In the words of Danial Shapiro, “Imagery is very much released from reality. It’s not nailed down to specifics of the words. They’re painting a picture, not telling linear stories”. John Steinbeck was an American author; he won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature for his realistic and imaginative writings, he was most known for his writings about the bitterness of the Great Depression era.
Jimmy Baca was best known for his poems celebrating the power of literature to change lives; when Baca was in jail he learned to read and write later developing a passion for poetry, after being released from jail Baca devoted his life to writing and teaching. Roberta Hill was raised near Green Bay, Wisconsin, among the Oneida; her poetry reflects feelings induced by the tradition of forced migration and the eviction of Oneida lands.
In “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck the overall meaning of the text teaches a stern lesson about the nature of human existence, having a profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Jimmy Baca’s, “A Cloudy Day”, is written in his perspective about how harsh prison is like, yet he sees the nature around him symbolizing hope beyond those walls, meaning to always hang on to aspiration even when life is hard.
“In the Longhouse, Oneida Museum”, by Roberta Hill a woman is feeling disconnected from her culture and doesn’t like the way the modern world works, she wants more appreciation for nature and less for things man-made.The settings of the unit four texts are shown to be important because of the foreshadowing of conflict at the bunkhouse, the description of the prison, and the comparison of the longhouse to the modern world, and this significance is aided by the use of imagery.
The foreshadowing of conflict at the bunkhouse is just one way John Steinbeck conveys the importance of place through the use of imagery. In the text “Of Mice and Men”, imagery is shown when Steinbeck says, “…the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in,” (Steinbeck 15 ). When Curley’s wife enters the bunkhouse, the light of the sunshine symbolizes the way she cuts into people’s conversations, interrupting things, and foreshadows how her own life is ‘cut off’ when she is killed.
This use of imagery shows the place and emotions Curley’s wife is in; for instance Steinbeck describes her as a ‘girl’, which tells the reader that she is very playful, childish, and vulnerable making a clear image in the reader’s mind what type of character she is and the importance she brings on other characters actions. In conclusion Steinbeck’s use of imagery shows the importance of a place and setting in which a character is first introduced through foreshadow and symbolism of words.
“A Cloudy Day”, by Jimmy Baca reveals the description of the prison through the use of imagery and the importance of setting and place. The description of the prison is demonstrated when Baca says, “I could see the main tower…the tower like a cornstalk, and snap it from its roots of rock.
The wind plays it like a flute…The brim girded with barbed wire…listening intently to the sounds as clouds cover the sun” (lines 13-23). Baca is describing the prison by comparing parts of the prison like the tower to more subtle things like a cornstalk to give the reader a more clear vision of the setting he is in. Baca’s use of imagery is important in understanding that even though he is in a harsh place, he yet sees the clouds, water tower, and the sound of the wind as it symbolizes life beyond prision.
As a result Baca’s representation of the prison showed where he was and compared it to something beautiful like nature ; he realizes that he must hang on to hope for a better life after prison. Throughout this unit, Roberta Hill has demonstrated in her text “In the Longhouse, Oneida Museum” that imagery made the setting more important because of the comparison of the longhouse to the modern world.
Hill demonstrates these ideas about place when she comments, “House of five fires, you never raised me. Those nights when the throat of the furnace wheezed and rattled its regular death, I wanted your wide door,” (Stanza 1). It is evident that Hill prefers the days of her ancestors than the modern world she is living in; she feels as if the modern world is really man made with objects like heaters versus fires.
Hill’s use of imagery is key to the place and setting she is in opposed to where she wants to be; she longs for the experiences of her ancestors, but is instead in a world where she doesn’t seem to fit into the culture. Overall she remembers the bad experiences of the modern world instead of the Earth as her ancestors were able to live. The authors from this unit use of descriptive language conceptualized the importance of their individual places for the audience because of the foreshadowing of conflict at the bunkhouse, the description of the prison, and the comparison of the longhouse to the modern world.
The authors’ uses of imagery throughout the texts help give the reader an insight and vision of what is occuring. Stories or poems like these show how there’s always a hidden meaning or personal experience of someone to be told. The lesson to be taught in these texts is to always look deeper into things whether it’s a picture or words as there’s always a hidden message and greater understanding of the world we live in.
It is important to care, as imagery helps readers picture where characters are, understand what characters are doing, and even foreshadow what might happen next. Imagery is an important concept to understand as it can help find the profound interpretation of a story or situation in real-life.
