Analogies like this are stepping stones, not the destination. I try to both use an analogy and give the fullest explanation that I think they can handle. The analogy tells them the structure of the complete answer. The complete answer often has concepts that are new to them, and the more unknowns in something, the harder it is to learn. The analogy allows them to understand the structure of the reason, which removes an unknown.
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Analogies like this are stepping stones, not the destination. I try to both use an analogy and give the fullest explanation that I think they can handle. The analogy tells them the structure of the complete answer. The complete answer often has concepts that are new to them, and the more unknowns in something, the harder it is to learn. The analogy allows them to understand the structure of the reason, which removes an unknown.