How does Kaye Gibbons use imagery in A Cure for Dreams: A Novel?

Example of Imagery:

The children weren't unschooled from lack of shoes and clothes, though these things were lacking. Trudy simply fell into the sticks getting them all up and dressed in the morning, and even something as easy as throwing a sweet potato into a lunch bucket was a trial for her. She woke up every morning behind from the night before.