Hearing imagery
The sense of hearing is depicted when the narrator describes the snoring sound of Mariamma's mother and the dog's barking. The narrator says, "Soon she hears her mother's sniffles change steady breathing, and then to the softest of snores, which in the girls' mind seem to impose order on the scattered sounds of the night, from the wooden walls exhaling the day's heat to the scuffing sound of the dog in the sandy courtyard outside." The imagery shows the uproar of Mariamma's homestead at night. The imagery is also significant because it signifies Mariamma's confidence in her mother's security for their homestead.
Sight
The description of Mariamma’s house and the lagoon depict a sense of sight to readers. The narrator says, “She imagines the bird looking down at the clearing where the rectangular thatched roof squats over their house. It sees the lagoon in front of the creek and the paddy field behind.” The imagery is vital in this context because it shows that Mariamma comes from a humble background. For instance, Mariamma and her mother live in a rectangular thatched house. However, Mariamma looks forward to a better future because she is determined to follow her father’s wishes.
The imagery of age
The opening sentence in chapter one is imagery that shows the patriarchal nature of the Kerala community. For instance, men marry off their daughters at an early age. The narrator says, "She is twelve years old and will be married in the morning. Mother and daughter lie on the mat, their wet cheeks glued together." Mariamma is a young girl who has not attained maturity but is set to marry a forty-year-old man. The young girl and her mother cannot dispute the arranged marriage because men's decisions are final.
