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Idioms
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 2: The Mother
Explanation and Analysis—George's Rage:
In Chapter 2, the narrator uses vivid imagery and a metaphor to describe George Harris's reaction after he is removed from his job at the factory:
He folded his arms, tightly pressed in his lips, but a whole volcano of bitter feelings burned in his bosom, and sent streams of fire through his veins. He breathed short, and his large dark eyes flashed like live coals; and he might have broken out into some dangerous ebullition, had not the kindly manufacturer touched him on the arm, and said, in a low tone—“Give way, George; go with him for the present. We’ll try to help you, yet."
In the passage above, Beecher Stowe uses descriptive language that engages the human sense of sight to describe George's anger. Note Beecher Stowe's word choice; the words "volcano," "fire," "flashed," "coals," and "ebullition" help paint a clear image of George's physical and emotional response as one that is palpably angry and frustrated. George's anger is so intense that he appears to burn from within; the narrator then describes George's emotions as a "volcano of bitter feelings," an unexpected comparison that Beecher Stowe makes to underscore the fervor of George's rage, which is a response to the dehumanization he experiences at the hands of his cruel enslaver. This rage eventually pushes him to risk capture and escape to Canada, where he and his family can finally be free.
This emphasis on emotions was part of Beecher Stowe's persuasive strategy when writing the novel. Aware that her audience would be more likely to receive an anti-slavery message if they could sympathize with the novel's enslaved characters, Beecher Stowe wrote scenes such as the one above with the reader's emotions in mind. Rather than describing George's motivations for escaping, Beecher Stowe presents them to the reader using vivid language, striking the reader's imagination and empathy.
Related Themes:
Chapter 4: An Evening in Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Explanation and Analysis—Uncle Tom's Cabin:
In Chapter 4, the narrator uses imagery to provide readers with a description of Tom's cabin, noting that it is "a small log building" near the main house that has a garden full of "strawberries, raspberries, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, flourished under tending." The passage continues:
The whole front of it was covered by a large scarlet bignonia and a native multiflora rose, which, entwisting and interlacing, left scarce a vestige of the rough logs to be seen. Here, also, in summer, various brilliant annuals, such as marigolds, petunias, four-o’clocks, found an indulgent corner in which to unfold their splendors, and were the delight and pride of Aunt Chloe’s heart.
The narrator uses extremely vivid descriptions in the passage above. Note the use of adjectives and sensory language. The reader is easily able to picture the beauty and fragrance of the flowers surrounding the cabin. All in all, it is depicted in positive terms: a place that is full of life and abundance. The beauty of the flowers and pleasing quality of the cabin also represents the warmth of family life and home. The cabin serves as a refuge on the Shelby farm for other slaves.
The cabin's larger significance is made clear at the end of the novel and becomes a metaphor when George declares to his slaves as he frees them in Chapter 44:
So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see Uncle Tom’s cabin; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps, and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was.
The sight of Uncle Tom's abandoned cabin reminds George of when Tom was sold and separated from the rest of his family, a tragic event that eventually leads to Tom's death. In making this speech, George emphasizes the cabin's symbolic significance. The cabin, a place of warmth and family support, is torn apart by the destructive, disruptive force of slavery. In having George make this speech, Beecher Stowe ends the novel with a persuasive appeal to the reader's emotion, one last argument for slavery's ills and the power of Christian faith.
Chapter 7: The Mother’s Struggle
Explanation and Analysis—Eliza's Fear:
In Chapter 7, the narrator uses vivid imagery to describe Eliza the night she and her son escape the Shelby plantation:
The frosty ground creaked beneath her feet, and she trembled at the sound; every quaking leaf and fluttering shadow sent the blood backward to her heart, and quickened her footsteps. She wondered within herself at the strength that seemed to become upon her; for she felt the weight of her boy as if it had been a feather, and every flutter of fear seemed to increase the supernatural power that bore her on, while from her pale lips burst forth, in frequent ejaculations, the prayer to a Friend above—"Lord, help! Lord, save me!
