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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 The Giver
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Changing Apple:
In Chapter 3, Jonas recalls a rare moment from his childhood when he got in trouble for taking an apple home with him from school. The imagery in his memory of the apple foreshadows Jonas's discovery of color:
But suddenly Jonas had noticed, following the path of the apple through the air with his eyes, that the piece of fruit had—well, this was the part that he couldn’t adequately understand—the apple had changed. Just for an instant. It had changed in mid-air, he remembered. Then it was in his hand, and he looked at it carefully, but it was the same apple. Unchanged. The same size and shape: a perfect sphere. The same nondescript shade, about the same shade as his own tunic.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Sledding Through Memory:
In Chapter 10, the Giver tries to tell Jonas what it feels like to Receive and hold all the memories of the past. There is an important moment of dramatic irony when the Giver realizes that his imagery is ineffective:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“[Receiving memories is] like going downhill through deep snow on a sled,” [the Giver] said, finally. “At first it’s exhilarating: the speed; the sharp, clear air; but then the snow accumulates, builds up on the runners, and you slow, you have to push hard to keep going, and—”
He shook his head suddenly, and peered at Jonas. “That meant nothing to you, did it?” he asked.
Jonas was confused. “I didn’t understand it, sir.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Starving:
In Chapter 22, Jonas tries to use memories to help himself and Gabriel feel less hungry, but the sensation of starvation takes hold, a "gnawing, painful emptiness." This imagery gives way to a metaphor that stands at the heart of the book's message:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Jonas remembered, suddenly and grimly, the time in his childhood when he had been chastised for misusing a word. The word had been “starving.” You have never been starving, he had been told. You will never be starving.
Now he was. If he had stayed in the community, he would not be. [...]
But if he had stayed . . .
His thoughts continued. If he had stayed, he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love.
Related Themes:
