War
Hegi uses imagery to depict the impact of warfare. This text is interesting because it spans two wars and offers some comparison between the two events. Hegi talks about World War I, describing how the soldiers left for battle "with music and laughter and flags", using pleasant and happy imagery.
However, after the horrors of World War I, World War II was met with a different response. She says: "no one flung blossoms at the new soldiers; it was as if the town had agreed to save the flowers for their brutal rites". Here, we see that the attitude to war changed after the experience of World War I, and this idea is articulated through imagery. Throughout the text war is associated with violence, injury and misery.
Seasons
Seasons are incredibly significant in our perception of the events of this text. The cold weather often enhances the bleak, dark time in history and the terrible events that are happening: "In the bleak winter streets, those yellow stars often were the only color, and yet, many people pretended not to see them". On the other hand, spring is associated with renewal, hope and the potential for change: “Somehow, this spring was infusing her with new strength and hope, a deceptive hope, she reminded herself, and yet it soothed her, took her back to the river where, in the shallows below the weeping willows, the water had taken on a peculiar shade of opaque green as though it had soaked up the color of the new leaves, a green that suggested tranquility, reverence almost.” As this text is about cycles of violence and war through history, the imagery of seasons is poignant.
Nature
Nature imagery is seen throughout the text and is often associated with escapism and happiness. Trudi finds comfort from being in nature and feels especially happy when she is swimming in the river. Nature offers an escape from society in the text, especially from warfare. As Trudi describes: “a celebration of life persisted as if there were no war: the blossoms of the cherry and apple trees, the singing of the birds.”
Birds
Birds are associated with nature and happiness in the text. In one scene of the text, a bird with a “ruby chest” is injured by a dog. The dog “closed his jaws” on the bird, and this act of violence seems a fitting image to illustrate the violence of warfare. The injury of the bird also represents the transition from peace, represented by the bird’s flight, to violence and injury.
