What metaphors are used in Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton?

In Chapter Sixteen, Carlos' dreams of the ice cave become a central theme, as well as a problem. It is as if he can see all of these individuals but is unable to rescue them..... unable to break them free from their chains. Everyone knows who has disappeared, but officially, the statement is that nothing is happening and no one is missing. In this way, the metaphor of people being stuck in an ice cave is fitting.