Use Of Imagery In I M The King Of The Castle

I'm the King of the Castle

While reading I'm the King of the Castle, I noticed that Susan Hill used many different techniques to put a point across, the most important being her use of imagery. However her writing also has many other qualities such as good structure and her ability to think like her characters. In addition she manages to build up tension and uses different ways of emphasising words or phrases. All of these factors contribute to her unique evocative style and add to her reputation of being a very talented writer.

In chapter Eleven, paragraph thirty-eight, she describes vividly how Kingshaw feels sick with fright when Hooper locks him in the shed.

"He retched, and then began

An example of this is Kingshaw's fear of moths.

" 'There are a lot of moths,' Hooper said softly, ' there always are, in woods. Pretty big ones, as well.'

Kingshaw's stomach clenched. In his nostrils, he could smell the mustiness of the Red Room."

This passage shows how Hooper taunts Kingshaw with his fear (childishly). She shows Kingshaw's reaction to his fear by saying his stomach clenched. She then continues with his memory of the Red Room, where he had been scared by the death moths, using her evocative style to describe how he associates moths with the musty smell of the Red Room. She uses the example of moths through out the book, along with Kingshaw's other fears such as birds.

A Classic example is in chapter sixteen, when every one was in the Breakfast room on the day of Mrs. Helena Kingshaw and Mr. Hooper's wedding announcement. Suddenly the scene changes to them being in a muddy field. This can be quite confusing for the reader but it does keep them alert. It was also in this scene where Susan Hill showed her ability to build up tension. This was done by Kingshaw expressing his fears about something that we do not know about, and Mrs. Helena Kingshaw talking about how he was scared by this thing when he was little. As the passage continues the writer gives us a clue that the unknown fear is of a certain place and finally (after a page of writing) she tells us that the place in question is a