Previous
Genre
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
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—At the Hospital:
During the scene in which Jack visits his mother in the hospital as she’s dying, Liu uses imagery, as seen in the following passage:
She turned to me, still smiling. “I know you have to go back to school.” Her voice was very weak and it was difficult to hear her over the hum of the machines hooked up to her. “Go. Don’t worry about me. This is not a big deal. Just do well in school.”
I reached out to touch her hand, because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. I was relieved. I was already thinking about the flight back, and the bright California sunshine.
In the first part of this passage, Liu engages readers’ sense of hearing by describing how Jack’s mother’s voice “was very weak,” and how it was hard to hear her “over the hum of the machines hooked up to her.” This description helps readers understand just how sick and close to death Jack’s mother is, given that the humming of machines is usually a subtle background noise.
In the second part of the passage, Liu again uses imagery when describing the “bright California sunshine,” helping readers both picture and feel the sunshine, which helps them understand why Jack is so motivated to leave this moment with his moment—he wants to get out of the dreary hospital where his mom is dying and get back to his warm and bright college life. This moment is significant because it demonstrates how estranged Jack and his mother are. Rather than sitting with her in her final days and facing his grief, Jack distracts himself with thoughts of his sunny life in California.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Meeting the Tiger:
When capturing the aliveness of the first paper animal that Jack’s mother makes for him, Liu uses imagery, as seen in the following passage:
I reached out to Mom’s creation. Its tail twitched, and it pounced playfully at my finger. “Rawrr-sa,” it growled, the sound somewhere between a cat and rustling newspapers.
I laughed, startled, and stroked its back with my index finger. The paper tiger vibrated under my finger, purring.
Liu uses imagery here in order to help readers understand that Jack’s mother’s paper animals are fully alive. Readers can picture the tiger’s twitching tail and playful bouncing, while also hearing the way that the tiger’s “Rawrr-sa” growl sounds "somewhere between a cat and rustling newspapers." Readers can also feel how the paper tiger vibrates under Jack’s finger as it purrs.
Liu does not include much imagery in “The Paper Menagerie” and, as such, this moment is particularly significant. It is likely that Liu chose to highlight this moment with imagery to make it clear to readers that this is a magical realist element—the animals do not seem alive in the eyes of a child but are alive, as evidenced by the way that the tiger leaps and growls and purrs. This is one of the ways that Liu tries to communicate how real art (such as the Chinese art of zhezhi papercraft) comes alive.
Related Themes:
