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Alliteration
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
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Spanish Flu:
As he preaches to the former audience of the Symphony’s Shakespeare production, the Prophet makes an allusion to the 1918 flu pandemic. In doing so, he is drawing a historical parallel between it and the fictional Georgia Flu, for the “benefit” of his rapt audience:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Consider,” he said, “those of you who remember the world before the Georgia Flu, consider the iterations of the illness that preceded it, those trifling outbreaks against which we were immunized as children, the flus of the past. There was the outbreak of 1918, my people, the timing obvious, divine punishment for the waste and slaughter of the First World War.”
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Noah's Ark:
In St. Deborah by the Water, The Prophet explains to the Symphony’s former audience that the Georgia Flu was sent as a religious judgment on those who died. Mandel uses allusion and metaphor to frame the Prophet’s ideology and to connect the Georgia Flu to the biblical story of the flood:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"The flu," the prophet said, "the great cleansing that we suffered twenty years ago, that flu was our flood. The light we carry within us is the ark that carried Noah and his people over the face of the terrible waters, and I submit that we were saved"—his voice was rising—"not only to bring the light, to spread the light, but to be the light. We were saved because we are the light. We are the pure."
Related Themes:
