Uses of Imagery, Language, and Sound by Ocean Vuong and Zora Neale Hurston Essay Example

Ocean Vuong and Zola Neale Hurston have perfectly used imagery, language, and sound to deliver the idea that all human beings have flaws yet they are all beautiful too. Their works clearly depict the use of these narrative devices in making the readers understand their intended message. Night Sky with Exit Wounds is one Ocean Vuong work that he has used imagery in an exceptional way in conveying his ideas about human life to the readers. Vuong imagery is highly recognized by the Judges during the T.S Eliot prize award ceremony through his perfect description of the American army in Vietnam.

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Night Sky with Exit Wounds presents a ductile precision suggestive of Emily Dickson work, together with that of Gerald Hopkins-like gratitude for the rhythm and sound of words. Vuong creates surprising images of the black piano in the field, a shepherd getting out of a Caravaggio painting, a wedding-cake pair conserved underclass and makes the elisions and silences in his verse speak as strongly as his words.

There exist some strong emotional undertow to his poem that springs from Vuong candor and sincerity, and from his capacity to capture exact moments in time with both photographic lucidity and a sense of the evanescence of the earthly things (Vuong). Whether his writing is on family or war or sex, there is always some feeling of loss, shaped by misunderstanding, violence or the simple ticking of the clock or calendar. Mr. Vuong writes of rough sea journeys suffered by immigrants trying to cross to America, the ocean passages that brings to mind both the optimistic pilgrimage of pilgrims and the mandatory middle passage undergone by slaves. He also describes the refugee camps as sick with smoke and half-sung hymns.

Majority of Vuong characters are haunted by war memories, the war in Vietnam in which his family encountered, and which becomes a war that presents several others since. In Mr. Vuong poetic work, the daily fabric of life, both in America and Vietnam is constantly being torn apart by the sudden incursion of violence that is carried from the sky by Tomahawk missile or Huey helicopter. This description of the life in war-torn Vietnam by the Americans soldiers shows his mastery of the application of imagery in conveying the intended message to his readers. It also depicts his mastery of language and sound to a great extent.

Vuong mastery of language and sound in conveying the intended message to the readers is also noted through constant use of the word body in many of his poems. Vuong uses this word in signifying the delicateness of human life and the stubborn fact of death, but also the likelihood of passion. The other strands that float, musically throughout this volume about the oppressed relationship between sons and fathers, the sea crossing made by refuges and the magic power of words.

There is numerous allusion to Shakespeare's Tempest in some pages, the likelihood of a sea change, and the Prospero's sorcerer capabilities to captivate. This book clearly attests Mr. Vuong own capability to apply the magical words to summon and reserve the past, to change bones to masterpieces, and by writing, touches his family back from extinction.

Zora Neale Hurston also presents mastery of language, sound, and imagery in conveying the intended message to the readers. Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the most illustrious work where Hurston exceptional application of language, specifically her mastery of rural Southern black dialect is depicted. Throughout the entire novel, Hurston uses a fascinating narrative structure, splitting the story's presentation between colloquial discourse and high literacy tale. The lengthy passes of discourse celebrate the culturally endowed voices of Jane's world. These characters speak like few others in the American literature and their unique grammar, tone, and vocabulary mark their personality.

The use of language by Hurston matches Janie's journey to find her voice. In references to the writing of Henry Gates in the aftermath of the most recent editions of the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is mainly concerned with the project of searching for a voice, with language as a device for salvation and injury, empowerment and selfhood. Jody represses Janie's speech, as when he stops from speaking after he is declared mayor; her abhorrence of him stems from this subdual of her personality (Hurston). On the other hand, Tea Cake, involves her speech, talking with her and placing himself on equivalent terms with her; her adoration for him originates from his respect for her personality.

Hurston uses imagery in the novel where he presents the hurricane as a destructive rage of nature. As such, it works as contrary to the horizon and pear tree imagery: while the horizon and pear tree represents pleasure and beauty, the hurricane shows how unpredictable and chaotic the world can be. The characters due to hurricane questions who they are and what is their place in the world. Lastly, Hurston uses imagery in describing Jane's hair which is a sign of her progressive self and influence. The hair is a representation of Janie's independence and strengths in three ways. This description of Janie's hair and what it represents depicts how Hurston uses imagery in making the readers understand who Janie was and what her hair represents.

Works Cited

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God. London: Virago, 2018.

Vuong, Ocean. Night sky with exit wounds. London: Jonathan Cape, 2017.