Question

When he came up and took air like a whale," is an example of what
type of figurative language

Answer 1

If your asking if its a type of metaphor or simile then that quotation is a type of simile because it used the word "like". If your asking what it mean then it mean that the person flew into the air like a whale which result in moving slow so the person was in the air for a longer period of time depending on how much force he put into it.