The Imagery of Claustrophobia (“The Assault”)
The narrator elucidates, “I am becoming claustrophobic; I cannot speak, cannot make myself heard. Unsaid words are throttling me. Something in my right eye is vibrating. My breathing is shallow, my legs feel crushed. Surely she can hear that I am angry, and see that she is assaulting me, that I am being crushed under an injustice. But I am mesmerised.” The imagery of claustrophobia accentuates the overpowering implications of uncontrollable talking on the hearer. The narrator’s failure to respond to the overbearing woman stifles her. If the narrator were an active contributor in the dialogue she would have been at ease.
The Imagery of Ali’s room (“My Son is a Fanatic”)
Hanif Kureishi explicates “What bewildered him was that Ali was getting tidier. Instead of the usual tangle of clothes, books, cricket bats, video games, the room was becoming neat and ordered; spaces began appearing where before there had been only mess.” The form of Ali’s room is signalizes his transformation. Outwardly, the elegance offers an affirmative impression. Nevertheless, a critical scrutiny of the tidiness hints at deep-rooted behavioral modification that galvanizes Ali to dispose items that he treasured.
