What metaphors are used in The Challenge by Mario Vargas Llosa?

In the story, machismo is portrayed in a variety of ways some of which are a metaphor for male bonding and identity. The challenge issued by the Gimp to Justo to meet him at the raft to fight comes when Justo finds himself surrounded by the Gimp's group at a bar called the Sunken Cart. A fight immediately breaks out, but a priest stops it. This indicates that Justo finds himself alone on the Gimp's "turf," and he is punished for this. The tough talk by everyone involved in the fight is also an example of machismo. Each fighter and his friends try to intimidate the others by saying things that are snide and/or threatening.