The imagery of Dolly after being beaten by Geraldo
After Dolly is beaten up by Geraldo, the narrator vividly describes her appearance in a way that enhances the creation of mental images. The narrator says, "Blood was oozing from Dolly’s bruised mouth and she grasped a wad of matted paper handkerchiefs brown with old blood and spotted bright red with fresh."
Connie fumbling with her Dolly's purse and the sounds of men climbing the stairs
The narrator vividly presents the image of Connie as she fumbles with the items inside Dolly's purse. The imagery becomes more prevalent when the narrator introduces the sounds of the steps of the men climbing. The reader is able to visualize them as they hurry up the stairs: "She was fumbling through Dolly’s big patent leather bag, clumsy prying in another woman’s purse when she heard heavy steps climbing. Men in a hurry. She froze. Why? Men ran up and down the steps of the tenement all night. But she knew."
Geraldo's description
The narrator uses Connie's hate for Geraldo as a backdrop for presenting the physical appearance of Geraldo. As Connie describes certain aspects and characteristics with regards to Geraldo's features, his imagery becomes implicit; that is, his gray eyes, kinky hair, his antique lizard high-heeled boots, the large grayish diamond on his arm. The description is given in the following manner: "Geraldo was a medium-tall grifo with fair skin, gray eyes, kinky hair—pelo alambre—that he wore in a symmetrical Afro. He was elegant. Every time her eyes grated upon him he was attired in some new costume of pimpish splendor. She dreamed of peeling off a sleekly polished antiqued lizard high-heeled boot and pounding it down his lying throat. She dreamed of yanking off his finger the large greyish diamond he boasted matched his scheming eyes and using it to slit his throat, so his bad poisoned blood would run out."
The imagery of Geraldo striking Dolly
The narrator vividly and in a graphic way presents the scene in which Geraldo's violent nature is brought to the reader's attention once again. The reader is able to visualize him as he strikes her like a rattlesnake, and blocking the door: "The back of his arm striking like a rattlesnake, he shoved her into the sink. Then he strolled over to lounge blocking the bedroom door."
