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Literary Devices
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
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Ignoble Ease:
In Chapter 3, Dr. Veraswami and John Flory discuss the British Empire's manifold problems and supposed benefits. Veraswami is a staunch loyalist to the colonial government, while Flory stands apart as an anti-Imperialist. The two men debate their respective positions. In the following excerpt from that debate, Flory presents his stance on resistance to the British Empire, alluding to John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost:
"My friend, you do not think that. If truly you disapprove of the British Empire, you would not be talking of it privately here. You would be proclaiming from the house-tops. I know your character, Mr Flory, better than you know it yourself."
"Sorry, doctor; I don't go in for proclaiming from the housetops. I haven't the guts. I 'counsel ignoble ease,' like old Belial in Paradise Lost. It's safer."
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The White Man's Burden:
In the following passage from Chapter 3, Flory alludes to Rudyard Kipling's 1899 poem "The White Man's Burden." He includes this allusion to illustrate his British comrades' flawed, deeply problematic attitudes towards colonized peoples:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"Such a glorious holiday from THEM"—he motioned with one heel in the direction of the Club—"from my beloved fellow Empire-builders. British prestige, the white man's burden, the pukka sahib sans peur et sans reproche—you know. Such a relief to be out of the stink of it for a little while."
Related Themes:
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Religion and Hypocrisy:
In the following example of allusion from Chapter 6, the narrator misquotes the Christian Bible, referencing the book of Mark (8:36):
Unlock with LitCharts A+U Po Kyin did not matter, but there were the Europeans; if he, Flory, were too conspicuously the doctor's partisan, there might be hell to pay. Much better to pretend that the letter had never reached him. The doctor was a good fellow, but as to championing him against the full fury of pukka sahibdom—ah, no, no! What shall it profit a man if he save his own soul and lose the whole world?
Related Themes:
