Shooting her mother's horse
Cheryl describes in vivid detail her memory of how she, Paul, and her brother Leif decided to shoot her mother's horse, who was old and suffering. It is a cold winter's day, and the description focuses on the sights, sounds, and feelings of the experience. It is a formative and traumatic memory for Cheryl, so she uses vivid imagery to conjure up the experience for the reader.
Sand and honey on the beach
When Cheryl and Jonathan go to the beach together in Oregon, they make love after dripping honey onto each other. Cheryl uses imagery of taste, touch, sound, and sight to describe the pleasure she experiences during this encounter. Because the encounter is so sensual, imagery is important to describe it fully. The use of intense, multifaceted imagery also reflects how long Cheryl has been longing for a sexual experience and how vividly she remembers it.
Encounter with the fox
While Cheryl is hiking on a snowy stretch of the trail, she comes across a beautiful red fox. Cheryl is very moved by the sight of the majestic animal, and she uses imagery to convey to the reader what the experience is like. The imagery shows how powerful the memory is in Cheryl's mind, and it also transports the reader into the scene. Although readers may never hike the Pacific Crest Trail themselves, the use of imagery to describe these moments can help them to gain a better understanding of what it was like.
Crater Lake
In a later stage of Cheryl's hike, she arrives at a place called Crater Lake, which is an extremely deep and pure lake. As a result, the water is an intense, striking blue color. Cheryl uses imagery to capture how stunning the location is, and what it is like for her to see it after spending so long on the trail. The imagery around Crater Lake is also important because the site serves a metaphorical function in the memoir. The lake becomes something beautiful on a site where a volcano once erupted and caused a lot of damage to the landscape. This place reminds Cheryl that things can heal and become beautiful even after something bad happens.
