Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Louis makes numerous references to a beast that is off somewhere stamping. In fact, the first time we "hear" from Louis, he says, "I hear something stamping… A great beast's foot is chained. It stamps, and stamps, and stamps" (1b.6). He later specifies that this beast is an elephant. This image appears almost exclusively in Louis's narrative, though there is one reference to the fact that the waves are like "the thud of a great beast stamping" (5a.4) in the introduction to Chapter 5.
Hmm, perhaps the novel associates Louis with this heavy-footed beast to highlight our favorite Australian's anger-management issues? He does seem super frustrated by the fact that (even while feeling intellectually superior to everyone) he suspects that others will look down on him no matter what. That's probably enough to make anyone crankypants.