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Allusions In Literature

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In The Icarus Girl, author Hellen Oyeyemi includes many allusions: culture-based, literature-based, or simply food and fashion. Three main allusions of literature in this novel are Little Women, Hamlet, and The Lord of the Rings, all are books mentioned in the novel that the protagonist is reading. While Little Women, Hamlet, and The Lord of the Rings are very different works, they share a common significance. They are famous pieces in English literature and they each explore complex themes and universal human experiences. All deal with the struggle to find one's place in the world, the importance of family and friendship, and the challenges of growing up and facing difficult choices. Collectively, they also speak to the power of hope, perseverance, …show more content…

In The Icarus Girl, Jessamy’s mother reads her Shakespeare before bed, more specifically, Hamlet. Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare that tells the story of Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge against his uncle Claudius for killing his father and marrying his mother. Hamlet struggles with his sanity as he tries to uncover the truth about his father's death and his uncle's role in it. The ghost in Hamlet is the spirit of Hamlet's father, who appears to Hamlet to reveal that his father was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. The ghost's appearance sets off a chain of events that leads to Hamlet seeking revenge against Claudius and ultimately leads to the tragic conclusion of the play. This ghost is much like TillyTilly who also sets off a chain of events after appearing in Jessamy’s life and encouraging her to fight against her enemies. These enemies are the bullies and adults in Jessamy’s life who make her feel unwanted and a freak. Hamlet was an outsider in his own home much like Jessamy. When a ghost came to visit him, Hamlet wondered what the ghost’s intentions were: “The spirit that I have seen / May be the devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, / Out of my weakness and my melancholy, / As he is very potent with such …show more content…

The Lord of the Rings is a novel by J.R.R. Tolkien that tells the story of Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who is tasked with destroying the One Ring, a powerful artifact created by the evil Sauron. The characters in The Lord of the Rings are also experiencing internal conflicts in various ways. Frodo, the main character, is struggling with the burden of carrying the ring and the responsibility of saving Middle Earth. He is torn between his desire to fulfill his mission and his fear of the dangers that lie ahead. The novel explores themes of power, corruption, and the nature of good and evil, as well as the importance of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice. Much like in The Icarus Girl where Jessamy is conflicted between the rights and wrongs of TillyTilly’s influence and the true meaning of friendship. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and his friends embark on this adventure and test the strength of friendship. Jessamy and TillyTilly’s friendship are divided when Jessamy’s other friend

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Moreover, all authors uses allusion to explain and support that education is the key to life itself. Prose states, “Maya Angelou and Harper Lee are not the only authors on the list... The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Catcher in the Rye, John Steinbeck.” She giving example of famous authors, and the book they have wrote. How, these book are the best novels to read, get a lesson from.

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1407 Words | 6 Pages

While the novel primarily focuses on the themes of love, duty, and societal expectations, Wharton expertly incorporates mythological references and influences to add depth and meaning to the narrative. By drawing upon classical myths and archetypes, Wharton highlights the timeless nature of human desires and the enduring power of myth in shaping our understanding of the world. I. The Entitled Archer: Newland Archer as a Modern Acteaon Just as Actaeon fell victim to his own desires and suffered the consequences, Archer too finds himself ensnared by the restrictive social norms and expectations of his time, ultimately leading to his own emotional and psychological entrapment.

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3941 Words | 16 Pages

In addition, the Ring’s promises of power end up corrupting and eventually killing most who are near it. This is in direct contrast to the powerful artifacts gained in more standard literary quests, such as the Golden Fleece of Greek mythology, which could heal wounds and cause prosperity around itself or the Arthurian Holy Grail.. Another element of The Lord of the Rings that goes against the standard conventions of a quest is the protagonist, Frodo Baggins. In contrast to the larger-than-life heroes of epic myths and legends from which Tolkien took inspiration, Frodo is an average, often weak character who over the course of

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658 Words | 3 Pages

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Ghost's use of cynical diction and vicious imagery in his speech emphasizes his contempt for Claudius and Gertrude, aligning the reader with Hamlet's vengeful feelings towards them. The Ghost's description of Claudius as "incestuous" and Gertrude as a seemingly-virtuous queen creates a negative perception of them in the reader's mind. The imagery of the serpent and garbage used by the Ghost reinforces this negative perception, creating a vivid picture of Claudius and Gertrude's actions that aligns the reader with Hamlet's disdain for them. Act 1, scene 5 of Shakespeare's Hamlet is Prince Hamlet's first encounter with his deceased father who exists between the borders of life and death, presenting himself as a ghost

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183 Words | 1 Pages

Examples of Allusion 1.) Allusion Definition (Paraphrase) – A brief reference to something without going into detail. Allusion Examples in Everyday Speech – 2.) "This place is like a Garden of Eden" The Book of Genesis · I chose this quote because I see lots of Biblical Allusions in text and thought it would be a good example. 3.)

