What are allusions? While reading or watching The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, you are introduced to Cinna, Katniss' stylist. If the mention of this name doesn't mean anything to you, it's probably because you've never been introduced to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which in turn caused you to miss an important allusion. When you mention allusions, you're not referring to Katniss's dress made of gems, which projects the illusion of fire. An allusion is a literary element in which it briefly and indirectly refers to an idea, person, place, or thing of historical or literary significance (Tran). It is used as a fleeting comment to identify the allusion and understand its importance in the text ("figurative language"). Most importantly, they serve to help the reader gain an in-depth understanding of a character or plot within a book. In the novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster, various examples of allusions were conveyed which are also related to the autobiography, Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel. The following will be discussed below: symbolic, historical, and situational ironic references. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Referring to chapter twelve of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster incorporates the message of symbolism into literature. In general, symbols can have a range of possible meanings and interpretations. “It is a story that includes, but is not limited to, educational attainment, gender, race, class, faith, social involvement, and philosophical inclination” (Foster, 110). These factors inevitably influence the clear understanding of the symbolism because they include a diverse set of instances that a reader might relate to based on individual history and previous readings. This connects to a case mentioned at the beginning of the novel, Life of Pi, when Pi and his brother Ravi ventured to the city of Munnar, just beyond Kerala. Unintentionally, Pi came across three hills which later served a greater purpose for the representation of the three religions he encountered. “...on each was a House of the Gods. The hill on the right, across the river from the hotel, had a Hindu temple at the top; the middle hill, further away, supported a mosque; while the hill on the left was crowned by a Christian church" (Martel,51). In this case the hills act as a symbol towards the different religions that Pi continues to practice simultaneously. Martel also does not fail to state that Pi should climb hills repeatedly, probably because his journey has meaning. This conveys that when Pi discovers an attachment to all these religions, there is a conflict between the external audience, which represents his own beliefs. There is a sort of “competition” in claiming which religion is the most “legitimate” in serving their form of idolism. In a historical reference to Charles Darwin, Pi and Darwin share a similarity regarding the idea that they both struggled with their own ideas. According to Darwin, he grew up in a considerably conservative family, however he always had an open mind and was not satisfied with what was presented to him. Pi always falls from responsibly following his natively inherited religion, Hinduism. Also, referring to chapter 5: Now, where I've seen this before, Foster uses figurative language to describe reading as "those elementary school homework where you connect the dots (Foster, 23). The literature in this example is used as a combination of patterns to visualize recurrences conveyed throughout the novel. As Pi ventures on his journey from his departure from India, the.