Similes in The Descendants

Kaui Hart Hemmings makes use of many similes in her novel, The Descendants. I'm only going to do a few because my ebook apparently erased 50% of my notes. Anywho, in chapter 24 Scottie is rifling through her mother's jewelry and Matt is quoted for thinking "Fake pearls and real pearls. Fake diamonds and real diamonds. Intertwined necklaces glint in the photo." Matthew is comparing himself and Brian Speers to Joanie's jewelry, the real man in her life and the one she has replaced. Later on in Chapter 31 Matt's cousin Hugh whistles in a manner reminiscent of cartoon characters going off a cliff. This perfectly summarizes what Matt's going through at the moment when he realizes his wife was going to leave him for Brian Speers who, through connections with Don Holitzer, was going to retail a significant amount of land in Hawaii. There's nothing like feeling perfectly helpless, knowing you can't do anything about what's happened and what's going to happen. At the end of the novel, Matt say "though the art of wayfinding has been lost to me, I try to steer us to share in as straight a line as possible." This is a poetic way for saying that despite his recent heartbreaking experiences and past performance as a father, he will do everything he can to set things right.