The Imagery of hearing
The narrator and her husband are tuned to the radio to listen on whether the Association of Meteorologists is going to call off its strike but nothing comes of the heated discussion. The discussion on the radio is about the delayed wages of the employees of the meteorological department. This imagery engages the reader to be part of the audience listening to the radio discussion regarding the conflict between the meteorological employees and their employer regarding salaries. The narrator says, “We kept tuned to the radio as the hours passed, but learned little more. Heated discussions were taking place, that was all we were told. For some reason, these talks were kept highly secret. Conducted behind closed doors. Hush-hush."
The Imagery of Mandy
The character Mandy is used by the author to depict the imagery of touch and feeling to the reader. When Ralph realizes that he has forgotten his helmet which is critical in his competition, Mandy is sent to run home and bring it the soonest possible. She runs homes very first and when she gets at the traffic lights, she poses and starts to pant. A few minutes later, she brings the helmet but unfortunately, it bangs against her leg and the author writes, “She feels her breath blazing into a spray of heroic pain, and as her foot rounds on the pavement, a filament of recognition is touched.” This imagery creates a feeling of pain and the reader can have a feeling of the pain Mandy is going through.
The Imagery of Taste
Carol Shields commences her book by illustrating the sense of taste to the reader when she provides a vivid description of Tamara’s clothing preference and taste. There is a big festival in town and Tamara wants to shine by putting on her favorite clothes so that she can look outstanding before others. As she opens a closet door, she looks around her clothes she settles on a yellow cotton skirt the one that she loves most. Tamara says, “Yes! The yellow cotton skirt with the big patch pockets and the hand detail around the hem. How fortunate to own such a skirt. And the white blouse. What a blouse! Those sleeves, that neckline with its buttoned flap, the fullness in the yoke that reminds her of the morris dancers she and her boyfriend Bruce saw at the Exhibition last year.”
