Wednesday, December 9, 2015

What are examples of imagery in "To Build A Fire"?Can you please help me with at least three examples?

Remember, imagery is any form of language that paints a
picture by evoking as many of the five senses as possible. Of course, the visual sense
is the one that most authors use most, but good examples of imagery will try and combine
other senses to give a full, rounded description and therefore paint a vivid picture of
what they are trying to represent. There are lots of examples in this great short
story.


Consider the following
quote:



As he
turned to go on, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive crackle that
startled him.



Note the sound
that is described, the "sharp, explosive crackle" that enables us to imagine the sound
of his spit freezing and then falling to the floor. "Crackle" is also an example of
onomatopoeia, which helps evoke the crackling sound of the frozen spit smashing upon
impact.


Another example is used to describe the
accompanying dog:


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The frozen moisture of its breathing had settled
on its fur in a fine powder of frost, and especially were its jowls, muzzle, and
eyelashes whitened by its crystaled
breath.



Note the description
of how the moisture from its breath froze and clothed the dog in "a fine powder of
frost", and also note how a metaphor is used to describe the process of what is
happening: "a crystaled breath". Of course, the breath literally doesn't transform into
crystals, but the ice that it creates can be compared to
crystals.


Consider this last example describing the intense
cold:



Once in
a while the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and that he had never
experienced such cold. As he walked along he rubbed his cheekbones and nose with the
back of his mittened hand. He did this automatically, now and again changing hands. But
rub as he would, the instant he stopped his cheekbones went numb, and the following
instant the end of his nose went
numb.



Note how the ferocity
of the cold is conveyed through the feelings of his skin - even rubbing his face is only
enough to stave off the cold until he stops, when numbness descends
again.


Those are three examples - now re-read this
excellent short story and try and find some more. Good luck!

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