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Allegory
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
Key Examples in Up From Slavery
Chapter 5: The Reconstruction Period
Explanation and Analysis—Rufus Brown Bullock:
When sharing his opinions on the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era, Washington alludes to people considered to be “carpetbaggers,” such as “ex-Governor Bullock,” defending them in the process:
Neither were all the class designated as carpetbaggers dishonourable men. Some of them, like ex-Governor Bullock, of Georgia, were men of high character and usefulness.
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Chapter 10: A Harder Task Than Making Bricks Without Straw
Explanation and Analysis—Brick Without Straw:
Chapter 10 of Up from Slavery is titled “A Harder Task than Making Bricks without Straw,” an allusion to Exodus 5:7 from the Bible. Washington makes the allusion more explicit in the chapter itself when describing how he was faced with making the bricks for the Tuskegee Institute:
Unlock with LitCharts A+In the early days of the school I think my most trying experience was in the matter of brickmaking […] I had always sympathized with the “Children of Israel,” in their task of “making bricks without straw,” but ours was the task of making bricks with no money and no experience. In the first place, the work was hard and dirty, and it was difficult to get the students to help. When it came to brickmaking, their distaste for manual labour in connection with book education became especially manifest.
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Chapter 14: The Atlanta Exposition Address
Explanation and Analysis—Not a Gourd-Vine Affair:
When sharing his belief that Black Americans should prepare for slow and gradual political progress, Washington uses a metaphor about a gourd-vine, as seen in the following passage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I believe it is the duty of the Negro—as the greater part of the race is already doing—to deport himself modestly in regard to political claims, depending upon the slow but sure influences that proceed from the possession of property, intelligence, and high character for the full recognition of his political rights. I think that the according of the full exercise of political rights is going to be a matter of natural, slow growth, not an over-night, gourd-vine affair.
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Chapter 15: The Secret of Success in Public Speaking
Explanation and Analysis—Creelman on Washington:
Throughout Up from Slavery, Washington includes documents penned by other people, such as letters sent to him from President Grover Cleveland and presidents of prestigious universities, as well as a full news article written by the journalist James Creelman about Washington’s Atlanta Exposition Address. It is worth looking at some of the literary devices Creelman uses in his article, as they reveal important information about the reception of Washington’s famous speech (which is the reason Washington says he includes the article).
In just the opening sentence of the article, Creelman uses both metaphors and an allusion:
Unlock with LitCharts A+While President Cleveland was waiting at Gray Gables to-day, to send the electric spark that started the machinery of the Atlanta Exposition, a Negro Moses stood before a great audience of white people and delivered an oration that marks a new epoch in the history of the South.
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Explanation and Analysis—Robert Gould Shaw:
Near the end of Up from Slavery, Washington receives an invitation to speak at the Robert Gould Shaw monument in Boston and alludes to Shaw’s impressive legacy:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Early in the year 1897 I received a letter inviting me to deliver an address at the dedication of the Robert Gould Shaw monument in Boston. I accepted the invitation. It is not necessary for me, I am sure, to explain who Robert Gould Shaw was, and what he did.
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