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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
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—Pictures as Words:
Foer's novel uses imagery in a strikingly unconventional way, incorporating photographs, scribbled notes, and empty pages alongside traditional descriptive prose. These images become part of the storytelling itself. The novel includes photographs of doorknobs, keys, and other objects that Oskar encounters on his quest; scans of Grandpa's minimalist daybook pages, each containing only a single typed phrase in a sea of white; and Mr. Black's meticulously annotated index cards. At the novel's close, a flipbook-style sequence shows a man falling upward, reversing a fall from the World Trade Center, as if Oskar could undo his father's death.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12, “My Feelings”
Explanation and Analysis—Relentless Images:
In Foer's novel, visual imagery is often unflinching, pulling the reader into the raw immediacy of tragedy. In one of Grandma's most haunting memories, she recalls:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I lowered the volume until it was silent. The same pictures over and over. Planes going into buildings. Bodies falling. People waving shirts out of high windows. Planes going into buildings.
Related Themes:
