Allusions In History

By referencing Danaë and Cleopatra, two royal women who suffered similar fates to Antigone, the chorus sympathizes with her.  In the first stanza of the ode, they allude to Danaë, saying “even she endured a fate like yours, / (. . .) buried within her tomb” (1036-1040).  Through this allusion to Perseus’s mother, who suffered in an underwater tower, the chorus praises Antigone for her fortitude and shows their support for her through their horror for her fate.  When they reference “the princes doomed at birth/ and their mother (. . .)/ walled up in a tomb of stone”, the story of Cleopatra, the chorus likens her to the daughter of the North Wind who was also buried alive (1079-1080).  The comparison between Antigone’s suffering and the

What goes through your mind when you read? Do you read deliberately, looking for certain aspects, or do you read as a blank slate? When reading, professors expect a deliberateness that will help you to uncover meanings that are not readily apparent. Thomas C. Foster in his book “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” expands on this concept. He endeavors to instruct his readers in the way he believes they should read, in order to get the most out of each book. He concedes that, “When lay readers encounter a fictive text, they focus, as they should, on the story and the characters” but to truly read like a professor you must also divert a portion of your attention on

There are many allusion in Peace Like a River, but the most repeated allusions are the references to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In chapter seventeen, Enger writes, “Sure, I foresaw some nerves. Dark is dark. But I remembered Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry, afraid that night in the graveyard” (Enger 223). The author writes this in the context of Reuben waiting in the woods “just past midnight” for Davy to arrive (Enger 223). In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, this scene is when Tom and Huck went to the graveyard around midnight and witnessed a murder. The author included this allusion to emphasize the fear within the boys compares to the fear inside Reuben. Another time when Mark Twain’s works are referenced is in chapter eleven. Enger

Rome had many great things, especially within their love of brutality. Many of the Roman people enjoyed to take a break from their hard, ancient, lives and watch some grown men battle people, lions, tigers, and bears to the death (oh my!).

In the novel, All The Light We Cannot See, the author, Anthony Doerr, uses allusion to convey how Marie-Laure (one of the main characters)  interprets the book 20,000 leagues under the sea. Since she is blind, Marie-Laure reads in braille and was given two significant things to help her adjust to her blindness; The book 20,000 leagues under the sea, and a handmade scale model of her town used for navigation. As she continues to read the book she learns that “Pages later, he [Captain Nemo] rammed a warship full of men, passing through its hull -- like a sailmaker’s needle through cloth (Doerr 445). This quote showcases how war is motivated. Captain Nemo was kind of an anti-hero in the sense that he killed huge sums of people, but the clear

References to Greek mythology can be found all through time and in our Western culture.

The story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien approaches the topic of how the weight of both tangible and intangible baggage affects people’s performance. This story explains that emotional and physical baggage is a burden that if not dealt with could be lethal.

Henry Ford served as the inventor for the assembly line. He believed that the idea of independently manufacturing products was too inefficient and cultivated the idea to move the product instead of the people building it. Ford also pioneered technological research in developing products. Ford served as the turning point for technology; introducing and utilizing break-through ideas. Not only did he change how automobiles were manufactured, he changed the way people thought about technology. He made new technologies readily accessible and set the standard for the 20th century. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Huxley makes Ford the center-point for why the new society was created, the old one was un-happy and inefficient. Replacing God

Gaddis wrote, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, to inform audiences why a historical consciousness should matter to us today. He used knowledge from past historians to portray the method that historical writings represent what cannot replicate. Gaddis worked to describe historical consciousness using visual imagery to express metaphors because science, history, and art all depend on metaphors. The past is something we can never have and through metaphors and representation, Gaddis accurately illustrates the meaning of a historian and how history cannot relive, retrieve or rerun but can only represent it.

Say “Greek Tragedy” to an English major and you’re likely to elicit a groan, or even perhaps a screech of terror. For me however, Greek tragedy, as well as Greek mythology, has always fascinated me. When I was younger, the Greek God’s always captured my interest, and I could never get enough of them. As I grew older, I became interested in the more refined aspects that Greek literature had to offer. Sophocles and The Three Theban Plays in particular, left me awestruck. I quickly began to realize that many of the new and inventive books and movies I had seen, had actually been written in one form or another, generations ago.

The novel The Road, has many examples of biblical allusion. McCarthy utilizes biblical allusion with characters appearing in the bible. Even places and events that correspond with the bible.The boy depicts himself as a christ figure through his actions and characteristics. “You should thank him you know, the man said. I wouldn't have given you anything” (McCarthy 173) This quote explains how the boy wants to give back, not caring if Ely denies the existence of god.The man and the boy search for “paradise” in the south where the boy can live and survive. They are trying to find the garden of eden. “We have to keep moving we have to keep heading south “ (McCarthy 42). “I knew this was coming,.. I always believed in it.” (McCarthy 169) The

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.

The sport of gladiatorial combat and the practice of foretelling the future by studying the entrails of animals or the flight of birds went back to the beginnings of the Etruscans. Two of the most famous myths the Romans told about the founding of Rome itself has been drawn back from the Etruscans: that involving Aeneas of Troy and that involving the infant twins Romulus and Remus. Aeneas of Troy links Rome with the Homeric world and the world

Jonathan Stamp, the historical consultant on Rome, remarked that “historical fiction on screen cannot be historically accurate, but it can be authentic.” Rome in terms of spirit, hits the mark. While it is not always accurate in terms of fact, that is through the fault of the medium itself. A throughly factual production would be of interest

Ancient Rome’s culture has existed throughout the almost 1200- year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome adapted most of their culture from their neighbors the Greeks and Etruscans. Ancient Rome culture has been affecting our modern world from colosseums and satre, for entertainment, to the name of Roman gods, for constellations. In Ancient Rome their entertainment included gladiator fighting and Roman Theater. Ancient Rome’s arts were greatly influenced on the art Ancient Greece. Sculpture played an important role on Roman daily life; they would symbol honor, power, and wealth. Homes of the Roman people were often filled with paintings called (frescos) which were directly painted on walls. Most of Ancient Rome’s culture and Arts has affected our modern world and daily life.