The imagery of hearing
The book begins with imagery that depicts the sense of hearing to the reader. The author writes, “A voice in the dark: ‘Lucy?’ It was a humid whisper. She wanted this, this muffled gentleness, swathed in sheets scented and moistened by the heated conjoining of their bodies.”
The imagery of sight
The author's description detailing how Lucy witnessed the death of an Indian man who fell from a building depicts to the reader the sense of sight. The reader can vividly visualize how the events unfolded on the accident scene. The author writes, "This is what she had seen, earlier that day: An Indian man had been climbing the bamboo scaffolding of one of the high colonial buildings, with a large mirror bound to his body by a piece of cloth.”
The Darkness
Lucy wakes up in the middle of the night when she remembers the horrific death of the Indian man. The author writes, "And only later, in the deep night, did Lucy rise in distress. She found herself bolt upright, staring at the darkness, and seeing before her this man who was killed." The author's description of what transpired during the day depicts the sense of sight to the reader.
The spilling blood of the Indian man
The woman who was walking close to the tamarind tree found herself in an unfamiliar situation. In a second, her blue sari was sprayed red with the blood that splashed from the Indian man who fell from the building holding his mirror. The author writes, "…A woman who stood with her blue sari spattered bright red." The narrator's description helps the reader see the extent of the damage caused by the death of the Indian man.
