Allusions In Fifth Business

Allusion is a powerful tool many authors use to elicit emotions of the reader by relating two texts. This is one of the many tools Ken Kesey uses in his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Throughout the novel, Keses alludes to the most popular text of all time, the bible. Kesey uses the allusion to create depth in the characters and elicit the emotional connection that many feel with the text of the bible. Kesey’s allusion to Jesus is found in the struggle of Mcmurphy against Nurse Ratched. In the process of their struggles, both heroes become martyrs and are immortalized into legend. By using an allusion to a religious text Kesey is able to bring to the surface powerful emotions and feelings creating a connection between the text and the

Allegory is when a writer extends symbolism to every part of a story to communicate a secondary meaning that parallels the literal meaning. A common example of allegory is “The Tortoise and the Hare.” On its surface, this is a story about a tortoise that, unexpectedly, beats a hare in a footrace, but the underlying message is that those who devote their attention to cultivating a skill surpass those who are born with natural talents. Allegory has been used for a variety purposes, but among the most common is pointing out and critiquing the flaws of society. Any metaphor that is extended throughout an entire story to communicate a meaning that is separate from the literal is allegory.

Authors use various types of literary devices when writing. One of those devices that can be used is allusions. In this particular short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, author Joyce Carol Oates uses biblical allusions. These allusions allow the reader to better understand the short story. Throughout Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the author uses biblical allusions to help show who the characters really are.

Allusion can be described as “a literary device that indirectly refers to a past literary work, historical circumstance, or other cultural or geographic reference point…[to] help readers make connections between concepts in a body of work...authors assume that their readers have enough knowledge of a specific allusion to make the intended connection”(Lundin, 1). His first reference is to “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift; Baron uses this to allow his readers to understand that his proposal will be satirical.  Baron alludes to the Garden of Eden twice throughout his proposal; both times are to make the parallel between temptations in the Bible and the temptations of Americans. Historical figures that Baron mentioned throughout his work were Roger Sherman, Ross Perot, and William F. Buckley Jr. whom are all political figures that allow Baron’s audience of legislatures to further understand the context of his proposal. Events in history added by the author include Hastings, World War I and II, the American Revolution, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Prohibition. Each of the events he references add context of time period and conflicts that may or already have arisen from the problems that Baron is addressing. In order for his audience to understand the circumstances concerning his proposal, Baron used allusion

As a child, Dunny felt guilty for the accident, and its affect on Mrs. Dempster. As he sees the weak child, Paul, grow his guilt also

In the novel, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Dunstan Ramsey’s life choices are greatly impacted by his guilt. At the young age of ten years old, Dunstan’s life was changed by association with a traumatic experience, Mrs. Dempster, a pregnant woman, was hit by an incoming snowball thrown by Percy Boyd Staunton meant for Dunstan. This snowball caused Mrs. Dempster to go into labour, 80 days before she was supposed to, as well as causing life changing brain damage. Mrs. Dempster was forever labelled as simple by the people of the town. Percy showed no emotion towards this event ever occurring and because Dunstan felt someone should be responsible for this incident, he put the blame on himself.

topic- Dunstan’s Mother Fiona Ramsay had a negative effect on him from a young age, which affected his entire life.

In his account, The involvement which he mentions is in reference to when his friend, Percy Staunton, threw a snowball at him which accidentally hits Mrs. Dempster in the head and causes her to fall. To make matters worse, Mrs. Dempster is pregnant at the time and this incident causes her to enter labour early in which she eventually gives birth to a premature son. Even from the beginning of the novel, Dunstable is concerned about how this one seemingly minor event can have drastic impacts on not only the direction of his life, but also the effect everyone involved. As the novel progresses further, you begin to realize that Dunstable is essentially a spectator who explains accounts of other characters, eventually leading to his own discovery of his place in the hierarchy of life. From his innocent experiences as a child, to his enlistment in the Canadian military to fight in WW1, to his various ventures to Europe and South America to gain knowledge about saints and magicians, Dunstable is constantly an observer of others lives as well as his

Dunstan had always lived a life of structure and guilt, Liesl turns a new page for Dunstan, releasing him from guilt and opens a new world up to him. She proposes that he write the biography of Magnus Eisengrim, which proves to be another step in Dunstan’s understanding of himself. “In spite of her marred face her smile was so winning that I could not say no. This looked like an adventure, and, at fifty, adventures do not come every day.” (202). As Liesl allows Dunstan to unload his emotional baggage and uncover his darkest secrets, he is able to connect some of the events of his life and heal from them. Liesl teaches Dunstan that men who carry secrets pay a high price for it, as she describes him as “grim-mouthed and buttoned-up and hard-eyed and cruel.” (208). She helps him understand that the reason he has made Mrs. Dempster his saint is that she has received the affection and warmth that he should have spread amongst fifty people. Without Liesl, Dunstan could not have become his final character, which is a big part of his development and understanding of himself. After he and Liesl get into a tussle, she re-enters the room and leaves him with a conversation and advice that changes him. She tells him that he is human, just like everyone else, and he cannot take responsibility for other people’s troubles, as he did with Paul’s birth. Liesl ends the chat as she brings forth these truths about his life, bringing Dunstan to that

Allusions distinctly impacts text in numerous ways. Biblical and historical allusions are often the most recognizable in literature and each have their own significance. Allusions are very beneficial in the text because they give new meaning to the text and how it is represented throughout time; allusions in literature can also show new interpretations of the other works as well. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, Sinclair uses biblical and historical allusions create an embellishment of imagery, characterization, and the manifestation of government.

Literary Terms Allusion- when something is referenced to indirectly “O heart, lose not thy nature, let not ever The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom” (3.2.357-358) Hamlet is going to speak with his mother but he is upset with her marriage to his uncle. He does not want to be weak like Nero, who killed his mother, and hurt the Queen. Nero was a Roman emperor who got the throne after his mother also married his great uncle Claudius and he killed himself after he was sentenced to death by the Senate.

As proclaimed by Shmoop editors, “When authors refer to other great works, people, and events. It’s usually not accidental” (Shmoop Editorial Team). In the story Brave New World by Aldous Huxley there is a profuse amount of allusions throughout the entirety of the novel. There are three main forms of allusion that is superior to the rest. Huxley uses literary, Native American, and religious allusions throughout the whole of the novel. These three forms of allusion help tie the story together by bringing into view how different the two societies are within the story.

Allusions aptly incorporated lend a rich penumbra of meaning and significance to the use of only few words. Granted, the average and even the above average reader will need footnotes to know the situation of Guido da Montefeltro, to understand the prefatory Italian of the poem, and to sort out which biblical Lazarus Eliot alludes to. Less demanding are the references to Shakespeare, Marvell, and Michelangelo. But recognition of allusions brings delight and a sense of intimate understanding between reader and author.

Hermes is the god of thieves who travels between the mortal world and the underworld. He carries dead souls to the afterlife. Hermes is known for wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and carrying a staff (Skidmore). The tourist Aschenbach sees is a traveler wearing the same thing while he is standing in the mortal world underneath a scene of underworld beasts- alluding to being in between two worlds like Hermes. Mann uses this reference to Hermes to foreshadow Aschenbach taking a journey to the underworld.

Allusions can be found in nearly every work of literature and art due to the influence they have in creating a universal understanding. Biblical and mythological references are the most common allusions because they are regarded as primary sources for the basis of human reason. William Shakespeare alludes to both religion and mythology in Hamlet in order to emphasize the importance and failure of religion and to reveal the nature and psychological complexes of characters.