Hotel imagery
So much of the novel centers around Dressler's work in a hotel and his plans for opening a hotel in his own name. But the imagery of a hotel, combined with the immigrant status of Dressler's family, allows the reader to see the transient nature of Dressler's quest for accomplishment. Dressler is a hotel-man, not a man with a home. This is echoed in Dressler's lackluster marriage.
Elevator imagery
When Dressler decides to leave the family cigar shop, he finds work as a bellboy in a hotel. There, he is asked to help people to their floor. But symbolically, he's 'learning the ropes' of elevation and achieving a higher life. Therefore the hotel elevator itself is a central image in the novel.
Home economics imagery
Dressler's point of view is one that shows contempt for home life. He doesn't like home economics. He doesn't like the sounds of pots and pans and finds himself easily irritated at home. He feels more at home in the hotel.
Low class imagery
Dressler's life has humble beginnings. The novel opens with a vivid description of life in the lower class as an immigrant to help set the scene for Dressler's unhappiness and thirst for more.
