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Hyperbole
Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Baby:
In his description of the torturous battle royal which he is pressured to participate in by a group of locally prominent white men, the narrator uses both simile and imagery:
Blindfolded, I could no longer control my motions. I had no dignity. I stumbled about like a baby or a drunken man. The smoke had become thicker and with each new blow it seemed to sear and further restrict my lungs. My saliva became like hot bitter glue. A glove connected with my head, filling my mouth with warm blood. It was everywhere. I could not tell if the moisture I felt upon my body was sweat or blood [...] Streaks of blue light filled the black world behind the blindfold.
After being blindfolded and forced into the ring with several other young men, the narrator compares himself, in similes, to “a baby” and “a drunken man.” Here, both of these similes imply that he had little control over his own actions, and correspondingly, could not behave in a dignified manner. Here, the narrator also employs rich imagery to describe this painful scene from his past, noting the thick smoke that choked him, the taste and feeling of his own blood, and the “streaks of blue light” which he perceived despite the blindfold. Here, the narrator uses simile and imagery to emphasize the painful chaos of this humiliating ritual.
Related Themes:
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—College Campus:
When describing the campus of the unnamed historically Black college that he attends after receiving a scholarship, the narrator employs lush imagery:
The buildings were old and covered with vines and the roads gracefully winding, lined with hedges and wild roses that dazzled the eyes in the summer sun. Honeysuckle and purple wisteria hung heavy from the trees and white magnolias mixed with their scents in the bee-humming air. I’ve recalled it often, here in my hole: How the grass turned green in the springtime and how the mocking birds fluttered their tails and sang, how the moon shone down on the buildings, how the bell in the chapel tower rang out the precious short-lived hours; how the girls in bright summer dresses promenaded the grassy lawn.
Here, he paints a detailed picture of the college campus, from its old vine-covered buildings to its “gracefully winding” roads and hedges. He pays particular attention to plants and flowers, noting the “wild roses that dazzled the eyes in the summer sun” alongside the “honeysuckle and purple wisteria.” He attends to the sense of smell, noting the mixed scents of the other flowers and the “white magnolias," as well as sound, describing the church bell that “rang out” every hour. This lush description reflects his complicated feelings regarding his former college. While ultimately he feels deeply cynical about the school, its trustees, and its leader, his imagery here suggests a certain nostalgia for a place he once considered a paradise.
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Brightly Colored Rags:
Describing a cage full of exotic birds kept in the office of Mr. Emerson, a wealthy dealer in imported goods, the narrator uses multiple similes and rich imagery:
The room was quiet as a tomb—until suddenly there was a savage beating of wings and I looked toward the window to see an eruption of color, as though a gale had whipped up a bundle of brightly colored rags. It was an aviary of tropical birds set near one of the broad windows [...] A large bird began a song, drawing my eyes to the throbbing of its bright blue, red and yellow throat. It was startling and I watched the surge and flutter of the birds as their colors flared for an instant like an unfurled oriental fan.
The room, the narrator claims in a simile, was at first “quiet as a tomb.” This lifeless state, however, is abruptly interrupted by an “eruption of color, as though a gale had whipped up a bundle of brightly colored rags.” Having never encountered these brightly colored birds before, the narrator is at first unable to make sense of what he is seeing and describes the unfamiliar sight with detailed imagery. He notes the “throbbing” of one bird’s “bright blue, red, and yellow throat” as it begins to sing, describing the “surge and flutter of the birds,” in another simile, as being “like an unfurled oriental fan.” This simile suggests that the birds are, like the various works of art and ceramics in the office, another “exotic” imported good.
