How does Simon J. Ortiz use imagery in The End of Old Horse?

Ortiz uses imagery to move the plot and describe his characters, as well as their actions. Much of this isdone through his wide use of symbolism. In describing what the boys do at the creek, the narrator gives more attention to Gilly scrubbing his jeans than he does to their fishing project, which is supposedly their reason for being there. He mentions the mud on Gilly's jeans several times over the course of three paragraphs then returns to the matter again when they arrive home. The mud is given almost as much focus as the obscene language that Gilly uses, and, in fact, can be seen as a symbol of Gilly's language: he fears his parents' reaction to seeing his Levis muddied just as much as he fears their reaction to hearing words like "hell." By focusing attention on the jeans and the fear of what the parents will think of them, Ortiz raises the expectation that the parents will be severe about language without having to call too much attention to what they will think of hearing Gilly say "hellfire": the story commands attention for its climactic moment without being too heavy handed about where it is going.