Busted lip
In the story "Woman Hollering Creek," the narrator presents a woman named Cleófilas who is abused by her husband. Cleófilas used to be an independent woman who told to herself she will never let herself be abused by a man. This changes when she meets her husband and when he starts hitting her. The image of Cleófilas looking at herself with a busted lip shows just how much someone is willing to sacrifice for love and how far women are willing to go to ensure their family’s safety.
Blowing kisses to an imaginary crowd
In the story "Remember the Alamo," the narrator, Rudy, talks about his childhood and how he was interested in dancing from an early age. Rudy remembers how he used to imagine himself on stage, surrounded by adoring fans and how he would blow kisses to the imaginary crowd. This image is important because it shows just how invested Rudy was in achieving his dreams and goals. It also shows that he had an ideal view about what he wanted to do in his future and the image of his younger self clashes against the way his life turned out to be.
Destroyed by the war
In the story "Eyes of Zapata," the main character talks about her father Remigio Alfaro and how he was affected by the fight against various rebellious groups. Ines mentions how her father was injured once and as a result had a big hole in his back. When he died, the hole was even more grotesque and terrifying. The image of the hole and the image of Alfaro and how he looked like at the end of his life is important because the author suggests through this the way in which war affects people, both mentally and physically. Alfaro ended up being a broken man towards the end of his life and his condition was caused by the fights he took part in.
Two different points of view
In the story Bread," two lovers walk through a small city in Italy, enjoying the view and each other’s presence. The man looks at the building and is amazed to see the beautiful architecture and the sights. The man feels happy and content and the image of the city brings him peace. The woman near him has a different experience however as she remembers how one of her relatives died in one of those buildings after eating rat poison. The two different points of view has the purpose of making the reader realize how we all have different experiences in life and how it is possible sometimes for two people to look at the same thing and see it from completely different perspectives.
