Question

"Why, for weeks he was as brittle as a bamboo before it bursts into a flame!" What type of figurative language is demonstrated in this passage?

Answer 1

The figurative language used in this passage is a simile, because of the use of "___ as a ___". 

Answer 2

A simile is used comparing a character to bamboo before it bursts into a flame.
Similes are comparisons that use the word like or as.