Through war-torn villages and rolling sorghum fields, author Mo Yan describes the subtle joys and harsh realities of a Chinese family's life during the Second Sino-Japanese War in his novel, Red Sorghum. The intensity of the challenges and difficulties facing this particular family are explored through the vivid imagery and powerful diction employed by Yan. One of the most central elements of Mo Yan's Red Sorghum is the use of graphic imagery to capture incredibly violent exchanges between Chinese and Japanese soldiers, as well as fellow Chinese. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay These images are delivered in one of the first scenes of the novel through Yan's convincing and striking diction as he articulately describes Uncle Arhat's massacre. Arhat, a loyal friend of the novel's central family, is enslaved by Japanese soldiers to build a highway, and although he escapes, he is subsequently captured and brutally murdered. The narrator describes Uncle Arhat as a “huge skinned frog” as he was “torn to pieces” (Yan, 9). Arhat's characterization as a frog emphasizes his devolution from humanity as his flesh is stripped away to produce a bloody, barely human figure. The use of onomatopoeia in the word “hacked” instills a sense of the harsh violence that took place upon Arhat's death. The narrator's father failed to recognize Arhat for some time when the Japanese brought him to be killed. He is described as “just a strange bloody creature in human form” and an “inert piece of flesh,” adding to the image of Arhat as less than human, a broken and pathetic figure awaiting death (Yan, 34). Yan also manipulates the audience's reaction to Arhat's appearance to intensify this graphic scene. The crowd remains pale and tense as they await Arhat's death in fear and horror. Arhat's painful state causes some to fall to the ground, crying terribly (Yan, 37). The nearby birds also fell silent, effectively setting the stage for the grave and frightening scene (Yan, 34). The chapter continues to describe the nauseating flaying of Uncle Arhat with a sharp choice of words that paints a gruesome yet clear picture of the spectacle. As Arhat's “squeals” with ink appear, a terrifying howl seems to echo through the reader's skull and goosebumps arise as Arhat's peeled skin writhes in the dirt (Yan, 35-36). Animated words are used to further evoke emotions, as a vivid impression of Arhat's “bone structure contracting violently on the wheel” is paired with his cries of agony (Yan, 36). One truly shocking phrase describes Arhat as “transformed into a mass of fleshy pulp, his insides churning and churning, attracting swarms of dancing green flies” (Yan, 37). The diction and imagery used to describe this gory setting creates a vivid and realistic experience for the reader, as Yan spares no graphic detail in Uncle Arhat's murder. This blunt writing style is used to reveal Arhat's transition from faithful companion to slaughtered, unrecognizable creature. While Arhat's death disrupts the beginning of the novel, Mo Yan continues the graphic imagery of violence in one of the final chapters, called Strange Death. This scene focuses on the rape of Passion, the narrator's “second grandmother.” Passion, who lives with her young daughter in the village, is one day suddenly seized by a “dormant and deeply disturbing terror; he knew his eyes were rolling wildly and he heard a terrifying scream.