Imagery in "Haunting Olivia" by Karren Russel
Imagery is the effective usage of actions, images, and figures to convey facts to a certain target audience or group of people. As a consequence, imagery plays an essential role in ensuring the proper provision of one particular piece of information. As a consequence, representation incorporates many elements of figurative languages, such as pictures, events, behaviors, and concepts, to ensure the effective transmission of knowledge from one individual to another.
The Role of Imagery in "Haunting Olivia"
The tale 'Haunting Olivia' by Karren Russel is important in stressing the use of imagery in conveying details. Karren Russel's novel "Haunting Olivia" makes extensive use of imagery. The story outlines the role of two brothers who took up the responsibility of identifying their sister's ghost as they believed it was their fault that led to her ultimate demise (Russel). The story follows the activities undertaken in an ocean that proves to be frightening yet arousing. Although Russel's story is enthusing and thrilling, the use of imagery in the story plays a vital role in ensuring the communication of the content to the readers.
The Game and Pornography
Timothy Sparrow and his elder brother; Wallow together with their sister Olivia engaged in a crab sledding game on the fateful night that led to her demise (Russel). After participating in the game for a relatively extended period, the two brothers resigned for going to watch porn in their grandmother's cable box. The prospect of watching porn plays a vital role in underlining the role of imagery in the story. By watching pornography contents, it intuited the two boys into the belief that they could satisfy their sexual urge by looking at the images. Similarly, the effect of the porn images played a significant role in their ultimate decision to put the clips into practice as they sought to conduct an example with the Demerol.
Timothy's Dream and Descriptive Language
Timothy’s dream is a form of imagery as he watches a hand snatching his sister to the sea a fact that Wallow discredits quickly by sneering. The description of the grandmother plays a significant role in creating her image. For instance, the story underlines the fact that the grandmother likes eating bananas as well as the fact that her fart on most occasions gave out a bad smell (Russel). As a result, the use of the descriptive language about the grandmother ensures a reader can create an image of the grandmother with ease. The two brothers left their sister at the beach with the hope that she would still engage in the active playing of the crab sledding game with ease despite its risky nature. Imagery underlines the fact that the two boys viewed the secure yet fun environment that surrounded their sister at the beach as they derived pleasure from the pornography images from their grandmother's television cable.
The Goggles and Finding the Ghost
Although Timothy Sparrow expected his brother Wallow to find nothing using the goggles, he prompted him to put them on with an intention to make a fool of him. Instead, Wallow saw a ghost which he believed to be a fish. The prospect of the vision he saw played a significant role in their quest to look for their departed sister's ghost in the ocean using the goggles. The goggles are vital as they are instruments that led to the formation of images in the form of their sister's ghost which forms the basis of the story. As a result, Wallow came across the fish's spirit as a result of using the goggles (Russel). The image of the ghost of the fish played a significant role in ensuring spurring the brother's urge to find their sisters spirit.
An Awesome Ghost and Underwater Illumination
The choice by the two brothers to engage in a ghost-searching escapade proves vital as Timothy can catch a glimpse of somewhat unearthly features that they believe are ghosts of the dead beings and animals. Moreover, the two boys see a rather impressive spirit which they think belongs to their sister. The two boys' choice to engage in a ghost-searching adventure creates an image that their parents did not assert a lot of concern over their day to day activities (Russel). The prospect of an awesome ghost plays a vital role in underlining the fact that the boys believed in the existence of ghost and the fact that their sister was still within reach despite her 'death' status. While searching for Olivia's ghost, a glow illuminates the underwater environment leading to the two brothers' belief that their sister's spirit was much alive. The fact that the siblings compared the underwater illumination to a constellation underline the role of imagery in the story as it brings out a lively and warm perception of the spirit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Karren Russel has achieved the objective of highlighting a rather depressing story that is full of humor, warmth, and color through the use of literary devices such as imagery. The purpose of representation plays a vital role in bringing the story to real-life existence as it portrays the character and attitudes of varied characters in the story with ease. For instance, the use of imagery in the story reveals the uncaring nature of the boys as they left their sister hoping she would derive pleasure playing alone on the beach. Similarly, the use of imagery made the story lively as it portrays the somewhat frightening scenes as being colorful such as the perceived 'spirit' in the underwater environment.
Works Cited
Russel, Karren. “Haunting Olivia.” 13 June 2005. The New Yorker. Document. 19 November 2017.
