thoughts are conveyed directly, in what appear to be direct representations of his verbalized thoughts. These direct thoughts are at times indicated with tags like "think" and "he asked her, within himself", and in other cases by putting the direct thoughts in italics.
