Doris Lessing: Stories Imagery

Doris Lessing: Stories Imagery

The imagery of sight

Lessing commences the short story 'The Pig' with imagery of sight describing the activities of the farmer and his working duration during the day. This imagery is vital because it helps the reader to visualize the happenings at the farmer's farm. She writes, "By the time he had finished, it was always quite dark, and from the kitchen door where the lantern hangs, bars of yellow light lay down the steps, across the path, and lit up the trees and the dark faces under them.” This imagery also explains how the farmer is working very hard to ensure that his farming business flourishes. For instance, he works the entire day till darkness.

The Imagery of Hearing

The author depicts the sense of hearing to the reader when the farmer speaks and the laborers listen. The farmer is out to give all the workers their dues and he starts with men before paying the women and their children. Speaking and listening actions that take place in the short story 'The Pig' depict the sense of hearing. To demonstrate the imagery of hearing, the author writes, "The farmer began to speak, thinking as he did so of his lands that lay all about him, invisible in the darkness, but sending on the wind a faint rushing noise like the sea; and although he had done this before so often, and was doing it now half-cynically…..”

The Imagery of the Guinea Fowl

The author has used the guinea fowl in the short story 'Traitors' to depict the sense of hearing. The narrator of this short story is describing the bushy environment around their house and farm. The bush is composed of long grasses that are taller than any human being. People fear getting closer to this bush because of the danger of an attack from unseen creatures. However, the narrator and his friends get the courage to stand at the edge of the bush when they are given the rifle. While standing at the edge of the bush, they hear the guinea fowl calling. The narrator expounds "For several days we hesitated, listening to the guinea fowl calling only a hundred yards away, and making excuses for cowardice. The calling of the guinea fowl depicts the sense of hearing to the reader.

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