How does Victor Hernandez Cruz use imagery in Business?

"Business" employs symbolic imagery to point to a moral. Puppets are symbolic of the way the man himself is treated under the state, and highlight the idea that people who do not resist being manipulated and treated like puppets become puppets. "Monkey man" and "monkey business" are also symbolic terms, meant to suggest the mischief the man embodies in court and the notion that mischief is a form of behavior necessary to avoid becoming a puppet of the state.

Symbols can be public or private. Public symbols, like those Cruz uses, are easy to interpret because they signify an idea or thing familiar to a given culture or society. For example, in the United States the bald eagle symbolizes patriotism and pride in America. Private symbols are much more difficult to interpret because poets imbue
them with personal meaning sometimes not accessible to readers, especially readers unfamiliar with a writer's work or life.