Gandalf, Merlin, Oz....psh! It's all about Harry Potter.

"In many ways [Henry Dobbins] was like America itself, big and strong, full of good intentions, a roll of fat jiggling at his belly, slow of foot but always plodding along, always there when you needed him, a believer in the virtues of simplicity and directness and hard labor. Like his country, too, Dobbins was drawn toward sentimentality." pg. 111

Hey folks we got ourselves a simile! But, why, why would he use a simile?! Nobody knows but the author, but I'll tell you anyway. First, I feel similes are one of the most simple kinds comparisons. Cats are like dogs. The Theory of Relativity is like toenails. I am as witty as the sunshine. Henry Dobbins is like America. Kids stuff, eh? O'Brien feels some of America's more noted qualities (big and strong, simple, slow, sentimental) are embodied simply and directly in this man and by using a simplistic literary device, the images and connections are thus enhanced.

Losing the Vietnam War is as American as apple pie!