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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 12
Explanation and Analysis—Wrapped in Illusions:
In Chapter 12, Lauren's father goes missing when he fails to return home from his job. The community organizes a search party, which Lauren joins, but they are ultimately unable to find him. She uses imagery and metaphor to describe the search:
We never found him. We found human bones and animal bones. We found the rotting corpses of five people scattered among the boulders. We found the cold remains of a fire with a human femur and two human skulls lying among the ashes. At last, we came home and wrapped our community wall around us and huddled in our illusions of security.
The book employs very little figurative language but does often provide direct, detailed images of the apocalyptic world. Since the level of destruction Lauren and her community live within is foreign to the reader, these stark images of human remains are crucial to establishing an atmosphere that makes Lauren's turn to religion understandable. In this passage, Lauren lists "rotting corpses," human bones such as a "femur" and "skulls," as well as animal bones. These details make clear how the sites of violence and destruction are so widely available in this apocalyptic world.
In the final line, Lauren compares the boundaries of the community to a blanket using an implied metaphor. She describes the party returning to be "wrapped" and "huddled" in the "community wall," draws an image of the community coming together for comfort and consolation. As Lauren notes that this is merely an "illusion of security," this moment of comfort is undercut by the harsh reality of violence that lies just beyond their walls.
Related Themes:
