Find an image and say what it says about either the setting, the character the image is connected to, or about Morrison's style. Try to be specific. If someone else has taken your image, write about a different image unless you have something substatively new about the image. Remember that an image is a word or phrase that evokes the reader's sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch.
15 comments:
Hey everyone,
So I am sort of confused on whether I should post a picture or a phrase with imagery....so I'm going to try the imagery and hope that's right! The image I found very compelling was "Except for World War II, nothing ever interfered with the celbration of National Suicide Day." The reason it struck me was because people usually don't celebrate suicide. As we were talking about in class, there are some words with slightly negative connotations, however the word celebration to me only has a positive meaning. Suicide is a very awful thing and imagining hundreds maybe thousands of people crowding the streets to "celebrate" something like that would never take place in this day and age. Well at least not as publicly as one could infer these celebrations were. I look forward to reading what all of you found interesting!
Hey guys,
So, I'm also sort of unaware of what the question is asking, but I'll try to mentally think up an image from the given reading. I can somewhat imagine what Shadrack looks like. Considering I've already read the book and I know more of him, I can picture him being a very strange, supersticious, tall, exotic, gross, inappropriate man who appears to be very disturbed and unusual. Also, the community does not seem to accept him as a person and for his actions (even though thinking upon national suicide and being the person he is, I can't say I blame the community for not accepting him as a true citizen of their community). However, I find it interesting that words (adjectives specifically) can help me picture a character and what he looks like/personality, etc. Hope this is a good contribution!
Mason
Hi Everyone,
I am also confused about the question, as I see a couple others are as well. I will go ahead and try to answer the question based off of the text not an actual image.
The part in the story where I found a good example of imagery is on page 8, "His glance was cautious at first, for he had to be very careful-anything could be anywhere. Then he noticed two lumps beneath the beige blanket on either side of his hips. With extreme care he lifted one arm and was relieved to find his hand attatched to his wrist. He tried the other and found it also. Slowly he directed one hand toward the cup and, just as he was about to spread his fingers, they began to grow in higgledy-piggledy fashion like Jack's beanstalk all over teh tray and bed." This part of the story shows a good sense of imagery. This is becuase most people do not imagine their hands growing out like Jack's beanstalk. So Morrison's writing help the reader to imagine what this "fantasy" like moment would look like in real life. It also helps the reader picture what this moment would look like, as well as giving the reader a sense of the setting. Morrison explain's the color of the sheets and everything that the character is going through at the time, so the reader is left with no questions. I look forward to reading everyone else's!!
While reading, I found a imagery that's on page 8. "The day was cold enough to make his breath visible, and he wondered for a moment at the purity and whiteness of his own breath among the dirty, gray explosions surrounding him." When I read this, I can imagen the type of weather that is in the book because the author used "Cold" and "Purity and whiteness of his own breath" Words like that makes me think of the cold season, winter. I like how the author used the word " gray explosion surrounding him" to describe the white cloud that's coming out of his mouth when he exhale.
As you before me have stated, I'm not sure what the question is asking either, but I will do my best.
The line where it says, "Thus reassured that the white, the red and the brown would stay where they were--would not explode or burst forth from their restricted zones."
I think this metaphorically creates the imagery of what he experienced in war. The food is safe in it's own section of the triangle. White, red, and brown are the warring nations. They might also represent colors of skin. The food isn't mixing, isn't fighting, etc. Everything is in it's place.
Although this is not particularly imagery, the line "Easily, quietly Suicide Day slipped into the fabric of life up in Bottom of Medallion, Ohio." is my favorite line and shows Toni Morrison's unique way of creating a peculiar outlook on life. I think that the idea that life in Bottom is a large fabric is an interesting thought particularly since it develops the unity of the community of the Bottom.
I found a phrase on page 9 that really struck me. It reads, "He could not bear to see his hands grow again and he was frightened of the voice in the apple-green suit." This was an interesting example of imagery to me, because it described the scene from his perspective. He clearly has a twisted perspective of things, (he expects his hands to grow…) and the fact that it says, "the voice" rather than "the nurse" or "the man" is really interesting. Through his eyes, the nurse was not a fellow human, but rather a vague, confusing voice that was scary for him. I don't see a human in my mind when I read this, but instead some blurry, apple-green shadow. Maybe this is what Shadrack saw. I also like the choice of color that Morrison uses. "Apple-green" is a harsh and relatively vibrant color, and is a little disturbing and shocking in the context. A mysterious, frightening voice is coming from an apple green suit. What an odd, yet intriguing image! I find it to be so, at least. I also liked many of the other examples of imagery that have been given, and my first choice had actually been the one Sheneese used. I was going to comment on the contrast between the gray smoke and the white clouds of his breath, but I decided to discuss an entirely different quote instead :) I've enjoyed reading what everyone has been saying so far! Keep it going! Have a good evening!!
hey.
