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 Eastwoodin Dirty Harry

Allusion to popular culture:

actress Marilyn Monroe

in “7-Year Itch”

Television Show2003-2007

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.