The imagery of the fire attack
The fire that attacked Akira and her father has been described vividly. It was spreading at an impossible speed and was referred to as the Morris fire to signify how big it was. The flames of fire licked away the trees one by one. At the edge of the parking lot, the trees were igniting like matchsticks. Burning orange embers swept past them hitting their car showing the magnitude of the fire. The fire was so much it burned down a metallic car. The trees glowed strongly one would think they were Christmas trees. “They glowed yellow-orange burning like someone had thrown gasoline on them” From the emotional moments of occasional panic that happened inside the car were well illustrated. How the fire surrounded them to the point of not seeing ahead is elaborately presented.
The imagery of the tundra buggy tour
This was a tour company owned by Owen’s family. The whole tour was described in a way that as a reader you would feel like you were among the tourists being given the tour. There was so much to learn about polar bears from when was the right time to see them to how and what they eat. The polar bears were seen mostly in the winter when there were enough seals for them to eat. They mostly attacked during summer since they had nothing to feed on. The engagement between Owen and the tourists was also covered in the description. How the polar bears would come to sniff the windows and how that would delight the tourists is clearly shown. The image of how large and heavy the polar bears were, was also included when he says, “Most male polar bears are about two and a half meters long, and weigh around four hundred and fifty kilos.”
Imagery of Suffering
The suffering and struggle to survive the calamities that had attacked each one of them has been clearly shown through each of their stories. Akira and her father escaped the fire by riding with Daniel and Sue as that was the only option. “The top of a burning tree fell onto the road in front of the car, and Akira ducked in fear as Daniel plowed over it. The little car rocked. Akira’s dad yelped and threw a hand out to brace himself on the dashboard. Sue screamed. Akira fell on the floor of the car.” This statement describes the panic and suffering each was going through in an attempt to escape the fire. Owen and George suffer from bear bites in an attempt to save themselves. Natalie loses her house as the floods take over. She gets swept away with her neighbor’s dog and gets separated from her mother. Some of their neighbors die while most of their properties get damaged.
The imagery of the Sequoia Trees
Sequoia trees also known as the redwood trees found in California are one of the largest trees on the planet. They have been described as kings and queens of the trees which illustrates how wide and tall they are. They are known to exist for many years and were able to withstand fires when she says: “Their back was two feet thick, and their shaggy evergreen leaves were high up, where forest fires could not reach them” From their description, the readers get a glimpse of how the sequoia trees looked like. From the image of the trees, one also gets to understand how the trees would protect themselves against fire outbreaks like the one that had occurred. The readers get to imagine the size of the trees compared to human beings such as Akira who felt invisible and small amongst the trees.
