D. Berrong

Let’s Try This ONE More Time

Enables writers or poets to simplify complex ideas and emotions.

Readers comprehend the complex ideas by comparing the emotions of the writer or poet to the references given by them.

Biblical allusions appeal to the readers with religious backgrounds.

Function of Allusion

An allusion is, plain and simple, a reference. You'll find allusions (or shout-outs, as we like to call them) when the book you're reading makes a reference to something outside of itself, whether another work of literature, something from pop culture, a song, myth, history, or even the visual arts.

Why use allusions? Because they connect literature to other pieces of literature (or art or music or history or whatever). Allusions deepen and enrich a work's meaning, and are a form of intertextuality, so they help books talk to each other.

Why have an understanding of BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS? • Bible is the most widely printed and read text in the world• Biblical allusions are widely found in western literature• Used in Social Studies/Science & Humanities classes (that’s

your modern languages, history, philosophy, religion, the arts and literature classes.

shmoop.com

Definition

Greatest-selling book of all time.

A 2002 Gallup Poll found that about 93 percent of Americans own at least one Bible, with the average household having three.

Most owned and least read book ever published.

According to Gallup, only half of the adults interviewed could name any of the four Gospels of the New Testament; just 37 percent could name all four. Only 42 percent were able to name as many as five of the Ten Commandments. And while 70 percent were able to name the town where Jesus was born, just 42 percent could identify him as the person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

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Bible Facts…Did You Know

The nonprofit American Bible Society has, in more than 180 years of its existence, distributed more Bibles than there are people in the world—some 8.5 billion.

More than 100 million new Bibles, reflecting numerous translations, are sold or given away freely every year.

Translations exist in more than 2,000 languages and dialects.

It is "the most widely known book in the English-speaking world ... No one in the English-speaking world can be considered literate without a basic knowledge of the Bible" (E.D. Hirsch Jr., Joseph Kett and James Trefil, The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 1988, p. 1).

So within the English-speaking world, even where religions other than Christianity dominate, a basic knowledge of the Bible is essential if one is to be considered an educated citizen.

The Bible is quoted by statesmen, politicians, philosophers, poets and even orbiting astronauts.

It’s not just pop music that’s filled with biblical allusions; it’s TV and movies and literature, too

Much of the world is biblically illiterate.

Among his findings:

• Half of adult Americans can't name even one of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

• Most can't name the Bible's first book (Genesis).

• Two thirds couldn't name Jesus as the One who gave the Sermon on the Mount.

• Most think the Bible says Jesus was born in Jerusalem (He was actually born in Bethlehem).

• One in 10 believe Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

This sounds familiar…

Eliezer struggles with his deep Jewish faith throughout the novel and makes many Biblical allusions and references.

When he witnesses the horrors of the Holocaust, Eliezer questions his faith and exclaims • "I am Job!" In the Book of Job, Job is a holy character. Satan and God make a wager; Satan claims Job

only serves God because of the protection God gives to Job. Satan than tries to break Job by taking away his children, money and health in attempt to cause Job to curse God. Job curses everything except for God.

• The allusion works to depict the trials that the Holocaust brought to Eliezer, which cause him to question his religious conviction.

Elie says, "How I sympathized with Job!" 

Elie compares the Concentration Camp to Calvary. He also refers to the concentration camps as Calvary. Calvary is the place where the Jews took Christ to be crucified. The Germans and officers were compared to Man and sun and the Jews were compared to God as the good ones. God kept his promises to those Jews that were faithful in the end.

The silent God that Elie refers to when the young boy is hanged is giving reference to the story of Isaac and Abraham. This was where God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son to prove his devotion to God. This reference has a twist though. Whereas Isaac was saved, the young boy in this story was not.

This same scene also refers to the image of Christ hanging on the cross. It is noted that Christ was hung at the gallows between two thieves and the young boy was also hung with other people before a watchful audience, just as Christ.

Elie alludes to God's destruction of Sodom and to the expulsion of Adam and Eve.

Night: Biblical Allusions

Snow White alludes to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. • In the movie Snow White, Snow White is a

innocent girl who lives in the forest.

• An evil witch, who can be seen as representing Satan, tricks her into eating an apple, referring the forbidden fruit.

• The apple is poisonous, and after eating it Snow White falls into a deep sleep.

• Resurrection - Snow White "dies" then comes back to life.

• Like Jesus in the Bible.

The Grimm Brothers & Disney

The famous Disney movie (adapted in 1940) has a scene in which the main character is swallowed by a whale, just like Jonah.

It refers to the idea of how people are punished for doing something wrong, just as the prophet gets stuck in the whale for his disobedience.

“Pinocchio” Carolo Collodi

In "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", Pooh finds the Land of Honey, and he is extremely happy, because he has unending amounts of honey.