On page 15, "His eyes were so wild, his hair so long and matted, his voice was so full of authority and thunder that he caused panic on the first...."
This really described the physical aspects and I feel like describing his eyes as "wild" gave me as a reader more of an insight on how he handles different situations etc. The word was not gentle or nurturing eyes, and if it were we would have such a different image of this man in our minds.
In fact, he felt only the bite of a nail in his boot, which pierced the ball of his foot whenever he came down on it."
I chose this sentence because while reading it, i felt the pain that was being described in the book, in my own foot. Obviously not to the degree that Shadrock was feeling, but the way Toni Morrison illustrates it with her words like "bite' and "pierced" really made me uncomfortable. Maybe I'm just a baby, but I feel that with her specifics on location of the body, matched with the conflict and fight for survival that made this injury insignificant I was left with a clear picture that made me feel one with the story; and if that is not good use of imagery, I don't know what is.
I loved the imagery on page 8 about the soldier who's face was torn off. The author describes this scene as the soldier's face flying off while Shadrack watched from under his helmet. The gory and grotesque visual that the author gives of the decapitated body continuing to plow through the soldiers made me picture what a man might look like if his head were cut off like a chicken's. When a chicken looses it's head it continues to run around before it dies. In the same way, the soldier's body takes no direction from its missing head and continues to move. I think this was a shocking and creative detail and one that portrays the violence of war. Also, the details of the brain tissue dripping were gruesome and added to the idea that Shadrack must have been disturbed by the things he's seen.
True Dat, Kelsey.
(the word verification I had to type before submitting this response was "misha" ahhaha, thought you would enjoy or roll your eyes at that)
"A sleep deeper than the hospital drugs; deeper than the pits of plums, steadier than the condor's wing; more tranquil than the curve of eggs."
This image evokes the senses because the sleep is compared to things that evoke the senses. The sleep is deeper than anything sensory and the comparison of the sleep to each sense gives the reader an idea of the feeling of the sleep that the character was in. This example of imagery shows Morrison's style effectively. It has a poetic sound to it and the repetitiveness of the senses in order to really get across the intensity of the sleep is very poetic. Morrison uses metaphors and similes to get the reader to really understand what is going on and he is creative in his choices for each comparison. The line shows that Morrison is poetic and thinks out of the box when it comes to normal comparisons.
Hello,
A lot of other images I liked were taken so I will do the one on pg. 8-- "In fact, he felt only the bite of a nail in his boot, which pierced the ball of his foot whenever he came down on it."
I find this image pertaining most to setting. The image of a nail piercing the ball of a foot is very graphic and it evokes the feeling of pain when we as readers imagine what this must feel like. I think this quote and this whole scene provokes feelings of the nature of war. The nail is not only painful but dreadfully annoying and the pain reoccurs with each step. I think the quote most directly affects touch, although imagination can take us much farther. Perhaps a nail in the foot might bring about bile in the mouth or the noise of the nail sliding in and out of the shoe and scraping against the ground. The nail might evoke sight as one with a nail stuck in their foot might continuously look down at the nail as it rubbed against the ball of their foot with every step. Though the quote and the imagery, for me, mostly affect touch because it is easier to imagine pain than use the imagination for the other senses, I believe it does in fact affect all the senses.
The imagery in page 9 was interesting. Shadrack shrieks at his own hands as if he was expecting his hands to be blown off from the battle. A male nurse comes inside to pacify him and I thought the male nurse was patronizing the patient. Sure, his behavior was somewhat childish, but the nurse says to him that they are not going to take care of him for that long. His tone seems to be partially condescending but Shadrack seems like he did not care.
Shadrack is very thoughtful and suspicious in every surroundings
he is in. He is very sensitive in hearing and visualty. He is also
aware of many war actions especially for his own imagination.
Therefore he is with full imagination and creativity. Also,
he has erratic personality because
he thinks abnormally with ordinary
people.
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