Allusions
Not “Illusions”!!!
What is an illusion?
Illusion
• a false appearance or deceptive
impression of reality
• such as, the mirror gives an illusion of depth
• Psychology . a perception, as of visual stimuli
(optical illusion) that represents what is
perceived in a way different from the way it is
in reality.
What do you see?
What do you see?
What do you see?
An Allusion . . . .
• A word or phrase that makes
reference to something . . . to
• . . . and that “something” brings up a
whole lot of information, a
knowledge base, for the reader just
with hearing the word or phrase!
For example: ESPN
• When a character* says,
–“Things I’ll have to turn my back on if I
stay home with Stephie. Stay home
and watch ESPN, watch the team I
could have been on, knowing I missed
the last chance I had to make it big.”
(*Jason in Keesha’s House)
For example,
references to fairy tales . . .
When a character* says,
• “Sometimes I stay alive by thinkin’ of those
stories. Rapunzel, . . . “
(*Carmen in
Keesha’s House)
When a character* says,
• “. . . (The tangled branches in front of Sleeping
Beauty’s castle – remember those?. . .”
(*Carmen in Keesha’s House)
Allusion to Sleeping Beauty
• “. . . Asleep between her sheets, almost dead,
but then the girl comes back alive.)”
“I sure ain’t got no glass shoes.”
--Carmen, Keesha’s House
Allusion
• An allusion is a reference to a:
• statement
• person
• place
• or an event from:
–literature, history, religion, mythology,
politics, sports, science, or popular
culture
Reference to a . . . STATEMENT
• “Judge me by my character, like Dr. King said.”
. . . a statement
• In To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrator says,
• “Maycomb County had recently been told that
it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” (Lee 6)
A reference to a person . . . FDR
• “…nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
–Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945
Reference to . . . a person
• In Keesha’s House, Carmen says,
• “Judge me by my character, like Dr. King said.”
. . . a person
• “Somehow it was hotter then: . . . Bony mules
hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the
sweltering shade of the live oaks on the
square.”
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• by Harpler Lee
. . . a Hoover cart . . .
Herbert Hoover
• President of the United States, 1929-1933
• The stock market crashed in October 1929,
beginning the Great Depression
References to a . . . PLACE
• Did you see the movie, CARS?
Reference to . . . a place
• In the movie Cars, the name of the town is
Radiator Springs. : ) This rock formation is in
the shape of a radiator.
. . . a place . . .
Flo’s café is shaped like a car air filter, where the
air FLOWS through to cool the engine.
. . . a place . . .
The tower of tires in front of Luigi’s tire
shop looks like The Leaning Tower of
Pisa in Italy.
In literature, . . . a place
• A reference to the “Pancake House”
. . . a place
• A reference to “Pizza Hut”
. . . a place
• Or a doughnut shop . . . Jolly Pirates, or . . .
Or an event from . . .
• Literature
– In Keesha’s House, Stephie says,
• “Look, everyone! Our streets
are paved with gold!”
– This is an allusion to the Bible.
An event from . . .
• History In As You Like It, Charles the wrestler
describes the men with Duke Senior in the
forest of Arden as living like “Robin Hood.”
An event from . . .
• Religion
– When Harris’ mother talks to King, says he is the
only one listening, and notices the time: 3:17
– A reference to John 3:16 and 3:17:
– 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
An event from . . . Mythology
• In Romeo & Juliet, Juliet says,
• “Such a wagoner as Phaeton would whip you
to the west . .” --Juliet, 3.2
An event in . . . sports
*
An event in . . . popular culture
• In Keesha’s House, there were several
references to popular culture
– ESPN
– Pizza Hut
– Pampers
– Teen People magazine
An event . . . politics
• Politics –
– References to FDR’s New Deal during the Great
Depression
An event in . . . science
• Science –
– In Catalyst, by Laurie Halsie Anderson, every
chapter is named after a scientific element,
formula or reaction . . . And each title is relevant
(has something to do with) the action in the lives
of the characters in that chapter.
Practice . . . with Bruce Almighty
• We are going to watch a portion of Bruce
Almighty.
• As you watch, write down a minimum of five to
ten allusions you see . . . We will comment on
them as we watch!
• Try to see how many you can find!
Parting the literature
• An allusion to the Moses parting the Red Sea
in the Bible.
Allusion to literature
• An allusion to Jesus walking on water.
Allusion to history
• 7 fingers trick  Gandhi  reminds “God” of
when Gandhi didn’t eat for three weeks
• Gandhi actually (historically) went on a hunger
strike that lasted thee weeks!
Bingo, Yahtzee,
Is that your final answer?
The Grand Canyon
The Apocalypse
Post Apocalypse London
Allusion to Clint Eastwood
in Dirty Harry
Allusion to
popular culture:
actress
Marilyn Monroe
in
“7-Year Itch”
Television Show
2003-2007
7 plagues on Egypt
Your assignment
• Find an allusion by:
– Listening to your music for allusions
– Watch your favorite television show or movie and
look for allusions
– Watching television commercials
• In your journal, write a full description of the
allusion. Tell:
– the context in which it is used
– what additional meaning it brings to the song,
show or ad.