The Land of Milk and Honey is the land the God promised to Abraham.

God does not literally mean that there will be flowing milk and honey on the land.

Instead it is a promise that his people can be safe and happy, and they can look forward to a blooming economy.

This was also known as the "Promise Land."

For Pooh, this was a place where he was truly happy and safe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRCheqqMASQ

Allusions: Children’s Literature

Now as at all times I can see in the mind's eye, In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale unsatisfied ones 

Appear and disappear in the blue depths of the sky 

With all their ancient faces like rain-beaten stones, 

And all their helms of silver hovering side by side, 

And all their eyes still fixed, hoping to find once more, Being by Calvary's turbulence unsatisfied, The uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor.

Meaning: Yeats alludes to the "Three Wise Men" who visited Jesus Christ after his birth.

(Poem: The Magi)William Butler Yeats 

Nature's first green is gold Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

Meaning: Frost refers to the Biblical paradise of Eden that was lost when Adam and Eve fell from the Creator's good graces.

 (Poem: Nothing Gold Can Stay)Robert Frost

Meaning: Cohen alludes to the fall of Sampson to his deceitful lover Delilah.

the mournful love song weaves together allusions to Samson and Delilah, King David and Bathsheba.

The opening stanza — “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord/That David played, and it pleased the Lord” — refers to the future King David’s harp playing, which soothed King Saul’s rage.

Then it flows to the story of David and Bathsheba: “Your faith was strong but you needed proof/You saw her bathing on the roof/Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you” — before switching to Samson and Delilah: “She broke your throne, and she cut your hair/And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO3DmO8TbzQ

(Song: Hallelujah)Leonard Cohen 

“I Corinthians 15:55” is among the last songs Johnny Cash ever wrote.

the song opens with the Bible verse from which it takes its name “Where, O death, is your victory?/Where, O death, is your sting?” It is a song written by a man whose personal demons were as legendary as the Christian faith that eventually vanquished them, a man who is finally at peace with death.

“I Corinthians 15:55”Johnny Cashhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_HjVQII6s

After the creation of Adam and Eve, God created the Garden of Eden where both Adam and Eve lived.

The Garden of Eden was depicted in the Book of Genesis in the Bible.

The Bible showed an actual garden in Eden which often represented the idea of sins.

Biblical references which were represented indirectly throughout the novel.

Example: Aslan represented Jesus while the Snow Queen represented the Devil.

The Snow Queen controlled the area of Narnia that was covered with snow.

This area portrayed hell.

Edmund, the youngest brother, became tempted with candy by the Snow Queen similar to Eve when she was tempted by the Devil to eat the forbidden fruit in the garden.

Though these parts of Narnia were not exactly shown as a garden, the idea of the Garden of Eden was clearly evident because Edmund and Eve both acted upon similar motives which led to the idea of the origin of sins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-wQC36UNsg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWKj41HZBzM

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeC.S. Lewis

Toni Morrison’s style in her description of Baby Suggs at the clearing (p. 103) recalls the first book of Genesis:"’Let your mothers hear you laugh,’ she told them, and the woods rang. The adults looked on and could not help smiling.Then ‘Let the grown men come,’ she shouted. They stepped out one by one from among the ringing trees.‘Let your wives and children see you dance,’ she told them, and ground life shuddered beneath their feet.Finally she called the women to her. ‘Cry,’ she told them. ‘For the living and the dead. Just cry.’ And without covering their eyes, the women let loose.”"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." --Song of Solomon (6:3)"I AM BELOVED and she is mine." –Toni"I will call them my people which were not my people.""... love is as strong as death; jealousy is as cruel as the grave; ... many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it" --Song of Solomon (8:6-7)

BelovedToni Morrison

Shakespeare often evoked the Bible. In Henry V, when King Henry threatens Harfleur, he says, “Your naked infants spitted upon pikes, whiles the mad mothers with their howls confused do break the clouds, as did the wives of Jewry at Herod’s bloody-hunting slaughter men.”

From Beowulf to Chaucer, William Blake to Charlotte Bronte, Toni Morrison to Flannery O’Connor — authors have drawn inspiration from passages, characters, language and stories within the Bible.

But to fully appreciate the references, readers must first appreciate the source.

The Bible deepens our experience of culture and community, everyday relationships and creative works.

It resonates throughout our society and our daily lives.

It enriches our lives, not only spiritually, but culturally as well.

Other Lit Examples

Music and Allusion

The whole song, with the exception of the last line, was taken completely from chapter three in of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.

The message behind this song can be taken spiritually or literally, as the words are true, no matter your religion and how you view the Bible and Christianity.

It’s a great allusion to the Bible, and a popular one at that.

