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Allusion
Explanation and Analysis—Thermopylae :
As the Union forces make their way further South, many of the most vocal supporters of the Confederacy in Atlanta continue to deny the obvious: that the North is winning the war and will soon reach their city. Arguing, against Rhett, for the inevitability of Southern victory, Dr. Meade alludes to the 480 B.C.E. Battle of Thermopylae, fought between an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta and the Persian Empire:
He did not speak and Dr. Meade thundered, losing his temper: “Our men have fought without shoes before and without food and won victories. And they will fight again and win! I tell you General Johnston cannot be dislodged! The mountain fastnesses have always been the refuge and the strong forts of invaded peoples from ancient times. Think of—think of Thermopylae!”
Scarlett thought hard but Thermopylae meant nothing to her.
“They died to the last man at Thermopylae, didn’t they, Doctor?” Rhett asked, and his lips twitched with suppressed laughter.
Dr. Meade, despite being a capable doctor, is clouded by his own emotions when he speaks of the outcomes of the war. He believes strongly in the cause of the Confederate States and cannot accept that God will abandon them. As the Southern army struggles to maintain its position along strategically advantageous mountain ranges, Dr. Meade argues that "the mountain fastnesses have always been the refuge and the strong forts of invaded peoples from ancient times" and encourages listeners to "think of Thermopylae!”
Dr. Meade's allusion seems, ironically, to foreshadow defeat: as Rhett points out, the Spartans "died to the last man at Thermopylae." In alluding to this ancient battle, the doctor seems to imply that the Confederates should fight to the last man rather than surrender, reflecting the increasingly zealous and fatalistic attitudes of many of the Confederacy's most vocal supporters at the final stages of the Civil War.
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