Simile (pronounced sim–uh-lee) is a literary term where you use “like” or “as” to compare two different things and show a common quality between them. A simile is different from a simple comparison in that it usually compares two unrelated things. For example, “She looks like you” is a comparison but not a simile. On the other hand, “She smiles like the sun” is a simile, as it compares a woman with something of a different kind- the sun.
The phrase in the excerpt from a 1964 interview with Malcolm X indicates that he is explicitly stating an opinion is this "<span>{I don't think that it} serves any purpose for the {leaders of our people} to waste their time fighting each other needlessly."</span>
