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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Allusions
Explanation and Analysis—Snow White:
In one example of simile in "God Sees the Truth But Waits," Tolstoy describes the transformation of Aksyonov's hair from his imprisonment in Russia to his tenure in the Siberian gulag by labeling it "white as snow." In part, this simile expresses that Aksyonov's wife's earlier prediction was anything but laughable, despite Aksyonov's mocking initial response. Where she had warned her husband that his leaving for the Fair would result in his going prematurely grey, his hair has now become entirely white, losing not some but all of the color it once had.
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Explanation and Analysis—The Book of Job:
Much of the story's plot alludes to the human suffering depicted in the Book of Job in the Bible, a story in which a man's faith in God is tested by immense hardship without any reason beyond a challenge delivered to him by Satan. Similarly, Aksyonov is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and subsequently loses everything. Toward the end of the story, Aksyonov says:
Unlock with LitCharts A+'Where shall I go? My wife's dead, my children will have forgotten me. I've nowhere to go.'
Related Themes:
