Vivid Description

The narrator describes how he loved to lie on the bank of the Nile and "give rein to my imagination and picture to myself a tribe of giants living behind that wood, a people tall and thin with white beards and sharp noses, like my grandfather." In this example of visual imagery, Salih conveys how the narrator's admiration for his grandfather converges with his imaginative spirit.

While reflecting on the pity he feels for Masood, the narrator recalls Masood's "powerful laugh that resembled the gurgling of water." In this example of auditory imagery, Salih emphasizes the power of Masood's laugh by likening it to the sound of moving water.

At the end of the story, the narrator is compelled to reach out and touch Masood: "I felt myself drawing close to Masood, felt my hand stretch out towards him as though I wanted to touch the hem of his garment." In this example of tactile imagery, the narrator's desire to comfort Masood is so powerful that he feels in his hand and body a magnetic draw toward the pitiable man.