Metaphor

A metaphor is nothing more than a sophistocated simile!  It also is a comparison of two unlike things, but it does NOT use like or as.  It simply says, or implies, that one thing is the other.

The simile from the simile page:

. . .  the soles of both sneakers hanging by their hinges and flopping open like dog tongues each time they came up from the pavement.

The simile turned into a metaphor:

the soles of both sneakers were dog tongues flopping up from the pavement with each step

Now read this quote from the story that contains two metaphors.

They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart was a sofa spring.

Think about the cereal boxes at your house.  What do you know about them?
How might these things relate to Jeffery's stomach?

What do you know about a sofa spring?  When do you usually see them?  feel them?
How might these things relate to Jeffery's heart?

With these things in mind, what do you think Mr. Spinelli is trying to tell us about Jeffery?