What does this mean?

It was still raining the morning when Mama told me. Mama was crying, and the rain made it seem as if the whole world was cry. What kind of mental image does this demonstrate?

My mental image is of sadness. The rain is a metaphor for Mama's tears.

The passage you've shared creates a mental image by using descriptive language and symbols. It describes a moment when Mama delivers emotional news while it's raining. The sentence "Mama was crying, and the rain made it seem as if the whole world was crying" suggests a connection between Mama's tears and the rain, emphasizing the intensity of the emotions being experienced.

To analyze the mental image being portrayed, we can break it down as follows:
- The reference to Mama crying indicates her sadness or distress.
- The phrase "the rain made it seem" suggests that the rain amplifies or mirrors Mama's feelings.
- Describing the rain as if "the whole world was crying" implies a sense of universality and scale, as though Mama's emotions are so overwhelming that they affect the entire environment.

This mental image effectively conveys a feeling of sadness, grief, or heaviness, by using the rain as a powerful associative element. By drawing this connection, the author enhances the emotional impact of the scene.