Final answer:
The simile "I'm a walrus on roller skates" suggests that James is clumsy or awkward. It allows readers to visualize James's difficulties in a relatable and humorous way, indicating that he may be out of place or not adept in a certain situation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phrase "I'm a walrus on roller skates" is a simile—a figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting and often amusing way. When the author describes James using this simile, it likely means that James is clumsy or not very graceful in his actions, much like you'd imagine a walrus would be if it were to try and skate on roller skates. This vivid image helps the reader to visualize the challenges James may be facing in the context of the story—perhaps he is in a situation where he needs to be agile and coordinated, but is struggling to do so.
By using such a humorous and relatable analogy, the author allows the reader to quickly grasp how out of place or inept James feels, and this helps to build a more complete understanding of his character. Therefore, the role of this sentence is to illustrate James's discomfort or lack of skill in a particular setting or activity in a way that is easy to understand and relatable for the readers.