Connecting With Readers: Imagery, Symbolism,

Connecting With Readers:

Imagery, Symbolism, and Tone in "Facing it"

Imagery, symbol, and tone are critical tools for writers when they wish to convey a message. In Yusef Komunyakaa's poem, "Facing it," we see these techniques put to use to present the reader with a realistic experience that transcends time. The speaker uses imagery and symbolism to help readers see the effects of the war and the tone of the poem reinforce the devastating consequences of war. The poet's use of imagery, symbolism, and tone help the reader understand the angst of war.

In "Facing it," imagery is perhaps the most powerful literary technique the poet uses to convey angst connected to the war. The Vietnam War Memorial is a wall but it is also so much more and the speaker expresses this with imagery. When the speaker looks at the wall, he is overcome with anxiety born from memory. He looks at the wall and says, "My clouded reflection eyes me / like a bird of prey, the profile of night / slanted against morning" (Komunyakaa 6-8). His reflection in the stone "seems to represent the man who fought in Vietnam" (Thomas), according to Marvin Thomas. When the poet runs his finger along the names of the dead men, the name of the dead man, he remembers a booby trap in Viet Nam. The wall conducts the memories the speaker has repressed. As he sees the lady "trying to erase names" (30), he realizes she is simply brushing the hair of a child. The images demonstrate how powerful objects can be.

The most prominent symbol in the poem is the wall itself, which represents the war. The war consumed the speaker and as he looks at the wall, he feels the same kind of consumption as he feels himself and the images of others drifting into the cold blackness before him. While looking at the wall, he says his "black face fades" (Komunyakaa 1) into the stone. As he looks into the wall, he feels himself dissolving back to another place and time. The wall, serving as a painful and vivid reminder of the war, pulls the speaker back to the war. We can almost see the reflection of this man fading into the granite as his memories flood his mind. The wall and the memory of war are so powerful that the speaker must turn his head away and resist the urge to break down in tears. The wall as a symbol of the war is gripping and dramatic and helps the speaker get his point across.