Jazz Imagery
Kwahulé uses lots of imagery throughout the play that deals with jazz and musicality. Angie owns a jazz club and is a professional jazz singer, and the characters often discuss the music. Micky even describes Shorty's fighting style in terms of famous jazz musicians, comparing his legwork to Billie Holiday's voice, his jab to Monk's piano, his speed to Charlie Parker's saxophone, his fists to Dizzy Gillespie's horn, his joy to Lester Young's choruses, and his fierce combos to "a big band of ten thousand Coltranes."
Shadow Imagery
One of the main characters of the play is named Shadow, and he is the living manifestation of a shadow. He has dark skin and clings to Shorty in the same way that a shadow clings to a person. He inhabits an aura of darkness, and people remark that he exudes darkness, evoking speculations about his criminal past.
Neglect Imagery
When Angie reminds Shorty of the fact that he is a role model for underprivileged African-American children, he responds with a sort of dance that describes their condition: "cold," "hungry," "thirsty," "crushed like cigarette butts," "swept into a common grave like ashes into an ashtray." These descriptions form an image of the neglect these poor children must suffer.
A Contract Signed in Blood
When Shadow has Shorty sign the contract, he forces to do so in blood. This imagery hammers in the point that this contract is serious and irrevocable; its agreements are essentially more indelible than if they had been set in stone. The use of Shorty's own blood also represents the part of himself he has to give up in order to accept this devilish bargain.
