Drugs (Visual imagery)
A voice talks about drugs. The voice tells Shy, “These are drugs for pain medication, these are drugs your nana had when she was dying, for god’s sake. What are you doing?” The voice paints a visual imagery of the drugs that Shy is taking. Based on the tone of the voice, Shy could be addicted to the pain medication. The voice wonders what Shy wants to escape from when he takes the drugs. The imagery of the drugs suggests that, apart from having psychological issues, Shy is addicted to drugs. The drugs exacerbate his psychological problems.
Screams (Auditory imagery)
The narrator describes how “everyone [who comes to the Last Chance school] hears a scream, when they first move in, dead of the night, a single scream, a welcome to the house from its own traumatised past.” Based on oral narratives shared at the school, the screams are attributed to a servant who was killed by Sir Henry Radcliffe. The scream demonstrates that the Last Chance school has a history of trauma. The young boys who are admitted to the school bear trauma attributed to various issues in life. By the same token, the servants are also affected by their trauma. Accordingly, the school is haunted by trauma of various kinds.
Scars and flesh (Visual imagery)
Shy bears scars on his body. Porter writes, “Scarring on his arms dates back a year or two.” Apart from the scars, he has “flesh under his finger nails.” He gouged his thighs, and this resulted in the pulling out of flesh. The scars are evidence of the violence. The flesh beneath his fingers confirms that Shy engages in self-destructive behaviours that result in physical harm. Shy’s psychological struggles have physiological implications.
