A Comparison of the Heat and Cold Imagery Used in Woman at Point Zero and Thousand Cranes

To place a reader in the mind of a character, the author must create a scenario which will appeal to the senses, and keep readers intrigued. The technique of building imagery can successfully transform the world around the reader, and connect them to the story. One Mile of Ice by Hugh Garner uses many imagery-building techniques to place readers in the mind of a man on the verge of death. In this story, Hugh Garner tells the tale of two brother-in-laws, Ralph and Pete, who venture off into town, accompanied by mare and sleigh, to get presents for the children for Christmas. However, their journey takes a very dark turn not too far into their adventure. The crisp winds become a blinding storm, in which Ralph and Pete are forced to fight for their lives. Unfortunately, only one man survives - Pete. One Mile of Ice uses visual components to build imagery, as well as tactile techniques to throw readers into the mind of the protagonist. Alongside this, the author uses auditory traits to reproduce the true terror experienced in this story by these brother-in-laws.

In the story he uses imagery and personification in this quote, “Finally the mountains around the valley reached out and swallowed the sun.” This line from the story explains how the conditions Panchito and his father and brother worked in were hot and tiring. Imagery is used to show the the sun setting while personification is expressed because the valley can’t do the human act of swallowing. The tone is relieved since the characters are finally getting away from the hot weather while the tone is neutral since heat doesn’t bother me that

For example, after Brother Tarp gives the Invisible Man a link from his slave chain, a warm breeze brushes the Invisible Man’s cheek leaving him “soberly confident” (390). He goes on to narrate that it “had restored [his] perspective” indicating that heat melts the layer of snow obscuring his vision (390). The heat brings back the oppressive South allowing a moment of clarity and reminding the Invisible Man of his principle goal of promoting racial equality in the North, bringing forth bold emotions. Additionally, while uptown, the Invisible Man notices that a “different tension was in the hot night air” (423). Simply the temperature of the night indicates the Narrator that tensions are high among the civilians.

In addition to this, belonging to a family is a key concept in this novel. The novel opens with an alluring introduction to the family; a blissful atmosphere is created through the picturesque icons of their family life. The composer uses small photograph like icons to allude towards the widely acknowledged contentment that is readily associated with the memories in a picture album. Tan introduces the motif of the paper crane which he carries through the length of his novel as a symbol of affection and belonging between the family members. The next pages signify the break in contentment as the man begins his journey and a salient image of the couple with their hands grasping the other’s parallels the anxiety and despair in their downcast facial expressions. Although the gloomy atmosphere, the light sepia tones in the picture allow an insight into the tender and loving relationship that the family members share. Upon the man’s departure the paper crane motif returns and he hands it to his daughter as a token of his undying love for her. His migratory experience is studded by the comfort and ease that he obtains from a picture of his family. In paralleled scenes on the boat and the new apartment, the

Hosseini's use of imagery in A Thousand Splendid Suns gives the reader a clear picture of the abuse that Mariam and Laila have experience

The author’s use of imagery also leaves the listeners crying at their misfortunes. To fully illustrate the burning, agony of Hell, the author frequently uses the phrases “glowing flames” and “Hell’s wide gaping mouth open”. This depict that Hell is very “hot” to endure

“Filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before” (3-2). This is showing the setting of the poem which is scary and chilling. A second example of imagery is “Ah, distinctly,

Levi uses imagery by describing the pain in a new language, a “ harsh language would have been born; and only this language could express what it means to toil the whole day in the wind, with the temperature below freezing, wearing only a shirt, underpants, cloth jacket, and trousers, and in one’s body nothing but weakness, hunger, and knowledge of the end…. Because ‘winter’ means yet another thing”(Document C). The inability to use words, as the words do not show the intensity of the situation, shows the vehemence of their condition. The imagery behind the quote shows their pain, the cold harsh pain, and the need for a new language. The imagery shows their situation, walking through the ice wearing nothing but 1 layer of cloth and their thoughts are filled with the end nearing. The wind sending spikes of sharp cold up their back as they drudge against the wind. The imagery explained here shows how Levi conveys the

The use of Imagery is seen in William Goldman’s The Princess Bride when the author tells about when he did not like to read, The Zoo of Death, and The Cliffs of Insanity.

The use of imagery allows the reader to picture the long-lasting emotions gripping the narrator. Being a concrete representation of an object or sensory experience (myLearning), imagery permits the reader to visualize what the narrator is experiencing. One example of imagery is used in line 5 “I'm stone. I'm flesh.” The narrator is using metaphoric and literal imagery describing his body. The reader can visualize the attempt to harden the body against the onslaught of emotion, and the reflection of the vulnerable flesh body in the granite wall. Another example of imagery can be found in lines 22 through 24 “Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's / wings cutting across my stare. / The sky. A plane in the sky." Here the realistic memories of war involuntarily flash through the narrator’s mind.

Another symbol to acknowledge in the story is the serpent. The serpent came in the story in a stick figure way. “This is a dull pace for the beginning of a journey”. The sneaky serpent confided this saying to

El Saadawi uses ocean imagery in contrast to smaller, confined bodies of water to work toward the reader’s understanding of the conflicting positions of power. Through this technique, there is a clear contrast between the different meanings conveyed by water throughout the text enhancing the original metaphor presented. Water and sea imagery is used to represent power within the novel. After escaping from her husband, Firdaus describes drowning in a sea of people, stating: “The street was an endless expanse stretched out before my eyes like a sea. I was just a pebble thrown into it, battered by the waves” (60). After a while, she gets tired and wants fresh water. Here, the different varieties of water, the

“Joseph shall return to Canaan, grieve not, Hovels shall turn to rose gardens, grieve not. If a flood should arrive, to drown all that’s alive, Noah is your guide in the typhoon’s eye, grieve not (Hosseini 365).” A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, is a story that is set place in modern-day Afghanistan. It is one depicting the lives of two particular women who live under the control of a persecuting husband and the infamous rule of the Taliban. And through these two women (Laila and Mariam), Hosseini creates a mind-blowing, awe-inspiring adventure of regret, despair, tragedy, and more importantly, redemption. The book begins with separate perspectives of each woman, and how they consequently come together in the same

Imagery is another important element which London uses to illustrate and emphasize his theme. In “To Build a Fire” Earl Labor sees the “mood and atmosphere, which is conveyed through repetitive imagery of cold and gloom and whiteness,” as being “the key to the story’s impact” (63). London does rely heavily on imagery to set the mood of the story, and in this way he draws a picture of the harsh environment that his character must endure. London uses imagery with such skill that the reader can almost feel the deadly cold of the environment and can almost hear the “sharp, explosive crackle” when the man’s spit would freeze in mid-air (119). Through the use of such vivid imagery, London guides the reader toward the realization of the story’s theme; the reader can visualize the man “losing in his battle with the frost” and therefor can picture man in his conflict with a cruel and uncaring universe (128). Symbolism is also an important element in “To Build a Fire”. David Mike Hamilton’s criticism, he says “the fire symbolizes life as does the white snow that falls at the beginning of the story.” He also views “the dark point in the midst of the stamped snow, foretelling the end of the fire, and thus of life” (2). I strongly agree with Hamilton’s criticism; “the dark point in the midst of the stamped snow” because it not only foretells the end of the fire but of the end of life itself.

Hayden utilizes visual and auditory imagery to demonstrate the father’s discomfort and sacrifice. Readers get a sense of the deadly, frostbite coldness through “blueblack cold” (2). Visual images such as the “blueblack cold” create a painful, frigid