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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 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Golden Dawn:
While hiding from the police in an abandoned church, Ponyboy and Johnny watch a golden sunrise together, using imagery to describe the moment:
The dawn was coming then. All the lower valley was covered with mist, and sometimes little pieces of it broke off and floated away in small clouds. The sky was lighter in the east, and the horizon was a thin golden line. The clouds changed from gray to pink, and the mist was touched with gold. There was a silent moment when everything held its breath, and then the sun rose. It was beautiful.
Waking up in the abandoned church, Ponyboy describes the dawn as “a thin golden line” and “touched with gold.” These descriptions recall the Robert Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay," demonstrating the ephemerality of not only nature, but also life as a greaser.
Additionally, there is a delicacy in the imagery that the reader has not encountered thus far in a novel. The calm beauty and ethereal colors represent the life that Ponyboy wants, a life beyond the dividing train tracks and vicious cycle of violence. Beauty is rare in a life so defined by loss and fear, making this a shining moment that Ponyboy and Johnny cherish together.
