A metaphor, to me, compares two or more unlike objects or concepts together that relate with each other as it serves the purpose of defining an exaggerated aspect of the character as it associates itself with a characteristic of what it is being compared to. For example, in this case, there is the description of Nel’s mother Helene’s attribute of skin being described as “custard colored skin”, which is described commonly because she is of Creole descent or a mixed race. It functions as the aspect of how she is viewed as someone who has this classification whether it defines beauty or in the case of descendancy as well when it comes to Nel. On page 22 of Sula, where this is referred to, Nel compares herself to her mother questioning if she is also identified with the aspect of a “custard” look. Even shifting further into the perspective of the train leaves, with the contention of being in the “white world” being more amorphous and varied when it comes to the other metaphor being turned into jelly. The other aspect of custard and jelly stems from the fact that there are sweets and defines a sense of delicacy or something to be desired, which goes hand in hand with the description of beauty and elegance in the passage. The other aspect of jelly resembles a sense of malleability and being able to be shaped by whatever is desired from the states which suggest a sense that this barrier that Helene puts up is trying to not make herself vulnerable during that time. The “custard” look is a representation of a façade or some type of status as she was represented as such and therefore is respected in some way in the church. The overall sensation of these looks that Helene gets can serve as both empowering and fearful.