We Hear, Very Loud, a Calypso Rhythm (Auditory Imagery)
In Act One, Harry tries to convince Jackson to perform with him in a pantomime version of the Robinson Crusoe story. Eventually, Jackson capitulates and responds to Harry's music-hall song with a calypso of his own invention. The stage directions say: "JACKSON's whole body is now silently rocking in rhythm. He is laughing to himself. We hear, very loud, a calypso rhythm." In this example of auditory imagery, Walcott shows Jackson feeling the groove of a calypso before the audience—and Harry—suddenly hears the music he has begun swaying to.
Execution of the Parrot (Visual Imagery)
When Jackson complains about the hotel parrot's use of a racial slur, he says he sees "nothing wrong in taking him out of the cage at dawn, blindfolding the bitch, giving him a last cigarette if he want it, lining him up against the garden wall, and perforating his arse by firing squad." In this example of visual imagery, Jackson describes an absurd scenario in which a blindfolded parrot is executed like a traitorous soldier or prisoner of war.
Squelch of Those Who Missed the Pit (Auditory Imagery)
When rejecting Harry's offer to use his private bathroom, Jackson invites Harry to try using the servants' outhouse, saying, "You could, if you wanted, a little later maybe, walk round the guest house in the dark, put your foot in the squelch of those who missed the pit by the outhouse." In this example of auditory imagery, Jackson immerses Harry in the unpleasant experience of using the outhouse by describing the squelching sound one hears when one unwittingly steps in wet excrement.
Hammering Violently Resumes (Auditory Imagery)
At the beginning of Act Two, several hours have passed since the end of Act One, but the tension between Jackson and Harry lingers. Though Harry "lies back in the deck chair, the book on his chest, arms locked behind his head," his peace is soon interrupted when "hammering violently resumes." In this example of auditory imagery, Walcott's stage directions create a jarring juxtaposition between the relaxing silence Harry tries to enjoy and the exaggerated laboring of Jackson, who clearly is expressing his resentment with needlessly aggressive hammering.