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302 Words | 2 Pages

J.R.R Tolkien, an English writer, is identified as the father of modern fantasy literature. One of his most famous writings, The Lord of the Rings, is definitely a genuine masterpiece, a true definition of perfection. The saga is about young hobbit Frodo Baggins, who embarks on an urgent, incredibly treacherous quest to destroy the One Ring. This ring was created and lost by Sauron, an ancient demigod of the world of Middle-Earth, and the main antagonist.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Tolkien's creatively stems from describing the concept of loyalty, love ,sacrifice among characters, Frodo and Strider, Merry and Pippin. Furthermore, all of the character are involved in a friendship based on respect and sacrifice immensely. The writer attempts to illustrate a moral lesson, that loyalty, devotion and faithfulness among friends and people help them to overcome the difficulties in life. It is that unique relationships and emotional pounds that gather them to avoid the difficulties and troubles. The ability of the writer has exceeded the mere description of good and evil, moral lessons, love and sacrifice among character to the revival of myths and legends in the first part of the Lord of The Rings as Benjamin stated about myths (The wisest thing so the fairy tale taught mankind in olden times..

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1407 Words | 6 Pages

“The moral elements of The Hobbit are relatively simple” (Helms 578). Tolkien illustrates the theme of identity in an unsuspecting hero and the rewards of leaving one’s comfort zone by telling the tale of a stay-at-home hobbit and his quest for adventure. Tolkien tells of the journey

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1667 Words | 7 Pages

In the beginning of the play Hamlet is confronted with an embodiment of evil, which takes the form of his recently deceased father. It is undecided whether this ghost is good or evil, however, as Hamlet slowly moves to madness the ghost’s wickedness is determined. Hamlet is set in Denmark, a land created to closely model the Elizabethan London where Shakespeare resided. Prince Hamlet returns from school to attend his father, the late King’s, funeral. Shortly after his father 's death, Hamlet’s mother weds her brother-in-law, Claudius, making him the new King of Denmark.

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658 Words | 3 Pages

While the Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most sold books ever the plot is quite a simple one. The hobbit Frodo must take a ring, created by Sauron, the dark lord, to Mordor – the only place it can be destroyed. Unfortunately for Frodo Mordor is also the residence of Sauron. If he fails his mission, Sauron will take the ring and finally unleash his wrath on Middle Earth, the setting of J. R. R. Tolkien's story.1 This story written by J. R. R. Tolkien has been influenced by multiple different mythologies e.g., Norse, Greek, Finnish and even Celtic. The Celtic influence was not as big as the Norse one, but it's still worth mentioning.

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433 Words | 2 Pages

He also finds out that the murderer that killed his father is married to his mother. When talking to the ghost , his ghost says, “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,/With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts—/O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power/ So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust/ The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen./O Hamlet, what a falling off was there!(1.5.42-47). The ghost tells Hamlet that his mother has fallen into a spell, where she believes lust is real love and married a horrible murderer.

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It has been argued by many literary critics that the ghost is a figment of Hamlet`s imagination, despite Barnardo, Mercutio and Horatio witnessing it before the prince, potentially indicating that it is real because three level headed characters view it first. However, the characters are hesitant about the ghost with Marcellus insisting that they “question it “whilst Barnardo seems to believe “its` not something more than fantasy” which creates uncertainty about the figure`s identity. Many events over the course of the play indicate Hamlet`s fragile state of mind and how the ghost is only present in his thoughts. For example, the prince`s obsession with his mother`s infidelity could be a reason for the ghost instructing him to murder Claudius.

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1678 Words | 7 Pages

King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning and two other times throughout the play. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death.

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1675 Words | 7 Pages

The ghost’s appearance has a significant impact on Hamlet’s behaviors and forms his decisions through the play. Hamlet, who is suffering from depression since he is dealing with his father’s death and the hasty marriage of his mother with Claudius, his uncle, became obsessed with the concept of life and death after seeing his father’s ghost. In the first appearance of the ghost, he reveals the truth about the how the king has been murdered, which drives Hamlet to seek revenge, and by revenge killing his uncle. The ghost establishes a dilemma and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. But Hamlet has an uncertainty about the existence of the ghost as he notes “the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T ' assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561–563) here, Hamlet is concerned that the ghost may be the devil and questions the motivation of the ghost for killing Claudius.

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713 Words | 3 Pages

Or it can be seen as the ghost being some type of evil spirit trying to destroy hamlet through bad advice. The ghost is simply trying to free its spirit from purgatory and not trying to destroy hamlet, this is evident due to the fact that we know that Claudius killed Hamlet’s father in cold blood before he could pray for his sins. The ghosts role in the play is to tell Hamlet how he truly died. The nature in which the ghost appears in the play changes from appearance to appearance.

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