Figurative Language

In Tears of the Desert, a lot of imagery is used. The author does an amazing job in allowing the reader to visualize the setting throughout the whole novel. During the section I read this week, Halima arrived at the “big school” in Hashma, which is a much more modernized school than the classroom in her village that takes place under the trees.
“There was a large, dusty playing field, and beyond that a dozen low, oblong buildings, each with fine walls and a gleaming iron roof. These were the classrooms. We peeped inside the nearest. The floor was of earth, there was a blackboard at one end, and there were rows of wooden desks, each of which would seat three pupils. There was no glass in the windows, and the doorways had no doors.” (Chapter 5; page 64)
Halima continues by describing the playing field, and the teacher’s staff room. With that description, I could personally visualize the classroom that Halima would be spending the next months of her life in. After reading the descriptions of the setting, the reader is able to follow the story as it progresses.
Another place where the author uses imagery is when the modern houses of the Arabs are described. After the British gave all their power over to the Arabs, the Arabs figured that they controlled the black population, and with this power, they possess the modern houses with electricity and running water.
“She flicked a switch on the wall, and as if by magic lights in the ceiling lit up. We washed our hands with running water, before being treated to a slice of cake and some pop. As we are, I looked around me at the smooth walls, and the smart, glossy furniture. The walls of my uncle’s house were rough, homemade mud blocks, whereas here they were bright red bricks.”(Chapter 8; page 99)
This description of the house shows the distinction of the Africain, and Arab classes. The Arab’s are obviously the more wealthy class, and the Africans are just living on what they can find. In the next few paragraphs after the passage I quoted, Halima goes on to describe the slaves that work in the Arab houses. I thought it was interesting that Africans were being slaves in their home country. Also, Africans were the majority in Sudan, and the Arab’s were the minority, yet the Arab’s still dominated the social hierarchy. I just found it interesting how different the culture in Sudan is than the culture in the United States is.