Chester’s Mill before the catastrophe
Chester’s Mill is an ordinary small town, where civilians go about their everyday lives. From two thousand feet the town of Chester’s Mill “gleams in the morning light like something freshly makes and just sits down.” There are many cars on the streets, which are “flashing up winks of sun.” The steeple of the Congo Church “looks sharp enough to pierce the unblemished sky.” This town is excellent and peaceful. The imagery of Chester’s Mill gives an impression of the fairytale, where you can safely relax with your family, exploring interesting places.
The first sign of isolation
When the dome covers Chester’s Mill, terrible things begin to happen. Falling from the sky is “a squashed Bizarro World version of the pretty little airplane,” which crashes into the transparent wall. “Twisting orange-red petals of fire” hang above it in the air. “Smoke billows from the plummeting plane.” The accident, which happens, is horrible. A propeller clings to the road and sprays up clods of asphalt before spinning drunkenly into the high grass to the left. The imagery of the accident provokes fear and anxiety.
Contact with the dome
Barbie (Barbara) decides to touch the strange dome. As Barbie approaches the place, where he knows the barrier to be, he slows down. He has already “whammed his face;” he does not want to do it again. Suddenly, he “is swept by horripilation. The goose bumps sweep up” from his ankles all the way to the nape of his neck, where “the hairs stir and try to lift.” For a moment, there is a “sour metallic taste in his mouth.” The imagery of the contact with the dome gives an impression of something dangerous and unsafe.
