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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 1
Explanation and Analysis—Fruitful:
Steinbeck models the first chapter of East of Eden after the creation story in Genesis. Each passage describes a different group of people who've lived in California's Salinas Valley, mirroring the language in Genesis used to describe each day of God's "creation." In Chapter 1, these subtle descriptive elements compliment the frequent allusions and metaphors:
Farmholds spread over the land, first in the valleys and then up the foothill slopes, small wooden houses roofed with redwood shakes, corrals of split poles. Wherever a trickle of water came out of the ground a house sprang up and a family began to grow and multiply.
In this passage, the narrator alludes to Genesis 1:28: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” The novel's allusion to "[growing]" and "[multiplying]" is clearly meant to make readers think of the book of Genesis and establish a link between the Bible's narratives of creation and earliest human society and the new communities spreading over the Salinas Valley.
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Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Going Low:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 3, Cyrus Trask delivers yet another of his military monologues to Adam, explaining his reasons for forcing Adam to enlist. Cyrus uses biblical language in his justification, alluding to multiple passages:
There are others who go down, submerge in the common slough, and then rise more themselves than they were . . . . If you can go down so low, you will be able to rise higher than you can conceive, and you will know a holy joy, a companionship almost like that of a heavenly company of angels.
Cyrus advises Adam to "go down so low" so that he might "rise higher that [he] can conceive." This excerpt is strongly reminiscent—in both content and wording—of several passages in the Bible that describe the basic pattern of attaining holiness or sanctity. While this phrasing is used in many biblical passages, the books of Isaiah and Matthew contain two particularly important verses: "And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day" (Isaiah 2:17); "And whoever makes himself high will be made low, and whoever makes himself low will be made high" (Matthew 23:12). In other words, truly humbling oneself is the path to God, not seeking one's own exaltation; this is what Cyrus hopes Adam will learn in the military.
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Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Law and Morality:
Chapter 8 documents several of Cathy's sins as a young child, including the murder and immolation of her parents. Cathy herself disappears after the murder, leaving the police to scramble for a scapegoat to charge with her crimes. The police do indeed choose a man—one with some kind of intellectual disability, such that he confesses to anything the police ask him about. After the trial, the judge scolds the police for this, using both hyperbole and Biblical allusion to explain why the officer's actions were wrong:
"He would have admitted climbing the golden stairs and cutting Saint Peter's throat with a bowling ball," the judge said. "Be more careful, Mike. The law was designed to save, not to destroy."
In the above passage, the judge uses hyperbole to exaggerate what the "feeble-minded" man would theoretically admit to, devising an outrageously unrealistic scenario to emphasize this man's vulnerability to manipulation. In this scenario, the judge alludes to Christian traditions, referencing the "golden stairs" of heaven and "Saint Peter," who is traditionally believed to guard heaven's gates. While it is outrageous to imagine the "feeble-minded" man on trial climbing the staircase to heaven and murdering Saint Peter, it is even more outrageous to picture him cutting the saint's throat with a dull bowling ball.
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Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Othello's Handkerchief:
In Chapter 15, Samuel accompanies Adam to the Trask farm to search for water. As he tells Samuel about his plans for the land, Adam begins to speak about Cathy, whom he nearly idolizes. For Adam, Cathy represents a break in monotony and a reason to live. Samuel criticizes this sentiment, alluding to the Shakespearean tragedy Othello:
Samuel said satirically, "It's my duty to take this thing of yours and kick it in the face, then raise it up and spread slime on it thick enough to blot out its dangerous light." His voice grew strong with vehemence. "I should hold it up to you muck-covered and show you its dirt and danger. I should ask you to think of inconstancy and give you examples. I should give you Othello's handkerchief."
In Othello, the titular character gifts a handkerchief to Desdemona, his lover, as a promise of fidelity. Iago, the husband of Desdemona's maid, plots to steal the handkerchief from Desdemona and plant it in another man's room as fake proof of an affair. In alluding to Othello's handkerchief, Samuel implies that any object of love, no matter how dear, can be used to manipulate and harm the lover. While he makes his statement "satirically," there is truth to Samuel's words—his role is prophetic, like that of his biblical namesake.
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