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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
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Hall of Mirrors:
In Chapter 2, Kathy describes the donation center for the readers' benefit, dwelling on the eerie, haunted feelings the building instills in all who enter. She utilizes imagery and a simile for this purpose:
Everything — the walls, the floor — has been done in gleaming white tiles, which the centre keeps so clean when you first go in it’s almost like entering a hall of mirrors. Of course, you don’t exactly see yourself reflected back loads of times, but you almost think you do. When you lift an arm, or when someone sits up in bed, you can feel this pale, shadowy movement all around you in the tiles.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Sex in the Dark:
In the following passage from Chapter 11, Kathy narrates the sensations she experienced while having sex at the Cottages. Ishiguro employs sensory imagery in this scene to interesting and noteworthy effect:
Unlock with LitCharts A+When I remember sex at the Cottages, I think about doing it in freezing rooms in the pitch dark, usually under a ton of blankets. And the blankets often weren’t even blankets, but a really odd assortment — old curtains, even bits of carpet. Sometimes it got so cold you just had to pile anything you could over you, and if you were having sex at the bottom of it, it felt like a mountain of bedding was pounding at you, so that half the time you weren’t sure if you were doing it with the boy or all that stuff.
Related Themes:
