First Language English Coursework

Assignment 1: Writing to inform, analyze, or argue

Writing to Analyze

Consider the ways in which the writers of Flight and Chemistry use imagery to
achieve certain effects.

Imagery is used in stories to create pictures or scenes in a reader’s mind. This is

important because having the ability to visualize a story can help the audience to
better understand what is actually happening. In both the stories Flight by Doris
Lessing and Chemistry by Graham Swift, imagery is used strongly to indicate certain
effects.

In Flight, imagery is used in the beginning to show the overall mood. In line 7, the old
man is described as, “Content, he rested the bird lightly on his chest, and leaned
against a tree, gazing out beyond the dovecote into the landscape of a late
afternoon.” This is followed by a description of the land, “In folds and hollows of
sunlight and shade, the dark red soil, which was broken into great clods, stretched
wide to a tall horizon. Trees marked the course of the valley; a stream of rich green
grass the road.” This quote serves the author’s purpose towards emphasizing the
peaceful characterization of the old man by comparing it to the equally serene
landscape. The rich adjectives depict a beautiful scene for the reader, which once
again represents the calmness of the landscape, and, upon reflection, the old man.

Another way that imagery is used in Flight is to illustrate the old man’s fear of losing
his granddaughter, Alice, and the vulnerability he is subjected to because of it. In line
53, this is clear through the writer’s words, “Obstinately he made his way back to the
house, with quick, pathetic persistent glances of appeal back at her.” This tells the
reader that although the old man is walking away from his granddaughter, what he
really wants is to be reassured that she loves him, which she could signify by calling
him back or walking towards him herself. The imagery used here is significant in the
way that it represents, essentially, the base relationship of the old man and his
granddaughter – he loves her so much and wants her to stay with him forever, but his
fits of childish pride prevent him from telling her so; instead, he waits for her to come
to him so that he might know that she loves him as much as he loves her, but she
appears as if she doesn’t need him anymore because she already has a fiancé.

Imagery is also used to explain the reason behind the old man’s fear of losing his

Becky Chang
Word Count: 843
First Language English Coursework
Assignment 1: Writing to inform, analyze, or argue

granddaughter. Lines 94-97, “’Come, now, Dad. She’ll be down the road, that’s all.
She’ll be here every day to see you.’ ‘But it’s not the same.’ He thought of the other
three girls, transformed inside a few months from charming petulant spoiled children
into serious young matrons.” show that what the old man is afraid of isn’t not being
able to see his granddaughter anymore; it’s the changes that he knows he’ll
eventually see that upset him. He doesn’t want Alice to become a serious lady of the
house – the old man likes her as a young carefree child who he can dote on and play
with. This imagery is important because it enlightens the reader as to why the old
man is so against his granddaughters marrying. It sheds light towards the main
conflict of the story: the old man’s fear of losing his granddaughter.

In Chemistry, imagery is used to represent something crucial throughout the story.

The repeated use of “Mother, Grandfather, and I” in the first paragraph serve the
writer’s purpose of branding a seemingly permanent picture in the reader’s mind of
the trio. This is a vital development in the story, because it makes the intrusion of his
mother’s boyfriend, Ralph, even more intimidating, as the reader realizes that Ralph
is actually capable of breaking the bond between the mother, the grandfather, and
the narrator. Eventually, Ralph succeeds in edging the narrator’s grandfather out of
the three completely, and the original trio is replaced by a mock version. Here,
imagery is used to embody the narrator’s bitterness towards the intrusion of
someone taking his grandfather’s position.

In the last paragraph, the writer uses imagery to show how the narrator “saw” his
grandfather on the other end of the pond in the park, who is described to us as
smiling and ready to reach out and receive the launch. This represents that the
narrator has come to the conclusion that although his grandfather is dead and gone
from his life in a physical sense, he will always be with him regardless, because they
both still believe in “the launch.” Throughout the whole story, “the launch” is used to
represent the original trio – “Mother, Grandfather, and I” – and their content life.

In conclusion, the writers of Flight and Chemistry used imagery in many ways to
achieve certain effects. Characterizations, the overall moods, the structures of a story
– all were illustrated effectively by using imagery in different ways. Therefore, the use
of imagery is significant to a story, in the way that it can be applied in various
techniques to achieve certain effects.

Becky Chang
Word Count: 843