How does the author use imagery in the novel, At the Earth's Core?

Typical of an Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy adventure, nudity abounds in At the Earth's Core, with women and men stripped to the waist. Shapely, athletic men and women in scanty attire is common in sword-and-sorcery adventures, and young adults who have read Burroughs's other novels or those of authors such as Robert E. Howard or L. Sprague de Camp are likely to be familiar with the customary bare-breasted women. The graceful sensuality of Dian and others is never the focus of the story but is instead just part of the setting—an essential feature of the background that makes Pellucidar an exotic, exciting place for heroic adventure.

Perhaps more worrisome are the scenes of torture and brutality, although they always promote one or more of the chief ideas of the novel.

The vivisection scene in which Mahars dissect conscious human beings reflects an issue that was very controversial in Burroughs's day and remains highly contentious even nowscientific experimentation on living animals. Burroughs's views on this subject matter could not be clearerhe has the hypocritical, vicious Mahars experimenting on the noble, beautiful humans who are innocent victims of ultimately pointless experiments. Other scenes are the stuff of nightmares, as when a sentient but helpless woman is slowly eaten alive by the Mahars. The description may give sensitive readers pause. The intent of the scene is to show that the Mahars are grossly depraved, so vile that they even violate their own law against eating humans. They are shown to be evil hypocrites, worthy of violent opposition.