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Hyperbole
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—The Saris:
One afternoon, while watching Eliot, Mrs. Sen has an emotional breakdown about the insular nature of her life in the U.S., tossing her unworn saris all over her bedroom while Eliot watches. Lahiri uses a simile and imagery in this scene in order to capture the intensity of this scene:
She sifted through the drawers, letting saris spill over the edges. “When have I ever worn this one? And this? And this?” She tossed the saris one by one from the drawers, then pried several from their hangers. They landed like a pile of tangles sheets on the bed. The room was filled with an intense smell of mothballs.
The simile here—in which Lahiri describes how Mrs. Sen’s saris “landed like a pile of tangled sheets on the bed”—captures the chaos of Mrs. Sen’s outburst. She doesn’t treat her saris as the delicate and precious items they are, but tosses them around like dirty sheets.
The imagery here—in which Lahiri describes how the room “filled with an intense smell of mothballs”—communicates two important things. First, it helps readers to understand how intensely Mrs. Sen has been flinging her saris about the room (since the smell now fills the entire space). Second, that the saris smell of mothballs supports Mrs. Sen’s point that she has had no opportunity to wear them because she only stays at home.
This scene is notable as it is one of the only times that Mrs. Sen loses her composure. While she is usually even-keeled, here she expresses her loneliness, desperation, and anger about being trapped in this new life in the United States, far away from her family and culture in India.
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Explanation and Analysis—Preparing to Drive:
After going to the fish market altogether, Mrs. Sen, Mr. Sen, and Eliot go to drive home. In an effort to encourage Mrs. Sen to practice driving (something she doesn’t want to do), Mr. Sen tells her that she will be the one driving them back from the market. Lahiri uses imagery in this moment to bring readers into this tense scene:
Mr. Sen stepped out of the car and opened the door on Mrs. Sen’s side. A fierce wind blew into the car, accompanied by the sound of waves crashing on the shore. Finally she slid over to the driver’s side, but spent a long time adjusting her sari and her sunglasses. Eliot turned and looked through the back window. The road was empty. Mrs. Sen turned on the radio, filling up the car with violin music.
Lahiri uses three different types of imagery here. She uses tactile imagery when describing how “a fierce wind blew into the car”—helping readers to feel the cold wind—as well as auditory imagery in her descriptions of “the sound of waves crashing on the shore” and the sound of violin music that “fill[s] up the car.” Finally, she uses visual imagery when describing the way that Mrs. Sen “adjust[s] her sari and her sunglasses” and how Eliot turns to look at the “empty” road.
While this passage contains a diverse array of details, together they paint a portrait of a tense moment. The fierce wind, crashing waves, and empty road—combined with Mrs. Sen’s anxious adjustment of her garments and choice to turn on the radio rather than speak—all create an eerie and unsettling energy. This energy likely emerges from the fact that Mrs. Sen does not want to be driving and only prepares to do so because her husband insists. This is one of many moments in the story when Lahiri highlights the gendered power dynamic between Mr. and Mrs. Sen.
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Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. Sen’s Appearance:
When Eliot first meets Mrs. Sen, he notices certain aspects of her appearance and presence. The narrator uses imagery in order to bring readers more closely into Eliot’s experience in this scene, as seen in the following passage:
From where Eliot sat on the sofa he could detect her curious scent of mothballs and cumin, and he could see the perfectly centered part in her braided hair, which was shaded with crushed vermilion and therefore appeared to be blushing. At first Eliot had wondered if she had cut her scalp, or if something had bitten her there.
The narrator uses olfactory imagery—engaging readers’ sense of smell—when hinting at how Mrs. Sen smells like “mothballs and cumin,” then uses visual imagery when describing “the perfectly centered part in [Mrs. Sen’s] braided hair” that “appeared to be blushing” or bleeding because of the crushed vermillion coloring it. (As Mrs. Sen later explains to Eliot, she colors her part in order to communicate that she is a married woman, as is common in parts of India.)
All of this imagery combines to suggest to readers that Eliot and Mrs. Sen come from very different cultures. A young Indian child would not think that a red part meant “something had bitten” a woman, but Eliot doesn’t understand because he has grown up in a White American family and community. In this scene, Lahiri communicates the cultural gulf between the two characters, effectively preparing readers for the fact that Eliot and Mrs. Sen will never become close, despite spending every afternoon together for months.
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Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. Sen Cooking:
During her afternoons taking care of Eliot, Mrs. Sen spends much of her time preparing food for her dinner with Mr. Sen. Eliot, who is used to his mother ordering pizza for dinner every day, has not been exposed to cooking like this. In the following passage, the narrator uses imagery in order to capture the newness of this experience for Eliot:
Another day [Mrs. Sen] sat prying the pimpled yellow fat off chicken parts, then dividing them between thigh and leg. As the bones cracked apart over the blade her golden bangles jostled, her forearms glowed, and she exhaled audibly through her nose. At one point she paused, gripping the chicken with both hands, and stared out the window. Fat and sinew clung to her fingers.
The narrator, seeing Mrs. Sen through Eliot’s eyes, uses different kinds of imagery. They help readers to visualize the scene by describing how Mrs. Sen “sat prying the pimpled yellow fat off chicken parts,” then help readers to hear the scene when describing how “the bones cracked apart over her blade,” how Mrs. Sen’s “golden bangles jostled," and how “she exhaled audibly through her nose.” Finally, the narrator once again uses visual imagery when describing how “fat and sinew clung to [Mrs. Sen’s] fingers.”
All of this imagery combines to communicate how stimulating—and foreign—this experience is for Eliot. The narrator, channeling Eliot, notices every detail in a way that suggests this experience is remarkable, new, and perhaps even unappealing (the "pimpled yellow fat" of the chicken isn't a very appetizing image, after all). Though Eliot does not overtly judge Mrs. Sen here, the language does hint at the strangeness of this experience for the boy, highlighting the cultural clash between his white American culture and her Indian one.
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