The imagery of clapping hands
The narrator depicts the imagery of hearing to the reader when he says, “There we were, chanting away the multiplication tables and word spelling; M-A-T, indicating each letter by clapping of hands. The teacher bellowed out: F-O-X, fokos; B-O-X, books; fikis which we echoed while we marveled at the look of the words on the board and the miraculous sound of them" The chanting, clapping of hands, bellowing of the teacher and echoing pupils produce sounds which enable the reader to hear what is happening in the classroom where the narrator is one of the students. The use of the literary device imagery is critical in this narration because it aids the reader to have the first-hand experience of the classroom experience.
The imagery of the hooting owl
The hooting of the owl depicts the sense of hearing to readers. The narrator recalls how they laughed at someone who got startled by the sound of the hooting owl during those days when he could go hunting with his friends. The narrator says, “We came back in the early hours of dawn, our feet wet with dew, our chests heaving with the freshness of morning life. How we laughed when someone happened to be startled by a hooting owl.”
The imagery of Lehsaona River
The description of the Leshaona River and its waters depict the sense of hearing to the reader. Thema is running away from his girlfriend's angry brothers, and when he reaches the shore of the river, he finds his girlfriend waiting for him. She convinces him to cross the river before her brothers catch up with him and kill him. At last, he agrees to cross with her, but before they manage to get to the other end, the raging waters carry away his girlfriend. She wails, but there is no help. The author writes, "Just as a long wailing cry came across the ugly waters of Leshaona, a woman’s daughter gave a scream and was covered and carried away. Thema shouted her name. No help.”
