Imagery and Voice - "The Diamond Mine" and "Beauty: Where the Other Dancer is the Self""

The best way to provoke the reader's imagination is through the senses. Images evoke one or all of the five senses. One can accomplish imagery by using concrete, significant details and figurative speech in one's writing. A great example is how in "The Diamond Mine," the reader encounters a long detailed description of how the soldier "touches" the girl, allowing the reader to get closer to the two characters and share with them, their experience of intimacy. Gordimer describes the rug covering them in the vehicle, "like the pelt of some dusty animal settled over them." This allows the reader to envision what the rug looks like and even feels like. Gordimer uses this simile, comparing the rug to a dusty animal, to allow the reader to feel as though they were there watching the soldier as he does away with the girl's innocence.

Voice is accomplished through a combination of diction and syntax. In writing, there are different voices present; the author's, the narrator's and the character's. Take for example Alice Walker's "Beauty: Where the Other Dancer is the Self." Walker writes in first person, and the narrator's voice enables both the main character's and author's voice. At first the narrator's tone is positive, with the narrator describing herself as "cute." Then suddenly after the accident, the narrator becomes shy, embarrassed and ashamed of her appearance. At the end though, the narrator's tone returns to a positive state again when the narrator finds hope and acceptance. These differences in tone allow the narrator's voice to be exposed, and also allow for the reader to identify themselves with the character and their persona. This then gives way for the reader to gain a new perspective on the subject and understand the narrator and character's point of views, while at the same time building on the reader's own point of views.

When writing one should always keep in mind who one is writing for. Considering you probably won't be the only person reading your own work, you should take the reader into consideration. In order to grab the reader's attention your writing should evoke an image in the reader's mind. You should also be identified as a writer, through the voice transmitted in your work, as well as through the voice and point of view's conveyed by your characters. Both imagery and voice will allow your reader to feel as though they are a part of your story; living and experiencing what you are writing about.