Imagery - General
O'Neill's characters do little more than sit around, drink, and occasionally stand to take a halfhearted punch. The prevailing image of the men sitting idly, perhaps only moving from one chair to another, emphasizes the sameness of their existence regardless of whether or not one concludes that sameness is comforting or stagnant.
Imagery - Departures
When the men finally leave the bar one by one, O'Neill creates simple but striking images of their fear and desperation. They run or dash, slink and step haltingly, their faces full of anger or apprehension. The audience watches each character step into the beyond, aware of the fact that this is a huge moment but is unlikely to end well. In the staging of the play, the backroom of the saloon is the only set, so what happens after the characters' depart all occur offstage, and in the audience's imaginations.
Imagery - Parritt's behavior towards Larry
Throughout the play Parritt is mostly placed right next to Larry, sneering and complaining and crying into his ear. Larry for his part is mostly stone-faced, but he occasionally bursts out with angry or bitter responses. This repeated image solidifies aspects of Larry's character in that he desperately wants to ignore the outside world - his involvement in the Movement, a possible love for Parritt's Mother, emotional ties, investment in life. However, Parritt's constant presence does not allow him to do so and chips away at his resolve to remain impassive.
Imagery - The Descriptions of the Men
O'Neill's descriptions of his characters are notoriously thorough, but he does this in order for the reader and the director to get a sense of who these men really are. Willie's threadbare clothes and Lewis's stern posture and McGloin's slovenliness, for example, all help us understand their struggles - their internal struggles made manifest, and also reflective of their downtrodden lives.
