Upper East Side Apartment (Visual Imagery)
The entirety of the play takes place in Amir and Emily's apartment, which is located in the wealthy Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The spacious apartment is furnished tastefully, showing not only Amir's lucrative career as a lawyer but also Emily's cultural cachet as an artist. The play's setting is an example of constant visual imagery for the audience, who watch the events of the play unfold in the enviable apartment. In the final scene, much of the possessions are packaged up, signaling to the audience that Amir and Emily's marriage is over and that Amir is moving out because he lost his job.
Intercom Buzzing (Auditory Imagery)
In an example of auditory imagery, Akhtar uses the sound of Emily and Amir's intercom buzzer to interrupt conversations taking place on stage. The sudden sound puts the characters and audience briefly on edge as they wonder who will soon join the scene.
Smell of Pork (Olfactory Imagery)
During the dinner party scene, Amir, Jory, and Isaac comment on the savory scent of pork tenderloin cooking in the oven. It is unclear in the stage directions whether the scent is also present for the audience—it's a decision that is at the discretion of whoever is staging the play. Regardless, to hear the characters acknowledge the smell of dinner contributes to the sense of verisimilitude, making the world of the play more real for the audience.
Amir Staring At the Portrait of Himself (Visual Imagery)
Disgraced ends with the visual image of Amir staring searchingly at the portrait Emily painted of him. The painting depicts Amir in his Upper East Side apartment, wearing one of his finest shirts as he strikes the same pose as an enslaved painting assistant in the 1650 painting by Diego Velázquez, Portrait of Juan de Pareja. Earlier in the play, Isaac comments that despite the expensive surroundings in Emily's painting, which point to Amir's success, the question of Amir's place remains. By having Amir stare at the painting at the end of the play, Akhtar implies that Amir is asking the same question, unsure of his place in mainstream American society.
