Crack Like a Pistol Shot (Auditory Imagery)
When Dahl recounts how Mr. Coombes punishes him and his friends, he emphasizes not just the physical gesture of the cane beating but its sound: "He raised the cane high above his shoulder, and as he brought it down, it made a loud swishing sound, and then there was a crack like a pistol shot as it struck Thwaites’s bottom." In this example of auditory imagery, Dahl immerses the reader in his experience of receiving corporal punishment by detailing the violent sound of the cane, which is indistinguishable from a gunshot.
Lying Pale and Milky on the Horizon (Visual Imagery)
At nine years old, Dahl starts attending a boarding school in Weston-super-Mare, an English town that is close to his hometown in South Wales. Dahls writes, "It lies almost directly across the Bristol Channel from Cardiff, and on a clear day you can stand on the esplanade at Weston and look across the fifteen or so miles of water and see the coast of Wales lying pale and milky on the horizon." In this example of visual imagery, Dahl illustrates his proximity to home by describing how Wales was close enough that he could see its pale, milky outline in the distance.
Smelled of Nail-Varnish (Olfactory Imagery)
When Dahl details his boyhood love of candy, he writes that "Pear Drops were exciting because they had a dangerous taste. They smelled of nail-varnish and they froze the back of your throat. All of us were warned against eating them, and the result was that we ate them more than ever." In this example of olfactory imagery, Dahl makes his description come alive by evoking the sharp, poisonous-seeming scent of Pear Drops by comparing it to nail varnish, a household product most readers have likely encountered and been put off by.
White Bubbles Appeared Around His Lips (Visual Imagery)
One night while Dahl is sleeping at the St. Peter's dormitory, a boy named Tweedie snores loudly. His snoring angers the Matron, who decides to teach Tweedie a lesson by putting soap flakes in his open mouth. Dahl recounts his horror, commenting, "Then suddenly he began to gurgle and white bubbles appeared around his lips. The bubbles grew and grew until in the end his whole face seemed to be smothered in a bubbly foaming white soapy froth." In this example of visual imagery, Dahl uses vivid detail to recreate the surreal image of Tweedie's saliva activating the suds in the soap flakes until white foam covers his face.
