Previous
Literary Devices
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
Allusions
Explanation and Analysis—Communist Quarter:
When describing what it was like to walk through the city of Milan with his soldier friends, the narrator alludes to tensions between left-wing Italians and soldiers during World War I, as seen in the following passage:
We walked the short way through the communist quarter because we were four together. The people hated us because we were officers, and from a wine-shop some one would call out, “A basso gli ufficiali!” as we passed.
The “communist quarter” that the narrator refers to here was a neighborhood in Milan where socialists tended to live and organize together. As Hemingway insinuates, the relationship between left-wing Italians and people who served in the military was a tense one. This was due to the fact that Italian communists were very critical of Italy joining World War I, believing that the government should have put resources into social and economic support for the Italian working class instead.
The Italian phrase a basso gli ufficiali (that one of the communists shouts at the soldiers) roughly translates to “down with the officers," a clear critique of the military. While this was the communists’ way of communicating disdain for the war itself, it comes off in the story as a threat to the soldiers themselves. This is one of the many examples of the narrator feeling isolated and unwelcome in Milan—not only do the socialists shout at him, but the Italian soldiers with whom he walks through the communist quarter also judge him (for not being able to understand Italian grammar, for earning a medal that they believe he didn’t deserve, and more).
Related Themes:
