Rancid Fat Smell (Olfactory Imagery)
While working at PixelDust bar, Charmaine sees an ad on TV pitching the Positron Project, which promises a clean home and meaningful employment. Charmaine considers the disgusting bar and "can smell the stale odour coming from her clothes, from her hair, from the rancid fat smell of the chicken-wings place next door." In this example of olfactory imagery, Atwood immerses the reader in Charmaine's discomfort by detailing the unpleasant stench of rancid fat coming from the fried chicken restaurant next to the bar.
Bisected Egg (Visual Imagery)
During one of Ed's workshops, Charmaine and Stan are told to think of Consilience and Positron as two sections of an egg: Consilience is the white, and Positron is the yolk, together making the whole egg. As he speaks, an egg appears on the screen behind him and "a knife cut[s] it in half, lengthwise." In this example of visual imagery, the simplified image of a bisected egg supposedly illustrates the symbiotic relationship between Consilience and Positron; in reality, the purposely confusing analogy obscures the sinister nature of the entire project.
Reeks of Blue Suede (Olfactory Imagery)
On his first assignment as an Elvis Escort, Stan meets the journalist Lucinda Quant, his client. She "reeks of Blue Suede," an Elvis tribute perfume that smells "a little like cinnamon, but with an undertone of leather preservative." In this example of olfactory imagery, Atwood invites the reader into Stan's perspective by describing the peculiar, off-putting scent worn by the strange woman he must take out.
Sounds of Violent Revelry (Auditory Imagery)
Before signing up for Positron, Charmaine and Stan spend the night outside the Consilience walls "in a nasty motel that Stan wagers has been tailored for the purpose, with the furniture trashed to order ... and sounds of violent revelry in the room next door, most likely a recording." In this example of auditory imagery, Stan hears nearby eruptions of violence, which he believes have been fabricated to remind Stan and Charmaine of how dangerous the world outside Consilience can be.
