Imagery In The Grapes Of Wrath By Dave Pelzer

Dave Pelzer used an abundant amount of imagery throughout the entire book to make the scenes easier to visualize. He was so descriptive about every single one of Mother’s “games” that it felt like you were experiencing it yourself. “She dragged me into the bathroom and she slugged me so hard that I bent over. Pulling me around to face the toilet, she ordered me to shove my fingers down my throat. I resisted… Mother rammed her fingers into my mouth as if she wanted to pull my stomach up through my throat. I squirmed in every direction in an effort to fight her. She finally let me go, but only when I agreed that I would vomit for her… I closed my eyes as chunks of red meat spilled into the toilet. Mother just stood behind me, with her hands

Globs of thick saliva slipped through my fingers, as I dropped it in my mouth… I tried to swallow without tasting, until I felt a hand clamp on the back of my neck. ‘Chew it!’ Mother snarled, ‘Eat it! Eat it all!’ she said, pointing to the saliva. I sat deeper in my chair. A river of tears rolled down my checks. After I had chewed the mess in the bowl, I tilted my head back a forced what remained, down my throat.” (Pelzer 64-67). In this scene Pelzer uses an insane amount of imagery to make the reader visualize the day day when his mother forces him to vomit to prove to his father that he has been stealing food, then makes him eat it for his punishment. He has a talent to make people want to vomit by adding so much detail into the text. For example “Globs of thick saliva slipped through my fingers” I couldn’t help but picture a pit bull with slobber dripping from its mouth while reading that

He felt off the whole time while he was doing the dishes that day and he knew something bad was about to happen. “I focused all of my attention on Mother’s face. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blurred object fly from her hand. A sharp pain erupted from just above my stomach. I tried to remain standing, but my legs gave out, and my world turned black. As I regained consciousness, I felt a warm sensation flowing from my chest… I moved my eyes towards my stomach. On her knees, Mother was hastily applying a thick gauze to a place on my stomach where dark red blood pumped out… Then I sat down and rolled up my red, soggy shirt. I touched my wound, flinching from the pain. I took a deep breath and as gently as possible, pinched the slit. The pain was so bad I threw my head back against the cold concrete floor, almost knocking myself out. When I looked at my stomach again, I saw a yellowish-white substance begin to ooze from the red, angry slash” (Pelzer 87-98). This was the most intense part of the book which makes since to give it its own chapter. Pelzer’s use of imagery beautifully describes how truly bad this situation was. Just reading this chapter it’s like you were the experiencing it with Dave because of all of the imagery. For example “Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blurred object fly from her hand.” It feels like you are the one have the knife thrown at you but it’s