Kensington Gardens
Visually, the importance of the Kensington Gardens is that they are lavish, beautiful gardens that are well-kept because they are the royal gardens of London. They are a visual reminder of royalty, and also, the imagery suggests balance, because the gardens adds order and maintenance to plants, which are wild and organic by nature. The imagery is reminiscent of Adam and Eve's garden, suggesting the possibility of paradise.
Imagery of nature
Natural imagery is set against social imagery in this book, and the height of that is when David realizes that his own power is not enough to survive. He can't survive alone, so he turns to nature and to the animals, and eventually to the narrator, which suggests that the narrator is also part of nature. The imagery of the garden features flora and fauna, and also the animal life cycle is evident because his mother has a new child.
Imagery of struggle
To sacrifice something precious is a depiction of struggle, making the jewelry into a kind of backwards imagery. Jewelry gained symbolizes wealth, but jewelry pawned shows the reader that at home, things aren't going that well. The money is tight, but also, the mother is covertly sacrificing, which suggests that the relationship between the parents might be strained by money, because they are keeping secrets. To David, this imagery is subtle but informative.
The dual imagery of life
There is imagery pointing the reader to innocence and experience. The point of view of the narrator fills in the gaps, whereas David's point of view is mostly limited to what little experience he has. The difference is not as cut and dry as that though, because although David has little experience, he has high potential, whereas the narrator is already fully grown. The baby is another addition to this kind of imagery, but so is Solomon, who like his Biblical namesake represents experience and knowledge.
