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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
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—A Chorus of Frogs:
The third-person narrator of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" uses a simile to describe the house's voice:
So Uncle Oscar signed the agreement, and Paul's mother touched the whole five thousand. Then something curious happened. The voices in the house suddenly went mad, like a chorus of frogs on a spring evening.
The last line of this quote compares the voices in the house to "a chorus of frogs on a spring evening," therefore employing a simile that makes use of auditory imagery. Anyone who has heard a large number of frogs knows that they are often overwhelmingly loud. By describing the voices of the house as being so loud, the story suggests that it's impossible to ignore the unsettling desire to constantly strive to earn more money. Even though Paul's behavior has led to an influx of money in the home, the implication is that this has only led to an even greater desire to become wealthy. This simile thus reinforces the story's commentary on the negative impact of greed. When people are unhealthily fixated on money and material gain, an increase in money will not sate their hunger—to the contrary, as seen with Hester and Paul, the volume and intensity of the "voices" only increases as the addiction to money and gambling worsens.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—A Paler Shade of Green:
Although the story uses a simple, unadorned writing style, its imagery is nonetheless striking, particularly when describing Paul's movements on the rocking-horse at the end of the story:
The room was dark. Yet in the space near the window, [Hester] heard and saw something plunging to and fro . . . Then suddenly she switched on the light, and saw her son, in his green pyjamas, madly surging on his rocking-horse. The blaze of light suddenly lit him up, as he urged the wooden horse, and lit her up, as she stood, blonde, in her dress of pale green and crystal, in the doorway.
It's worth paying attention to the narrative's use of color and light in this passage. Both mother and son are wearing green, but the mother's dress is specifically described as a paler shade of the color. Green is often used to represent youth or vitality, and it can also represent envy or greed. If Hester's materialistic tendencies represent the "later stages" of Paul's current condition, then, it makes sense that a paler shade of green would represent both the draining of her youth as well as her ghostly state, as she is consumed by the materialistic pressures of society.
Related Themes:
