Transcript Intro to Allusions and Example Presentation

Allusions
• a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical,
cultural, literary or political significance
• does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers
• expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and
grasp its importance in a text.
Shrek
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIazx4OeWYc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6KUsPyQV6w
• Why did the movie Shrek allude to Peter Pan? In other words, what was the
purpose of the allusion?
Songs
Why did Travie McCoy
allude to these
various pop-culture
references?
I Wanna be a Billionaire
by Travie McCoy
I wanna be a billionaire so frickin bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes Magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen
Oh every time I close my eyes
I see my name in shining lights, yeaaah
A different city every night oh I swear
The world better prepare for when I’m a billionaire
Yeah I would have a show like Oprah
I would be the host of
Everyday Christmas give Travie a wish list
I’d probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt
and adopt a bunch of babies that ain’t never had s***
Literature_The House on Mango Street
• “The Monkey Garden” AND the Garden of Eden in the Bible
• The character Minerva and the Roman goddess of wisdom (irony)
• The three sisters and the fates in Greek mythology
Choose an allusion from this list that you are
not familiar with.
Classical Allusions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Jason and the Golden Fleece
Icarus
Achilles (and his heel)
Narcissus
Cupid
Cassandra
Pygmalion (Greek mythology)
Tantalus
Biblical Allusions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Job
The apple (in the Garden of Eden)
The snake (in the Garden of Eden)
Jonah
Judas
Ishmael
Goliath
The Lion’s Den
Research and Fill in Presentation
• Slide 1: Summarize the story (bullet points)
• Slide 2: Associative words that an allusion to this story would add
• Slide 3: Possible Themes from Story
• Slide 4: Why we should know this allusion
• In other words, where is this allusion used in the world around us, in
literature, in the media, etc.
• Slide 5: List of websites used
EXAMPLE
Slide 1: Overview
*Who? What? When? Where? How?
Samson (Biblical Allusion)
• Israelite warrior and judge
• Very strong
• Derived strength from long hair (and from
God)
• Killed thousands of enemies
• Loved Delilah
• Told secret to Delilah
• Delilah betrayed him and cut hair
• He was taken captive by the Philistines
• Got revenge but also destroyed himself
Slide 2: Associations (from your brain!)
*What high quality L2 words could use of your allusion add to a story or a song?
• Betrayal, disloyalty, unfaithfulness, duplicity, treachery
• Trust, faith, belief, confidence
• Promise, commitment, assurance, pledge
Slide 3: Themes
What universal messages does the story behind your allusion reveal?
• Love can be destructive.
• Women can betray men.
• Stay true in your commitment to the divine..
• Revenge may require the individual to pay the ultimate cost.
Slide 4: Prevalence of Allusion
In other words, where is your allusion alluded to?
• Song Lyrics
• The Grateful Dead: “Samson and Delilah”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQXv4JL0Fzg
• Regina Spektor: “Samson”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62rfWxs6a8
• Visual Art (see picture to the right)
• Literature
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontte
• The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• Pop-Culture
• Doc Samson in in Marvel Comics’ The Incredible Hulk
Slide 5: Sources
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samson
• http://rintala-allusions.weebly.com/samson-and-delilah.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_references_to_Samson