The Imagery of Cold Barley
Min Jin Lee uses the cold barley tea to appeal the sense of taste to the reader. As the Matchmaker arrives, Hoonie’s mother serves her with a cup of cold barley tea. This imagery is vital as it aids the reader to conceptualize the taste of the served tea. He writes:
“Hoonie's mother poured the matchmaker a cup of cold barley tea but didn't break from her work."
The imagery of Touch
The author uses Yangjin’s firstborn to appeal the sense of touch to the reader. Yangjin is now a mother and the love for her child cannot be compared to anything else. She has a close confection and affection for her child. She has never loved someone before like her baby. The reader can feel that personal touch between Yangjin and her child. The author writes:
“When Yangjin was alone with her firstborn, she traced her index finger around the infant's mouth and kissed it; she had never loved anyone as much as her baby.”
Imagery of Hearing
After the arrest of Isak, Sunja decides to find any economic activity so that she can raise cash for any emergency. For instance, she fears that Kyunghee might ask Yoseb to throw her out. It can be very bad for her and the boys because she does not have any money that can take them back to her mother. Therefore, she strategizes to do any business to raise money for any eventuality. The business requires her to shout to customers so that they can purchase her Kimchi. The shouting depicts the sense of hearing to the reader. The author writes"
“So Sunja had to find work. She would become a peddler. It was one thing for a woman like her mother to take in oarders and to work alongside her husband to earn money, but something altogether different for a young woman to stand in an open market and sell food to strangers, shouting until she was hoarse.”
The imagery of smell
When Sunja gets into the market with her cart carrying Kimchi, the market women are not welcoming because they do not want her to sell near them They send her to go to the other side where there is no human traffic. She moves to the other side but still finds another stubborn woman who does not want Sanju to sell next to her. Sanju is surprised why they are annoyed and yet no one is selling Kimchi. She says doenjang could smell jus as pungently and this depicts the sense of smell to the reader. The Narrator says:
“Sunja couldn't come up with a reply, because she was so surprised, None of them were even selling kimchi, and doenjang could smell just as pungently.”