The passage above is full of descriptive language, and the narrator pays particular attention to the sense of sound, taking care to carefully describe Eliza's movements. The reader, well aware that Eliza and her son could be captured and killed at any moment, can easily imagine Eliza's fear and place themselves in her shoes. Beecher Stowe employs this language to underscore the dramatic significance of the moment. Eliza’s journey to freedom is arduous and extremely dangerous, and she is depicted as incredibly courageous and strong-willed, willing to carry her child in extreme conditions for the sake of freedom. Beecher Stowe's use of imagery in the passage above also appeals to the universal experience of motherhood. Even if readers, who were likely to be educated white women, might not easily empathize with Eliza's experience as a slave, they perhaps could hopefully at least empathize with her as a mother.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Eliza's Leap:
In Chapter 7, the narrator uses imagery when describing Eliza’s leap over the half-frozen Ohio River, a necessary stop on her journey to Canada:
The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched and creaked as her weight came on it, but she staid there not a moment. With wild cries and desperate energy she leaped to another and still another cake – stumbling – leaping – slipping – springing upwards again! her shoes are gone – her stockings cut from her feet – while blood marked every step; but she saw nothing, felt nothing, till dimly, as in a dream, she saw the Ohio side, and a man helping her up the bank.
Note how the above passage is full of descriptive details, with particular attention paid to sound and color. The reader can easily imagine themselves in Eliza's position. This vivid imagery emphasizes the suspense of the moment, as Eliza's crossing is extremely dangerous. Eliza’s journey has been full of trials and tribulations, and this specific moment in the narrative is a crucial one. Beecher Stowe wrote it to underscore the dangers and difficulties that many of the enslaved experienced in their attempts to gain freedom.
Eliza’s crossing of the river also figuratively represents a transition from the South to the North and—therefore—a transition from the territory of slave states into free ones. Crossing the river is also a metaphor used in the Bible to represent freedom from oppression, deliverance, spiritual rebirth, and salvation; the Jordan River also happens to be where Jesus was baptized. According to the Bible, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the promised land. Likewise, Eliza is crossing the river into the "promised land" of Ohio, a free state where she hopes to find shelter. The river thus symbolizes a crucial turning point: once she crosses, Eliza finally has a chance to gain freedom.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12: Select Incident of Lawful Trade
Explanation and Analysis—The Beautiful River:
In Chapter 12, the narrator uses vivid imagery to emphasize the enthralling beauty of La Belle Rivière, the boat the slaves are shackled to:
La Belle Rivière, as brave and beautiful a boat as ever walked the waters of her namesake river, was floating gayly down the stream, under a brilliant sky, the stripes and stars of free America waving and fluttering overhead; the guards crowded with well-dressed ladies and gentlemen walking and enjoying the delightful day. All was full of life, buoyant and rejoicing;—all but Haley’s gang, who were stored, with other freight, on the lower deck, and who, somehow, did not seem to appreciate their various privileges, as they sat in a knot, talking to each other in low tones.
Notably, the narrator describes the boat as "brave and beautiful." On the surface, the image of the traveling boat is pleasant; the narrator goes so far as to describe the general landscape as "full of life," and points out the American flag. All in all, it appears to be an ordinary, pleasant day. However, this positive, sparkling image is undercut by the presence of the group of enslaved people onboard. This striking imagery underscores how the institution of slavery disrupts what is good or moral, as symbolized by the beauty of a "brave and beautiful" boat and the image of the proud, waving American flag. The United States, Beecher Stowe believed, was founded on values that the institution of slavery directly undermined. In presenting such vivid imagery, Beecher Stowe makes this clear for the reader in an imaginative, creative way.
Related Themes:
Chapter 32: Dark Places
Explanation and Analysis—Legree Plantation:
In Chapter 32, the narrator uses imagery to describe the Legree plantation:
The house had been large and handsome. It was built in a manner common at the South; a wide verandah of two stories running round every part of the house, into which every outer door opened, the lower tier being supported by brick pillars. But the place looked desolate and uncomfortable; some windows stopped up with boards, some with shattered panes, and shutters hanging by a single hinge,—all telling of coarse neglect and discomfort. Bits of board, straw, old decayed barrels and boxes, garnished the ground in all directions; [...].
The narrator introduces the Legree plantation and tells the reader that it used to be in much better condition. Note how the narrator then lingers on the plantation's shabby, broken down appearance. Although the estate is large and was even once "handsome," the image of "shattered panes" and other signs of "neglect and comfort" suggest decay or even death. Beecher Stowe introduces the Legree plantation in this way to suggest to the reader that life on the plantation is bleak and harsh. Indeed, the sight of the unkempt plantation foreshadows the neglect, suffering, and eventual death Tom experiences at the hands of Simon Legree.
