The imagery of spring
The novel commences by depicting the senses of hearing and sight to readers when Martin sees the unmistakable signs of the spring season and hears the recorded sounds from the neighborhood speakers. The author writes, “The first day of spring had come to the suburb, bringing its subtle but unmistakable signs. Martin noticed them right away as he left his house that morning. The recording that played through the neighborhood speakers was different, for one thing. It had lost its spooky, desolated sound.”
Imagery of sight
The description of old Mr. LaRue depicts the sense of sight to readers. Martin and his sister want to see what is happening around Mr. LaRue. The author writes, “And wiry old Mr. LaRue was kneeling on the sidewalk next door, peeling the glittering snowflakes off his big picture window and sticking a line of pink and yellow flowers there instead. Cassie wanted to watch, so Martin loitered on the sidewalk to let her. He gazed down the curving row of redbrick houses that framed the circular street, hooked together so that the garage wall of one became the bedroom sidewalk to her.”
The imagery of roses and daffodils
The conversation between Martin, his sister, Cassie, and Mr. LaRue aids the reader to see what is happening. For instance, Mr. LaRue is arranging roses on the window glass, and this depicts the sense of sight to readers. Mr. LaRue says, "See, these are roses, and these are daffodils. They are for spring. It’s spring now, you know.”
Imagery of Martin
Martin is bored, and he wants to do something engaging. He recalls the number of times he had seen spring seasons in his life and the changing sounds of music from the neighborhood speakers. The author writes, "He had seen several springs arrive, had heard the speakers change their music, and watched the plastic flowers go up on front windows across the neighborhood."