Many people still recognize this song even after almost fifty years since its release date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" by The Byrd's

she references the Old Testament account of Queen Esther, a Jewish orphan who married a Persian king and uncovered a plot to exterminate the Jews.

“Who Am I Living For?”Katy Perryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRf-nFKfsU

Example: Anyway, I think I met him some time before, in a different life of where I record. I mean he was Adam, I think I was Eve but my vision ends with an apple on the tree.

Interpret: Refers to the Bible story of Adam and Eve who were tempted to sin by the forbidden fruit.

Explain: the speaker had a good relationship but was distracted by something else

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfdg3VeX8m8

“Your Love”Nicki Minaj

Example: I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing. Roman cavalry choirs are singing. Be my mirror, my sword and shield. My missionaries in a foreign field.

Interpret: Biblical/Historical/religious reference to the end of a church service in which bells ring and choirs sing.

Explain: the speaker knows he is nearing the end and wants reader to spread the message that he wishes he would have. Later in song says he knows St. Peter won’t call his name-regret.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oncmL69ZEJ8

“Viva la Vida”Coldplay

The name of the song and the chorus refer to “the fire”, which is in itself an allusion to conflict and turmoil in society.

He says “we didn’t start the fire” to say that you can’t blame his generation (the baby boomer generation) for all the problems in the world, since many of them happened when they were growing up and they had no control over it.

The “fire” has always been burning since humanity existed, and will continue to burn, as it is human nature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jDQj_ASY4E

“We Didn’t Start the Fire”Billy Joel

Movies and Allusions

an allusion to the story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis, proving that the same story can be alluded too, but in different ways.

Each artist, director, or author has their own interpretation of a particular story they are alluding to.

a brother and sister from the 1990s mysteriously find themselves sucked into a 1950s TV show called Pleasantville.

Pleasantville is a town where everything is perfect and there is no dualism- it's a world of gray.

This is similar to life in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve- a perfect world in which there are no judgments.

As the two siblings continue to live their lives in the TV show, Pleasantville slowly gains color (the first sign of color being a red rose), its black and white fading.

The young people of Pleasantville begin to break the rules and defy tradition, and the color continues to grow.

As Adam and Eve broke the single rule of not eating off the tree of knowledge, suddenly their world became subjective as well.

Both Adam and Eve and the people of Pleasantville could differentiate between good and evil, beautiful vs. ugly and have prejudice as well.

“Pleasantville” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zDE7KjJdB4

The end of the world has been expressed in numerous different ways, many of them in the Bible.

Representing one of the numerous prophecies predicting how and when the world is going to end.

In the book of Luke, the end of the world is marked by severe changes in the weather as well as many devastating natural disasters, wiping out the human population.

A giant snowstorm hits New Delhi, a hailstorm completely destroys Tokyo, and numerous tornadoes wreak havoc upon Los Angeles.

Three super hurricanes form as well, the eye of the storms having the power to freeze over entire cities. New York City is hit with one of theses massive hurricanes and people struggle to survive in the extreme conditions.

The Bible explains that "the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

As depicted in the clip above, monstrous waters engulf New York, similar to "the sea and the waves roaring."

All the other various disasters that shake the world are "those things which are coming on the earth."

The connections between the book of Luke and the movie are uncanny as they both refer to the end of the world by means of extreme and destructive natural disasters, wiping out entire populations.

“The Day After Tomorrow”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku_IseK3xTc

-- The protagonist, Frodo Baggins, bears the burden of the ring -- and all the evil of the world -- just as Jesus Christ bore the weight of the cross and all the world's sins.

The Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. Tolkien

Edward and Bella's love affair is forbidden, just as the apple was to Adam and Eve -- Twilight alludes to the story of the first man and woman.

Therefore, a biblical allusion must refer to the Bible.???????

Stephenie Meyer explains:

The apple on the cover of Twilight represents “forbidden fruit.” I used the scripture from Genesis (located just after the table of contents) because I loved the phrase “the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.” Isn't this exactly what Bella ends up with? A working knowledge of what good is, and what evil is. . . In the end, I love the beautiful simplicity of the picture. To me it says: choice.{13}

TwilightStephanie Meyer

On the cult TV show Lost, the island, where the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 have been stranded for six seasons, serves as a sort of “biblical wilderness, where people discover themselves and their true calling,” making reluctant hero Jack Shephard the Moses figure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdT8eqMO4qk

Lost…So Many Allusions

It’s no wonder everyone refers to Mary as another Mother Teresa in the making; she loves to help and care after people everywhere- from the streets to her own friends.

In the example the author uses the mention of Mother Teresa to indicate the sort of qualities that Mary has.

What Does an Layman’s Example Look Like?

The huge, Babylonian city was filled with criminals and prostitutes.

