Transcript Close Reading Workshop imagery

Close Reading Workshop
Imagery Questions
Remember!
Imagery refers to:
• Simile.
• Metaphor.
• Personification.
You must always use the
“Just as…so too…” method.
Example
As I drove past Loch Lomond the
surface was a mirror.
Step 1
Quote the example of imagery and then
state what technique has been used.
(i.e. Metaphor? Simile? Personification?)
e.g. “mirror” is a metaphor.
Step 2
Think about what is being described (x) and
what it is being compared to (y).
e.g. The surface of the loch (x) is being
compared to a mirror (y).
Step 3
Explain the relevant connotations of y (Just
as...)
Then explain how the connotations of y are
transferred on to x (So too...)
e.g. Just as a mirror is very shiny and
clear (y), so too was the surface of the
loch very bright and you could see your
reflection in it (x).
Complete answer
“mirror” is a metaphor. The surface of
the loch is being compared to a mirror.
Just as a mirror is very shiny and clear,
so too was the surface of the loch very
bright and you could see your
reflection in it.
= the three-step method.
Marks
• You are usually awarded 2 marks for each
example of imagery that you correctly analyse
using “Just as...so too...”
(Three-step-method)
• Some questions will be worth extra marks as
you are required to provide evaluation of the
imagery.
(you must also explain how effective it is after you
do the three-step-method)
1.Explain the following example of imagery,
using the three-step method (2)
The young woman’s hair looked like
golden silk as she combed it.
“golden silk” is a simile.
The author is comparing the girl’s hair
to golden silk.
Just as golden silk is smooth and shiny,
so too was the girl’s hair bright and
soft. (2 marks)
This is effective as it conveys the great
beauty and loveliness of the girl’s hair
and shows that the author greatly
admires it. (1 mark)
2. “Beware of Afrikaans, the most dangerous drug for our
future”.
Explain why this expression is an effective example of
imagery. (2)
“Africans are not dustbins,” declared some of the
June 16 placards; and “Beware of the Afrikaans
language, the most dangerous drug for our
future.” By the following year, the language had
been withdrawn from classrooms as
unworkable. And so, thanks to the influence of a
long-dead British author, the sacrifices of Hector
Pieterson and many other Africans have proved
to be not entirely in vain —which Dickens
himself would surely applaud.
“the most dangerous drug” is a metaphor.
The author is comparing the Afrikaans
language to a drug. Just as drugs can be
damaging and harmful, so too was the
Afrikaans language having a very serious
and detrimental effect on the people.
3. Explain how it is appropriate to use the image of
“icebergs” to refer to the appearance of the rock salt
deposits (2)
Every year, since (we suppose) at least the time of
the Ancient Greeks, hundreds of thousands of
camels are led, strung together in trains, from
the highlands of Ethiopia into the Danakil
depression: a descent into the desert of nearly
10,000 feet, a journey of about 100 miles. Here,
by the edge of a blue-black and bitter salt lake,
great icebergs of rock salt encrusting the mud
are prised up, hacked into slabs and loaded on
to the camels.
“icebergs” is a metaphor. The author is
comparing the deposits of rock salt to
icebergs. Just as icebergs are very white
and very large, so too were the rock salt
deposits extremely huge and bulky and
they stood out from their surroundings as
they were so bright.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the imagery
in the following paragraph (3)
After only five minutes of getting myself
set up at the local market on Saturday,
customers and traders surrounded my
stall like vultures around a carcass.
“vultures” is a simile.
The author is comparing the customers
approaching his stall to vultures around a
carcass.
Just as vultures are scavengers and hunters,
so too were the customers greedy and
aggressive.
This is effective as it conveys how the
customers were almost preying or stalking
the man’s stall.
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the imagery
in the following paragraph (3)
As my grandfather grew older, and
particularly after my grandmother
passed away, he became more and
more dependent on alcohol, and it
gradually became an overcoat to him.
“overcoat” is a metaphor.
The author is comparing alcohol to an
overcoat.
Just as an overcoat offers security and
warmth, so too did the man use
alcohol for protection and comfort.
This is effective as it conveys how the
man became dependent on alcohol in
order to cope with the loss of his wife.
6. Evaluate how the author’s use of imagery
effectively conveys his poor financial
situation (3)
Despite starting a good job with a decent
wage; despite having no family and no
dependants; despite not having to
worry about car payments or a hefty
mortgage, every time I looked at my
bank balance it seemed that I was
haemorrhaging money. What was I
spending it on?
“haemorrhaging” is a metaphor.
The author is comparing the man’s financial
situation to a brain haemorrhaging.
Just as a brain haemorrhage involves harm
and death, so too was the man’s finances
in danger and unhealthy.
This is effective as it conveys how perilous
the man’s financial situation is as he is
losing so much money and he can’t control
it.