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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
Zero (August 7, 1944): Bombs Away
Explanation and Analysis—Egyptian Plagues:
In Section Zero, which depicts the bombing of Saint-Malo by American soldiers, Doerr includes a biblical allusion to the plagues of Exodus:
The underside of the sky goes black with flecks. Marie-Laure’s great-uncle, locked with several
hundred others inside the gates of Fort National, a quarter mile offshore, squints up and thinks,
Locusts, and an Old Testament proverb comes back to him from some cobwebbed hour of parish
school: The locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks.
This passage alludes to the plagues sent by God to punish the Egyptians for capturing and enslaving Jewish people. The Germans are similarly guilty of committing myriad atrocities against Jewish people during World War II. In this passage, the Americans arriving to bomb Saint-Malo are a final plague of locusts upon the Germans, condemned for their atrocities against Jewish people.
The passage also alludes directly to Proverbs 30:27: "There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces" (King James Version). In this proverb, the author claims that certain species on the earth, though little, take their strength from numbers and strategy. Locusts, though they have no central governing authority, must amass together for their power to be felt. Though the American bomber planes may look insubstantial from the ground, they carry great power—not the least because they amass in numbers, like locusts.
Related Themes:
One (1934): Herr Siedler
Explanation and Analysis—Einstein:
In Section One, Werner is called to visit the house of Herr Siedler, an affluent man who requires a radio repair. During their encounter, Herr Siedler cannot help but draw visual connections between Werner and a certain famous German scientist. In the following passage, Doerr alludes to this scientist in all but name:
Werner eats one piece of cake, then another, then takes a third. Herr Siedler watches with his head slightly cocked, amused, considering something. “You do have a look, don’t you? And that hair. Like you’ve had a terrible shock. Who is your father?”
Werner shakes his head.
“Right. Children’s House. Silly me."
Herr Siedler, remarking on Werner's aptitude for physics, math, and fixing radios, makes a connection between the young boy's interests and his curious physical appearance. Werner's hair looks like that of Albert Einstein, renowned German-Jewish physicist. Herr Siedler's inquiry, apparently an innocent visual connection between two prodigies, moonlights as an investigation of Werner's potential "Jewishness."
While it may seem like a stretch for Herr Siedler to suspect Werner of being Jewish, or being related to Albert Einstein, on the basis of something as simple as hair and aptitude, Siedler's inquiry represents a standard level of distrust and policing within Nazi Germany.
Related Themes:
