The Metamorphosis - imagery.

In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafta, imagery is the dominant literary element in my mind. It is used heavily throughout the entire book to describe Gregor, the main characters', thoughts, actions and appearance. The author does a great job describing how pathetic his life seems to be before, and then how even more pointless it turns out to be after he is turned into a giant cockroach. Without all of the many parts of the novel describing how Gregor has to struggle to do simple everyday things in the body of a cockroach, this book would not have been nearly as enjoyable. With all of the graphic imagery, I felt as if I was a character witnessing everything going on.

The entire book focuses mainly on how horrible his life has turned out to be, and it goes from one negative event to another. Without the vivid detail and imagery explaining each and every event that happened, it would have easily been a boring read. It seemed as if I was putting sticky note after sticky note that said IMAGERY on it into my copy of the novel. Without the images nothing would have seemed realistic. I got emotionally attached and felt as if I was in Gregor's shoes multiple times.

-Mariah. :]