Making a Fist by Naomi Shihab Nye: Exploring Sound Imagery
Read the excerpt from making a fist by Naomi Shihab Nye. for the first time, on the road to tampico, i felt the life sliding out of me, a drum in the desert, harder and harder to hear. which sense does the imagery in these lines most appeal to? sight smell sound touch
The imagery in the excerpt from "Making a Fist" by Naomi Shihab Nye most appeals to the sense of sound(3), as it describes the fading life force with the metaphor of a drum in the desert becoming harder and harder to hear.In the excerpt, the speaker uses vivid imagery to convey the sensation of life slipping away. The comparison of the life force to a drum in the desert appeals primarily to the sense of sound. The drum symbolizes vitality and rhythm, and its fading sound signifies the diminishing presence of life. By describing the sound becoming "harder and harder to hear," the poet creates a sense of gradual fading or loss. The auditory imagery employed in these lines evokes a certain melancholic tone. It emphasizes the quietness and fading of the life force, conveying a sense of isolation or disconnection. The drum in the desert, a remote and desolate setting, adds to the imagery's impact by reinforcing the idea of diminishing sound that becomes increasingly distant or elusive. Through this use of sound imagery, the poet captures the introspective and reflective mood of the poem. The fading drumbeat mirrors the ebbing away of life and suggests the speaker's contemplation of mortality and the transient nature of existence. It engages the reader's auditory senses, deepening the emotional impact and inviting them to immerse themselves in the speaker's experience.