Dead land
The first image that appears in the book is important because it makes the reader understand the conditions in which the people in Great Plains were living. Because of the harsh weather, almost no vegetation existed in the area. The author describes the houses that were abandoned and the farms that no longer produced any food and the image described here is a scary one for the normal reader. The dismal image is made to be even more affective when the author described the way the land used to look before and mentions how it was once a rich and fertile area.
Flying house
The author mentions the experience of a man who moved to the High Plains hoping to become rich. When he first moved there, he had to live in a house built underground and its walls were made out of cow dung. In time, things became better and the family could afford to build a house above ground. The husband thus went and gathered the materials he would need for the house and built a spacious house for himself and for his family. Unfortunately, days before the house was ready, a strong wind came in the area and destroyed the house. The family could do nothing more than watch from the safety of their underground house as everything they worked for was destroyed in a few minutes. The image of the flying house is important because it makes the reader understand just how unsure life was and how everything could change in a few minutes.
Cars next to dugouts
An important image highlighted by the author is the image of fancy and new cars next to dugouts. In the book, it becomes clear that the people who lived in dugouts were poor people who could not afford to build their own houses. However, because of the weather, it was sometimes more practical to live in dugouts that to live in houses that could be destroyed easily by hailstorms or strong winds. The image makes the reader understand that even though the people had the money, they were still restricted by the weather and were still not free to do what they pleased since they had to take the weather and the natural environment into consideration.
Crying adults
In the fifth chapter, the author describes how a hailstorm destroyed the wheat crops for many farmers. They suddenly found themselves with their one-year worth of work destroyed in a matter of minutes. The author mentions a woman who lost her husband and who remained with her brother-in-law to work the fields. When they both saw the crops destroyed, they both started crying. The image of the two adults crying was traumatic for the children who saw them and showed just how much the problems could affect even adults and how their whole lives could change in a minute.
