In the novel “<em>Nectar in a Sieve</em>” by Kamala Markandaya (1954), one of the main themes is the contrast between the tradition (Part 1) and the modern (Part 2), or the rural life and the city life. While <u>Part 1</u> takes place in an unnamed village in rural India, <u>Part 2</u> takes place in an unnamed major city in urban India. The author used imagery throughout the novel in order to call the reader’s attention. This technique is used <u>to represent objects, actions, and ideas in a way that it appeals to the reader’s physical senses</u>. For example, Markandaya used onomatopoeia together with imagery in the following passage “<em>… a click-clank of stone on stone with intermittent dull explosions</em>”. Water is also an example of imagery in the novel, since the patterns of the rain portray Rukmani’s view of the world and the balance of certainty and uncertainty, the good times and the bad ones. Moreover, water was also an important element in <u>Nathan’s death</u> and <u>for the women</u>.
