The feeling of sorrow
The opening statement in the novel shows Cassandra's pain after her brother drowned and died. Cassandra says, "I don't want to tell you what happened. I want to tell you how it felt. When I was twelve, my little brother drowned. He was seven. I was with him. I swam him to the shore." The imagery shows the revelations of the unfolding events before the tragedy happened. In other words, the narrator paints a picture of blamelessness to affirm that she was not the one responsible for the death of Wayne.
The neighborhood
The fancy neighborhood around Cassandra's home is described using imagery. Cassandra says, "We would walk along the roads, cutting through a gap called No Man's Land, which Wayne misheard and took to mean it belonged to a man named Norman." The imagery gives a picture that illustrates that Cassandra and her brother live in a rich neighborhood. Cassandra's mother is a prominent painter, and her father is a chemical engineer, implying that they can afford a good lifestyle.
Imagery of confusion
The state of Cassandra’s bewilderment after Wayne drowns is painted by imagery. The narrator says, “Water sucked at my feet, intermittent, insistent. I was confused about exactly how naked I was; my swimsuit was tangled in the crevices of my body.” The imagery shows that Cassandra is lucky to be alive because the wave that claimed Wayne’s life was unforgiving. From the picture of Cassandra’s swimsuit, the reader can tell that Cassandra survived narrowly.
