Beam of a powerful torch
In the opening chapter, Xuma meets Leah in the dark. Before letting him into her home, she retrieves a powerful torch (i.e. flashlight) and sweeps it over Xuma's body. The visual image shows Xuma from toe to head, emphasizing his broken shoes and immense frame, establishing that he is poor but well-built and intimidating.
Red shirts and green shirts and yellow shirts and pink shirts
While walking the streets of Malay Camp with Joseph, Xuma takes in the elaborate ways that people dress on Saturdays. The author captures the flashes of colorful clothing using simple visual imagery that shows the bright, contrasting colors.
Smiled from the side of her mouth
In an example of visual imagery, the author captures Leah's ambivalence about handing money over to the policeman she bribes by describing the expression on her face. She is happy to have the information but irritated to be extorted, and so she smiles from the side of her mouth as she counts five one-pound notes and hands them over.
Everywhere the stench of beer was strong
After Xuma leaves to have his face stitched by a doctor, he returns to Leah's, where everyone has cleared out. However, the strong smell of the beer that had been served and spilled lingers. In this olfactory image, the reader can imagine the sharp scent of beer filling the empty room.
