Backdrop of Sand and Sky (Visual Imagery)
At the beginning of the book, Karim's classmate remarks that Karim would have "looked more at ease against a backdrop of sand and sky, straddling a superbly disdainful camel." This visual image betrays the narrator's stereotypical image of an Arab person: she cannot assimilate his image to the environment of the classroom, and can only imagine him looking right in a clichèd Middle-East landscape.
Muffled Cry (Auditory Imagery)
When Karim is recounting how he came to save My-Lan from Dave's assault on her, he writes in his diary that he "heard a door close, a muffled cry. Right away I knew it was coming from the washroom." In this example of auditory imagery, Karim recreates his memory of lying in bed and hearing My-Lan struggle in the distance.
Still-Smoking Ruins (Visual Imagery)
In an example of effective visual imagery, Nada's destroyed building is made more realistic by the detail of the "still-smoking ruins." This image suggests the bombing occurred recently enough that the fires it started have not burned out.
Sweat, Kerosene and Tobacco (Olfactory Imagery)
To illustrate the desperate conditions of the shelter that Maha brings Karim into, Marineau writes that "the air is stifling with the odor of kerosene, sweat and tobacco." This olfactory imagery evokes the scents that arise when people are confined to a small, underground space.
