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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
Key Examples in Cloud Atlas
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Sickly Cows:
In Chapter 6, Zachry recalls the death of his child, a young “babbit” who never even drew a first breath. He contemplates the possible reason for this, wondering whether or not his "seed" has "rotted"—that is, whether or not he is somehow infertile. Zachry describes the morning he took his dead baby to the “Bony Shore” for burial, using imagery and simile to set the scene:
I took the died babbit wrapped in a woolsack to the Bony Shore. So lornsome I was, wond’rin’ if Jayjo’s seed was rotted or my seed was rotted or jus’ my luck was rotted. Slack mornin’ it was under the bloodflower bushes, waves lurched up the beach like sickly cows an’ fell over.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Robert's Death:
In the following example of allusion from Chapter 10, Robert Frobisher muses on his surroundings as he works on the Cloud Atlas Sextet, laboring late into the night. The “church clock chiming at three A.M.” reminds Frobisher of a line from Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Spent last night working on a rumbling ’cello allegro lit by explosive triplets. Silence punctuated by breakneck mousetraps. Remember the church clock chiming three A.M. “I heard an owl,” Huckleberry Finn says, “away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a whippowill and a dog crying about somebody that was going to die.” Always haunted me, that line.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—River of Thoughts:
In Chapter 11, towards the end of the novel, Adam Ewing muses on the nature of civilization, history, and storytelling, continuing in the same vein as his fellow narrators. In the following passage, Adam uses imagery to illustrate his thought process and emphasize his perspective on civilization:
Unlock with LitCharts A+My recent adventures have made me quite the philosopher, especially at night, when I hear naught but the stream grinding boulders into pebbles through an unhurried eternity. My thoughts flow thus. Scholars discern motions in history & formulate these motions into rules that govern the rises & falls of civilizations. My belief runs contrary, however. To wit: history admits no rules; only outcomes.
Related Themes:
