Ousmane Sembène primarily uses visual imagery but also includes text such as dialogue and speeches that evoke aural imagery as well. Along with describing individual characters, the author shows the people in their living environment, as well as the areas where the striking workers congregate, including the union meeting hall. For example, sunset over the town is described:

[T]he great crimson orb grew steadily larger. The roofs, the thorny minarets of the mosques…, the walls, the ochre ground, all caught fire. Striking brutally through the cloud curtain, like the beam from some celestial projector, a single ray of light lashed at the Kolouba, the governor’s residence, poised like a sugar castle on the heights….

When the strike is about to be declared, the leaders step forward to give rousing speeches. One respected leader is Mamadou Keita, called the Old One. He is a thoughtful, cautious man, as conveyed by his manner of speech: “He spoke slowly but precisely, evoking the laying of the first rails.” In contrast, the younger activist, Tiemoko, is impatient and “roars.” As he incites the men to declare the strike, they all call out in unison.

It was no longer possible to hear anyone, there was just a clamor of voices…. [S]ix, eight, ten voices began to curse and angry cries and oaths filled the air…. Outside the crowd was growing restless, too, and a vague, rumbling sound poured in….