How does Samuel Shem use imagery in The House of God?

Imagery:

"The postmortem is the flower—no, the red rose—of medicine."

And all I could do then, tears streaming down my cheeks, realizing that these gomers had won, that they had outlasted me and would survive in Gomer City after I'd gone in two weeks and left all of them to try to break my replacement, Howie, and all I could do, then, was lie in the shit on the floor and laugh.