The Imagery of Sight
The story opens with imagery of sight in which the narrator describes his army station to paint a clear picture for the reader of the book's setting. The narrator starts, “We were stationed in the small town. The life of an army officer is well-known. In the morning drill and riding-school; dinner with the colonel or at a Jewish inn; in the evenings punch and cards. In there was one open house, nor a single, marriageable girl. We would meet in each other’s quarters, where all we saw was our own uniforms.”
The Imagery of Hearing
The sense of hearing is depicted to the reader when the narrator often converses with his fellow officers. The narrator says, “Our conversations often touched upon dueling. Silvio never became involved in them. If he were asked on whether he had ever fought, he would coldly reply that he had, but would never go into details, and it was obvious he found such questions disagreeable.”
The Imagery of the Young Men
The young man considers Silvio their hero and an experienced fighter who does not condone nonsense or any slight provocation. When the new comrade insults Silvio, he asks for an apology, and he forgives him. However, Silvio is not out to please the young men but teaches them a lesson that life is not all about using force and strength but being humane. When Silvio forgave the new comrade, the narrator writes, “This did him enormous harm in the eyes of the young men. Lack of courage is the last thing to be excused by young people, who typically see courage as the summit of human virtue and an excuse for every imaginable vice.
The Imagery of Silvio
The narrator describes how he sees Silvio. For instance, the narrator says, “Silvio was too intelligent and experienced not to notice this and not to guess the reason. It seemed to upset him; at least, on one or two occasions, how could see that he wanted to explain everything to me.” This imagery aids the reader to visualize and see how Silvio is expressing himself.
