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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—The Fastest Thing:
When, at the beginning of the story, Squeaky describes how skilled she is at running, she uses a series of hyperboles, as seen in the following passage:
[A]s anybody can tell you, I’m the fastest thing on two feet.
There is no track meet that I don’t win the first place medal. I used to win the twenty-yard dash when I was a little kid in kindergarten. Nowadays, it’s the fifty-yard dash. And tomorrow I’m subject to run the quarter-meter relay all by myself and come in first, second, and third. The big kids call me Mercury cause I’m the swiftest thing in the neighborhood.
Here, Squeaky uses hyperbolic language in order to communicate to readers just how talented she is at running. When she says that she’s “the fasting thing on two feet,” she doesn’t mean that literally but is exaggerating so that readers understand her athletic prowess. This is also true for her hyperbolic claim that she can run a relay all by herself “and come in first, second, and third.”
The final example of hyperbole in this passage also includes an allusion. When Squeaky says that the children in Harlem refer to her as “Mercury” because she’s “the swiftest thing in the neighborhood,” she is alluding to Mercury, the messenger of the gods in Roman mythology, who swiftly flew between the mortal and heavenly realms.
Squeaky, of course, is not as fast as Mercury, nor is she, as an elementary school-aged child, the “swiftest thing in the neighborhood.” These descriptions are more important for understanding her haughty character at the beginning of the story, and the way that she tries to intimidate people into treating her with respect.
Related Themes:
