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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
Chapter 20
Explanation and Analysis—Things Fall Apart:
The title of the novel, Things Fall Apart, is an allusion to W.B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming." The poem begins: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Parable of the Seeds:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 22, Achebe alludes to the biblical parable of the sower, found in multiple gospels in the New Testament:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Mr. Smith was greatly distressed by the ignorance which many of his flock showed even in such things as the Trinity and the Sacraments. It only showed that they were seeds sown on a rocky soil.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Black and White:
In Chapter 22, a new White missionary figure is introduced to Okonkwo's clan in Umuofia. Describing that missionary's views, Achebe makes a number of biblical allusions:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Mr. Brown] saw things as black and white. And black was evil. He saw the world as a battlefield in which the children of light were locked in mortal conflict with the sons of darkness. He spoke in his sermons about sheep and goats and about wheat and tares. He believed in slaying the prophets of Baal.
Related Themes:
