Imagery of responsibility
Rosalie's typical day is described using a sense of sight. The author writes, "The sky above the trees is pale and bare and skims in reflection over the flat surface of the water. It is not a warm day but a dry one. Rosalie is watering her shawl, her bonnet, and a pair of sturdy boots bought some years ago for her brother June." The imagery represents the family's expectations of Rosalie. Being the eldest girl, she should execute the roles of her mother. Society expects a girl to be nurtured to embrace motherly responsibilities from a young age. In this context, Rosalie is executing her cleaning roles to ensure she emulates her mother.
The dead child
The grief of Junius Booth when losing a child is explained using imagery. The author writes, "The dead child was the only one that mattered. Father refused to leave the coffin, even to see June or Elizabeth. He refused to marry Ann reinterred. Late that night, when no one was watching, he slipped from the cabin with the coffin and the child. Hiding her somewhere in the considerable acreage of the farm." The imagery is vital because it signifies Junius' inability to accept the death of his child. Junius Booth has not been lucky because most of his children die while young. He is frustrated, and he even does the unthinkable when he decides to hide the body of her dead body from the vicinity of the rest of his family members.
Hearing
The author depicts the sense of hearing to readers when writing, “They could hear father talking to Mary Ann, but they couldn’t hear what he was saying. They could not hear Mary Ann answering. And there was a roar as father's grief consumed the heavens, and Rosalie knew Father had failed." The author represents the unbearable loss the family of Rosalie has gone through this imagery. Rosalie's father and mother are confused because they do not understand the curse that is following them and consuming their children mercilessly. Rosalie's father roars with frustrations, but at the end of the day, they do not have an answer to why their children are dying.
