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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
Key Examples in Shooting an Elephant
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—The Dying Elephant:
At the climax of the story, Orwell kills a rampaging elephant—shooting it multiple times with two different guns—and then watches it slowly die. He uses a pair of similes and imagery to convey the emotional weight of this moment, as seen in the following passage:
You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last remnant of strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, his belly towards me, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Dirty Work of Empire:
Near the beginning of the story, Orwell uses imagery to capture “the dirty work” of the British Empire (that he, as a colonial police officer, is forced to uphold), as seen in the following passage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear. In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos – all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.
Related Themes:
