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Hyperbole
Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Book 1: Hit-the-Spittoon
Explanation and Analysis—Humming:
Saleem uses imagery to describe the rather fantastical life and equally fantastical death of Mian Abdullah, also known as The Hummingbird. The Hummingbird leads a faction of anti-Partition advocates, including Saleem's grandfather, who wish to see India remain united and return to peace when the British leave.
The Hummingbird is a larger-than-life figure, deserving of a larger-than-life ending. Curiously, even as the hired assassins gather around him, Mian Abdullah begins a hum that seems to shift the world on its axis. Saleem uses auditory imagery to illustrate the magical, unreal nature of this humming:
It was a hum that could fall low enough to give you toothache, and when it rose to its highest, most feverish pitch, it had the ability of inducing erections in anyone within its vicinity.
In this passage, humming and vibration represent the kinetic energy of a political movement. The Hummingbird is a charismatic figure, capable of inspiring both his followers and his opposition to act. Saleem uses sound to represent the charisma that The Hummingbird so readily exudes, describing the pull that he has on other people as a low-grade hum capable of inducing spontaneous erections. These erections represent the emotional response that The Hummingbird's advocacy demands from people, whether that response be positive or negative.
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Book 1: Under the Carpet
Explanation and Analysis—Silence:
The following passage from Book 1, Section 4—Under the Carpet blends sound and scent descriptors in an unconventional way, generating vivid imagery:
The smell of silence, like a rotting goose-egg, fills my nostrils; overpowering everything else, it possesses the earth . . . While Nadir Khan hid in his half-lit underworld, his hostess hid too, behind a deafening wall of soundlessness.
In the fictional, magical realist world of Midnight's Children, silence has a smell. This passage utilizes simile to compare that smell to something rotten, which is a curious and effective way of characterizing silence. In the absence of sound, other senses enter in and become more keen. This particular silence is so complete, so insurmountable, that its absence heightens the other senses by proxy. This allows the stink of the corrosive, negative emotions fueling Naseem's silence to shine through, revealing their rottenness.
Rushdie's specific word usage to describe silence's "scent" should not be overlooked. Naseem's silence is "rotten" because it originates from a lack of willingness to change or compromise. She remains stagnant, decaying and left behind. This stagnancy stems from a clash of values between herself and Aadam, who represents a more modern and Westernized India. Naseem, when contrasted with her husband, holds traditional religious and cultural values. She resents Aadam for his modernity—and it is her reticence to change, in the end, that brings about a silent rot.
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