How does the author use metaphor in the novel, Moth Smoke?

Hamid employs metaphorical language in order to demonstrate the intensity of an action or description. In “Chapter 13: Seven,” Darashikoh narrates: “she keeps coming, like a moth to my candle, staying longer than she should…And I, the moth circling her candle, realize that she’s not just a candle. She’s a moth as well, circling me” (223). In Hamid’s novel, the moth symbolically mimics Darashikoh’s actions; thus, metaphorical language (like that present in the above quote) further strengthens this symbolism in the reader’s imagination.