No, I can't go to the party. I have to stay home and watch Jason tonight. I'm my brother's keeper, you know?

“Today, the eyes of ball people are truly upon us--and our governments [...] must be as a city upon a hill." ~John F. Kennedy

At the shocking announcement, the conference room broke into a Babel of sounds.

Refers to Tower of Babel in the ancient city of Babylon, built in an attempt to reach heaven and culminating in the creation of new languages. In Hebrew, Babel comes from the verb balal, “to confuse or confound”.

Alludes to confusion or unintelligibility, especially in relation to sounds or voices.

Escaping the ghetto, the young man found an Eden in suburbia.

Thousands of immigrants flood to the United States because they see it as the land of milk and honey.

“To Ronald Reagan, Washington DC made Sodom and Gomorra look like a bastion of family values.”

The boy retreated to his Potter-esque hovel of a bedroom, frustrated and ashamed at his parents’ lecture about the car.

"I violated the Noah rule: predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does." ~ Warren Buffett 

Here, Warren Buffet is citing the idea of Noah, from the Bible, preparing for the great flood that was to arrive. 

ABRAHAM and ISAAC--To test Abraham's loyalty to Him, God ordered him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed Him without hesitation or question, proving his devotion. As soon as God saw that Abraham was faithful, he intervened and saved the life of Isaac.

ADAM and EVE--In the beginning, God created man out of the image of himself and named this first man Adam. The using one of Adam's ribs he fashioned Eve, the first woman. Adam and Eve lived in the paradise Garden of Eden. They were free to do whatever they pleased; however, they were forbidden to touch the sacred fruit tree in the middle of the orchard. Satan, disguised as a snake, tempted Eve with the fruit. Eve and Adam ate the fruit and as a result were banished from paradise. This is termed the original sin. An apple is often an allusion to Adam and Eve’s original sin.

Common Biblical Allusions

ABRAHAM and ISAAC--To test Abraham's loyalty to Him, God ordered him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed Him without hesitation or question, proving his devotion. As soon as God saw that Abraham was faithful, he intervened and saved the life of Isaac.

ADAM and EVE--In the beginning, God created man out of the image of himself and named this first man Adam. The using one of Adam's ribs he fashioned Eve, the first woman. Adam and Eve lived in the paradise Garden of Eden. They were free to do whatever they pleased; however, they were forbidden to touch the sacred fruit tree in the middle of the orchard. Satan, disguised as a snake, tempted Eve with the fruit. Eve and Adam ate the fruit and as a result were banished from paradise. This is termed the original sin. An apple is often an allusion to Adam and Eve’s original sin.

Common Biblical Allusions

JOB--Job's faith was tested by God, who took away his lands, family, health, everything. Though urged to curse God, Job remained devoted to the end and therefore was rewarded with multiples of what he had before.

JONAH and the Whale--To avoid a command from God, Jonah took to the seas. When a huge storm battered the ship, the sailors, realizing God's wrath, tossed Jonah into the sea and the mouth of a huge whale. After three days in the whale's belly, Jonah prayed for forgiveness and was pardoned.

More Common Biblical Allusions

DANIEL and the LIONS--Daniel was an Israelite in a foreign land in which it was forbidden to pray to anyone but the king. When he was discovered praying to God, the king threw Daniel into the lion's den. However, God sent an angel to protect Daniel, and later he was set free.

DAVID and GOLIATH--The Israelites were waging war with their enemies, who had the fearsome warrior Goliath. Only David was willing to battle this giant one on one and went out armed with only a slingshot and some stones. With God's help he defeated Goliath and later became a great king.

More Common Biblical Allusions

-- “How the mighty have fallen” – 2 Samuel 1:19

-- “Many are called but few are chosen” – Matthew 22:13-14

-- “No rest for the wicked” – Isaiah 57:20

-- “Physician, heal thyself” – Luke 4:23

-- “Rise and shine” – Isaiah 60:1

-- “Skin of my teeth” – Job 19:20

-- “Sour grapes” – Ezekiel 18:2

-- “Woe is me” – Job 10:15

-- “Writing on the wall” – Daniel 5:4-6

-- “Apple of my eye” – Deuteronomy 32:10

-- “At wits’ end” – Psalm 107:27

-- “Blind leading the blind” – Matthew 15:14

-- “Can a leopard change its spots?” – Jeremiah 13:23

-- “Drop in a bucket” – Isaiah 40:15

-- “Eat and drink for tomorrow we die” – Isaiah 22:12-13

-- “Fat of the land” – Genesis 45:18

-- “Fight the good fight” – 1 Timothy 6:12

-- “Fly in the ointment” – Ecclesiastes 10:1

-- “Give up the ghost” – Acts 12:23

And What About These?