Imagery Voice Lesson

She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father’s voice and her sister Margaret’s. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air.

— Kate Chopin, The Awakening

Although the narrator “looks into the distance,” the images are primarily auditory. What are the auditory images in the passage?

• father's voice, sister's voice, musty odor of pinks filled the air

• terror flamed up, barking of an old dog, spurs of the cavalry officer

• hum of bees, old dog barking, chain on the sycamore tree

• father's voice, sister's voice, barking dog, spurs of soldiers, hum of bees

She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father’s voice and her sister Margaret’s. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air.

— Kate Chopin, The Awakening

The last sentence of this passage contains an olfactory image (the musky odor of pinks fill the air). What effect does the use of an olfactory image, after a series of auditory images, have on the reader?

• Olfactory images work in a similar manner as auditory images, to bring intense images, the effects of the officer, to the timid Edna.

• Bringing the smell of flowers to blend with the numerous discordant sounds combine together to intensify Edna's suffocating situation.

• The smell of flowers allows the reader to feel the intense terror she realizes after listening to her father and sister, knowing the cavalry officer means to do them harm.

• There is also kinesthetic imagery. Both of them help to build the horrific picture of a southern family dealing with the horrors of war.

What is the prompt asking you to do?

The following excerpt is from Clock Dance by Anne Tyler (published in 2018). In this passage two girls, Willa and Sonya, head out into a neighborhood to sell candy for their school orchestra's fund-raiser. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Tyler uses literary elements and techniques to convey the complex relationship among the characters.

• The prompt is asking for me to describe the complex relationship.

• The prompt is asking for me to identify the literary elements used in the excerpt.

• The prompt is asking for me to describe the complex relationship between the two girls and show how the literary devices developed their relationship.

• The prompt is asking for me to read the passage and talk about the two characters.

Which questions should I ask myself to help develop them thesis statement?

The following excerpt is from Clock Dance by Anne Tyler (published in 2018). In this passage two girls, Willa and Sonya, head out into the a neighborhood to sell candy for their school orchestra's fund-raiser. Read the passage carefully. Then in a well-written essay, analyze how Tyler uses literary elements and techniques to convey the complex relationships among the characters.

• What kind of person is Willa? What kind of person is Sonya?

• What literary devices are used?

• What are two or three different ways they treat each other?

• All of these questions should be asked in preparation to write a thesis statement.