Kingsolver uses metaphor extensively throughout High Tide in Tucson, primarily in her discussions surrounding humans’ place in nature. She often constructs metaphors that show the reader parallels between human and animal life, as well as to paint compelling pictures of individual natural scenes.

Some of Kingsolver’s metaphors add elements of the sublime to her descriptions of nature. Passages such as, “At dawn the sun broke over the cliffs and parted the pink mantle of clouds, reaching down like a torch to light the tops of red cinder cones in the crater, one at a time” (203), help convey the ethereal beauty of Hawaii by comparing the dawn to an almost Promethean or Olympic torch—a symbol of hope, mystical power, and awe. Other metaphors puncture the self-serious behavior of humans with humorous juxtaposition. When she compares the flexing gym bros to prairie chickens at a lek in “The Muscle Mystique,” she paints a vivid and funny picture of both scenes, two types of male creatures displaying their physical attributes to announce their superior masculinity.