by Shane Russo
Imagery
The second literary element that both authors use the nature of their respective struggles is through imagery. Imagery is descriptive language that invokes a sensory experience (Wikipedia, 2011). Social struggle implies oppression. In The Veldt, Bradbury uses imagery to give the reader a sense of the oppressive nature of the house on George and Lydia. The use of imagery is especially effective in the scenes within the nursery. Descriptions, such as the following, invoke the oppressive nature of the room through tactile and olfactory imagery:
“prickling fur on your hand, and your mouth was stuffed with the dusty upholstery smell of their heated pelts, and the yellow of them was in your eyes like the yellow of an exquisite French tapestry, the yellows of lions and summer grass, and the sound of the matted lion lungs exhaling on the silent noontide, and the smell of meat from the panting, dripping mouths” (Bradbury, 1951).
The excerpt really gives the reader a sense of unease. This is especially striking due to the fact that the characters were not actually standing next to lions. They were merely in a room that was made to give them these sensations.
Imagery is used throughout Miss Brill as well. Miss Brill did not identify will the old people around her even though she was one of them. She viewed them how many people view the elderly, like things whose time has passed and which should be put away and forgotten. “They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even–even cupboards” (Mansfield, 1922). The bit about “dark little rooms” really conveys this message. It sums up perfectly Miss Brill’s view of the elderly. It also becomes obvious why she would not wish to identify herself with that group. Unfortunately for her, this is the exact way the younger people see her later in the story.
Here again, both authors have used the same literary element to help give the reader a sense of the oppressive nature that they were trying to set forth in their works. Bradbury uses visual, auditory, and tactile imagery in droves. “That sun. He could feel it on his neck, still, like a hot paw” being an example of this (Bradbury, 1951). Imagery in Miss Brill, such as “went into the little dark room–her room like a cupboard”, gives the reader a sense of the heaviness of heart felt by Miss Brill in her realization that she is one of the old people she so desperately tried to disassociate with. The use of descriptive language in both stories is critical to the success of the authors to convey their messages. Both Bradbury and Mansfield employ the element with an craftsman’s precision.
References
Bradbury, R. (1951). The veldt – ray bradbury. Retrieved from http://www.veddma.com/veddma/Veldt.htm
Bradbury, R. (2006, October 11). In his words. Retrieved from http://www.raybradbury.com/inhiswords.html
Jones, K. (2009). Katherine mansfield: a brief biography – introduction. Retrieved from http://www.katherinemansfield.net/life/briefbio1.html
Jordan-Henley, J. (1988). The elements of literature. Retrieved from http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/ElementsLit.html
Mansfield, K. (1922). Miss brill. Retrieved from http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/mansfield/garden/brill.html
Wikipedia. (2011, March 22). Imagery (literature). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagery_(literature)
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