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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
Experiences in a Concentration Camp
Explanation and Analysis—Nietzsche, Freud, Lessing:
Across Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl includes numerous references to the philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Theodor Lessing, as well as the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud—all scholars of the late 19th or early 20th centuries. These references include both direct quotation and paraphrases of their bodies of work.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Dostoevsky and Rilke:
In Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl alludes often to the novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Frankl includes direct quotations from these two writers' works that tend to focus on the experience of human suffering. For example, in Part I, Frankl writes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Dostoevsky] said once, “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.” These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Death in Tehran:
In Part I, Frankl concludes a section about fate and apathy with an allusion to the folktale Death in Tehran. He connects a particular memory of the concentration camp with the central theme of the tale:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Does this not bring to mind the story of Death in Teheran? A rich and might Persian once walked in his garden with one of his servants. The servant cried that he had just encountered Death [...] On returning to his house the master himself met Death, and questioned him, “Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?” “I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran,” said Death.
Related Themes:
