Function of Metaphor: Short Fiction Practice Test

Read the following excerpt from a short story:

After the storm, the beach looked rearranged. Driftwood lay where sand had been, and the waterline had moved as if the ocean had decided on new boundaries overnight. Noreen walked slowly, holding her shoes, letting wet sand suction at her feet.

She found a message in a bottle lodged among rocks. The paper inside was blank—so bleached it might have once held words. Noreen stared at it, strangely relieved.

Fate, she thought, was a letter sent without an address.

What is the primary function of the metaphor “a letter sent without an address” in the excerpt?

Read the following excerpt from a short story:

At the hardware store, Simone compared paint swatches under fluorescent light. The names were optimistic—SUNLIT PEAR, MORNING HAZE—as if color could promise a new life. She chose a pale green anyway, the shade of leaves before they decide to be summer.

Back in her empty house, she opened the can and inhaled the sharp chemical smell. She painted the first stroke across the living room wall and felt, briefly, like she was rewriting something.

Starting over, Simone thought, was a page torn from a notebook, still smelling of the old ink.

What is the primary function of the metaphor “a page torn from a notebook, still smelling of the old ink” in the excerpt?