Deafening Vibrations (Auditory Imagery)
After months of anticipation, it is the night before Clarke's birthday, and she knows her mother has bought her a coveted Cabbage Patch Kid. Clarke writes: "I lay awake for hours, listening to the deafening vibrations of the cicadas as they shed their golden skins in the large bottlebrush tree outside our bedroom window." In this example of auditory imagery, Clarke immerses the reader in her experience by detailing the distinctive vibrating noises of the molting insects that surround her family's home.
Chinese Australian Professor (Visual Imagery)
When Clarke retells the story of how her parents migrated from Britain to Australia, she recreates the meeting her father has with an Australian professor who happens to be visiting London. Self-conscious about his race, Clarke's father describes himself on the phone by mentioning what he'll be wearing; his Australian contact mentions he'll be carrying a red Qantas-branded bag. Clarke writes: "The train pulled in. Businessmen in dark suits, women pushing prams, groups of teenagers and families with suitcases filled the platform. The black man wearing his best pinstriped suit and carrying a large umbrella greeted the Chinese Australian professor carrying a red Qantas bag." In this example of visual imagery, Clarke transports the reader back in time to the scene, showing the reader the moment in which her father's worries about a lack of diversity at the Australian university were dispelled.
Giant Blue Lettering (Visual Imagery)
In 1976, Clarke's parents move to Australia so Bordy can start his new university lectureship. During one of their first visits to a grocery store in Sydney, the couple discovers something confusing: "Cleopatra reached instinctively for one of the few colored packets in the cheese section of the refrigerator. Bordeaux caught his young wife's hand mid-air, recoiling in shock. In giant blue lettering, the word COON leered at them." In this example of visual imagery, Clarke recreates her parents' shock at discovering that a popular brand of cheese bears the name of a racist slur. Although Coon cheese was named after the company's white founder, the cheese would be renamed Cheer in 2021 after years of lobbying by Aboriginal groups who considered the word offensive regardless of its origin.
Singing in Caricatured Patois (Auditory Imagery)
When Clarke presents her project on Jamaica, Mrs. Dutton, her grade six teacher, is so delighted by her work that she insists the class sing a Harry Belafonte song, "Jamaica Farewell," at the end-of-year concert. Clarke can't ignore how the racist bullies in her class laugh when they first hear the song. Of the performance, Clarke writes: "As the song progressed, the boys behind me ramped up their accents, until they were singing in caricatured patois, mimicking Belafonte. 'Down deeey wee where deey nightz dem geeeey, and de sun shine deeeely on de mowntayn top..." In this example of auditory imagery, Clarke relates the discomfort of hearing ignorant boys in her class mock the beautiful patios she has always associated with her grandparents.
