Planning for War
The book is replete with images of making strategies and plans for war. It includes the arrangement of proper weapons and the thorough information about war and enemy. The famous quotation from the book draws an imagery of battle, defeat and the knowledge of one’s own self and the enemy. The writer says, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
Warlord
There is also a demonstration of a warlord who seems to be ordering the troops regarding war tactics. The warlord enquires that whether each men of the troop is content with his job or not and he also enquires about their individual motives. The warlord also appears to be depicting a diplomatic attitude. He reveals that he is frightened and afraid of the enemy and he lacks the necessary preparations for war. But when the war begins, he uses all the tactics that he had learned during his trainings for battle and eventually defeats his enemy.
Water Imagery
The flowing water has been compared with an army by the narrator. The author has employed the images of water flowing from high ground and saturating the hollow surfaces. He says, “The shape of water is indeterminate; likewise, the spirit of war is not fixed.” As water adjusts according to the circumstances and its surroundings so an army should also be flexible in the same way.
Natural Imagery
The images of nature have also been employed in the book. The author says that the attack of an army should be as swift as wind, its march should be as calm as a forest and its invasion should be as destructive as fire. The attitude of a troop should be like a maiden in the beginning but after the beginning of war, the army should pounce like a rabbit. All these comparisons of army with animals and elements of nature evoke natural imagery.
Mentor
Sun Tzu has also portrayed the image of a mentor who is teaching the war strategies to his students. The narrator of the book seems to be an experienced warlord or a person who has won different battles and now he is promulgating all the tactics which helped him during his encounters with the enemy.
