Skeleton Branches Clung (Visual Imagery)
When Sue notices Johnsy counting to herself while staring out the window, Sue looks out the window herself. She cannot fathom what Johnsy is counting: all she sees is a brick wall and "An old, old ivy vine, gnarled and decayed at the roots, climbed halfway up the brick wall. The cold breath of autumn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks." In this example of visual imagery, Henry slyly inserts the fragile ivy vine around which the entire story revolves.
Dark Green Near Its Stem (Visual Imagery)
Contrary to Johnsy and Sue's expectations, when they raise the blind a single ivy leaf remains. In an example of visual imagery, Henry describes the leaf with delicacy, writing that it is "still dark green near its stem, with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of dissolution and decay, it hung bravely from the branch some twenty feet above the ground." The details of the leaf's colors underscore its realistic appearance and foreshadow the eventual revelation that Behrman had yellow and green paint on his palette the night he contracted pneumonia.
Smell of Juniper Berries (Olfactory Imagery)
In an example of olfactory imagery, Sue smells, upon entering Behrman's apartment, the strong scent of juniper berries. Since juniper berries are used to flavor gin, the implication is that Behrman has been drinking heavily.
