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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."
Paradise Lost is Milton’s retelling of the biblical book of Genesis, detailing the creation of the world, Satan’s fall from heaven, and humanity’s fall from grace. In the above excerpt from Burmese Days, Flory alludes to a passage from Book 2 of Paradise Lost. In Book 2, Satan and his fellow fallen angels conspire to retake heaven and get their revenge on God. Satan seeks counsel from his underlings—all fallen angels—of whom Belial is one. Belial advises Satan against going to war, claiming that the fallen angels’ current punishment is far preferable to the consequences of further rebellion. Flory compares himself directly to Belial, shouldering a similar mantle of cowardice and complacency for which he appears to feel no shame.
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:
"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."
One stanza of Kipling's racist, condescending, paternalistic poem reads: "Take up the White Man's burden— / The savage wars of peace— / Fill full the mouth of famine / And bid the sickness cease; / And when your goal is nearest / The end for others sought, / Watch Sloth and heathen Folly / Bring all your hopes to nought." The poem asserts that White Europeans work hard for to benefit and improve non-White people, only to be met with ingratitude, "sloth," and "heathen Folly."
Flory alludes to the "white man's burden" for the purposes of critique, leveling a sardonic tone against his fellow British occupiers, whom he ironically characterizes—in a mixture of Hindi, Persian, British slang, and French—as "true gentlemen without fear and beyond reproach." He derides their blatant hypocrisy and unsubtle racism. Sadly, though, when the time comes, Flory fails to directly contradict the kind of racism he's talking about.
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):
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?
Mark 8:36 reads: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (KJV). This Bible verse critiques those who seek material gain to the detriment of their morality or spirituality. The narrator inverts the order of the verse, asking instead, “what shall it profit a man if he save his own soul and lose the whole world?” This inversion signifies a judgment on Flory’s character: his response to U Po Kyin’s deposition of Dr. Veraswami is spineless. The British "dissident" would rather keep his political opinions silent than risk upsetting his fellow Europeans. Flory hates his racist colleagues but is too apathetic to take any opposing action, eventually even dying by suicide to avoid assuming genuine responsibility for positive change. He favors the “world” over his soul.
Related Themes:
