Previous
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
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—The Funeral :
Demon uses poignant imagery when describing his mother’s funeral, following her fatal overdose on OxyContin, a highly addictive opioid prescribed to her by her doctor for pain relief:
I get to remember every single thing about the funeral. That day sits big and hard in my brain like this monster rock in the ocean, waiting to wreck me. I wish to God it would leave my brain. It stays. All of it. The itchy black socks borrowed from Mr. Peg because I’d outgrown all but my gym socks. The smell of sweat and shoe polish. The toothpaste green of the walls, a color Mom hated. The sound of the quavery organ, old ladies stinking of perfume. The wasps, this whole slew of them, buzzing and buzzing at the colored windows way up high.
Demon claims that he can recall “every single thing” about the funeral, a memory that he compares, in a simile, to a “monster rock in the ocean” that can destroy him at any moment. Here, he invokes a wide range of senses, noting a number of specific visual details, such as the “toothpaste green of the walls” and the “colored windows” of the church, as well as auditory details, such as the “sound of the quavery organ” and the buzzing of the wasps. He also invokes the sense of smell, describing the “smell of sweat and shoe polish” and the perfume of the older women, and he recalls a number of tactile details, including the “itchy black socks” he wore and the uncomfortably warm, still air in the church. Demon’s detailed recollection of the funeral suggests that this was a major moment in his young life, a memory that continues to haunt him as an adult.
Chapter 42
Explanation and Analysis—Homecoming:
Demon uses vivid imagery when describing the homecoming parade:
We did the whole pony show, homecoming court, marching band, walking out, our names over the loudspeakers. The runner-up guys with their cheerleader dates in red hair bows and mickeymouse skirts [...] The usual gym smell of armpit and Lysol had a frosting of girl perfume that seemed flimsy, like the trellis thing loaned by Tractor Supply with Kleenex flowers on it for taking your photo. Sourpuss teachers doing their time around the refreshments table. Speakers rattling an ear-killing mix of Thong Song, Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey. Every so often, the shock of the whole gym falling into step for the Electric Slide.
Despite the leg injury that threatens his football career, Demon has finally achieved the popularity and social acceptance that he so badly desired when he was a young child. Indeed, he has come a long way since he was a young child ostracized for his poverty, and how now reigns as homecoming king of Lee High School, with his girlfriend, Dori, by his side as homecoming queen.
He employs extensive imagery in his recollections, noting the cheerleaders "in red hair bows and mickeymouse skirts" and the teachers "doing their time around the refreshments table." Drawing from the sense of smell, he recalls the "smell of armpit and lysol" that mixes with the "frosting of girl perfume." Additionally, he invokes auditory details, recalling the sound of the loudspeakers that read out his name and the "ear-killing mix" of popular music from the 1990s. Demon is specific and detailed in his recollection of the homecoming parade, suggesting that it holds an important place in his memories. At this point in his life, Demon desperately seeks the approval of others as a result of his former isolation, though this approval proves to be short-lived, as his worsening addiction forces him to drop out of school.
Related Themes:
Chapter 53
Explanation and Analysis—Atlanta:
When Demon learns that Emmy is living in Atlanta, Georgia, Aunt June insists that Demon accompany her there to recover Emmy, whom she fears is involved in drug abuse and sex work. Demon uses imagery, a metaphor, and a simile when describing the busy city of Atlanta:
Cloud-high buildings spiking up in the distance, pointy or square on top, the colors of steel and sky. So much like a movie, your eye couldn’t accept it was real [...] Hundreds of people passed by outside hugging their coats around them, looking at their feet, walking fast. I wondered what they were taking for the brain alarm bell that goes off in a place like this, where not one thing you see is alive, except more people. Everything else being dead: bricks, cement, engine-driven steel, no morning or evening songs but car horns and jackhammers. All the mountains of steel-beam construction.
Demon, who has been raised in Lee County, has had little experience with cities, other than a few childhood trips to Knoxville. He retains, throughout the novel, a strong distaste for cities, which is reflected in the pointed language he uses here. He notes that the city appears "like a movie," a simile that suggests that Demon only ever sees cities in movies due to his own rural background. Using detailed imagery, he describes the "cloud-high buildings spiking up on the distance" and the "hundreds of people" who walk by, "hugging their coats around them, looking at their feet, walking fast." The imagery he uses here underscores what he considers to be the cold and impersonal anonymity of the city, where people mind their own business as they go about their tasks. Additionally, in a metaphor, he describes the "mountains of steel-beam construction," language that draws a distinct contrast between the mountainous Lee County and the heavily urbanized city. Despite all that he has experienced in his own hometown, Demon appreciates the presence of nature and sense of community that he associates with Lee County.