Through the character of Simon Legree, Beecher Stowe depicted the absolute worst of slavery as an institution. In the novel, Legree repeatedly nearly whips his slaves to death and even forces two slaves, Quimbo and Sambo, to hunt and kill one another. In presenting a character like Legree to the reader, Beecher Stowe offered a memorable example of how slavery corrupted the soul. All in all, the novel characterizes Simon Legree as evil, which Beecher Stowe cleverly explains through the use of figurative language like the use of imagery above.
Related Themes:
Chapter 40: The Martyr
Explanation and Analysis—Tom's Death:
Beecher Stowe uses vivid imagery and figurative language to emphasize and foreshadow Tom's death throughout Chapter 40, which is fittingly titled "The Martyr." In the passage below, note how Beecher Stowe uses simile to underscore Uncle Tom’s intense emotions once he hears he is to be murdered:
The savage words none of them reached that ear!—a higher voice there was saying, “Fear not them that kill the body, and, after that, have no more that they can do.” Nerve and bone of that poor man’s body vibrated to those words, as if touched by the finger of God; and he felt the strength of a thousand souls in one. As he passed along, the trees and bushes, the huts of his servitude, the whole scene of his degradation, seemed to whirl by him as the landscape by the rushing car.
The narrator compares Tom's reaction to the feeling of being touched by "the finger of God." The physical, anatomical description in the phrase "nerve and bone" is visceral and speaks to the violence of the threat against Tom's life. Tom's death is a crucial moment in the narrative and is the novel's climax. His refusal to obey Legree symbolizes his Christian faith and goodness, and in that moment, he becomes a martyr.
In turn, Beecher Stowe's religious tone and melodramatic language is part of her persuasive strategy, as she was appealing to a religious audience. At the very end of the novel, Uncle Tom's death becomes a source of inspiration for the abolitionist cause. Inspired by Tom's sacrifice, George Shelby vows to free his slaves, a promise he fulfills once he returns to the Shelby plantation.
Another instance of foreshadowing occurs again in Chapter 40 when Tom overhears Simon Legree tell Sam and Quimbo to fetch him:
Tom heard the message with a forewarning heart; for he knew all the plan of the fugitives’ escape, and the place of their present concealment;—he knew the deadly character of the man he had to deal with, and his despotic power. But he felt strong in God to meet death, rather than betray the helpless.
The phrase "forewarning heart" immediately suggests to the reader that Tom is aware he is in danger. Once again, Beecher Stowe uses this phrase to foreshadow Tom's death in a memorable way.
Chapter 44: The Liberator
Explanation and Analysis—Uncle Tom's Cabin:
In Chapter 4, the narrator uses imagery to provide readers with a description of Tom's cabin, noting that it is "a small log building" near the main house that has a garden full of "strawberries, raspberries, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, flourished under tending." The passage continues:
The whole front of it was covered by a large scarlet bignonia and a native multiflora rose, which, entwisting and interlacing, left scarce a vestige of the rough logs to be seen. Here, also, in summer, various brilliant annuals, such as marigolds, petunias, four-o’clocks, found an indulgent corner in which to unfold their splendors, and were the delight and pride of Aunt Chloe’s heart.
The narrator uses extremely vivid descriptions in the passage above. Note the use of adjectives and sensory language. The reader is easily able to picture the beauty and fragrance of the flowers surrounding the cabin. All in all, it is depicted in positive terms: a place that is full of life and abundance. The beauty of the flowers and pleasing quality of the cabin also represents the warmth of family life and home. The cabin serves as a refuge on the Shelby farm for other slaves.
The cabin's larger significance is made clear at the end of the novel and becomes a metaphor when George declares to his slaves as he frees them in Chapter 44:
So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see Uncle Tom’s cabin; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps, and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was.
The sight of Uncle Tom's abandoned cabin reminds George of when Tom was sold and separated from the rest of his family, a tragic event that eventually leads to Tom's death. In making this speech, George emphasizes the cabin's symbolic significance. The cabin, a place of warmth and family support, is torn apart by the destructive, disruptive force of slavery. In having George make this speech, Beecher Stowe ends the novel with a persuasive appeal to the reader's emotion, one last argument for slavery's ills and the power of Christian faith.
