Imagery of sight
The sense of sight is depicted to the reader when the narrator describes what her father does in the kitchen regularly. The narrator says, "I used to sit up on the kitchen counter watching him, how he sifted the grains in his hands, sure and quick removing pieces of dirt or sand, tiny imperfections. He switched his hands through the water, and it turned cloudy." This description is vital in helping the reader visualize how the narrator's father prepares the rice before cooking it.
The imagery of the father's code of dress at the kitchen
The reader finds it attractive when the narrator takes her time to describe how her father dresses while cooking activities in the kitchen. The sense of sight is depicted to the reader when the narrator says, "He wears old buttoned shirt and faded sweatpants drawn at the waist." Why an old buttoned shirt? The narrator does not vividly answer this question, but the reader thinks that perhaps the narrator's father does not have better clothes to put on while cooking.
The imagery of the fish (sight)
The narrator says, “The fish looks straight at me, flopping sluggishly from side to side." The narrator says this statement when she takes the live fish before her father starts to cook it. Through this imagery, the reader understands that the narrator's father is an expert in cooking rice using simple recipes and cooking fish.
The imagery of hearing
The narrator is sometimes worried that she cannot do simple recipes such as cooking rice to match her father’s kitchen skills. She even talks to the tables when she is worried that she is not doing things right. She says, “I would say to the table, my voice soft and embarrassed.” Speaking to the table as if it is listening conveys the sense of hearing to the reader.
