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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—Evil Baal:
The narrative’s brief mention of Baal provides a subtext for its critique of unthinking technological reliance. While describing the McClellan house’s elaborate cleaning apparatus, the narrator traces the fate of the “offending dust”:
There, down tubes which fed into the cellar, it was dropped into the sighing vent of an incinerator which sat like evil Baal in a dark corner.
In its reference to the Canaanite-Phoenician god of rainstorms and fertility, the simile levels a subtle protest against the follies of technological over-reliance. Best remembered for its antagonism to the Judaic God in the Old Testament, Baal was the frequent object of the Israelites' idol-worship. To God’s wrath, the Israelites frequently forsake him and dedicate holy sites to Baal. The parallels, even in 2057, are still clear enough. Bradbury’s use of this biblical allusion suggests that, in its pursuit of technological progress above all else, modern civilization has misguidedly erected its own religion and sacrificed its sense of humanity.
Elsewhere, Baal is associated with the “Baal Cycle,” an ancient text that depicts the deity triumphing over the god of death. The god therefore supplements another reading to the story. Like victorious Baal, the McClellans’ house outlasts the fire’s destruction and lives on to see another daybreak. The clock continues announcing the date in the “smoke and silence,” as though to indicate that humanity’s technological obsession persists—severely weakened but standing nonetheless.
Related Themes:
